Ren left by himself.
Hikigaya was left standing in the same place. He watched the back of Ren as he walked away into the distance.
Then he looked at the bag of fried chicken in his hand. More than half of it was still inside.
"Heh, did you treat me like a trash can again?"
Hikigaya said those words, but his hand was very honest. He reached into the fried chicken bag.
He naturally took out a fried chicken leg. Hikigaya moved his eyes away from where Ren had disappeared.
He looked back at the busy traffic under the bridge. He looked at the fried chicken leg in his hand and gave a bitter smile.
Everyone wants to eat the chicken leg when they eat fried chicken. But Ren was the one who bought it.
This fried chicken was Ren's "item." That was the reason why Hikigaya only took a wing tip earlier.
Ren shared things in a very generous way. However, that did not mean Hikigaya could just accept everything without feeling bad about it.
There were only two fried chicken legs in this bag. Hikigaya was not sure if Ren had left this one for him.
If it was not meant for him, he thought he would feel very embarrassed later.
So his logic made him choose to step back. He chose to make himself feel miserable once again.
Ren was right. Hikigaya was very rational. He was too rational.
But people should not be too rational. You are a person, not a robot. Feelings are your natural instinct.
Many times, emotions are more important than logic.
"It tastes good."
Hikigaya took a bite of the chicken leg. He chewed and swallowed the meat slowly.
As he chewed, Hikigaya stopped moving. He looked at the chicken leg in his hand in silence. He had already taken a bite of it.
"Ren, but I am not you..."
"The world is just like this. I cannot change it. I can only follow this rotten world as it goes on."
Hikigaya talked to himself.
The difference in "capital" between him and Ren was too big. He could not learn Ren's high spirit.
He could not learn how Ren dealt with people. He could not learn to do whatever he wanted like Ren did.
He was Hikigaya. He was the one who thought a girl liked him. He confessed and was rejected.
Then that girl told him he was "gross."
He was the one who thought his classmate was waving at him. He moved forward to say hello, but she was waving at her friend.
He made things awkward for his classmate and her friend.
He was also the one who hid himself to avoid talking to other people.
Not caring about what others think? How could he not care?
Hikigaya really envied Ren. He envied everything about him.
But if you asked Hikigaya to become like Ren, he would only shake his head. He would smile and say he could not do it.
A victim stuck in the mud is happy just to be pulled out by a savior. He can look up at the savior.
He can admire the savior. But he can never become the savior himself.
Because he knew he could not do it.
"Actually... it is quite good like this."
"Isn't it, Hikigaya?"
Hikigaya finished the rest of the meat on the chicken leg. He put the bone into the plastic bag outside the chicken bag.
He spoke to himself in a self-mocking way.
He did not do what Ren hoped. Hikigaya was a coward and chose to stay in his current situation.
"Mom, sister and I are back!"
Yuzuru Nishimiya opened the door to her home. She saw Yaeko Nishimiya was already there.
She waved the dessert bags in her hand toward her mother with a happy look.
"Yuzuru, Shōko. Welcome home."
Itō Nishimiya was sitting in a chair. She was making scarves for her two granddaughters.
She looked at the front door and spoke in a kind voice.
Yaeko Nishimiya did not want Itō to worry. She did not tell her about the bullying Shōko faced at school.
She also did not say anything about the police station.
The problem was already solved. There was no need for the elderly Itō to know about it.
It would only make Itō worry about Shōko. It would not help at all.
"Yes, Grandma, we are back."
"Grand... Grandma."
Shōko Nishimiya's low self-esteem had gone away a lot. She did not need to use sign language at home anymore.
"Oh, good girl, Shōko."
Itō's wrinkled face was full of smiles. She was very happy to hear Shōko call her.
She did not know why Shōko had changed so much lately. But she was only happy about this good change.
She was old. Her body was not as strong as it used to be.
Yuzuru and Shōko stopped her from picking them up after school so she could rest.
Itō felt both happy and sad because her granddaughters were so thoughtful.
She was happy they were good girls. But she was sad they had to grow up so fast.
Being thoughtful meant they were growing up. Maturity that does not match a child's age shows the pressure of life.
"Yuzuru, what are you holding in your hand?"
Yaeko Nishimiya looked at the bag in Yuzuru's hand. Her eyes became sharp.
Her two daughters told her they were going to find Ren. They were supposed to go there to thank him.
So why did they come back with dessert boxes?
"Ren-nii gave them to me..."
Yuzuru's voice became very small when she talked about the sweets.
Her plan was to find Ren with her sister and thank him. Then she wanted to get his phone number to pay him back later.
In the end, they did not pay him back. They even took food home with them.
"Mom... Mom... Ren... nii... bought... them... for... us."
Shōko Nishimiya stood in front of Yuzuru. She tried to protect her sister from their mother's gaze.
"I see. Let's eat dinner first."
They owed Ren even more now.
Yaeko Nishimiya sighed. She had planned to give the money from the Ishida family to Ren to pay for his help.
She turned around and went back to the kitchen to get the warm food.
Since it already happened, they should just eat first.
"Yes, Mom! I will help!"
Yuzuru saw that Yaeko was not thinking about the desserts anymore. She ran to the kitchen to help.
"Shōko, come and sit with me for a bit."
The kitchen was too small for three people. Itō called Shōko to come and chat with her.
At the dinner table.
"Yuzuru, did something happen today?"
Yaeko Nishimiya put some food into Itō's bowl. She saw Yuzuru looked like she wanted to talk but was afraid.
"Well... Mom..."
Yuzuru did not know how to start. She felt they were going to trouble Ren again.
"Mom."
Shōko Nishimiya got her mother's attention. She quickly held up her notebook in front of her face.
The story was already written in the notebook. Shōko was worried.
She was afraid that Yaeko Nishimiya would not say yes to her request.
Shōko turned the page to show her last try.
On the notebook, Shōko had added one more line:
Please, Mom (｡í _ ì｡)