《Crossing Paths, Traumatized, and Yet…》 CH 1 Daiki Hamanaka had a childhood friend. Her name was Wakaba Misaki, a very pretty girl of the same age who lived in the neighborhood. There were not many children living in the neighborhood, so they became good friends before they knew it, and they were always together. Their parents were just neighbors, but the two of them always played together at a nearby park. They also went to same kindergarten, so they were always together there as well. Playing together in a friendly manner, they were always smiling and the air was warm and fuzzy. They played together as if they were mother and son, not husband and wife, even when playing make-believe. After graduating from kindergarten and entering the same elementary school, they continued to have a sister-brother relationship and were often together, but when they reached the upper grades, they began to play with their male and female friends separately more often. It was not that they did not get along well, but they always went home together. Wakaba always protected Daiki like a big sister, and Daiki always followed her back. At that time, Daiki¡¯s parents had a frosty relationship, so even as a child at home, he could tell that his parents did not get along. One day, after Wakaba and Daiki came home from school as usual, they promised to play at the park, and when he went home to drop off his luggage, his mother was there with a man he did not know. She was in a hurry and called out to him. Daiki had arrived home earlier than usual because he had run home to play at the park. His mother quickly sent the stranger away with a twitchy smile on her face. ¡°He¡¯s an old friend of mother¡¯s.¡± She said with a cramped smile. At the park, he played with Wakaba as if nothing had happened, and the day went by happily. The next week, a man he did not know left the house just as he was leaving. At that time, he was still far away from the house, so they did not run into each other. It seemed he was coming again another day the next week. ¡°He is always here.¡± Is what he said. ¡°He is an old friend of mother¡¯s, so he often comes to our house and talks about the old days.¡± She said. Daiki, who was still in elementary school, did not understand what she meant. And after a week. ¡°He came back again¡± (Daiki) Is what he said ¡°Is it really a friend?¡± (Wakaba) Wakabe replied. ¡°Real friend huh¡± (Daiki) He answered. ¡°But she said they were friends?¡± (Daiki) Daiki followed up. ¡°Next time he¡¯s coming over, hurry home and find out!¡± (Wakaba) Wakaba¡¯s curiosity was ignited, and the two of them hurried home together every day for the next week. She did not know that this would be Daiki¡¯s first traumatic experience¡­ and the beginning of her first regret. After school, they hurried home together. When they reached the front of his house, he caught his breath. Quietly, they went around to the back door of the house and gently opened the kitchen door with the key he had hidden there. Entering the house like a ninja, they were thrilled to be able to play the role of a ninja. A male voice could be heard, so it seemed like he was there today. They seemed to be talking in the living room, so in order not to make any footsteps, they walked to the living room. Listening carefully to the conversation coming from there, both of them heard his mother talking. ¡°He is becoming more and more like you every year. Lately, even his gestures are so similar to you that I often wonder if you are still around.¡± She said. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that he looks like me ¡­ he¡¯s my child, ¡­ I¡¯m so sorry ¡­ when are you planning to tell your husband?¡± ¡°He¡¯s always working. I don¡¯t have time to talk to him¡­ ¡­ Maybe he¡¯s already noticed¡­ ¡­. Maybe he¡¯s avoiding me¡­ ¡­ Maybe he was never interested in me in the first place¡­ ¡­ I felt like I was always being compared¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­ for making you feel like this. I wish I had more power back then¡­ I wish I had the strength to resist¡­¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. You were young back then. You didn¡¯t know anything¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± ¡°it¡¯s almost time! He will be back soon¡± Hurriedly they went out through the kitchen door to hide. Not understanding what was going on. ¡°Is that man my father?¡± and so on, while thinking in a carefree manner. Wakaba looked at him awkwardly after they went outside. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Was all she asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Is that guy my father?¡± He responded. Wakaba hugged him. Instead of just hugging him, she hugged him while stroking his head. As it was. ¡°It will be all right¡­ It will be all right¡­¡± Is what she said Wakaba may have understood the meaning of those words even as a child. Daiki also gradually understood, and as Wakaba stroked his head, tears naturally flowed. After regaining his composure, they decided to go to the park. They didn¡¯t feel like playing, but they didn¡¯t want to stay at home. They went to the park without putting down their luggage. Without saying a word, they just went to the park and got on the swings. ¡°If only I hadn¡¯t said that you should check on them¡­¡± Wakaba regretted it. At the same time, she made a promise to herself. ¡°I will protect Daiki!¡± She originally thought of him as a younger brother, so she felt like an older sister. This was the beginning of Wakaba¡¯s differences. Daiki was thinking about the future. ¡°So my father isn¡¯t my father now? That uncle my real father? Which one does mother love more? What should I do?¡± No matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with an answer. What became clear to him was that his current family was not his real family, but a family of lies. What seemed normal was not normal at all. Even as a child, many emotions went through his mind. This was the beginning of Daiki¡¯s trauma. CH 2 I was on the swing when I realized that the evening had come. Wakaba¡¯s mother came to the park. I knew you were here! Go home once and then go! Wakaba! She approached me angrily. Wakaba¡¯s mother was a cheerful, bright and good-natured person. ¡°Dai-chan is also here! Wakaba took you around again, didn¡¯t she? I¡¯m sorry, Dai-chan. It¡¯s late, I will take you home.¡± She spoke to Daiki in a friendly manner. They decided to leave without saying anything. Then Daiki¡¯s mother came to look for him too. She came to the park just in time. ¡°Thank goodness you were at the park. I was so worried about you!¡± She looked relieved. She exchanged a quick greetings with Wakaba¡¯s mother. The mothers walked away talking to each other. They followed the mothers and arrived at the front of the house. They exchanged greetings They went their own house As soon as he entered the house ¡°Go ahead and take a bath first¡± She called out to him and he decided to take a bath. After taking a bath, he was still in a high state. After getting out of the bath he went to the living room dinner was ready. His father was still at work. He and his mother always ate dinner together. They always ate dinner together. His father always came home after he went to bed. so he didn¡¯t worry about it. Daiki started eating dinner without saying a word. His mother noticed that something was wrong with Daiki¡¯s behavior. But she didn¡¯t even think he had heard her talk about today. ¡°Did something happen at school?¡± She asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± He responded. ¡°Really?¡± She followed up with another question. ¡°Really, nothing.¡± He responded again. His mother knew something was wrong, but she didn¡¯t think it would be a good idea to force him to answer. ¡°Well¡­ if there is something wrong, just tell me right away! I¡¯ll listen to you! Mother will protect you!¡± She came over and patted his head. There was a different sense of relief, though, than when he was young. ¡°The problem is you, mother!¡± Daiki couldn¡¯t say that. He didn¡¯t want his mother to be hurt. Daiki had grown up to be a kind and gentle child. There was nothing wrong with her parenting. What was wrong was The relationship between the mother and the father. However, Daiki was Because of his kindness, he was He was troubled by it. If only he could have rebelled If only he could have argued with her. If only she had listened to what he had to say There was no sulking or traumatizing. From the beginning, she should have told him. That day, Daiki was tired from thinking about too many things, so he decided to have dinner and go to bed right away. After Daiki went to bed his mother was tidying up by herself. ¡°I have to tell Daiki that his real father is a another person ¡­but I wonder if he will understand¡­¡± And so on. Daiki already knows. If I had told him properly at this time Daiki would not have suppressed his feelings And he would not have been forced to put on a mask. The relationship the mother had with his father was what was wrong. But her love for Daiki was genuine. That is why he became timid To watch over her. be a coward and let himself be told to watch and wait. It was on this day that Daiki stopped saying what he really felt. Daiki had fallen asleep before he knew it. He had dreamed about today. In the dream, he had told his mother. ¡°Is it true what you just said? Is my father not my real father?¡± And then¡­ ¡°Hey, answer me¡­¡± Finally, in a muffled voice. ¡°Mother¡­¡± With tears streaming down his face¡­ CH 3 At that time Wakaba was troubled. Even though she was a child girls grow up too fast. She understood Daiki¡¯s mother¡¯s story to some extent. ¡°The uncle who was with Daiki¡¯s mom today liked Daiki¡¯s mom! However, Daiki¡¯s father forced her hand and took her away.¡± It is somewhat right. ¡°That¡¯s why Daiki¡¯s real father is the uncle who was here today!¡± Since they didn¡¯t know how to have children, it was a matter of feelings, and they judged that the father was not the same. Still, she was well aware of Daiki¡¯s shock. ¡°I will protect Daiki!¡± She promised herself ¡°I¡¯m like a big sister. It¡¯s only natural for me to protect my little brother!¡± Is what she thought. Since neither Wakaba nor Daiki had any siblings, Wakaba was like the older sister and Daiki was like the younger brother. Wakaba was trying to protect him as if she was his real sister. She also grew up to be a good, bright and kind girl with a strong sense of justice. At that time, she had no idea about romantic feelings, and she really thought that protecting Daiki was her role as a big sister. With these thoughts in mind, she went to sleep that night. The next day, as usual, she picked Daiki up brightly and cheerfully and headed off to school. As they headed to school, she said to Daiki ¡°I know yesterday was tough. I¡¯ll take good care of you. Don¡¯t worry, Daiki!¡± She encouraged him cheerfully. ¡°Thank you, Wakaba.¡± The reply was a bit lackluster, but that was enough for Wakaba, who had decided to protect him. ¡°I just need to be there for Daiki so that you can be your normal self.¡± She thought After arriving at the school, they talked by gender as usual, but today she tried to talk to Daiki as much as possible. Daiki was also able to smile and talk as usual by talking with Wakaba. Seeing Daiki enjoying talking with his male friends, Wakaba felt a sense of relief. ¡°He¡¯s laughing as usual! That¡¯s good!¡± she thought. That day, school ended without incident, and they left together as usual, talking happily as they went home. ¡°No worries! Put your luggage down And let¡¯s go to the park!¡± Wakaba cheerfully told him and urged him to enter his house. He didn¡¯t seem to be here today, but Daiki came out in a hurry. He ran to the park to get away from the house as fast as he could. When he arrived at the park, he caught his breath and started to play in the park. Daiki had been a little down since he left his luggage at home, but he started to play happily as usual. Wakaba felt relieved too. On this day, she played with Daiki more than usual to keep him from thinking bad things. ¡°So glad to see Daiki having so much fun!¡± Wakaba looked satisfied. When she returned home from the park, she was worried again. ¡°Daiki will be fine if he does as well as he did today!¡± Wakaba thought. From the next day, she talked to Daiki as much as possible at school, and they spent more time together. She became more friendly with everyone in the class and the atmosphere in the class became better and better. Daiki was also laughing and having fun at school. ¡°As a big sister. I can rest easy now!¡± She thought to herself. She became too aware of herself as Daiki¡¯s older sister and began to think that she had become his real sister. Because of this, she mistakenly believed that she had no romantic feelings for Daiki, and began to believe that she and Daiki were like real siblings. Wakaba¡¯s feelings for Daiki began to drift apart. CH 4 The next morning, as soon as Daiki woke up, his father left for work. ¡°Have a safe trip¡± He rubbed his sleepy eyes and saw him off. ¡°I¡¯m off. Good luck at school!¡± He said the same thing he always said to me. That was about all the communication he had with his father, who was busy with work. He would eat breakfast as he always did. His mother was busy doing laundry and preparing breakfast in the morning, so she didn¡¯t see him off much. In fact, these days, he rarely sees his mother. After seeing his father off, he went to the living room and started eating breakfast. As he began to eat breakfast, his mother asked him ¡°Are you going to be okay today?¡± She asked him. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± to which he only replied. His mother seemed concerned about what happened yesterday and asked worriedly. At that moment, the intercom rang. It was Wakaba, who had come to pick him up earlier than usual. He hurriedly ate breakfast, got ready, and headed for the front door. ¡°I¡¯m off¡± He said to his mother and was out the door before he heard her reply. ¡°Good morning!¡± Wakaba greeted him cheerfully. ¡°Good morning!¡± After exchanging greetings, they started walking toward the school. As they walked to the school, Wakaba asked. ¡°I know yesterday was tough, but I¡¯m here for you, so don¡¯t worry, Daiki!¡± Is what she said. ¡°Thank you, Wakaba.¡± He responded. Wakaba¡¯s kindness made him happy. After arriving at the school, Wakaba talked to him about anything and everything. His male friends were laughing as usual and Daiki was laughing as normal. After school was over, Daiki and Wakaba were walking home together. As they got closer to the house, they started to feel uncomfortable. When they reached the front of the house, ¡°It¡¯s okay! Put your stuff down. Let¡¯s go to the park soon!¡± She said. He hurried into the house and put down his luggage. It seemed that the man had not come today. He left the house as quickly as he could and headed for the park. By the time he got to the park, he still felt a little bad, but he forgot about it when he was playing with Wakaba. On that day, they went home after having a good time. At home, it was just the two of them again, but he remembered what Wakaba had said to him and tried not to think about it. Since that time, he had started to disguise his feelings in front of his mother. His mother was relieved to see Daiki looking better than yesterday. He took a bath, ate dinner, had a brief conversation, and went to sleep. From that day on, in order not to hurt his mother¡¯s feelings, he began to fake his own feelings. Every week, he saw a man he thought was his real father. Every time he saw him, Daiki¡¯s heart was worn out. He had morning conversations with his father, and even more so on his days off, when he realized that his father was not very interested in him. In order to protect his normality, Daiki naturally learned to live under false pretenses. Wakaba started to be with him all the time after that day and talked to him more and more at school. The atmosphere in the class improved and Wakaba became the center of the class. Wakaba is cute and energetic. She has a very good personality, and being at the center of the class, the boys in the class inevitably developed a crush on Wakaba. Daiki also naturally became aware of Wakaba as a member of the opposite sex. CH 5 Daiki and Wakaba were in their final year of school before they knew it. Since then, not much has changed and Daiki has continued to live the same fake life at home. To maintain a normal relationship with his mother and father. Daiki tried to live the same life as when he knew nothing, the same as when he was unaware of anything. A life of pretending to be unaware when, in fact, he was aware of it. Daiki¡¯s heart gradually became worn out. However, it was also true that Daiki was able to continue with his current normal life thanks to his hard work. He was able to spend more and more time with Wakaba at school and at home, and was able to have a good time with her. Being with the cheerful and energetic Wakaba made him forget all the bad things he was going through. He was attracted to Wakaba as a girl, not as a sibling as he had felt before. When the girls were talking together during recess at school, they were talking about the person they liked. The boys listened attentively. There were many boys who were not interested in such things, and yet the boys who were beginning to be aware of them were listening attentively. Daiki was one of them. He thought that Wakaba was probably the most popular among the boys. The girls were getting excited and were making a lot of noise about what kind of person they wanted and what their preference would be. At last, one of the girls spoke up. ¡°Don¡¯t you have someone you like?¡± All the boys who were aware of the situation concentrated on it at once. ¡°I don¡¯t have one¡± ¡°What group is he in?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret!¡± They were getting excited. At last it was Wakaba¡¯s turn. All the boys were listening at once. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready for that kind of thing.¡± She was heard saying. All the boys were feeling both relieved and disappointed. Daiki naturally felt the same way, but because he was always with her, his disappointment was stronger than that of the other boys. The days went on like that, and the same routine was being lived. For now, Daiki was able to spend his time in peace. The stress at home was balanced out by being with Wakaba. As the year went on and graduation approached, one day a boy confessed his feelings to Wakaba. Daiki and Wakaba were going to go to a local junior high school, so they could spend their junior high life together. However, boys who live in different school districts or choose to take the middle school entrance exam will end up in a different middle school. It seems that one of the boys confessed his feelings to her. Wakaba¡¯s answer was. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know.¡± She said. ¡°Even if we go to different middle schools, we can still have fun together!¡± and seemed to be unconcerned about it. The boy who was rejected seemed to think that he still had a chance. ¡°When I have a day off, I¡¯ll come visit!¡± Daiki overheard the girls saying that he felt like he had not given up on her. From then until graduation, Wakaba was confessed to by a number of boys. Wakaba was turning all of them down, but they didn¡¯t seem to have given up on her. Then came the graduation ceremony. On the day of the graduation ceremony, she was confessed to by one of the boys, but she was the same old Wakaba. The graduation ceremony was over, and that day was the first time in a long time that he had been able to spend time with his family. After spring break, Wakaba invited him to play with her. At that time, Daiki asked her about it. Wakaba was not bothered by it and mentioned that she had been confessed and so forth. His feelings were blurred. He was jealous. ¡°I¡¯m the one who spends the most time with you¡­.. and yet you see me as nothing more than a male friend¡­?¡± It was at this point that Daiki realized for the first time that he ¡°I love you, Wakaba.¡± was in love with Wakaba. CH 6 Junior High School Entrance Ceremony Parents attended the ceremony, both of them. For now, at least, things remain normal for now. Even at home, they play the role of a temporary first family. Since then. The man who seems to be the real father has been coming less often. Although the frequency of his visits has decreased, it does not mean that the relationship between his father and mother has improved. It seems to be worse than before. Daiki continues to act as if he is trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Even when he is at home, his nerves are frayed. If it were not for Wakaba, he would have broken down long ago. He lasted until the entrance ceremony, but it was only a matter of time before the family was destroyed. After the entrance ceremony, Daiki was placed in class C. Wakaba was placed in class D and was in a different classroom from him for the first time. Although he would have preferred to be in the same class with Wakaba, they had joint classes for physical education and other subjects, so that was the only relief for him. He talked with Wakaba for a while and she said ¡°I couldn¡¯t be in the same class with you. But we can go together in the morning. It¡¯s not much different! Let¡¯s go home together until club activities start!¡± She said cheerfully as usual. That alone made Daiki happy. It can be the same as always. Today was just the entrance ceremony, so he had to go home with his parents. Although they came to the entrance ceremony, his parents had only minimal conversation with him. He went straight to lunch, but even there Daiki and his mother and father did not speak to each other. They went home and stayed in his room for the rest of the night. It was time for dinner, and there was no conversation there either. But today was different. Unlike usual, there was a sense of tension. ¡°Congratulations on your entrance into the school.¡± His father suddenly spoke to him. ¡°Daiki has finally become a junior high school student. Listen to me calmly.¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Daiki. I¡¯m sure you are aware of it. Father and mother are not getting along well. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s right after middle school. ¡­ We¡¯re devorcing.¡± The suddenness of the situation was confusing. He thought he was successfully playing the role of a normal person. Even so, it was too late. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­Daiki¡­ I can¡¯t be with father anymore. We can¡¯t be together¡­¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being such parents¡­¡± His mother apologized. No answer. Not willing to answer any questions. Daiki said nothing. ¡°You should live here with your mother. Then you won¡¯t have to change schools.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Daiki¡­ we decided on our own own¡­ I¡¯m sorry we decided without your permission¡­ I talked it over with your father and we decided on it¡­ That you stay here so that you can live the same life as before¡­ I¡¯ll support you. that¡¯s why¡­.. ¡­ ¡­¡± Yet Daiki said nothing. He couldn¡¯t say anything. Normalcy had been shattered. After that, his parents said something, but nothing came in. Daiki was losing his emotions. He did not want to think about anything. From the first day of junior high school, the normality that Daiki had cherished was broken. From the next day, normality changed at once. His father decided to leave. Yesterday was the last day to spend with his family. That¡¯s why they came to the entrance ceremony together. To spend the last time as a family. He was carrying a simple baggage, as if he would come back later to pick up his large baggage. ¡°Daiki¡­ Thank you for everything¡­ I won¡¯t be able to see you from now on. But I need you to support your mother well¡­ Good luck at school. Good bye.¡± And then he left. Daiki still didn¡¯t understand. He had just started junior high school, so he hadn¡¯t been told the whole story. He might have told me the reason for his divorce yesterday, but he could not remember much of what he said yesterday. Of course, about his real father, too. But, it felt his father knew everything. The way he looked at Daiki was like the way he looks at other children, like the way he talks to other children¡­ He felt the same way he did when he talked to his friend¡¯s father¡­ like he rarely saw his father anymore. An inexpressible loneliness came over me. It had all fallen apart so easily in just one day. The normalcy that Daiki had cherished and played out while wearing out his heart¡­ So fragile¡­ His mother hugged him and said ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ sorry¡­¡± and cried. Daiki did not cry. He could not cry. He had become accustomed to suppressing his emotions¡­ He had become so accustomed to acting that he could no longer express his emotions well¡­ Still, he couldn¡¯t miss his first day of junior high school. Wakaba would come to pick me up. Just as he was getting ready, she arrived to pick him up. ¡°Good morning, Daiki!¡± She was as cheerful as ever. That alone was enough to save his life. It warms his heart. ¡°Good morning, Wakaba.¡± He greeted her back. His mother also greeted Wakaba today and told her something. Wakaba looked surprised and said ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± She said. While heading to school ¡°Daiki, it¡¯s been a hard day¡­ ¡­ But your relationship with me won¡¯t change! We¡¯ll be fine and have fun as usual!¡± Saved by Wakaba¡¯s cheerfulness. He might be dependent on her. Still, if he suppresses his emotions, he can stay as he is. To keep things normal with Wakaba, lets just go on as usual. If my feelings of love are also suppressed, things can remain normal¡­ When they arrived at the school, Wakaba and he separated in front of the classroom because they were in different classes. ¡°Good luck, Daiki!¡± She waved at him. After entering the class, he went to his friend who had been in the same elementary school as him and waited for the teacher to arrive while talking. The teacher arrived and introduced himself. Nervously, Daiki introduced himself and learned everyone¡¯s name and face. Daiki became friends with everyone in the class and was able to fit in. Before he knew it, Daiki had become aware of the ordinary people everywhere he went. The first day ended without incident. On the way home with Wakaba, they talked about today¡¯s class. Wakaba seemed to have adjusted to the class. There was no worry in the first place. He was sure that Wakaba would be the center of the class. CH 7 ¡°Today is the entrance ceremony! Let¡¯s have fun and be merry in middle school!¡± Wakaba was in high spirits from the morning. Today, she was not with Daiki because she was going to attend the entrance ceremony with her parents. ¡°I wonder if Daiki will be okay¡­? I guess I will find out when I get to school!¡± she thought and got ready for school. Dressed in her junior high school uniform, she went to the entrance ceremony. When she and her parents arrived at the junior high school, she immediately looked for Daiki. There he was with his family. ¡°Thank goodness! I¡¯m so relieved!¡± Wakaba thought in her heart. She hurried to talk to Daiki and greeted his parents. Wakaba was busy being approached by other friends. Before she knew it, it was almost time for the entrance ceremony to begin, and first of all, she had to go to her class. She was in class D, and Daiki was in a different class from hers. ¡°I wonder if Daiki will be okay if I¡¯m not with him?¡± With what a thought, she entered the class, listened to the explanation of the entrance ceremony, and moved to the gymnasium. The entrance ceremony ended without incident, and that was the end of the day. Before leaving, she ran to find Daiki and said to him ¡°I couldn¡¯t be in the same class with you. But we can go together in the morning. It¡¯s not much different! Let¡¯s go home together until club activities start!¡± And so, she told him that she was going home with her parents today. To celebrate her entrance into the school, they went out for dinner at night. Wakaba has a good relationship with her parents and they are both cheerful, so they had a good time and went home. Tomorrow she would pick up Daiki again, so she got ready for school and went to sleep. The next day after breakfast, she got ready for school and headed to Daiki¡¯s house. Daiki had a gloomy look on his face, but he greeted me properly. Daiki¡¯s mother stopped her. ¡°Waka-chan, I¡¯m sorry¡­ Out of the blue, we are divorcing. So from today, Daiki and I will be living together. ¡­ I¡¯ll talk to Daiki today, so if anything happens, please support him¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m counting on you.¡± She said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± She responded firmly. For Wakaba, it was a matter of course to support Daiki. As they walked to school, she said ¡°Daiki, it¡¯s been a hard day¡­ ¡­ But your relationship with me won¡¯t change! It will be fine and have fun as usual!¡± She cheerfully told him. After arriving at school, having a casual conversation until splitting up in front of the classroom, she asked herself ¡°I wonder if Daiki will fit in with his class? If not, I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± She secretly made up her mind. Wakaba herself fit into the class without any problems, and before she knew it, she had become the center of the class. She was curious to see how Daiki was doing, so she quietly peeked into the class next to hers and found that there were some friends from the same elementary school as him, so he seemed to have adjusted to the class safely. It was a relief for the time being. On the way home, she and Daiki walked home together and talked about their classes. Daiki said ¡°I think I can get along with everyone!¡± So it seems that there is no need to worry at school for now. What happens at home, though, is a matter of concern. First of all, Daiki¡¯s mother She said she would talk to him today, so Wakaba had no choice but to wait until tomorrow. CH 8 He parted from Wakaba in front of his house and went inside. His mother was waiting for him. ¡°Daiki¡­ I want to talk about this morning. Will you listen to me¡­?¡± She asked with a mysterious look on her face. ¡°I understand. I want to hear everything.¡± Daiki responded. He went to the living room and sat down face to face with her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry this happened so suddenly¡­¡± His mother bowed her head and apologized. She slowly looked up and began to talk about her past. ¡°We¡¯ve been talking about it for a few years now Both of us, as husband and wife and as parents, can¡¯t continue as we are now¡­ ¡­ We talked about it a lot and decided to get a divorce.¡± After a short silence ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I decided to divorce without asking your feelings, Daiki¡­¡± ¡°Father and mother didn¡¯t really love each other¡­ ¡­ Before Daiki was born, I was in love with someone else. I wanted to marry him. But my family was against it. ¡­ I was still young, and now I can understand why. ¡­ I couldn¡¯t stand that at the time either¡­ I was seeing this person in secret, but even so, the chances of seeing him were getting fewer and fewer. ¡­ I decided to marry the man my parents had chosen for me¡­ ¡­ There was nothing I could do for my mother at that time¡­ That¡¯s when I met your father. ¡­ Your father was going through the same thing as I , and he was exhausted at that time. ¡­ We were both hurting, so I think it was a good match. ¡­ Then we started dating, and soon after we got married. I was pregnant with Daiki. ¡­ Then you were born. From then on, we were happy. ¡­ But as Daiki got older, I gradually realized that you didn¡¯t look like your father¡­ ¡­ I became anxious¡­ because at that time, your father was always working as if he was obsessed with something¡­ ¡­ Around the middle of Daiki¡¯s elementary school years, I met someone I liked again by chance. ¡­ And I told him about Daiki¡­ ¡­ I decided to do a DNA test¡­ ¡­ Daiki was the child of someone I loved¡­ ¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ But I was happy. Having a child with the man I love. ¡­ I felt so guilty for your father and so sorry towards you, Daiki¡­ ¡­ When I found out I was pregnant with Daiki, I really thought it was your father. But I got pregnant right after we started dating¡­ ¡­ There was also a lot of guessing about who I liked¡­ ¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡± The next thing he knew, his mother was on her knees. ¡°I think your father was aware of it too¡­ We talked it over and decided to get a divorce.¡± ¡°It seems that your father couldn¡¯t forget his ex, either¡­ We patched each other¡¯s wounds and played the part of a fake couple¡­ ¡­ But my love for Daiki is true. Father and mother both care about Daiki and are irreplaceable family members. ¡­ Even your father was against telling you the truth until the very end¡­ That¡¯s why I waited until you were in junior high school¡­ ¡­ I¡¯m sorry for being such selfish parents.¡± She kept apologizing while rubbing her head against the floor. Daiki did not know what to say. He did not know what was right and what was wrong. But if Daiki played the role of a normal person, he would not be broken any more. That is what he thought. That is why he continued to play the role of a normal person. It was not about forgiveness. He chose to play the role of a normal person, as usual, more cheerfully than usual. ¡°Thank you for talking to me! I¡¯m relieved to know that you love me! So don¡¯t apologize again! Let¡¯s get on with our lives together from now on! I wonder if I¡¯ll get to see my dad sometime? I¡¯m looking forward to it! ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± To avoid worrying, he talked a lot more than usual. He kept talking a lot without really knowing what he was talking about. His mother stood up and hugged him, hugging him tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Daiki¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± His mother¡¯s voice echoed. Daiki did not cry. [¡°If I don¡¯t hold back, I¡¯ll cause problem.¡±] Daiki suppressed his emotions and desperately held back his tears. Seeing Daiki like that, his mother continued to cry. It was not Daiki¡¯s fault. But Daiki felt responsible for his own actions. From that day on, Daiki stopped crying, and in order not to worry his mother, he became brighter and more cheerful than usual, and became obsessed with normality so as not to destroy it any further. CH 9 Daiki tried to live a normal life. He took a bath, ate dinner, chatted with his mother, and went to his room to sleep as usual. From the next day, Daiki acted more cheerful than usual. ¡°Good morning, mother!¡± Seeing Daiki like that, his mother could not hide her confusion. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Let¡¯s do our best together from today!¡± He was fine. Although she didn¡¯t know what was going on, she felt it was best to act brightly. His mother had no choice but to believe in him. She was still anxious, but she decided to watch over Daiki so that he would gradually get used to this life and become happy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what mother have done to you, Daiki. Please don¡¯t just put up with it. I will do whatever I can.¡± Is what she said to him ¡°I¡¯m not forcing myself! I¡¯ll tell you right away if there¡¯s anything wrong.¡± Is what he said He ate his breakfast quickly, got ready, and waited for Wakaba. The intercom rang and Wakaba arrived. ¡°Good morning, Daiki!¡± As usual. ¡°Good morning, Wakaba!¡± Daiki was brighter than usual. His mother also came out and talked with Wakaba for a while, then they went to school together. ¡°Daiki, today you are more cheerful than usual! Did something happen?¡± Wakaba asked. Wakaba was the only one who knew about his parents¡¯ situation, so he answered normally. ¡°Yesterday mother told me all about the reasons for the divorce and everything! She even told me about my real Dad! I¡¯m glad I got to hear all that! But I forgot to ask her what my real dad was like and what his name is!¡± Unlike yesterday, he talked a lot more than usual. Wakaba listened to everything he said until they arrived at the school. When they arrived at the school, they went to their own classrooms. Then Wakaba said ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, Daiki. I will never change! So definitely don¡¯t push yourself!¡± She said. ¡°Thanks, Wakaba! But don¡¯t worry! I am not pushing myself!¡± That was all he said and went into the classroom. Wakaba looked worriedly at his back. Even after entering the classroom, Daiki was brighter than usual, but no one was worried about his brightening. On the contrary, all the people were happy to accept Daiki, who became easier to talk to than usual. From that day on, Daiki became more cheerful and gradually became popular in class, and he found himself at the center of the class more and more often. It was not a bad thing, but to Wakaba, who knew what was going on, it seemed as if he was pushing himself too hard. Daiki was used to pretending to be something he was not in order to maintain a normal life, so he was fine with it. Everyone would be happier if he acted cheerful. Including his mother. And Wakaba. He tried to think that they must want that. At that time, he really thought that he could keep his normal life by suppressing his true feelings. These days continued, and at school and at home, he thought he was somehow able to maintain a normal life. CH 10 Wakaba couldn¡¯t sit still in her room at the time when Daiki¡¯s mother was supposed to be talking to him. ¡°I wonder if they¡¯re talking to each other properly? Is Daiki going to be okay? I wonder if he is crying like that time?¡± The more she thought about these questions, the more worried she became. There was no way to contact his home, but she was so worried that she couldn¡¯t calm down no matter what she did. Despite being restless, she took a bath, ate dinner, and went back to her room. When alone, the thoughts came back to her mind. And so, before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. Wakaba, still in junior high school, could not overcome sleepiness. The next morning. She quickly got ready, ate her breakfast as if she were pouring it down her throat, and ran to Daiki¡¯s house. In front of Daiki¡¯s house, she caught her breath and rang the intercom. As usual ¡°Good morning, Daiki!¡± She greeted him cheerfully. And then ¡°Good morning, Wakaba!¡± It came back brighter than usual. She was a little perplexed ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing well!