“If Sara is fine with it, then I don’t see why not?”
“But that’s something I really should have provided myself. Using it as a thank-you gift feels…”
“Takanashi-san, I want a bento box for you that I have chosen myself. Of course, I would have no objection to a gift you selected, but if possible, I would like to be the one to choose it.”
Ugh… when she put it like that, I couldn't find a way to argue.
If Sara-senpai was okay with it, then I supposed it wasn't a problem… or so I told myself.
“Which means Sara picks it out and Takanashi-kun buys it. In that case, there’s only one logical conclusion—you two have to go shopping together!”
“Eh!?”
Wait, was that really the only way?
But that meant… going out with Sara-senpai…
“Shopping with Takanashi-san… I would be delighted. Oh, but would that be acceptable to you, Takanashi-san?”
“No, I’m completely fine with it! If anything, for Sara-senpai to go with someone like me…”
“? As for me, I would be very happy if I could go shopping with you, Takanashi-san.”
“Ah, of course, I’d be happy too!”
“Hehe… well then, would you come shopping with me?”
“Understood.”
In other words, we were going to go out together on our next day off.
Crap, I needed to figure out what to wear…
“I am already looking forward to it. Would it be alright if we discussed the date and time later? If I don’t get to the watering soon, I’ll run out of time.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll help too,” Natsumi-senpai added.
I have to see this through, no matter what…
Sara going on a date with a boy is so interest—no, I mean, I’m worried.
As someone in the position of watching over these two, it’s my duty to go see how things look.
“…And that’s how it happened.”
That night, I was talking to Yuji over the phone.
The topic was, naturally, the upcoming shopping trip with Sara-senpai.
“She wants to choose Kazunari’s bento box? Man, you…”
“I really should have been the one to buy it and ask her to use it. In that sense, I feel bad about it. But honestly, I’m happy she’s thinking about me that much.”
Senpai had told me I was a precious friend to her.
The fact that she was putting so much thought into things for my sake made me genuinely happy.
“………Hmm… Hey, can I ask you something?”
Yuji suddenly changed the subject.
“What is it?”
“What do you actually think of that senpai?”
“What do you mean by ‘what’… I think of her as a precious person.”
She was the one who finally understood me.
Of course she was precious to me.
“I’m sure that’s true, but for example, don't you like her as a woman? I wondered about that when I heard how things went the other day, too. How are you feeling on that front?”
“Honestly, I haven't thought about that. More than anything, I was just really happy that she explicitly told me I was a precious friend. As long as she wants me around, being a friend or a best friend is more than enough for me. The fact that she’s a precious person to me won't change regardless.”
“In other words, it transcends that sort of thing—she’s a precious person regardless of the label…”
Ever since that incident in middle school, Kazunari had been unable to trust almost anyone.
Because of that girl… Yuzuha Sasagawa, Kazunari’s childhood friend, he had become consumed by paranoia. He couldn’t even fully trust the people he’d been friends with up until that point.
I consider Kazunari my best friend, and I knew that girl well, too.
That’s why I thought I understood how Kazunari felt back then.
As for me, I managed to earn his trust by making sure I stayed involved with him as much as possible.
But the others, who didn’t understand the circumstances, eventually decided they couldn't deal with him anymore and walked away.
Even though he was desperately searching for someone who would understand and believe in him, he found himself unable to trust others—that negative spiral was what had isolated him.
That was likely why he was becoming somewhat blind in how much he treasured the person who had finally appeared as his understander.
As long as a precious person wanted him by their side, he didn’t care what the "position" was. His feelings of treasuring that person remained the same…
“Got it. Sorry for asking something weird. Anyway, just go and have fun. It’s been a long time since you went out with anyone besides me, right?”
“I guess… but first I have to make sure we actually get the bento box.”
“If you plan on hanging out for a bit after the shopping is done, a shopping mall or a shopping street might be a good bet.”
Once the shopping was over, if Senpai was up for it, I planned to walk around a bit.
And to be honest, since the bento box was technically for me, I wanted to find a way to give her at least one more thing in return.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Either way, I’ll decide with Sara-senpai once we settle on a date and time.”
“I see. Let me know when the details are set. I might be able to give you some advice or… I might be able to go see how things are going.”
“Huh? Was the reception bad? I couldn’t hear the last part.”
“It’s nothing important, don’t worry about it. Well then, hit me up once the details are decided.”
“Yeah. Goodnight.”