“In the end, you’re his Childhood Friend.
How could he prioritize investigating whether it was intentional when his Childhood Friend was knocked down and injured by someone unrelated?
Does the Kanzaki Sou in your memory seem like that kind of person?”
“He would naturally check on your condition first, and worry about your injuries before anything else.”
“Not to mention, you’re the Ace Player of the Tennis Club, the Star of the School, with a future still full of athletic promise ahead.”
“Of course, Kanzaki-san would care about your feelings first if you were hurt, comfort you not to overthink, tell you to rest and heal, and reassure you that everything would be okay. Isn’t he exactly the kind of person who would say those things?”
“—So, doesn’t it seem strange to you when he gets angry at you?”
“To not even realize that something feels off compared to what’s in your heart—Kondo-san, did you really take this matter seriously?”
Words flowed like a torrent.
Xiao Chun Miura’s questions overwhelmed Kondo Haruka, leaving her unable to respond.
“Wait… I said stop!”
“Kondo-san, the reason Kanzaki-san is angry isn’t what you think. If he was truly upset about something like that, he wouldn’t have accompanied you to the Infirmary.”
“If he was really so saintly, endlessly gentle to everyone, then why didn’t he check on my classmate who was also hit? If you think Kanzaki-san is biased toward me, then why didn’t he ask about me either?”
“The fact that he rushed to you first—doesn’t that prove how much you matter to him?”
“Why are you deciding on your own that Kanzaki-san is on someone else’s side, ignoring your own feelings, and then getting upset at him for not treating you the same as always?”
“That’s enough!!!”
After saying all that, Xiao Chun Miura finally stopped.
Kondo Haruka sat stiffly on the bed, covering her face.
After a long silence, she let her hand fall from her eyes.
—Tears brimmed in those eyes.
“But right now, he’s on your side—”
The voice, filled with frustration, wasn’t one Kondo Haruka usually used.
Xiao Chun Miura stood in place for a moment.
When Kondo Haruka started to sob softly again, she grabbed a few tissues from the exam table and handed them over.
The chestnut-haired girl snatched them up.
The tissue fluttered from her breath.
“Kondo-san, it’s not for you or for me to decide whose side Kanzaki-san is on.”
“It’s up to Kanzaki-san himself.”
“Isn’t it obvious whose side he’s on?”
“But—!”
“—Kondo-san, it’s true the reason Kanzaki-san is angry is because of you, but not because you interfered with someone else’s match.”
Words that forced Kondo Haruka to listen interrupted her once again.
“Then what is it? Can’t you explain clearly? You keep going on and on…”
Unable to hold back, Kondo Haruka interjected.
Xiao Chun Miura gave her a calm look.
Sitting on the rolling chair by the bed, she seemed like the Infirmary’s only attending physician.
“—Before Kanzaki-san left, didn’t he say something like this?”
“It was probably… That whether it’s his friends or you, Kondo-san, he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“And then he said—‘In the end, you ended up hurting yourself.’”
As Kondo Haruka listened, the lively expression on her face froze.
Then, visible to the naked eye, it twisted and stiffened.
Xiao Chun Miura just watched the changes in her expression.
“Do you understand now, Kondo-san?”
That quiet voice pressed down on her heart like a sentence of guilt.
“The reason Kanzaki-san is angry…
Is because you hurt yourself on purpose for a meaningless reason.”
With Xiao Chun Miura’s words, Kondo Haruka’s frozen expression trembled.
“That’s the only way all of this makes sense.”
“When the collision happened, he rushed to you because he cares.”
“After confirming you were alright in the Infirmary, he planned to talk things through, because he felt it was something that needed to be addressed.”
“Because you’ve never done anything like this before, right?”
“On the court, you always strive for first place… No one ever has to remind you—you do it on your own.”
“—That’s the Kondo-san in Kanzaki’s mind. That’s your true self.”
“But today was different.”
“Just today, on the court, you were distracted by something other than winning.”
“You let your thoughts wander away from the game itself.”
“—He always hoped you’d be as focused as ever, sprinting toward the finish line.”
“But then he realized his Childhood Friend’s shining presence had been quietly affected by something else.”
“In that moment, he realized things had changed in a way he never expected.”