¡± she also thought. Daiki¡¯s mother also came out and spoke with her. ¡°I told Daiki everything last night Daiki says he¡¯s embraced it, but I get the feeling he¡¯s really pushing himself¡­ I feel like he¡¯s trying to act cheerful on purpose. It¡¯s all our fault, but he doesn¡¯t blame us at all¡­ He is forcing himself to smile without shedding a tear. I don¡¯t know what to say, but¡­ Would you please watch over him at school, Wakaba? Please?¡± The mother said. Wakaba said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll watch over him! Please leave it to me!¡± She responded. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for everything. Please take care of him.¡± They headed straight for the school. While walking to the school, she said ¡°Daiki, today you are more cheerful than usual! Did something happen?¡± Wakaba asked. Wakaba knew about what they would talk about yesterday, but she pretended not to know, which is why she was worried about Daiki¡¯s change. ¡°Yesterday mother told me all about the reasons for the divorce and everything! She even told me about my real Dad! I¡¯m glad I got to hear all that! But I forgot to ask her what my real dad was like and what his name is!¡± Unlike usual, he talked a lot. He talked all the way through the rest of the day. Wakaba kept listening until they arrived at the school. When they arrived at the school and came to the front of the own classroom. Wakaba said ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, Daiki. I will never change! So definitely don¡¯t push yourself!¡± She said. ¡°Thanks, Wakaba! But don¡¯t worry! I am not pushing myself!¡± And then she went into the classroom. Wakaba became even more worried about Daiki. Staring at Daiki¡¯s back, she said ¡°Daiki, you¡¯re pushing yourself too hard¡­¡± She said sadly to herself. From that day on, Daiki became brighter and brighter. ¡°Are you all right, Daiki?¡± No matter what the answer. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Wakaba!¡± He would always reply the same. Daiki became more and more comfortable in the class, and before he knew it, he was seen at the center of the class. Wakaba, too, grew accustomed to the scene and decided that if Daiki was okay with it, she would continue as usual. ¡°It¡¯s also my role to watch over my little brother¡¯s growth.¡± She had an appointment with Daiki¡¯s mother, so she decided to enjoy her time with her as usual. CH 11 As she prepared breakfast early in the morning, her mother regretted. ¡°I¡¯ve given Daiki a hard time.¡± It was difficult for Daiki to force himself to act cheerful. She wanted Daiki to be angry and cry. But Daiki chose to act cheerful. ¡°I¡¯m not a good mother.¡± She became more and more depressed. Then Daiki woke up. ¡°Good morning mother!¡± Seeing Daiki forcing himself to act as cheerful as he did yesterday, she was perplexed. ¡°I¡¯m doing great! Let¡¯s both do our best from today!¡± Forcing himself to be cheerful. He was trying to act cheerful. But she had no choice but to believe in Daiki. There were still some seeds of anxiety, but she decided to watch over Daiki so that he would get used to this life little by little and become happy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what mother did to you, Daiki. Please don¡¯t just put up with it. I will do whatever I can.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m not forcing myself! If something happens, I¡¯ll tell you right away, so don¡¯t worry!¡± He said. Having said that she would watch over him, she was about to cry at the sight of Daiki. It was their fault that Daiki was having a hard time. She had no intention of becoming this kind of mother. She regretted what she had done. But there was nothing else to do but to believe in what Daiki wanted to do. Because she cherishes and loves Daiki, she will support and watch over him so that he will not have to suffer any more pain and suffering because of them¡­ His mother swore that she would not change that determination, even if people thought it was her fault. When Daiki had finished getting ready, the intercom rang. Wakaba had come to pick him up. To talk about yesterday. His mother also went outside. She went near Wakaba and said ¡°I told Daiki everything last night Daiki says he¡¯s embraced it, but I get the feeling he¡¯s really pushing himself¡­ I feel like he¡¯s trying to act cheerful on purpose. It¡¯s all our fault, but he doesn¡¯t blame us at all¡­ He is forcing himself to smile without shedding a tear. I don¡¯t know what to say, but¡­ Would you please watch over him at school, Wakaba? Please?¡± She told Wakaba. Then Wakaba said ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll watch over him! Please leave it to me!¡± She responded. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for everything. Please take care of him.¡± She asked Wakaba as if she were praying for them and saw them off. Until they were out of sight. The mother, who remained alone, was also stricken with remorse. She was frustrated with herself for not being able to do anything else but watch over him. Shameful that she has entrusted it to Wakaba. ¡°Daiki¡­I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡± A voice in her heart leaked out. CH 12 One month after entering junior high school. Daiki decided to join the soccer club. Wakaba joined the tennis club. Both of them liked sports. So they decided to join the sports club. Wakaba said to Daiki ¡°Let¡¯s join the tennis club together!¡± He was told, but he wanted to play sports with as many friends as possible, so he chose soccer, where he could play in eleven-man games. The tennis club was also outside, which made him decide to join the club for the rather simple reason that he could see Wakaba a little more. Wakaba had always been interested in tennis, so she chose tennis. In the morning, they went to the club together, and on the way home, they would wait for the person who finished club activities earlier. School life was enjoyable. Although in different classes, they both became popular in their classes. It was not so much a change, but Wakaba was still popular. She started to lose her childishness after entering junior high school, and her appearance became more dainty than before. Inside, she was still energetic and cheerful, popular with both boys and girls alike. Daiki also became more popular because of his brightness. His original face was not so bad, and he began to grow taller, making him look like he would be popular. However, since he was always with Wakaba, he could not get rid of the younger brother feeling, so he could not become popular. He was having a good time with his club mates. So far, things were going as Daiki had hoped. Wakaba was also enjoying her school life with her friends while worrying about Daiki. She is also doing her best in tennis, a club activity she has always wanted to play. She is athletic, so she quickly became good at it. The boys¡¯ tennis team also shared the same court, so most of the boys¡¯ club members were so worried about Wakaba that they didn¡¯t practice. Wakaba is really popular. Not only from her classmates but also from her club mates. With such popularity, there might have been jealousy and backbiting, but this was not the case, as she was more popular with the girls. Daiki, looking at Wakaba from a distance, said to her ¡°Wakaba, you are still as amazing as ever!¡± he said to himself. At home, the two of them were getting used to life together. Since his father used to work all the time, not much has changed, but there is a big difference between having him around and not having him around. There are times when a man¡¯s help is needed. His body was getting bigger, so Daiki started to carry heavy things. He also started helping out more than before. His mother also increased her part-time hours, so Daiki did the laundry and dishes. Daiki was satisfied with his daily life. He thought he had to work hard to build this normal life again. During Golden Week, he was mostly involved in club activities, but on his days off, he went shopping with his mother and met and talked with Wakaba for a while. From this time on, Daiki¡¯s personality became more and more mature as he tried not to show his emotions. Now, Wakaba was no longer the older sister, but Daiki was like the older brother. In front of Wakaba and everyone else at the school, he had decided to act like a little brother as he had in the past, but inside, Wakaba had become more childish than him. CH 13 After the Golden Week break, the normal daily routine continued and before they knew it, they were on their way to the summer vacation. The relationship between Daiki and Wakaba remained like that of sister and brother. Daiki liked Wakaba as a member of the opposite sex, but he did not want to ruin their relationship, so he tried to avoid expressing his feelings of love. Wakaba was still the same cheerful and cheerful Wakaba that she had always been, as if she was still not interested in love. Daiki was fine with the way things were. He was happy with his normal life, nothing had changed. However, his surroundings started to change. Even if Daiki did not want to change, the people around him wanted to change. The gym class was a joint class with Wakaba¡¯s class. Wakaba is always at the center of the class, so she has a lot of friends around her, both male and female. Daiki is also popular in class and has many friends, but he gets jealous when he sees Wakaba talking happily with boys. Although Daiki spends more time with her than Wakaba, he feels jealous of her. Since it was the first time that Daiki and Wakaba were in different classes, it was during P.E. class that he could see how Wakaba was spending her time in class and with what kind of friends she was spending time with. After all, she was a popular girl. Some of the boys in the class must like her. Daiki also likes Wakaba, so he knew what was going on. The boys who like Wakaba are showing off their athletic ability during gym class. It is a typical junior high school student¡¯s thing to do. His appearance was like he was appealing to Wakaba with everyone around him. Every time during PE, the boys looked forward to it, but at the same time, it was a time of bewilderment. At the beginning and end of PE, Wakaba always came to say a few words to the Daiki, so he felt a sense of superiority over everyone else. However, to the people around him, it looked like an older sister looking out for her younger brother. People around them only looked at them with kind eyes. After all, before the summer vacation, the number of love affairs gradually increased. Even in the same class, there was a lot of talk about who they liked, who they confessed their feelings to, who they went out with, etc. Naturally, there was talk about Wakaba, too. Naturally, Wakaba was also talked about. Wakaba was popular and had already been confessed to by several boys. She also mentioned something like that. She pretended not to mind, but it still bothered him. The only thing she told him was that he had been rejected, so for now he was trying to think that everything would be okay. Today was a day without club activities, so they decided to go home together, but Wakaba was called by a boy, so he decided to wait until it was over. Wakaba came back and they went home together. ¡± It was another confession I don¡¯t know anything about relationships yet, and I want to have fun with everyone, so why do they want to go out with each other? Don¡¯t you think so too, Daiki?¡± She asked. Daiki, who likes Wakaba, wasn¡¯t sure what to say, but he decided to go along with Wakaba. ¡°I think so too.¡± He only answered He was relieved that Wakaba had said no, but it was complicated. This was because he knew that Wakaba did not see him as a member of the opposite sex. Daiki chose to remain the same and remain normal. Gradually the gap widened. CH 14 Summer vacation is full of events as well as club activities. Outside of club activities, there were many more opportunities to hang out with the club members. After club activities, they went out to eat, went to karaoke, and sometimes hung out with friends outside of the club. Wakaba also got a cell phone, so they keep in touch every day. Being able to keep in touch with Wakaba every day was a very happy thing for Daiki. He was happy when he saw her, but he could also talk to her after he went home, so he did not feel bad even when he was at home. The summer vacation was fulfilling. In the midst of all this, Wakaba said to him: ¡°Let¡¯s go to the summer festival!¡± She invited him. Every year, friends from school used to go to this event together. This year, she invited her friends who went to a different junior high school and they all decided to go together. Among them was the boy who had confessed his feelings to Wakaba. Feeling a little bewildered, he decided that it would be all right. The first festival was held at the end of July. The friends he hadn¡¯t seen in a while hadn¡¯t changed that much inside or out, and soon they were having as much fun as they had in elementary school. The boys were, at first, a bit shy because Wakaba had become even cuter. They were all having a good time acting together. Gradually, the boys who went to different junior high schools talked to Wakaba aggressively as if to make up for the advantage of not being able to be with her on a regular basis. Wakaba¡¯s attitude toward both boys and girls remained the same as usual. She spoke so naturally that it was almost as if she had forgotten that she had been confessed to. The boys, perhaps relieved by her attitude, were actively appealing to her. They were trying their best to talk about how many places they got in the tests, how they became regulars in the first year, and how girls often confessed their love for them. Wakaba was also genuinely complimenting them, so the boys misunderstood her. Soon, the boys surrounded Wakaba and became enthusiastic about the conversation. Daiki was not one of them and spent his time with other friends, feeling bewildered. The other friends said ¡°Not again.¡± He was enjoying the festival without worrying too much about it. Wakaba is a popular girl, so she often sees this kind of thing. As the time for the fireworks approached, the boys began to get nervous. They decided to go to a certain place where they watch the fireworks every year. The boys were engrossed in talking until the very last minute, so they ran to the spot. As they were running, one of their friends fell down. Daiki immediately ran over to him ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked him He looked a little sore, so everyone else ran up to him, but he decided to let them go ahead of him. Wakaba was about to say she would stay behind, but The boys said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± and they grabbed her arms and left. He was feeling a bit sad, but he couldn¡¯t leave his friend behind. His friend had only scraped his knee, so a bandage was put on it and that was it. ¡°I am sorry, Daiki¡± He looked apologetic, saying ¡°It¡¯s fine! Don¡¯t worry about it! It¡¯s already started, but let¡¯s walk slowly!¡± He cheerfully told him. The fireworks had already started, but he and his friend decided to walk slowly. When Daiki arrived at his usual spot, he found Wakaba¡¯s back as she looked up at the fireworks. There were boys standing on either side of Wakaba. It was usually Daiki¡¯s place, but this year he couldn¡¯t watch the fireworks next to her. Jealousy was more prevalent than envy. While watching the fireworks, he did not go to the others but stayed in the back to watch the fireworks. To keep his mind calm, he tried not to show it in his facial expression or attitude. Until the end, he only looked at Wakaba while watching the fireworks. After the fireworks were over, he joined everyone else. Everyone was worried about his friend, but was happy to hear that everything seemed to be okay, and they talked about fireworks. Daiki hid his feelings and was cheerful as usual. He treated them as usual. He did not let Wakaba know how he felt. After the fireworks were over, everyone wanted to stay together, but their parents were worried about them staying too late, so they had no choice but to go home. He thought he and Wakaba could go home alone, but one of the boys said ¡°It¡¯s not safe. I¡¯ll take you home.¡± He said. Wakaba replied with a ¡°I¡¯m with Daiki, so I¡¯ll be fine!¡± But he replied. ¡°It would be safer if we all went home together!¡± They did not listen. He probably wanted to show his kindness. Wakaba also felt bad about refusing him again and again. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s all go home together.¡± Not only Wakaba, but all the girls were given a ride home as well. Everyone was having a good time on the way home. One by one, the girls arrived at their houses, and Wakaba was the last one. Since Daiki¡¯s house was located before Wakaba¡¯s house, Daiki was never alone with Wakaba until the end of the festival. The festival was a blur until the very end. CH 15 The blurred festival was over and August began. Ever since his father left him, he has not seen him once. Yet, he still wonders if he will never see his father again. He wanted to see him, but Daiki could not tell him because of the fact that he was not his real son. As soon as August arrived, his mother told him that she had something to tell him. To some extent, Daiki had an idea of what she wanted to talk about. Pretending not to understand, Daiki asked her about it and found out that it was about his real father. She wanted him to meet him once before he went on his Bon vacation. It was not that he wanted to see him or talk to him. To Daiki, he was no more than a person who had destroyed his normal life. However, it is also his mother¡¯s request. He agreed to meet with him in order to protect his current normal. His mother must have been relieved. ¡°Thank you, Daiki.¡± And then she smiled. Daiki thought that he had done the right thing in faking it this time, too. And he told Wakaba about it. From Wakaba she said, ¡°It¡¯s okay to meet, but don¡¯t force yourself or endure anything!¡± She told him, Just by having Wakaba worry about him, Daiki was happy. The day to meet his real father was decided, and the day arrived. He was told that his real father would be coming to the house, so he prepared himself and waited for him. His mother was also anxious. As for Daiki, he had seen him several times, so he knew his face, but he had never talked to him before. Not sure what kind of story he would tell. He decided to go along with it anyway. The intercom rang, and at last it was time to meet. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I¡¯m Tsukasa Togo. Thank you very much for meeting me today.¡± He bowed deeply. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Daiki Hamanaka. My best regards.¡± He bowed and greeted his father. Although his father¡¯s surname was Togo, Daiki¡¯s surname was originally his mother¡¯s, so it had not been changed. After greeting him, he went to the living room and sat down at the table facing him. ¡°My name is Tsukasa Togo. As you may have heard, I am your father. I¡¯m really sorry that we haven¡¯t had a chance to meet until now.¡± He bowed deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to accept me as your father after all this time. I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t accept me. But, can you give me a chance to spend time with you, Daiki? ¡­ Even if I can¡¯t be your father, I can be your uncle who is closest to you. ¡­ I know this is a sudden request, but could you please listen to me?¡± He asked with his head bowed. His mother bowed with him. For the moment, he decided to surrender to them. ¡°I have only one father, so I would appreciate it if uncle, who is closest to me, would be willing to listen to me.¡± He responded. He took both of them by the hand and was pleased. For the time being, he thought it was the right thing to do. After that, they talked about many things. Togo-san¡¯s family had a long-established family tradition, and it seems that he had a so-called ¡°fiancee¡± and that free love was only allowed until he was a student. It was unusual in this day and age, but apparently it does exist. It seems that the woman he was dating when he was a student was his mother, and he was thinking of getting married to her. However, Togo¡¯s parents did not allow him to do so. They tried to persuade him, but he was forced into a marriage with his wife. They forced him to leave Daiki¡¯s mother behind the scenes so that she could not contact him. He was forced to go abroad for work and could not return to Japan. He said he finally returned to Japan and went to his mother¡¯s place of work to look for her. There he was surprised to hear about Daiki for the first time and was very happy to hear about him. However, he also said that he felt really sorry for both his husband and Daiki. After that, he tried to find a way to be with his mother, and he finally found a way. His current wife was not interested in Togo-san, and since it was a political marriage, they had no choice but to be together. They worked together to find a way to separate amicably, and were able to get their parents to agree to divorce. He also talked to Daiki¡¯s father. ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as Daiki doesn¡¯t mind.¡± He told him ¡°But I am Daiki¡¯s father!¡± He said, These words made him the happiest. The father, in his own way, was troubled by the fact that he thought of Daiki as his son, but when he found out the truth, he was afraid that he would not be chosen as a father, so he ran away to work only, and eventually he did not know how to interact with Daiki anymore. He said ¡°I¡¯m so glad.¡± That was what was going through his mind. He said he would not meet with Daiki until he met with Togo. Daiki can meet his father if he wants to. He was happy just to think that he could meet his father. He said that all the discussions with his father were done before he entered junior high school. Then they talked about their future plans, and most of the things were decided. First of all, he decided to stay with them every weekend. It seems that this is to gradually deepen their friendship. Next, he asked his mother to marry him next year. She replied she would love it. The last day to see his father was set. During the Obon vacation, he was going to visit his mother¡¯s parents and stay overnight at his father¡¯s place. He was looking forward to the Obon vacation. After that, Togo told them the story of how he had built a successful company and convinced his parents, and how he and his wife wanted to have a free love life in order to get divorced. In the end, he apologized and Togo and his ex-wife were free. It was good to hear many stories. It was getting late and Togo-san left. The next time he would come to see them would be after the Bon festival. The truth is, Daiki didn¡¯t want to see him today, but he doesn¡¯t mind seeing him next time. CH 16 Translator: Soafp Later that day, he contacted Wakaba. ¡°He was so nice! I got to hear all kinds of stories!¡± He said happily about what he had heard today. Everything from the first day he came home, to his relationship with his mother, to why he couldn¡¯t marry Daiki¡¯s mother, and so on. He told Wakaba everything. Wakaiba nodded her head and listened to him. Then he told her about his father. ¡°My father didn¡¯t hate me! After he found out what happened, he was afraid that I would hate him, so he didn¡¯t know how to treat me! That¡¯s why I got to go see him this Obon!¡± He was happy to talk about it. ¡°I¡¯m so happy for you! Daiki!¡± Wakaba said and rejoiced with him. After that, he talked a lot. He told her that his mother was planning to remarry and that his real father¡¯s name was Tsukasa Togo. Instead of the usual fake cheerfulness, he really seemed to be enjoying himself. In her heart, Wakaba said ¡°I¡¯m so happy for you! Daiki!¡± she thought. He talked about all kinds of things with her. ¡°I¡¯ll call you tomorrow! Good night!¡± and hung up the phone. After he hung up the phone, Wakaba was still happy for him. But she also felt a little sad. ¡°You didn¡¯t look that happy when I cheered you up¡­¡± She felt a little depressed, which was unusual for her. Around the time of the summer festival, she had been thinking that Daiki had started to drift away from her as a sister. On the day of the summer festival, she could not give much attention to Daiki and talked only with her friends. Daiki also seemed to enjoy talking with other friends. Wakaba was happy to see it, but she also felt lonely. After that, on the way to the fireworks, one of his friends fell down and Daiki ran up to him. He told her that she could go ahead of him. Wakaba wanted to stay with him, but her friend pulled her arm and took her away. She couldn¡¯t watch the fireworks with Daiki, even though he was always next to her. Daiki didn¡¯t come near her until the fireworks were over. Unable to concentrate on the fireworks, she only looked at Daiki. On the way home, she thought she could go home alone with Daiki, but everyone decided to go home together and she couldn¡¯t talk to him until the last minute. This time, too, it was a family matter, so there was no room for Wakaba. But Daiki solved the problem by himself. Wakaba did not do anything. On the contrary, to Daiki, she was an irreplaceable presence and a source of emotional support. That¡¯s why he suppresses his feelings of love for Wakaba so that he can be normal and in order not to ruin the relationship. Wakaba is not very good at love. That is why she thinks of her feelings for Daiki from her sister¡¯s perspective. She looks at him as if he was her family member. As if she is looking out for her younger brother, not the opposite sex. She doesn¡¯t realize that the blurring at this time is the beginning of love. She feels that she misses her younger brother because he is growing up so fast. ¡°I wish he depended on me more¡­¡± She fell asleep while thinking that. CH 17 The long-awaited Obon vacation has arrived. Daiki was looking forward to seeing his father. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what the day brings!¡± He said, smiling to himself. Today, his father was supposed to pick him up at the station, so he walked to the station alone. As soon as he arrived at the station, he found his father. He ran up to him. ¡°Long time no see, Dad!¡± he called out to him. ¡°Long time no see, Daiki. How have you been?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been fine!¡± Daiki replied. He looked more kind than before. His eyes on Daiki were different from before, and it was as if he was looking at him as his son. That alone made Daiki happy. Daiki got into his father¡¯s car and headed for the ryokan where he would be staying for the day. When he got into the car, his father said to him ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t pick you up at home. It just felt kind of awkward.¡± He said. ¡°No problem at all!¡± Daiki said. ¡°Thanks for saying that!¡± He followed up with. In the car, they talked about school and other things. There was the normalcy that Daiki had hoped for, as if he cherished these casual conversations as if it made up for the time when they lived together. It may be distorted, but the hole in his heart seems to have been filled up a little. While having such a conversation, before Daiki knew it, they had arrived at the ryokan. After putting the luggage in the inn, they went out to see the sights. It was refreshing for him because he had rarely gone out alone with his father before. It was like a fun trip for two men, touring the sights together. In the evening, they returned to the ryokan and took a bath together. It was a large bathroom, and Daiki was embarrassed at first to be in there with his father because he was at that age, but when he realized it, it became normal. It seems that embarrassment is nothing if one gets used to it. After the bath, they returned to their room. The food was brought to the room, and it was a delicious-looking seafood dish. The two of them enjoyed the food together. After they finished eating, his father began to talk. ¡°Daiki must have heard everything¡­¡± Daiki said ¡°Yes, I heard everything.¡± Daiki only responded. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for everything.¡± His father bowed his head and apologized. ¡°I had no intention of neglecting Daiki. I was shocked when I found out that I am not related to Daiki. ¡­ But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are my child. ¡­ That¡¯s what I thought. ¡­ But when Daiki found out the truth, I became worried that you might not call me dad anymore, or that you might think of me as a stranger. ¡­ I found myself working all the time. ¡­ I started to avoid Daiki. ¡­ Unknowingly, I was hurting Daiki so that I wouldn¡¯t have a hard time even if Daiki thought of me as a stranger. ¡­ If I think about it for a moment, Daiki should be the one in the most pain¡­ ¡­ I¡¯m really sorry. ¡­ The fact that I said I wouldn¡¯t see Daiki until I heard what he had to say was like an insurance policy to protect myself. ¡­ I let Daiki choose. ¡­ I received a call from your mother saying that she had talked to you. ¡­ [For me, I have only one father, so I would appreciate it if you could be my closest uncle.] I couldn¡¯t stop crying when I heard that you told Togo-san that. I want to meet Daiki and apologize to you right away. I wanted to meet Daiki right now and hug you. ¡­ A father like this, but a father who is not even related to you by blood¡­ ¡­ Can I be Daiki¡¯s father¡­?¡± Daiki answered. ¡°Of course! My father has always been and will always be the only father I have!¡± Daiki replied. ¡°Daiki! Thank you, thank you¡­¡± He hugged Daiki, crying. He hugged him back with a smile. No tears are shed. It would make him worry. But he was happy. When he calmed down a little, he asked the question he had been wondering about. ¡°Did father start to dislike mother after you found out that you are not related to me?¡± And then. ¡°At first I only blamed your mother. I knew what was going on before she told me. ¡­ But I guess we didn¡¯t love each other in the first place. ¡­ You heard the story before I started going out with your mother, right? Dad had a girlfriend, too. ¡­ I was in love with her, and I couldn¡¯t stop loving her. ¡­ But then she suddenly disappeared¡­ ¡­ It was an unexpected accident. When I heard the news, I rushed to her place, but I couldn¡¯t get there in time¡­ Yesterday she was smiling, and the next day she stopped smiling. She was cold to the touch¡­ ¡­ It was hard¡­ At that time¡­ After that, it was rough¡­ because my goals were gone and I didn¡¯t care about it anymore. ¡­. That¡¯s when I met your mother. She looked just like me. ¡­ Looking back, I used her. ¡­ To drown my pain, to drown my sorrow¡­ ¡­ So when I heard she was pregnant, it didn¡¯t take long for us to get married. Then Daiki was born and I was happy. ¡­ But before I knew it, I started thinking about it. ¡­ The life with my girlfriend who is no longer with me. ¡­ I found myself comparing them. I was always comparing. There is no way I can compare with the one who is no longer here, even though it makes no sense to do so. ¡­ After living like that, I found out that I am not related to Daiki. ¡­ Your mother really thought you were my child, and every day she would get down on her knees and apologize to me. ¡­ I was angry at first, but then I started to think that maybe I was the one who had betrayed her. ¡­ I asked your mother about it. ¡­ She knew from the beginning that she was being compared. She even mentioned my girlfriend¡¯s name in my sleep. ¡­ I figured that in the end we were both betraying each other, that we were using each other from the beginning. ¡­ That doesn¡¯t mean I forgive her, but I¡¯m convinced that it was a mutual thing. ¡­ I think your mother must have suffered a lot. She cried a lot when Daiki was not around¡­ She tried hard not to let Daiki see her crying. On the other hand, I kept running away¡­ Running away from my lover¡¯s death¡­ I ran away from your mother¡­ This time, I ran away from Daiki¡­ I¡¯m pathetic. ¡­ Your mother really didn¡¯t know what was going on, so don¡¯t hate her. ¡­ I¡¯m going to face it from now on without running away! ¡­ I guess I should thank your mom too! She allowed me to be Daiki¡¯s father! ¡­ I am so grateful to her for bringing you into the world! ¡­ Dad will never marry again. I can¡¯t forget my dead lover. That¡¯s why the only son I will ever have is and always will be Daiki! I wish you all the best in the future!¡± He said with a smile at the end. It made Daiki really happy. A smile naturally overflowed onto his face. After that, the two of them talked about various things to make up for the time they had lost so far, and ended their overnight trip by going to various places. Without deciding when to meet again, they decided to keep in touch and build a parent-child relationship, like friends. So they could meet whenever they wanted to. His mother and father had also made their greetings, and had given their official approval. They also got Togo-san¡¯s parents to approve of their marriage, and they began to move forward with the remarriage. CH 18 Summer vacation is only a few days away. He has a good relationship with his father, mother, and Togo-san. It may seem distorted from the outside, but from Daiki¡¯s point of view, this is the normalcy that he has finally achieved. He is living a fulfilling life. He keeps in touch with Wakaba every day. Of course, he talked to her about his father. Other than that, most of the conversations were casual. When talking about such things, Wakaba said to him. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the summer festival this week together!¡± She said Therefore, he replied ¡°Sure! Have you invited everyone already?¡± he asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t invited them yet, so I¡¯ll contact the girls, and you contact the boys!¡± She said. Immediately after that, he contacted his male friends and invited those who could come. It seemed that some of them had made plans with other friends, so it was going to be the same group as last time. Only one friend who had not come last time decided to come. The girls were almost the same members as last time, so a meeting time was set and the contact was made. On the day of the summer festival, he went to pick up Wakaba. Last time she was in plain clothes, but this time she was wearing a yukata. ¡°How do you like it? It looks good on me, doesn¡¯t it?¡± She said to him, and he came back to himself. ¡°You look so pretty!¡± That was all he could say. Really, he was in awe of her. ¡°Thank you! Daiki!¡± And Wakaba was the same as usual. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go!¡± and they headed for the meeting place together. Daiki was walking with nervousness. But he didn¡¯t want to show his feelings, so he decided to go down the street as usual. Until they arrived at the meeting place, he tried so hard not to be noticed that he could not remember what they had talked about. When they arrived at the meeting place, the boys were still admiring Wakaba. That¡¯s how cute she was. After meeting up with the others, the boys were trying to appeal to Wakaba just like last time, but more aggressively. Today, Wakaba was even cuter and the boys were desperate. However, Daiki, like last time, did not join the circle and stayed with other friends. Last time, he was enjoying the festival with his friend who had fallen down and some of other female friends while talking. Wakaba also wanted to have fun with everyone, so she was having fun with the girls as well as the boys. She had not been able to talk to Daiki since they arrived at the festival site. Daiki is Daiki, and he really wants to talk with Wakaba. But since they are always together, it is okay if they don¡¯t talk at least at times like this. There is an air of a feeling of having said that. Even among boys, there is an atmosphere of romance. And even more so because Daiki himself is seen as a younger brother. Still, both of them are enjoying the last festival of the summer vacation. It was fun just to stand in line at the stalls with everyone else. Some friends who did not come last time seemed to be having a good time. Shiraishi Ren, who is in the same class as Wakaba, is handsome, smart, and taller than any of the boys who came today. He is a handsome boy with a high spec. He and Wakaba look good together even when they are side by side. He also talks with Wakaba a little bit, but the girls don¡¯t leave him alone. He was very popular this time because he didn¡¯t come last time. The girls were divided into three groups. Wakaba Group Shiraishi Group The group with no interest in romance Daiki had no choice but to stay in the group without any romantic interest. As the time for the fireworks approached, they started to move to a place where they could see the fireworks again. Since the festival was held at a different venue from the previous one, they had no idea where to watch the fireworks. After discussing with everyone, they arrived at a place where the crowd was a little crowded. Wakaba was also having difficulty walking because she was wearing geta (wooden clogs). By the time the fireworks started, the place was overflowing with people. Then someone bumped into Wakaba and sprained her foot. The person closest to her was Ren Shiraishi. He immediately ran to Wakaba and helped her to her feet. ¡°You guys watch the fireworks. I¡¯ll carry Misaki to a place where she can sit down.¡± He encouraged her to get on his back by saying that. Wakaba also thought that she was going to cause trouble for everyone when the fireworks were about to start. