Chapter 98: Beautiful Girls, Ready for the School Festival (Part 2)

What kind of timing is that to come back!? I’m breaking out in a cold sweat all by myself.

While I’m silently panicking, Ryouji approaches Aoi-kun.

"Ah-ah, hello. I’m Tagawa, Ayumi’s friend. Um… you’re a senpai, right?"

"I’m Aoi. Different school, but I’m a second-year. Nice to meet you, Tagawa-kun."

I’m mentally screaming this is bad, this is bad, but the two of them are talking completely normally. Actually, wait—Ryouji uses polite speech with upperclassmen!? He almost never talks to anyone older than him, so hearing it feels strangely fresh.

"I see. So you’re the friend Sakurai-san mentioned…"

Aoi-kun glances over at me.

Our eyes meet, and I jolt a little. When he notices, he smiles gently before turning back to Ryouji.

"Are the two of you handing out flyers right now? Sorry if I ended up stopping you."

"Yeah, Ayumi was tired, so we were just taking a quick break."

"I see. By the way…"

Aoi-kun trails off. He looks away from Ryouji for a moment, thinking, then quickly meets his eyes again.

"…By the way, Tagawa-kun, you and Sakurai-san seem pretty close."

"Well, we’ve been friends since middle school. Back then, Ayumi didn’t really have many friends… actually, I was pretty much the only one. And since we live close to each other, we spent a lot of time together."

"Hey, Ryouji! Don’t go spreading around things from back then!"

You don’t need to expose that I was a lonely loser! It’s true I only ever hung out with Ryouji, but still!

"I see… that makes sense."

Aoi-kun’s eyes are gentle as always. What is he thinking?

I can’t read minds, so I have no idea what he feels toward Ryouji—or toward me, standing beside him.

…Ryouji and Aoi-kun keep chatting happily for a while. Since they’ve basically left me out, I sip the orange juice Ryouji bought for me. For the record, it’s 30% real juice, so it’s nice and sweet.

Ryouji takes swigs of his soda while talking with Aoi-kun.

"Oh—Sakurai-san, sorry for eating into your break time. I should go look around the festival with my friends a bit."

Aoi-kun checks the time, then bows apologetically. He must feel bad for keeping us so long.

"See you, Sakurai-san. I’ll definitely come watch the play. The costume looks great on you."

After saying that, he disappears into the crowd with his friends.

Once he’s fully out of sight, I finally let out a breath.

It’s not like we did anything wrong. It’s not like I’m dating Ryouji, or dating Aoi-kun, so it’s not cheating or some dramatic love triangle or anything.

But somehow, I still feel guilty.

Not guilty in a boyfriend-girlfriend way… just guilty, as if I’d betrayed him somehow.

"He’s a good-looking guy. Didn’t know you knew someone like that…"

Ryouji grins.

"He’s someone from that inn we stayed at when we all went to the beach."

"What!? So he’s seen fresh-out-of-the-bath Ayumi and swimsuit Ayumi!?"

"W-well, yeah."

"Damn it! I’m so jealous! I should’ve asked if he had pictures!"

Ryouji dramatically clutches his head. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any photos.

"Don’t tell me… a summer fling or something!?"

"There was nothing romantic like that. We just had meals together sometimes…"

"…Seriously?"

Ryouji’s face twitches a little.

And I immediately regret saying something unnecessary. Why did I bring that up now of all times?

I mean, going on what was basically a date with Aoi-kun really did happen. But if Ryouji misunderstands…

"Don’t tell me you’re dating him… or something?"

"N-no, nothing like that…"

"Th-then… do you like him?"

"I don’t dislike him."

I fumble the answer. I couldn’t immediately shout “I don’t like him!” Because… well… I don’t hate Aoi-kun. It’s not like that.

"I-I see…"

He falls silent.

A heavy awkwardness hangs between us. I don’t know what to say. If only I could just blurt out that I like Ryouji—but that would only make things worse. For him, I’m just a “friend”…

"Anyway, let’s get back to handing out flyers."

Letting out a quiet breath, Ryouji takes my hand.

And just like that, he starts walking. I’m so shocked I can’t react. It’s basically like we’re holding hands. It makes me both happy and flustered.

"Ehh!? W-wait, Ryouji, don’t drag me like that!"

I hurry after him as he marches ahead.

"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden!?"

Thinking I might trip, I tug on his hand. He stops with an “oh crap” expression.

"Sorry. I just… got impatient, I guess."

"Honestly. You know I walk slow."

"What, my bad, my bad. I’ll make sure to escort the princess properly from now on."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

To be honest, the way Ryouji marched ahead earlier was a little scary.

Did I cause that by talking about Aoi-kun? If that made Ryouji think something like “Ayumi belongs to me,” I’d actually be pretty happy but… yeah, no way.

I glance up at Ryouji’s face. He’s already back to his usual self, laughing like nothing happened.

…Yeah. I knew it.

Maybe his feelings are similar to what I felt when he got that love letter—like a sense of loss, afraid a close friend might drift away. If I’m an important friend to him, that alone makes me happy, but…

Right now, that’s a little painful.

N-no, stop it, stop it! I’ve got a play to perform, I can’t be in this mood!

I give my cheeks a firm pat pat to snap myself out of it. Ryouji looks at me like I’m doing something strange, but it’s necessary! We’re right in front of the school entrance, so everyone passing by is staring, which is… yeah, embarrassing. Let’s not talk about that.

In any case, I can’t mope around today. I need to focus on making the play—something everyone worked so hard on—a success.

"Huh? Ryouji and Sakurai-chan?"

Just as I reset my mood, someone calls from behind us again.

