Chapter No:- 03

For the time being, I let Takanishi-san into my house.

　Takanishi dutifully lined up her shoes, saying, "Excuse me," as she walked in.

　Takanishi looked around the hallways and rooms and muttered things like "amazing" and "beautiful."

　I think she muttered something at the end, but I couldn't hear it. I think she was probably saying something similar.

　I didn't expect anyone to come to my house, and since there is only one chair that I usually use to eat meals, I had no choice but to have her sit on the sofa in front of the TV.

　As I tried to sit on the floor facing her, Takanishi moved to the edge of the sofa and patted next to her side.

"You can sit next to me."

　So I decided to sit next to her.

　Even though I'm not that big, the sofa in a house where I live alone can't be that big, and the distance between me and Takanishi wasn't that wide.

　I knew Takanishi had something to say, so I waited for her to speak.

　As for her, she kept glancing my way, opening and closing her mouth, stretching her arm out towards me then pulling it back, and generally behaving strangely.

　After about five minutes of this, she finally began to speak.

"Do you understand me?"

　That's all.

　But to me, those words indicated that the idea I had rejected long ago was correct.

"...Could it be, Shi-chan?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's been a while, Aoi."

　The moment I heard those words, the sadness I had been forcing inside of me for my childhood friend who had suddenly disappeared started to overflow and I couldn't stop it.

"Shi-chan! Shi-chan!"

　I couldn't help but hug my girl-friend - Shi-chan - and start crying.

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　Shi-chan gently hugged me back and stroked my head.

　It felt like this wasn't the first time, and I felt very relieved.

　I'm not sure how long we remained like this, but by the time I had calmed down, the sun, which had only been slightly tilting, had completely set and it was dark outside.

　When I looked at Shi-chan's face, her eyes were a little red and her breathing was a little rough.

　(Maybe she's trying not to cry because she's in front of me?)

　Thinking that, I decided to just enjoy chatting with her without pointing anything out.

"Is that really Shi-chan?"

"Yup, I'm definitely Aoi's childhood friend, Takanishi Shiori."

　When she smiled, her face looked just like her old self, and I realized that it was really Shi-chan.

　I felt half happy and half confused, and it was a strange feeling, as if I was dreaming.

　While chatting with Shi-chan, I realized that she had realized from the beginning that I was Nishimiya Aoi.

　When I asked her why she didn't talk to me

"I'd hate it if I was forgotten."

　Apparently that's the case.

　It's really scary to think that if I knew about Shishi-chan and talked to her, she would forget me.

　I still think Shi-chan is amazing.

　I don't think I'd have the courage to do that.

　She has always been holding my hand and saving me.

"Thank you, Shi-chan."

　Words that have been said many times before.

　But it's not a light word.

　This was also conveyed to her

"you're welcome"

　Yes, she answers me every time.

"Would you like to have some food?"

　It was a little late to start preparing dinner, but I wanted to do something to show my gratitude to her, so I suggested it to her.

"Is that okay?"

"Of course. I also want to thank you for talking to me."

After some hesitation, she said, "Okay, I guess I'll ask you to do it," so I quickly got to work and got ready.

　The menu I planned to make today was curry, and I had bought a few extra ingredients to have for tomorrow's breakfast, so I wasn't worried about the amount.

　She offered to help me many times, but since I was making it as a thank you, I declined the offer.

　She seemed a bit anxious at first, but when I started to cook she let out an exclamation of admiration in surprise.

　My parents travel a lot for work, so I've always cooked for them since I was little, and I was always eager to help out, so I have some confidence in my cooking.

　After all that, we arranged the finished curry and Shi-chan and I sat down.

　The table where I usually eat only has one chair, so I decided to eat at the low table in front of the sofa.

""I'll enjoy having this""

　We sat on the floor facing each other and began eating curry.

"delicious……"

　I had never cooked for anyone other than my family before, so I was worried about whether the food would suit their tastes, so when I heard her say that, I couldn't help but give a little fist pump.

"Aoi, you can cook too."

"Yeah, because Mom and Dad were on business trips a lot."

"I see, Aoi is amazing."

　Her kind words brought me to tears.

　Her way of speaking and her demeanor have changed since the old days, but deep down she is still as kind as ever, and I realized once again that she is Shi-chan.

　By the time we finished our meal and cleaned up, it was already quite late.

"Shi-chan, I'll take you home."

　I thought it would be a bad idea to let a girl go home alone at this time, so I decided to follow her to her house.

　After thinking for a moment, she said "please," so I went to go get ready a bit when she called out to me.

"I'll be there soon so you don't need to bring anything."

　I was a little skeptical, but if she said so it would be okay, so I just grabbed my smartphone and headed to the front door with her.

　I asked her to go out first and made sure the door was locked, then I tried to follow her, but for some reason she stopped in front of the next room.

"Did you forget something?"

"No, I haven't."

"So what happened?"

　Hearing this, she pointed towards the door with a mischievous smile.

"This is the house I live in now."

　That's what she said.