I looked up at Hiiragi's house.
It was a stylish, three-story designer home built of concrete.
The property was surrounded by a stone wall, enclosing a lawn-covered yard.
Stepping into the spacious entryway after pushing open the tall front door, a refreshing fragrance drifted through the air.
Apparently, Hiiragi came from quite a well-off family.
"I'm ho~me. Ah, Hatsukade, use those slippers over there."
"Yeah."
"I mean, now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've ever invited a guy over. Isn't this, like, a heart-pounding event?! Aren't you nervous too, Hatsukade?!"
"Yeah."
Indeed, my heart was hammering so hard it was practically making noise.
And then, that moment arrived!
"Woof!"
"Rooney-kun!"
Rooney-kun, the Siberian Husky, sprinted full speed from the back of the house and leaped right into my chest.
Ah, so fluffy... how could anything be this adorable!
Hiiragi tilted her head.
"That's, like, not the reaction I was expecting."
Guy or girl, a house is just a house.
Why on earth would I get excited over something like that?
"Waaah, Rooney-kun, I missed you so much!"
"Hatsukade, did your whole personality just change?"
Just when Rooney-kun pulled away from me, he took off down the long hallway like he was running shuttle sprints, repeatedly racing back to pounce on me.
Huskies had such wolf-like faces, yet they acted so totally goofy.
That was what made them so great.
"Phew."
Having thoroughly savored petting his coat to my heart's content, I followed Hiiragi as she led me into the living room.
"Mom, I'm ho~me."
"Welcome home, Sakura—oh, my, my, my goodness!"
The person who greeted us was a woman so beautiful she could easily pass for an actress.
She maintained a youthful radiance that made it hard to believe she had a high school daughter.
Hiiragi's mom looked at me and pressed a hand over her mouth.
"Could it be... Sakura's boyfriend?!"
"No, I'm not."
"He has such a wonderful vibe! Good for you, Sakuraaa."
"Like I said, I'm no—"
"Darliiing! Sakura brought a boyfriend home!"
As her beaming mother called out at the top of her lungs, a shout of "Whaaat?!" echoed from the second floor, followed by the sound of someone hurtling down the stairs at an absurd speed.
"Sakura's boyfriend, you saaaay?!"
The man who burst into the room was slender, tall, and handsome.
Behind his round glasses, his eyes were wide with shock.
Without missing a beat, Hiiragi's dad placed his hands firmly on my shoulders.
"Welcome. Aren't you a fine young man? I'm deeply moved. Welcome! You are practically my son now!"
If there were ever a parent-teacher observation day, I was confident I could spot Hiiragi's parents without a single hint.
◇
Sitting on the sofa, my cheeks softened into a smile as Rooney-kun bounced and played around my feet. I sipped the herbal tea they had brewed for me, taking care not to spill any on him. It was wonderfully aromatic and clearly top-grade.
After that, I explained that I wasn't her boyfriend, thoroughly clearing up the misunderstanding.
Upon hearing the truth, both of their shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"And here I thought our daughter had finally snapped out of her silly fantasies and taken an interest in a real guy."
"At this rate, I'm worried about Sakura's future. Is she going to cling to a childhood romance forever?"
It seemed Hiiragi's fairytale-like infatuation was a major source of concern for her parents.
Hiiragi crossed her arms in clear frustration.
"Geez! Both of you know that person saved my life, Mom, Dad!"
"That may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that the chances of reuniting with him are slim to none. At this rate, I'll never get to see the faces of my grandchildren!"
"That's right. Hey, Hatsukade-kun, wouldn't you be willing to take my daughter off our hands? She's just a little foolish, but she's not a bad girl, you know."
I really wish they wouldn't talk about her as if they were trying to pawn off oversized trash on me.
"If it's Rooney-kun, I'd gladly welcome him anytime."
Her mother chuckled, taking it as an amusing joke.
"Oh, no you don't. Rooney is a member of our family."
Hiiragi, just how are you treated in this house...?
Pouting sullenly, Hiiragi puffed out her cheeks.
"I can't talk with Hatsukade at all thanks to you two! Come on, Hatsukade, let's talk while we take Rooney for a walk!"
Reacting to the word "walk," Rooney-kun perked right up.
Before I knew it, I had stood up as well.
The two of us walked side by side through the residential neighborhood dyed in sunset hues.
"Ehehe, sorry about that. My parents being like that, I mean. You were totally shocked, right?"
"Was I?"
