"Why aren't you talking to me?!" The girl exclaimed with teary eyes. Her voice shaking and full of emotion.
"I have nothing to say to you anymore, goodbye." He said, not looking once at her eyes.
As he began to walk away, she suddenly stopped him, grabbing tightly into the back of his sweater.
She then spoke in a soft, tender tone while leaning her head against his back, "You don't have to pretend to be strong all the time. It's okay to cry. I'll always be here for you"
Those words were enough for him, and soon he began to shed tears, finally deciding to look at her, and at her eyes.
"That's what childhood friends are for you know?" She said as tears flowed down her cheeks.
In an abrupt motion they both hugg-
"AH, DAMN IT!"
I slammed the light novel shut and threw it across my room.
The book had slammed against a wall and landed perfectly with the cover facing up, showing the smug face of the "perfect, kind and supportive, childhood friend" staring at me.
I buried my face on my pillow, groaning at the unfairness of the world. "Why does that guy have it so easy?!"
I flopped back and glared at the ceiling, still thinking about the light novel called 'Heart Killer' that caused an unreasonable irritation within me.
In my head I can still see it, the oh-so-perfect childhood friend character: "Don't worry, I'll always protect you!" "I've loved you since we were kids!" "Oh no, you fell asleep on the train, don't worry, I'll just quietly let you rest on my shoulder while blushing for five pages straight!"
And then there's me. My childhood friend? Forget supportive. Forget kind. If I fell asleep on a train, she'd probably shove me into the aisle and laugh about it for a week.
I grabbed a potato chip from a bag near me and crunched down on it angrily. "Unrealistic. Completely unrealistic. Childhood friends like that don't exist."
Maybe the word jealousy is the most fitting term to describe what I'm feeling.
Which is quite ironic if you think about what I've been through. But that's why I enjoy more than anything in the world, light novels with a single love interest.
Things are simpler, more straightforward. Not a complicated mess of jungled up emotions or a web of misunderstandings involving multiple parties.
I threw another chip in my mouth, chewing away with too much aggression. "That guy is living the dream…"
I eventually stood up, picking up the light novel I had thrown against the wall, and opening the book to a page with a full illustration of the characters. There he is, kneeling in front of the girl who of course, is crying, saying all the right things that need to be said in her moment of weakness.
I let out a sigh, "If things were only ever that simple".
To add salt to the injury of my situation, it turns out I now have a new childhood friend I never knew existed, and who I apparently promised to marry.
I thought at least she would be gentler than Kei, but she hit me with a Yokusenkyaku straight out of the gate.
I placed the book back on its shelf along with its similar counterparts and sat on my bed.
But before I could even go back to laying down, a voice coming from downstairs called out for me.
"Naoki! Can you come here?"
I left my room and headed to the living room where my nose was hit by the fragrant smell of spices and my ears with the sizzling noises of fried vegetables.
My sister, who was on her last paid day off, had decided to cook dinner.
Of course I was a bit skeptical of her cooking. Last time she cooked grilled salmon, and I swear the fish was still moving.
"Big bro can't you cook? Big sis always cooks up something strange when she does it"
The one asking me was none other than my little brother Arima, who was on the living room's couch reading his shounen manga.
"Hey! Don't be rude to your big sis Arima, I'll let you know my cooking skills have improved quite a lot since last time."
After such a comment, both Arima and I couldn't help but look at my sister Kohaku with doubtful eyes, like saying "Right…"
"There's still some leftover food from yesterday," I said to comfort Arima's worries.
"Geez! You little runts are being so rude right now! After all the trouble I've taken to cook this!" Kohaku exclaimed, clearly irritated.
When I got closer to see what my sister was cooking, I got a glimpse of the horrible amalgamation of different ingredients in a single pot that no person should ever eat.
But my sister soon closed the pot that had hell itself within a lid.
"So what did you call me for sis?"
"Ah that's right, I used up my last vacation day so I'm going back to work starting tomorrow. The house is still a mess, so I'll leave the cleaning to you alright?"
I let out a resigned sigh and answered lethargically, "Yeah alright"
As if I don't do the chores all around the house already.
"Arima, make sure to help your brother out."
"ugh" my little brother replied disgruntled.
"Oh and also Naoki, I need you to run an errand, I'm missing some ingredients, so I need you to buy them, and get something to drink while you're at it."
"...more ingredients?" It was beyond me what more she could possibly add to her creation that she called hot pot.
"Yup! This hot pot I'm making still needs that special kick to it to bring it to the next level"
She said that with a bright smile, but to me it looked like the smile of a mad scientist.
"More like a kick to bring it to life…" I muttered under my breath.
"You say something?" she said while looking at me with a terrifying gaze and a ladle in hand.
"Nope! Nothing at all."
Guess I better buy some stomach relief medicine just in case…
As I walked out of the living room, Arima had swung his hand from the couch to grab my attention, "Big bro, can you buy me a bag of chips too?" he said without even batting an eye to me.
"No."
And so I headed out with a jacket to the grocery store.
The walks at night are always quite peaceful. Being so close in proximity to the beaches of Kamakura you get the perfect ambience to relax.
What? You thought I'd be more hung up on what happened at the school rooftop?
Well this isn't my first rodeo. When an event happens, it's best not to think about it too much. I've come to understand that predicting them is next to impossible, so I just go with the flow. Besides, don't you know stress is bad for the skin?
