“Well, I’m really going now. Don’t mention to Hanazono-san what I said. About our middle school connection too.”
“Why not? That much should be fine. It would be more unnatural to never know, and if you’re going to say something, sooner is better.”
Remi frowned slightly in irritation.
“The reason you didn’t know until now includes Hanazono-san too, you know? Maybe Hanazono-san didn’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s… well, I suppose that’s how it would be.”
But what kind of reason would lead to the conclusion of hiding their relationship?
If I were in Remi’s position, even if we weren’t on speaking terms, having an acquaintance at the transfer school would be reassuring. Especially since they’re the same gender, she could have used Hanazono as a starting point to expand her social circle.
She should have become friends with Hanazono, who could serve as that starting point, first of all.
Yet why are they both hiding that they know each other?
──Hiding?
At that moment, the intercom rang.
I stood up and headed for the entrance, but Remi stopped me.
“Sick people should stay seated. I’ll get it since I’m here anyway.”
“…Thanks. To be honest, I want to sit down right now.”
As I said this while supporting my unsteady body against the wall, Remi lowered her eyebrows with concern.
That was only for a moment, as she turned on her heel and put on her loafers.
…If a signature is needed, I’ll need to move a little.
At least to see who it was, I stayed in a position where I could see the entrance.
Remi opened the door.
Harsh sunlight that was painful for a sick person streamed in, and just as I closed my eyes:
“Eh? Nikaido-san?”
A familiar voice.
I hurriedly opened my eyes, and there was:
“Ha… Hanazono-san.”
Remi whispered in a hoarse voice.
My girlfriend was staring intently at my childhood friend.
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“Why are you here?”
When Remi asked the question, Hanazono kept her eyes wide open for a while, but then raised the corners of her mouth in a smile.
“I had plans to go to school with Yosshi today.”
“…Is that so? And so you came all the way to his house…”
When Remi said this with a slightly bitter tone, Hanazono casually shrugged her shoulders.
“I was worried because he wasn’t responding to my messages. Yosshi would never break a promise.”
Hanazono said this and walked past Remi.
After taking off her loafers, my girlfriend came up to me and peered into my face with concern.
“…You look really unwell. Are you okay? So that’s why you couldn’t come.”
“Sorry, I forgot to contact you.”
Hanazono reflected me in her beautiful eyes and smiled gently.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry, it’s because of the fever.”
“Even so, I kept you waiting… I’m really sorry.”
“Come on. When you have a fever, it’s natural not to have that kind of composure, right? There’s no way I could be angry when my boyfriend is suffering.”
Hanazono pursed her lips and placed her palm on my forehead.
“Ah, you really are hot. It must be hard even to stand, right? You need to get back to your room quickly.”
Her small palm touching my forehead was very cold. I could feel the soft sensation from my forehead.
The cool body temperature seemed to absorb my heat. Was this proof that my fever was rising?
Hanazono took her hand away from me and just sent a glance to Remi.
“Nikaido-san, thank you for looking after Yosshi. I’ll take care of him from here.”
Hanazono’s statement seemed to be implicitly asking for them to be alone.
Remi’s expression disappeared, and she calmly took a step closer to us.
“…No, I’ll stay here too. Hanazono-san, you don’t know your way around the house, do you?”
“W-why? That’s completely different from what you said earlier.”
“You be quiet.”
Sharply stopped, I reflexively kept my mouth shut.
Hanazono tilted her head slightly, looking a bit confused.
“It’s fine. Nikaido-san, you were about to leave, weren’t you?”
“I only came out because the intercom rang.”
Remi answered smoothly and took off her loafers again.
After placing them neatly next to Hanazono’s loafers, Remi turned back to face us.
“Is there a problem with me being here?”
…Why is she being somewhat combative?
Both Remi and even Hanazono.
Even without direct words, their hostility is coming through to me, a third party.
“Or would you prefer to be alone with Hanazono-san, Ryota?”
“Eh?”
“Are you okay with giving your cold to Hanazono-san?”
“Absolutely not!”
When I answered immediately, Hanazono blinked.
Remi nodded and asked again.
“What about me?”
“I’d prefer not to give it to you if possible.”
“If you accidentally give it to me? Would that be better than giving it to Hanazono-san?”
“Eh, no. I see, so that’s how it is. But we’ve already talked quite a bit, so—”
“Yes, exactly.”
Remi cut herself off midway.
