However, the time has probably finally come. Since our relationship has been discovered by a member of her family—someone staunchly opposed to it, at that—I don’t have the courage or the determination to continue dating her.
No matter how you slice it, I’ll just make Orihara-san unhappy. There’s no telling just how much of a risk my existence will be to Orihara-san. After all, what’s the point of breaking up her family just so we can keep dating? If I’m truly concerned for her sake, I should step away. She can’t find happiness if she’s with me. If I’m thinking about her happiness, I shouldn’t be with her.
Yeah, I probably would have thought something like that a while ago. I probably would have used her as an excuse and said something like “If I were truly concerned for her sake” or “If I were thinking about her happiness” to justify not trying to fight back. However, now...
“No,” I said. My voice was shaking a little, but I definitely said it. I looked Kisaki-san straight in the eye and voiced my refusal. “I don’t want to break up with Orihara-san.”
“What? What are you saying, Momota-kun?”
“I want to continue our relationship.”
“Wh-Why...?”
“Because I love her,” I told a betrayed-looking Kisaki-san. Why? When you ask me that, there’s only one answer I can give.
“It’s because I love Orihara-san,” I continued. “I love her, and I want to continue to be with her, forever and ever. I definitely don’t want to break up!” The words flowed from deep within my heart. “I’m aware of the dangers of us dating. Maybe Orihara-san will be unhappy if she stays with me... Still, I want to be together with her.” All the words that came out of my mouth were genuine. They were my true feelings, plain and simple.
On the day of the festival, when Orihara-san’s yukata became undone, I lost control of myself and groped her, then Orihara-san gently embraced me in my foolishness. On that day, I learned how to rely on her a little. I also stopped struggling to look like an adult, and I learned the importance of being myself. That’s why, even in this situation, I wanted to face reality with my true feelings. That’s all a kid like me can do, after all. Since I can’t become an adult no matter what I do, there was no way for me to express to her how serious I was aside from shouting out my selfish desires.
“From here on, Orihara-san is the only person I’ll love. I can’t imagine being with anyone aside from her.”
“I feel the same way, Onee-san,” Orihara-san said to her confused sister. “The difference in our ages doesn’t matter... Or, well, it’d be nice to be able to say that, but that probably isn’t the case. We’ve only been dating for a few months, but...we’ve been through a lot, and there will probably be even greater challenges to come. However, from here on out, no matter what troubles await us, I want to overcome them together with Momota-kun because...I love him too. I can’t imagine being with anyone aside from Momota-kun.”
“Orihara-san...” It was like my heart was on fire. The person I loved was thinking the same thing as me. I felt like I could face any challenge with just that.
“...You’re joking, right?” Kisaki-san said as she winced and her face twitched. “I can’t believe you guys just said such embarrassing things with straight faces.”
“...” Hearing how put off she was, Orihara-san and I were overcome with a sudden feeling of embarrassment. It was like all of the heat that built up had dissipated all at once.
I mean... You didn’t have to say all that, did you? Cringing like that isn’t fair, you know? Like, after being told we were being embarrassing, there isn’t anything else we can say...
“Well... I understand how the two of you feel. I can understand believing you’ll be together forever because no one could replace the person you love right now, and I get feeling that if you’re together you can definitely overcome any challenge,” Kisaki-san said while we were too embarrassed to speak. “However, you two don’t understand just how fragile and fleeting the ‘forever’ and ‘definitely’ that lovers talk about really are.” Her words were strong, yet, at the same time, her voice sounded somewhat lonely.
As Kisaki-san stared at us, the look in her eyes gradually became sadder and sadder. “Everyone, every couple...is just like that. When things are going well, they think they can overcome any challenge. They can’t imagine being with anybody else and believe that the person they’re with is their soul mate. However, that’s all just an illusion your mind shows you when you’ve got love on the brain.”
“Onee-chan...” Orihara-san had a look on her face like she was in pain. Without a doubt, the two of them were remembering Kisaki-san’s past.
Orihara Kisaki was married before, and there was a time when she had a different last name than Orihara. Up until a few years ago, she had a beloved husband, a partner who she pledged her future to. However, they were no longer living as a married couple. I don’t know specifically why they got a divorce, but I guess there must have been some circumstances that made it impossible for them to continue their marriage any longer. Those two people, who were supposed to have pledged their futures to each other and who should have acquired eternal love through the institution known as marriage, were now walking separate paths through life.
“It happens all the time in real life: people will think they’ve found their soul mate when they actually haven’t. It’s unbelievable how much love can blind you, and I was the same way.” Kisaki-san looked like she was stifling her emotions as she continued to discuss her past. “I thought he was my soul mate, so I got married. We lived together as husband and wife, and we were so happy... But that happiness only lasted for a few years. We started to lose touch with each other as we lived our separate daily lives, and we gradually grew further and further apart. In the end, he cheated on me... I chose the wrong person. I thought the wrong person was my soul mate.”