White Album 2 Omake/Story03/Chapter 6

6

"Umm, Setsuna...!"
"........."
"... is Ogiso-san here?"
"It's always been Setsuna this and Setsuna that every day. Why hide it now?"
"Whichever it is, you sure don't seem to be in a good mood..."

The bell signaling the end of classes hadn't stopped yet. Greeting Haruki as he entered class was an atmosphere that had long lost its purpose in student life, warming the cold winter that the classmates endured.

"Ogiso-chan's already gone home."
"Ah, really...?"

But, Setsunathe one person who Haruki sought was no longer there.

"Well, I guess she really didn't want to see you."
"Setsuna avoiding me...? Why?"
"Because it's you, after all!"

Ignoring the mocking criticism from his classmate, Haruki once again looked around the corners of the room. Confirming she wasn't here at all, he gave a sigh.

"Why... I wonder?"

Even though it was Friday, this entire week he hadn't gotten to speak a word with Setsuna.

Recently... or rather, ever since she had caught a cold from a week prior, in other words, since Kazusa's competition, Setsuna had grown distant.

Even the morning, she had barely gotten to school, contrasting with Haruki who got in class first.

Even during recess or lunch, she hadn't once left her classroom.

And when it came time to head home, before Haruki came to see her, she'd slip past the entrance while the homeroom bell rang, and make haste for the school gates.

Haruki would always walk up to the seat closest to the window and glance outside to see her. It was a situation where he was eager to run down the hallways and break school regulations...

"Sigh...!?"

Nothing coming to mind, the moment he gave as if to show bewilderment...

He suddenly felt two light taps of a fingertip on his shoulder.

"Setsuna...!?"
"... who else do you think would be around here right now?"
"If that's what you think, then don't do that.Hiff haatts haat you fink, henn honn't hoo hat..."

He spat to Takeyahis "self-proclaimed best friend", who stuck his index finger into Haruki's cheek.

---

"Haa, haa, haa...!"

Jumping to the entrance having sprinted down the hallway passed the students looking over in confusion, Setsuna finally... or rather, having used up all her strength, took quite some time to catch her breath as she put her hands on her knees.

"H, haa, haa, haa... haaaaa....!"

She didn't feel like her heart was going to leap out just because of her running.

Probably it was because of the emotions that went into her desperate attempt to run.

Anxiety, fear, grief... as well as the hope that she mustn't have, and that hope would bring about the despair of betrayal.

Those complicated emotions were mixed in, which made it harder for Setsuna to breathe easily.

"Haa... fuuu..."

Even so, she managed to regain her footing, and she once again bent forward as if to pull out a loose screw within her.

It was too soon for her to be calm...

She'd be truly at ease if she wasn't in this public area, escaping through the school gates, entering the residential area, and closed the door at her home...

"You're bad at running. Maybe you should start skiing to build stamina this year?"

... or, so she thought.

"W... why?"
"Don't underestimate someone who's a former basketball club regular."
"What do you mean regular... you're the captain, aren't you...!"
"Well, in any case, I'd be able to shrug off Haruki easily, Setsuna."

She'd just started getting ready to head home after having rushed from her classroom...

Being able to keep the same distance and speed while running without breaking a sweat, Io gave a sigh while smiling.

---

"It's been a while since you played the guitar. Ever since the school festival I guess?"
"I suppose..."

The sun coming in from the west seeped into the first music room, leaving a subtle illumination on Haruki and Takeya.

The formation of the light music club, its gathering of members that didn't really practice correctly, the discord that came with the recruitment of a female vocalist, and its dissolution...

As if he wanted to slowly make sure, Haruki began playing a new song not in his repertoire, in this place the two were in that left with somewhat unpleasant memories.

"Wonder if we should reform when we enter university...?"
"Planning on making a debut at the university festival?"
"I really don't want to rush such a group so quickly now, I want to prepare a bit more in advance... you wanna join, Takeya?"
"Suddenly looking ahead even though you've gotten this terrible."
"... 'shaddup, you idiot."

The song Haruki played was something he first heard from an online video site.

It seemed like a theme song from a game, late night drama, or anime, but he didn't quite know the details, nor did he look into it.

But its beauty came from its fleeting melody and lyrics, always remaining within his mind.

"So, what do you want? You did come all the way here."
"Seems Setsuna-chan hates you."
"...!"

