When I Brought The Lost Little Girl To Her House, The One Who Came Out Of The Front Door Was The Most Beautiful Girl In The Grade. - Chapter 18

Tada Ayano… Yes, I was carefully recalling the first encounter with the current Shirakawa, Ayano.

Come to think of it, we were in different classes in fifth grade.

We ended up together when…

***

It was around June in fifth grade, although we were in different classes, I knew a girl named Tada Ayano.

Her hair was not as silky smooth as it is now, and she was shorter in height.

It seemed that she was in charge of taking care of living creatures, as she was always watering the flowers in the school flowerbed.

As for me, I was in charge of maintenance, so every Friday morning, I had to come early to count the number of brooms and dustpans, and check them again after school. Hence, I witnessed her watering the flowers every Friday.

One day, on her way to school, Ayano was being teased by some male classmates.

“Hey, shorty!”

“Seaweed head!”

They made fun of her appearance, but Ayano didn’t respond and silently continued on her way to school.

One of the boys who didn’t like her attitude silently approached her and grabbed her arm.

“Hey! Don’t ignore us!”

“Even though you’re a little seaweed head!”

“Hey, stop it!”

What was that “seaweed head” thing? It sounded like something out of a video game.

I initially wanted to avoid getting involved in the troublesome situation, but for some reason, I couldn’t just leave it be.

“Hey!”

I shouted loudly at the guys holding Ayano’s arm.

“What’s your problem?”

Uh-oh, what should I say in a situation like this? I didn’t think about it at all, so the words didn’t come to me.

In that moment, I decided to imitate the protagonist of the manga I was currently reading.

“Hey, is it fun to gang up on a girl with three guys?”

“What’s your sudden problem?”

“Hey, Sasoka, he’s Kuroda from Class 2.”

“Kuroda?”

Wait, does he know my name? I don’t know this guy at all…

“Y-You think you can act all high and mighty just because you’re a bit taller?”

“I’m not acting high and mighty, and you guys are the ones bullying a girl, right?”

“I…!”

“Got it, then step aside. You’re in the way.”

Upon hearing this, they stopped teasing Ayano and moved aside to let her pass.

However, it was incredibly embarrassing.

After school, the maintenance team had an unusual meeting in the schoolyard.

Apparently, we were going to sweep and clean the fallen leaves around the school.

Of all days, why did it have to be today? I wanted to go home early and finish reading the manga I started this morning.

“Sigh, what a hassle…”

Saying that, I was looking for a place to kill time and skip the cleaning duties when I saw her.

Tada Ayano, who had been teased since morning.

I don’t want to get involved and be teased too, so I should just leave her alone for now.

As I tried to go to a different place, I heard a loud voice from behind.

“Kuroda-kun!”

I instinctively turned around, and there was Tada Ayano looking at me.

“Um… thanks for this morning.”

“Yeah, well, it’s no big deal, but… why didn’t you say something back? You just let them do that to you.”

“If I said something back, I’d be joining them.”

“What’s that supposed to mean… Just letting them do that to you is uncool.”

“I said the bare minimum, at least.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

The conversation ended there, and Ayano gazed at the flowers in the flowerbed.

For some reason, I felt a sense of rivalry with her.

If I back down now, it would mean accepting defeat. That’s what I thought, so I sat down on the steps next to the flowerbed, several steps away.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“No, don’t you have something to do?”

“I’m skipping because it’s a hassle.”

“Well then, how about taking care of the flowers together with me?”

“If I’m doing that, then I’ll gather fallen leaves.”

“Haha! but… it’s quite fun, you know?”

With a loud voice, Ayano laughed heartily.

That was our proper encounter, the beginning of me and Ayano.