Episode 36: Friends
Kamijou Yuuto took Mikado Kouki to a family restaurant near Mikado’s house.
It was a weekend lunchtime, and while students and families were enjoying their meals, the atmosphere at the table where the two sat was filled with animosity.
“…Aren’t you going to reconsider? This is just too much.”
Yuuto started before the ordered coffee arrived.
“There’s no point in that question. If you guys refuse, I’ll just drag you down with me.”
Kouki grinned, twisting his lips.
“But if she’s important to you, you can’t do that, right? The rumors will spread quickly, and the photos and information leaked online will never disappear. Ichinose Ayano will be ruined.”
He looked satisfied as Yuuto clenched his fist.
“…In the first place, there shouldn’t have been any need to fixate on Ayano.”
“Ah, well, there were certainly some good-looking upperclassmen, but I had no contact with them. I did consider taming some random, stupid girl to my liking, but that’s just too much trouble, you know? Besides…”
It was a smile devoid of the morality one would expect from a human being.
“When there’s an SSR-Rank girl right in front of me, I can’t help but want her.”
“You…!”
An obvious provocation.
If Yuuto got angry and punched Kouki here, that would be a problem in itself.
Raising his fist would be playing right into his hands.
Yuuto took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles.
Kouki scoffed, looking bored.
“More importantly, is it okay for you to be here? Today is the last day you guys can be lovers, no matter what.”
Yuuto glanced at his hand under the table and sighed softly, as if relieved.
“You’re right. I suddenly feel like seeing her. This was a waste of time.”
Yuuto stood up, took a thousand yen bill from his wallet, and placed it on the table.
“Since we’re here, at least have some coffee.”
“Ah, thank you. I’ll take you up on that. It’s perfect for reading a novel.”
Kouki smirked triumphantly, brandishing the Smartphone he had taken out.
“Well, it’s a website, though. ‘Serves you right’ is so comical. It’s fun to read about everyone except the protagonist falling apart on their own.”
“That’s great. Why don’t you try writing one yourself? You won’t have any trouble finding material.”
At Yuuto’s suggestion, Kouki twisted his expression into a grin.
“Then, I might just give it a try.”
◇
“…And that’s what happened.”
After leaving the family restaurant, Kamijou Yuuto met up with his friend Akimoto Fuyuki at a small nearby park and explained the whole story, along with the video in question.
Taking off the earphone connected to Yuuto’s Smartphone, Fuyuki looked into the distance for a moment, digesting the story in his own way.
“I see, I understand. The handsome guy is guilty.”
“No, that would lead to a lot of false accusations.”
“Ha! So that means I’m also going to be charged…!”
“Fuyu, I’ll take a picture of you.”
“Stop violating my portrait rights! Privacy!”
Yuuto felt his heart lighten considerably from the short, pointless exchange.
“…I’m sorry for calling you out on a Sunday.”
“Don’t worry about it. If my buddy’s in trouble, I’ll rush to his aid.”
Fuyuki showed a smile, but quickly frowned.
“Well, I rushed over here, but what am I supposed to do? A raid? Is my killer punch gonna ignite?”
“Don’t ignite it, you’ll get arrested.”
“Then let’s put a bunch of hardcore, gruesome AVs on Mikado’s doorstep.”
“That’s malicious.”
“But we’ll replace all the contents with homo stuff.”
“That’s heinous!?”
“‘Kouki-chan! You had this kind of hobby! (falsetto)'”
“‘Your Mother is sad!'”
“‘Kouki… you too—as expected of my son! (deep voice)'”
“Dad, are you into that stuff?”
They laughed so hard at the truly ridiculous exchange that tears came to their eyes.
“…I’m really glad you’re my friend.”
Yuuto wiped his eyes and said,
“I didn’t tell you this because I wanted you to do something. Tomorrow, Ayano’s image will be ruined no matter what. So I wanted my best friend to know beforehand. If possible, I want things to stay the same—for us…”
“Don’t underestimate me, you bastard! Grit your teeth!”
Fuyuki’s weak fist gently touched Yuuto’s cheek with a soft pon.
“Yo, did you wake up…!”
It was a line straight out of a delinquent movie where they fight on a sunset beach.
