Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

“Well, try not to be alone too much and call me if you’re ever alone. You can call me anytime you want, okay? In the meantime, I’m going to stay over next week, is there anything you else you want me to do?”

For now, I want to get her home while it’s light outside, and so we plan to disband early today. While we made a number of arrangements, I still did a final confirmation. Aoi has been obeying everything I’ve said, so I’m a little worried. There are times where her immense trust in surprises me.

“… can I call you… everyday?”

“Yeah, you can. Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“Alright, well, I’ll walk you home. It’s going to be dark soon, so let’s hurry up and disband for today.”

I have to call her every day, but it’s a small price to pay to get rid of this girl’s anxiety. I stroked her head and stood up.

I’m worried if she’ll be okay from now on, but for now I’ve got my countermeasures in place and can only hope that the stalker will be caught soon. I hope Aoi won’t be harmed in any way, though I’ll still do everything I can to help.

I walked to the station chatting with Aoi and parted with her at the ticket gate. I really wanted to walk Aoi home, but she refused saying ‘no I would feel bad’. She was still cheerful, so I let her go back, but the sight of Aoi’s backside made me uneasy. It’s my fault that I left her alone, she must’ve been scared. I should stay with her as much as possible from now on. I resolved to do so in my heart.

After that, I actually called her every day to make sure she wasn’t being stalked and told her a variety of things to make her feel safe. It seemed like Aoi was anxious about being home alone from her gloomy and listless voice, but as I talked to her, she returned to her usual Aoi self. Though when I hung up the call, she went back to her sad self, which troubled me a little.

A few days later, when I went to stay over at her house, Aoi was always with me, never leaving my side. We were in touch and called each other frequently, but I guess she’s still anxious. The only time we were apart was when we ate dinner and took a bath, and the rest of the time she was stuck next to me so I would hug her and stroke her head. Aoi didn’t say anything in particular, but it seemed she liked it and hugged me tightly, never leaving. Since she was relieved from this, I treated Aoi more gently than before.

Although the days continued, the stalker still sent pictures and letters. Aoi refrains from going out alone for now, so she hasn’t encountered the stalker, but she seems to be enduring a lot. Even through the phone, she’s scared and frightened. The photos are indeed all Aoi, and they’re accompanied by letters that express their love for Aoi, which is really creepy. Moreover, Aoi seems to be emotionally unstable because she can’t go outside, and she’s started crying more often. What to do. I’m also getting worried about Aoi’s situation. I want to be with her as much as possible, but we both have our own lives.

When I was thinking of giving her some kind of change of pace, I received a call from Haruka. It was about going to see cherry blossoms, which we talked about before. I thought this would be a good change of pace for her.

According to Aoi’s character, it would be better if we went out just with the two of us, but there are times where something unexpected happens; I can just take care of Aoi’s follow-up. I contacted Aoi and asked her if she wanted to go out to see the cherry blossoms. I tell her what my friend explained to me and that it’ll be a nice change of pace. I thought that she might reject it, but Aoi contacted me soon after and said that she wanted to go. I was relieved to hear that, and after confirming our plans with Haruka, we decided to go see cherry blossoms along a nearby river on Sunday.

Before noon on Sunday, I came to the station where we planned to meet. Aoi had already arrived and was wearing her usual disguise and hat. This changed her impression and atmosphere quite a bit, so few people will probably notice. Then Leila came while Shouta came by car. There was one more guy, Kurosaki, a businessman who was a drinking buddy of mine, but Kurosaki was waiting at a vacant place on the bank along the river instead. Kurosaki, also known as Kuro or Kurosaki, is a delightful and fun guy, but also a pitiful guy who often gets wasted like me.

Everyone greeted each other and got into the car, though Leila immediately secured the seat right next to Aoi.

“Aoi-chan? I mean, -san*! You’re so cute! You have such a small face and are so stylish! What do you eat? You’re so cute!! I didn’t think I’d ever meet you! I’m so happy! I’m going to die!”

*Leila changes the honorifics for Aoi here. -chan is more casual and for close friends between girls whereas -san is more formal.

“Th…Thank you… so much.”

“So, you and Yuki were really friends! I had my doubts that she might be lying, but I believe her now!! Let’s have fun today! I want to talk a lot with you!”

“O-Okay.”

Aoi is a little taken back but Leila doesn’t notice, so I give a wry smile and intervene from the passenger seat. Leila doesn’t take offense from that.

“Come on now, Leila. Aoi will be surprised if you’re that zealous.”

“Ah, you’re right! I’m sorry. Oh, that’s right! I saw the drama the other day. It was so good I was touched! Is there going to be a sequel?”

While she’s well meant, Leila was somewhat excited to meet Aoi, a celebrity, and so my voice was meaningless. Aoi flinched but still answered, and though I felt sorry for her, Leila wouldn’t stop, so for the time being, at least while in the car, I had Aoi do her best and lightly told Leila to keep it in moderation then faced the front.

“When did Kurosaki start saving the spot?”

I asked Shota a question.

“It seemed like there was an open spot, so it was only really a little while ago that he saved it. Kuro’s a hard worker, isn’t he? When it’s something Leila asks, he’ll immediately agree and will also be the one who’s most enthusiastic about it.”

“Ahh, well, because Kurosaki likes Leila. Though he’s never taken seriously.”

“Really. That guy’s just an idiot.”

