“Handball, huh. If there’s a sports festival or something, I’ll show off”
I answered like that and stretched my body a little.
My rusty body creaked and groaned.
My shoulder blades especially had become noticeably stiff, so my ball speed must have dropped considerably.
I probably can’t move the way Hanazono remembers anymore.
“Fufu. But you don’t plan to return, do you?”
“Well, no. I’ve had enough of club activities”
“That’s too bad”
Hanazono didn’t say anything more.
Seira, who liked seeing me play in matches, still pokes at me to return sometimes.
But Hanazono seemed to respect my opinion completely.
“Yosshi, do you remember?”
“Eh?”
“When you confessed to me, what you said: ‘I fell in love with Hanazono based only on the parts of you that I can see'”
“Of course I remember. We just talked about this recently”
“Fufu, right. But I wanted to say it again”
“Again…”
I got a little nervous at that word, but the feeling quickly faded.
“‘You don’t need to force yourself to show different sides.’ That made me really happy”
Hanazono relaxed her cheeks.
“People often think I have a good personality based on my image, but I’m aware that I’m not that good. I don’t have much confidence in myself either. So I can’t really speak my mind to my classmates”
Hanazono tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear and opened her mouth modestly.
“There are still parts of me I haven’t shown you, Yosshi. But if there are parts of me that I want to show, would it be okay to show those too? Even parts that some people might think are not good”
“Of course that’s fine. I’d actually be happy”
When I answered immediately, Hanazono blinked.
“Happy?”
“Yeah. The more you tell me, the more I feel your trust…how should I put it, I feel like our relationship is progressing. Even this moment right now”
There’s nothing but happiness in Hanazono wanting to show new sides of herself to me.
Just that makes me feel needed. Makes me feel that Hanazono is my girlfriend.
“…Thank you. I…”
Hanazono closed her mouth with a hesitant look.
Then, as if tracing my thoughts, she spun her words.
“I’m starting to feel real that you’re my boyfriend, Yosshi”
She rested her head on my shoulder.
I felt the weight particularly in that spot.
…When my little sister fell asleep on my shoulder in elementary school, it was completely different from this.
A high school classmate, someone I once admired, was entrusting her body to me.
Trust, huh.
I wondered what kind of expression she was making right now.
As I was thinking that, Hanazono spoke in a gentle voice.
“So, Yosshi, you don’t have to show me parts you don’t want to show, and when you want to show them, you can. About club activities, and about other things too”
“…Thank you. Somehow, hearing you say that makes me feel reassured”
“I felt reassured too. It’s thanks to you, Yosshi”
Those words seemed to soak into my heart. The desire to be needed by someone is surely something everyone has. A relationship where we need each other. We had become that.
Realizing that, another desire welled up.
If we could take one more step forward.
If I could be honest with myself too.
The weight transmitted to my shoulder. Her silky hair swayed in the wind, entering my field of vision.
…I want to touch her hair.
What would Hanazono think about me having such thoughts at a time like this?
But wanting to touch and caress someone you love is surely a universal desire.
I steeled myself and gently stroked her head.
“…Mm”
“…Sorry, is this okay?”
“…It’s fine. You’re my boyfriend, Yosshi”
“…Boyfriend”
I muttered quietly.
It was a title I had once wished to be called while somewhere in my heart giving up on it.
And now it had become reality.
“…I’m really feeling like a boyfriend now too”
“Fufu. You’re my boyfriend, Yosshi”
“Yeah”
“Let’s go”
Hanazono took my hand.
A moment of happiness. Hanazono’s warmth rushed through my body from my palm.
As we stood up from the bench, I made one suggestion.
“Let’s take a little walk”
“Eh?”
“I’m in the mood to walk a bit more”
It was probably obvious.
There’s no time when I’m in the mood to walk. I just wanted to hold hands with her a little longer. I just wanted to share that warmth a little more.
Without mentioning it, Hanazono simply replied, “Okay.”
I strongly realized it.
