Chapter 6: Lost Hope
Translator: Soafp
“Yamato-kun, are you okay?”
“Ah, yes… somehow…”
I had collapsed in the break room at work, and now Hayami-senpai was walking with me to the station so I could get home.
Senpai had said, “Should I call a taxi?” but I refused.
I wanted to avoid spending money as much as possible.
“Senpai, it's fine up to here…”
“In your condition, it's dangerous to go alone. I'll take you all the way home.”
Even though her house was in the opposite direction from mine, it looked like she was going to walk me home.
I felt bad for troubling her so much…
(Ah… tomorrow… is Aoi's…)
When we reached the station, my eyes caught the department store building in front of us.
“Senpai… sorry, but… there's somewhere I want to stop by.”
“What are you saying? In this condition, you can't go making detours…”
“Tomorrow… is Aoi's… birthday, so…”
When I looked toward the department store, Senpai seemed to understand what I meant.
“Good grief… fine. But as soon as you buy the present, you're going straight home.”
Senpai said that with a slightly troubled expression.
“So, what are you going to buy?”
“Well… I haven't decided on anything…”
Lately, Aoi had been angry with me all the time, and we hadn't even had any casual conversations…
I didn't really know what she was interested in or what she liked anymore.
Back then, I could understand Aoi so easily…
Maybe that just shows how much distance had grown between us…
“Senpai… about what you said earlier in the break room… about last year's after-festival…”
“Hm? The campfire?”
“Yes, that time… you said Aoi looked displeased…”
At last year's after-festival, the four of us had watched the campfire together…
“Do you remember? I said, ‘Since it's the occasion, why don't we dance the folk dance?'”
“Ah… yes.”
That year, I had started working part-time as soon as entering high school.
Between the demanding classes of a prestigious school and working nearly every day, I was mentally worn out.
That was when Senpai had invited me to walk around the culture festival with her as a break.
“When I said that, Miyano-san looked at me with this flustered, troubled expression.”
So that's how it was…
At the time, I was too preoccupied with the thought that the fun festival was ending soon, and that tomorrow I'd be back to part-time work… I hadn't noticed.
“Does that folk dance have some kind of meaning…?”
“…Yamato-kun, you really didn't know, huh? There's this rumor: if two people dance together and keep holding hands even after the music stops, they'll end up together.”
End up together… as in, become a couple…?
“I… had no idea.”
“I figured. To be honest, you haven't really fit in at school, have you? It didn't seem like you'd hear about those kinds of things from friends.”
“…More like, I don't really have many friends…”
Since starting high school, I hadn't really socialized. The only ones I could casually talk to were Aoi and Toru.
“So… the reason Aoi looked flustered was…”
“Probably because she didn't like the idea of me dancing with someone.”
Eh…?
Could that mean…?
“So Aoi was upset at the thought of me and Senpai dancing, which means… that she… likes me…?”
“Hmm? That's a bit too convenient of an interpretation, don't you think?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“I didn't just ask you, Yamato-kun. I asked Murase-kun, who was standing beside you, too.”
Right… now that I thought about it, Senpai had asked both me and Toru.
“It was my last school festival, and I just wanted to try dancing once. I don't care about those school rumors.”
…Wait a second…
So Aoi might have panicked thinking Senpai and Toru would dance…
Then maybe Aoi really does like Toru, just like the rumors say…
“Senpai… if you get a present from someone you don't like that way… it would only trouble you, right…?”
Senpai let out a sigh, sounding exasperated.
“If it's from a friend, it's no problem. You're childhood friends, after all. Or are you planning to give Miyano-san a gift just to increase your chances of becoming her boyfriend?”
“That's… not it. I just… want to see her happy face…”
I wanted to be her boyfriend.
But more than anything, I loved her smile.
That smile I hadn't seen lately… I wanted to see it again.
“Then just give it to her.”
