My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 16-17

Chapter 16: Just Wait a Little Longer

“…Haruto, what on earth were you doing while I was gone?”

“I was just helping someone.”

“W-Well, then, I’ll be going.”

The atmosphere around Sana was so unusually tense that I could only manage that response. Even though I hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, she made me feel as if I had committed some tremendous sin.

The woman who had been walking while looking at her phone couldn’t stand the tension either and slipped away. Well, if I were in her position, I would probably do the same, so I understood her feelings perfectly.

“Could you tell me more specifically and in detail about that part where you helped someone?”

“Yeah, actually…”

I began explaining the earlier incident in full detail without holding anything back. Sana’s expression didn’t change much from her usual one, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all, giving off an intense pressure. I had the feeling that if I lied, something terrifying would happen.

“…Hmm, I see. So that was purely for saving a life.”

“It was just helping her when she was about to trip because she was walking while looking at her phone, so it’s not as dramatic as calling it life-saving, but your understanding is mostly correct.”

“For now, I understand your side of the story very well.”

After saying that, Sana fell silent. I had no idea what words would come out of her mouth next, so I was filled with all sorts of worries. She remained quiet for a while, but finally, she opened her heavy mouth.

“Then, to see if it’s true, could you demonstrate it in front of me?”

As soon as she finished saying that, Sana leaned toward me and collapsed. Caught off guard by the sudden action, my mind couldn’t keep up, but I caught her in my arms just like I had with the woman earlier.

“What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?”

“I thought having you demonstrate it for real would be the best way. For now, this proves that you’re not some sex offender who boldly harasses people in public facilities.”

“Hey, hey, was there a suspicion like that?”

“Come on, Haruto is a healthy high school boy, right? You never know what might happen.”

Sana said that so casually. Of course, the reason I had the illusion that the temperature had dropped earlier must have been because she suspected I might have strayed from the path of decency.

“…Anyway, I think that just now already proved it, so could you let go soon?”

“Not yet. There’s a different smell on your body from usual, and it’s making me uneasy, so I need to overwrite it.”

“I don’t think there’s any particular smell.”

“Just wait a little longer anyway.”

Sana was fully intent on clinging to me for a while longer. I couldn’t bring myself to forcibly peel her off, so while being stared at by everyone around us, I ended up with Sana hugging me.

After that, with Sana’s mood completely restored, we resumed wandering around the aquarium. We took a break for lunch along the way and strolled through the exhibits, and by the time we had completed a full lap, it was a good time to head out. We bought souvenirs at the shop and left the aquarium to start heading home.

“That was fun.”

“Yes, aquariums are wonderful no matter how old you get.”

“I enjoyed it so much that I feel a little sorry for Sana’s friend who suddenly couldn’t come.”

“…That girl is probably happy too that the pair tickets she bought didn’t go to waste.”

For some reason, when the topic of Sana’s friend came up, she hesitated a bit. Seeing her like that, I sensed something was off, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what it was, so I gave up quickly.

All in all, I thought we spent this year’s Golden Week quite meaningfully. Now, I just had to make sure not to forget and finish my homework too.

—
Chapter 17: Your Reaction Is So Predictable That It’s Not Even a Little Bit Fun…

A week had passed since Golden Week ended, and today, the classroom after school was wrapped in a slightly tense atmosphere. That made sense, because the announcement of the preliminary exams that had just taken place finally signaled the start of midterms.

“Having midterms starting next week is such a drag.”

“Akiya, if you let your guard down, you could plummet to the bottom ranks in no time.”

“It’s not funny that that’s a real possibility.”

The high school we attended, Seiryo High School, was the top deviation value school in Kurashiki City, an elite prep school, and all our classmates had passed the entrance exams to get in. In other words, everyone around us was basically top performers from middle school.

Because of that, on the day after the entrance ceremony, during the review test for middle school material, a bunch of classmates who had never gotten bad rankings before ended up moping around, and that was still fresh in my memory.

By the way, Akiya apparently ranked around the middle, but Sana had originally aimed for a high school one rank below and had barely passed, so she ended up with a ranking close to the bottom. While I was talking about that with Akiya, Sana came over.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s head home.”

“See you later, Akiya.”

“See you both tomorrow.”

Sana and I left the classroom and headed to the shoe area. Since club activities were suspending starting today after school, more people than usual seemed eager to head home.

“Hey, Haruto. Will you go out with me?”

“Go out with you for what?”

“Your reaction is so predictable that it’s not even a little bit fun…”

After hearing my response, Sana made a face for some reason that looked utterly bored. Ignoring me completely, since I had no idea what was wrong, she continued the conversation.

“You know how bad my scores were on that review test in April, right? If the midterms next week turn out the same way, it’ll be seriously bad, so I want you to help me study.”

“I see, that’s what you meant. Sure, I don’t mind.”

“I’m glad, since there wasn’t anyone else I could really ask. So, let’s start right away today.”

“By the way, where are we studying?”

“How about the municipal library? It’s right on the way home anyway.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

The municipal library was close enough that we could get right home from there afterward, and the inside was spacious, so it was the perfect spot. After leaving school, Sana and I started walking toward the municipal library.

“It looks like other schools had their preliminary exam announcements today too.”

“I heard that public general high schools basically have the same schedule, even down to the cultural festival dates overlapping.”

“Wait, even the cultural festivals overlap!? That’s no fun—I was looking forward to checking out other schools’ festivals.”

“I don’t know about private high schools, though.”

We arrived at the municipal library while chatting like that. With midterms just a week away, the place was full of people in uniforms. We grabbed an empty table and immediately started studying together. We began by working on the preview problems for tomorrow’s classes.

“Ah, that’s past participle form, not past tense.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

As I solved my own problems and glanced at Sana’s notebook, I pointed that out, and she straightforwardly accepted the correction. Before, whenever I pointed out a mistake, Sana would almost always get annoyed, but now things were different.

That’s why teaching Sana now was incredibly easy. Sure, she still had her high pride as always, but the fact that she could be this straightforward was truly an amazing change. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the old Sana—the one who was arrogant and had a queen bee temperament—was nowhere to be found anymore.

“Sorry, I need to use the restroom for a bit.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep at it here.”

After seeing Sana off, as I tried to push forward with my preview work, someone suddenly called out to me from behind.

“Ah, is that back view maybe Kurosaki?”

When I turned around after being called, a tall girl with blonde hair in a gal style was standing there.