Chapter 28: The Kirishima Incident

♠♠♠

“Hey, is your head okay?”

Hamanami says.

This is in a private hospital room.

“I’m fine.”

I sit up slightly to answer.

“Just a small cut.”

Since my hair makes it impossible to put on a bandage, my head is wrapped in gauze.

“No, that’s not what I mean. Sure, I’m a little worried about that, but……”

Hamanami continues, explaining why she’s worried about my head.

“At Tokyo Station! Getting into a mess with two girls! And ending up causing a bleeding incident—I’m asking if the structure of that head is okay!”

“You sure ramp up the energy quick, huh?”

Hamanami, in her school uniform, is holding a bouquet of flowers. It seems she came to visit me after school.

“Is it, like, becoming a rumor at school or something?”

“That’s fine. I just heard that Kirishima-senpai was hospitalized—”

Apparently, she went to the second-year classroom to get the details.

“But Hayasaka-senpai just gave a wry smile, and Tachibana-senpai awkwardly looked away……”

While Hamanami was struggling in the hallway, Sakai apparently called out to her.

“She only told me you’re hospitalized here and that it was a mess that ended in bloodshed.”

Sakai is Hayasaka-san’s friend, so she knows the situation.

“What on earth happened?”

Hamanami arranges the flowers in a vase and sits on the chair beside my bed.

“On Christmas night, Hayasaka-san told me to choose one of them.”

“I think that’s great!”

Hamanami says eagerly.

“That’s what we call the love normalization process!”

“She said I could give my answer after going on a trip with Tachibana-san.”

“Hmm, well, since she got Christmas with you, it’s probably about balancing things out fairly, right? It feels like she’s respecting Tachibana-senpai, but it’s also a bit like a Western showdown. Setting the same conditions and saying, ‘Now, duel!'”

“So, I went on the trip with Tachibana-san, and we ended up going all the way.”

“Huh? What?”

“We went all the way, you know.”

“Uh, um, well…… I have a lot to say about that, but for now, I’ll just listen.”

“After that, we returned to Tokyo Station, and Hayasaka-san was waiting for us on the platform.”

“Ugh……”

“Hayasaka-san saw us and somehow knew right away what we’d done—”

“Bet it was because Tachibana-senpai had that giddy, love-drunk look on her face! Total emotional overload girl!”

“Then Hayasaka-san said I didn’t have to choose anymore.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

“Apparently, they had a promise. Whoever made a move first would have to break up with me.”

“Another promise they couldn’t keep from the start!”

“So, Hayasaka-san was crying and screaming, ‘It’s a promise, so break up with him!,’ but Tachibana-san just held onto my arm and wouldn’t let go.”

“Okay, got it. Thanks for the info.”

Hamanami says this, slings her bag over her shoulder, and quickly stands up. She starts heading toward the door, so I grab the sleeve of her uniform to stop her.

“Hey, where are you going, Hamanami?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m escaping! It’s scary to keep listening! This is only heading in a dangerous direction! Are you doing this on purpose?! You’re totally doing this on purpose, right?!”

Saying she’s bad with scary stuff and wants to leave, Hamanami tries to walk away, so I cling to her from the bed.

“Wait, Hamanami!”

“Let go~!”

“I’m at my limit too, you know!”

“No kidding!”

“I just want you to listen. I don’t know what to do, and I just need someone to hear me out.”

“You selfish, confessing jerk!”

Hamanami shakes me off but sighs and says, “Fine, no choice.” before sitting back down.

“Thanks. Your kinda-sorta kindness really saves me.”

“Well, something inside me is screaming to throw in a retort. But before that—”

Hamanami suddenly pulls back the blanket I was under.

“Hey, what’s that about?”

“Just checking. Making sure no one’s there.”

“No way, you’re overthinking it. You think I’d be talking to you while cuddling Hayasaka-san or Tachibana-san under the covers? No way I’d do that.”

“Huh? You totally seem like you would! I can totally picture it! You guys are way more chaotic than you think!”

Whatever, let’s hear the rest, Hamanami says, settling into a listening posture.

“Uh, where was I?”

“Up to where Hayasaka-senpai said, ‘Break up with him!'”

“Right, so……”

I clear my throat lightly and continue.

“That day, I called it the ‘Kirishima Incident’—”

“Shut up! Just keep talking already!”

♠♠♠

It was snowing in Kyoto, but at Tokyo Station, it was raining.

Amid the evening bustle and the sound of rain, Hayasaka-san’s voice echoed across the platform.