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone, I¡¯m taking a break¡± And then she decided to ride on his back, which she usually would not do. Everyone wanted to join in, but just moving through the crowd was a challenge. The boys looked on in frustration and the girls looked off in envy. Daiki couldn¡¯t concentrate on the fireworks anymore. All he could think about was what he had just seen. He had never carried Wakaba on his back, nor had he ever been carried on her back. Moreover, Shiraishi was a natural. He carried Wakaba on his back as a matter of course. There was nothing else he could do but to watch her go. His chest became painful. Again, like the old days, the feeling was bad. Until the fireworks were over, all he could think about was that indescribable feeling. Shiraishi did not come back until the fireworks were over. CH 19 Translator: Soafp After the fireworks were over, he looked for Wakaba and Shiraishi. One of the girls called Wakaba on her cell phone and said she was resting on a bench nearby. So they went to the bench. Wakaba and Shiraishi were talking happily. They were both a beautiful couple and looked very picturesque. Seeing them together, Daiki¡¯s chest tightened. He couldn¡¯t hold it in, so he said ¡°I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡± And he left the place before he reached Wakaba¡¯s location. A short distance away, Daiki was desperately trying to calm down. If he didn¡¯t act as usual, if he didn¡¯t act normal, he would break down again. Daiki decided to give himself some time to calm down before going back to the others so that he wouldn¡¯t show his attitude. He wanted to calm down and go back to the others, but it was too crowded to go back right away. So he decided to call one of his friends and told him to go ahead It took a while to get to the bench where Wakaba and the others were. ¡°Good thing I asked them to go ahead¡± He thought to himself. By that time, Wakaba and others were walking through the crowd. They were going to wait for Daiki, but Wakaba¡¯s foot was a little swollen, so they decided to go first. Wakaba said she could walk. ¡°Your leg is a little swollen, so don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± Shiraishi was still carrying Wakaba on his back. She got off on his back through the crowd ¡°Thank you!¡± She told him. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Daiki, so you can all go first!¡± She said to him. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Wakaba¡¯s leg.¡± After everyone told her, she decided to contact Daiki and then leave. Daiki could not be reached, and some of them decided to stay for Daiki instead. On the way home, she decided to walk. ¡°If you push yourself too hard, you won¡¯t be able to play tennis.¡± Shiraishi insisted that he carry her on his back and take her home. Since it was a little far, only those who were going home in the same direction decided to go home first. To avoid getting tired on the way home, they rested once in a park on the way home. The number of friends who came home together also decreased one by one because they had to take a different path than Wakaba. In the end, only Wakaba remained. ¡°I¡¯ll walk home from here because I feel bad for Shiraishi-kun!¡± But Shiraishi was adamant that he would take her home. He carried her on his back until the end and dropped her off in front of her house. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about today. It must have been heavy for you to carry me on your back. And you had to walk me home.¡± Wakaba said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m totally fine! It was a little heavy! Haha.¡± He said. ¡°Mou, that¡¯s so rude! You¡¯re supposed to tell me it¡¯s not like that!¡± She turned red in the face and retorted. ¡± You were really light! There was no weight at all! Haha¡± He responded back in a friendly manner and laughed. ¡°I hope the swelling goes down tomorrow! Take a good rest today! See you at school!¡± Shiraishi turned to leave. ¡°Thank you so much for today! See you at school!¡± and she went inside the house. Daiki, who had been swallowed by the crowd, was finally able to get out. He was about to return the call when he found his friend who had stayed behind. ¡°Thank goodness. Daiki, are you okay?¡± He asked him. ¡°I am fine! The restroom was really crowded!¡± He said, and fooled him. Everyone else was as well ¡°I thought you were sick, so I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay.¡± He said. Wakaba said she had to leave first because her leg was a little swollen. He thanked everyone for waiting for him and dismissed the group. It seemed that his friends who were going back in the direction of Daiki¡¯s house had gone home with Wakaba and the others, so he was alone on his way home. Remembering the day¡¯s events, he was walking along the street and before he knew it, he was near his house. In the distance, he saw the same scene he had seen at the fireworks display. Shiraishi was walking with Wakaba on his back. He had seen it again. His heart tightened again. Instead of chasing after her, he walked a little further away from her. Wakaba and Shiraishi passed Daiki¡¯s house because Daiki¡¯s house was in front of Wakaba¡¯s. Daiki went into the yard a little later to hide. From Daiki¡¯s house, Wakaba¡¯s house was in sight. Wakaba and Shiraishi arrived in front of her house, and Wakaba got off his back. They were talking about something, but the conversation was inaudible. There was a streetlight on the front porch, so they could clearly be seen. They waved to each other and talked happily until she went inside the house. Daiki remembered the old days. He felt this way when he saw his mother and Togo-san. He didn¡¯t understand it well at first, but it became more and more painful. His heart was getting tighter and tighter. It became more and more painful. It was a self-serving assumption, but the anxiety increased. Once again, he felt he had to suppress his emotions to the utmost. CH 20 Wakaba was looking forward to the summer festival. She hadn¡¯t played with Daiki much since she became junior high school student. They were always together, but for the first time in a long time, she could play with him. To get into the spirit, she put on her yukata. ¡°I¡¯m going to show Daiki how cute his sister is!¡± She thought. Daiki was excitedly waiting for her to be picked up. The intercom rang and Daiki arrived. Jumping cheerfully out of the front door. ¡°And? Does it look good on me!¡± and made a smug face. ¡°You look so cute!¡¯ Daiki said. ¡°Yes! Great success!¡± She thought in her mind. ¡°Thank you! Daiki! Well, let¡¯s go!¡± and headed for the meeting place. As they walked together, Wakaba was in a good mood. She was happy because it had been a while since she was able to visit Daiki and because of the praise she had received earlier. While talking in a good mood, they arrived at the meeting place in no time at all. After arriving at the meeting place, she was praised by all of her friends. Feeling even better, they headed to the festival site. From there, she could hardly talk to Daiki. Everyone else was talking to her and laughing with her, so she didn¡¯t mind. While moving around, enjoying the stalls and eating shaved ice with everyone, she had a lot of fun. She glanced at Daiki on the way to the stalls, but since he seemed to be enjoying himself with everyone else, she decided to enjoy the party without worrying. The time for having fun passed quickly and the time for the fireworks to start was approaching. As everyone was moving to the place where they could see the fireworks, the crowd was getting bigger and bigger. Wakaba, who was more excited than usual, did not notice the person who had stopped in front of her. She bumped into him a little and sprained her leg. ¡°Ouch!¡± She squeaked a little. Shiraishi, who was just walking next to her, noticed immediately. ¡°Are you okay, Misaki?¡± and came over to her. The pain was worse than anticipated, so she frowned. Then he said ¡°Let¡¯s go to that bench over there. Ride on my back.¡± He said. Everyone noticed and came up to her, looking concerned. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard!¡± Shiraishi-kun told everyone to go watch the fireworks again, and Wakaba decided to go easy. Not wanting to worry everyone, Wakaba rushed to the bench to get Shiraishi to carry her on his back. She thanked Shiraishi for carrying her and sat down on the bench. She was embarrassed by the fact that she was being carried on his back, and her face turned bright red. ¡°Shiraishi-kun, you can go watch the fireworks too!¡± She tried to tell him ¡°I can¡¯t leave an injured girl alone!¡± He laughed and said. Although she was apologetic but she was relieved. She was worried about being alone. ¡°Just wait here for a minute!¡± He ran away, but came back soon. ¡°I¡¯ve wet a handkerchief, to cool your feet a little¡± He handed me a handkerchief. ¡°Thank you! And I¡¯m sorry. To have to use your handkerchief.¡± She told him. ¡°Wash it and give it back to me! Haha.¡± He said it so that she wouldn¡¯t be bothered by it. It made her laugh unintentionally. Wakaba was still clueless about romance. She knew that he was popular with girls. He could do such a thing naturally, and he was handsome. He should be popular with girls. Not a few girls had mentioned Shiraishi¡¯s name in their conversations. Wakaba was not aware that she was popular, but she was the most popular girl in the junior high school, and Shiraishi was the most popular boy. The pain in her leg had subsided. Sitting on a bench, she decided to watch the fireworks for a while. Shiraishi was sitting next to her. While watching the fireworks, Wakaba said ¡°Last time I was here, Daiki wasn¡¯t next to me.¡± Wakaba thought. While she was thinking about that, the fireworks were over before she knew it. She sat on the bench and chatted with Shiraishi until the others arrived. Shiraishi¡¯s stories were interesting. She could tell that he was trying to entertain her. CH 21 As she waited while conversing with Shiraishi, she received a call from everyone and was able to join them right away. Only Daiki was not there. ¡°Huh? Where is Daiki?¡± she said. ¡°He said he had to go to the restroom!¡± So they decided to wait for a while. Everyone was talking about the fireworks and waiting, when Daiki called me. He said it was going to take a while because the restroom was crowded, so they could go home first. Wakaba decided to wait until Daiki arrived. ¡°Your leg is starting to swell up a little.¡± Shiraishi said Everyone was also worried about her, so she had no choice but to go home. The pain was less than before, so she tried to walk, but everyone told her not to push herself too hard until she got through the crowd, and she had to be carried on his back. Finally, while being carried on his back, they made it through the crowds. ¡°Thank you!¡± She said to him. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Daiki, so you can all go home first!¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Wakaba¡¯s leg.¡± Everyone told her to contact Daiki before leaving. When she tried to contact Daiki, she couldn¡¯t get through, so some of them stayed behind to wait for him. On the way home, she decided to walk. ¡°If you push yourself too hard, you won¡¯t be able to play tennis.¡± She felt sorry for him and asked him to carry her on his back and take her home. Because of the distance, only those who were going home in the same direction decided to go home first. In order not to get tired on the way home, they took a rest at a park on the way home. The friends who came home together were also closer than Wakaba¡¯s house, so one by one the number of friends decreased until only Wakaba remained. ¡°I¡¯m going to walk home from here because I feel bad for Shiraishi-kun!¡± But Shiraishi was adamant that he would take her home. He carried her on his back to the end and dropped her off in front of his house. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about today. It must have been heavy for you to carry me on your back. And you had to walk me home.¡± Wakaba said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m totally fine! It was a little heavy! Haha.¡± He said. ¡°Mou, that¡¯s so rude! You¡¯re supposed to tell me it¡¯s not like that!¡± She turned red and said back. ¡°You were really light! There was no weight at all! Haha¡± He responded back in a friendly manner and laughed. ¡°I hope the swelling goes down tomorrow! Take a good rest today! See you at school!¡± Shiraishi turned to leave. ¡°Thank you so much for today! See you at school!¡± Wakaba then went inside the house. As soon as she entered the house, she headed for the bathroom. As she was taking off her yukata, she found a handkerchief. ¡°I¡¯ll have to wash it and give it back!¡± and put it in the washing machine and pressed the button. Immediately after that, she took a shower and put a compress on her feet to cool them down. After that, he went back to her room and checked her phone. Daiki had not contacted her yet. ¡°Daiki, I wonder if you are alright?¡± While thinking about it, she put a message on the message app to Daiki. After walking a lot, she was tired and felt sleepy, but she couldn¡¯t sleep until she heard from Daiki. Decided to stay awake as best she could. However, Daiki did not contact her at all. Gradually she became more and more worried, and her sleepiness began to wane. She tried to contact his friends. ¡°We met up properly after that and then split up, so I think he¡¯s home by now! Maybe he¡¯s taking a shower or something.¡± He said. This time she tried to call Daiki, but he didn¡¯t pick up. After sending the message again, she decided to wait. Wakaba was fidgeting and restless. About an hour later, she finally received a message from Daiki. ¡°Sorry, I was in the bath! I¡¯m fine! Wakaba, make sure your feet are cooled off before you go to bed! Good night.¡± He wrote. ¡°Nothing happened, I¡¯m relieved!¡± Replying while thinking that. ¡°I was worried something had happened to you! But thank God! You are okay! Now I¡¯m relieved, I¡¯m going to bed! Good night!¡± sent. Wakaba was so relieved that she fell asleep at once and fell asleep immediately. She had a dream. She saw herself being carried on Shiraishi¡¯s back and Daiki gazing forlornly at Wakaba on Shiraishi¡¯s back, and when she saw Daiki¡¯s face, she felt as if her chest was tightening and she was doing something very wrong. Despite the fact that she knew it was a dream, she felt an inexpressible sense of unease. It seemed as though Daiki was moving away from her, and conversely, Wakaba was moving away from Daiki, and she gradually became frightened and woke up. CH 22 Daiki continued to watch until Wakaba entered the house. Even after Wakaba entered her house, he continued to stand in the yard. The scene he had just seen kept playing in his mind. After standing there for a while, his mother came out of the front door. ¡°Daiki?¡± Perhaps he had been thinking so much about today that he didn¡¯t even hear his mother¡¯s voice. She said she had been calling for him many times, but he had not noticed her at all, so she had come outside. ¡°Is everything all right, Daiki?¡± Suddenly coming back to himself, Daiki said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m fine! I thought I saw something in the yard, so I just looked! I didn¡¯t see anything, so everything is fine!¡± He went inside the house and went straight to the bathroom. After showering, he took a bath. Decided to soak more slowly than usual. While soaking in the bath, all the scenes of the day came back to his mind. Despite not wanting to think about anything else, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about them. By the time everything had calmed down, he felt like he was going to get a little tipsy, so he got out of the bath. Still a little tipsy, he decided to lie down on the sofa in the living room and take a short rest. His mother, seeing him, immediately realized that he had gotten a little too hot, so she gave him a drink and held an fan over his head. ¡°Daiki, are you all right? It¡¯s unusual. Is there something wrong? You looked like that earlier, did something happen?¡± She asked him as she looked up at him with a fan. Daiki said, ¡°I was having so much fun at the festival that I had to take a long bath in the tub to relive it.¡± Daiki replied. He closed his eyes and tried not to talk until he calmed down. His mother had her own thoughts, but she could not force Daiki to listen to what he did not want to say, so she kept looking up at him with a fan for a little while. He felt a little better, so he decided to return to his room. He told his mother. ¡°I feel much better! Thank you! I¡¯m going to bed! Good night.¡± And he went to his room. His mother was still worried. But she knew that something had happened with Wakaba. But being young, she decided not to tell Wakaba about today, thinking that tomorrow things would be back to normal. Daiki was still thinking about it when he entered his room. Still, it was late and he decided to lie down on his bed. After returning home, he realized that he had not looked at his cell phone, so he checked it and found that everyone had contacted him. Of course, Wakaba had contacted him too, but he didn¡¯t want to respond to her right now. He checked the messages from his friends and replied that he had arrived safely. One of them said ¡°Wakaba was worried that you didn¡¯t reply to her when she contacted you?¡± And there was a message from a female friend. After replying to the friend, he checked Wakaba¡¯s message as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left before you. Did you get home safe?¡± At first it came. Wakaba called me back too. ¡°Is something wrong? Are you okay? Call me as soon as you see your cell phone.¡± Another message came in. Not knowing what to say back. ¡°Sorry, I was in the bath! I¡¯m fine! You cool your feet and then go to bed! Good night.¡± He decided he was in the bathtub. And with an appeal to sleep so that the exchange doesn¡¯t even have to be made. ¡°I was worried something was wrong! But thank God! You look okay! Now I¡¯m relieved, I¡¯m going to bed! Good night!¡± Wakaba immediately replied. Daiki felt happy, but he could not be honestly happy today. ¡°You seemed to be having a good time with Shiraishi¡­ A beautiful couple, well-matched¡­¡± Again, he was lost in thought. Scenes kept coming to his mind like a loop. Before he knew it, he fell asleep. Daiki was also dreaming. He was gazing at Shiraishi and Wakaba talking happily, and Wakaba blushing as Shiraishi carried her on his back, and himself staring at her alone from a distance. In his dreams, he even thinks it¡¯s the best thing to do. Daiki is afraid that his normality will be broken. He controls his emotions unconsciously. He believes that the best way to prevent the breakdown of normalcy is to keep the relationship as it is now, unchanged. If he is always spoiled by Wakaba, he will be a hindrance to her. He will continue to watch over Wakaba as he has in the past, and as a childhood friend, slightly further removed from her than before. He was dreaming, but he thought that on his own. Daiki acts when he thinks like that. He is accustomed to holding back. It may be an immature idea, but for Daiki, it was the right thing to do. ¡°After the summer vacation, I will gradually distance myself from Wakaba and support her with her love life.¡± Wakaba is not in love with anyone. But to Daiki, it looked that way. He is close to her, yet he can¡¯t ask her about it. He is close to her, yet he can¡¯t understand her. Little by little, they are crossing paths¡­ End of volume 1 CH 23 Start of volume 2 They did not see each other again until after the summer vacation. They kept in touch every day as before, but the conversation was always the same. Daiki tried not to make time for club activities, visiting his father, or having Togo-san over. As for Wakaba, the swelling in her foot had gone down, but at least she had to be seen at the hospital, but it was only a minor sprain. Taking it seriously, she took a break from club activities and stayed home to relax. Since she was free, her friends from the club and her female friends came to visit her. It was a fun summer vacation, the last one. However, it was not enough for Wakaba. She had not been able to play with Daiki. Until now, Daiki had always been with her during the summer vacation because they had no club activities. But this year, she had club activities and Daiki had family matters to attend to, so she hardly had any time to play with him. Even at the summer festival, she could hardly spend time with Daiki. Wakaba was feeling inadequate, but at the same time she also felt an inexpressible sense of unease. Since the day she had that dream, she began to think that Daiki might leave her. ¡°Are you going to leave your sister¡­.¡± If that was the case, it couldn¡¯t be helped but the loneliness remained the same. She was trying to make an assumption. Still for Wakaba, she didn¡¯t think it was a feeling of love. Wakaba, just like Daiki, has a lot of assumptions. Ever since she decided to protect Daiki, Wakaba had been thinking too much about watching over him like a little brother, and she had assumed that she was like an older sister, so she was unaware of her own feelings. Daiki is too attached to the normal and is afraid of change. He was traumatized by the disruption of the normal. Because of this, he suppresses his feelings so much that he never tells Wakaba honestly how he felt. He did not make Wakaba aware of his feelings. Both of them are the same to each other. But, strangely enough, once they have crossed paths, their paths have continued to diverge. The summer vacation was over and school started. In the morning, Wakaba picked up Daiki as usual and walked him to school. It was the same as usual, the usual way to school. They arrived at the school as usual and went inside their own classrooms. After the opening ceremony, there were no classes and school was over for the day. After that, they ate lunch, did club activities, and went home together again. Nothing had changed. Wakaba was relieved. She could see Daiki as usual and spend time with him as usual, but since that day, Daiki had been thinking about gradually keeping his distance from her without getting in her way or making her dislike him. So, he wanted to keep the distance so that he could be a childhood friend without being in the way and without being disliked, and he wanted it to be the same as it is now. Wakaba did not realize at this time. That things will change little by little¡­ Daiki is also afraid of change and has yet to realize that he is trying to change the current relationship¡­ CH 24 After the new semester started, the two were unaware of any changes between them. They spent their time as usual. Before they knew it, it was the end of the year and winter break. Winter break was the same as usual. Every year, they have a Christmas party with all their friends, so this year they decided to get together again and celebrate Christmas together. Some of my friends were not able to come because they had started dating, while others, mainly those who did not have boyfriends or girlfriends, were able to get together for the first time in a long time. Wakaba was looking forward to it. The day of the Christmas party came and Wakaba and Daiki headed to the party. The venue this year was karaoke. After meeting up with everyone, they went into the room. After entering the room, everyone decided on their seats and the Christmas party began. Since the summer festival, Shiraishi and Wakaba have grown closer and have been spending more time together. On this day, Shiraishi and Wakaba were sitting next to each other again. It seems that everyone around them had decided that if Wakaba and Shiraishi were paired up, there would be no more fighting and they would look good together, so they were made to sit next to each other so that they could be together. Shiraishi, too, seemed to be enjoying the conversation with Wakaba. Wakaba seemed to be doing as usual. Daiki was having fun singing karaoke with everyone else. He tried not to look at Shiraishi and Wakaba who were talking happily. As much as possible, he tried not to be conscious of anything, so that he would not have to think about anything. But then Wakaba and Shiraishi decided to sing together. It was then that he looked toward the seat where Wakaba and Shiraishi were sitting for the first time. They were sitting so close to each other that their shoulders were touching. Not wanting to see them. He didn¡¯t want to see any more. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a drink!¡± He told his friend nearby and left the room. As he filled his drink, he let out a deep sigh. ¡°This is not good enough¡­¡± He was depressed. He waited for a while until he calmed down before returning to his room, so it was a little late. Relieved to see that another friend was already singing, he saw Wakaba staring at him. It bothered him, but there was nothing he could do about it. When Shiraishi spoke to her again, she turned her head away and Daiki went back to his friends. After that, the party quickly came to an end with the exchange of gifts and other things. But Daiki had some business to attend to, so he decided to leave. Wakaba was invited by Shiraishi and the others, but she said she would go home with Daiki. ¡°Wakaba, go with everyone! I¡¯ll be fine!¡± He approached Wakaba and the others and told them so. Wakaba still had a troubled look on her face, so he approached her and whispered ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m going to have dinner with my father now!¡± He said. Wakaba looked a little worried, but said ¡°Okay. Be careful on your way home.¡± And he went on his way to the family restaurant. Daiki left everyone and went home by himself. He had really wanted to go out for dinner with his father, but he couldn¡¯t stand to see the two of them having fun in front of him any longer. Shiraishi probably wanted Wakaba to stay, too. He was overtly disappointed when Wakaba said she was going home with Daiki. He looked at Daiki asking for his help. Wakaba would probably think that she hadn¡¯t had enough fun with everyone, so she decided that it was just as well. Daiki was able to control his emotions better than before and was able to tolerate seeing them talking happily. However, his chest still felt tight. He was walking alone on his way home with these thoughts in mind. CH 25 Wakaba was looking forward to today¡¯s Christmas party. It was the first time since the summer festival that everyone had gotten the chance to get together and play. She and Daiki rarely went out together anymore, and they only hung out on the way to and from school. So she was looking forward to going out with him. Daiki picked her up and together they went to the Christmas party. This year, it was karaoke. Walking around, they talked about what they were going to sing. They thought it would be a long walk, but it didn¡¯t take them long at all. At this point, Wakaba was a little disappointed. ¡°I wanted to talk with Daiki more,¡± She thought. After meeting up with the others, she couldn¡¯t talk with Daiki again. Usually they are together all the time, so it¡¯s okay if they don¡¯t talk when they are with everyone else, right? Is air is like that. So she ends up talking to other friends. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t like it, but she feels that it would be fine if Daiki was next to her. Daiki, too, always goes to his other friends when he is with everyone else. She was feeling lonely, but she thought it couldn¡¯t be helped and decided to enjoy herself. The karaoke room was a large room, so it was difficult to know where to sit. But she noticed that Shiraishi was always next to her. Even at school, when talking with other students, Shiraishi was always next to her. Today, Shiraishi was seated next to her as well. Daiki was sitting far away from Wakaba. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come sit next to me!¡± She thought in her mind, but she couldn¡¯t say it in front of everyone. ¡°This is for my little brother¡¯s growth!¡± She forced herself to accept it. After that, it was karaoke, so everyone had a good time singing, eating fries, and drinking. The drinks ran out, so she went to get some at the drink bar, but Shiraishi came with her. ¡°We¡¯re having fun today, right! It¡¯s nice to make noise with everyone!¡± He said. ¡°It really is fun, isn¡¯t it! Let¡¯s have some more fun!¡± She said and put the drink in, then went back to the room. After returning to the room, Shiraishi sat next to her again. Shiraishi and Wakaba have become good friends since the summer festival. Although they had not been bad friends before that, it became easier to talk to Shiraishi after he carried her on his back. The conversation was interesting, so she did not mind him sitting next to her. When she sat down and looked at Daiki, he was singing happily. ¡°Daiki seemed to be having a good time, too.¡± She thought to herself. She was surprised that Daiki was a good singer. Everyone was surprised and the girls praised him for his singing ability. After that, the girls asked him to sing this song or this one. and this one too. Wakaba was bothered by this, although she did not know what it was. Then, at once, everyone was excited by Daiki¡¯s song. The tension rose and everyone was sitting closer to each other. Wakaba and Shiraishi were sitting so close that their shoulders were almost touching. Wakaba didn¡¯t mind, but everyone around her began to notice. If the opposite sex you are interested in is sitting next to you and you are close enough to touch each other¡¯s shoulders, there are very few men who would not be conscious of it. Shiraishi must have been aware of it, too. ¡°Hey. Can I ask you for a favor?¡± Shiraishi suddenly asked in a voice that only Wakaba could hear. ¡°What? A favor?¡± She asked. ¡°Can I call you Wakaba?¡± He said. ¡°What the hell!¡± Thinking to herself. ¡°No problem at all!¡± She responded Shiraishi-kun looked very happy and said ¡°I¡¯m glad! Thank you! I¡¯ll call you Wakaba from now on!¡± He sounded very happy. I¡¯m glad I could make him happy! She thought. ¡°And while we¡¯re at it, can you call me Ren?¡± He said. She calls Daiki by his first name too, so it¡¯s okay! she thought. ¡°Okay! Ren-kun!¡± She decided to call him by his first name. Calling him by his first name was not comfortable for her, so she decided to add ¡°kun¡± to the name. But still ¡°Thank you! Now we can get to know each other better!¡± Ren said to her. ¡°Right! Please take care of me from now on!¡± She responded. CH 26 Wakaba and Shiraishi started calling each other by their first names ¡°Wakaba and Ren-kun.¡± As for Ren, he wanted to get to know Wakaba better, so he proposed singing a song with her. Wakaba readily agreed, which made him feel relieved. ¡°Let¡¯s choose a song together!¡± he said, and together they began to search for a song. As they looked at one tablet together, their shoulders naturally touched. Ren was thrilled. Before he knew it, he had fallen in love with Wakaba. He started to be aware of her after the summer festival, and when everyone started making him sit next to her all the time, he realized that he liked her. After that, he actively appealed to her to make her like him too. Although there was not much of a response, today, it felt like he made a lot of progress. She started to call him by his first name and even sang songs with him. And now they are holding a tablet and choosing it together. Even though their shoulders are touching, she doesn¡¯t seem to dislike it. There was no sign that she didn¡¯t dislike him. The thrill of the moment increased. The only thing that bothers him a little bit is Daiki. Daiki is good friends with Wakaba. They are always together. They look like an older sister and a younger brother. But when Daiki was singing just now, Wakaba¡¯s face didn¡¯t look like she was looking at her brother. For a moment, it seemed like it was a face looking at someone she liked. It was really just for a moment, so it could have been his imagination. So he wanted to be more aggressive in appealing to her. He doesn¡¯t know if Daiki likes Wakaba or not. But it seemed to him that Wakaba was on the verge of liking Daiki. She naturally followed Daiki with her eyes, just as she did when she herself fell in love with Wakaba. That is why he wanted to close the distance between them at once. Thanks to this, they had become accustomed to a relationship where they did not mind touching each other¡¯s shoulders. The song selection was finished and the music began to play. Ren was nervous, but sang as close to the audience as possible. Their breathing seemed to be in sync. Toward the end, their shoulders were touching each other all the time. His heart was pounding. Wakaba was not sure if she had sung well, but she was very satisfied with her performance. Wakaba looked at Daiki and remembered the way he was singing. ¡°Daiki was so cool just now¡­ But he was happy to be cheered up by the girls. That pisses me off a little! But Daiki has grown up, hasn¡¯t he! Sis is happy for you!¡± Is what she thought. Then Ren asked her to sing a song with him, so she said OK and they decided to pick a song together. She was looking for a song that she could sing better than the one Daiki had just sung. She was so engrossed in her search that she was bumping shoulders with Ren. Wakaba, not caring about that, chose a song she thought she could sing well. ¡°Let¡¯s sing this song!¡± She told him. The song was decided upon, as Ren also knew the song and said he could sing it. The song that Wakaba and Ren had chosen was played. ¡°I¡¯m going to make Daiki say I¡¯m good!¡± She sang with great enthusiasm. She sang with joy. Ren sang happily, too, and the two of them sang enthusiastically, so close together that their shoulders were almost touching. As for Wakaba, she sang very well and it felt good. She high-fived Ren as well and finished singing. She immediately turned to Daiki and tried to make a smug face, but he was gone. ¡°Why? Why isn¡¯t he there?¡± She thought ¡°I¡¯ll definitely complain about it later!¡± She followed up. A little later, Daiki came back to the room. He probably went to get a drink. But Wakaba, who was annoyed with Daiki, glared at him. Daiki looked troubled. So she talked to Ren-kun again. It seems that he returned to his seat while they were talking. After that, they exchanged gifts and the meeting ended quickly. Wakaba remembered Daiki¡¯s troubled face earlier. ¡°Somehow, he looked lonely¡­¡± With that thought in mind, she went outside with everyone. After going outside, those who had not had enough fun said they were going to a family restaurant. Wakaba was also invited by Ren and the others, but when she looked at Daiki, she heard him say he had to go home because he had something to do. Wakaba said ¡°I¡¯m going home with Daiki too!¡± and decided to leave. But Daiki came up to her and said ¡°You go with the others! I¡¯ll be fine!¡± He said. Wakaba said, ¡°Why?¡± Wakaba wondered. Daiki approached Wakaba and whispered ¡°I¡¯m going to have dinner with my father, so don¡¯t worry about it!¡± He told her. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped if you¡¯re having dinner with your father.¡± After thinking about it and worrying about it for a while ¡°I understand. Be careful on your way home.¡± So, she decided to go to a family restaurant. CH 27 Seeing Daiki going home alone reminded her of the time at the summer festival. ¡°I can¡¯t be with Daiki when I am with everyone else¡­. I feel like he¡¯s avoiding me¡­¡± It was not far from the truth, but since he usually tried not to give such a feeling, Wakaba did not think too much about it and we all headed for the family restaurant. Since the family restaurant was also lively Wakaba was a little angry. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell Daiki when I get home!¡± Time passed before she knew it, and as expected, the party broke up. She was going to go home alone. Ren offered to walk her home. At first she refused, but he said it was dangerous for a girl to go home alone, and for some reason, everyone wants him to walk her home. It was hard for her to refuse, so she asked him to take her home. On the way home, they talked about the day¡¯s events, and Ren dropped her off safely in front of her house. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to walk me home again today. But thank you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m totally fine with it! It was a lot of fun!¡± ¡°It was really fun! Let¡¯s get together again!¡± ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s go to Hatsumode together!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! Then you invite everyone, Ren! I¡¯ll invite the girls! See you later! Thank you very much for today!¡± And when she went to enter the house after a short conversation¡­ ¡°Merry Christmas!¡± and handed her a present. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She asked. ¡°I just saw something I thought would look good on you, so I bought it without thinking! So I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t mind accepting it!¡± He said. Wakaba had not prepared anything for him. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be the only one getting it.¡± She said apologetically. ¡°So in return, will you go and hang out with me in the future?¡± In the same way that she felt like she was hanging out with Daiki. ¡°No problem at all! Then, I¡¯ll take it gratefully!¡± She replied. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll call you when I get home to set a date!¡± After entering the house, she decided to open the present. Inside the present was a cute little hairpin. ¡°Use it when you play tennis!¡± It came with a letter. It made her happy. She put it on in front of the mirror and thought it looked good on herself. ¡°Ren, you have good taste!¡± She thought. After that, she decided to take a bath and relax. ¡°Is Daiki having fun with his father?¡± So she sent him a message about what had happened at the family restaurant. Waiting for a while, there was no reply. Soon after that, Ren called her and decided to make plans for the day they would hang together. Since the end of the year was on the 30th, and there was no club activity, they decided to play on the 30th. This time it was just the two of them. She was always playing with Daiki, so she didn¡¯t care about it. It was already late, and they had been talking on the phone for quite a long time. Deciding she needed to go to bed, ended the call. Drowsiness was at its peak, so after hanging up the phone, she went to sleep without checking her messages. Every year, Daiki and Wakaba exchanged Christmas presents. This year, however, they could not give it to each other because there was no time to give it to each other. When Wakaba woke up in the morning and looked at her cell phone, she found several messages from Daiki. He had come to Wakaba¡¯s house last night. The last message was. ¡°It¡¯s late, so I¡¯ll leave your presents at the front door! Merry Christmas!¡± And it was in the message. Hurriedly, she called Daiki, but the line was disconnected, so she went to check the front door first. There was a present left there! She entered the house and hurriedly opened the present. It was a stuffed animal of Wakaba¡¯s favorite character. Wakaba was very happy. ¡°As expected of you, Daiki! You know what I like!¡± She was so excited as she hugged the stuffed animal. She immediately sent a message to him and thanked him. Wakaba had also prepared a gift for him, but was unable to give it to him yesterday. She regretted that he had come all this way to give it to her. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll make sure to give it to him!¡± She thought. It was around noon that day that she received a message from Daiki. