"Ayanokoji-senpai!"
After school, while I was walking home alone, I was approached from behind.
I was a little fed up with the familiar cheerful voice.
"Huh... Amasawa? What do you want?"
I'm not sure what to say.
"Senpai, do you really hate talking to me that much?"
"Not that I don't like it."
I don't dislike it, but it's annoying and unpleasant.
It would be troublesome if I say that to Amasawa .
"I've had two hours of PE in a row today, so I'm tired. If you need me, make it quick."
"I'm annoyed that I'm being treated like a troublesome kid."
"It's hard to keep Kei in a good mood when I am with you."
"I see. Then I'll just tell her what I need to do because my senipai wants me to make it quick."
The moment I mentioned Kei's name, Amasawa's expression, which had been smiling, suddenly hardened.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'm in the mood for a date with you."
"I'm going home."
I decided that Amasawa was just messing around and turned on my heel.
Amasawa grabbed my arm.
I tried to shake it off with a little effort, but it didn't budge like a giant snake entangled on a branch.
"All right, I'm sorry I tried to leave but why did you suddenly say that?"
"It's my birthday tomorrow."
"Happy birthday to you. Speaking of which, Amasawa is already seventeen?"
"Yes. So, I wanted to spend my birthday with you."
"Wait, why me first? Why don't you just invite someone from your class or another freshman?"
"You know what, you really need to stop saying that.I want to spend time with you."
"..."
"You see, last June was a flurry of preparations for a desert island survival event for all years. That's why we didn't celebrate my birthday properly last year."
"Is that so?"
"You're asking me like I'm someone else, but I'm saying I want to spend it with you, okay?"
There was no sign of Amasawa letting go of my arm.
I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to say yes, but I'm going to stay with you until I do.
If Kei ,nanase, horikita see me with her it's going to be a problem.
"Please. Please, just for one day tomorrow, give me some of your time.Just spend one day with me tomorrow, okay?"
"Fine."
Fortunately, I don't have any plans for tomorrow.
The risk of being discovered by an acquaintance is high, but the fact that Amasawa came here to ask me in person means that something must have happened.
I think I should listen to her carefully about that as well.
"I understand. I'll go along with your errand tomorrow."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
When I agreed, she smiled happily.
"Yes, yes! Tomorrow, you did a promise, okay? If you break it, I won't forgive you"
"Yeah, I know."
The last thing she said was to remind me.
She said, "Bye, bye," and waved her hands over her head as she walked back toward the first-year dormitory.
"Tomorrow is Amasawa's birthday?"
Looking at Amasawa's details in OAA, to check her birthday if it's true.
It's not a lie or misleading, it's true that she's taking me out for her birthday.
"I'll have to tell Kei the details anyway."
It is hard to convince her, but if I found the courage to break my promise to Amasawa, so I sighed at the trouble and went to my room.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
The next day after school, in front of the Keyaki Mall.
As soon as Amasawa saw me, she smiled happily and called out to me.
"Huh..."
"You're always sighing, aren't you? If you're always sighing like that, you're going to lose your happiness, Senpai."
"You have no idea how hard it was to convince Kei to go out with you."
But she's an understanding person, so she sensed that I had an agenda for me to go out with Amasawa, and she agreed, suppressing her boiling point of anger.
The fact that I had walked through the Keyaki Mall before Amasawa's arrival made me even more tired than yesterday.
"Anyway, Happy Birthday Amasawa."
"Yes! Thank you for coming today, Senpai."
"Well, I promised to stay with you for a day. So, what are we going to do for your birthday, Amasawa?"
"Um, can we walk around?"
"Yeah."
I thought we were going to do some shopping since the place Amasawa specified was the Keyaki Mall, but apparently it was completely different.
Amasawa led the way, and I walked a little behind her.
There was a spot away from the Keyaki Mall where we could see the ocean.
Amasawa and I walked along the beach, taking in the summer breeze as the heat faded.
"This is the second summer since I've been out."
"Hmm?"
"When I was in the White Room, I never thought I'd be walking next to you like this."
"I never thought I'd be walking on the high school grounds with my junior either."
