Once the day's lectures were over, I headed home.
Usually, I’d be alone, swaying with the train while leisurely listening to music, but unfortunately, I had a certain girl in tow today.
"……U-Um, Yamamoto-san? Do I really have to go, too?"
The person currently looking up at me with a frightened expression was the girl named Takeshita. She was a classmate of mine from the same department at the university.
Why were we on the train together? And why did she look so terrified? To an outsider, it probably looked like a crime in progress.
"Sorry," I said.
"……I'm not ready to die yet."
Forget looking like a crime—we were practically at the scene. As I looked at her teary eyes, I tried to keep a straight face while searching for something to say. I didn't exactly have a repertoire of comfort for girls on the verge of a breakdown.
"I’m sorry. But I have to look out for my own skin here."
Unable to defy my superior, I was playing the part of an accomplice. I felt exactly like some low-level yakuza henchman.
We were heading to my place. Ordinarily, a single-room apartment isn't the kind of place you bring a girl you've essentially just met, but my roommate had insisted this morning that I absolutely bring her home today. That was the only reason this was happening.
"If you really hate it that much, you can run for it, you know?" I offered, just in case.
"No, it's fine. To begin with, it’s my fault for forcing you to tutor me."
"That's……"
Well, she wasn't entirely wrong. I found myself at a loss for words.
"W-Well, I don't think she'll actually get violent, so you can relax."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But she looked so scary……"
"On the outside, maybe. On the inside……"
She had been quiet lately, but back in our high school days, she was truly terrible. While she didn't use violence, she was the type to thoroughly ostracize anyone she took a dislike to—and she had hated my guts.
I couldn't exactly tell Takeshita that, though. It would be too cruel to make her any more anxious than she already was.
"There’s nothing for it. Let's aim to get on Hayashi's good side," I suggested.
"Her good side……?"
"Exactly."
"How? Should I bring her sweets or something?"
"She's dieting right now."
"You even know things like that?"
"We're roommates. It's only natural, right?"
Takeshita fell into an awkward silence, but I ignored it and focused on a strategy for appeasing Hayashi.
"What kind of things do girls like to hear?"
I thought about it, but I couldn't come up with a single answer.
"Hey, what do you usually enjoy talking about?"
"Eh……?"
Takeshita hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Badmouthing people I hate……?"
"What a rotten-to-the-core answer."
"S-Shut up!"
Still, badmouthing people she hated, huh? Thinking back, whenever Hayashi talked trash about me in high school, she always seemed to be in a great mood.
Perfect.
"Takeshita. If you run out of things to say, just talk trash about me."
"Huh?"
"She'll love it."
"……Even though you're her roommate?"
"Yeah."
"If that's the kind of relationship you have, why are you two even living together?"
"There are unavoidable circumstances," I said with total seriousness, but Takeshita just narrowed her eyes at me.
"Fine, I get it. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good."
As we talked, the train arrived at the nearest station. we got off and walked toward the apartment.
There was no conversation during the walk. We weren't on those kinds of terms, and for two people with few (or zero) friends, reading the atmosphere to strike up a chat was asking the impossible.
However, Takeshita's pace grew heavier with every step. It was clear she was hesitating to come to my place.
"We're here."
Ruthlessly, we arrived at the apartment without any further delays.
"……Hey, Yamamoto-kun?"
"What?"
"Can I just go home?"
"After coming all this way?"
It was a bit late to be getting cold feet.
"You should have said that sooner."
"……But……"
"It's fine."
"Eh?"
"I'm the one who made it hard for you to say no. If anything, I'm sorry. If you don't want to be here, I won't force you. I'll figure things out on my end. So, you can head home."
Takeshita’s eyes went wide. "Yamamoto-kun……"
"You look like you're about to cry."
She really must have hated the idea. But I couldn't blame her; Hayashi was intimidating.
"If I go home, aren't you going to get thrashed?"
"Whether I do or don't isn't your problem, is it?"
"……Is it really okay?"
"Which is it? You're already here."
She was the same way when I met her this morning—completely indecisive.
"Takeshita. Do you want to go home, or don't you? Don't give me 'buts' or 'howevers.' Just do what you want to do. It doesn't mean anything unless you decide for yourself."
Takeshita looked down and remained silent for a long moment.
"I'm sorry."
She apologized and turned on her heel.
"Yeah. Sorry about all this. Get home safe."
"Right……!"
At the very least, Takeshita was safe for now. I told myself that was good enough.
Or so I thought.
"What are you doing in front of the door?"
The apartment door swung open, and Hayashi stepped out.
Worst possible timing.
Like a set of rusted gears creaking into motion, Takeshita slowly turned back toward Hayashi. I had finally managed to let her go, but because she had been so indecisive, she had missed her window.
"G-Good to see you again since this morning."
"Hmph."
Hayashi didn't even look at her as she let out a dismissive grunt and turned her gaze away.