My Childhood Friend Who Takes Care of Me Seems to Be a Yandere... No, That Must Be a Misunderstanding - Chapter 24-26

Chapter 24: The Warmth of a Childhood Friend

In a hazy state of consciousness, I slowly opened my eyes.

The room was still dim, with morning sunlight slipping faintly through a gap in the curtains.

It was warm.

The moment I realized that, I noticed I couldn’t move my body.

“…Hm?”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I tried to understand what was happening.

Beside me was Mii-chan.

She was holding onto my arm like she was protecting something, tightly wrapping me in her embrace.

Her expression was so peaceful, and somehow looked content.

(…So cute.)

I couldn’t help but stare at her.

Even though Mii-chan was just sleeping quietly next to me, something deep in my chest felt like it was being squeezed.

Watching her sleeping face, I let out a small breath.

Even though she sometimes teases me and says mean things.

Right now, Mii-chan was just quietly holding me in her sleep.

A gentle warmth spread through my chest.

I slowly tried to pull my arm away. But Mii-chan was holding me more tightly than I expected, and it didn’t look like I’d be able to get free easily.

“…Mmm…”

Giving up, I let myself stay in her arms.

Then, Mii-chan’s face moved a little closer.

She breathed softly, and her warm breath touched my skin. It tickled, and I tensed up without meaning to.

Why does that little movement make her feel so dear to me?

My heart was pounding loudly.

Until now, I thought of Mii-chan as just a “best friend.”

But that’s not all.

I finally realized.

—I love Mii-chan.

As soon as I admitted that, my face got hot.

What if she finds out? Just being held like this makes my heart so noisy.

I shifted my body just a little.

…But in that moment—

“…Hina…”

A faint voice like sleep-talking reached my ears.

Surprised, I froze.

Mii-chan was still asleep. But her expression looked so happy, and her soft breathing tickled the side of my neck.

It’s not fair.

It’s like I’m the only one feeling this way. It’s frustrating.

I gently touched Mii-chan’s cheek with my fingertips.

“…You’re not fair, Mii-chan.”

I whispered quietly. I didn’t know if she heard me or not.

Mii-chan didn’t say anything. She just tightened her arms around me, just a little.

Her warmth felt so comforting. I felt safe. I found myself wishing this moment could last forever.

Just a little longer, I’ll stay like this.

Thinking that, I softly closed my eyes.

—

Chapter 25: Switched Roles With My Childhood Friend

The sound of the alarm rang out.

I flinched and quickly opened my eyes.

…Oh, right. I fell asleep while being held by Mii-chan.

With a foggy head, I remembered what happened and quietly peeked at Mii-chan’s face. She still had the same calm sleeping face, completely unfazed by the alarm.

But I couldn’t stay like that.

“…Oh no, school…”

When I checked the time, there wasn’t much left. I tried to gently pull my arm away, but Mii-chan was still tightly hugging me, holding on stronger than I expected.

“Mii-chan, wake up… we’ll be late for school…”

When I whispered to her, Mii-chan slightly moved her eyebrows.

“…Nn… no…”

Her sleepy voice was so cute it made my chest tighten. Usually, she’s the one being woken up, so I rarely get to see her like this. But now’s not the time to enjoy it.

“No, seriously! We’re really going to be late!”

I shook Mii-chan’s shoulder. Then, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me with a hazy expression.

“…Morning, Hina.”

Just hearing my name in that slightly hoarse voice made my heart jump. But more importantly—

“Don’t ‘morning’ me! Get up! We need to get ready!”

“…I want to stay like this a little longer.”

Mii-chan said that and tightened her arms around me.

“No! We’ll be late!”

I resisted with all my strength and finally managed to shake off her arms. Then I threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed in a hurry.

“Mii-chan, hurry up and get ready too!”

“…Okay…”

Grumbling a bit, Mii-chan finally sat up.

It felt like our roles were reversed from usual…

Thinking that, I quickly changed into my uniform and rushed to the bathroom. The face in the mirror was slightly red.

(…I really can’t stop thinking about it.)

I splashed my face with water to calm down, then quickly finished breakfast and left the house with Mii-chan.

Outside, the morning air brushed coolly against my skin.

“We’ve really got to hurry, we’re cutting it close.”

“…You were too cute, Hina. I didn’t want to let go.”

“Wh—!”

Her sudden comment made my heart leap.

“Geez! Don’t say stuff like that!”

“Fufu, even embarrassed Hina is cute.”

Mii-chan smiled in satisfaction.

…She’s seriously not fair.

Pouting, I grabbed Mii-chan’s hand and pulled her along.

“Come on, let’s go already!”

“Yeah, yeah. Being dragged around by you isn’t so bad.”

Saying that, Mii-chan squeezed my hand tightly in return.

My heart jumped again.

(…I really do love her.)

I bit my lip tightly and I ran off together with Mii-chan.

—

Chapter 26: Asking for Advice About My Feelings for My Childhood Friend

I rushed into the classroom just as the bell was about to ring and sat down at my desk, out of breath.

“Good morning, Hina. That was really close, huh?”

Aoi-chan, sitting next to me, giggled and spoke to me.

“Ugh… that was so close…”

As I caught my breath and replied, Aoi looked at me with a curious expression.

“By the way, you were with Shiraishi-san this morning, right? I saw you two running together just now.”

“Ugh… y-yeah…”

“Did something happen?”

Aoi-chan stared at me, and I quickly looked away.

“N-nothing happened! I just woke up a little late, that’s all!”

“Huh?”

Unable to withstand Aoi-chan’s suspicious gaze, I hurriedly opened my textbook, trying to change the subject.

But even during class, I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened this morning.

Mii-chan hugging me, calling my name in a sleepy voice…

“(…!!)”

When class ended and break began, I immediately headed over to Aoi-chan.

“Aoi-chan, I need to talk to you about something…!”

Aoi-chan seemed to sense something from my expression and nodded, saying, “Okay, okay, I’ll listen.”

We sat together at a corner of the classroom, and I lowered my voice to speak quietly.

“I think… I like Mii-chan.”

When I said that, Aoi-chan didn’t look surprised. Instead, she nodded as if she already knew.

“Yeah, I knew.”

“Eh?!”

“Because, Hina, it was pretty obvious from the way you act. The only question was when you’d realize it yourself.”

Aoi-chan smiled brightly.

“R-really? It was that obvious?”

“Yeah, really obvious. Whenever you talk about Shiraishi-san, you look super happy, and you care about her so much. You almost got late because of her, right?”

“Ugh… well… yeah…”

I felt like everything was being seen through, and I blushed, looking down.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Aoi-chan’s question made me freeze.

“…What do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“Are you going to confess, or just keep things the way they are?”

I was at a loss for words.

I had always been with Mii-chan as a best friend, but if I confessed these feelings, things would change. If she didn’t feel the same, we might not be able to stay as close as we were before.

“I’m scared… maybe.”

When I spoke my honest feelings, Aoi-chan smiled gently.

“Yeah, I get it. But, Hina, I think Shiraishi-san feels something special for you too.”

“…Eh?”

“Because, you know, she’s always so clingy with you, right? And her obsession with you doesn’t seem like just friendship.”

“D-do you think so…?”

I could feel my heart racing at Aoi-chan’s words.

“Well, you don’t have to rush. But if you’ve realized your feelings, you should face them properly.”

Aoi-chan’s words felt like they were pushing me forward.

“…Yeah. I’ll think about it.”

I answered, and I was sure my face was bright red.