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 8: The Moment I Fell in Love – Part 2 (Yuuka’s POV ③).

From that night onward, except for my parents’ days off, Sayu and Arata-senpai began visiting my house frequently.

Apparently, the mother of the two—who was the PTA president—had personally called my mom and convinced her on my behalf.

I couldn’t thank them enough.

Their kind personalities must have been inherited from their gentle mother. Blood really does tell, I thought with quiet conviction as I savored every moment spent with them.

We played board games, card games, cat’s cradle, kendama, and sometimes dimmed the lights to watch anime or DVDs together. Every day was so fulfilling that I never grew tired of it.

However, once we entered the upper grades of elementary school, the time the three of us spent together suddenly came to a halt.

The reason was simple: Arata-senpai had joined the soccer club.

On top of that, he wasn’t satisfied with just school club activities and had also joined a local club team that held night practices. As a result, the opportunities for us to see each other dropped drastically.

“I see… So Senpai isn’t coming today either.”

“Yeah… Sorry I couldn’t do more. I did warn him, like, ‘Yuuka’s feeling lonely!’ but he just kept saying he couldn’t help it.”

Sayu sprawled out on my bed like a starfish, staring at the ceiling and shrugging her shoulders with a resigned sigh.

Even after Senpai stopped coming, Sayu still cared enough to visit my room almost every evening.

I was worried that this went against the original arrangement, since it meant Sayu would end up walking home alone, which could be dangerous. But apparently, her mother had worked something out: Senpai would come pick Sayu up after his practice before bedtime.

When I thought about how I was once again taking up the Rindou family’s precious time together, the guilt became almost unbearable. Yet Sayu just laughed cheerfully while flipping through a manga and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine! If I stay home, they just nag me to study anyway.”

“Even if you say that, I still feel really bad. Toward your parents… and toward Senpai too.”

After all, Senpai was already exhausted from school club and club team practice. Adding the task of picking up his little sister on top of that must have pushed him to his limit.

“Well, I guess from your perspective that makes sense.”

Completely unaware of my worries, Sayu immersed herself in the manga for a while before suddenly snapping it shut.

“By the way, Yuuka. I’ve been meaning to ask you something seriously…”

“…What? So sudden again.”

“I’ve been wondering for a while now, but what exactly do you like so much about that idiot brother of mine?”

“Eh—”

I felt my face heat up as if it had been set on fire and quickly covered it with both hands.

“Did you really think I hadn’t noticed? After spending so much time together?”

“Well…”

She had a point.

Above all, Sayu had an annoyingly sharp intuition. Trying to dodge the question awkwardly would be pointless.

But how was I supposed to put these feelings into words properly?

“Take your time. Tell me the truth, okay?”

Sayu sat up and patted the spot beside her. I obediently moved from my desk chair and sat down so close that our shoulders and knees touched.

“Yeah… Well, there are lots of reasons. I like how he’s kind to everyone and always so polite. I also felt a kind of love at first sight the very first time he came to my house. But that’s not all. The moment my feelings became clear was probably… when he casually called me a ‘reliable girl.’”

“Reliable girl…?”

Sayu tilted her head with a visible question mark on her face. I nodded firmly.

“Yes. Ever since I was little, I had always been protected by Mom and Dad. I hated myself for being such a coward—always obeying orders and never able to speak my true feelings. If it hadn’t been for you, your mom, and Senpai’s help back then, I’d probably still be forced to stay home alone every night, trembling under the futon. But… deep down, I wanted to be acknowledged. I didn’t want to always be the one relying on others. I wanted to become someone others could rely on, even if it was just a little. I wanted to experience what it felt like to be told ‘thank you’ with pure sincerity and to be seen as a strong person. I thought that might let me be reborn in a good way. And right when I was wishing for that, Senpai looked at me, called me ‘reliable,’ and bowed his head saying ‘thank you.’ For the first time, I felt like someone other than myself had truly acknowledged me. I almost jumped for joy on the spot. Hehe… It sounds really exaggerated, doesn’t it? Even I think so. But when I realized that this person was relying on me, that he needed me… my heart started racing. I’ll probably never forget how happy that one casual word made me back then. Not for the rest of my life.”

Senpai himself had probably long since forgotten such an old remark. But for me, those words carried enough weight to have been my emotional support for the past several years.

“Fuu… Haa…”

After talking for so long, I was slightly out of breath. A soft warmth suddenly enveloped me.

“Seriously, what is with that ridiculously cute reason?!” Sayu exclaimed as she pulled me into a tight hug.

“Hey… Sayu-chan…! I can’t breathe…”

“It’s fine, humans are surprisingly tough.”

“…That’s not the point… Let go already.”

She finally released me at the last possible second. I gasped for air and immediately started coughing.

What was this feeling? My chest felt tight… Was it because I had just bared my embarrassing true feelings?

“Alright! In that case, I’ll give you my full support so you and my brother can become a couple!”

She suddenly started making grand declarations without being asked.

Once Sayu got like this, there was no stopping her. I realized it was pointless to argue.

