The Case of My Unknown Childhood Friend Who Became My Girlfriend Without Me Even Knowing It - Chapter 12 - I Don't Know

Chapter 12 – I Don’t Know

“Let’s go home, Kanata-kun.”

“Ah, yeah…”

I kept waiting.

I kept waiting for the figure of a girl called Chikuma.

It’s as if I’ve been waiting for the woman of my dreams, whom I’ve been in love with for a long time.

But she never came.

Not only that, I even sneaked into the class next to mine to check on her, pretending to go to the toilet during class, but she wasn’t there either.

I don’t understand.

Why didn’t she come?

Why wasn’t she in her class?

If that was just a whim in the morning, then I don’t blame her.

She came to me on her own, and then she faded away on her own as well, what’s that all about?

And the fact that there’s no sign of her in her classroom is baffling.

Did she happen to be in the toilet at the time, or was she sick and in the infirmary?

……

Something strange happens all the time.

Sometimes the names of people who aren’t there are flying around, and people who should be there aren’t there.

What’s going on in this school?

…Is this perhaps also the work of Sakatoki?

“Hey, Aya.”

“What’s wrong? Come on. let’s go home.”

“O-Okay, but… Aya, you know that girl Chikuma-san?”

“I don’t know.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know. Who is she?”

“N-No. It’s okay if you don’t know.”

“It’s not okay, who is she?”

“Eh?”

“A girl? Why are you suddenly talking about that girl? Maybe you’re waiting for that girl now?”

Sakatoki’s expression clouded over.

In the empty classroom, the only sound is the cawing of crows outside.

“W-Wait. There’s no deep meaning.”

“You mean there’s a shallow meaning. Tell me.”

“No, that’s…”

“Tell me. Hey, come on, tell me. Why can’t you tell me? It’s weird, are you lying?”

“Well…”

It was at this point that I realized that I had made a mistake in judgment.

That’s right, Sakatoki is not normal.

So why did I ask her about another woman?

I was stupid. I was unprepared.

And I…can’t lie.

“…No, I was approached at the convenience store this morning. But I only told her my surname, and…”

“So you’re interested in her? Have you fallen in love at first sight?”

“N-No. She approached me out of the blue and I thought maybe you knew her…”

It was a bitter excuse, but now I have to get away with this.

While praying, I waited for her response.

Then…

“I see. But I don’t know this Chikuma-san person.”

“I-I see. Then maybe she mistook me for someone else, haha…”

“Maybe so. Shall we go home then?”

“Ah. yeah.”

Finally…

Sakatoki’s face cleared up a little.

I got up from my seat feeling relieved, and she went out of the classroom first.

She looks light on her feet.

Does it feel good to have my suspicions cleared?

And then…

While I thought about that, I slowly followed her. She eventually slowed down a little as we exited the main gate.

I was about to catch up with her to see what was wrong. That’s when she…turned her head to look back again.

She grinned and was about to say something.

She had said she didn’t know. There’s no way, right?

With a smirk, she said…

“But that girl was cute, wasn’t she?”

◇

I went straight home today.

She, too, returned to her room without saying a word about what she was thinking.

I can’t stop hearing what she said at the front gate.

“But that girl was cute, wasn’t she?”

Who did she mean?

It’s only my guess, but I’m pretty sure it’s about Chikuma-san.

Sakatoki knew about her, after all.

She knew about Chikuma-san.

She’s an outright liar.

She told me that if I lie to her, she’ll kill me.

She’s full of lies, isn’t she?

…But, if so…

What happened to Chikuma-san?

No way… No, let’s not get any crazy ideas.

However crazy she is, she’s still just a high school student.

She would never kidnap, imprison or, for that matter, kill anyone.

She said she wouldn’t do it.

I know that, but still, I’m scared.

But I shouldn’t ask her any questions.

Please, show me you’re in good health tomorrow, Chikuma-san…

◇

I kept thinking about my classmate, whom I still only knew by her surname, as if I were worrying about the safety of a long-time lover, and then night fell…

Sakatoki is quiet today.

It’s too quiet, it’s eerie.

But that doesn’t mean I want her to be noisy.

…Will I spend the rest of my days being controlled by her?

With or without her, I’ll always be in Sakatoki’s hands.

At this rate, I’ll…

Pin-pon.

It’s already past ten o’clock at night and I have a visitor?

It’s probably Sakatoki.

Pin-pon.

…It’s strange.

Sakatoki has a duplicate key, so she can get in on her own.

A being as insane as she is would not hesitate to break in just because it’s late in the night.

Is it not actually not Sakatoki?

No way, could it be…?

At that moment, for some reason, Chikuma-san’s face came into my mind.

There’s no way she knows where I live, but maybe she’s asked someone else.

Maybe I’ve been mentally unstable enough to think that.

In a hurry, I went to the front door.

With a little bit of mixed emotions of excitement and thrill… I opened the front door.

“Y-Yes?”

“Good evening, Kanata-kun.”

“Ah, Sakatoki…”

It may be lousy to say ‘why?’… But I can’t shake off the disappointment of having expected more than just this person.

“What’s wrong with you? You seem to be in such a hurry. Were you reading a naughty book by any chance?”

“N-No. I’m just curious because you kept ringing. I mean, you have a duplicate key, right?”

“Yeah. But I feel bad about going in without permission when you might be sleeping.”

“…You don’t mind if it’s in the morning?”

“I have to wake you up.”

“…What about the first day you were here?”

“Ah, I was waiting for you to surprise you when you got home, okay? Is that so weird? I told your mother all about it.”

“……”

I don’t know anything about that.

After all, I have no idea who this woman is.

Why does she only show common sense at such times?

I’m getting my head mixed up.

What is this guy, really?

“Hey, I was wondering… Did you mistake me for someone else?”

“Huh?”

“Did you think it was someone else coming, not me?”

“N-No, of course not.”

“Ah, you were talking to her earlier, um, Chikuwa-san, right? You thought she was coming instead…”

No, it’s Chikuma.

I almost retorted but held back.

This is a trap.

“…No. I didn’t mistake you for her.”

“I see. Then that’s good.”

“So, what do you want at this hour? If you don’t have anything to do, go home.”

“You’re so boring, Kanata-kun. But you need some alone time, don’t you? Well, of course you do.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Hmm, I just came to check if Kanata-kun is behaving himself. I’m the type of person who gets a little jealous, you know. Teehee~.”

Sakatoki laughed mischievously, but of course I couldn’t laugh.

So she’s here to make sure I’m not cheating on her.

……

“I’m going home then. You don’t seem to be sleeping well, so have a good night’s sleep.”

“Yeah, I’ll do just that.”

After she said her goodbye…

She was about to close the door when she peeked out of the doorway and said, “Ah, right…” and looked at me.

She put her hand on top of the tip of my nose, and…

“If it’s Chikuma-san, she’ll never come.”