I sat in the living room of the Hiiragi household, sipping black tea.
As always, they used a superb blend of carefully selected tea leaves.
Still, I never imagined I'd be back here again so soon.
Judging by how panicked Amanatsu had sounded, it felt like Hiiragi might take off as early as tomorrow, leaving me no choice but to drop by today.
Even so, what a pain.
Why am I even doing this?
I don't want to get tangled up with Hiiragi, but if I'm the reason she's packing her bags to go wandering, I can't exactly pretend it has nothing to do with me.
More to the point, why do the girls around me always refuse to go to school the moment a problem crops up? They're staking way too much of their lives on romance.
"Woof!"
Rooney-kun, resting his head on my lap, let out a bark, and I gave him a gentle scratch behind the ears.
Heheh. You're the only true comfort in my life, Rooney.
Adorable as ever today. Maybe I should buy a DSLR camera one of these days and stage a whole photo shoot for Rooney-kun.
Considering all the grief Hiiragi puts me through, I'm at least entitled to that much. Let's make it happen.
"Thank you so much, Hatsukade-kun. Coming all the way out here because you were worried about Sakura... She just ran out to the convenience store, so she should be back any minute."
As Hiiragi's mom offered a wry smile, her dad, sitting beside her, folded his arms and let out a troubled groan.
"Yeah, we're at our wit's end too. Sakura suddenly announced she's taking a break from high school to go on a journey."
"Did you try to stop her?"
"Of course we did. But once we heard the reason, it was pretty hard to tell her no."
"If you don't mind me asking, what did she say?"
"I'm only telling you this because I think highly of you, but apparently she reunited with the boy she's admired ever since she was little, only to get rejected. It was awful. Looking like her entire world had ended, she suddenly filled the tub with ice water and plunged right in. And even though she didn't have a cold or anything, she slapped cooling sheets all over her forehead and went to bed with an ice pack."
Cooling your head isn't supposed to be taken literally, Hiiragi.
What good is physically chilling yourself down going to do?
Her mother pressed a finger to her temple, as if fending off a headache.
"Still, that's just how much she loved him. Ever since she was a little girl, she always swore she was going to marry that boy. Romance doesn't always go smoothly, but it breaks my heart to see her like that. That's why, if she truly wants time away from school, we're willing to let her repeat a year, provided she promises to eventually graduate."
"...Isn't that taking things a bit far?"
"Oh, goodness, Hatsukade-kun. To a young maiden, a crushing heartbreak is a life-altering crisis. Truth be told, when her father and I first met, he was weeping on the Rainbow Bridge because his best friend had cheated on him with—"
Just then, the front door clicked open. I glanced back to see Hiiragi standing there, holding a plastic convenience store bag.
"H-Hatsukade?! What are you doing here?!"
...Thank goodness.
One second later and I would've been subjected to a deeply unhinged story.
"Hiiragi, we need to talk. Can we head up to your room?"
◇
Hiiragi's room was a disaster zone.
It wasn't ordinary messiness, though; clothes and personal effects were strewn everywhere. It looked like she had been in the middle of packing for a long trip.
"Are you really taking time off from school?"
"Listen here, Suba... Hatsukade. You're in a girl's room, you know. Couldn't you at least act a little nervous?"
"Like I told you before, a room is a room. Besides, it's not the first time I've been in a girl's bedroom."
I'd spent plenty of time in my childhood friend's room, after all.
"...Ugh, no way."
"Anyway, answer my question."
"How do you even know I'm taking time off?"
"Amanatsu messaged me."
"...You two swapped contact info too?!"
Hiiragi clutched her head, accidentally dropping the clothes she had just neatly folded.
No good. With how emotionally unstable she is right now, nothing I say is going to get through.
"Why do you suddenly want to go traveling?"
"...It's kind of a 'I lost something precious and need time to find myself' thing."
"Is getting rejected really that devastating?"
"Wha—how do you know about that?!"
"Your parents told me a minute ago."
"Ugh, Mom and Dad! Why did they have to spill everything to Hatsukade of all people?!"
Collapsing onto the edge of her bed, Hiiragi muttered with a dark, downcast expression.
"It's true, though... Knowing I'll never be with the person I loved all this time, I just can't bring myself to bounce back. I don't want everyone seeing me like this and worrying about me. I just need time to get back on my feet."
"And how much time is that, exactly?"
"...A year."
The fact that she specifically stated a full year... does she want to hold herself back a grade so she won't share a class level with me and Amanatsu?
That way, she wouldn't have to see us day in and day out, and she could keep her peace of mind.
"That's way too short-sighted. Think it through. You're throwing away a precious year of your life over mere heartbreak."
"You could also look at it as getting an extra year of fun high school life."
"Channel that optimism into something else. Look, they say finding someone new is the best way to move past a broken heart."
"...You don't understand, Hatsukade. I truly, deeply loved him. But a reason came up where I simply have to give him up."
She means Amanatsu.
Hiiragi had publicly declared over and over that she was cheering for Amanatsu, so she probably felt it was too late to backpedal now.
Of course she chooses now to be uncharacteristically meek and accommodating.
The Hiiragi I knew was the type who did whatever she wanted, everyone else be damned.
"Could you please go home now? I've got a lot of packing to do."
With that, Hiiragi turned back to her luggage.
