My Childhood Friend Is Dangerously Sexy and Cute - 14

Chapter 14: A Secret Only a Childhood Friend Knows

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“Phew. I finally got to relax.”

“Yes. Let’s take it easy for a while.”

I sat down on the leisure sheet Yuki had prepared and let out a breath. We were under a cherry blossom tree, a little away from the center where the party was in full swing. There were me, Yuki, Sayuki, Hoshino who had changed clothes, and for some reason, Isogai gathered there.

“I really had a rough time too. Because of certain people.”

Hoshino glared resentfully at Isogai.

“W-Well, we got carried away… um, I’m sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine.”

“More importantly, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be doing the talent show?”

“Hmph. I’m the grand finale. Until then, I’ll stay by Yuki-sama and Sayuki-sama.”

Isogai said that while sitting properly on his knees with perfect posture. This guy really had good posture…

“I made lunch, so please help yourselves.”

“Wow, amazing! It looks so good!”

“Yuki’s cooking is absolutely top-tier.”

“Nee-nee’s food is as yummy as Mama’s!”

Yuki took several large lunch boxes out of her bag and spread them out on the sheet. The main items were rice balls for easy eating, along with various side dishes neatly packed in.

“You know, Sayu… Sayu wants salmon. Sayu wants a salmon rice ball.”

“Here you go, Sayu-chan.”

“Yay! Thanks, nee-nee!”

Sayuki happily took a big bite of her rice ball. Just watching her made me feel happy too.

“C-Can I have some as well!?”

“For the little piggies, I’ve arranged for you to get some food from the stalls. Please eat that.”

“I see… N-No, even that makes me plenty happy…”

Apparently, she made sure to properly compensate them for their labor. Honestly, those guys would probably work for free anyway. Hoshino also happily started picking up rice balls. It wasn’t exactly a party, but even for us younger people, it seemed food came before flowers. The cherry blossoms had already disappeared from my awareness.

“I’ll have one too.”

“Here you go, Hiro-san.”

Just as I reached for a rice ball, Yuki handed me one first.

“Plum is fine, right?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I also have hot tea. Would you like some?”

“Yeah, please.”

“Okay.”

I felt like Yuki was taking care of me at the same level as Sayuki. Was it really okay for me to get used to this? It made me a little worried.

“Huh…”

“…What’s wrong?”

Hoshino was staring at us with a somewhat blank expression.

“You guys kind of look like a married couple. Like you’re in sync.”

“M-Married couple!? N-No way! We’re high school students!?”

It looked like one person still had trauma even though the earlier misunderstanding had been cleared up.

“A married couple, huh. I wouldn’t mind being told that.”

Yuki said that with a slightly dreamy expression.

“Hey. It’s just because we’re childhood friends, right?”

“Childhood friends, huh. Oh, hey. How did you two meet?”

Hoshino asked with clear curiosity. Even if she asked that, though… Meetings like that probably weren’t anything special. Well, maybe it was special for us. But in the end, it was just two people who happened to meet by chance.

“Hiro-san and I met at this park, right?”

“No, we had seen each other before that.”

“But that was the first time we talked.”

“Well, yeah.”

In this park’s cherry blossom grove, there was a small pond further inside. That was where we first recognized each other and spoke for the first time. I remembered that time clearly.

“What kind of meeting was it?”

“Well, you see…”

Yuki glanced at me. That was the face she made when she was about to say something ridiculous.

“Hiro-san fell in love with me at first sight, hugged me, and kissed me.”

“Eek, how bold!”

“How indecent…”

Don’t blush. And what do you mean indecent, you pig glasses guy? You think you’re super innocent or something? You??

“That’s all Yuki’s lie, okay?”

“My, Hiro-san is getting shy again. How cute.”

“Asama-kun is shy!”

“Damn it… Hiro Asama, you bastard… damn it, damn it…”

Can you stop making things more complicated? There’s someone actually crying here.

I looked at Yuki for help.

“…That was a joke. We just talked. Then we gradually became closer. The rest is a secret only between Hiro-san and me.”

