My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 36

“Hey… Sorry to keep you two waiting.”

Wearing the same short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts pajamas I’d seen her in this morning, my sister came out the front door and waved at us.

Since it was a day off and she wasn’t planning to meet anyone besides family, she was way too casual—there was no trace of the fashion student vibe she usually had.

“I’m late with introductions. I’m Kanami Tsuzuki, his older sister.”

“Sis, introductions are fine, but first, you should apologize for the weird way you acted as soon as we met.”

“You mean treating me like a bad spirit? Can’t help it, I felt some kind of weird vibe from you.”

“Even if it’s a joke, that was rude in front of the person himself… And you’re not even the type to believe in spiritual stuff, right?”

“Tsuzuki-kun, it’s fine. I’m not upset about it!”

Noticing my irritation slowly building from my sister’s attitude, Minamikata stepped between us, quickly trying to ease the tension.

“Your name is Minamikata Saho, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right…?”

My sister confirmed her name and then started walking around Minamikata, staring her up and down thoroughly.

…This is bad. She’s definitely the type to hit on girls, too.

My sister is a sucker for good looks regardless of gender and has this bad habit of getting way too close to anyone she finds attractive. And Minamikata is one of the top beauties in our grade.

If she started saying dirty jokes like when Yua came over, my standing at school would be at risk. If they ended up going inside the house, she might even demand Minamikata do cosplay.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Minamikata in a maid outfit, though!

“Hmph, I see.”

But what my sister actually did was pretty different from what I expected.

She took a step back from Minamikata and yawned, clearly bored.

“Well then, don’t get into any accidents while riding. Also, there are lots of cops around this time of day, so don’t let them catch you two riding together.”

“Wait, you’re not inviting her in?”

“Brother, do you really think I’m some kind of slut who brings anyone home?”

I’d been sure we’d be taken inside, but my sister shook her head with an almost exasperated look.

“Judging by how you two are acting, you weren’t planning to come inside anyway, right? I don’t want to ruin your little fantasy.”

“…? What do you mean by that?”

“No deep meaning. It’s just that I don’t have any cosplay outfits that would suit that girl.”

She lightly tapped my back and said, “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to ride safely.”

“Riding double isn’t exactly safe, you know.”

It was just before 5 PM — after stopping here and there and taking it slower than usual, quite a bit of time had passed by the time we reached the station.

“Thanks for today. I really enjoyed talking with you.”

After parking the bike, I walked Minamikata to the ticket gates inside the station. She smiled and gave a small bow.

“I-I had fun too…! Thank you for coming all this way to meet me!”

“Good to hear. Honestly, I was really nervous about meeting today…”

Minamikata looked down shyly as she said that.

She didn’t look nervous at all, so knowing she felt the same way made me feel closer to her and happy.

“But sorry for leaving so early. I wish we could’ve spent more time together, but something urgent came up…”

We had originally planned to eat dinner together, but it turned out her family suddenly made plans to go out, so today’s meeting ended there.

“No worries. Just getting to meet you is enough for me.”

“Really…? But I wanted to apologize properly today, so I’m still not satisfied… How about I make it up to you next time?”

“Make it up…?”

“Yeah. Could we meet again soon? Maybe we could have dinner together then… What do you think?”

“Of course! I’d love to…!”

“Yay… It’s a promise, Tsuzuki-kun.”

Minamikata held out her pinky finger, and though I was a bit hesitant, I linked my pinky with hers.

To be able to get another chance to meet with her this soon…

“I’ve got work and other plans, so I don’t know when the timing will be right, but I’ll contact you later.”

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

Minamikata unlinked her pinky, passed through the ticket gate, and headed for the platform. Watching her go, she stopped just before the stairs and waved big to me.

“Bye-bye. See you at school tomorrow!”

“Again… at school, huh.”

I waved back, and she smiled brightly before going down the stairs.

Minamikata Saho — the class idol. On our first date, I definitely felt something real.

Starting tomorrow, school life was going to change a lot. — But,

“…Maybe it’s all thanks to Yua.”

During the date, we’d talked about her many times.

If she hadn’t been there, not only would the conversation have dried up, but we might not have even arranged the date. Everything felt possible because Yua was around.

She acted like she didn’t care, but deep down, I wondered how she really felt about me going out with Minamikata alone.

Maybe it was just my imagination, and she truly didn’t feel anything. Still, that left a strange itch in me.

What exactly was I wanting from Yua? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that deep down, I was worried about how she saw me.

Looking back, Yua’s presence had always been in the back of my mind.