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 - 21-22

Chapter 21: A Three-Person Meeting Behind the School

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Wednesday, lunch break. Since she said that short “Idiot” to me over voice chat yesterday, my heart hadn’t settled down for a second.

…She’s mad, right? Did she seriously get fed up with me?

Even when I caught sight of Shinonome-san in the classroom that morning, I was too scared to meet her eyes. She was in her usual circle of girls, and there was no sign that she would turn around to look at me. Kaito was praying as always, saying, “Shinonome-san is divine again today…,” but to me, his words felt like something happening in a distant world.

Still weighed down by that heavy mood, I made it to lunch break. That was when a notification came to my phone.

【Saki: Kazucchi-kun! Rin-rin! Get to our ‘usual spot’ behind the school building right now! (๑>◡<๑)】

…The usual spot.

Yeah… It was probably there. That dead space behind the gym where, on Monday, Ichinose-san had smoothly turned down a boy’s confession. With my stomach feeling heavy, I headed there, trying to avoid drawing attention. When I arrived, Saki Ichinose-san was already there, leaning her back against the fence and humming to herself. And just a few steps away stood the person I had the hardest time facing right now, Rin Shinonome.

“…Oh. You’re here, Sato-kun.”

Shinonome-san turned toward me. Her face wore the perfect smile of the “school angel.” …And yet, I felt like there was just the slightest trace of last night lingering awkwardly in the depths of her eyes.

“…Yeah. Sorry to keep you waiting, Ichinose-san. Shinonome-san.”

“Hehe, now we’re all here! I didn’t call you for nothing! We’re continuing yesterday’s group LINE!”

Ichinose-san clapped her hands sharply and stepped between us.

“This Sunday, let’s all go hang out together! Saki already checked reservations at the café I want to go to!”

“…Saki. You call us out of nowhere, and it’s this again?”

Shinonome-san lowered her brows as if troubled.

“Why is it the three of us? Sato-kun, me… and you? We’ve never done that before.”

“Ehh? Because when I talked with Kazucchi-kun at the family restaurant the other day, it was super fun! And you know, I thought Kazucchi-kun and Rin-rin might be on the same wavelength.”

Ichinose-san lightly nudged my arm and laughed.

“On the same wavelength…?”

“Yeah! At school, everyone calls Rin-rin an ‘angel’ and treats her carefully, right? But Kazucchi-kun said Rin-rin is ‘selfish and has a sharp tongue’! See? It feels like he really understands what’s inside Rin-rin!”

…Why would you say that?! Wait? Did I say that? I felt like I might have said something like that… Or maybe not?  …Whatever. It wasn’t like her opinion of me could drop any lower at this point.

Shinonome-san widened her eyes and stared at me. Half resigned, I was thinking something like, “Go ahead, boil me or roast me however you like”—but then, the next moment…

“…Hehe. …Ahahaha!”

Shinonome-san suddenly burst out laughing. It wasn’t the refined laugh of “Shinonome-san.” It was the unrestrained laughter of my partner “Haru” that I had listened to for three years through a screen.

“…I see. So you said I’m ‘the worst,’ huh? …You’ve got some nerve, Sato-kun.”

She looked at me and narrowed her eyes mischievously.

…Ah. That was the usual Haru. The face of my best partner, the one who made fun of me, teased me, and yet trusted me somewhere deep down. I felt the anxiety from yesterday melt away. She hadn’t looked down on me. She might still be angry, but she was still by my side.

“Saki. …You shouldn’t go around dragging people into things like that without asking. Sato-kun has his own schedule too, right?”

“Hehe~ But Kazucchi-kun is Saki’s ‘advisor,’ right? Rin-rin, if Sato-kun is okay with it, then I’m fine too… Aren’t you going to say that?”

Ichinose-san leaned in toward Shinonome-san with a knowingly mischievous smile. Shinonome-san’s face flushed slightly, and she looked away.