Still, if I had a nickel for every time a sudden confession happened on a school rooftop, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice.
I continued walking along the path that ran parallel to the beach, a benefit of living so close to it.
It was night, and combined with the cold breeze of the ocean, the entire place was empty. Something I appreciated because the moon had its light reflecting quite beautifully on the ocean waves.
"In fleeting glances, secrets reside…"
Hmm? Singing?
"Promises whispered, forgotten tides, yet in the whirlwind, connections bloom…"
While I continued walking, a beautiful singing voice could be heard in the distance.
It was a very calm and serene yet tragic song.
It was the kind of song a choir might sing in a movie after the hero was betrayed, lying in the rain, clutching a wound as the camera faded to black.
You know, the type of song that makes you think, 'it's over', while leaving you with a hollow, empty ache in your chest.
Of course, conveying that kind of raw emotion through singing alone is no small feat. Even a guy like me, whose musical experience began and ended at humming in the shower, could tell that this person, clearly a girl, judging by the pitch of her voice, was no amateur.
I obviously began to look around, scanning for the source of the singing. I mean what can I say, curiosity got the better of me.
But the darkness of the night didn't make the task any easier, but after a moment, I spotted a lone figure standing at the edge of the shore, where the land barely met the sea.
She just stood there completely still, staring out into the vast, endless ocean.
This person was wearing their towel almost like a robe, which hid her face and most of her body from view.
She continued singing to the ocean without even looking around her.
It honestly felt like a waste that more people weren't there to appreciate her singing. But then again, maybe that's what she wanted. Maybe she was the type of person who preferred the silence and the assurance that no one was watching. Who am I to judge?
Not long after, her singing finally stopped, but her voice definitely lingered in my head.
She still didn't move, and her gaze stayed fixed on the horizon, as if the ocean had some kind of answer she was waiting for.
"Well, I guess I better get going." I muttered to myself. Continuing my walk now that her singing was over.
But from the corner of my eye, I could see that her robe, or towel, or whatever it was had slipped off. She didn't even bother picking it up, and let it fall into the sand, only to reveal a thin dress, something light and flowing.
Odd I guess, but people do weirder things at the beach. I thought to myself.
But then, without so much as a glance behind her, she stepped forward into the water.
It was slow at first. Just a few steps and enough for the gentle waves to swirl around her ankles. Then her calves and then her knees.
Swimming at night? In this cold and freezing breeze? This girl is built different.
But something seemed off about the way she walked.
She didn't go in like someone who was planning to splash around for fun. She didn't hesitate when the cold waves hit her legs, and she didn't even let out a small flinch when the water touched her skin.
She just kept walking.
And suddenly, I realized I couldn't see her feet anymore. The water was up to her waist now.
My chest tightened.
Common lady, turn around you're gonna catch a cold or something…
She didn't turn around, and the water rose to her chest, then shoulders, and then her neck.
I felt my heart skip a beat. "Alright, anytime now…. You're coming back, right?" I muttered this time.
With her singing now gone, even the sound of gulping was dreadfully loud.
I could feel my breath become hitched while my eyes strained to keep track of her silhouette.
But she kept sinking deeper into the ocean now, her movements slow and deliberate, as if she were letting the water pull her under.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted without realizing, holding tightly onto the railings that separated the beach from the walkway.
Her head disappeared beneath the surface.
"Shit."
Any second now she'd come back up. She'd pop out of the water, laughing, splashing around like this was some stupid prank video. Right?
Any second now…
The seconds stretched on.
Come on… get back up…
She didn't resurface, and the ocean just stared back, indifferently, as if it hadn't just swallowed someone whole.
Before I could stop myself, I was running. The sand slipped under my feed and my pulse thundered in my ears.
I fumbled with the buttons of my coat as I moved, yanking It off and tossing it behind me, followed by my shirts and then my pants.
It might seem like an odd move, but only at moments like these do you realize how fast your brain can think, and how fast memories of maximizing your odds of success come to you.
Memories of those survival shows you happened to just see once, where they recommended you take off your clothes, so they didn't drag you down.
Memories of the response time police have in Japan, and the time it took someone to drown.
Even those memories that advice strongly against doing this type of action if you are an inexperienced swimmer.
But it didn't matter, by the time I reached the water I was already down to my underwear.
The freezing waves bit into my legs as I waddled in.
"What kind of idiot just walks into an ocean like that?!" I muttered through my clenched teeth.
My eyes desperately scanned across the water, searching for any sign of movement, any ripple that didn't match the waves. Nothing.
"Where the hell are you?!" I exclaimed.
Then, just as I started to think I was too late, the surface of the water broke.
She shot up out of the waves, gasping for air.
Her pink hair waved in a spiral, shimmering faintly in the moonlight and her figure slightly showed through her thin dress.
Wow.
She then turned toward me, her wide eyes catching the light, eyes that looked like the stars themselves had been reflected in them.
For a moment, I froze, completely forgetting what I was doing.
And then, she noticed me.
"What the?!" she shrieked, clutching her soaked dress to her chest. "W-why are you-?!"
Her gaze dropped, and her face turned bright red. "WHY ARE YOU IN YOUR UNDERWEAR?!"
THUMP!
Ah.
It's the moon.
In my head I could hear the soft ambience of the song Fly me to the moon.
'Fly me to the moon,
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars…'
I eventually landed on the sand, face up and looking at the bright stars of the night sky.
I could only think of one thing, Go ohsatsu.