142-Mari's destination ②




 Mari was looking at Yuto's back and remembering the lunch break.
 At the point when Yuto said that he had something to talk about with a serious look on his face, the content of the conversation was predictable, and when he invited her to the rooftop where such and such had happened all the way now, it turned into a certainty.

 At that time........today at lunchtime, Mari was indeed inside the rooftop doorway.
 She left Yuto and the others at noon and went to lunch with the ladies, and afterwards, Mari, who was curious about Yuto, finished her lunch early for an appropriate reason and looked for Yuto and the others where they were.
 And while she was looking for Yuto and the others, she asked a student who happened to talk to her where Yuto and Mizuho were, and she was told that she saw them heading towards the roof.
 He said he had something to do with the student council, so why were they on the roof? When she thought about it, Mari couldn't stay and couldn't stand, so she immediately headed to the roof.
 Mari arrived at the rooftop, grabbed the knob of the door, and her eyes widened at the talking voice coming from outside the door.
 Because the content of the story was something like a curse or a curse.
 Mari at this time........

(Hello! (These young ladies who are friends of Yuto...........Yuto's chuuninu mate!

 And then he thinks, and breaks down at the door.
 And they're discussing it seriously.
 She was also surprised to see Ichigo and Nina with her at this time.

 But Mari saw something unbelievable right after this, or rather, she sees it.
 It was Yuto saying, "Be careful everyone! That's when I shouted loudly.
 At first I thought he had noticed my presence, but there was no sign of that.
 What in the world was going on, Mari wondered? And the door was opened........by millimeters.
 There, we see Yuto and the others being attacked by a large adult wearing a bizarre mask.
 Moreover, even from the amateur Mari's point of view, she can see that the other party is abnormal, and unusual, people.
 Their unrealistic appearance, their speed, and the fact that they suddenly appeared in the air, it was........................It could be said that it completely overturned the common sense that I had.

 And most of all........it was Yuto.

 Yuto and the others calmly, instantly, and completely defeated this enemy, which looked like a monster to these Marri, in a calm, instantaneous, and complete manner.
 While Mizuho and Marion's magical skills surprised her, Mari could see that it was Yuto who had played a central role in the victory of this battle.
 At this time, Mari couldn't move as much as she wanted to, as her body trembled with an unearned fear.
 Then.........Mari remembered.
 
 And I understood.

 That was.........a true story with no falsehoods.......

 
 And Mari listened to the conversations of Yuto and the others that could be heard from outside without power.
 From that, it is clear that that Mizuho and Marion are the same kind of people as Yuto.

(The same.........kind of people. I can understand that weird job that Yuto said was a part-time job, and that I know these beautiful people...)

 And ... now Mari remembered what Yuto and Ichigo had talked about on the park bench.
 Thinking back, at that time, Yuto had said that when he used his power, he could be forgotten by the people around him.
 At that time, I had been pissed off at what Mari was talking about like a cartoon, as I had never forgotten Yuto before.

 But now it was different.
 This unrealistic situation and seeing Yuto made it natural for her to accept that which Yuto had said.
 
 Mari had seen people other than herself often become suddenly distant to the Yuto. She remembered the discomfort, but Mari hadn't even thought deeply about this at the time.
 Even though Ichigo had been so concerned about it that he had apologized to Yuto.

 Tears poured from Mari's eyes and rolled down her cheeks, falling onto her lap.
 It wasn't that she cried because of the loneliness and guilt that she thought she was the closest to Yuto..............but because she felt lonely and guilty that she hadn't known or noticed Yuto.
 No, there was that too.
 But now Mari thought about this world that she had experienced so far, this world from Yuto's........from Yuto's point of view.
 It was.........

 Wasn't Yujin lonely? And.

(If only I'd realized this myself sooner... or at least believed it when Yuto told me...)

 Shouldn't I be the one who knows best that Yuto isn't the kind of person who would lie to people when talking to them face to face?
 
 That's natural, and you wouldn't be able to blame others for that.
 But it's different.
 For Mari, it's different.
 Because for Mari, that is what Masato was to her.
 No matter what anyone else said, that was the Yuto that Mari knew.
 Why is it that I........

 The reason why Mari and Yuto became the relationship they are in now is related to a certain thought within Mari.
 Mari thought that the Yuto she knew was a better person to be appreciated by those around her.
 And that thought was too strong.
 Therefore, she couldn't help but dislike or forgive the fact that Yuto himself was accepting the low opinion of the people around him.
 The Yuto he knew, the Yuto in Mari's mind was not that kind of man.
 That's why it annoyed her when she saw Yuto's drawl or lack of confidence in his attitude.
 In other words, it was Mari who had the highest regard for Masato. That might have been a matter of favoritism.
 But for Mari, it was the truth. Although it was too embarrassing to say it out loud or to clamor about it myself, it was impossible to do so.
 And........this was also the reason why this girl, who held Yuto in the highest regard, was the hardest on him.
 Maybe it was selfishness. And it may have been immature.
 But to Yuto, only to Yuto, I feel this way................That was the girl called Mari Shirasawa.

 Now.........Mari can recall many words and attitudes that she has thrown at Yuto up to now.
 She is the one who usually comes down hard on Masato.
 
 Shortly after that, Masato's mother goes missing and he gets sick from heartache, and I only treat him as a student in the same dojo, as a classmate in the same junior high school.

(What I've been doing to Yuto.......I've been hurting him all the time. Without even caring for Yuto's loneliness.......I only put my own thoughts first)

 Mari covers her face with her hands.
 The tears don't stop coming from underneath the hands that cover her face.

(Then I'll be........)

 A tremendous sense of loss coated her mind as Mari remembered the way that Yuto had shown her before, the way he had treated her and the others.
 Unable to stay here any longer, Mari stood up vigorously and ran down the stairs.

 And at this time, Mari had one more thing to think she was supremely stupid.
 
 Throwing himself into that terrifying battle without fear, and that Yuto's face that didn't lose his composure while overwhelming the enemy.

 

 I thought of Masato from the bottom of my heart that he was so cool.

 
 Mari now understands the meaning of her own tears that are still flowing at this moment. Also, the frustration and anxiety she feels for Masato as he gets along with the other girls.
 It was at this moment that Mari understood what the boy, Doudou Yuto, was and is to her.........
 And ironically........at the same time as she knew that......she also felt an equal amount of regret and loss all together.