Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 22: "Hey, what were you guys talking about?"

“Hey, what were you guys talking about?”

I and Sagiri skipped the first period.

As a result, when we returned to the classroom, we were surrounded by classmates.

“Hey, hey, Akahori! Where were you going, pulled by Yukumo-san?”

“You guys are definitely dating, right!? Come on, stop hiding it and let’s all relax together!”

“You were with her on break, right!? You spent the whole hour taking it easy with a beautiful girl!?”

“Isn’t doing that in the classroom kinda dangerous? Even I got excited!”

“That was crazy! Akahori suddenly started stroking Yukumo-san’s hair!”

“Hey, Akahori-kun… is it more painful or suffocating when someone strangles you?”

By the way, it’s lunchtime now.

This marks the third interrogation.

Even during the short breaks between classes, both I and Sagiri attracted crowds of people, but lunchtime was on a different level.

I was by the window at the very back, and Sagiri was at the front near the corridor. We were surrounded separately.

Of course, guys gathered around me, and girls around Sagiri. However, for some reason, only a female student who seems obsessed with strangulation has been mixing with the guys interrogating me since last week.

I wonder what drives her obsession.

“No, that was just Sagiri scolding me for making her angry…”

Leaving that mysterious part aside, the real problem was the curious guys in front of me.

I couldn’t let them find out that I had skipped class with Sagiri, kissed her passionately by the rooftop door…

“Scolding… Is that some kind of play!?”

“Are you the type who acts tough but ends up on the receiving end!?”

“But seriously, Akahori, you’re always being pulled around like a dog by Yukumo-san.”

“But the other day, you were carrying the collapsed Yukumo-san on your back, right?”

“Either way is fine! It’s just too enviable!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

“Hey, Akahori-kun, do you also strangle people sometimes…?”

Chatter, chatter.

The classmates turned into a lively crowd of onlookers.

It’s quite an uncomfortable situation, but since the surroundings were involuntarily getting excited, the ratio of me being off the center of attention was high.

There was one girl who kept asking about something entirely different, but I decided not to dwell on it.

‘Ding-dong, ding-dong…’

Thanks to them wasting my time and not looking like it will stop soon, the chime signaling the end of lunch that rang felt like a savior to me.

“Huh, lunch is over already!?”

“Seriously, I didn’t hear anything proper yet!”

“Didn’t it turn into a conversation about dogs halfway through?”

“Because you showed pictures of the retriever you have at home!”

“Hey, Akahori-kun, have you ever passed out from not being able to breathe?”

The classmates dispersed like scattering spiders as soon as the chime rang. They’re a rowdy bunch, but strangely serious in odd places.

…Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone is developing a strange sense of familiarity with me.

Such exchanges continued during the afternoon break, and it eventually became after school.

After school, each of our classmates had their own plans or club activities, so there was no interrogation-like situation. They were indeed strangely serious and earnest in odd places.

Today, as usual, the activity of the Volunteering Club, also known as the “Be True to Yourself Research Society,” was taking place in a small classroom at the end of the special classroom building that used to be a storage room.

“Hey, Renji, have there been any developments between you and Sagiri recently?”

Our proud little president, Yuzuru, tilted her head and asked. Currently, only Yuzuru and I were in this classroom, and there was no escape.

Sagiri had left the classroom, saying, “I’ll go turn down a confession,” and the dependable big guy, Hasegawa, left while saying, “If you lay a hand on Yuzuru-chan, I’ll kill you,” and went to his part-time job at the supermarket.

“N-nothing… happened…”

“Hehehe, Renji, there are no secrets in the Be True to Yourself Research Society!”

I remembered that the greatest threat in my peaceful life was someone close to me.

Yuzuru, who is very conscious of her height, is the initiator of this semi-unofficial activity. Although she usually carries herself with confidence, there are various conflicts and worries within her, as Hasegawa wanted to tell me.

“Sagiri seems to be having so much fun lately, thanks to you, Renji!”

“…Sagiri?”

“Yeah, she looks even happier than when I first met her! Cough, cough! I believe this is the ideal form that the Be True to Yourself Research Society should aim for!”

Yuzuru realized that her words were a bit casual and corrected herself, but it was too late.

So, Sagiri seems to be having fun… That person always seems to be enjoying life. But Yuzuru, being a fellow girl who often spends time with her at school, might sense something.

Come to think of it, Hasegawa said that if I had questions about a girl, I should ask another girl… Is now the time?

“Hey, Yuzuru, there’s something I want to ask…”

“Oh, sure, sure! The Be True to Yourself Research Society is always recruiting troubled students!”

She flashed an unabashed smile. This bright and positive attitude is probably the secret to her good compatibility with Sagiri.

So, relying on that might be a good idea.

“Well then, is the thing you’ve been wanting to ask about is related to Sagiri, or is it about yourself, Renji?”

“Uh, well… What Yuzuru thinks about best friends—”

Clatter!

Just as I was about to start talking, the clubroom door swung open.

“I’m back! Huh, what’s with this atmosphere…?”

Entering was the most beautiful girl in the school, with long flowing white hair. Seeing Yuzuru and me sitting across from each other, Sagiri, with a smile on her face, took a seat not next to Yuzuru but next to me.

“Hey, what were you guys talking about?”

It was Sagiri, she sat next to me.

Our shoulders touched, and the proximity was almost uncomfortably close.