Chapter 369: I Will Never Make a Mistake
Chapter 369: I Will Never Make a Mistake
Footsteps sounded near his ear, “tap tap”, becoming clearer, someone was approaching Himekoji.
Himekoji, lost in thought, did not notice any of this.
His mind no longer had energy to focus on the movements around him.
So, when he heard someone call his name, he was even stunned for a moment.
“Akito.”
His sight was a beat slow, before he found the person coming.
It was Mashiro.
Her clear, transparent eyes were staring straight at him.
“Huh, Aoyama.”
It was completely unconscious; another name slipped out of his mouth at that moment.
The instant he said it, he immediately realized it was bad, feeling an unexpected wave of panic and nervousness inside, and he hurriedly corrected himself,
“Ah, no, no… Shiina, how come you’re here?”
He hoped to get by with it, but clearly that was not realistic.
“I am not Nanami.”
Mashiro’s gaze fixed straight on him,
“I am me.”
Her face was calm, her tone plain, but her eyes watching Himekoji did not waver, with a seriousness never seen before.
“Sorry, I made a mistake…”
“Mistake? Why?”
…
Himekoji did not know how to answer that.
Yeah, why?
Why on earth?
He even began to doubt what was wrong with himself.
“I never made a mistake before.”
Mashiro was surprisingly tough to fool.
“Is that so? But… it’s understandable to mess up a name once in a while, right?”
Saying this explanation, even Himekoji himself thought it sounded weak.
Because, he had only just realized the reason—
He was thinking about Nanami all the time right now…
The daily line practice, their date at the Amusement Park, the confession on the Ferris Wheel, the sudden kiss…
All had become the strongest memories, etched in his mind.
No mistake about it; he had just not wanted to admit that Nanami was always a very important part of his thoughts.
…
“I will not make a mistake.”
As usual, her voice was calm, even plain, yet it seemed to hold a strong and clear will, impossible to shake.
“I will not mistake Akito.”
“Never.”
Standing in front of Himekoji, looking down at him from above, Mashiro emphasized it again this way.
Himekoji lying on the bench instinctively opened his mouth.
He had no words to say.
Saying anything was pointless; no excuse could fix it. That name had already come out; there was no way to take it back or cover it up as a joke.
Calling it wrong was just wrong.
“Akito.”
“Sorry, I will not make a mistake like that again from now on.”
He thought he would face deep questions next, but when Mashiro spoke again, what she said was different from what Himekoji had imagined.
“Not about this.”
Not about this? Then about what?
“It is almost finished.”
“It is almost finished? The painting?”
His heart skipped a beat, his thoughts finally drifting back from Nanami, and Himekoji stared blankly at Mashiro, almost not believing it.
“Yeah.”
Mashiro simply nodded in a normal way,
“I want to finish it all at once now.”
The girl stated her purpose.
She came to urge Himekoji to go to the Art Classroom.
Mashiro’s painting was to have him as the model.
“Since it will soon be done, there’s no need to rush right now…”
Himekoji’s expression turned a bit stiff.
Because it was too sudden.
Everything felt too sudden.
Both Nanami’s confession and Mashiro’s painting near completion.
For Himekoji, the meaning and shock of the latter was not at all less than the first.
He had a feeling that when Mashiro’s painting was done, the two could never be like before again.
The bond between Himekoji and Mashiro was probably about to change in a huge way.
“It is still just the lunch break now, so… how about we wait and keep at it after school this afternoon?”
Sudden tension made Himekoji only want to put things off as much as possible.
Right now his mind was a mess; Nanami’s matter was still not sorted out, and he really would not hold up under another shock.
“No.”
“Huh?”
Himekoji did not expect Mashiro to reject his idea so firmly.
“Can’t lose to Nanami.”
As soon as she spoke, Mashiro had already walked off cleanly.
Only Himekoji was left standing there, dumbfounded.
“Akito, follow me.”
Then came the urging voice.
“Where are we going?”
