Chapter 2.5: A Long Phone Call Between Runa and Nicole
“And so I ended up putting an end to the Friendship Project.”
“I see... Also, that sounded hella risky. If you ran away there, couldn’t that’ve led to a breakup just like that?”
“Well... I didn’t wanna break up, but I might’ve put distance between us, like that other time...”
“‘Distance,’ huh...”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It’s okay, I’m used to it. I went years without seeing him, after all. It was always my unrequited love. Things are just a bit better now compared to before.”
“Don’t worry; it’ll be March before you know it.”
“It’s scary. Will he really start seeing me again in March?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Don’t guys always somehow make time for the girl they truly love, no matter how busy they are?”
“Is that how it works?”
“It is, yeah. Whenever people told me their own stories, it always ended up that if a girl’s boyfriend couldn’t make time for her, that meant she wasn’t his main girl.”
“Now that you mention it... I think my exes would ask to come over when we started dating, but then they’d start to get busy and we wouldn’t see each other much...”
“And so, I gotta wonder if senpai has another girl...”
“Th-There’s no way! Sekiya-san is really busy with studying. He studies for thirteen hours a day! He doesn’t even have time to see other girls.”
“Damn... Maybe I should go to cram school too.”
“For real?!”
“Of course not. Man, this sucks... I hate myself for being unable to believe in him and just wait.”
“Nicole...”
“He’s changed... I mean of course he has; it’s been three years. However, some things about him haven’t changed... But before I could figure out what exactly was different and what was the same, things ended up like this.”
“I see...”
“The guy I knew was serious and devoted to ping-pong. He was awkward with girls and wasn’t the type who could two-time or anything. If he was the same as he used to be, I’m sure I’d be able to believe in him and support him even if he put distance between us... Just like back then.”
“Back when you were his team’s manager?”
“Yeah... It was fun for me to cheer for him. He worked really hard.”
“Isn’t he working hard at studying now too?”
“Even if he is, it’s not something I can see... If you can’t fully trust a person, you can’t support them from the bottom of your heart, right? I want to have faith in him, but I don’t know what he’s really like nowadays.”
“I guess you’d get worried if you went years without seeing him. And there’s a chance he’s somebody completely different from the person you once knew now since he’s been in a different environment.”
“Exactly. You don’t need to worry about stuff like that, though, right?”
“Huh?”
“You only really got to know Kashima Ryuto after you started dating him. Aren’t you in the middle of getting to know each other from zero and falling in love with each other?”
“Ah, yeah, if you’re talking about Ryuto.”
“Huh?”
“I was thinking about Maria, actually.”
“Your sister?”
“We always had the kind of relationship where I dragged Maria around and she’d complain while reluctantly following me.”
“Isn’t that still the same?”
“Unlike when we were kids, I couldn’t figure out what Maria really thought anymore. I thought I couldn’t be pushy with her. Maria used to love me, and she seemed to have fun doing things with me. I started doing ballet at one point, but even after I quit, Maria stuck with it, so I was confident that I was a good influence on her.”
“Wait, you did ballet?! That’s the first I heard of it.”
“It was when I was just in the senior class of kindergarten! I quit in March.”
“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t stick, then.”
“Maria kept at it, even after starting primary school. It looks like she stopped after our parents divorced, though, since she couldn’t keep going to the same ballet class after moving.”
“What a waste.”
“I know, right? I think she probably didn’t want to look for a new school and go there alone. Maria is shy, after all. She once told me she wouldn’t have bothered starting to learn something had I not been with her.”
“I guess you were her wings, huh.”
“Huh...?”
“Oh, maybe I should’ve said you led her into battle? Wait, crap, my old delinquent side is showing.”
“Aha ha... ‘Wings,’ though, huh... That has a cool ring to it. Guess you’re not called a poet for nothing.”
“Yeah, well.”
“I would fly around, taking Maria with me...and if she had fun somewhere I took her, I was happy. I even took her to things I had no interest in at all if I thought it was something Maria would be into.”
“You understand each other well. That’s twins for you, I guess.”
“It’s just...I completely stopped understanding her once we spent time away from each other. When we lived together, Maria didn’t watch those ‘gameplay videos’ or whatever. She didn’t do cosplay either.”
“She does cosplay?”
“Shoot, that’s a secret! I let it slip.”
“It’s not like I’d tell anyone.”
“Thanks for keeping a lot of stuff secret for me, Nicole.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have to be careful not to say it by accident to Akari, though.”
“Aha ha, yeah, Akari lets things slip without any ill will.”
“All while she asks us not to tell anyone she’s a fan of Ijichi Yusuke too. Remember how just yesterday, she was all like, ‘Ijichi-kun used this blackboard eraser! It’s the best thing ever!’ She obsessed over it for five minutes. Like, she’s your typical creepy fan at that point.”
“Aha ha, everyone looked annoyed and kept telling her to chill out.”
“Still, I respect her ability to take action when it comes to things she likes.”
“Right? I’m thinking of doing my best too.”
“About your sister?”
“Yeah. I’m going to open up her world once more.”
An earring with a moon and a star hung from an accessory stand on Runa’s shelf. Gazing at it from atop her bed, she continued speaking.
“It’s a bit scary, but I wanna try.”
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