“I feel like taking a nap right now.”
“Can you stay awake?”
Fuyuki pulled back his fist and shrugged.
“Well, I kind of knew that Ichinose was putting on an act. I haven’t talked to Ichinose properly since that day when we were kids, but we were always together back then. I couldn’t help but notice how much she’s changed.”
“She didn’t mean to—”
“I know she wasn’t trying to deceive everyone and become popular. Mizuhara is probably the same way. She’s the most attached to Ichinose.”
Yuuto looked apologetic, and his best friend grinned innocently and proudly.
“I hope that’s the case.”
“If you’re worried, ask her. They’re probably talking about it right now, right?”
Urged on, Yuuto hesitated slightly before calling his beloved girlfriend’s number.
◇
“…And that’s what happened.”
Ichinose Ayano was in her friend Mizuhara Kaori’s room, explaining the whole story and the lies she had told, along with the video copied from her boyfriend’s Smartphone.
Silence filled the girlish and lively room, decorated with cute Plushies and posters of handsome idols.
“Haa…”
Ayano’s shoulders trembled at Kaori’s sigh.
What would she say? They had been friends since middle school.
She had never shown her true self before. It wasn’t that everything about her was a lie. Ayano had been friends with Kaori, and there was no lie in that.
But from the perspective of someone who had been lied to, it wouldn’t feel good.
It would be painful to be criticized by her always cheerful friend, but she wanted to tell her best friend from her own mouth, at least.
Kaori took a deep breath and said,
“So, the handsome guy is guilty, huh!”
She declared with a strangely convinced and serious face.
“…Eh?”
Kaori, with her usual tone, said to Ayano, who had widened her eyes,
“Because this is just a threat. Isn’t it kinda serious? Well—? That Ayano-n was watching ‘shallow guys’ is surprising, but—? Yeah… you just wanted to fool around with Kamijou, right? You even promised to marry him.”
“F-Fool around… I didn’t—”
“If you’ve told me this much, why don’t you just be honest?”
“…I wanted to fool around.”
“Oh my, are you the embodiment of cuteness? Your true self is so angelic.”
Kaori muttered to Ayano, who was blushing and looking down.
Then, she let out a weak laugh.
“Well, if we’re talking about lies… I’m kind of the same.”
She said with a wry smile,
“I told you that I was in a different prefecture when I was in elementary school, right? Actually, I was really gloomy back then. I was the type to always read books in the corner of the classroom. Because of that, I was bullied.”
Ayano was surprised to hear her say that.
“When I was about to enter middle school, my parents moved here, and since no one knew me, I decided to change my personality. It was pretty tough, but I thought I couldn’t stay the same as I was in elementary school.”
She smiled shyly and apologetically.
“When I first met Ayano, I somehow knew. ‘Ah, this girl is also forcing herself,’ I thought. But Ayano was surrounded by people from the beginning, and I thought that if I could become friends with her, I might be able to change myself.”
She laughed awkwardly.
“I’m sorry for being a nuisance, having ulterior motives. While calling myself a friend, I didn’t realize that Ayano was seriously in love with Kamijou. We don’t know much about each other, but—”
Mizuhara Kaori thought from the bottom of her heart.
“If Ayano is okay with it, I want to be real friends from now on.”
“I want to be friends with Mizuhara-san too.”
Kaori smiled brightly at Ayano, who was wiping her eyes.
“Then, call me by my name. First name, please.”
Responding to her eager expectations, Ayano mustered a little courage.
“—Kaori, will you be my friend?”
“Oh my god, so cute. I want to go out with Ayano. Or rather, I want to steal her.”
“I said friends, right?”
“Friends with benefits is fine too.”
“I’m not looking for that kind of friend!”
She felt like she was able to have a conversation without any reservations for the first time.
“Were you really gloomy in the past?”
“I’m like this now because of the reaction to being gloomy.”
Kaori smiled loosely and said,
“By the way, Ayano.”
“What is it, Kaori?”
“Is it true that your boobs are small?”
Ayano felt her cheeks twitch.
She wanted to teach her friend the saying, “Keep a hedge between yourself and your friend.”
Well… she was still faking her chest size (E-cup), so her question was understandable.
“…I’m at least a B-cup.”