“…If Sato-kun is okay with it, then I’m fine…”

She glanced at me. Her eyes, careful not to break the rules at school, were still clearly asking me for an answer.

“…Yeah. I’m fine with it. If Ichinose-san is.”

“Yay! It’s settled then! That’s our Kazucchi-kun! So easy to talk to!”

Ichinose-san hopped in excitement and grabbed both my hand and Shinonome-san’s, shaking them enthusiastically.

“Then we’ll decide the meeting time on LINE! It’s a secret little field trip just for the three of us! Don’t let anyone at school know!”

The warning chime rang in the distance.

“See you!” 

Ichinose-san said, and ran back toward the school building like the wind. That left just me and Shinonome-san. A brief silence. …But the prickly tension from yesterday was already gone.

“…Haru.”

When I called softly, Shinonome-san snorted.

“…What is it, you lousy vanguard?”

“…Nothing. …I’m just glad you’re normal.”

“…Idiot. …This isn’t normal. …You better brace yourself for Sunday. You’re going to run errands, carry bags, and listen to me complain. …You’re doing all of it.”

With that, she walked off ahead of me. From behind, I could see that her earlobe was just slightly red.

…Yeah. I really can’t win against her.

With a wry smile, I followed after her.

On Sunday, the three of us would hang out. The risk of our secret being exposed and Ichinose-san’s verbal bombs… They were still scary. But it seemed that our everyday life as “partners” hadn’t ended just yet.

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Chapter 22: Excited for Tomorrow

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It had been a stormy week. Today was Tuesday, late at night.

I—Sato Kazuma—confessed that I had secretly met with Ichinose-san behind Shinonome-san’s back. Haru’s… No, Shinonome-san’s voice echoed through voice chat, trembling, yet carrying an oddly affectionate as she called me an “Idiot.” That night, shaken by the fear that I had truly made her angry and at the same time intoxicated by that “unknown heat” I felt, I barely slept at all.

Wednesday, lunch break.

Ichinose-san called Shinonome-san and me out behind the school building, and before I knew it, a “three-person Sunday date” was decided by sheer momentum. Shinonome-san had said coolly, “If Sato-kun is okay with it, then I am too,” but the eye contact she sent afterward was clearly loaded with the unspoken pressure of “Prepare yourself.”

Thursday, and then Friday. In the classroom, we continued to act like “strangers,” just as always. But inside my pocket, my phone kept vibrating nonstop with LINE messages from her.

『Kazu, you just made eye contact with Saki, didn’t you? Don’t let your face go slack』

『What do you think of my bangs today?』

Those trivial messages, yet ones she showed only to me. They were words from “Haru.”

And then came Saturday night. Tomorrow was finally the day of the “three-person outing,” produced by Saki Ichinose. At 11:00 p.m., I sat in front of my computer and put on my headset.

The moment I logged in, a soft voice with just a hint of sharpness tickled my eardrums.

『Kazu, you’re late. I had to wait a whole minute and twenty seconds』

“…Sorry. I was picking out clothes for tomorrow.”

『Ooh, really putting in the effort, huh. Trying to make Saki see you in a new light?』

Her natural voice, no voice changer. On the screen, the warrior avatar Haru was sitting right beside my avatar. At school, “Shinonome-san” was bright and fair to everyone. But the Haru sitting next to me now reacted emotionally to my every little word and snapped back immediately.

“That’s not it. …You sent me a LINE saying, ‘If you show up in lame clothes, we’re done,’ didn’t you?”

『Ahaha! Good, you’re aware. …Hey, Kazu. Are you really okay tomorrow?』

“…What do you mean?”

Though she laughed, I could hear through my headphones that her voice had taken on a slightly serious tone.

『…Saki. She’s airheaded, but sometimes she’s scary sharp. …If she finds out that we’ve been partners for three years… …My school persona will be over, you know?』

Rin’s voice dropped slightly. It was sly. In moments like this, whether intentional or not, she struck my protective instincts with perfect precision.

