She Became Distressed After I Stopped Being Restrained and Started Interacting with Others - Chapter 42

“I…”

My words catch in my throat.

I’ve never felt like it was suffocating.

Rather, every time Honoka needs me, I feel relieved.

Because I can feel that I’m loved more than anyone else.

But—

“Honoka, can you truly be happy like this?”

Before I realized it, the words slipped out quietly.

Just as Honoka needs me, I need Honoka too.

But whether that truly brings happiness to Honoka—

I don’t know the answer to that.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

Honoka furrows her brows in confusion.

“Why are you asking that…? I’m fine as long as I have Yuna.”

“But Honoka, you get like this just from me talking to other people.”

“Because that’s…!”

Honoka’s fingers grip my arm even tighter.

“I’m scared that Yuna will stop looking only at me…!”

Honoka’s voice was trembling.

Hearing that, I gasp.

—I understand.

I understand that feeling painfully well.

I didn’t want to give Honoka to anyone else either.

That’s why I restrained her.

I would have done anything to stay together forever.

But was that really the right thing—?

“Hey, Yuna-chan.”

Shiori looks straight at me.

“What do you think will happen if you keep accepting Honoka-san like this?”

“What will happen…?”

“Shiraishi-san’s dependency will only accelerate more and more.”

“…!”

“You understand too, don’t you Yuna-chan? That’s why you tried to create some distance before, right?”

“…”

I gasped.

—That’s right.

When Honoka said she “wanted just a little freedom,” it made me suffer.

But even so, thinking of Honoka’s wellbeing, I decided to create some distance.

However, that didn’t last long.

Neither of us could bear the loneliness, and we quickly returned to how we were before.

—And did we change at all because of it?

“If you only created distance, nothing would change from before.”

Shiori’s words pierce sharply.

“In the end, you just ended up needing each other even more strongly than before, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Just creating distance was meaningless. That’s why this time, you should properly ‘break up.'”

“…”

“‘Breaking up’ doesn’t mean you’ll never be involved with each other again. It means creating time for both of you to calm down and learn to face each other properly.”

Shiori’s voice was calm.

—Was I really making Honoka happy?

“Shiori…”

A hoarse voice escapes me.

Shiori smiled gently.

“Now that you’ve realized, think about it. What is the greatest happiness for Honoka-san?”

Shiori’s words slowly spread through the depths of my heart.

At that moment, Honoka’s hand tightly grips mine.

As if desperately trying to hold onto something that might slip away at any moment—

“—Shut up.”

A low, sharp voice rang out.

I look at Honoka in surprise.

She was glaring at Shiori with an expression mixed with anger and anxiety.

“Don’t say things that make Yuna waver!”

Her voice was clearly tinged with impatience.

“We’re going to stay together like this forever! That’s fine!”

I stare at Honoka’s face.

Her expression was stained with anxiety and impatience.