Chapter 29: Truth

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

[Shiho PoV]

“Hello, Shiho?”

“Ah… hello, Azusa. Sorry for the sudden call.”

A little while before I contacted Haruki and invited him to the amusement park, I had called my friend Azusa.

“Shiho, did something happen? You sound down.”

“It’s nothing… I’m fine.”

“I see. If you say so. So, what's up?”

“…Actually, there’s something I want to ask Shiraki-kun. You have his contact info, right?”

I had exchanged contact info with Haruki back when we had a meal at the family restaurant, but I hadn't done the same with Shiraki-kun, who was there with us.

“Yeah. Actually, he’s with me right now, so I'll pass the phone to him.”

Apparently, Azusa was with Shiraki-kun. Seems like they're getting along well.

They're just friends for now, but maybe their relationship could develop into something more.

“Ah, hello? Fukase-san? It's Shiraki. You wanted to ask me something?”

“Shiraki-kun… it's about the school festival back in our first year of high school…”

I had once gone to the school festival at Haruki's high school.

There was something that had been on my mind ever since that day—a small detail that might be connected to what I was about to face now.

---

“Haruki…”

I confessed my feelings to Haruki.

I kissed Haruki.

There's no turning back now.

I'm about to destroy what Haruki was trying to protect.

No… maybe I wanted to destroy it.

(This can't go on like this…)

Haruki chased after Endo-san, leaving me behind and running off.

“Haruki… it's okay.”

There are still things I want to say to Haruki.

I want to talk to him.

I ran off into the night, chasing after him.

---

[Fukase… I'm getting married soon.]

As I ran alone through the night, I remembered what Coach Tamiya, whom I had bumped into earlier today, had told me.

[We faced a lot of opposition… but we kept believing in our desire to be together.]

I couldn't forget the look of contentment on his face.

[We caused trouble for a lot of people. Especially… you, Fukase…]

Then he bowed to me again and again, apologizing over and over.

[Back then, as the adult… as the teacher, I should have taken responsibility and brought things under control.]

When I heard that, my head became a mess…

[Fukase, Asano, Miwa… none of you were at fault. And also—]

Coach Tamiya said none of us were to blame.

But that's not true.

We all lost our way in different ways.

Of course, Haruki did nothing wrong.

He was entirely the victim.

And the one most at fault is probably… me.

---

“Where did Haruki go…?”

I had lost sight of Haruki after he went after Endo-san.

There's no way I could find him just by wandering around aimlessly.

“I'll go to Haruki's apartment…”

I decided to go to the apartment where Haruki currently lives and wait for him there.

He might already be back.

I just had to talk to him—tonight.

Breathless from running, I arrived in front of Haruki's apartment door.

“Haruki… are you home?”

I rang the intercom, but there was no response.

Unable to suppress my anxious feelings, I instinctively reached for the doorknob.

“It's unlocked…”

The door wasn't locked.

(Haruki… are you inside…?)

I hesitated for a moment, but then slowly opened the door and peeked into the entrance.

The hallway led straight to the lit-up living room—it was bright inside.

“Haruki, are you home?”

I called out toward the living room again, but there was still no response.

“Haruki… I'm coming in…”

I called out once more as I stepped into the entrance, took off my shoes, and made my way toward the living room where the lights were on.

Nervously, I walked down the hallway, opened the door to the living room, and stepped inside.

“Ah… welcome ho—wait, you're not Haruki…”

The one I saw in the living room wasn't Haruki.

It was Endo-san.

“Endo…san. Why are you here…?”

“I'm Haruki's girlfriend. I have a spare key, so it's not weird for me to be here, right?”

She seemed to be cooking in the kitchen at the end of the living room.

“If anything, shouldn't I be the one asking that? Why are you here, Fukase?”

“I just wanted to talk to Haruki… so I came here. I rang the intercom but no one answered, and… the door was open…”

I started sweating nervously.

The tension gnawed at my body.

“Still, you shouldn’t just barge in. This is our love nest, after all.”

“I'm sorry for entering without permission… I'll apologize to Haruki later too. But—”

My body trembled.

That's how intimidated I was.

But… I couldn't back down.

I had made up my mind not to run away anymore.

I stood in this place with resolve.

“This isn't some love nest between you and Haruki. There's no such place anywhere in this world.”

“Heh, you've got some nerve, saying that after trying to steal someone else's boyfriend…”

Endo-san stopped cooking and looked me in the eyes as she spoke.

“Haruki… is probably out looking for you right now, you know?”

“Yeah, I've been getting messages from him on my phone. He'll probably be back here soon.”

Even seeing me here, Endo-san didn't seem shaken at all.

Earlier at the park, when she saw me and Haruki kiss, she looked really distraught…

“Were you making dinner…?”

“Yeah. I'm actually really good at cooking. Well, not just cooking—I'm good at everything I try.”

Endo-san continued talking fluently.

“Haruki loves my cooking. He always eats it with a smile. It's satisfying, you know? When things turn out exactly as you imagined… when things go just the way you planned.”

I listened to her quietly.

“You should learn to cook too, for when you get a boyfriend. It never hurts to win over the guy's stomach.”

“I'm fine. I'm good at cooking. And besides… my boyfriend could never be anyone but Haruki.”

I pictured Haruki's face and met Endo-san's eyes with unwavering resolve.

“You really are a homewrecker.”

“Say whatever you want.”

I will not back down.

No matter what Endo-san throws at me—I won't retreat.

“If anything, I’m wondering about you, Endo-san.”

“Huh? About what?”

