After the takoyaki party wrapped up, we hung out in Kasahara’s room for a while, chatting. Well, most of the talking was done by Hayashi and Kasahara; I was relegated to the background—mostly just a listener or a target for their teasing. I certainly wasn't given any glamorous role in the conversation.
Perhaps because she was so genuinely happy to be reunited with Hayashi, Kasahara was beaming, looking even more cheerful than the girl I remembered from our high school days.
The small talk stretched on for quite some time.
I have very few opportunities to visit a girl’s room like this. So, despite myself, I was surprisingly nervous at first. However, both Hayashi and Kasahara paid me so little mind that before I knew it, a heavy wave of drowsiness washed over me.
"Yamamoto."
"Ngh."
I realized I’d been dozing off right there in Kasahara’s room.
When I opened my eyes, Hayashi was staring at me with a look of utter exasperation, while Kasahara was giggling.
"It’s about time we headed home," Hayashi said.
"Eh? ...Oh, right."
I’d let Kasahara see me at my worst. My face burned. For some reason, I wanted to be here even less now than I had before entering the room. I tried to haul my sluggish, sleep-heavy body upright.
"Oh, wait a second."
Kasahara noticed something and stopped me.
She plucked a few tissues from a box and pressed them against my cheek.
"...You’re drooling."
"...My apologies."
As Kasahara wiped my face, I felt a blush creep up that was likely visible to everyone in the room. I wanted to hide my face immediately, to keep it from being exposed to them any longer. But I couldn't move—not until she was done wiping. It was only a split second, yet for some reason, time felt like it had slowed to a crawl.
"There. All better."
"...Thanks."
I stood up. My half-asleep body was now wide awake, the fog entirely cleared by the embarrassment.
Suddenly, I felt the gaze of the girl waiting beside me. It was so intense it was almost painful.
"Sorry for making you wait."
I was definitely the one in the wrong this time, so I offered Hayashi a sincere apology.
"...I wasn't waiting. Not for this much."
"...Oh. Okay."
An awkward atmosphere seemed to settle between us.
"We’re leaving."
"Yeah."
Hayashi suddenly grabbed my wrist and started walking briskly.
"There’s a bargain sale at the usual supermarket. Come with me."
"Are you an Okan?"
Learning the reason for her sudden haste, I let out an exasperated sigh.
"Listen, you can get a carton of eggs for a steal! Limit one per customer. You’d be crazy not to hurry."
"Like I said: Okan."
"Oh, hush. Anyway, let’s go. See you later, Akari."
"Yeah. See you! Bye, Megu, and Yamamoto-kun."
Our farewells were brief—well, I didn't even get the chance to say mine before we finally left Kasahara’s house. Following after a flustered Hayashi, we hurried to the supermarket nearest to our apartment. We managed to successfully secure two cartons of the eggs in question.
"Small victories, right?"
"Yeah. Aside from the fact that I’m groggy from having to sprint right after waking up, it’s a perfect result."
"Then it’s a perfect result, period."
"Stop casually making comments that show zero concern for my well-being."
On the way back from the supermarket, we walked side by side.
It was twilight. Summer vacation was almost over, but it was still sweltering and humid outside.
When Hayashi first came to my room, she often wore sweatpants or long sleeves to hide the bruises on her body. Recently, however, the marks had faded, and she had started wearing more breathable short sleeves. The bandage she had kept wrapped around her wrist had come off last week as well. The painful wounds she’d received from that man who was now in police custody were finally beginning to mend.
"...Hey, I was just thinking. Wouldn't it have been better if you stayed at Kasahara’s place?"
Seeing Hayashi regain her former daily life made the thought occur to me.
Kasahara lived only two stations away from our apartment. Compared to our hometown, it was a very short distance—close enough that Hayashi could stay over comfortably whenever she wanted.
"In the first place, wouldn't it be better if you lived with Kasahara instead of me?"
And above all, rather than sharing a life with someone like me, wouldn't Hayashi be able to sleep more peacefully at night if she were staying with a close friend like Kasahara? Of course, I had no intention of harming her, but I couldn't be sure if I appeared truly harmless from her perspective.
"Hey, are you trying to make me mad?"
"No matter how you slice what I just said, how does it lead to me wanting to make you mad?"
"...I’ll tell you one thing. The kind of person I hate the most is a heartless one."
A heartless person.
I see. That made sense. Back in high school, whenever I’d made irresponsible remarks, Hayashi often looked indignant or snapped at me. In short, she never showed me a shred of respect.
Sincere, polite, and devoted.
For the girl others called The Queen, it was a somewhat low bar to expect from those around her, but it was consistent with her character.
I think I understood why she was angry now.
In other words, she wanted to say, "Don't lump me in with heartless people." That must have been it.
"...I owe you a debt of gratitude I could never repay, no matter what I do. So, staying by your side and looking after you is my natural duty."
My back felt a bit itchy at the sentiment.
"E-Even though you were trying to move out just the other day? You’re quite fickle."
"...Because I thought that from your perspective, you’d want someone like me to leave as soon as possible. But you said it, didn't you?"
"Said what?"
"...That you didn't mind it."
I hadn't forgotten that.
It was what I’d told her on the day she realized she couldn't rent an apartment due to her circumstances. The words were blunt, but in reality, a guy with a twisted personality like mine had loaded that sentence with a lot of unspoken weight.
One of those meanings was certainly... that I wanted to continue living with Hayashi. I’d had that feeling, too.
Apparently, Hayashi had picked up on it.
I was honestly surprised. Not just because she had grasped the intent behind my words, but because Hayashi didn't seem to doubt for a single second that I wanted to keep living with her. Normally, a person would worry they were being self-conscious, or assume the other person didn't actually feel that way.
And yet, she...
My face felt hot again. Was it because I’d just woken up and my nerves were more sensitive than usual? Probably not. If so, then why...?
"What’s for dinner tonight?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Tenshinhan."
"I’m looking forward to it."
After that short exchange, we headed home. We didn't speak much after that. The distance from the supermarket to our apartment was about five hundred meters. With the traffic lights, it was roughly a five-minute walk.
During those five minutes, we barely spoke a word.
And yet, the silence didn't feel awkward at all.
When I first started sheltering Hayashi in my room, those quiet stretches were agonizing. "Say something," I would often think to her.
But now, even this silence felt comfortable.
In the distance, a crow cawed.
Passing a park, the boisterous voices of children echoed in the evening air.
"Hey, Yamamoto?" Hayashi spoke up.
"Do you like Akari?"