Late at night, the sound of my phone ringing pulled me out of sleep.
Still half-asleep, I fumbled around beside my pillow until my fingers found my phone. I pressed the call button and brought it weakly to my ear.
“T-Taiga-san…”
“…Were you asleep?”
“I dozed off a little…”
“Sorry. Calling this late.”
“It’s okay. What should we talk about tonight?”
“Talk about whatever you want.”
“Alright… There’s someone I really, really like. And that person calls me pretty often. Every time he does, it makes me so happy. It makes me think maybe—just maybe—I’m useful to him somehow. And when I think that, I feel glad I’m alive. That person’s name is Taiga-san. Do you know him?”
“Yeah,” he answered softly. “I know him.”
When I said it jokingly, Taiga-san let out a quiet laugh.
“Well, Taiga-san is cool, so I guess everyone knows him. Amazing, honestly… He’s like someone living above the clouds. The kind of person someone like me should never even be able to interact with… So even now, I still can’t believe I get to talk to him on the phone. Sometimes I still wonder if all of this is just a dream, and—”
Outside the window, rain fell steadily through the dark.
Ever since June started, the weather had been gloomy almost every day—cloudy skies or endless rain. But I liked weather like this. Of course I liked sunny days too, but there was something comforting about heavy clouds and gray skies.
The hydrangeas blooming along the roads on my way home were beautiful, and I loved the sound of rain tapping against an umbrella. Wet shoes were annoying, though.
“It’s still raining outside… What kind of weather do you like, Taiga-san?”
“…Sunny days.”
“Those are nice too. When the weather’s good, going out feels easier. Riding a bike’s more fun too.”
“What about you?”
“I like all of it. Sunny weather, rain, cloudy skies, thunderstorms, snow… but if I had to pick, maybe cloudy days are my favorite.”
“Cloudy?”
“Yeah. I like how dark and gloomy they feel.”
“You really are weird.”
“I won’t deny that. Speaking of cloudy weather, England comes to mind. You know how people say June brides become happy? Apparently that’s because June has the most sunny days over there.”
“Meanwhile June’s basically nonstop rain in Japan.”
“Exactly. But everyone still wants to believe in that kind of superstition, so a lot of people get married in June anyway.”
“What about you? Wanna get married in June too?”
“Hm… Maybe. June brides are kind of every girl’s dream, after all. Though whether I’ll ever get married at all is another story.”
“Well, you are weird.”
“That’s exactly why I’m worried no one will marry me.”
The rain outside only grew heavier.
Between the sound of the rainfall and Taiga-san’s voice coming through my phone, my eyelids gradually started getting heavier again. I almost resented my own sleepiness.
A yawn slipped out before I could stop it, and apparently he heard it through the phone.
“Guess it’s about time you slept.”
Honestly, I still wanted to talk to him. I wanted to keep hearing his voice.
But unfortunately, sleepiness was winning.
“Maybe I should… I still want to talk more, but I’m reaching my limit.”
“Sorry for waking you.”
“No, not at all. You can call me anytime… Think you’ll be able to sleep?”
“Yeah. I think so. Later.”
“Goodnight, Taiga-san.”
“…Night.”
The moment I heard him hang up, my memory cut off completely.
I must’ve been way more exhausted than I thought.
The next morning, the rain had stopped, though thick clouds still blanketed the sky.
I slipped a folding umbrella into my bag and headed to school.
A day always feels both long and short at the same time.
That morning I’d dreaded going to school, but before I knew it, classes were already over.
After school, Ichika said she wanted to stop by the library, so we headed there together.
Apparently the new release she’d reserved had arrived, and she immediately went over to the librarian while I wandered between the shelves searching for something interesting.
Romance. Mystery. Fantasy. History. Nonfiction.
I picked up anything with a title that caught my attention, but nothing really grabbed me.
By the time I’d repeated the cycle of picking up and putting back books for the hundredth time, Ichika returned carrying the novel she wanted.
“Find anything good?”
“Mmm… maybe I’m just not in the mood to read right now. Nothing really clicked.”
“That’s a shame.”
“What’d you borrow?”
“This? The sequel to that romance novel I told you about.”
“Maiden Wars?”
“Yep! I’ve been looking forward to it forever!”
She hugged the book tightly to her chest.
As we left the library and headed toward the shoe lockers, two boys walked up to us.
I think one of them was Ichinose-kun? Ichika’s childhood friend. They were close even though they were in different classes.
Personally, I was pretty sure he liked her.
Just a feeling.
“Mariko, you okay walking home with this guy for a bit?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Sorry, Takahashi-san!” Ichinose-kun said with his hands pressed together apologetically. “I forgot my umbrella!”
Now that he mentioned it, rain had started falling again outside.