We nod at each other in dismay. Yes, Kurosaki likes Leila, but Leila doesn’t take him seriously at all. Even with Kurosaki’s fruitless efforts, he’s still undeterred. I want to praise him for that passion, but he’s often wasted because of Leila. That’s why I’m so amazed and dumbfounded.

I arrived at the riverside where the cherry blossoms were blooming while talking with Shouta. The road was a little crowded, but we managed to get there pretty easily. During that time, Aoi seemed to be having a hard time because Leila was asker her a lot of questions, but Leila seemed to be having fun. When we parked the car and got off, we found a food stall nearby. There were many food stalls lined up along the road of the bank.

“Leila, are we having something like a BBQ today?”

Leila, who was wearing high heels, answered my question while she seemingly having trouble walking.

“Uh-huh, Kurosaki seems to have prepared a small one, but because it’s really small, he said to get something from the food stalls.”

When I naturally held out my hand since I couldn’t stand by and just watch, Leila grabbed on to my arm and attached herself to me. Leila, who thanked me, always wears high heels. Supposedly the ones without heels aren’t cute, so she doesn’t want to wear them; she won’t bend no matter the place. Today, she did this again, even though she should have known that we would be walking along the river. I’m a little taken aback, but it’s also on me that I can’t say anything strongly to her since she’s cute.

“Leila, you didn’t have to wear heels for today, did you?”

“But they’re not cute*!”

*She’s talking about the shoes that aren’t high heels.

“But it’s hard to walk in, isn’t it?”

“I’ll do my best, so it’s fine!”

“Ehh? But you’ll get hurt.”

“I’m fine because I have Yuki!”

Shouta was very speechless by Leila who said so sulkily. When I was l laughing wryly at the thought that this might be directed at me

“Yuki, aren’t you the one who’s spoiling her too much? You’re pretty much Leila’s guardian so manage her better.”

As expected, it was directed at me. Shouta knows very well that I’m too lenient.

“I mean she doesn’t listen to me. I can’t help it, can I?”

“All you’re doing is spoiling her.”

“…I can’t deny that. …Stop it already! For the time being, the food stall! Let’s get something from the food stall, shall we?”

“Haaa.”

He sighed, but I still managed to end the conversation and headed towards the food stall. I’m not one to get angry or strongly argue with him. There’s a good number of stalls and they all smell good. Leila is again looking with excitement in her eyes. She’s like a child, it’s so heartwarming.

“Waah! At the moment, the yakisoba*, takoyaki*, and chicken look delicious! I’ll go get some yakisoba!”

*Types of Japanese street food.

Since the ground became easier to walk on, she ran a little and went to buy yakisoba. I stop looking at Leila who was the same as always and when I looked at Aoi, Aoi was looking at me. Aoi blatantly averted her gaze as if flustered when our eyes met. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I still spoke to her.

“Is there something you want to eat?”

“Anything… is fine.”

“I see, how about you, Shouta?”

“I’m fine with anything too.”

“Then I’ll buy whatever I want. Shouta, can you follow Leila? I’ll get some okonomiyaki* and fried chicken, so I’ll leave the rest up to you.”

*Another type of Japanese street food.

“Alright.”

I sent Shouta to Leila’s place, said ‘let’s go’ to Aoi, and then lined up for okonomiyaki. The cherry blossoms are only falling a little but are still beautiful and so we talked while looking at them.

“The cherry blossoms… are beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry about Leila asking you a barrage of questions. It’s not like she meant to offend you or anything. It seems like Leila’s liked you ever since she saw you on TV.”

“Uh-huh, I’m fine. I was just a little surprised. …She’s a cute girl. Leila-chan.”

“Yeah, she is. Leila’s really cute like a child, so I can’t get angry at her.”

When I answered with a laugh, Aoi also laughed a little. I bought some okonomiyaki and then went to buy the fried chicken. As I was taking care not to bump into others because there were a lot of people, Aoi grabbed around my upper arm tightly. When I turned around to see what was going on, Aoi was looking at me and discreetly holding onto my clothes. I asked her if there was something wrong thinking that she wanted to eat something.

“U-Um, there were a lot of people around… so I just grabbed onto you.”

“I see, I thought you wanted something to eat. You can link arms with me.”

“Eh?! T-That’s…. um… it’s fine. I’m fine like this.”

She was very flustered, but since she said no, I nodded and bought some fried chicken. Thinking that she didn’t have to be shy about it, I met up with Leila and the others after talking with Aoi while buying some other random things. The moment we met up with them, Aoi stopped grabbing my clothes and was caught by Leila again. In my mind, I apologized and cheered her on, watching over her. Leila made Shouta carry all the things she bought. I stared at Shouta with the eyes saying, ‘look who’s talking’, but was ignored. What the hell. What an irritating guy.

We talked to where Kurosaki was waiting and there, a tall, thin, dark-haired, glasses wearing Kurosaki was waiting for us, setting up a small BBQ set.

“Kurosaki, sorry for making you wait~! That looks pretty good! I want to eat and drink something already!”

“Alright, everyone! You’re finally here, I finished preparing.”

Leila was the first one to sit down on the seat and relax. Shouta also put down the luggage and sat down, I then introduced Aoi to Kurosaki and we all sat down. This is a nice place; we can see the cherry blossom well from here and there weren’t too many people around. It seems like Kurosaki worked hard. We prepared drinks and finally started to watch the cherry blossoms.

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