What If I Told Tomori-san, The Girl Who's Cold Only Towards Me, That I Knew Her Secret Account? - V1 Chapter 7.3

A friend is Something You Should Possess 3

It all started during middle school.

At that time, I would occasionally sneak out of my family’s mansion and wander the streets at night.

It’s because of the education policy to create individuals worthy of the Kagisaka name—A calculating relationship with his own relatives.

My father, who had calculated motives, never appreciated my efforts, no matter how much I achieved.

And I had grown tired of such things.

(It’s not like the night streets were lawless. But…)

If children were out and about late at night, they could attract the attention of delinquents who would try to extort money from them.

I would refuse or run away to avoid trouble, but before I knew it…

“——Wow, you’re amazing. I can’t believe how strong you are, man.”

I bought a fight that the delinquents had instigated and incapacitated them all, and that person approached me.

“Did you do some kind of martial arts?”

“It’s because of my family. I was made to learn karate and stuff.”

“Nice! That’s convenient!”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been looking for a good partner. Hey, how about we team up?”

“Ha?”

“Let’s create a delinquent team together! We can come up with a cool name and all that!”

“That kind of thing isn’t popular nowadays.”

“On the contrary, it’s the trend! You’ve heard of ‘Tokyo revengers’, right?”

“Tokyo… revengers…?”

“Huh!? You’ve got to be kidding me! Let’s stay overnight at a manga café from now on! I’ll treat you!”

That’s how we first met.

Since I had nowhere else to go, I followed along and read the delinquent manga as I was recommended.

Before I knew it, I was engrossed and moved by them.

Until then, I had only focused on studying and hadn’t really read any manga.

“Hey, wasn’t it incredibly interesting?”

In the early morning at the park, basking in the bright morning sun, we’re fooling around like stupid boys and discussing our thoughts on manga while holding convenience store pastries and canned coffee in our hands.

Before I knew it, we had formed a connection.

There must have been something that resonated between us.

“Hey, are you a middle schooler? I thought you were older, but we’re the same age.”

“My f*cking apologies for looking older, I guess?”

“Nah, it’s not that you look older, but mature vibe or something like that?”

“Is it? Maybe it’s because I’ve been dealing with a lot of adults at home.”

“I see. It seems there’s a lot going on… Hey, in that case, how about instead of dealing with adults, you accompany me in taking care of the kids?”

That’s how it started.

From that night on, the two of us roamed the night streets, finding other children who had nowhere to go and solving their problems.

Children who had run away with nowhere to go.

Children troubled by troublesome adults.

Children that was threatened by a partner who said they would engage in revenge p*rn.

Children that wanted to protect a friend who was being extorted by Seniors.

(Fortunately, I had the power to resolve such troubles.)

Ironically, it was under the night sky where both the self-defense skills and the ability to manipulate relationships with different expressions on one’s face, which were my family lessons, were maximized.

“If they find out we’re middle schoolers, they might look down on us, so let’s hide our ages!”

By pretending to be older, I ended up being admired by peers who had their own troubles, and a natural entourage formed around me, making the work of taking care of children even easier.

Before I knew it, a delinquent team had been formed.

“We don’t really need a team name, right? It would just be tacky and superficial.”

“A superficial name… I like it! Let’s name the team Kazarina!”

“What a joke. That’s too random.”

“Haha, as always, you keep throwing insults at me, Kei.”

I didn’t want to use the name “Kagisaka,” so I didn’t reveal my real name.

So the nickname that person gave me ended up becoming our alias.

With praise from allies and fear from adversaries, my name began to spread on its own, and before I knew it, I had dyed my hair red in an attempt to look more like a delinquent.

I became the leader of Kazarina, the advisor for children who had nowhere to go, and sometimes the mediator who resolved seemingly hopeless situations through strategy and violence.

(However, this kind of life wasn’t so bad.)

In the school I attended at the time, just being [Kagisaka] was enough to receive special treatment.

It was a prestigious school, but that also made them sensitive to family background.

At first, I was happy with having many friends.

[Kimitaka is such a nerd. Why does he study so much?]

[Oh, here’s a secret that person told me. He wants to be recognized by his father.]

[Hahaha! Isn’t he a daddy’s boy?]

[If he wasn’t a Kagisaka, he probably wouldn’t have friends.]

After hearing a conversation like that one day, I grew tired of living in the prestigious school.

Looking back now, I realize that I had developed a distrust of people.

Classmates, teachers, family… In the end, they all only valued the name [Kagisaka.]

(That’s why life as Kazarina was ideal for me.)

It was a thrill I could never experience at home or in school.

The satisfaction of seeing my honed skills turn into someone’s smile.

Comrades who connected with me without ulterior motives.

And the best partner.

But…

“Sorry, Kei.”

The ideal didn’t last long.

I still remember it vividly.

The hospital room was tinted orange by the evening sun.

A body that was covered in pure white bandages.

My partner was lying on the bed with a smile that seemed filled with apologies.

“I can’t be with you anymore…”

On that day, I left Kazarina.

Countless member.

The one and only partner.

A shining daily life.

I lost everything.