The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

During the lunch break, we eat our bento together as usual, trying to behave normally.

The stares from some classmates were painful, but we kept the conversation flowing and continuously brought up new topics to ignore them.

However, Haru, who is usually cheerful and talkative, is so quiet today that it’s hard to get excited.

Misa is trying to bring up cheerful topics, but Haru’s responses are just a few words or nods, and the conversation doesn’t develop further.

In the end, we just spend the mealtime pretending to be cheerful.

After finishing the meal, I pack up my bento and stand up, saying,

“I’m going to meet with a collaborator.”

As expected, Misa frowns upon hearing my words.

“Who’s that? Are we not coming along with you?”

“…No. That person wants me to come alone.”

“Can you trust someone who gives such instructions?”

“Don’t worry about it. I know this person. Also, I’ll try to convince this person to let me introduce you two eventually.”

“…I see. I get it.”

With Misa seemingly convinced, I leave Haru in her care and am about to head to the associate when——

“Hey, Seko.”

Haru calls out to me.

I instinctively turned my head around and saw her looking straight at me with anxiety in her eyes.

“Don’t you think the three of us should stay together?”

For a moment, my heart skips a beat.

It felt like she saw right through me.

I answer, trying to hide my agitation.

“…Yeah, that’s right. But sorry, this time I have to go alone.”

“…Okay. We’ll wait here. Please come back.”

“There are classes in the afternoon, of course, I’ll come back.”

“…Um, of course. I said something weird.”

Though she admits her words were odd, Haru’s eyes still plead with me, ‘Don’t go.’

“…Rento-kun. You…”

Perhaps sensing something from my interaction with Haru, Misa also looks at me with similar eyes.

I shake off their feelings and step out into the hallway.

Opening my smartphone while walking, I see a message that arrived during the previous break.

『Let’s meet at the usual place.』

The sender is Koido.

Probably to talk about this recent rumor.

However, there’s no instruction in the message that only I should come.

It’s not that I want to hide Koido’s existence from them.

I just wanted to go alone today.

Because——

“Seko Senpai”

As I walk towards the back garden, a male student appears in front of me and calls out to me.

It’s Ka-kun, the boyfriend of a junior couple.

Wondering what he wants, I’m about to reply when he declared something loudly so that everyone around can hear,

“Seko Senpai, I’m disappointed. I never thought you were that kind of person.”

His voice is filled with anger. No surprise there.

He had said he respected me. Part of it was for having the courage to confess in public, but mainly for my unwavering devotion to someone.

The rumor circulating now would certainly feel like a betrayal to him.

Ka-kun, with a sharp gaze, approaches me.

“I won’t let you pass. I won’t allow Seko Senpai to do as he pleases anymore.”

He says this loudly, making sure the surrounding students hear him.

Then, taking one step closer, he whispers so that only I can hear,

“Please use the west staircase and go to the pool’s changing room.”

I almost blurted out, ‘What?’ but I swallowed my words under Ka-kun’s glare.

Then I turn my back on him and continue down the hallway without saying anything.

My destination is the outdoor pool.

***

Our school has a splendid pool.

However, I’ve never used it since the classes are elective and I haven’t chosen swimming.

I remember hearing that the swimming club was recently disbanded, so no one should be using the pool at this time.

Ka-kun told me to go to the changing room, but I wonder if it’s open… Oh, it is.

I can enter just fine.

Thinking of the worst-case scenario, I chose to enter the boys’ changing room, which turned out to be the right decision.

The person already there notices me and waves with a smile.

“Senpai, long time no see.”

“Koido. Don’t you realize this is the boys’ changing room?”

“I know. I figured since it’s Senpai, you wouldn’t enter the girls’ changing room.”

“You know me well.”

“Of course, it’s about Senpai!”

Watching Koido show off a triumphant face makes me feel more at ease.

“Hey, Koido. Wasn’t the meeting supposed to be in the backyard?”

“I was planning to. But Takahata-san suggested this place. Apparently, it’s a lovey-dovey spot Takahata-san and his girlfriend recently discovered.”

