"Hey, Megu. What’s your signature dish?"
"My signature? Let me see... simmered pumpkin."
"Oh, really? By the way, do you remember my favorite?"
"Tsukudani."
"Bingo. You’ll have to feed me some next time. Say 'ahhh'."
I trailed behind them as we headed to the supermarket to get food for lunch, listening to their conversation. From one perspective, I looked like their stalker. From any other perspective, I was definitely a stalker. I was totally screwed.
Setting aside my precarious legal standing for a moment, their conversation had been making me uneasy ever since we were back in my room. It was just... risky. Could you two please stop flirting with each other?
Normally, you’d expect Hayashi to turn down a request like that. They were best friends, sure, but they weren't lovers. If I saw two people who weren't in a relationship feeding each other, it would weird me out.
"All right," Hayashi said.
It weirded me out. I was officially weirded out, you two.
What was the deal? Was it normal for girls to feed each other these days? What even counted as normal anymore? It was terrifying.
Besides, their favorite foods were way too old-fashioned.
"By the way, Yamamoto’s favorite is beef tongue," Hayashi added.
"Huh. How traditional," Kasahara remarked.
"I don't want to hear that from you two," I cut in.
I finally joined the conversation with an exasperated look, but they just looked at each other as if they didn't even understand why I was annoyed.
"Akari, your face is a little red."
"It’s just your imagination."
"Do you have a fever? This is bad. Should we go back to your place?"
"No way! I absolutely refuse!"
What was with these two? Beyond just being best friends, they were so close it almost made me suspicious of their relationship.
"Aren't you two getting a bit too carried away just because you finally reunited?"
"Is that true?"
"I don't think so."
"Then we aren't."
Hayashi, flatly denying it at Kasahara’s prompting, looked terribly comical and unlike her usual self. The way she casually wore a smug expression made it even worse. Looking at her determined face, I almost fell into the illusion that they really weren't just being swept up in the moment.
"...Well, whatever. As long as you're having fun."
Back in high school, I had no way of noticing that their sense of boundaries was completely broken. Even if I had known back then, or finding out now, my relationship with them probably wouldn't have changed. That was why I said what I did.
"You're very tolerant, Yamamoto-kun. I might just fall for you all over again," Kasahara said playfully.
"Don't say things you don't mean. I might get the wrong idea."
"Ehh, maybe it’s not the wrong idea?"
I looked away from Kasahara, trying to make sure she didn't realize my heart was racing for no reason. She had always disturbed my peace of mind with comments like that. Well, it wasn't that I hated it. If I had, I never would have exchanged contact information with her.
"Speaking of which, you two go to the same university, right?"
My heart skipped a beat. I fell silent at Hayashi’s unusually sharp intuition.
"Ah, that's right."
"Do you ever run into each other on campus?"
"Now that you mention it, we didn't at all until summer vacation. Right?"
"Yeah."
Our majors were different, so there were fewer chances to meet, but if you were to ask if the number of times I'd spotted her while walking across the vast campus was zero, that wasn't the case at all.
It was just that I had intentionally avoided greeting her.
As for the reason... well, I’d rather not talk about it if I could help it.
"...Hmm. I see."
If it were the Hayashi from high school, she would have poked her nose in and stirred things up because it sounded like an interesting story, but she didn't do that this time. I was grateful for her consideration.
It had been several weeks since Hayashi started living at my place. I had met her at the beginning of summer vacation, and now that long break was about to end. After spending that much time together, I thought Hayashi and I had hit it off quite well.
However, as expected, the two walking ahead of me had a much longer history. From inside jokes to suggestive remarks, they continued their intimate, cheerful conversation as if to make up for the six months they had been apart. There wasn't a sliver of space for me to jump in. Still, rather than clumsily intervening and ruining the mood, it was easier to just watch in silence.
"Hey, hey, since we're here, why don't we have a takoyaki party for lunch?"
Kasahara made the suggestion the moment we arrived at the supermarket.
A takoyaki party. In short, it was the kind of thing extroverts did to "bond" while they ate. I didn't get it. These two were already bonded enough as it was, so why bother with something that involved so much tedious cleanup? Besides, if you're going to call it a "party," do something more extravagant. Don't act like a party is just a bunch of octopus balls on a plate.
"That sounds good. What do you think, Yamamoto?"
"Eh?"
Since I was currently surrounded only by the takoyaki party faction, the result of a majority vote was obvious.
"...We don't have a takoyaki maker at my place, though."
Since I had a legitimate reason to refuse, I spoke up.
"Ah, I'm not really in the mood to buy the equipment. Let's forget it, then," Hayashi said.
"Oh, then I'll go grab mine from my place. It's close by."
"Then let's stop by after we buy the ingredients."
"Ah, good idea! ...Actually, why don't we just do it at my place?"
"That's it."
"No, what is 'it'?" I couldn't help but retort.
"What's wrong?"
"...No, as you'd expect, it's probably a bad idea. Inviting a guy into your room."
"...You think so?"
"...Do you often let guys in?"
"What do you think?"
I fell silent. She was a beautiful girl. It was hard to believe she’d spent six months living alone at university without making any close male friends. In any case, the fact that she owned a takoyaki maker was proof enough that she invited people over.
I went quiet mostly because I realized I looked a bit creepy, interrogating her like that.
"...Hehe."
Kasahara smiled enchantingly.
"I don't. The only ones I let in are my female friends."
"...I see."
I'd been teased again. Why was it that, even though I had just been judging myself for being creepy, I felt relieved to hear her say that?
"Let's just finish the shopping quickly," I suggested, feeling terribly exhausted.
"You're right. So, the party is at my place, okay?"
"Do whatever you want."
I picked up a shopping basket and stepped into the supermarket.