The String of Balls -

Episode 8: The Power of Patience

“When I turned down the lunch invitation and told you to prioritize your boyfriend… I think I was always telling myself not to worry about myself. I always came up with some kind of reason.”

How does Kotone know so much about me?

Was he eavesdropping? Did he do it on anything other than his smartphone? Is his brain messed up? Is it just a wiretap?

“You were even talking about that? You two seem to be close.”

“If you understand the person called Honta Kotonoha, you’ll know this without even having to ask.”

Is it just that Kotone is acting weird?

Normally you wouldn’t know that.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing? I just like Kotonoha.”

“Of course, you like me more! We’ve been together for a long time! So what? Even though we only had a shallow relationship, you talk like you don’t understand anything about me!”

…You don’t understand that love has different meanings.

I’ve been trying not to get found out all this time. It’s not Fumie’s fault, it’s my fault for hiding something.

“Don’t say such selfish things!! It’s because you’re like that, Kotonoha!! Kotonoha…”

Kotone suddenly raised her voice and the air fell silent.

Moon, who had been so heated up, suddenly trembled and fell silent.

I wonder… if it’s really okay for me to just look at it like this…

…No good, right?

“Kotone…it’s fine. I told you too, Fumie…not to fight. I’m the one in the wrong, so it’s weird for the two of us to fight.”

There was no way I could have stayed by Fumie’s side.

Just hearing that she has a boyfriend leaves me devastated…

When they get older, they might happily tell me about getting married and having children, but I won’t be happy for them. On the contrary, I might go crazy with jealousy.

I wish we could be together forever, but that’s just a fantasy. A dream.

Rather than asking Kotone to tell him, I’d rather just tell him myself and get this over with.

It’s okay, I’ve already been to rock bottom. It’s easier than just staying by your side, right?

“Kotonoha…”

I patted the arm that was clinging to me and he quickly let go.

My best friend can really read the atmosphere…

He said he’d pretend he hadn’t noticed that they’d been hugging each other the whole time.

……Phew.

“Fumi, can you tell me why I was crying?”

It’s okay, if anything happens I can just ask Kotone to comfort me, how unfair, hehe.

“Y-yes…are you going to talk to me?”

“Yeah, I want you to listen.”

“Kotonoha… is it okay?”

Kotone asked me with a serious look on her face, and I smiled back.

“You’ll stay by my side no matter what, right?”

“I see… hehe… when should we have our honeymoon?”

He kicks Kotone violently, telling her not to get too cocky, then turns to Fumie.

It’s scary, but I can’t stay like this.

I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes.

Make up your mind, me.

“You see, I’ve always liked Fumie.”

There’s no turning back now.

My heart is pounding, but not so much that I can’t speak.

The bones will be picked up by the pervert next to me.

“…I love you too, you know?”

“No. You can see that now, right? Fumie’s “like” and my “like” have different meanings.”

“What are you saying…?”

I continued speaking to the sentence, which looked like it couldn’t be understood or believed and had an expression that was neither clear nor clear.

“As a girl, I’ve always liked you, Fumi. Ever since I was little.”

“Eh… No, I mean, when I was little…”

“…I’m sorry if it made me feel uncomfortable. That’s why I cried when I heard that Fumi had a boyfriend. That we can’t be together anymore. That he’s leaving me.”

Fumie had always thought of me as a friend.

And yet I’ve always thought about Fumie…

“So, I wasn’t crying because I was being bullied or because I was diagnosed with a serious illness. I’m sorry for worrying you… I felt so bad… I’m sorry…”

Don’t cry! Crying is cowardly!

At least be yourself until the end!

“Things…”

“Thank you for being with me until now. I’ve always loved you.”

Ahh… I finally said it. I was able to get my point across properly.

The words I wanted to say for so long but couldn’t. I had so many times put a lid on my feelings, and suppressed them so they wouldn’t come out. The feelings I’d been deceiving myself into thinking I was happy just to have you by my side.

Despite being aged for years, only one word emerged.

Strangely, I feel refreshed…Maybe I feel relieved now that I’ve finally been able to say it.

The price I paid was that we would never be able to speak to each other again.

“Why do you say things like that… like we’ll never see each other again…”

“…I can’t meet you. You understand the sentence, right?”

Unable to bear Moon’s gaze, I looked away.

Even if people look at me like that, I have no other choice.

“Then let’s break up! Isn’t that better?!”

No matter how far you go, it’s all parallel lines.

My path and the path of letters never intersect.

But still… haa… even your desperate words are cute… I’m glad you’re trying to stop me. Even if I confess, my feelings won’t disappear… that’s what I’d expect…

“Stop it. I don’t want you to do that to me–”

“No!!”