Good thing I brought my folding umbrella. The forecast did say there was a fifty percent chance of rain this afternoon…
“Mariko, this is Maeno-kun, Ichinose’s friend. He forgot his umbrella too, so could you share yours with him?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Though it’s just a folding umbrella, so it’s pretty small… Sorry if you end up getting wet.”
When I spoke to the boy standing beside Ichinose-kun, Maeno-kun hurriedly waved his hands.
“N-No, really! I’m grateful just for letting me share it.”
With his slightly light-brown hair and nervous mannerisms, he reminded me weirdly of a chipmunk.
I kept that thought to myself.
The four of us headed down the hallway together.
Maybe because it was after school and raining, there weren’t many students left around. The halls felt unusually quiet beneath the steady sound of rain.
As we reached the first floor, we heard voices coming from near the shoe lockers—a boy and a girl talking cheerfully together.
Without really thinking about it, our own voices gradually lowered.
And the moment we saw who they were, we fell completely silent.
The girl stood there with fluffy golden hair untouched by the humidity despite the rain outside. She was talking animatedly to a guy whose hair mixed blond and orange tones together. She sounded angry, but judging from her expression, she clearly wasn’t seriously upset. Every so often she lightly smacked his arm, and from the outside they looked more playful than anything else.
Standing nearby was another guy with slicked-back black hair.
As always, he had a crease between his brows and his arms crossed while he watched the two of them.
The trio was Hanamiya-san—the heroine—Kouya-kun, Taiga’s childhood friend, and Taiga himself.
The instant I saw them, my heart practically leapt out of my chest.
If the heroine was interacting with those two, then one of them had to be the person she liked.
No—not just one of them.
A love triangle event meant both of them would eventually fall for her.
I’d already decided that no matter who the heroine chose, I’d support her. Still, somewhere deep down, I’d assumed she’d end up with Aoi-san, the student council president who’d been the game’s most popular character.
So seeing her with those two shocked me.
Hanamiya-san was cute.
Anyone would fall for that smile.
Honestly, it’d be stranger not to.
I kept repeating that to myself as we walked past them.
For a split second, I thought my eyes met Taiga’s.
But there was an unspoken rule between us: we didn’t talk at school.
So I immediately looked away.
Because of that, I never saw what expression he had on his face.
I changed into my shoes and pulled my folding umbrella from my bag.
Once Maeno-kun and I ducked beneath it and passed through the school gates, we all finally let out huge sighs of relief like we’d been holding our breath the entire time.
“Those were Kurogane-senpai and Saionji-senpai, right!?”
Ichinose-kun sounded excited.
Ichika immediately joined in.
“I was so shocked! I had no idea Hanamiya-san knew them… They looked really close, didn’t they?”
“Right!? Man, Tanaka’s screwed. He was aiming for Hanamiya-san too. Dude got rejected without even confessing.”
“You mean the baseball club Tanaka-kun? …Poor guy.”
“But seriously, Hanamiya-san talking to those two like it’s normal is insane. I could never.”
“Same. I’d make up some excuse and run away halfway through.”
The two of them excitedly bounced theories back and forth about what they’d just witnessed.
I couldn’t join in.
I walked silently behind them beside Maeno-kun, unable to say a word.
“Didn’t Saionji-senpai date Misuzu-senpai before?”
“That’s old news. Then it switched to Shiratori-senpai… pretty sure he’s single now.”
“Both of those girls are insanely pretty! Man, popular guys really live in a different world.”
“I heard Kurogane-senpai got into a fight with students from another school recently.”
“Oh, I heard about that too. Apparently it was Karasuyama High.”
“Wait, that delinquent school!? And he won? That’s insane.”
“People like them probably don’t understand the problems normal people like us have…”
“Agreed.”
Seriously, how did they know so much!?
I knew Ichika talked to tons of people, including upperclassmen, so it made sense she had information—but this much!?
And Ichinose-kun too!?
I’d never heard any of these rumors before!
And Karasuyama was that infamous delinquent school, right!? Taiga fought people from there!? I already knew he was strong, but hearing it in real life felt completely different from seeing it in a game.
As I strained my ears hoping to hear more about Taiga, Maeno-kun suddenly spoke to me.
“They really know a lot, huh?”
“R-Right? I’ve never even heard those rumors before. Where do they even get all that information?”
“Exactly! Thank god. I thought I was the only one out of the loop.”
He pressed a hand dramatically to his chest in relief.
With his soft features, even gestures like that looked weirdly cute.
Honestly, it felt like a waste that he was a boy.
“I’m bad with gossip too. Maybe we’re the only ones who don’t know anything.”
“…What if everyone’s intentionally hiding information from us? That’s terrifying.”
“Maeno-kun, please never change. I’ll just keep getting information from Ichika.”
“Hey, unfair! Traitor! Then I’ll get mine from Ichinose!”