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay at my father¡¯s place from today until the end of the year. He said ¡°I couldn¡¯t give it to you yesterday, so I went to your place after I got home, but I couldn¡¯t get through to you on the phone, so I left it at your front door. Sorry.¡± The message was received. Wakaba was shocked. Wakaba also wanted to give Daiki his present in person to make him happy. She wanted to see him as happy as last year. ¡°I¡¯ll only be able to give him the Christmas present after the new year¡­¡± She was lamenting alone and sad. CH 28 Daiki was having dinner with his father. He had been seeing his father more and more often, and they had become like a father and son who were really friends. They would contact each other once in a while. ¡°Maybe we can go out for dinner sometime?¡± His father would contact him and ¡°I have a place I¡¯d like to go sometime, would you like to come?¡± They had a good relationship, with Daiki contacting him and so on. Daiki was very happy about that. Since he was not that hungry after the Christmas party that day, he decided to have a light meal and go home. He gave Daiki a ride back to the neighborhood. ¡°Daiki, here¡¯s a Christmas present for you!¡± He was getting out of the car when it was suddenly handed to him. He was surprised, but very happy. ¡°Thank you! Dad! Can I open it?¡± He asked, and immediately opened it. The present was an outdoor brand backpack. ¡°I wanted to go play with Daiki in various places!¡± He said embarrassingly. ¡°Thank you so much! Dad! I¡¯ll use it from now on!¡± He looked really happy with his backpack. He got out of the car and walked home. Wakaba had sent him a message. She wrote about what happened at the family restaurant. It made him feel a little bothered. But he was happy that she had contacted him. Thinking about that, he was walking along the street. When he passed by Wakaba¡¯s house, the light in her room was on. ¡°She is already home. Should I give her my Christmas present today? ¡­ After all, I should give it to her today! I better go get my Christmas present!¡± He was happy to get a Christmas present from his father earlier and was actually planning to give it to her tomorrow, but he wanted to give it to Wakaba right now, too. With the same momentum, he hurried to the house. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± And rushed to his room with the present in his hand and said ¡°I¡¯m off!¡± And then he went out. He called Wakaba, but the phone was on the line and he couldn¡¯t get through. When he arrived at Wakaba¡¯s house, he tried to call her again, but the line was still active and he could not get through. The light in Wakaba¡¯s room was on. ¡°She must be on the phone with someone.¡± So he decided to leave a message and wait for a while. After waiting for about 30 minutes, there was no call. ¡°Still on the phone¡­¡± He waited a little longer, but did not return his call. He left a Christmas present in front of Wakaba¡¯s door, sent her a message, and went home. ¡°I couldn¡¯t give it to her in person after all¡­¡± He let out a deep sigh. After arriving home, he took a quick shower and decided to go to bed right away. But he could not sleep. Having been able to control his emotions by seeing his father, he was reminded of today¡¯s events again. Wakaba had not called him back, so it was even more difficult to sleep. ¡°I wondered if she was on the phone with Shiraishi¡­. They were closer than usual today¡­¡± He was in agony. After that, there was no word back from Wakaba. Daiki must have fallen asleep before he knew it. When he woke up, it was 6:00 in the morning. Since he had club activities only in the morning today, he ate breakfast, got ready, and headed for club activities. After waking up, he checked his cell phone, but there was no word from Wakaba. Feeling disappointed and lonely. As he was walking to his club activities, he received a phone call from his father. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked. Daiki, why don¡¯t you come over to my house at the end of the year?¡± He suddenly said, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asked him. ¡°Your mother is getting remarried after the new year, right? I thought that would make it harder to ask you out! I don¡¯t want to bother Tojo-san¡­¡± He said, Daiki wanted to visit more places with his father, so he said yes. ¡°I¡¯ll tell mother about it, so please meet me at the station in the afternoon!¡± he told him happily. Daiki was feeling down about Wakaba, so it was just as well. He was looking forward to the afternoon. After the club activities were over, he decided to hurry home. He thought about checking his cell phone, but decided not to because he was afraid he would sound depressed again if he hadn¡¯t heard from her. When he arrived home, he put the things he needed into the backpack he got yesterday and hurried to get ready. His mother had prepared a change of underwear and clothes in a Boston bag for him, so he decided to go out right away. Daiki cheerfully said ¡°I¡¯m off!¡± and opened the front door. ¡°Have a safe trip! Have fun!¡± His mother happily saw him off. He ran past Wakaba¡¯s house, trying not to look at the house too much. He hurried straight to the station. When he got near the station, he looked at his cell phone to call his father. He found that Wakaba had called him. He had been at a club activity, so he did not notice it, but he had received both a call and a message. Looking at the message, he read ¡°Sorry that you came yesterday. I was on the phone with Ren-kun and didn¡¯t notice and went straight to bed. I¡¯m really sorry. Thanks for the Christmas present! As expected of Daiki! You know what I like! I¡¯m so happy!¡± It said ¡°I have a Christmas present for you too, and I¡¯d like to give it to you today. Can I see you soon?¡± There was also one more person included. ¡°Ren-kun? Oh, you mean Shiraishi? you¡¯ve become so close that you call him by his first name¡­¡± At once, his chest tightened. He struggled to suppress his feelings. Without replying to Wakaba, he called his father. His father was already at the station, so he ran toward the station. Daiki got into his father¡¯s car and his father drove him to his house. The run calmed him down a little. In the car, he typed a message in reply to Wakaba. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay with my father from today until the end of the year.¡± He sent it ahead to her. ¡°I could only give it to you in person yesterday, so I went to your place after I got home, but I couldn¡¯t get through to you on the phone, so I left it at your door. Sorry.¡± That¡¯s all he said. He put his cell phone in his bag so that he wouldn¡¯t see it. ¡°Now I won¡¯t be able to see Wakaba until the new year¡­¡± Daiki was also thinking about this as he stared out the window. The two gradually crossed paths. CH 29 Daiki was enjoying his trip with his father. The first day was spent at his father¡¯s house, and the rest of the trip was filled with winter camping and visits to hot springs. During that time, he had minimal contact with Wakaba. He didn¡¯t want to think about Wakaba as much as possible at the moment. Yet at that time he was unaware. That he would see Wakaba and Shiraishi again. On the last day, they decided to go shopping at a shopping mall near his father¡¯s house. He got into his father¡¯s car and headed for the mall. It was a shopping mall that he wondered if he would be able to visit in one day. It was only two stops away from his house by train, so he could go there anytime, but it was the first time for him to visit the mall. After arriving at the mall, he decided to take a look around. ¡°Is there anything you want?¡± He was asked. ¡°Not at the moment! But there might be something I want!¡± He told him. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you anything you want!¡± He said happily. Unlike his father in the past, his father now is really fun to be with! He acts more like an older brother than a father. That makes me feel comfortable with him. He walked around the stores, looking for what he wanted. But there were so many different stores that it became difficult to decide what he wanted. Deciding to take a short break, they decided to have a little early lunch. For lunch, they had ramen together. He had never thought that the day would come when he and his father would eat ramen together, so he was happy to experience it again. After finishing his ramen, his father said ¡°Is there anything you want?¡± He asked him. ¡°I want a jacket for when I go to Hatsumode.¡± He told him. ¡°Okay, then the same brand as the backpack!¡± He said happily, ¡°Let¡¯s go to that store!¡± He seemed to be enjoying himself more than Daiki. When they got to the outdoor brand store ¡°How about this one?¡± His father brought him two jackets. ¡°Cool! I¡¯ll take this one!¡± He liked them right away. He couldn¡¯t decide which jacket to wear, but he chose the blue one. ¡°Well, your father will wear this one in black.¡± He said. ¡°We¡¯ll be wearing the same jacket!¡± He said happily. They bought matching jackets. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to have a matching jacket with my son!¡± he said, humming a tune. Daiki nodded happily. ¡°We bought the jackets, and now we should go home! I have to go get my stuff!¡± They decided to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll have to call Wakaba when I get back!¡± He thought. He had time with his father, so he had regained his composure. As they were walking to the exit, he saw a girl who looked like Wakaba walking down the opposite aisle. Looking closer, he realized that she did not look like Wakaba, but rather she is Wakaba. ¡°Wakaba is here too!¡± He tried to run to Wakaba¡¯s place, but Wakaba was not alone. Shiraishi was with her. He saw them again. It may have been a coincidence, but Daiki¡¯s chest tightened up again. He had just calmed down. He didn¡¯t want to see them any more. Daiki headed for the exit again, as if to escape. Not want to see them any more. He must have managed to act normal and interacted with his father. He seemed to be enjoying himself without changing, so when he arrived at his father¡¯s house and packed his belongings, he didn¡¯t really understand what was going on. He managed to pack up his belongings and his father drove him to a nearby train station. When he arrived at the station, he parted ways with his father and was alone. From there, the walk home became very, very heavy. CH 30 Wakaba was walking home with Ren walking her home. ¡°Tomorrow is the end of this year! What kind of year was it?¡± He asked. ¡°Right. This year has been a fun year, but now that I¡¯m a junior high school student, I¡¯ve started club activities, and I¡¯ve had a lot of fun with everyone at school and with my club mates!¡± She responded. ¡°I also had more fun than usual this year! School was fun, club activities are fun! Everyone in my class is really nice, so it¡¯s been a very fulfilling year!¡± Ren responded. ¡°I know! Everyone in my class is so nice!¡± She was excited. ¡°The summer festival was fun, and I¡¯m sorry about that. At that time, thank you very much!¡± She also talked about the summer festival. ¡°You were so light! And I was so happy that I could become friends with Wakaba after that! We were always together in class after that, so thank you very much!¡± And he thanked her on the contrary. They thanked each other and laughed as they walked away. ¡°We had a lot of fun at the Christmas party!¡± Ren said to her. ¡°I got to know Wakaba even better! It was the most fun ever! And we got to go out together today too! Thank you so much!¡± He said. ¡°Thank you too!¡± And they thanked each other again. She was getting close to home. They got to the front of her house and said to each other ¡°I had a great time today! Let¡¯s go out again! Thanks for dropping me off!¡± she said, and was about to send him off. Just when Ren was about to say something. ¡°Daiki?¡± Daiki came walking toward the station. Ren stopped what he was going to say and looked at Daiki. Then he turned to Daiki and said ¡°Hey! Daiki!¡± and waved his hand. Daiki noticed. He had a shocked look on his face. Wakaba, for some reason, also felt bad. Soon Daiki¡¯s face became his usual face. ¡°Shiraishi¡­ something wrong here?¡± He managed to speak. ¡°Wakaba and I were out today, so I came to take her home!¡± He said. Not being able to run away from the situation, he concentrated on acting normal. Of course, he knew what was going on, because he had just seen it. But he didn¡¯t want to hear it. Didn¡¯t want to know. But at this point, he had to make it clear. ¡°You had a date today! That¡¯s great! I¡¯ve got a lot of stuff to carry, so I¡¯m going now! Bye!¡± That¡¯s was all he said, and headed for home. Shiraishi said. ¡°Date? Yes, it was a date!¡± He said to Wakaba. Not wanting to hear what he said after that, he walked quickly toward his house. He pretended not to hear what Wakaba was saying. After entering his house, he hurried to his room. Without saying a word of greeting, he entered the room and sat down. ¡°It was a date after all¡­¡± He remained downcast for a while. After Daiki left, Ren said something, but nothing came in. ¡°Date?¡± Wakaba did not understand. The fact that she and Daiki always went out together was not a date, so she assumed that going out with Ren was not a date either. Daiki¡¯s voice was hard to hear. ¡°So it was a date! That¡¯s is great!¡± Was it a date? What was great about it? She was stunned. ¡°Hey, Wakaba?¡± She finally realized when Ren tapped her on the shoulder. ¡°Sorry, sorry! I¡¯m a little tired, so I¡¯m going to take a little rest! Thanks for today!¡± And with that, she went inside the house. Ren was about to say something, but right now she wanted to be alone right away. She didn¡¯t know how she felt about herself. She hated it when Daiki assumed it was a date, and it was painful when he told him that he was happy for him. She did not want Daiki to see her with Ren. The reason for this, unknown. But it made her heart tighten to think that Daiki would think so. Wakaba did not understand this feeling. In truth, she might have known. But she had been too much convinced that Daiki was like a younger brother to her. That had become a stopper for her. They became more and more distant from each other. The distance between them was so great that she thought of him as family, so she couldn¡¯t be aware of him. The closer you are to your nearest and dearest, the less you realize how important they really are until you get away from them. This may be the case. CH 31 Daiki was thinking about it as he entered the room and turned his head down, but inside him he was mixed up between feeling that he had to support Wakaba and feeling that he did not want to support Wakaba. However, the scene he saw today kept flowing in his mind. The feeling that he had to support her became strengthened. Gradually, his feelings calmed down and he began to think about forcing himself to support Wakaba. From then on, he kept thinking¡­ ¡°Since they had a date, I had no choice but to support her, right?¡± He decided on his own. If he had asked Wakaba from the beginning, they would not have crossed paths. He doesn¡¯t want her to hate him. He doesn¡¯t want to get hurt. He doesn¡¯t want to make a mistake. When he thinks about it, he can¡¯t ask her. It¡¯s a defensive instinct. It is probably much more difficult to talk to the person in question than other people think. After forcing himself to change his mind, Daiki decided to take a shower and clear his head. His mother was worried about him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± he answered cheerfully as usual. By forcing himself to switch, he was able to calm down and control his emotions. When he returned to his room and checked his cell phone, he found a message from Wakaba. Looking at the message, he could still stay calm. After replying to the message, he decided to go to sleep. Tomorrow, he was going to spend the day with his mother and Togo-san, so he would not see Wakaba again at the end of this year. Maybe it was just right for Daiki. Somehow he wanted a milestone. To fake his own feelings in time for New Year¡¯s Eve. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to support you when the year is over!¡± Wakaba remembered only Daiki¡¯s words after entering the house. She wanted to send a message right away, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. She pondered for a while. The more she thought about it, the more she did not know what to say. While she was thinking about it, she received a message from Ren. ¡°I had fun today! Thanks for taking me out on a date! Let¡¯s go out together again!¡± It came. After all, Ren thought it was a date. Wakaba thought it was just a casual outing with a friend, but to someone other than Wakaba, it might have been a date. It was here that she noticed it. She noticed it was a date. She wanted to tell Daiki right away that it was not a date, but Ren had already admitted it. She felt she had to contact him as soon as possible, but in the end, she decided to contact him only about the Christmas present. Wakaba was the only one who thought it was not a date. She felt it was wrong of her to deny it. And besides, there was no reason for her to deny that it was not a date to Daiki, whom she considers like a younger brother. She was trying to force herself not to care about it. ¡°I want to give you a Christmas present, can we meet?¡± was the only message she sent. By the time she received a reply, she took a bath, ate dinner quickly, and went back to her room. ¡°I can still give it to him today!¡± Wakaba thought. But it was late when the reply came. ¡°Tomorrow, Togo-san will be here, so it will be after the new year! Good night!¡± That was the only message. She was told that her Christmas present could wait until after the New Year. Wakaba impatiently replied back. ¡°Can I come over tomorrow for a bit? Just to give it to you?¡± but she never received a reply after that. Wakaba replied ¡± I shouldn¡¯t disturb them when they are about to become a family¡­¡± So she thought to herself ¡°I¡¯ll give it to him after the new year after all! Enjoy tomorrow with the three of you!¡± She sent the message. Hugging the stuffed animal Daiki had given her. ¡°I can¡¯t give it to Daiki anymore this year¡­¡± Feeling almost crushed by loneliness as she looked at the Christmas present she was going to give to Daiki. Over the past year, the distance between them had gradually increased. CH 32 The year was safely over and it was New Year. In Daiki¡¯s house, it was the year that his mother and Togo-san were to marry. They officially became a family. The family name was to remain the same, Hamanaka. They were very considerate so that Daiki could keep his name the same. His parents were opposed to the change, but Daiki¡¯s grandparents, Togo-san and his parents, pushed through the change, saying that they had listened to him and would not obey anymore. Daiki also met and talked with them once, but they didn¡¯t seem like bad people. They treated Daiki well. ¡°Come back anytime.¡± They told From now on, Togo-san was going to commute to work from this house, so they would live together. Thinking that it would be bad to keep calling him Togo-san, he decided to call me Tsukasa-san. When he called him ¡°Tsukasa-san,¡± he seemed to be happy. Last year, he always came to the house on weekends, so he was used to being with me. It seemed that things would continue to go well with him. So on New Year¡¯s Day, they went to the city hall to register their marriage. Daiki also decided to go with them, and they submitted the marriage certificate without incident. They became a married couple. It must have been a long road for them to become husband and wife. They overcame many hardships and suffering to finally be together today. When he saw them smiling happily, knowing that they were happy was the best thing that could have happened to them. He thought. After that, the three of them went to Hatsumode (New Year¡¯s visit to a shrine) to pay their respects. After that, they went home. After returning home, they ate osechi dishes and ozoni, which his mother had made for them, and spent a leisurely time talking about the three of them. While relaxing, he looked at his cell phone and saw many messages from his friends. ¡°Happy New Year!¡± It was coming from everyone. Daiki also replied to all his friends. Wakaba sent a message as well. ¡°Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for this year!¡± And so it went. ¡°Happy New Year!¡± My pleasure, and I look forward to seeing you again this year!¡± He sent the message. Wakaba immediately replied ¡°I know it¡¯s after the new year, but I want to give you a Christmas present! When is a good time?¡± She said ¡°You can give me the gift this evening!¡± He replied. ¡°Okay! Thanks! I¡¯ll go give it to you in the evening!¡± She replied right away. In the evening, he was going to his father¡¯s place for New Year¡¯s greetings, so he agreed to meet her for a little while before he went there. As it was, he got a little sleepy, so he took a nap. When he woke up, it was evening and he had just received a message from Wakaba. ¡°Is it okay now?¡± She replied. ¡°Yeah sure!¡± He replied. Soon after the call came, Daiki went to the front door. Wakaba was standing in front of the house. ¡°Happy new year! I look forward to counting on you this year!¡± She came to tell him again. Daiki also said ¡°Happy New Year! I look forward to working with you again this year!¡± They exchanged New Year¡¯s greetings once again. ¡°Sorry for the delay. Here! Merry Christmas!¡± She handed him a Christmas present. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯m so happy!¡± Daiki accepted it. ¡°Are you going somewhere now, Daiki?¡± she asked him. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going to my father¡¯s place to wish him a Happy New Year! What about you, Wakaba?¡± He answered, and then asked Wakaba. ¡°We¡¯re all going to eat at my grandmother¡¯s house now!¡± She said happily. ¡°Lucky you! Have fun! Thanks for the present!¡± He said, and was about to go inside the house. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s about Ren-kun¡­¡± Wakaba suddenly said, but Daiki, who had decided to support her, said before Wakaba could say anything ¡°I¡¯m glad you got to go on a date with him! I think you two are a beautiful couple and make a good match! Good luck! See you later!¡± and went inside the house, interrupting Wakaba¡¯s speech. Wakaba looked sad, but he told himself it was just his imagination. Wakaba slowly left from in front of Daiki¡¯s house. ¡°Goodmatch¡­¡± For some reason, she felt sad. ¡°What did you mean by that?¡± Wakaba, being Wakaba, also kept a lid on her feelings. She didn¡¯t want Daiki to misunderstand her, but she made him misunderstand her even more. She was feeling indescribable, but she was not sure. Recently, Wakaba was unsure of her feelings toward Daiki. She thought of him as her little brother and chose to watch over him, but before she could watch over him, Daiki was getting further and further away from her. He felt that Daiki was gradually moving away from her. Daiki took a deep breath as he entered the house. ¡°I wonder if I could have been normal¡­¡± Daiki still couldn¡¯t fully disguise his feelings, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m going to support you, so this time I¡¯m going to listen carefully.¡± He kept telling himself. CH 33 The year is over, the holidays are over, and a new semester has begun. From then on, Daiki and Wakaba changed little by little. However, it seemed to those around them that little had changed. Daiki started to spend less and less time with Wakaba. He started to spend more time with his male friends and friends from club activities and tried to avoid seeing them outside of school so as not to disturb Wakaba. They still went to and from school together as before, and things remained pretty much the same inside school. Every day, they exchanged brief messages. They acted the part of normal childhood friends. His feelings of love for her had not changed, but he was able to suppress them. He could tolerate seeing Wakaba and Shiraishi together. There was still a lot of work to be done between Daiki and Wakaba. It was still assumed that Daiki and Wakaba were no longer hung up on each other. Wakaba was still not quite sure what her feelings were. However, she gradually began to feel uncomfortable with the distance between herself and Daiki. They rarely saw each other on their days off, or when they went home, which was normal on their way to and from school. At first, she didn¡¯t even notice because they gradually stopped playing together. Now, the two of them no longer play together on their days off. They would go to summer festivals, Christmas parties, and other events together, but once they joined the others, they stopped coming near each other. She was puzzled by the change in Daiki and felt lonely, but subconsciously tried not to notice her feelings. Ren began to approach her more and more, and people around her always tried to get her to go out with him. Because of this, she and Ren became good friends, but she still thought of him only as a good friend of hers. Perhaps she did not feel that she had found the right response yet, but Ren did not confess his feelings to her. Meanwhile, Wakaba had been confessed to by other boys, but she had turned them all down. After her club activities were over, Wakaba made it to the top eight of the prefectural tennis tournament in the individual competition. Her opponent in the final eight was a potential winner, and she lost by a narrow margin. Daiki also made it to the prefectural soccer tournament, but was eliminated. The time came for the junior high school entrance examinations. Daiki and Wakaba had good grades, so they decided to take the entrance exam to a local school. Daiki and Wakaba decided to take the entrance examination for another school. Daiki¡¯s deviation score was just barely above the standard, but he decided to give it a try. Wakaba had decided to go to a local school from the beginning. Of course, she thought that Daiki would apply to the same school as her, so it was only natural that she and Daiki would go to the same high school. When Wakaba heard about this, for the first time in her life, she could not hide her shock at having to go to different schools. She was also very determined, so she couldn¡¯t say anything and fell into a state of depression. ¡°We¡¯re getting further and further apart¡­¡± She felt sad. However, time is short for students preparing for exams. Wakaba also asked Daiki to join her and the others to study for the exam, but he refused, saying that he would study while teaching his club mates. Wakaba was also invited to study with Ren and the others. Wakaba also tried to invite him to study on other days, but their schedules didn¡¯t match and they couldn¡¯t study together. So, although they went to school together in the mornings, they went home separately for the most part. Recently, however, Ren has been waiting for her on the way to school. As a result, she could talk with Daiki only a little. Whenever she walked with Ren, Daiki would walk a little further behind her and find another friend to go with. Wakaba felt lonely again. Daiki started to run errands as much as possible except in the morning so as not to disturb Wakaba. ¡°Shiraishi and Wakaba seem to be getting along well,¡± All her friends were saying that. So they tried to stay out of the way. After he finished his club activities, Shiraishi started waiting for Wakaba before going to school in the morning. The little time before meeting up with Shiraishi was a time when he and Wakaba could talk alone, but just as in the past, they would talk as usual. After meeting up with Shiraishi, he would walk a little behind her, trying not to join in the conversation, and if he saw a friend, he would go over there and try not to get in the way. Daiki spent all the time except for the morning hours studying, trying not to think about it or look at it. He was used to it compared to the first time, but when he saw Shiraishi and Wakaba enjoying themselves, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit tight in his chest. If he was studying, he didn¡¯t have to think about it. Daiki¡¯s grades improved when he realized that he had been on the brink at the beginning. Daiki had reached the passing line for the high school he had initially just barely passed. Even his teacher said to him. ¡°With these grades, I think you will be fine!¡± He decided to study harder so that his grades would not drop. He thought that Wakaba was probably studying hard to be accepted into a local preparatory school, so his contact with her became minimal. On the day of the exam, Daiki went to the station alone and took the train to the exam site. When the test started, he felt that he had a good result. Wakaba was studying hard for the entrance examination to a local school. Although she had passed the exam, it was not a sure thing. She was desperate not to fail. Wakaba could not fail the exam just because Daiki was going to a different high school. She also knew that Daiki¡¯s grades were improving rapidly. He knew that Daiki was working hard, but Wakaba couldn¡¯t afford not to do her best. Wakaba¡¯s grades were also higher than before. On the day of the exam, she sent a message to Daiki and wished him good luck. She was able to finish the exam with a solid result. CH 34 Daiki and Wakaba successfully passed the school of their choice. Ren was also accepted to the same school as Wakaba. It was decided that Daiki and Wakaba would go to different high schools. Since the examinations were over, they decided to play together for the first time in a while. Wakaba got in touch with Daiki and they decided to go to karaoke together. Wakaba was happy to be able to talk with Daiki. She was excited from the morning and decided to leave her house earlier than the meeting time. She arrived at Daiki¡¯s house and waited for him to come out. ¡°When was the last time we played together in plain clothes?¡± Thinking about it, Daiki also came out of the house in plain clothes. Until now, he had been so busy studying for his exams that Daiki had never been on his mind, but for the first time in a while, Daiki was able to look at her calmly. Although he knew that he had grown taller than Wakaba, he somehow looked less childish and more mature than before. It was a bit of a thrill for her. Because Daiki, who had been cute like a little brother, had grown into a handsome man. Wakaba did not realize that she was looking at Daiki as the opposite sex. While walking to the karaoke bar, Daiki walked on the side of the road and matched her walking speed. He was also very attentive to the conversation. It was the first time she realized how much he cared about girls. For the past year or two, she had many opportunities to talk with boys other than Daiki. There were times, such as when she went to the library to study, when some boys walked on the side of the road, but most of them didn¡¯t seem to mind. The walking pace did not seem to be in sync either. When she talked with the boys, they usually talked about how proud they were of themselves. There were very few boys who listened to what the girls had to say. Things that had seemed so normal to her before seemed different today. Aside from Daiki, Ren was also doing the same for her. She was walking along thinking about that. When they arrived at the karaoke place, Daiki went away from Ren as he always does. It was fun to be with Ren and his friends, but today, I wanted to have fun with Daiki. However, Daiki didn¡¯t look at Wakaba at all after he went to his other friends¡¯ place. As usual, she felt bothered. The party was a lot of fun, as if everyone was doing karaoke to release the stress of the examinations. The karaoke session was over, and as before, there was talk of going out to a family restaurant. Daiki said ¡°I¡¯m tired today, so I¡¯m going home!¡± He was saying. At that time, Ren asked Wakaba, ¡°Wakaba, are you going to a family restaurant, too? I haven¡¯t had enough fun yet, so let¡¯s go again this time.¡± She replied ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ren. I¡¯ve had too much fun today and I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m going home.¡± She said. Ren wanted to spend more time with her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest a bit at the family restaurant so you can come with us?¡± He asked. Daiki noticed and approached. Wakaba thought she would be told to go again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m making you guys uncomfortable and I want to go home and rest. I¡¯ll be sure to attend next time!¡± She then left the place. Ren looked disappointed. Today Wakaba wanted to spend more time with Daiki. She wanted to talk more with Daiki because she had not been able to talk with him much so far. She went to Daiki and asked ¡°Are you going to a family restaurant? She asked him. She knew he was not going because she had heard him earlier. ¡°I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m not going. Wakaba is going, right? Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m tired too, so I¡¯m going home! I¡¯ve told everyone so let¡¯s go home together!¡± She said with a smile. She did not look tired, but Daiki decided not to say anything. As they walked away from the others, Wakaba said ¡°Let¡¯s go by the park for a while!¡± She said. Although he thought she might have been tired, Daiki decided to go to the park. ¡°I remember when we were in elementary school! The two of us used to play together all the time!¡± Wakaba said as she rode the swings. ¡°We had so much fun!¡± He replied. After that, they continued to talk about the old days, laughing and talking together. The two of them talked for a while, as if they were trying to make up for all the time they had missed. After talking for a long time, Wakaba was satisfied. ¡°All right! I¡¯ve recharged my Daiki component!¡± And then she said ¡°I felt like Daiki was growing up and leaving me, so I missed you, but we talked a lot today, so I¡¯m satisfied! I¡¯m happy to see my brother¡¯s growth, too!¡± She laughed and said. The thought of being called ¡°little brother¡± made his heart tighten again. ¡°I¡¯m glad then!¡± Daiki told her. ¡°Then let¡¯s go home!¡± Wakaba said and started walking out of the park. They arrived at the front of her house. ¡°We¡¯ll be in separate high schools, but call me every day!¡± Wakaba said. ¡°Understood! I¡¯ll call you every day!¡± He replied. ¡°Good!¡± She smiled and went inside. CH 35 On the day of the graduation ceremony, his mother and Tsukasa came. His father said it would be awkward for him to go with his mother, so he held back, but he asked for the photos to be sent to him. Since it was the first time for Tsukasa to attend the ceremony, he had been crying all morning and seemed restless and anxious. Even after arriving at the school, he was crying even before the ceremony started. He didn¡¯t usually seem like the type to cry, so it was a surprise, but it made Daiki happy to think that he was that happy. He was going to meet his father this evening, so he decided to tell him about what had happened today. The graduation ceremony started and many people were crying. Daiki did not cry. He has not cried for a long time. He doesn¡¯t know when it started, but it had become normal for him not to cry. When he looked at Wakaba, she was crying with her face crumpled up. Unintentionally, he almost laughed. The graduation ceremony was over without incident, and everyone was taking commemorative photos. Today was the last day that they could spend at the junior high school. There are friends who are leaving and friends who are going to school together, but there are also many people who will no longer be able to see each other. Everyone was so sad that they were taking pictures while crying. Daiki was also sad to say goodbye to everyone, but he said goodbye with a smile and took pictures. Wakaba was crying as she took pictures with everyone. Many students go to local schools, so there are many friends who remain the same in high school. However, she was shedding tears for her friends who are going to different high schools because today was the last time she would be able to attend the same school with them. When the photo shoot was getting settled down, Daiki looked at Wakaba and saw that Shiraishi had invited Wakaba to take a picture with him. He felt a deep emotion in his chest as he knew that this would be the last time he would see such a scene. Shiraishi and Wakaba go to the same high school, so it seems that he has yet to confess his feelings to her. Wakaba, who had probably just finished taking pictures with Shiraishi, found Daiki and came running toward him. She hugged him. Daiki was surprised, but for today, he accepted the hug with open arms. ¡°Daiki, you have to do your best in school without me, okay? Make friends, okay? Study hard, okay? You¡¯re going to call me, right? Call me every day, okay? If you miss me, tell me right away. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I will miss you~¡± She cried and shouted. When everyone saw him, they came to Daiki and said the same thing. Daiki was happy. Daiki had to make friends from scratch because none of his friends were going to the school he was going to. Not only Wakaba, but everyone was worried as well. Daiki was popular with everyone and was loved very much. He was really grateful that he had worked so hard for the sake of normalcy. Afterwards, everyone took a picture together, and finally Wakaba and Daiki took a picture together. Daiki was smiling, but Wakaba was crying. Thanking everyone, he left everyone. Finally, a picture was taken with his mother and Tsukasa-san, dressed in his school uniform. Tsukasa-san was funny, crying all the way through. They left the junior high school without any further ado. After the graduation ceremony, the three of them went out to eat and went home. After returning home and changing clothes, he went to his father¡¯s place this time. After meeting up with his father, who was waiting for him at the station, he said he would buy me a congratulatory gift. They went shopping and then went to have dinner. He and his father were eating dinner while talking about today¡¯s events. He seemed surprised when Daiki told him about Tsukasa¡¯s constant crying, but with an evil smile on his face, he asked Daiki to send him a picture. He was happy to have a good story. It seemed that somehow they were no longer in a rut. After finishing dinner with such a story, his father said to him. ¡°Daiki, your high school is a little far from where you live now, right? If you want, you can go to high school from your father¡¯s house.¡± He made a sudden offer. ¡°Eh?