128. If sincerity and tenderness run counter to each other.

On the third day of the school trip.

In the morning, led by Teacher Akisato and Aoi Aoyama, Class 2-A and Class 2-B headed together toward a nearby mountain stream for a joint outdoor cooking activity.

The other classes were led by different teachers, with their cooking locations varying accordingly.

When Aoi Aoyama openly appeared before the students of Classes A and B, waving and greeting them with a smile, the sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds were completely struck dumb and lost for words.

"Hey! Everyone, long time no see."

"Eh!? Is that really Teacher Aoyama?"

"No way, why is the teacher here?"

Similar exclamations rose one after another. Jingujii Tsuki stood entirely alone at the very back of the students, quietly watching the former teacher's "touching" reunion with her students.

She still seemed to be the Teacher Aoyama of everyone's memories, wearing a gentle and kind smile that hadn't changed by even the slightest fraction.

Jingujii Tsuki remained detached from the students, not saying a single word.

"Teacher Aoyama, have you been doing well since leaving school?"

"So Teacher Aoyama is originally from Kyoto."

Suddenly, a young girl quietly walked over and stopped beside Jingujii Tsuki.

"I thought you'd be angry," she said softly out of nowhere.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I understand you, of course. Even though Tsuki puts on an air of indifference toward everything, I know very well that you certainly didn't want Teacher Aoyama to have anything more to do with us."

"Since you knew, why did you still let her play along as if she hadn't lost her memories?"

There was no reproach in Jingujii Tsuki's tone, as if he had anticipated this development from the very beginning.

"Because I trust you. I believe there must still be circumstances unknown to me between you and Teacher Aoyama. You're just that kind of person."

Jingujii Tsuki turned his head to glance at Sakurakouji Sakura beside him. To this day, the boy could calmly chat with her in public; while many things had changed, there were always some elements that never altered at all.

At that moment, quite a few people in the crowd naturally looked over toward Jingujii Tsuki's direction.

Regarding the argument that had broken out in the boys' room yesterday, not all the boys had been present at the time, and a few had only heard about it from those who were there after the fact.

As for the matter itself, the boys of Class A seemed not to have disclosed it to the others, otherwise the atmosphere right now would have been entirely different.

In the distance, Aoi Aoyama spotted Jingujii Tsuki hiding behind the others and called out his name loudly with a smile.

"Jingujii-kun, come over here for a moment."

"........."

Jingujii Tsuki glanced at Sakurakouji Sakura beside him, but she merely smiled without saying a word.

After a long moment, the boy let out a soft sigh, sounding helplessly resigned: "You always go out of your way to do unnecessary things."

"It's not unnecessary."

"To me, it is."

"I hope Tsuki will think more about himself. That way, both I and the upperclassman can rest easy."

"That phrasing sounds truly bizarre. Are you going to graduate right along with the upperclassman too? You'll be doing well just not to be held back a grade."

"Hmph! You meanie!"

Aoi Aoyama called out Jingujii Tsuki's name once more from afar. Left with no choice, he rubbed the back of his neck and stepped forward somewhat reluctantly.

"Jingujii-kun, you're the student council president, aren't you? Why are you always hiding in the back? Cheer up a bit, you're going to come chop firewood with the teacher in a little while."

This woman actually had the nerve to call herself a teacher.

After explaining a few precautions and assigning tasks to the various groups of students, the students of the two classes were dismissed on the spot. Several girls who had previously been close to her rushed over eagerly to chat with her.

Jingujii Tsuki stood expressionlessly among them, observing the acting skills of this adult female who claimed her mental age was seventeen.

"Eh? Does that mean... um, have Teacher Aoyama and Jingujii-kun never dated?"

Hey, student over there, even if you think you lowered your voice, it came through loud and clear.

"No such thing, though it would be a different story if he had a secret crush on me."

"I heard that," Jingujii Tsuki's voice came from behind her with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Say, Jingujii-kun, is there really nothing between you and Teacher Aoyama?"

Jingujii Tsuki glanced at Aoi Aoyama beside him. The corners of her lips curved into a smile, looking as though she wanted to see how Jingujii Tsuki would answer.

"Teacher Aoyama already said it, didn't she? I have a secret crush on her."

"Really?!" a Class 2-B girl exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course not. If having a crush on a teacher were punishable, our class's Iwasaki would have been expelled long ago. Out of over four hundred high schools in all of Tokyo, not a single one could contain him."

"Hahaha! I don't really understand, but the way you talk is so funny." Jingujii Tsuki's words brought bright, blossoming laughter from the girls.

"Then why were you suspended?"

