After a Heartbreak, My Bitter Childhood Friend is now Sweet Like Sugar

"Please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you!"

Chapter 2.6

TL: Devxtt

ED: Ryuubii

“Yes, yes. Thank you all for your hard work. I’m sure you’re all relieved and full of energy. But a test is never complete until you review the parts you didn’t understand!”

Very few of us took Kamishiro-sensei’s words seriously.

Everyone was feeling relaxed. They were either in a daze, lounging around, or chatting with the classmates after the ordeal had passed.

“Sigh~~~ no one’s listening to me. I think everyone is a little too excited just because the exam is over. Well, that’s fine. I’m looking forward to seeing your screaming faces once the tests are returned.”

After homeroom ended, Kamishiro-sensei left the classroom.

So, the midterm exams are all over. When you’re passionate about something, the days go by faster than you think. If you work hard, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness that you can’t get from everyday life.

Maybe we need such milestones or hurdles in our lives. School events and tests are examples of that, they teach us about the way of life.

Something like that.

“Yucchi~ You have a solemn look on your face. The exams are finally over. What were you thinking about?”

“THE WAY OF LIFE!”

“What’s with the seriousness? It’s so funny.”

Kasugai began to chuckle. And what’s so funny about it?

“That’s rude, Now that the tests are over, I was just immersed in the feeling of liberation… And tomorrow is the weekend, so I was thinking of taking a day off. Anyway, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to go for some karaoke. As usual, I’ll invite Shusuke* and Koko-cchi too. How about it?”

Shusuke…? It was a new name I heard from Kasugai, so I was momentarily confused, but I guessed that it was probably Kazama.

“I don’t mind if you’re bored, but what about the other two?”

“Well Koko-cchi will be here anytime soon and as for Shusuke, he’s already here. Right?”

I looked at Kazama, who was looking at Kasugai in disbelief.

“Why are you calling me with a wrong name?”

“Eh? But, Shusuke is way cooler than Kazama. Don’t you like it?”

“No, I don’t like it, and I don’t want to hang out with girls. They’re just selfish and annoying.”

“What’s with that, are you trying to act cool? But you’re also a nerd who plays bishoujo games, am I right?”

“Girls on the screen are not like them. They don’t make me cry with their harsh words. That’s the difference between them and real girls.”

“That’s just a justification from those who suck at communication.”

“Men don’t speak with words, you know. Well, if it’s karaoke, I’ll go. I just happened to have some anime songs I wanted to sing. Passionate melody, touching lyrics. Singing is good, isn’t it? Beautiful sounds and words that speak for my heart. It’s called empathy.”

He just said “Men don’t speak with words.”

Well, I knew he’d follow us anyway.

“Thank you for your patience.”

Meanwhile, the last one, Kokoa, also arrived.

“How was the test?”

When I asked as a greeting, she hesitated slightly.

But she soon put on a smile.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

She’s an honor student, so it must have gone well.

“So, We’re going to karaoke, right? This test wore me out more than usual, so let’s forget about it quickly!”

“I’m sorry to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother at all… Well, it was fun to study together. Sometimes it’s distracting to have someone nearby, but in this case, it wasn’t like that.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Kokoa looked a little embarrassed after I thanked her.

After that we left the classroom.

***

We made it to the karaoke bar, which was great. But,

“What’s going on?”

“…I have no idea.”

For some reason, I was alone in a karaoke room with Kokoa.

When we arrived here, Kasugai disappeared, saying that his mother got a sudden cold and she had to do some housework in her stead.

|| “I’m really sorry, I’ll make it up to you next time!”

And right after we went inside, Kazama had to go because his sister was in trouble with a strange man, and he was called out to help.

|| “Damn, I’m sorry! It’s a call from the world’s cutest little sister. Apparently she’s involved with a strange man.”

I didn’t know that Kazama had a sister. Furthermore, he looked like a Siscon, will this situation be okay? (In many ways)

And so, only the two of us remained in the karaoke bar, a popular place among high school students.

