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

Chapter 35: It’s True That Sana Is Also a Childhood Friend

Then, during the break after the first-period world history class ended, Ruka was predictably surrounded by her classmates and bombarded with questions.

“She’s incredibly popular.”

“She’s a rare transfer student to begin with, and on top of that, she’s a beautiful girl, so that’s to be expected.”

Akiya responded to my murmur with that retort. Nearly seventy percent of the classmates had gathered around Ruka’s seat, which made it clear just how popular she was.

Even though the break was only ten minutes long, Ruka answered each question politely, so the same scene would undoubtedly unfold in the next break or the one after that.

Amid all that, someone suggested showing her around the school during lunch break. At that point, Ruka said something I had never anticipated.

“I’ll have Haru-kun… Kurosaki-kun show me around the school.”

Thanks to Ruka’s careless slip of the tongue, the classroom started buzzing. Countless gazes turned toward me as well.

“Huh? Why Kurosaki?”

“Maybe they’re acquaintances.”

“She was in Tokyo, right? Where did you meet him?”

“It’s true that I lived in Tokyo until now, but actually, I’m originally from Kurashiki, so I lived there until midway through elementary school. Kurosaki-kun and I have known each other since back then; we’re what you call childhood friends.”

The moment Ruka answered the questions from the male and female classmates who had asked, the buzzing in the classroom grew even louder. And then a massive wave of gazes filled with murderous intent and jealousy came my way. Needless to say, all the owners of those gazes were boys.

“Hey, Haruto. What do you mean by childhood friends!?”

“Whoa, calm down.”

“There’s no way I can calm down. Not content with just Ibuki-san, you were making moves on others too?”

“No, no, you can’t just make a childhood friend by making moves.”

Akiya grilled me relentlessly, and I stammered out that response. I had figured that my relationship with Ruka would eventually become known to everyone, but this timing on her very first day as a transfer student was too conspicuous, making it the worst possible way to get exposed.

Thanks to the start of second-period modern Japanese literature class, I managed to escape the interrogation for the time being, but the next break would undoubtedly be hell. So the instant second period ended, I tried to flee the classroom. However, I was immediately surrounded by Akiya and a few other boys.

“Come on, Kurosaki. Spill everything right now.”

“Yeah, having two beautiful childhood friends is a bit unforgivable.”

“It’s way too enviable that Haruto’s the only one getting all the good stuff.”

It’s scary when they close in while spouting such jealous desires. As I thought that this had turned into a real hassle, Sana arrived.

“Haruto, the modern Japanese literature teacher asked me to run an errand, so I need your help with it.”

“Oh, I’m fine with that.”

“So that’s why I’m borrowing Haruto.”

The boys surrounding me, including Akiya, still wore expressions like they had more to say, but they backed off quietly once Sana spoke up.

Thanks to Sana calling out to me at just the right moment, I could finally extricate myself from the situation. With that in mind, I left the classroom with Sana. Ruka watched us go with her eyes, but for now, Sana took priority.

“So, what do I need to help with?”

“Oh, that was just an excuse I made up to call you out; there’s nothing at all. I basically just rescued you from Kawaguchi and the others.”

“I see, got it. Thanks, you really saved me.”

Dealing with those guys when their eyes were bulging like that would have been a total pain, so I was nothing but grateful. To avoid suspicion if we returned to the classroom too soon, we decided to kill some time in the vending machine area for a while.

“I never thought Ruka would blurt out the childhood friend thing right away.”

“For me, I figured she might say something like that, so it was within expectations; that girl’s always been her own pace since way back. However, I didn’t expect her to mention only you in that context.”

“Indeed, in the sense of childhood friends, Sana’s one too.”

“Yes, it’s true that in terms of how long we’ve known each other, it might be longer with you.”

The three of us had been together since kindergarten, but I was the one who got close to them first. The swimming school we all started attending from kindergarten was what brought Ruka and me together. In contrast, Sana and Ruka started interacting in first grade, so it was a bit later.

For a fleeting moment, I wondered if her mentioning only my name had something to do with that, but I doubted it.

As Sana had just said, Ruka had a my-pace side to her, the type who didn’t overthink things. So the reason she introduced only me as her childhood friend was probably unintentional; it just happened that way by chance.

“By the way, I think Ruka mentioned wanting you to show her around during lunch break, but would it be okay if I tagged along?”

“Of course; in fact, I’d be relieved if you came with us.”

There were all sorts of things that worried me about doing it alone, so I had been planning to ask her myself. That made Sana’s offer a godsend.

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Ruka’s attribute is the fluffy airhead type, so if Sana stayed as overbearing as ever, it’s only natural she’d run to the other side (and apparently, that’s the world line where Sana is twenty-nine years old).