When My Younger Brother Stole My Girlfriend, I Began Living Together with My Beautiful Childhood Friend Almost As If We Were Married - Chapter 20

Episode 20: The Two Collaborate

Around the fifth turn each, we decide to go refill our drinks.

Yuma and Misaki kindly offer to bring drinks for both Reina and me, so I take them up on their offer and request white grape juice to be sent over.

While they’re gone, I check the scoreboard, and as expected, Reina’s score stands out significantly high.

“Four strikes and a spare, with one of them being a turkey.”

“I wanted to make all of them strike, really.”

“You’re doing more than enough. As for me, it’s just like this.”

I glance at my scoreboard.

Two spares and the rest are pretty ordinary, nothing exceptional.

While my score is higher compared to Yuma and Misaki, it pales in comparison to Reina’s exceptional skill.

“Alright, let me give you some tips.”

“Huh?”

“Here, hold the ball.”

Following her instructions, I stand up and hold the ball in the lane. She stands behind me, her hands reaching out as if embracing me, my hands touching hers.

The smooth sensation of Reina’s palm against the back of my hand, coupled with her subtle fragrance, quickens my heartbeat.

“Hayato?”

“Ah, sorry. So, from here…”

“Yeah. You should aim to release the ball so that your hand aligns with the target area.”

“Which means… this lane, perhaps?”

“Let’s go!”
I adjust as per her advice and throw the ball.

With a confident trajectory, the ball rolls, hitting the exact spot I’ve been aiming for, knocking down the pins with precision.

The scoreboard proudly displays the word “strike.”

“We did it!”

“Yeah! Thank you!”

Overjoyed, I forget momentarily that there are people around and end up hugging her.

“Kya!”

“Ah! Sorry…”

“Um… that’s, I mean, more gentle…”

As she spreads her arms and looks up at me with those eyes, any language skills beyond ‘cute’ seem to vanish.

I hold her gently, as she desires, thinking I must look quite disheveled if I were to see myself in a mirror.

“Misaki, there’s an idiot couple over there.”

“You’ll lose if you mind, Yu-kun. This is how it’s going to be from now on, so you better get used to it.”

“We should’ve gotten water instead of juice.”

“I brought black coffee for myself.”

Misaki actually brought black coffee, can you believe it?

She’s not just sipping her coffee while watching our exchange like it’s sugar. It’s fine, but what can I say, is this too sweet?

Honestly, the level of intimacy and closeness seems closer than when I was with Anna. But maybe we’re sticking too close together? Is this the default for everyone?

Feeling a bit surprised by the difference with our surroundings, I thank Yuma for the juice and accept it.
While I’m receiving the juice, Reina effortlessly scores another strike, and it’s Yuma’s turn.

He ends up with a spare. His first roll misses, knocking down two pins, and the second roll takes down the remaining eight.

Then it’s Misaki’s turn.

“Hey, Yu-kun. I want you to do what you did for Reina earlier.”

“I guess I have no choice.”

Yuma stands behind Misaki, holding the ball with her as if embracing her from behind.

“Oh, idiot couple.”

“Hey, Hayato, let’s go to the bathroom together later. I’ll show you the mirror.”

“No way! You guys are so perfect together!”

“I think this might be the goofiest I’ve ever seen Reina.”

Misaki seems a bit reserved.

Why, Reina? She’s cute, you know.

The balls thrown by the two of them in collaboration slowly roll and end up in the gutter fairly early in the game.

Their second throws end up similar, reaching the pins but only knocking down two and disappearing into the back.

They end up with two pins each, but both seem really satisfied, their faces shining brightly.

Then, looking to my side, I see Reina fidgeting with her fingers.

“Shall we throw it together?”

“Y-yeah!”

I might not be as good as Reina yet, but I somehow feel like I understand what she wants to do. It would be nice if we could understand each other’s thoughts without speaking.

I hold the ball, and Reina’s hand joins mine as we throw together.
Our throw, unlike Yuma’s and Misaki’s, has quite some power behind it, and the ball rolls straight, knocking down all the pins as it disappears into the distance.

Two consecutive strikes. I’ve never achieved something like this in the game before, and it makes me happy.

“Great job, Hayato!”

“You’re good because of Reina’s teaching and teamwork.”

“Hehe. But Hayato learns quickly, so he’ll get better soon.”

“Here comes the lovey-dovey stuff.”

“We won’t be able to keep this up without getting used to it.”

While the two behind us are saying something, I decide to ignore it.

Next, Reina naturally scores another strike, and it’s Yuma’s turn again.

Ultimately, by the end of all ten games, Reina takes the first place with an overwhelming lead, followed by me, Misaki, and Yuma, in that order.