Chapter 11: The Past and the Promise

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Translator: Soafp

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“What's your name?”

Back when Akane-san was hospitalized, I went several times with Aoi to visit her.

It was during those visits that I met this guy.

“I'm Yamato Makino. And you are?”

“I'm Toru Murase. So… you're Yamato, huh.”

I first met Toru, who would later become my best friend, in that hospital where Akane-san was staying.

Toru's father was a doctor, and his mother a nurse, both working at the same hospital.

“I hear you're pretty smart.”

Even though this was our first meeting, Toru seemed to already know about me.

“No, not really.”

“Tch, don't act all humble.”

Unlike now, Toru back then gave off this arrogant, overbearing impression.

“Yamato-kun, my dad gave me some pocket money. Let's go buy some juice!”

Smiling, Aoi held my hand, tugging me toward the vending machine at the hospital entrance.

Seeing this, Toru raised his voice with a displeased look.

“W-wait, Aoi! I'll buy it for you!”

For some reason, Toru tried angrily to pull apart our joined hands.

“What are you doing!? Murase-kun, go away!”

Not liking Toru's behavior, Aoi raised her voice against him.

“Come on, Yamato-kun.”

Aoi pulled my hand, putting distance between us and Toru as if running away.

Each time we went to the hospital, I remember seeing the same kind of exchange between Toru and Aoi.

Looking back now, I think Toru… already liked Aoi back then.

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When Akane-san passed away, Aoi was devastated.

Her father, Daisuke-san, took time off work to stay close to her… but still, Aoi closed herself off, skipping school and shutting herself in at home.

“Aoi, want to play a game or something…?”

“…No, I'm fine.”

I tried all sorts of things to cheer her up.

With my mom's help, I baked cookies like Akane-san used to do…

I even spent all my little allowance on a present for her. But Aoi remained withdrawn.

After a while she returned to school, but she looked downcast and wouldn't talk to anyone.

I thought maybe it was better to leave her alone, so I stopped calling out to her.

“Hey, Makino-kun! Want to hang out after school!?”

“Eh? Ah… well…”

One day, a classmate invited me out.

Since I usually spent all my time with Aoi, it had been a while since I'd hung out with anyone else.

“Come on, let's go!”

“…Yeah, I guess…”

Of course I was worried about Aoi, but I thought pushing her too much might only make things worse.

“W-wait! Yamato!”

“Huh? Aoi?”

“Come home with me!”

The same Aoi who had been withdrawn until just now suddenly grabbed my hand and ran.

From that day on, Aoi began to recover, though I still don't really know what stirred her heart back then.

Wasn't it around that time… that Aoi started calling me just “Yamato” without honorifics?

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“Yamato-kun, thank you for everything.”

Aoi's father, Daisuke-san, was overjoyed that his daughter was getting back on her feet.

“You really are so talented, just like your father.”

My dad worked at Daisuke-san's company. In other words, Daisuke-san was my dad's boss.

They were close — sometimes meeting on weekends, drinking together, or talking about work.

But then, when I was in middle school…

One day, my dad and I were visiting Aoi's house.

While I was watching TV with Aoi, I suddenly heard shouting — my dad and Daisuke-san were arguing fiercely.

“Yamato, we're leaving!”

“Huh? What happened?”

I could see the anger on my dad's face.

“Makino-kun, wait!”

Ignoring Daisuke-san's attempt to stop him, my dad dragged me out and walked us home quickly.

“Dad, what's going on?”

“Yamato… don't go to the Miyano house anymore.”

I could tell my dad and Daisuke-san had fought, but I didn't understand what he meant.

Soon after that, my dad quit his job and started his own company.

Apparently, he had always dreamed of running his own business.

Daisuke-san valued my father's skills and contribution highly, and thought he had great potential. So when my dad announced he was quitting, Daisuke-san strongly tried to stop him — and it turned into a fight.

“Um… is Aoi here…?”

That quarrel between our fathers had nothing to do with us. So I ignored my dad's words and went to Aoi's house.

“Yamato-kun…”

The one who came to the door wasn't Aoi, but Daisuke-san.

“Uh… is Aoi…?”

“I'm sorry, Yamato-kun, but I'd like you not to come here anymore.”

“What…?”

Hearing him say the same thing as my dad left me stunned, unable to respond.

From that day on, I was no longer allowed into Aoi's house.

---

The only times I could be with Aoi were at school, or going to and from school.

“Yamato… my dad's not home tonight. Want to come over? It's been so long.”

“No, the housekeepers would see and probably report it.”

Even though Daisuke-san was usually too busy to be home, several housekeepers lived there full-time. If I visited, they'd just turn me away.

“Then… your house…?”

“My dad also said not to let you in…”

“Yamato… we're not going to be separated, are we?”

Seeing the worry on her face, my chest tightened.

“Of course not!”

“Y-yeah! We'll definitely go to the same high school!”

Spending every day with Aoi, being forced apart by our fathers' selfish reasons, had built up a lot of stress in me.

But I turned that into motivation — and managed to pass the entrance exam for one of the most prestigious high schools in the city, at the very top of the class.

Of course, Aoi was with me.

“Hey, you're Makino-kun, right!? The one who got in first place!”

“Ah, yeah… that's me.”

On the day of the entrance ceremony, I was surrounded by many students.

“How do you usually study!?”

“Is it true you got a perfect score!?”

“Whoa, you're seriously a genius!”

Since it was such a famous school, my top-ranked admission drew a lot of attention.

“Yamato, you okay? Let's go.”

“Y-yeah.”

The one who pulled me away from the crowd was Toru.

By then, Toru had matured a lot, and I already thought of him as my best friend.

“Yamato! Let's definitely go to the same university too!”

On the day of the entrance ceremony, Aoi said that to me.

“Yeah, we will.”

That promise etched itself deeply into my heart.

So Aoi, Toru, and I all entered the same high school.

But just a few days later… I heard my father's company had gone bankrupt.