“Earlier, you said there’s no harm in winning over someone’s stomach, but… I get the feeling you’re looking at Haruki—your boyfriend—from a cost-benefit perspective.”

“That’s not such a weird thing, is it? Being with someone you like makes you happy, content, fulfilled—it’s all your own feelings, right? For humans, self-interest—our own feelings—always come first, don’t you think? Even you couldn’t give up on Haruki and ended up kissing him, right? You tempted him, didn’t you? For your sake. Isn’t that also a kind of cost-benefit calculation?”

Endo-san spoke with a slightly excited tone.

Certainly, the reason behind my actions was also because I wanted Haruki to notice me…

I won't deny that.

But… I…

“I'm not like you, Endo-san.”

“Hah… Look who’s talking.”

Endo-san crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen counter, looking composed.

Even after seeing me kiss Haruki just now… is she really not flustered?

“You and I are like oil and water. Let’s drop this. More importantly, I actually came here to talk to Haruki… but I also wanted to talk to you, Endo-san.”

“What, still trying to mess with the relationship between me and Haruki?”

“Yeah. That's probably how it'll turn out.”

After I said that, Endo-san finally seemed to show a slightly suspicious expression for the first time.

“I met with Senda-senpai a little while ago.”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“Senda? Oh yeah… that guy…”

“He told me you two are from the same hometown.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Senda-senpai told me himself.”

“…I see.”

Yes—when I met Senda-senpai again, he told me about Endo-san.

Apparently, they lived near each other and weren't exactly close friends, but they had known each other since elementary school.

“Yesterday, I told you I was volunteering at a free school, right?”

I had come to Haruki’s house to deliver a melon yesterday, and I ended up chatting with Endo-san about all kinds of things.

She was doing her teaching internship, and I was helping students at a free school—we clicked over that.

“Do you remember Coach Tamiya? He was my basketball coach, but he left the school halfway through.”

“…Yeah, I remember.”

Endo-san closed her eyes. Somehow… it looked like she was enjoying this.

“That’s surprising. You once told me you're bad at remembering names and faces.”

“Yeah, that's true. But you know… interesting people are easy to remember. Boring ones I forget right away.”

“I saw Coach Tamiya today—this morning. He told me something important.”

“Oh yeah? What was it?”

“He’s getting married. Apparently, he and his partner were on opposing sides in the past… a teacher and… a student.”

“Sounds like something out of a fiction novel.”

With that, Endo-san prompted me to go on.

“He said that even though they caused trouble for a lot of people… and faced many struggles… he loved her, and now they can finally become a family. He was really happy about it.”

“Marriage… a family, huh.”

Just moments ago, Endo-san had been looking directly at me. Now she was gazing down as she muttered those words.

“This might be a bit of a tangent, but… when Coach Tamiya left the school, a girl also disappeared from the basketball club.”

“Yeah… I remember that.”

“Her name was Miwa Tatsumi. She was our team captain and a close friend.”

“…Yeah, I remember her.”

“We never really got to say goodbye… so I sometimes wonder how she's doing now.”

“You're being awfully fake now, Fukase. Didn't you already hear from Tamiya about what happened to Tatsumi?”

“What do you mean?”

I echoed her words, feigning confusion.

“You’re talking about how Tamiya and Tatsumi are getting married, right?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, hearing all this, it's obvious there's a connection, right?”

“Yeah. That there's a connection is obvious. But could you immediately guess that the one he’s marrying is Miwa, his former middle school student? This isn't some fictional story. If you already knew about their relationship, then I suppose it’d be easy to guess.”

“………………”

Endo-san fell silent.

She probably already knew what I was trying to say.

After a pause, she let out a long sigh.

“You met Haruki again at a mixer? Then you ran into Senda by coincidence? Then you met Tamiya? And it just so happens that Tamiya and Tatsumi are getting married? What the hell is this, a reunion episode with all the main characters?”

She looked up at the ceiling as she spoke.

And then, I looked back over my memories once more.

[There was this girl, Endo, right? She was in your grade. I told you to watch out for her.]

The dots began to connect after I heard Senda-senpai's story.

[You, Asano, Miwa… none of you are to blame. And… not even Endo.]

Those dots became a line after I heard Coach Tamiya's story and sorted everything out in my head.

I steeled myself again and looked straight into Endo-san's eyes.

“Everyone… everyone said they regretted it.”

She looked down again… and gave no response.

That silence made a wave of something close to anger rise inside me.

“Coach Tamiya, Chida-senpai, and Miwa too… they all said they regretted listening to your instructions.”

“Ahh… and?”

Even now, Endo-san remained composed and unshaken.

“Back in our first year of high school. One day, I found an invitation to Kaisei High School’s cultural festival in my mailbox.”

From our middle school, only Haruki, Endo-san, and Shiraki-kun had gone on to Kaisei High.

[Shiraki-kun… about that cultural festival in our first year of high school… did you leave that invitation in my mailbox?]

[First year? Ah… nah, I asked a friend to pass some of them around. But the guy who was supposed to give it to you said he didn't—he felt awkward since you two weren't talking anymore.]

By then, I'd already severed ties with my middle school friends.

Of course, Haruki, who had broken off all contact with me, wouldn't have delivered it either.

Which means…

“You were the one who put that invitation in my mailbox… weren't you, Endo-san?”

There's no one else it could've been.

“Man, the world's smaller than it seems… heheh…”

Upon hearing my words, Endo-san gave a fearless smirk.

And when I saw that smile… a chill ran down my spine.