My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 21

“Remember something similar happened back in elementary school?”

“Huh…? Did it?”

“You know, when I went to cheer you on at your soccer game.”

“? Oh, ah—right…”

Now that she mentioned it, Yua had acted the same way toward me back then too.

Trying to impress her at the game, I ended up overdoing it and totally messed up. I couldn’t score a single goal and was crushed with frustration on the way home.

But Yua had been the only one who comforted me. She patted my head and spoke gently—not with empty praise or trying to cheer me up by complimenting something else. She just accepted how I felt.

She said things like, “It’s amazing that you can feel that frustration,” and “It’s great that you already want to do better next time.”

Maybe the reason I feel so comfortable around Yua is because she always knows exactly what I need to hear.

“You really haven’t changed at all inside, even if you look different now.”

The more I talked with her, the more nostalgic I felt.

Old memories I had almost forgotten came rushing back, overlapping with the present.

But… maybe that’s why I feel this strange disconnect between the Yua I remember and the way she usually looks now, dressed like a guy.

Even though she’s wearing girls’ clothes tonight, her usual image—her in boys’ clothes—keeps flashing through my mind. That version of her had left such a strong impression on me that I can’t shake it.

“Hey, Yua.”

“What is it, Sora-kun?”

“…Can I ask you something?”

She looked surprised by my serious tone. Maybe she knew what was coming, because she glanced down, bracing herself a little.

“Go ahead. I figured it was about time you’d ask.”

“…Yeah.”

I thought carefully about how to word it.

What I wanted to know was something really important for Yua. And it was something we had to face if we were going to keep moving forward.

I remembered that conversation we had in the park the day we met again.

Back in elementary school, she had referred to herself as “atashi,” a girly way of saying “I.” But now, she called herself “boku,” which is usually used by boys.

And instead of a girls’ uniform, she wore the boys’ one. When did that start? Why did she begin dressing like that?

That day, Yua told me, “It’s not a big deal,” but she looked sad, like she was forcing herself to brush it off.

She also said she liked cool clothes and that using “boku” helped her get into the vibe of it. Maybe that wasn’t a lie.

But still—there was no doubt in my mind that wasn’t the whole truth either.

“Just give it to me straight—what’s the real reason you dress like a guy?”

Her reaction said it all—like she’d expected the question.

Yua looked around restlessly and started fiddling with her bike’s handlebars.

“Sora-kun, can we walk a little farther?”

She forced a smile and pointed at the distant glow of a vending machine.

“If we’re going to talk about this… I want to calm down a bit first.”

“…Alright.”

Her back, as she walked her bike ahead, looked a little slumped, like she was carrying something heavy.

I followed her, my steps feeling heavier too—like the weight of what we were about to talk about was pressing down on me.

At the vending machine, she parked her bike and sat down on a nearby bench.

“Straight tea, okay?”

“Whoa. You knew that’s what I wanted?”

“You’ve liked it since forever. And you’re the kind of person who sticks with something once you like it.”

“You really do know everything about me.”

“I only know you up until elementary school. …That’s why I want to know the ‘you’ of now too.”

I handed her one of the drinks I’d bought and sat beside her.

“Thanks, Sora-kun.”

“Don’t mention it. Consider it an apology.”

“An apology?”

“It must’ve been tough, always having people pry into why you dress like that. And now I’m doing the same.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I always meant to tell you someday. If I hadn’t, I think this uneasy feeling inside me would’ve just kept building.”

She held the bottle with both hands and looked up at me.

“Besides… if I really didn’t want to talk about it, you wouldn’t have forced me to answer, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Then there’s nothing to feel bad about. I know you’re asking because you care.”

She smiled and said, “But I’ll still take the tea,” before taking a sip.

Just a little, but it seemed like she was calming down.

Leaning back against the bench, Yua lowered her gaze to the bottle in her hands.

“No matter what I say next… you won’t be disappointed in me?”

“Of course not.”

“…Good.”

For a few seconds, everything went silent, like time had stopped.

The tension filled the air, and I swallowed hard.

“…I was bullied.”

The words that came out of Yua’s mouth made my eyes go wide.

“…Bullied? You?”

She nodded at my shocked voice.

“Was it back in elementary school? Who did it? What were their names!?”

Anger flared up inside me, and I raised my voice. Yua gently put a finger to my lips.

“Calm down,” she said softly.

“Heh. You’ve always gotten more upset than I do when something happens to me, huh?”

“…Sorry. I lost it.”

“It’s okay. But the bullying didn’t happen when we were in the same school. It started after I moved away and began middle school.”

Even so, just hearing that she’d gone through that made it hard to stay calm.

“Wait… Did you move back here to get away from that?”

“No, there wasn’t any bullying once I got to high school. We moved this time because of my mom, not me.”

“I see…”

“But yeah… the reason I started dressing like this… it’s because of the bullying in middle school. And because of my mom.”