Chapter 30: CH 31

A few days after the day we moved into the family home which I had just recently moved out of.

I was 4 years old at the time, and my mother took me to a neighborhood park to play.

There I met Suzuka, who was playing in the sandbox, and we became friends.

Our families also live near each other.

We became good friends playing at the park.

When we became elementary school students, we stopped playing together.

But although we stopped playing, we talked at school, talked when we walked home together, and talked a little when we met at summer festivals.

An unbreakable bond. A connection that has continued.

However, there was no reason for that not to change along the way, and needless to say, the shape of our relationship changed little by little.

I was in my early elementary school years.

We laughed innocently and got along well in school.

But outside of school, I stopped playing with Suzuka.

Middle elementary school.

The number of boys and girls talking without any separation at school started to decrease.

Suzuka and I talked less and less as well.

Well, I guess we still talked more than others.

Senior elementary school.

The line between boys and girls became clearer at school.

Suzuka and I quit talking at school because we didn’t want to be teased.

However, we still talked a little when we met outside.

Middle school students.

Sensitive age.

We never talked in front of people because we didn’t want to be judged by those around us.

However, we still talked as long as no one was watching us.

High school students.

It’s an impressionable age, but we’ve grown up. While maintaining clear boundaries between the genders, no one is saying “I don’t like you because you are a boy” or “This is why girls are …” or not talking to each other because of their gender anymore.

Suzuka and I were the same way, and we came to think that we didn’t have to worry about what people around us said about us.

As a result, we are back to talking normally at school.

This is how the relationship between me and Suzuka was spun.

It is a very rotten relationship, isn’t it?

I was so lost in my thoughts when Yamanaka-senpai asked me about “How Suzuka and I met”.

It took me a minute or so.

I was making a pause with “ah”, “mmm”, and “ehh”, and then I let out what I was thinking about.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to get my story straight.”

“Well, I’ve been waiting for you. So, how did you and your wife meet?”

“First time in the park…”

I told Yamanaka what I was thinking about.

And? And? She asked me, and I told him everything about my relationship with Suzuka, which I had been lost in my thoughts until a while ago.

“Hoho. I see~”

“So we were good friends with a trivial rotten relationship.”

“I see~. That’s good, that’s good. I see. That’s good. So, how did two people who had such a rotten relationship end up getting married?””

“I asked, “Oh, you want to try dating?” And she agreed.”

I blur it up a bit, not mentioning the lottery.

However, it feels more or less the same. Very roughly.

“Oh, yeah. Yuki asked me if I wanted to go out with him as a trial.”

Actually, it was a few levels higher, like, ‘Do you want to try being married?’

“And Suzuka was surprisingly enthusiastic about it, or rather, she didn’t seem to mind, so we started dating. We became passionate and started a relationship, and we ended up getting married.”

“After dating Yuki, it wasn’t so bad, so we ended up getting married.”

“Wow~, it’s some kind of awesome romantic comedy. You know what, guys? Do you guys simply decided to go out with one another? I don’t usually go out with someone just because they ask me to, you know?”

Yamanaka-senpai, who was smiling at our words and actions, pointed a finger at us and said,

No, no, no, Suzuka and I had nothing to worry about until we won the lottery, right?

“No, no, there is no such thing.”

“Really~? You were doing a lot of things without realizing it, weren’t you?”

“No, we didn’t. Before we started dating, Yuki and I were known to everyone around us as the typical pattern of “childhood friends”. Yashiro-senpai, right?”

Suzuka asked Yashiro-senpai, who was still working hard by himself, to come over and join the conversation.

Then he quit his work and came over to talk.

“Yeah, from what I saw at school, they were just childhood friends by all accounts. I was surprised when I heard they got married, too.”

“If Yashiro-chan says so, I guess it must be so. But I’ll bite, right? Yes, for example, at school, they may have looked at you that way, but outside of school, they actually ended up doing things that made them seem like a good match, didn’t they?

“Hmmm. Really?”

Suzuka came to me, tilting her head and staring at me.

I put my hand on my chin and thought about what we had been doing outside of school for a bit before I spoke.

