Epilogue | After the Dream

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Mera and Shiroyama had left, leaving just me and Natsume in the science room.

I watched quietly as he cleaned up various things.

Then Natsume turned around… and said hesitantly,

“…Makishima. Is that really okay?”

That.

He meant the clear handprint left on my left cheek.

Of course, it was Mera’s doing.

…That girl, acting all like she’d moved on, still landed one final hit, huh.

“Hmph. Well, I’m used to this much.”

“Used to it…?”

“Honestly, it’s way better than when I almost got locked up back in middle school.”

“What’s that!? Some love triangle mess!?”

Oh?

Looks like Natsume didn’t know about that one.

“I told you before about juggling five girls in middle school, including Himari-chan, right? Things got messy, my cheating got exposed, and the other four teamed up to try and lock me up. Man, getting involved with a college girl living alone was a bad move. Ever since then, I’ve been more careful about vetting the girls I hit on.”

“Huh? What’s that, a joke?”

“Haha. Who knows? Maybe, maybe not?”

I laughed heartily and delivered the punchline.

“By the way, the one who physically saved me back then was Rin-chan.”

“…The big debt you mentioned owing Enomoto-san?”

Natsume’s face went pale.

In his mind, he’s probably picturing a monstrous Rin-chan tearing through those girls in a heroic rampage. …Well, he’s not entirely wrong.

I pulled the broken fan from my chest pocket. Forcing it open… one of the ribs fell off.

“If you’re gonna date Rin-chan, absolutely don’t cheat! That’s the final lesson from your womanizing master!”

“Shut up! I never took you as a master!”

He’s reacting so sensitively.

Lately, he’s been freaking out over the BL rumors the girls have been spreading.

I turned to Natsume again.

“Natsume. This time, I lost to you guys.”

“You guys? You mean Mera-san?”

Natsume looked puzzled, but I didn’t answer.

Himari-chan’s resolve isn’t something to tell this guy.

I tapped my palm with the broken fan.

“Don’t you want something? As compensation for all the trouble, I’ll pay for anything.”

“…”

Natsume showed a thoughtful expression.

Then, he deliberately opened a drawer in the steel shelf at the back.

Pulling out a cardboard box… he took out a single notebook.

“About that incident last summer…”

An unexpected response.

“You borrowed money from Hibari-san to help Himari, right?”

“…I see.”

I understood what Natsume was getting at.

I shrugged and agreed to his request.

“It’s something Hibari-san made for personal use, but… I’ll bring that IOU tomorrow.”

[T/N: IOU is usually an informal document acknowledging debt]

“Please. …That debt is something I should bear.”

Man, what a goody-two-shoes.

It’s not a small amount. He could’ve just let someone else deal with it.

(Well, this means I can’t meddle in their high school lives anymore.)

Convenient for me, I guess…

I had no intention of messing with their love lives any further.

“Well then, Natsume. Have a high school life with no regrets.”

“…Yeah.”

I left the science room first.

My steps felt a little lighter.

Instead of heading to club practice… I went to the rooftop.

The rainy season had ended, the sky was clear, and it felt good.

The humid breeze from the Hyuga Sea was the same as when I was a kid.

It reminded me of my foolish memories, which was utterly unpleasant.

I took a small white flower from my pocket.

A preserved sparrow gourd flower.

Holding it up to the sky, I vaguely recalled the veil from earlier.

—Its flower language is “rebirth.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

The other side picked up immediately, and an exaggeratedly cheerful voice came through.

“Shinji-kun? Wow, this is rare~ What’s up~?”

Kureha-san’s voice was the same as back then, and for some reason, I suddenly felt like I was back to being an elementary school brat.

No, maybe to Kureha-san, I’ve always been that brat.

“Well, uh…”

My usually glib tongue was, for some reason, rusty today.

My throat was dry, my hands trembled, and I could barely feel myself standing.

But my resolve didn’t waver, and I blurted out without context, riding the momentum.

“I’ve always loved you, Kureha-san.”

“…”

Kureha-san fell silent, as if slightly surprised.

The sound of my own heartbeat was deafening, and my body felt so cold I thought I might die.

Then, in a calm voice… not her usual saccharine tone, but the mature voice of an older woman, she said,

“I think of you as a good friend, Shinji-kun.”

At those words, I felt a slight choking sensation…

But the next moment, my mouth rattled off the usual frivolous words.

“Kureha-san. Do you even have same-sex friends?”

“Ugh, Shinji-kun, that’s mean! There’s Miko-chan, Himari-chan…”

“Those are employees, aren’t they? What, no way…”

“N-No, that’s not it! I have them, I totally have them~!”

We continued the pointless chatter for a bit, catching up on recent events, and ended with greetings to each other’s families.

The end of a ten-year love, in the end, was something like this.

It’s not that shocking.

Things just turned out as they did.

The will to win… the desire to win had long since faded.

I admired her warm, sun-like smile.

No matter how strong and sticky an obsession, it eventually becomes a faint memory and weathers away.

That’s what growing up means, so maybe people always wish to stay children forever.

“…So? How long are you gonna eavesdrop from there?”

I’d noticed the sneaky gaze peeking from the rooftop door.

And as expected… Natsume awkwardly showed his face.

“What’s up? Weren’t you cleaning up the accessories?”

“Uh, well, you seemed off, so…”

“So you followed a guy around, huh? That’s why those silly girls spread all sorts of unnecessary rumors about you.”

“That’s unrelated, isn’t it!?”

He retorted seriously to my teasing… then said with a serious face,

“So… you okay?”

“…”

I let out a sharp laugh.

“Being worried about by the guy who delivered the final blow, huh? Did you think I’d jump off the rooftop in shock?”

“…Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past you.”

As if that’d happen…

Does this guy think I’m some opera protagonist or something?

“As expected of the hero who dumped his lover on Christmas. A mere mortal like me can’t comprehend you.”

“Don’t mock me. I’m not trying to laugh at you or anything.”

He said, a bit embarrassed.

“We’re friends, right?”

“…”

I was a little surprised.

…Come to think of it, yeah.

We’ve never made any sort of pact like this between us.

—I clearly remember when we started high school.

At first, I just wanted to tease him because he was Hibari-san’s favorite. I thought if I could pull him to my side, that perfect superhuman would be so frustrated.

Our seats happened to be close, so I tapped his shoulder in greeting.

“Hey, it’s fate. Let’s get along.”

“…!”

And what do you know?

Like a carp snapping at bait, he turned bright red and leaned in close.

“Y-Yeah! Let’s, uh, be friends!”

…I had to fight so hard not to laugh when he came at me full throttle like that. Back then, I thought I’d easily manipulate him…

I let out a small chuckle.

“To think I’d be called a friend by the likes of you? That’s the end for me.”

“Hey! That’s exactly what’s wrong with you!”

Man, he’s a guy who responds to every jab.

Ignoring his frantic shouting, I leaned against the rooftop fence.

“Well then…”

I gazed at the field below.

Tennis practice had already started, but… I just wasn’t in the mood to join.

“What should I do from now on, huh?”

I muttered to myself.

Maybe start a new hobby like this guy, I thought.

Thinking such cliché thoughts, I laughed a bit at my own absurdity.