Chapter 15: The Distance Between Me and the Angel Narrows

——It’s that dream again.

A dream where the pitch-black me just sits and stares at my bright, radiant best friend.

But this time, something’s different.

My best friend’s form had changed.

It used to be a middle school boy’s figure, but now it had become that of a high school girl.

Even with the change in appearance, even though she’d turned into a girl, I knew—it was still my best friend.

The moment I recognized that, the light radiating from her grew even stronger.

I shielded my eyes from the brightness with my hand, and to my surprise, the hand that used to be pitch black was gradually turning white.

The blackness was slowly receding from my fingertips and toes.

But it wasn’t just bright—the light my best friend emitted was warm.

Before I knew it, I was standing, running.

I stood before the statue of my now-female best friend and embraced it.

As expected, the figure was artificial—her skin was hard, polished like glass, and smooth to the touch.

Even so, I could feel her warmth spreading through my whole body, as if something within me was gently unraveling.

And somehow, it wasn’t just my body—the warmth reached my heart too, as if it were being gently thawed.

No matter how unworthy I may be of her, that doesn't matter anymore.

I don’t want to let go. I want to make her mine, completely.

Overwhelmed by that strong desire, I pressed a kiss to the statue.

——And then, I woke up.


Mmmmmmngh!!

I stretch big and exhale.

What a refreshing way to wake up.

I leap out of bed and start getting ready for school.

While running a comb through my hair, I find myself wondering—maybe I should try a different hairstyle for once, instead of just sticking with my usual untouched straight hair?

Though honestly, I don’t have time to look it up or style it right now, so that’ll have to wait for another day.

Anyway, I change into my uniform, eat breakfast, brush my teeth... and it’s about time for Murakumo-kun to come pick me up.

I thought about waiting by the front door, but that would make me look like an eager puppy waiting for its owner. So instead, I’ll let him wait a bit and then act like I’m only going because he came to get me.

As I sat restlessly in the living room, wondering if he’d arrive soon, my mom looked at me with a smirk, letting out a little laugh through her nose.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

He’s here!!

I quickly stood up, grabbed my bag, and headed to the entrance.

I opened the door and saw Murakumo-kun standing there.

“Morning! You’re late!”

“It’s the usual… good morning.”

Even with his sharp gaze, I thought I saw Murakumo-kun smile. I could tell.

And I gave him the biggest smile I could manage in return.

Then suddenly, he hugged me.

“Good morning, Murakumo-kun… Geez, you’re a bit too hot and heavy for this early in the morning.”

“Ah, sorry! I just couldn’t help myself—Haru was just too perfect.”

“I don’t mind, but try to be aware of time and place, okay?”

“Yeah, I’d like it if you thought a bit more about the place~. If your dad sees this, it’ll be a big problem. I mean, he suddenly has a super cute daughter now, after all.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

When I became a girl, my dad was pretty devastated.

Mom accepted it relatively quickly, but there was a time when Dad and I couldn’t communicate well.

According to Mom, he didn’t know how to interact with a daughter who suddenly appeared out of nowhere in her teenage years.

I get it—if it were a small child, maybe it’d be different, but for someone my age, I think any adult man would struggle to deal with that. It’s not just a “dad” thing.

Even guys my own age probably wouldn’t know how to handle it.

But inside, I haven’t changed. I’m still the same Haruto he raised.

Once he understood that, we started getting along like before—actually, maybe a little more carefully, like a proper father and daughter.

And little by little, he began to realize how cute his daughter was… and now he’s even proud of it.

Whenever idols or actresses appear on TV, he always turns to Mom and says, “Our Haruto is way prettier and cuter than them!”

He’s a total doting parent now.

So yeah, if he saw a scene like this… I can pretty much imagine what would happen.

Yeah. Best if he doesn’t see it.


“See you later!”

We stepped out the front door and began walking side by side.

Even though it was the same path we always took, it somehow felt fresh—different from just last week.

Somehow, it felt like we were walking a little closer together than we had been before. Our hands were nearly brushing.

But strangely, despite being physically closer than before, that tiny distance between us felt even farther than ever.

Just a little more… just a little bit of courage and I could reach out and take his—

“Ah!!”

Caught up in unnecessary thoughts like that, I ended up stumbling over nothing, losing my balance.

I pitched forward, my body thrown toward the ground.

