Kokoro Connect

Mihas.h.i.+ Chinatsu, who was visiting her father, would be taking the bullet train in the afternoon home——She heard this from the Mihas.h.i.+ household.

Now that she thought about it, since Mihas.h.i.+"s parents had already divorced, Mihas.h.i.+ Chinatsu"s surname was no longer "Mihas.h.i.+". But that wasn"t important now.

Hurry, dash, I can make it.

I can still start over, I can still make up.

Kiriyama Yui ran as quickly as she could.

Was she too late?

Don"t worry about that.

Don"t stop because of that.

As long as I take a step, I can move forward no matter what.

Would she make it?

I have to.

I have to make it.

Without relying on anyone but myself.

Run forward.

Run forward.

Run forward like I"ve never done before.

And then, Yui finally saw the the figure of Mihas.h.i.+, who was about to depart.

"Mihas.h.i.+-san!"

Yui called out, and Mihas.h.i.+ Chinatsu jolted in surprise. She turned around.

"Kiri... yama?"

Her ponytail swung slightly.

Her usually keen and stern face was now only filled with puzzlement.

"T—Thank goodness I made it!"

Truth to be told... Yui really thought that she wouldn"t make it.

"S—So what do you want? You gave up karate already... and you won"t tell me why, either. Not to mention you were the one who told me to back off, and now..."

"I"m really sorry about what happened back there! And I"m sorry about breaking the promise! Actually, there are many things I want to say sorry to you about!"

Yui earnestly apologized to Mihas.h.i.+.

She felt she had to apologize for her misdeeds.

To move forward, she must first apologize.

"I—It"s embarra.s.sing to see you apologize like this..."

Mihas.h.i.+ appeared hesitant for a moment, then she murmured:

"...Er, I was a little harsh back there too... I keep feeling that... ever since my parents divorced and I moved out of this town... I left something behind here... those feelings sorta merged with that promise with Kiriyama... I—I"m not quite sure..."

Yui"s feelings were conveyed to Mihas.h.i.+, and Mihas.h.i.+ seemed to be willing to do the same.

"Uh, never mind that... so, what are you here for?"

"Ah, about that... I have something to tell you, Mihas.h.i.+-san."

"Just say it already."

"Hm, I"m telling you that..."

Mihas.h.i.+ did not look very pleased, but upon careful look, one could see traces of antic.i.p.ation in her eyes.

It took very careful observation to see it, though.

"I... am going to start practicing karate again."

"Eh!? Why... are you practicing again?"

Ah, I could have sworn I saw Mihas.h.i.+"s mouth raised for a moment. She averted her face to hide her expression.

She used to think Mihas.h.i.+ was scary, but after a second look, Yui thought she was actually quite cute.

As long as they looked at each other properly and carefully observed for each other"s signals, they could understand each other"s feelings.

Alright, Yui prompted herself. It"s my turn to tell her my feelings.

She was sure of it.

Once they understood each other, something would change.

"That"s because I realized that I had been escaping all this time. Because I know there"s gotta be a solution."

"T—Then, are you going to withdraw from that strange club, and join the karate club or a dojo?"

"I won"t withdraw from the CRC."

"Why... do you persist in that seemingly pointless club?"

Mihas.h.i.+ said, displeased.

"Perhaps it is pointless."

Yui said, and smiled wryly.

"It is pointless, but it also means something important to me."

"...What do you mean?"

"Should I say, it"s important because you can"t see the point in it? Uhhh.... It"s really hard to put in words..."

It was very difficult to relay this feeling. If she refused to feel it, she probably would not understand.

But Yui tried her best to put it in words.

"Erm... It"s like sparkles. That s.p.a.ce, and the things we do together. Not to mention, as long as everyone"s together, I can sparkle brightly too, like glittering stars."

Yes, that was the truth.

Very bright, very warm.

Even though it may not have meant anything, she felt it was the most precious thing to her.

"Hence, I"m going to keep up with both karate and the CRC."

"...Are you sure you can grow stronger like that? I mean, I know you"re talented but..."

"I don"t know. But I want to try; that"s why I will. I"ll work hard... By the way, next time we meet in the tournament, I won"t lose to you, Mihas.h.i.+-san!"

She must rely on her own strength.

Couldn"t do it?

Doesn"t matter, just do it.

"Also, er... last time when we fought..."

"S—Sorry about that back there! I picked a fight with you on the street and I didn"t even let you warm up..."

"That"s what I"m trying to say! That didn"t count! S—So that match was no game, right?"

"Huh?"

"That fight didn"t count! Got it? It"s decided then! So my match record with Mihas.h.i.+-san is still perfect!"

Yui pointed at Mihas.h.i.+.

I"m not gonna compromise, not gonna compromise... Yui"s ultra-compet.i.tive soul told her.

"Hahaha, sure."

Yui did not recall ever seeing Mihas.h.i.+ laugh.

She laughed with Yui.

Why?

Was it because Yui changed?

...Hm? Wait, I remember laughing with Mihas.h.i.+ once.

She remembered. It was the time when...

——If I win, you will call me by name, Kiriyama.

——I will call you by name when that time comes, Mihas.h.i.+.

She was not sure when, but they had definitely said that before and laughed together.

Yui remembered her past feelings that were washed away. She and Mihas.h.i.+...

They were really dense back then.

Both Mihas.h.i.+ and she.

Both were compet.i.tive and stubborn, and were karate rivals. Perhaps that was why they never got along.

Even though they only wanted to say one simple thing to each other.

They cared about each other because they were so alike; at the same time, they rejected each other for the same reason.

Up until now——No, even starting from now.

She cared, but she would not gain anything from waiting alone.

On the other hand, if she desired it, she could obtain anything.

Even things from the past.

But of course, things from the past can"t possibly be exactly the same as they were before.

However, one will always have a chance to start over.

No, not "will have a chance", but rather "can create a chance."

Once she put her heart into it, she could create as many chance as she liked.

If she wanted to be friends, she should"ve just asked for it honestly.

If she wanted help, she should"ve just asked for it honestly.

If she wanted to do something, she should"ve just kept doing it until she was satisfied.

Perhaps the world has been that simple all along.

Truly important things can be easily discovered.

Nothing difficult nor sophisticated.

Or should she say, things that are easily discovered are probably the truly important things.

If she paid attention, she would discover more; if she put her heart into it, she could obtain more.

All she needed was a little bit of courage.

Therefore, first thing first——Yui must start here.

"L—Let"s exchange email addresses, Chinatsu."

"L—Let"s exchange email addresses, Yui."

...Eh? Did Mi—Chinatsu and she say the exact same thing?

Once again we were caught in a serious crisis, but thanks to my friends we made it through again.

It was amazing.

I truly believe that the CRC was something special.

They probably think I was "amazing" too.

It wasn"t self-indulging or anything. We really believed each other to be amazing in some way.

This is the ideal bond.

Hereafter, however, will I continue to follow this feeling?

If that"s the case, that means...

Never mind that for now.

My friends are truly nice people. They"ve all been taking good care of me.

Especially Taichi, who had been so helpful to me.

I feel truly grateful, but also sorry towards him.

Taichi is a very nice person.

He"s truly a nice person.

He"s a nice person.

But do I——Nagase Iori——truly love Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi?

I keep having such thoughts lately.