"Stooooooop!"
Tears welled up in Kawasaki Saki's eyes as she shouted:
"Please, Nishimiya-san, spare me already! Even if you want to cover up old sadness with some new despair, you don't have to be this cruel!"
"Cruel?"
Nishimiya Shouko blinked in confusion, tilting her head thoughtfully.
"But this… this is just my everyday life with Kyousuke-kun."
"Your everyday life? Ugh, what I want to hear is something out of the ordinary. And not something insane like him walking two thousand kilometers just because of one sentence you said! Something normal people can actually relate to!"
"Hehe, looks like what I said really worked, Kawasaki-san. You've cheered up enough to joke around already." Shouko smiled warmly.
"Joking?"
"Of course. From Sapporo to Tokyo isn't even two thousand kilometers. If I weren't good at geography, I'd have doubted whether Japan itself is even that long."
Saki rolled her eyes so hard it hurt.
Shouko let out a small sigh right beside her.
"Actually, I've had the same kind of troubles as you," Shouko said, remembering when she first decided to chase her dream.
"Oh really? Did Yamauchi also show off her lovey-dovey moments in front of you all the time?" Saki muttered sourly.
"Haha, no way. Sakura would never do that."
Shouko gave a soft laugh, then raised her brow playfully.
"But… in the eyes of normal people, Sakura and Kyousuke-kun probably look like they're being lovey-dovey every second of the day. That phrase really does fit them perfectly."
Saki rolled her eyes again, silently praying she'd never have to witness such a scene.
Nishimiya Shouko alone was terrifying enough—if it were Yamauchi Sakura, she couldn't even imagine how unbearable it'd be.
"I used to work myself to the bone just to afford tuition." Shouko tilted her head and smiled gently at Saki.
"Eh?"
Saki stared at her in shock.
She herself had to work part-time to save for cram school and college tuition.
But Shouko was different.
Everyone knew her mother worked at a hospital with a decent salary.
Plus, Shouko's high school tuition was covered by scholarships, and she didn't even need cram school.
She shouldn't have had any financial pressure at all!
Shouko just smiled mischievously, not answering right away.
Instead, she turned her head and pointed to her hearing aid.
"This hearing aid—three hundred thousand yen," she said lightly.
"So expensive?!"
Saki's jaw dropped.
That was enough to buy thirty thousand hair ties at a 100-yen shop!
She could wear one for every single strand of hair and still have a lifetime supply.
"Yeah, it's expensive. But there's something even more costly."
Shouko's voice was soft, almost musical.
Ever since she'd grown out her hair, she no longer tried to hide her hearing aid.
Partly because the rustling of hair caused noise interference, and partly because she had gained the courage to face people's stares head-on.
Of course, when it came to styling, she still made exceptions—hehe~
"What could be more expensive than that?"
Saki braced herself to hear some taste of the upper-class life.
As people grew older and more educated, their understanding of people with disabilities usually deepened.
Japan was also one of the countries where blind pedestrians were most visible on the streets.
So while some still whispered about Nishimiya's ears, most held no real malice.
"My dream."
Shouko said it softly, almost like a whisper.
"Your dream? Wow, must be nice being part of life's winners. While I was killing myself to save money for cram school, you were already thinking about grand things like dreams." Saki muttered bitterly.
"Hehehe, not like that, Kawasaki-san. My dream isn't as grand as you think."
Shouko shook her head with a wry smile.
"You might find it hard to understand."
"I'm not the kind of person who tramples on someone else's dream!"
"You know, Kyousuke-kun has created so many wonderful works. My dream… is simply to stay by his side, and do whatever I can to help when he creates."
Her voice was gentle, almost fragile.
"Eh? That's it? Your dream is just… Hojou? Nothing else?"
Saki turned her head in disbelief—and what she saw left her speechless.
The girl's soft pink hair fell over her shoulders, her silhouette framed by blue skies and distant buildings.
She gazed upward at the heavens, but her jewel-like eyes reflected something else—something like the future itself.
They sparkled, dazzling and impossible to ignore.
"Yes. My future has no room for anything but Kyousuke-kun."
