What If I Told Tomori-san, The Girl Who's Cold Only Towards Me, That I Knew Her Secret Account? - V2 Chapter 4.3

Reunion, Past, and the Interrupted Piano 3

“I’m glad I told you the truth…”

“I’m so glad I came to see you! It’s amazing how easily the misunderstanding was resolved!”

Under the shining silver hair beneath the streetlamp, Chifuyu wiped away her tears and smiled.

——Yeah, Chifuyu is such a great person.

Normally, she could have doubted me more, but I was confident that everything would be fine once we met face-to-face.

We are best friends, after all.

“But I don’t want to lose to that girl.”

“Huh…”

“As an observant Senpai, you’ve probably noticed, right? That girl definitely likes you!”

“Well, yeah.”

“I knew it! Has she confessed to you yet?”

“No, she hasn’t.”

“What kind of person is she? How old is she? Is she a member of Kazarina? Is she a student at the same school as you? Is she cuter than me? Show me a picture if you have one!”

“Calm down, Kouhai-chan.”

“Aww, I’m so curious! If Senpai ends up liking her…”

Chifuyu was overflowing with excitement and curiosity, bombarding me with questions.

“Don’t worry. Like I said before, I have no intention of getting into a romantic relationship while in high school.”

“Really!?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, I wanted to ask… Between me and that girl, who do you like better?”

“Huh?”

“Me, right!? Then say you ‘like’ me! Right here, right now!”

“Do you think I can say something so embarrassing like that?”

Just like Tomori, it seems that Chifuyu also loses control when it comes to romance.

Asking me to say ‘I like you’ right here is just funny.

“Huh? Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just thought that the Chifuyu I first met would never say such things.”

“Well… I guess I was very different back then.”

“By the way, we first met at this park, right?”

Back then, I was in 9th grade.

I was pretending to be a high schooler and leading Kazarina.

『P-please stop!』

As I was walking alone on the sidewalk in front of the park after 2 in the morning, I heard a scream.

There was a silver-haired girl in the park, all alone, despite the late hour.

Next to her was a silver-colored carry-on bag.

Drawing from my experience as Kei, I immediately knew what was going on.

She had run away from home.

“Thank you for that time. You helped me when those guys were bothering me.”

“They were trying to extort money from you, huh? Well, back then, you looked like an easy target.”

She was a sheltered young lady. If I had to describe her in a few words, that would be it.

Long hair in braids, glasses on her face, and her clothing and shoes were clearly branded.

She had a quiet and innocent appearance.

(Maybe it wasn’t just about extorting money.)

The three university-aged guys who had approached Chifuyu probably thought they could drag her away if they pushed her hard enough.

“Ah, right, I remember. When Senpai started approaching me, those guys ran away in fear, shouting, ‘It’s Kei!?’ “

“Well, red hair does stand out.”

After that, Chifuyu and I talked.

For Kei, it was natural to talk to people of the same age, and Chifuyu must have felt lonely.

After I helped her, she seemed to trust me and opened up about various things.

Chifuyu was born into a musical family and had been learning piano since she was young.

Afterward, due to certain circumstances, she told her parents, ‘I want to quit playing the piano,’ but they strongly opposed it.

As a result, she ended up running away from home.

“At that time, I was really grateful that you listened to me.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“No, it was! Senpai, you listened to my various worries. I talked about my concerns about not being able to achieve good results in the piano competition.”

I still remember Chifuyu’s words from back then.

『I have a friend who is like a hero to me.』

At that time, I had no idea who that hero was, but the hero’s name was Azusa Tomori.

According to Chifuyu, Tomori was also popular during our middle school days.

“Azusa has always been amazing.”

“Is that so?”

“She was the one who solved the problems and issues of the students all by herself! She excelled in both academics and sports, always at the top!”

“But… Chifuyu, you were quite skilled at playing the piano, right?”

“But… That was the only thing I was good at. At that time, I was a shy introvert, and I had no friends except for Azusa.”

” …… “

“For me, Azusa was someone very special. That’s why when I saw Azusa, I felt really insecure…”

Anxiety crossed her mind, and Chifuyu’s expression clouded.

Will she still be able to remain friends with Azusa Tomori like this?

She’s worried that if she doesn’t become someone special herself, she might be left behind by her best friend.

Because of those thoughts, Kazami Chifuyu devoted herself even more to playing the piano and tried to achieve good results in the competition.

However, the reality was harsh.

She couldn’t achieve the same results as before and couldn’t even place in the competitions.

It was a picture-perfect slump.

Feeling overwhelmed and cornered by the wall, she struggled and worried, which led to that decision.

“I fought with my parents, saying, ‘I want to quit the piano! I don’t want to stay in this house anymore!’ and ran away from home.”

“That’s a story from over two years ago now.”

“Ah, it feels nostalgic. Running away like that was a childish act on my part, but thanks to that, I met you, Senpai!”

Her beautiful appearance, rivaling the moon in the night sky, was adorned with a smile.

“Do you remember? You gave me advice back then.”

“Of course, I remember.”

“You said, ‘Do you really have to decide to quit the piano right away? Life isn’t just black and white. There are shades of gray, and sometimes it’s better to make decisions in between.’ “

“Now that I think about it, it sounds like preachy advice.”

“No, it’s not! That advice saved me. I went back home and asked my parents, ‘Instead of quitting the piano, could you let me take a little break?'”

“It worked out well, didn’t it?”

“Yeah! My parents even said, ‘Taking a break might be a good idea. With time, your perspective on the piano may change.’ “

“It’s great that you have understanding parents.”

“Thanks to Senpai, I was able to persuade my parents! To listen so sincerely to the story of a complete stranger and give advice…!”

“That was my role back then.”

Also, I couldn’t just leave Chifuyu, who was struggling with similar worries as me.

When I became a delinquent and got tired of the Kagisaka main family, I could deeply understand Chifuyu’s feelings when she ran away from home.

(It felt like I could empathize with her as if it were my own situation.)