He was easier to talk to than I expected.
By the time we’d finished chatting about manga and TV shows we’d watched yesterday, we’d already reached the point where Ichinose-kun and Maeno-kun split off.
“See you tomorrow,” we said, waving goodbye.
The moment the boys left, Ichika turned to me with a smug grin.
“You seemed pretty friendly with Maeno-kun.”
“Not nearly as friendly as you and Ichinose-kun.”
“That doesn’t count. We’re childhood friends! …Anyway, apparently Maeno-kun doesn’t have a girlfriend right now. So? What do you think?”
“What do you mean, what do I think…”
“Come on, we’re second-year high school girls already! Summer’s almost here. Don’t you want a boyfriend before then?”
“Eh, I’m good. I’ll spend this summer alone too.”
“You’re carrying the sacred brand of being a high school girl and saying that!? Next year we’ll be busy with entrance exams. This is our last chance! I’m getting a boyfriend, so don’t come crying to me later.”
“I won’t. You just make sure you don’t rush into dating some terrible guy.”
“I’m absolutely being careful about that.”
Ichika had been passionately lecturing me about boyfriends, but the second she suddenly went dead serious, I burst out laughing.
That expression change was cheating.
We laughed all the way home after that.
The moment I got home, I kicked off my shoes, peeled off my damp socks and uniform, and changed into comfy clothes.
Mom and Dad were both working late again today. After checking the fridge and confirming dinner was inside, I grabbed a drink and headed to my room.
I didn’t want to lie on my bed before taking a bath, so I used a cushion as a pillow and sprawled out on the floor instead.
As I fiddled with my phone, I noticed both a missed call and a message.
The sender was Taiga.
Thinking something might’ve happened, I quickly opened the message.
As always, it was short.
‘A boyfriend?’
The message had come after the phone call, so he’d probably called just to ask me that.
I hurriedly typed a reply.
I only loved Taiga.
I couldn’t imagine falling for anyone else. I didn’t even want a boyfriend. As long as I could stay by Taiga’s side, I didn’t need one.
I hated the thought of him misunderstanding my feelings.
‘No.’
I wanted to deny it immediately, so my reply ended up as short as one of Taiga’s usual texts.
…Maybe that sounded cold.
Maybe I should’ve written more.
I only started regretting it after pressing send.
Then, almost immediately, my phone rang.
Taiga.
I answered instantly.
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
The words burst out before he could even speak.
“I’ve told you over and over already—I like you, Taiga-san! I literally can’t imagine liking anyone else! A boyfriend is impossible! Seriously, there’s no way!”
Silence came from the other end.
I waited nervously for him to respond.
A few seconds later, he finally spoke.
“…You’re loud.”
“Ah—sorry…”
Looks like I’d gotten too worked up and raised my voice.
Oops.
“He’s not your boyfriend, but you shared an umbrella with him on the way home?”
“That’s because Maeno-kun didn’t have one!”
“So that guy’s Maeno.”
“Yep. Maeno-kun. He kind of looked like a chipmunk. It was cute.”
“There were four of you, right? The guys could’ve shared one umbrella themselves.”
“I think Ichinose-kun likes my friend Ichika… so I figured they’d rather share.”
“Tch. Should’ve just let the guys get soaked.”
“If they caught a cold, I’d feel awful!”
Taiga sounded irritated.
It didn’t seem like he’d gotten into a fight or anything, so why was he so upset?
And honestly…
The way he said it almost sounded like jealousy.
Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.
Even so, I wanted to believe it.
Just a little.
Even a background character wants to dream sometimes.
It didn’t have to be romantic jealousy.
Even if it was just possessiveness toward a friend, I still wanted Taiga to feel jealous over me.
“It’s none of your business.”
“But Ichika asked me to help him! If he got sick after that, it’d obviously be my fault!”
“You like me, right?”
“Yes. I’ve said it a million times already. I like you more than anyone else in the world.”
“Then stop getting all friendly with other guys.”
“Eh…”
“You belong to me.”
My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.
Not because I was hurt.
Because I was happy.
Taiga had just said I belonged to him.
Me.
Someone who was supposed to be nothing more than a background character in the game.
Someone who originally barely even interacted with him.
And yet here, in this world, the person I loved—the character who used to exist only inside a game—recognized me.
Even if only a little.
Even if only enough to think of me as his.
Wasn’t that incredible?
“…I’m happy.”
The words slipped out naturally.
“Taiga-san… you said I’m yours…”
Tears welled up before I realized it.
That single sentence made me feel like my existence had meaning.
Maybe this was how Taiga had felt when the heroine acknowledged him in the original story.
Of course he’d fallen in love with her.
Of course he’d wanted to treasure her forever.
I understood him so well right now.
I was so happy.
