I Went Back to Being a High School Student Again, but I Was Rejected by My Childhood Friend, Whom I Thought Was In Love With Me, So I tried to Suicide With the Most Beautiful Girl In the School. - Chapter 12

Volume 3: Double Suicide

Change and Ignition

　Summer vacation is over.

　It is not my imagination that my classmates are generally looking paler than in the first semester.

　It is natural for them to be so absorbed in their studies that they do not even go outside properly.

　On the other hand, my skin, which had been delivering pizzas by moped almost every day under the scorching sun, had somehow become completely tanned, and I clearly stood out from the others.

　Many of my classmates looked at me with pity.

　They probably think that I can’t even study for the entrance examination because of my broken heart…

　Since no one ever told me this directly, I never explained the reason why myself.

　The entrance examination is just around the corner.

　I guess they also won’t have the time to worry about others anytime soon.

☆

“You’re half-hearted on your studies. That’s why you’re not getting good grades.”

　Summer vacation is over, and a week has passed.

　I was summoned to the staff room, where my homeroom teacher scolded me. He must have judged from my sunburn marks that I had skipped the supplementary classes and had been playing around during the summer.

　After the summer break, I took a placement test.

　The result was that I was ranked 23rd in the class, a slight drop from 16th place in the first semester’s final exam.

　In my case, it was the first high school test I had taken in ten years, and I was satisfied with my performance, which was better than I had expected. This result, of course, was due in large part to Natsuki’s help with my studies.

“University entrance examinations are a team game. If there is an unmotivated person like you in the class, the morale of the whole class will be affected. You still have a good score, but it won’t be long before you fall from here.”

　He seemed to be very angry that I had disturbed the class harmony by skipping, even though my current grades had a good enough chance to be admitted to the university of my first choice.

　I bowed once and left the staff room.

“Oh, Akki is back! “

　Iori called me when I returned to the classroom.

　It was already after school, and she was the only one left.

　It seemed that she was waiting for me to come back.

“You were called by Sensei… how is it?”

　She asks me happily, her eyes shining.

“He was angry at me because my grades were down.”

“I knew it!”

　Iori says happily.

“So, how low did your grades go? What was your rank on the test the other day? “

“…23”

“I see, 23rd place.”

　Iori smiles cheerfully and gives me the middle finger.

“Your grades are still good! What’s that? “

　Iori glares at me and continues.

“I mean, the reason you didn’t ask Towa out during the summer vacation is not because you were busy with your part-time job but because you were studying whenever you had free time! “

　I nodded my head silently.

“I thought Akki would fail just like Towa. You traitor… “

　Iori sighed dejectedly.

“Rikarino’s been studying pretty seriously lately, too…”

　Iori mutters, looking bored.

　I felt sorry for her, and then I said.

“I’m annoyed today because I’ve been unreasonably scolded, so if you have time after this, come hang out with me for a while.”

　I say, and she gives me a blank look.

“So you’re saying that Towa is only a convenient woman for Akki…? “

　She said, mimicking tears.

　I ignore her and say.

“Let’s go to karaoke in front of the station. It’s a good way to relieve stress.”

“Oh, that’s good! Akki, sing me a love song.”

　Iori is in a better mood when she hears that we’re going to karaoke.

　And hearing her words, I feel incredibly nostalgic.

“Yep, I’ll do that.”

　I replied in a lively manner.

* * *

“You know… aren’t you and Towa getting along well these days?”

　About a month had already passed since the second semester.

　Suddenly, Koyoi comes to my room, sits on my bed, stares at me sitting on the chair, and asks me this question.

“Uh, maybe.”

　I think Iori has been close to me ever since that day we went to karaoke.

　I guess I can talk to her more easily than the rest of my classmates who have switched to exam mode.

“I see…. “

　Koyoi mutters, giving me a reproachful look.

“…is it true that you two went to karaoke together? “

“It’s true.”

“What was that? “

　Koyoi heard my words and became angry.

　Koyoi snuggles over to me, grabs me by the chest, and says to me in a much lower voice than usual.

“You promised me, didn’t you?　If we get into the schools we want to attend, we’ll go out with each other. But Akira is not even studying, and you’re doing karaoke alone with Towa? What was that? Are you cheating on me? “

“Calm down for now.”

　I said, pushing Koyoi’s shoulders and making her take her hands off my chest.

“I’m also studying. I just asked Iori to join me because it’s hard to ask out someone who’s studying hard for the exam if they want to go out to karaoke for a break. Maybe we got to know each other a little better because of that, but that was nothing more or less than a friend.”

　Koyoi looks unconvinced by my words.

“I’m sorry for making you uneasy.”

　I patted Koyoi’s head and apologized to her.

　She turned her cheeks red with embarrassment and turned away from me.

“I knew what was going on about Towa-chan, but I’ll believe you.”

　It seemed that Koyoi’s complaint had been settled. I honestly thought she was too easy.

“And… by any chance, are you and Natsuki Mirai also getting along? “

” … Why did you ask that?”

　I saw Natsuki once a week during the summer vacation, but we never talked in the classroom.

　I wondered if she had seen us together outside of school…

“Because, you know, you greet each other every morning.”

“….that’s all? “

　I shrugged it off.

　If that’s all she’s saying, there’s nothing to deny.

“That’s all? Akira, you hated her. You ignored her as if you would never say a word to her. When I said bad things about her, you just laughed and agreed. Weirdly, you say hello to her like that now. What happened? “

　For Koyoi, this seemed to be very important.

　Koyoi was right that I disliked Natsuki, so it was unsurprising that she was wondering about it.

　However, it bothered me that she seemed even more impatient than when questioning me about Iori.

“…Why aren’t you talking? “

　Koyoi tries to get an answer out of me with a blank expression on her face.

“That’s enough.”

　I say… a little fed up.

“We’re already a senior in high school, and ignoring someone you don’t like is just plain mean. There’s nothing wrong with just saying hello.”

　I wasn’t trying to convince her.

　It just irked me to be questioned over such a trivial thing.

“…well, okay.”

　Seeing the look on my face, Koyoi, perhaps sensing that I was in a bad mood, backed down surprisingly quickly.

“It’s just that… “

　Koyoi hugged me after she murmured that.

　Her sweet scent tickled my nostrils. I felt as if her body heat was mingling with mine.

　I can feel the beating of Koyoi’s heart.

　She looked at me and kissed my neck.

“…I thought we were only supposed to do this after we both got into the school of our choice? “

“You don’t seem to be aware of my feelings, so I’m going to have to get tough with you.”

　After smiling mischievously, Koyoi stands up.

　Then, looking down at me, she runs her fingers along my neck, which she just kissed, and says

“I’ll never forgive you if you’re cheating on me.”

　Her smile looked very charming to me.

　Her eyes were filled with dark jealousy.

　In front of me was a different Komae Koyoi, whom I had never seen before, not to mention in the past, not even in the future…

　I just gazed at her beauty and couldn’t say anything.