My Childhood Friend Who Takes Care of Me Seems to Be a Yandere... No, That Must Be a Misunderstanding - Chapter 12-13

Chapter 12: My Childhood Friend Is Good at Teasing

The sound of my heart is loud. I can feel Mii-chan’s breath close to me.

“…Hehe.”

Mii-chan’s giggling voice echoed in my ear.

“Eh…?”

I slowly opened my eyes.

In front of me was Mii-chan, smiling happily.

“Hina, you were making such a cute face just now.”

“A… cute face…?”

“Yeah. It was like… you were waiting for a kiss or something?”

“~~~!!!”

My head felt like it was about to boil over.

“N-No, that’s not it! It’s not like that!!”

I waved my hands frantically, but Mii-chan smiled with complete ease.

“Is that so? But when I got close, you tightly shut your eyes… right, Hina?”

“~~~~~~!!!”

Embarrassed, I dove into the blankets.

Has Mii-chan gotten better at teasing lately?

“…Hehe, so cute.”

Mii-chan giggled again as she looked at me, hidden under the blankets.

I can’t do this anymore. It’s too embarrassing to show my face.

“Hina, come out?”

“No… I don’t want to…”

“Why not?”

“…It’s embarrassing.”

When I answered honestly, Mii-chan made an even happier sound.

“(Ahh~ so cute… She’s aware of me.)”

“…?”

Suddenly, Mii-chan went silent. I was curious and peeked my face out of the blankets. There, Mii-chan was smiling even more happily than before, staring at me.

“Hina, you’re really cute.”

“That’s not true…”

“It is.”

Mii-chan said this firmly. Then, she began to gently stroke my head, which was slightly out of the blankets. She stroked it with tenderness, as if she adored me.

But I felt a mix of guilt, embarrassment, and the pleasant sensation of being petted, creating a confusing feeling inside me.

I stayed still under the blankets.

Mii-chan’s hand gently stroked my head, and my heart warmed softly. But each time I felt that comfort, I remembered what happened yesterday, and the guilt tightened in my chest. Why did I do something like that? I couldn’t accept that I had kissed Mii-chan while she was asleep.

“Hina?”

I heard Mii-chan’s voice, so I looked up at her. Mii-chan was still looking at me with a kind face. Her eyes were staring directly at me, and I felt embarrassed again, so I looked away.

“(Hina seems to be really worried about the kiss last night. As for me, I’m totally happy about it, and I actually want more… But I guess for Hina, sneaking a kiss while she’s asleep feels like a betrayal or something, like it’s immoral.)”

While Mii-chan continued to stroke my head, she kept staring at me.

Mii-chan kept gently stroking my head, and then she suddenly looked at the clock. When she noticed it was already past lunchtime, she spoke to me.

“Hina, lunch is ready.”

I lifted my face slightly in response to her voice. A sense of relief spread in my chest. The guilt was still deep inside, but I decided not to think about it for now. Today, I would eat the food Mii-chan made for me and try to relax.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll go.”

When I said that, I felt a little lighter.

—

Chapter 13: Consulting About My Actions Toward My Childhood Friend

After eating lunch together, Mii-chan went out to do some shopping. Normally, I would go with her, but today I wanted to be alone, so I decided to pass on going with her.

If I went shopping with her now, I wouldn’t be able to have a normal conversation anyway…

Mii-chan didn’t ask any more questions, just waved her hand and said, “I’ll be back soon,” and left.

“Sigh…”

Once I was alone in my room, I let out a big sigh. I wanted to change my mood, but it was hard to do so.

Actually, considering what I did, I felt like I shouldn’t change my mood so easily.

“(I wish I could talk to someone…)”

Even though I wanted to talk to someone, what I did—kissing her while she was asleep—was almost criminal… or maybe it was already a crime. So, the number of people I could talk to was limited. I definitely couldn’t tell Mii-chan, and if I told any other friends, they’d probably be really freaked out.

“(That’s it! Aoi-chan might….)”

When I talked about the accidental kiss before, Aoi-chan listened to me without pulling back. Maybe she’d be able to help me now.

“Yeah, I’ll call Aoi-chan!”

I immediately decided to take action. I quickly dialed Aoi-chan’s number.

After a few rings, Aoi-chan answered the phone.

“Hina? What’s up?”

“Ah, Aoi-chan? Sorry for calling so suddenly… Is it okay to talk?”

“It’s fine, but is something wrong?”

Aoi-chan responded in her usual cheerful tone. That was really comforting to me right now.

“Um… there’s something I want to talk about…”

“What is it? Is it about your childhood friend?”

“…You know?”

“Well, yeah.”

Aoi-chan answered, sounding a bit proud, almost as if she was saying, “I knew it all along.” In reality, Aoi-chan was very perceptive and always paid attention to me. That’s probably why she could tell without me saying anything.

“So, what’s the deal? What’s going on with your childhood friend?”

“Uh… well, it’s about last night…”

I gripped my phone tightly as I carefully chose my words. I needed to say it right. But once I said it, I didn’t know how Aoi-chan would react. What if she’s put off? What if she’s disgusted? Those thoughts ran through my head.

“Mm-hmm.”

Aoi-chan didn’t rush me and waited patiently, making it easier for me to speak. Her kindness was really comforting right now.

“…Well, while she was asleep… I… kissed her…”

“…Huh?”

Aoi-chan’s voice became slightly stiff.

“So… while Mii-chan was sleeping, I… kissed her…”

After saying it, I felt the guilt weighing down on me again. Kissing someone without their consent while they’re asleep is obviously wrong. But I still did it.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

“…I see?”

Aoi-chan’s voice was now more careful. She didn’t brush it off lightly, but she didn’t immediately scold me either. That vague response made me even more nervous.

“So, it’s really bad, right…?”

I asked, already knowing the answer myself. But unless someone pointed it out to me, I felt like I’d keep making excuses for myself.

“Hmm… Well, yeah, I guess it’s wrong, but… (Hina’s childhood friend seems to like Hina… Honestly, if she knew she was kissed, she might not be mad. She’d probably be really happy about it. But it’s all just my guess… hmm…)”

Aoi-chan went silent for a moment as if she was thinking about something.