The Story of Waking up With My Beautiful Childhood Friend and Realizing We Had Spent the Night Together - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: That’s a Woman’s Intuition

— A closed space like school is troublesome.

I, Iori Amano, truly think so.

Even if we have a falling out. Even if we have an awkward relationship.

No matter how I feel inside, I have to get along well on the surface.

…I was realizing that difficulty now.

“—So, today’s cleaning duty is… Amano and Kashiwagi.”

“Huh?”

“…!”

— After school that day.

The moment our names were called, time in the classroom froze.

It wasn’t just me and Kashiwagi who froze.

Almost all the classmates who knew the situation also stiffened at the same time.

And some looked at us with pity, while others with amusement.

“? What’s wrong? Is something going on?”

Only Goto-sensei, who didn’t know the situation, couldn’t keep up with what was happening.

“…No.”

“It’s nothing…”

The two of us could only say that in unison.

“Hm, I see. Well, then, please take care of it.”

Saying that, Goto-sensei left the classroom.

“…”

“…”

What was left were the curious gazes of our classmates.

And then…

“…”

My childhood friend and girlfriend, looking at me expressionlessly.

“…Hmm. Well then, shall we go, Yukimura-san?”

Suddenly, Renji loudly shouted.

He looked at me grinning, lifting his bag with a flourish.

Damn you, Renji. How could you say we’re best friends?

“Y-Yeah, you’re right!”

“It wouldn’t be good to interrupt cleaning!”

“S-Sorry, Kashiwagi-san…”

The boys grinned. The girls looked at us with pity.

But honestly, every single one of them seemed to be enjoying it.

And then, my childhood friend…

“Let’s go, Yukimura-san!”

“…Ah, okay.”

She was forcibly taken away by a girl from our class.

And what was left was…

“…”

“…”

The hellish atmosphere between the two of us.

(…What should I do?)

Well, it’s just cleaning, so I can do it.

But how should I start?

As I was thinking about it…

“…Sigh.”

Kashiwagi sighed, as if there was no helping it.

“…Let’s just do the cleaning, Amano-kun.”

“Huh? Ah… Yeah.”

Thanks to Kashiwagi starting the conversation, I was finally able to start moving.

However…

(I knew it, we can’t just go back to being normal…)

I knew this would happen.

Even if Mizuki hadn’t asked me, I didn’t deserve to interact with her the same way after rejecting her.

…But still…

‘—Nice to meet you, Amano-kun. Since we’re both on the library committee, let’s get along, okay?’

‘Amano-kun, good job! Hey, after work, wanna go to the shop?’

‘…Amano-kun, do you… have a girl you like?’

She was the first girl I made a friend with, other than Mizuki.

It’s lonely that I can’t even talk to her anymore.

I thought about that.

“…Amano-kun.”

“…Huh?”

I was suddenly called out and stopped cleaning.

When I turned around, Kashiwagi was still sweeping with her broom, not looking at me.

“Your girlfriend, Amano-kun… what kind of person is she?”

“Huh…?”

That unexpected question caught me off guard.

This was something Renji and the other classmates had asked me a lot.

But I never imagined she’d ask me this.

Why is she asking this now?

“…Uh, why?”

“…No reason. I was just a little curious. I wonder what kind of girl I lost to.”

“…”

Staring at the floor of the classroom, Kashiwagi said this.

She turned around and gave me a wry smile as I froze, unsure how to answer.

“You might laugh, but when I confessed to you, I was actually pretty confident, you know?”

“Huh?”

“I get confessed to by boys a lot… And I thought I was the closest girl to you, Amano-kun.”

Kashiwagi looked down, embarrassed.

…That wasn’t wrong.

Though she was different from Mizuki, she’s also a cute and beautiful girl.

If Mizuki wasn’t my childhood friend, she probably would have been the girl I was closest to.

…Honestly, if Mizuki wasn’t here, I probably would have tried to ask her out myself.

“That’s why I got curious. You said she’s your childhood friend, but you haven’t really told me what kind of girl she is.”

“…Yeah.”

“…Could you tell me?”

Kashiwagi looked at me intently, asking me that.

…I see.

She certainly has the right to ask.

Though it pains me not being able to say her name directly…

“…Well, if I had to say in one word, she’s a ‘high-class flower.'”