Yuki placed her index finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. It seemed she never intended to explain in detail from the start. And that was probably fine. Memories were something to reminisce about only with those who shared them. They weren’t something to show off.

“I see. So it’s a secret. That’s too bad.”

“They are precious memories. Not something I can talk about so easily.”

Then Yuki took a bite of her rice ball and chewed quietly before swallowing. After that, she glanced at me with a grin. I had a bad feeling about this.

“But I can tell as many embarrassing secrets about Hiro-san as you want.”

“Wha—”

“I want to hear that!”

Hoshino immediately leaned in.

“Then here’s one. Actually, Hiro-san didn’t stop wetting the bed until he entered middle school.”

“Hey, Yuki-san!?”

That was way too much right out of the gate! There were other things you could’ve said! That crossed the line!

“Hmph. How childish, Hiro Asama.”

“Until middle school is… pretty embarrassing…”

“He would often draw maps on the sheets with his pee and wash them with a tearful face. It was just so cute…”

“That’s a lie! You totally made fun of me!”

I’m never forgetting this. Never. The grudge runs deep.

“TNow, now. I was just teasing you out of love.”

I glared at Yuki, but she brushed it off calmly.

“Ahaha… then what about you, Asama-kun?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you have any embarrassing secrets about Fujisaki-san?”

“Well… let me think…”

Did I have anything? Yuki had always been more composed than me, so nothing embarrassing really came to mind.

“Oh, I got one.”

“Mm. What are you planning to say, Hiro-san?”

“Well, Yuki believed in Santa for a long time.”

“Santa?”

“Back in elementary school, right? You said you were definitely going to meet Santa. You stayed up all night, and I even snuck into your house.”

“What happened then?”

“We both ended up falling asleep. When we woke up, there were presents by the pillow. Yuki cried her eyes out because she couldn’t meet Santa.”

Crying Yuki was pretty cute… And thinking about it, there was even a present for me back then. The Fujisaki family was impressive.

“Fujisaki-san is so cute…”

“Hiro-san!”

Yuki frowned and pulled on my arm.

“That’s payback.”

“Muu… I already know now that Santa doesn’t exist.”

As she said that, Yuki took a bite of her rice ball. It seemed like her way of hiding her embarrassment. But apparently, that statement was a mistake.

“Nee-nee…? Santa doesn’t exist…?”

Huh…? Sayuki…?

Sayuki’s eyes were filled with despair. This was bad. She’d been quiet, focused on eating, so I’d completely forgotten about her. We couldn’t shatter an angel’s dream. We couldn’t waste all the effort the Fujisaki family had put in.

“Sayu-chan? That’s not what I meant… H-Hiro-san, do something!”

“Me!?”

“This is your fault for bringing it up!”

“N-No, uh, Sayu? Santa definitely exists, okay? See, he brings you presents every year, right?”

“Yeah, he does. But nee-nee said… he doesn’t.”

Damn… her trust in Yuki is working against us here.

“S-Sayu-chan, nee-nee might have misspoken a little.”

“Y-Yeah! Yuki can be a bit clumsy!”

“Really…?”

“Yes. Santa exists. He definitely does. You don’t have to worry about anything, Sayu-chan.”

“Okay…”

Sayuki still didn’t look fully convinced. Then, one man stood up.

“How pathetic, Hiro Asama.”

Isogai knelt in front of Sayuki.

“Sayuki-sama. Please watch my ultimate performance. Once you do, the anxiety you’re feeling will surely vanish like a fleeting dream.”

“Fleeting…? I don’t understand what you’re saying, little piggy…”

Ignoring her confusion, Isogai confidently performed his act. No one even chuckled. It felt like the dead of winter had suddenly arrived.

Wait, wasn’t that the otaku dance Hoshino said she had erased from her memory? How did he have the courage to do it again? And how could he look that confident? More importantly, that had nothing to do with whether Santa existed or not. Did he think making her laugh would make her forget?

You’re underestimating our angel.

“What even is Santa…?”

That day, the angel might have taken one small step closer to becoming an adult.

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