"Arisu…?"
"Don't just call me by my name like that. It's rude."
"……"
Arisu's sharp response made Hirose go rigid.
I was the same.
I hadn't expected her to say something that cutting.
Even in the original story's highlight scenes, she'd never been like this.
"Listening to all that, I honestly can't believe it. Ryuzaki has some kind of hold over me? Don't make me laugh."
Arisu scoffed and continued, her voice cold.
"You don't know anything."
"…Hiragi. That's — that's because you don't know what kind of person Ryuzaki really is."
Hirose kept his expression stiff as he pressed on.
"Ryuzaki was the kind of guy who went out of his way to do terrible things. He bullied the weak, played around with girls. You're being deceived right now, Hiragi!"
Damn. It's all true, so I can't even argue.
At Hirose's words, Arisu glanced at me for a moment.
Her face was usually easy to read.
But strangely, right now, I couldn't read anything at all.
Had she lost faith in me?
Or was she just disappointed?
The uncertainty fed a growing unease.
"…Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Just because you have a mouth doesn't mean you get to say whatever you want."
Arisu spoke quietly.
"You've been talking over everyone this whole time. It's genuinely annoying."
"……"
"I know. I already know Ryuzaki wasn't exactly someone to be proud of. My friends have told me so many times my ears are worn out from it."
She pulled her gaze from me and looked directly at Hirose.
"You're all the same. Pretending to know everything when you know nothing."
She took a brief breath and continued.
"What kind of person Ryuzaki is, what he thinks about, how hard he's been fighting to change…"
The sound of rain and Arisu's cool voice wove together.
"…Nobody ever tried to find out — they just pointed fingers."
Her murmur reached my ears with startling clarity.
"Ryuzaki hasn't done anything to me. If anything, he's helped me. So stop jumping to conclusions."
"……"
"If you're done here, don't get in our—"
Just before things could get any worse.
I placed my hand on top of Arisu's head.
"…Ryuzaki?"
"I appreciate it. But let's leave it here."
I held her gaze for a moment, then turned to Hirose.
"What Arisu just said is true. I've never threatened her or held anything over her."
"That's…"
"I can tell you came out here because you were worried about her. But if she doesn't want it, doesn't that make it meaningless? Think it over."
Arisu and Hirose.
They were both smart, perceptive kids.
They just didn't understand each other — and so they'd mistaken the other for an enemy.
And since I was at the center of that misunderstanding,
the job of mediating between them fell to me.
Hirose's eyes wavered.
"…Are you really Ryuzaki?"
"I am."
"No, I mean… so then…"
Unable to hide his confusion, Hirose stumbled over his words.
"Were you always capable of having a rational conversation like this?"
"What, were you expecting some kind of animal back then?"
"Well…"
"Fair enough. Can't really deny that."
I gave a wry smile and nodded.
"I was immature back then. I thought the whole world revolved around me."
"……"
"I'm trying to change now. I don't know if trying will actually make a difference, but it beats giving up."
I dipped my head slightly.
"I'm sorry for back then, Hirose."
"You're kind of scaring me."
Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about the way he'd grabbed us and started picking a fight out of nowhere.
But — *the old Ryuzaki really was a complete piece of work.*
It was a reason I could understand. So just this once, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
He wasn't a bad person at heart, after all.
And I couldn't forget that this guy was the protagonist of this world.
The rom-com protagonist — beloved by the universe by nature.
If I made an enemy of him for no reason, my already exhausting life could easily tip into hard mode.
"But you should apologize too."
"…What?"
"You both did something wrong. That's only fair, isn't it?"
Hirose was quiet for a moment.
"…Yeah."
Then he lowered his head without resistance.
"You're right. Thinking about it again, I was too caught up in my own assumptions. And like you said, Hiragi — I never actually tried to understand. I'm sorry. Both of you."
"Good. Thank you."
"……Hmph."
Arisu still hadn't cooled down — she didn't even look at Hirose, let alone accept his apology.