“Break up with him right now!”

Her voice reached many people on the platform. But Tachibana-san, the one it was directed at, only clung to my arm even tighter. She averted her eyes awkwardly, pressing her forehead against my chest.

Hayasaka-san said in a tearful voice,

“Why? It’s a promise, we promised!”

Tachibana-san stayed silent, saying nothing. But as Hayasaka-san kept waiting for words, she finally spoke in a faint, fading voice.

“…………I’m sorry.”

That was Tachibana Hikari’s answer.

“You don’t have to apologize.”

Hayasaka-san clenched her fists tightly, as if holding something back.

“I’m not blaming you, Tachibana-san. I thought you’d probably end up doing it if you went on the trip, and I was okay with that.”

Hayasaka-san’s voice was trembling.

“Just keep the promise. If you just follow the rules, that’s enough.”

Tachibana-san pressed even closer to me, sticking to me from head to toe.

“Hey, why? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Hayasaka-san hesitantly reached out, tugging at the sleeve of Tachibana-san’s coat.

“Why, hey, why?”

Tachibana-san didn’t move.

“Why? Why won’t you let go of Kirishima-kun? You’re supposed to let go of him, Tachibana-san!”

“………………I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, just follow the rules, please, keep the promise!”

Hayasaka-san’s words started mixing with sobs.

Tachibana-san, squeezing out her voice again, said, “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t keep the promise.”

“Why? It’s something we decided together! Why can’t you keep it?”

“……Because we did it.”

“T-That’s not a reason!”

“……But we did it. Once we did it, I couldn’t break up with him anymore. I can only be with Shirou-kun. I can only think of Shirou-kun. I can’t go back to sharing. I don’t want any other girl to even touch Shirou-kun with a single finger.”

“See!”

Large tears began spilling from Hayasaka-san’s eyes.

“That’s why we made the no-sneaking-ahead rule! We knew this would happen, so we promised! And yet, and yet!”

Hayasaka-san’s face was already crumpled with emotion.

“Saying ‘we did it’ doesn’t make sense to me! Because I haven’t done it! I don’t understand at all!”

Hayasaka-san tugged at Tachibana-san’s coat sleeve again.

“Let go of him, let go of Kirishima-kun!”

“No way, absolutely not!”

Tachibana-san clung to me. Both of them were getting more and more emotional.

“Tachibana-san, you idiot~!!”

“Hayasaka-san, you dummy!”

“Not keeping promises is wrong, my mom said so!”

“My mom didn’t say that!”

“She must’ve, it’s normal, they teach it in kindergarten!”

“Maybe she did, but I forgot! And besides—”

As their bickering escalated, Tachibana-san blurted out,

“Shirou-kun and I became each other’s ‘firsts’! Once that happens, rules or promises don’t matter anymore. We gave each other the most important thing!”

Firsts.

An unchangeable, irreversible bond.

Hearing this, Hayasaka-san finally broke down, crying loudly like a child. Between sobs, she stammered,

“Kirishima-kun, w-w-what, sob, what do you, uueh, think Ki-Kirishima-kun?”

“I—”

“We have to keep the rules, right? We have to keep promises, right?”

Hayasaka-san stared at me desperately. Meanwhile, Tachibana-san looked up at me with a tender expression.

I understood what both wanted me to say. But their wishes were irreconcilably opposed, so I couldn’t say anything. Instead, I ended up saying something generic.

“For now, let’s calm down and talk somewhere else.”

Some time had passed since the Shinkansen arrived, so the platform was mostly empty. Still, a few people were around, and some glanced at us as they passed.

But what I said seemed to miss the mark.

“That’s not what we’re talking about right now……”

Hayasaka-san said with dark eyes.

“Why do you care about what other people think? Am I that pathetic?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

Hayasaka-san isn’t pathetic at all.

We’re always worrying about acting mature or how others see us, thinking that expressing emotions directly is childish, so we avoid it. We learn to be sarcastic, pretend to be cool, and put on knowing faces. And in doing so, we forget our honest feelings and initial impulses.

But right now, Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san are clashing with their raw emotions, having a real conversation—the kind that’s sharp, vivid, and even beautiful in its intensity.

And yet, I fell back on my ingrained habit of worrying about others’ eyes.

I feel utterly pathetic.

“You’re always worrying about stuff like that, but it doesn’t matter. What’s way more pathetic is that I’m talking to you, Kirishima-kun, and you’re not even responding……”

I try to apologize, but before I can, Hayasaka-san says, “Forget it.”

