My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 33-34

Chapter 33: On the Contrary, Haru-kun and Sana-chan Haven’t Changed at All from Their Old Images

But even as I looked at the woman standing in front of me, I had no idea who she was. I tried to recall if I had ever known someone like her, but honestly, I had absolutely no recollection.

“Haruto, what are you doing… Wait, who’s that girl?”

“Could you possibly be Sana-chan?”

She apparently knew Sana. Sana had initially worn a blank expression, but she soon opened her mouth with a look of surprise.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Ruka, would you?”

“I’m glad you remembered me.”

“Wait, Ruka—you mean that Ruka?”

“Yes, it looks like you finally remembered me too, Haru-kun.”

Ruka said that and smiled. Kuon Ruka had originally lived in the neighborhood and had attended kindergarten and elementary school with me and Sana; she was another childhood friend.

However, when we were in the third grade of elementary school, her family moved to Tokyo due to her parents’ job transfer, and since none of us had smartphones back then, we had no way to stay in touch, so that was the end of it.

That meant it had been over five years since we last saw each other. Given how much her appearance had changed, it was honestly unavoidable that I hadn’t recognized her. For the time being, we finished our errand and left the bookstore to talk outside.

“Why are you here in Kurashiki when you were supposed to have gone to Tokyo? Is it something like a homecoming visit?”

“No, I moved back here a little while ago.”

“By the way, have you decided on your transfer school?”

“Um, I think it was called Seiryo High School. I’m scheduled to transfer at the beginning of June, for now.”

The name Ruka mentioned was our high school. So, the mysterious transfer student rumored to be coming to our school turned out to be Ruka.

“By the way, Sana and I go to that high school too.”

“Wow, what an amazing coincidence—I’m shocked. We can hang out as a trio again, just like old times.”

“Yeah, it’s been since elementary school, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Ruka wore a delighted expression, but for some reason, I sensed wariness from Sana. I doubted Ruka had noticed, but after our long friendship, it was clear to me. However, I had no idea why she felt that way.

“Still, you’ve changed so much, Ruka—I seriously had no clue who you were at first.”

“Well, the last time you and I met was in the winter of third grade, so I guess it’s unavoidable.”

The image of Ruka in my mind had been a girl with a bob haircut and a small stature, so her current tall frame—probably around 165 centimeters—with long black hair was completely different from that old image. The current Ruka looked just like some refined young lady.

“On the contrary, Haru-kun and Sana-chan haven’t changed at all from their old images.”

“True, in our cases, we’ve just grown steadily from how we were back then.”

“It’s because you’ve changed too much, Ruka.”

Since it was our first reunion in ages, we talked for a while, and then we parted ways with Ruka. I was simply glad for the unexpected reunion, but Sana wore a somewhat distant expression.

“You’ve seemed a bit low-energy since earlier—what’s up?”

“It’s just the double whammy of the tests ending and the surprise; I’m normally tired, that’s all.”

“Ah, I see. You were really pushing yourself during the tests, after all.”

She had been even more tense than I was, so she was undoubtedly exhausted. It felt like there might be other reasons for her low energy, but I deliberately didn’t press further. I probably wouldn’t get an answer even if I asked.

“But Ruka coming back was totally out of left field, right? I figured there was a good chance we’d never see her again.”

“Yes, I didn’t expect Ruka to return here either… So that’s what they mean by ‘never let your guard down.'”

Sana’s latter words were too quiet for me to catch, but she wore an expression as if she had figured out the answer and accepted it. For the time being, since she was transferring in June, that meant it would be soon.

—

Chapter 34: I’m Fed Up with How Small-Minded I Am

Today is June 1st, and the classmates had been fidgety since morning. The reason was simple: something that had not been there during yesterday’s end-of-day homeroom was now in the classroom.

“This has to be that, right?”

“Yeah, I can’t think of anything else.”

Conversations like that could be heard here and there in the class. Almost all the classmates’ gazes were focused on that thing installed at the back of the classroom. While I was thinking about it, Akiya came into the classroom.

“Good morning, Haruto. The classroom is super noisy; what’s going on exactly?”

“If you look over there, Akiya, you’ll probably understand the reason.”

What I pointed to was just an ordinary desk and chair. Akiya wore a puzzled expression for a moment, but he seemed to notice right away.

“Ah, there’s a desk and chair that shouldn’t have been there until yesterday. That means…”

“As you predicted, Akiya, I think it’s confirmed that the transfer student is coming to our class.”

Yes, until yesterday there had only been thirty-nine student desks and chairs, but now there were forty. This could not be explained by anything other than one more student.

“I see, so the rumor was true after all.”

“That’s why everyone’s been talking about it nonstop since morning.”

“Everyone’s getting excited about whether it’s a boy or a girl, but I’m not really interested.”

“What if it’s your long-lost childhood friend, Akiya?”

“Now that you say it, my excitement is skyrocketing.”

In truth, I already knew who the transfer student was, but I pretended not to know on purpose. If Akiya learned that the transfer student’s identity was my other childhood friend, things would definitely get messy.

It would be a problem if Akiya made a fuss and I ended up targeted by the surrounding classmates. While I thought about that, I turned my eyes toward Sana, who, just like me, knew the transfer student’s identity, and for some reason she had a glum face.

“Even on the way to school together, your energy was lower than usual; what’s wrong?”

“I’m fed up with how small-minded I am.”

“That’s not true at all.”

I thought Sana had become incredibly generous since she started being honest. To put it bluntly, her capacity was completely different from the previous overbearing Sana.

“I’m such a hateful person.”

“I don’t know what you’re worrying about so much, but I think Sana worked hard to change. So you don’t need to belittle yourself like that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I’ll guarantee it, so relax.”

“Thank you; hearing you say that, Haruto, has made me feel a lot better.”

Sana’s expression was much clearer than it had been moments ago. Yeah, Sana looked better bright than dark. After a while, the preparatory bell rang, and our homeroom teacher, Ms. Toudou, came into the classroom.

At our high school, there were no morning homerooms except on test days, but it was an exception if the homeroom teacher had some shared information for the students. Ms. Toudou stood at the podium, confirmed that the classroom had quieted down, and then opened her mouth.

“I think everyone has already noticed, but starting today our class will have one more member. Well then, Kuon, please come in.”

As Ms. Toudou finished saying that, the door at the front of the classroom opened. Then a tall girl with long black hair entered. At that moment, the classroom started buzzing, with the voices especially coming from the boys.

Unlike when we had met at the outlet the other day, Ruka standing in front of the podium was in her uniform. However, since it was not our school’s uniform, it must have been from her previous school.

“Right away, please introduce yourself.”

“Due to my parents’ work, I moved here from Tokyo; I’m Kuon Ruka. Nice to meet you.”

Prompted by Ms. Toudou, Ruka introduced herself like that in front of everyone. And then Ruka sat at the prepared seat in the very back, following Ms. Toudou’s instructions.

The classmates wore expressions like they wanted to ask all sorts of questions, but since first period was about to start right away, unfortunately that would be difficult. So Ruka would probably face a barrage of questions from the classmates after first period ended.