Chapter 92

“What d’you want from me? My wrist was hurt! We had to do something! And besides, we won! I don’t see how you get off complaining about it. That’s just pathetic!” The sparks were flying between the two of them as Momo looked on blankly. “Momo, what’s your favorite food?” Ayano asked, frantically trying to find some way, any way, to steer the conversation toward calmer waters. “Oh, I like eating those bags of dried sardines,” Momo replied. That answer wasn’t going to be of much help to Ayano, but there you go. And so we carried on and shouted at each other, all the way to Takane’s house. Ayano’s birthday party was about to begin. A little late, though. I felt bad for making Kousuke and the gang wait, but oh well. We’d probably just chat for a little while longer and call it a day… But then I realized. This is the last time I’ll ever get to celebrate Ayano’s birthday. Right. That won’t happen for me next year. Oof. Why did I forget about that? Weird. I actually thought “this” was gonna just keep on going forever. I’ve never felt like this over a moment in my life before. Why…? …No. I can’t let myself overthink this. I can’t do anything about it. I winced in pain as Takane punched me from the side. Apparently I forgot to ask about something. She puffed up her cheeks, flush with rage. I gave her a wry smile and replied. Ayano snickered as I did, and Shintaro, for his part, seemed to be enjoying himself. Yeah. Don’t think about it. Just sit back and take in the scene before you. I moved on, beaming, as I told that to myself. Yes. Even as I turned my eyes away from the despair that covered everything around me.