When I turn around, Yazaki-san, wearing another school’s uniform, is waving.

"Ah, Yazaki-san!"

"Heyyy! Sakurai-chan. Oooh, is that the costume? It’s super cute! Can I take a picture? I can, right? Okay, I’m taking one!"

Without waiting for an answer, Yazaki-san clings to me and starts snapping photos. She’s always like this—at our part-time job too—charging forward without hesitation.

"Oh, Ryouji, you can go back to work if you want. Sakurai-chan, come with me and let’s go eat something good, okay?"

"Hey, hey, Rie-neechan! Don’t ignore me again like that!"

"Nah, joking! I’m waiting for my boyfriend, so I can’t move from here."

What!?

Ryouji and I look at each other.

"Yazaki-san, you have a boyfriend?"

"Hahaha, yep! Got one over the summer. And now I’m using this cute kouhai’s culture festival as an excuse for a date. That’s why I’m waiting out here at the entrance."

"Rie-neechan’s boyfriend… is he human?"

"Ryouji, I will kick you."

I’m surprised, but honestly, it’s not strange at all for someone like Yazaki-san.

She’s always kind at work, not shy like me, easy to talk to… I’m a bit jealous. I wish I had even a fraction of her boldness.

"Sakurai-chan could totally get a boyfriend too! You’re super cute!"

"Uh… I…"

"Anyway! Not my business to meddle! And Ryouji! People change, got it? Me, you, Sakurai-chan—we all change. Don’t forget that."

"W-what’s that supposed to mean…"

"Hmm. Well, whatever. If you make Sakurai-chan cry, I’m pelting you with raw eggs. Ah—my boyfriend just messaged me. Okay, see ya!"

She gives my head a light tap, waves with a bright smile, and then dashes off toward her boyfriend.

She really is like a whirlwind.

"Yazaki-san’s such a good person. I really look up to her."

"Wait, seriously!? You want to be like Rie-neechan? Please don’t."

Ryouji grimaces when he hears me say that. Well, for him she’s an older sister he can’t talk back to, but for me she’s a dependable senpai at work.

I want to be able to say things like “Yeah, I’m happy with my boyfriend,” with the same confidence she just did.

Thinking that, I glance toward Ryouji’s face.

"But yeah… people really do change."

I don’t know if he noticed my gaze or not, but Ryouji mutters under his breath.

It seems like the news about Yazaki-san getting a boyfriend has affected him too. Well, she’s basically like an older sister figure who’s always been around, so of course it would.

After we finish handing out all the flyers at the entrance, the two of us decide to head back to our classroom.

As we walk down the hallway, we run into Moeka-chan, Aika-chan, and also Sakurako-chan and Yoshino-san, all holding crepes.

I’m running into an absurd number of acquaintances today. Maybe it’s because my stage costume is attracting way too much attention.

"Oh my, Ayumi-san. I suppose this is the first time since summer break?"

"Hello, Yoshino-san."

"Ayumiii! Thanks for wearing the costume!"

"Hi, Aika-chan. And thanks for making the costume."

Calm and elegant as always, Yoshino-san. And energetic as always, Aika-chan.

"Hehehe. Only Ayumi-chan can really make my costume shine! If my sister wears it, she ends up looking like some low-quality gag-anime character!"

"Wait—stop! Aika! Why would you say something you absolutely didn’t need to say!?"

Moeka-chan clamps a hand over Aika-chan’s mouth.

"Well… you can’t really compare Moeka to Ayumi-chan."

Sakurako-chan sighs, giving Moeka-chan a pitying look.

"Are you two done with the play’s promotion for now?"

Yoshino-san gently smooths my hair with her hand. That quiet kindness really does make her feel like an older sister.

Ryouji and I both nod.

"I see—well, we just finished passing out flyers too."

"That’s right. So we figured we’d look around the festival until lunch."

Our class had been split into several groups for flyer distribution. Moeka-chan’s group must have finished way earlier and already started enjoying the festival together.

Well, if Ryouji and I hadn’t taken breaks or stopped to chat with people we knew, we would’ve finished much sooner too.

"Hey hey, since we’re all here, Ayumi-chan should come with us!"

At Aika-chan’s invitation, I glance at Ryouji, unsure what to do.

"Go ahead. I’ll go walk around with Yoshikawa or something."

I kind of wanted to walk around the festival with him… but spending time with friends at a culture festival is great too.

After a moment of indecision, I decide to join Moeka-chan and the others.

"Ayumi-san."

We’ve just parted ways with Ryouji when Yoshino-san calls out to me.

She leans in close, her lips near my ear, and whispers.

"The costume looks lovely on you. I’m sure he is completely smitten."

The moment her words hit me, my temperature skyrockets.

"A—um…"

How does she always know everything?

She chuckles softly and strokes my head again.

"You seem to be worrying about something, but… it’s fine to be your usual self. And when the moment really matters, just try a little harder than normal."

"Okay…"

Talking to Yoshino-san wraps me in a warm, calming feeling.

Today I’ve run into so many people I know. Every single one of them is different, yet kind in their own ways. Being surrounded by people like that… it really makes me feel happy.

"Ayumi-chaaan! Yoshino-saaaan! Let’s gooo!"

Noticing we’ve fallen behind, Moeka-chan calls out.

"Comiiiing!"

We both answer at the same time, exchanging smiles.

"Alright then, let’s enjoy the festival. There are lots of delicious things to try."

Speaking of which, the crepes everyone was eating earlier looked really good.

And there’s cotton candy, tapioca drinks—so many treats. Since we’re here, we might as well snack our way through the whole festival together!