Is This Fate…? 3
“Hmm… Maybe I’m overthinking it… No, rather than that, what did you want to ask me?”
“Oh, yes… Why did you invite Chikage?”
Tachibana smiled faintly, looking at the hydrangeas.
“She’s serious, an honor student, top of her class… and she’s a natural hard worker.”
“Huh?”
“Her grades in the spring of her third year of junior high school were quite good, but not as good as they are now…”
“Um, what are you talking about…?”
Tachibana began watering again.
“Well, just listen to me. However, around the summer of her third year in junior high school, her grades suddenly improved significantly. She either attended a very good cram school or perhaps she met someone who sparked her motivation.”
” ….. “
“People change through encounters with others. In her third year, she must have found a solid goal. Have you ever had such encounters?”
Caught off guard by Tachibana’s sudden gaze at him, Sakuto looked away.
“…Well, I think I have…”
“That’s why. The reason I invited Chikage Usami this time is to push her to the next level. She tends to become overly fixated on one thing. I want her to broaden her horizons, see different things, gain various experiences, and become more graceful and ambitious. That’s what I thought──”
There was something in those words that inspired trust.
Whether it was because she was a teacher, an adult, or perhaps the weight of her life experience lent gravity to her words, they had enough convincing power to satisfy Sakuto.
“For your own sake… So it’s not just because Chikage is a serious and excellent student?”
“There are other serious and excellent students as well──But yes, it’s true that it’s also for my own sake. To begin with, I was pushed into this by the teachers in the upper grades, really…”
Tachibana said this nonchalantly, then chuckled and looked back at the hydrangeas.
Sakuto realized it was a pretext.
She figured that if she said it was pushed onto her by other teachers, Chikage would agree to do it, expecting her to say yes because of her kind nature.
And there was personal interest involved, but it wasn’t the bad kind.
It felt like the typical teacher’s sentiment of ‘for the sake of the student’──a sincere, adult kindness that watches over the growth of a child.
Accepting this, Sakuto was about to leave when──
“──Yuzuki Kusanagi and Shun Matsukaze.”
When Tachibana suddenly mentioned those names, Sakuto’s heart leapt as if he had a sudden heart attack.
“…They are the representatives from Yuki Academy.”
“Yes…?”
“I believe both of them were from your same junior high, Kita Junior High. Do you know them?”
“…Yes, well, they’re my former classmates.”
Sakuto’s response was vague, and his voice sounded choked.
“They’re coming tomorrow.”
“Um, Sensei… why are you telling me this?”
“…I don’t know. Well, don’t worry about it──”
Saying this, Tachibana exhaled with a ‘Phew’ sound.
Her expression seemed to say, ‘I thought so.’
***
Two days after the last conversation with Tachibana.
Chikage, sitting across in the cafeteria, let out an unusually big sigh, seemingly lost in thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no… just a lot going on.”
“A lot?”
“About yesterday’s meeting… Ah, but it’s okay! Don’t worry about it!”
Chikage said with a smile, but it seemed forced, not quite genuine.
Sakuto had other concerns as well. Yuzuki Kusanagi and Shun Matsukaze─his former middle school classmates; he wondered what they were like now.
But he didn’t want to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
Even though Chikage insisted she was fine, Sakuto couldn’t help but notice that she seemed more downcast than usual.
Then Saturday arrived.
It was supposed to rain for about a week, making people too lazy to go out.
During this time, Sakuto received several messages from Hikari via LIME.
Chikage was apparently cooped up in her room at home, working on something related to the Hydrangea Festival.
It seemed she was struggling more than expected, and Hikari’s messages were filled with concern, wondering if it was okay to leave her alone.
There were no messages from Chikage.
Sakuto had sent a few messages, but the replies were slow, and any mention of the Hydrangea Festival was glossed over.
‘Was Chikage really okay?’
Despite his worries, the names of the two from Yuki Academy kept coming to his mind─
──Yuzuki Kusanagi, Shun Matsukaze.
Unpleasant memories began to resurface within him as the rain intensified, pounding on the roof and windows.
***
Monday, June 13th, the start of a new week.
It was raining again this morning.
Chikage had mentioned she had something to do during lunch break, so Sakuto found himself alone in the cafeteria.
Today’s daily special was a pork ginger set meal. It was delicious, but something was missing──
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『Is it wrong for me to want to eat with my boyfriend?』
─’Ah, that’s right.’
Sakuto felt a tinge of loneliness.
He remembered the first day he invited her to the cafeteria──
『So you’re saying that you… Takayashiki-kun, do you want to be a couple with me!?』
Chikage, who once said such things, is now his girlfriend.
Originally, the desire to be a couple came from Chikage’s side.
While this made him happy, he now feels inadequate, unable to do anything for her as her boyfriend.
And somehow, he could imagine Chikage working hard alone──
『I just hate to lose. Maybe it’s also because I once heard that ‘the nail that sticks out too much does not get hammered down’?』
Chikage said that was her nature, but she also mentioned it was ‘scary’ sometimes──
『Well, that’s part of my inherent personality but——』
He pictured Chikage stroking the ribbon tied in her side hair.
『——Right now, there is someone I really want to see my efforts.』
Quietly, he put down my chopsticks.
‘Is there something I can do for her? As her boyfriend, as a man, shouldn’t I be there to see her efforts more closely?’
‘It might be too much to ask, but for Chikage’s sake, I should face my past and find a way, somehow──’
Lost in thought, he realized that the cafeteria had nearly emptied out.