“So we left the lovey-dovey spot and came back to a new lovey-dovey spot huh? Wait, does that mean this is their love nest?”

“I guess so~. Ah, I wonder what those two usually do here~”

“Ugh… suddenly it feels awkward to be here.”

“Ahaha. Well, it’s just Senpai and me. No need to be so tense.”

“Hmm, yeah, I guess.”

“It’s a little complicated if you agree so easily…”

Thinking that a girl’s mind is a difficult thing to understand, I throw the question I’ve been pondering at Koido.

“So why here instead of the backyard?”

“It seems there’s information going around that Senpai often appears in the backyard at lunchtime, and it looks like people who hold a grudge against Senpai are gathering there.”

“It’s turned into a real dystopia there. So Ka-kun and Na-chan were protecting me!”

“Looks like it~. See, Senpai. Having juniors is the best thing ever.”

“Yeah, there’s Ka-kun-sama, Na-chan-sama, Koido-sama.”

“You’re including me too? Maybe you’re in a ‘dere’ phase now, Senpai! I see, so it’s still going on!”

“Now, I can pour out all the words of gratitude to Koido that I was too embarrassed to say before.”

“Th-That’s embarrassing, so no need!”

What’s with that reaction.

The dere phase is over. I mean, what even is a dere phase?

——Well, this is fun.

I can stop thinking about anything when fooling around with Koido like this.

My headache seems to be lighter too.

But if the conversation stops even for a little, a dark haze begins to grip my heart.

“…Ahem. So, Senpai. About the rumor going around… have you thought of any way to settle it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Oh, as expected of Senpai. Actually, I’ve been thinking too, probably the same as Senpai… Senpai?”

“Koido. Who’s the victim in this rumor?”

“…Yosaki Senpai.”

“And the perpetrator?”

“According to the rumor… it’s Senpai and Hinata Senpai.”

“So, the brunt of the criticism is on me and Hinata. Then what if Hinata becomes the victim?”

“…Senpai.”

“In fact, Hinata was just being threatened by me and was reluctantly involved with me. Let’s see, the threat is something like this, ‘I’ll make Yosaki suffer if you don’t listen to me’.”

“Senpai.”

“And this time, I threatened Yosaki in the same way. ‘I’ll make Hinata suffer If you don’t back me up and solve this rumor’.”

“Senpai…”

“The girls were sacrificing themselves for their best friend——A noble friendship indeed. In other words, Yosaki and Hinata are the victims, and I’m the only perpetrator.”

“Senpai——”

“All that’s left is for me to leave this school and this case will be closed. The two of them might even receive sympathy and special treatment… I’m going to cause trouble for dad and mom again, but if I dedicate the rest of my life to being filial, maybe they’ll forgive me——”

“Senpai!!”

Koido raises her voice and calls out to me.

At that moment, my words come to a halt.

Koido looks at me with eyes filled with anger, but there are faint tears in them.

“Senpai, you can’t think like that.”

“But, it’s impossible Koido. There’s nothing to overturn this rumor. Even if there was, they’d collapse before we could even get it.”

“Senpai, you’re mentally exhausted right now.”

“…What are you talking about? I’m used to being the center of attention…”

“Didn’t you say it before? That Senpai is someone who finds happiness in the happiness of those important to him. That means if those important people are sad, Senpai suffers too. …The idea of sacrificing yourself to protect those two is just like you, Senpai. But it’s something Yosaki Senpai, Hinata Senpai, your parents, and I will never allow.”

In that instant, a tear streams down Koido’s eye.

Yet, she continues to look straight at me.

Her eyes, like Haru’s when I left the classroom, seemed to be saying not to go far away.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath to calm my heart, and then look straight back into her eyes.

“Sigh… thank you, Koido. Maybe I was getting a little crazy…”

“…Senpai is always a bit crazy!”

“What’s that…Haha.”

“…Hehe.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, we continued to laugh while looking at each other.

Maybe the reason I told her about the ‘solution’ was somewhere in my heart——I was hoping she would stop me.

Really. I owe so much to my juniors.