"Electrocuting fish." The boy lied without missing a beat.

"What is that even? You're the student council president, how could you do such a thing? Seriously hilarious."

"That's why I've stopped electrocuting them now."

"Pfft haha~~ Somehow, Jingujii-kun is different from what I imagined. He's really interesting to talk to, when I remember him as someone who hardly ever speaks."

"I don't have any recollection of ever talking to girls from Class B."

"So everyone was wondering what kind of person you are. Well... mostly because back then, everyone was dying to know about you and Teacher Aoyama."

"And what do you think now?"

"Hmm... You must be really good at talking to girls."

"I owe that to having a face that makes girls willing to talk to me."

"Wuah! You have zero modesty."

Jingujii Tsuki flashed a charming smile, causing the breathing of the surrounding girls to hitch instantly, as if a herd of deer might leap out of the mountain at any moment and leave them completely flustered.

"What about Teacher Aoyama, then? Why did she suddenly leave?"

"This inn is run by my family, and I'm going to be the proprietress in the future."

"She actually came back to inherit the family business!"

"Such an uninspired reason!"

Jingujii Tsuki silently shot Aoi Aoyama a look and chimed in, "Teacher Aoyama, it's about time we got going. Didn't you say we needed to chop firewood?"

"I suppose so... Everyone, let's chat again later."

"Eh~~ I still have so much I want to say to the teacher."

Aoi Aoyama waved to the girls, the smile hanging on her face identical to the past, before leaving together with Jingujii Tsuki to haul firewood.

Once there were no other students around, Aoi Aoyama secretly stuck her tongue out at Jingujii Tsuki with a playful expression.

"How was that? My acting? Flawless, right?"

Hearing this, Jingujii Tsuki glanced at her indifferently without replying.

"So boring."

The boy turned back to look. The girls they had just been chatting with had joined up with other girls again, and these groups were gradually merging with even more students.

Rumors spread far faster than thoughts and possessed the inherent quality of making people deeply believe them.

By lunchtime, the rumors regarding Jingujii Tsuki and Aoi Aoyama had already spread among all dozens of the students.

Jingujii Tsuki knew very well that this was a lie.

It was a lie deliberately constructed for his sake.

If the truth was cruel, then lies must be gentle.

The boy wanted to be as sincere a person as possible, but what if that ran counter to the gentleness spoken of by the world?

In that case, Jingujii Tsuki...

Did not want to be a gentle person.

...

...

"The operation was a huge success."

Sakurakouji Sakura raised both hands, making a "V" sign, her face overflowing with a moving smile. Jingujii Tsuki had wanted to protect this smile of hers countless times, and that feeling hadn't changed even now.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to feel genuinely happy about it.

"Sakura..."

"Hm?"

"Sakura has been acting a bit different lately."

"Oh my?! You noticed? Hehe... Actually, I've been secretly learning how to dress up lately. My hair has grown a bit longer too; look, it's almost reaching my shoulders. I don't know when it'll grow as long as the upperclassman's, though that might interfere with running, so I'm debating whether to cut it off."

Jingujii Tsuki looked at her quietly, listening to her chatter, his gaze fixed upon her as though gazing at a sweet lake.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" he asked.

"......Eh? No, no way, what am I in a hurry for?"

"I can tell."

"........."

"The Sakura of the past, though a bit impatient, would never have done things this way. You must understand what such actions imply."

"Directing every outcome toward something favorable to me, yet someone always has to bear the cost. This time, it wasn't you, and it wasn't me."

Sakurakouji Sakura lightly bit her lip and said slowly, "I know my actions are selfish, and I'm terribly sorry to Teacher Aoyama, but... other than this, I couldn't think of any other way."

"Everything Tsuki has suffered at school is because of that person's affair, isn't it? As long as that matter is erased, Tsuki can live a normal high school life!"

"Does Sakura want to erase it?" the boy suddenly asked.

"Eh?"

"The time we used to date—do you want to turn those memories into something that never existed?"

Sakurakouji Sakura widened her eyes in an instant, instinctively reaching out to grip Jingujii Tsuki's sleeve as if terrified that he would vanish right then and there.

"It's fine, I'm not blaming Sakura. I was just thinking that we don't have the right to make decisions for her. We're both far too cunning."

"......I'm sorry."

"Sakura doesn't need to apologize. On the contrary, I'm the one who should say sorry."

"I took advantage of Sakura's gentleness. Knowing full well you would do this, I didn't stop you."

"I think that if Teacher Aoyama still remembered me, she would surely agree with what you did too. She is just that kind of person."

The girl lowered her delicate head and gave a slight "Mm."

