Ramen shop
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Walking together at night like this.”
Carrying Kasahara on my back, I walk down the nighttime street. Her ticklish voice reaches my ears from close to my face.
Suddenly, I look up at the night sky.
Unlike the countryside, the stars are barely visible in the city’s residential area. Back when I lived in the countryside, I never appreciated the starry sky, but now, having lost it, I realize how precious it was.
“Is that so?”
“Ugh, that’s harsh. The high school version of you would never have said something like that.”
“Well, we’re not lovers anymore.”
“…Haha. That’s cold. When we were together, you’d wait for me at the station platform until I showed up.”
“Yeah, I guess. Come to think of it, there was that time you sprained your ankle during PE and limped all the way to the station nearest the school, right?”
“Oh, yeah, that happened! You were pale as a ghost back then, Yamamoto-kun. Totally worth it.”
“You went through all that pain just to mess with me? That’s pretty wild.”
“Right? I was just dying to see you as soon as possible, so I pushed through.”
I fall silent.
Was that the only time she was desperate to see me right away?
Or maybe…
Thinking I shouldn’t go there, I glance down at my feet for a moment before looking up again.
“You’re not hungry?”
“Why?”
“You didn’t eat anything earlier, did you?”
“It was a mixer, you know? I didn’t want to come off as too unrefined.”
“And yet you bailed after the first round. I almost feel bad for those guys.”
“It’s fine. I just didn’t want you to think I was unrefined.”
I lower my face again. I’m pretty sure my expression right now isn’t something I’d want Kasahara to see.
“…Wanna grab something to eat somewhere?”
“Oh! Then I want ramen.”
“Hey.”
What happened to all that talk about not being unrefined?
“It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s hard for a girl to go to a ramen shop alone. But going with someone who feels like a boyfriend makes it a bit easier.”
“Is that so?”
Keeping my words brief, I reply.
…Come to think of it.
“You don’t have to keep pretending to be drunk anymore, do you?”
“Nope, I’m good now.”
“…Even if you wanted to ditch the mixer early, did you really have to pretend to be drunk?”
“What, did you actually want to stick around for the first round?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Oh, come on, liar. You were getting along so well with Irie-chan.”
“That’s one thing. This is another.”
“…Huh, is that so?”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“No, I totally believe you!”
“You don’t believe me.”
Kasahara is the kind of woman who always uses charming, pleasant words. But you can’t trust what she says. I learned that much during the three months we dated.
“I’m serious. Right now, I’m heartbroken because of someone. I’m not in the mood for new love.”
Come to think of it, in that sense, Kasahara’s fake drunken act was perfectly timed. If the conversation had gone on and they’d suggested a second round, I might’ve gone along with it. All for the sake of talking about weight training.
“…I wonder who that someone could be.”
“Who knows.”
A brief silence follows.
The sound of my footsteps echoes through the residential street.
“If you’re not drunk anymore, how about getting down?”
“Nope.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yup!”
“…Now that I think about it, there’s a ramen shop near the station.”
“Then let’s go there!”
“Got it.”
Still carrying Kasahara on my back, I keep walking.
It takes ten minutes to reach the station near the university. It’s another five minutes after that before I finally set Kasahara down in front of the ramen shop.
Unlike her, I ate quite a bit at the izakaya earlier.
My stomach’s pretty full because of it, but having her next to me somehow makes that fullness fade a little.
“Can you even eat a regular portion?”
When we’re buying food tickets, I can’t help but ask about the order Kasahara placed.
“Yup. Oh, but… if I can’t finish it, you’ll eat the rest, right?”
“…Seriously?”
“Please?”
“…Fine.”
“Hehe, if I leave some, it’ll be like an indirect kiss, huh?”
“Guess so.”
Feeling a bit flustered, we sit side by side at the narrow counter of the ramen shop.
