After a Heartbreak, My Bitter Childhood Friend is now Sweet Like Sugar - V2 Chapter 6.5

Chapter 6.5

The next day, during lunch break.

As usual, when I was about to have lunch together with Kasugai, Kazama, and Kokoa, a junior student with a cheerful smile appeared out of nowhere.

“Senpai~ I came to visit you.”

No, no, noo…

I was surprised to see her again. Why is she here?

“Reika-chan. What are you doing here?”

“We’re in a different grade…”

Kokoa, who sat next to me, muttered curiously when she saw Reika-chan.

Kasugai and Kazama blinked. They were probably surprised at how much she resembled Senpai.

I knew how people felt. I still wondered if they had a blood connection. I also wondered for a moment how she knew our class, but then I remembered that I told her yesterday after we left the cafeteria. I thought there’s nothing wrong with telling, but now…

“Speaking of lunch break, there’s always something to do, isn’t there? Here…”

“Is this a lunchbox?”

When I looked inside the bag Reika offered me, I saw a plastic case that looked like a lunch box. And there were the two of them.

“That’s right. It’s a homemade lunch. You ate at the cafeteria yesterday, right? That’s why I wanted to try making lunch for you.”

“No, no, no, you don’t usually make lunch for someone you don’t know well.”

“It’s just a whim. It’s just something I wanted to do.”

Normally, people don’t make lunch for the opposite sex on a whim.

Even so, her actions were somewhat convincing to me, perhaps because Senpai was the type of person who would occasionally act this way.

When she thought of something, she would act on it immediately or sometimes act on instincts, even though she was usually goofy.

“Besides, you don’t need to give me yours.”

“No, both are for you!”

When I took a closer look, I saw Reika carrying another lunch bag.

So that one is yours, and this one’s for me.

…

No, no.

“Why not? Onii-chan used to eat this much. I eat it, too.”

“It’s just that your family’s stomach is bigger than mine.”

“Yeah”

“At any rate, I’m grateful that my adorable junior made lunch for me, but…”

When I looked at Kokoa, she was staring at Reika-chan with a rather mysterious expression.

“Is it possible that Shirayuki-senpai had already prepared lunch for you?”

“Due to various reasons, we make each other’s lunches.”

“Aren’t you guys already dating?”

“No, we’re not dating, but…”

When I looked at Kokoa, she blushed slightly and nodded slightly.

“We’re not dating. We’re just childhood friends.”

“Fumu…”

Reika-chan looks at our faces alternately.

Well, I can’t blame her for thinking that it was strange. Normally, childhood friends wouldn’t make lunch for each other.

She stared at us for a while, then nodded her head and said, “Yeah, yeah.”

“So does that mean my lunch is a nuisance?”

She asked with a smile.

… Well, how am I supposed to answer this?

I’m not that much of a big enough eater to eat both lunches. I was grateful for the lunch, but I didn’t think it was a nuisance.

I glanced at Kokoa.

She wasn’t angry, sad, or sulking, but was looking at Reika with an elegant expression, as she usually does to the world.

“Yu, you can take my lunch home. You can have it for dinner. Of course, if you want to eat both of them, I won’t stop you.”

“Ha!!?”

“Why are you looking so surprised? Is there something strange about me? It’s a waste of money since she has taken the trouble to make it for you. And it’s rude to reject a gift.”

I was expecting her to get angry. But what’s this?

“Ehm. I’m sorry that you had to do that for me.”

Reika apologized to Kokoa.

“No, and my lunch is always eaten by him.”

“… Okay, I guess I’ll do that then. Kasugai, do you mind if she joins us?”

“Yeah, it’s okay!”

After hearing that, she brought a chair from a nearby place where the owner had left the classroom and placed it near mine.

Reika-chan sat there and put her lunch box on my desk. Then she made a slight bow towards Kasugai and Kazama.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Senpai! I’m Reika Shiki, a freshman.”

“How do you know Yucchi and Kokocchi?”

“It’s just a coincidence. I met Shirayuki-Senpai yesterday in the cafeteria.”

Kasugai stared at Reika. She was probably comparing her face with Senpai, seeing how similar they looked.

Kazama was also staring at Reika’s face, though he kept silent.

“Now, please open your lunch box.”

I opened the lunch box that Reika gave me.

It was white rice covered in seasoning, fried tofu, and hamburg (ハンバーグ). There were also croquettes and fried beef, meaty at best, greasy at worst. It was all packed into the bowl. [EDN: Hamburg is just the hamburger steak.]

“It’s all brown…”

“I like meat. Do you not like it, Senpai?”

“No, I like it.”

It’s a matter of quantity. It would be better if it had a little more green…

Anyway, I took a bite.

The taste was… well… normal. It wasn’t particularly tasty or tasteless; it was just an ordinary bento. I was a little concerned about the burnt batter, though.

“How is it?”

“Well, it’s good.”

“Mmm, not much of a reaction. Can’t you give me a more descriptive reaction?”

“That said, this is what I usually do.”

“Haha, you’re an energetic junior.”

Kasugai said admiringly.

“By the way, what should I call you? Reika-chan? Rei-chan? Rerenore?”

“Anything but the last one.”

“Then Rei-chin.”

“That wasn’t even an option.”

“You’re still so meticulous, Yucchi. A man who is too picky won’t be popular.”

“Yes, that’s right. Please don’t tease him too much just because he’s in front of a junior.”

“Yu has a tendency to worry too much about other people’s faults. He always picks on things.”

“Wait, why am I the one being bullied in this conversation?”

Kokoa and Reika chuckled when they heard that tsukkomi. 

The atmosphere around them was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was all calm, or maybe I should be grateful that it wasn’t a bloodbath.

We proceeded to have lunch while chatting. We talked about Reika’s school life and conversely about ours.

“But I really don’t have much to talk about. As I said yesterday, I tend to be absent from school.”

“Is that a setup? A sickly person who is often absent from school wouldn’t make such a carnivorous lunch.”

“No, it’s not a setup. It’s the truth.”

“But she’s quite aggressive! Do you really like Yucchi so much that you made a lunch box and brought it here?”

“I felt like we were destined to meet.”

“Wow. You’re coming on strong. Yucchi, it’s like she won’t let go once she bites.”

I didn’t even bother listening.

We finished our lunches while having such a conversation, and when my stomach, which started hurting from eating so much, had settled down, Reika stood up.

“Well, I’d better get back. I’ve got a class soon. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“What? Oh, but the lunch box…”

Before I could finish, Reika left the classroom.

“She’ll be back tomorrow, too…?”

Kokoa looked at me, reciting Reika’s words.

“It’s good that you have someone to make lunch for you. Starting tomorrow, I’ll just have to make my own.”

“Wait. As I thought, you were angry!”

I hope she won’t kill me!

Normally, she would show her anger, sulk, or use facial expressions to convey her emotions. Kokoa was that type of person. However, the current her was too calm.

In short, she was quite scary.

“I’m not angry at all. Now, I have to prepare for my next class. See you then.”

Kokoa also stood up and left the classroom.

“You are still mad at me…”

“I wonder how complicated Kokocchi’s heart is~”

Smirking, Kasugai also returned to her seat.

Umu,

“AAAAAAAAAAA!”

And then,

I remembered that Kazama, who had not opened his mouth once during the meal, suddenly shouted out loud.

“What’s the matter, Kazama?”

“I’ve just realized something amazing. While I was eating, I was thinking that that junior looked like someone I’d seen before… Hey, didn’t she look exactly like Aida-senpai?”

“Now you realize!?”

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