“No, I don’t remember doing anything that would make us look good together…”

“Again~. For example, buying a bun and a bean-jam bun at a convenience store and sharing them half-and-half. or when they caught a cold, you would go to visit them or… and then, on Valentine’s Day, you would give them a piece of chocolate or something since you have a rotten relationship with them… Yashiro-chan. Do you have anything else?”

“Oh, a day off. How about if you guys just happened to go out for fun with the same purpose? And if you guys did what I just said, you can’t get away with it, can you?”

“Well, if you were doing any of the things I just mentioned, you’d better come clean!”

…….

………….

Valentine’s Day.

This year I was told ‘I won’t give you a gift’ because she had to take an exam, so there was no Valentine’s Day… reminds me of last year’s Valentine’s Day.

On the way home from school.

Valentine’s Day. I didn’t get any chocolates from girls.

If I got one or two and showed them, I would make myself look good to Suzuka.

As I was walking home, I was thinking about it.

“Oh, it’s Yuki. Hey, hey, did you get one?”

I met a smiling Suzuka.

Oh, that was the worst. I was definitely going to get messed with for looking smug, though, right?

But if I tried to play dumb, I’d probably get messed around with even more.

“I’ll be honest. I didn’t get one. So you can give me yours as a gesture of mercy, right?”

“Eh~, then, I’ll give you the rest of my friend’s chocolates if it’s okay with you. Here you go.”

“Damn, you’re such a jerk!”

“If you are thankful to your childhood friend, Suzuka-sama, you should return the favor properly. Yuki-kun.”

“I know. Look forward to it, okay?”

But I didn’t know what to give her in return.

So I went out with her to buy her whatever she wanted within my budget.

Another day.

It was bitterly cold and I went inside the convenience store, caught by the banner that said “Chinese steamed buns are now available.”

Then I ran into Suzuka.

“What are you here to buy?”

“A steamed bun. No, I think buns would be good at this place. What did you come to the convenience store to buy?”

“I wanted to eat a steamed bun, too. But I also want to eat a jam bun. Oh, that’s right. Yuki, why don’t you eat half of it? You want half a bun?”

“I don’t have a choice. I’ll do that.”

One day, another day.

One day, Suzuka came to my room when I caught a cold.

“Well?”

“I’m not well, that’s why I’m resting. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to mock the sight of my childhood friend lying in bed? I’m kidding. You’re unlucky enough to have no one at home today, aren’t you? You know, I came by to see how you were doing?”

Another day.

A school trip, overnight stay.

It’s four days and three nights in plain clothes, not uniform, so I went out to buy some clean clothes, bath towels, and other things I might need since the inn didn’t seem to have them available.

As soon as I stepped out the front door, I run into Suzuka.

“Ah, it’s Yuki.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m preparing for a school trip. What about you?”

“Same thing. I’m not in uniform, I’m in plain clothes, and I have to buy clothes for Okinawa, so I’m going around today.”

“Hohoho. Yuki has no taste. I can’t help it. I was going to go shopping for clothes too. Do you want me to go with you?”

So we went shopping together.

Pang!

Yamanaka-senpai made a loud sound with her hands together.

“Ho, ho. What’s wrong with both of you shutting up? Don’t tell me you have any idea what we said~?”

She stared at me with a grin.

Suzuka and I looked at each other and then said in unison.

“All of them. I had an idea, but…”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha, I knew it! You just started dating for a trial period, but there’s no way you’re going to get married right away!”

Yamanaka-senpai laughed.

And Yashiro-senpai also laughed, thinking it was for real.

“Hey, Suzuka. Are we possibly …?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe…”

Yamanaka-senpai anticipated what we were going to say.

“Maybe you just didn’t realize it, but you guys liked each other before you started going out.”

I see.

So that’s what it was.

“Hehehe. I’m embarrassed now that I realize that we were a good match from the beginning. I see, I liked you before we started going out.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Me and two seniors looking at Suzuka without saying a word.

My inner thoughts were like this.

“Isn’t this girl embarrassed to say something so embarrassing in a normal way?”

And, well, Suzuka noticed it and made up for it by turning her face red.

“Ugh~, I said something really embarrassing. … Yuki baka!”

Suzuka gently hit me with a smack.

The preparations for the barbecue proceeded happily like that.