Chapter 5: Unconditional Kindness

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Translator: Soafp

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I ran out of the school with all my might.

I ran as hard as I could, as if to drive away the anger that had boiled up and clouded my head.

I don't know how Aoi really feels about me.

Maybe she doesn't see me as the opposite sex at all.

Maybe she just thinks of me as a childhood friend bound by an annoying tie.

But… but I really do love Aoi.

“Why the hell did I… act like that…”

I treated the girl I love so harshly… and made her cry.

All Aoi did was say the right things to my irresponsible self…

“Maybe… maybe to her, I really am just someone who doesn't matter anymore…”

I stopped running and tried to catch my breath, which had grown ragged.

“To her, I'm just some good-for-nothing who doesn't even study properly, wasting every day away, huh…”

Lately it hasn't been just Aoi—Toru has been avoiding me too…

Those two always study seriously, always at the top of the class.

They work together to handle student council duties, earning trust from both classmates and teachers…

Now and surely in the future, they'll grow into admirable, outstanding people.

Compared to them… I haven't changed at all since graduating middle school.

It's only natural that Aoi would scold someone like me.

“Aoi…”

The image of Aoi with tears streaming down her face rose in my mind.

The anger I'd felt just a while ago had completely faded, and now guilt gnawed harshly at my heart.

If Aoi and Toru are really together… then that promise, and standing by her side… might already be impossible.

I want to go back right now and apologize to Aoi.

But…

“Damn it… I've got work again…”

Even in this state… I don't have the luxury to skip my part-time job.

Sweat poured out of me.

My body trembled.

I was cold…

“Ahh… my head hurts…”

Dragging my leaden body, I forced myself to head toward work.

---

“Good… afternoon, senpai…”

“Good afternoon, Yamato-kun. Huh, you're here from noon today? What about school?”

At the supermarket where I work, I ran into Hayami-senpai in the break room outside the locker area.

“It was only until the morning… Tomorrow is the school festival, so…”

“Oh, the school festival… I only graduated high school recently, but it already feels so nostalgic.”

With her eyes closed in thought, senpai somehow looked far more mature than me.

Even though she's only two years older…

“Hey, do you remember? Last year, you, me, Miyano-san, and Murase-kun all went around the festival together.”

“Ah… yes… that's right…”

Last year's festival…

If I recall, that time we…

“And that time, the four of us joined the campfire at the after-party too, right?”

“Yeah… that's right.”

Ah… I feel so cold.

“In the end, everyone but me got embarrassed, so we didn't even dance the folk dance…”

My head… it hurts.

“Well, it can't be helped. Not with a legend like that tied to it.”

Legend…?

“Back then… Miyano-san gave me such a sour look, didn't she…”

Aoi… made a face like that…?

“Hey, Yamato-kun, your face looks pale. Are you okay?”

“Eh… ah, yeah…”

What's happening… I can't hear well…

“Yamato-kun?”

I'm… so sleepy…

“Can you hear me!? Are you okay!?”

It became too hard to stand, and I collapsed on the spot.

---

When she was little, Aoi was shy.

She was bashful, a bit clumsy, timid…

She was the kind of girl who always followed behind me.

Back then, I just decided on my own that I had to protect her.

I'd help her study, or step in when bullies picked on her… and each time, Aoi would smile and say, “Thank you!”

I really loved that smile of hers.

Come to think of it… she hasn't said “thank you” to me in a long time.

When was the last time I even saw that smile…?

“…Yamato-kun…? Are you okay…?”

A gentle voice called my name.

“Huh… me…”

“Good morning, Yamato-kun.”

When I forced my heavy eyelids open, I was struck by pounding tinnitus and splitting pain in my head.

“Yamato-kun, you were out cold. Are you okay?”

“Eh… I… I fell asleep…?”

“Yeah, for about an hour.”

Looking up at the clock in the break room, I realized my shift had already started long ago.

“Eh, it's already this late!?”

I scrambled up from the sofa where I'd been lying.

“No, you can't push yourself. The manager said you should take the day off.”

“The manager… really…?”

“You haven't been sleeping, have you? Always working part-time, and on top of that, staying up late studying every day, right?”

“…You really… noticed that…”

“I went through the same thing back in high school.”

Senpai smiled softly and placed her hand on my forehead.

“Mm… yeah, you've got a pretty high fever. It must've been tough.”

“S-senpai… you're awfully close…”

Her face was right near mine…

So beautiful… so refined…

“Come on, you still need to lie down.”

Her gentle hands guided me back onto the sofa, caring for my worn-out body.

“Weren't you supposed to work too, senpai…”

“I was, but I got worried about you, so I skipped it too.”

“I'm sorry… because of me…”

She's always been like this.

Kind, beautiful, popular at school… always considerate of others.

She didn't let her rough home life drag her down, beat the pressure of exams, and even now keeps up both university and part-time work every day.

And me… just look at the mess I am.

I should be earning money… I should be studying…

Instead, I lashed out at Aoi, neglected my studies, and even failed at work.

Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

“Yamato-kun, you work really hard every day. You're going to be okay.”

As if she could see right through me, senpai quietly stroked my head.

Her unconditional kindness reached my weakened heart… and tears naturally spilled from my eyes.