Now then—after school…
“A-ah, um… Arisa.”
After homeroom, Yuzuru hesitated for a moment before speaking to Arisa.
“…Yes.”
She gave a short reply and looked up at him.
Realising she was prompting him to continue, Yuzuru faltered slightly.
(…I didn’t think about what to say after this.)
“Um… do you want to walk home together? …I can’t really talk about it here.”
There were still people in the classroom. Yuzuru didn’t have the courage to apologise or explain himself in front of everyone.
And he figured Arisa wouldn’t want others overhearing a private argument either.
“…”
After a brief silence—
“Alright.”
Arisa nodded.
The two of them started walking side by side.
They left the school gates and followed their usual route home for a while…
(W-what do I do after this…)
Yuzuru desperately tried to think.
A public pavement didn’t feel like the right place to apologise.
…If Soichiro or Ayaka were here, they’d probably tell him to stop messing about and just say sorry.
In other words, Yuzuru still hadn’t steeled himself.
“…”
He glanced at Arisa’s expression.
But she’d been looking down the whole time, and he couldn’t see her face.
Next, he looked around—and spotted a café nearby.
“…Arisa.”
“Yes?”
When he called out, she immediately lifted her head.
Her face was tense, clearly nervous. Yuzuru pointed at the café as he spoke.
“Shall we go in there?”
(…I’ve finished eating.)
After finishing his cake and sipping his after-meal coffee, Yuzuru muttered that to himself.
From the moment they entered until they finished eating, they hadn’t exchanged a single word.
(I can’t keep running away forever…)
With that thought, he set his cup down and turned to Arisa.
Their eyes met.
His heart jolted.
Still, swallowing his nerves, Yuzuru opened his mouth—
““U-um…””
They both spoke at the same time.
Startled, they both clamped their mouths shut.
After a short pause—
“What is it…?”
“What is it…?”
They spoke in unison again.
“A-Arisa, you go—”
“No… Yuzuru-san, please. You’re the one who called me out, aren’t you?”
“…That’s true.”
Yuzuru nodded.
He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then faced Arisa properly again—
“Sorry. I didn’t properly consider how you felt.”
He apologised.
“I mean… it’s not like I was trying to force you or anything. I really do think that if you’re scared, you don’t have to push yourself… um, it was more like a light suggestion, or a recommendation…”
All the carefully prepared apology lines had already vanished from his head.
Instead, he ended up rambling—half excuse, half explanation, mixed with his own thoughts…
And his desire to make up with Arisa.
In response—
“No, I… I’m sorry too.”
Arisa bowed her head.
“Um… even though I’m in high school… being scared of injections is kind of embarrassing… I guess I felt like I was being made fun of, all on my own. I’m really sorry. Sulking over something so trivial… it’s childish, isn’t it?”
She said it shyly.
Yuzuru shook his head.
“That’s not true.”
“…Do you really think that?”
“Well, uh… I mean, I wouldn’t say I don’t think that at all…”
His eyes darted slightly.
“But, you know… that side of you is kind of cute too…”
“…So you are making fun of me?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant—”
“Fufu…”
As Yuzuru hurried to defend himself, Arisa covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Realising he’d been teased, Yuzuru frowned a little.
“…Well, still, being scared of injections when you’re in high school is a bit questionable.”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who can’t even tidy up after himself.”
“H-hey… I’ve been doing better lately, alright!?”
“You’re such a liar. Right before I come over, you just shove everything into the closet, don’t you?”
“T-that’s not—”
Yuzuru’s method of cleaning was simple—cram all the clutter into the closet, then run the vacuum over the visible areas.
It looked clean on the surface, so he thought he’d been getting away with it…
Apparently not.
“Yuzuru-san, it seems you’re hopeless without me.”
“Well, I won’t deny that… but I do think I’ve improved compared to before…”
“Then shall we go check right now?”
“Huh? R-right now…?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not a problem, but… um, give me ten minutes…”
“…The way you said that makes it obvious it’s still messy.”
“N-no, it’s not like that…”
And just like that, the two of them made up.
