My Childhood Friend Who Was Doing Personal V-Tubing Got Ntr’d by a Singer (LOL), but I’ve Decided to Just Sit Back and Watch the Two of Them Roll Down the Hill of Life and Fall Into Ruin - Chapter 9: Invasion, Childhood Friend's Family

Chapter 9: Invasion, Childhood Friend’s Family

The next day, Kusaka started linking arms with me without holding back, and at lunchtime, she naturally ate her bento with me, by the way, Asakura was there too. She let me prioritize eating with Tate and Yoko or other guy friends when that happened, though.

On top of that, since I stopped doing V activities, I started taking on requests from Shūko-chan after school.

“Why don’t you make a face like you hate it when a teacher asks you for a favor?”

Shūko-chan often gave me a suspicious look like that, but when I said it was because I had free time now, she made a kind of iffy face. She worried about me or asked if there wasn’t something I wanted to do in high school life since it’s such a precious time, but sorry, I don’t have any dreams.

During that time, Himeko tried to make contact with me sometimes, but whenever that happened, Kusaka was there for some reason, so Himeko got chased off one way or another. Why does that girl keep trying to stick to me again? I wish she’d stop caring about me and just live freely. Also, how does Kusaka always show up at the perfect timing? Mysterious!

And today, as usual, I was eating lunch with Kusaka and Asakura.

Next to me, Asakura operated her smartphone game with both hands, with a paper carton of soy milk placed on her chest.

“That’s the super busty challenge thing that was popular a while back, right? Awesome.”

“All the nutrition goes to my b00bs, you know.”

At my words, Asakura answered like it was no big deal while slurping the soy milk she’d placed on her chest with a long sip. That kind of carelessness about stuff like that was so Asakura, or something.

And at those words, Kusaka’s eyes went vacant. Her cleavage was a full flat deck, after all… Totally a cutting board, this. There was that thing back in the day about small br3asts being a status symbol, and I think b00bs aren’t the only charm for a girl. I’m a b00b guy, though.

“Hmm, b00b position is kinda iffy.”

B00b position… That means the position of the b00bs…! Asakura said that while fiddling with the position of her chest over her uniform. It seemed because the placement of the soy milk she’d set there wasn’t quite right, but it was a sight that made it hard for a healthy guy to know where to look.

“Talk in Lint words here, please.”

Kusaka stared intently at Asakura’s chest with vacant eyes while saying something, but I didn’t get the meaning at all. You two, stick to Japanese, please.

“By the way, Tak-kun, besides Urakiri-san, don’t you have any friends from when you were a kid?”

Asakura asked that while drinking her soy milk, and at her words, I thought, oh, friends, huh… and looked up at the sky while tracing back my memories, then I remembered that yeah, I had some close friends.

“Up until around the lower grades of elementary school, but I had this close buddy named Masa. Our schools were different, though.”

When I said that, Kusaka perked up for some reason and joined the conversation. Hmm? Why did Kusaka react there?

“Huh, were you that close with that Masa kid?”

Kusaka asked that with an upbeat vibe for some reason.

“Yeah, he was always this short-sleeved short-pants kid with a face like a sun-tanned monkey―――Geh!”

For some reason, Kusaka poked me hard in the side, that hurt?! She glared at me with resentful, narrowed eyes. Did I say something weird?! I didn’t, right?!

“Geh, cough. Well, um, we often played at the park after school or on days off. Ah, there were times when Himeko was with us too.

I feel like Masa and I fought or argued a lot, but even so, somehow we just clicked in a weird way, like we got along great. I think he was a friend who was close enough to call a best friend or a partner.”

When I said that, Kusaka looked all bashful and flushed. There’s no reason for Kusaka to blush at that story, right??

“But well, it was probably around second grade in elementary? Masa moved away, and that was the end of it.”

“Oh, really?”

Asakura, who had brought up the topic, was now totally absorbed in operating her smartphone game. What a my-pace kind of person, good for her.

“Hey, hey, Tak-kun. Before that Masa moved away, did he say anything to you? Do you remember?”

What was it again? I feel like we said a bunch of silly stuff to each other…

“I think it was something like Libra is a defense type, that’s a lie, it’s actually super strong, so buy it before it gets popular. Man, thanks to that advice, I won a ton in tournaments with Libra. No Libra, no victory or whatever.”

“Nooo! It’s not that, but it is nooo!”

For some reason, Kusaka raised her voice. O-oh?! Today’s Kusaka had even more ups and downs in her expressions than usual. Heh heh.

―――When you get to high school age, a really cute girl will become your girlfriend.

