Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ - Volume 4 - Chapter 1.5

First Interlude

On August 31st, the last day of summer vacation, I hung out with Yui-Yui and Hikarin.

Thanks to the periodic study sessions that Natsu held during our break, I had actually finished my homework. It was the first time in my life that I’d experienced such a relaxed last day of summer vacation.

I need to thank Natsu. When I thought about him, I automatically began to smile, and I hurriedly tried to hold it back. People are gonna think I’m a weirdo for smirking all on my own.

“Ahhh! We did so much!” I exclaimed.

“Yes. I ended up buying a lot of autumn outfits,” Nanase said.

“That was fun! Though, I feel down when I think about how school starts tomorrow,” Hoshimiya said.

We’d wandered around various clothing stores in the shopping mall, eaten delicious pizza and pasta at a chic Italian restaurant, and watched a new romance movie that was all the rage lately at the movie theater. I was a little tired since our schedule had been stuffed full of fun stuff, but I could end summer vacation on a high note this way. My first high school summer vacation was the funnest one I’d experienced out of all my vacations so far.

There were two reasons for that. The first was that I’d made irreplaceable friends. I’d always had a lot of friends, so I had never belonged to one specific group. But I started sticking to one group in high school because of how comfortable I felt with them.

Tatsu was a good friend of mine whom I cherished from way back. He was a bit rowdy, and his word choices irritated me a lot, but he was kind when it mattered and always by my side when I felt depressed.

Rei always observed everyone from a step away, and sometimes I didn’t know what was going through his head, but if we proposed an idea, then he would organize it into reality for sure. He was super intelligent, though he was too confident in his own abilities, in my opinion.

Yui-Yui was a cool girl, but sometimes she would show us her cute side, which was just so unfair. She acted flirty without realizing it, which was just cowardly! Of course I would like her. If Rei was the one who looked out for the boys, then Yui-Yui was the one who took care of us girls. There were facets of herself she showed to Hikarin that I’d never seen before. I wanted to break through that wall between us.

Hikarin had been my closest female friend since I’d entered high school. The moment I laid eyes on her, I thought it was a miracle how cute she was. How could a girl who was so idol-like exist? And her personality was angelic too. I did suspect her character to be somewhat calculated, but I had no doubt she was a good person by nature. She was lively in conversations, and her occasional clumsy side was funny—I enjoyed spending time with her.

Then there was Natsu, the first boy I ever fell in love with. The other reason I had so much fun over summer vacation was because he was here. Natsu changed my world: I looked forward to tomorrow. I got excited over the smallest things. I cheered up when I saw him smile. But when I saw him talking to other girls...an unpleasant feeling would overcome me.

“Hey, Uta-chan. Can we talk for a bit?” Hikarin asked when we were about to go home. She pointed to a park we happened to be passing by.

I had a vague idea what it was about; that would be the topic in question today.

We sat down on a bench shaded by a tree. Children were playing in the sandbox. I’m impressed they can play under the sun in this heat. On the other side of the park, a group of older ladies who looked like the children’s parents sat under the shade. They fanned themselves with flat paper uchiwa fans as they chatted.

The cicadas’ loud chirping was interrupted by Yui-Yui. “Should I step away?”

“No,” Hikarin said. “I want you to stay, Yuino-chan. Is that okay, Uta-chan?”

After a beat I said, “Sure.” I could tell that Hikarin was determined.

She was different from me. On the surface, I’d been acting cheerful, but in truth, I was full of hesitation and unease. I didn’t have the courage to put my feelings into words. That’s why I’d stayed ambiguous, closing my eyes to the elephant in the room and putting off this talk.

“I love Natsuki-kun,” she said, her eyes locked on mine.

I know. I noticed long ago. But I didn’t want to put my observation into words. After all, if something is put into words, it becomes clearly defined. I tried hard not to notice, but in the end, I guess I’m being forced to face it. I looked down and said nothing.

“So I need to apologize to you. You were the first one to fall for him, and I knew that...and yet here I am, confessing to you after the fact,” she continued in a kind tone. “I’m sorry.”

“Hikarin, you don’t need to apologize.” I managed to wring those words out. “You can’t help who you fall for. It was the same for me too.” No. I sound so gloomy; this isn’t like me. I need to sound brighter. “But I won’t lose! Stop trying to be considerate to me, okay?” Am I smiling properly? Is my voice stable?

Unlike me, who was riddled with unease, Hikarin smiled in relief.

“Right. I won’t lose either,” Hikarin said.

“No hard feelings no matter who wins, okay?” I said.

“Yeah. Whatever happens, I’ll do my best to act the same as normal.”

It was just a verbal promise. In all likelihood, things wouldn’t conclude so neatly. I wasn’t sure I could stand watching Hikarin and Natsu date from up close, and she surely felt the same. So this was our wish. I hope it’ll truly end that way, we both prayed for each other.

“No matter what happens, will you still be my friend?” I asked. Even so, I adored Hikarin—I adored Hoshimiya Hikari. Romance aside, I loved her more than Natsu. I hated the thought of losing my friend because of my feelings.

“Yeah, I promise.”

Still, I couldn’t give up on Natsu, which was why we made this promise. Hikarin probably felt the same as me. I’ve never really believed that you can truly understand another person from the bottom of your heart... But I want to believe that it’s possible, just for now.