He'd planned on perfectly playing this despite having gotten worse, but the careful words Takeya said had made his fingers slip in an instant.

"Well, recently she's been avoiding me altogether... in any case, it's a good sign for the other third-year guys, isn't it?"
"Setsuna's also busy... with graduation, going to university, preparing for various things..."
"She's also been hanging out with me just fine. We also went to the coffee shop and chatted for three hours... well, of course there was one other person."
"...!"

Afterward, he kept on missing his notes. The noise beside him was far too much, and not having grasped the melody ahead of him, Haruki helplessly put away the guitar.

"Well~ it's fine and dandy, isn't it?"
"What's fine with this...?"
"Because you have a girlfriendsomeone who doesn't hate you."
"........."
"She's real cute. Fallen so hard for you that she can only see you, you know."
"Though... she's always hated me this whole time."
"Hey, Haruki, you know what tsundere means, right?"
"She's not one to simply change her personality like that. It's more complicated. One moment she's laughing, and the next moment she's all angry, it's ridiculously difficult."
"... it would seem that you understood exactly what the word meant. Diligent as always."

At the time, the girl to Haruki was not an unknown creature to him. Since they met, she'd ignore him, easily get angry, often get annoyed, and every so often pay attention to him.

And right now, indeed she'd suddenly get angry and often get annoyed, but Kazusa would always pay attention to him...

To Haruki after all, the unknown part of her hadn't changed.

"Anyways, we aren't talking about Kazusa..."
"Then how about Setsuna-chan? She hasn't hated you at all up until now? Did you figure out everything about her?"
"......... no."

Since meeting that girl, she was very sociable, easily laugh, was in high spirits, and very rarely would she pout...

And right now, indeed she'd easily laugh and was in high spirits, but Setsuna had a rather tearful expression that tried to hide another emotion she had...

"Hey, Takeya..."
"What?"
"Girls are complicated, aren't they?"
"I know a simpler way to get along with them. Want me to teach you?"
"... what do you mean?"
"Once you've decided, go straight ahead. Don't show any lingering regrets. Don't throw away your hopes."
"... what's that, exactly?"
"You don't get it?"
"Nope, not at all."

Haruki scowled at Takeya with a discouraged expression on his face, as if to show he had completely understood it.

---

"... huh, Haruki did?"

"Maybe... I wonder."

The sun coming in from the west seeped across the rooftop, leaving a subtle illumination on Setsuna and Io.

The wind, though not cold, came in strong, as if it was waiting to darken the skies even now.

The sound of it was awkward, and somehow it felt as if it had sympathy for Setsuna right now.

"Sorry for calling you up here like this."
"It's fine, I didn't really have anything to do..."
"Then why'd you run so fast...?"
"T-There's a TV program I wanted to see~ that I remembered!"

Io lowered her eyes a bit, noticing Setsuna's hands as they gripped the wire fence hard, the feelings in them shaking far more violently than the words that came from her mouth.

"... hey."
"W-What is it?"
"Setsuna... what's your plan from now on?"
"From now on...? Geez, it's been several days since the exams were finished. But, I dunno about skiing... ah, but if there's hot springs or a karaoke..."
"I'm not asking you about graduating or where you plan to graduate."
"T-Then, what do you exactly mean...?"

Only now did Io realize she had the wrong idea about Setsuna.

She thought she was someone who wouldn't lie.

"Are you going to continue that whole "always the three of us" thing?"
"I don't want you to call it a "thing"... you make it sound stupid."

And she thought she was someone who understood a bit better... and knew when to quit.

"Well, it is stupid in a way. It's like playing house."
"I wonder what it is you understand, Io..."

Setsuna's wavering voice struggled to shrug Io off with a cold shoulder.

Setsuna's swaying eyes tried hard to look down on Io.

She tried to believe she was higher than all of this.

"You've never once practiced with us, stayed up all night with us, and never went up on stage with us..."
"If you're gonna go that far, then what you're doing is half-assed!"
"...!"
"If Touma-san's around, you won't get closer to Haruki. That's all the more reason you've been running away like this..."
"Io..."
"Is this shying away of yours what you call a "festival of three who will continue on forever"? That's not something I can accept at all!"

Certainly, Io was stubborn in denying it.

