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Chapter 147
Traversing the path with Sendai-san — 147
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「Shiori, are you sure you don’t want to go home?」
Across the table, Maika shifts her gaze from her phone to me.
「Yeah.」
I’d better go home soon.
I know.
But I don’t want to go home today.
On Monday, the awkwardness over Sunday’s events was the only reason I escaped, but not now. The time spent without returning has accelerated the difficulty of meeting.
「The person you’re fighting with, I’m sure that person is pretty worried about you.」
「I know that well.」
Today I received another message from Sendai-san asking when I would be back. The messages from her that arrive on my phone always show that she is worried about me, and every time I see her message I know I have to go home. And I wonder how Sendai-san is spending her days without me.
I think she should be going to college, attending lectures, and talking with friends as usual, and I think she should be doing so, but I also think she should be being a different girl than usual. Even her part-time job, which is supposed to be today, I wish she had taken a day off.
I hate myself for thinking that way, and I feel like I have to leave early, but I can’t leave, which makes me hate myself even more. I also hate myself for only moving in the direction of causing trouble, even though I know I can’t cause any more trouble for Maika either.
「Is it really just a fight when you don’t leave like this?」
Maika looks at me intently.
「It’s just a fight.」
If you tell one lie, you will tell several lies to protect that lie. Considering the weight of the lies I have told Maika so far and the weight of the lies I will tell her in the future, I should at least tell her that my roommate is Sendai-san. But it seems terribly difficult to cut that part out and convey it alone.
「Shiori
」
「What is it?」
「
Is there anything you want to say to me?」
Maika says in a rather serious voice.
「There’s none, but why do you ask?」
I drink orange juice along with my new lie.
「It’s nothing. Well, both of you better make up properly.」
「Yeah.」
I know that the current situation is not good. I know that if left alone, my relationship with Sendai-san may break down.
In high school, Sendai-san connected me to a relationship that seemed to be broken.
After covering her in popcorn and pouring cider on her.
After she tried to kiss me and turned her away.
Sendai-san forcefully closed the distance I had created.
But this time, I have to shorten the distance I created by myself.
Even if I can’t do it today, I should leave tomorrow.
I agree.
I take a sip of my orange juice and pick up my phone. I think about sending a message to Sendai-san, but my fingers don’t move. As I was unable to type a few words about leaving tomorrow, the chime rang and Maika stood up.
「Ah, you came. I’m going out for a minute. Shiori, stay there.」
I feel uncomfortable with Maika’s words, as if she was waiting for someone.
She didn’t order delivery, and it’s not the time for a courier to come.
「
Is it a friend?」
「Maybe that’s what’s going to happen now.」
Not a friend now, but someone who may become a friend in the future.
I can’t imagine the person who asked. Generally, it’s not the time for someone you’re not that close to to come over and play with you.
The room has no partitions, and if I move my body a little, I can see the front door. As I float up, curious as to who has asked, I heard a familiar voice.
「I’ll be back soon, so this is fine.」
I stand up involuntarily.
I see the other side of Maika, the face I didn’t want to see.
「If you two discuss it at the door, it’s not good for the neighbors, come in.」
「
Then, sorry for intruding.」
Why?
How?
It is impossible for Sendai-san to come here.
My hands and feet are getting cold.
「Miyagi, I’m here to pick you up.」
Sendai-san chuckled.
「——Maika.」
The situation was so incomprehensible that I looked at Maika, who welcomed Sendai-san as a matter of course.
「Sendai-san and I met at the university and I told her she should come to my house.」
「
Eh?」
I don’t understand.
Why would Sendai-san and Maika be meeting at the university?
How can they go from there to saying that she should come to her house?
I have no idea.
But I don’t know what to say, because if I say something bad, she might find out something she shouldn’t. No, the fact that Sendai-san came here means that she probably knows at least one thing that shouldn’t be found out. I don’t know how or why this happened, but I should assume that she knows that I am connected to Sendai-san. I would run away from here if I could, but Sendai-san and Maika are in my way to get to the entrance.
「Miyagi didn’t return home anytime soon. I went looking for you at the university and ran into Utsunomiya, and this is what happened.」
「I thought you said this was
」
I’m in trouble.
I don’t want this situation.
My head is like a switch turned off, refusing to think, refusing to accept this situation.
「Sendai-san, you approached me and said you were looking for Shiori at the university, so I brought you here. I thought we should talk about it, no?」
Maika says as a matter of course.
I try to piece together the information that is being nitpicked from the two of them, but I can’t make a good connection. All I can understand is the unacceptable fact that there are two people together who should not be together.