Hirose scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then forced a smile and spoke up.
"W-well, since we've made up, want to grab lunch together? My treat."
Ah. That's a bit…
"No."
"Huh?"
"We're eating together. Just the two of us."
Before I could even open my mouth, Arisu shot him down flat.
"But still…"
"Read the room."
"Ah… right. Sorry."
Faced with that firm refusal, Hirose finally raised the white flag. He scratched the back of his head with an awkward grin and stepped aside.
"Let's go, Ryuzaki."
"Yeah."
We left Hirose behind and headed back toward the convenience store.
Once we'd put some distance between us, Arisu scrunched up her face and grumbled.
"Seriously, what is wrong with that guy? Is he actually a high schooler?"
Watching the original heroine treat the protagonist like some weirdo…
It was a genuinely strange feeling.
"He's just young. He'll grow out of it."
"…Aren't you and him the same age?"
"Time is relative."
Arisu let out a small laugh.
"Looking at you, I can kind of believe that."
"What do you mean?"
"Ryuzaki, you're just… I don't know. You seem like an adult."
She glanced up at me and went on.
"Like someone who's lived much longer than me. You think deeply about things. You could tell just from the way you stepped in back there."
That hit a little too close to home.
Because technically, she was right — I had lived longer than her.
Fortunately, we arrived at the convenience store at just the right moment.
Arisu went inside, and a short while later came back out holding a clear umbrella.
"Got it. Now we can walk without getting soaked. Where were we?"
I scrambled to change the subject.
"Anyway — thank you."
"Hm? For what?"
"You got angry for my sake."
I scratched my cheek lightly.
"It was a first for me. Someone getting angry on my behalf."
Maybe not for Ryuzaki — but for me, it truly was.
Everyone had always been too busy being angry *at* me.
So honestly, I was moved.
"Ohhh~ So, did you fall for me?"
"I almost — no, what are you saying."
"Pfft. Your reaction is hilarious. So you were touched, is what you're saying?"
"Yeah. I was."
"Really?"
Arisu's eyes lit up.
"Then I have something I want to ask you. Two things, actually. Will you answer?"
"Go ahead."
I nodded.
Like someone who'd prepared the questions in advance, Arisu opened her mouth right away.
Her voice had turned genuinely serious.
"Ryuzaki. I've been wanting to ask this for a while."
"Yeah."
Arisu's eyes met mine.
"What does it feel like — to love something?"
…Out of nowhere?
Honestly, if I'd been drinking anything, I would've spit it out. I barely managed to collect myself and asked back.
"…Why are you asking me that?"
"Because you love studying."
"Oh. That's what you meant."
I thought it was something else entirely.
I wiped away a cold sweat.
Arisu smiled with a hint of self-consciousness.
"The truth is… I've never genuinely loved anything before."
"I thought you liked studying?"
"That's something my mom made me do. It's not something I do because I enjoy it."
To get grades like that from something she didn't even enjoy.
It hit me all over again — the girl in front of me was one of the Five Genius Freshmen of Academy City.
That aside, I still owed her an answer.
"It's hard to put into words. Loving something is just… loving it."
"Doesn't your heart feel like it's about to burst?"
"Maybe. It's different for everyone."
"That's useless. So how would I even know if I love something or not?"
"There is one way to know for certain."
Arisu's ears perked up at that.
And I quietly recited something I'd learned in my past life.
"You find out when you lose it. That's when you finally understand how much you loved it."
That day.
When my parents ran away.
When the eviction notice was plastered on the door.
When even the freedom to learn was taken from me.
That was when I understood.
That I had loved studying.
"…But if you only find out after losing it, isn't that too late?"
"That's exactly why it's precious. People who already know what they love — they're the ones everyone calls lucky."
Arisu stopped walking and stared into the air, as if turning something over in her mind.
I didn't interrupt her thoughts.
