My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 18-19

Chapter 18: Sure, Haruto Isn’t Mine, but He’s My Precious Childhood Friend

The fact that she said my name means she’s definitely someone I know, but no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t recall ever knowing a gal like her.

“Uh…” I mumbled.

“Oh, you really don’t recognize me, huh? Well, I did go through a major makeover for my high school debut,” she said.

I see. So her gal-like appearance was a recent change. Now that she mentioned it, her voice did sound vaguely familiar. As I was thinking this, the gal-looking girl dropped a bombshell.

“Wanna try groping my boobs like usual? That might jog your memory,” she teased.

“Wait, could it be… Kanzaki?!” I blurted out.

“Ding-ding! You finally remembered,” she said with a cheerful tone.

The gal-turned-girl, now revealed as Rui Kanzaki, let out a bright exclamation. Kanzaki was a middle school classmate who loved to tease me with borderline inappropriate comments, knowing I wasn’t exactly popular with girls. And, needless to say, I’ve never once groped her boobs.

“You’ve gone full-on gal, so I didn’t recognize you at all,” I admitted.

“It kinda hurt when you looked at me like, ‘Who’s this chick?’” she said.

Kanzaki pouted, pretending to cry, but I knew it was an act. She’s the type who enjoys messing with unpopular guys like me.

“By the way, is it okay to have such flashy hair and makeup? Most schools would have the guidance counselor all over you for that,” I pointed out.

“Oh, my school’s pretty chill about that stuff,” she replied.

“Is there even a school around here like that?” I asked.

As far as I knew, no high school in Okayama Prefecture—outside of night schools—allowed dyed hair. As I pondered this, Kanzaki quickly provided the answer.

“Ever heard of Fukuyama Campus, attached to Hiroshima Gakuen University?” she said.

“Oh, that place,” I nodded.

Hiroshima Gakuen University’s affiliated high school has a reputation for sky-high academic standards, far surpassing Seiryo High School, where I study. It’s undeniably one of the toughest schools in the Chugoku region.

It made sense now. I recalled their school rules were lenient on fashion as long as you kept up with academics, so Kanzaki’s gal vibe checked out.

“By the way, what’s Kurosaki-kun doing in the library?” she asked.

“As you can see, studying. Midterms start next week,” I answered.

“Yeah, it’s about that time for everyone, isn’t it?” she said.

As we chatted, a sudden chill ran through me. I turned around to see Sana standing there, radiating the same dark aura she had at Utazu Aquarium. But Kanzaki, unfazed, spoke up casually.

“Hey, it’s Sana-chan! Long time no see,” she chirped.

“…Wait, are you Rui?” Sana asked, surprised.

“Yup, Sana-chan recognized me right away, didn’t she?” Kanzaki grinned.

Unlike me, Sana instantly saw through Kanzaki’s gal transformation. Girls must be sharper about these things.

“I hope you’re not, like, hitting on Haruto or anything,” Sana said, her tone suspicious.

“Hmm, just offered to let him grope my boobs, that’s all,” Kanzaki replied playfully.

“Hey, don’t try to taint my Haruto!” Sana snapped.

“I was just trying to fulfill a guy’s dream, but wow, that’s harsh,” Kanzaki said, feigning sadness.

Sana was completely thrown off by Kanzaki’s relentless teasing. Come to think of it, Kanzaki always had the upper hand over Sana back in middle school.

“Anyway, I don’t think Kurosaki-kun belongs to you, Sana-chan,” Kanzaki added.

“Sure, Haruto isn’t mine, but he’s my precious childhood friend,” Sana shot back.

“…Wow, Sana-chan, you’ve changed,” Kanzaki said, her tone shifting.

Kanzaki, who had been in full-on tease mode, seemed genuinely impressed by Sana’s words. She must have noticed Sana was different from before.

“Since you’ve gotten so honest, Sana-chan, I’ll let Kurosaki-kun off the hook for now,” Kanzaki said with a smirk.