With that answer, while hiding her chest with her arms, Kaori edged closer and closer.
She was being eyed up and down.
“W-What is it…?”
“Ayano-non’s height with small breasts—it’s kinda hot, actually. I want to see it in person.”
“Hey, wait? That’s kinda scary… Kaori? Are you serious?”
“It’s okay. I’m a girl too, so there’s no need to be shy, okay? I’ll show you my natural D-cups too, alright?”
“Not ‘alright’! That look in your eyes is seriously scary!?”
“Hehehe~”
“W-Wait a sec! —Hey, hold on!? Don’t actually put your hand inside my clothes!”
Just as Kaori pushed her down, and she was feeling a genuine crisis of virginity, Ayano’s smartphone rang like a lifeline.
◇
After a few seconds of electronic ringing,
“—H-Hello… Yuto?”
Ichinose Ayano’s voice came from Kamijou Yuuto’s smartphone.
However, her voice sounded strangely tired.
“…Are you okay?”
“Yeah… Well, a lot happened, but I’m fine. I was able to talk to Kaori properly.”
“I see, that’s good.”
With that one sentence from her, the fidgety feeling all over his body disappeared, and he felt relieved.
Looking at Fuyuki’s face, he shrugged as if to say, “Didn’t I tell you?”
“So… is everything okay on your end?”
“Yeah, I talked to Fuyuki here too. It seems like it was just needless worry after all.”
But, he added,
“In the end, my Older sister won’t tell me what happened on her end. Yesterday, she just told me to leave it to her, but I don’t know what she did… Anyway, that guy’s brother seems to have—somehow defected to our side.”
“Defected… what do you mean?”
“I don’t know. But, don’t worry, he said.”
“Well, if that person says so, it’s probably alright.”
Yuuto could tell that Ayano had a small smile on her face over the phone, and his cheeks relaxed as well.
“Aah~, ahem! Could you two lovebirds do that somewhere else, please? It’s poison to the eyes of us single folks, you lovey-dovey couple.”
“No, we weren’t exactly being lovey-dovey…”
“Hmm?”
He turned his back on his smirking friend, moved the smartphone away, and cleared his throat.
“—Sorry. So, are you going to stay there for a while longer?”
“Hmm,” she paused for a moment,
“If Yuto’s going home, I’ll go home too. Somehow… after hearing your voice, I wanted to see you.”
While feeling happy about those words, he heard shouts of “She chose her boyfriend over friendship!” in the distance and gave a wry smile.
“I want to see you too, but I have somewhere to stop by, so I’ll come pick you up later.”
“Somewhere to stop by… where?”
His girlfriend’s voice sounded dubious,
“I was thinking of going to buy something I couldn’t prepare yesterday. I want to give it to you as soon as possible if I can.”
“Yesterday’s…? —Ah.”
She seemed to have realized something from that answer.
“Is it okay if I make a detour?”
“A-Ah, no… well—it’s okay, but it’s okay though! Don’t push yourself too hard! It’s the thought that counts, or something like that!”
“I’d appreciate it if you could lower the bar a bit. Well then, I’ll be off.”
“…Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
Yuuto was about to end the call but stopped himself.
“Ayano.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
It sounded like she choked on something over there.
“Seriously! Don’t just drop that on me out of nowhere!?”
“Well, I thought I’d get you used to it.”
“…The fact that you’re not saying that as a joke, though.”
“It’s not something you can say as a joke.”
Ayano, who was making a dissatisfied noise, said in a desperate tone,
“I love you too… idiot!”
She shouted and hung up.
Yuuto felt affection even for the tasteless electronic beeping, but then a cold gaze pierced his back.
“…Just how was that not ‘being lovey-dovey’? Mr. Yuuto.”
“…………”
“Don’t avert your eyes, you lovey-dovey couple. Have some consideration for others.”
Fuyuki shrugged, feeling exasperated by Yuuto’s dry laugh of evasion.
“Well, no matter what happens, we’re still your buddies. Once everything’s settled, let’s go to Karaoke or something. If it’s just us, you guys won’t have to hold back, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Kamijou Yuuto felt from the bottom of his heart that he was lucky to have them as friends.
That’s why,
“—Well then, time to brace myself for various things.”