Chapter 14: Stirring Up the Signal

“Futaba-san, is it okay if I punch you?”

“You seriously think I’d give you permission for that?”

“If you did, I could punch you guilt-free.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll punch you, drenched in guilt.”

“So either way, I’m getting punched… C-Can you at least be gentle?”

“It’s the way you said that! Tsubasa-chan’s gonna get the wrong idea!!”

“Ow, ow, a fist hurts! An open hand’s no better! You’re not even holding back anymore, Kishine!”

“Well, that’s because you’re just the worst!”

We were walking along the dimly lit riverbank. Just the two of us. And of all things, I was stuck with the completely out-of-it Futaba-san.

…If things had gone right, I should’ve rescued Tsubasa-chan from Futaba-san’s clutches, and the two of us would’ve made up by now.

We were finally starting to come together again. Things were going well—until Futaba-san barged in and ruined the moment.

And on top of that… she whispered something unthinkable to me. So quietly Tsubasa-chan wouldn’t hear. She leaned in close and said—

“──Hey, wanna make Tsubasa jealous?”

…It was honestly a devil’s temptation.

The moment I heard it, I knew it was a bad idea.

And yet, I…

──I wanted to understand how Tsubasa-chan really felt. I couldn’t resist the urge to test her heart.

Trying to test someone’s feelings… I knew how shameful that was.

But I’d been so anxious all this time, wondering what Tsubasa-chan really thought of me. So I went along with Futaba-san’s plan. I conspired with her to do something like this.

Maybe right now, I’m just a bundle of impure intentions.

---

“Ow…”

“Maybe you should finally learn your lesson.”

With a sigh, I calmed myself a little.

Just how much longer is this miserable two-person trip going to last? Thinking about that made it impossible to feel even the slightest bit cheerful.

“…So? What exactly is this supposed to be?”

“What is?”

“…You know. Like, going on a date or something with you.”

I had absolutely zero interest in anything like that, so if she really was trying to go there, I was ready to throw out some biting words and storm off.

With that mindset, I glared at her. Futaba tilted her head in mild confusion.

“Kishine only wants my body, right? Nothing else matters to you…”

She said that garbage like it was the most natural thing in the world—without even a hint of shame.

“Pervert!”

“But it’s just that you haven’t been able to have sex with Tsubasa for a while, so all that pent-up lust is getting to your brain, right?”

“I never said anything like that! Don’t joke around!”

“But isn’t that the real reason you’re all irritable?”

“It’s not!!”

Maybe the mistake was trying to have a conversation with Futaba in the first place. Or maybe the entire premise of this talk was completely messed up.

Why does she think Tsubasa-chan and I are, well… in that kind of relationship? And why is she acting like I’m some constantly horny pervert?

It was all some ridiculous false accusation—completely and utterly absurd.

“…What do you even think is going on between me and Tsubasa-chan?”

“Uh, a sexless lesbian couple?”

—Should I just throw her into the river right now?

In the dim light, I glared as fiercely as I could and shouted at this clueless fake-fan girl—shouted with all my heart and soul.

“Tsubasa-chan would never do something so dirty!!!”

“Oh? That’s the part you’re mad about?”

“What else would I be mad about!?”

“You’re a lesbian.”

“I most definitely am not! Do you want me to throw you out!?”

“You get mad every second, huh?”

“Whose fault do you think that is!!”

“…Tsubasa’s?”

“It’s you, Futaba-san!!”

Panting furiously, I launched a full protest against this absolute worst sexual harassment offender in existence. Not only was she way off-base, she was also some pervert trying to smear Tsubasa-chan with her twisted fantasies, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.

Not that she seemed the least bit fazed.

“…How did it even come to this? What kind of twisted logic led you to that pervy conclusion?”

“Hm?”

Realizing reason wouldn’t work with her, I decided to change my approach. Even when I thought we were having a real conversation, somehow she always pulled me into her rhythm without me noticing.

But not this time. This time, I wasn’t going to let that happen.

—From now on, I’d just completely deny everything Futaba-san said.

If she ever uttered something like “You and Tsubasa-chan totally seem like you’d have lesbian sex,” I’d immediately dunk her into the river. I steeled myself with that conviction and faced her directly.

“…Wait, so if you haven’t done it, and you’re still acting like this?”

“Huh?”

For some reason, Futaba-san looked genuinely confused. If anything, she even seemed a little taken aback.

I’d expected her to start spewing her usual stream of trash, so the unexpected silence kind of caught me off guard.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Ahaha, um, just… wow. This is kinda bad, huh.”

“Huh?”

And to top it off, she was obviously recoiling from me.

I couldn’t even make sense of it—and more importantly, I couldn’t forgive it.

I mean, sure, if I were the one pulling away from the incoherent mess that is Futaba-san, that’d be perfectly understandable. But the reverse? That should be illegal in every corner of the universe.

“This makes no sense.”

I said that clearly, full of irritation. Futaba-san gave me a polite little smile, then started counting on her fingers as she began listing things out.

“Kishine cares about Tsubasa more than anyone. When you can’t talk to her, you get irritable. You get hurt all on your own because of Tsubasa. You start emotionally self-harming over her. And when someone else even gets close to her, you get so stressed you can’t control yourself anymore.”

“That… that’s—”

The words caught in my throat. I’d meant to tear apart every last thing she said—but I couldn’t, because every single word out of her mouth was absolutely true. The fact that she was right stabbed into my chest like a thorn.

