Episode 7 – Conversation Between Childhood Friends

“Huh……? Where did he go ?”

I, Tohno Hitomi, am looking for Komiya kun, who was sitting next to me.
These days as soon as it’s lunchtime, he goes away.

We usually have lunch with Fujimoto kun at Komiya kun’s seat, but I haven’t seen him there since this Wednesday.
Today is Friday, and it happened again.

“I wonder if he’s going somewhere to buy food?”

Maybe, the school canteen?
Just as I was thinking this, I saw Fujimoto kun enter the classroom blurting out something.

“Damn, he ain’t here today too, …… where’d he go?”
“What’s wrong?”

I was curious about the situation and approached Fujimoto kun.

“Ee? Ah, Tohno san. Did you see Youta ?”
“Komiya kun ? I haven’t seen him. Wasn’t he with Fujimoto kun?”
“No, that’s the thing. Lately, I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with him. He says he has something to do and then goes away.”
“I see. I heard that he is being summoned by the teacher?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s been like this for 3 days straight. I don’t think that guy, who doesn’t stand out in any way, gets called out that much.”
“Yeah, I think so too…Ah well, maybe another friend?”
“Unfortunately, he has no friends besides me.”
“Ah, okay….”

It sure seems like he is always with Fujimoto kun.
I think he is always alone when Fujimoto kun is with others.
“These days Aoi is always gone, where does she go? Shizuka, do you know something ?”
“Well, I don’t know about that~. She always said that she has something to do but didn’t tell me what it was”
“I wonder where she goes? Don’t tell me it’s a boyfriend or something!?”
“…. It’s impossible for Aoi.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”

While talking with Fujimoto kun about the whereabouts of Komiya kun, a similar conversation was heard from Jinguji kun and the others.

“I guess Ichikawa san is missing over there too.”
“It seems.”
“I don’t know, maybe they are together.”
“Hee?!”
“Wait, No way, not for him! It can’t be helped. I’m curious, but I’m having dinner with a different guy today. See you later, Tohno san.”

Fujimoto kun said what was on his mind and walked into another group of boys.

“Where are they really at ……?”

In the end, Komiya kun did not return after that until after lunch break.

Lunch break is over and fifth period classes begin.
Even at this time of the day, when my stomach was somewhat full and sleepiness was coming on, I was still wide-eyed, wondering about what Fujimoto kun had said at lunch.

Next to me, Komiya kun, who caused the problem, is in a daze.

I want to ask him.
I wonder where he was and what his business was without telling his friend Fujimoto kun, and I wonder if he was meeting with Ichikawa san.

…I’m curious.
‘Well, Komiya, a sentence on this page. Read it.”
“………Tss, Yes !??”

Right now, it’s English class.
Komiya kun, who was called by the teacher, gets up from his seat in a great hurry.
Then he looked at his textbook and froze.

“What’s wrong? you didn’t hear me?”
“N-No…”
“(It’s the second sentence on page 14.)”
“!! e e, Now look at—”

When I sneaked up next to him and told him, Komiya kun began to read a sentence, and when he finished, he sat down.

“(You’ve been a big help. Thank you.)”
“(You’re welcome. ……, ah about that)”
“(Yeah?)”
“(Where do you go for lunch these days?)”
“(—-Ts!!)”

A chance to talk came up and I asked him what was on my mind.
Continuing to whisper and ask about lunch in a quiet voice, Komiya kun bounced his body in the same way he did when the teacher pointed at him earlier.
The desk makes a little noise with the impact, and Komiya kun’s mechanical pencil falls to the ground with a clatter.

Komiya kun didn’t seem to notice that either and continued talking.

“(I’m just eating lunch with Naka.)”
“(But, Fujimoto kun also seemed to be looking for Komiya kun, right)?
“(…………. I was going to go to the cafeteria with Naka, but then I remembered the teacher called me to the staff room)”
“(For the last three days?)”
“(Y-Yeah….)”
“(So it’s like that)”

Hmm ? It doesn’t explain the situation.
But he has no reason to lie…..

“(Sorry. CCC-Can I take notes?)”
“(I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.)”
“(No, it’s okay.)”

Komiya kun says so and starts looking for a mechanical pencil.

Oh, you didn’t notice that you dropped it earlier?
It’s a little far, but I’ll take it.