“It’s too much…… it’s cruel, this is too cruel……”

Hayasaka-san turns her back.

“I’ll just let someone buy me.”

“Huh?”

“That old guy who gave me his number while I was working—I’ll let him buy me.”

“Wait, Hayasaka-san!”

“Because I’m useless otherwise! The only value I have is selling myself to someone who’ll pay. You won’t look at me, Kirishima-kun, you won’t listen to me…… uuueh, sob, sob……”

Hayasaka-san wails, “Waaah!” and starts descending the platform stairs, sobbing. Even while crying, she’s tapping on her phone, saying, “Manager, I’ll take a shift tonight.”

“Wait, Hayasaka-san!”

“Shirou-kun!”

As I try to chase after Hayasaka-san, Tachibana-san grabs my arm.

“……D-don’t go. Please.”

She says in an awkward, downcast voice.

“I don’t want you to go to Hayasaka-san. I want you to stay with me……”

“But if Hayasaka-san does something reckless, you’d feel bad too, right, Tachibana-san?”

“That’s true, but……”

“We can go together.”

“Okay……”

Dragging Tachibana-san, who’s clinging to my right arm, I race down the stairs and grab Hayasaka-san’s hand with my left.

“Leave me alone~!”

Hayasaka-san throws a tantrum. But for a moment, when she sees I chased after her, she pouts but looks a tiny bit happy. Then she notices my other hand, and wails again.

“Why’d you bring Tachibana-san~!!”

“No, it’s just…… I thought we could talk it out, the three of us, or something……”

“There’s nothing to talk about! The rules already decided it!”

“Shirou-kun, move over a bit.”

Tachibana-san, with a sulky expression, faces Hayasaka-san.

“Why are you following us, Tachibana-san?”

“Of course I’m following. If I left you two alone, who knows what you’d do.”

“You’re the one who did something, Tachibana-san!”

Hayasaka-san puffs out her chest, pressing it against Tachibana-san as if to assert dominance.

Huh? Are we starting a kaiju battle here or what?

While I’m thinking that, Hayasaka-san lets her emotions take over and says,

“Tachibana-san, you…… you closet pervert!”

“P-pervert?!”

Tachibana-san’s face turns bright red, and she recoils, hand over her mouth as if deeply offended.

“But it’s true! Acting all innocent, going on that trip and sneaking ahead!”

“T-that’s because you kept pushing, Hayasaka-san! Always, always tempting Shirou-kun, and, and—”

Tachibana-san puffs out her chest, pushing back against Hayasaka-san and saying,

“Using that…… that lewd body of yours!”

“L-l-l-lewd?! Grr~, now I’m mad!”

Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san start getting all chaotic.

Since they’ve begun tussling halfway down the platform stairs, I step forward to get between them and stop it—

And then—

I trip over my own feet and tumble down twenty-seven steps.

♠♠♠

“Y-y-y-you just fell on your own and bled, didn’t you?!”

Hamanami’s voice echoes through the hospital room.

“Don’t you ever use a grandiose name like ‘Kirishima Incident’ again~~ !!”

“Harsh, huh?”

“I can’t even keep up with the retorts anymore!”

Hamanami takes a breath, sits back down, and says,

“So, is your body okay?”

“The cut on my head’s no big deal. I’m hospitalized because I got a concussion.”

Falling twenty-seven steps warranted some tests, and they decided I should stay for observation.

Tachibana-san’s mom, Rei-san, who knew the situation, covered the costs.

“So that’s why you’re in this fancy private room, huh?”

“I would’ve been fine in a regular ward, though.”

As we’re chatting, Hamanami suddenly goes quiet.

She stares solemnly at the door leading to the hallway.

“What’s up?”

“My Hamanami Radar is picking something up.”

“What’s that?”

“A detector for troublesome girls.”

She says this while twirling a strand of her hair.

“I developed it after getting involved with you and your crew, Kirishima-senpai.”

The sound of loafers tapping on the linoleum floor echoes from the hallway.

“Mmm, cuteness index at max! But troublesome coefficient at infinity! This is probably either Hayasaka-senpai or Tachibana-senpai!”

“Don’t blame me if you get in trouble.”

The hospital room door opens.

But it’s neither Hayasaka-san nor Tachibana-san.

A girl with a short haircut and a sharp, dignified air, wearing a completely unfamiliar uniform.

As I tilt my head, the girl awkwardly averts her gaze.

“Hmm?”