The fact that we somehow ended up in this situation was not the real concern. But the fact that neither of us had a mic and were looking at each other was kinda awkward. Furthermore, because we got a cheaper room, it was too small.

“You’re not going to sing?”

“Why don’t you sing first, Kokoa?”

“I haven’t decided on a song yet.”

After saying that, she started selecting a song. I started the other machine as well and pretended to look for a song. Why? Well, because I wasn’t planning to sing much.

If there were four of us in the room, someone other than me would’ve started singing. Well, my plan was to play along by pretending to enjoy the music. That way I could’ve escaped singing by myself. But,

“Weren’t you going to sing?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t it the same for you, Kokoa?”

“I was about to sing… sort of.”

“In short, you’re not sure.”

“I was really going to sing. You see, it takes courage to sing in front of people because it’s embarrassing. Besides…”

Kokoa looked at me as if she wanted to say something.

“Besides?”

“I’m fine, but it’s too embarrassing. Anyway…”

She stared at me, as if she was looking at an idiot. Furthermore, I wasn’t sure, but I felt that she didn’t want to sing either, seemingly in a bad mood.

“Hmmm, shall we go home then? We have to pay for each 15 minutes we spend here. There’s no need for us to force ourselves to sing, and it’ll save some money.”

“Eh… but it’ll be a waste of money.”

“Better than being a waste of time. And you don’t want to sing anyway, do you?”

“No, I’m not saying I don’t want to sing. Besides, we’ve come all this way… and I think we should practice a little, yes, it’s better to learn. You never know when they’ll ask again.”

“Practice, huh?”

There’s no way I’d be here if someone other than those two invited me. I will turn down all the socializing and stuff.

I don’t really feel the need to practice, but I guess Kokoa does.

“I understand. If you say so, I’m fine with it. That was the plan all along. You can take your time to choose.”

“Eh? Oh, let’s see, yes…”

I wasn’t planning to sing anyway.

“…Well then, I’ll choose this one.”

After that, she picked up the remote and selected a song on the screen. A nostalgic song by a popular idol group started to play, which I knew of even though I’m not a big fan.

It was the theme song of a drama that was popular about three years ago.

“… I thought that if I could sing a few songs like this, I’d be able to deal with anything that might happen.”

“That’s a great thought. But, you’re still in high-school.”

“There will be a time when you just can’t refuse. Here you go.”

Then, Kokoa handed me the mic.

…What?

“Of course. Yu, you’ve to sing with me. It’s embarrassing if I’m the only one.”

“Nonono, I’m fine. I don’t need to practice.”

“You said you’ll follow me.”

“By that, I didn’t mean to sing.”

“It’s embarrassing. Besides, I don’t want you to wait for me. Would you please?”

It wasn’t like her usual attitude. Her voice was weak as if an abandoned kitten was pleading. She wasn’t acting. It was a genuine expression that this girl sometimes showed, I can tell because I’ve known her for so long.

“I get it. I’ll sing with you.”

“Really?”

Her face seemed to light up in joy, but soon she appeared to have realised that and deliberately coughed, acting as if nothing happened.

Eventually, as the intro started, Kokoa shyly began to sing.

“~~~~♪”

“Wow….”

I couldn’t help but be astonished because her voice was so pleasing to hear. She always had a sweet voice, but this time, it even felt relaxing and seemed more beautiful.

“Now, It’s your turn.”

I gasped.

I hurriedly sang right after Kokoa. It was a romantic song by a female idol, and frankly speaking, it was a bit uncomfortable to sing for me.

Anyway, even though she said she was bad at it and wanted to practice, that was…

After singing, I looked at her in astonishment.

“W-what is it? Is something wrong?”

“No, I mean, you’re just too good at singing. I thought you said you weren’t good at it.”

“You’re exaggerating. It was just a good match up. Well, let’s move on to the next song. Would you like to sing this one?”

“Do I have to sing again?”

“Of course. Since we’re here, let’s have fun.”

Well, we were supposed to enjoy karaoke.

I guess it’s okay if I can hear her singing again. With that thought in mind, I went along with her karaoke session.