However, Komiya kun also reached out his hand just in time to notice that a mechanical pencil had fallen out.
I didn’t notice it, but at the same time, I reached for the mechanical pencil—–

[[Ahh…]]

Our hands touched.
Then we looked at each other, and for just a few seconds, Komiya kun and I froze as if time had stopped.

“S-Sorry !”
“M-Me too!”

He pulls his hand back in a hurry.
Hot. My face is hot.

The mechanical pencil was safely in Komiya kun’s hand.

◆
The last class of the day is coming to an end.
I was still bothered.
Because the more I thought about lunch, the more I felt Komiya was lying about something.

If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but I kind of didn’t want to be lied to.

“A-Alright. This time….”

I took a deep breath and then spoke to Komiya kun next to me as soon as the chime rang.

“Ko-Komiya kun. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“What? Tohno-san? I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I have some business to attend to now. …… I’ll see you next time! I’m sorry!”
“Eh? Komiya kun !!”

Komiya-kun left the classroom in a hurry when he thought I saw where he was going.

Also no good…..
I then left the school alone.

“Ha…….”
“What’s wrong ! You looked dejected”
“Aki chan !”

As I was about to open the gate of my house, I was approached from behind and turned around.
There was my childhood friend, dressed in a girl’s uniform from the same school.

“What about today’s club activities?”
“I’m off today. I called you, but you didn’t see me?”
“Oh, Is it? Sorry.”

I looked at my cell phone and there were several messages from Aki chan on it.

“Hey, Can I go to your room?”
“Okay, then, come”

I did not open the gate, and went straight into Aki chan’s house, the house next door, and went to her room.

Me and Aki chan – Mitsushima Aki – have been childhood friends since elementary school and are great friends.
We often go back and forth between each other’s rooms like this for a long time. Recently, Aki chan’s room was more often.
To be honest, I would have wanted to be with her at school, but for some reason, we kept the fact that we were childhood friends a secret at school.

Aki chan’s room was cluttered with a small number of things, and on her bed were scattered shounen manga that she had probably read yesterday.

“Mou, Aki chan. You’re always making a mess.”
“Yes, yes, scold scold. I’ll clean it up later.”
“You say so, but you don’t always clean up your mess, do you? I’m always the one who cleans up.”
“Hitomi is my mother right?”
“I don’t remember having a baby this big.”

Aki chan is a tomboy girl in both looks and personality.
Her hair is short and her face is neutral.
She is also a promising ace in short-distance running on the track team and is a very cool and manly girl even to me as a person of the same gender.
Not only that, but her behavior is also very manly, which is why she is often admired by female students.
She is very popular with the girls in a different way than Jinguji kun.
I think she was confessed to by a junior girl just the other day as well.

Even Ichikawa san, who is indeed considered a perfect superhuman, would be no match for Aki chan in terms of athletic ability.

“So what’s troubling you? Oh, by the way, did you manage to ask that boy you’ve been thinking about out to play?”
“About that….”

I honestly told Aki chan that I could not invite a boy in my class – Komiya kun – to play with me.

“Ahh Mou, you need to hurry! You need to be more aggressive!”
“C-Can’t help it ! I only realized I liked him recently….”

It was only recently that I started to become aware of it.
In the first year, we were in separate classes and I was the first one to call on him at the entrance ceremony. Then we happened to be on the same committee, and we had more opportunities to talk, but I wasn’t really aware of it.
But towards the end of the year. He started avoiding me.

This made me feel sad and gloomy for days.

When I talked to Aki chan about this feeling that I couldn’t quite understand, she told me, [That’s love]
Looking back, I have been indebted to Komiya kun in various committee-related ways over the past year.
My cheeks naturally relax as I reflect on what happened with him.
It was true that he was a boy I was interested in, although I wasn’t sure if I liked him yet.

But I have no confidence.

“No, no, no, I could tell from what you said. That boy is definitely conscious of Hitomi.”
“It’s not that! I’m not that cute….”
“(This girl ……even I wouldn’t leave you alone if I were a man)”
“Eh? What did you say?”
“Nothing !”

It was too small to hear.

“Make sure you ask him out next week. If you fail to do so, I’ll have to take a piece of your skin. Do you understand?”
“What? Hey, what are you going to do!”
“Well, I guess it’s just for fun. If you didn’t want me to do anything, you’d have asked him out quicker.”
“Uuuu…”

Aki chan is the type of person who acts immediately rather than thinking. If left her alone, she will act on her own and you never know what will happen.
I was cornered.