Moon screamed, slamming her hands up and down repeatedly, cutting me off.

What’s different? Whatever you say won’t change my conclusion.

If I can’t be by your side, then I have no choice but to leave.

“Please listen to me… don’t just disappear…”

“Text…”

Fumie clung to me with tears in her eyes.

He grabbed my arm tightly and pleaded.

…What am I so happy about? I never learn my lesson…

“When I was in middle school, someone confessed to me at the graduation ceremony… I rejected him, but he was in the same high school as me… I just couldn’t give up on him. I told him that if this didn’t work, I’d give up on him completely.”

That time… was it the one I saw by chance, that good-looking captain of the soccer team… I think his name was… Kawai? I think it was Kawanishi…

He was in the same high school as me. Huh…? No way… No, that can’t be. Following Fumi is like a stalker… No way.

“So… it’s not that I like him or anything… He asked me to go out with him just for a limited time, just as a trial, and I couldn’t refuse…”

Trial? Limited time offer? Sounds like something I’ve heard before…

Hahaha… there are some strange things in this world…

Even so, desperate people say similar things. Kotone said the same thing.

That doesn’t mean that Fumie will ever fall in love with me, though. It doesn’t change the fact that this was going to happen sooner or later.

“I don’t want to lose the ability to be with Koto! It’s not for Koto’s sake! I want to be with Koto!”

No good…I can’t help but grin.

I’m so happy… So cute… You’ve made me want to cry… Fumie… Fumie… I don’t want to lose the ability to be with you either. I want to be with you too.

“Are you going to reject him for your selfish reasons? That boy mustered up the courage to confess his feelings to me, right?”

Kotone interjected from beside me, sounding displeased.

…Oh no, I was about to lose my cool. Learn your lesson already!

“Boys… you’re Kawasaki-san’s twin brother, right?”ShinobiShinobu

…Huh? Twins? Younger brothers?

No, if that handsome guy had a beautiful twin sister, it would have been a hot topic by now…

Even I knew about him in middle school. I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Kotone has never mentioned having a younger brother…let alone a twin…

Hold on a minute, that’s too much information, my head is about to explode!

“Kotone, can you explain?”

“Um… Kotonoha? A-Are you angry…?”Episode 8: The Power of Patience

“When I turned down the lunch invitation and told you to prioritize your boyfriend… I think I was always telling myself not to worry about myself. I always came up with some kind of reason.”

How does Kotone know so much about me?

Was he eavesdropping? Did he do it on anything other than his smartphone? Is his brain messed up? Is it just a wiretap?

“You were even talking about that? You two seem to be close.”

“If you understand the person called Honta Kotonoha, you’ll know this without even having to ask.”

Is it just that Kotone is acting weird?

Normally you wouldn’t know that.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing? I just like Kotonoha.”

“Of course, you like me more! We’ve been together for a long time! So what? Even though we only had a shallow relationship, you talk like you don’t understand anything about me!”

…You don’t understand that love has different meanings.

I’ve been trying not to get found out all this time. It’s not Fumie’s fault, it’s my fault for hiding something.
“Don’t say such selfish things!! It’s because you’re like that, Kotonoha!! Kotonoha…”

Kotone suddenly raised her voice and the air fell silent.

Moon, who had been so heated up, suddenly trembled and fell silent.

I wonder… if it’s okay for me to just look at it like this…

…No good, right?

“Kotone…it’s fine. I told you too, Fumie…not to fight. I’m the one in the wrong, so it’s weird for the two of us to fight.”

There was no way I could have stayed by Fumie’s side.

Just hearing that she has a boyfriend leaves me devastated…

When they get older, they might happily tell me about getting married and having children, but I won’t be happy for them. On the contrary, I might go crazy with jealousy.

I wish we could be together forever, but that’s just a fantasy. A dream.

Rather than asking Kotone to tell him, I’d rather just tell him myself and get this over with.

It’s okay, I’ve already been to rock bottom. It’s easier than just staying by your side, right?

“Kotonoha…”

I patted the arm that was clinging to me and he quickly let go.

My best friend can read the atmosphere…

He said he’d pretend he hadn’t noticed that they’d been hugging each other the whole time.

……Phew.

“Fumi, can you tell me why I was crying?”

It’s okay, if anything happens I can just ask Kotone to comfort me, how unfair, hehe.

“Y-yes…are you going to talk to me?”

“Yeah, I want you to listen.”

“Kotonoha… is it okay?”

Kotone asked me with a serious look on her face, and I smiled back.

“You’ll stay by my side no matter what, right?”

“I see… hehe… when should we have our honeymoon?”

