What's With Her

"Alice...?"

"Don't just go calling me by my first name. It bothers me."

"..."

Hirose went rigid at Alice's razor-edged reply. I was no better. I never thought she'd come out swinging that hard. Even in the original's biggest scenes, she'd never shown a side like this.

"The more I listen, the more ridiculous this gets. Ryuzaki has something on me? Don't make me laugh."

Alice scoffed, and her voice dropped to ice.

"You don't know a thing."

"...Hiragi. That's because you don't know what kind of guy Ryuzaki really is."

Hirose's expression hardened as he pressed on.

"Ryuzaki is the kind of guy who went out of his way to do every rotten thing he could. He picked on anyone weaker than him. He treated girls like toys. You're being played, Hiragi!"

Damn. I couldn't even argue — every word of it was true.

At Hirose's accusation, Alice glanced at me. Normally her face was an open book, but right now I couldn't read a single thing. Disgust? Disappointment? The not-knowing only twisted the knot in my stomach tighter.

"...Hey."

"Huh?"

"Just because you have a mouth doesn't mean you get to run it."

Alice's voice was quiet. Quiet, and sharp enough to cut.

"You've been talking and talking this whole time, and it's really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠starting to piss me off."

"..."

"I already know. I know Ryuzaki wasn't a decent person. My friends have told me so many times my ears are about to fall off."

She looked away from me and locked eyes with Hirose.

"You're all the same. You don't know a thing, but you act like you do."

She drew a breath, then went on.

"What kind of person Ryuzaki is. What he thinks about. How hard he's fighting to change..."

Rain bled into the chill in her voice, the two sounds weaving together until I couldn't tell them apart.

Every word landed clear and sharp against my ear.

"Ryuzaki never did a thing to me. He helped me, if anything. So don't go jumping to conclusions."

"..."

"If you're done, then stop getting in our—"

Just before the air could turn any uglier, I set a hand on top of Alice's head.

"...Ryuzaki?"

"I appreciate it. Really. But let's leave it there."

I met her eyes for a moment, then turned to Hirose.

"It's like Alice just said. I've never threatened her. I've never had anything to hold over her."

"That's..."

"I get that you stepped in because you were worried about her. But if she doesn't want the help, what's the point? Think it over."

Alice and Hirose. Both of them were smart, sensible kids. They just didn't understand each other, so they'd mistaken the other for an enemy. And since I was sitting at the center of that misunderstanding, mediating was my job.

Hirose's eyes flickered.

"...Are you actually Ryuzaki?"

"I am."

"No... what. I mean..."

He couldn't hide the confusion, stumbling over the words.

"Were you... always capable of having a conversation like a normal person?"

"What, was I some kind of animal before?"

"Well..."

"Yeah, actually. Can't really deny that one."

I gave a wry smile and nodded.

"I was a kid back then. Thought the whole world revolved around me."

"..."

"I'm trying to change now. I don't know if trying is enough to actually make a difference, but it's better than giving up."

I dipped my head a little.

"I'm sorry about back then, Hirose."

"Okay, now you're scaring me."

Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the way he'd grabbed me out of nowhere and started picking a fight. But the old Ryuzaki really had been a complete piece of shit. That was a fair enough reason, so I'd give him a pass this time. He wasn't a bad kid at heart, anyway.

And I couldn't forget that this guy was the protagonist of this world. A rom-com lead is, by definition, someone the universe itself is rooting for. If I made an enemy of him for no reason, my already miserable life could slam straight into hard mode.

"Then you apologize too."

"...Huh?"

"We both messed up. That's only fair, right?"

Hirose closed his mouth for a moment.

"...Yeah."

Then he bowed his head without a fight.

"Thinking about it again, you're right. I was just going off my own prejudices. I never even tried to actually understand, like Hiragi said. I'm sorry. To both of you."

"Alright. Thanks."

"...Hmph."

Alice still hadn't cooled off — she didn't apologize, didn't even look Hirose in the eye. He scratched his head, looking awkward, then forced a smile.

"W-well, since we made up, want to grab lunch together? My treat."

Ah. Yeah, no.

"No."

"Eh?"

"We're eating together. Just the two of us."

Alice shut him down before I could even open my mouth.

"But still..."

"Take a hint?"

"Ah... yeah. Sorry."

Faced with that ironclad refusal, Hirose finally waved the white flag, scratching the back of his head as he stepped aside.

"Let's go, Ryuzaki."

"Yeah."

We left Hirose behind and started walking toward the convenience store again. Once we'd put some distance between us and him, Alice grumbled, her face scrunched up tight.

"Seriously, what is that guy's problem? Is he even a high schooler?"

Watching an original heroine treat the protagonist like some weirdo... the feeling was hard to describe.

"He's still young. He'll grow out of it."

"...Aren't you the same age as him?"

"Time is relative."

Alice let out a short laugh.

"Looking at you, I can actually believe that."

"Believe what?"

"You're... how do I put this. You feel like an adult."

She glanced up at me, then went on.

"Like you've lived way longer than I have. You think deeper, too. The way you broke up that fight just now — same thing."

That hit a little too close to home. Technically speaking, I had lived longer than Alice.

We reached the convenience store at just the right moment. Alice went inside and came back shortly after with a clear umbrella in hand.

"There. Now we can walk without getting soaked. Where were we?"

I jumped in, eager to change the subject.

"Anyway. Thank you."

"Hm? For what?"

"You got angry for me."

I scratched my cheek a little.

"That's a first for me. Someone getting angry on my behalf."

Maybe not for Ryuzaki — but for me, it really was the first time. People had always been too busy getting angry at me. So yeah. I was genuinely moved.