“I’ll definitely turn you two into a lovey-dovey, super warm couple! Yuuka, you just need to stay confident!”

“Yeah, yeah… Just take it easy, okay? Easy.”

“Hmm. First, we need to do something about that straight hair. It’s silky and gives a neat, elegant impression—which I personally really like—but I think it lacks a bit of impact if you want to capture my brother.”

“Impact…?”

“Yeah. From what I know, my brother is surprisingly weak to bold approaches. If you keep being all refined and cautious, he’ll probably just brush it off or play you like a toy.”

“…I see.”

As expected of his little sister. She really understood him well. I felt a little envious.

“So I think you should go at him more aggressively, full force.”

“But I don’t have that much confidence in myself… He might think I’m being delusional or something.”

“What are you talking about, Yuuka? Are you naturally dense? Anyway, just listen to me and relax. Aside from me, you’re without a doubt the prettiest girl in our grade by a huge margin! You should have more confidence! That confidence will only make your charm stand out even more!”

The way she casually refused to give up the top spot for herself was so typical of the confident Sayu. But she had a point. Maybe what I lacked was the kind of cute gestures and word choices that she had.

“…Then, specifically, where should I start?”

When I asked, Sayu twisted her face in deep thought—“Gnnnnuuuu!”—until she finally reached a conclusion.

“That’s it! Yuuka, starting today, you’re going with twin side-tails! That’s the one, definitely!”

And that was how, with no real basis or explanation, I was forced to change my hairstyle due to Sayu’s arbitrary decision. With her help, I completed my very first twin side-tails and showed them off to Arata-senpai when he came to pick her up.

“U-Um… Senpai, do you think… this looks good on me?”

When I asked shyly, Senpai, who had just opened the front door, stared at me with his mouth half open in surprise.

“Eh, yeah… How should I put it… Your impression has done a complete 180 in a really good way.”

For him, it was unusual not to give a straightforward compliment like “cute” or “pretty.” But I wasn’t so dense that I missed the fact that it was his way of hiding embarrassment. That realization made me happier than getting a perfect score on a test.

I’m definitely going to make this person mine—

That was the decisive moment that fired me up.

Present Day

While I was lost in those nostalgic memories, a full hour had already passed.

After that, I continued my approach steadily. Then, one day not long after entering middle school, I finally confessed to him—probably the first and last confession of my life. The result was a narrow defeat.

I later learned that around the time Senpai started coming to my house with Sayu, he had already been on friendly terms with Matsunami Karen, the undisputed Madonna of our grade who gathered overwhelming support from the boys.

Bitter and unable to give up, I sneaked a peek at the upperclassmen’s classroom. The moment I saw Karen, I understood. She was so beautiful and refined that any normal girl would instantly realize they had no chance.

I accepted it immediately.

Of course someone who shone that brightly would make any boy her age fall for her.

Besides, as a junior, I probably wasn’t even seen as a romantic option. I hadn’t even stepped onto the ring.

In the end, I never stood a chance from the beginning.

Sayu hugged me tightly while I cried for hours. No matter how messy my face became from tears and snot, it didn’t matter anymore since he would never choose me.

After that, I changed my personality as if I had broken free. “Refined” might be a better word. Pretending to be a good girl was exhausting, and I no longer needed to.

I decided I would tease Senpai a little instead.

Instead of before, I started visiting their house. I would speak to the visibly uncomfortable Senpai in a overly familiar way, suddenly hug him, and keep tempting him, constantly putting him in difficult situations.

Someday, if he ever broke up with his girlfriend, I could try approaching him again.

It was common knowledge that the chances of staying with a high school sweetheart for life were extremely low.

I wished every day that they would break up soon.

That was when the worst possible video reached me—the one of him getting dumped.

The moment I saw it, I knew he had been framed.

Because there was no way someone with Senpai’s personality could ever commit DV.

He had been betrayed by his girlfriend and best friend and was being turned into the villain. So what?

It had nothing to do with me. I had no reason to help him.

But then… why did my chest burn so fiercely?

Part of me thought serves him right, yet at the same time, an overwhelming rage boiled up toward the people who had betrayed him.

It was wrong—absolutely wrong—for someone who had always treated everyone equally and kindly to have everything he had built, his place in the world, so unjustly destroyed.

And then, the words from that day flashed through my mind once again.

Senpai had saved the powerless me.

Senpai had given the words “reliable girl” to someone who had only ever been on the receiving end of help.

And Senpai had bowed his head without hesitation and said “thank you.”

I reached out and gently touched the sleeping Arata-senpai’s cheek.

How could anyone betray someone this kind?!

I will never forgive them—

This time, it was my turn to be his strength.

For Senpai’s sake, I would do anything. Even if it meant my own life would be ruined in the worst-case scenario, I didn’t care.

I swore that I would gladly become a devil if it meant giving him back his normal everyday life and the time that should have been his.

The moment I clenched my fist tightly in fierce emotion, Senpai’s eyes fluttered open slightly.

I quickly pulled my hand away from his cheek.