My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 24-25

Chapter 24: As Expected, Is Haruto the Only One Living the Good Life?

Afterward, we moved to the library to start studying. The six of us sat at a table meant for six, but the seating arrangement was as follows: from the left by the window, Akiya, Shindo, and Amasaki, and across from them, Sana, me, and Asada, in that order.

Our group stood out quite a bit since everyone except me was strikingly good-looking. Sadly, my appearance was noticeably less impressive, making me feel like an odd one out.

“Hey, Haruto, why is the answer here ‘Yes’ instead of ‘No’?” Akiya asked.

“Oh, that’s a tricky one. It’s because it’s a negative question,” I replied.

“What’s a negative question again?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s that confusing thing where ‘yes’ and ‘no’ get flipped, right?” Shindo chimed in.

Hearing Akiya’s question, Shindo spoke up, and I began explaining the problem.

“Exactly. In English, the rule is that you always answer ‘Yes’ for a positive response and ‘No’ for a negative one,” I said.

“It’s different from Japanese rules, so you just have to practice to get used to it,” Amasaki added.

Amasaki’s comment complemented my explanation. Despite being a group of outgoing types, we were holding a pretty serious study session. It really showed we were at one of Kurashiki’s top academic high schools.

By the way, among the group, Asada and I were the stronger students, Akiya and Amasaki were decent, while Sana and Shindo struggled a bit. However, Asada wasn’t much of a talker, so I ended up doing most of the teaching.

While thinking about this and continuing the study session, I accidentally knocked my eraser off the table. I was about to duck under to pick it up, but since it fell near Asada’s feet, she grabbed it for me.

“Here you go,” she said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Just as I reached to take the eraser from Asada, Sana stretched out her hand and snatched it.

“Sorry, I was just about to use it. I’ll borrow it for a bit,” she said.

“Didn’t you have your own, Sana?” I asked.

“It’s stuck at the bottom of my pencil case, and it’s a hassle to dig out,” she replied.

“Well, whatever, it’s fine,” I said.

Sana had grabbed it right before Asada could hand it to me, but since I didn’t need it urgently, it wasn’t a big deal. After a while, we took a break, and as I was heading to the restroom with Akiya and Amasaki, Sana spoke up.

“Let’s switch seats,” she said.

“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden?” I asked.

“Well, you’re kind of clumsy, Haruto. You dropped your eraser earlier, didn’t you? I figured if I sat on your right, it’d save Rio from any trouble,” she said.

“Yeah, I did make her pick it up, didn’t I?” I admitted.

It was one thing with Sana, my childhood friend, but I felt bad making Asada, just a classmate, deal with my mess. I wanted to avoid that if possible. Besides, we’d just sat down randomly, so I didn’t care much about the seating arrangement. So, I agreed to switch seats with Sana. After that exchange, I headed to the restroom with Akiya and Amasaki.

“Kawaguchi, you don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” Amasaki asked.

“What’s with the sudden question?” Akiya replied.

“You just give off that vibe, like you’d have one. I was curious,” Amasaki said.

“If Akiya kept his mouth shut, he could probably get a girlfriend, but his personality ruins it,” I teased.

“Hey, don’t say that! Though, honestly, you’re not wrong,” Akiya admitted.

No joke, Akiya’s looks could easily land him a girlfriend, but his personality completely sabotaged him. Back in middle school, he got confessed to a few times, but this guy, obsessed with his 2D childhood friend, turned them all down. As someone who doesn’t get that kind of attention, I think it’s such a waste.

“What about you, Hayate?” Akiya asked.

“I don’t have one either right now, but there’s a girl I’m interested in,” Amasaki replied.

“As expected, is Haruto the only one living the good life?” Akiya said.

“No way, I’m easily the furthest from that in this group,” I protested.

“Huh? Aren’t you and Ibuki dating, Kurosaki? I bet everyone thinks so,” Amasaki said.

“What!?” I exclaimed, startled by Amasaki’s words.

—

Sana taking the eraser wasn’t at all about preventing another girl from touching Haruto’s hand, and switching seats definitely wasn’t about keeping him away from other girls, so don’t get any ideas!!

—

Chapter 25: Shouldn’t We Properly Deny It to Avoid Trouble?

After finishing up in the bathroom, we returned to the library and resumed our study session. I couldn’t stop thinking about the earlier comment that people thought Sana and I were dating, but for now, I tried to focus on studying. However, Sana was sticking unusually close to me, making it nearly impossible to concentrate.

“Hey, could you maybe give me a bit more space?” I asked.

“Sorry, but I can’t see the writing in your notebook clearly. My eyesight’s been getting worse lately,” Sana replied.

“That might be true, but still,” I said.

Sana’s explanation made some sense, but pressing our bodies so close together felt like overkill.

Since Rio was sitting too far away, it probably looked to others like we weren’t getting along. Maybe mimicking us, Akiya, Moene, and Hayate were also sitting pretty close to each other.

“Sana-chan and Kurosaki-kun, quit flirting so casually,” Moene teased.

“You’re really showing off, huh?” Hayate added.

“I’m jealous, you jerk!” Akiya chimed in.

Akiya, Moene, and Hayate teased us like that, but as the target of their jokes, I wasn’t thrilled. Sana seemed a bit pleased, but Rio stayed silent.

Rio also looked kind of upset, so maybe she wasn’t a fan of this kind of banter. We kept studying until evening, then left the library together.

“Thanks to Kurosaki-kun, we got a ton done,” Moene said.

“Yeah, when it’s just us, we end up slacking off somehow,” Hayate added.

“If you ever need Haruto, just let me know, and I’ll lend him to you,” Akiya said.

“Hey, don’t make promises like that without asking me!” I protested.

“Exactly. If you want to borrow Haruto, you have to go through me first. I’ll consider it after you pass my strict evaluation,” Sana added.

“No, that’s just as ridiculous!” I shot back.

Sana and Akiya were acting like I was some kind of possession they could lend out. Meanwhile, Rio stayed quiet during the whole exchange.

After that, we parted ways at the school gate. Sana and Akiya were heading in the same direction, so they planned to walk home together, but Akiya said he was making a detour and didn’t join us.

Right before we split up, Akiya whispered to me to “be careful not to act like a wolf and do anything reckless,” but I didn’t need his warning. I’d never do something like that. I’m not some crazy childhood friend otaku like Akiya, after all.

“So, Haruto, what are you doing this weekend?” Sana asked.

“Staying home and studying, obviously,” I replied.

Sure, I did well on the middle school review test, but the upcoming midterms are still early in the material, so it’s easy to slip up. If I let my guard down, my ranking could plummet in no time. I couldn’t afford to slack off.

“In that case, mind if I join you? It’d be helpful to have you around if I get stuck on a problem,” Sana said.

“Yeah, that’s totally fine. Teaching actually helps me study too,” I replied.

I’d realized today that teaching someone else forces you to understand the material deeply. Helping Sana with her questions would benefit my own studies, so I had no reason to refuse.

“By the way, I heard a rumor that you and I are dating,” Sana said.

“What? Seriously?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, I only found out recently myself,” she added.

That explained why some people thought we were a couple. Sure, Sana and I were always together at school, but we were just close friends of the opposite sex. I couldn’t understand why such a rumor was going around.

“Shouldn’t we properly deny it to avoid trouble?” I asked.

“There’s no need to go out of our way. It’s just a rumor, after all,” Sana said firmly.

Since she brushed it off so clearly, I didn’t bring up the topic again.