¡± He was surprised. ¡°I think it would be easier for you to commute to school, even if it¡¯s only on weekdays. I¡¯ve already told your mother about it, so please think about it!¡± He said. ¡°What did mother say?¡± He asked him. ¡°Ask Daiki about it and if he agrees, it¡¯s fine! If he doesn¡¯t like it, he can just come over once in a while, the same as before?¡± He said a little sadly. Daiki thought for a moment. His mother had never lived alone with Tsukasa, so wouldn¡¯t it be better for her and Tsukasa? If he could only come home on weekends, he thought, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about bothering them. ¡°If it¡¯s okay with father, I¡¯d love to!¡± He replied. ¡°Really? Are you sure? Alright! Better get your stuff during spring break! And call your mom! We¡¯re going to be busy!¡± He was so happy. Daiki was also really happy. In the past, he had never thought that they could have this kind of relationship. Now he felt that even though they were not related by blood, they could be a real parent and child. It may be distorted, but Daiki was happy. During the spring vacation before entering high school, he was busy with preparations for moving. His father lived in a one-bedroom apartment, so when it was decided that Daiki would come to Japan, he immediately moved into a two-bedroom apartment that he had already found. There was a lot of work to do, such as buying a bed for Daiki and other daily necessities that he would need. Most of March was spent preparing for the move and the new school year. Wakaba and her friends invited him several times, but he had not finished his preparations, so he just sent them a message of rejection. The day he talked to his father, he also talked to his mother and Tsukasa-san after he got home. They both had complicated looks on their faces, but they agreed with Daiki¡¯s decision. He told them that he would come home on the weekends. He also told them that since they had never lived together before, they should think of it as their honeymoon and enjoy it. They both looked surprised and then embarrassed, their ears turning red. Wakaba also got the message. At first, she was against it, but in the end she was convinced? He thinks she agreed with him in the end. After the entrance ceremony was over, he started to live with his father on weekdays. In April, there was nothing to do until the entrance ceremony, so he decided to hang out with his friends. Everyone was surprised, but he promised to play with them on weekends. Wakaba contacted him and he agreed to meet her at the park. When she told him she would be waiting for him at the park, he went there and found her sitting on the swing set. ¡°Wakaba, what¡¯s wrong? He asked her and approached her. ¡°What do you mean, Daiki? You decided to move out on your own! You could have consulted me! Why didn¡¯t you even ask me about it!¡± She was angry. She continued to complain angrily, so he decided to listen to her in silence. Finally, she calmed down and said in a hushed voice, ¡°You could have at least said something to me¡­¡± And then he became quiet. Daiki said ¡°I couldn¡¯t talk to you about it because it was suddenly decided. I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t talk to you properly because I had to move and didn¡¯t have time. Sorry.¡± And he bowed his head. Then Wakaba said ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. When you come back, please play with me properly!¡± Daiki patted his chest in relief. Daiki was relieved and talked about his next house and what was nearby. From high school they talked a lot more than usual because it was sad that they would be separated from each other. Wakaba was the same way, talking and laughing a lot more than usual. From now on, they will not be able to see each other as often as they used to because they have always been together since they were small children. But the normal suddenly disappears, and a new normal appears. The two of them talked until the end of the day. The two of them are trying to keep their relationship as it is now, even when they are apart, so that this time can last forever, and so that their gradually changing relationship will not be destroyed as they hide their feelings for each other¡­ End of Volume 2 CH 36 Start of Volume 3 Daiki and Wakaba are now in high school. For the first time in their lives, they were not together at the entrance ceremony because they were in separate schools. Daiki sat facing the class with his name written on it until the entrance ceremony started. After entering the classroom, he was nervous, but he talked to the people seated near him and became friends with them, and his nervousness melted away. The entrance ceremony began and ended without incident. After returning to class, plans for the day ahead were announced, and the day came to an end. He exchanged contact information with some of the people he had become friends with and made friends with others. At any rate, the day was off to a good start. He sent a message to Wakaba to let her know that he had made friends. After that, he went to have lunch with his mother and Tsukasa-san. Today Tsukasa-san was not seen crying. He said his father teased him about the picture of his crying face. He said he was embarrassed. They seem to be doing really well, which is a relief. It¡¯s a strange relationship, but that¡¯s what makes it so special, he thought. In the evening, he was getting ready to go to his father¡¯s place. ¡°Daiki, are you finished getting ready?¡± His mother call out to him. ¡°I¡¯m almost done!¡± He told her. ¡°Daiki, eat your dinner properly! And don¡¯t stay up late! If anything happens, call me immediately! Also¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± She conveyed many, many anxious comments. ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll be back this weekend, don¡¯t worry!¡± She looked sad when he told her. ¡°Okay! Be good with your father!¡± She said. Tsukasa-san was watching anxiously behind her, but in the end he smiled kindly. When night fell, his father would pick him up at the station so he walked to the train station. Wakaba was waiting in front of his house. ¡°Daiki, have a good time at school! If something happens, don¡¯t force yourself and talk to me about it! Even if I can¡¯t come right away like before, I will rush over to you! I promise!¡± She said with a face like she was about to cry. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine! Thanks, Wakaba! Don¡¯t overdo it, Wakaba, and do your best! I¡¯m rooting for you in so many ways! I¡¯m off!¡± He told her that he was going to the station. Wakaba said ¡°Good luck!¡± and waved at him. Daiki told Wakaba for the first time ¡°I¡¯m rooting for you! Is what he said. He could not say it clearly yet, but he was able to put it into words. After arriving at the station, Daiki got into his father¡¯s car and together they drove to his house, where he was congratulated on his entrance into high school. He prepared for his high school life starting tomorrow with high hopes for the future. Wakaba felt lonely at her first entrance ceremony without Daiki. She had never thought that she would feel so lonely without Daiki. Until now, she may have thought she had to protect Daiki and always acted stout-heartedly. She had a lot of friends at her local high school, but she realized that Daiki was a big part of her life. While she was thinking about this, she was approached by Ren. ¡°Wakaba, I finally found you! We were in the same class! I¡¯m looking forward to working with you in high school too!¡± He said happily. ¡°Ren-kun, it¡¯s good to see you again too!¡± Some of her friends were in the same class with her, so she went to the classroom with them. Wakaba and Ren were both well-faced and stylish, so they were the center of attention as soon as they entered the classroom. The kids from the other schools came up to them and became friends right away. After the entrance ceremony, everyone exchanged contact information, and the day ended with the end of school. Tomorrow, normal high school life would begin. Today, she went home with her parents, celebrated, and took her time. From Daiki ¡°I made friends with everyone!¡± It said. ¡°I¡¯m glad! I made friends with everyone, too!¡± She replied back. She asked around what time he would be on his way, and he said he would be heading to the station later in the evening, so she decided to wait in front of his house for that time. Night fell and she waited for Daiki in front of his house. A little later, Daiki came walking with his luggage. ¡°Daiki, have a good time at school! If something happens, don¡¯t force yourself and talk to me about it! Even if I can¡¯t come right away like before, I will rush over to you! I promise!¡± She told him There was much more stuff she wanted to talk about, but it didn¡¯t come together well. She was so lonely that she almost cried. ¡°It¡¯s all right! Thanks, Wakaba! Don¡¯t overdo it, Wakaba! I¡¯ll be rooting for you in many ways! I¡¯m off!¡± Daiki said and started walking to the station. Wakaba said ¡°Good luck!¡± and waved him off until he was out of sight. ¡°He will be back every week, so it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t see him again!¡± She had told herself that there was nothing to worry about, but she still couldn¡¯t help feeling that Daiki was getting further and further away from Wakaba. CH 37 It was the first Golden Week after entering high school. So far, Daiki¡¯s high school life was going well. Because Daiki is cheerful and easy to get along with, he got along well with his classmates and made more friends. He became friends with girls as well. He talked especially well with Shion Aizawa. Shion was a lovely girl. She appeared to be calm, but in fact she was firm and could do anything. She was also good at adjusting to her surroundings and was popular with both men and women. Golden Week while talking to Shion. They talked about what to do, and Daiki said ¡°I¡¯m planning to go out with Dad in the first half of the year¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m going to go hang out with my dad the first half of the day, and then with some local friends the second half!¡± And Shion said ¡°Daiki, you¡¯re so close with your father!¡± She said with a smile. When asked about Shion¡¯s plans as well, she said she was going to her grandparents¡¯ house with her family, so Daiki wondered if Shion¡¯s family was close to her. Since Shion is cute and popular, her other friends joined in the conversation. The conversation became lively and it was decided that they would all go out together after Golden Week because some people¡¯s schedules did not match during Golden Week. He and his father had decided to divide up the responsibilities of their lives, and the two of them were able to live well together. He was just beginning to get used to living with his mother and Tsukasa-san on the weekends. On weekends, he was busy meeting with Wakaba and his friends. Since Daiki decided not to participate in club activities at high school, he decided to spend the first half of Golden Week with his father as planned, and the second half at home, spending time with his mother and Tsukasa, and playing with local friends. Golden Week began, and he went camping with his father. He set up a tent, made a bed, and prepared tabler and other things. From there, he prepared a barbecue and started cooking with the ingredients he had bought. His father was a good cook and very efficient. Since Daiki had come to live with his father, he had started helping him with the cooking, and he had improved a lot. Since it was the first day, he cooked cut vegetables and meat on the grill, and was in a good mood drinking beer, but he was probably tired from moving around and preparing for the barbecue. On the second day, after a light breakfast, they headed to a nearby fishing pond. After catching a few fish, they decided to grill them and eat them. It was delicious to eat the fish they caught. At night, the two of them made curry and served it over rice that they cooked in a rice container. It was also very tasty. After dinner, when the two of them were talking, the father asked, ¡°Is there a girl you like?¡± He asked him. Flustered, he couldn¡¯t answer. ¡°Do you perhaps like Waka-chan.¡± He said. ¡°You guessed it.¡± He looked at Daiki with a meaningful smile on his face, although he impatiently said he was not. After that, Daiki became slurred all the time and could not understand what he was saying. They talked like that until bedtime, and at the end he said ¡°Don¡¯t regret it¡­¡± He told me with a forlorn look on his face. His father may still regret it. Thinking about his deceased girlfriend and his mother¡­ and such things¡­ ¡°I wonder if I will regret it too¡­¡± Thinking about this, he went to sleep. On the last day, he went sightseeing on the way home, and the three days of fun with his father came to an end. During the second half of Golden Week, he went home and spent one day with his mother and Tsukasa, and the rest of the day playing with friends. Wakaba joined the tennis club at her high school, and although she was only able to spend one day playing with her friends because of club activities, everyone, including Wakaba, decided to go to a theme park together. Wakaba¡¯s favorite character was there. She called him the day before. She was so excited that she was looking forward to tomorrow. He thought it was going to be just the two of them in the morning. Apparently Shiraishi is coming to pick her up. ¡°Shall we go to the station together?¡± He was told, but he refrained. ¡°Why?¡± She said. He told her he had to run an errand and that he would be there afterwards. He had no errands to run, but he didn¡¯t want to go with them. He remembered his father¡¯s words, but he was stubborn because he had decided to support them. CH 38 The next day, he left home early so that he would not be late for Wakaba and the others to get to the station. Since there was no errand to run, he took a little detour before heading to the station. After taking a little detour, he arrived at the station just in time for the meeting. Everyone had arrived at the station, so they decided to leave as planned. Wakaba was naturally there, but Shiraishi was standing next to her as if it was a matter of course. It had become a familiar sight, so everyone treated him as a matter of course. Daiki tried not to look at them while they were on the move, but seeing Wakaba and Shiraishi together for such a long time made his chest feel tighter than usual. They arrived safely at the theme park and entered together. At first, everyone was traveling together, but then everyone suggested that Wakaba and Shiraishi should be alone together. Wakaba and Shiraishi are not in a relationship, but a friend of his who goes to the same high school as Wakaba and Shiraishi said they were trying to get them to get together. Considering that Daiki was also supporting them, it seemed natural to do so. Despite the pain in his heart, he decided to go along with the others and let Wakaba and Shiraishi be alone with each other. It would be easy to leave Wakaba alone with Shiraishi, who is always next to her, but when he asks his friends what they would do he answers: ¡°We¡¯ll ask them to get some drinks, and while they¡¯re on their way to the store, we tell them that we don¡¯t need them and that they should go on to the next ride. If they call us, tell them we made a mistake and that they should go on the other ride until they meet up with us. After that, just take the opposite ride so that we don¡¯t meet up, and hopefully we¡¯ll be able to continue on until the evening!¡± He said. Is it really okay? He thought so, but it worked out easily. It was convenient for Shiraishi because he likes Wakaba, but he doesn¡¯t know about Wakaba. Daiki could hardly enjoy himself after that. Even though he tried not to care about it, it bothered him. It was now evening and it was time to meet up, but this time they were in the opposite area and couldn¡¯t meet up right away. Everyone wanted to play until the end of the night, so they decided to go their separate ways until the park closed. Daiki was not able to enjoy the park until the end. After the evening, he told everyone that he was resting because he was tired and decided to rest on a bench. ¡°What am I doing when I should be cheering for them¡­¡± He was depressed all by himself. Since it was Golden Week, the crowds were so large that it was difficult to sit on the bench and relax, so he moved to an area where there were fewer people. When he was about to call his friends to meet up with them there. Daiki found Wakaba and Shiraishi. They did not notice Daiki and continued walking to avoid the crowds. When they were slightly out of the crowd, Daiki saw them. He saw Shiraishi walking with Wakaba holding her hand. He had no idea exactly what kind of face they were making, but they were walking hand in hand. Daiki may have been walking with his hand pulled to get through the crowd by accident, which is always bad timing. But what Daiki saw was all that mattered. Daiki just stared without speaking to them. The two of them went on and disappeared from sight in the crowd. Not sure how long it had been, but a friend contacted him and they decided to meet up. Up until that moment, nothing much happened that he remembers. He looked so pale that his friends were worried about him. Wakaba and Shiraishi had not been able to join the group yet, but they said they would be able to join soon. Daiki was getting really sick from playing so many days in a row, so he told everyone that he was not feeling well and that he would go home first. Everyone said it was better for him to go home because he didn¡¯t look well. One of his friends said that he was tired and that he wanted to go home too. He told everyone that he was worried about Daiki by himself, and he felt sorry for him. Everyone agreed to tell Wakaba and the others, so Daiki and his friends went home together. He was not feeling well on the way home, but his friend who came home with him walked him home and returned back to his house. He told him he was sorry, but said not to worry about it. He promised to buy him a meal next time. His mother and Tsukasa-san came out. ¡°Daiki, are you all right?¡± He was not okay, so he asked them to carry him to his room on their shoulders and lay down on the bed and went to sleep. CH 39 Wakaba was looking forward to going to the theme park. The reason was that there were some of her favorite characters and she would be able to go out with Daiki for the first time in a long time. The day before, she had called Daiki to express her excitement. In the morning, Ren was picking her up from the station, so the two of them couldn¡¯t go alone, but when she asked Daiki to go with her as usual, he refused, saying he had to finish his errands before he could go. Whenever Daiki and others hung out with her, she always went with him, so she thought she could go with him as a matter of course. But for the first time, he refused. Wakaba was shocked, but she decided that if it was for an errand, she had no choice. ¡°I¡¯m going to have a lot of fun with Daiki at the theme park!¡± and went to bed. The next day, as she was getting ready and waiting, she received a message from Ren and walked out to her house. The two of them walked to the station together, talking about what they were going to ride at the theme park. When they arrived at the station, some of their friends had not arrived yet, but most of them had. As Daiki had not arrived yet, she wanted to call him, but she thought he might be on an extended errand, so she decided to wait for him. Daiki arrived just in time for the meeting, so we all hurried to get on the train. Relieved that he made it to the train in time, she tried to talk to him, but he was talking with his other friends and ended up talking briefly to her. While bewildered, Ren spoke to her and asked her about the characters at the theme park. From there, we continued to talk passionately about our love for the characters. From there, she continued to speak passionately about her love for the character. Before anyone knew it, they arrived at the station at the theme park and everyone was in the park. It was the middle of Golden Week, so the place was packed with people. ¡°Let¡¯s have a lot of fun!¡± and everyone was excited and enthusiastic. In the beginning, everybody was together, but after being sent to buy drinks with Ren, she got a call from them. They wanted them to go ahead of them to the rides. When they came to the vicinity of the rides, their friends were not there. When she contacted them, they said they had gone the other way, but Wakaba was also a high school student, so she could understand this much about quicksand. The two of them were going to be spending a lot of time together, and she was gradually becoming aware of the fact that they were always trying to get her to stay close to him. ¡°Today, too!¡± She wanted to get angry at Ren, but it wasn¡¯t his fault. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to talk or play with Daiki at all¡­¡± She decided to give up for now, thinking that she and Daiki would go on a ride together later. ¡°We¡¯ve come all this way, so let¡¯s have fun!¡± Ren also said so, so they decided to enjoy the attractions until they could meet up with the others, but it wasn¡¯t much fun. After that, despite calling everyone and walking so that they could meet up with the others, they could not meet up with anyone at all. It was getting late in the evening and she was getting frustrated. She called her friends and said to them ¡°Enough already! I want to have fun with everyone!¡± She told them. Then she said ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± She apologized lightly. When she asked what area they were in, they were on the other side of the area. It was already late in the evening and the crowd was so large that it would be too late to meet up with them, so Ren and Wakaba hurriedly started walking to the opposite area. They were walking to avoid the crowds, but it started to get dark and she got a little separated from Ren. He was able to find her by making contact with her right away. ¡°It would be very difficult if we get separated again, so why don¡¯t we go holding hands?¡± He said to her. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it! I¡¯ll follow you!¡± And as soon as they started walking, they almost lost each other again in the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ll hold your hand until we get through the crowd.¡± He took her hand and ended up holding hands. Unable to say no, they walked through the crowd and immediately let go of each other¡¯s hands. Ren¡¯s ears were bright red, but Wakaba¡¯s were complicated. After that, Ren spoke awkwardly and shyly. When they reached the other side of the area, they called their friends. They were also walking to the other side of the area, so it seemed that they had passed each other. Once again, everyone was walking back towards the area, but this time with fewer people, so there was no need to hold hands. Finally, everybody was together. ¡°Hey! Now I¡¯m going to run out of time to play with you guys!¡± She complained to her friend. ¡°Sorry, sorry! But you had fun, didn¡¯t you? Haha!¡± She said and laughed. Wakaba looked around and noticed that Daiki was not here. ¡°Huh, did Daiki get separated too?¡± She asked. ¡°Daiki got sick and went home first. He looked pale.¡± She was said. She also said that one of his friends went home with him because he was worried about him. Wakaba was so worried that she called him immediately, but the phone was disconnected. She also sent him a message right away. She was no longer in the mood to have fun. From a friend who went home with Daiki. ¡°I just got on the train, but Daiki doesn¡¯t look well, so I¡¯m taking him home.¡± The message seems to have gotten through. ¡°I apologize if you didn¡¯t enjoy the park until the end.¡± Is what Daiki said. So everyone decided to play until the park closed. Wakaba was worried and didn¡¯t seem to be able to enjoy it, but to everyone else. ¡°Do you want to stay until the park closes because you might make Daiki feel uncomfortable if he hears that you left right after that?¡± She said. Another message came in from a friend. ¡°Daiki is very concerned about you. He¡¯s always saying how sorry he is, so please enjoy the park until it closes!¡± Was said. Since it was decided to stay until the park closed, Wakaba tried to act as cheerful as possible so as not to make everyone feel uncomfortable. Wakaba sent a message to Daiki again, but he didn¡¯t reply. After a little while, she received a message from his friend ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I sent him home safe and sound!¡± She was relieved that she had received his message, but she was not in the mood to enjoy the park and managed to stay there until it closed. On the train ride home, everyone was so tired from playing that they almost fell asleep, but Wakaba was not sleepy. ¡°I didn¡¯t get to talk to Daiki again today¡­ I couldn¡¯t even ride the rides with him¡­ We could have gone out together¡­ I wonder if he is feeling all right¡­¡± She was feeling down by herself. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m always like this¡­ I feel like I¡¯m being avoided when I go out with everyone¡­¡± She thought to herself. Arriving at the nearest station, everyone dispersed. Ren offered to give her a walk, but this time, as expected, she declined. Perhaps she also had her own feelings about it, but this time she decided to go home without being dropped off. As Wakaba walked home alone, she said to herself ¡± Is Daiki avoiding me after all¡­?¡± She thought to herself as she walked home alone. When she arrived at her house, she looked towards Daiki¡¯s house. The light in Daiki¡¯s room was off. ¡°Daiki, I wonder if you are feeling alright¡­? Are you really avoiding me after all¡­?¡± She looked at Daiki¡¯s room and grieved. CH 40 Daiki got sick and didn¡¯t wake up until morning after he returned home. Thanks to a good night¡¯s sleep, he was feeling much better. When he woke up, he went to the living room. ¡°Daiki, are you all right? Are you feeling better?¡± His mother and Tsukasa were worried about him. ¡°I slept well, so I feel a whole lot better! Thank you!¡± He told them and went to take a shower. After a refreshing shower and a light breakfast, Daiki returned to his room and checked his cell phone. Yesterday, he had received messages from everyone since he had not been able to respond at all. He had a message from Wakaba, too, but he didn¡¯t know what to say to her, so he decided to think about it after replying to everyone else. He had decided to support them, but it was still hard for him. ¡°Don¡¯t regret it¡­¡± His father¡¯s words came to mind. ¡°Regret¡­¡± He lamented to himself. No matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with an answer. But now that he had decided to support them, he couldn¡¯t interfere. ¡°I guess Wakaba likes Shiraishi too, since they walk hand in hand¡­¡± Recalling yesterday, he decided to keep his distance from them. Little by little, distance himself from them. They are not even dating, but maybe the distance between Daiki and Wakaba was too close. He thought it would be better if they were just normal friends. When they do meet, they don¡¯t see each other except when they are with other people, and they don¡¯t see each other at school because they don¡¯t go to school together. So, he thought, it would be better if he could be as close to her as normal friends are. That way, he would not get in Wakaba¡¯s way. Even if Wakaba got romantically involved with Shiraishi, he thought that ordinary friends could congratulate her. Once again, he had made up his mind. Asking Wakaba would solve the problem, but subconsciously, he thought in a direction that would not hurt him. Instead of doing it for Wakaba¡¯s sake, his defensive instincts kicked in for his own sake. Until now, he has always acted as if he could be normal if only he could endure himself. Daiki again chose to act by suppressing his feelings this time. After replying to Wakaba with a minimal reply, he lay down on his bed and lost himself in his thoughts. Wakaba had club activities in the morning, so she woke up early in the morning to get ready. She checked her cell phone, but there was still no reply from Daiki. ¡°I wonder if Daiki is okay¡­?¡± She was worried about Daiki, but she couldn¡¯t miss the club activities, so she went out to school. The club activities were over only in the morning, so she changed her clothes quickly and checked her cell phone. Daiki had written back to her. ¡°I¡¯m feeling better! I¡¯m sorry for worrying you!¡± was the only message. Wakaba was relieved, so she immediately wrote ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better! We didn¡¯t get to play together at all yesterday. Let¡¯s go on a ride together next time!¡± She sent a message The reply came immediately. ¡°Thank you! I guess so!¡± The reply was more curt than usual. Maybe it had been like this before, but Wakaba was curious because she had the feeling that he had been somewhat avoiding her since yesterday. It may be a misunderstanding, but I¡¯m curious. Wakaba couldn¡¯t ask Daiki either. They both have similar bad habits. ¡°Next time our schedules work out, we¡¯ll definitely go!¡± And she sends a message. ¡°Got it!¡± and the reply was still very curt. Wakaba began to think more and more. Wakaba herself did not know what to do. The vacation was over and Golden Week was over. Daiki went back to his father and Wakaba spent her days in agony. School started again, and Daiki was talking with his high school friends about where they went on vacation. The girls, including Shion, also talked together. Shion said she was going to her grandparents¡¯ house with her family, so she said she spent her vacation as planned. Everyone else said the same thing, and they talked about how they wanted to hang out together next year. First, as they had said before the Golden Week vacations, they decided to arrange a day when they could all have a day off together. Daiki wanted to change his mind and was glad to have something to look forward to. Shion was also happy about it. On the day off, everyone decided to go have fun after school since those who had club activities could not come. On days off from club activities, everybody went to facilities where they could play karaoke, bowling, arcade games, and various other games. After bowling with everyone else, they decided to go to the places they wanted to play. Daiki went to a game center and played UFO catcher. Since Shion was with him, he tried his best to get the stuffed animal she wanted, but he couldn¡¯t. Instead, he got a stuffed animal that wasn¡¯t very cute. Shion was happy to get the stuffed animal that Daiki had given her, and she put it in a bag and held it with both hands, looking very happy. Daiki was also relieved that he was able to make her happy. After that, everyone continued to have fun together and it was getting late, so they decided to go home together. That day they broke up, saying that they would make time to come back and visit again. CH 41 Since the vacations, Daiki has been concentrating on his high school life. It is not that he despises his hometown, but by concentrating on his high school life, he does not have to think about it so much, and it has become an excuse for him to keep his distance from Wakaba. The number of high school friends increased, and they often went out together after school. Sometimes girls were with him, and he had more opportunities to talk with Shion than ever before. Shion was a girl who could talk to anyone without any distinction, and she had become one of the girls in Daiki¡¯s life whom he could talk to without any concern. Since then, he has had minimal contact with Wakaba. He has gotten used to it, but he also wants to talk with her more. It¡¯s a contradiction, but it¡¯s the only way Daiki could think of. They are from different schools, so they almost never see each other. If he had more chances to see her, it would be less likely, but for now, he thought he was able to cover up his feelings. Wakaba has been worrying about her relationship with Daiki since that day. If she sent him a message, he would reply. If she called him on the phone, he would answer. However, she felt that everything was more indifferent than before. After much thought, she could not come up with an answer. After thinking about it for a while, she decided to ask her friend Chika Sasaki for advice. ¡°I feel like Daiki has been a little curt lately.¡± She asked Sasaki during a break time at school. ¡°Daiki? I can¡¯t imagine it.¡± Chika said. ¡°I feel the same as before, but I feel he¡¯s not very open and honest with me. So I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s going on.¡± Just as she said this, the chime sounded. ¡°We don¡¯t have club activities today, right? Let¡¯s go to a cafe on the way home! I¡¯ll ask you the rest of the story there!¡± Chika said, and together they decided to go to a caf¨¦ on the way home. After school, Chika and Wakaba headed to a stylish caf¨¦. When they arrived at the caf¨¦, they both ordered a cake and latte set and started talking while eating. ¡°So, about Daiki, it¡¯s not only that I feel he¡¯s not being very open with me, but I also feel like he¡¯s avoiding me.¡± Wakaba said. ¡°Avoiding you? Why?¡± Chika said so. ¡°Whenever I¡¯m playing with everyone, he doesn¡¯t come to me. If I talk to him, he talks to me, but Daiki doesn¡¯t approach me and doesn¡¯t talk to me.¡± Wakaba replied. Chika was thinking. ¡°Aren¡¯t you thinking too much? Daiki is always with Wakaba, so when he is with everyone else, he at least talks to his friends other than Wakaba? I think it¡¯s something like that. Do you have any messages that make you think that way?¡± She asked. Wakaba had nothing to hide, so she showed her the exchange of messages. Looking at the exchange, it seemed straightforward, but it also seemed normal. ¡°I still think you are thinking too much? Maybe you¡¯re worried that he¡¯s in high school?¡± Chika told her. ¡°And what about when we¡¯re with everyone else?¡± Wakaba asked. ¡°Instead of when you re with everyone, you¡¯re with Shiraishi-kun, aren¡¯t you?¡± She got right to the point. Chika sighed and said ¡°Wakaba and Shiraishi are always together. I think he¡¯s just being careful, you know? We don¡¯t mind because we see you in class, but Daiki¡¯s in a different class, so he feels like he shouldn¡¯t bother you! I think the boys told Daiki that too. So I think he¡¯s just so careful not to disturb Wakaba and Shiraishi-kun that he doesn¡¯t talk to you?¡± She said. Wakaba froze with a surprised look on her face. Chika was a little surprised when Wakaba froze up. ¡°I think everyone is wishing you would go out with him!¡± She has been telling her so, though she does not intend to push it. Wakaba thought she understood a little more now that she was in high school, but there were still many things she was unaware of. Wakaba was shocked that Daiki thought so, although she didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Wakaba probably thinks of Daiki as a younger brother. In the past, it was like that, but now, Daiki is like a big brother to you, right? Daiki is calm, cheerful, and can read the air, so he¡¯s quite popular, you know? But you didn¡¯t seem to be interested in love, and it seemed like he was watching over Wakaba, so I think he¡¯s acting to make you happy.¡± She further informed her. Wakaba had thought of him as a younger brother, but before she knew it, the tables had turned. Wakaba was shocked and asked ¡°You mean he thinks of me like a little sister? Does that mean Daiki is trying to watch over me?¡± She asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know how Daiki feels about you, but from my side, it looks that way, no?¡± Chika said. She was indescribably happy. But the fact that Daiki is so popular is very interesting to her. ¡°Is Daiki that popular?¡± She asked. ¡°He is quite popular! He is kind to everyone and can read the atmosphere, right? He can talk with us! We thought he was like a little brother to us, so until now we just thought he was a nice boy! But when we met him for the first time in a while, he looked the same as ever. He used to have a cute face, but he¡¯s grown taller and more handsome. Everyone looked at him differently! He¡¯s going to be popular in high school!¡± Chika told her excitedly. After that, while talking about Daiki, Wakaba had a strange feeling of being bewildered. It was an indescribable feeling, but¡­ ¡°Thank you for listening to me today, Chika!¡± She thanked her. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear more about what happened with you and Shiraishi-kun, okay?¡± she smiled wryly. Wakaba told Chika that she really only thought of him as a good friend, but Chika was not convinced, and after that, she asked deeper and deeper questions, and ended up telling her everything that had happened. From the next day on, Chika was even more eager to get the two of them to get closer. CH 42 The first semester of high school life has passed in a blink of an eye. So far, Daiki was able to lead a normal high school life without any problems. He was getting good grades in his studies and getting along well with his friends. He started to hang out with everyone, and among the girls, he started to talk with Shion well. Shion was easy to talk to and soothing to watch, because she was able to get along with everyone. Everyone thought so. Daiki felt the same way. They promised to play together during the summer vacation. Of course, the boys were happy because Shion said she would come too. During the summer vacation, he made it so that half of the time he would be at his father¡¯s place and half would be back home. Since his father¡¯s vacation was in August, he decided to spend it at home first. Since then, he and Wakaba have not been in frequent contact with each other. When students reach high school age, they are busy with each of their own activities. She would contact him every day, but he would return her calls and that would be the end of it. There were many things she wanted to tell him, but he suppressed his feelings and held back. It is probably better that they don¡¯t see each other at all. Wakaba said she could not play that much because of her many club activities. It was sad that he did not have many chances to see her during the summer vacation, but it was also a relief that he did not have to tighten his grip on her heart. From the beginning of the summer vacation, she went bowling and karaoke with her friends and had a good time. When they went to karaoke, one of her friends told him about Wakaba and Shiraishi. ¡°I think Misaki and Shiraishi are perfect for each other. Support? Something like that, but they don¡¯t go out with each other very often. You think they¡¯d be a good match for each other, too, don¡¯t you?