Chifuyu descended the stairs and made her way to Kaito’s side. He was sitting on the sofa, wearing a slightly grumpy expression.
“Kaito-san.”
Chifuyu said with a smile. The slight puffiness around her eyes was a result of her frustration and self-loathing.
However, she had resolved herself and decided to move forward.
“Kaito-san, Chifuyu… Chifuyu has…. feelings for you. Not like a familial love, nor a daughter’s love for her father, but in a romantic way.”
“I see… Thank you… for graciously telling me how you feel about me.”
“But I’m sure the love we have for each other is vastly different. So, these words might become meaningless… But Chifuyu has hope for the future. Hoping that someday, Kaito-san would come to like her in that way… I’ll never give up, forever holding onto that hope. Because it was you, Kaito-san, who allowed Chifuyu to move forward without giving up…”
Chifuyu placed her lips on Kaito’s cheek. Her face turned red, but she was giving her best attempt to show off her adult side.
She smiled shyly while looking forward to the future and making a decision to walk towards it.
“So, just wait for me. I’ll definitely become a wonderful Chifuyu who can make Kaito-san fall in love.”
Her unwavering smile, the one that kept on beaming, made Kaito’s chest ache. It wasn’t the ache of love. Perhaps it was a slight pang of self-loathing; he had begun to feel that way about himself for not being able to ……such a pure-hearted girl.
She continued to offer her smile to him, despite his grave expression. Her feelings would likely become actions for the future. Yet, until that day arrived, she wouldn’t give up.
Chifuyu would no longer look down. Even if he evaded her advances countless times or tried to delay things, she would continue to hold onto her feelings for him.
◆◆
That night, Kaito lay on the bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, without doing anything in particular. He was pained by her innocent feelings. But it wasn’t just that—he had been doing this with Chiharu, Chiaki, Chinatsu, and himself…
He started to understand why he had been treating them all like family. Gradually, he had been coming to terms with what he truly desired.
At first, he feigned ignorance. However, with each interaction where he received their pure feelings and witnessed their blissful smiles, a sense of happiness intertwined with self-loathing intensified within him.
And then, when he received Chifuyu’s feelings, he came to a realization. What was he doing? What purpose had he been serving?
What sort of person was this individual named Kaito?
――When that realization hit him, he was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of fatigue and lethargy.
And so, here he was, at this moment. Just lying on the bed, staring upwards. Right then, someone entered his room.
“Kaito?”
It was Chinatsu. Kaito could tell from her now grown-up appearance that she had been basking in the light of the full moon. Wearing Kaito’s mother’s clothes, she entered the room.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmm? I just wanted to sleep together… Everyone else is already asleep, so it’s okay!”
“I don’t know what’s okay, but… understood.”
She moved towards Kaito as if gliding, coming closer. However, when she hugged him, she sensed his subtle change.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, not really…”
“Come on, I can tell!”
Chinatsu leaned her face closer to Kaito’s. She seemed angry, but upon seeing Kaito’s expression, she tilted her head as if asking what was wrong.
“No… It’s more like I felt like I had nothing compared to Chifuyu, Chiaki, Chiharu, and Chinatsu. You all look dazzling compared to me….”
“…Did it make you feel bad? Why?”
“…”
Kaito didn’t attempt to explain. He fell into silence, closing his eyes. At that moment, memories from the past—memories before his death—resurfaced in his mind.
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