“But… it's nothing expensive…”
“I told you before, what matters is the feeling behind it. If anything, an overly expensive gift would make her suspicious.”
I had no confidence Aoi would be happy if I gave her a gift.
Maybe she and Toru really were together now, just like the rumors…
“Come on, let's go buy the present.”
“Ah… yes.”
Still, I wanted to give her a present.
I wanted to apologize for making her cry.
I really couldn't give up on being the one by her side.
“Do you think… this is okay?”
I bought a slightly nice ballpoint pen from the stationery shop in the department store.
“Practical things are always useful. She'll definitely appreciate it.”
It was 2,400 yen, not exactly an expensive pen, but it was the best I could manage right now.
“Come to think of it, today's payday, right?”
Senpai was checking her bank app on her phone.
“Oh… right.”
I had given my passbook to Mom, and she always did the updates for me.
I had told her she could use my wages for tuition, food, or anything related to school expenses, but she never touched my money.
Even though life was tough, she worked from morning till night…
Totally different from that good-for-nothing father of mine.
“Yamato-kun, what about the hospital?”
“Today I'll just take some over-the-counter medicine and sleep. If it doesn't get better, I'll go tomorrow, so don't worry…”
“If it feels impossible, call an ambulance.”
“Yes… thank you so much.”
After getting off the train and walking a bit, we arrived at my apartment.
I thanked Senpai, and finally made it home.
“Ahh… this is bad…”
The moment I got home, my body felt heavy and my vision blurred.
My uniform was drenched in sweat and uncomfortable, but I was too drained to change.
When I took my temperature, the thermometer read 39.1°C.
I swallowed some painkillers from the living room and staggered to my bed, collapsing onto it.
“I wonder… if Aoi will be happy tomorrow…”
Thinking about the smile of the girl I loved, I quietly closed my eyes and fell asleep.
“Ugh… my head hurts…”
I woke once in the middle of the night, took my temperature, but the fever hadn't gone down.
With a pounding headache and heavy fatigue, I somehow drifted back to sleep.
“What do you think you're doing!! Explain yourself!!”
“I told you… it's…”
I woke up to someone shouting angrily.
“Huh… morning already…?”
The sunlight filled my room when I opened my eyes.
“What time is it…”
When I checked my phone, it was exactly 12 o'clock.
“I… slept for over half a day…?”
The cultural festival had already started.
I had wanted to contribute today, since I couldn't help with preparations yesterday…
No, it's not too late.
Though I still had a splitting headache, I had to go to school today, even if I had to drag my feet.
“Aoi…”
I wanted to give Aoi her present.
And apologize for yesterday.
“What the hell were you thinking!!”
“I had no choice!!”
From the living room, angry voices continued to shout.
“W-what's going on…?”
Was that… Mom's voice?
The quiet, gentle Mom I knew had never raised her voice like that.
For the first time, I heard her yelling.
Wondering what had happened, I pushed through the pain in my head and walked toward the living room.
“Mom… what's wrong…?”
It really was Mom shouting—and the one she was yelling at was Dad.
“Y-Yamato…!?”
Even though Dad had always lived like a worthless bum, I'd never seen Mom this upset with him before.
Now, both of them looked startled seeing me standing there.
“Dad… what did you do…?”
It had to be Dad causing trouble again.
“Hm? My… bankbook?”
My passbook, which I had given Mom to keep, was lying on the floor.
When I picked it up, I remembered that yesterday was payday.
“Mom, you updated it for me?”
My savings were close to reaching my goal of 2 million yen.
Of course, it wasn't enough to cover four years of college, but I planned to keep working part-time, just like Hayami-senpai.
To go to the same college… as Aoi…
“Eh…?”
When I looked at the passbook, I couldn't believe my eyes.
“Why… is the balance…?”
My paycheck had been deposited yesterday.
But in the past few days, money had been withdrawn several times.
Almost all of the savings I had built up…
were gone.
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