“...Y-Yeah, that’s right.” Orihara-san looked puzzled, as it seemed like my feelings weren’t reaching her at all. It was like the mood was completely over. However, I couldn’t let it end like this.
“Um, so...” I really didn’t want to say it with this kind of atmosphere but, nevertheless, I couldn’t not say it. “I-Is it alright if we keep going?”
“K-Keep going?!” It looked like Orihara-san finally understood what I was trying to say. She remembered where we were and what we had come here to do after being enveloped in the warm atmosphere of our pure love made her forget.
“I-I can’t responsibly approve of your no-holds-barred approach... However! Be that as it may! If we were to use protection, I thought I’d like to continue...”
“H-Huh... Oh, ha ha ha. I-I see. That’s right. All I did was hide the condoms, but there’s still that...” Orihara-san got an awkward and embarrassed look on her face as her gaze shifted around. “You...want to do it, huh?”
“...Yes, a lot.”
“Y-Yeah, you do. I mean...you’ve been really energetic this whole time. Even when you proposed to me...”
“No, that was, um...” I’d have preferred if she didn’t touch on that. It was really embarrassing, so I wish she didn’t mention it at all. The truth is that, just now, during our serious talk, I was “really energetic” the whole time. It was so embarrassing I could die.
“Umm... Okay, then. Let’s do it,” Orihara-san said with a really cute expression after some hesitation. “Just hold on... Let me go get them.”
She headed to her bag, which she had put on the room’s sofa. Apparently that was where she had hid the condoms. She opened the bag’s zipper...and her expression froze. “Oh...”
“Wh-What is it?” I asked, and she pulled her smartphone out of her bag.
“My sister has been trying to call me this whole time...” Orihara-san showed me the screen of her smartphone. In the upper right-hand part of the icon, it showed the number thirty-two. “What should I do? I totally didn’t realize it... Wow, she’s calling again.” It seemed that right at that moment, another phone call was coming from Kisaki-san. With a surprised look, Orihara-san quickly answered the phone.
“Hime-chan?! Where are you?!” Kisaki-san’s tearful yelling was so loud that I could hear it from over where I was.
“O-Onee-chan...”
“Why didn’t you pick up the phone?! Do you have any idea how much I was worried?! I called you so many times!”
“I-I’m sorry... I totally didn’t realize you were calling.”
“Seriously, do you have any idea how much I was worried?! The way you left after our fight... The way you didn’t pick up no matter how much I called you... I was really, really worried about whether I had done something rash! But I’m glad you’re okay! Waah! I was really worried, you know?”
“...I-I’m sorry.”
“Sob... I’m sorry for getting so emotional before.”
“No, I’m sorry for getting emotional too...”
“I’m sorry for telling you to get out, even though it was your apartment.”
“Yeah, that was really...”
“I...haven’t told mom and dad anything yet.”
“What?”
“Let’s really sit down and talk about it again. Please hurry and come home. It’s already late.”
“Um... O-Okay.” The phone call ended there, and Orihara-san looked at me with a troubled look in her eyes. When faced with that kind of look, there was only one thing I could say.
“...Shall we go?” I said, swallowing a lot of different feelings.
♡
“Onee-chan!” When we arrived at Orihara-san’s apartment and opened the door to the entranceway, Kisaki-san, who had apparently been waiting there the entire time, suddenly came and hugged Orihara-san. “H-Hey, Onee-chan...”
“Hime-chan, you big dummy! I was so worried!”
“I-I said I’m sorry...”
“Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay. Hurry and come inside—” Kisaki-san got as far as saying that when she finally realized I was there too. Her eyes went wide with surprise, and she said, “...I see. So you were with Momota-kun this whole time...” She quickly gained an expression that looked like she understood what was going on, and she seemed exasperated.
“I should have guessed,” she continued. “The person that you’d turn to right now if you were in trouble wouldn’t be our parents or me, but Momota-kun. You two sure are close.” Her voice sounded somewhat bitter, like she was making fun of us. “Seriously, what are you doing running around with a minor this late at night?”
“We were...”
“I-It’s okay, I have a really loose curfew,” I said, stepping in for Orihara-san who was at a loss for words.
“Th-That’s not the issue here!” Kisaki-san said firmly. She then let out a deep breath. “I’m just... I’m tired of trying to convince you guys. No matter how politely I make a sound argument, you two have no intention of listening to me.” For us, her dismissive words were a sign of hope, and Orihara-san raised her head and took a step forward.
“Onee-chan, you approve of us...?”
“Don’t get me wrong. There’s no way I’d do that,” Kisaki-san said sharply. With a stern look, she glared at us and said, “There’s no way I’d forgive having a relationship with a minor... Besides, to me, it looks like you two just have your heads in the clouds and are getting carried away from having your first boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“...”
“However, I’m going to stop trying to use forceful measures to get you to break up, and I’m going to try talking it over with you. Also, I won’t tell mom and dad about this for a while. First, let’s really discuss it and find an answer ourselves. Is that okay?”
“...Yes, that’s good enough for now. Thank you, Onee-chan,” Orihara-san said and bowed. I also deeply lowered my head and bowed with her.
“It’s already late, so hurry up and go home, Momota-kun.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Also... I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Oh... Yes. I’ll see you then.”
“I think you already understand, but... Don’t compare my cooking to Hime-chan’s, okay? I mean, I say compare, but I’ll be making exactly what Hime-chan taught me today. She told me earlier that you know all the secret ingredients and stuff, so...”
“I-I understand. I’ll act like it’s my first time eating it.”
“...Please do. This is the first time I’m serving Shigeru-san a home-cooked meal, so... I’m really counting on you.”
She’s being serious about counting on me. Hmm... this really is a strange relationship we have. I’ve been thinking about her like a wall standing in front of us, but here she is asking for my help with her and my father’s future.
This truly is a delicate position; I don’t know if she’s an enemy or a friend. However, this might just be the way the world is. There aren’t a lot of obvious villains. The majority of those around you are just normal people who become your ally or your enemy depending on the time or situation. It depends on how you feel whether they appear good or evil. It’s like they say, “There is kindness to be found everywhere.”
The types of people that Orihara-san and I will probably have to contend with from here on out aren’t going to be monsters. They’ll be normal people who are neither bad nor good, and we’ll have to sincerely persuade them as we face them. That path will probably be far more difficult than just defeating some obvious enemy. Still, with the two of us together, I feel like it’ll be okay.
“Well, good night.” We exchanged goodbyes and parted ways at the entrance to the apartment. After taking a few steps, I turned around. Though Kisaki-san had already gone inside, Orihara-san was still outside. Though half of her body was hidden, she was facing toward me. Apparently, she’d looked back with the same timing that I did.
“...”
“...”
We looked at each other without saying anything and gave each other a little wave. That’s all it took to make me feel like we were connected in some way. Even a small little miracle like this felt like destiny, and the fact that it felt like destiny was the happiest feeling in the world.