Chapter 28…
To Fight Together
“Is He Your Boyfriend?”
“Midterms are finally over, so—wanna go somewhere and hang out?
Oh, Mayu, are you free today?”
“I’m free~! So, where are we going?”
“Hmm… ah, Yui, you coming too?”
“What, really!? I’m in, I’m in~!”
The midterms were finally over.
During the exam period, I’d had to fight fallen stars, came down with a fever, and… well, I don’t think my scores are that bad.
But whatever—what’s done is done!
They say once you’ve done your best, you just have to let it go.
More importantly, I need to think about where we’re going now.
Yoko from the dance club and Kana from the swim team both have the day off from practice.
And since Mayu, Nonoka, and I aren’t in any clubs, no problem there.
We already hung out over the long weekend, but hey—fun things are worth repeating!
As the five of us chatted, tossing around ideas like “that place sounds fun” and “no, this one’s better,”
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Mind if I borrow her for a bit?”
Of course, it was Ma-kun.
Everyone I was with cheerfully said, “Go ahead~,” sending me off.
Ma-kun replied, “I’ll bring her right back,” then started walking away—probably wanting to talk in private.
Naturally, I followed.
Once we reached the classroom window, he finally spoke.
“Hey, are you free today… no, tomorrow might be better?”
“Um… I’m free now?”
“You’re going out with your friends, right? Go ahead. It’s nothing urgent.”
“Oh, really?”
He said that, but if he’s asking directly like this, then… it must be something important, right?
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to talk today?
…Maybe after I’m done hanging out with everyone?
“Then, after that—umm… I should be free after six?”
“…You sure about that?”
“Yeah! As long as I tell my family ahead of time, it’s fine if I’m home a bit late!”
When I said that, Ma-kun just stood there silently, looking like he was thinking something over.
Getting home late isn’t a big deal if I let them know first…
As I was thinking that, he finally spoke again.
“Alright. I’ll text you when it’s time. I’ll send the meeting place in the message. Come there.”
“Uh, okay?”
“Then, see you later.”
And just like that, he walked off.
Um… so there’s somewhere he wants me to go?
Leaving me confused, Ma-kun chatted a bit with the others before leaving the classroom.
Well… I guess I’ll just wait for his message?
…Anyway, I’ll think about that later.
For now, I went back to the group.
As soon as I got back, Mayu spoke up.
“So you and Masato made up, huh?”
“Made up? Not exactly, but yeah, we’re getting along!”
“Hey, Yui, are you and Insei-kun… dating?”
“Eh!?”
I froze at Sakurako’s question.
…No, we’re not dating.
I panicked, waving my hands. “We’re not dating, okay!?”
“‘Not dating,’ huh? So that means you do like him?”
“N-no no no, it’s not like that!!”
“Then what is your relationship~?”
Now even Nonoka jumped in.
No use being flustered—I just had to tell the truth.
“We went to the same kindergarten and elementary school. So… friends? Childhood friends?”
“Still, you two seem awfully close.”
Sakurako grinned mischievously as she said that.
…Are we really that close?
I don’t think so… we’ve always been like that.
Well, except lately he’s been kind of distant.
Anyway, I just said, “It’s normal, really.”
“No waaay~ you’re totally close!”
“I think so too.”
“So you do like him!”
“Aren’t you scared of Insei-kun, though?”
Now even Kana joined in, and I was being completely bombarded with questions.
I looked over at Mayu, silently begging for help.
But she just shook her head with an apologetic smile—like, “You’re on your own this time.”
…Guess I’ll have to handle this myself.
And besides, I should at least clear up the bad image they have of him!
“Sure, Ma-kun might look scary now, but he’s actually super kind, you know!”
“That’s what you’re choosing to deny?”
“So you do like him~ Come on, tell us what you like about him!”
Ugh, it’s getting worse!
I do like Ma-kun, but not that way!
I like romance stories, but being grilled like this is… not my thing.
At this point, there was only one way out—escape.
“M-my story doesn’t matter! Let’s just go already!”
And with that, I dashed out of the classroom.
☆☆☆
Past 6 p.m.
I arrived at the place Ma-kun had messaged me.
For some reason, I felt really tired.
Still, a promise is a promise.
“Uh… this is… a building?”
Yeah. It looked like some kind of mixed-use office building.
It was close to my house, but… why here?
I double-checked his message just to be sure.
No mistake. It clearly said:
“5th floor.”
So I’m supposed to go to the fifth floor?
…Well, guess I’ll find out once I get there.
I started up the stairs.
As I climbed, I noticed something—the first floor only had one door.
Meaning, there’s just one unit per floor.
The door on the fifth floor didn’t have any signs or nameplates.
But since this was the place he’d specified… this must be it, right?
He’s the one who called me here, so it’s fine to just go in, right?
Thinking that, I turned the knob and opened the door.
“Excuse me…?”
Inside, it wasn’t an office or anything.
It looked more like someone’s apartment—there was a TV, a sofa, that kind of thing.
And someone was there.
But their hair was red.
Definitely not Ma-kun.
The sound of the door must’ve alerted them, because they turned to look at me.
They looked like they were in their late twenties, maybe.
I couldn’t quite explain it, but… there was a lot of pressure coming from them.
Yeah, nope. Wrong place. I should go.
“Sorry! I must have the wrong room!”
I quickly shut the door and started hurrying down the stairs.
But when I reached the landing, I heard the door open again.
Then a voice called out, “Hey, wait, wait, wait!”
…Oh no. This is bad.
I stopped, took a breath, and turned around.
“What do you mean, ‘wrong room’? You’re Yui Shirakami, right? The girl chosen by Aries?”
“W-wait, how do you know my name!?”
“Huh? He didn’t tell you about me?”
…What is going on?
