It’s Too Early to be Having Newlywed Syndrome! ~Childhood Friends Who Rekindled their Love for Each Other ~ - 2 - 7 - The Third Assistance

The Third Assistance

“Hey, that person in a mascot seems to be giving out something.”

While in the middle of playing a token game, Natsuki noticed that an event was starting at a corner of the arcade.

“Ah, today is breakfast day.”

While aiming at a target with a token, Naoto answered the question.

“What’s breakfast day?”

“Once a month, as morning service, they’re giving out fried dough and milk for free.”

“Even us?!”

“Of course. They’ll come to this area to hand them out later.”

“What’s with that, ain’t that lucky?”

“Based on the timing, Iida’s objective in coming here must’ve been that. His parents are doctors, so he might not have eaten osechi or anything at all.”

“Looks like we did something bad to him.”

“I’ll treat him with his favorite gyudon next time.”

“Please do.”

“That’s right. I have a coupon from a gyudon store , I can treat him with exactly 280 yen remaining from the 500 yen! Isn’t it amazing?”

While laughing, Natsuki said,

“Eh—– it seems pitiful for Iida-kun if you use a coupon.”

Being concerned for Iida-kun.

“He’s not the type of person to mind it, but well, I’ll treat him normally.”

“I think he would be happier that way.”

“It doesn’t mean anything to me if he’s happy though. Well, I can’t help it anyway.”

While Naoto was saying that, Natsuki can see a hint of happiness on Naoto.

“Do you two often eat gyudon together?”

“We did back in the third year of middle school and first year of high school, but lately, we’re both occupied with our part time jobs so we don’t often have a chance to eat together.”

Naoto said.

Natsuki still wanted to know more about the story between Naoto and Iida, but decided not asking about it for now. Naoto doesn’t talk much about his middle school days by himself, so the conversation won’t progress.

‘It would be nice if I could hear about it next time.’ Natsuki thought.

They both received fried dough and milk, so they took a break from gaming to eat.

“I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve never eaten fried dough with milk since middle school, but this is delicious.”

Natsuki said.

“I hated ilk back in middles school, but having it with fried though is really tasty.”

“Yeah. You know, isn’t his more delicious than the ones with the set meals at middle schools?”

“Maybe the milk at middle school meals is just too large in quantity. I wanted them to make it something like half-milk half-tea.”

“It becomes difficult to drink after the first half, after all.”

“The size of this fried dough is just the right balance with this milk pack, I think.”

“Right, it’s easier to drink. This really helps.”

“I didn’t think that you would have this much fun by coming to this arcade on a whim. It makes me feel glad choosing to come here.”

“I did not know they do something like this at arcades.”

“This one is a bit different, or should I say that the way day do business is unusual. Just by coming here on Ladies’ Day, you will receive a stamp, when you’ve saved enough stamps you can play crane game and the like for free.”

“What’s with that?! Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?!”

“No, in the first place, why don’t you know anything about it?! Even girls come to this arcade on their way home.”

“I only went to the one in front of the station.”

“That area doesn’t really have events or promo services.

At the okonomiyaki place just in front of this arcade, you can have access from the drink bar by ordering anything totaling at least 500 yen until 5 pm, if you bring the receipt from there here, depending on the season, they’ll give you a crane game free one play ticket or a few tokens depending on the season, that’s why many grils come here. I often see them showing their receipts.”

“What’s with that?! I’ve never heard about that even once.”

“Eh—–? Maybe Natsuki’s girl friends are of different class. What does your group eat while walking home?”

“Thing like crepes and ice cream. If they can have access to drink bar with 500 yen, I think they would want to eat okonomiyaki. Maybe they don’t know anything about that.”

“Well, the 500 yen one is a bit dull. The regular pork or squid okonomiyaki is about 600 yen as far as I know.”

“You haven’t eaten there?”

“Iida and I can’t make okonomiyaki. Whenever we have free time, we would just look at the menu at the entrance and would say things like ‘Looks delicious’ ‘Once I have a girlfriend’ ‘If it’s yakisoba lunch, I think I can make it’ then we’ll go home.”

“Then let’s go there next time.”

“Natsuki, somehow with just this day, haven’t the places you want to go in the future keep on increasing?”

“That’s because I only keep hearing about places I ended up wanting to go to. I’m glad I received New Year’s money—. If I haven’t received it, I would end up carefully selecting which place to go.”

“Or rather, your parents knew this would happen when we decided to go out today, so they gave you New Year’s money.”

“Do they know that much?”

“Or maybe they felt pity for their daughter who has to go out and play for one day with just 500 yen.”

“They only have nothing but praise about that plan, so maybe that’s not it.”

“Then, they fell for my trap. In reality, it was my plan to just pretend that I value money so they would let their guard down and give us lots of New Years money.”