On the day he moved, before saying goodbye to me, Masa came to our usual park and said that right before getting into the light truck loaded with stuff. Sadly, instead of a really cute girl, I got cheated on by my childhood friend girlfriend and lost her.

……Hmm, I can’t remember.

For some reason, with no real basis, I fudged it like that, but Kusaka stared hard at my face.

……Hmph?

Her gaze pierced right through my heart, and I ended up looking away.

“Hey, you two, look at this instead! It’s seriously hilarious.”

Right then, Asakura barged into the conversation, and it got cut off.

What what, so me and Kusaka peeked into Asakura’s smartphone, where a short video titled “Otoshi On!” was displayed full screen, and the thumbnail image was a collage of Shiota (lol) holding a fruit punch upside down.

“Shion’s punch feels too good, right? Punch feels too good, right? (So oi so oi!)

Shion’s punch feels too good, right? Feels too good, right? (So oi so oi!!)

Shion’s punch feels too good, right? Punch feels too good, right? Punch (so oi!) Feels too good Ma☆sa☆o”

Of course, when the “so oi!!” backup vocals came in, Masao got flung away in the background with a whoosh.

Whaｗｗｗtｗｗｗ ｗｗｗisｗｗｗ ｗｗｗthｗｗｗiｗｗｗs. It was so absurd, but it hit my abs straight on with its stupid vibe. Fruit punch upside down…… punch…… chin… ah (get it).

“Apparently it hit 100,000 views in one day.”

“Masaoｗｗｗ getting toyed with this much makes me crack up yo ho ho ho ho ho!”

“By the way, why does Tak-kun always have such a weird laugh?”

Asakura asked that with a puzzled look. Oh, right, I never told you guys that.

“Yeah, I was in a bus accident a long time ago. I used to be such a grandma’s boy that I’d stay over at her place alone, but in that bus accident, the grandma who was on the bus with me shielded me, and I barely survived.

By the time rescue arrived, the grandma I loved so much had died while still protecting me. Ever since then, laughing just hasn’t felt right somehow. I’ve been trying out different ways to laugh. Luckily, everyone just brushes it off as my personal quirk, which I’m grateful for.”

At my words, which I tossed out casually, Kusaka and Asakura went dead serious and froze up. Oops, I meant to say it lightly in my own way, but gauging the triviality of stuff like this is tough.

For me, it’s old news now, and I’ve come to terms with it to some extent, so I think being able to laugh even in a weird way is better than nothing. As time passes and the scars heal, people move forward, I guess that’s how it feels.

“Sorry for making you say something weird.”

Asakura looked unusually bummed out for real. This serious side of Asakura isn’t like her at all! Gotta follow up quick.

“Don’t sweat it, or rather, sorry for saying something that made you worry. I’m moving forward in my own way, so if you could just warmly overlook my laugh as being this kind of thing, that’d make me happy.”

“It’s okay. I’ll definitely make you able to laugh, Tak-kun.”

Kusaka, who had been listening, said that and looked at me. Her eyes shone like stars, just like yesterday, and I felt like I’d get pulled right in.

Sometimes she had those thick, abyss-like eyes, and other times eyes that shone and drew you in like this, so she was a mysterious girl. Somehow, Kusaka didn’t feel like a stranger… I don’t really get it, though.

And that day, when I got home and Mom was prepping dinner, Dad was reading the newspaper, that’s when the incident happened. Ding dong, the chime rang, and then the door rattled roughly like someone was trying to force it open. What the heck? I thought, but Dad stopped me.

“That idiot family showed up, huh. …Leave this to me!”

Dad adjusted his glasses’ position as he stood up. That line sounded like something from a spiral king or whatever, but wasn’t that a death flag?

That said, sending Dad out alone worried me, so I followed after… followed. Thorough mark position!

When Dad opened the door, a shout rang out right away.

“Takao! I asked Himeko about it since she was eating instant food, and you banned her from coming over? You planning to starve our Himeko?!”

The nervous-looking intellectual glasses guy was Himeko’s father.

“Getting dumped and then flipping like that, what a small-minded family, I’m suing!! Damages, damages!”

The woman with the sharp eyes was Himeko’s mother.

……And Himeko just kept crying nonstop.

Ugh, what a pain, these people showed up.

―――Shut up, you beggars.

Dad’s eyes gleamed sharply from behind his glasses. Ah, Dad was super pissed.

At the word “beggars,” Himeko’s parents’ faces turned beet red.

Go for it, Dad! With that thought, in my heart, I waved a penlight around wildly and cheered Dad on.