My reflexes kicked in, and I flung my hands out to catch myself, but—

Grab!

Murakumo-kun’s strong body and long arms caught my hand and wrapped around me, holding me steady.

Before I knew it, I was clutching his arm—his body—trying not to fall.

“You okay?”

He easily lifted me up as I nearly toppled over, then gently lowered me back down to the ground.

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Maybe relieved to hear that, he slowly let go of me.

I also released the arm I’d been clinging to, and the moment Murakumo-kun let go of my hand, without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his again.

“What’s up?”

Even I didn’t know why I’d grabbed his hand.

——No, do I really not know?

My female body is honest.

I mean, deep down I do understand—I was just thinking about it. I wanted this.

But saying it aloud… that still takes more courage than I have right now.

“……”

Murakumo-kun looked at me, silent and downcast, then gently squeezed the hand I was holding.

“Shall we?”

“Yeah!”

Side by side, hand in hand, we started walking again.


There were some small changes at school, too.

Until last week, I would just stand next to Murakumo-kun during break time.

And unless he pulled me closer, I never approached him on my own.

But now, I stood a little closer. Not quite shoulder-to-shoulder, but close enough for our arms to brush.

Sometimes we even held hands like that.

The distance between Murakumo-kun and me had grown smaller.

“Did something happen after that?”

At lunchtime, Nozomu-kun suddenly asked that.

“Not really.”

“Yup! Nothing at all. Nope!”

Unlike Murakumo-kun, who answered calmly, I gave a totally suspicious reaction, causing Nozomu-kun to smirk and say, “Heeeh…”

No, seriously—nothing really happened!

…Except maybe, I just got a little more honest with my feelings.


Murakumo-kun walked me home, and I returned to the house.

On the way back, without saying anything, we naturally held hands, and at the front door, we stood in silence, reluctant to part, taking our time before saying goodbye.

“See you.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

We let go of each other’s hands, and I gave him a small wave to see him off.

“I’m home~!”

Instead of heading straight to my room, I went to the living room.

“Mom!! Teach me how to make hamburg steak!!”

“——Then how about we go shopping together first?”

“Huh? Shopping?”

“Well of course. You need to learn how much of what you need. Were you planning to keep making me prepare all the ingredients forever?”

Standing up from the sofa, Mom said that with a bit of a scolding tone.

Yeah… she’s right. If I want to be able to cook on my own, that doesn’t just mean knowing how to make the dish—I need to know what ingredients to buy too.

“I guess I can go like this in my uniform. Let’s go.”

And so, still in my school uniform, I went grocery shopping with Mom at the nearby supermarket.

She taught me what to look for, how to choose, and what makes good ingredients. Together, we picked out ground mixed meat, onions, breadcrumbs—everything needed.

We already had things like milk, eggs, and seasonings at home, so once we were back, she carefully laid everything out and walked me through it step by step.

I took notes and did my best to memorize everything.

But the real challenge started from there.

She kept pointing out that the way I held the knife was dangerous, the onion stung my eyes way more than I expected and had me tearing up, and kneading the ground meat honestly felt kind of gross.

Still, I chopped, kneaded, shaped the patties—everything up to the frying part.

But cooking them all the way through was hard—I had no idea how to get the timing right.

If I got scared of burning them and took them off early, the insides would still be raw. But if I tried to cook them thoroughly, I’d end up charring the outside. Getting them just right was really tricky.

One time I put the lid on and got distracted doing something else, and the next thing I knew one side was completely burnt black. This was seriously high-level stuff.

In the end, I made three for the day. Some were burnt, but Mom said it’d be a waste to toss them, so she put them on the table anyway.

To be honest, a few were so overcooked they were inedible and had to be thrown out… but still.

Even so, Dad complimented me on my first-ever homemade dish, saying it tasted good—even if it was just flattery.

From that day until Friday, every day I walked to and from school holding hands with Murakumo-kun, went shopping with Mom, made my clumsy, burnt hamburg steaks, and they made it to the dinner table.

Every time, Dad would eat them with a smile and say, “It’s even better than yesterday’s!” praising me again and again.

And now, it’s Saturday. Murakumo-kun is coming over to hang out.

And I’m going to have him try my hamburg steak.

Alright!! I’m gonna make one that’s actually delicious this time!!

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