June.
The last days of high school life have passed by in the blink of an eye.
I think it’s because we’ve been having such enjoyable days that time has flown by so quickly.
Lately, I’ve been with Yamato from morning until night. I go to meet Yamato at the station, and Yamato rides on the back of my bike as we happily make our way to school…
“This bike and this carrier are mine too.”
Yamato’s usual “What’s yours is mine” continues…
We exchanged contact information the other day, but even then, he said something like, “Your contact information is mine too”… Couldn’t we just exchange it normally? I was happy we could exchange it, but…
And even now, Yamato won’t return my black-rimmed glasses…
It’s not like I can’t see without them, but… If he likes them that much, he should just buy his own!
Even so, Yamato wears my black-rimmed glasses without fail every day… I still don’t understand why he won’t return them to me…
Even if I ask, he won’t tell me…
But “what’s yours is mine,” huh…
At that time, I had no way to think beyond that, but I was just so happy that Yamato was becoming my best friend.
* * *
We arrived at school and took our usual seats.
Actually, this school strangely doesn’t have the custom of changing seats…
I’m against seat changes!! Because I don’t want to be separated from Yamato and Shun!! It’s fine just the way it is!!
As I’m thinking about that, Shun, who had just finished the morning practice for the basketball club, came into the classroom today, seemingly not his usual energetic self… Huh, what’s wrong…?
It’s the first time I’ve seen Shun so out of it… W-what happened…?
“Shun…? Good morning…”
“Yeah, morning…”
“Hey, Shun? You don’t seem well… Are you okay?”
Yamato also seems somewhat uneasy about Shun’s lack of energy… If the mood-maker Shun is in this state, anyone would notice that something’s off…
“…I’m sorry… *sigh* …Hey, could you guys do something a bit naughty during lunch…?”
Just when I thought about what he was going to say… Something naughty? What does he mean…?
“Huh? Something naughty? If it’s fun, count me in.”
W-why is Yamato also up for it…!? …Getting scolded by the teacher…?
“Thank you, Yamato…! What about you, Yuto…?”
This situation is like… is more difficult to refuse than outright refusing… I reluctantly decided to go along with what Shun suggested as something naughty.
* * *
During lunch that day…
We were headed somewhere with bread and drinks that the two had bought.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Lfs, tfs… ifa’r pera rabq, bxjs?”
“Ktfc, Teab, vb sbe kjca ab ub yjmx?”
“Qf’nf mbwf atlr ojg! Po kf ufa rmbivfv, kf’ii ufa rmbivfv abufatfg jr atgff, rb la’ii yf olcf!”
Ktbeut P kjr jogjlv… P mbcalcefv kjixlcu, cba vlrajcmlcu wsrfio ogbw atfw, rqeggfv bc ys atflg nblmfr.
*Click*
“Ljtj! Obbxr ilxf atlr qijmf’r jikjsr ecibmxfv!”
Yes, where we stepped into was the rooftop of the school… It was surprising to me that it wasn’t locked, even though it’s usually off-limits…
Seriously, Shun, always… Have you been here many times before or what…!!
We stepped onto the rooftop while thinking about that, and as a pleasantly cool breeze blew, the three of us enjoyed our bread and drinks more than usual.
What if the teacher catches us…
The two were by my side, contrary to such tension…
And above all, I felt even more enjoyable than usual.
Even though we were supposed to be doing something bad, any sense of guilt had somehow disappeared.
Yamato, as usual, snatched away my yakisoba bread… And today, he even drank my strawberry milk!! Instead, he gave me the orange juice he drank and the yakisoba bread that Shun had eaten halfway through… Eh… Shun…? Aren’t you hungry?
Indeed, Shun seemed different than usual…
Right, we didn’t just come here for fun… Shun… We want to hear your feelings…
I was about to speak up to him… Just then, Shun began to speak.
“I… I’m scared…”
“S-Scared…?”
“…Yeah… there’s the last Inter-High this month, right? Even though I’m like this, I’m still the captain of the basketball club, and this will be the last game of high school life for me…”
“…And if we lose the game, it’s over… It’ll end as the captain, and just thinking about that makes me more and more scared as Inter-High approaches…”
It was the first time I had seen Shun so hesitant…
I know Shun, who became captain as a sophomore and always worked hard.
But I’ve never heard about the pressure and struggles he faces as captain, nor have I seen him express them…
And now, this is really the end… The pressure Shun feels has reached its limit…
What should I say to him…
If I say “do your best,” it’ll just make it harder… All I could do was place my hand on his shoulder…
But just then, Yamato quietly spoke up…
“If it’s the last one, then enjoy it like it’s the last.”