Amasawa had a somewhat fragile expression on her face as she looked at the seaside.
"I'm surprised at myself, something I've never done before."
"What do you mean?"
"I've done a lot of things since I came to this high school, like going to the pool, going to the movies, shopping for cosmetics and clothes."
"Isn't that normal? When I first came to this high school, I was so excited to be free."
"But... But that's not what surprised me the most."
"Hmm?"
"I didn't get any satisfaction from ──── doing that."
"....."
Amazawa look down.
"I was wondering what freedom was like when I was in the White Room, but it wasn't as good as I had imagined."
"Really? I thought it was all new and fresh."
"Haha. On the contrary, you're too sensitive."
"Is that how it is?"
"But... But when I came to this high school, there was one thing, and one thing only, that filled me up."
"What is it?"
Amasawa turned around as if she was waiting for me to say something.
In her summer outfit, she looked somewhat nervous, shaking her shoulders and looking straight at my eyes.
"I got to meet Ayanokoji senpai.I was able to talk to you.I got involved with you.That was the only driving force in my life"
"..."
She sat down on a nearby bench and tapped her left hand on the bench next to her.
It seems that she wants me to sit here.
"Hey, Amasawa..."
"What is it?"
"It's too dense. Get some space."
"It's my birthday. I'm allowed to do this."
"You're using your birthday as an excuse, aren't you?"
"Why don't you do something to to make me satisfied."
"I have a girlfriend."
"I got permission from Karuizawa, so you will be fine."
I'm not sure how she could have lied about getting permission from Kei.
The moment I sat down on the bench, Amasawa quickly closed the distance and touched me shoulder to shoulder.
I could feel her fleshy mounds digging into my arms, but I knew if I mentioned it, I'd be ridiculed immediately.
"Let me get back to the point. I'm still not satisfied with anything. There's no difference between the White Room and this high school."
"..."
"But with my senpai it's different. I don't know why, but it's different when I'm talking to you. When I'm in front of other girls, I talk very thinly and make facial expressions, but when I'm in front of you, I get very nervous. My heart is pounding so hard."
"Are you confessing your feelings for me?"
"Do you want me attack someone,who has a girlfriend."
"Absolutely no"
If that's the case, what the hell is with Amasawa's feminine vibe and expression?
In the beginning, I thought it was just the usual ridicule, but the Amasawa who was speaking now was looking at me with such a serious look . I wondered if it's really amasawa.
"That's why I asked for some time today. I thought my senpai would know the answer. I'm not sure why I feel so satisfied when I talk to you."
"I don't know, but you've always had me as your goal, right? Isn't that what this is about?"
"I don't know. You have to tell me."
"..."
I thought I understood a little bit what Amasawa wanted me to say. Perhaps she is now urging me to say something similar to a confession.
I don't know why, but today Amasawa seemed to be a lot more aggressive than usual.
That's why I dared to make the most outrageous statement here.
"Get yourself a boyfriend, Amasawa. I'm sure your thirst will be satisfied if you do."
"────────────────"
When I looked her, I saw Amasawa with a blank expression on her face and her mouth open. I'm not sure what to make of that.
Then she gave me a disappointing look.
"Do you think my thirst will be quenched if I get a boyfriend?"
"At least more than now."
"Then I want you."
"....."
The next moment, Amasawa sat on my lap, facing me.
"Amasawa, you're so close. ────"
"I want you to be mine. Be more than a friend. Be my lover, my family. I want you to be everything to me."
I see.
This was the reason why she felt different from usual.
Amasawa's eyes were shaking weakly.
"What's wrong with you?"
Purely out of curiosity, I found myself asking her a question.
"This past year. I've seen and heard about many students' birthdays and I've heard that their parents bought them whatever they wanted for their birthday, and that they shared a good time with their friends."
"What's wrong with that?"
"──── I never had that. I grown up without knowing my parents' faces, and my friends never colored my heart any other color than white."
She continued.
"I have only one request. You can throw everything else away or give it to someone else. So I want Senpai in my life who can fill my heart with ──── more than anything else."
"..."