Her voice was steady and serene, each word shining like little motes of light drifting into the air—as though she were telling her dream to the sun, entrusting it to the future.
"To be honest, even though I'm here trying to encourage you, I don't have much confidence myself. Because I don't think I have the power to save anyone.
Even when Kyousuke-kun saved me, I only managed to hold onto his hand by giving everything I had."
She lowered her head, a pink strand slipping from behind her ear, brushing against her blushing cheeks.
Looking straight into Saki's eyes, she spoke with utter sincerity:
"I can't be a hero who saves the world. The only thing I can do is give my all when someone saves me. I think… you're the same, right, Kawasaki-san?"
Her gaze burned so intensely it felt like it could set hearts on fire.
Instinctively, Saki turned her face away, her silver ponytail swishing as she did.
This girl…is too dazzling.
A dream that only had room for two people.
A determination to hold onto the one she loved with everything she had.
Both were so blinding Saki couldn't even look at them directly.
After a long silence, she finally mumbled:
"So, Nishimiya-san, the reason you keep going on about you and Hojou… is this your way of getting revenge for the time I pinned you to the ground?"
Wasn't this supposed to be about listening to her troubles? How did it turn into this?!
"Hehe, no, not really. Well… maybe just a little." Shouko stuck her tongue out sheepishly.
"It's just… you know how you keep bottling everything up inside? I'm kind of the same. I have lots of friends I can talk to, but bringing up Kyousuke-kun with them… it always feels embarrassing. So, um, sorry, sorry!"
She clasped her hands together and bowed apologetically.
"But wow… it feels so good to finally say it out loud! Thanks to you, Kawasaki-san, I really got my fill today!"
Shouko tilted her face up, sticking out her pink tongue playfully.
"Ehehe~"
"I knew it!"
Saki groaned in defeat.
Still, she made a mental note: careful not to let this become a real habit.
If Shouko ever talked like this in front of the seniors at the agency, she'd definitely get teased mercilessly.
Watching Kawasaki's exasperated face, Shouko giggled inwardly.
Those seniors—whether dating or not acted like single persons.
Every time she mentioned Kyousuke, they looked at her like they'd just swallowed a lemon.
She knew that if she said something like that to Kawasaki, the girl would just roll her eyes and grumble a few sarcastic remarks.
But her seniors at the agency were a different story.
After all, they were part of the entertainment industry—and her agency in particular was notorious for being shameless.
If she ever dared to flaunt her relationship with Kyousuke the way she had just done, those so-called "senpai" who didn't act like senpai at all would never let her off easily.
Teasing and messing with her would be the least of it. First, they'd gleefully expel her from the "Singles Association" and create a brand-new "Cheese Lovers Association" just for her.
Then they'd deliberately pile her with work to steal away her time with Kyousuke, demand to hitch a ride whenever he came to pick her up, and ruin her sweet walk home.
During lessons, they'd pick the most ridiculous scripts and make her play the role of someone's girlfriend…
Just the thought of it made Shouko glance at Kawasaki with a softer gaze.
Yes, Kawasaki really was the perfect person to "show off her love" to—just like Natori Sayaka-senpai.
At least… that was the name, right?
Shouko wasn't entirely sure.
She'd only heard about her from Kyousuke and Mitsuha—a girl who, supposedly, was among the rare few who shared the secret of their soul-swapping memories.
But that wasn't the important part.
The important part was that Natori Sayaka had been the constant victim of Mitsuha's torment.
"Ah, Sayaka may be a bit slow, but chatting with her is the most fun.
Even though she already has someone she could practically marry, every time I mention Hojou she gets so jealous it completely twists her face.
Hahaha! Shou-chan, you should've seen her biting her handkerchief!
Even Yotsuba couldn't bear to watch, afraid she'd lose her temper and cut ties with her best friend on the spot!"
That's how Mitsuha had put it.
Oh right—better not let Yotsuba meet Kawasaki either. If she saw such a hardcore siscon, she'd only grow even more disgusted with Mitsuha.
Shouko thought this silently, firming her resolve to help Kawasaki with her troubles.
