After Being Betrayed by My Girlfriend, I Kiss Her Little Sister - Chapter 23

Determination and Makeover (1)

The next morning—

I wake up beside Hina as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and as usual, we eat breakfast together. When I glance at Hina as she sips her miso soup, I recall what happened last night. We made a promise.

I still don’t know why she suddenly brought it up.

But no matter what happens, I will believe in Hina.

Yes, that’s right, I will believe in Hina no matter what. Right now, that’s all I can do.

“I’m going to change into my uniform, so wait for me in the living room…!”

“Alright.”

While Hina gets changed, I sit on the sofa, scrolling through my phone.

It has been a while since I’ve had this kind of quiet moment to myself.

Also, the difference between when Hina is here and when she isn’t is amazing. Just having her in the same space changes the whole atmosphere.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah, let’s go—”

“What’s wrong, Kanata?”

“Hina, isn’t your skirt a little too short? You’ll catch a cold.’

“Eh? W-Where are you looking at…! Kanata, you pervert!”

“Eh…?”

“B-Besides, I’m wearing tights, so I won’t catch a cold! But…if I do, that just means you’ll have to stay by my side all day, so that’s not so bad either.”

“I’ll run away at full speed before I catch a cold too.”

“Why~ You pervert!”

Even though she said she won’t catch a cold, she looks cold, so I casually wrap my scarf around her.

As I’m doing so, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror behind Hina.

Come to think of it…my hair’s gotten pretty long. I didn’t even notice.

“T-Thanks…Kanata.”

“Then, shall we go?”

“Yeah!’

When we arrive at the classroom, I can feel our classmates’ stares again.

But I’m not afraid anymore.

I can just ignore their gazes, because…Hina is here with me.

“We have P.E. in the first period…!?”

“Yeah, why? Ah…right, you’re not good at sports.”

“I’m not good at running, volleyball, badminton, and basically everything. It’s going to be hell…”

“Why are you so worried? I’m here, am I not? Just like before, I’ll help you out.”

“Yeah!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the two of them changed into their gym uniforms and leave the classroom, Umi taps Fuyuko on the shoulder with a smile on her face.

“I’ll leave it to you~”

With that, Umi leaves the classroom, while Fuyuko quietly watches her retreating figure.

……

“K-Kanata…! Is this how you serve in volleyball…?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m going to try it. Watch me!”

“Okay.”

A volleyball serve isn’t that difficult. You just toss the ball up and hit it.

That’s right, just hit it.

But why is she closing her eyes when she swings!? With a soft ‘pon’ sound, the ball lands perfectly on Hina’s head.

“Ouchh…”

“Pfft—”

“Y-You just laughed, didn’t you, Kanata!?”

“N-No, I-I didn’t! I didn’t!”

“Liar…! I heard it clearly!”

“I-I wasn’t laughing…”

“Look me in the eyes…that’s the face of someone who is lying, you know…? Fufufu.”

As the two of them are playfully bickering with each other, their classmates are watching them from a distance.

Meanwhile, Umi secretly clicks her tongue.

“Let’s try again! Here!”

“Here I go!”

“Yeah!”

Just when I think that Hina is going to hit the ball this time since she is keeping her eyes on the ball, another soft ‘pon’ sound can be heard and the ball once again lands on Hina’s head perfectly.

Wait, so she remembered to keep her eyes on the ball but forgot to hit it!? I subtly avert my gaze from her.

This is bad…if I laugh here, she’ll get mad at me again.

“What am I doing wrong…? I just can’t get it right…”

“Don’t worry, Hina. You’ll get it next time.”

“Yeah…”

In the end, Hina isn’t able to land a single serve.

How though…!?

“Ah, Kanata! I’m going go to the restroom, so you can head back to the classroom first.”

“Okay.”

School life is completely different when you have a friend…

Ever since Hina transferred here, I’ve finally been able to live a normal school life. I’m truly grateful. Hina…thanks—

“…phew.”

As I sit down at my desk, I notice something in the trash can.

Since my seat is in the very back, I notice it right away.

Huh…? Why are Hina’s blouse and blazer in the trash? Who the hell did this…? I can’t just leave them here, so I quickly take out Hina’s uniform out of the trash.

Seriously? Someone even dumped orange juice on top of it.

There’s no way she can wear this now…

“What are you doing, Miyauchi-kun?”

“Eh?”

“That’s…Mitsuki’s uniform, isn’t it? Why are you…pulling it out of the trash?”

A group of classmates start gathering around me.

Don’t they have anything better to do? And why are they looking at me like that? I didn’t do this, but once again, they’re acting like I’m the obvious culprit. Among them, I notice Saito and his friends, who has come by to hang around.

This is not a good situation.

“Hahaha, Kanata…did you throw the transfer student’s uniform in the trash this time?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I just found it in there! Saito!”

“Ehh, but you’re the only one here, right? That’s pretty suspicious, don’t you think?”

