"W-Well now, the weather is lovely today! It’s an absolutely perfect day for visiting Yamamoto-kun’s place!"
Takeshita was the one who had suddenly turned talkative.
Because of the person who had offered a response so curt it barely qualified as a grunt, she looked anything but normal. Sweat was beaded on her forehead. Despite the rapid-fire speech, her lips were trembling slightly.
"No, none of that is necessary," Hayashi said coldly.
She was being blatantly unnatural.
However, I had one question: why was Hayashi in such a foul mood right now?
I didn't have a single clue.
...If that was the case.
Was it Kasahara? (I'm an idiot.)
If so, then it couldn't be helped. Cleaning up after an ex-girlfriend was surely one of the duties of an ex-boyfriend.
"Hayashi, don't be like that. She’s going out of her way to try and lighten the mood, you know?"
"Shut up, idiot."
"..."
I was shut down instantly. It was the kind of total dismissal that felt like she was delivering a full-power toe kick to my lifeless corpse.
"I-Is this the house where you two live together? I’ve been looking forward to this since this morning!"
"You know, I could hear your conversation in front of the door, right?"
I felt a phantom gust of cold wind whistle past us.
Well, if I thought about it for a second, I could have guessed that the reason Hayashi opened the door was because she heard our voices. Still, maybe Takeshita had thought the same thing and spoken anyway, praying that wasn't the case.
Even so...
I had anticipated an awkward atmosphere after entering the house, but I never imagined such a disastrous situation would unfold before we even stepped inside.
If things had come to this...
"Hayashi, I'm sorry for always being such a bother."
I took a firm step toward her.
"W-What...?"
Hayashi recoiled.
"No, standing here like this made me realize how useless I am. Really, I'm such a pathetic guy."
I signaled to Takeshita, who was standing behind me.
Notice. Say it.
That was the signal I intended to send. What was she supposed to say? Naturally, it was the advice I had drilled into her on the way here.
“If you run out of things to talk about, just badmouth me.”
I felt Takeshita catch on behind me.
"R-Really! Yamamoto-kun, you're just so useless!" Takeshita shouted.
"Could you stop talking bad about Yamamoto?"
The one who snapped with the most displeasure all day was Hayashi.
And then!
The atmosphere at the entrance became the chilliest it had been since we arrived. A heavy... heavy air began to flow. It was so thick it felt like my shoulders were going to lock up.
"Liar," Takeshita whispered.
"...Sorry."
I apologized to Takeshita. However, I couldn't help it; I never expected things to turn out like this. Everything is trial and error. I just had to use this failure as fuel for the next success.
...I couldn't possibly say that to the current Takeshita, so I decided to just put a bold face on it.
Hayashi glared up at me for a few moments, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Why don't you just come inside already?"
"Huh?" Takeshita let out a dumbfounded sound.
"What? You don't want to come in?"
"No... it's not like that."
"...Anyway, Yamamoto put you up to that, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"That's right."
"Don't you answer too."
Hayashi glared at me again.
"I don't care about that stuff, so just hurry up and get in. Standing here talking is a nuisance to the neighbors."
"Fair point."
"I-I'm coming in."
Finally, we entered the apartment. However, I was sure that deep down, Takeshita was currently freaking out, wondering exactly what kind of horrible treatment Hayashi was going to subject her to.
"Go sit over there."
Hayashi stood in the kitchen and gestured for us to go into the living room.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Just do it."
Her attitude brooked no argument. Left with no choice, we headed for the living room.
"...Why are you back so early anyway?" Hayashi asked from the kitchen.
"You're the one who told me to come home early, aren't you?"
"Just because I told you to come home early, why did you actually come home early?"
"...Sorry."
Takeshita, who was sitting primly on the opposite side of the table, looked at me with the eyes one reserved for a pitiable creature.
"He's totally whipped..." she muttered quietly.
"Oh, I forgot," Hayashi said.
"Eek...!"
She had a kitchen knife in her hand. What was she plotting with that? We both recoiled.
"...What?"
"No... nothing."
"Hey. You over there..." Hayashi didn't seem to notice our reaction. "What about your dinner?"
"Eh?"
"Dinner. ...Actually, what's your name?"
"Ah... I'm Takeshita."
"That's your surname."
"It's Nene..."
"Nene, huh. So, what about dinner?"
"Eh? U-Um..."
"Dinner. Do you live alone? Do you live around here?"
"I-I live alone. Dinner is... usually eaten alone and lonely. I've been a bit homesick lately. I've even gotten used to talking to the walls."
"I see."
Wait, that was a pretty light reaction. Was that the kind of story you just gloss over? Takeshita was laughing self-deprecatingly, you know. In the first place, can you even have a conversation with a wall?
"Then you should eat here today."
"Eh?"
Wait, what?
"...T-That's impossible. Someone like me shouldn't get in the way of the two of you."
"Huh? You're not in the way or anything."
"...Eh."
"I mean, you're Yamamoto's friend, aren't you?"
"..."
"I can't exactly fail to show hospitality to Yamamoto's friend, can I?"
"What are you, his mom?"
As I made the retort, things clicked. Of course—the meddlesome Hayashi would definitely do something like this.
"...Is it really okay?"
"Huh?"
"For someone like me to be treated to hospitality."
"What are you even talking about?" Hayashi gave a broad, genuine grin. "It's only natural."
"..."
"?"
"Waaaaah...!"
She started crying.
"Hey, Yamamoto. Isn't this girl's emotional volatility a bit much?"
"I already pointed that out earlier."
"Ah, right."
Hayashi put the knife down in the kitchen and began to comfort Takeshita.
I know I absolutely shouldn't say this, but I'm going to say it anyway.
This girl is so high-maintenance!