“…She won’t find out. We just act like ‘ordinary classmates,’ right? You chat happily with Ichinose-san. I’ll stay behind you, carry bags, do whatever. You said you’d let me hear your complaints too, didn’t you? I’ll listen to as many complaints as you want… You can even vent about me. Yeah, I’m ready for that.”

Judging from her attitude, she wasn’t angry anymore but I’d sworn to myself not to lie again. Even so, the words she sent back were unexpected.

『…No. I don’t want that either. I won’t make you carry bags, and I don’t want you behind me. …You have to stay properly at my side』

“You know… Now you’re being contradictory.”

『It’s fine. A girl is selfish like that. …Hey, let’s decide on tomorrow’s rules.』

Rin’s character scooted even closer to my avatar. Even though it was just a screen, I felt the illusion that her breath brushed my ear.

“Rules?”

『First. I’m “Shinonome-san,” and you’re “Sato-kun.” That’s the absolute rule ever. …If you say “Haru” or “Kazu” even once, it’s an instant penalty. You need to become my errand boy for one week』

“…Understood.”

『Second. Don’t get too friendly with Saki. …Just because you’re her advisor doesn’t mean you can keep looking only at her. …Make sure you’re looking at me too』

“…………”

What a surprise dere of her. My usually coolheaded partner showed heavy emotions only when we were alone. My fingers trembled slightly on the keyboard.

“…I am looking. …You stand out the most, whether I want to or not.”

『Nihihi. …Good. Then, third』

A brief pause ensued between us. From the speakers came the sound of fabric rustling, as if she had turned over on her bed.

『…At the end of tomorrow. …Make some time when it’s just the two of us.』

“…What?”

『It’s fine to hang out with the three of us. …But I don’t want it to be the three of us all day. …On the way home, or something, I don’t know. Even just a few minutes is okay. …I want a time where we can go back to being “Kazu” and “Haru.” …Is that okay?』

……

…………

What was that supposed to mean? I couldn’t win. Wielding the overwhelming “specialness” we had built over three years, she wasn’t letting me escape. Where had the Haru who used to treat me like a “trash landfills for fetishes” gone? Ever since her identity was revealed, her attacks had become more direct, targeting my heart’s weak point with precision.

“…I’ll try. …As long as Ichinose-san doesn’t get suspicious.”

『Yeah. …Hey, Kazu. …I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.』

Why wass she like this?

“…Me too. …Though I’m nervous about when you’ll drop a bomb.”

『That’s rude. The bomb is Saki. …Oh, right. One last thing.』

“What is it?”

『…Did you look at me today with dirty thoughts or imagine anything lewd?』

“I DIDN’T, YOU IDIOT!!”

『Ahahaha! Liar! That silence just now, you were definitely thinking something weird! Come on, confess, you thigh-high pervert!』

“…………!!”

『Oh! I get it! You were imagining stuff about Saki, not me! Pervert!』

“I wasn’t!”

…No? I really wasn’t. I swear I wasn’t…!

Our usual banter as partners. But without the voice changer, her voice was much sweeter than before, heating up the air in my room.

『Nihihi. …Then, see you tomorrow. …If you oversleep, I’ll seriously curse you. …Good night, Kazu』

“…Yeah. Good night, Haru.”

The connection was cut off. In the silent room, I couldn’t bring myself to take off the headset for a while. Tomorrow was a date with the three of us. The extreme thrill of being caught up in the strongest typhoon known as Saki Ichinose, and the risk of our secret being exposed. But her voice just now had firmly carved out a “front-row seat” in my chest.

Without thinking, I traced the dragon sticker stuck to the back of my phone with my fingertip.

Kazuma Sato—Kazu.

Rin Shinonome—Haru.

The boundary between the two, who were supposed to be just best friends, was already melting so deeply that there was no turning back within the calm before the decisive battle.

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