Taken On an Odd Character

PART FOUR

“Whaa—! Y-Yuyo?! Umm! Wh-What do you t-think you’re doing?!” Kyashii’s shoulders stiffened.

“Hmm… Hugging you?”

“I... I realize that! B-But w-why?! Y-You’ve never hugged me like this before!” Her body grew increasingly tense, almost as if she was in panic mode.

Heh… How could she be so uncomfortable with my hug?

Uhh? Perhaps a back hug was the last thing she expected from me.

Whatever… I would take these shoulders in a heartbeat. More importantly, Kyashii’s supple shoulder and the camellia scent of her silky, wavy hair could not be more relaxing.

“Well, after all those days of silence between us, I realized how much I missed you, so I just wanted to hug you.” My lips twitched into a lighthearted smile. “Best friends constantly hug, so this should be fine, right?” There’s nothing like the best friend trump card to make life easier. It finally makes sense why Kyashii resorts to that ploy when she wants something.

“Eeh?! ...Umm, y-yeah, I g-guess so...” Rather than looking at me, Kyashii shifted her gaze to her right.

Pfft! What makes her look like she’s stuck in a bind?

“Then, Kyashii-chan, if you would indulge me for a moment...” I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on her left shoulder. “So comfy~... Do you mind if I rest my head on your shoulder for a bit longer?”

As honest as I can be, I’m struggling to understand myself right at the moment. I’ve suddenly felt a strong urge to be like this to Kyashii.

Hmm? From a logical standpoint, there’s a possibility that this emotion arises after being apart from someone you care about for a considerable amount of time, right?

Maybe the brief separation from Kyashii made me realize that being with her is always a priceless moment I shouldn’t take for granted. When you get down to it, this may be what they mean when people spend time apart; distance also helps them grow closer.

Heh… I think it’s fascinating how distance can make a world of difference.

“Y-You’re already doing that. Umm… It’s not like I w-will say n-no to that.” Kyashii keeps stuttering.

It wasn’t easy not to giggle at how she fumbled for words. There’s no doubt she’s uncomfortable with me right now, but whatever, let me put my own desires before hers for a change. I feel that hugging her seems like a way to release myself from the distress caused by our stupid fight.

I don’t know what to make of it, but that’s one way I see it, regardless of whether it makes sense.

“. . . .”

It was strangely totally silent for a while before I broke my embrace of her.

“Haah~! That was calming….” I stretched my arms overhead. “Your cozy shoulder is something to enjoy. I wish I could sleep on them as a pillow on rainy nights.”

“Eh?!” Kyashii’s glowing gaze swept over me.

“Oh! Thank you for lending me your shoulder, Kyashii.” I smiled at her and winked.

“Umm… Y-You’re welcome.” She bashfully returned my smile. “It’s unexpected of you to be suddenly a bit handsy, Yuyo.”

“Handsy??” My chuckle comes through. I take it she doesn’t like it when I hug her, then? “Hmm... I surprised myself too. It’s just that I felt an overwhelming urge to hug you as soon as I realized how much I missed you.”

“Huh?!” She stared at me with a dumbstruck expression.

How cute…

“Hey, Kyashii…”

“Y-Yes?!”

“I’ve been saying sorry for quite some time now. Yet you haven’t told me you have forgiven me.” My voice was hesitant. It would be really nice to hear that she has forgiven me. Until then, I can’t take that load off my mind for good.

“Dummy…” Kyashii then let out a quiet, understated laugh. “Of course, I have forgiven you, Yuyo. I’m also sorry. Besides, I could never hate you even if there was a reason to be mad at you.”

“Uhmm... A-Are you sure you mean that?”

“Yes... But promise me you won’t ever ignore me again for so long!” Her eyes narrowed at me.

I nodded. “Yes...”

“And don’t try to guess anything else about my dating life, either! Hmmph!”

“Yeah, you can count on it. Not to mention, I don’t want to deal with those troubling feelings again. Plus, I realized there’s a certain monotony to the days that passed without your presence.” I pouted.

“Eh?! R-Really?”

“Yeah... I couldn’t get my daily dose of teasing you, so that’s incredibly boring.” I replied without much thought.

“You… Gaaah! Seriously, that’s the only thing that makes you think that way?!” Kyashii roared.

“Nah-uh... It turns out that our tiff taught me something quite significant.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“The importance of Kyashii Mikami in my life...” I smiled warmly at her. “I say that I’ve always taken for granted our closeness, thinking that there would be no room for misunderstanding between us like that. However, now that I have experienced it, I have no desire to go through it again. It’s extremely upsetting.” I blabbered.

“Umm… Yuyo…” Kyashii’s eyes were glued to the ground.

“Yeah?”

“You’ve been pretty straightforward and honest for a while now. I... I’m not used to it... Can we slow down a bit? You’re m-making my ears burn.” She said in a hushed tone.

“Huh? I’m just calling a spade a spade. In a nutshell, that’s how I feel and think. You don’t share my sentiments?”

“I-It’s not like that… It’s way too much for me to handle… I… I’m not used to this kind of attack!” She grumbled.

“Ah-re? Attack?”

“No! Never mind… Right! Since the matter has been settled, where would you like to go, Yuyo? It’s still early afternoon. We have plenty of time to explore the area before we meet up with our group.”

“No idea. Hmm... Why don’t we just while away the hours here?” I walked over to a nice patch of grass and plopped down.

“Eh?! Are you sure?”

“Yeah... We had agreed to hang out in a quiet spot one day, so this is it; a serene ground like this is perfect.”

“Ahh... R-Right…”

“I prefer this calming environment over one that’s crowded. Come on, Kyashii, sit right here.” I tap the space next to me with a grin.

“What’s up with that smile? Did you put something on that spot?”

“I see you don’t regard me as a person of kindness.” I scoffed. “Don’t worry. I haven’t thought about pulling a prank on you just yet.”

“Just yet?! So, you already have something planned out?!” She glared.

“Ahh… Busted…” I smirked. “Just take it easy and sit here, will you?” I grabbed her hand.

“You seem to have taken on an odd character out of nowhere, Yuyo. Really, you’re making me nervous.” Kyashii’s eyes grew suspicious as she sat next to me.

“Odd? Am I now?”

“Yes!”

“Uhmm... It might be because, somehow, I feel euphoric, if that makes any sense. After what feels like an eternity, you could say I’m pleased as punch now that we’re this close again.”

One way or another, I’m relieved we’ve finally sorted things out. Although it was only for a few days, it felt like we’d had that fight for a month. And now that we’ve cleared things up, it feels like a long-dead part of my life has come back to life.

Yeah, something along those lines…

There are so many emotions that I can’t put into words, but right now, the only thing I want is to spend more time with Kyashii before joining the others.

Uhh… I wonder if I’m being too clingy right now.

Pfft!

Oh man, that sounds pretty weird to me. So… I’m capable of being clingy, too, huh?

“D-Do you mean that our fight had that much of an effect on you as well?”

As well?

It’s nearly impossible not to smile at those words. “Yeah... A serious disagreement with your best friend is the real deal, if I may say so myself. I was distraught over a fight for the first time in my life. And it wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. It was such a distraction for me that I struggled to focus on anything else.” I heaved a sigh.

“Heeh~...” Kyashii’s face lit up with a beaming smile. “That’s what you get for assuming things, Yuyo.”

“Yeah... Yeah... I won’t make that same mistake again.” I mirrored her smile. “But, Kyashii…”

“Hmm?”

“If you aren’t dating that guy, when will you tell me more about the person you like?” I asked earnestly.

“Huh?!?” She froze in shock. “W-Why are you a-asking this out of the blue?!”

“Well, you know... I figured you were right when you pointed out that my indifference to romance and stuff distorts my ability to discern things. I’ve already said that I won’t make any more assumptions about that, and I intend to keep my word. Which is why I reasoned that if I pay closer attention to this part of your life from now on, I shouldn’t have any more blunders like that, right?”

“Aah! A-ha-ha? Errm… Y-Yeah… I t-think so?” Kyashii was becoming increasingly agitated.

Hmm…

“We once talked about this when you stayed at my place, didn’t we? Are you still not comfortable talking about these things with me?”

“N-No… It’s not that I’m u-uncomfortable here, Yuyo….” She muttered under her breath.

“Then what’s the problem? Surely you can tell me about this p-person, right? Your interest in them makes me curious.” Although I want Kyashii to be at ease with me when it comes to this, asking such things doesn’t sit well with me, either. Just the thought of talking about this person she likes makes my stomach turn.

But… I know I had to follow through. What Kyashii said earlier struck a chord in me. Being her best friend means showing interest in every aspect of her life if I want to be always there for her.

“W-What exactly do you want to know a-about t-them?”

“Hmm… For starters, basic information like h-his name?”

“No! I can’t!!” Kyashii yelled out loud, much to my surprise.

“Heh??” W-What the heck was that?

“Aah… I mean… S-Sorry… Umm… Gosh!” She shifted her gaze away from me. “Uhh... Yuyo, c-could you kindly give me some more time for this?”

“Oh… S-Sure. Don’t worry yourself too much, Kyashii....” There was an awkward chuckle in my throat. “I just wanted you to feel like you could talk to me openly about your dating life, yeah?” I would never have guessed she was this aloof in matters of the heart.

Hmm? As it stands, it may take some time for me to earn her trust before I can get her to share details about that person.

Now hold on...

Then this means there are cases in which best friends won’t talk about their crushes with each other, huh?

Arrggh… What a pain!

But yeah, I totally get it. She still sees me as apathetic towards love, so she hasn’t yet worked up the nerve to tell me about him.

“I’m sorry, Yuyo….” Kyashii mumbled.

“It’s fine, Kyashii... I understand. I won’t be too adamant about it. I just wanted to let you know that you can also trust me about that matter. It’s that simple.” I smiled reassuringly at her and patted her on the shoulder.

“Umm…” She swiftly fixed her intense gaze on me. “Y-Yeah… I suppose it’s time I start telling you more about that person.” There’s something in her eyes that I can’t quite put my finger on.

“G-Great... I’m l-looking forward to that.”

“Yes. I think you should.” Kyashii smiled ambiguously.

Uhh… That smile may have more to it than meets the eye.

“. . . .”

Welp! I think this will work out just fine. Since Kyashii is into romance, I should start showing an interest in it myself. I’d rather not create another misunderstanding out of my indifference.

“Alright! It will be a pleasure to learn more about Kyashii one of these days.” I grinned as I buried my head in her lap.

“Wha—! What are you doing yet again?!” Kyashii was caught off guard.

“What... It feels good to stay this close to your best friend.”

“Eehh?!? …Y-You’re really acting way out of character today, Yuyo! Oh my gosh! If you keep attacking me like this, I’m going to die in a second!” She grunted as she covered her flustered face with both hands.

Pfft!

Her embarrassed reaction made me laugh uncontrollably. I had almost forgotten she had that shy side to her as well.

Oh well...

There’s no doubt I’m indeed acting strange after we talked things out. Even I know that much. But then again, I have no idea what triggered my impulses to act this way toward Kyashii.

Hmm... Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is that it feels great to be next to my best friend all over again.

As likely as not, we’ve somehow rekindled our friendship, and I get the impression that significant changes lie ahead of us.