...Come to think of it, Hime seems to be coming home late.
It had already been about twenty minutes since she left the empty classroom.
"Hime-chan, you're late."
It seems that Hijiri was thinking the same thing.
I looked at the clock on the wall and took a big bite of the gummy candy I had been holding between my fingertips.
"It's good to have lots of breaks, but it does make me a little worried."
"...Yeah, that's true."
"Ah, Yo-hee, you're more worried about me than I am, right?"
Hijiri smiles with a teasing look on his face.
It seems like he understands my feelings too.
"Do you really love Hime-chan that much? Ufufu, I think Yohei will make a great big brother."
"...Big brother, huh?"
I once told Hime, "You're so cute I want you to be my little sister."
That line was what started it all. Not only did I become closer to Hime, but I also started to get along with Kiyoshi... and now we've become close enough that we can study together like this without feeling any pressure.
If you just look at the facts, it seems like everything is going smoothly.
However, people's hearts change... I doubt that the feelings I had back then would still be there today.
Of course, this is not meant in a bad way.
(Brother - is that really okay?)
I never thought I would find Hime more adorable than I did back then.
And Hime too... began to feel stronger affection for me than ever before.
So I'm not sure if this is okay.
That hesitation probably isn't even visible to Hijiri. No, I'm not showing it to him.
It seems that Kiyoshi is surprisingly good at observing people.
In fact, even I have true feelings that I keep hidden.
It was too early to reveal it. Also, I wasn't sure if my feelings were genuine, so I pushed these feelings that wanted to come out deep inside me again.
"I'll do my best to be like a big brother to you."
"I think that's enough now, right?"
"No, no, I'm aware that I'm still not very reliable... so maybe I should go look for him."
He stood up and turned his back to Kiyoshi.
So I couldn't see her face.
"...I'll leave it at that."
Did he really say that line with a smile?
Or maybe he said it with a straight face. Hearing that awfully emotionless voice, I quickly turned around, but by that time, Hijiri was already looking at his smartphone, so I couldn't tell.
I feel like he must be sensing something after all.
However, there was no need to mention it just yet. Since there was no certainty in Kiyoshi's reaction, I pretended not to have noticed anything for the time being.
It seems that Hijiri has nothing to say to me either.
"By the way, I think you'll be able to find Hime-chan if you search the library or somewhere."
The topic returned.
It seems he has an idea where Hime is.
"...Did they contact you?"
"Yeah. About 20 minutes ago."
"Right after we left the classroom... If you had something to say, you should have told me directly."
"That's true. Well, Hime-chan is someone who goes at her own pace."
It's true that she doesn't care much about other people. She lives at her own pace.
But it's not like he's selfish... he's the type of person who thinks about not worrying those close to him - Kiyoshi and me - so I thought it was unusual.
I feel like it's not like Hime.
Of course, I'm not angry that she went to the library. I don't particularly mind it, but I was curious about her motives.
I might ask about that too.
"Well, I'll be off for a bit."
"Yes. I'll leave Hime-chan to you."
"...Study hard."
"Eh? Ah, yes, yes. Studying. Yes, yes, I'll do my best... okay?"
I wonder if I'll really try my best.
I'll probably slack off if I'm left alone, but I can't help it because I'm worried about Hime.
"Have a nice day!"
With the dejected voice behind me, I left the empty classroom.
As I was leaving and closing the door, I looked over at Kiyoshi and saw that he was already lying face down on the desk, ready to sleep... but I'll just pretend I didn't see that.