Even Though I Loved You First

The same night the incident with Sachi and Shizuka took place, the latter Shizuka Sakurajima, laid down on her bed after getting out of the bath.

She remained motionless, as her thoughts wandered and landed on today’s events.

“I’ve been seeing you guys since middle school.”

“She has been… seeing us…?” Shizuka muttered.

Ever since Sachi was picked up by Kei, she was quickly able to discern Kei’s love for Shizuka. Ever since then, Sachi has been keeping a close eye on those two along with Riku, they even gave Kei some additional advice. Of course, Shizuka had no way of knowing this.

“…But I don’t get it… I thought such a mentality wasn’t possible for normal individuals… But it looks like I was wrong…” 

“…” (Shizuka)

The way Shizuka viewed things was the same as how a grade schooler thought the world would treat them. Shizuka has been living with a filter all this time on topics related to interpersonal relationships.

“‘We’re like siblings’ you say, ‘He’s important to me’ you say… And yet… Have you ever thought of Kei at all?!”

“No matter how I see it, you never took into account Kei’s feelings. Without your knowledge, Kei constantly fought for a place beside you… and yet you one-sidedly declared your relationships as ‘two close siblings’.”

Shizuka has always described their relationship as that of close siblings. However, Kei always ended with a wry smile whenever Shizuka declared their relationship as such, he never explicitly said it.

“——–”

“You said something?”

“I said ‘Congrats!’. Our little Shizu is finally growing huh?”

“…!”

Shizuka remembered the day she told Kei about Hayato, she remembered the shocked expression followed by a more gloomy expression. Then, Sachi’s words came to mind.

“Why do you think Kei is the way he is? Why do you think Kei always prioritized the plans you two had? Why do you think Kei always stood by your side?”

Even if Shizuka still failed to notice, everything seemed to be going according to Sachi’s plan.

“Have you ever considered Kei’s smile as a cry due to a desire to be noticed?”

After Shizuka started dating Hayato, she maintained her carefree personality. However, now that she was in a relationship for a good period of time, she was able to discern the patterns that indicated someone was in love with someone else.

“…I envy him a little…”

“… You must be excited to have a partner, but… please don’t neglect others too…”

Sachi knew that after Shizuka heard the raw truth from her, she would do everything she could, digging up old memories to get to a conclusion… and that’s exactly how it went.

She remembers the pained expression on Kei’s face back when they walked home together for the first time after she started dating Hayato. And now…

“…eh?” She quickly got up from her bed, and before she knew it, she had been lost in thought for almost an hour. But she didn’t get up for that reason.

The days they played together.

The times they laughed together.

Even some out-of-character remarks Kei did…

And now… that there’s no way out. Now that she knew Kei’s past feelings to some extent, she had to make things right…

“Pfft… Haha…haaa~” She couldn’t help but laugh at her own foolishness, a laugh that didn’t last long as she once again laid down on her bed, she covered her eyes with her left arm and muttered,

“Am such a pathetic excuse of a childhood friend… aren’t I?” (Shizuka)

The people around her were constantly changing, the ‘them’ they were in the past was nowhere to be found. In their place, they gradually began to mature, even Kei, who was able to move on from his past love.

It was time for Shizuka to also mature…

It was time for Shizuka—

—To wake up from her long-term dream.