Shimotsuki-san Likes the Mob

Well, I guess the time for chopstick rest is over.

It’s been a long time, but I think it’s time to end the past and move on.

Where was I with the story?

Oh, yes, I finished the part where Kirari fell in love with Ryuzaki.

And finally, the scene called “Entrance Ceremony Day” was coming to a close.

Well, even at that time, I still thought I could go about my daily life as usual,… Even after Kirari fell in love with Ryuzaki on the rooftop, I was still trying to treat her as usual.

“I’m glad you made it out okay, Kirari, even though it was a close call. Well, it’s getting dark soon, so let’s go home.”

“…”

As for Ryuzaki, I lightly let it slide and asked Kirari to go home together.

But she did not reply.

“Hmm…I guess it’s different after all?”

She looked at me with a curious face, and then she suddenly took my hand in hers.

Caught in the slender fingers and unable to read the intention, tilting her head this way and that, Kirari dropped her shoulders and closed her eyes.

“Even if I touch Ko-kun, I don’t get a thrill… I am sure that’s only natural. I’m just a friend to you, nothing more, nothing less.”

And then she said her parting words.

“In other words…, Ko-kun is not my destined man.”

…What was I supposed to say back to her words?

“Huh? No, that’s…well, yeah. Maybe so, but.”

“It’s not ‘maybe’. There is no possibility that you might be the one… I just realized that the one I’m meant for… was him.”

She laughed.

That smile was the sweetest smile I had ever seen.

It was too sweet, if you will.

It was a melting, twisted, scary smile.

“Nyahaha☆ Ryuzaki-kun, who saved me …, Ryu-kun is the one I’m meant to be with!　I have to become the person he likes… I can do anything to make Ryu-kun like me!”

She shook off my hand messily and squinted her eyes enraptured.

Then, as if she were dreaming, she began to walk with dazed steps.

“I have to ask … what type of person does Ryu-kun likes?　The neat and tidy type? Or does he like someone flashy? Nyahahaha, I can be any kind of girl he wants… if I have to give everything I have, I’ll be destined to be with Ryu-kun.”

It was the first time I had ever seen Kirari so animated.

It’s as if she’s changed her character, she’s lost her composure.

Until middle school, she was a more mature girl. She was a solitary person who never had any trouble living on her own, never trying to keep pace with others.

“Ryu-kun, Ryu-kun, Ryu-kun!”

Kirari, dominated by love, even tried to devote her personality to the person she loved.

“Nyahahahahaha☆”

She walked away, laughing happily.

She didn’t see me anymore. She walked away from me without a goodbye or a word … or even looking at me.

And with this, Kirari and I became estranged.

‘I don’t get a thrill.’

That means I didn’t live up to Kirari’s expectations,… and I think that fact came as a shock to me in no small way.

But at the time I wasn’t thinking about my feelings.

That’s why I didn’t realize it.

I didn’t know that I was feeling bitter and painful… at all…