Chapter 2.5 — Luna and Nikoru’s Long Phone Call
“That's what happened, so I
decided to stop the 'Friendship Plan'.”
“Hmm~,
huh, but isn't that really dangerous? If Luna just runs away, you two will
definitely break up, right?”
“Yeah... I don't want to break
up with him, but this could be another form of keeping your distance like
before...”
“....'Keeping
your distance', huh...”
“Ah, sorry.”
“It's
okay. I'm used to it by now. We haven't seen each other for a long time. It was
because of my selfishness. But it's a little better now than before.”
“Don't worry, March is getting
closer, isn't it?”
“I'm
getting scared. When March comes, I wonder if Senpai really wants to go out
with me again.”
“Why?”
“No
matter how busy guys are, if they really like someone, they will definitely
make time to meet her, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,
that's the case. Based on the stories I've heard so far, girls who can't get
their boyfriends to make time are 'spare girls.'”
“...In fact, my ex-boyfriends
used to ask me every day, 'Can I go over
to your house, Luna?' when we first started dating, but they got busier and
busier and stopped seeing me....”
“...So
I wonder if Senpai has other girls besides me....”
“Im-Impossible! Sekiya-san is
really busy studying, you know. He studies for 13 hours a day!? He has no time
to meet other girls.”
“Damn...
maybe I need to enroll in a cram school too.”
“Eh, seriously!?”
“No
way! Ahhh, I hate myself so much. I really hate myself for not trusting Senpai
and waiting for him quietly.”
“Nikoru...”
“...Senpai
has really changed. Three years have passed, so it's only natural that things
have changed. Of course, there are some things that haven't changed.... But
what hasn't changed and what has? But before I could find out what had changed
and what hadn't, this situation happened.”
“Is that so? ....”
“The
Senpai I knew was serious and dedicated to table tennis, he was also awkward
with women and not the type of guy who could be duplicitous. If it was Senpai
back then, I should have been able to keep my distance, support him, and trust
him...just like back then.”
“When you were still the club
manager?”
“Yes...
I was happy to support Senpai because he was doing his best.”
“Even now, it's not like he's
still doing his best in his studies, right?”
“We
still can't meet... You can't support someone wholeheartedly if you don't
really trust them yet, right? I want to trust him, but I don't really know the
current Senpai yet.”
“It's only natural that you're
worried, huh? After all, you haven't seen him for many years. It's a different
living environment, so it's possible that he has become a completely different
person from before.”
“That's
true, but Luna doesn't have to worry about that, right?”
“Huh?”
“You've
gotten to know Kashima Ryuuto a lot since you started dating. You're in the
process of getting to know and like each other, right?”
“Oh, you're talking about
Ryuuto.”
“Ehh?”
“What I'm thinking about right
now is Maria.”
“Your
little sister?”
“Yes, we had a relationship
where I would always drag Maria along, and she would complain and reluctantly
follow me.”
“Well,
isn't it the same now?”
“But unlike before, I don't
know how Maria feels now, so I can't just force her. I think Maria used to love
me very much, and she seemed to enjoy doing things with me. I started ballet
because I wanted to, and even after I quit, Maria kept doing it, and I'm sure
I'm a good influence on her.”
“Ehh,
ballet? I've never heard of it.”
“That's because when I was
really little~! though I quit after three months of trying it anyway.”
“Of
course, you can't learn it quickly.”
“But Maria kept doing it even
after she entered elementary school. When our parents got divorced, she moved
away and couldn't attend ballet classes anymore, so she seems to have stopped.”
“That's
too bad.”
“Well, but I think she might
not want to look for new lessons on her own. Because Maria is a shy person. She
used to say, 'If I hadn't been with Luna,
I probably wouldn't have thought of taking ballet lessons.'”
“You're
a 'wing' for your sister, aren't you?”
“Ehh......?”
“Ah,
or do you prefer to be called 'Attack Captain'? Ah bad, my childhood habits are
coming out.”
“Ahaha.... But 'Wing', huh? That sounds cool. As
expected, poetic girl Nikoru.”
“Yes,
it is.”
“I will fly with Maria. I will
feel happy if Maria looks happy at the destination. Even if I'm not interested
at all, I'll take her to something I think she'll like.”
“You
two understand each other. As expected from twins.”
“However, when we started to
separate, I stopped recognizing her at all. When she lived with me, Maria never
watched any live game streams? Or anything like that. She never even did
cosplay.”
“She
did cosplay? That girl?”
“Ah, that was a secret! I let
it slip.”
“I
won't tell anyone anyway.”
“Thanks for keeping it a secret,
Nikoru.”
“I
told you not to think about it. I'll make sure not to tell Akari, though.”
“Ahahaha, Akari is the kind of
person who blurts out innocently easily.”
“She
said that no one should call Ijichi Yuusuke an otaku. Yesterday too, she said,
'I can guess which chalk eraser Ijichi-kun used!' and made a fuss about it for
five minutes, she's really turned into a strange girl herself.”
“Ahaha. Everyone complains
about how 'loud' she is.”
“But
I respect her ability to do what she likes.”
“That's right .... I think I'll
do my best, too.”
“About
your sister?”
“Yes. I will open Maria's world
again.”
Luna, who was sitting on her
bed, looked at the moon and star earrings on the accessory rack as she said.
“I'm a little scared, but I
think I'll give it a try.”
