Soen ni Natte Ita Osananajimi to Seki ga Zengo ni Natta - Chapter 32 English

 Chapter 32 – Repeating

 "Kota."

 "Hmm?  Kana?"

 A whispering call from behind me made me turn around.  There was the same person with that voice.

 In class I said see you next week, I didn't expect to see you again so soon....

  “Um, can I, um, talk to you about something… and come home with you?”

  "Hmm.  No problem.  Our way home is also the same way.”

 Do you really need to ask that when we're going home from here, we'll definitely be going the same way?  Well, there's no reason to refuse, so I agree.

  "Well, talk... Oh, I'm sorry about earlier."

  "Eh?"

  “I accidentally called you ‘Kana’ in front of our classmates.... You get asked a lot of things by them because of that, right?”

  “Uh-huh… No, it's okay…”

  "I'm really sorry."

 I feel very sorry about that.  No one wouldn't feel bad about it... But I guess I was wrong.  I thought it was about it when she said she wanted to talk to me, but from Kana's reaction, I knew right away that it wasn't because of that… A little disappointing.

 I looked at Kana to see what was going on then, and she looked down at the ground with a depressed expression.

  "Kota.”

  "What?"

 Her gaze didn't change, only her voice turned towards me.

  “We, you know… What kind of relationship do we have now?  What does Kota think of me?  How do you think I should treat Kota?”

  “...”

 What kind of relationship...?  How should we treat each other...?

 My mind paused for a moment at a question that was heavier or more serious than I had anticipated.

 When I was silent for a moment, Kana looked at me and I reflexively turned my face away.  Maybe because she had a serious expression on his face, I thought, I know, she's grown up.

  “… Ah, what kind of relationship… Hmmm, I think we were childhood friends, right?”

  “… am I really allowed to be Kota’s childhood friend…?”

  "What do you mean?"

  “Because… I've said those terrible things, you know?  I hurt Kota, however, I can't even apologize properly… I don't think I deserve to be Kota's childhood friend…”

 ...you worry about it.

 I stopped and looked at Kana.  His face had a bitter expression, and I could tell she was very worried about it

  “Something…has completely changed.”

  "Eh...?"

  “No, what can I say… you are still worrying about it… Back then, if something happened, you would apologize and that would be the end of it all.”

 She really has changed.  She changed more than I thought.  I can't believe you're taking this so seriously...... or maybe you're right in taking it so seriously, we've been estranged for three years.  In fact, maybe I'm the one who's crazy.

 In the past week, when we have interacted more, I think she has become a little calmer and more reserved than usual.  I guess it's because she thinks and worries a lot...

  “…I'm glad to be able to go home with Kana again like this.”

 It came out of my mouth naturally.  That's how I've felt for the past week, and I mean it.

 “...”

  “A week ago, I said… I want us to be friends again.  I want you to be more relaxed with me like you used to be.  I know a lot has happened but you don't have to worry too much, you can treat me the way Kana wants to do.”

  "...May I?"

  "Yup.  I want to be childhood friends with Kana.”

 I say this with the intention of repeating my reply that I said a week ago.  Then I saw her crying face in front of me, which I couldn't see a week ago because she was looking down and trying to hide it.

 Seeing this, I felt something I used to feel again.  The desire to protect her, perhaps.  When I was little, I think I said something like, “I will protect you, Kana-chan!”.

 A lot has happened, but I feel really good that we're starting over from scratch like this... although not so long ago I thought that we had nothing more to talk about.

  “…After all, you're still a crybaby.”

 I put my hand on Kana's head and patted her head lightly, like I used to do in the past.

 She accepted that, so I did it for a while.

 When I tried to pull my hand away, thinking that that was enough, Kana's hand was placed on top of mine on top of her head.  She tried to keep my hand there by squeezing it tightly.  It wasn't so strong that I couldn't escape.  It just tells me that she wants me to stay like this a little longer.

 ... Oh no.  I started to feel embarrassed.

 Thinking about it made my face suddenly feel hot.  But I can't get out of Kana's hands.

 After a while, Kana's hand left.  At the same time, my hand also left Kana's head.

 "... Thank you."

 “Well… Please take care of me!”

 "Yeah!"

 Her eyes were wet with tears and her cheeks were wet, but Kana's wide smile, which I hadn't seen in a long time, was charming.

 +×+×+×+

 Then, as we walked, we talked about other things.  We talked about Kana's club activities, past exams, today's sports festival, and her friends.

 Speaking of which, the time seemed shorter than usual, even though it should be the path we used to walk.

 "Kana, we've arrived."

 “Hm… Oh, Kota.  By the way, you have a smartphone now, right?”

 "Oh, yes.  Let's exchange contacts."

 When I was in the second grade of middle school, I didn't have a smartphone and couldn't use messaging apps, so we didn't exchange contacts.

 A QR code is displayed, Kana scans it.  And the stickers were sent immediately.  It's a cute hamster sticker that looks a little nervous.

 “May I send you another message later?”

 "Yes.  Of course."

 "Then, see you later."

 "Yeah.  See you."

Translator: Janaka