Asobi Otonari

I'm actually pretty Selfish

It seems like I have gone and done something quite bold.

In the darkness, while listening to the soft breath of Aoyagi-kun who was asleep, I regretted the actions I had taken. She looked a little feverish, so I responded quickly.I treated Aoyagi like I usually treat Emma when she has a fever. But now that I realize, this is really overkill.

It is only natural that Aoyagi is confused. He was currently sleeping while breathing stably.

It seemed like my eyes were getting used to the darkness, and I could almost clearly see Aoyagi's face if I approached her. I don't know why, but I brought my face closer to her.

Looking at her from this close distance, her eyelashes were extremely long. His face was rather fierce and his nose was pointed. Too bad her hair is a bit rough. Wouldn't she be popular with girls if she just took care of her hair?

If he did that, then no one would speak ill of him in class.

Even today, he acts as a criminal by being aloof and accepting everyone's negative comments. If one were to seriously consider it, Aoyagi was right, but no one tried to understand it.

No, Saionji was on Aoyagi's side, so she must have noticed. However, he did not take any side, remaining neutral effectively.

Therefore, he would not say anything even though he was on Aoyagi's side. Seen from the sidelines, Aoyagi himself has been made a bad person. What a sad sight to behold.

I might be thinking about this right now, but I belong to the observer group in the class as well.

I really wanted to tell everyone that he was right, but when I tried to defend Aoyagi, he stopped me by gesturing with his eyes. Then, when I discussed the topic while we were alone, he simply said, "It's okay. Solutions may not be possible unless one becomes a bad person. If you intervene, your opinions will break up the class and will develop into disputes. Even if I get blamed at school, you don't have to defend me. Akira will intervene when I'm really in trouble. "

I understand what Aoyagi is trying to say. If some of the others join Aoyagi's side by following me, there is a chance that the class opinion will split in two and the quarrel will break out. Aoyagi seems to hate that possibility and tries to settle the matter comfortably by being the bad guy herself.

Everyone is saved at the expense of one person.

This may sound good on the surface, but it's a very painful way of life. How good he is…

――Suddenly, I remembered the exchange I had with Hanazawa-sensei at school today. That's when I asked about Aoyagi's preferences.

“—Hmm? you ask about the genre of manga that Aoyagi would like? Why do you want to know about that? "

Hanazawa-sensei asked me about my intentions when I visited him during lunch break.

"I was thinking of recommending the manga to him, but I don't know what he likes, so please let me know."

“If that's the case, then you should ask Saionji. She has a longer relationship with Aoyagi than I do, and of course as her best friend, Saionji is more familiar with Aoyagi's interests. "

“I-It is...”

Is there a reason why you can't ask him?

I nodded affirming Hanazawa-sensei's question. At first, I was also thinking of asking Saionji. However, I remembered that Aoyagi wanted us to keep our relationship a secret, so I reconsidered it. If I were to ask about Aoyagi's preferences, Saionji would definitely be suspicious of our relationship.

In that case, Hanazawa-sensei is aware of our relationship, and it seems like he understands Aoyagi to some degree. He is the right person in this situation.

“Can I ask why?”

“Is it enough if I say that he is a realist to the core? He hates unrealistic things. He hated stories so much that happiness was earned without any effort. "

“... I think someone usually prefers stories whose characters are happy..”.

“That's what usually happens. Well, I can't explain it, but a lot of things happened in his past. So, if you really want to recommend it, manga that is as close to reality as possible will be the optimal choice, preferably the result of which is useful because of the efforts of the characters. ”

I see, so the manga is realistic and fruitful thanks to hard effort? If that's the case, there are a lot of candidates in my mind. It might be nice to recommend sports manga specifically. There are many sports manga that apply supernatural elements, but there are also many manga that emphasize reality and pay off thanks to the efforts of the characters.

“—Instead, avoid manga that have a picture of a happy family. In the worst case scenario, he will eventually avoid you. "

“Eh..?”

“No, it's nothing. After all, it is good to choose a manga that is realistic and pays off through effort. "

While I was confused, Hanazawa-sensei turned his back on me and entered the staff room. The previous sentence seems to imply Aoyagi hates a happy family. He was a very nice person, so I assumed that he was raised by good parents in a happy family. Is that assumption wrong…?

While I was worrying about what Hanazawa-sensei said, I forgot about the passage of time and kept thinking about Aoyagi.

“Aoyagi-kun.. How much load do you bear alone?”

I asked Aoyagi, who was still sleeping with steady breath, in a soft voice. Did I manage to hide that I was thinking about Aoyagi all day? All things considered, he did not seem to understand. It would hurt if he started avoiding me because he realized it.

… No, rather than all that, I should focus on her health for now. Even though she looked fine, I was worried when her fever suddenly increased. If it gets worse, he who lives alone can not be helped by anyone. A message came from Mother who said that she would stay at work today as well, so it's okay if I'm not home, right …?

Since I don't have the keys to Aoyagi's house, if I have to go home, Aoyagi's house will become careless with the door open. Therefore, this is a reasonable response.

――I made excuses for someone who was invisible and decided to do what action came to my mind.

First of all, I brought a mattress for Emma from our apartment house and laid Emma in a separate room to keep the cold from spreading. Then, I wrapped the towel around the ice pillow I brought from home and carefully placed it under Aoyagi's head so as not to wake her up.

In addition, I put a cooling patch on her forehead to bring down the fever so she can recover as quickly as possible. After that, I plan to wait by his side until he wakes up.

…It's weird. Although it had only been a few days since I met him, I was unable to leave him. Plus, being around him made me feel relieved. Aoyagi is a mysterious person.

… Maybe that's why. What the hell am I thinking?

“Aoyagi-kun. I respect your decision. However, if you have a hard time, I can't hold back forever.I turned out to be very selfish, you know? "

The good thing was that he couldn't hear my voice while he was sleeping, so I could express my thoughts with words.

......................