¡± She said. He felt pain in his chest. ¡°I think they¡¯re perfect for each other.¡± He managed to answer. After that, they continued to talk about the two, but Daiki was only humming along and barely listening to what she said. Had she finished talking about the two of them? ¡°Daiki has become handsome all at once, too. You didn¡¯t look like that in middle school, but in high school you must be popular.¡± So she said to him. ¡°Not at all.¡± The truth is, he was confessed for the first time before the summer vacation. She was a classmate of his at high school, but he had never talked to her much. Daiki politely declined, not because he liked Wakaba, but because he thought he couldn¡¯t go out with a girl he didn¡¯t like. When he rejected her, it hurt his heart, but he was relieved that they decided to be friends first. Daiki, too, had become a high school student and was beginning to be popular. The annual summer festival that they had planned to go to together was cancelled due to rain. Now he would not see Wakaba again during the month of July. In August, he returned to his father¡¯s place and spent time playing with his high school friends until his father went on vacation. Shion and her friends came to the festival, and for the first time he saw the girls in their casual clothes. They were very cute. All the boys must have been happy. Especially Shion is very popular and everyone blushed as they looked at her. Shion came up to Daiki and said ¡°Daiki, you look so cool in casual clothes too.¡± She praised him in his casual clothes. Daiki was happy and a little embarrassed, but soon started to admire Daiki¡¯s clothes. ¡°Shion is fashionable and cute, too. Everyone thinks so, too, I think.¡± He told her. This time they went to the same complex as before and played in the same way. Daiki was doing well, getting a high score in bowling, but he couldn¡¯t get anything on the UFO catcher. Shion was also in the same group with Daiki, so this time Shion got a stuffed animal. She also got a keychain. ¡°I got a stuffed animal from you before, so I¡¯ll give you this in return.¡± Daiki got the key ring, but his other male friends were envious that he got it from Shion. Daiki said ¡°She gave me a key chain in return for a stuffed animal I gave her a while ago.¡± The boys all started to play UFO catcher, trying desperately to get the stuffed animal and give it to Shion. In the end, no one was able to get it, but everyone seemed to be having fun. Since there was time that day, they enjoyed karaoke. Daiki was a good singer, so everyone got excited and had a good time. Shion was blushing and fawning over Daiki as he sang, but Daiki was unaware of it. Wakaba had been able to switch things up a bit since the day she talked to Chika about it. She found that she felt better if she talked about what was on her mind. Although she was able to change her mind, she still spent her days in a state of bewilderment. Even after the summer break, she still hadn¡¯t seen Daiki. Until junior high school, she always saw him at school, but now he went to a different high school and went to his father¡¯s place on weekdays, so she hardly saw him at all. Even if he came home on weekends, he could not see Wakaba because she had to go to club activities. They have been together since they were small children, so Wakaba was eager to see him. At the same time, she felt the loneliness that the things she took for granted were no longer taken for granted. Wakaba does not yet realize that this is love. She had mistaken it for the feeling of wanting to see her family. The summer festival she had been looking forward to was cancelled due to rain, and in the end she could not see him during July. He said he was going to visit his father in August, so the next time he would be back would be at the festival at the end of August. Wakaba was in agony again. CH 43 The summer vacation quickly came to an end with only one week left. During the month of August, Daiki played with his high school friends and got to know them better. His father was also on vacation, so the two of them rented a campervan and toured various places. Again, they had a lot of experiences and made some of the most enjoyable memories. When his father¡¯s vacation was over, he decided to go back to his hometown. When he got home, his mother and Tsukasa-san told him that they had something to report and made him sit on his knees in the living room. ¡°Daiki, I have a report to make.¡± He told me with a serious face. Daiki straightened his back and listened. ¡°Daiki will be a big brother¡± He said. ¡°Daiki is going to be a big brother.¡± She said with a high tension. At first he didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but then he realized that his mother was pregnant. ¡°Eh?¡± Then he hugged his mother. ¡°C-Congratulations!¡± Finally, he understood and congratulated her. His mother said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you happy, Daiki?¡± She asked anxiously. ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy!¡± She burst into tears and hugged him. He asked Tsukasa-san for help, but Tsukasa-san was sobbing even harder than his mother. ¡°Thank you, Daiki, thank you, Daiki, thank you for being so happy for me.¡± He said with a messed up face. Until they calmed down, he did as he was told. When they calmed down, they told him the due date of the baby and that they did not know the gender yet. Daiki was relieved and frankly happy that things were going well for them. However, as a high school student, one would know how to have a child. On the one hand, he was happy, but on the other hand, it was complicated, but he did not say so. It is still a matter of congratulations. Because of this, Daiki was in a better mood than usual on the day of the festival. On the day of the festival, Wakaba insisted on being picked up, so he went to pick her up. She said she refused to be picked up by Shiraishi because it was in the opposite direction this time. Having not seen each other since Golden Week, he was nervous. He arrived in front of Wakaba¡¯s house and waited for her to come out. When Wakaba came out, he gasped. She came out in her yukata and looked beautiful. She was much more beautiful than before. Now that she was in high school, her face and style were even better. He had a feeling the same thing had happened before. ¡°Do I look good in it?¡± she asked, this time in a ladylike manner. He said nothing. ¡°Hey, are you listening?¡± He was told. Daiki was not embarrassed and said ¡°It looks really good on you.¡± He was able to tell her. ¡°Thanks.¡± Wakaba said shyly. After a long time, he and Wakaba walked to the restaurant. Not knowing what to talk about, Wakaba told him a lot of things. The conversation was about everyone and school, so he was able to talk about normal things. Daiki also told her about his mother and Tsukasa. Wakaba, too, was surprised. ¡°So Daiki is going to be a big brother, I see¡±. She was happy to hear that. ¡°That means I¡¯m the eldest one!¡± She was joking around, but it made his heart tighten a little. She was joking around, but he felt a little choked up because he thought that even now, she still saw him only as a little brother. Talking about such things, they arrived at the meeting place just as we were talking. After arriving at the meeting place, Shiraishi came by right away as usual and started talking with Wakaba. Daiki looked behind him and then went to another friend¡¯s place. The festival itself was just as enjoyable as every other year, but as the time for the fireworks approached, they decided to move on. ¡°Daiki, you know we¡¯re all trying to get Wakaba and Shiraishi to hook up, right? I want to leave you two alone during the fireworks, will you help me with that, Daiki?¡± He asked. Daiki had no choice but to go along. ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed this with the others, so you and I will go that way, okay?¡± So, he decided to go along with them. As they were walking, Sasaki said to him ¡°Daiki has become a good-looking guy. Have you got a girlfriend?¡± She asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have a girlfriend. He answered. She asked many questions, but he answered without hesitation. After that, everyone else joined the party, but Wakaba and Shiraishi were the only ones missing. Just then, the fireworks started. While watching the fireworks, Daiki said ¡°When was the last time I watched fireworks next to Wakaba?¡± He felt indescribable. The fireworks were over and Wakaba and Shiraishi joined them. Wakaba was complaining angrily, but Shiraishi was laughing with his friend shyly, as if it went well. Seeing this, Daiki¡¯s heart tightened. He desperately tried to act normal. He was supposed to go home with Wakaba, but Shiraishi said he would drop her off, so he lied to Wakaba and went home with another friend by a different route. CH 44 Wakaba was looking forward to this day. She had even bought a new adult-style yukata to get into the spirit of the day. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what Daiki will say.¡± She waited excitedly for Daiki to come and pick her up. Ren offered to pick her up, but she declined, saying it was a bad idea for him to go in the opposite direction. She wanted Daiki to pick her up by all means. She wanted Daiki to be the first to see her. Daiki came to pick her up. Wakaba slowly walked out the front door. ¡°Does it look good on me?¡± A little embarrassed, but she asked Daiki. But he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Hey? Are you listening?¡± She said. Then Daiki said ¡± It looks really good on you.¡± He said. She was so happy. ¡°Thank you¡± She thanked him and was in a good mood at once. Daiki had indeed become cooler. He was no longer cute like he used to be, and he had become a handsome man who would be popular with the ladies. While thinking this, with a good mood, they walked to the meeting place. Daiki walked on the side of the road. She had wanted to talk to Daiki for a long time, so she talked to him a lot. Daiki listened to what Wakaba had to say. It was fun and she was happy. Daiki also told her about his home. Daiki was going to be a big brother. She was surprised, but happy to think that things were going well. ¡°I am the eldest daughter!¡± She said jokingly. For a moment, Daiki looked sad. It made her heart skip a beat. The sound of my heart beat faster. Soon it became the gentle, usual Daiki¡¯s face. Wondering what she was feeling right now, she felt embarrassed and spoke too quickly. After that, they arrived at the meeting place in no time at all. As soon as they arrived at the meeting place, Ren spoke to her. ¡°Wakaba, you look great.¡± He said. Her other friends came close by and everyone started talking. When she turned around, she saw Daiki walking toward another friend. Seeing his back, she thought to myself. ¡°Daiki is leaving me again¡­¡± She felt sad. After that, as usual, she was made to stay next to Ren. Whenever she walked around the festival site or lined up at the stalls, he was always next to her. As the time for the fireworks approached, everyone began to move together. As they walked through the crowds, they realized that everyone was gone except for Ren. Beaten again. Even if she went back now, she wouldn¡¯t make it in time for the fireworks. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch the fireworks.¡± Ren said. It was too dangerous to go back through the crowd, so she had no choice but to go with him. Ren tried to take her hand again, saying it was too dangerous, but she refused this time. She wasn¡¯t in the mood and she couldn¡¯t hide her irritation. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t like Ren, but today, she wanted to be with Daiki. Today, she wanted to enjoy the festival with Daiki. Want to watch the fireworks with Daiki. Passing through the crowd, they came to the place where they could see the fireworks. The fireworks had just started. Wakaba was watching the fireworks. ¡°Why¡­why is it always like this¡­¡± She felt indescribable. After the fireworks were over, Ren said something about meeting up with everyone first and called his friends. She immediately went over to everyone and complained to her friends. Wakaba was really angry, but her friends laughed and said they were sorry. She was supposed to go home with Daiki, so she gave up and decided to switch. They walked to the outside of the festival site and disbanded with the others. Daiki and Ren were talking about something. She hurried over to Daiki and said ¡°Daiki, let¡¯s go home!¡± She said to him. ¡°Wakaba, I¡¯m sorry. I have something I want to borrow from a friend, so I¡¯m going to drop by for a while. So¡­ Will you go home with Shiraishi?¡± He looked sad again. Immediately she knew it was a lie. But there was nothing she could say. Daiki¡¯s sad face was burned into her eyes and she couldn¡¯t get rid of it. On the way there, he had been thrilled, but now, he was sad. Tears almost came to his eyes. ¡°Got it¡­¡± She responded in a hushed voice. After leaving Daiki and the others, Ren and Wakaba walked back to her house. Ren was telling her a lot of things, but Wakaba could only give him a few words of praise. Before they knew it, they were in front of her house. ¡°Thank you for walking me home. See you at school.¡± She told him and tried to go inside the house. ¡°Wait.¡± Ren stopped her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked. ¡°After all, it¡¯s nothing. See you at school!¡± and he left. CH 45 Ren was thinking as he walked alone. ¡°She was only looking at Daiki today¡­I couldn¡¯t even confess my feelings to her.¡± And Ren had realized that Wakaba really liked Daiki. But he did not want to lose. He thought that he would not lose to anyone if it was the feeling of liking Wakaba. He was also somewhat aware of Daiki¡¯s feelings. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want to lose Wakaba. Since the summer festival in the first year of junior high school, he was gradually attracted to Wakaba, and when he realized it, he fell in love with her. He knew that Wakaba was always concerned about Daiki. So when he was in the classroom or playing with others, he always made it a point to be next to Wakaba. When they went on a date together, he was very happy, but after the date, Wakaba stopped going out with him once for some reason or another. But Ren continued to approach her slowly. In the last days of junior high school, he waited for Wakaba before going to school in the morning so that he would not be left alone with Daiki. Daiki always read the situation and went to a different friend. Wakaba always looked lonely when she saw Daiki like that. In order to make Wakaba feel a little more towards him, Ren acted aggressively to make her aware of him. Ren was trying to make an appeal to everyone so that they would understand, and naturally, they left him alone with Wakaba. It was going well for Ren. When they went out to play, they made sure that they could be alone together. But even when they were alone, Wakaba was always concerned about Daiki. When they went to the theme park, it worked out so that the two of them could go around together. He managed to get her to be aware of him until they met up with everyone else, but Wakaba found herself looking around and looking for someone else. She spent the rest of the evening looking around, but all the time it didn¡¯t make a difference. But before they could meet up with everyone else, an opportunity presented itself. He almost lost Wakaba in the crowd, so he grabbed her hand and held it until they were through the crowd. Ren was happy and nervous. However, Wakaba did not look happy, but rather indescribable. After meeting up with the others, she was depressed after hearing that Daiki had fallen ill and gone home. She tried not to show any signs of depression, but Ren could tell right away. He offered to walk her home, but she refused, so he could not do so. At the summer festival, during the fireworks, Ren casually asked everyone to leave the two of them alone. Everyone was good enough to let the two of them be alone. As we walked through the crowd, I wanted to take Wakaba¡¯s hand as I had done at the theme park, but she refused. Still, Wakaba and Ren were able to watch the fireworks together. He had decided to confess his feelings to her while watching the fireworks. However, Wakaba hardly watched the fireworks. She wasn¡¯t even listening to him. Normally she would not make such a face, but she was in a bad mood the whole time. After all, he could not confess his feelings, and as soon as the fireworks were over, he rushed to contact his friends to meet up with them. After meeting up with the others, they decided to go back home, but Ren knew there was no way he could just leave, so he went to Daiki and asked him to give Wakaba a drop off home by himself. For the first time, Daiki made a reluctant face. After all, he was sure that Daiki also liked Wakaba. He couldn¡¯t lose to Daiki. He decided to give her a drop off even if it was by force, and dared to ask Daiki to tell Wakaba. When Daiki told Wakaba about it. Wakaba looked like she was about to cry. Even so, Ren could not give in. ¡°I want to be next to Wakaba.¡± That¡¯s what he thought. When it was time to take Wakaba home, Ren talked about many things, but Wakaba only listened to him and did not seem to be paying attention to him. When they arrived at her house, she said, ¡°Thank you for walking me home. See you at school.¡± Wakaba said and was about to go inside the house. ¡°Wait¡± Ren stopped her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wakaba asked. ¡°After all, it¡¯s nothing. See you at school!¡± Ren was also in a hurry and wanted to confess. But when he saw Wakaba¡¯s face, he felt that he would be rejected if he continued like this. So he decided to leave without confessing. On the way home from Wakaba¡¯s house, Ren was thinking about how they could go out. If he did not confess his feelings, he would be rejected. In Wakaba¡¯s mind, Daiki is a big part of her life. But there is nothing he can do about that. ¡± Sasaki is the one who is closest to Wakaba, right? I¡¯ll ask Sasaki to help me get Wakaba to go out with me.¡± So Ren contacted Chika Sasaki. Sasaki said she would encourage her to go out with him. She also told him about Daiki and said she would give him a light nudge as well. In the meantime, he would do what he could do. No matter what, he wanted to go out with Wakaba. He doesn¡¯t want to give his place next to Wakaba to anyone else. CH 46 Before long, Shion Aizawa became aware of Daiki. Shion had just entered the school and was nervous, but he approached her in a friendly manner, and her first impression was that he was an easy person to talk to. He was also good-looking, so he was likely to be popular. Seeing Daiki treat everyone with open arms, she thought he was a cheerful person who could be kind to anyone. Seeing him like that, Shion began to think that she wanted to be friends with Daiki. At first she was only conscious of him as a friend, but after the Golden Week holidays, when all her high school friends went out together, Shion was playing UFO catcher. There was a stuffed animal she wanted. But she couldn¡¯t get it at all. As she was struggling, Daiki came near her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to get it!¡± and he started to play UFO catcher, but even though he tried, he couldn¡¯t get it at all. After trying several times, he finally got it, but it was a completely different stuffed animal. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Is this okay?¡± He handed the stuffed animal to Shion. She responded with ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad about it, and I didn¡¯t even pay for it.¡± But Daiki said ¡°I just did it on my own, so don¡¯t worry about the money. Besides, I couldn¡¯t get it after all.¡± And he handed the stuffed animal to her. Shion was reluctant to do so. ¡°Please take it. Daiki said. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said and decided to take the stuffed animal. Rather than being happy about the stuffed animal, she was happy that he tried so hard to grab her stuffed animal. Placing the stuffed animal in the bag and holding it with both hands, she thanked Daiki for his kindness. Before she knew it, she had started to follow Daiki with her eyes. A little while after the day everyone went out together, Daiki came to Shion as soon as he arrived at school. ¡°Good morning! I¡¯ll give you the stuffed animal you wanted, even though it¡¯s a little smaller in size!¡± He handed her the stuffed animal he had been trying to get from UFO Catcher. To Shion¡¯s surprise, Daiki continued ¡°I went out with my father yesterday, and there was a UFO catcher that had a stuffed animal in it, though it was small in size. I tried it and got it in one try. I couldn¡¯t get it for you the other day, so it was revenge? it was a success!¡± He told her. When Shion heard the story, she said ¡°I can¡¯t accept it.¡± she told him apologetically. ¡°I wanted to give it to you, so don¡¯t worry about it, just take it. It¡¯s just a thank you for always being a good friend to me.¡± Daiki handed the stuffed animal to Shion. Shion felt sorry, but more than that, she was happy that Daiki went out of his way to get it for her. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll treasure it!¡± And then she received the stuffed animal. After that, she asked him if he really got it in one go, but he was deceiving her, so she thought he probably didn¡¯t get it in one go. But the fact that he said that to avoid making her feel uncomfortable made her happy. Shion started to like Daiki around this time. Until the summer vacation, she and Daiki went out together to play together. Gradually, she became attracted to Daiki. Daiki was always kind, no matter who he was with, and if any of his friends were feeling down, he would casually talk to them and care for them, and he was good at adjusting the topic of conversation to everyone. He would immediately notice changes in the girls and praise them. Shion always followed Daiki with her eyes. It was fun to see so many good things about him. Before she knew it, she had fallen in love with Daiki. In no time at all, the first semester was over and it was summer vacation. During the summer vacation, she could not see Daiki very often, so she was lonely, but it could not be helped. They promised to have fun together during the summer vacation. Of course, Daiki said he would come too, so she was looking forward to it. On the day of the party, Shion got dressed up and went to the party. It was the first time she saw Daiki in his casual clothes, but he looked simple and fashionable. He looked even cooler because he is a good-looking guy. Gathering up her courage, she went to Daiki and said to him ¡°Daiki, you look cool in casual clothes!¡± Shion told him. Daiki immediately responded. ¡°You¡¯re fashionable and cute too, Shion! I think everyone thinks so too!?¡± He said. My heart pounded. It was such a feeling of mixed happiness and embarrassment. After that, they went to play at the same complex where they had gone before, and this time Shion was playing UFO catcher again, and was able to get two identical key rings. She was able to give one to Daiki in return for the stuffed animal he had given her before. Daiki was happy to receive it, so she thought it was a good thing, but when she thought about it, she realized that she had given him matching key rings. Shion suddenly felt embarrassed, but decided to keep the fact that they were matching a secret. At the end of the night, everyone enjoyed karaoke, and Daiki was a great singer. Everyone listened to him. Shion couldn¡¯t help but admire his singing. After returning home that day, she lined up the two stuffed animals and matching key chains that she had received from Daiki and blushed as she remembered him. CH 47 After Wakaba and Shiraishi decided to go home, Daiki was walking alone separately. ¡°I wonder if Shiraishi confessed his feelings¡­¡± He thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Wakaba¡¯s answer was, but he said he would take her home, so I guess it went well.¡± Daiki was mistaken at this time. He thought that Shiraishi had confessed his feelings to her during the fireworks, and that they had laughed with his friends because it had gone so well. Without asking, he just assumed that was the case. Daiki walked slowly home, thinking about the future. Daiki has been keeping in touch with Wakaba, but from now on he must be more conscious of not doing so. He decided again on his own that he should not return Wakaba¡¯s calls too often. He assumed that Wakaba and Shiraishi had started dating, even though they were not dating. That was all he could think about until he arrived home. After arriving home and taking a bath, he decided to relax in his room. But then the thought came back to him. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my father¡¯s place tomorrow.¡± It occurred to him. He was still going to be home for a few more days, but he decided to leave right away. He hurriedly packed his belongings and prepared to go back. The time he spent preparing was time he didn¡¯t have to think about. After finishing the preparations, he went to tell his mother and Tsukasa-san. She told him that she wished he was still here, but he convinced her that he still had a lot of studying to do. Wakaba contacted him that day, but he only gave a brief reply and that was the end of it. The next day, Daiki got ready in the morning and hurried back to his father. Without contacting Wakaba. Without telling her anything. Daiki did not want to think about anything else after returning to his father¡¯s place. Especially, he did not want to think about Wakaba and Shiraishi. Until the summer vacation was over, he forced himself to make plans to study and play with his high school friends. If he didn¡¯t do something, he would think about it before he knew it. It was just enough to distract himself. The test was coming up soon after the summer break, so everyone gathered in the morning for a study session with their high school friends to study for the test. Shion and the other girls got together and headed for the library. Once they got to the library and started studying, everyone concentrated on their work. Daiki was also concentrating on his studies for quite some time and decided to take a break, so he sat down and stretched out. Daiki was surprised, but Shion did not care. ¡°Daiki you were concentrating so hard. You didn¡¯t even notice that I was sitting next to you.¡± She whispered to him, ¡°When did you sit down, Shion?¡± Daiki asked. ¡°About 10 minutes ago, I was tired and wanted to ask you to take a break with me, but you were studying with a serious face, so I decided to sit next to you and wait until you noticed me¡± She informed him. ¡°Ten minutes ago? I didn¡¯t notice at all. Then let¡¯s take a break now!¡± He went to the vending machine and bought two bottles of juice, one of which he gave to Shion. Shion was about to take out the money, but he said ¡°This is for making you wait. He said. ¡°Thank you, Daiki.¡± While taking a break, they talked about their summer vacation. After talking with Shion, it was quite some time before he returned to his studies. On that day, everyone studied until lunchtime and then went to a family restaurant for dinner before going home. Everyone went to a family restaurant and when we sat down, Shion came to sit next to Daiki. All the boys were envious of him, but Daiki could not help it and put up with it. Everyone was relaxing over dinner, talking about casual things. Shion was sitting next to Daiki and laughing a lot. She looked very happy. Daiki was also having a good time because he didn¡¯t have to think about many things. The day ended with the split. On the way home, Shion and Daiki were together until the halfway point, so they talked about the test and went back home. Since the next day of the summer festival, he had been returning Wakaba¡¯s calls only at night and exchanged only one or two messages with her. Daiki did not know what to do. He just knew that he mustn¡¯t interfere with her. He knew this, so he tried to avoid Wakaba. Daiki was also unaware that he was moving away from normality. Then he received a message from Chika Sasaki. ¡°Shiraishi-kun and Wakaba seem to be getting along well, so don¡¯t get in their way!¡± The message said. ¡°I knew it¡­¡± Daiki thought so. As long as he held back, he could make Wakaba happy by suppressing his feelings. He really thought that his relationship with Wakaba would remain the same as before as a childhood friend. CH 48 Summer vacation was over and a new semester began. Since then, Daiki had been trying to make plans every day. He had been forcing himself to make plans to avoid seeing Wakaba on weekends, but she would contact him, so he would only return her calls at night and at the very least, talk to her. Sasaki had told him not to bother her, so he had been avoiding her for a long time. Daiki was depressed because he had assumed that Wakaba had confessed her feelings to him. At the end of October, the cultural festival would be held and preparations for the festival would begin. He decided to stay with his father most of the time from the end of September so that he could help him prepare for the festival without going home on weekends. Wakaba was also depressed because she could only contact Daiki at night. The new semester started without her being able to see Daiki. She and Ren were in the same class, so she could see him when she went to school, but she still could not get in touch with Daiki. She talked with Ren at school and exchanged messages with him more and more often after she returned home. These things got together and in the end, it was October before she could see Daiki. In October, both of them were busy because of the cultural festival. Daiki said he hardly comes home and prepares for the festival. So she hardly had time to see Daiki. In October, preparations for the festival started. Daiki¡¯s class decided to have a bake sale, so they discussed what to serve and decided on takoyaki. The majority vote was taken because takoyaki would be popular with everyone. The image of the classroom and the preparation of ingredients were decided, and Daiki was put in charge of takoyaki grilling. He was busy preparing the ingredients and practicing the cooking, but Daiki, who was not involved in club activities, helped redecorate the classroom. Since Shion was also not involved in club activities, she helped out with him. Talking with Shion helped to distract him. Daiki was able to take the lead in the preparations, which was good for him because he didn¡¯t have to spend time on his own, so he was busy preparing for the festival. Wakaba and her friends invited him to their school festival the week before Daiki¡¯s high school, but he turned them down because he had a lot of preparation work to do. Wakaba said she was going to play the leading role on the stage. He wanted to see the show, but his heart was aching again when he thought that Shiraishi would probably play the lead role. Wakaba also started to prepare for the festival. Wakaba¡¯s class decided to put on a stage performance. The script was a love story, and Wakaba and Ren were the main actors. Wakaba wanted to work behind the scenes, but the pressure from everyone was too much for her. Everyone in the class was smiling wickedly as things went as they had planned. They practiced on days when there were no club activities and during lunch breaks. At first, she was embarrassed, but gradually she got used to acting and was able to get into the role. Ren was also struggling to keep up with the acting. The week of the festival was coming up next week, they stayed up all night practicing. Everyone else¡¯s performances were getting better, and the sense of unity in the class was growing. Wakaba and Ren also practiced together. When they were practicing, she was able to get into the role and was not conscious of Ren, but when they finished practicing, she suddenly felt embarrassed. Since they were playing the role of lovers, they had many opportunities to touch each other. There was no kissing scene, but there was a scene in which they hugged each other. Of course she was embarrassed. She wanted to invite Daiki to the festival, but she was not able to get in touch with him much. When she talked to Chika about it, she said ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to get in touch with him if you tell him you¡¯re going to play the heroine?¡± So she decided to send a message to Daiki, forgetting about the scene where she and Ren hug each other. However, Daiki refused to go because he was busy preparing for the school festival the week after Wakaba¡¯s school festival. She was disappointed, but there was nothing she could do. The day of the festival arrived. On the day of the festival, Wakaba and her classmates were busy from the morning with preparations and final rehearsals. Wakaba¡¯s class was the third to arrive at the festival, so they finished the rehearsal early and began to change into their costumes. Everyone was nervous, but their expressions showed no sign of nervousness. Wakaba looked so beautiful after changing into her costume. Ren was also looking at her with a blush on his face. Everyone changed into their costumes and went offstage. ¡°Everyone is going to be fine If you do as you¡¯ve practiced, you¡¯ll do fine!¡± Ren told everyone. Everyone¡¯s faces were filled with motivation. ¡°Ren-kun, you¡¯re amazing,¡± Wakaba was impressed, but she felt she had to say something as well. ¡°Let¡¯s make happy memories together!¡± She said nothing more than. From there, everyone started talking to each other and the atmosphere in the class improved dramatically. When it was Wakaba¡¯s class¡¯s turn to speak. Everyone was nervous, but did their best to perform. Backstage staff also took their jobs very seriously. The final scene came. It was the scene where Wakaba and Ren hugged each other. This is the most exciting part of the play. She was able to say my lines perfectly, and Ren hugged her tighter than in rehearsal during the hugging scene. Wakaba, who was also playing her part, hugged him back. The play ended without incident. Everyone lined up, bowed for the last time, and walked offstage. The performance was better than the rehearsal, so everyone gathered around Wakaba and Ren and shared their joy. Afterwards, they returned to the classroom and changed out of their costumes. After changing out of her costume, Wakaba felt embarrassed again. She remembered the scene when they hugged each other. Chika did not miss it. ¡°You and Shiraishi-kun hugged each other tighter than in practice.¡± She said with a grin. Unable to say anything, her face turned bright red. ¡°Shiraishi and Wakaba would be a good match for each other.¡± She said. She had been playing a role with him and her mood was rising. ¡°That¡¯s not true¡± Wakaba denied it. ¡°Really? Everyone thinks so!¡± She told her. At that time, Ren came to Wakaba and Chika. ¡°I want to talk to you after the festival.¡± He told Wakaba. Even Wakaba thought it was a confession of love. She did not know what to do, but Chika said, ¡°We will take responsibility and bring it to you.¡± And then, after the festival was over, she decided to listen to what Ren had to say. Until the festival was over, Wakaba and her friends would go around to the booths and other places. She told Chika. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a confession.¡± But Wakaba thought so too, so she couldn¡¯t say anything. During the rest of the festival, she could not enjoy the festival and thought only about it. After the festival was over, Chika urged her to go to Ren¡¯s place. A message was sent to Ren and they were to return together on their way home. On the way home, she was so nervous that she didn¡¯t know what he had said, but he told her about what he had done since he had come to the park. ¡°I love you, Wakaba. Please go out with me!¡± Ren confessed straightforwardly. Wakaba had expected this, but she did not expect him to say so clearly. Wakaba tried to tell him how she felt, but before she could answer, he said, ¡° ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be good if I told you suddenly. You don¡¯t have to answer right now. I want you to take your time and give me your answer. Thank you for listening to me today. See you at school!¡± And then he ran back home. Wakaba did not know what to do and could not answer him, so she sent him off. Wakaba also decided to go home and thought about it as she walked. As she walked home, she gradually got closer and closer to her house and passed in front of Daiki¡¯s house. The thought of Daiki suddenly came to her mind. ¡°I wondered what I would do if Daiki confessed his feelings to me¡­?¡± Having been confessed to by Ren, she thought of what she would do if Daiki confessed to her. Wakaba shook her head and reminded herself that now she had to think about how she would respond to Ren¡¯s confession. Before she knew it, she was in front of her house. When she arrived at her house, she thought about how she should respond, but she couldn¡¯t quite put it all together. CH 49 When it was decided to put on a play at the school festival, Ren played the main character and Wakaba the heroine, and in order to create an atmosphere that would encourage the others to join the play, he gave Sasaki the heads-up. At first Wakaba said she would play the backstage role, but Sasaki pushed hard for her to play the heroine, and everyone agreed, and Wakaba ended up playing the heroine. Ren had nothing but gratitude for Sasaki. During the play, there was a scene in which they hugged each other, which made Ren very happy. When he and Wakaba practiced together, he spoke softly to her so that she would be aware of him. On the day of the festival, everything went well. The play was a lot of fun, and during the hug scene, he hugged her tighter than ever, but Wakaba hugged him back. In the afterglow of hugging Wakaba, he said to himself. ¡°I can do it today!¡± Ren thought. After the play was over, he was planning to confess his feelings to Wakaba and go around the rest of the festival with her, but he thought about what would happen if she didn¡¯t make it, so he decided to confess his feelings after the festival was over. When he went to the classroom, he found Wakaba and Sasaki together, so he decided to tell her in front of Sasaki. ¡°I want to talk to you after the festival, so please listen to me.