What turned Io's words a little more wild just now, was not that Setsuna's stubbornness had ticked her off...

But perhaps it was because she was dissatisfied with this one girl who, for a tiny bit, did her best in this group of three.

---

"And what is it you know about us anyway?"

Haruki's wavering voice gave Takeya the cold shoulder...

"... I'll just have you know, I haven't said anything like I'm not your best buddy or anything, right?"
"I know that."

... so he thought, but Haruki didn't have the courage to follow through.

"It has to do with you, and not to do with Kazusa and Setsuna, something like that, right? It's the exact opposite..."
"Yeah... even if the three of you stick together, there's a secret between the two of you that you won't tell one other."
"Then what is it that you..."
"You stayed at Touma's, didn't you? From the Sunday... after the competition."
"...!"

Even though his reasoning and cautiousness had been propped up by his three years, and he'd struggled to balance it all for the past half year...

"Thought I wouldn't pick up on something like that? If you didn't want anyone to find out, you shouldn't have come to school on Monday."

That day, Haruki acted rather suspiciously, and although he did his best to try and hide it, he could tell from how ruffled he had looked.

"Since when did this start? ... never mind, it wouldn't matter if I had asked about how it was you two ended up "like this"."

Two years ago, the way Takeya acted was exactly the same, attending school after having come from a girl's room for the first time.

"Well... she's gonna be real busy with the recommendation entrance exams. So, we weren't gonna see each other for a while."
"Sounds like something that no one else should care about, right?"
"........."

Takeya's words were what a best friend would keep throwing at Haruki.

"Sounds like something that is especially not important to Setsuna-chan, right? The two of you are starting a brand new life, right?"
"About Setsuna..."
"You don't want me to tell her? Because I don't have a clue, I shouldn't be spouting my mouth off?"

Which was why Haruki fully understood what he said.

That he was still treating him as a best friend.

And that he truly cared for him from the bottom of his heart.

"I'll... I'll tell her."

And if that was the case, then Haruki wasn't one to always follow what his best friend said.

Because of the one pride he still had left...

He at least protected his "sincerity to others".

---

"What you're doing is half-assed, Setsuna. It's all over the place."
"It's... not..."
"You plan to be like this when you enter university? You're gonna see him every day! You'll end up spending more time with him than even now!"

The sun had disappeared.

Blocked out by the clouds in the sky, the winds grew even more cold...

"Maybe I should change programs..."

Setsuna's emotions changed in the same color and manner.

"You okay with that?"
"I was never good with social sciences in the first place. I was better off with English anyway..."
"That's not what I'm asking you about... well, that has a certain meaning to it."
"What do you mean...?"
"Because, Setsuna, you planned on going to English in the first place... before deciding to go with Haruki."
"~~~!!"

But Setsuna couldn't feel the iciness she wanted from those clouds, from those winds.

"Messing up your own wishes to be with someone, and then part ways with them in the end. You okay with that?"
"H... Haruki-kun wouldn't...!"
"Of course he wouldn't say that... I didn't say you were doing this for yourself, but that you were doing this for Haruki."
"I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Realizing what she had tried to cover up in the depths of her heart just slipped out, her body had boiled over.

"Hey, just stop this... this isn't what the girl, Ogiso Setsuna, would do."
"Io..."
"You're regretting this, aren't you? It's painful to be together as the three of you, isn't it? That's why you ran away, not knowing what to do, right?"

The cat was out of the bag.

"Because you want to be together. Because you like Haruki."

Each and every one of the unpleasant feelings she had leaked out.

"Not as the three of you... but the two of you."
"No..."
"What do you mean no?"

Even though these beautiful clouds had went out of their way to cover her...

"I'm not that pure or earnest at all..."
"I want both of them, really, both of them..."
"I'm... I'm that greedy..."

It dirtied her in black, as trampling mud that spread itself in front of her.

---

"Hey, Haruki... you should stop calling her "Setsuna"."
"But you've been calling her "Setsuna-chan"!"
"There's a difference between you and I. Yours has far more meaning, it's totally different."

Takeya's words were what a best friend would keep throwing at Haruki.

Even so, no, maybe it was because of that...

Because of that, right now, those were the words that he didn't want to hear at all.

