/
The Goddess’ Desire
Yuki says it’s Kaho I like.
That’s true.
But then Mikoto-san turned her head.
“But Sakurai-san also likes Akihara-kun, right 
? Is it okay for you if
 Akihara-kun and Sasaki-san are dating?”
Before she could finish, Yuki glared sharply at Mikoto-san.
“If you think I like Aki-kun, then that, too, is a misunderstanding.”
“Because yesterday
”
Yuki’s words yesterday, in Mikoto-san’s eyes, could only be thought of as her liking for me, apparently.
So for once, I don’t think it’s just assumptions.
“What I want is for Kaho to be next to Aki-kun.”
I interrupted.
“Why are you so obsessed with my relationship with Kaho?”
“I’ve always wanted to be a childhood friend like Aki-kun and Kaho. Someone who has been with me since I was little and understands everything about me. I wish I had someone like that.”
Yuki stood up and flapped the hem of her skirt.
Seeing her, I thought again, but Yuki is really small.
She is much smaller than me, Mikoto-san and Kaho.
Yuki smiled sadly.
“But I don’t have any childhood friends.”
“When you were in elementary school, you kept changing schools, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I’m not in love with Aki-kun, I’m in love with the relationship between Aki-kun and Kaho.”
Yuki said in a quiet voice.
I didn’t know if that was Yuki’s true intention or not.
We remained silent for a while.
I think the first period class had already started a long time ago.
It was Mikoto-san who broke the silence.
“Unlike you, Sakurai-san, I don’t lie about my feelings.”
“Eh?”
“Akihara-kun told me that I could do whatever I wanted with my relationship with him. So 
 I want to be 
 Akihara-kun’s lover.”
Then, Mikoto-san made a startled face.
I and Yuki also looked at Mikoto-san with astonished expressions on our faces.
What did Mikoto-san just say?
If I heard her correctly, she said she wanted to be my girlfriend.
Mikoto-san looked shocked, and then her cheeks turned bright red.
She must have been very embarrassed.
But Mikoto-san did not look away from Yuki and me, and continued.
“No, that was a misstatement. I’m pretending to be Akihara-kun’s girlfriend because I want to. It is not to give Akihara-kun to Sasaki-san, that’s for sure.”