Once school ended, Nanase left her bag at her desk and disappeared somewhere. Since we had practiced during music class today, we hadn’t scheduled an after-school session. The kids going to their clubs streamed out of the room. Even after everyone besides me and Hikari had left, Nanase still hadn’t returned.
Hikari tugged on my sleeve and said, “Natsuki-kun, go look for her.”
I had also been debating whether we should search for her, so I wasn’t against it, but... “Hikari, are you not coming with me?”
“I want you to find her. I have an idea where she is.”
I don’t get what she’s thinking. If she knows where Nanase might be, shouldn’t she go? “Why me? I think it’d be better if you—”
“Right now, Yuino-chan needs you,” Hikari interrupted. Her expression was awfully solemn.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly.
“You don’t need to think about me right now.” Her tone was cold and somewhat sad. “Help Yuino-chan.”
I decided not to ask her what she meant.
“She’s probably...on the roof,” she said.
✦ ✦ ✦
I climbed up the stairs to the roof. When I opened the door, I immediately spotted a lone girl with her back to me up ahead. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind as she gazed out at the town.
“Why did it turn out like this, I wonder,” she murmured without turning around. She’d heard my footfalls approaching her. “All I wanted was to move people’s hearts with my piano.” Her voice trembled. “I didn’t want to give up on my dream. That’s all.”
A drop of water landed by her feet. Nanase was the tallest among the girls, but right now she seemed so small.
“This isn’t what I wanted...and Hikari is being so considerate to me too!” she yelled as she whirled around, wearing an expression I’d never seen before.
“Nanase...”
“Because I’m weak, I was scared of fighting alone. When you said you’d help me, I was overjoyed! The moment I thought it was okay to rely on you, I immediately began to take advantage of you—I became dependent and terrified that you’d leave.”
Have I messed up again? There was probably a better way I could’ve handled this for Nanase’s sake.
“And now I can’t even play piano onstage without you!”
I didn’t want her to have any regrets. That was my only wish. But this is the result: a girl crying right in front of me.
“I’m sorry... I don’t want to lash out at you,” she said, wiping her tears with her sweater sleeve. She continued, her voice filled with remorse. “It’s just... The methodology was wrong. In the end, a pianist fights alone, so I shouldn’t have depended on all of you. When you offered to help me, I should’ve declined.”
She looked like a lonely, frightened child.
“It’s not too late to start now,” she continued. “I think we should distance ourselves so that I can play piano without you. I’m sorry for pushing you around, but...”
I had a feeling I shouldn’t let her complete that sentence.
“You don’t need to think about me right now.”
All right, I trust you, Hikari. “You’re still not alone, Nanase.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, just like I did before she played the piano.
Her face crumpled, and teardrops dampened the ground. “Stupid... It’s because you do things like this that I can’t help but impose upon you.” She leaned her head against my chest.
“That’s fine. I’m the one who said I’d help. You might not be able to stand on your own yet, but you can play in front of everyone now. You’ve made it this far already, right?” I think that’s concrete progress. “Our special training isn’t wrong.”
She mumbled something along the lines of “I-If you say that...I’ll keep depending on you...” with her head still buried in my chest.
“And what’s wrong with that? You can depend on me until the very end.”
“What?!” Nanase looked up at me incredulously, her face scarlet.
“Holding your hand before you perform isn’t that big a deal. It doesn’t bother me.”
“It bothers me! Do you not understand that you’re Hikari’s boyfriend?!”
She says that, but she’s the one hugging me. It doesn’t seem like she’s aware of it, though. “If you still need to use me as a mental crutch, then just stop needing to hold my hand to accomplish that.”
She blinked at me in surprise. Apparently, she hadn’t thought of that.
“Nanase, I don’t think a condition you’ve had for multiple years is something you can overcome that quickly or easily. I said I’d help, so I don’t care if that means I have to spend a lot of time on you.”
Her long black hair swayed in the wind and brushed against the bottom of my neck. It tickled a bit.
“After all,” I said, “we’re friends. Right?”
Nanase tapped her head against my chest. Then she wrapped her hands around my back and hugged me. “I really can’t forgive you.” They were tough words, but her tone was so very gentle.
Looks like she’s calmed down. I didn’t think she was going to jump, but given the location and how mentally unstable she’s been, my heart was pounding. Whew, that was a dangerous persuasion game. Well, you could certainly say our conversation was dangerous, but isn’t our current state pretty dangerous too? I doubt anyone will come up to the roof now, but if someone saw us, then—
“Huh?”
I heard someone’s voice at the exact moment I heard the door open. This is bad! I could practically hear the blood draining from my face. Nanase also sensed someone appear, and froze with her arms still around me.
It would’ve been great if we had pulled apart the moment the door opened, but both of us were a beat slow in realizing—it was too late. My back was facing the rooftop entrance, so I didn’t know who had come up. Nanase probably couldn’t see either since her head was against my chest.
I’m begging you—turn around and leave! My wish was not granted; I could hear their footsteps approaching us.
“Natsuki! You should stop flirting in places like this, you know?” she teased me.
That’s Miori’s voice. This is really bad! Very, very not good (my vocab is dead).
“Hikari-chan, that goes for you too. How long are you going to hug him for?” Naturally, she was under the misconception that I was embracing my girlfriend. “Anyway, what were you guys talking...about... Huh?”
Miori’s footsteps halted. Nanase’s black hair was flapping in the wind again. Hikari had light-brown hair, not jet-black like Nanase’s. I decided it was impossible to dupe Miori and pushed Nanase’s shoulder, separating us.
When I turned around, Miori’s eyes had become two small, surprised dots. I glanced to my side—Nanase was pale and sweating bullets. It felt like the awkward silence had lasted an eternity.
“Um, Motomiya-san. This, uh, isn’t what it looks like,” Nanase tried to explain.
What doesn’t it look like?
Miori stepped back. “I-It’s okay. Sorry for interrupting. Um. I... Uh, I... I didn’t see anything. I saw nothing... So don’t drag me into this, okay? I didn’t see a thing, got it?”
“Wait, Miori. There is a huge misunderstanding here,” I said.
“I, I got it! I understand you very well! See ya!”