Fallen from the Top Group Due to Cheating and False Accusations. The Only One Who Stood by Me Was My Little Sister’s Best Friend, Who Had Always Adored Me. - Chapter 6: The Changed Object of My Affection (Yuuka’s POV ①).

Chapter 6: The Changed Object of My Affection (Yuuka’s POV ①).

As I pressed the familiar intercom of the single-family house, I wondered for the umpteenth time just how many times I had visited.

Aside from my own home, there was no doubt this was the place I knew best. Lately, it had even started to feel like my second home. But today, the reason for my visit was completely different from usual.

Normally, I would come here under the pretense of being the friend of Rindou Sayu, my best friend since elementary school. However, I knew that Sayu—who attended one of the prefecture’s top advanced high schools—was still in class at this hour and wouldn’t be back for at least another two hours. Coming here with that knowledge made me feel just a little bit sneaky.

Yes. The person I wanted to see right now wasn’t her.

More precisely, it was the boy I had once harbored far stronger feelings for than even my best friend Sayu.

I wasn’t very good at raising my voice, but I pressed the intercom once more and spoke clearly toward the door.

“I… I want to be there for you, Senpai.”

Those words came straight from the bottom of my heart.

Still, after everything that had happened, would a boy in the midst of adolescence really come to the door in a normal state of mind?

Please let him be okay. The moment I prayed for that, the thick door creaked open a narrow gap, and Rindou Arata-senpai peeked out.

“…Yuuka-chan. Sorry, but I’m really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. Could you go home?”

Even though it had only been yesterday, his face looked alarmingly pale and gaunt. He clearly carried a heavy wound, both physically and emotionally.

I had prepared myself, but my legs still froze in place.

“Senpai… I—”

“You probably already know anyway…”

Senpai spoke as if he had given up on everything.

There was no need to ask what he meant by “know.” It was obviously about the video that had spread like wildfire among the students since this morning.

I nodded quietly and looked straight into his eyes.

“Yes. In my first-year classroom, the video spread almost instantly. It was from last night, wasn’t it…? Who on earth would stage such a coordinated performance, film it, and spread it so skillfully? To me, it can only look like pure malice…!”

“…I see. So it’s already spread that far.”

In truth, most of my classmates who had watched the video today had been completely manipulated by its creator. They hurled insults at Senpai and branded him as the villain without question.

How utterly ridiculous, I thought.

I knew better than anyone that he was not the kind of person who would ever raise a hand against a girl!

“Whoever orchestrated this won’t get away with it… Absolutely not.”

“…………”

“I won’t forgive the people who trapped you like this, Senpai… I can’t leave them unchecked. That’s why I came here today.”

“…I see. You really are… kind, Yuuka-chan.”

“Huh…? Senpai?”

I was about to ask if I could come inside so I could hear the full story from him directly—when suddenly his balance swayed unsteadily. All strength seemed to drain from his body as he collapsed forward toward me.

“Eh… Senpai?”

“Zzz…”

He had already lost consciousness.

“He’s asleep… Wait— he’s burning up!”

The moment my fingers touched his cheek, an abnormal heat radiated into them.

He had already reached his limit long ago.

This would probably be the first and last time I would ever carry a boy who was more than ten centimeters taller than me. With that thought, I supported Senpai and carried him deeper into the house.

As I removed his shoes and stepped inside, our faces accidentally bumped together with a soft clunk.

There, right before my eyes, was the profile of the boy I had once loved more than anyone else—the one I had desperately wanted all to myself.