Chapter 18
Kanzaki’s Emotions
After walking with Kanzaki for about ten minutes, she stopped in front of a certain place.
“Kanzaki?” I asked.
“I’m going in.”
With that brief statement, she entered the shop.
…It turned out to be a karaoke place, and I felt a bit deflated at first, but then I thought that maybe this was exactly the kind of private space necessary to convey what she wanted to say.
…Thinking that way only made me more nervous. But being nervous wouldn’t help, so I relaxed my shoulders a bit and followed Kanzaki into the karaoke room.
We entered the assigned room together. For two people, it was spacious enough, though it might feel cramped if four were in there. I figured it would be comfortable enough for just the two of us. Sitting side by side on the sofa, I prepared myself for what was coming.
“So, Kanzaki, we’re not singing right now, right?” I asked.
“You can sing if you want, but only after I’ve said what I need to say,” she replied.
“I see… so, what exactly is it you want to say?”
I asked her directly, and Kanzaki, looking serious, began speaking.
“Before I say what I want to say, can I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“…Do you want to be in a romantic relationship with Yuzumi-chan?”
“Huh…?”
I froze at her question. From all our previous conversations, I had made it clear that I didn’t want that kind of relationship with Yuzumi, and Kanzaki should have known that. So, I assumed she was asking just to confirm.
In that case, I’d answer honestly without adding anything extra.
“No, I don’t. Yuzumi is like an important little sister to me.”
Kanzaki didn’t hesitate. She sharpened her eyes slightly and said:
“Then why were you holding hands with Yuzumi-chan on Saturday?”
From her tone, I realized this was the real topic. Ouch… it was an uncomfortable subject. But I had my own reasoning for that situation, so I explained it to her.
“At first, I wanted to refuse, but I didn’t want it to seem like I was looking at Yuzumi as a girl. So, I made sure she knew it was just as siblings and held her hand with that in mind.”
After hearing my explanation, Kanzaki looked exasperated.
“That doesn’t matter to Yuzumi-chan. Either way, she got to hold your hand… And anyone watching from the outside would just see you two as a couple, you know?”
“No matter how it looked from the outside, we are siblings.”
“The problem is that you’re allowing things that look like a couple from the outside. Even at the aquarium when Yuzumi-chan hugged you… hugging a sibling outside the house isn’t normal.”
…For some reason, Kanzaki seemed a bit angry. Perhaps she saw a contradiction between my words and actions, or maybe there was another reason. Either way, I knew I had to take her words seriously and talk about it properly.
“At the time, someone bumped into us by chance, and it became a bit of a gray area, but I really did try to argue with Yuzumi then,” I explained.
“Yeah… if I hadn’t bumped into you then, I’m sure you would have kept arguing even while being hugged by her.”
If you hadn’t bumped into me back then…?
…I see.
“So it was you who bumped into me at that time, Kanzaki?”
“Yes. I was annoyed at you and wanted to change the situation, so I bumped into you.”
“Sure, it helped in the end… but why were you annoyed with me then?”
Kanzaki lowered her face, placed her hand on her chest, and said:
“It’s different from the last time you kept secrets from me. Not just annoyed… I’m not that insensitive to my own feelings. I think this is—”