“…High-class flower?”

“She’s an incredibly beautiful girl. It might sound like I’m bragging, but someone like me could never match up to her, even if I tried.”

“Wow…”

“She’s good at both studying and sports. She’s perfect to the point it’s almost annoying…”

…Really, I wonder why someone like her would even date someone like me.

“I always thought she was someone out of my reach, but…”

“…By the way you said that, did she confess to you?”

“Yeah, well…”

It wasn’t exactly a confession. It felt more like a sort of silent pressure, like, ‘Hurry up and make up your mind!’

…And I never thought that by the end of that day, I’d lose my virginity.

“I see…”

She muttered that and gazed out the window.

Her eyes revealed nothing of what she was thinking.

“She sounds like Yukimura-san, doesn’t she?”

“Huh!?”

“Huh, what?”

That was close. For a moment, I thought my heart stopped.

I quickly calmed myself and tried to keep things as natural as possible.

“There’s no way. Yukimura-san and I are not even close, so…”

“…”

When I said that, Kashiwagi frowned for some reason.

Then she lightly tapped my forehead.

“That.”

“Huh?”

“That self-deprecating part of you. I don’t think it’s good.”

She peered at me with a frown on her face.

“Amano-kun, you’re not a bad boy. Your grades are good, you’re pretty decent at sports, and you’re cute, too.”

“Cute…?”

“Yeah, actually, you’re exactly my type. You’re cute, considerate, and have this feeling that makes me want to protect you.”

…Should I be happy about that?

Seeing my slightly awkward expression, Kashiwagi laughed.

“You’re not the manly type, but I think you’ll appeal to those who like that kind of thing.”

“…Well, thanks.”

That’s a rather ambiguous evaluation.

I can’t help but wonder how I should take it as a man.

…Maybe I should start working out.

“That’s why, you should be more confident.”

She scolded me with a sisterly tone.

“I want to believe that the boy I fell for was a wonderful person.”

“…I’ll try my best.”

I smiled wryly and answered her.

After that, we continued cleaning in a relatively calm atmosphere.

I never thought I’d get to talk to a girl friend like this again.

Even if this is the last time, I’m glad we could talk one more time.

“…Alright, I think that’s it.”

“Yeah, I think we’re done.”

After cleaning the floor and the blackboard, I sighed in relief.

It was a lot of work for just the two of us.

“Are you heading home, Amano-kun?”

“Yeah, I have work later.”

“I see. Then I’ll take care of the trash. You can leave first.”

“Uh…”

I hesitated. I felt bad making a girl do the heavy lifting…

But when I looked at the clock, time was tight.

I had to rush and barely make it on time.

“It’s fine. You helped me a lot during library committee work. This is my way of saying thanks.”

“…Uh, sorry, but can I ask you for a favor?”

“Leave it to me.”

I bowed my head to Kashiwagi, who smiled and said that, and I left the classroom.

Kashiwagi smiled and waved me off until I was out of sight.

After Amano-kun was gone, I sat down at a nearby desk.

“…I wonder if I managed to smile well…?”

It had been two weeks since that confession.

Yet every time I saw him, the wound in my heart would throb.

‘—Kashiwagi-san, are you okay?’

The first impression of him was that he was a cute boy.

But as I got to know him, I realized he was easy to talk to, considerate, and unexpectedly reliable… It didn’t take long for me to fall for him.

“High-class flower, huh…”

The words he used to describe his girlfriend.

If he says that, she must be quite the beauty.

But the first person that comes to mind when I think of that is the beautiful classmate of ours.

—Yukimura Mizuki.

Tall, with an outstanding figure. Perfectly beautiful with no flaws.

When I first saw her, I was so surprised I thought she was an actress.

She truly is a “high-class flower.”

“…No way, it couldn’t be Yukimura-san, right…?”

Saying it out loud, it seems impossible.

But occasionally, I notice her staring at Amano-kun intently.

And somehow, the way she looks at him doesn’t seem quite normal…

“…No way…”

It can’t be possible.

That flawless school goddess.

The unrivaled beauty that everyone in school admires.

…No way, someone like her would be with someone like Amano-kun.

At that moment, I desperately tried to convince myself of that.