My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 4-5

Chapter 4: I Realized I Won’t Have a Bright Future Otherwise

The weekend passed quickly, and Monday arrived. Sana was supposed to have been discharged from the hospital last night, but I wondered if she was okay. I thought about this as I got out of bed.

“She probably won’t come today,” I muttered.

Sana usually came to my house in the morning to walk to school together, but after what happened, she might skip school today.

With that thought, I ate the breakfast prepared in the dining room and returned to my room to get ready for school. Then, someone knocked on my door. When I responded, the door opened slowly, and there stood Sana in her school uniform.

“Haruto, good morning,” she said.

“Sana!?” I exclaimed.

She was the type to open the door without considering my convenience, so I couldn’t hide my surprise that she knocked first.

“I caused you a lot of trouble last Friday,” she said.

“No, it’s totally fine, but is your body okay now?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine now,” she replied.

“That’s a relief,” I said.

Sana’s vibe was completely different from usual. The queen-like aura and sharpness she always directed at me were gone. As I thought about this, she bowed deeply to me.

“I’m really sorry for everything until now,” she said.

“What’s with you all of a sudden…?” I asked.

“I finally realized I was being selfish and troubling you without considering your feelings,” she said.

Her face looked a bit pale as she spoke. So, she finally noticed how thoughtlessly overbearing she had been toward me. Honestly, I was starting to get fed up, but I had given up on making her aware of it, so her realizing it on her own was surprising.

“I won’t do that anymore. It might be selfish to ask, but I’d be happy if we could still get along,” she said.

“Don’t worry, that’s my plan,” I replied.

Sana’s expression relaxed with relief. Honestly, if she kept acting so overbearing, I had considered deliberately distancing myself from her after high school graduation, but that might not be necessary now.

“Still, I’m surprised you’re being so honest,” I said.

“I realized I won’t have a bright future otherwise,” she replied.

“Future? That’s suddenly a grand topic. But I think this vibe makes it easier for everyone around you to get along with you,” I said.

In fact, many classmates found Sana hard to deal with because of her usual overbearing behavior. If I weren’t her childhood friend, I definitely wouldn’t have actively engaged with her.

“Let’s head to school,” she said.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

We said goodbye to my mom, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, and left the house. Then, Sana suddenly grabbed my right hand.

“What’s this about?” I asked.

“I feel like if I don’t hold your hand, you might go somewhere. Is this okay?” she asked.

“It’s… not a problem,” I said.

Her pleading look made me say that reflexively. I was embarrassed, but since I said it was fine, I couldn’t take it back.

Still, Sana’s sudden shift from being prickly to this was incredibly impactful. Was this what they called gap moe? Honest Sana felt incredibly strange, but I’d probably get used to it. At that moment, I had no idea she would soon direct overwhelming, intense emotions toward me.

The prologue ends here.

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Chapter 5: Yes, I’m Working Hard to Make All Sorts of Things

Since leaving the hospital, Sana’s attitude toward me and others changed like she was a different person. Her overbearing behavior disappeared, and her sharp vibe softened a lot.

“Ibuki-san’s vibe changed a ton, in a good way, of course,” Shuya said.

“I think so too. That unapproachable aura she had is gone,” I replied.

At first, everyone was shocked by Sana’s change, but two weeks later, people started accepting it. She even began getting along with classmates who used to avoid her because they found her hard to deal with.

Some classmates even thought the new Sana was like a doppelgänger. As I thought about this, Sana walked over.

“Sorry to interrupt you two, but I’m borrowing Haruto for lunch break,” she said.

“Sure, go ahead,” Shuya replied.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Shuya.

I told Shuya that and left the classroom with Sana. Before, Sana wouldn’t care if I was chatting with Shuya, but since that day, she always checked first.

That’s probably why people felt her attitude softened. We kept walking and reached the courtyard, where we sat on a bench.

“Take care of it today too,” Sana said.

“Leave it to me. Eating’s my specialty,” I replied.

“Of course I know that. We’ve known each other forever,” she said.

As she spoke, Sana handed me a lunch box. Recently, she started practicing cooking and was nervous about whether it turned out well, so she chose me as her taste-tester.

“Fried chicken today? Looks tasty,” I said.

“Yes, I’m working hard to make all sorts of things,” she replied.

Sana had a slightly proud look on her face as she said that. For a while after leaving the hospital, she was subdued, but now she was back to her usual bright self.

Honestly, if she stayed subdued, it would’ve felt super weird, so I was relieved. Plus, her overbearing side completely disappeared, making her easier to get along with now.

“Yeah, it tastes really good,” I said.

“Right? I worked hard on it, so it’s gotta be delicious,” she said.

“You’re so confident, but it’s definitely deserved,” I replied.

“You can praise me more,” she said.

Yeah, Sana’s bold attitude suited her way better than being subdued. As we ate lunch together in the courtyard, I noticed a familiar face passing by.

It was a girl from my middle school class. She was a different type of beauty compared to Sana, so I stared absentmindedly, thinking it was nice to look at. Suddenly, a chill ran through me.

I turned my head and saw Sana staring at me intensely. Her expression hadn’t changed much, but her eyes looked cold. It almost felt like a dark aura was coming from her.

“It’s a bit sad to be ignored while we’re eating together,” she said.

“S-Sorry,” I stammered.

“It’s fine. Lunch break isn’t long, so let’s eat quickly,” she said.

Sana suggested that like nothing happened, so I went back to eating normally, but it was scarier than being scolded.

Since that day, Sana was generally kinder, but she sometimes got like this out of nowhere. The situations were always different, so I had no clue what caused it. Well, this time was probably my fault, so I needed to reflect on it.