The Story of Waking up With My Beautiful Childhood Friend and Realizing We Had Spent the Night Together - Chapter 27: Darkness Lies Ahead

Chapter 27: Darkness Lies Ahead

“――Sekiya-senpai confessed to Inoue-san!”

――After that, Renji and I returned to the classroom.

But the moment we did, we heard rumors about that confession.

“Eh, seriously!? Sekiya-senpai from the basketball club!?”

“Wow… I was kind of a fan of him… but Inoue-san, huh. Well, she is cute.”

The classroom was entirely focused on that topic.

I was taken aback.

…Did it really spread this fast?

That was my honest reaction.

Because of Mizuki, confessions weren’t exactly rare at our school.

Most of the time, they didn’t even become a topic of discussion.

It was just another, “Oh, that happened again,” kind of thing.

But was it because the person involved was Asahi?

Or was it because Sekiya-senpai had that much influence?

…No good. I’m bad at understanding these kinds of social dynamics.

“…This might be a bit of a problem.”

“Huh?”

I turned to see Renji looking slightly uneasy.

…It was rare for him to have that expression.

“A problem…?”

“Nah… never mind. Forget it.”

With that, Renji returned to his seat.

…What was that about?

On his way back, he looked uncharacteristically serious.

That expression made me feel a little uneasy.

I glanced around the classroom. Immediately, my eyes landed on a girl with beautiful long black hair.

(…Mizuki…?)

She wasn’t engaging in any of the surrounding conversations and was simply fiddling with her phone.

…Even though Asahi was the center of this rumor, she was acting like usual.

Or maybe, since she’s always the one being talked about, she was just fed up with confessions in general.

“…?”

Then, Mizuki looked in my direction. Our eyes met.

Her gaze silently asked, What?

I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head to say, It’s nothing.

――And then, after school.

“…Asahi?”

“Ah, Senpai…?”

I had work today, so I couldn’t do any training.

But before that, I wanted to see her face.

While heading to the first-year classrooms, I ran into Asahi on the staircase.

“Ah, um… I have club activities today, so I can’t train…”

“That’s fine. I have work too.”

“Oh… okay…”

She lowered her gaze.

She didn’t seem like her usual energetic self.

I had assumed that, knowing her, she wouldn’t care about the rumors at all, but…

“…Hey, Asahi. Can we talk for a bit?”

“Eh…? Uh, yes.”

With that, I led Asahi to a bench in the quiet courtyard.

I sat down first, and after a slight hesitation, she sat beside me, perching lightly on the edge of the seat.

“…It’s about the rumor going around.”

“…I figured as much.”

She let out a dry chuckle.

“I don’t really understand it myself. I haven’t talked to Sekiya-senpai much before… and then suddenly, this…”

“…I see.”

Someone she barely knew confessed to her?

Well, sure, she was cute.

But just that alone…?

“What about your class? Are you okay there?”

“Oh, yes. Actually, everyone in my class is really worried about me…”

“I see. That’s good.”

If she had people on her side, that was at least reassuring.

“I’m sorry for making you worry…”

“No, as long as nothing’s wrong, that’s fine.”

…But is she really okay?

Even just being in the same basketball club as him could make things complicated.

“…If anything happens, talk to me, okay?”

I ended up saying something that wasn’t really like me.

Hearing that, Asahi blinked in surprise before giggling softly.

“…What’s that? It doesn’t suit you, Senpai.”

“Shut up. I know that.”

“…But thank you.”

She smiled, looking a little more at ease, and gazed up at me.

“If something does happen… can I come to you?”

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

With that, Asahi gave a small bow and headed toward the gym.

(…For now, I’ll just have to keep an eye on things.)

Telling myself that was all I could do, I started walking toward the school gate.

SIDE: Inoue Asahi

After parting with Iori, Asahi headed to the gym as usual.

Thinking back to what just happened, she couldn’t help but smile.

“—If anything happens, talk to me, okay?”

That wasn’t like him at all.

It was like something out of a shoujo manga.

It really doesn’t suit him, she thought, chuckling to herself.

Iori-senpai’s charm was his cute side. Saying things like that didn’t match his character at all.

…But, to be honest.

She was happy.

Happy that he cared enough to say that.

Ever since she entered this school, he had been by her side, one way or another.

In the end, she was relying on him.

Thinking that, she squished her cheeks with her hands to stop herself from grinning too much.

She was anxious.

But she told herself that things would work out somehow.

Feeling optimistic, Asahi stepped into the gym.

But once practice began, nothing particularly unusual happened.

…If anything, the other members were just a little more distant than usual.

She figured it was probably because of the rumors.

But she assumed things would settle down soon.

――And then, after a full day of practice.

“—Inoue-san! Sorry! Can you put those cones back in the storage room?”

“Oh, sure! Got it!”

A senior called out to her, and she responded cheerfully.

She was still just a first-year.

Doing chores was part of her role.

“…Alright, there we go.”

She stacked the cones and placed them in the corner of the storage room.

Dust swirled up, making her cough as she let out a breath.

――Clatter…

She heard the door to the storage room open.

“…?”

Hearing that, Asahi turned around.

Standing there was a short-haired upperclassman with sharp eyes.

“…Ah, Chief Morishita! Good work today!”

Recognizing her, Asahi instinctively bowed.

The captain of the girls’ basketball team, Morishita.

The absolute authority in this club.

Tall, sharp-eyed, always tense.

…To be honest, she was the one person Asahi was most uncomfortable around.

She was always strict and high-strung.

Her basketball skills were undeniable, but she was arrogant and harsh toward her juniors.

There had even been members who quit after catching her attention.

Asahi had managed to avoid trouble with her so far, but…

“…Inoue. What do you think you’re doing?”

“…Huh?”

She was met with a sharp glare.

With Morishita towering over her, Asahi instinctively shrank back.

“I heard Sekiya-kun confessed to you?”

“Ah, t-that’s…!”

“…You do know that I like Sekiya-kun, don’t you?”

“…!”

Asahi’s face paled.

How could she have forgotten?

She wanted to curse herself for it.

The shock of the confession had completely occupied her mind.

That’s right. She had known.

Morishita had openly stated her feelings for Sekiya before, as if warning everyone.

Ever since then, it was an unspoken rule among the girls’ team to avoid getting too close to him.

“And yet, you went behind my back and tried to steal him?”

“N-no! I would never…!”

“Then what’s this?”

Morishita tossed her phone at Asahi.

Catching it in a panic, Asahi froze as she saw the screen.

A social media post from the day before.

“Is it true that first-year Inoue-san likes Sekiya-senpai?”

“Seems like it. A basketball club member said so.”

“Wait, if that’s true, isn’t that bad? I mean, Morishita-senpai…”

“She’s challenging an upperclassman? She’s got guts.”

“…What is this…?”

“This rumor’s been spreading for a while now. You mean you didn’t notice?”

“I-I didn’t…! I never—”

The moment she spoke—

――Grab.

“Ah…! Ow!”

“…Still going to play dumb?”

Her hair was yanked.

Asahi let out a cry of pain.

She looked up to see Morishita glaring down at her.

Seeing that, Asahi trembled in fear.

“You went after Sekiya-kun behind my back…? Trying to get revenge on me?”

“N-no…! I never thought that…!”

Her hair was yanked even harder, strands falling to the floor.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“…Hmph.”

“Ah—!”

――Bang!

She was shoved against the vaulting box.

Her small body hit it easily.

“…Remember this from tomorrow on.”

With those parting words, Morishita left the storage room.

“…Why…?”

Still unable to process what had just happened, Asahi sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face.