Rather, it made total sense given how strongly she took after them.
Perhaps Hiiragi would turn out just like that once she grew up and settled down.
"So, about Shii-chan... she seems to think Nakina hasn't forgiven her yet."
"Why does she think that?"
Hiiragi shot me a meaningful look and added a warning: "I'm only telling you this because it's you, Hatsukade. Keep it a secret from everyone else, okay?"
"Every single day, Shii-chan sends me a bunch of messages. And all of them are about Nakina. Like, asking if Nakina has someone she likes, or if there's any guy she's been showing interest in."
"Did you tell her everything?"
"No way! Even I learn from my screw-ups, you know. I'd never make such a rookie mistake twice."
I didn't trust her in the slightest, but it seemed she was reflecting on her past behavior in her own way.
"So, why does Shinonome want to know that sort of thing?"
"She says she wants to support her. Since she caused so much trouble, she wants to do something for Nakina's sake."
"..."
"I feel the same way, you know? I want to support my friends with everything I've got, and I want them to be happy. But, like, doing that out of guilt just feels wrong to me. I just didn't know what to say to Shii-chan. That's why I wanted to consult you, Hatsukade."
That sounded exactly like something Shinonome would come up with.
This is precisely why romance never leads to anything good.
"How would you feel if you were in the opposite position, Hiiragi?"
"Huh?"
"Having your love life supported out of guilt."
"I'd hate it, obviously. I love my darling fair and square, head-on!"
"Right..."
I hesitated over whether I should say it, but figured it would probably be fine with someone like her, so I spoke up.
"What would you do if Amanatsu and Shinonome liked the same person?"
Hiiragi snorted with laughter.
"Ahaha, Hatsukade, that's way too overconfident of you. A guy like you is definitely not Shii-chan's type."
"I'm talking about a hypothetical scenario, of course."
"Why are you asking something so pointless?"
"I want to hear your opinion. You can understand why Shinonome, feeling guilty toward Amanatsu, would want to back off and support her, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"In that case, which one would you support?"
If she chose Amanatsu, Shinonome would likely step back.
If she told Shinonome not to do that, Amanatsu might give up instead.
If you choose one, the other gets hurt.
No matter which one is chosen, things will turn awkward.
When that happens, would those two still be able to remain friends?
I looked into Hiiragi's eyes.
She smiled with a bright, radiant expression.
"I'd support both of them, of course! Shii-chan's love and Nakina's love—I want both of their feelings to come true!"
"That's obviously impossible."
"But, like, that's what falling in love with someone is all about. Romance isn't only about ending up together, you know."
Seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the situation, Hiiragi added, "Well, I'm gonna spend my whole life working hard to end up with my darling, though."
Maybe I had asked the wrong person.
If you push both of them forward, they will inevitably clash someday and cause a disaster.
Even so.
Her answer was so quintessentially her that I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"I guess so."
"Ooh, look at you getting it, Hatsukade."
I really was no good with Sakura Hiiragi.
Yet, I felt like I could understand just a tiny bit of how the people around her felt.
We arrived at an intersection.
The moment I stepped onto the first white stripe of the crosswalk, the pedestrian light began to blink green.
Holding Rooney-kun's leash, Hiiragi turned around with a broad grin.
"Oh yeah, right here is where me and darli—"
"Man, this brings back memories."
Scanning the surroundings, the words slipped out before I realized it.
A deeply nostalgic scene stretched out before my eyes.
"Do you have some kind of special memory here?"
"Yeah, back in elementary school. My childhood friend said we should go on an adventure and rode off on a bicycle, so I chased after on mine. Then that idiot got lost and ended up all the way out here, far from home."
"Huh."
"While I was comforting that idiot who had burst into tears at this intersection, there was this chihuahua without a leash."
"...Mmh?"
"It had probably escaped from someone's house. Then, a girl around our age walked right up to that agitated, worked-up chihuahua without any caution."
"...Wait a second."
"I jumped in just in the nick of time, and that chihuahua bit me right on the butt with everything it had. Ever since then, I get nervous around dogs I'm meeting for the first time."
"...No way."
Reaching the other side of the crosswalk, I realized Hiiragi wasn't beside me.
Looking back, she was standing frozen in place, her face completely pale.
The traffic light had switched to red.
"H-Hey!"
Even when I called out to her, Hiiragi showed no reaction whatsoever.
In a panic, I looked to the right—and saw a truck blaring its horn, hurtling straight toward her.