It was an impressive amount of baggage.
She was genuinely planning on staying away for the long haul.
"You really won't reconsider?"
"Yeah... Hatsukade, you came all this way because you were worried, right? Thank you. But from here on out, it's my own problem to deal with."
"...I see."
I rose to my feet and looked down at Hiiragi, who stubbornly kept her eyes averted.
"Hiiragi, for what it's worth, I think I understand the sting of heartbreak."
"...Huh?"
"So... I think I can sympathize with how you feel, at least a little."
"...Hatsukade."
"Well, see you around."
I turned and walked out of the room, heading straight down the stairs.
Before saying goodbye to her parents waiting in the living room, there was one question I needed to ask.
Looking at the couple sitting on the sofa with troubled faces, I spoke up.
"Aren't you worried about sending your precious daughter out on a journey all by herself?"
...Eh?
◇
The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual.
After pulling together a few necessities, I headed down to the living room.
It was an unspoken rule in our household that whenever the whole family was around, we ate meals together.
As I took my seat at the dining table, Mom greeted me with a warm smile.
"Good morning, Subaru. Breakfast is all ready."
"Good morning, Mom. Thank you as always. Good morning, Dad."
"Ah, good morning."
Dad briefly lifted his gaze from the book in his hands, eyeing me over the top of his glasses.
My father lectures at a university.
Whether a product of his profession or simply his natural disposition, he's a man of few words.
We all placed our hands together, said grace, and as I picked at my dried horse mackerel with my chopsticks, Dad spoke up with a stern look on his face.
"...Mika."
"Yes, Hiroshi-san, what is it?"
"This simmered dish... is quite good."
"Oh, wonderful! Eat up, okay?"
I nodded along in agreement.
"Mom, the rolled omelet is shaped beautifully today, and it tastes great too."
"You too, Subaru? You always say the sweetest things; it makes cooking so rewarding."
At that, Dad reached into his pocket with an impassive scowl and pulled out an expensive-looking box.
"You mentioned your hands were getting terribly chapped. I saw this hand cream had positive reviews online, so I bought it. Put it to use."
"Aww, thank you, Hiroshi-san!"
"Furthermore, I will handle the dishwashing for the foreseeable future."
"That would be a huge help."
Watching the usual affectionate banter between my parents, I finished off the last of my breakfast and brought up the subject at hand.
"Dad, Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about..."
Mom, sipping her tea, offered a pleasant smile, while Dad looked up from his book again to fix me with a sharp stare.
"What is it?"
"I'm thinking about taking some time off from school."
"For what reason?"
"...A variety of things."
If I told them the honest-to-goodness truth, the explanation would drag on forever, and it wasn't a topic I particularly relished discussing anyway. Better to keep it vague.
Dad's glare grew noticeably sharper.
Mom immediately chimed in.
"Even though you just had that run-in with the police not long ago, are you getting mixed up in something again? Is it the same girl? Or someone new? Subaru, ever since you looked after Miko-chan, you've never been able to leave someone in trouble alone."
"M-Mom."
"You take right after Hiroshi-san, you know. Even back when we were students, this man kept saying I was so reckless he couldn't take his eyes off me—"
"Ahem!"
Clearing his throat with deliberate force, Dad looked up from his book and pushed up the bridge of his glasses.
"Subaru."
"Yes."
"I trust you. I am confident you won't do anything foolish. However, withholding the reason entirely from your own parents is unacceptable."
"...I'm sorry."
"For how long?"
"I don't know yet."
"Which means there is a chance you may have to repeat a grade. You are not the one paying your tuition. Are you fully aware of the financial waste incurred if you are held back a year?"
"...Yes."
Dad's argument was indisputable.
As a minor under my parents' legal care, I was obligated to heed their rules.
Dad rose from the table and snapped his book shut.
"As long as you understand. With that in mind, if you are going to take time off, ensure that you spend it productively."
"Yes, sir."
Mom let out a startled gasp at my answer. "Wait, what?!"
"Hold on, wasn't that whole speech leading up to turning him down?!"
"What are you talking about, Mom? Dad never said anything of the sort."
"Wait, I'm the one who read the room wrong?!"
Dad offered Mom a faint, knowing smile.
"I told you at the very beginning, didn't I? I trust Subaru."
"...Haah. Honestly, I wish the two of you would just speak plainly with each other. Like father, like son, I swear..."
"You are simply slow on the uptake, Mika."
"I am most certainly not!"
"And Subaru, contact us immediately if anything happens. Traveling as a minor comes with many complications. Furthermore, do you have sufficient funds?"
"Yes, between my savings and stock investments, I have more than enough to cover my expenses for the time being."
"Very well. In that case, I shall wash the dishes and depart for work."
With that, Dad slipped a photo book of Saramy, the Bernese Mountain Dog currently making waves online, into his bag.
◇
Well then. With permission secured, it was time to handle business.
Shouldering the backpack I had prepared, I left the house behind.
I boarded a train from my usual local station and rode it all the way to my destination.
Passing through the ticket gates, I waited near the concourse, and right on cue, she appeared.
Staring at my face, her jaw dropped in utter astonishment, and her hand went limp, releasing the handle of her rolling suitcase.
"Yo. Ready to get going?"
I said to Hiiragi.