On Thursday, I sent a reply to Amanatsu, something that had practically become part of my daily routine.
To my surprise, she had mentioned coming out to hang around where Sakura was.
On the surface, that was her excuse, but deep down, she was probably trying to sniff out whether I was there too.
"Do whatever you want. Just so you know, though, a typhoon is hitting starting tomorrow."
Besides, by the time the storm passed, I wouldn't even be here anymore.
Once I got back to my family's house, sending a photo proving I was in my room would leave Amanatsu no choice but to accept it.
Having Amanatsu come all the way out here would only complicate things.
This was a peaceful resolution.
Having finished messaging her before work, I got straight to my duties alongside Toshiie-san.
Just as I'd been warned beforehand, every single task was heavy manual labor.
Hauling up the boats, stowing away the benches and gear outside Blue Note—by the time we finished, the sun had already gone down.
During the work, I called out to Sakura several times, but she seemed somewhere far away, offering only absentminded, noncommittal replies.
She had been acting like that ever since last night.
Trading sparse words like that, we finally wrapped up the last of the chores.
Toshiie-san slapped me on the back with a broad grin.
"Phew, you were a massive help! It was only for a short time, but seriously, thank you."
"Same here. I can't thank you enough for taking me in so suddenly for a live-in gig."
"You looked after Shizuka and Fujimaru every day too, so as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome anytime, Subaru. Oh, and about your pay—I'm throwing in Friday's daily wage as well."
"Wait, I'm not working on Friday, though."
"Just take it as a bonus for working so hard."
If he put it that way, I had no reason to refuse.
I expressed my gratitude and gratefully accepted the money.
"I had a lot of fun helping out at Blue Note, too."
I got to eat delicious seafood, and I learned just how enjoyable diving in the ocean could be.
Above all, meeting Fujimaru-kun was nothing short of wonderful.
"Come back whenever you like. Well, as sad as it is, you'd better head home early. It'll be dark soon, and the trains might be suspended tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll take Sakura and head back."
"I'm counting on you."
So this is really the end, huh...?
Well, it wasn't like this was a final farewell.
It was close enough that I could visit anytime, and maybe I'd come back to hang out someday.
To coordinate our departure time, I went to check in with Sakura, but she wasn't in the lobby.
That was strange; she had been here just a moment ago.
Was she packing her bags up in her room first?
I had already finished most of my preparations last night, so once I changed clothes, I could leave at a moment's notice.
I sent Sakura a message and rested in my room while waiting for a reply.
However, the message wasn't even marked as read, and there was no sign of a response.
I had a bad feeling about this.
If I took my time, I'd end up arriving back home late, so I headed over to her room.
I gave the door a light knock.
"...What is it?"
I heard her voice through the door.
"We should be heading home soon. Aren't you done packing yet?"
"...I don't want to go back."
The reply came just as I'd anticipated.
Sakura's behavior over the past few days had been so unstable that I had, to some degree, braced myself for this possibility.
So I wasn't particularly surprised... but where we were supposed to go from here was something even I didn't know.
"Can I come in?"
"...Yeah."
Opening the door, I saw Sakura sitting with her back turned toward me.
Glancing around the room, I spotted a suitcase that had been abandoned halfway through being packed.
It seemed she hadn't been entirely devoid of the intention to go home.
"That's not what we agreed on. If you do this, there was no point in me becoming your boyfriend."
"I'll keep that promise. I just want to stay here until the weekend. Hatsukade, you should go home before the typhoon hits. I'll still go to school."
"The words of someone who's already broken a promise aren't worth trusting."
"..."
"Sakura, look at me and say it properly."
However, she didn't show the slightest sign of turning around.
She stubbornly refused to face me.
Why does it always end up like this?
It was always the same. Whenever I got deeply involved with someone, nothing ever went the way it was supposed to.
"I'm sorry. I really don't think I can stay by your side, Hatsukade."
"Why?"
"...I didn't mean to lie. But spending time with you, even though I intended to give up on you, I just keep falling for you more and more... There's no way I can handle this..."
Looking at her slender, trembling back, I scratched my head.
What was I supposed to do from here...?
The moment I thought that, it hit me.
Maybe the reason I was so bad with romance was that there was no clear, correct answer.
Back with Amanatsu and Shinonome, it was much simpler.
They had done something wrong with the fake confession incident, so by forgiving them while they were tormented by guilt, I was able to help them move forward.
Anyone can make a mistake.
That was precisely why I believed what mattered most was what came after.
But what about Sakura's case?
Because of the memory of being saved by me in the past, she had developed a desire to help and support others, and out of a spirit of self-sacrifice, she chose friendship over her own love life.
Could that truly be called a mistake?
And why was I even agonizing over something like this?
I hadn't intended to get involved with anyone during high school in the first place.
The reason I didn't care what people around me said or what they did to me was that I had zero interest in the people at school.
Precisely because I stood in a different place from the rest of them, I was able to deal with things indifferently, treating them as none of my business.
Looking back, it had been the same when Amanatsu practically confessed her real feelings to me on the rooftop.
By looking away from the emotion of being liked, I had managed to keep myself from feeling stressed.
...It was no use. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find the right answer.
Yet, that was precisely why what I needed to do remained unchanged.
I sat down, pressing my back against Sakura's.
"I'm staying too."
"Huh?"
"Your parents asked me to look after you, so I have a responsibility to supervise. Besides, our deal to be boyfriend and girlfriend lasts for a week, right? Until then, I'm staying right by your side, Sakura."
"...Ngh..."
If I couldn't find an answer...
Then we could just think about it together until we found one. That was all there was to it.
And despite being in such a terrible situation...
I wondered why the warmth of her back felt so strangely comforting.