Chapter 33 (1/2)

He looked epheerous to touch him

His back was to ave ility

Do I — call out to him?

I sed hard

It seemed to me like he was a house built on sand, that he would collapse with a single push

In that athtened painfully for reasons I didn’t understand An indescribable oppression seized my heart

Just how much of himself did he intend to show me?

When I thought of hientle smile That was hoas normally On the other hand, I’d fallen into the delusion that this captured all that he was, to the point that I couldn’t iine him any other way

That was impossible

Obviously He was a living person, his own person

The world wasn’t so kind that someone, whoever they were, wherever they stood, could smile all the time

Sometimes, it was supposed to be cruel, sorrowful, painful

Even though it would drive them to tears, or make them want to rant and rave

But while all that was true —

Even so, that look didn’t suit hiant of me Maybe I wanted to think that way

But to be honest, because he was Leon, I didn’t want hi him to his knees like this

By the tih to Leon that I could touch him if I reached out my hand

‘I want to do soer inside me

But I didn’t knohat I should do

I should call out to him But at the same time, I didn’t think I should

In that case, what could I do?

What could I do for him?

Nervously, I reached my hands out to his back When they were about to make contact, I hesitated

What a at my hands, I opened and closed them several times as my mind wandered aimlessly

What rong with Leon that night?

What rong with this similarly unusual Leon?

When I re back Then, I hugged Leon from behind

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” — !”

Leon’s surprised treh my hands, my face pressed into his back, my body

He really didn’t notice me? Dumbass Inside, I deliberately insulted him

“—-! Don’t — don’t move — !”

While I did , I squeezed my eyes shut My voice was low and curt

That alone was enough for Leon to realize it wasfrom his body

Then, his hands gently touched the ones I had around him

Torht at the sensation Completely contrary totoit up

Why, I don’t want to know

If I do this, you’ll be happy, right?

If I do this, you’ll calht?

Those were the only thoughts in htened my hold a bit

“…What — were you doing?”

Trying to stave off the ha in my constricted chest and the flush on ether a coherent sentence before he could say anything

“……Ah, well”

“Don’t look this way, moron!”

When I sensed Leon turning his head after a pause, I flew into a panic Immediately, mercilessly — I stopped hiument

For now, I didn’t want Leon toI was at my absolute limit

Perhaps sensing that, Leon let out just a sain, he began to speak

“I was re the old days”

The tree he was looking up at was an an elm

I knehat he[me]

The present and the dreaether

I’d suspected it for quite some time, but noas sure of it

That is, Big Brother, the boy that [I] liked so much — was Leon

“There was this one elm tree that [Chris] was fond of She often climbed up and made trouble for me This isn’t the one from the past, but when I see a similar tree, it unconsciously comes back to me ”

“…It wasn’t the tree that [Chris] liked It was just the view from the top of it”

” — !”

Leon’s words got

He didn’t know That was unexpected

So, there were things even Leon didn’t know I felt a bit pleased With a slight desire for revenge, I started to tell him

“No matter how many times [I] invited you, you wouldn’t cohts?”

I could tell that the hands resting on ainst his back, I had the feeling that I heard his heartbeat speeding up, just a little

“Even though [I] wanted to see the view from the top of the tree with you”

Unable to hold it in, I chuckled

Alright, even I had to ade, this was a bitLeon in such obvious turmoil

“…Is — Is that so?”

In the et a feords out I could sense the sht his state had changed a little, soers and pattered onto my hands

“Ah…”

Before I could figure out what it was, Leon gripped htly and continued

“I have a question to ask you… Did you meet her?”

“Mm, you could say that I saw her in my dreams a couple times You too”

“…You’re ht, too” 1

“I guess that makes us even, huh?”

His face still looking the other way, his voice escaped in what could be interpreted as a snicker or a wry laugh Drawn in, I smiled too

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