At my words, Shinonome froze dead in her tracks.
"Hatsukadeee, what did you just say?"
"I like you too, Shinonome."
With a crisp snap, the octopus cracker in her left hand shattered into crumbs...
The shopkeeper had grilled it so nicely into a perfect, neat disk, too. What a total waste.
Looking up at me, the petite Shinonome fidgeted self-consciously.
"Ugh, I know you don't mean 'like' in that way, but hearing you say it right to my face is..."
"Is something wrong with that?"
"It's just, well, a little embarrassing."
"I see."
I wasn't embarrassed at all, though.
To me, the feeling was pretty similar to simply stating that you hate something you dislike.
Shinonome had gone out of her way to share her feelings with me, so I figured I would be honest in return, but apparently that didn't go over well.
Taking a sip of her ramune, Shinonome sat down and muttered under her breath.
"Still, compared to how things were at the start, I wonder if this counts as making a little progress?"
Given how terrible our initial encounter had been, I was surprised myself to harbor these kinds of feelings.
I think the biggest factor was seeing Shinonome reflect on what she did wrong and take genuine steps to move forward.
Because that was the other path—the one Miko and I had never chosen.
"Mmph."
Nakina puffed out one of her cheeks and glared at me.
As for Sakura, while she wore a smile, her brow twitched erratically, and the veins faintly bulged against her raised fist.
"Oh my? Last I checked, Subaru is still technically my boyfriend. I really don't think you should be telling another girl you like her before the ink on our deal is even dry, though."
"Just like Shinonome said, it's not in a romantic sense. Or are you the controlling type who forces her boyfriend to delete every other girl's contact info, Sakura?"
"N-No, that's not what I mean at all..."
"Then there's no problem, right?"
"Guh!"
Honestly, all of you throw around words like "like" at me constantly, so why do you get mad whenever I say it back?
On the other hand, if I don't say anything, you start brooding on your own, which is an even bigger pain.
It was completely unreasonable.
"I've been listening to you this whole time, and it's unfair how only Sakura gets to act like your girlfriend!"
"Huh, Nakina, what's gotten into you?!"
"If that's allowed, then I want to be Hatsukade-kun's one-week girlfriend too!"
"Yeah, that's right! Sakura isn't allowed to steal a march on us!"
"Shii-chan, you too?!"
"If it's come to this, Nakina, let's join forces. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is the only way we can beat Sakura!"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Help me, Subaru!"
Good grief. I'd somehow managed to attract the clingy affection of a truly troublesome bunch.
Yet strangely enough, I didn't find it unpleasant.
Watching their silly bickering... I felt my lips curl into a faint smile.
◇
The train on the way back was nearly empty.
Bathed in the orange glow of the sunset pouring through the train window, I watched the townscape where I had spent the past week recede into the distance.
Shinonome and Amanatsu had selfishly insisted that they had only just arrived and didn't want to go home yet, so I had ended up humoring them until this late hour.
Worn out from all the fun, Sakura wore a satisfied smile as she slept, hugging an uncomfortable-looking Shinonome who was dozing right along with her.
"How was this past week?"
Nakina, sitting next to me, murmured softly.
Asked how it was, I wasn't quite sure how to answer.
What immediately came to mind was just a string of memories about how exhausting it had all been.
Worrying over how to convince Sakura to return to high school, the heavy physical labor of helping out at Blue Note, and how terrified I had been on the day of the typhoon.
If I tried to list them all, there would be no end to it.
Even so, looking at the scenery reflected in the glass left a strange, hollow ache in my chest.
"A lot happened, but it was fun."
In the end, taking everything into account, I suppose that was what it boiled down to.
"You've changed a bit, Hatsukade-kun."
"In what way?"
"Just being able to honestly say it was fun, for one. The old Hatsukade-kun would have sat in the corner of the classroom acting like none of it had anything to do with you. Saying it was fun to be with Sakura, who caused you so much trouble, came as a surprise... At first, you only ever talked to me, but now it feels like you're heading toward somewhere far away, somewhere I don't know."
Nakina's tone felt as if it were cast out toward some distant horizon rather than spoken to me, tinged with a clinging loneliness.
Sakura had regained her cheerfulness after that typhoon incident.
Shinonome, too, had somehow managed to turn a new leaf.
Yet, in fleeting moments, Nakina Amanatsu was the only one whose expression still clouded over.
"Is that a bad change in your eyes, Nakina?"
"It's not that, but... my feelings are just complicated."
"...Still, if you think I've changed, it's all your fault, you know."
"Huh?"
"You're the one who created the opportunity for me to get involved with Sakura and Shinonome in the first place. If I hadn't felt anything toward you even before that fake confession, I definitely wouldn't be here right now. You're the one who changed me. So, forgive me."
"...!"
"And also..."
I started to speak the words that followed, but caught myself.
It felt like the current me didn't have the right to say them.
Instead, I offered a different sentiment.
"The fact that I was able to experience this kind of fun is unquestionably thanks to you, Nakina. Thank you."
"H-Hatsukade-kun..."
Seeing her flustered and embarrassed, I almost reached out to pat her head—before catching myself. Right, doing that probably wasn't a great idea.
Instead, as she covered her burning face with both hands and peeked at me through the gaps in her fingers, I simply gave her a wry grin.
"Ah... ah..."
"I'm counting on you from here on, too."
"Y-Yeah. I'll message you once I get home."
"I'll send you some photos of our memories from this week."
"...My heart..."
Well, I wondered what kind of high school life awaited me starting tomorrow.
Most likely, the atmosphere was going to change completely.
And then... was I truly fine leaving things as they were?
The words I had almost said to Nakina just now pierced right through me, too.
Perhaps the time had finally come for me to face her once again.