My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 14

“Welcome home, Yua-chan.”

Hearing my sister’s greeting, my hand slipped away from the arm I was holding.

“What’s going on here…?”

Yua’s first words after coming to the Tsuzuki house for the first time in years. Without any explanation, seeing this scene firsthand, her reaction was totally understandable.

But honestly, I barely noticed my sister’s outfit anymore. I was drawn instead to Yua, who had just walked inside.

“Y-Yua? That outfit…”

“Oh? So you’re still the cute girl, not some handsome guy?”

My sister cut me off before I could say anything more, clearly unsettled by my reaction.

Before today, she’d only heard that Yua was coming dressed as a boy — but right now, Yua looked completely different.

Her hair was cut in a wolf-style, tied back into a single ponytail at the shoulders, and she wore a black dress with a white cardigan — definitely a girly look, not boyish at all. I couldn’t hide my confusion.

“Long time no see, Kanami-san. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Don’t be so formal. You’re as responsible as ever, Yua-chan.”

Yua bowed deeply, and my sister laughed lightly.

“Hey, do you always wear that maid outfit?”

“Y-Yeah, all the time!”

“Don’t lie and cause misunderstandings!”

“Well, if you start wearing it at home too, it’ll become true, right? How about you try it on too, Yua-chan? Looks like it’d fit you.”

“No, that’s a bit…”

“Don’t drag guests into cosplay just because it’s been a while!”

“Eh, what’s wrong? It’s not like it costs anything. Let’s even start a sketching contest or something.”

“We’re not starting anything!”

“Geez, so stingy.”

“How much do you want to make her cosplay…?”

I sighed, a bit exasperated at my sister’s complaints. Though I wouldn’t mind seeing Yua in a maid outfit.

“But seriously, this is nothing like what I imagined. I was sure you’d come looking like a handsome guy, so this is kind of surprising.”

My sister crossed her arms and leaned back, looking Yua over from head to toe.

“It’s my private time, so I decided to wear women’s clothes. I do wear men’s clothes sometimes, but I thought this would be better this time.”

Our eyes briefly met, but Yua quickly looked away like she wanted to escape.

“Oh, uh-huh… hmm?”

My sister nodded and shot me a meaningful grin.

“Too bad we didn’t get to see the handsome guy, but seeing the cute girl makes me just as happy. Definitely worth coming back early for.”

She turned her back to us, waved, and headed back to the living room.

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

Halfway there, she stopped as if she’d remembered something.

“Sora, make sure you wear it properly, okay?”

“Don’t give me warnings like that!”

I had no intention of wearing anything like that. Honestly, hearing that just made me hesitate to even show her to my room.

I frowned at the meddling maid as she left for the living room, then glanced sideways at Yua, who was still standing awkwardly in the entryway.

“…Is something wrong?”

“W-What do you mean?”

Probably — no, definitely — because of my sister’s unnecessary comment. Yua was trying to act normal, but there was a strange stiffness in her reply.

“Come on in for now. Before we go to your room, do you want to—?”

I pointed toward the bathroom sink, and she shook her hands back and forth in front of her flushed face.

“W-Wait, I really don’t mean that…!”

“Ah, no no, I didn’t mean anything weird! Just thought you might want to wash your hands. I just got back too.”

“Oh… oh, that kind of…”

She probably misunderstood me, thinking I was indirectly inviting her to take a shower, since the bathroom is right next to the sink.

We both became awkwardly self-conscious, and the atmosphere got weird.

Back when we were kids, we were pure, but now… well, we’re just slowly growing up and becoming adults.