"Hmm~ So, did you fall for me?"

"I— no, what are you even saying."

"Pfft. Your face right now. So you were grateful, then?"

"Yeah. I was."

"Yeah?"

Alice's eyes lit up.

"Then I've got something I want to ask you. Two things, actually. Will you answer?"

"Go ahead."

I nodded. As if she'd had the questions ready all along, Alice spoke right up, her voice gone completely serious.

"Ryuzaki. I've been wanting to ask you this for a while."

"Yeah."

Her eyes found mine.

...She just floored it out of nowhere.

I'm not even kidding — if I'd been drinking something, I would have sprayed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it everywhere. I barely managed to get my breathing under control.

"...Why are you asking me that?"

"Because you love studying."

"Ah. That's what you meant."

And here I thought she was going somewhere else entirely. I wiped the cold sweat off my brow. Alice gave an awkward, wry smile.

"The truth is... I've never really loved anything. Not truly."

"I thought you liked studying?"

"That's just something my mom made me do. I don't do it because I like it."

She didn't even like it, and she still pulled those kinds of grades. It hit me all over again — the girl standing in front of me was one of the academy city's 5 Great Geniuses.

That aside, I owed her an answer.

"It's hard to put into words. Liking something is just... liking it."

"It doesn't feel like your chest is about to burst or anything?"

"Maybe it does. It depends on the person."

"Wow. Super helpful. So how am I supposed to know whether I love something or not?"

"There is one sure way to find out."

Alice's ears perked up. I quietly recited something I had learned in my previous life.

"...If you only find out after you've lost it, isn't that too late?"

"That's what makes it precious. That's why people who already know what they love are called lucky."

Alice stopped walking and stared into the air, turning something over in her mind. I didn't interrupt. If she'd stopped in her tracks, it meant the thought had gone that deep.

A little time passed.

"I... see. Yeah. I think I get it. A little, at least."

Alice gave a small nod and looked at me. Her eyes were clearer than before.

"Glad I could help. So, what's the other question?"

"Oh, that? It's nothing big."

Alice looked me straight in the eye.

"What's your relationship with that girl Yuuka he mentioned?"

...Huh.

I could have sworn those eyes were clear a second ago.

My first time ever going out with someone my own age. To cut to the chase: it was pretty fun.

"Let's eat this, and that too!"

"...Didn't you already finish?"

"What are you talking about. We're just getting started."

We split dishes at a restaurant.

"Do you really need that many?"

"Cats get bored easily. It's better to buy a bunch and rotate them."

"Oh, look at the expert."

"Heh. You can praise me more, you know?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Oh, come on."

We picked out toys for Hayang-i together.

"Did you find the ones you wanted?"

"Sorry. They all look delicious."

"You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the only person in the world who'd look at a workbook and say it looks delicious..."

"Should I have said they look pretty, then?"

"...I don't think that's it either."

"This is harder than it looks."

We stopped by a bookstore I'd always wanted to visit and picked out workbooks side by side.

"Pffft! This picture came out so weird! Look at this, Ryuzaki."

"This one doesn't count. We're retaking it."

"Nope~ I'm putting this in my phone case."

We even squeezed into a photo booth together.

Every last bit of it was new and unfamiliar. And maybe that was exactly why it was so much fun.

"Thank you, Alice. I got to try a lot of things I never had before."

"How many times are you going to say thank you?"

"Gratitude isn't something that wears out."

"Ooh. That actually sounded pretty cool."

Alice giggled, then stretched her arms over her head, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"Ahh, that was fun."

"You have to go now, right?"

"Yeah... tutoring's coming up. But I had so much fun that I think I can actually push through it."

A question surfaced then, and I let it out.

"Why me, though?"

"Hm?"

"You've got plenty of friends. I was just wondering why you'd go out of your way to hang out with someone who isn't even good at hanging out."

There was no shortage of people who would come running the second she said the word. So why me, of all people?

Alice blinked at the question. Then she looked at me with a glint of mischief and opened her mouth.

"Because I like you."

......?

"Hanging out with you."

"..."

"Ahaha! Your face is amazing!"

"You having fun?"

"Yep. So much fun. Ah, I should've taken a picture of that expression just now."

What was I supposed to do with this little troublemaker. I would have given her a noogie if I could, but between the umbrella and the bags, I was out of hands.

Count yourself lucky.

"I'm not lying, though. When I'm with you... it's just comfortable, somehow."

"That so."

"Yeah. And... if I keep stealing your study time like this, first place in school stays mine, right? Ehehe."

"That last part was a lie, wasn't it?"

"Who knows? Figure it out yourself."

Alice laughed under her breath, then checked the time on her phone. She clicked her tongue, sounding genuinely sorry, and lifted a hand to wave.

"...Ah, I really have to go. Time's up. See you at school tomorrow!"

She turned and started to run. I watched her back for a moment, then called out.

"Alice."

"Hm? Yeah? Did you forget something?"

"There's something I wanted to ask."

It had been sitting in the back of my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind since this morning. She might take it the wrong way, but I still wanted to know.

"Are we... you know. Just regular friends?"

Was I even allowed to call her that. I was asking for permission. And Alice—

"Hnnn..."

Went completely rigid.

Then her eyes trembled, and her face flushed red in a single heartbeat.

"Th-that's the kind of thing you ask once we've gotten closer! You idiot!"

She shouted it at the top of her lungs, spun on her heel, and fled.

"......?"

I just stood there, staring blankly at her retreating back.

The rain had already stopped. Under a sky washed clean, Alice ran, her face burning scarlet.

What even was that.