“…Hearing you cry makes me feel stupid.”
Taiga clicked his tongue after staying quiet for a long moment.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
The answer was blunt, but not harsh like before.
His voice had softened again—low and gentle, like he was trying to reassure me.
“You’re not mad anymore?”
“…No.”
“That’s good…”
I let out a relieved breath.
Getting yelled at already hurt mentally.
Getting yelled at by the person you love hurt even more.
And once the tension faded, my stomach started growling.
“Now that I’ve calmed down, I’m getting hungry.”
I tried saying it jokingly to lighten the awkward atmosphere still lingering between us.
Then Taiga casually asked:
“Want to go grab food somewhere?”
“—Huh!?”
An absolutely ridiculous sound came out of my mouth.
I mean, yes, I’d gone to a family restaurant with him before.
But that had basically been forced.
And the pancake place didn’t count either because he dragged me there without warning.
Which meant—
This was the first time Taiga had actually invited me somewhere himself!?
What!?
I’d definitely be unbelievably nervous and completely unworthy of it, but I still wanted to go!
I wanted to see the real Taiga again after so long!
“I want to go!”
“Yeah? Then where?”
“I’ll leave it to you! I’ll follow you anywhere!”
A muffled laugh came through the phone.
“Maybe I should cancel after all.”
The moment he said that, all my joy instantly turned into despair.
Taiga’s words were absolute.
If he said come, I’d follow him happily.
If he said never mind, all I could do was obediently accept it.
Nooooo…
That’s so cruel…
Wait, I’m actually devastated.
Just moments ago I’d thought I’d get to see him, and now that hope had been ripped away from me. I felt like a walking corpse.
My HP had dropped to zero.
Please stop drawing monster cards against me.
Someone…
Someone give me a potion.
I’ll even settle for medicinal herbs.
“I’ve suffered severe emotional damage, so I’m going to sleep now… Goodnight…”
“Your reactions really are hilarious.”
“I’m glad I could entertain you… If it makes you smile, then one or two emotional scars are a cheap price to pay…”
Absolutely.
If Taiga smiled for me, I’d gladly do bungee jumping without a cord. I’d become the kind of comedian who does ridiculous stunts on variety shows.
What next?
Jump through a ring of fire?
Kiss a bear?
Eat snake cuisine?
Honestly, right now it felt like I could do anything.
“The difference between now and earlier is insane.”
I could hear Taiga laughing quietly through the phone.
God, even that sounded cool.
Just hearing him laugh restored some of my HP.
What was this? Damage and healing? Was he secretly some kind of white mage? First he destroyed me emotionally, then healed me himself.
What kind of advanced emotional warfare was this?
“When I said maybe I should cancel, I meant cancel going out somewhere.”
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
“At this hour, there’s a good chance we’d run into someone we know.”
No one at school knew about our relationship.
The family restaurant had only worked because we’d gotten lucky. And the pancake place had been far enough away from school that we hadn’t seen anyone we knew.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility of being seen together.
“Naruhodooo!”
The embarrassingly stupid response slipped out before I could stop myself.
Idiot! Stop stretching the word out! You’re a high schooler, not a kindergarten kid! Just say “I see” like a normal person!
While I internally argued with my imaginary military-sergeant version of myself, Taiga suddenly spoke again.
“So come to my place instead.”
For the second time in my life, those words hit me like a truck.
But this time was completely different.
Last time, Taiga hadn’t been in his right mind when he asked me over.
This time, he was perfectly calm.
I mean—I didn’t think anything indecent was going to happen. Call it female intuition.
But being invited to your favorite person’s house carried destructive power all on its own.
The shock was so overwhelming that I dropped my phone onto the floor and immediately slammed my head against the wall in complete confusion.
My brain was in total chaos.
My head hurt.
So this definitely wasn’t a dream.
…Or maybe it was.
After smacking my head against the wall several more times, I picked the phone back up and shakily brought it to my ear.
“Sorry… I panicked a little.”
“Yeah, I heard something. …Were you punching the wall or something?”
“No, uh… my head…”
“Don’t hit your head. You’re weird enough already.”
“Uwah—Taiga-san’s worried about me!”
“I’m worried about your brain specifically. …So? What’re you doing?”
There was only one possible answer.
“I’m going!”
I shot my right fist triumphantly toward the ceiling.
My life is complete. I regret nothing.
Tears welled in my eyes as I prayed for world peace.
What? You have no idea what I’m talking about?
Don’t worry.
Neither do I.
But listen carefully.
Going to your favorite person’s house is sacred territory.
A divine realm.
I might actually die there.
But there was no way I could refuse this invitation.
If I didn’t go now, I’d regret it forever.
The second the call ended, I sprinted to the bathroom, took a shower at lightning speed, and changed clothes just as fast.