“T-That’s not so easy!”
“…If the captain, you, can’t enjoy playing basketball, then nobody else can enjoy it, right?!”
“…!!”
Hey… both of you…!!
Please… Don’t let it turn into a fight…!!
I could only listen to their exchange, praying that no rift would form…
“I’m glad I became friends with you.”
“Huh…?”
“Yeah, this is what it means to have fun, right? If I can enjoy it, then everyone else can too. If Yuto and Shun can enjoy it, naturally, I can too…”
“I’ve always envied how cheerful and lively you are, always making everyone laugh.”
“Do you understand what I mean…? Because of your energy and brightness, not just us, but everyone is supported and helped!”
“So, whether you’re the captain of the basketball club or not, it’s because of that!”
I… Seeing Yamato speak with such passion for the first time…
But why… I feel… warm, even deep down in my heart… Yamato’s feelings are so painfully palpable…
“Ugh… Ahh! Damn it! Damn it all! Damn damn damn damn…!!”
Shun finally let out the pain he had been holding deep inside Yamato’s feelings and stood alongside them, shouting loudly and shedding tears…
I spoke up to him while rubbing Shun’s back…
“Shun…? I’m sorry I couldn’t notice your pain… But, Shun, you’re not alone, okay…? You have important teammates in the basketball club who believe in you… And here, Yamato and I are also here…”
“Yeah, if anything happens, we can support each other and encourage each other… Because we’re already important best friends, right?”
Shun began to sob with our encouragement, tears streaming down his face…
It’s okay to let out the pain as tears… Cry a lot, shed a lot… We want you to face the final game with a clear heart… That’s our wish, Yamato’s and mine…
“Shun, we’re best friends… If anything happens, we’ll support you.”
“Yeah! So, keep spreading your usual cheerful and energetic self to all the club members, okay?”
It seemed like our wishes reached him.
“Thank you…”
Shun continued to cry until he felt relieved by the words left behind…
* * *
Shun’s tears stopped, and he showed signs of calming down. Finally, Shun opened up to us.
“Thanks, both of you… I feel much better now… I’m such an idiot. I need to pull myself together…”
At Shun’s words, Yamato chimed in again.
“You don’t need to pull yourself together; just enjoy it. Enjoy the last game with a smile, no matter what the result. Don’t forget to smile, no matter what.”
“Haha, you’re saying that, huh… I’ll enjoy the game with a smile even without being told…! In that case, you guys better cheer for me properly, okay?!”
“Yeah, leave it to us.”
Yamato made a fist bump gesture towards Shun with those words, offering it to him. Shun reciprocated with a fist bump, and the two lightly punched each other.
It’s good… It seems like Shun has made up his mind, and above all, Yamato… He was really cool, wasn’t he…?
“I-I’ll come to cheer too!”
“Yuto, let’s go cheer together?”
“Yeah! We can’t do without our best friends’ support!”
Finally, we were able to laugh together, as usual.
At that moment, we glanced at our phones… Oh no! Lunch break is almost over!
We left the rooftop quietly and quickly, making sure not to get caught by the teacher.
* * *
On the way back that day.
Shun headed towards the basketball club with energy and an even brighter smile than usual.
It felt like all the clouds in his heart had cleared, and both Yamato and I were relieved.
And as usual, I rode my bike to escort Yamato to the station… Yamato was comfortably sitting on the carrier again today, seeming content.
At that moment, a certain phrase escaped from my lips.
“Yamato…”
“Hm, what is it?”
“You were really cool at lunch today, you know…?”
He truly was cool… Yamato, who used to be aloof just a few months ago, seeing him passionately encouraging Shun like that… Probably no one else besides Shun and I knew…
Honestly, I found myself admiring him…
Was it love or friendship…?
At that moment, I didn’t even think about it…
Just because Yamato was cool…
In response to my words, he leaned his head against my back like he did on another day… and softly muttered, “Th-thanks…” with a hint of embarrassment, as if shyly speaking.
I could feel the warmth from Yamato spreading to my back…
For some reason, little by little, I started feeling a warmth I had never felt before in my life, thanks to that warmth from Yamato…
After that, we didn’t say much. We just escorted Yamato to the station.
“Th-thanks…”
As I uttered this and Yamato leaned his head against my back, I wondered what expression he wore…?
But as I pedaled my bike, I realized I had no way of knowing that expression…
