C.F. Ch.23

Ch 23 Words wishing for reunion (Yukiya’s POV).

Suddenly, I was witnessing the heartbreak of a childhood friend, and the commotion of the students coming to school in front of the entrance did not stop.

It was kind of amazing.

Next to me, my childhood friend Kanae, who had become my girlfriend, muttered in dismay.

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I don’t know what’s going on anymore…

After the soccer team’s morning practice and voluntary practice, I met Kanae near the school gate and was walking to the classroom when I suddenly witnessed my childhood friend’s public heartbreak.

In the end, Souta walked away with his shoulders heaving.

I’m a little worried about him…

“I’m sorry, Kanae. I’m going to go check on Souta. I think he’s probably at home.”

Souta has always holed himself up in his room whenever he fails at something.

He has always been good at studying and athletics, and has often received awards for his painting and calligraphy, and even the food he cooks at home is worth money.

Since he never fails, he often goes ahead with his own ideas and makes mistakes, and because of his talent, the scale of the mistakes he makes is huge.

Also, due to his lack of experience with failure, he would make things worse by reacting on the spur of the moment, and it would take him a long time to recover from the situation.

I’m sure there are thoughts and conflicts on a level that ordinary people cannot understand, but right now I’m worried about Souta’s safety.

“I’m coming with you!”

The force of her hug on my arm strengthened.

“I’ll be skipping school, but…”

“I don’t mind at all! I’m curious too… Oh, Chris!”

Kanae immediately called out to Souta’s sister.

In the end, there were four of us who followed Souta, who had left the place, to his house.

We walked down the long corridor of Souta’s house, which could be called a mansion, and I, Kanae, My junior Rinka, and Souta’s sister approached the closed door of Souta’s room.

“Are you okay, brother? Please answer me.”

“I’m sorry, Souta-senpai. I was actually going to tell you secretly later…”

The younger sister spoke frantically, while the younger Rinka spoke sadly.

“Hey Souta, Azaka-senpai is putting out the fire at school, so you’ll be fine.”

To be honest, I have my doubts about the effectiveness of the fire extinguisher…

“Hey Souta, can I at least hear your voice?”

Kanae also makes a weak sound.

Then there was a rattling sound from behind the door. came from the other side of the door, and then a piece of paper came out from under the door. It was…

“Yukiya! Kanae! Why are you all at…?”

It was a note, rich with emotion expressed through stammering, exclamation points, and three-point leaders.

And the next one will come out soon.

 “I don’t intend to see anyone at this time, so I suggest you all get back to school.”

A gentleman’s tone of voice and an uptight attitude. I was relieved to see that he seemed to be doing well for the time being.

“Brother, please open this door!”

“I’m sorry, Souta-senpai.”

However, from there on, there was no word at all, and we were only calling out to her, when suddenly Chris started to lose her temper.

“Brother! That’s enough, please!”

Perhaps because of her excitement, her intonation was a bit fuzzy.

“Don’t be embarrassed to make me apologize only to you, Linka! It’s the brother who started the whole thing in the first place!”

Kanae let out a small scream… and Rinka, the junior, cringed on her own.

“You mean you’re going to confess right there? To say no to either, or both, of them! How would someone feel if they were rejected in a crowded place like that? The feelings you’re feeling right now are what you’re trying to give to others.”

Chris’s voice shook the air.

After a while, another piece of paper came out.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just trying to do what I had to do as my character, a loner. But if I need to apologize, I will. I don’t expect you to understand from the start. What do you mean, you’re not lonely? I’m used to being alone.”

Chris’s hand crushed the note.

“What is this? What’s with all the characters and loner characters? I read the book to understand my brother’s hobbies too! If you did that in real life, it would be even more disgusting!”

I heard a rattling sound from the other side of the door, and after a moment of silence, an unexpectedly long reply came out.

“I’m convinced that this ‘loner style’ is the strongest style to conquer student life, as written in many novels! I’m going to stick to this “brooding” style no matter if the kids cry, the women scream, or my parents die! I’ll never stop! This is my absolute rule!”

Even though it was written, I hadn’t heard such passionate words from Souta since I was in elementary school, and I felt nostalgic. I remembered that Souta was quite a hot-blooded boy when I was in elementary school.

But of course, it didn’t strike a chord with Chris, and she screamed out in anger.

“Apologize to Rinka-san and Azaka-senpai! Come out right now and apologize properly! If you don’t come out, I’m going to break down this door and drag you out!” 

Chris held up a jar that looked like a piece of furniture in the hallway, and I hurriedly stopped her.

“Yeah! Yukiya… san, let me go… let me go… nuu!”

As expected, Chris is thin and her strength is weak. However, she seems to be serious about throwing it, and twists her body to try to shake off our restraint. Despite her appearance, she may be quite a feisty type.

Eventually, the edge of the jar held by the rampaging younger sister entered my neck.

“Geez!”

I scream in agony and pull my hand away. It hurts like hell. Kanae jumps at me, half-crying, “Yuki-kun!” She jumps at me.

Just then, the door in front of us opened vigorously and Souta himself, the man we had been looking for, appeared, pissed off.

“Yukiya! You! What are you doing to my sister?”

It seems that the timing is really bad today, and as soon as Souta came out, both of them collided with each other – Souta with his momentum, and me with my recoil from the release of my restraints.

The shattered jar, the crumbling Souta, the three screaming girls, and the stunned me…

And this finally led to a situation where adults had to intervene.

A few days later, Souta’s parents, who had flown back from overseas after receiving the news from Chris, came to greet us, saying that they had decided to send Souta to study abroad for a short while, due to his strong desire.

As a mere high school kid, I don’t know how they put it together, but they said Souta’s return would be in six months at the earliest.

In addition, it seems that Souta’s parents are heading overseas for their work today, and Souta was waiting in the car parked outside.

“You’re leaving, Souta?”

While my parents and Souta’s parents were greeting each other, I spoke to Souta through the open window of the car.

“Huh, they all look the same and say the same thing — ‘goodbye’ is just an everyday thing for me, but oh well.”

As he said this, Souta opened the window wide.

“Souta, call any of us regularly, okay? Also, make sure you come back…!”

“Why are you going?” and “Please don’t go!” were meaningless words now, so I reminded him not to lose touch with us.

But I think I was a little too forceful, and Souta nodded his head in a reluctant way, saying, “I understand”…

“Well, well, well… I mean, you can’t afford to worry about me, can you? Don’t ever break up with Kanae until I get back.”

With that said, there are still some parts left … Souta laughed invincibly.

Souta’s parents came back just then, and after greeting me as well, they got into the car.

“Oh, and Yukiya, don’t miss school tomorrow, okay?”

Then the car started moving and Souta left.

Like Kanae, Souta is a childhood friend with whom I shared many years of my life, from kindergarten to high school.

So, no matter what I do now, I feel pain in my heart with regret and loneliness that I should have been more involved, should have played more, should have talked more.

“See you later, Souta…”

The murmurs of hope for a reunion melted into the night and disappeared.

You can get Advance Chapter – Patreon