¡± He told Wakaba and looked at Sasaki. ¡°I will take responsibility and bring her to you¡± After the festival was over, he and Wakaba decided to have a talk. Until the festival was over, all of the male friends went to the booths and other attractions. When the festival was over, Wakaba came to Ren with a message, perhaps prompted by Sasaki. They decided to go home together, and on the way home, he was so nervous that he didn¡¯t know what they talked about, but they talked as much as possible about normal things and headed for the park. As soon as they got to the park, he said ¡°I love you, Wakaba. Please go out with me!¡± Ren confessed straight out. He was confident that he would succeed because he had some lingering memories of the play today. However, Wakaba did not have the look that Ren had hoped for. The moment Wakaba was about to tell him something. ¡°If I don¡¯t do this, I will be dumped.¡± Ren thought so. Before hearing Wakaba¡¯s answer ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be good if I told you suddenly. You don¡¯t have to answer right now. I want you to take your time and give me your answer. Thank you for listening to me today. See you at school!¡± Ren told Wakaba and left the park running as if to escape. He was confident that today would go well. Even from Sasaki. ¡°I¡¯m kind of aware of it.¡± Sasaki had sent a message saying During the festival, she had a lot of fun. On the way home, he was nervous but excited. But the moment he saw Wakaba¡¯s face after he confessed his feelings for her, he couldn¡¯t imagine that it would go well. When he got home, he called Sasaki. He told her that he had confessed his feelings to her, but that he had not heard her answer, and that he wanted her to encourage Wakaba so that they could go out together. She said everyone was going to Daiki¡¯s cultural festival together, so he didn¡¯t want her to contact Daiki as much as possible during this week. He wanted Wakaba to concentrate only on his confession and to focus her attention only on Ren, even if only a little. After his confession to Wakaba, Ren kept in touch with her frequently. After school started, he made it a point to spend time with her in the same way as before. Wakaba, too, was awkward at first, but she did as usual. Sasaki encouraged Wakaba to go out with him. He also sent a message to Sasaki to tell Daiki not to contact Wakaba, so that Wakaba would not be aware of him. He was not sure how much contact Daiki and Wakaba had, so he asked Sasaki about it, and Sasaki told him that they did not have much contact. It was unclear how much contact Daiki and Wakaba had with each other, so Ihe casually asked Sasaki about it, and she told him that they didn¡¯t keep in touch very much. He was thankful that Sasaki had told Daiki so well. He knew that he had to make sure that they would work together at Daiki¡¯s high school festival so that Daiki and Wakaba would not talk to each other as much as possible. CH 50 Wakaba has been unable to sleep after Ren¡¯s confession. She had often received confessions in the past. However, her confession was not as straightforward as before. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t like him, but she likes him as a friend. Ren is interesting and easy to talk to. His face is good-looking and he has a good personality. He can study and do sports. His friends love him. He is perfect. It makes her happy to be liked by such a person. However, at the moment, she can¡¯t think of going out with him. The distance between them was good because they were friends. If she were to go out with him, the distance will be different. When she listens to her friends who have boyfriends, they are always talking about their love affairs. Some of them even kissed and went on to do so. Yet, she couldn¡¯t imagine doing something like that with Ren. She spent the whole night thinking about it, but she couldn¡¯t figure it out. ¡°What would happen with Daiki¡­?¡± Wakaba tried to imagine, but quit. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. She did not know why. She assumed that she did not know. It was around the time when it was getting light when she finally fell asleep. Since it was a cultural festival holiday, she slept until around noon, but when she woke up, she was still thinking about it. After washing her face and checking her cell phone, she found a message from everyone. They seemed to be concerned about what happened yesterday. She told them that nothing had happened, but they didn¡¯t believe her. From Ren, he said. ¡°It¡¯s okay if it¡¯s late, so please take your time and think about it.¡± The message said. There was no message from Daiki. Wakaba was depressed. She had told him that she was going to play the heroine at the festival, so she had thought she would at least get a message from him. She was not able to do anything because of the situation with Ren, so she spent the rest of the day just thinking about it. Wakaba was still troubled by the fact that she had to go to school the next day. She was still worried about Daiki, but now it was about Ren. She did not know what to do. She was still talking to him as usual, and he was trying not to change anything, but she was not sure what she should say to him. Thinking that she didn¡¯t know what to tell him, she decided to ask Chika for advice. Wakaba told Chika that she needed to talk to her about yesterday¡¯s situation, and they agreed to meet at their usual caf¨¦ after school. She went to the caf¨¦ immediately after the club activities were over. Chika was already there, so she went to her seat, greeted her lightly, and sat down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chika.¡± I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± She immediately consulted with her. ¡°First, let¡¯s settle down.¡± After ordering, they decided to talk. As usual, she ordered a cake and latte set, and after taking a breath, Chika said to her, ¡°Shiraishi-kun confessed his feelings for you, didn¡¯t he?¡± She said ¡°..confession¡­¡± ¡°Did you give him a reply?¡± ¡°¡­I was going to do it right away, but he said he wanted me to think about it.¡± Wakaba answered quietly. ¡°Is there someone else you¡¯re interested in? Or do you not like Shiraishi-kun?¡± Chihana asked. When she said someone she was interested in, Daiki came to mind, but after telling herself that was not the case, she replied ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anyone I care about. I don¡¯t dislike Ren-kun either, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m in love with him, but just as a friend¡­¡± She answered. ¡°I see, so friends for now. So you¡¯re going to say no?¡± Chika asked. ¡°I was going to say no right away when he confessed his feelings for me, but he said he wanted me to think it over before I said no¡­ so I thought about it, but Ren is my closest male friend, and if I said no, I don¡¯t think I could be with everyone like I have been with you guys. ¡­¡± Wakaba looked down and answered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go out with him?¡± Chika said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s polite to go out with someone you can only consider a friend¡­¡± Wakaba replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go out on a trial basis first?¡± Chihana suggested going out with him. While looking at Wakaba, who was still troubled by the suggestion, Chihana said, ¡°How about giving yourself some time to think about it until next year, and if you feel the same way as you do now, you can say no, and if you feel more willing to go out with him than you do now, you can go out with him, even on a trial basis?¡± Wakaba was troubled, but she knew she had to make things clear. But she couldn¡¯t make a decision right away because it would be too awkward and would probably damage her relationship with everyone else. So she thought she needed time to think about it. After that, they discussed what they were going to do. Finally, she thanked Chika and parted ways. Wakaba had regained some of her composure after arriving home and discussing the matter with him. First, she organized her thoughts in her mind, and then contacted Ren to tell him what she was thinking. When she sent a message to tell him what she was thinking, he seemed to agree with her and agreed to wait until she gave him an answer. Wakaba was not at all relieved, but she had decided to think about it carefully before giving her answer. CH 51 Daiki was preparing for his own school festival when Wakaba¡¯s school was holding theirs. He was putting the final touches on signboards and menus. Shion was also helping him. ¡°Daiki, how about something like this?¡± Shion showed him the completed menu. Daiki said ¡°It¡¯s very good. Shion has good taste!¡± Her face turned bright red and she said thank you. At last the work settled down and Daiki took a break by himself, but he still couldn¡¯t help thinking. ¡°I wonder if the play has started by now?¡± But he shook his head and tried not to think about it, and immersed himself in his work again, looking for a job he could do. By working until late in the evening, he had a rough idea of what he needed to do. Daiki was also helped by Shion, so he thanked her and decided to call it a day. His friends also said they were tired and wanted to go home, so he decided to go home with them. Walking around talking about the festival with everyone. ¡°Do the kids from the other high schools come to the cultural festival?¡± One of his friends said. ¡°Of course they¡¯re coming. I hope some cute girls will come.¡± Another friend replied. While talking like that, Daiki wondered. ¡°Will Wakaba come too?¡± Daiki wondered. He was half hoping that she would come and half hoping that she wouldn¡¯t. ¡°No doubt Shiraishi will be there too¡­. If possible, I don¡¯t want to see them¡­¡± With this thought in mind, he left. After he got home, he received a message from Sasaki. ¡°After the festival, Shiraishi confessed his feelings to Wakaba. That¡¯s why Daiki should support them so that they can make it work!¡± It said. Daiki thought ¡°You have confessed, I see.¡± He thought that everything he¡¯d ever thought was a misunderstanding, but this time he really did confess, and he didn¡¯t know what to say back to her¡­ ¡°Understood!¡± was the only reply. Until the day of the festival, he had no contact with Wakaba for the first time. It was because he was busy, but also because he hadn¡¯t heard from her. Despite feeling worried, he didn¡¯t know how to contact her since Sasaki had asked him to support them. Other friends called to say that they were all going to Daiki¡¯s school festival. He was not sure if Wakaba was among them, but he was sure that she would be there. Wakaba was unable to contact Daiki. She had not heard from Daiki, but she did not know what to do to contact him because of the fact that Ren had confessed to her. She had decided to tell only Chika that Ren had confessed to her, so Daiki should not have known either, but remembering the time she had talked to Chika about it, she was somewhat reluctant to contact him. Wakaba finally calmed down and lay down on her bed. ¡°I should tell Daiki after all,¡± But she did not know what to tell him. It was not how she should tell him, but how she did not want to tell him. She did not want Daiki to know that Ren had confessed to her. In the end, she could not tell Daiki. Everyone was planning to go to the festival at his school, but she couldn¡¯t contact him until that day. On the day of the festival, everyone headed to Daiki¡¯s school. He was going to pick her up as usual, so she invited Chika to join them and the three of them headed to the meeting place. After meeting up with everyone, they didn¡¯t tell anyone except Chika that he had confessed to her, but as usual, Wakaba and Ren were made to sit next to each other, so it didn¡¯t make much difference. When they arrived at Daiki¡¯s school, Wakaba came nervous for some reason. Since everyone wanted to find Daiki¡¯s classroom but did not know where it was, they decided to enjoy the cultural festival together first. Having a festival by themselves was fun, but coming to a festival for fun was a different kind of fun. Different schools have different contents. Daiki¡¯s school was one of the top schools, so there were many presentations of research and so on. There were also many booths, which were different from those at Wakaba¡¯s school. As everyone was going around the school, before they knew it, everyone was going their separate ways. The three of them finally arrived at Daiki¡¯s classroom as they went around the school. Daiki¡¯s class was serving takoyaki. Wakaba was nervous. It had been a long time since she had seen Daiki, and she had not been in touch with him. Chika walked into the classroom without worrying about Wakaba. Seeing this, Ren also called out to Wakaba and went into the classroom with her. After entering the classroom, the girls from Daiki¡¯s class showed us around in their cute outfits. It seemed a mismatch with the takoyaki, but it was no less cute, so she decided not to care. Wakaba looked for Daiki, but he was not where she could see him. She wondered if he was the one making the takoyaki, and tried to see him from the seat behind the partition, but she couldn¡¯t see much. She decided to order takoyaki and a drink first. There was a wide variety of takoyaki, and some of them were really delicious. The three of them decided not to be adventurous and ordered the usual takoyaki and a drink. They were satisfied with the takoyaki, but Daiki was nowhere to be found. They waited for a while after finishing their meal, but could not find him. Wakaba and the three of them decided to go to other places and then contact Daiki, so they decided to move on. Among the girls in the class was Shion. The three high school-aged boys and girls who were there seemed to be looking for someone, and since they were friends of someone who was currently on break, somehow it seemed that they might be friends of Daiki¡¯s. One of the girls was curious about them, but she did not call out to them. Shion was also just in time to take a break in exchange for Daiki, so she called him on his break. After Wakaba and the others went out of Daiki¡¯s classroom into the hallway, they saw Daiki walking down the hallway while talking happily with a cute girl. Chika spotted Daiki and was about to go talk to him. Ren, too, was about to head to Daiki¡¯s place with her, but noticed that Wakaba was frozen. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Wakaba?¡± Ren asked, and Wakaba was startled. She felt like running away right now. She had never seen Daiki talking so happily with a girl. It was not a bad thing, but for some reason she did not want to see it. However, she also wanted to talk to Daiki. But she can¡¯t look at Daiki¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t want to hear Daiki¡¯s happy voice. ¡°Are you alright? Wakaba?¡± Ren asked her and she nodded silently. Suddenly, Ren pulled Wakaba¡¯s arm and went to Daiki¡¯s place. Wakaba couldn¡¯t shake his hand because of the suddenness of the situation. When Daiki and the girls were separated in front of the classroom, Chika, who had gone ahead of them, asked Daiki, ¡°Daiki, where have you been? I looked for you.¡± She asked him. ¡°I was just taking a break. Where is everybody?¡± Chika and Daiki were talking. ¡°We got separated from everyone in the middle of the day.¡± Ren joined the conversation. ¡°Is that so¡± Daiki answered, but then he immediately said ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s time for me to go. Have fun!¡± He went into the classroom without talking to Wakaba. CH 52 Wakaba could not speak. She could not even look at Daiki¡¯s face. She kept looking down and could not speak to him. It was because she thought that he saw her arm being pulled by Ren. Chika and Ren talked a little, but Wakaba could not talk to him. She did not even talk to him. She didn¡¯t know how she felt about Daiki. She was shocked that he did not speak to her. She almost cried. Wakaba was beginning to realize her own feelings, but she was forcing herself to keep a lid on her feelings. Daiki and Wakaba are similar to each other. Shion noticed something was wrong with Daiki as soon as he returned from his break. ¡°Daiki, are you okay?¡± When asked, he would smile and say he was fine. To Shion, he didn¡¯t look okay, but if Daiki said so, there was nothing she could do. The festival was in the middle of the day, so Daiki went back to his work. He was worried, but decided to wait and see for now. Wakaba did not feel happy about the festival after that. Ren and Chika also noticed her condition. ¡°Are you okay? Wakaba?¡± Chika and Ren asked worriedly. Wakaba also felt bad. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little sick. I¡¯ll be fine after a little rest!¡± she told them. And then ¡°We¡¯ve already had a good time today, so let¡¯s tell everyone and go home first¡± Ren replied. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll go home alone.¡± Wakaba responded. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go home alone. I will take you home, so Shiraishi, go join the others and have fun until the end.¡± Chika told him to leave first. On the way home, Chika was concerned about Wakaba from start to finish, but all Wakaba could do now was to return the conversation. When she finally reached home, she said ¡°I¡¯m sorry about today. I still had some time left, but I had to go home. I¡¯m sure things will get better after some rest.¡± Wakaba told her. ¡°Is everything really alright? Take a good rest and call me as soon as you feel better, okay?¡± Chika told Wakaba and left. Wakaba entered the house and sat down without even taking off her shoes. ¡°I¡¯ve put Ren-kun and Chika to a lot of trouble¡­ What am I doing¡­¡± She was depressed. Thinking about Daiki ¡°Daiki¡­ What¡¯s wrong with me¡­¡± She looked up and talked to herself as if she was talking to Daiki. Wakaba had finally begun to realize her feelings for Daiki, but her feelings for him were completely different from hers. On the morning of the festival, Daiki had a bad premonition. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he felt as if something bad was going to happen. He did not feel better when he was on his way to school. When he arrived at the school, Daiki was getting ready with his classmates. Shion and the other students changed into cute costumes, and all the boys were excited. Shion was especially popular and was surrounded by everyone. Shion came to Daiki and asked, ¡°How do you like this outfit?¡± Daiki said honestly, ¡°It looks great on you! It fits Shion perfectly!¡± Shion looked happy when he told her. Talking with Shion was strangely soothing. He felt like he could enjoy the festival. While preparing for the festival, they checked the time for breaks and waited for the festival to start. Finally, the festival was about to begin. Daiki¡¯s class was in a classroom, and since it was a caf¨¦-style takoyaki restaurant, no one came right away, but as time went by, it became busier and busier. By the time lunchtime came, the seats were full and everyone was working together to cook takoyaki and serve drinks. Local friends also showed up from time to time. Wakaba and Shiraishi were still nowhere to be seen. Daiki was a little relieved. When things finally calmed down, Daiki decided to take a break. He hurried out of the classroom and looked around the other classrooms. He was enjoying the festival while checking his surroundings so as not to run into Wakaba and the others. The end of the break time was approaching and it was time to go back to the classrooms. Daiki was caught off guard. He was enjoying the festival, but he also thought that he would not have to see Wakaba and Shiraishi. Shion called him to tell him that recess was over, and as he was heading back to the classroom. They walked down the hallway talking and Daiki headed for his classroom. When they reached the end of the hallway, Shion told him she was going to take a break and walked away from him. He was just thinking how nice of her to come all the way here with him when he was approached by a voice. Chika called out to him. Daiki¡¯s movement stopped. Behind him, Wakaba came walking with her arm pulled by Shiraishi. Daiki¡¯s chest became painful at once. Daiki desperately endured the pain in his chest, trying to keep it normal. ¡°Daiki, where have you been? I have been looking for you.¡± Daiki managed to keep his composure as Chika said to him. ¡°I was just taking a break. Did everyone come separately? Where is everybody?¡± He told them. ¡°We were separated from everyone else on the way.¡± Ren joined the conversation. ¡°I see,¡± Daiki could only reply. He was still holding Wakaba¡¯s arm. Daiki could no longer bear the sight of Wakaba. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s time for me to go. Have fun!¡± And he went into the classroom as if to escape. After that, it was hard for him to concentrate on his work, and he caused trouble for everyone in the class. Everyone was worried about him, but all he could say was that he was fine. The festival somehow came to an end. Everyone went to the party and made a lot of noise. Shion was next to him all the time. Somehow Shion seemed to be aware of how Daiki was doing. Having Shion nearby made him feel at ease. However, he suddenly remembered. To forget what he saw today, he made more noise than usual. Shion joined the launch with him, but she was worried that Daiki seemed to be acting more cheerful than usual, so she decided to stay next to him and keep an eye on him as much as possible. But thinking that he would be back to normal tomorrow, she decided not to worry about it for today. All the time in his mind, Daiki could see Shiraishi holding Wakaba¡¯s arm. After the launch was over, Daiki remembered his father¡¯s words as he walked alone. ¡°Don¡¯t realize it until you regret it¡­¡± And he had always regretted what he had done. Whenever he saw people holding hands, he felt pain in his heart. ¡°I had decided to support Wakaba¡­ I¡¯m so pathetic¡­¡± He lamented to himself. If he could have shed even a single tear, he might have felt better. Daiki could not cry even now. The days after that became depressing, but he tried to act more cheerful than usual so that everyone would not worry about him. Shion was always concerned about Daiki. Daiki was also aware of this, so he was conscious of not worrying Shion as much as possible. However, before he knew it, he could no longer put on any face other than a smile, as if a smile had stuck to his face. More than before, he could no longer express his feelings outwardly. CH 53 On the day of the festival at Daiki¡¯s high school, he invited Wakaba to pick her up, but eventually Sasaki decided to go with them. After meeting up with the others, Wakaba stayed by Sasaki¡¯s side, but the others made it work out so that he was next to Wakaba. The three of them were enjoying the festival, looking for Daiki¡¯s classroom. Finally, they found Daiki¡¯s classroom. After entering Daiki¡¯s classroom, the girls in Daiki¡¯s class showed us around in their cute outfits. Wakaba was nervous and fidgety as she looked for Daiki. Ren also looked for Daiki, but could not find him, so they decided to order takoyaki and drinks for the time being. The takoyaki was delicious, but after finishing the meal, Daiki was nowhere to be found. They waited for a little while but could not find him after all. The three of them decided to contact Daiki after going around to other places, so they decided to move on. As soon as they left Daiki¡¯s classroom, Daiki was walking down the hallway with a girl who had been in Daiki¡¯s class earlier. Wakaba was frozen and he asked her what was wrong, but she remained silent. When he asked if she was okay, Wakaba nodded silently. Ren was jealous of Wakaba¡¯s behavior. So he pulled Wakaba¡¯s arm and went to Daiki¡¯s place. ¡°Where have you been, Daiki? We¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Sasaki asked. ¡°I was just taking a break. Did everyone come separately? Where is everybody?¡± Daiki was talking. ¡°We were separated from everyone else on the way to the break¡± Ren joined the conversation at this point. ¡°I see,¡± But when he saw Wakaba¡¯s figure with her arm still pulled by Ren he said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s time for me to go. Have fun!¡± And Daiki went back to the classroom. Ren dared to speak while holding onto her arm in order to make Daiki misunderstand the current relationship with Wakaba. He was thankful to Sasaki because he thought that Sasaki was doing a good job and Daiki was trying not to talk to Wakaba. However, Ren was naive. Wakaba did not speak to Daiki at all when she saw him. She did not even look up at Daiki until he entered the classroom. When he saw Daiki enter the classroom and looked at Wakaba, she froze for a moment. She looked as if she was about to start crying. Wakaba seemed to be desperately trying to hold back tears as if she was enduring something. Her hands were also tight. He thought he had to get away from the subject as soon as possible. ¡°I¡¯m glad you got to meet Daiki.¡± He told her. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the other places and enjoy the festival!¡± But Sasaki¡¯s reaction was not very strong, and Wakaba just nodded her head in silence. The rest of the festival turned out to be boring. Wakaba was trying hard to smile, but she could not hide her shock. Sasaki also noticed this. ¡°Are you alright? Wakaba?¡± Sasaki asked worriedly. Wakaba felt bad, too. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little sick. I¡¯ll be fine after a little rest!¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯ve already had a good time today, so let¡¯s tell everyone and go home first¡± Ren couldn¡¯t bear to tell her, but ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll go home alone.¡± Wakaba said. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go home alone¡± Sasaki added. ¡°I¡¯ll take you home, so Shiraishi, go join the others and enjoy the party until the end.¡± Sasaki said. Wakaba and Sasaki were to go home first. Ren regretted. She should not have met Daiki, she should have avoided him, but the moment she met Daiki, he saw Wakaba¡¯s face and got jealous. He wanted to show Daiki how he felt. He thought that if he showed him holding Wakaba¡¯s arm, he could make Daiki think that he was closer to Wakaba than Daiki. He could make Daiki think so, but it had the opposite effect on Wakaba, who was the most important person in his life. He should have thought more carefully about this. He thought about this all the time on the way home. If things continued as they were now, he would be completely dumped. Ren was beginning to lose his cool. He decided to tell everyone that he had confessed his feelings to Wakaba, and asked them to help him get together with her so that it would be harder for her to reject him, thereby closing the outer moat. CH 54 Chika Sasaki was worried after Daiki¡¯s cultural festival. ¡°Wakaba, I wonder if she was okay¡­¡± Somehow, she realized Wakaba¡¯s true feelings. As Wakaba¡¯s best friend, she regretted that she should have noticed it earlier. It was not only Chika¡¯s fault, but she had taken the initiative to always make her stay next to Ren and to leave them alone together. They decided that they were a perfect match for each other, and they always enjoyed having Ren and Wakaba as a set. Ren always looked happy, but now that she thinks about it, Wakaba has never changed. She never looked happy, but she was always closer than other friends, and that was it. Whenever she was with Daiki, she always looked happy. After she and Daiki moved away from each other, Wakaba always looked lonely. Even when she was playing with others, she always seemed to be concerned about Daiki. Maybe she really wanted to be close to Daiki. Since she was always with Daiki, everyone naturally kept them apart because they felt it was okay not to be with Daiki at least when they were with others. Even if they had said they wanted to be together, everyone would have done the same thing because she and Ren were a good match for each other. It is her selfishness that makes her want to meddle. Even though the result was the same, Chika was the only one who thought she should have taken her feelings into consideration. Just remembering Wakaba¡¯s face makes her sigh. Never did she look so sad. Until she met Daiki, Chika didn¡¯t think anything of it either. She thought she was helping Ren and that Daiki would support Wakaba and Ren. She didn¡¯t even know that Wakaba was suffering from that. She thought they were just childhood friends. It was not the place of a stranger to meddle in someone¡¯s love life. Chika sighed as she recalled everything that had happened. There had been many opportunities to notice at the theme park and at the summer festival. However, she let herself be carried away by the atmosphere of everyone and became obsessed with letting Ren and Wakaba be together. They are both popular. If they got together, everyone would accept it. That is why they did not consider his intentions. It was good that Ren knew that he liked Wakaba, but Wakaba didn¡¯t know. She and Daiki had been together since they were little, so it must have become so commonplace that she didn¡¯t notice. She may have finally realized it when he started to move away from her. Even if she had noticed, the fact remains that the distance between Wakaba and Daiki has grown apart. Chika was troubled there as well. ¡°If only we hadn¡¯t done something unnecessary¡­¡± She even put a nail in Daiki¡¯s hand to prevent him from contacting her. The reason for the distance between the two is also due to her own fault, Chika thought. She also wondered if Wakaba was aware of her feelings. She had heard that Daiki¡¯s family was a little complicated. She felt that Wakaba was supporting Daiki all the time, which is why she mistakenly thought that she was taking care of her brother. She was under the impression that she had to think that way. Today¡¯s events have helped her understand Wakaba¡¯s feelings to some extent, but she doesn¡¯t know what Wakaba wants to do. Does Ren know how Wakaba feels about him? Chika is not sure about that either. Chika has become full of things she doesn¡¯t understand. Until now, she thought she knew everything. But after today, there are so many things she doesn¡¯t understand. Starting tomorrow, Chika is not sure how to treat Wakaba and Ren, nor is she sure how they treat each other. But she had stuck her neck out this far. That is why she felt responsible. Chika acted immediately. She decided to call Wakaba to check. At first Wakaba did not pick up the phone, but after ringing for a while, she finally got an answer. ¡°Wakaba, are you feeling okay?¡± Wakaba¡¯s voice was so low that she could hardly be heard. She sounded like she was crying. ¡°Wakaba?¡± Chika called again. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m better. Thank you for worrying about me.¡± Wakaba answered. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. I¡¯m sorry for today. I couldn¡¯t do anything for you.¡± Chika apologized. There is nothing for you to apologize for. I just got sick on my own.¡± However, Chihana felt responsible. ¡°Wakaba¡­it wasn¡¯t really because of your health condition, was it? It was after you met Daiki¡­you may not know now, but there is something I want you to answer. Wakaba, how do you feel about Daiki?¡± Chika wanted to know how Wakaba was feeling right now. ¡°¡­ ¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ But when I heard Daiki¡¯s happy voice, I felt pain in my heart¡­ and I couldn¡¯t see him like that¡­ and I didn¡¯t want him to see me with Ren-kun pulling my arm¡­¡± She said what she was thinking now. Wakaba was still unaware of what was going on. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you like Daiki?¡± Chika was sure of it. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t want to see Daiki happily talking to a girl because you like him. Or maybe you didn¡¯t want to be seen with Shiraishi-kun pulling on your arm.¡± The words she told Wakaba, which might be hard for her to hear now. ¡°Maybe you just thought of Daiki too much like a little brother and couldn¡¯t admit it.¡± She followed up. Wakaba fell silent. Wakaba, too, knew what was really going on. She had intended to watch over Daiki, but before she knew it, he was watching over her. She was trying to think of him as her brother. In truth, she was aware of Daiki as a member of the opposite sex. She was aware of it. However, she felt that Daiki was getting further and further away from her. That is why she wanted to be with him, even if only for a little while. If she thought of him as her brother, they would always be together like a family. She tried to believe that. But it didn¡¯t work. Contrary to her thoughts, the two grew further and further apart. Once the paths began to cross, the wheels took an unpredictable direction. Maybe she was just running away so that she wouldn¡¯t get hurt. When Chika told her clearly, she had to admit it. It was impossible for her to say that she was not in love with him. ¡°I think I like Daiki¡­¡± Wakaba spoke out her feelings for the first time. As soon as she says it, she can¡¯t stop. ¡°I love Daiki¡­I love Daiki. ¡­¡­¡± The tears were unstoppable. Chika listened silently. Wakaba finally calmed down until she said nothing and stopped crying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Senka¡­I didn¡¯t make myself clear¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Wakaba. I am happy to hear your true feelings.¡± She said. But I¡¯m sorry it was my fault. I tried to force you to go out with Shiraishi, and I told Daiki to support Wakaba. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Chika felt responsible. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not being clear. It¡¯s not Chika¡¯s fault at all. I should have been clear from the beginning¡­ if I had known that I liked Daiki and acted accordingly¡­ so don¡¯t feel responsible for me, Chika.¡± Wakaba told her. ¡°In the past, I was only thinking about getting Wakaba and Shiraishi-kun together and didn¡¯t properly consider Wakaba¡¯s feelings¡­I¡¯m really sorry.¡± She said. ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Wakaba told her, but Chika was down. But thanks to Chika, she was able to face her feelings properly. She was able to look forward to the future. ¡°Thank you, Chika.¡± And then she began to think about the future. ¡°What am I going to do about Shiraishi?¡± Wakaba thought about it. ¡°Shiraishi-kun likes Wakaba, so I think he will understand if you tell him how you feel about him¡­¡± Chika said with a confident look on her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t make myself clear, so I¡¯ll try to be clear about how I feel right now!¡± and decided to tell Ren. Wakaba and Chika stayed up late talking about what they were going to do. After the phone call, Chika was glad to hear Wakaba¡¯s feelings clearly, but she also had some concerns. ¡°Now that I think about it, Shiraishi-kun is very obsessed with Wakaba¡­¡± And when she became calm, she began to worry about things that had never bothered her before. Ren is very popular with the girls. But he has refused all of them and continues to be in love with Wakaba. Everyone was very rooted for him. To be alone with her, it felt like he was trying to lead everyone as well as possible. He also tried to keep her from talking to Daiki. ¡°Is Shiraishi aware of it?¡± Chika was worried about Wakaba with such vague anxiety. TL: We caught up with the raw. No more daily updates. CH 55 Wakaba was thinking about what to do from now on after the phone call with Chika. She must tell Ren how she feels now and refuse his confession. She must clearly tell him that she likes Daiki. She felt sorry for Ren, but now that she realized how much she liked him, she couldn¡¯t let him wait for an answer to his confession. Wakaba stopped pretending her feelings. Wakaba sent a message to Ren. ¡°I need to talk to you tomorrow after school.¡± It was immediately returned. ¡°Talk about what? Something you can¡¯t tell me now?¡± Wakaba replied. ¡°I want to talk to you after we meet. So please give me some time after school.¡± ¡°I understand!¡± She put in her message that she would tell Chika after school tomorrow. Wakaba decided to go to bed to prepare for tomorrow. She couldn¡¯t sleep well because she was worried about Daiki. She had not been able to contact Daiki. The truth is that she wanted to tell him how she felt right away, but she wasn¡¯t sure if he would believe her if she told him how she felt. There was no confidence that he would believe her. She could not sleep with agonizing feelings. Despite Wakaba¡¯s feelings, she and Daiki were growing apart. At the same time, Chika was also unable to sleep because she was worried. The more she thought back on Ren, the more she realized that he was obsessed with Wakaba and that he was very manipulative. It seemed to be that he was manipulating everyone and keeping his place next to Wakaba for a long time. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to always be next to her. She can¡¯t remember when it started, but she thought that if they kept Wakaba and Ren together, they wouldn¡¯t fight over her. Then again, that¡¯s just a normal way of making people hold back from liking the other person, but at some point it became obvious to her that such an atmosphere had developed. ¡°I wonder if tomorrow will be alright?¡± Chika decided to follow Wakaba and keep an eye on her, though she was sorry to do so. After she received a call from Wakaba, Ren asked her. ¡°I guess she has realized how she feels about him after all.¡± Ren thought that Wakaba herself had realized that she had feelings for Daiki. Ren acted immediately. He sent a message to Daiki. ¡°I confessed my feelings to Wakaba and it seems to be going well, so I don¡¯t want Daiki to contact her. Because I am jealous.¡± He told Daiki. The message was also sent to all his friends. Emphasizing that he told Daiki that he had sent a message to him first, asking for the support of his friends because he had confessed to Wakaba. Everyone responded with a message saying they were rooting for him. ¡°Wakaba is not feeling well today, so please leave her alone until tomorrow!¡± and nudged him not to send any messages to Wakaba. ¡°This should make it harder for Wakaba to say no.¡± Ren did not want to let go of Wakaba. He was going to go out with her even if he had to force it. No matter what people think of him, he loves Wakaba. He never wanted to let go of her. The next day, while heading to school, Wakaba was thinking about what she would do after school. She had no clear idea of what she wanted to do, but she was going to tell him how she felt. Today, Ren was not waiting for her, but Chika was waiting for her instead. After exchanging greetings ¡°Shiraishi-kun went ahead of me.