My name is Akito Hayama.
This might seem sudden, but I have three childhood friends.
One is Haruno Aisaka, the school idol praised for her beauty and brains, excelling in both academics and sports.
Another is Yuki Hoki, born into a prestigious family and currently the head of the student council.
And finally, there's Maika Mizuno, who has been taking care of me ever since my parents died.
Looking back, I realize how fortunate I am to have such amazing childhood friends.
"Akito, hurry up!"
"What are you dawdling for? You're our slave, remember?"
"That's right, if we take away the only thing you're good for—your dirty feet—then there'd be nothing left of you!"
Lately, they've started to rely on me like this. Even though I'm worthless, it's only when I can be useful to them that I start to feel like I have any value.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for?"
"A slave should only be thinking about us, their masters."
"As punishment for thinking about something else, you’re skipping dinner tonight!"
Looks like I'm going to miss dinner today. Well, I'm really grateful they even feed someone like me...
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
It happened while the four of us were walking along the usual route to school.
"Ah, I'm so tired today."
"Yeah, mostly because taking care of the pig is such hard work."
"Absolutely."
Once again, it seems like I’ve caused them trouble. I need to reflect on that.
"Hmm, I know. How about we go to that new crepe shop today?"
"Hmm, that sounds fun."
"Yuki is a little interested too."
"Alright, it's decided. It's just around the corner, so let’s run there to work up an appetite."
It looks like we're going to a crepe shop today. But seriously, why do girls our age crave sweets so much? And didn’t Maika mention that she gained a bit of weight yesterday? Well, whatever.
"Okay, let’s race to see who gets there first. The last one to arrive has to treat everyone."
"Okay!"
"Got it."
Oh great, there goes my part-time job money again. If I gave it my all, I'd be the fastest, but the last time I won, they scolded me, saying, "Guys should let the ladies go first!" They were the ones who suggested the race, so I don't get why they wanted me to go easy on them... but I guess it’s not my place to say.
"What’s the holdup? Hurry up, pig."
"Yeah, stop dawdling and get moving!"
"If you keep this up, you’ll be the one treating us!"
Looks like they're calling for me. I better hurry. Just as I was about to dash off, I saw a car speeding towards them. Through the car’s window, I could see the driver was asleep.
The car was almost upon them, but they were still chatting away, unaware of the danger. It was only a matter of time before the car would hit them, so I instinctively shoved them out of the way.
I don’t remember what happened after that. I vaguely recall my body being thrown, and my blood splattering on the road, but the sight of them rushing towards me, their faces torn with worry and stained with tears, must have been just an illusion.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
"...An unfamiliar ceiling."
When I opened my eyes, I saw a ceiling I didn’t recognize.
“Akito! You’re awake!”
I turned toward the voice and saw Maika.
“…What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
When I asked, Maika responded in a voice that was on the verge of breaking into sobs.
“Of course, it’s because you’re safe! Wait here, I’ll bring Yuki and Haruno right away!”
Maika stumbled several times as she hurried off to call the other two. But right now, that didn’t matter to me. What did she just say? "Because you’re safe"? As I was lost in thought, the other two started talking to me.
“Akito! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
“Akito! Oh, thank goodness, I’m so relieved…”
They both spoke to me with concern in their voices; it didn’t seem like they were acting.
“Hey, why do you two look so worried?”
“Of course, it’s because you got hit by a car!”
“We were terrified that you might die!”
“Exactly! Why would you even ask that?!”
No, wait… something’s not right.
“Why are you so worried... just because I got hit by a car? You’ve always told me that I’m worthless, that I’m such a filthy existence that it’s unbearable to have me alive, didn’t you?”
“...!”
When I asked them this simple question, the three of them fell silent, biting their lips and looking like they were about to cry.
“Why do you look like you’re about to cry? Are you emotionally unstable?”
“I’m really, really sorry. I know just saying sorry isn’t enough, but I truly am sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? Even if someone as worthless as me died, it wouldn’t matter to you, would it?”
“...! B-but, when the car was about to hit you, you shielded us, didn’t you? Why?”
Wondering why they would ask such a simple question, I answered...
"It's simple. People like you, who have value, are more important to society than someone like me, who is worthless, right? You always say it yourselves, that I’m 'worthless.' So why ask such an obvious question?"
When I answered, their faces visibly turned pale.
"Is that all? If you don’t mind, could you tell me what day it is today?"
"It's the 28th…"
"I see, four days have already passed. I need to go to work and apologize to the manager."
"Y-you’re planning to go to work in that condition?! That’s insane!"
"It may be, but I need to become independent as soon as possible, so I have to earn money."
"I-independent? What do you mean? Tell me!"
"Hmm? Oh, right, I hadn’t mentioned it yet. To avoid burdening Maika any further, I plan to move out of her house and live on my own within the year."
"What! I never thought you were a burden…”
"Hmm, it’s only noon, so I should still be able to make it to work on time."
"W-wait, please, I’m begging you, don’t go!"
Ignoring their pleas, I closed the door of the hospital room and headed to work.
I convinced myself that the sobbing I heard from the room was just my imagination.
Just something I wrote for fun. If it gets a good response, I’ll write a sequel. Throwing stars my way will definitely motivate me!
By the way, there’s no accident compensation or anything like that.
[The End]
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