My Childhood Friend, Who I Made a Promise To Spend the Future With, Dumped Me... But Ever Since I Started Dating a Beautiful Girl From School, My Childhood Friend Has Been Acting Strange - Episode 15

“School starts today, huh?”

Monday morning, marking the end of the weekend.

“Big brother, are you ready?”

As Tōma Suzuki was washing his face at the sink, a voice called out to him from behind.

“Almost done.”

“Okay, let’s go together then.”

“Yeah, got it. I’ll be done in two minutes.”

Saying that, Tōma wiped his face with a towel and then started brushing his teeth after breakfast.

“Oh no! I forgot to put today’s assignment in my bag!”

Emi, eyes wide in realization, suddenly remembered and dashed up the stairs.

After finishing brushing his teeth and slinging his school backpack over his shoulders, Tōma made his way to the front door.

“Emi, I’m ready.”

“Okay, I’m coming now!”

He called out near the stairs, and his sister’s voice responded from the second floor.

A few seconds later, the sound of a door closing echoed, followed by the sound of Emi hurrying down the stairs.

“Sorry for the wait. Let’s go!”

Wearing her middle school backpack, Emi slipped on her shoes at the entrance and gripped her shoulder straps with both hands.

When Tōma opened the door, his sister stepped outside.

Tōma was the last to leave, locking the front door behind him.

After double-checking the lock, he turned toward his sister, and together they began walking the usual route to school.

“By the way, big brother, you’re dating Kamiya-san, right?”

As they walked to school, Emi, walking to Tōma’s right, asked him a question.

“Yeah. Are you still not used to being around Suzuha?”

“Not at all! It’s actually fun. We hung out on the weekend, picked out clothes together—I really enjoyed it!”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Well, the rest is up to you, though. Do you actually want to keep dating Kamiya-san?”

“I’m dating her with that intention.”

“Then you should act a little more like a couple.”

“What do you mean?”

“You and Kamiya-san looked kinda awkward together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! If you’re in a relationship, you should take the lead more, big brother!”

Emi playfully nudged him with her elbow.

“Ugh… It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“You can’t say that!”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. I’ll try to be more proactive.”

“That’s the spirit! Oh, and… you’re not thinking about getting back together with Saori-san, right?”

“Not at the moment. I don’t have any plans for that. Besides, Saori has her own things going on. You saw it last Saturday too—she’s dating someone else now.”

“Yeah… It was kind of a shock. I’d never seen Saori-san with anyone other than you before. Her new boyfriend seems older, maybe a working adult? I wonder where they met?”

“Who knows… But she’s probably thinking about her future. She’s taking a realistic approach to her life now.”

Tōma had spent his childhood with his childhood friend, Saori, convinced that they would one day marry and build a life together.

That ideal future crumbled in an instant just a few days ago.

Saori had left Tōma, someone with no outstanding qualities, and started planning for a more realistic future.

Promises made in childhood are often unrealistic.

As kids, it’s easy to believe that anything is possible without truly thinking things through.

“I just hope you and Saori-san can at least go back to being good friends. Well, I’m going this way.”

“Oh, got it. See you in the evening.”

“Yeah! Oh, what’s for dinner tonight? If you’re not cooking, I can grab something from the supermarket on my way home.”

“I’ll let you know after school.”

“Okay! See you later, big brother!”

Emi waved before crossing the street when the pedestrian light turned green.

Tōma, on the other hand, continued walking straight along the path.

His school was about a five-minute walk from there.

“Good morning!”

“O-Oh, good morning, Suzuha-san.”

A bright voice called out to him out of nowhere, but just by hearing it, Tōma instinctively knew who it was.

“Morning! If you’re walking alone, let’s go together!”

Rushing up behind him, Suzuha Kamiya caught up to Tōma’s left side, flashing him a cheerful smile.

They walked side by side.

Even though they were dating, suddenly walking together like this made him strangely nervous.

Emi had said it too—he should take the initiative more.

“…Hey, uh, thanks for Saturday.”

“You mean the clothes? No problem! I love picking out outfits. If we have time, let’s go shopping again!”

“Yeah. By the way, did you end up buying that streamer collaboration outfit from that clothing store?”

“Oh, that? Hmm… I’m still thinking about it.”

“I think it’d suit you. You should go for it.”

“If you say so, maybe I will.”

Suzuha’s cheeks flushed slightly as she responded.

“So, you’re interested in streamer outfits? Does that mean you watch virtual streamer live streams?”

“Huh? U-Uh… sometimes.”

“I see. I used to watch them a lot too, but the streamer I liked suddenly quit, and after that, I lost interest.”

“The streamer you liked?”

“Yeah. They were part of a virtual streamer agency, but one day they just announced their retirement. The agency itself wasn’t that big, so little by little, the other streamers left too. I’d been watching them for a long time, so it was kind of sad. But I guess that’s just how things go these days.”

“Yeah… they shouldn’t have quit, huh?”

“Hm?”

“N-Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

After mumbling something unclear, Suzuha shook her head.

“Well, what’s important is the present, not the past. If you keep dwelling on the bad stuff, you’ll never move forward.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Tōma.”

“Hm?”

“Umm… Can we hold hands?”

“Huh? Where’d that come from?”

“Do you not want to?”

“It’s not that… If you want to, then…”

Despite his nerves, Tōma took the initiative and reached out his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

Holding Suzuha’s warm hand made him feel strangely at ease.

On that Monday morning, feeling relaxed, Tōma walked to school hand in hand with his girlfriend.