Naoto jokingly said, then laughed.

“Oh——, Nao-kun’s very cunning.”

Natsuki laughed as well.

“And my plan of getting Natsuki by pretending I care about her is also a success. All that’s left is to do with her as I please.”

“Ah, that’s mean! If that’s how it is, then I also fell in love with Nao-kun through my plan of pretending to fall in love with Nao-kun.”

Naoto laughed,

“Then that ends up not being pretend at all.”

He said.

“Eh? Th, then, er……. It was my plan to have cystitis so that Nao-kun would only think of me.”

“Then you’ve succeeded there.”

“Great success?”

“When I thought of the that Natsuki might fall down in pain like what happened to the Onee-san at my part-time work, it’ll feel like my heart will break. I thought that it’s not the time to be shy, but to become your support.”

“So that’s how much you thought of me.”

“It’s just that, when I think of it now, I end up wondering if that’s really what it was. Back then, I haven’t sorted out my feelings at all. It’s just that, when I was able to have a talk with you, before I noticed it, I fell in love with you. I was desperately trying to keep the fact that I’m in love with you.”

“That was really cute of you——”

“Did you notice?”

“In the first place, I ended up hearing Nao-kun say that you love me.”

“Eh?! Where?!”

“On the day we went to where you work part-time. After you got off from work, as you were going out, the part where the talk went to ‘Aren’t you going to confess?’”

“Eeeeehhh?! You were there at that time?!”

“I went to pick you up, but when I saw you with another person, I found it hard to call you, so I ended up eavesdropping on your conversation. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, it’s my fault for talking about it in such a place in the first place.

In my defense, it’s not that I want to be close to Natsuki because you are cute, rather when I became close to you, I immediately fell in love with you. Although I thought that I shouldn’t fall in love with you.”

“I know. You said all of that as well. The fact that you cannot confess your love yet.”

“Ah—- is that so? Weren’t you disgusted?”

“I was so touched that I cried.”

“You cried at that kind of place?!”

Naoto was so surprised, he tried to imagine it. If a girl went crying in a dark place like that, one would think that she might be scared of something in that place.

“That’s because, that’s so unfair. You know, I just returned to that shop on a whim because I wanted to see Nao-kun’s face. At that time, when I learned that that’s how much you thought of me, it became the most believable words in this world for me.”

“What kind of things have I said?”

Naoto can’t remember, so he worried that he might have said something bad.

“That you fell in love so much, and how being with that person calms you.”

“Looks like I’ve said some pretty big words.”

“That’s wrong, you said that with a pleasant feeling! The way you said it completely blew me away!”

“Natsuki, you’re extremely assuming after all.”

“You said that you want to be closer to me, you know. Not that you want to go out with me, nor that you want me to fall in love with you, isn’t just thinking like that amazing in itself?!”

“Hmmm…… that’s because, I really wanted to be closer to you.”

“Why don’t you understand, how cute Nao-kun was at that time.

In the first place, in my opinion, when I just finished reading that letter, I thought that Nao-kun is really kind to others, I felt that I can rely on you without worries. Then, when I went back because I want to see you, all of a sudden, your conversation began with ‘As long as that person’s condition is not better, I won’t confess’, just at that point, my heart is already feeling gripped, even so, you continued saying things like how kind I am, how I forgive you in spite of your failures, how you feel like you’ll be sucked in whenever you look at me, how you can tell me things from the bottom of your heart, while I was already thinking that it was Nao-kun who is kind, I keep listening,——”

Natsuki spoke of how much happy she was at the time while in a trance.

“——however, as days passed, the things I wanted to tell you became too much, it didn’t feel real at all. I kept thinking of strange things like wondering if you really said all of that, or if I’m just dreaming. Until Christmas came, I was always anxious, you know.”

Since Natsuki were telling him those things while looking too happy, Naoto’s face flushed red.

“You’re that much happy, huh”

“Even now, do you still love me so much that you feel you’ll get sucked in?”

“It’s a bit different now, I can’t help but want to embrace you. Before, even if I want to, I can’t embrace you, because of that, I felt like I will get sucked in if it went on. That felt really painful.”

“That was part of my plan after all.”

“Another plan? Just what kind of plan was it.”

“Act cold towards you in purpose to get your attention plan?

“Was there really such a plan?”

Naoto can’t remember a time when she acted cold towards him.

Natsuki thought for a bit,

“During middle school?”

She answered.

“That’s so long ago! Your plan is too grand!”

“Fufu. Ah— geez, you’re making me laugh so much, I ended up spilling some crumbs!”

“It’s all Natsuki’s fault.”

The two of them laughed so vigorously that they ended up puffing out bread crumbs all over, finding that funny as well, they brushed the crumbs off their clothes and the chairs.