He kicks Kotone violently, telling her not to get too cocky, then turns to Fumie.

It’s scary, but I can’t stay like this.

I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes.

Make up your mind, me.

“You see, I’ve always liked Fumie.

There’s no turning back now.

My heart is pounding, but not so much that I can’t speak.

The bones will be picked up by the pervert next to me.

“…I love you too, you know?”

“No. You can see that now, right? Fumie’s “like” and my “like” have different meanings.”

“What are you saying…?”

I continued speaking to the sentence, which looked like it couldn’t be understood or believed and had an expression that was neither clear nor clear.

“As a girl, I’ve always liked you, Fumi. Ever since I was little.”

“Eh… No, I mean, when I was little…”

“…I’m sorry if it made me feel uncomfortable. That’s why I cried when I heard that Fumi had a boyfriend. That we can’t be together anymore. That he’s leaving me.”

Fumie had always thought of me as a friend.

And yet I’ve always thought about Fumie…

“So, I wasn’t crying because I was being bullied or because I was diagnosed with a serious illness. I’m sorry for worrying you… I felt so bad… I’m sorry…”

Don’t cry! Crying is cowardly!

At least be yourself until the end!

“Things…”

“Thank you for being with me until now, I’ve always loved you.”

Ahh… I finally said it. I was able to get my point across properly.

The words I wanted to say for so long but couldn’t. I had so many times put a lid on my feelings, and suppressed them so they wouldn’t come out. The feelings I’d been deceiving myself into thinking I was happy just to have you by my side.

Despite being aged for years, only one word emerged.

Strangely, I feel refreshed…maybe I feel relieved now that I’ve finally been able to say it.

The price I paid was that we would never be able to speak to each other again.

“Why do you say things like that… like we’ll never see each other again…”

“…I can’t meet you. You understand the sentence, right?”

Unable to bear Moon’s gaze, I looked away.

Even if people look at me like that, I have no other choice.

“Then let’s break up! Isn’t that better?!”

No matter how far you go, it’s all parallel lines.

My path and the path of letters never intersect.

But still… haa… even your desperate words are cute… I’m glad you’re trying to stop me. Even if I confess, my feelings won’t disappear… that’s what I’d expect…

“Stop it. I don’t want you to do that to me–”

“No!!”

Moon screamed, slamming her hands up and down repeatedly, cutting me off.

What’s different? Whatever you say won’t change my conclusion.

If I can’t be by your side, then I have no choice but to leave.

“Please listen to me… don’t just disappear…”

“Text…”

Fumie clung to me with tears in her eyes.

He grabbed my arm tightly and pleaded.

…What am I so happy about? I never learn my lesson…

“When I was in middle school, someone confessed to me at the graduation ceremony… I rejected him, but he was in the same high school as me… I just couldn’t give up on him. I told him that if this didn’t work, I’d give up on him completely.”

That time… was it the one I saw by chance, that good-looking captain of the soccer team… I think his name was… Kawai? I think it was Kawanishi…

He was in the same high school as me. Huh…? No way… No, that can’t be. Following Fumi is like a stalker… No way.

“So… it’s not that I like him or anything… He asked me to go out with him just for a limited time, just as a trial, and I couldn’t refuse…”

Trial? Limited time offer? Sounds like something I’ve heard before…

Hahaha… there are some strange things in this world…

Even so, desperate people say similar things. Kotone said the same thing.

That doesn’t mean that Fumie will ever fall in love with me, though. It doesn’t change the fact that this was going to happen sooner or later.

“I don’t want to lose the ability to be with Koto! It’s not for Koto’s sake! I want to be with Koto!”

No good…I can’t help but grin.

I’m so happy… So cute… You’ve made me want to cry… Fumie… Fumie… I don’t want to lose the ability to be with you either. I want to be with you too.

“Are you going to reject him for your selfish reasons? That boy mustered up the courage to confess his feelings to me, right?”

Kotone interjected from beside me, sounding displeased.

…Oh no, I was about to lose my cool. Learn your lesson already!

“Boys… you’re Kawasaki-san’s twin brother, right?”ShinobiShinobu

…Huh? Twins? Younger brothers?

No, if that handsome guy had a beautiful twin sister, it would have been a hot topic by now…

Even I knew about him in middle school. I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Kotone has never mentioned having a younger brother…let alone a twin…

Hold on a minute, that’s too much information, my head is about to explode!

“Kotone, can you explain?”

“Um… Kotonoha? A-Are you angry…?”

“That depends on Kotone’s explanation, I guess…”

There are similar stories, but this one isn’t.

This woman…

“That depends on Kotone’s explanation, I guess…”

There are similar stories, but this one isn’t.

This woman.