“The Art Classroom.”
…
After that, they didn’t speak a word the whole way. Even when they reached the Art Classroom, Mashiro silently set up her easel herself, placed the canvas, and took out her paintbrushes.
“Um… what did you mean by ‘can’t lose to Nanami’?”
Asking this question, his heart pounded with countless worries.
But Mashiro seemed as if she hadn’t heard. She focused all her attention solely on the painting she was about to begin.
Once it was about painting, she immediately became utterly single-minded. Mashiro was someone born to paint.
It was as if she had a natural “Start Painting” button installed, allowing her to switch modes instantly, anytime, anywhere.
So, he had no choice but to suppress the question.
Himekoji sat on the tall stool by the window, gazing outside. He stayed completely still in that posture, dutifully beginning to act as Mashiro’s model.
Neither spoke again.
In this silence, which could even be called gloomy, Himekoji’s gaze gradually lost focus. His thoughts drifted once more to Nanami.
Tomorrow was Nanami’s voice actor audition.
After that, Himekoji had to give Nanami his answer to her confession. Also, Nanami was officially moving out of his house.
Moving out…
He didn’t quite understand what he was feeling, but Himekoji just felt his body had a giant hole torn through it.
It felt oppressive and suffocating, making him almost unable to breathe. Only when he heard the “swish swish swish” sound of Mashiro’s painting did he snap back to reality.
He was supposed to be Mashiro’s model, yet he kept thinking about Nanami.
Of course, logically, it probably shouldn’t matter. But Himekoji couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong.
Like a cat that had eaten something it shouldn’t have?
Why did that phrase suddenly pop into his head?
It wasn’t the same thing at all!
Anyway, to shake off this inexplicable guilt, Himekoji decided to try and strike up a conversation with Mashiro. That should stop him from thinking about Nanami all the time.
“Um, Shiina.”
“…”
There was no response. Himekoji wasn’t surprised by this and continued speaking anyway.
“Have you ever thought about the future?”
Nanami would move out of his house soon. Mashiro couldn’t possibly live with him forever either.
“The future?”
Mashiro seemed unable to grasp the meaning hidden in these two words.
“Well… for example, after university.”
It wasn’t really that far off. After all, the entire high school years would pass in the blink of an eye.
“I’m not going to university.”
However, Mashiro’s answer came without a hint of hesitation.
“I want to draw manga.”
Mashiro’s eyes were fixed on the canvas, only the canvas. Her hand holding the brush didn’t slow down for a second.
Not going to university?
Hearing it for the first time felt unexpected. But upon further thought, it somehow made perfect sense.
Because the person saying it was Mashiro.
“Then, what about your life?”
“I draw manga.”
“That’s not what I meant. Maybe I didn’t phrase it well. I want to ask, where do you plan to live later? Who will you live with? Who will take care of your daily needs?”
Mashiro couldn’t get by without someone caring for her. If she wasn’t nearby later, Himekoji couldn’t always take care of her, help her, or fix things for her.
The person who would take care of Mashiro in his place might be someone completely different from him.
Himekoji hadn’t thought that far ahead when he asked. But as soon as the question left his lips, these thoughts suddenly flooded in uncontrollably, and his heart started to panic for no reason.
Because Mashiro had always been by his side, Himekoji had never considered these things before. Now that he started thinking about them, he became scared.
After Nanami, one day, Mashiro would also leave.
No. Not just Nanami and Mashiro.
Kasumigaoka… Eriri… Yukinoshita… Yuigahama… Hiratsuka-sensei… even his Imouto, Akiko…
Everyone. Everyone would leave.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Eh?!
W-Wait!
Why…?
Why would he feel that inappropriate fear and worry?
Wasn’t it his firm belief to not get close to anyone and to push away anyone who came close? Wasn’t that what he, Himekoji, had always insisted on and lived by?
Why now, of all times, was he starting to waver?
He wanted to possess it.
He actually wanted to possess something…