My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 48-49

Chapter 48: Why?

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A month had passed since then. There had been no contact from Mahiru at all. Even when I sent her messages, they didn’t even show as read. It seemed like I’d been blocked.

The last time we broke up, Mahiru had clung to me, not wanting to be apart. We’d had our share of ups and downs, but she had never blocked me before. This was the first time Mahiru had completely rejected me like this.

Is this how it’s going to end?

Our relationship had been that of sex friends, but Mahiru had clung to the bond we shared.

And I said that to a girl like her. We probably had gone through a realm beyond repair.

Even so, just like last year’s birthday… Everything fell apart again around my birthday.

After that, I told Aoi that we should stop messaging. It wasn’t that Aoi had done anything wrong, but I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it.

Scum Senpai was kind, even though I just couldn’t seem to focus on work. Before I knew it, I kept thinking about what happened that day. Even though no matter how much I thought about it, it wouldn’t take me back to that time.

Even when I kept making mistakes, Senpai didn’t joke around like usual. He just kept taking after me. Was my face really that awful-looking? The kindness from people around me only gouged deeper into my chest.

Then one day, a message came in from Honoka.

『I need to talk to you about Mahiru. Could I have a moment of your time?』

I wondered why she didn’t message me through Senpai, but I agreed.

The day of our meeting arrived. It was a Saturday, but judging by her outfit, Honoka had probably come straight from school. She wore glasses and carried a large bag. We went into a nearby café. After sitting across from me, Honoka ordered a cocoa.

Looking at her like this, she really did have a well-proportioned face. A soft, rounded outline, and large, gentle eyes. She had a kind, calm appearance. A diamond in the rough, maybe. With a little polish, she’d become more and more beautiful.

Her chest was probably an F-cup. Bigger than Mahiru’s. I wondered what kind of face she would make during sex. She seemed so obedient and quiet. Maybe she could take Mahiru’s place.

If she weren’t Senpai’s girlfriend, maybe it would’ve been interesting to try flirting with her.

…And then I realized I was having the worst thoughts I could possibly have.

No. This is wrong.

This girl had come here out of kindness, and here I was, thinking things like that. It felt like I just wanted to destroy everything. It was an old, familiar bad habit of mine. I was sure the look on my face right now must have been awful.

Once her drink arrived, Honoka took off her glasses and placed them on the table, then began to speak.

“About Mahiru… She hasn’t been doing well lately. I’ve heard the general outline of what happened between you two.”

Apparently, Honoka had gone to the same high school as Mahiru and knew a fair bit about her middle school years as well. It wasn’t something Mahiru wanted to be known for, so Honoka had kept quiet until now—but on Senpai’s advice, she had decided to tell me.

Which meant… She probably knew the truth Mahiru had kept hidden in her heart.

Honoka took a sip of her cocoa.

“What I’m about to tell you… I think it’s going to make you feel awful, Nagi-san.

Even so, do you still want to hear it?”

…I nodded.

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Chapter 49: Maya’s Feelings

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Honoka took another sip of her cocoa. Then, warming her palms on the cup, she thought for a moment before beginning to speak.

“I’ll start with what happened in middle school…”

Back then, there was a girl in the class who acted as the leader. She was influential enough to have followers even in other classes. Even I knew about her.

That leader set her sights on Mayu, who was popular in class, and began attacking her. It was probably out of jealousy. Apparently, Mayu had her things thrown out, and false rumors spread about her. I didn’t have any female friends back then. I had no idea any of that was going on.

“I had no idea. She was always so cheerful. I thought she had nothing to worry about…”

Honoka lifted her cup and brought it to her nose, as if to savor the cocoa’s aroma.

“Of course Nagi-san wouldn’t have known. Mahiru made sure to hide it. But back then, because being around you made her a target, she ended up avoiding you.”

Yes. Back then, Mayu had been emotionally unstable, and she often avoided me. Even so, it seemed I myself had also become a target. All those times girls called me “gross” or “otaku”… Was that her doing?

…Hard to say. I couldn’t deny the possibility that those were just their honest opinions.

Honoka continued.

“Then one day… Mahiru was approached by one of that leader’s followers. They tried to get her to agree with them while they talked badly about you. That girl said, ‘Don’t worry, he’s not here.’”

Honoka adjusted her grip on the mug handle a few times. Then she looked at me steadily.

“Afraid of becoming the next target, Mahiru said you were gross… She said she called you disgusting. She told me she was overwhelmed with self-loathing and felt awful right after. She never imagined you’d be there to hear it.”

As I listened, the memory came back to me. That time, someone had told me, “Mayu is calling for you,” and I went out into the hallway to look for her.

So it was them. In middle school, the social hierarchy among girls was absolute. Especially with someone like Mayu, who was very dependent on others. And we were all still emotionally immature back then. If I had been in her position…Would I have had the strength to protect her?

But still…

I said to Honoka:

“Even so. She could’ve explained herself or made some excuse before we graduated, right?”

“She said she tried to, many times. But you wouldn’t listen to her. And by the time she realized it… You had already moved away.”

It was true. After that incident, I completely ignored Mayu. Then I moved away without a word. It was a sudden move, because of my father’s job. I didn’t have any friends, so there was no way Mayu would have known where I went.

If I had just listened to her back then, would our future have turned out differently?

I leaned on the table, raking my fingers through my hair. As she watched me, Honoka continued.

“That’s all from Mahiru’s side. I don’t know the whole truth. From here on, it’s partly my own perspective.”

She said she met Mahiru during their second year of high school. Back then, Mahiru had been the complete opposite of how I knew her.

“Mahiru wore thick glasses and spent all her time studying. She didn’t try to talk to anyone. She was always alone. I only had the chance to talk to her a little once, and she said something that really stuck with me: ‘There’s a university I absolutely have to get into.’”

Then Honoka said she’d reunited with Mahiru in college.

“When I saw her on campus, she looked so different that I didn’t even recognize her at first. After that, since we’d gone to the same high school, we started getting closer, and she eventually began opening up to me.”

Why was Mahiru so determined to get into this particular university?

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