The fact that she'd stopped mid-step meant she was thinking deeply enough to warrant it.
A moment passed.
"I… see. I think I understand a little."
Arisu gave a small nod and looked at me.
Her eyes were clearer than before.
"I'm glad it helped. So — what's the second question?"
"Oh, that? It's nothing much."
Arisu looked me straight in the eye and asked.
"What's your relationship with that girl Yuuka he mentioned earlier?"
…Hm.
I could've sworn her eyes were clear just a moment ago.
***
My first time going out with someone my own age.
To put it simply — it was pretty fun.
"Let's eat this and that too!"
"…Didn't we just finish eating?"
"What are you talking about? We're just getting started."
We shared food at a restaurant together.
"Do you really need that many?"
"Cats get bored easily. It's better to buy a few and rotate them."
"Oh, spoken like a true expert."
"Heh, feel free to compliment me more."
"I don't think it warrants that much."
"Ugh."
We picked out toys for Snowy together.
"Did you find what you wanted?"
"Sorry. Everything looks good to me."
"You're probably the only person in the world who looks at workbooks and says they look good…"
"Should I say they look beautiful instead?"
"…That's not right either."
"This is hard."
We stopped by the bookstore I'd always wanted to visit and picked out workbooks together.
"Pfft! This photo came out so weird! Look at this, Ryuzaki."
"This one doesn't count. We're taking it again."
"No way~ I'm putting it in my phone case."
We stepped into one of those boxy photo booths and took pictures together.
Every single thing was new and unfamiliar.
But maybe that was exactly why it was so much fun.
"Thank you, Arisu. I got to experience a lot of new things because of you."
"How many times are you going to say thank you?"
"Gratitude doesn't wear out like a physical object."
"Oh, that actually sounds kind of profound."
Arisu giggled and stretched with quiet satisfaction.
"Ahh~ that was fun."
"We should head back now, right?"
"Yeah… tutoring's soon. But thanks to you, I had a good time — I think I can push through."
Then a question surfaced in my mind.
"By the way — why me?"
"Hm?"
"You have plenty of friends, Arisu. So I was wondering why you'd bother spending the day with someone like me who doesn't even know how to have fun."
There had to be more than enough people who'd come running the moment she said the word.
So why me, of all people?
At my question, Arisu blinked a few times.
Then she looked at me with a playful glint in her eyes and spoke.
"Because I like it."
……?
"Spending time with you, Ryuzaki."
"……"
"Ahaha! Your face right now is priceless!"
"Glad you're entertained."
"Yep. Completely. Oh, I should've taken a photo of that expression."
What am I going to do with this little troublemaker.
I'd love to flick her on the forehead, but between the umbrella and all the bags, I don't have a free hand.
Count yourself lucky.
"But it's not a lie. Being with you, Ryuzaki… it's comfortable, somehow."
"Is that so."
"Yeah. And besides… if I keep stealing your study time like this, first place stays mine, right? Uhihihi."
"That last part was a lie."
"Was it? Try and figure it out."
Arisu let out a small laugh, then checked the time on her phone.
She clicked her tongue as if reluctant, then waved.
"…Ah, I really have to go. Time's up. See you at school tomorrow!"
Arisu turned and started running.
I watched her go for a moment, then called out.
"Arisu."
"Hm? Yeah? Did you have something else to say?"
"There's something I want to ask."
A question that had been nagging at me since this morning.
She might not like it — but I still wanted to know.
"Are we… just regular friends?"
Was I allowed to call her a friend?
When I asked for that permission, Arisu—
"Haaah…"
Froze completely.
Then her eyes trembled, and her face flushed red in an instant.
"…T-that kind of thing—! You're supposed to ask after you've gotten closer first! You idiot!"
She shouted that and immediately spun around and fled.
"……?"
I stood there, staring blankly at her retreating figure.
The rain had stopped at some point.
Under a sky that had cleared to blue.
Arisu ran away with her face burning red.
What on earth.