Chapter 28
Kanzuku Wants a Different Relationship
—That night, it was decided that everyone would sleep in my room.
I would sleep on my bed, while Yuka and Kanzuku would lay out futons on the floor.
I offered to give them the bed, but both Yuka and Kanzuku were adamant that they didn’t want the other one sleeping there.
And, according to them, if I slept on the floor, I’d end up being too close to one of them—which apparently was “no good.”
So, in the end, I just slept on my bed as planned.
The next morning, Yuka cheerfully announced in a loud voice:
“Alright! Kanzuku-san’s sleepover is over, so please pack up your things and get out of our house!”
Her tone was energetic and her smile bright—but her words were pretty cruel.
However, Kanzuku remained calm and replied evenly.
“You’re right, the sleepover ends today. But I’ll be staying here until tonight.”
“Why!?”
Yuka’s eyes went wide in disbelief at Kanzuku’s statement.
“Because who knows what kind of weird things you’d do to Ichihito once I’m gone?”
“Ugh, seriously~!”
And with that, Kanzuku really did stay at our house until evening.
When night finally came and she said she’d be heading home, both Yuka and I walked with her to the front door.
“Yuka,” I told her, “I’m going to walk Kanzuku home. You stay here and keep watch over the house.”
“Ehh~ You don’t have to! She’ll be fine!”
“It’s already dark out. I’d worry if Kanzuku went alone.”
After I said that, Yuka looked at me for a moment, then asked nervously:
“If you say so, fine… but you better come right back, okay? Don’t even think about going into Kanzuku-san’s house!”
“Got it. —So, Kanzuku, let me walk you home.”
“If you insist, then I’ll gladly take you up on that offer.”
And so, with Yuka seeing us off from the doorway, Kanzuku and I stepped outside and began walking together toward her house.
On the way, I brought up what had happened over the past two days.
“When you said you were staying over yesterday, I didn’t really get what you meant—but looking back, maybe that was for the best.”
“Right? If I hadn’t been there, who knows what that Yuka-chan might’ve done.”
“Yeah… at least now I don’t have to worry about her trying anything tomorrow, since it’s Sunday.”
As we talked and reflected for a while, Kanzuku suddenly stopped walking.
Her expression turned serious as she looked at me.
“Hey, Ichihito… there’s something I really want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
When I turned to face her—her face was much closer than I expected.
It startled me a little, but she looked straight into my eyes and said firmly:
“I’m not just your friend, Ichihito.”
“…Huh?”
Not just a friend?
I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but Kanzuku continued.
“I want to stay by your side… but as something different from just a friend.”
“Kanzuku, what do you—”
“That’s all I can say for now, so don’t ask me anything else. Even this much… took a lot of courage.”
After saying that, Kanzuku started walking again.
I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant—it felt like the answer was on the tip of my mind but out of reach.
Still feeling a bit uneasy, I followed alongside her.
About twenty minutes later, we arrived in front of her house.
“Thanks for walking me home,” she said.
“Don’t mention it. —Well, see you at school on Monday.”
I started to turn to leave, but Kanzuku called out:
“Wait!”
I stopped and looked back.
Her cheeks were tinged red, and she spoke shyly, almost stammering.
“Um… it doesn’t have to be today, but sometime soon… will you come to my house?”
Yuka had told me to come home right away tonight, so Kanzuku must have realized that.
It wouldn’t work tonight—but…
“Alright. I’ll come.”
There was no reason to refuse on another day, so I nodded.
“R-really!? Then it’s a promise!”
“Yeah, a promise.”
Kanzuku smiled brightly, and I smiled back before turning toward home.
—Maybe my relationship with Kanzuku would start to change, little by little.
I didn’t know what the future held,
but if things were going to change… somehow, the thought made me look forward to it.
