Chapter 22

This is a dream.

I must be having a bad dream.

Otherwise, it was unthinkable that Yuki would do something like that.

I ran away from Yuki’s house with a single intent to escape this hard-to-believe reality. Of course, I didn’t particularly have any destination to go to, so I just kept running single-mindedly.

Why? How? I thought we were best friends . . .

The look on his face when he suddenly bared his fangs at me wouldn’t leave my mind.

I was scared of Yuki for the first time.

We had been together since kindergarten and we;ve had many fights, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

“. . .”

Suddenly, something cold hit my cheek.

I stopped in my tracks and looked up at the sky. I could see threads of rain falling from the gap in the dark clouds.

I thought about taking shelter from the rain, but there were no buildings nearby with eaves.

If I went to a convenience store, they might at least sell umbrellas.

“Ah . . .”

I was an idiot. My wallet, commuter pass, and everything else was all inside my bag.

My phone was inside my coat, which was also left at Yuki’s house.

What am I doing . . .?

All of my belongings were at Yuki’s house. I also couldn’t even go home being all soaked like this.

That said, I didn’t want to go back to that place.

I felt miserable right now. My chest felt painful, as though it was being crushed.

I felt like I wanted to disappear, right here and now.

“—Haru . . . ? What are you doing here?”

As I was crouched down on the side of the road, someone suddenly lifted me up and pulled me back to my feet.

“. . .?”

Akira was right in front of me.

How? Why was he here?

“Good grief, look at you out in the cold . . .”

Suddenly, he pulled me into his arms. The cold smell of rain along with a sweet smell of fragrance grazed my nose and filled my chest.

Although I desperately tried my hardest not to cry, I couldn’t hold it back when he showed me kindness. The feelings that I had been holding back in my chest started bursting out like a broken dam.

“Akira . . . gh . . .”

Akira didn’t ask me any questions as I clung to him and cried like a little kid, he just silently rubbed my back.

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