Hayashi Megumi and Yamamoto

It was on Friday of that week that Dad woke up.

“…Oh, Megumi.”

“Yeah. Morning.”

“What about that guy?”

“If you mean Yamamoto, he’ll come tomorrow. He had school.”

“…I see.”

As usual, Dad spoke with a grumpy expression, but why did he seem just a little lonely?

Well, it seems Yamamoto really has won Dad over. I felt a tiny bit of sympathy for him.

The next day, I was at the station nearest to my family home with Mom.

The person we were waiting for was, of course, Yamamoto.

“It’s been a while.”

As soon as he arrived, Yamamoto greeted Mom first.

“Yamamoto-kun. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“And I’ve been looking forward to this.”

Come to think of it, this guy’s surprisingly good at polite small talk.

“What’s that, Hayashi?”

“Nothing.”

I turned my gaze away from Yamamoto, who I hadn’t seen in a few days.

I’d told Yamamoto last night that Dad had woken up, and maybe because of that, the atmosphere in the car was noticeably more relaxed than before.

“It’s been a while.”

“Hmph. I wasn’t waiting for you at all, you know.”

At the hospital, Dad was being his usual contrary self with Yamamoto.

For a while after that, the conversation in the hospital room stayed light, and we eventually headed back to my family home. Naturally, Yamamoto was coming over to our place too.

“Yamamoto-kun, is it okay for you not to go back to your own family?”

At our house, Mom asked Yamamoto something like that. Honestly, give me a break. I was thrilled to see Yamamoto after so long, and here she was saying something that felt like she was trying to shoo him away.

I’m pretty sure I had a slightly sulky look on my face.

“Oh, my family’s pretty hands-off, so it’s fine.”

“I see. Well, that’s good then.”

“Am I intruding?”

“No way, of course not. Right?”

I couldn’t help but jump into their conversation.

Mom looked surprised for a moment before giving a smug nod, as if to say, Naturally.

Sunday.

With Dad awake, I was planning to head back to Tokyo with Yamamoto.

“See you, Mom. I’ll come back right away if something comes up.”

“Yeah. Do your best. Yamamoto-kun, take care of my daughter, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After a short chat with Mom, we boarded the train back.

…What should I do?

On the train ride back, I was hesitating.

That conversation I’d had with Kako-chan at school the other day—where and when should I bring it up with Yamamoto?

To begin with, what was I supposed to do after telling him?

Apologize? That’s a given. …But what comes after?

What should I do with Yamamoto after that?

“That’s great, huh, Hayashi?”

Yamamoto said, gazing out at the scenery through the train window.

“Huh?”

“Your dad, waking up and all.”

“…Yeah.”

Honestly, this guy…

This guy.

Yamamoto is so completely, utterly… not straightforward.

And yet, he’s so kind, always thinking of others.

…I wanted to save Yamamoto, even just a little.

He’s always been so misunderstood. At the very least, I, who know what kind of person he is, wanted him to get the recognition he deserves.

“I’m sorry, Yamamoto.”

“Hm? …It’s not like visiting your dad was a burden or anything. If anything, I’m the one who’s been a bother again.”

“That’s not it.”

“What’s not it?”

Yamamoto, who had been looking out at the scenery, slowly turned to face me.

“…I found out.”

“Found out what?”

“About what happened at the festival afterparty in our first year.”

“…Oh.”

It was surprising.

Back then, Yamamoto had been forced to take the fall for the festival committee’s mistake and went through absolute hell for it.

And yet, Yamamoto looked like he was fondly recalling the past.

“Yeah, that happened, didn’t it?”

“Happened? You went through hell, and you can just say that?”

“It’s old news.”

Oh, I see.

…I realized.

Just as we think of that festival as something in the past, he must see it as something in the past too.

“Besides, I got a chance to make up for it.”

“…Make up for it?”

“Which festival did you enjoy the most in our three years?”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t quite grasp Yamamoto’s intention. But I looked up at the ceiling, wanting to respond to his feelings.

And then…

“Our third year, I think.”

“Got it.”

Yamamoto smiled, looking pleased.

“Do you know who the festival committee chair was in our third year?”

“Huh? Wasn’t it Akari?”

The opening ceremony. The closing ceremony. The afterparty.

Akari was the one who emceed all the public events at the festival. So I’d assumed she was the festival committee chair, but… the way he’s talking…

“…At first, I thought they were just dumping a hassle on me. But later, I realized. Kakogawa-sensei probably gave me a chance to redeem myself.”

The other day, Kako-chan told me about how the festival committee worked in our first year.

…Now that I think about it, it’s strange.

Kako-chan insisted that the festival in our first year was a mess because of the teachers’ oversight. She said it was their failure to manage things properly that caused it.

…But then, why did Kako-chan know so much about how the festival committee operated back then?

Oh, I see.

It wasn’t just Yamamoto.

Kako-chan, too…

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

If it were Kako-chan, of course she’d pick Yamamoto to be the festival committee chair.

Not just out of sympathy for knowing what happened in our first year.

She must have been certain that someone as capable as Yamamoto could make it the best festival ever.

That’s why the festival in our third year was prepared under Yamamoto’s leadership.

“…Yamamoto?”

“Yeah?”

“I judged it fairly, you know, without any bias.”

“I know.”

Yamamoto was smiling.

“The most important thing is to have experiences that can change your mindset. To have those kinds of experiences, I believe you have to face things head-on and fight without running away. If you can do that, even without a second chance, life will surely become something wonderful.”

I recalled something Yamamoto said once.

He probably faced the festival head-on in our first year, and that’s why… he was able to make the festival in our third year a success.

…I was jealous.

Honestly, I was jealous.

Turning failure into a stepping stone for success.

That must feel even more meaningful because of a past failure.

It’s probably a series of anxieties. And plenty of hardships.

But overcoming that anxiety and stress to achieve a huge success must surely… surely…

It must be an incredible, irreplaceable experience.

“…I’m going to face things head-on from now on.”

“Hm? …Oh.”

Yamamoto gave a vague response.

He probably has no idea what kind of resolve I was declaring just now.

I smiled at his casual reaction and leaned just a little closer to him.

Chapter Six is complete.

Can I say something crazy?

What’s Yamamoto’s first name?

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