I Was Oblivious to the Subtle ‘Yandere’ Side of My Nonchalant Sex Friend Gyaru - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: 

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“Waah~ That’s so cute! Minato, get it for me!”

Yumekawa pestered me at the crane game corner, and I let out a resigned sigh a little behind her.

“Hey, there’s no need for us to keep pretending we’re dating when Tanaka-senpai is not here, right? Why don’t we save the act for when he actually shows up?”

“Nope! If we don’t act properly from now, he’ll figure out it’s a lie.”

“Really? You think so?”

“I so think so. Come on, so get it for me.”

She pointed to a white stuffed rabbit. But with something that big, there was no telling how much it would cost before I managed to get it. I mean, I probably couldn’t get it at all.

“What a waste of money. Let’s pick something else.”

“Eehh? No way, no way! I want that one!”

“H-hey, don’t pull on me.”

“Hehe~ I won’t let go until you get it for me.”

“F-fine, I get it.”

Losing to Yumekawa tugging hard on my sleeve, I reluctantly pulled out my wallet.

“Haah… But if I fail after three tries, you have to give up, okay? I don’t have much money.”

“Fufu, got it. Hey, do you think we look like we’re really dating?”

“Who knows. I’ve never had a girlfriend, so…”

Cutting off the conversation, Yumekawa puffed her cheeks. 

“You’re no fun.”

I wondered if Tanaka-senpai also fell for this kind of calculated cuteness. I personally found this sort of thing a little annoying though. Someone more straightforward would be… 

No, what am I even thinking?

“What’s wrong, Minato?”

“N-nothing. Come on, let’s do it already.”

Pulling myself together, I put in a hundred yen and started operating the crane. The claw went straight down toward the oversized stuffed animal that looked impossible to grab no matter what I did. 

Yumekawa watched it excitedly, but I, standing next to her, felt cold on the inside when I thought about the money I was wasting on this pointless effort. But then, when the claw closed, it snagged on the tag and lifted the big stuffed animal into the air, making my eyes widen in shock.

“Huh?”

“Wow, amazing, amazing!”

The stuffed rabbit was carried right over the hole and dropped neatly inside.

“Waah! You got it! Minato, aren’t you a genius?”

“…It was just pure luck.”

“Geez, why are you so cool about it? Look, look, it’s so cute!”

She hugged the stuffed animal and showed it to me, saying happily,

“I’m so happy. I’ll treasure it.”

Seeing her like that, I just replied calmly.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I wondered if I really looked like her boyfriend to others. Come to think of it, why was I even doing this again?

“Hey, when is Tanaka-senpai supposed to come?”

“Ah, right… Maybe he’s not coming since it’s right before the tournament?”

“Wait, what? Are you saying this whole thing was for nothing then?”

“Come on, let’s just wait a bit longer.”

After that, we walked around the arcade once, waiting for Tanaka-senpai, but he never showed up. I persuaded Yumekawa, who looked like she wanted to stay longer, to leave and we finally left the game center.

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“Ah, that was so much fun!”

“Absolutely not. Geez. All of that was for nothing. “

By the time we stepped outside, the sun was starting to set. Since her house was close to the arcade, I was walking her home. She kept hugging the stuffed animal like it was something endearingly precious to her.

“Well, it’s fine, right? I got my stuffed animal in the end.”

“I just wasted time and lost a hundred yen.”

“Ah, if you’re that stingy, you’ll never be popular, you know?”

“I don’t have any desire to be popular, so I don’t care. I’m fine like this.”

“Fufu~ But still, thanks for coming with me today. Can I ask you again sometime?”

“What happened to the one-day-only deal?”

“Well, it’s because Tanaka-senpai never showed up!”

“How am I supposed to know if he’s going to show up or not?”

If she wanted a favor, she should’ve planned it better. Just as I was about to say that, she suddenly stopped walking.

“This is my place. Minato, your apartment’s near the school, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll just take my time walking back to my place.”

“Okay. Thanks again for today. See you at school.”

“Yeah.”

I gave a small wave back to Yumekawa, who waved to me from her doorstep, and then headed home. It had been a while since I went out for something other than work, but man, it really wore me out.

I mean, I do tiring stuff every day anyway, but this is an entirely different kind of fatigue. Listening to someone else, watching their mood, matching my pace to theirs… All the things everyone does without thinking feel utterly draining to me now.

Maybe I should’ve just turned down Yumekawa’s request… Speaking of which, what is Kurenai doing today? Did she just go straight home? Or maybe she invited some other guy… No, that’s none of my business. We’re not like that after all.

“Hm?”

As my apartment came into view, I looked up at my second-floor room and saw a silhouette in front of the door. And when I got closer—

“Welcome back.”

Kurenai was crouching by my door. She looked up at me languidly.

“You… Have you been here the whole time?”

“No way. I went home once, but I was bored so I came back. You took longer than I expected, though, so I was getting restless.”

“…You already heard about today from Yumekawa, right? Then—”

“But I didn’t hear it from you.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Come on, hurry up and open it. It’s so humid out here, I’m sweating.”

Fanning her chest, she tapped on my door like she was telling me to hurry up. Despite feeling a bit confused, I quickly unlocked the door, and Kurenai slipped inside like she owned the place.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

She said as she took off her jacket and headed straight for the bathroom.

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