"Y-You shut-in... do you still remember...?"
Yuihama stared at me with wide eyes, surprise written all over her face.
"No, I don't. Komachi told me you came to our house to thank us."
"I see... so it was Komachi... Hahaha~"
Yuihama gave that same polite laugh again, then looked down at the ground.
"Sorry, I guess I ended up making you worry instead. But from now on, you don't have to care about me anymore. The reason I'm always alone like this is because of me. It has nothing to do with that accident. You don't need to pity me, and you don't need to feel indebted to me... If that's why you've been nice to me, then please stop."
I knew my tone had gotten a little worked up. Ah, this wasn't good. What the hell was I getting so anxious about? It wasn't even that big a deal.
To ease that uneasiness, I unconsciously scratched my head. The silence that had hung over us for a while now was truly unbearable. This was the first time I had ever found silence unbearable.
"Um... well... how should I put this..."
Anyway, saying something—anything—was more important right now, but I couldn't put it into words.
Neither of us could speak for quite a while. In the end, Yuihama was the first to force a smile.
"No, that's not it~ How should I say it? It's not what you think... It's really not what you think..."
Her mouth was smiling, but her face lowered helplessly, so I couldn't see her expression. All I knew was that her faint voice was trembling.
"It's not like that... Not at all..."
She said it quietly. Yuihama was always so kind, so even at the very end, she remained kind. If the truth was cruel,