Part-2 Ch-12 Ep-01

Maki’s POV

“Ichinose’s affection for Nagase is basically a black hole, huh."

It was during breakfast at the hotel, right around the time we had mostly finished eating from the breakfast buffet, when Todoroki-kun suddenly brought it up.

Kagami-kun, who was sitting beside him, picked up a piece of fruit from the dessert plate with his fingers and nodded. “Yeah, I kind of get that.”

Mari had just stood up, saying she was going to get coffee for both of us.

It was right after we watched her walk away that Todoroki-kun abruptly started talking about that topic.

“What do you mean by a black hole?” I asked.

“Well, Ichinose’s feelings for Nagase don’t seem to have a bottom, right? And they’re the kind that destroy anything that gets in the way. Or rather, they’re so massive that it feels like they might eventually swallow Nagase herself. They’re insanely heavy.”

After saying that, Todoroki-kun glanced at me.

“So what? That’s a good thing, isn’t it? It just means I'm devoted.”

“I’m impressed by how extremely positive you are.”

When I replied honestly, Todoroki-kun gave a wry smile.

“If Ichinose is a black hole, then Nagase must be the ocean,” Kagami said.

“The ocean, huh. Yeah, that fits,” Todoroki-kun agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The two of them rarely talk about how they see me and Mari, so listening to this conversation felt strangely fresh.

Maybe it was because we were on a school trip and spending so much time moving together as a group.

“Is the ocean supposed to mean she’s gentle?”

Whenever Mari interacts with me, she’s always gentle.

There are moments when she can be a little sharp, but she’s always sincere with me, always tries to protect me, and has a kindness that seems to wrap around me.

So if they were comparing her to a calm ocean, I thought I could accept that.

That was what I was thinking, but Todoroki-kun’s unexpected reply caught me off guard.

“No, that’s not quite it.”

“She has an enormous and deep amount of emotion toward Ichinose too. And at the same time, it feels like she’s thinking about all kinds of things we can’t even predict. The ocean isn’t just what you see on the surface. Deep down, there are all sorts of things happening, all kinds of faces we can’t see, right?”

“Huh?”

Basically, from their point of view, Mari seemed to be thinking about much more complicated things.

Perhaps he noticed that I wasn’t fully following, because Todoroki-kun scratched his cheek awkwardly and said, “That probably sounded weird. I just thought of it on the spot.”

“No, not at all. It’s kind of refreshing to know how people around us see us. Thank you,” I said.

That gratitude wasn’t a lie.

I know the Mari I see every day very well, but I don’t really know how others perceive her.

That was the conversation from this morning.

Now, on the third day of the school trip, we were standing in front of the enormous tank at Churaumi Aquarium.

[T/N- It's a real Aquarium. Official Website if someone interested check it out.]

Tropical fish in every color, coral reefs, and manta rays gliding leisurely as if they were flying through the sky.

The tank was far larger than a movie screen, filling our entire field of vision, and it truly felt like a fragment of the ocean had been sealed inside.

I placed my hand against the thick acrylic panel directly in front of me.

This massive tank was near the end of the aquarium route.

It was different from the shallow Okinawan seas we had seen earlier or the sparkling tropical fish tanks. Here, we could see a much deeper part of the ocean.

The water was darker and heavier, and the creatures living there were larger, carrying an atmosphere that was slightly frightening.

Even though it was the same ocean, going just a little deeper changed the world completely.

And this morning, Todoroki-kun and others had compared the many faces of the ocean to Mari’s emotions.

Being told something like that made me want to know more about the ocean right in front of me.

While I was absorbed in the world beyond the glass, my view was suddenly covered by a mass of polka dot patterns, making me jump.

“Whoa, that startled me.”

Mari, who was standing next to me, also flinched and stepped back slightly.

Even so, her eyes were fixed on the tank, unable to look away.

The countless polka dots belonged to a gigantic whale shark that had just passed directly in front of us. Apparently, it was over eight meters long.

Even if Mari, Kagami-kun, Todoroki-kun, and I all spread our arms as wide as possible, we still wouldn’t come close to matching its size.

“So big.”

“Yeah.”

We followed its enormous body with our eyes as it swam away.

Its huge, polka dotted body was shaped like an upside down triangle, with a mouth that looked as if someone had drawn a single straight horizontal line.