“He never wanted things to turn out this way. He never wanted his Childhood Friend to lose her shine—he just wanted everyone he cared about to stay happy and unharmed, just like always.”
“It’s because of these changes that Kanzaki-san’s behavior was different from usual.”
“It’s because of these changes that his attitude shifted.”
“—I think that’s why Kanzaki-san said those things.”
After Xiao Chun Miura finished, Kondo Haruka fell silent for a long time.
“Of course, there are some other reasons, too.”
Wishing her words would reach Kondo Haruka without being misunderstood, Xiao Chun Miura continued.
“But above all, what bothered him was the way you hurt yourself, breaking his vision of how things should be.”
“The main reason Kanzaki-san is angry at you, Kondo-san, is the consequences of your actions—you deliberately got in the way of someone running and ended up injuring yourself.”
Xiao Chun Miura looked at Kondo Haruka’s foot.
The cold compress was still wrapped around her ankle.
“Kondo-san, your athletic talent is among the best in School—even among your peers in the region.”
“These legs are something you’ll rely on for years to come, aren’t they?”
“—And yet, because of something between you and me, you carelessly injured them.”
“If someone else had intentionally hurt you, Kanzaki-san would have been furious.”
“Even someone as gentle as Kanzaki-san would be enraged at anyone who hurt you on purpose—because it’s you, Kondo-san. His one and only Childhood Friend.”
“But the person who hurt his Childhood Friend was you.”
“Kondo-san, do you understand?”
This time, the chestnut-haired girl replied immediately.
After Xiao Chun Miura’s words, Kondo Haruka finally understood.
The question that had been troubling her was answered.
The anger in Kanzaki Sou that had seemed so out of place now made sense.
Xiao Chun Miura watched as Kondo Haruka’s tightly drawn brow slowly relaxed.
She knew Kondo Haruka had realized something.
But it wasn’t enough.
—Xiao Chun Miura thought it still wasn’t enough.
Simply understanding Kanzaki Sou’s side wouldn’t untangle the knot in Kondo Haruka’s heart.
Their problem wasn’t caused by just one of them.
—It wasn’t only Kanzaki Sou; Kondo Haruka’s own issues couldn’t be ignored.
Only by resolving both sides’ misunderstandings could they truly understand each other.
“I… should be fine.”
After a while, Kondo Haruka, still sitting on the bed, spoke.
“I know my own body’s condition. This is just a mild sprain.”
She sounded like she was talking to herself, but her next words were directed at Xiao Chun Miura.
“—This isn’t a big deal. The thing Cang-kun worries about most, I won’t let it happen. I won’t break off from Cang-kun, I’ll apologize properly, I’ll reflect seriously. There won’t be even a crack in my bond with Cang-kun.”
“So, Xiao Chun Miura, I won’t give you a chance to snatch Cang-kun away from me.”
Her expression was so serious, Xiao Chun Miura could clearly sense her resolve.
“I know how important Kanzaki-san is to you, Kondo-san.”
Yet, the girl didn’t shrink away from that determination.
Xiao Chun Miura nodded in agreement, but her attitude didn’t waver.
“To me, Kanzaki-san isn’t as irreplaceable as he is to you.
But he’s still important.”
“Even if we’re nothing to each other right now, I can’t just step aside and hand him over to anyone else.”
There was unwavering conviction in her words.
—Genuine obsession, sincere passion.
Kondo Haruka was stunned.
She could tell Xiao Chun Miura was serious.
Of course she was.
Xiao Chun Miura was telling the truth.
Even if they weren’t anything now, she couldn’t let Kanzaki Sou wander into any heroine’s route.
Even if she had to tie him to her side, she couldn’t let Kanzaki Sou be with another girl.
So there wasn’t a trace of deception in her words, not even the slightest pretense.
“That’s why I wanted to tell you everything I wanted to say, Kondo-san.”
“Because as his Childhood Friend—as someone who wants to make him mine—you need to hear these words.”
…Even if Kondo Haruka hadn’t brought it up, Xiao Chun Miura would have.
She’d brought it up herself, and that was exactly the direction Xiao Chun Miura wanted things to go.
She wanted to explain everything clearly to Kondo Haruka.
—About the true nature of Kondo Haruka’s burning feelings.