FLF 09

09 — Interrogation

“Do you have a curfew at home?”

“Ah, yeah. As long as I’m back by seven for dinner, it’s fine. That’s my curfew.”

“I see. Then don’t eat too much, okay?”

“I know, I know. I’ll just get some fries.”

“Hm. I might go for a Big Wac then.”

“W-what? That’s way too much!”

We kept talking like that, and in the end, I ended up being treated to fries by Orikawa-san.

On the way to the fast-food place, I had apparently been too quiet—so quiet that she actually got mad at me. “That’s just awkward beyond saving,” she’d said.

It really was.

It was evening, so the rush had eased a little, but the place was still nearly full.

There were students in uniforms who probably came straight from school, others already changed into casual clothes, college students studying, even adults dropping by after work.

I couldn’t help thinking how anyone could concentrate in a place like this… but maybe some people actually found noise comforting.

We struggled to find seats, but an elderly woman with her grandchild told us they were leaving and offered theirs to us.

We thanked her and sat down—and the moment she did, Orikawa-san, clearly hungry, reached over and popped one of my fries into her mouth.

“Hey, where’re you going to college again?”

She asked it while chewing. Honestly, I wished she’d swallow before talking.

“Seiga University. It’s up in the mountains, so commuting’s gonna be a pain…”

“Right, that one’s far. But isn’t it pretty big?”

“Yeah. I went to the open campus—it was huge.”

“You’ll probably get lost, Kashiwara.”

“Yeah… I totally did get lost… Wait, aren’t you supposed to call me Aika?”

“Oh, right. You’re used to it, so it slipped.”

“I guess…”

I took a sip of juice while she bit into her hamburger with exaggerated force. Seriously… she eats like that every time.

Then—

“Hey, Kashiwara.”

“What is it?”

“…I don’t like what happened earlier.”

Her tone dropped.

“I said those things today because… after you were gone, I didn’t want to regret not saying them while I still could. But now it just feels like I will regret it anyway. Sorry for dragging you into my selfishness, but… can you just act normal with me? Like always. We can just pretend that never happened, okay?”

“But—”

“No ‘but’!” she cut in quickly. “It’s kind of lonely, isn’t it? Thinking you’re only sticking around out of pity… that kind of stuff just makes it worse, right?”

“…Okay. If you call me Aika properly, I’ll agree.”

“…Yeah, yeah. Got it. Then… take care of me, Aika.”

She crumpled the hamburger wrapper and tossed it onto the tray.

I smiled and folded up my empty fries box.

“Understood, Emi-chan.”

“W-why are you the only one with a ‘-chan’?!”

“Hehe.”

We laughed together.

Orikawa-san’s voice was loud enough that it stood out even in the noisy shop. She laughed again, and I lowered my head a little, still smiling.

I could never forget what Emi-chan told me in that moment.

And I didn’t want to.

But if being friends like this—just staying beside each other—was what was best, then maybe that was enough.

After all, I’d never had a friend I could laugh with like this before.

Not since Manami.

When I unlocked the front door, my mother greeted me with a smile.

“Coming home without Aika-chan is rare,” she teased, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Aika-chan’s shoes were already lined up at the entrance.

So she came home first.

“I’m home, Aika-chan.”

I gently opened my room door.

The lights were off. The room was quiet.

On the bed, I found Aika-chan lying there, unmoving.

Was she asleep?

If so, I should let her rest until dinner.

Trying not to make a sound, I slipped inside.

I set down my bag, changed out of my uniform into loungewear.

And then—

I felt a gaze from behind.

I turned.

Aika-chan was awake.

Staring right at me.

The moment I realized it, my face went hot.

“Ah—Aika-chan, good morning…”

“Welcome back.”

“Y-yeah… I’m home. Um… sorry, it’s embarrassing if you stare like that…”

“Right. Sorry.”

She turned over without much care.

…That’s strange.

I changed my clothes in the dim room, careful not to make noise. Somehow, it didn’t feel like my room anymore.

Even the frog plush and rabbit plush on the desk—normally cute—looked oddly unsettling.

“Aika?”

“Eek!?”

Her voice suddenly whispered right next to my ear.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

“A-Aika-chan! Don’t scare me like that!”

“What did you do after school?”

“Huh?”

“You said you had something to do, so you couldn’t come home with me.”

“Oh… y-yeah, right…”

“So what was it?”

“U-um… well…”

I hesitated.

I couldn’t tell her about Orikawa-san.

This was something I should keep to myself.

But I also couldn’t lie well. Aika-chan always saw through me too easily.

So I chose my words carefully.

“O-Orikawa-san asked me to go shopping with her.”

“Hmm? That’s all? Where did you go?”

“J-just… around different places. A-actually, Aika-chan, what about you? You almost never have after-school plans, right?!”

I tried to shift the topic quickly.

It felt… wrong.

I had been out before without her—of course I had—but this time felt different.

Before, I would simply say I went out with Manami. I never gave details.

So why was she asking now?

“My plans?”

Aika-chan smiled faintly.

“I got confessed to. A junior confessed to me.”

“…Huh?”

I held my breath.

She looked at me and chuckled.

My heart started pounding so loudly I thought she might hear it.

“R-really…?”

My voice came out weak.

Why am I so scared?

It’s just that she got confessed to.

Was I afraid she’d accept and leave me?

No… that wasn’t it.

Something else… something deeper…

“It was like something out of a manga. From someone at school. She said she’ll be going to a different university after graduation, so she wanted to tell me before then. She was very straightforward. It… made me kind of happy.”

“I… I see…”

She leaned closer.

Her lips brushed near my ear.

A shiver ran through my whole body.

No… I don’t like this.

Let’s change the topic.

Dinner. Anything.

“Oh… dinner tonight is hayashi rice, I think…”

“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”

“…So what about your plans, Mana? It really was just shopping?”

“Eh… ah…”

I couldn’t breathe properly.

Why was she asking this?

She had never questioned me like this before.

Even now, it should’ve been normal—but her presence felt… suffocating.

I couldn’t form words.

And she just laughed softly at my silence.

Then—

Maybe… she knows?

About Orikawa-san confessing to me?

If so, is this why she’s asking?

But I can’t say it.

I can’t tell her that kind of thing.

That would mean exposing her secret too…

“M-Mana?”

But if I keep hiding it… why do I feel like this?

And Aika-chan… she wouldn’t go around telling things like that for fun.

Then maybe…

It’s okay to say it?

“…I… I was actually confessed to too… near graduation…”

“By who? That girl?”

“O-Orikawa-san… but! But she said she wants things to stay the same between us! She said she’d regret it if she didn’t tell me today, so she just said it! So… we’re still just friends… and I—Aika-chan is—!!!”

I stopped myself.

I couldn’t continue.

Even if I wanted to, the words wouldn’t come out.

And then—

She whispered.

Softly.

Right into my ear.

Warm breath brushing my skin.

“So… were her lips soft?”

…she said.