"Sakura is a gentle girl, gentler than anyone I've ever met, which is why your lies are so gentle as well, making me sink into them and unable to pull myself away."

Is there anyone in the world who never lies? Does that mean those who lie are necessarily gentle?

No, that's not how it is.

There are lies in this world that are despairingly cruel, and there are lies gentle enough to give people courage.

Even the exact same lie can be worlds apart depending on the person receiving it.

Even so, Jingujii Tsuki still firmly believed that Sakurakouji Sakura was gentle.

...

...

When night fell, the atmosphere in the Class 2-A boys' room was painfully awkward.

The joyful pillow fight of the first night felt like something imagined out of thin air.

Inside the room, Jingujii Tsuki was sitting in a corner reading a book, while Iwasaki and a few other boys sat on the other side in a circle, all hanging their heads and wondering what to think.

A few other boys, detached from the incident, exchanged glances, managing to look both unconcerned and intensely curious about the gossip.

In short, a thoroughly subtle atmosphere permeated the air.

The first one to find it unbearable was Jingujii Tsuki.

With a soft click, he closed his book, stood up, and prepared to head outside.

"......Jingujii!"

It was Yamashita who spoke out.

Jingujii looked back at him without making a sound.

"Why didn't you tell the truth?"

"The truth? What truth?"

"Why keep playing dumb?"

Jingujii Tsuki shook his head and left the room without a word.

Arriving at the courtyard, the moonlight was enchanting. Jingujii Tsuki sat quietly on the central bench, lost in a daze, until footsteps approached. He glanced at the woman walking toward him and resumed staring up at the moon in the sky.

"Not sleeping in the middle of the night, what are you doing out here acting all deep? Trying to attract someone?" she said with a smile.

"Why did you lie?" the boy asked in a slightly lowered voice, as if draped in a layer of moonlight that wrapped his words within it, hazy and distant.

"Eh? Wasn't it for your sake?"

"I don't mean that. I mean, why pretend to have lost your memories?"

He still didn't look at her, as though some peerless treasure were hidden on the moon above, firmly locking his gaze.

Aoi Aoyama didn't speak; she walked quietly to his side and sat down on the bench.

"When did you notice?"

"From the very beginning. Your movements, habits, gaze—they're all exactly as I remember them. If there were a gap of six or seven years, a person's habits couldn't possibly remain so consistent."

"You remember all that?"

"I said before, I'm smart. Smarter than ordinary people."

"That sounds a bit creepy."

"In fact, it is," Jingujii Tsuki said.

"The traffic accident was real, though. I really did get hit by a car."

"But because your memories conflicted with reality, you chose to pretend you lost your memories... is that it?"

Aoi Aoyama nodded frankly: "Pretty much."

"Though I'm getting a bit tired of pretending now."

"Why?"

"Because I've finally figured it out—this kind of behavior is nothing more than self-deceptive escapism. Thinking that by pretending to have amnesia, I could cut ties with my past self... for someone my age to have thoughts like that, I'm truly pathetic.

"Still, it's not entirely a lie; at least I really don't remember anything about you."

Jingujii Tsuki was left speechless.

"I've heard all about it, you know. Regarding you, it seems you've had a pretty hard time since then."

"It's been all right."

Kidding aside, you've got some nerve. To actually dare—well, I'm hardly one to talk, though I don't remember any of it anyway."

"Do you... not hate me?"

"Hmm... why would I?" Aoi Aoyama looked bewildered.

"You can't be a teacher anymore."

Aoi Aoyama's expression turned to one of realization: "Oh, that? It doesn't matter. To be honest, I didn't want to be a teacher all that much anyway; I just wanted to make a name for myself in Tokyo to prove something, only to end up being completely played by some scumbag.

"Men in Tokyo are truly detestable."

Jingujii Tsuki suddenly didn't know what to say.

Abruptly, Aoi Aoyama turned her head to look at Jingujii Tsuki beside her, the smile on her face gradually fading.

"Compared to that, I can guess a few things. To leave a kid like you behind to shoulder the pain all alone... I really am a terrible adult."

"You don't need to feel that way. I haven't taken it to heart at all, and things certainly haven't reached the point where I need the concern of someone who doesn't even remember."

"You really talk like an old man in a kid's body."

"You always say that."

Hearing this, Aoi Aoyama was momentarily stunned. She stared into the boy's face, struggling to recall memories associated with these features.

"As expected, I can't remember anything at all," she said.

Jingujii Tsuki looked up at the moon overhead, his tone as gentle as water, as though speaking to no one in particular:

"Just trivial memories anyway. A person has to look forward.

You too, and so do I."