Miko tried to pull her arm away, but I tightened my grip, refusing to let her go.
"W-What's this all of a sudden?"
"I don't want our relationship to end on a farce of a confession like that."
We had spent so much of our lives together.
I couldn't accept that the final chapter of those days would be written by a petty, fake confession.
That was why I had to say it.
Every single feeling that had continued to smolder in my chest...
"Maybe you're right. I think I was just looking for an excuse to forgive you. When things didn't go the way I wanted, I lashed out and cornered the rest of our classmates. All I really wanted was to stay by your side... But because it was you, and no one else, I couldn't forgive the betrayal."
Watching her bewildered expression, I pushed forward.
"You were my entire life, Miko. You were always so clumsy, and I genuinely believed my purpose was to support you. So when you told me in middle school that you didn't need me walking you home anymore, I was honestly furious. I thought, That can't be right. I threw a tantrum convinced that you needed me... That was how much I loved you."
Putting it all into words like this made me burn with embarrassment at my own patheticness.
Still, if I was going to lay everything bare, this was how it had to be.
Polite platitudes would never get my feelings across.
"I genuinely had naive dreams of marrying you someday, building a happy family, and maybe even getting you to like dogs so we could raise one together."
I stared at Miko as her face twisted and she bit her lip.
"So let me hear your true feelings now. Not words scripted by someone else for a fake confession, but how you actually felt about me back then. Tell me in your own words."
"I... I..."
Choked up, Miko fell silent.
I folded both of my hands over her left one.
"How long are you going to keep brooding? I've said my piece. Please, just tell me. There's no way our final memory together should be something like that."
If Miko was trapped in that moment just like I was, I wanted to save her.
To do that, we had no choice but to lay everything out in the open.
Please, just say it...
"I loved you too, Subaru...! I thought we'd be together until we died, and I never once imagined we'd be torn apart!"
Unable to hold it back any longer, tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her voice broke into ragged sobs.
"Just having you beside me made me happy. But... I ended up hurting the person who mattered to me most...!"
Miko's loud weeping echoed through the quiet park.
I gently drew her head to my chest, cradling her.
"It's about time you forgave yourself."
"No... B-Because even after we drifted apart, I kept hurting you the entire time. I know I did."
"...You might be right about that. After everything happened, I distanced myself from people even more, and I swore I'd never fall in love like a foolish kid again... But, you know."
Just like the old days, I stroked her soft hair.
"I've changed my mind now."
"...Huh?"
"The truth is, I met a girl I've come to care about. She isn't just anyone; she's someone I can cherish, just like I cherished you."
She slowly lifted her face from my chest, and our eyes met.
"As I spent more time with her, I started thinking that romance and things like that might not be so bad after all. And then—strange as it felt even to me—my regrets and resentment toward you naturally began to fade."
"...Are you two getting along well?"
"Yeah. And I can say this with absolute confidence: even without you, Miko, I'm living a happy life."
The moment those words left my mouth, heavy tears spilled over and fell in drops from Miko's eyes.
"Ugh... hic... Thank goodness..."
Crying harder than she ever had before, her voice trembled on a high, strained note.
"I... I was so terrified I was still hurting you even now. I was so worried about what became of you after that... and with you suffering, I believed I had no right to be forgiven..."
"You don't need to carry the guilt for what you did to me anymore. The truth is... I want you to be happy too, Miko."
"...sob... hic..."
"Let's put an end to what happened that day and start over from here, the two of us. Look forward. You're going to be a big sister soon, aren't you?"
Burying her face back into my chest, Miko sobbed uncontrollably.
"I'm so sorry for everything, Subaru."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry for that fake confession. I'm sorry I betrayed you."
"It's okay."
"I wanted to apologize the entire time! But every time I thought about it, I felt like I was just taking advantage of your kindness to ease my own conscience, and I couldn't bring myself to say it...!"
"I forgive you for all of it. Let's make up. After all, we're childhood friends, aren't we?"
"Waaaaah!"
Miko cried and cried.
I held her in silence, supporting her weight, and stayed just like that until her tears finally ran dry.