Today was the day of our club’s drinking party, and we headed to an izakaya a little ways away.
I sat next to Seina and ordered a draft beer for starters.
Since I had assumed Seina would sit with Reito, I asked her, “Is it really okay for me to sit next to you?”, and she told me that Reito has his own club connections to deal with.
She looked so adult to me. If I were dating Hiyori, I would definitely want her to sit right next to me. I feel that way even now, while my feelings are still unrequited.
Yet right now, Hiyori is not sitting next to me.
Takuto is sitting next to Hiyori, and he keeps bothering her.
When I arrived at the izakaya, Hiyori had already gotten there first, and Takuto was already sitting next to her.
You should have seen the smug look on Takuto’s face when our eyes met…
It made me super pissed off, and I ended up glaring at Takuto even though Hiyori was right there.
As for Hiyori, the moment she saw me, she gave me a gentle smile and waved. She doesn’t look like she’s hating it or having a hard time so far, so it’s probably fine.
When I glanced at her chest, the heart-shaped necklace I picked out for her wasn’t there.
I feel a little lonely, but I guess it’s fine.
“I’m going to order, is there anything you want, Mikoto?”
Seina, sitting next to me, asked while holding a tablet. Looking at her beer mug, there was only a little bit of beer left.
After thinking for a bit, I said:
“Highball, please. And fries.”
Seina finished ordering with a familiar ease and gulped down the remaining bit of beer.
Looking around Seina’s seat, she already had three empty glasses.
Seina really loves alcohol and has a high tolerance. I like it too, but I’m not that strong drinker, so I feel a little envious of Seina for being able to drink so much.
“Seina, you’re seriously tough.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Normal people would collapse if they drank at that speed.”
Even though I’ve gone out drinking with Seina many times, I’ve never once seen her drunk. She drinks at about twice my speed, which is truly amazing.
“How are things with Hiyori-chan lately?”
Seina asked in a slightly lowered voice so that Hiyori, sitting nearby, wouldn’t overhear.
I replied in a similarly quiet voice.
“So-so, I guess…”
“I see. Is it true you went on a date recently?”
“… How do you even know that?”
“A little bird told me.”
Seina said that with a cool face.
Could someone have seen us at the shopping mall? It’s not like it’s a secret that can’t be seen, but it’s still a bit embarrassing.
I take a sip of my remaining beer to hide my embarrassment.
“Seina is scary… You know everything about me and Hiyori.”
“I’ve got my sources.”
“Who?”
“Obviously it’s a secret, right?”
Seina says that and pops an edamame bean into her mouth.
Who is her source? Someone from the club?
I haven’t told anyone that I go out with Hiyori, and I don’t think Hiyori would have told anyone either.
Could it be Takuto…?
Probably only Takuto knows that Hiyori and I go out together. But would Takuto go out of his way to talk about that with Seina?
Realizing that thinking about it won’t get me anywhere, I stopped pondering and drank the highball that had just arrived.
After talking with Seina for a while, Reito came over and took her away.
Seina initially refused, saying it was bad manners since we were drinking together, but I told her that her boyfriend comes first and sent her off.
Since I was all alone, I spent my time wandering around to talk and drink with various upperclassmen and underclassmen.
That lasted for about two hours, and it was time to wrap up. We didn’t have plans to go to a second spot, so I decided to go to the bathroom before heading home.
And while I was washing my hands in the bathroom, I heard a voice from behind:
“Mikoto-seeee-napaaai!”
It was Hiyori’s voice, sounding floaty and more slurred than usual.
Her face was bright red, her footing was wobbly, and overall she looked completely out of it.
“W-Wait, Hiyori, what’s wrong? You’re totally wasted.”
I hurried over to Hiyori and asked while supporting her.
I’ve never seen Hiyori this drunk before, and it took me by surprise.
“Nng~, Yamaguchi-senpai urged me on, so I ended up drinking a whole looot〜!”
“How many glasses did you drink?”
“Some kind of tasty-sounding stuff, a whole bunch!”
Hiyori laughs as she says that.
If my memory serves me right, Hiyori is supposed to have an extremely low alcohol tolerance. Takuto probably didn’t know and gave her something with a high alcohol content.
“Are you okay? Do you feel sick?”
“I’m totally fine!”
Supporting Hiyori by the shoulder, I head back to our table.
Seeing us, Takuto hurried over looking flustered.
“Hiyori-chan…! You suddenly went somewhere, so I was wondering what happened!”
Takuto tries to take Hiyori away, but I don’t let go of her.
Instead, I pull her further away and glare at Takuto.
“Hiyori has a terrible alcohol tolerance, you know? And yet you let her drink until she got like this… Did you seriously not know?”
Hearing that, Takuto clenches his fists tightly and falls silent, unable to say a word.
I regret not keeping a closer eye on her.
I let out a sigh and turned my back on Takuto.
“I’ll take Hiyori home. Our directions are the same anyway. See ya.”
