138 - Ayaka Tojo's Resolve②

RAW

The moment I made eye contact with Terasawa, my heartbeat quickened uncomfortably.

She liked Haruto, and I took him away from her. That fact, intertwined with my past trauma, weighed heavily on my heart.

"...What's wrong?"

I hesitantly asked Terasawa.

She glanced briefly at Haruto before opening her mouth hesitantly.

"Um... Tojo-san, could we talk... just the two of us?"

At those words, I involuntarily trembled a little.

Haruto noticed my small disturbance and gently placed his hand on my back.

"Terasawa-san, would it be inconvenient to have this conversation here? Ayaka has an injury and I don’t want her moving around too much."

Haruto’s considerate words made me feel a sudden lightness in my heart.

The fear stemming from past trauma seemed to melt away.

Right. I have Haruto by my side now.

And not just him, there's Saki, and Shizuku-chan too. Akagi-kun is Haruto’s good friend, and a nice person.

More than anything, Haruto’s words, "I'll protect you," gave me strength.

I looked back at Terasawa, who appeared troubled by Haruto’s words. She shifted her gaze between him and me.

Looking at her eyes, I suddenly realized something.

The friends who used to scorn me in middle school had anger in their eyes.

Their words dripped with hostility, and I felt a deep fear, convinced they truly hated me.

But Terasawa now didn’t seem like that.

If anything, she looked like she was concerned about me... I thought.

I summoned up the courage to speak to Terasawa, who was still hesitating to continue.

"Terasawa-san, is it alright to talk by that tree over there?"

I pointed to a garden tree a little away from us.

"Huh? Um, yeah. Is that okay... with you?"

Surprised by my willingness to talk, Terasawa seemed a bit taken aback.

"Yeah, it’s fine. I'll be right back."

I nodded and gave a small wave to Haruto, who was looking at me with a worried gaze.

Behind him, Shizuku-chan was watching Terasawa with narrowed eyes, cautious.

The first time I spoke to Shizuku-chan, she was completely expressionless, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. But recently, I’ve started to notice the subtle changes in her expressions.

She’s usually expressionless, but if you look closely, you can catch small emotional shifts—like the way her eyes open, her lips, or the way her cheeks soften.

Noticing these changes means I must have gotten closer to Shizuku-chan, right?

I smiled to myself, feeling happy.

Once we were by the tree, Terasawa hesitantly faced me.

"Um... is your leg alright?"

"Yeah. It's just a slight sprain, so I think it’ll be fine by tomorrow."

"Thank goodness..." Terasawa sighed with relief.

"I'm sorry for talking to you while you were running."

"No, it’s my fault for tripping over. I’m clumsy."

"No, it’s not like that. It’s because I said... I liked Otsuki-kun back then..."

Terasawa’s expression was still full of apology as she brought up the main topic.

"...You two are together, right? You and Otsuki-kun..."

Her question made my heart race, and I felt a painful squeeze in my chest.

I clenched my fist tightly and nodded firmly.

"Yes. Haruto and I are together."

After hearing my words, Terasawa quickly lowered her head.

Her bangs covered her face, and I couldn’t tell what kind of expression she was making.

The voice of the friend who had tormented me in the past echoed in my mind repeatedly.

But each time, I remembered Haruto’s warmth, and my feelings settled.

Right now, I have Haruto by my side.

Terasawa slowly raised her head after a long pause.

Her expression was... a smile.

"I see... you’re really together, huh..."

Her voice was slow, like a release of tension.

"But I get it. After seeing the two of you on that train, I totally understand."

"Uh, um... Terasawa-san?"

As I was taken aback by her unexpected reaction, Terasawa pulled out her phone.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I did something like secretly taking a picture... I’ll delete it now."

She showed me the screen of her phone, where there was a photo of me and Haruto, and deleted it.

"Ah, thank you."

"No, I was in the wrong. There’s no need for you to thank me."

Terasawa spoke cheerfully, and I couldn’t help but be surprised by her upbeat tone.

I looked at her and then noticed something.

Her eyes were faintly red, and there were tears glistening at the corners.