After all, comparing your happiness with someone else's misfortune was far too cruel.
But making a perfectly happy person grind their teeth in jealousy… now that was truly satisfying.
Of course, it needed to be said—kindhearted Shouko could never come up with something like this herself.
This was all thanks to the shameless influence of Mitsuha!
Because deep down, Shouko was the same as Kawasaki—both of them were good sisters who loved their younger siblings dearly.
With that realization, Shouko warmly took Kawasaki's hand.
"You know, Kyousuke-kun once told me my voice sounded exactly like the manga character he'd always imagined. That's why I decided to become a voice actress—to chase that dream…"
And then, in detail, she told Kawasaki about how she looked for jobs, saved money, and eventually got discovered by Kyousuke, who then took her by the hand and pulled her into high school life.
"…Setting aside the irritating beginning and ending, Shouko, you've really had it rough too," Kawasaki said with a sigh.
For the first time—since they'd started talking about their sisters—she called her by her given name again.
The story resonated so strongly with her.
Her parents had never said she couldn't go to college, never outright refused to support her with cram school.
But Kawasaki knew her family's situation all too well.
Both parents worked grueling night shifts just to earn enough.
Supporting three kids and funding two exam-takers was stretching them beyond their limits.
Shouko didn't want her mother's hard work to go to waste.
She didn't want to add more pressure on Hojou Kyousuke.
Kawasaki didn't want to push her already overworked parents any further.
She didn't want to burden her younger brother.
Both of them carried reasons they couldn't tell anyone.
Both silently worked hard for the sake of their fragile little futures.
Saki felt a fire burning in her chest.
The girl beside her was still so dazzling it almost hurt to look at—but this time she didn't turn away.
She met her gaze with courage and spirit, her heart pounding as she said:
"Shouko…"
"Actually," Shouko interrupted seriously, "I think the beginning and ending are the most important. After all, Kyousuke-kun was both the start of my dream and the one who took my hand in the end. Doesn't the story sound better that way?"
"!!!"
What the hell?! Couldn't this girl read the atmosphere at all?!
Was she really trying to encourage her—or had she been planning to rub her happiness in her face from the very beginning?!
A vein bulged on Saki's forehead.
"Listen here, Shouko! If you keep this up, I'll go grab Hojou's hand myself and beg him to rescue me instead!
Don't underestimate me—back in middle school I dated twenty guys! When it comes to holding hands, I'm a hundred times more experienced than you!"
She snapped fiercely.
Half of that was bluff—but half of it was true.
The twenty boyfriends part was a complete lie.
Who had time for that?
She'd rather work extra shifts or take Keika to the park than waste her time.
But the idea of asking Hojou Kyousuke to "save" her… that part made her heart stir just saying it.
It was a little embarrassing, but she had already prepared herself for the worst-case scenario—becoming Hojou's servant if it came to that. What was that phrase again? "The door-in-the-face technique"? You ask for something outrageous first, and when it's rejected, your real request seems reasonable and gets accepted easily.
…Though wasn't that supposed to be used on other people? Whatever! For Kawasaki Saki, who had already braced herself for the darkest possibilities, saying something like this came without the slightest hesitation. Thinking that way, her competitiveness flared up again…
But before she could finish her thoughts, her lips curving in a dangerous smirk—
A pale, slender hand suddenly reached out and pinched her cheeks, stretching her face until the little mole beneath her eye was distorted. Her daydreams snapped like a broken string.
"No way! Hojou-kun will never be your twenty-first boyfriend! Forget it right now, Saki! Abandon that terrifying idea this instant, or something truly awful will happen!"
Shouko declared, face uncharacteristically stern as she held Saki's cheeks firmly. The usually gentle girl now radiated a terrifying authority.
"Saki! Think of your sister! You don't want to make her cry, do you?!"
At that moment, with her pink hair streaming like an aura and her voice sharp with divine fury, she looked almost possessed.
If Eriri had seen it, she would've been deeply moved: My Shou-chan is finally protecting this family too! Compared to her, Sakura was utterly unreliable!
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