Episode 130: The Past, Part 1

Chapter 130: The Past, Part 1

「I was lonely too, not being able to see you for five days… Since you’re letting me stay over, I want to feel you close to me, Kazunari-san… Is that so bad?」

A total killer line came flying out from a pouting Sara-san.

When she says it like that, there’s no way I can turn her down.

I mean, I’ve got feelings of wanting to be pampered too.

So, what she was basically saying was an invitation? A request? To sleep together.

It started with a suggestion made in the spirit of a slumber party, saying that if we were going to talk, we should do it while lying down.

It’ll be okay, right? We’re just having a serious talk.

Since Sara-san is just being pure about it, as long as I keep my self-control in check, there shouldn’t be a problem.

「I, I get it. But am I really gonna tell my story while we’re lying down?」

「Yes. If the story’s gonna be long, it’ll be easier for both of us if we’re lying down, right?」

When she said it like there wasn’t any other motive, it actually started to make sense to me.

Since the bed was too small, I pulled out a spare futon and laid it on the carpet.

…Even though I’d agreed to it, looking at the futon on the floor… is this really okay?

I wonder if it’s just my imagination that something feels off.

Sara-san lay down first and patted the space next to her.

「Come on, Kazunari-san, you lie down too.」

Sara-san looks really happy.

If I wimp out now, she’ll definitely be disappointed. I don’t want that, so I don’t really have a choice.

I decided to just take the plunge and let myself be spoiled.

「E, excuse me.」

For some reason those words slipped out, but as I timidly lay down, Sara-san hugged me as if she’d been waiting for this.

Maybe because she just got out of the bath, Sara-san smells amazing.

It’s not the scent of the body soap or shampoo I use. She must’ve had her usual stuff in her bags.

And since she’s in thin pajamas unlike usual, I can really feel her soft sensation when she hugs me.

Since Sara-san doesn’t know what I’ve decided yet, she’s probably trying her best to make it as easy as possible for me to talk, right?

I had a feeling that was the case.

I decided to just tell the story all at once before my resolve could waver even a little bit.

「Sara-san, listen to my story first. This starts from around the time I became a third-year in middle school.」

And finally, I started the story of the past that I’d been avoiding for so long.

Hearing my words, Sara-san slightly loosened her hug around me.

「Yes, I’m listening.」

Then, my mind started vividly remembering those days.

「Kazu-chan…」

When Yuzuha was little, she was shy and a crybaby, and she never left my side.

In my kid heart, I thought I was the one who had to protect her.

「Kazu-chan, I love you!」

It didn’t change even after we started elementary school.

Yuzuha wouldn’t leave me, and because of that, she couldn’t make friends.

She’d look enviously at the girls playing together, but she couldn’t join them. Back then, I didn’t realize she was being bullied in places I didn’t know about.

Beep beep… beep beep…

Click.

I had a nostalgic dream.

That Yuzuha is gone now.

The her of today is…

「Morning, Kazunari.」

「Morning, Yuji.」

About a month had passed since starting third-year middle school.

I’ve finally gotten used to my current classmates, but it’s still a shame my best friend Yuji isn’t in the same class.

There are people I’ve been in the same class with before, and I’ve got friends too.

But Yuji is on a whole different level.

After parting with Yuji, I ran into Yuzuha on the way to the classroom.

Her makeup’s flashy as always.

With her brown hair and a uniform she purposefully wears messily, she’s a total gyaru, and to be blunt, it doesn’t suit her.

She’d be a hundred times cuter if she just acted normal.

Maybe she felt something from me looking at her, because her expression twisted even more, and she gave me a look like she was seeing something gross.

「What? You got a problem?」

She was really cute back in elementary school. Why’d she turn out like this?

「It’s not a problem so much as that hair and makeup are both violations. Just stop it already.」

「Everyone else is doing it, so why do I have to be the only one to stop? More importantly, don’t talk to me with that face. Being lame is contagious, you know?」

I still can’t believe this is the same Yuzuha who used to be so quiet and cute.

I know she ended up like this because she was influenced by everyone around her, but those people are only half-teasing her.

But Yuzuha’s so happy to have people pay attention to her that she’s accepted it.

Since she’d wanted female friends for so long, I can somewhat understand the feeling, but…

「You’re gross, so can you just disappear already?」

「Ah, got it.」

Even while she was being abusive, I believed that one day Yuzuha would find her old self again.

Even if she’s become like this, she’s my childhood friend.

And… it’s because I’m still dragging around the feelings of having liked her.

「Good morning, Yamazaki-kun!」

「Morning, Yamazaki-kun!」

「Hey, hey, Yamazaki-kun!」

Yamazaki, Yamazaki, so noisy.

It’s been like this every morning since I joined this class.

Yamazaki Kazuma.

I don’t know much about him, but according to the girls, he’s done some modeling or something before. He definitely looks the part.

And his parent’s apparently a company president, so maybe because of that, he’s got a strangely large amount of brand-name stuff.

If you ask me, he was a guy who was intensely unlikable and way too flashy. That’s the kind of man he was.

By the way, I often hear bad rumors involving women, but nobody says it out loud because the girls will make fun of you for being a jealous loser.

「Yamazaki-kun, next time…」

The one charging in now is Yuzuha.

It seems she’s serious about Yamazaki, and she’s always blatantly approaching him.

I haven’t heard that she confessed, but there’s no doubt she’s checking the other girls.

The difference in looks between Yamazaki and me is way too huge, and I think Yuzuha’s hated me for a while now.

So I had a faint feeling I should just give up on Yuzuha.

But even so, I intended to have watched over her since long ago, putting my own social life on the back burner.

If the result of that is being hated by Yuzuha for no known reason and having her taken by a guy like that…

Then there’s no salvation, or rather, I’m just too unrewarded.

But even so, it’s not like I could do anything about it.