Gave Everything Up - V1C15
Volume 1, Chapter 15:
Compulsion
I got up and left at the same time as
yesterday.
And then I headed to the same place.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. Tamaki-kun."
As I entered Shimamiya Bookstore, Hisai-san
greeted me. This person had already started even before I arrived...and it was
still too early.
Thinking that, I entered the Backyard and
got ready.
While I did, the manager spoke to me.
"Good morning. Tamaki-kun."
"Good morning. Manager."
After I lightly replied, the manager
continued his words.
"...Tamaki-kun. Please get along well
with Hisai-san."
"? Yes."
I didn't really understand what the manager
meant, but then he followed up quickly.
"Hisai-san seems like she's hiding her
true self at school. That's why she doesn't have anybody she could open up to."
...I wondered what the manager was expecting
of me when he said that. I wouldn't be able to do anything even if he told me
about it.
"While she’s working here, Hisai-san,
for the lack of a better word, seems a bit reserved, don't you think?"
Well, I wouldn't deny that.
"She's completely different at school.
She dressed showily, had her glasses off, and her manner of speech wasn’t anything
like it was right now."
Was that the case? But why did the manager
know about that?
"I happened to see Hisai-san talking
to a friend of hers from school in front of the store."
The manager said so as if he saw through my
doubts.
"...Is that so."
All I could do was blandly reply. What was
even the right thing to respond, huh.
"...Please be on good terms with
her."
The manager repeated this again, turned his
back on me, and continued on the work he was doing. I also went out the
Backyard and lined up the storefront.
"..."
I just heard about her story, so I didn't
have any guts to call out to Hisai-san.
"...Hey, Tamaki-kun."
Hisai-san started as I wondered about what
was going on.
"I-is there something wrong?"
I was shaken a bit.
"I told you yesterday that the reason
I was working part-time was so I could afford to live alone, right?"
"Yes."
I already heard about that.
"Actually, there's something more to
that."
...
"I really like books. That's why I
worked here."
Like I was saying, I didn't ask. Why was
this person telling me about things I never questioned her about?
"Is that so, huh."
As expected, I could only respond with an
uninterested remark.
"Yeah. That's why I was thinking that
maybe Tamaki-kun also liked books and came to work here."
Why did I have to work for the same reasons
as her? How'd she came up with that idea? That's just imposing your own
thoughts to the other person.
"No, that's wro..."
I remembered the manager's words.
"Please get along well with
Hisai-san."
It would be simple enough to correct her.
But what if doing that would cause our relationship to deteriorate, and then I
could no longer work here? That would be a problem.
So, I decided to match Hisai-san.
"That's right. I chose to work here
because I like books as well."
That wasn't the case at all, but if this
wouldn't cause any discord, then it should be fine.
"I knew it! So Tamaki-kun did like
books, too..."
She was like that after all. How could she
be that simple? How would she have reacted if told her differently? I somehow
felt uncomfortable...
"Y-yeah."
My smile right now looked probably very
awkward. It should have been so stiff
that must have been aware of it.
Still, Hisai-san's eyes were sparkling. A
sincere smile, different from that of Nana-san and Maki-san. But that smile
seemed terribly distorted [1].
-------------------------------------------------------
"Haa..."
A girl was headed home after a day of
shopping. It was day off, a Sunday afternoon. It was just another ordinary day.
"I wonder where I made a
mistake."
The girl was staring down, walking along as
she talked to herself. Then, it was as though synchronized with her mood. She
suddenly raised her head up. She looked around. That action itself didn't have
any meaning. She wouldn't be able to answer if she was asked why. It was
something she saw that gave meaning to that action.
"Huh? M-Manato?"
She called out the name of the guy she
liked. That voice didn't reach anyone. Those words somehow came out of her
mouth. Unconsciously. That was the correct word. She was so absorbed by the scene
in front of her eyes.
The guy she liked was standing in line at
the cash register of an old bookstore. With a girl she didn't know. That
brought a little black fog to her heart.
"He was working part-time, huh. I
didn't know that."
She was concerned about the fact that she
wasn't told anything about the matter.
"I wonder who the person next to
Manato is."
She squinted her eyes as if to scrutinize
and stared at the woman next to him who was all smiles as she talked. She wore
glasses and looked very plain.
"...Manato is smiling, too."
His smile, which she hadn't seen recently.
It was directed to that woman.
"..."
A very dark and ugly emotion took over
her.
"Manato..."
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