My Childhood Friend Who is My Girlfriend was Stolen by My Best Friend. From Now on, I'll Flirt with My Ex-Best Friend's Little Sister! - Chapter 36

Mission 5: Beat Up My Former Best Friend (2)

“…what’s your demand?”

As my loss becomes certain, I ask about my former best friend’s demand.

However, there’s no need for me to accept this demand. The condition is that I just need to hear him out.

My former best friend takes off his glasses and stares at me directly.

Then, he clearly says his demand.

“Can you punch me once?”

My eyes widen slightly in surprise at the demand that comes out from his mouth.

“I’m not asking for your forgiveness or as an atonement. I just want you to hit me as a form of closure.”

I stand up, grab my belongings, and take Rinka’s hand.

“Is it really okay, Senpai…?”

Rinka asks me as I’m about to leave the living room.

“If I punch you, you’ll feel a little better.”

“…I guess you saw right through me. Yeah, I want to feel a little better. Apparently, guilt catches up with you later. The more I realize how terrible my actions are, the more my conscience torments me.”

My former friend rests his elbows on the dining table and looks down.

I stop moving just as I place my hand on the living room door.

I take my hand away from the doorknob and turn back.

“—well, I’m still pissed, so is it okay if I hit you?”

“…yeah. But are you sure about this?”

“I don’t care about how you feel. I just want to make myself feel better. That’s all.”

“I see. Then go ahead and hit me as much as you want.”

My former best friend stands up from his chair and moves aside.

There is nothing around us.

This way, I won’t cause any collateral damage.

“I’ll say this in advance, I won’t be able to hold myself back.”

“Yeah, if you pull your punches, that’d be a problem.”

He closes his eyes and prepares himself to be hit.

My dad has taught me some martial arts. I started it as a way to strengthen my weak mental state…but ultimately, it didn’t improve my mental strength at all.

Still, I have some confidence in my strength.

My former best friend is well aware of that too.

So, I decide to go all out without holding back.

I clench my right fist and strike him not on the cheek—but directly on his abdomen.

“…ugh!?”

Clutching his stomach, he collapses to his knees.

It seems that he was expecting to be hit in the face, he didn’t expect me punch him on his abdomen.

“That feels pretty good.”

“…I-I see. That’s good to hear…c-can I say just one last thing?”

“What is it?”

As he curls up on the floor, my former best friend stops us.

He squints his eyes and says,

“I’m going to be living alone soon.”

“…huh?”

“I told my mom and dad everything I’ve done, and after getting hit and scolded…in the end, they decided that I’ll be living alone. I think Rinka will get a call from my mom about it later. So, well…what I want to say is, there is no need for you to be scared of me…”

If my former best friend lives alone, it’s safe for Rinka to come back to this house, but…

“I don’t know about that. Just because you live alone doesn’t mean Rinka is safe. There’s still a chance that you’ll come to see Rinka outside.”

“I have no intention of harming Rinka. That’s the truth.”

“I can’t believe what a liar says. Even today, you tricked us to come see you.”

“Heh…I guess what you do really comes back to you, huh? It’s true that I can’t be trusted when I say that. Well, if you’re that worried, you should protect Rinka yourself, Toshiya.”

“That’s my intention from the beginning.”

My former best friend lets out a faint smile and raises his right knee up while sitting on the floor.

I turn around and once again grab the doorknob of the living room door.

“Toshiya, you really are too soft…”

“…what are you talking about?”

His voice and tone sound more like he is talking to himself than directed at me.

I can’t help but look back.

“You don’t trust me, yet you accepted the shogi match. If Toshiya wins, I promised to fulfil one of your demands, but if you don’t trust me, you should have just ignored me and gone home.”

“…I tend to trust people easily. I was offered with such unbelievable conditions, I was tempted.”

“…to hear my side of the story—yeah, I see. I’m sorry for taking up your time.”

“Yeah.”

I open the living room door and take a step forward.

As I’m leaving, he blurts out something that catches my ears.

“If you don’t change that soft personality of yours, you’ll be taken advantage of one day. I know I shouldn’t be the one to say this, though…”

“…yeah, that’s none of your business.”

I mutter a response and take Rinka’s hand. With that, we leave the Nakajo household.