After My First Love Who is My Classmate Became My Family, My Childhood Friend Became Really Sweet to Me - Chapter 14

The Desire to Help and Spoil Others/Album of Memories/What I Always Wanted to Ask

Just in time for dinner, Hinata and Tsukino finished cooking.

Tsukino made meat and potatoes as she said before, whereas Hinata made salmon meunière and egg soup. It’s quite an unusual menu, we are having Japanese, Western, and Chinese dish at the same time.

According to Hinata, ‘If there are more varieties of food you can make, you’ll be interested in the food that goes well with them. So learning how to cook will be more fun that way’. She is clearly a cooking fanatic.

Tsukino nervously asks Hinata who is putting the meat and potatoes in her mouth.

“How is it?”

“—it’s delicious. It tastes and looks great, it’s a classic meat and potatoes. It’s amazing that you can make this for someone who just started cooking, Tsukino-chan.”

“…i-is that so? I’m glad to hear that.”

“You’ve certainly improved since the last time I ate it. Tsukino, you’ve been practicing very hard all this time.”

“…well, I wanted Yuto to say it tastes good.”

Tsukino turned her head in embarrassment. I wonder why…

Hinata looks at Tsukino with somewhat melancholy eyes.

But it was only for a brief moment, Hinata is already back to her usual expression.

“But I can’t beat sensei. She made two dishes in no time just with the ingredients in the fridge.”

“Well I cook for Yuto every day. At least I should be able to do this much.”

“As expected of sensei, please teach me more from now on.”

“Ehehehe, sure Tsukino-chan.”

I can understand why Tsukino respects Hinata very much. Even for someone like me who only cooks when I have to, I know how good Hinata is at cooking.

The salmon meunière was exquisitely cooked and the texture is perfectly fluffy, even though I eat Hinata’s cooking every day, I can’t help but to be impressed at her cooking skills. Even Tsukino who isn’t really interested in food, is enjoying her first Hinata dish. Her eyes are sparkling as she continues to eat with her chopsticks.

“Ah… Tsukino-chan, can you stay still?”

“…?”

Hinata wipes Tsukino’s mouth with a tissue as Tsukino makes a dumbfounded face. Hinata nods in satisfaction.

“Yes there, got it. Tsukino did you realize there are some meunière sauce on your cheek?”

“…I feel kind of embarrassed. If you told me, I could’ve wiped it myself.”

“I know it’s strange, but I had the urge to wipe it from Tsukino-chan’s cheek myself! I don’t know how to explain it, it’s similar to the urge to pet a puppy.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

I had no idea that there is someone so close to me who felt the same way as I do.

I’ve been thinking it for a while, perhaps Hinata and Tsukino is a perfect match.

Hinata who wants to do anything for Tsukino, and Tsukino who always want to be pampered. There is no other duo with such a great chemistry.

“On top of it, Tsukino-chan is very cute. It makes me want to take care of her.”

“Really? …I don’t mind if Hinata-san say that to me.”

Tsukino has an expressionless, but embarrassed face.

“But I already have a caretaker, right Yuto?”

“…well, I guess so. Although it’s embarrassing to say it in front of Hinata.”

I have no intention of denying it, I’m the one who takes care of Tsukino more than anyone else.

“…Tsukino you really get along well with Yuto.”

“Well, we’re neighbours and childhood friends after all. If you like, you can take a look at pictures of Yuto when he was little. We’ve been together since kindergarten, so we have a lot of pictures.”

“No, that’s a bit…!”

“I would love to, Tsukino-chan!”

I can’t complain anything with Hinata’s strong words. Even though she is still eating, Tsukino gets up from her seat and leaves for her room.

“Wait a minute! Are you really doing this!? Hinata looking at pictures of me when I was little is like a punishment for me…!”

“B-But we already became a family, right? As an older sister, I think I should know how much my little brother has grown!”

What kind of logic is that!?

After a while, Tsukino returned with an old album in her arms. Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this.

“This was when we were still in kindergarten. Yuto and I went to the same kindergarten.”

“Wow, how cute! You have a foreigner-like atmosphere since you were little Tsukino. Then what about Yuto… Eh, this little boy is yuto!? Ehh, I see…”

Umm, I’m embarrassed if you look at my photo that closely Hinata.

I look at it from the side, I knew this is going to be bad. Apparently, the next page is photos from our middle school days. Next to Tsukino who looked like a western doll, was me smiling innocently.

“This was when Yuto and I went to see a hero show. When the monster caught me and brought me to the stage, Yuto got serious and tried to save me before the heroes came.”

“Ehehehe, that’s so typical of Yuto.”

I want to disappear… I want to disappear from this world…

But I remember that day very well. Since Tsukino is a little girl, she isn’t good at expressing her emotions. Even when she was caught by that monster, she had no expression on her face at all. I remember the monster was confused looking at the expressionless Tsukino.

Every time Hinata turned the page, there are pictures me and Tsukino when we were little. Field trip day, Christmas party, birthday party. Tsukino is always next to me and I’m always next to Tsukino.

We are always together since we’re little.

Eventually, the middle school album ends with a graduation photo… but there is a section titled ‘Who I want to be in the future’ on the last page. Apparently, when we graduated from middle school, Tsukino wrote her dream for the future.

It says,

‘—Yuto’s wife’

“…eh?”

Me, Hinata, and even Tsukino are looking at that sentence with a blank stare.

Eventually, the silence is broken by Tsukino who clasped her hand together.

“I remember now. I wrote this, didn’t I? My sister asked me what I wanted to be in the future, so I just wrote what I wanted to be most.”

“S-So, you want to be my wife?”

“Yes, it is my dream.”

Tsukino answered with her usual expressionless face.

Ah, I see. Even since then, Tsukino has fallen in love with me.

“—!!! W-Well, that’s what I thought…”

Oh no, I can feel something hot is rising up my chest.

It’s Tsukino’s fault. She said it is her dream to marry me. She said it with such an expressionless face.

“Tsukino-chan, you really love Yuto since you were little, haven’t you?”

Turning around, Hinata is looking at Tsukino with a calm expression.

“Yeah, we’ve always been together since we’re little.”

“…I envy you, Tsukino-chan. You have someone you like and you can clearly say that you like him right in front of him.”

“…Hinata?”

Hinata seems sad as she looks down at Tsukino’s album.

Eventually, Hinata looks up. Hinata has a determined expression on her face.

“Oh, you know what! There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you Tsukino-chan! …about an event called ‘Confession of the Holy Night’ at the Holy Night Festival.”