The next day, I woke up early at around 5:30 a.m. Although I had told Yamano to leave it to me, she wouldn’t have been struggling so much if the solution were so simple. I had spent the entire evening before bed last night trying to come up with a plan, but I still had nothing.
At times like this, it’s best to get someone else’s input. So I quickly changed and headed to the nearby park. I immediately spotted my target. She was walking her dog.
“Good morning, Miori,” I said.
“Ugh. Not you.”
I knew Miori always walked her dog around this time, so I had ambushed her. “Why do you look unhappy to see me?”
“Because this obviously wasn’t a coincidence.”
“You’re sharp.”
“And that means you want advice. What a pain.” Miori sighed. Nonetheless, she didn’t stop me from walking alongside her.
Her dog, who had been scampering in front of her, glanced up at my sudden appearance. Miori’s hair was down, which was a rare sight. Her long black hair reached past her shoulders to her back. It gave her different vibes from usual, and it felt like a new look.
Miori kept her gaze on her dog and asked, “Is it about Saya?”
I haven’t even said anything yet, but she already got it right. Scary. “Are you psychic?”
“You avoid coming to me for advice, so since you came to me now, it’s because I’m the only one who can help. That narrows down the possibilities by a lot.”
“I see...”
“And now you’re making that face that says you don’t know what to say.”
“Shut up! I know.” I turned away.
Miori giggled. “Also, I heard from Serika that something happened with the band.”
I see. Miori and Serika are close friends. Maybe Serika already asked her for advice.
“Saya’s lived two doors down from me since we were kids, so I know her pretty well by now.”
Miori entered the park and sat on a bench beneath a cherry blossom tree. Its flowers had already fallen. There were still a scant few petals remaining on the ground. Her dog plopped down in front of her, and she petted its head as she spoke.
“I was also slow to realize that she was being bullied in middle school. Saya always acts like nothing’s wrong when she’s with me. By the time I found out about it, we were close to graduating.”
I knew it. Miori didn’t know about this either.
“The bullying started in the third semester of her second year. That’s around when we decided what high school to attend. The bullying worsened after we graduated, in the first semester of her third year. Saya tried to fight back, but that’s how her bullies made her out to be the main bully in the second semester. After that, for better or for worse, the teachers kept an eye on her, so the bullying died down. Instead, bad rumors about Saya spread.”
“You sure know a lot,” I remarked.
“I gathered info from my underclassmen on the girls’ basketball team.”
Looks like Miori tried to find a way to help Yamano after she graduated.
“In the end, I couldn’t do a thing. Saya didn’t want my help either.” Miori wore a frustrated expression as she picked up her dog. “Here,” she said, and I obediently held it.
The dog let out a menacing bark. It didn’t seem to like me.
“I want to fix Yamano’s language,” I said.
Miori fell silent for a while. Eventually, she quietly said, “I think that Saya...by and large doesn’t have much interest in other people.” She appeared somewhat forlorn as the words left her lips. “There are exceptions to that, though. I mean, she’s taken a liking to you, right? And she likes me enough to worry about me. But Saya is fundamentally only interested in music.”
That rang a bell. Yamano was earnest when it came to music, but she was insensitive towards people’s emotions. “Are you saying that she words things so poorly because she doesn’t think about other people’s feelings?”
“I can’t say for sure. She’s the only person who can know how she feels. It’s purely speculation on my part.” Miori let the dog in my arms down onto the ground. “Anyway, if you want to solve her issue, I feel like you need to start by unraveling Saya’s true nature. If she only pretends like she’s fixed it on the surface, then...she’ll probably revert before long.”
Miori can likely explain her thoughts on Yamano so effortlessly because she’s been thinking about her for a long time.
“I need to head home and get ready for school.” With her dog’s leash in hand, she was about to stand up when she froze, her eyes glued to something. I followed her gaze to see Yamano in her uniform staring at us with an appalled expression.
Eh, she lives around here, so no surprise we might bump into her.
“A-An affair...” Yamano suddenly blurted.
“We’re not having an affair! Saya, we were discussing you!” Miori exclaimed.
I hastily followed up with, “That’s right! We were talking about how much of a handful you are and trying to—”
“Wh-Whatever RP this is, I want no part!” Yamano left us with those nonsensical words and then ran off.