“Just get out of here already,” Sana huffed.

“See you both later!” Kanzaki called out.

With that, she left us. I thought I could finally get back to studying, but Sana turned to me with an interrogating glare.

“So, you really didn’t grope her boobs, right?” she demanded.

“Of course not! Who’d do that in a library?” I protested.

“So, you’re saying you might’ve done it somewhere else?” she pressed.

“That was just a figure of speech!” I clarified.

“Anyway, Haruto’s my childhood friend, so don’t you dare do anything careless!” she warned.

Maybe because Kanzaki had toyed with her, Sana was a bit riled up.

—

Chapter 19: You Must Feel Gross in That State

Despite the interruption from a classmate, we continued studying without further incident, but before we knew it, evening had crept up on us.

“It’s getting dark outside. Let’s call it a day,” I said.

“Oh, it’s already that late?” Sana replied.

“Yeah, I glanced outside and was shocked,” I added.

“You’re right. I didn’t even notice,” she said.

We’d been so focused that we lost track of time. For me, teaching Sana was so enjoyable that I got carried away. Unlike before, she didn’t complain or act bratty. She took my pointers seriously, and given her ability to get into our high school, her comprehension was impressive, making it rewarding to teach her. At this rate, she had a good shot at ranking higher on the midterms than she did on the review test right after the entrance ceremony.

Then again, Sana had spent spring break fooling around and even copied my homework for the pre-enrollment assignments, which explained her poor performance on that review test. As we left the library with these thoughts in mind, we noticed it was raining.

“Huh, was it supposed to rain today?” I asked.

“No, the morning forecast said it’d be sunny,” Sana answered.

“Yeah, even when they predict rain, it usually doesn’t happen,” I said.

Okayama Prefecture, known as the “Sunny Country,” rarely saw rain. Many locals figured a 30% chance of precipitation meant it wouldn’t rain at all. So, the fact that it was raining despite no forecast was surprising.

“What should we do? Stay in the library a bit longer?” I suggested.

“We don’t know when it’ll stop, and it’s not too bad, so we won’t get that wet. Let’s head home,” Sana said.

“Alright, sounds good,” I agreed.

I had no objections to Sana’s suggestion, so we started walking home. But that decision turned out to be a mistake.

“What the heck? Why’s it suddenly pouring?!” Sana exclaimed.

“This is seriously bad,” I said.

What had been a light drizzle moments ago turned into a torrential downpour, like someone had flipped a bucket of water over us. We were both in a panic. The only silver lining was that we were close to Sana’s house.

“We’re completely soaked. This is the worst,” Sana groaned.

“Yeah, we definitely should’ve stayed at the library,” I said.

We stood under the roof of Sana’s front porch, lamenting our situation. The timing couldn’t have been worse.

“It doesn’t look like the rain’s letting up anytime soon. Come inside and wait it out,” Sana offered.

“Huh, you sure? I was just gonna borrow an umbrella and head home,” I said.

“No need to be shy. Come on in. I’d feel bad sending you home like that,” she insisted.

“Well, if you say so,” I said.

My house wasn’t far, but even with an umbrella, I’d get wetter, so her offer was a lifesaver. I decided to take her up on it and stepped inside.

“Why don’t you take a shower? You must feel gross in that state,” Sana suggested.

“Nah, that’s too much. And if I’m showering, you should go first,” I said.

“I’m fine going after,” she replied.

“No way, that’d make me feel too guilty,” I protested.

Needless to say, Sana was just as drenched as I was, so our situations were the same. There was no way I’d shower before her. I tried to decline, but Sana wouldn’t budge.

We went back and forth, each insisting the other go first, but for some reason, Sana stubbornly refused to give in. In the end, I was the one who ended up showering first. Not wanting to keep her waiting, I planned to make it quick and get out.

But as I stepped into the bathroom and reached for the shower lever, Sana walked in—completely naked, without a hint of hesitation. Wait, what?!