What If I Told Tomori-san, The Girl Who's Cold Only Towards Me, That I Knew Her Secret Account? - V2 Chapter 4.2

Reunion, Past, and the Interrupted Piano 2

In that case——

“Why don’t you just ask your crush directly? Say, ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ “

This would be the best approach.

First, let Chifuyu ask the question.

Afterward, I can clarify the misunderstanding as Senpai.

“Are you an idiot?” 

Chifuyu scolded with a line from a very old anime. (Evangelion.)

“I could never ask that kind of question!”

“Why not?”

“Loner-kun is an idiot. If I were told something like ‘I have a girlfriend’ from my crush, it’s obvious I wouldn’t be able to recover from it!”

“You really get me, Azusa!”

“Well, we’ve been childhood friends! It’s only natural!”

The love rivals found common ground.

I wonder, it feels like watching a hub and a mongoose shake hands without knowing each other’s true identity…

(Well, can’t be helped.)

Instead of acting as Kimitaka Kagisaka, I’ll act as Senpai.

I want to avoid ruining my relationship with Kouhai-chan, but I don’t want to see my close friend thinking she’s been rejected and feeling down like this.

(To do so, I can’t use my usual approach for this.)

Judging by how shaken Chifuyu is, I don’t think she would believe me even if I talked to her through DM or a call.

In that case, I’ll have to be prepared for some risk.

“Huh!?”

I sent a DM to Chifuyu, pretending to check the time on my phone; then Chifuyu stood up as her red checkered skirt swayed.

“What’s wrong?”

“J-just now! I received a DM from my crush…!”

Despite being extremely surprised, Chifuyu showed us the screen of her phone. The message written there was:

*****

“…Good evening, Senpai.”

It was 7 p.m.

Under the cool night sky, uncommon for July, Chifuyu, in her school uniform, approached me in a small park in Shin-Himegaoka.

“Hey, Chifuyu.”

I greeted her in a slightly deeper voice than usual.

“Sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”

“No, it’s fine… Can… Can I sit next to you?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you…”

She sat on the bench where I was already seated, looking extremely nervous.

(I hope she won’t figure it out.)

Currently, I’m wearing a red wig on my head.

As Kei, the leader of the delinquent team Kazarina, I had prepared for the possibility of meeting Chifuyu as Kei.

Though I didn’t dye my hair as I did in my delinquent days, this wig is of good quality, and it’s unlikely she’ll notice.

Additionally, I wore a black mask to hide my facial expressions.

“What’s with the mask? Are you sick?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not. I’ve had my face exposed to all sorts of people. It’s just a minor disguise.”

I wasn’t lying. Back when I was the leader of Kazarina, there were times when martial arts enthusiasts would challenge me, thinking I was strong due to my reputation.

“True, Senpai is quite famous.”

“Well, Hiroto-san is in charge of Kazarina now.”

“Oh, Hiroto-san. I’ve never met him before, but I’ve heard various stories.”

“Various stories?”

“He’s famous! One of the five founding members of Kazarina! There are all kinds of rumors about him on the internet! The legendary Kei’s right-hand man! He helps teenagers with their problems, negotiates with rival teams’ leaders during conflicts, and he’s said to be frighteningly sharp-minded!”

“Most of it is true.”

Kazarina was born when my former partner and I first met.

But without Hiroto-san, the team wouldn’t have grown to such a large size.

‘I think Hiroto-san is Kazarina’s brains!’ My former partner used to say that during our delinquent days.

He is indeed a reliable schemer, and he played a significant role in helping Tomori in May.

“I’d like to meet him someday.”

“It’s better not to. He’s extremely intimidating.”

“Is he that scary?”

“He’s probably the most ruthless person in Kazarina… Well, let’s talk about that another time.”

I feel like Chifuyu was trying to steer the conversation toward talking about Hiroto-san.

She probably deliberately didn’t want to get to the main point yet.

“…Well, there’s something important I want to talk about.”

Chifuyu said with tears welling up in her intensely blue eyes, but she bravely put on a smile.

“Congratulations.”

“Huh?”

“Senpai, you have a girlfriend, right? I came tonight to hear the news.”

” …… “

“…I’m sorry. I picked a fight with Senpai’s girlfriend the other day and made her angry. She said some things back, but I believe she must be a good person since Senpai chose her. So, that’s why I wanted to celebrate too…”

“Chifuyu…”

Gently patting the slender shoulder of her otaku friend, who was holding back sobs, I said, ‘She’s not my girlfriend.’

“Huh!?”

“She’s just a friend.”

“But, but! You were studying at her house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And she makes lunch for you three times a week?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And she even claimed that you’ve seen her underwear before!?”

“It was just a strong wind that lifted her skirt.”

Though my speculation about the bluff was accurate, I offered an explanation, but it’s still painful.

It felt like I was telling her some stupid excuses when all I was doing was telling the truth…

“Really!?”

Finally, Chifuyu, with tears welling up, let out a sigh of relief.

“Alright. I believe you. I’ve known Senpai for a long time, though we haven’t met in person. We’ve been exchanging DMs frequently. I know you’re not the kind of person to lie in a situation like this.”

“Chifuyu…”

“And besides, for someone as clever as Senpai, the excuses you came up with were just too silly if they were made up.”

Chifuyu said reassuringly, wiping away her tears.