¡± Chika was very considerate so as not to cause any awkwardness. While thanking Chika and talking about yesterday, she told Chika that she would head to school and make it clear how she felt now. Upon arriving at the school, she noticed that everyone was acting strangely. They were all grinning, but when they came up to Wakaba, she said to her. ¡± He confessed his feelings to you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going out with him after all, aren¡¯t you?!¡± Wakaba was not sure what they were talking about. But Senka soon realized. ¡°I¡¯m beaten.¡± That¡¯s what she thought. She was making a preemptive move to make it harder for Wakaba to refuse the proposal. Even after that¡­ ¡°Say it properly!¡± ¡°Go for it!¡± and so forth. ¡°Shiraishi-kun confessed to you, didn¡¯t he?¡± It was only when they said that that she realized. ¡°How did you know about that?¡± Wakaba quickly asked back. ¡°It seems Shiraishi-kun sent everyone else a message yesterday, no?¡± ¡°I got it too!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Wakaba knew that Ren had told everyone about his confession, but she did not know why he had told everyone. Chika was quick to respond. ¡°Wakaba still doesn¡¯t seem to be feeling well, so tell them we will stop by the infirmary.¡± She let them leave the place. As she walked to the infirmary, she asked ¡°Wakaba, are you okay? I feel like he got to the first move.¡± Chika told Wakaba. ¡°What do you mean by a first move?¡± Wakaba asked Chika. ¡°I think Shiraishi is aware of your feelings for him. So he thought that if he told everyone that he confessed his feelings to you first, they would support him and try to force you to go out with him. I was also thinking of supporting him until I realized how you felt about him. In fact, it became harder for Wakaba to say no, right?¡± Chika was right that it was hard for Wakaba to say no when she had been told so much by everyone. If Wakaba had said no right away originally, this would not have happened, and she felt bad that she was not properly aware of her own feelings. Furthermore, Chika said ¡°I think the fact that he told everyone means that he told Daiki as well. And I think he¡¯ll pretend he doesn¡¯t know that Wakaba is going to refuse today.¡± She told her. Chika thought it was not a good idea to tell Ren about Wakaba¡¯s feelings under the current circumstances. She was getting unwelcome looks from everyone. In addition, she was afraid that she might be treated like a bully. In a small community like students, a single incident can change the impression of a person. Wakaba is popular and friendly. The same is true of Ren. However, since many of her friends in her hometown have been rooting for them since junior high school, everyone who was trying to get Wakaba and Ren together had one thing in common: they were going to get together. Everyone tries to get them to go out since they seem to be able to achieve their goal. Not many people would say that it can¡¯t be helped if Wakaba refuses. On the contrary, the thought occurred to her that there were definitely more things that would side with Ren, accusing her of being thoughtful and jerk. In reality, this is not the case, and everyone would accept it without concern, but until Ren told everyone, she did not know how it would turn out. That is why Chika was cautious. ¡°Wakaba, I don¡¯t think you should give Shiraishi an answer just yet. If you refuse him at this point, you might isolate yourself from the rest of the group. It might be hard, but can¡¯t you wait and see how everything is doing before giving an answer?¡± Chika told her what she was thinking, but in the end, Wakaba would have to make the decision. The decision was left to Wakaba. CH 56 Wakaba was thinking about what Chika had told her while resting in the infirmary. Wakaba said she didn¡¯t need to rest, but Chika told her she needed time to think, and she was not feeling well, so she was forced to take a break. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± Until she met everyone, she had planned to tell Ren how she felt about Wakaba. But after everyone had said so much, it was hard to say it right away. ¡°I have to refuse because originally it was my fault for not being clear. I have to tell him.¡± Wakaba decided to tell. When she returned to the classroom from the infirmary, she found that she had been naive. She had been given first period off, so she returned during recess, but as soon as she entered the classroom, the teacher asked her, ¡°Are you okay? Forgive me if you are still in bad shape.¡± ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± And so on. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Thank you.¡± she answered cheerfully ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. Now let me ask you, when did Shiraishi-kun confess to you?¡± ¡°I want to hear it, I want to hear it?!¡± Everyone started talking to her at once. Wakaba was puzzled. ¡°Did you already give him an answer?¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯re going out with him, right?¡± And so on, the conversation spread out even before she could answer. Even though she didn¡¯t answer any of these questions, they were getting excited on their own. Then the chime sounded. ¡°Let¡¯s hear a lot about it during lunch! And everyone returned to their seats. Wakaba looked at Chika. Chika had no time to help her, because it was more than she had expected. Wakaba sat down in her own seat and realized that she had been naive. She had thought it was just a problem between the two of them But it had already become everyone¡¯s problem. As a high school student, it was difficult for Wakaba to find the courage to face this problem. Despite her feelings, things were proceeding on their own. If she had told him how she felt and rejected the confession, it might have ended without incident. However, the most frightening part is the process of telling him. Because she does not know what will happen or what will change. Chika, seeing what she saw now, thought again that she shouldn¡¯t tell him now. Two people who originally stood out were about to get together. There was no way that onlookers would not make a fuss. Chika felt responsible again. If only she had not done anything unnecessary and let Wakaba reject the confession right away, this would not have happened. She had to protect Wakaba somehow, and she had to take some time to calm things down. That¡¯s what she thought. Daiki had been smiling ever since that day. He had always smiled at school and at home in order to fit in with everyone and not to worry them. All of his friends began to notice his discomfort. Shion also tried to talk to Daiki as much as possible, listening for any changes, but nothing changed. So Shion decided to ask him directly. ¡°Daiki, are you all right? You seem to be forcing a smile since the festival. There were people who seemed to be your local friends, but did something happen with them? If something happened, I¡¯ll listen to what you have to say, so why don¡¯t you tell me?¡± She tried to tell Daiki that. ¡°I¡¯m not forcing myself! I¡¯m fine, Shion. Thank you for worrying about me!¡± He said. She couldn¡¯t help but worry about Daiki. There was little Shion could do now. All she could do was wait until he talked to her. His friends were also worried about him, but he would never tell them why, so they had no choice but to wait until he told them himself. CH 57 Until lunchtime, neither Ren nor Wakaba had a chance to talk because they were surrounded by everyone else. In Ren¡¯s mind, things were going according to his intentions at the moment. He knew that under the current circumstances, she would not be able to say no right away. He did not want to be disliked by Wakaba. He wants her to like him no matter what. That is why there is not enough time. He had always wanted to go out with Wakaba. Finally, he thought that he would be able to go out with her soon. If she takes a little more time, he is sure that she will fall in love with him. She will forget about Daiki, too. ¡°It¡¯s just a little more time.¡± It was a decision for Ren as well. Ren is just being honest about his feelings. He is smart enough to manipulate everyone. No matter what was said, he would use any available strategy, and he wanted time to get Wakaba to like him. After lunchtime, Wakaba was being asked a lot of questions by everyone, but she couldn¡¯t answer any of them. She could not lie, and was simply at the mercy of everyone¡¯s momentum. Instead, Chika responded. ¡°Wakaba is in trouble right now¡± Chika was able to deceive them, and she was able to explain to them as much as she knew. She took her time and talked slowly. The chime sounded in the middle of the conversation, and Wakaba was relieved that she didn¡¯t have to say anything. She felt she had to thank Chika, and when she looked at Chika, she looked exhausted. She decided to also tell her how sorry she was. ¡°If I had done my part, I wouldn¡¯t have caused Chika so much trouble¡­¡± Feeling depressed, Chika tapped her shoulder and said ¡°It¡¯s the other way around. If I hadn¡¯t done something unnecessary, this wouldn¡¯t have happened¡­¡± She said in a small voice. She was really sorry, but decided to be lenient for now. After school ended that day, Wakaba went ahead to the meeting place with Ren before everyone caught up with her. They were supposed to meet at a park near the school, so she sat on a bench and waited for Ren to arrive. Chika seemed to be nearby, which reassured Wakaba, but she didn¡¯t feel she could tell him how she felt after seeing everyone¡¯s reactions today. A message came in from Ren that he would be arriving soon. Wakaba started to get nervous at once. ¡°Wakaba, sorry to keep you waiting.¡± Ren came running to the bench. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not waiting for long¡± She replied, but could not find the words to say after that. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Ren couldn¡¯t wait to ask. Wakaba also made up her mind. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about that¡­ ¡­ I was thinking of replying to your confession¡­¡± Wakaba thought about it and decided to reject it properly. But Ren said ¡°I want you to think about it for the rest of the year. I know this is selfish of me, but I don¡¯t think your feelings are clear yet. I know everyone is supporting us, so I want you to take your time and think about it before giving me an answer. Is that okay?¡± Ren said, emphasizing that he had set a time frame on his own so that Wakaba wouldn¡¯t have to reject him and that everyone was supporting them. ¡°But I feel bad that I¡¯m making you wait¡±. Wakaba still tried to refuse, but But Ren said ¡°I want you to think about it at least for the rest of this year. I will become a man more suitable for Wakaba than I am now. I want you to wait until you see that before you give me your answer!¡± He tried to make me postpone her answer. Wakaba, too, thought it would be better to ¡°I will give it some more thought and get back to you.¡± Decide it later. Ren was glad she didn¡¯t answer right away. This was why he said he would give her until the end of this year. He thought that if he told them that their friends were supporting them, she would compromise on the time frame. Ren was not confident. But a little more time would make it more likely. That is why he wanted to take as much time as possible. There is a winter break at the end of the year, there is Christmas, and if they can spend New Year¡¯s Eve together and go to Hatsumode, then the possibilities will increase. There was no way he could take it easy like he had been doing. During the school year, he decided to actively ask her out on dates and appeal to everyone at school, and first of all, he wanted to close the outer moat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will make you like me so that I can get a good answer!¡± Wakaba could only nod. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I told everyone first. I should have asked Wakaba first, but some of my friends were asking me for advice, so they asked me, and I had to tell everyone immediately, is everything okay?¡± Wakaba could only say that she was fine. After that, Ren was talking so much that Wakaba didn¡¯t even have a chance to talk to him. Chika, who had been watching the two of them from her hiding place, felt a sense of discomfort. She saw that Ren did not seem to have the same composure as before. He seemed to be in a hurry. It seemed somehow dangerous. CH 58 Since the event happened in the park, Ren had been talking more than usual. Wakaba also noticed the quirk, but decided to listen without saying anything. It was getting dark around there, so they decided to go home. ¡°Let¡¯s go out together next week?¡± Ren said to her as she was leaving. Wakaba refused, saying she had club activities to attend to. ¡°Let¡¯s go out for a bit after club activities are over!¡± He asked her more forcefully than usual. Wakaba found it hard to say no. ¡°Just a moment is fine.¡± After the club activities were over, they decided to go out. On the way home, Ren offered to walk her home, but she refused, saying she had somewhere to go. In the end, they decided to go home separately, and Wakaba started walking toward her house. She went down a different street than usual because she had a place to stop. She went to the caf¨¦ where she was meeting Chika. It was the same caf¨¦ that she always uses for consultations, but it was a caf¨¦ that Ren would never go to, so she was sure that he would not know about it. Chika was waiting for her, so she hurried inside the caf¨¦ and said ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late. Forgive me for accompanying me.¡± Wakaba apologized as soon as she entered. ¡°It¡¯s totally fine. But Shiraishi-kun¡¯s energy was so strong.¡± Wakaba was thinking the same thing, but she was indeed exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m a little tired. But it¡¯s nice that he¡¯s trying so hard to talk to me, but I have mixed feelings¡­¡± Wakaba thought she was being rude to Ren. She knew that, but she couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°What are you going to do now? Shiraishi, he doesn¡¯t seem to be willing to give up, and his feelings for Wakaba are very understandable. But he seems to know that Wakaba has realized how she feels about him. He was appealing to Wakaba more desperately than usual.¡± Chika, too, is in a difficult position. After helping him to go out with her, there was no way she could force her to turn him down, so she thought about it. Ren had also noticed that he was no longer asking Chika to do so. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll think about it properly. It would be disrespectful to Ren-kun, so I¡¯m going to face it seriously. I still love Daiki, but for now, I¡¯ll do as Ren-kun told me to do and think seriously about his feelings before replying.¡± Wakaba decided to seriously reexamine her feelings. ¡°I¡¯m going to support you as much as I can. Don¡¯t hold on too much and rely on me, okay?¡± Chika also decided to leave it to Wakaba. ¡°Thank you.¡± After that, they continued to talk about their future plans. At that time, Ren was thinking about how he could make Wakaba¡¯s feelings for him completely change. He was so much in love with Wakaba that even he did not know why he was so obsessed with her. ¡°If Wakaba stopped seeing Daiki, her feelings for Daiki would fade away, right?¡± The moment he thought of it, he immediately took action. ¡°I have a favor to ask Daiki, is it okay? I¡¯m a little worried because I¡¯ve started seeing Wakaba, so I want Daiki to refrain from seeing her or communicating with her! I¡¯m sorry for being jealous and feeling insecure.¡± He sent a message with false information. ¡°Got it!¡± Was his only reply. Ren felt relieved that he could now keep Daiki away from Wakaba, but at the same time he felt guilty. However, he wanted Wakaba to like him no matter what he had to do. If he thought about it calmly, there was no way she would like him. All he was doing was something that Wakaba would not like. He only gave priority to his own feelings and did not consider Wakaba¡¯s feelings. Wakaba and Ren¡¯s daily life became different from the previous one. Ren became more aggressive than before and tried to be with Wakaba all the time. Wakaba also became more honest about her feelings, but she was also more serious about Ren. Everyone around them did not notice that the distance between them was slightly off. They even seemed to be getting along well. Only Chika felt a sense of danger. She felt that Ren was becoming more and more impatient, even with Wakaba. ¡°Hopefully nothing will happen to her¡­¡± She was worried, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was always aware of the need to protect Wakaba in case something happened. Chika was thinking of contacting Daiki, but was unsure of what to say to him. She decided to tell him what she could, so she sent a simple message to Daiki, but he did not reply. The next day, he wrote back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m too busy right now to return your messages.¡± Chika had also been avoided. After that, the same thing happened again, sending a simple message about the current situation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard it from Shiraishi, so I¡¯m fine!¡± The last thing he said. She did not know what Ren said, but she could not communicate it well even to Daiki, and Chika became even more distressed. Wakaba started to look at Ren more closely after she decided to be serious with him. As Chika said, it is true that he does not seem to be as relaxed as before and always seems to be in a hurry. He followed Wakaba everywhere she went so that he would never leave Wakaba¡¯s side. At school, Chika stays with her as much as possible, but after school, Ren waits for her and sometimes the two of them are alone. She began to feel scared more and more. After talking to Chika about it, she told her to spend time with everyone so as not to be alone with him. When they went out after club activities, Ren would try to go to places where there were no people around. Even Wakaba knew what he would do if there were no people around, so she desperately tried to be in places where there were people. It was obvious to her that Ren had become impatient over the past week. Ren had become so aggressive that she wondered if she could stand this. Wakaba contacted Daiki only once since then. However. ¡°You don¡¯t have to contact me because Shiraishi will suspect you!¡± She was told. Daiki hates her. Wakaba was so shocked at the thought that she couldn¡¯t bear it, but since it was her own fault, she decided to face the situation properly, give him an answer, then tell Daiki how she felt about him. CH 59 His father felt uncomfortable with Daiki¡¯s smile. After feeling the discomfort, he decided to watch him a little, but he still couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of discomfort. ¡°Daiki, are you all right? Did you have something bad happen?¡± He asked Daiki. ¡°Nothing happened! I¡¯m fine!¡± Daiki answered, but his father still couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of discomfort. ¡°You look like you¡¯re pushing yourself too hard. Maybe something happened with Waka-chan?¡± Daiki felt nervous. ¡°I knew it! Something happened with Waka-chan, right?! Tell me as much as you can. Maybe it¡¯ll clear things up a little?¡± His father asked admonishingly. Daiki was not sure whether to say something or not. After a short silence I think Wakaba has a boyfriend. ¡­ So Wakaba¡¯s boyfriend asked me not to contact her too much. ¡­ So I was kind of down in the dumps, but I¡¯m okay now!¡± Daiki felt a little more at ease now that he had spoken up. ¡°I see, so Waka-chan has a boyfriend. Daiki¡¯s heartbroken too! Okay, let¡¯s go have some fun now!¡± Suddenly, his father said. His father suddenly stood up and Daiki looked surprised, but he grabbed his arm and said ¡°Let¡¯s go! Daiki!!¡± and they decided to go out to play. He was a high school student, so there were some places he couldn¡¯t go. Therefore, he asked him what he wanted to do, but he didn¡¯t know what he wanted to do. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go to karaoke, okay? High school students like that, right?¡± So he said, and they decided to go to karaoke. His father was not a good singer. He was tone-deaf to the point of being amusing. Seeing him like that, Daiki laughed for the first time in a long time. He laughed from the bottom of his heart. Daiki sang too, and they had fun together. Daiki felt refreshed and his smile was no longer uncomfortable. Thanks to his father. ¡°Now you look good! Then let¡¯s go for a drive!¡± After karaoke, they went for a drive to a mountain-like place and reached the top of the mountain. When they got out of the car and looked up at the sky, they saw a star-filled sky. ¡°Didn¡¯t I see something like this in a car commercial? I¡¯ve always wanted to try it!¡± He said happily. ¡°Daiki, you¡¯ve always been bright, or rather, you¡¯ve been acting more brightly than usual. ¡­ I¡¯ve always noticed that. ¡­ I think your mother and others noticed it even earlier. Daiki, when you were in elementary school, you were always crying. Not only Mom, but also Dad was tormenting Daiki, saying that Daiki was pushing himself too hard because of me. I made you suffer and I didn¡¯t do anything to help you. I¡¯m really sorry. ¡­ I got a rare call from your mother. ¡­ She said that Daiki has been acting strangely lately. She said that when you talk on the phone or when you come home, there is no change in your voice or your expression, and you smile all the time¡­ when Mom tries to talk to you, you go to your room¡­ she asked me to listen to Daiki¡¯s story, sorry about that. ¡­ Dad had been feeling uncomfortable for a long time, too, so I was concerned about it¡­ ¡­ Daiki. You don¡¯t have to hold everything by yourself, okay? Dad, mom, and Togo-san¡­ Everyone is family. Everyone cares about you. I¡¯m worried about you. ¡­ Togo-san¡­ He loves Daiki so much. He even went to the trouble of developing the pictures he took with Daiki on his cell phone and put them in his wallet! You didn¡¯t know that, right? ¡­ You don¡¯t have to force yourself anymore, okay? Daiki doesn¡¯t have to force himself to fit in with everyone else, Daiki is just Daiki. ¡­ So expose your feelings more! It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t do it right away. It¡¯s okay if you can do it slowly. I want you to express your feelings more. ¡­ I will accept everything. If you regret it, don¡¯t regret it anymore. It¡¯s okay to cry now, Daiki.¡± Daiki had not cried for a long time. Before he knew it, he had lost the ability to cry. But now, as he looks up at the starry sky, his vision is distorted. His father gently hugged him as tears welled up in his eyes. Daiki cried aloud. His father gently rubbed his back as if something he had been holding back had broken down. A pleasant feeling of comfort overflowed together with the tears. Daiki was able to cry for the first time in a while, since he was in elementary school. His father rubbed his back without saying a word until Daiki stopped crying. Finally, Daiki calmed down and felt embarrassed. ¡°Thank you, Dad¡± He said and moved away from me. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry more, okay? Haha.¡± He grinned. ¡°I¡¯m fine now!¡± Daiki¡¯s face turned bright red and he refused. ¡°I see, actually, the thing that worried your mother the most was that Daiki didn¡¯t cry. Togo-san said it was his fault and even cried to me. He was crying so hard¡­. He was so worried about you. Dad was worried about you too. But now I feel relieved! Tell Mom and Togo-san that you cried. That you cried really hard! Haha¡± He laughed. Daiki was embarrassed, but more than that, he was happy. That everyone had noticed him. That they cared about Daiki. He still didn¡¯t know what to do about Wakaba, but for now, he could think about it slowly. On the car ride home, he fell asleep, perhaps because he was tired. Before he knew it, he arrived home and went straight to bed and fell asleep. The next day, he was not planning to go home, but his father told him to tell his mother and he decided to go home. CH 60 Daiki went home and opened the front door. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± He said awkwardly. His mother and Tsukasa were waiting for him, as he had told them he would be home. ¡°Welcome home, Daiki!¡± ¡°Welcome home!¡± They both greeted him happily. So after taking a bath, the three of them sat down in the living room and ate dinner together. Both his mother and Tsukasa were smiling as they ate. They were in a good mood, which was something he had expected because of his father, but he had never expected them to be in such a good mood. After finishing dinner and cleaning up, he felt too embarrassed to talk to his mother. Then his mother said to him, ¡°You talked to your father, right? How did it go?¡± She came to him smiling. ¡°I talked to him.¡± Daiki responded shyly. ¡°Will you tell me about it?¡± His mother said happily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have caused you so much worry. Yesterday, when I heard about it from Dad, I didn¡¯t think I had worried Mom and Tsukasa so much, and it made me realize that you really do love me. I was really happy! Thank you so much.¡± His mother and Tsukasa-san were already sobbing. For Tsukasa-san, he was sobbing with snot dripping down his nose. Daiki was also confused, but he was happy. He knew that he was crying because he was thinking about Daiki. After he calmed down a little, Tsukasa said ¡°Daiki, I am really sorry for what I have done until now. Even I knew that Daiki was overworking himself. But somewhere along the way, I thought that you didn¡¯t accept me. That¡¯s why I was afraid to speak my mind. I kept running away from Daiki, trying to get acceptance from you so that you wouldn¡¯t hate me. But I thought that if I didn¡¯t face Daiki with my true feelings, Daiki wouldn¡¯t face me anymore. I love Daiki very much. I think Daiki is my precious son as much as Takita-san. That¡¯s why I want you to expose yourself to me more! As a father, I worry about Daiki as much as Takita-san does. From now on, please take it easy¡­ I don¡¯t want to see Daiki suffer¡­¡± At the end, she told him without hiding the tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°Yumi was also worried about Daiki. She was always troubled with tears, saying that Daiki was suffering because of me and that she was creating the trigger for you to suffer, even though I told her that was not true.¡± She said that she isn¡¯t allowed to cry unless Daiki is crying¡­ ¡­ Daiki, from now on, don¡¯t hold back¡­ Cry when you want to cry¡­ Me, Yumi and Takita-san don¡¯t want Daiki to strain anymore¡­ I don¡¯t want you to suppress your emotions¡­ Cry when you want to cry, laugh when you want to laugh, get angry when you want to get angry¡­ So you don¡¯t have to force yourself anymore!¡± He said with a smile at the end. When Daiki noticed it, tears were streaming down his face. Having cried so much yesterday, he thought there would be no more tears, but tears don¡¯t die easily, it seems. ¡°Daiki¡­I¡¯m really sorry until now¡­¡± His mother hugged him slowly and gently. ¡°I¡¯ve always made you work too hard, I see¡­.. I¡¯ve always made Daiki work too hard because of my lack of responsibility as a mother¡­ I¡¯m really sorry¡­ I noticed that you were forcing yourself to act cheerful and that you stopped crying¡­ But I couldn¡¯t do anything for you¡­ I still wanted to do something for you, so I only tried to do what I thought was right for you¡­ I let Daiki do whatever you wanted to do. But now I realize that it wasn¡¯t the right thing to do¡­ Daiki was forcing himself to be more and more cheerful. I just felt like I had to listen to you, I had to talk to you, and I couldn¡¯t do anything about it¡­ In the end, I had to ask your dad¡­ I felt ashamed of myself. I felt unworthy. I felt like I was an unfit mother for Daiki¡­ but I still couldn¡¯t stop worrying about you. Daiki is very important to me and I can¡¯t get enough of you¡­ ¡­ So from now on, as Daiki¡¯s mother, I promised myself that I would never let Daiki force you to do something you can¡¯t. It may be too late, but I decided to support Daiki so that you can cry and laugh properly without overworking yourself. ¡­ I know I¡¯m not a good mother, but from now on, no matter what you say, I won¡¯t let you force yourself or put up with anything. You¡¯d better be prepared for that! I know I can¡¯t say it like that, but it¡¯s what a strong mother needs, so please forgive me!¡± His mother also told him emotionally, crying and laughing. It was a new experience for Daiki, who has always suppressed his emotions, and he was able to understand her. For the first time, he realized that suppressing his emotions might only make the other person feel sorry for him. That is why Daiki said ¡°Thank you so much, Mom and Tsukasa-san!¡± With a face that did not know whether to cry or laugh. It was funny again because all three of them had the same face. Daiki felt that his father, mother, and Tsukasa had truly become family. He would be able to welcome his little brother or sister into the world as a family full of love. Daiki was so happy that he couldn¡¯t wait to see that. On that day, one of Daiki¡¯s traumas disappeared completely. CH 61 Translator: Soafp Daiki had regained his relationship with his family and was able to live his life with a new feeling. Before he knew it, it was December. He has not been in touch with Wakaba at all. After Ren warned him that he should not contact Wakaba, Daiki did not contact her at all, and Wakaba did not contact him after she came once. Although it was Daiki who told Wakaba not to contact him, he still wanted her to contact him. In fact, he wanted to get in touch with her. He wanted to tell Wakaba that he and his family had become a real family. However, she was dating Ren, and if Daiki contacted Wakaba, Wakaba would be suspicious of him. He could not do anything as long as he was told by Ren not to contact her either. All he could do was wait for Wakaba to get in touch with him. Chika also told him about Wakaba¡¯s current situation, but he didn¡¯t understand it well. The story was different from what Ren had told him, but since he said he had gone out with her, he was sure that was the case, and he did not want to hear any more about it. About Wakaba, he felt anguish and tightness in his chest, but when he was with his father, mother, and Tsukasa-san, he felt warmth as he did when he was with Wakaba in the past. It was the complete opposite. When Daiki was getting back together with his family, Wakaba wanted to clarify her relationship with Ren and was about to tell him how she felt about him now and respond to his confession. She was getting more and more attracted to him day by day, and Wakaba couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. Wherever they went, Ren would try to be alone with her, and even when they were with others, he always tried to be next to her. If she had not been aware of her feelings for Daiki, she might not have cared, but now that she is aware of her own feelings for Daiki, she can clearly reject him. She can refuse, but when she tries to talk about the reply, Ren desperately tries to change the subject or won¡¯t let her talk about it itself. She thought about telling Ren in a message, but thought it would be rude not to tell him seriously and wanted to tell him when she met him, but he would not let her tell him. She has also talked to Chika about it, but she told her that it would be better not to try to force Ren to say no because it would be too dangerous for her to do so. She also told her what Daiki had told her, but when Chika contacted Daiki, he said the same thing, and she thought Ren had told him something, so she said Daiki was just misunderstanding and that it was dangerous if she did not focus on Ren right now. Wakaba also sensed this fact day by day. Even so, Wakaba herself was becoming impatient and felt she had to tell him as soon as possible. She was afraid of what might happen if they were alone together. She doesn¡¯t think Ren would go that far, but looking at him lately, she can¡¯t help but think about that. She was afraid to contact Daiki because she thought that he hated her as well as Ren, so Wakaba was living a depressing life. All her friends were asking about the reply, too, at first, but that¡¯s when Ren, ¡°I¡¯m not getting an answer this year, but instead I¡¯m having her respond to me next year!¡± The truth is not that she doesn¡¯t want to reply, but rather that she isn¡¯t given the opportunity to. Ren is currently discussing things with everyone, so even if Wakaba wants to consult with him, she would just be told, ¡°Just go out with him already!¡± and the conversation would end there. She can only talk to Chika about it. By the middle of December, Wakaba still hadn¡¯t gotten a reply to his confession. Ren became more forceful than before and did not want to leave Wakaba. Everyone except Chika, who was beginning to notice that Ren was becoming too attached to Wakaba, thought they were getting along well. However, Chika alone was trying not to let Wakaba and Ren be alone together. She felt that Wakaba would be in danger if they were alone. A vague feeling of uneasiness was beginning to creep into her mind. In the morning, Chika would pick her up and make sure she and Ren were never alone. On the way home, on days when club activities were in session, she would go home with the students with whom she had club activities, and on days when club activities were not in session, Chika would stay with her. On days when no club activities were going on, Chika would stay with her. Ren tried very hard to be alone with her, but she could not be forceful when she was with everyone else, and his grumpy face often came to the surface. Even when she went home, she received phone calls, so Wakaba had no time to rest. Her phone calls were always about asking for dates and talking about himself. In the past, she would have been able to have a normal conversation with him without bragging, but now all he does is brag. He never listened to what Wakaba had to say and hung up the phone when he was done talking. ¡°I couldn¡¯t say anything today either¡­¡± Wakaba was tired. She had to wait until she had a chance to say something. ¡°I wonder if I will be able to talk tomorrow¡­¡± She fell asleep with a depressed feeling. CH 62 As December came to a close, Daiki gradually came to accept Wakaba and Shiraishi, but he also had some regrets. He wished he had been more honest about his feelings and told her how he felt. However, he also thought that it was too late to express his feelings now. Since he became a high school student, Daiki had become popular, and in December, he sometimes received confessions of love, probably because Christmas was near. He had no intention of going out with anyone yet, so he turned them down, but he wanted to have a girlfriend someday. He was feeling lonely this Christmas because he couldn¡¯t give Wakaba a present, but he decided to spend more time with his family instead. The day after he talked to his father, Daiki got ready for school and went to the classroom. It seemed that everyone was worried that he had been pushing himself too hard lately. He told them that he was fine and they all looked relieved. Shion also looked at Daiki with concern. ¡°Daiki, are you sure you¡¯re okay? If anything happens, tell me right away, okay?¡± And Daiki said ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll tell you right away if anything happens!¡± He responded Daiki was strangely normal towards Shion. She was also cute and she often confessed her love to him, but he always turned her down because he seemed to have someone else he liked. Daiki thought that boys who were liked by Shion were lucky. Shion and the others invited him to lunch, so they all ate together and talked. They talked about Christmas and were excited about going out together. Daiki was also invited, but he was not sure what to do. ¡°I¡¯d be happy if you were with me.¡± Which is something she usually doesn¡¯t say. Daiki thought that it was important to switch things up because of what had happened to Wakaba, and he was happy that Shion said that, so he decided to go with everyone. It was decided that everyone would spend Christmas together, and that it would be a fun time. After that, Shion approached him and they spent more and more time together. His local friends contacted him as usual to spend Christmas together, but he replied that he couldn¡¯t go this year because he had promised everyone at his high school ahead of time. Everyone said they were disappointed, and he felt sorry for them, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Of course he was worried about Wakaba, but he was also relieved that he would not have to see her and Ren getting along. Chika also contacted him, but he replied in the same way. The closing ceremony was over and it was winter break. Daiki has not contacted Wakaba since then. Although there has been no contact from Wakaba so far, he sometimes felt indescribably lonely and thought about it. However, he thought that it could not be helped. On Christmas Day, Daiki finished getting ready and went to the meeting place. He met Shion on the way, so they went to the meeting place together. She looked so cute in her casual clothes. Daiki was also honest. ¡°Today, your clothes suit you so stylishly!¡± Daiki told her. Shion¡¯s face turned bright red, but she looked happy. Daiki was smiling as he watched her. They met up with everyone at the rendezvous point and went to the complex as usual to have fun together. They went to the game center, bowling, and finally karaoke. Daiki¡¯s singing was well received and he sang many songs. Shion was also a good singer. At karaoke, Shion was sitting next to him, and she even fawned over Daiki as he sang. Having spent Christmas happily with everyone, Daiki was feeling much more refreshed and forward-looking. Shion was with him on the way home, so they walked home together, talking about trivial things. When he said goodbye to Shion, she said ¡°Daiki, let¡¯s go out together again!¡± So Daiki said ¡°It was fun, let¡¯s go out again!¡± Shion also laughed happily. Then Shion said ¡°A Christmas present!¡± And suddenly she handed a present to Daiki. Daiki had not prepared anything, so he asked her ¡°Is that okay? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t prepare anything. I¡¯ll get it for you tomorrow as soon as possible.¡± Shion said ¡°I just prepared it on my own, so don¡¯t worry about it. See you later!¡± and then she left. The present was a pair of gloves. Daiki was surprised but happy. He thought of rushing out to buy a present tomorrow.