「
Maika, you never said anything about Sendai-san coming.」
「I asked her to keep quiet. Miyagi, if you heard I was coming, you’d be gone, right?」
If I had known Sendai-san was coming, I wouldn’t be here and even now I want to get out of here. I think it’s terrible that she read my actions and kept quiet to Maika. I am not sure how much of what was revealed, but I wanted to tell Maika myself if possible.
——I don’t know when it happened, though.
「I’ll tell you the details at home, so why don’t we just go home?」
Sendai-san says without breaking into a smile.
I had to leave, but my mind couldn’t catch up with the situation. As I was unable to move my body, Sendai-san approached me. And she grabbed my arm.
「N—」
I swallow my words, trying to keep her away with a strong tone of voice. This is Maika’s house, and Maika is watching. I don’t know what Maika would say if I said I didn’t want to do it as strongly as usual.
「Why don’t you sit down and talk to her?」
Maika says lazily and sits down to ease the delicate atmosphere between me and Sendai-san.
「But still, Shiori is terrible, isn’t she? She lies about living with relatives.」
Maika continues her words by saying in a rather gentle voice that she is terrible.
「And you lied when you said you didn’t get along with Sendai-san back in high school.」
「
Sorry.」
It seems that at least Maika knows that Sendai-san is my roommate. I would like to know what else Sendai-san told her, but considering the lie I told Maika, I should apologize first. I think you should apologize as often as I can. But the lie has been exposed in a way I never imagined, and the fact that there are people here I never expected doesn’t allow me to say it well.
「Well, I have a lot to say, but I’ll ask you about that again, so for now, sit down.」
Unable to resist Maika’s words, I sat down meekly. Diagonally in front of me, Sendai-san also sat quietly, and Maika coughed deliberately.
「Then, you two can make up right here and now.」
「Eh?」
The story unfolds again in a direction I hadn’t considered, and I can’t help but speak up.
「Eh, was it not? Shiori, you had a fight with Sendai-san, didn’t you?」
She asked me to confirm it, and I nodded, remembering the lie I had told.
「Sendai-san, I invited you here to make things right, to talk things over, to shake hands, and to go home together.」
「Eh, shake hands?」
This time, Sendai-san asks back.
「You don’t have to do that, but you two should get along and go home together. I don’t want Shiori to continue to live in this house.」
Maika looks at me and smiles.
It somehow creates a friendly mood and makes me feel a little more relaxed, but there is also an air of fear that something could break down at any moment, which scares me a little.
「The discussion, it can go on for a long time. Sendai-san, would you like something to drink?」
「Thank you for the offer. But we’re going home soon, so I don’t need it. If I wanted, I could get one from Miyagi.」
「I’m not giving you a sip.」
When she assured her and pulled the glass containing the orange juice I was about to drink, Sendai-san naturally said,「I’ll take a sip,」and drank my orange juice. Normally, I would have complained, but I could not say that in front of Maika, so I held my tongue.
「Were you the pushy type, Utsonomiya?」
Sendai-san puts down my glass and looks at Maika.
「Usually I’m different, but this time I have to be forceful. There are so many things I haven’t heard, and I don’t understand them. What is this situation after having called Sendai-san myself? I wouldn’t believe you if you told me in high school that these members would gather at your house.」
「No one could have predicted this situation, could we?」
Maika responded to Sendai-san’s words with,「Right,」and I wanted to hold my head in my hands at the unrealistic sight. I didn’t want to see this kind of scene, even though it was brought on by my own lies.
「Miyagi. Can we go home today? If there’s anything you want to say, I’ll hear it at home.」
It is unbearable that this delicate atmosphere, both harmonious and not so harmonious, continues, but I can’t say I am going home.
「Shiori. You don’t have to leave, but if you stay, I’ll be asking you questions until morning.」
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「That’s that. Miyagi, what are you going to do?」
The ultimate two choices suddenly appear, and I gulp down my orange juice, feeling Maika’s eyes on me.
「
I’ll go home.」
Maika replies,「Never mind then,」and hands me my luggage. I stand up, too, because I can’t leave now that I’ve made my choice.
「Utsonomiya. Thanks. You helped me.」
Sendai-san says in a friendly way, and Maika replies in a friendly way,「It’s alright.」I don’t know if they are really close or just on the surface, but it’s not very interesting. I feel as if Sendai-san was taken by Maika and vice-versa.
Feeling unsettled, I head for the entrance with Sendai-san. Sendai-san thanks Maika once again and puts on her shoes. I also tell Maika,「I’m sorry for staying here for so many days, thank you.」Sendai-san walked out, and as I was about to leave with my bag, she tugged at my clothes,「Shiori.」
「I won’t ask you today, but you’ll have to tell me properly later why you’re living with Sendai-san.」
If possible, please don’t ask me for the rest of my life.
I think so, but there is no way I can allow that to happen.
「
I understand.」
I pushed the words I didn’t want to say out of my throat and then walked out.