Chapter 41: Kawasaki, You’re a Good Person

Kawasaki and Eriri didn't rush to leave the restroom.

Both of them had initially entered intending to use the facilities. However, due to the earlier chaos leading them to mistakenly enter the men's restroom, their business had gone unresolved. Now, they hurried to the women's restroom to finish what they came for.

Each entered a stall.

The atmosphere between them was thick with tension and awkwardness.

Sitting on the toilet seat, Kawasaki brushed her hand over her thigh, took a deep breath, and broke the silence first:

"Sawamura-san, you were about to confess to Hikigaya just now, weren't you?"

"Eh?! Ah!!"

From the adjacent stall, Eriri, also seated, instinctively clenched her thighs tightly, her face flushed crimson.

"Con... confess? Hmph! Who would like him? Co-co-co... confess, you say? That's absolutely impossible!"

"Oh? Then why did Sawamura-san run into the men's restroom? And forcibly grab Hikigaya's face like that? If that wasn't to confess, then what was it?" Kawasaki pressed on.

"I-I-I-I...!"

Eriri's face grew redder by the second, her slender, pale legs pressing together more tightly.

"I wasn't going to confess! I just wanted to... apologize! Yes, apologize..."

"Apologize?" Kawasaki sounded puzzled.

Eriri let out a muffled groan, clearly unwilling to elaborate on the matter. Instead, she diverted the conversation:

"Enough about me. Let me ask you—why did you suddenly run into the men's restroom? Don't tell me you... you like Hikigaya, too?"

"Ha?"

Kawasaki, who had been trying to figure out why Eriri needed to apologize, instinctively clenched her legs as well, her face now tinged with red.

"Me? Like Hikigaya? No way! Why would I ever like him? I... I don't have any feelings for him at all..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, and her mind involuntarily drifted back to last year's cultural festival when the running boy had confessed to her in his own awkward way.

Kawasaki's face flushed deeper, her legs squeezed tighter, and her eyes darted about in panic.

Eriri muttered to herself, "If it wasn't about you, then why on earth did you barge into the men's restroom? And at the exact moment I was about to... apologize. Ahem."

Kawasaki snapped out of her thoughts and hurriedly explained,

"It's like this—I thought you were confessing to Hikigaya, so I wanted to stop you. Because Hikigaya already has a girlfriend, and if you confessed to him, I'm afraid..."

"What?!" Eriri cut her off in shock. "He has a girlfriend? Who? Who is it?"

Kawasaki paused briefly before replying,

"Yukinoshita Yukino from Class 3-J."

Eriri was dumbfounded.

"You mean the Yukinoshita Yukino, the most famous girl in school, is that guy's girlfriend?"

Kawasaki cleared her throat.

"It does sound unbelievable, but it's the truth. So, Sawamura-san, if you confessed to him, it would only end in failure. I just wanted to save you from that."

"..."

Eriri fell silent, instinctively placing a hand over her uneasy chest.

After taking a deep breath, her opinion of Kawasaki shifted. At first, she thought Kawasaki was a lunatic. But now, she realized Kawasaki was actually quite a decent person.

"Kawasaki-san... you're a good person." Eriri hesitated before speaking.

"Eh? Ah!"

For someone like Kawasaki, who was often labeled a delinquent by her classmates, being called a "good person" left her feeling utterly disoriented.

"You... you ran into the men's restroom to stop me, which accidentally caused... that. Ahem. In any case... th-thank you, Kawasaki-san." Eriri stammered out, her pride making her gratitude especially rare.

"There's... no need to thank me. We're classmates, after all."

"Mm."

Eriri hummed in response, pulling a few tissues. Then she stood, adjusted her clothes, and turned to Kawasaki.

"I'm done. I'm heading out first."

"Eh? Oh, okay..." Kawasaki answered absentmindedly.

As Eriri left the restroom with a sullen expression and a sigh, Kawasaki remained seated, exhaling softly. Almost unconsciously, she brushed her fingers over her lips.

Indeed, she had stepped in to help prevent Eriri and Hikigaya from doing anything rash. But the result? She'd accidentally lost her first kiss.

Sigh... what a mess.

Still, when she thought about Hikigaya being the one she'd shared her first kiss with, the initial discomfort gradually faded. In fact, she found it... oddly acceptable.

Kawasaki pressed her lips together, sitting in a daze.

Minutes passed.

"Wait! Oh my gosh, how long have I been sitting here?!"

As certain inappropriate images flashed through her mind, Kawasaki's face turned crimson. She hastily grabbed some tissues and berated herself:

"What am I even thinking? This is ridiculous! Hikigaya is... is Yukinoshita's boyfriend!"

The thought of Yukinoshita brought back memories of her smiling kindly the day before, saying, "Kawasaki, you're a good person."

At that moment, an overwhelming sense of guilt surged through Kawasaki.

Yukinoshita was her friend and trusted her.

But...

She had just kissed her friend's boyfriend.

And worse still, she had fleeting, inappropriate thoughts about it.

This was...

Unforgivable.

Kawasaki wanted to slap herself.

"What should I do? I kissed Hikigaya-kun by accident! I've tainted Yukinoshita's boyfriend... I'm a terrible person..."

Mumbling to herself, she balled up some tissue, tossed it into the trash, and stood shakily to adjust her clothing.

Walking out of the restroom, her heart felt heavy.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

How could she have made such a rookie mistake?

No, she had to make amends.

Dragging her feet, Kawasaki approached the sink, muttering under her breath:

"I need to find a chance to see Yukinoshita later. I have to explain everything to her. If I don't, I won't be able to sleep tonight..."

Just then, a voice spoke behind her.

"Kawasaki, were you calling for me?"

"!!"

Startled, Kawasaki whipped around. When she raised her head, she saw the familiar figure reflected in the mirror—a black-haired girl, her smile gentle and elegant, her demeanor calm and approachable.

Kawasaki jumped in fright.

"Yuki... Yukinoshita?!"

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