Boyfriend. Boyfriend, huh.
I’ll probably like Hanazono even more.
Surely Hanazono feels the same way.
We will surely, from now on.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
After chatting for a full several tens of minutes, we left the park.
“Going home together after school is nice”
“I know. This route doesn’t have people around, so it’s easy to talk”
Hanazono nodded cheerfully and relaxed her cheeks.
As we walked toward the stairs again, we heard voices other than our own.
Looking down, we saw Yuzuha’s group going home in a large group.
“Whoa”
They had passed us while we were taking a detour to the park.
Just today, they were apparently using this route too.
Unusually, Miyagi Takeru was also mixed in with them, and this time I felt relieved.
If those guys became friends with Yuzuha, even the nickname “The Sun” would probably be unified in a positive way.
“What are you looking at?”
“Well, there’s a group from Class 2 there. This is bad—it’d be troublesome to turn back now”
When I answered that, Hanazono poked her head out from behind me.
A soft, fluffy fragrance wafted over, making me inwardly flustered.
“Really. There are people doing club activities too. I wonder why”
“Probably practice is canceled. They got excited and were hanging out after school”
“Do clubs have days off?”
“Sometimes. Rest is necessary for training your body too. Well, except during test periods, there’s probably practice almost every day”
“I see, that’s right. Everyone working out their bodies is amazing”
“If it’s a sport you like, it’s not that much of a hardship. As long as the advisor isn’t a demon, it’s actually pretty fun”
“Is that how it is?”
“Well, yeah”
What am I saying when I’m in the go-home club now?
Feeling a little embarrassed, I changed the subject.
“…By the way, Hanazono, don’t you ever think about wanting to join a group like that?”
It was a question that just came out.
It arose from the flow of conversation, not because I was particularly curious about it.
From her usual behavior, it was clear she didn’t want to belong to a group.
Hanazono kept looking at Yuzuha and the others while quietly answering.
“Groups are stupid”
“Eh?”
At Hanazono’s unusually sharp comment, I reflexively asked back.
“I don’t mean Yuzuha-san and the others specifically. I just think that forcing yourself into a group wouldn’t be fun”
Her voice was much colder than usual, without inflection.
Who was Hanazono looking at?
I wanted to know, but I also didn’t want to know.
“Ah…well, I guess that’s true. But why do you think that?”
“…I don’t have good memories of groups. It might have been different if it was only people who were really close friends gathered together”
…I never knew that.
That Hanazono also doesn’t have good memories of groups.
Is that why she’s often alone in class?
Hanazono turned her gaze back to me and tilted her head slightly with a somewhat awkward look.
“…Sorry, I wanted to show you this side of me too. Is this okay? Are you put off?”
I was a little startled and strung words together.
“…No, I’m happy. Besides, I certainly think some groups are stupid. You know, joining just to stand out and bothering people around them”
“It’s fine if it’s a group where you’re going to become close friends from now on. But only if you’re really approaching them as friends”
…Not for romantic purposes, huh.
But honestly, when guys join mixed groups, I think it’s nearly impossible to eliminate that motive completely.
But I felt like saying that would make Hanazono’s heart distance itself from me, so I kept quiet.
“…That group is probably the same type as the group I was in”
Hanazono moved away from me and started walking along the small road.
Not using the stairs would definitely mean quite a detour.
“The stairs are—”
“I don’t want to meet them. I’d be troubled if other people heard this kind of talk too. I only want to talk about this with you, Yosshi”
Hanazono spoke warmly but with a tone that brooked no argument.
…Because we became lovers, she was having a conversation directly connected to personal values with me.
Normally, I should be purely happy about this.
But the fact that Takeru was in that group was the only thing that didn’t let me be honestly happy.
Moreover, that coldness of Hanazono’s was something I had only seen when she rejected that senior before.
“Yosshi?”
“Ah, yeah. Okay, let’s take the long way around”
I chased after Hanazono.
While brushing away the feeling of reluctance.
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