Hamanami narrows her eyes, scrutinizing the girl.

“Clean-cut features, cat-like eyes, a different vibe but somehow reminiscent of someone…… a tear mole under her right eye, but if it were under her left……”

The girl gives a quick bow.

“S-sorry for coming so suddenly.”

She nervously twirls her short hair with her fingers.

A familiar gesture.

“I-it’s been a while…… I’m Tachibana Miyuki.”

“Ah!”

It’s Tachibana-san’s younger sister, a third-year middle schooler. The girl who was brought along to Yanagi-senpai’s futsal game to fill numbers and was kicking a ball by herself.

“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you right away.”

“No, it’s because I cut my hair.”

She says she’s always had it like this since she was little.

“Back then, I’d just retired from the track team and let it grow out a bit, but it felt like I didn’t know myself, or like I was too similar to my sister……”

With her short hair, Miyuki-chan looks fresh, boyish, and full of youthful energy, the quintessential younger girl.

“Wanna sit down for a bit?”

“No, I’m okay. I just came today to…… apologize……”

“Apologize?”

“About Christmas.”

“Oh.”

That day, I went with Hamanami to a hotel party venue to give Tachibana-san a Christmas present. After some complications, I left the present behind to leave, but Miyuki-chan threw it in the trash.

Miyuki-chan says she’s felt guilty about it ever since, and when she heard from Rei-san that I was injured, she came to visit and apologize.

“Don’t worry about it. You ended up giving it to your sister properly, right?”

The next day, Tachibana-san came wearing the scarf I’d given her.

“Still, I did something really rude…… I don’t understand much about love, so I got mad on my own, thinking Yanagi-san was involved. But my sister says she only loves you, Kirishima-san, so I think I did something weird……”

Miyuki-chan says, looking down.

“I even said I hated you, Kirishima-san……”

“That’s totally fine!”

Hamanami cuts in.

“It’s only natural to hate a guy who turned your sister into a twin-tailed elementary schooler and did sketchy things! I fully support you!”

Well, that was more Tachibana-san’s doing, but since it’s about her dignity as an older sister, I don’t say anything.

“Anyway, I’m really sorry.”

Miyuki-chan hangs her head. She seems like a very honest, serious girl.

“It’s fine, I really don’t mind.”

Miyuki-chan looks up and says, “I see.”

“Just like my sister said, you’re a big-hearted person, Kirishima-san.”

“Tachibana-san said that?”

“Yes. We talked in her room, and she was hiding her face with a pillow, all shy, saying, ‘Shirou-kun is kind and cool, my first-love prince charming.’”

She says some wild stuff to her family.

“Oh, right, this is for you. I brought it as a get-well gift.”

Miyuki-chan rummages through her bag and pulls something out.

It’s a chocolate bar worth about fifty yen.

As Hamanami and I fix our gazes on the chocolate bar, Miyuki-chan’s face turns bright red.

“I-I know I should’ve brought a bouquet or proper sweets for something like this! But, um…… I tend to spend my allowance right away……”

She mumbles in a faint voice, looking down. She seems put-together but a bit scatterbrained.

She’s kind of like Tachibana-san in that way—maybe it’s in their blood.

“Thanks, I was craving something sweet.”

I reach out to take the chocolate bar.

But Miyuki-chan doesn’t let go of the flashy snack wrapper.

“Miyuki-chan?”

“Kirishima-san, you’re a guy, huh?”

“Huh?”

Our fingertips touch over the chocolate bar. But Miyuki-chan doesn’t seem to care, staring intently at my hand.

“It’s so big……”

“Uh, yeah.”

“The veins are popping out, and it looks so strong, totally different from my hand……”

“Um.”

“Kirishima-san, you’re an adult guy……”

“Miyuki-chan, can you hear me?”

“Huh? Fwamii?!”

Miyuki-chan snaps out of it and hurriedly lets go of the chocolate bar.

“W-was I saying something weird?”

“Nah, not really.”

At that moment, Hamanami lets out a deliberate “Ahem!” and narrows her eyes, giving a cryptic look.

“By the way, Miyuki-chan, you’re a third-year middle schooler, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“Isn’t this a busy time with entrance exams?”

“I’m heading to cram school after this.”

“Is it okay to be lingering here?”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be a burden to Kirishima-san either……”

Saying, “Excuse me.” Miyuki-chan bows politely and, for some reason, scurries out of the room.

“Hey, that was a bit harsh. It felt like you chased her out.”

