What If I Told Tomori-san, The Girl Who's Cold Only Towards Me, That I Knew Her Secret Account? - V1 Chapter 9.1

The Hidden Side of Kimitaka Kagisaka 1

“Kagisaka, can I talk to you for a moment?”

One week had passed since I stopped checking Azusa Tomori’s secret account.

After studying in the library after school and on his way home, he was stopped in the hallway by Chifuyu,

“What happened between you and Azusa? Your attitude towards her has changed over the past week?”

“…..”

“You used to constantly bicker with her, but now, even when Azusa talks to you, you remain silent.”

“It’s better than fighting, isn’t it?”

“That’s not the point! I don’t mind you ignoring me, but please don’t do the same to Azusa.”

Chifuyu is Tomori’s childhood friend.

That’s probably why she’s angry.

As she said, I had changed my behavior towards Tomori in the past week.

Instead of responding with snide remarks and banter, I remained silent.

Tomori also seemed noticeably down by my response.

“If you had a fight, why don’t you make up with her? You must have noticed that something is off with Azusa. She’s not smiling as much as she used to.”

“…..”

“I hate to admit it, but I think it’s because she can’t converse with Kagisaka like she used to. Even if it seemed like she was constantly arguing… Azusa must have enjoyed those conversations. Hey, Kagisaka, aren’t you feeling the same?”

Chifuyu peered into my face with a serious gaze.

(Ah, that might be true.)

I realized it when I changed my behavior a week ago.

I was enjoying the banter and back-and-forth with Tomori more than I thought.

We exchange words without reservations, like best friends.

Those moments were undoubtedly an important piece of Kimitaka Kagisaka’s school life.

(That’s also why…)

My heart aches.

An indescribable loneliness and guilt toward Tomori tighten my heart, and Tomori must be feeling even more pain than me.

Although I haven’t checked her secret account since then, right now, at this moment, there might be confusion, sorrow, or even anger directed toward me.

Just thinking about it made my heart ache even more.

“Huh? Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, a phone ringtone sounded.

Chifuyu took out her phone from her uniform pocket and answered it.

“Hello? Sorry, but I’m currently busy.”

However, she seemed taken aback by something and said,

“Huh!?… Is that true?”

Her expression changed.

She remained silent and listened to the person on the other end of the call.

Afterward, she hung up with a tense and stiff expression as if to hide her sudden impatience.

“Sorry. We’ll talk another time. Something urgent came up.”

She quickly left.

Her appearance seemed flustered.

Perhaps something had happened, and she went to consult with Tomori.

(——No more.)

There’s no need to dwell on such thoughts.

If she sought Tomori’s advice, there’s nothing I should do for her.

With that in mind, I started walking towards my home.

*****

However, an unexpected situation arose a few hours after parting ways with Chifuyu.

【Please, Senpai. Can we talk on a call? It’s urgent.】

It was already past 8 p.m.

While studying at my apartment, I received a DM from Chifuyu using informal language.

The image of her anxious expression from our parting crossed my mind.

【…okay.】

I hesitated for a moment, but I agreed.

(I have a bad feeling about this.)

A similar situation occurred during my delinquent days.

Someone who usually speaks to me politely is now so flustered that they forget to use honorific language.

Usually, in times like these…

“Senpai! Please, help me, Senpai!”

Unfortunately, my premonition was correct.

What reached my ears was a tearful plea.

Chifuyu was clearly panicking right now.

“Calm down. First, take a deep breath.”

I tried to console her, changing the tone of my voice, but…

“I can’t find my childhood friend… Azusa!”

“…..”

Chifuyu’s words steal away my composure.

“Today after school, Azusa was approached for advice by a girl named Takakura!”

Most likely, that advice was a continuation of what I overheard at the café last time.

“Takakura wanted to break up with her university boyfriend. But apparently, she couldn’t break up with him because he had many delinquent friends who threatened her… When she talked to Azusa about it——”

“Could it be that Azusa went to help her break up with the boyfriend on her behalf?”

“Why, how did you know?”

“I just thought that if it was your childhood friend, she would likely do something like that.”

“Y-Yes, you’re right. After all, Takakura confessed to that university student after she got relationship advice from Azusa. So Azusa also felt responsible and went to have the breakup conversation on her behalf.”

“Can’t you reach her?”

“No. Even when I send messages on LINE, they remain unread…!”

“Why nobody tried to stop her? Going alone was dangerous—”

“According to Takakura and the others, they tried to stop her together! They said, ‘Let’s go together!’ But Azusa insisted on going alone and got into an argument with everyone in the class!”

“An argument…”

It’s rare for [Everyone’s friend.] to argue with anyone.

That Azusa Tomori was arguing with her classmates?

[However, it might be difficult to delegate work. Azusa has many friends, but she’s not good at opening up to others.], Chifuyu used to worry about this before.

Tomori probably didn’t want to put her friends in danger.

[Being called [Everyone’s friend] and always solving problems alone like a hero of justice might be the reason why she’s not accustomed to relying on others. She can’t establish deep connections because of that.]

That’s why it ended up in an argument.

——What are you doing, you honor student? Don’t carry it all on your own. When things get tough, rely on someone.

Huh, it’s not my place to say this because it’s the same for me.

I also deliberately kept others at a distance because I didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore.

Tomori’s behavior was not something I couldn’t relate to.

“I… I don’t know what to do, so I ended up relying on you, Senpai… B-Because if something happened to Azusa…”

Chifuyu’s anxiety seemed to have burst, and she was sobbing.