"Then, Haruki, I want to check one more thing... who do you really like?"
"That, that's......... Kazusa..."
"Yeah... figures."
"But, even Setsuna's an important..."
"Friend, right?"
"........."
"Both of them are really precious to you. One is your girlfriend and the other's your friend... you know this is bad."

He didn't want to tie up the girl named Setsuna with such generic words like "friend".

From someone he looked for to an acquaintance, and from an acquaintance to a companion. And from a companion... to someone in a group of three.

She was a special girl, who revealed her true character as their relationship strengthened. And when she did reveal her true character, she grew more and more charming...

"You think treating Setsuna-chan like that wouldn't hurt her? ... you think not treating her like that wouldn't hurt Touma?"

Even if Setsuna, who wrapped herself in particular emotions, happened to wrap herself in such unpleasant feelings, there was no way he could avoid her at all.

"If you're going to, it'd be better to do so in a clearer way."
"But, Setsuna'll get hurt... she'll be hurt even more, being dropped out of the group of three."
"If either of them is going to be hurt... who would be hurt the least?"
"That's..."
"Would you do that, or do you plan to remain a half-dead trio...?"

Haruki knew the answer Takeya wanted him to give.

And probably, that answer would have been that of the majority.

"It'll be the three of us... that's what Setsuna wanted."

And Haruki understood the answer he gave was indeed that of the minority.

"And what will come out of protecting that to the very end? Both Setsuna-chan and Touma, everyone will get hurt. Even you..."
"Why can't it be the three of us? I just can't accept that!"

But, it couldn't be helped.

Because, he felt the charm from Setsuna that made him cling to that wrong answer.

"Because... that'd be killing our friendship!"

Because he had liked seeing her, trying hard as she may to wipe away her past, yet not being able to, feeling down, struggling, and trying hard again with a tearful smile on her face.

---

――I was fine with Haruki-kun, the class president.

I liked him lecturing me. I had fun when he scolded me.

It didn't matter if he were my boyfriend, or just a friend.

I thought that if he treated other girls the same way, then it'd be fine.

――I like the way he usually is.

He'd usually say good morning, and usually say farewell.

He'd usually listen to what I have to say, and usually persuade me...

The way he usually holds me in such good light felt very pleasant.

Not like the way other guys had treated me,

But, the way he made me a bit nervous made me happy.

――I'd be lying to say that I hadn't wanted to go out with a guy.

But it did happen during middle school, and it was a bit scary.

Because, it was my dream to be with a guy who was so direct, yet so gentle.

Even though he a had a bit of pride in him, it probably was "just about right".

――But Kazusa has such different values from me...

She never accepted the fact that Haruki-kun was a class president who was kind to anyone.

He couldn't leave anyone alone.

How should I put it... the way I say it could make Kazusa angry, though.

She sees him as a Prince Charming that she'd always wanted, just for her.

And, and you know... as Kazusa wished for, he became her Prince Charming.

Becoming her Prince Charming, thinking of her as the damsel...

Haruki had picked not the girl everyone admired as an idol, but the girl everyone treated like thin air.

He picked not the girl who he treated normally, but the girl he treated as an idol.

Which was why Setsuna, who held feelings for Haruki, was in such a dilemma, because the way he treated her in particular was so painful.

――I can't win against Kazusa.

Not that I want to win, but I won't ever win...

No one can rival someone so direct like her.

To Setsuna, Kazusa was someone with such different qualities.

Because she was a girl who had this impossible balance; the narrow-mindedness of a grade schooler, the romance of a middle schooler, and the sincerity of an adult.

And because Setsuna was a bit more grown up than Kazusa.

――And, I don't want to fight her.

Because, I'm like Kazusa, having liked him just the same amount as her...

And I wanted him to like me the same amount that he liked her.

But Setsuna realized.

That she wasn't "a bit more" of an adult than Kazusa.

That her feelings weren't all that much different from Kazusa.

Kazusa wanted to be number one in his eyes.

Setsuna too, wanted to be number one in his eyes.

And she realized that in the end, whoever ends up not being number one will be hurt...

――I won't call him "Haruki-kun" anymore.

I'm no longer a girl that he can call "Setsuna".

But I don't want to call him "Kitahara-kun" now.

And if he called me "Ogiso", the tears wouldn't stop.

Which was why I can't meet him.

I don't know how I should call him, or how he should call me...

