I explain to Tanaka what happened with Hanazono. And also the classroom happenings
–This time Tanaka doesn’t hit me on the head.
She walks happily with her arms behind her back.
“You’re clumsy, but you tried.”
Those words seeped comfortably into my heart.
“Yeah, I made an effort. But still… I don’t understand what everyone is thinking. Just earlier, I didn’t like that part-timer Murakami was badmouthing you. I couldn’t do anything.”
“Idiot, that’s better than most. Girls are way harsher. They’ll readily betray friends… “
“Re, really?”
“Yeah. And there’s definitely girls like Michiba messing with people in every class. They’re a real pain. Murakami is annoying.”
Tanaka sighed.
It seems she recalled something.
“And also, it’s out of character for you think that way about me, but it makes me reaaally happy…”
Tanaka smiled at me so happily.
“Reset– normally it’d be unbelievable, but I think you can do it Toudou? To reset your feelings.”
“I only speak the facts.”
“Ahaha, that’s so like you. It makes me a little envious. If I could reset my feelings like that… I could become a new me…”
“Is that so? Did Tanaka want to reset at some point too?”
“You experience all sorts in life.”
“I–don’t want to reset anymore.”
Tanaka looked at me seriously.
“Yeah, you build up all kinds of experiences and become friends. …Hey, um, I want… to join Toudou and the other’s group of friends, can I? I don’t have friends either, ahaha.”
I tilted my head. Tanaka should have lots of friends. She was happily singing karaoke with her friends at that time. And there’s that cool guy.
My chest hurts a little.
It’s not a painful hurt. Not a sad hurt–
What is this?
“So, that guy from earlier–isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“Huh? My brother? Ahaha, I just tolerates him following me around!”
Brother… I see, he’s her brother–
For some reason, the prickling in my chest settled down. I suddenly felt like running with all my strength. It’d feel great to run all-out.
“Oh yeah! I had a souvenir for you Toudou! It’s thanks for always walking me back from work. Here!”
Of the two bags she’s holding, Tanaka takes one and hands it to me. Perplexed, I receive it.
“Hehe, it’s cake from a famous cake shop around here! I’m giving the other to my brother! I should have made him carry it! Geez!”
To Tanaka, was I just a convenient guy she could take advantage of? And yet she said she wanted to be friends with someone like me?
The weight of the bag she gave me felt nice.
Sweets, something I only eat on special occasions. The candy I received from [adults] was sweet. It was my only happy memory. When I failed at school in middle school and went home depressed, the juice I drank was sweet yet a little salty. At a festival I went to alone, with coins clenched in my fist, I shrank away at the crowds in front of the food stalls and couldn’t buy a candy apple.
Memories come back. Happy memories and sad memories.
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“Wha, hey… why are you crying!? Toudou!?”
“No, this is sweat. It happens occasionally.”
“No way! That’s not it!”
While wiping the sweat with a handkerchief, I honestly conveyed my feelings.
“I want to eat together with you–“
“Huh!? R-Really? Okay, that’s great. But, will you be my friend?”
Sweat seemed to pour from her face again. She was desperately trying to restrain something welling up inside her.
I don’t understand this feeling. But instinctively, I know it’s a pleasant one.
“I also want to be friends with you.”
“Alright, then from now on we’re friends! Hehe, actually, I thought we were friends all along. I was just too shy to say it.”
“Is that so? I thought you were just being opportunistic with me.”
“Huh? No way! Come on, let’s eat over there in the park!”
“O-Okay.”
In the darkness, I couldn’t see clearly, but her face seemed to be turning slightly red.
I followed behind Tanaka. Though this area is safe, it’s dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night.
I’ve been hassled many times myself.
We sat on a bench and opened the cake box. I had seen this in the display windows of shops in town before. If I remember correctly, it’s called a shortcake.
“Oh, there’s only one fork, so you eat it Toudou.”
Tanaka handed me the fork. After hesitating a little, I used the fork to cut the shortcake in half.
“I want to eat with Tanaka. Let’s split it in half. You eat first.”
“O-Okay, thanks~”
Tanaka ate the shortcake with the fork.
While humming a tune happily, she seemed to be really enjoying it. I found myself captivated by her simple humming. It shook my heart like a moving melody. And eating while humming a tune, Tanaka is quite skilled.
“Oh, you should eat too, Toudou!”
“Yes, then……”
“W-Wait! Not with your bare hands!”
“I see, may I use that fork then?”
“Uh, o-okay….”
I took the fork Tanaka handed me. I stabbed the remaining shortcake with the fork. When I was about to bring it to my mouth, Tanaka muttered “Ah, yaba.” I understand “yaba” is abbreviated slang for “yabai” It’s used in dire situations or to mean something is amazing. ……While wondering about this, I stuffed the cake in my mouth.
“Delicious.”
When you eat something truly delicious, the words just naturally come out.
The cream, strawberries, and sponge are all delicious, but combining everything together harmonizes the flavors and seems to double the density. Of all the sweets I’ve eaten so far, this is the most delicious.
When I finished eating, the scent of strawberries lingered. It made me want another bite.
This is an amazing confection. It was my first time eating cake from a specialty shop.
The sponge cake faintly smells of almond. The cream has an aroma like it contains liquor.
Oh, I shouldn’t hog it all. When I was halfway done, I returned the fork to Tanaka.
“You eat some too, Tanaka.”
“O-Okay, I’ll eat.”
The usually spirited Tanaka became a little quiet. Her red face concerns me, but she should be alright. She’s probably just excited from the delicious shortcake. It seems like she keeps glancing at me. Does she want to tell me something?
Tanaka gobbled down her portion of the cake in one bite.
“You should eat the rest, Toudou….”
As I ate the remaining shortcake, I realized something.
Certainly this cake is delicious. But eating together with my friend makes it taste even better.
“Friends are a mysterious thing.”
“You don’t need to think about it so deeply. We work the same part-time job and go to the same school. We’re both loners and coworkers, so we’re new friends!”
“Yes, it’s an indescribable feeling.”
“By the way, isn’t Toudou actually senior? The way you talks is so amusing!”
“Huh, really?”
“Nah, it’s not weird at all. That calm demeanor of his is kinda cool.”
“Is that so… Well, that’s a relief.”
It was a strange sensation, different from when I’m with Hanazono. Perhaps it’s a sense of tranquility?
I won’t forget this day.
The cake Tanaka and I ate in the park at night tasted like the gentlest flavor I’ve ever experienced—
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scene transition
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I hope that out of all the girls Todou has to face, at least Tanaka doesn’t have a moment where she’s reset. She can hurt him, he can hurt her, but I feel like it’d be so much more cathartic if these two were the first to talk things out and recover without any form of reset on their ends.