My Friend Doesn't Hesitate 39

ACT39     What Would She Say Is Her Type?


「Well then, I'm off.」


In the blink of an eye, it was after school.

Mashiro was going to go reply to the letter sent to her that morning, so she told that to Akami, who was sitting in front of her.


「Uuー, I'm nervous」

「Akami, why are you nervous?」

「No, well, for some reason, it feels like something is about to happen.」

「Nothing will happen. As I said in the morning, my answer is already decided.」

「... If that's the case, that's good, but...」


Akami had been looking uneasy since that morning.

That showed just how much she didn't want Mashiro to be taken away by the sender of the letter and how much she wanted to get even closer with Mashiro. No matter how dull Mashiro was, she could at least understand that.

She was a little happy.

Once again, the inside of Mashiro's chest stirred with a heartrending feeling as well as a desire to find her answer.

Truly――she was about to start thinking, but Mashiro cut off her thoughts.


「It's fine. Wait in the classroom. I'll finish right away.」

「Ok......」


After telling Akami that to give her peace of mind, Mashiro left the classroom.

The designated location was in front of the rooftop entrance.

It wasn't that the rooftop was off-limits, but the season being the season, waiting on the rooftop under the sun, which was blazing now that the rainy season was over, could be said to be a suicidal act.

The sender of the letter seemed to be a rather sensible child.


「Good grief, if you're that wise, why pick me?」


She tried to imagine his other characteristics.

Was he tall? Short?

The wild type that voraciously approached? Or the small animal type that made one want to protect them?

Playboy type? Faithful?

Well, those are the major category divisions... er, judging from the elegance of the letter's contents, let's assume he's the short, small animal, and faithful type; all the latter characteristics.

If she tried fleshing him out based on that foundation.
 

Even though he's short, if his charm is healing, that might get him high points.

And yet, although one might say he elicits a desire to protect, what if he has the temperament of someone older that sometimes leads his partner?

Although he's faithful, he's highly sociable and aware of fashion, so he gives advice on clothes and cosmetics that would suit that person from his point of view――


「... Wait, this is all about Akami, isn't it?」


Before she knew it, her thinking was centered on Akami.

Rather than predictions, this was already a wish.

In other words, Mashiro's type of boy had the same characteristics as Akami?

Rather――


「No, you told yourself already, that's not allowed...!」


Once again, she arrived at that possibility. Just like in the morning.

In fact, it had happened several times during the process of finding the answer to her feelings.

Each time, she told herself it wasn't true and returned to the starting point.

Truly, in various senses, is there anything I can do about this?... Mashiro thought as she let out a big sigh. Right now, she was in the middle of imagining what kind of person the sender of the letter would be, so this time, she didn't have to start from the beginning, just rewind to a certain extent――


「Wait, I'm almost there.」


While she was worrying about that, before she knew it, she found herself on the stairs leading to the rooftop. Apparently, she would be meeting him with her predictions unfinished... She also made sure to avoid thinking anything that would derail her predictions into a different direction.

The sender was waiting on the small landing at the top of the stairs before the door to the roof.

Although she was a little nervous, Mashiro climbed the stairs without hesitation.

And waiting there,



「Eh......!?」



――Was a girl.


Long, fluffy hair that reached her back.

Her bangs were a little long, so they were a bit hidden, but Mashiro could tell that her large purple eyes were beautiful.

Her height was lower than average, yet she had the variations typical of a girl's body. Just like Mashiro, the school emblem on the chest of her summer uniform was the color for first-year students.

Her restless appearance was overflowing with elegance, in accordance with the contents of her letter.

Altogether, she was a girl who could be called cute, but.


W-What is this...!?


For Mashiro, the person waiting for her was completely unexpected, and as a result, the inside of her head was in a rather panicked state.
 

A girl, to a girl?

Eh?

No way?

Is it okay for something like this to happen?

It isn't strange?

If such a thing is allowed, then I...


「U-umm!...」


So she noticed her presence?

When the girl looked her way and uttered a voice that sounded like she had mustered all her courage,



「...... Huh?」



Seeing Mashiro's surprised appearance, the girl looked surprised as well.


「Eh?」


Mashiro didn't understand the meaning of her reaction and couldn't move.

In that tense atmosphere, they stared at each other in silence for 10 seconds.

In that silence, Mashiro calmed down just a little and somehow managed to gather up the presence of mind to try to speak, but,


「A, aaaaaaaah!?」


Before she could, the girl apparently arrived at something; when she raised her voice hysterically, Mashiro's shoulders shook.


「Aaaaaaaah......」


Her voice gradually wilted, and then, while turning bright red, she covered her face and squatted down on the spot.

Not understanding the intention behind that series of events, Mashiro was fairly, or rather, considerably at a loss, but,


「Uhh... what in the world is going on?」


She was somehow able to squeeze out that question.

Thereupon, the girl managed to lift the face she had been covering, and looking at her with tearful eyes,



「... I put the letter in the wrong shoe cupboard.」



That anticlimactic punchline was sent her way.


　☆　　★　　☆　　★　　☆　　★


Nnーmm... thinking about it carefully and calmly, wasn't that letter written by a girl?

If that's the case, what will Shiro-chan think, and how will she respond?

It's completely unimaginable.


And.

If I told Shiro-chan my feelings.

What would Shiro-chan think, and how would she respond?

... I can't even imagine it.


Thinking about all these things, I'm getting a little scared, but.

――Shiro-chan, won't you come back soon?