Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Several days later.

At School.

“Kenichi.”

“……”

“Kenichi!”

“……”

“Kenichi!”

“!!! You scared me! What the heck, Yuto? You suddenly shouted.”

“Well, I’ve already called you three times…”

“Ah, is that so.”

As I was sitting in my seat, my childhood friend, Yuto, called out my name in a loud voice.

The class is quite noisy since it is still the time before the class starts. So Yuto’s voice didn’t reach that far, but my ears were sensitive enough to hear it. No, I guess I was a bit spaced out, because I only noticed it when he called me three times.

“Kenichi’s been kind of spaced out lately. Did something happen?”

“Nn…”

Two things happened that changed my life, and , I can’t tell this guy about that.

“Nothing special.”

“Really? Did anything happen while I was helping my dad with his work?”

“……”

I look away awkwardly in silence.

This guy is a really dear friend of mine, the one who was saved by my dad who passed away. So just being with him, knowing my dad so well, gives me peace of mind.

“Well, there are some things you just can’t say.”

“Yuto…”

“Well, it’s not good to dwell on it. Bad things are bound to happen someday.”

“Y-yeah. You’re right.”

I said with a slight wry smile, and Yuto continued with a smile.

“But somehow I have a feeling that something good will happen to Kenichi today.”

“What is that? Is that like fortune-telling or something?”

“Not really, but sort of?”

Something good, huh?

There’s enough good stuff going on around me already, man.

I looked ahead with that thought in my mind.

And then I looked at Uchida.

There is no doubt that I am reflected in her magenta eyes.

She smiled gently.

She’s really beautiful.

She’s beautiful the way she always is, but when she’s smiling like that…

The sight of Ayane-san falling into pleasure because of me, es to mind.

“W-what the h**l am I thinking!”

“W-what’s wrong, Kenichi?”

“N-no, it’s nothing…”

As I sigh with my head in my hands, Yuto looks at me worriedly and mutters something in a whisper.

“I can’t wait for Kenichi to be able to get her…”

And the bell rang.

X X X

After school.

Today, too, Yuto left school ahead of me to help his father with his work. As I was slowly stuffing my textbooks into my bag, one of Uchida’s friends, Minami Kirishima, who has impressive, narrowed eyes, suddenly came toward me.

“Kudo!”

“Hmm?”

She is also a beautiful girl who doesn’t feel out of place even if she’s with Uchida. I nodded my head because I have rarely talked to Kirishima, who reigns at the top of such a caste.

“Hey, can you help me with some mittee work? I have a lot of printing to do… I’ll buy you some juice! Rino will be there too, by the way.”

Hmm… I’m confused why she mentioned Uchida, but I don’t have any plans today other than to have a drink with Ayane-san at the bar at night so…

“I’ll help you with the heavy lifting.”

“Fufu, thanks! That helps.”

Kirishima clapped her hands in delight. But maybe it’s my imagination, but I feel like her eyes are infused with a color that was testing me.

Well, try or nothing.

Let’s get on with it and have fun with Ayane-san.

With that thought, I got up from my seat.

X X X

“……”

Why are me and Uchida carrying prints together?

I’m fine on my own.

That’s what I thought, but Kirishima pushed me and Uchida into it, so we had no choice but to walk down the hallway together.

I don’t know why.

But it hurts, the way people are looking at me right now.

I don’t really like doing it either…

A lot of boys who are after Uchida are staring at me.

In particular, Hashimoto, who has a reddened face among the positive characters in my class, is giving me a murderous stare.

So this guy, too, is after Uchida, though he’s hiding it on the surface.

“Seriously, only people who say they’re virgins can’t graduate.” (see Chapter 13).

On the way to school, he is a disagreeable and jovial person who looks down on his own friends from above.

I don’t really care about standing out, but I honestly don’t like guys like that. I’m not a shy guy, but I’m not on the same wavelength as guys with big attitudes like that.

I’m not just talking about guys, but girls too, no matter how pretty they are, if they have a bad personality, they lose their charm.

Hiragi is an example.

I sighed with a plicated expression on my face as I arrived at the staff room.

I handed the printouts to the teacher and walked out, then Uchida opened her mouth, fidgeting.

“Minami gave me some money, so let’s go buy some juice.”

“Oh, okay”

X X X

Me and Uchida went to a vending machine in a less popular place (so to speak, a little-known spot) and bought some juice.

If she wants to buy juice, she can go to the department store and buy it, but why here? As I was drinking my juice, wondering, Uchida’s cheeks suddenly turned red while she was holding her juice..

“Let’s get back to class, shall we?”

I was about to turn on my heel when I said that.

“Kudo-kun!”

“Hmm?”

Uchida looked at me, her magenta eyes moist and shy. Her long, silky black hair was swaying and carrying a nice fragrance to my nose.

“About the confession, a year ago…”

“!!!”

W-what is it about?

Why is she suddenly digging up my black history again?

I blow a little on my juice, and Uchida looks apologetically from side to side, then speaks with a very reluctant expression on her face.

“I was really happy when Kudo-kun confessed to me…”

“Eh?”

She uttered words that far surpassed my expectation, it made me drop my juice.

“I told you before, right? I don’t want it to be known that I’m from a fatherless family, so I turned down all the confessions from boys… so that one from a year ago doesn’t count…”

“Oh, ohh…”

She flushed and awkwardly raked her fingers up her hair that hung in front of her and exhaled colorfully.

She gives off the vibe that if I confessed to her right now, she’d accept my proposal.

Surely in the past, I would’ve confessed right away.

But…

I’m already on the path to adulthood now.

I’m in a s*x-friend relationship with one beautiful lady and the other time I had a relationship with another woman.

I hope Uchida will have a good love life.

Many people are after her. I’m sure there are many men who could make Uchida happy.

I’m just…

Busy.

“Let’s go back to class.”

“… Un.”

X*X

[Uchida side]

His voice was cold.

She realized as she looked at his muscular back.

Why did I dump him back then?

I feel like cursing my past self to death.

Unlike other men, Kenichi is a very serious boy who doesn’t insist on getting involved.

He looks a little old, but he’s muscular, and I thought he’d be reliable if we got along.

And somehow his words and gestures made me feel at ease.

I was so happy when I heard his family situation is the same as mine.

He was the man who gave me the courage to be myself.

I found myself falling in love with him.

But I couldn’t tell him how I felt.

Rino has received confessions from countless men. But she’s never done it herself.

Rino believes that if she says even the slightest thoughtful thing, he will surely pour out his warm feelings to her.

As if unable to see through such pride, he utters a few cold words before walking away.

That man is not a man who has any mon sense of his own.

So.

It sucks extra.

“Ah, Kudo-kun…”

She whispers this and then walks behind him, her legs shaking slightly, like she was running on electricity.

But there was a tightening pain in Rino’s heart.

The foolish self who dumped him.

He seems to have no intention of doing so.

Because of her pride, she became a pathetic person who was not able to express even one of her feelings.

The more time passes, the more Rino gradually begins to feel the weight of how much the attitude she has taken towards him has put her at a disadvantage.

Still, she holds out hope.

That she has a bright future ahead of her.

Dreaming of the day Kenichi confesses to her again…

(As the the two people walked by, a beautiful blonde girl peeked at them from behind)

[Postscript]

There’s too much discrepancy.

Next time or the next next time might be interesting…