Akari walked away, and there was a moment of silence.
Perhaps Nanami was thinking about what she did a while ago, and she seems to be having trouble deciding if she should cut to the chase first.
… Because of me, Nanami did this.
“Nanami…”
When I called, she reacted with a jolt.
“I’m sorry Nanami. Because of me, things went so far, and I gave you such a hard time.”
When she heard my words, she looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.
“… Why?”
“Why you?”
“Why aren’t you blaming me? I tricked… you and even did this… Why are you apologizing?”
She came close to me.
“The blame is all on me.” That’s what she seems to be implying.
“… True, it might be your fault for what happened earlier. But the reason why you did that was because of me. If I had been clearer, this would not have happened.”
“That was…”
“You told me, right? The reason you suggested pretending to go out with me was that you want me to look at you too. I don’t think there was anything wrong with that. It may sound strange coming from someone who was confessed to, but I understand your feelings, Nanami. What’s wrong is that I didn’t notice it. I was thinking of being open with you after the confession, but I couldn’t get Akari out of my mind until the end.”
I believe Nanami was just in a hurry.
I never answered her confession and she didn’t mean to attack me like this.
I couldn’t blame her for this.
“I’m sorry…”
*Drips*. Nanami murmured.
I couldn’t believe that the always cheerful Nanami could be this weak. As if I was looking at a different person.
“I knew I shouldn’t have done that. I knew it was wrong. But when I thought that Yusuke was going to be taken by another girl… Akari, I can’t…”
Nanami let out a cry.
“I’m sorry, too. I guess we’re even now.”
As I said this, Nanami came closer and hugged me but… yeah, I’ll let her do what she wants for now.
“You know Nanami. You are very important to me.”
When both of us had calmed down a bit, I tried to be honest with her about my feelings.
“We’ve been together since we were kids, and for me, Nanami is like… an inseparable part of my life.”
I continued to speak with Nanami, who kept her head down.
“When you confessed, I was honestly happy. But I didn’t know if my feelings for you were as a childhood friend or a woman.”
“…hm”
“But… my half-hearted decision hurt you badly. So it is I who should apologize. I’m sorry, Nanami.”
Even if what she did was wrong, it was all because of me.
“So, in answer to your confession, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can respond to your feelings right now. I like you, but in the end, I still don’t know if I like you as a childhood friend or as a woman. To respond to your feelings in such a way… I mean, I can’t.”
I answered back to the confession she made back then.
I finally said what I wanted to say to her.
“… Okay.”
… When she heard my answer, she gave a small nod.
“But…”
And then I told her the other thing I wanted to say,
“I don’t want this to be the end of my relationship with you. You may think I’m saying this after rejecting your… confession. But you know, I can’t imagine my daily life without Nanami in it.”
Nanami looked up with a surprised expression on her face.
“Well, I can’t keep pretending to go out with you.”
“… Are you sure? I’m not like you, I probably like you a hundred times more than you think.”
“… It’s fine. Guess we’ve to do something about this room and I’d like you to stop spying on me if you can.”
I looked around the room again.
… Yeah, these things are just too much.
“I’ll take care of that…”
“Really! Thank you…”
I wanted to get rid of all the photos as soon as possible, preferably right now.
“Hmmm… So, Nanami. About what I said earlier…”
“What?”
“I’m sure I’ll never forget what happened today. But I don’t mind knowing that side of you. Well, I’m used to it… And I won’t hate you.”
“… hm”
“If you’re okay, can we go back to normal?”
“… You really are strange, Yusuke.”
She muttered, and finally, her usual smile returned.
Thus, the incident with Nanami was over for the time being.
After that, Nanami told me,
“If Yusuke will allow me to continue as before, I would love to ask him to do the same. I know it won’t change the way I feel about you, but it’s okay.”
I nodded.
I might not be able to respond to her feelings, but it’s up to her to decide if she still likes me. I don’t think it’s right for me to say anything about it.
Besides, Nanami seemed to be regretting her actions and promised that she would never do anything like that again.
Then it was a good thing.
“I’m going to make a fair and honest approach to you so that you’ll fall for me.”