"I'm not sure if this is the right birthday for me. I don't have parents, so I don't know."
Amasawa kept asking me what she should do. I don't have parents, so I don't know and it is also true that I feel a little resentment towards the other adults who threw me into such an environment.
"Senpai..."
The only thing that the broken girl yearns for is the best of the White Room.
In other words, her interest, love interest, and sensitivity were all directed at me alone.
She looks at me as if she is fascinated by me, and brings her lips close to mine.
I put my index finger on her lips when we almost touched.
"I have a birthday present for you."
"What?"
She was surprised that I had rejected her idea, but her eyes were drawn to the object in the inside pocket of my uniform.
"What's that?"
"You'll know it when you see it."
"──────────────"
When Amasawa received a gift from me, she froze.
"You're seventeen. Congratulations, Amasawa."
"This is ‥‥‥‥‥‥."
What I gave her was a rather pricey perfume that I had purchased at the Keyaki Mall before meeting up with Amasawa today.
The moment she saw it, Amasawa froze as if I was lying, and the next moment she was ────.
"Pfft."
"Pfft..."
"Is that such a strange gift?"
"Sorry, sorry, but I have the same one."
"What?"
"Hahahahaha. I never thought I'd get a gift from you that I already have."
The thing I gave her seemed to be something that Amasawa already had, and she laughed because there was nothing new about it.
After laughing for a while, she finally saw the perfume and her expression relaxed a little.
"...What happened?"
"No, you..."
"Hmm?"
"You're crying really hard, are you okay?"
"...."
I'm not sure if Amasawa noticed that her vision was shaking with tears, but she touched herself to check again.
"Why, so..."
The tears that began to fall were not going to stop. I'm sure Amasawa was laughing because the perfume I gave her was the same as the one she was wearing.
But why is she crying now with such a satisfied look on her face?
"It was the first time in my life that someone gave me something.... I don't know why I can't stop crying."
"..."
"Oh no... Senpai, please don't look at me."
Amasawa pressed her face to my chest so that I could not see her face.
I felt some sympathy for her and slowly stroked her head, running my hand through her hair, which was usually carefully groomed.
She trembled when I touched her, but after a while, she seemed to calm down and buried her face in my chest.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
I guess I do like my senpai after all.
It was a good thing that I realized that again today.
The whole reason I took him around and had a little in-depth talk with him was to confirm that.
He stroked my head gently, as if to comfort me .
"Senpai."
"...What is it?"
When he realised that I am stopping crying,he stopped stroking my hair,I suddenly gave him a kiss on his cheek
"Amazawa, you..."
"I'm just thankful for you. If my senpai really become my thing,I'll always do more than that."
Although I was tempted as usual, my senpai's eyes were not surprised, embarrassed, or ashamed.
It's as if he was observing my actions and it seemed as if he had no interest in me.
But that's okay.
It's that kind of person that I love.
I got off the Senpai's lap, wiped my eyes and got up. I turned my back to Senpai and thanked him.
"Thank you for going out of your way today to accommodate my selfishness Senpai.
"I think we just walked and talked for a while."
"But still. I celebrated my birthday with you. That alone is enough for me to be happy."
"I see. If that's the case, I'm very happy for you."
When Senpai says that,I get a little shy.
After all I liked him.
He is more handsome than I had imagined, his ability as expected, and his unexpectedly kind and caring, words and personality that satisfied me.
"I still want him..."
"What did you say, Amasawa?"
"No, not at all. I'm going to leave for now. You don't want to be tied up for too long, do you?"
"What? You're leaving already?"
"A little bit. Oh, I'll use the perfume you gave me when the stock runs out, okay?"
"It's yours now, so you can use it as you like."
"Yeah, I'll see you later. See you later, senpai."
"See you later, Amasawa."
I've never looked back at my senpai since I got up from his lap.
As I walked away from him, I saw my reflection in the water.
"Haha.... I didn't know I had such a face. I feel so embarrassed and stupid, like some random girl."
I swore and looked at the water.
On the surface of the water, I can see my face, my cheeks reddened, my eyes and mouth slack, and a look of utter joy on my face.
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