“It’s fine.”

It’s the Hamanami Radar, she says, twirling her hair again.

“You and Miyuki-chan will thank me someday, Kirishima-senpai.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Anyway, Hamanami continues,

“What are you going to do?”

About Hayasaka-senpai and Tachibana-senpai.

I can tell. Hamanami says.

“That Kirishima Incident you talked about—you embellished it, didn’t you? The real story was way worse, wasn’t it?”

♠♠♠

The day I return to school after being discharged.

I hesitated a bit but left the house wearing the knit cap Hayasaka-san gave me for Christmas. I still don’t know what’s become of our relationship.

Either way, the moratorium where Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san shared me is over.

You embellished it, didn’t you?

Hamanami said in the hospital room. She’s right.

I toned down the second half of what happened at Tokyo Station, making it pop and catchy, and left out some events. The truth was far more intense.

The two of them hurled sharp emotions at each other, deeply hurting one another.

Hayasaka-san cried until her voice gave out, and Tachibana-san raised her voice in a way unimaginable from her usual self.

My fall down the stairs forcibly interrupted things, but no resolution has been reached. I have to face the continuation now. Thinking about it, my steps toward school feel heavy.

During my hospitalization, I didn’t see either of them. I told them not to worry. Even through the haze of my concussion, the image of them in shock and distress is burned into my mind. Hayasaka-san stood dazed, as if she’d lost all emotion, while Tachibana-san was frantically clutching her hair in panic.

I sent them messages saying I was fine, that I’d be discharged soon, and to please not worry.

Hayasaka-san called me once, crying and apologizing the whole time.

Tachibana-san sent just one message: “Sorry.” According to Rei-san, she’s been locking herself in her room, depressed.

I pass through the school gate and put my shoes in the locker.

I thought we’d need to find time to sit down and talk, the three of us. Is the conversation about me choosing one of them still on the table, or will they decide? First, I need to assess the situation and proceed carefully so emotions don’t clash again—

That’s what I’m thinking as I enter the classroom.

My classmates’ gazes focus on me. It’s not a celebratory “welcome back from the hospital” vibe. They’re confused or vaguely teasing. At the center of their circle is Hayasaka-san.

“Kirishima-kun!”

Hayasaka-san approaches me with a beaming smile.

“Congrats on getting discharged! I was so lonely without you!”

“Wait, what’s with this vibe…… what’s going on?”

My classmates are giving us skeptical looks. Noticing their gazes, Hayasaka-san pouts and says,

“No one believes me at all.”

“Believes what?”

“That you and I are dating.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone thinks you’re dating Tachibana-san. Isn’t that weird? I told them you gave me a ring for Christmas, but they still don’t believe me. So I said when you came back to school, I’d show them proof. Hey, Kirishima-kun, right now, in front of everyone—”

“Whoa, hold on a sec.”

I pull Hayasaka-san out to the hallway. She follows with a giddy, “My boyfriend’s calling me~” smile. Since people are still watching in the hallway, I take her to the connecting corridor and ask,

“You’re telling everyone we’re dating?”

Yup, Hayasaka-san nods energetically and says,

“I was so happy when you chose me, Kirishima-kun.”

“Uh, about that……”

“If I’m being greedy, I wish you’d chosen me more directly instead of using the no-sneaking-ahead penalty, but, ehehe.”

“No, wait—”

I was about to say I didn’t even know about that rule, but Hayasaka-san continues, “Still, I was so moved.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure you keep liking me, Kirishima-kun. Oh, don’t worry, I won’t overdo it. I know you’d worry if I pushed too hard.”

But don’t do that, Hayasaka-san says with a laugh.

“No matter how much you care about me, you can’t use Tachibana-san to take care of that.”

“Uh, what you’re saying is……”

“You’re planning to wait until we’re responsible adults before doing that kind of thing with me, right? That’s it, isn’t it? We’re high schoolers, and if something happened, it’d be a big deal. But teenage boys, you know, they have those…… urges……”

Hayasaka-san’s cheeks flush as she says shyly,

“So you took care of it with Tachibana-san, right? It’s okay, I don’t mind at all. You were thinking of protecting my body, after all. And I don’t want to be a clingy girlfriend who makes a fuss over stuff like that.”

But, Hayasaka-san says, gripping both my hands,

“It’s still unfair to Tachibana-san. You shouldn’t treat a girl like that.”

So—

“Break up with her cleanly, okay? Tell her clearly that you don’t have feelings for her anymore. Promise?”