Again with this? Is he actually enjoying this?

“What are you all doing? Why are you all gathered around here?”

Hina tilts her head in confusion while Kazuma chuckles in front of her.

“Ah, transfer student! Look~ Your uniform has turned into a filthy rag. What are you going to do~? Ahh, ahh~ Miyauchi has done it again.”

“……”

Then, Saito and his friends suddenly got carried away. They gradually raise their voices and start blaming me just like before.

Seriously, this is really annoying…

“Hina…”

“Yeah, I know. I know you didn’t do it, Kanata. It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

So, we just ignore them.

“We were just in PE, so you must be sweaty, right?”

“W-Wait…”

“Hina, I’ll lend you my uniform. You can wear this today.”

“A-Are you sure? What about you, Kanata?”

“I’m fine, I’ve got my jersey.”

“Hehe…thanks. Then, I’ll get changed right away—”

“Ahh~ Ahh~ So that’s your intention all along, huh!? Miyauchi! You are planning to use that as jerking material, aren’t you? Nice, getting off on the scent of a cute girl! Hahaha! But you know, I’d rather do something else with Hina-chan~.”

Suddenly, one of the guys that we have been ignoring starts shouting.

“Hah?”

“Hina-chan, you’re really cute! Hey, I’ll lend you mine! I want to smell a cute girl’s scent too~.”

“Hey, you—!”

“I’m not talking to you, Miyauchi. Anyway, instead of being with this cheater, how about dating me instead, Hina-chan?”

“Hah…”

Now he’s saying this kind of crap to Hina.

I wish he’d cut it out already, but maybe words alone aren’t enough for him to understand.

Could he be the one who messed with Hina’s uniform…?

“Hey, Hina-chan! Instead of wearing that dirty uniform, why don’t you take mine—”

There is no time to think about that now…

The moment I see that filthy hand touches Hina’s shoulder—I can’t hold myself back anymore and immediately grab his wrist.

My mind goes completely blank.

It’s just like that time.

“Hah? Did you just grab my wrist, Miyauchi Kanata?”

“……”

“……!”

This asshole…

“Let go— Agh! It hurts! It hurts!!! Aaaah…!!!”

“Hmm? What? I can’t hear you…why don’t you speak up like you did earlier?”

“It’s gonna break…! It’s gonna break!!! Let go! Please, let go…!!”

How much longer do I have to put up with this ridiculous situation?

No—this is all my fault. From the very beginning…I should have done this.

“Let go!!! M-Miyauchi…! It hurts!!! Please! Let me go!”

“What did you just say to Hina…? Are you out of your mind?”

“It hurts…! Let go…p-please, Miyauchi!”

As soon as I let go of his wrist, he collapses onto the floor.

I let out a sigh. Pathetic.

I just can’t forgive him…

Without hesitation, I slam my fist into the storage locker beside me. A deafening crash echoes throughout the classroom, silencing everyone around us.

“Hey, I don’t care who you are…but if you ever lay a hand on Hina again, if you ever say something like that to her again…next time, I’ll kill you on the spot.”

“…hah? Y-You…”

He feels fear when he sees Kanata’s demeanour is completely different from before.

For the first time, he looks genuinely terrified. He can sense murder in Kanata’s eyes, he might actually be killed.

His wrist, the one that Kanata grabbed is bright red.

“Apologize.”

“I-I’m sorry…Miyauchi, I was wrong…and t-to the transfer student, too…”

“If you understand, get back to your class, you piece of trash.”

“Y-Yeah…”

I’m sorry, Mom…

But Hina is here with me. I have to protect her.

“……”

“K-Kanata! I’ll hurry and change before the bell rings!”

“Yeah…”

“Thanks for the uniform!”

“……”

After Hina leaves the classroom, I raise my voice to shout at the whole class.

I can’t hold myself back anymore.

“How long are you all going to be swayed by this scumbag’s words? Pathetic.”

“Hah? You talking about me, Kanata?”

“Yeah. Is there any other scumbag here besides you, Kazuma Saito?”

“……”

“Go ahead, say something about me ‘cheating’ again. Ah, but I guess everyone here is dumb enough to just go along with whatever you say. That’s right, why don’t you tell everyone that you were with Umi when she was dating me? You don’t even know the reason why I broke up with Umi, don’t you?”

“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You really thought I didn’t know what you and Umi said at that family restaurant?”

“…got any evidence?”

“Evidence? Think about where that photo of me and Hina was taken.”

The rest of the classmates are whispering among themselves.

Now, all of their eyes are on Saito.

“……”

“I’ve been holding back this whole time, trying to avoid causing trouble, but I can’t take it anymore. If you or anyone else lays a hand on Hina again or spread any more weird rumours about her…I’ll tell all of our classmates what you did with Umi. I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine.”

It’s a gamble. It’s all or nothing.

If I let them control the situation again here…it will be the end of it.

And Umi…you were the worst human being back then, and you still are now.