I Confessed My Sexual Preferences to My Online Game Best Friend, and the Person Who Showed Up at the Offline Meetup Was the Cute Girl from My Class - 2

Chapter 2: A Date Called an Offline Meetup

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Shinonome-san pulled on my arm as we walked down the main street in front of the station. People passing by uniformly slowed their steps or turned around to look. That was only natural. After all, the girl walking beside me was a beautiful girl wrapped in an overwhelming aura of brightness, like she had stepped straight out of a magazine.

…No, she’s not Shinonome-san. She’s Haru. She’s Haru, right?

If I didn’t keep reminding myself, I felt like I was going to lose consciousness. That scratchy, boyish voice filtered through a voice changer was gone. What echoed beside my ear now was a soft, slightly buoyant, unmistakably real girl’s voice.

“Hey, Kazu. Don’t walk so far away from me. Am I really that scary?”

Shinonome-san… no, Haru stopped and peered into my face.

“…Of course you’re scary. Do you even realize what you look like right now? Try putting yourself in my shoes. All those ‘why is a guy like him next to her?’ looks are hurting me so bad my HP’s getting shaved down fast.”

“Ahahaha! You’re overthinking it. You dressed up properly for today too, didn’t you, Kazu? …Those red sneakers suit you. You said it yourself on voice chat yesterday, that you were gonna go all out.”

“…Don’t remember stuff like that in such detail.”

I looked away and quickened my pace, passing her. We arrived at the café I’d proudly bragged about before, the one I’d said I wanted to take “Haru-nii” to, a place extremely popular with girls. As soon as we entered, even more eyes turned toward us. But Haru didn’t care in the slightest. She spread open the menu, her eyes sparkling.

“Wow, this is amazing! Hey, look, Kazu! This looks insanely good!”

“…I didn’t know you liked sweets that much. During the game you were always saying stuff like ‘I want meat’ or ‘protein is king.’”

“That’s because back then I was playing the role of ‘Haru (male).’ I do like meat and fast food too, but… honestly, I’ve always loved stuff like this. …And I’ve actually been hoping I could eat it together with you someday.”

Shinonome-san, no. Haru smiled shyly. That defenseless smile was clearly different from the sociable one she showed to “everyone” at school. It was a special, private smile meant only for me. I hurriedly hid my face behind the menu.

“…Is it good?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing! You should try it too, Kazu. …Here, say ahh.”

Shinonome-san held out a fork with a pancake piled high with whipped cream.

“…I’ll eat it myself! Haven’t you completely lost your sense of personal space!?”

“Eh, what’s the big deal? We’re best friends. …Or does it still make you nervous when the other person is ‘Rin Shinonome’?”

She pulled the fork back and narrowed her eyes mischievously as she peered at me.

“…There’s no way I wouldn’t be nervous. You remember all the logs I sent you, don’t you?”

“Yep, all of them. I’ve practically memorized them. …Like that one from a week ago.”

With that bell-like natural voice, she began reciting one of my “great sins.”

“‘Hey Haru, have you ever seen how Shinonome-san’s thigh-highs dig in? That’s basically the only hope God gave humanity. That perfect way the ‘flesh sits’… If I could observe that from the side just once, I wouldn’t mind being reborn as a pebble in my next life.’ …Right?”

“Buhff!!”

I almost sprayed out the water I was drinking.

“…S-Stop! Don’t read it out loud!! I’m gonna die! My dignity is dying right now!!”

“Ahahahaha! Come on, it’s fine. You liked it so much you wanted to become a pebble, right? …Here, today’s my thigh-highs. You can observe them as much as you want, from the side or the front. …Right, Pebble Kazu-kun?”

Under the table, Haru deliberately crossed her legs again. It was exactly the perfect ‘dig-in’ I’d once praised as a “divine domain.”

“…Okay. …I’m sorry. This is my fault. I’ll apologize, so please just drop this already.”

“Nope. I’m going to keep bringing it up for the rest of your life. …You talked about it so passionately, after all. As your partner, I’ve gotta respond with everything I’ve got, right?”

She chuckled again, clearly enjoying herself. As I listened to her laughter, the awkwardness in my chest slowly transformed into something familiar. Her appearance was that of Rin Shinonome, the most beautiful girl in the school. But the personality teasing me like this and enjoying my reactions was unmistakably my best friend Haru, the one I’d spent three years playing with.

“…Hey, Haru.”

“…What? You sound serious.”

“Were you really that scared of being found out that you’re a girl?”

When I asked earnestly, Haru’s smile softened slightly. She gazed at the scenery passing by outside the window and spoke quietly.

“…Yeah. I was scared. At school, I have to be everyone’s ideal. There’s no one else who talks to me as bluntly as you do, calling me a ‘crappy frontliner,’ Kazu. …If my gender got out and even you started treating me carefully… I felt like I’d truly end up all alone.”

She let out a self-mocking smile and looked straight at me.

“So… I’m really happy that you’re still treating me the same way today. …Thank you, Kazu.”

…

…Of course. You’re Haru. Voice or appearance doesn’t change that.

I muttered it in my heart, too embarrassed to say it out loud. After that, we played against each other at the arcade, talked about upcoming game updates on a park bench, and before we knew it, the sky had turned a pale crimson.

“…Well then, Kazu. I should head home.”

We were standing in front of the ticket gates. This was the end of the offline meetup.

“Yeah. …See you next time in the game, Haru.”

“Mm. …Oh, Kazu. Before that.”

She took out her phone.

“…Let’s exchange LINE? I know that we’re in the same class group chat, but I mean I want to exchange private LINE IDs with you. Up until now we’ve only been using in-game chat or voice apps.”

“Ah… Yeah. I totally forgot.”

I took out my phone and scanned her QR code.

Ping.

A light sound announced a new “friend.” The icon was a screenshot we’d taken together in-game. And the name was simply: Rin.

“…Added. Nice to meet you again, Haru.”

“Yeah! Oh, right. Promise me something, okay?”

She stepped closer and whispered into my ear.

“…At school, it’s ‘Shinonome-san’ and ‘Sato-kun.’ But when we’re alone, on LINE, and in the game, it’s ‘Kazu’ and ‘Haru.’ …Okay? A special relationship, just between us that no one else knows.”

“…Got it. …See you.”

“Mm. …See you later, Kazu!”

Haru—no, Shinonome-san—left me with her brightest smile and disappeared lightly through the ticket gates. The phone remained in my hand. I stared at the screen and touched the newly added name, Rin, with my fingertip.

Starting tomorrow, I would be seeing her at school. Rin Shinonome, shining from afar as everyone’s sun. But inside my phone was the version of her no one else got to see, Haru.

“…Guess I’m gonna be wrapped around her finger for the rest of my life.”

With a wry smile, I started walking through the night streets. 

Tomorrow, when our eyes meet in the classroom… 

Just imagining what kind of “secret signal” she might send me was enough to turn my Monday into the most exciting one I’d ever had.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー