Protagonist Nature

Although there was a bit of back-and-forth at the entrance, in the end, Kirari forcefully entered Ryoma's house, settling the matter.

"Leaving me out here in the cold, Ryu-kun, you're the worst."

"Tch. I already told you I'm not in the mood to talk..."

His words were rougher than usual. He seemed irritated, but his resistance had weakened compared to earlier.

In other words, Ryoma was showing some interest.

(You want to know about us and Ko-kun.)

Carefully observing Ryoma's demeanor, she entered his room. Until a few months ago, she used to play in this room every day.

Along with Azusa and Yuzuki, they had competed for Ryoma's attention.

...Thinking back on it now, they had led a peculiar daily life—Kirari reflected.

(Why did I try so hard to please Ryu-kun?)

It was as if she had forgotten herself. But it was different now.

Even when she entered the room, she could still maintain her sense of self.

(Why did I think Ryu-kun was so cool?)

In Ryoma's room, she sat on the bed that had always been Kirari's spot.

On the other hand, Ryoma stood there, not making an attempt to sit.

His expression was no longer brimming with confidence as it once was. Instead, it was contorted by anger, and it couldn't be described as "cool" in any way.

He just looked scary.

For an ordinary girl, it would be impossible to stare directly into Ryoma's face.

"...Do you want to mock me too?"

Then, he suddenly uttered words that sounded like paranoid delusions.

"Did you come here to ridicule me like Nakayama? To make fun of me for losing my childhood friend and replacing her with 'hand-me-downs' in return?"

It was a terrible thing to say.

Kirari understood that she was being referred to as a 'hand-me-down', and she let out a deep sigh.

"Huh... You're really fixated on such pointless things."

She muttered softly.

It used to be the kind of whisper that the old Ryoma would have asked, "Huh? What did you say?" but it seemed to reach him now.

"Pointless? What do you mean... It's not pointless at all, right? Azusa is his stepsister, you were his best friend, and Yuzuki was his childhood friend, right? There's nothing pointless about it!"

And Kirari was well aware of the absurdity in his response.

(It's strange... The old me would have apologized right away if he said something like that.)

Anyway, it was crucial not to make Ryoma dislike her.

If she were scolded, she would apologize immediately, even cry and flatter him to please him.

But she couldn't bring herself to do that now.

Because even if she affirmed something that was wrong, it wouldn't solve anything.

For instance, even if Kirari apologized to Ryoma right now... Kirari would never be loved by him, and she would never love him in return.

If affirming and being loved were the same thing, there would have been many opportunities for that to happen before. But she still wasn't loved.

In other words, those actions were "pointless."

"That's why I'm saying it's all pointless."

So, Kirari, in a departure from her usual behavior, argued back.

"Do you really care about our past relationships? Whether we're step-siblings, friends, or childhood friends... Who cares about that? Look at 'us' right now."

In the end, it came down to this.

"At the very least, between Ko-kun and me, it was just a 'friendship'. Yet you called me a 'hand-me-down,' right? You made it sound like I used to be his, as if I were some possession from before."

—Don't treat me like an object.

—Asakura Kirari was not a decoration for men.

—She was a real person with feelings, so don't ignore that.

To convey these messages, Kirari 'rejected' Ryoma.

...Ryusaki Ryoma was no longer a person who could be fully affirmed.

Everything had been managed through convenience until now.

But now, nothing was going well.

In other words, Ryusaki Ryoma had lost his "protagonist nature"...

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