Despite the emotions reflected in her eyes, she was smiling brightly at me.

"Yeah... it’s obvious I had no chance against you, Tojo-san... but, I think you and Otsuki-kun really suit each other. You’re the best couple in this school!"

"Terasawa-san..."

"Someone like Otsuki-kun wouldn’t be right with anyone but someone like you, Tojo-san."

I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Terasawa, who was trying so hard to stay cheerful.

I, too, had once felt that kind of heartbreak when Haruto had rejected my attempt to kiss him when we were pretending to be a couple. I thought he hated me, and I was devastated.

I thought about that feeling of unrequited love, and it made me want to apologize to her.

But before I could say anything, Shizuku-chan’s voice echoed in my head.

"There’s no need to apologize. You faced your feelings, gathered your courage, and became Haruto-senpai’s girlfriend. That’s something to be celebrated, not something to apologize for."

In the end, apologizing to Terasawa would only be for my own satisfaction, to ease my own feelings.

Because I have no intention of ever giving up my place as Haruto’s girlfriend.

So, I swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"Do you think we’re a good match? Haruto is such an amazing person, and I feel like I need to keep working hard to keep up with him."

"You’re already amazing, Tojo-san. You’re cute and kind. And Otsuki-kun is really kind too, so when you two are together, you’ll spread such a warm atmosphere around you."

Even though I knew it must be so painful for her, Terasawa was managing to smile.

Hearing her words made me wonder.

When did Terasawa start liking Haruto? What made her fall for him?

"Hey, Terasawa-san. How did you know Haruto was so kind?"

"Well, I was in the same class as Otsuki-kun in my first year."

Terasawa explained how she fell for Haruto.

In her first year, Terasawa was tending to a flowerbed in the rain when Haruto came to help her. While she was covered in mud, he said to her with a soft smile:

"If you can treat flowers gently, it’s a sign of a pure heart."

With that smile, Terasawa was completely captivated by him.

Hmm...

I don’t know how this conversation went exactly, and there’s a chance Terasawa might have romanticized the memory in her mind.

But... Haruto does have that kind of charm, doesn’t he?

He often says things like "cute" naturally in conversation...

I experienced that during summer vacation too. He really is a natural heart-throb.

This needs to stop.

I have to give him a proper lecture as his girlfriend!

He can’t just make girls’ hearts flutter like this.

"After that, I started watching Otsuki-kun, but I couldn’t gather the courage to confess."

"I see."

"Yeah."

After Terasawa finished her story, a brief awkward silence fell.

"...Ah, um. Sorry to interrupt your lunch. I’ll head back to the classroom."

"Ah, okay. See you."

I watched Terasawa’s back as she left the courtyard for a moment.

If... if I hadn’t become Haruto’s girlfriend during the summer, maybe I would have been the one walking away from him.

I remembered the words Saki had said to me when I first asked her for love advice.

"Love is a competition."

It might really be like that.

From now on, I need to keep working hard so I can stay by Haruto’s side.

With that resolve, I headed back to where everyone was.

"Are you okay, Ayaka?"

Haruto asked with a concerned look as I approached, and I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I’m fine. Also, when we get home today, I’m going to give you a lecture."

"Okay, got it. A lecture... huh?!" Haruto’s eyes widened in surprise.

His reaction was so cute that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

At that moment, Shizuku-chan nodded seriously and said to Haruto:

"Indeed. Haru-senpai is a bad boy. You should reflect on your actions with Ayaka-senpai’s lecture."

"Huh? Huh? What did I do?!"

Haruto was completely confused, and Akagi-kun grinned.

"Hey, hey, a lecture from Tojo-san? That’s like a reward, lucky guy!"

"Shut up, pervert!"

Haruto shot back in a slightly rough tone at his best friend.

When he’s with Akagi-kun, Haruto seems a little more childish than usual. I guess it shows how much he trusts him, but... I feel a little jealous.

As I thought that, I quietly watched my dear Haruto, who was flustered.

────────────────────

Ayaka's decision: I have to correct Haruto's charming ways!