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Chapter 5 – To Move Forward\nVolume 2\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nThere’s no point in thinking about what you don’t know.\n\n
“That goes for you too, Ookusu-kun.”\n
“Eh?”\n
“Normally, you would have refused. It must have been pretty hard for you. I can tell by looking at you. Not only in the physical sense, but also in many other ways.”\n\n
It was a good argument.\n
When I heard about it at the cafĂ©, I didn’t have the option of saying no. I naturally said, “Okay”. And that didn’t surprise me or Enami-san.\n\n
“The first time we talked to Enami-san. When the teacher asked you to help, and we went to a diner, you looked really reluctant.”\n
“No, it’s not that I was reluctant
”\n
“
Honestly, you didn’t want to do it, do you?”\n
“
Yeah.”\n\n
I don’t feel like I can lie to Fujisaki. Maybe she can see through my habit of telling lies.\n\n
“Both you and Enami-san are mysterious. It’s as if you two resonate with each other somehow.”\n\n
A questioning gaze reached me. Then she followed it up with a “Sorry”.\n
Actually, she didn’t really need to say that. I guess me looking so uncomfortable brought out that apology.\n
But Fujisaki’s words were not out of line.\n
The residue of guilt is what makes me who I am today. I want to do what I can as much as possible.\n
It’s not only for Enami-san. It’s also for her mother.\n
There are people everywhere who are just like me. People who are stuck in the past as a wedge. Mother Enami is also bound by her past. Even if I didn’t know the details of her situation, I could at least understand that. I can understand how she feels in no small way.\n
Normally, I’m not in a position to complain to Mother Enami. It’s the same for me. If I was truly moving forward, I would have given my answer to Fujisaki long ago. The reason I haven’t is that I’m afraid to move forward.\n\n
“I’m the one who’s totally to blame, so there’s no need to apologize.”\n\n
I’ve given Fujisaki a lot of unpleasant feelings.\n\n
“
Are you okay regarding Sayaka-chan now?”\n
“Yeah, I’ll be able to take some time off from now on. I really shouldn’t have brought Fujisaki into    our family’s problem.”\n\n
And that’s when I realized something.\n
The same goes for Enami-san’s request. It’s a family matter. A stranger shouldn’t involve in it.\n
But the reason why I involved Fujisaki was that I thought in my heart that Fujisaki would accept it. It might have been the same for Enami-san.\n\n
“
Shall we go? My arms are starting to hurt.”\n
“Ah, I’m sorry! Let’s go!”\n\n
Because we were standing still, we were still a long way from the classroom. It’s hard just to walk without damaging the pile of prints.\n\n
“I’m going to miss seeing Sayaka-chan.”\n
“I’m sure she’d go anywhere for Fujisaki. I hope you’ll invite her to hang out with you next time. She doesn’t have as many friends as you might think.”\n
“Eh? Even though she’s that cute?”\n
“She doesn’t open up because she’s always acting like a cat. I’m sure some guys try to woo her, but she hates flirtatious guys more than anything.”\n
“She seems like a good girl.”\n\n
Sayaka is very wary of people. This is because she was bullied by boys when she was in kindergarten. She was cute, to begin with, but she became a target for boys who wanted to get her attention.\n
I’m not going to tell her, because if she finds out that I told her this, she’ll kill me.\n\n
“But, yeah, I get it. I’ll ask her out next time. I wonder what kind of things Sayaka-chan likes.”\n
“She likes karaoke a lot.”\n
“Ah, then I think I’ll go with that. It’s a safe place.”\n\n
I noticed that the uncomfortable silence was gone. It’s just me and Fujisaki as usual.\n
We talked about some of the more in-depth points, and maybe the rancor faded. I was more relieved by that than by the fact that we had gone off-topic. After all, I didn’t want my relationship with Fujisaki to get worse.\n\n
“What does Fujisaki sing at karaoke?”\n
“I usually sing popular songs. Not that I know a lot of it.”\n
“Ah, well then, why don’t the three of us go?”\n
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”\n\n
Even when we were on the library committee together, we never went to karaoke together. We only occasionally went to cafes or family restaurants.\n
We checked each other’s schedules and agreed that the next Sunday would be a good time.\n\n
“Okay. Anyway, I’ll check with Sayaka later. I think she’ll be fine.”\n
“Okay!　I’m looking forward to it.”\n\n
As we were talking about this, we reached the front of the classroom. I was finally free of the burden on my arms.\n
I opened the door forcefully with my foot, climbed up the podium, and put the printouts down on the table. The classmates who noticed our presence only gave us a disgusted look, as if to say, “Not again”.\n
Both Fujisaki and I returned to our seats. Then I was poked from behind, so I turned around to look at Saito.\n\n
“What?”\n
“Have you been flirting with her again?”\n
“It’s not like that.”\n\n
He should just read erotic novels. There was no need for him to say anything unnecessary.\n
I pulled out the next lesson’s material from my desk. \n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: That’s it for today
\n\n
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><figcaption>IMPATIENT MTL READER</figcaption></figure>\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\n\n
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