When that mouth opened wide, it formed a vast hollow and swallowed the surrounding seawater along with its food.

The sheer size of it was terrifying. It felt like it could easily swallow a human whole.

“If we happened to be swimming nearby while it was feeding, we might get swallowed too.”

The joke slipped out of my mouth without thinking.

Mari laughed and replied, “That’s true.”

“If Maki got eaten by a whale shark, I’d get eaten together with you.”

She said it with a bright smile.

“Hahaha. If we’re lucky, maybe we’d meet inside its stomach.”

“Yeah. I’d come rescue you.”

After watching me laugh for a while, she seemed satisfied and turned her gaze back to the tank.

Watching her like that, a faint unease suddenly passed through my chest.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“That was a joke, right?”

“What part was?”

Mari turned back to me with a puzzled expression.

“No, I mean the part about you coming to rescue me if I got eaten.”

“Huh? Oh, hahaha.”

She laughed, but didn’t answer the question.

“Hey, that was a lie, right?”

“Maki, you’re so weird.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly she meant by “weird.”

Maybe my sense of what’s normal was the strange one.

Mari looked at me with eyes filled with tender affection. She’s always gentle, always the first to throw herself in to protect me whenever I’m in danger.

Hmm.

Tilting my head slightly, I discreetly took out my smartphone so she wouldn’t notice and searched for “cases of whale sharks swallowing humans.”

“I see.”

Apparently, a whale shark’s esophagus isn’t wide enough for a human to pass through. Even if something enters its mouth, it gets spit out quickly.

Just to be sure, I also checked similar large whales. It was the same.

In other words, it’s incredible that they can sustain such enormous bodies while only eating tiny things.

Anyway, whether my worry had been unnecessary or not, it seemed there was no chance of reuniting with Mari inside a whale shark’s stomach, even if I were swallowed. That realization brought me relief.

“Good.”

“Maki, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” I replied, quickly hiding my phone.

Mari glanced briefly at the hand where I concealed it, but soon turned her attention back to the tank and casually changed the subject.

“I wonder if there are any fish here that you can eat.”

“Who knows,” I said, lifting my gaze to the tank again.

At that moment, a familiar figure caught the edge of my vision.

Ah. Godaiin-kun.

He had already passed through the massive tank area where we were standing and was heading toward the next section.

The issue that had been lingering in the corner of my mind resurfaced.

It’s finally tonight. Talking to him.

I let out a small sigh, keeping my eyes on his retreating figure.

During this school trip, I had barely replied to his messages, and this morning I had only properly answered his confirmation asking whether tonight was still okay as planned.

Even though I already knew what would happen, rejecting someone’s feelings still weighs on you.

But leaving things vague isn’t my style, and it isn’t fair to the other person either.

Especially when that person is as kind as he is.

While I was lost in those thoughts.

“Maki.”

Suddenly, Mari called my name, and a hand reached out from the side, firmly turning my face toward her.

“Eh?”

Startled by her sudden action, I shrugged slightly. Our eyes met.

Mari’s hand gently stroked my cheek.

“No, that’s not it.”

The denial slipped out instinctively.

Because I thought she might have become anxious after seeing me look at Godaiin-kun.

But she looked at me gently and asked, “Maki, has Godaiin-kun already confessed to you?”

“…”

It was such a direct question that I panicked, my voice catching in my throat. It felt as if my neck were being squeezed. Breathing became difficult, and it hurt.

“I knew it.”

The hand resting on my cheek trembled slightly.

“No, not yet. Probably tonight.”

“So it hasn’t happened yet.”

After barely managing to say that, Mari frowned and lowered her gaze.

“I’m sorry for not telling you. But it’s okay. I’ll properly turn him down. There’s nothing for you to worry about, Mari.”

“Mm.”

She smiled, but there was no light in her eyes. It wasn’t a real smile.

“Are you angry?”

“I’m not angry at you, Maki. But maybe I’m angry at myself.”

I didn’t understand what she meant.

There really is nothing for Mari to worry about.

This is something I have to handle myself.

There’s no reason for her to brood over it. And if she is, then that’s my fault.

“Mari, really, it’s fine…”

“Sorry. I need to cool my head a bit. I’ll be right back, so wait here, Maki.”

Leaving those words behind with an expression that allowed no argument, Mari walked away without waiting for my reply.