Hayashi Megumi’s Reunion

From the heroine’s perspective (Eighth time)

“Dinner’s in the fridge. Don’t take too long in the bath. Use the leftover bathwater for the washing machine. And limit cleaning to one hour a day!”

“What, you my mom or something?”

Right before leaving the house, I told Yamamoto what he needed to know. As a result, he grumbled, calling me his mom again, sounding annoyed. Honestly. I’m not his mom or anything. …If anything, I wouldn’t mind being his girlfriend. Just kidding.

My face feels hot. It’s all Yamamoto’s fault, even though I’m about to head out.

“Alright, I’m off then.”

“Yeah, have fun.”

“Mm.”

Feeling a slight pang of reluctance, I left the room.

As soon as I stepped out, I checked the time on my phone. …I might’ve lingered a bit too long in that room.

I jogged to the station.

After a few stops on the train, I arrived at the meeting spot with Akari.

“Meg!”

Akari was already there.

“Sorry, did I make you wait?”

“Nope, not at all.”

“Oh, good.”

“Yeah. …It’s been a while, huh?”

“…Yeah.”

A slightly awkward silence hung between us.

For Akari, this awkwardness probably feels like a chain-reaction crash.

After all, the reason we grew a bit distant was because I, one-sidedly, felt jealous of her.

To her, it’s a conflict she didn’t even cause.

But even now, deep down… just a tiny bit, I still harbor some complicated feelings toward her.

“…Let’s go, Meg.”

“Yeah.”

Akari smiled brightly and started walking.

I followed behind her.

…Back in high school, I was the one leading Akari around, wasn’t I? But unlike Akari now, I don’t think I was heading toward places that matched her feelings.

I just went where I wanted to go. Akari put up with my selfish whims and tagged along. That’s all it was, I think.

…Yamamoto once mocked me, saying I’m too focused on others.

Focused on others? I wondered where that came from.

We wandered around Shibuya.

By the way, I hate Shibuya and Harajuku. Especially Harajuku. Young people always flock there, so it’s way too crowded, and I really can’t stand it. Especially before Harajuku’s station was renovated. Back when I’d occasionally come here from my hometown to hang out, I didn’t know better and went straight to Harajuku, but… I always got so irritated wondering why everyone gathered at that tiny station.

We met up after lunch and browsed a few clothing stores.

But in the end, neither of us bought anything. It was just about autumn, when fall clothes were starting to hit the shelves, but…

I’m broke, for one thing.

And Akari said it’s because stuff’s too heavy.

So, we ended up just window-shopping at apparel stores and kept wandering.

“We’ve still got two hours.”

“What, that much? Meg, you’re even less materialistic than before, huh?”

“Am I?”

Well, due to a certain incident, my finances aren’t exactly thriving, and after being cut off from the world for a bit, it’s true I don’t have anything I particularly want.

“Nothing you want?”

“…Let’s see.”

I looked up at the sky, racking my brain a little.

We still had plenty of time. If possible, I wanted a reason to make a detour, even for something small.

After some thought, an idea popped into my head.

“Cleaning supplies.”

“Cleaning supplies?”

“Yeah. Yamamoto was saying recently… he wanted a water-repellent coating spray. Apparently, it’s for cleaning mirrors and preventing fogging.”

“Oh, they make stuff like that?”

“Yeah. …Though that guy already has, like, five different kinds of those sprays.”

“What, that many?”

“Yup. No matter how many times I tell him he doesn’t need more, he’s like, ‘This one’s different from that one,’ or ‘It’s high-grade.’ He’s always so nitpicky for a guy.”

“Huh.”

“I mean, what’s so fascinating about that stuff? I don’t get him at all.”

…After I finished my rant and felt satisfied, I noticed Akari wasn’t saying anything. But oddly, I could feel her gaze.

When I glanced beside me, Akari was looking at me with warm, knowing eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing, just thinking you two get along so well.”

“Sh-shut up!”

For the first time in a while, I shouted like I used to.

But unlike back then, my cheeks—no, my whole face—felt hot.

“C-come on, let’s go!”

“To a general store?”

“No way, karaoke! We’re going to karaoke!”

“Huh? What about the spray?”

“Forget it. I don’t know the details anyway.”

“Oh, got it.”

Akari seemed satisfied with that.

“Then next time, you can buy it for Yamamoto-kun when you’re on a date.”

At Akari’s playful tone, my cheeks flushed bright red.