Hiyori’s place and my place are in completely opposite directions, but there’s no way I can leave a Hiyori like this all alone, and I certainly don’t want to leave her in Takuto’s hands.
Supporting Hiyori, I left the restaurant and hailed a taxi. The moment we got inside the cab, Hiyori fell fast asleep.
Matching the sway of the taxi, Hiyori’s head bumps lightly against my shoulder.
She rested her full weight right against me.
……Close.
Over her shoulder, I can smell Hiyori’s sweet scent mixed with the smell of alcohol.
My chest tightens so much that I catch my breath.
“……Nn…”
Just before the taxi reached Hiyori’s apartment, she opened her eyes.
“Are you awake? We’re almost at your place, Hiyori.”
“Mikoto-senpai, did you escort me home? Thank you so much.”
Hiyori’s speech is still just as slurred.
I paid the taxi fare, hoisted Hiyori up, and stepped out.
Hiyori lives on the second floor of a small apartment building.
I offer a brief “Sorry” to Hiyori and start rummaging through my bag to find her keys.
Once I pull out the key, unlock the door, and get Hiyori inside, she gives a satisfied smile.
“Well, I’ll be heading home now.”
When I said that and stood up, the hem of my clothes was pulled back with considerable force.
It wasn’t a super strong tug, but it made me stumble a little.
“Don’t wanna go. Don’t leave.”
Hiyori says that with watery eyes, looking up at me from beneath her lashes.
I open my eyes wide in surprise.
There’s no defense against being asked like that.
I gently stroke Hiyori’s cheek and offer a smile.
“I’m not leaving. It’s okay.”
I take off my shoes alongside Hiyori and step inside the room.
If we had just headed into the living room, that would have been fine.
Instead, the room Hiyori walked into was the bedroom. The scent of Hiyori, along with another sweet fragrance, makes me feel dizzy.
When Hiyori sits down on the bed, she pats the space next to her as if to say “Sit here.”
I gently lower myself down next to Hiyori.
Hiyori leans against me. It’s warmly radiating and soft.
“Are you okay?”
As I ask that for what must be the nth time, Hiyori gives a small nod.
“You never drink this much, so what happened today?”
Surely, even Hiyori isn’t the type who can’t say no. She seemed to draw a firm line with Takuto, after all.
“Mm~, even if I drink too much today, I figured it’s fine since Mikoto-senpai is here〜”
“————… Eh, me?”
“Yes. The only time I drink this much is when Mikoto-senpai is around, you know.”
She only drinks this much when I’m around?
Why is that? Does having me around change something for her?
Taken aback by that sudden statement, unable to gauge her intent, I wait for Hiyori’s next words.
“When Mikoto-senpai is here, I feel like everything’s okay~, and I get so relieved.”
Hiyori says that and turns her damp eyes toward me. Seeing those eyes, my heart leaps with a thud.
“What is that supposed to…?”
Hiyori wears an alluring smile and strokes my cheek.
“Because Mikoto-senpai is my special person, after all.”
With those words, Hiyori suddenly fell fast asleep, just like a battery running out.
I froze right where I was.
“Because Mikoto-senpai is my special person…?!”
Those words echo in my head over and over again.
……She’s drunk. Yes, that has to be it.
After all, Hiyori is already fast asleep. Leaving behind just that one convenient phrase, without any counterarguments or follow-ups.
Hiyori, still leaning against my shoulder, breathes in a steady, rhythmic pattern.
Her sleeping face looks so defenseless that I find it hard to believe she’s the same person who was smiling like that and whispering those words just moments ago.
Maybe it was just something she blurted out in the heat of being drunk.
Maybe it didn’t mean anything deep at all—just that I’m her upperclassman, someone she can rely on, and nothing more.
Yet, I find myself hoping.
What if those words were her true feelings?
What if the “special” Hiyori spoke of means the exact same thing as what I have in mind?
……No, stop it.
I slowly take a breath and let it out.
Don’t think too much. Don’t get your hopes up.
Hiyori is an underclassman, and I am her upperclassman.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The weight of Hiyori resting on my shoulder feels uncomfortably real, cutting off any path of escape.
It’s a distance where I could touch her if I wanted to. A distance where, if I brought my face closer, our lips might brush against each other.
I gently place a hand on Hiyori’s shoulder and support her so she lies down flat on the bed.
Carefully, so as not to wake her.
My heart is pounding so loudly that I wonder if Hiyori might even hear it.
Staring at Hiyori’s sleeping face, I think to herself.
Tomorrow comes, and Hiyori surely won’t remember any of this. Even if she does remember, she’ll probably just laugh it off with a “Just kidding!” or something similar.
I pull a blanket over Hiyori and quietly slip away from the spot.
I stepped out the front door, locked it, and dropped the key into the mailbox.
A cold night breeze brushes against my cheek.
Calming down just a little bit, I take a deep breath.
I mustn’t get my expectations up.
Even as I tell myself that, the tiny spark of hope that had sprouted deep inside my chest was quietly, yet undeniably, growing into a “what if.”