My Friend Doesn't Hesitate 41

ACT41     Let Me Say It?


「So in the end, it was a mistake?」

「Yeah.」


After school, the 1st year Class Two classroom was empty except for Mashiro and Akami.

Once she recovered from feeling depressed after fumbling her words, Mashiro decided to try and compose herself for now and explained the whole story about the letter to Akami from the beginning.


「Nevertheless, I was very surprised to learn that the letter was from a girl.」

「Mm. But thinking about it calmly and carefully, I thought that might be the case.」

「Is that so?」

「The contents of the letter also pointed to that, but it was mainly the traits of the characters. They were written very conscientiously, but it felt like they hadn’t completely lost the roundness that is typical of girls. I think her writing was originally round, and she practiced quite a bit for the sake of the letter.」

「Ooh......」


Should that analysis be considered as expected from Akami's girl power?

Although the contents were certainly elegant, her being able to use that fact to come to a convincing conclusion like that showed Mashiro just how far behind Akami she still was. For such things, she wanted to learn more from her... but setting that aside.

Mashiro took a deep breath,


「And then. At that time, I said I thought it was strange for a girl to be into a girl.」

「!...」

「When I did, that girl scolded me. She said there was nothing strange about it. That even if they were the same sex, falling in love with someone was a precious feeling.」

「Ah. Th-that's true, right?」

「Akami, what do you think? About a girl falling in love with a girl.」

「U...mm.」


Akami seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment.

Due to the flow of events, she inadvertently asked, but for Mashiro, this question would determine what she would do next.

She was very nervous.

As expected, her answer was――


「I-it's fine, isn't it? Everyone has their own feelings, and if that's good for that person, then that's how it is.」

「...... I see.」


She was a little at a loss, but there was no lie in her words.

In that case.


「Akami, hold out your hand.」

「Eh? Hand? That's fine, I guess――」


When Akami almost reflexively held out her small left hand.

With her right hand, Mashiro intertwined their fingers and squeezed tightly.


「Wha, Sh-Shiro-chan? Th-this is...!」


As might be expected, this made Akami catch her breath.

Mashiro took one more deep breath to suppress the stir in her chest,


「――Akami, listen.」

「O-ok.」


looked straight into her eyes,


「You know, I've always wanted to become closer with Akami, but before I knew it, whenever I interacted with Akami, I started to feel a stir in my chest.」

「A stir, you say...」

「A feeling that was both annoying and pleasant.」

「――――!」

「At the time, I didn't understand why it was happening, and there wasn't anything other than that in particular, so I thought there was no need to hurry to know.」


She put her left hand, the one not holding Akami's hand, on her own chest,


「However. When Akami had a fever and was absent from school. When I was incredibly worried about Akami. Suddenly, I felt a painful tightness in my chest.」

「So then... just yesterday?」

「Yeah. I remembered the movie I saw with Akami before, and――」


Just like yesterday morning, her heartbeat pounded, overlapping with the emotions inside her,


「I thought, what if, just like the person my mother loved, Akami really was no longer by my side. I couldn't sit still. That time in the morning, Onatsu-san and Kiri-yan helped me, but.」

「............」

「Even so, when I visited Akami and saw your face, I felt a chaotic mixture of pleasant and heartrending feelings, and I didn't understand why. That's why I thought I wanted to know the identity of those feelings.」


Then,



「Thinking, and thinking all the time――from the conversation I had with Saijou-san a short while ago, today, now, I know the identity of this feeling.」



Spitting out that much.

Nervousness ran through Mashiro.

She felt as if, by saying these words, various things would come to an end.

Mashiro couldn't imagine what the next three years of high school would be like if she didn't accept.

But.

She couldn't help but say it.

Putting a lid on these feelings was impossible.

All right.

Without hesitation.

Summoning her courage.



「Akami, I loーー」

「Shiro-chan」


　

And when she tried to get the words out.

With her right hand, the hand Mashiro wasn't clasping, Akami tightly pressed two fingers on Mashiro's lips.


「――――!」


Even though it was a very gentle touch, that alone instantly stopped Mashiro's words.

That's just how much power it had.

For a moment, she thought that action might be Akami's rejection, and it felt like a heavy weight had dropped inside her.

As expected, even though Akami's face turned red, she didn't avert her eyes... on the contrary, with the hand Mashiro was holding, Akami squeezed back strongly.

The words that came out were.



「Let me say it?」



　☆　　★　　☆　　★　　☆　　★


Shiro-chan.

I understand your feelings.

I'm incredibly happy.

That's why.

Let me say it?

After all,



ーーI've felt this way long, long before Shiro-chan.



I'm still not mentally prepared, so I'm incredibly nervous, but.

With the confidence that this feeling isn't inferior to anyone's, even Shiro-chan's.

To put it into words.

First of all, from me.



「I love you, Shiro-chan.」