Is It Permissible To Abandon a Childhood Friend Who Has Become a School Idol and Be Happy

70

Mid-April had passed, and news reports about cherry blossoms were starting to dwindle.

Nationally, it was probably old news by now, but in this town, the cherry blossoms were just reaching their peak.

This discrepancy might actually suit this town, which seemed to be lagging behind the rest of the world.

Akanishi-san and I stood side by side, looking up at the cherry blossoms dancing in the cold breeze on the deserted promenade.

“Wow…”

A small gasp escaped her lips.

Even though she was from the city, she seemed captivated by the sight.

I agreed with her. Beauty is beauty, after all.

It was like a scene from a movie, and I could understand why so many photographers came here to capture this fleeting moment.

Some people say that cherry blossoms are beautiful because they bloom for such a short time, but their transience also makes my heart ache.

I wanted to keep looking at them forever. I felt like if I looked away, I would never see this sight again. That’s what cherry blossoms do to you, I thought to myself.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Yes. I think everyone should see them at least once in the spring.”

I nodded in agreement with Akanishi-san’s words, but a shadow passed over my heart.

I remembered having a similar conversation last year.

The girl next to me that time was different, and I had made a promise to her.

―Even when we’re in high school, let’s come see the cherry blossoms together again.

She had long, black hair tied in pigtails, wore unfashionable glasses, and was rather plain.

But I liked her, Miori, just the way she was.

She wasn’t a flashy girl, but that’s why I thought we could be together. That’s why I nodded in agreement.

Not knowing what would happen in a year, or even in six months.

No, maybe I nodded because I didn’t know. If I had known, I would have given her a vague answer, as I usually do. That’s how afraid I was of change.

“Here we go again.”

That promise would probably never be fulfilled.

I probably wouldn’t ever come to see the cherry blossoms with Miori again.

I knew that as long as I didn’t accept Miori, that opportunity would never come.

“Tsujimura-san?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Speaking of which, how does this place compare to Tokyo? I have the impression that Tokyo is more crowded, so I thought I’d choose a less crowded spot.”

I asked Akane-san, as if to cover up what I was thinking.

There are probably a lot of less crowded spots in Tokyo as well, but when I think of cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo, the image of Ueno Park is the first thing that comes to mind, so the image of it being crowded is fixed in my mind.

That’s why I wanted to hear the opinion of someone who actually lived there as a reference… but Akane-san’s reaction was a little unexpected.

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never seen cherry blossoms with someone like this before.”

Akane-san said, looking somewhat apologetic.

I felt something nagging at me, and I couldn’t help but ask.

“Didn’t you go to see them with your family?”

“My father and mother were both workaholics. They weren’t interested in such events, and our schedules didn’t match up. They often worked on holidays, so we hardly ever got together as a family.”

It was a familiar story.

My parents are both working parents who are often not at home, but they’re not that biased toward work. I scolded myself for being nosy.

“That’s… sorry. Was that something I shouldn’t have asked?”

“No, it’s okay. For me, they were rather grateful parents.”

“Huh…?”

What did she mean by thankful?

It was the opposite of what I expected her to say.

“My parents were the kind of people who would leave me alone as long as I kept my grades up. They were satisfied if I went to cram school regularly and got good grades on my tests. They didn’t interfere with me. That’s why I made an effort to keep my grades up. That way, I could do whatever I wanted and immerse myself in the world of books.”

“That’s…”

I couldn’t help but no, thinking that it was indeed ideal.

Ordinary people might feel lonely or sad when their parents don’t pay attention to them, but for people like me and Akane-san who find a place in the world of books, non-interference is not necessarily a bad thing.

“When I was in junior high school, I was always at the top of my class. It may sound like bragging, but I didn’t really care if I got passed over. My parents never told me to get first place, and it was just the result of me studying as much as I could without interfering with my reading. I would check my ranking and that was it. I never paid any attention to the names of the people below me… There was always the same name right below mine, and I never paid any attention to how that person felt about me.”

「…………」

I had a hunch.

The person who bullied Akane-san was probably always second in class.

Not being able to beat Akane-san turned into jealousy, and then it escalated into bullying.

“That day came out of nowhere too. I was sitting in my seat reading a book like usual, when that person came over with their entourage.”

She continued, her eyes fixed on the cherry tree.

“They told me to go on a show because they would give me their right to participate. I couldn’t refuse. I hardly had any friends back then, and books were my whole world. I had shut myself up in my own world and ended up isolating myself.”

“Akane-san…”

“Well, I was an idiot. I thought I wasn’t hurting anyone. I thought no one even noticed me. But that wasn’t true. There was someone who was watching me, and I never realized how that person felt about me . In a nutshell, that’s all there was to it.”

She tried to catch the fluttering petals in her small palm, but the petals danced away in the wind.

“Tsujimura-san. It’s often said that bullying is always the fault of the bully. Or that both parties are at fault. I think it’s common for such reports to downplay the victim’s culpability as much as possible.”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

“I think it’s definitely true that I was partially at fault. But I hate both of those opinions. To be precise, I don’t like opinions that pry into other people’s business with a know-it-all attitude. I think the answer lies in how you perceive it. That’s all there is to it.”

It was a very difficult subject.

The problem of bullying is often dealt with in the news, but there is never an answer.

It is customary for commentators sitting in the studio to come to a conclusion on the spot, without going to the actual scene and only listening to the opinions of adults.

It’s probably not a bad thing. There are people who find it cathartic.

But for the person involved, no doubt it didn’t feel good to have other people making all sorts of comments and imposing their conclusions on them.

“The answer I came up with was to run away. I couldn’t stand the stares and slander from the people around me. I could barely even walk outside, so by the third trimester of my second year of junior high, I ended up being sent to live with my grandparents here.”

“…………”

“My life here was much more relaxing than it was over there. I guess it was good that I didn’t know anyone. When I had recovered somewhat, I decided to take the entrance exams for the high school here, at my grandparents’ suggestion. My parents were disappointed, but they approved my selfishness… in that sense, too, they were good parents to me.”

I couldn’t find the right words to say.

Akanishi-san was speaking calmly, but she must have suffered a great deal.

Choosing to run away wasn’t a mistake, but it was definitely the result of having been hurt.

“And then, when I was on my way to the station to go back to Tokyo to talk to my parents for the first time—Tsujimura-san, that’s when I met you.”

Because Akanishi-san’s eyes had looked so lonely.