I ended up changing my opinion before the words were even dry on my tongue, and I held my head in my hands.
Hanazono narrowed her eyes with a bored expression.
“What’s your intention? I don’t care about that kind of thing. Please stop saying weird things.”
“No, sorry Hanazono, but I care about it. If I gave you my cold, I’d feel incredibly guilty.”
Remi added her words in agreement.
“Exactly. If we’re respecting the patient’s wishes, I think it would be better for me to stay.”
After Hanazono closed her mouth, she looked at me.
“Yosshi. Why is it okay to give it to Nikaido-san?”
“It’s not okay. It’s just that since Hanazono is my girlfriend, I absolutely don’t want to give it to you. I’d be a failure as a boyfriend.”
Remi gave a small cough.
…Come to think of it, it was strange that Remi knew about the fact that Hanazono and I were in a romantic relationship.
But it can’t be helped – Remi was the one who created this situation.
Just in case, I bowed my head.
“Sorry. I had already told Remi about dating Hanazono.”
Hanazono and I had agreed to keep our relationship hidden, for the most part.
Despite that, I had told Remi without asking Hanazono first.
Since I was able to date her thanks to Remi’s cooperation, it was natural courtesy to report the results, but it’s also true that it’s better not to mention the existence of cooperative relationships with the opposite sex to one’s girlfriend.
Though I apologized with that in mind, Hanazono didn’t seem bothered at all and nodded, saying “It’s totally fine.”
Feeling a bit of discomfort, I asked her back.
“Did you know that I had told Remi about our relationship?”
“Yeah, I knew. Given your relationship with Nikaido-san, I thought you would naturally tell her.”
Then Remi said to Hanazono.
“Ryota didn’t ignore you on purpose, I think.”
“It’s fine, I really don’t mind. Nikaido-san isn’t the type to go around talking to just anyone, right? At least from what I’ve seen of Nikaido-san in Class 2.”
It was a meaningful way of saying it.
Before I could understand, Hanazono walked up to Remi.
And in a low voice, but clearly, she said:
“Or are you planning to mess up again?”
“──!”
Remi’s face turned red.
Not knowing what they were talking about, I stood there bewildered, when Hanazono looked at me.
“Yosshi, I’m going to leave now. Is that okay?”
“Ah… yeah.”
In this atmosphere, that was the only answer I could give.
Hanazono turned back to Remi and said:
“If Nikaido-san is going to stay, then staying would be helpful. As his girlfriend, I can trust Nikaido-san.”
“…I see. Never mind then. I feel bad about it, so I’ll wait here.”
“I understand. You want to go to school together with me.”
That seemed to become a compromise between the two of them.
…These two are definitely, without a doubt, on very bad terms.
It also makes sense that Remi didn’t reveal her relationship with Hanazono.
I don’t know if Hanazono was hiding it.
Looking at this attitude, maybe she never intended to hide it in the first place.
While walking through the living room, Hanazono spoke to me in a friendly manner.
“If there are any handouts or anything today, I’ll deliver them to you.”
“That would be helpful.”
After answering briefly, I carefully added more words.
“…Hey, Hanazono.”
“What?”
“Nikaido was called over by my sister. Since our families have a long-standing relationship, she came to help. If you could just understand that situation, it would be helpful.”
“Then today’s situation is even more unavoidable. Also, I wasn’t angry today from the start, you know? Since you weren’t feeling well, it would be reassuring to have a friend nearby.”
Hanazono stopped and looked down at the rice porridge that had two or three spoonfuls left.
“…Oh, there’s still some porridge left.”
“Yeah, I was eating it until just now.”
“Do you want to eat it now?”
“Ah, yeah. I’ll eat it after seeing you two off.”
“No good. Porridge gets hard if you leave it for too long.”
Hanazono said that and immediately took the plate and the ceramic spoon. The porridge was poured into the spoon.
“Here. Say ‘ahh.'”
…It’s not like I don’t have thoughts about this.
But right now.
“…Ahh.”
I accepted the spoon offered by Hanazono.
The egg that was nicely mixed in the porridge melted in my mouth.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah. It’s really… delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
“Y-yeah.”
While I couldn’t say much, Hanazono looked around the living room without seeming to mind.
It must look quite different from when she came to the house before.
“So many futons. It must be hard to carry these upstairs, right? Should I take them up to your room, Yosshi?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself. I can’t let my girlfriend do that.”
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