ᴍᴇɴʜᴇʀᴀ // ᴍᴀᴛꜱᴜɴᴏ ᴄʜɪꜰᴜʏᴜ

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ

JUST A FEW HOURS EARLIER, Chifuyu was deciding to come check up on you, after what happened yesterday.

He didn't think he would end up talking to your aunt alone.

He didn't stay for long though, as he didn't just to take up too much of her time when it was supposed to be a Sunday.

He remembered one of the conversations they had.

"That child is often conflicted by people like you." Your aunt sighed deeply, her shoulders dropping a little.

"People like me?" Chifuyu looked up at her.

For a moment, her eyes lifted to look fixedly at Chifuyu, causing him to tense up a bit at the intensity. But she shut her eyes, sighing once more. "People who are genuinely kind, I mean." She added, looking off to the side.

He followed her gaze, and she seemed to be looking at the photos.

"I'm sure you've heard her story ― she didn't exactly have the happiest childhood." She propped an elbow on the table, hand to her cheek. "She's used to people's criticism and animosity."

Chifuyu let out a soft huff, frowning. He didn't know the full story, but he did hear bits and pieces of your life.

"Take my advice: If you want to convey your sentiments, just be blunt and straightforward. She won't understand if you beat around the bush."

"Blunt and straightforward... Got it." He nodded.

He walked along the road, the cars beside driving by. "Come to think of it..." He mumbled. That time when I was trying to convince her not to fight Tenjiku... She got upset.

"I didn't outright tell her I was worried, did I...?" He tried to scramble through his memory, but he couldn't remember. Maybe he really didn't. Was that why she was upset? She misunderstood that I just thought of her as weak.

That was after Takemichi had only told him how you were going to die. In the future, you had a sudden panic attack, and taking advantage of that, Kisaki killed you.

"Blunt and straightforward..." He repeated what your aunt had advised him. Even though he had known you for a couple of months now, ever since in October last year to February, it's not like he was with you every day.

Besides, his first meeting with you wasn't exactly like, "oh, you and I met, now we're best friends!" kind of thing.

It had to been at least a week since he first met you at school, to the rainy day around the convenience store. Then another week to the meeting you had accidentally disrupted. And then another two weeks to when you saw him at Baji's grave.

So, around four months or less.

But when did you two start to hang out?

Around the time when we met at the grave? Or... Oh. It was when Takemichi told him about how Kisaki killed you, even though you were completely unrelated to Tokyo Manji Gang.

If he remembered, he found himself at the same convenience store at the second meeting, trying to find you somehow.

What was he doing, to be honest? Did he feel bad that you were going to die? Or was it something else? Maybe because you already went through a rough time, so he didn't want you to die because of something irrelevant to you.

Regardless, in those four months, you've become someone important in his life.

He had grown accustomed to your presence.