“That’s why I figured, if you two are that emotionally entangled, of course you’re lovers and doing it.”

“…Shut up.”

I had no comeback.

I couldn’t even begin to build a counter-argument.

Because—ugh, it’s so frustrating—Futaba-san wasn’t wrong.

…Ugh. I hate logic. Especially when she’s the one using it.

“But even so, I still don’t think it adds up.”

After pinning me down with all that, she still had the gall to cock her head like she was puzzled—like she still believed there was a high probability that Tsubasa-chan and I were doing indecent things.

…I really don’t get her.

“What more do you want? …Just stop saying weird stuff already.”

“Okay. But since this isn’t weird stuff, I’m going to say it anyway.”

Leaning in closer to my face on purpose, Futaba-san gave me an obnoxiously smug smile.

“—What I’m saying is, it’s not a one-sided crush on your part, so it’s hard for me to accept this whole ‘denial’ thing.”

And then, just like that, she said something that totally threw my heart off balance.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You’re being so roundabout.”

She gave a little sigh, like she was exasperated, but still clearly enjoying herself. Then, after a brief pause, she said it.

“—It means Tsubasa cares deeply about you, too.”

She said it so simply—exactly the answer I’d been secretly wanting. Like she knew it all along.

“…You can’t know that.”

“So you don’t believe in Tsubasa’s love, huh, Kishine?”

“‘Love’… You can only say that because you’re making fun of it.”

Futaba-san’s words wrapped themselves around me.

I kept thinking she was just teasing me, trying to string me along—and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to shut the conversation down.

“No, I’m not. I’m on Tsubasa’s side.”

Futaba-san said that with this weird sense of confidence. It was annoying—but frustratingly, I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.

“…Why?”

“Tsubasa was waiting for you on the rooftop the whole time.”

“…I know.”

Our conversation dragged on like something tangled, impossible to cleanly pull apart.

“Right? You saw her there, waiting and waiting, didn’t you? Because you were watching the whole time—since you’re Tsubasa’s stalker.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Even when the truth was pointed out, I could only clumsily dodge it without properly covering it up.

“Hey, have you noticed? Tsubasa is pretty blunt with me, but she always speaks kindly to Kishine.”

“──”

I had tried to harden my heart and deflect it, but even though it was formed only out of fragile hope, it landed a direct hit on my heart.

Just the simple fact that I seemed to be treated more gently than Futaba-san was enough to shake me strangely deep inside.

“…Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective, and there’s barely any real difference at all.”

And yet, I swung around that excuse like a shield, unable to let go of the resentment smoldering at the bottom of my heart.

So I wouldn’t expect too much. So I wouldn’t get too happy… so that, when the truth came out—I wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Well then, tomorrow when we get our answer should be fun to watch, huh♪”

As if mocking my conflicted heart, Futaba-san grinned from ear to ear. Like a kid looking forward to a field trip.

“Fun to watch…?”

What was she even talking about?

Did anything Futaba-san said ever have any meaning in the first place?

She deliberately pressed a finger to her lips and let out a deliberately sultry laugh, “Ufufu.”

“I told you, right? That I was gonna try and make Tsubasa jealous.”

“…You did say that, but…”

…Could that be why she suddenly kissed me like that earlier?

If that’s the case, then her plan was way too naive.

Tsubasa-chan wouldn’t get worked up over someone like me… no way.

“There’s no way…”

“There is, you know.”

Futaba-san and I were never in sync.

Our opinions never, not even once, aligned.

…But now.

“Wanna make a bet? On what Tsubasa does tomorrow. Whether she clings to Kishine or not.”

“And what happens if we bet?”

“If I win, I want to be friends with Tsubasa. You’ll accept that, right, Kishine?”

“And if you lose?”

“Hmm, let’s see. I’ll stop messing with Tsubasa. How’s that?”

…It was obviously a bet skewed in my favor.

Because even if I lost, I had virtually nothing to lose.

“…Fine.”

So I agreed.

Futaba-san had skillfully stirred me up, and I ended up letting myself hope—using the bet as an excuse—that Tsubasa-chan might actually pay attention to me.

“Hehe, it’s a promise, Kishine!”

With that, what had felt like a long two-person journey with Futaba-san suddenly came to an end.

Because she spun on her heel and turned her back to me.

…Probably because she’d already said everything she wanted to say.

“See ya, Kishine!”

So carefree, and completely selfish.

But somehow, a person who puts in effort.

Someone who could try so hard… for Tsubasa-chan’s sake.

“…Bye-bye, Futaba-san.”

I wonder who’ll win the bet tomorrow.

If—if I ended up losing the bet…

I felt like… maybe I could accept Futaba-san. Just a little bit.

---

And then, that morning, as I headed to school feeling restless…

“Oh, morn──ing, Kishi…”

It wasn’t the usual time. Tsubasa-chan had arrived before me.

She didn’t meet my eyes, but still came close and quietly, shyly greeted me—such a cute Tsubasa-chan.

That alone made me happy, but more than that, what truly surprised me was…

“Tsubasa-chan… you said my name…”

A soft warmth bloomed inside my chest.

The result had come faster than I ever expected.

Tsubasa-chan had called me by my name.

Just that one thing made the whole world feel like it had turned dazzling and bright.

I lost the bet.

Tsubasa-chan… got jealous for me.

…My heart’s pounding.

Before I knew it, something indescribable had overflowed inside my chest.