---

"I promised her."
"Haruki..."
"I promised her that I wouldn't leave her alone, that I wouldn't break our friendship..."

He picked up the guitar that he had once put away.

"No matter what happens, that's a promise I have to keep..."
"Even if Touma should get hurt, right?"
"........."

Placing it on his knee, he lightly strummed.

It was a bit harsh for his slightly numb hand from going strong into the string.

But for the time being, he didn't feel that much pain.

Though it was a bit modest, it wasn't anything compared to the pain he'd been causing the girls...

"Hey, Takeya."
"Hmm?"
"Am I doing the right thing?"
"Who knows."
"What should I do?"
"Don't ask me."

His fingers started moving quickly, changing from a monotonous sound to a melody.

"... pulling your leg. I'm kidding. Leave it to me."
"Takeya...?"
"Ah, well... putting it that way could leave a misunderstanding. Leave it to me and Io."
"What do you..."
"There's no need to rush... let's start off with a group of five, shall we?"

It was the song he played just a while ago.

A fleeting song, whose melody and lyrics that matched the cold season.

"Once Touma's recommendation goes in, let's all go skiing."
"Skiing, huh?"
"We'll all have a blast, go see the snow, get drunk, go to the hot springs..."
"That's..."
"Something that's fine as long as it's the three of you, right? As long as no one within within your trio is left out, right?"

The snow, alcohol, hot springs, and, that vow...

He strummed violently as if to erase the memories that went around in his head.

"Then, it's decided. Leave all the details to us. I'll call you when we've worked it out."
"You know, if you spend all that time dealing with us, you'll lose out on time to date girls."
"... I like spending time in a group of five far more than being alone with just a girl."
"........."
"Anyways, let's look forward to April, Haruki."

The skies outside the window were so gloomy and depressing, it seemed like it was going to snow even now.

---

"Five of us...?"
"We'll be there, Setsuna. Me, and Takeya."
"Io..."

Let your feelings flow, Setsuna.

Let your tears flow, Setsuna.

Let it come out slowly, and wither away quietly now.

That was what Io whispered to her.

"So, just call him "Haruki-kun" like you always have. Let him call you "Setsuna" like he always has."
"I-Is that okay...?"
"But you know, it doesn't have to have such a deep meaning anymore."

The same thing Takeya told Haruki...

Or rather, it'd been the first time in three years that the two settled on this kind of plan on their own.

"And it's fine if Haruki's there, right? It's fine if Touma-san's there, right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"So, Setsuna... you can stop now."
"........."
"... okay?"
"........................... o-o-o-kay...!"

Setsuna hesitated so much, it took her several seconds just to reply with that one word.

"I'll stop... I'll stop already... I won't say I want the three of us, anymore...!"
"Setsuna..."
"So please... don't tell Kazusa, don't tell Haruki-kun, how I feel...!"
"Like I would... besides, we're best friends, right?"
"Uuu, uuu... uaaaahhh...!"

And that tearful face of hers finally crumpled up.

"Oh boy... who'll believe you're the school idol like this?"
"Uuu, uuu... uaaaahhh...!"

Setsuna's tears again fell.

This time it wasn't as simple as her sobbing, but she cried out as if to dry her throat out.

"Ueeaahhhh, Io, I.... uaahhhhhh~!"

But those were no longer tears of regret...

They were tears that looked forward, swearing never to look back.

"Setsuna... you'll become an even better woman. A perfect idol that no man wouldn't look away from."

Even if she desperately clung onto the group of three.

Even if the three ends up as a group of two.

Even if she runs away from the two, and ends up alone.

Because to Setsuna, it was all a distant memory now.

The melody of the guitar echoed to the rooftop.

It was a song that spoke of a forbidden love, an unrequited love... and of growth.

The snow began to faintly fall, as if attracted to that fleeting sound.

Though I may be hurt a bit, wait for it to heal, and then hurt yet again...

If it continues, I may slowly become an adult.

Setsuna prayed to the snow with that wish of hers.

――I'll do my best...

I'll do my best and take my time until all my wounds have healed.

So please, snow, would you wrap around my feelings ever so softly until then?

Setsuna prayed to the snow with that wish of hers.

---

Some time passed since then, and it finally became February 14.

Touma Kazusa became eligible to enter Kisaragi Music College...

Notes

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