My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 38

“Hey, Sora… hey, listen?”

“…What is it, Yua?”

“Sora, are you feeling unwell? You seem totally different than usual.”

“I’m feeling great, actually. I even had the energy to get to school early.”

“Then why do you look so upset? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, don’t worry about it.”

“I see…”

I ended up responding irritably to Yua’s repeated questions. She swallowed my words firmly and fell silent for a while.

But she clearly wasn’t satisfied with just that.

Riding our bicycles toward the station, she looked troubled, trying somehow to bring back the normal everyday life we used to have—at least, that’s how I saw her expression.

“By the way, how was your date yesterday… your outing with Minamikata-san? Did you have fun?”

Her question finally broke the long silence.

But it wasn’t just a random topic to break the awkward mood—Yua genuinely cared and wanted to know.

Well, honestly, I had expected this question. If anything, I’d been avoiding it. It was something I really didn’t want to talk about.

“…Yeah, I had fun.”

I said it in a dry voice, bluntly.

“What did you two do together?”

“We ate hamburgers for lunch, I gave her a bike tour of my hometown, and we parted ways before dinner.”

“So, you weren’t together until nighttime. That’s hard to imagine. What did you talk about while you were hanging out?”

“School stuff, our hobbies, some memories… and, well, your name came up quite a bit.”

“Huh? My name? On your date with her…?”

Yua looked really surprised—maybe even a little upset—and stared at me wide-eyed.

What’s with that expression? Why so shaken?

“Sora… what kind of things did she say about me during your conversation on the date?”

“Why would I tell you what we talked about—”

“Tell me.”

I glanced sideways at Yua’s face and froze for a moment.

Her sharp gaze tightened the atmosphere, and I felt my throat go dry.

“Uh… well…”

I wiped the sweat from my brow and tried to recall what Minamikata and I had talked about yesterday.

“She already knew we’ve been childhood friends. We talked about how we met, the elementary school we went to, where we used to hang out…”

“Did you visit your old elementary school and the park during the hometown tour?”

“Y-yeah. We went around those places, and… well, that’s about it.”

“Really?”

“…I didn’t go inside, but we passed by in front of my house…”

She caught my slip immediately and pressed me.

“Sora, you didn’t stop by my house that day, right?”

“Uh…?”

—We used to go home together back then?

—Our houses are in the same direction?

—Did you even go look at Yushiro-san’s place too?

Her questions brought back casual conversations from the day of the date.

What had started as just small talk somehow felt suspicious to Yua.

“…Of course, I didn’t stop by your place. It’s no secret anymore that we went to the same elementary school, but I wouldn’t share anyone’s personal info like that.”

“But you did talk about my house, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

Just because we went to the same school and went home together, it’s obvious we live nearby. But I never told her the exact address or how to get there.

Still, Yua kept wearing a doubtful look.

“Did you bring up those topics, or did she?”

“Me? Why would I?”

“You weren’t led into that conversation, right?”

Her suspicious tone made my bl00d boil.

“Yua… what exactly are you trying to say?”

I took one foot off the pedal and stopped at the side of the road. She stopped a bit ahead, turned her head back, and looked at me.

“I just feel there are way too many strange things about all this.”

“For example?”

“Even if it’s a friend’s hometown, it’s unusual to go out of your way to show them around some random, boring places.”

“Well, that’s just normal for you.”

“This date was supposed to be an apology to me, right? Then why did you arrange it in this town with so few restaurant choices?”

“I just wanted to make it easy for you, the one I’m apologizing to, so you wouldn’t have to travel much…”

“Then why was the conversation mostly about ‘me’ despite this being your date?”

“Because you’re a topic we both know well, so it was an easy conversation starter. Besides…”

—I suddenly remembered the question Minamikata asked me before we even started the date.

Even if it was under the pretext of an apology, she invited me out alone. That means her impression of me can’t be that bad.

Maybe that question was her way of indirectly feeling out how I felt about Yua.

I held on to that faint hope but also felt uneasy, realizing how “convenient” that interpretation was for me.

Yua’s suspicion might be overthinking, but that’s only because I’m trying to stay on Minamikata’s side.

My defense wasn’t very solid, just weak excuses that I unconsciously told myself.

“Sora, do you like Minamikata-san as more than just a friend?”

“…!? Why ask that all of a sudden?!”

I flinched at the unexpected question. Yua lowered her gaze.

“If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. But I’m going to say this whether you like it or not… you should stop falling for Minamikata-san.”

Her serious, meddlesome warning made me get off my bike and step closer to her.