Episode 15 – Promise

With Rina-san holding my hand, we walked through the main gate.

Rina san’s cheeks were puffed, and she was grumpy.

“U-um…….”

“What?”

I called out to her fearfully.

Rina san’s voice was colder than usual.

Even though I was trembling a little, I took a moment to catch my breath.

“I’m sorry.”

“What is that apology for?”

“I never thought that Yuika would ask me to pretend to be her boyfriend. For something that was so obvious, it was wrong of me to accept her request without asking her about the details.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

Looking at my shallow behavior from her perspective, I swallowed my saliva.

I wonder what would have happened if Rina san hadn’t come and I stayed with Yuika.

“Takuto kun, you like being depended on, don’t you?”

Rina san stopped her steps and turned her whole body towards me.

Her reddish black hair swung and her wide-open eyes reflected me.

“Ugh……”

“I know because I was always looking at you.”

“Y-yes. It’s just like you said, Rina san. I want to be depended on.”

When people depend on me.

That alone makes me feel like I have value and it gets me fired up.

It’s a very troublesome personality.

“I think it’s good. I like that about you, Takuto kun.”

“….Tsu. I-is that…so.”

I got hit by her straightforwardness, and my cheeks were covered in red.

Jeez, seriously…I can’t handle her straightforwardness. It would be a problem for me.

“However, don’t do something like that again from now on. As expected, I don’t want Takuto kun to be someone else’s boyfriend. Even though the other person is my own sister.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yeah ! Then I forgive you.”

“W-wait a minute, Rina san…!?”

When Rina san regained her smile, she suddenly closed the distance between us.

Her arms are wrapped around mine.

Her fine hair gently caressed my cheek.

“This is a girlfriend privilege, you know.”

“Y-yes, but.”

If it’s not the girlfriend I’m dating, I can’t accept this kind of skinship.

However, right now  it’s the rush hour to leave the school, and above all, it’s around the school.

In other words, our school is full of students.

What I’m trying to say is….

“That son of a bitch ! How the hell did he get Tsukise san !?”?

“Almost every boy in the third year confessed his love to her and got crushed.”

“What kind of guy is he, that first year?”

“Is he really dating her sister just the other day?”

“Go to hell.”

It’s terrible……

I wonder if there are any good guys in our high school….

The lances of their sharp gazes stab me one after another.

“You don’t like to stand out?”

The other guys’ voices must have reached Rina san’s ears, because she asked me as if I were troubled.

This situation is not a good one, though.

 “No, let’s show them off. It would be a problem if another guy tried to mess with my Rina san.”

After making up my mind, I decided to walk out with dignity.

I can’t show them my weakness.

Rina san is popular.

If the curious onlookers’ story are to be believed, she has a track record of being liked by most of the boys in her grade.

Of course, even though Rinsa san has a boyfriend, there are probably guys who are still trying to hit her.

In order to prevent them from taking Rina san away from me, I should stand tall.

Besides, it’s not manly if I were fidgeting around.

“……Erm, what’s going on?”

“No, n-nothing.

Rina san looked down with a red face.

She had come on to me herself, and now she’s getting embarrassed?　

“Your face is red. Do you have a fever?”

“Hyah !? I-i’m fine ! Really !”

When I touched her forehead, it was quite hot.

Rina reacted like an entertainer and escaped from my hands.

“Erm, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Because Takuto kun, you suddenly said something like ‘My Rina san’…”

“Eh?”

“It’s nothing !”

Rina san said something in a voice that is hard to hear.

“My Rina san, right? I mean, we’re dating, tou know.”

“Ugh…..you heard that. You’re really mean…..”

“I didn’t mean to be mean to you.”

“Hmph, I don’t know anymore. I’ll make you as much as you hate.”

“S-seriously….”

“I can’t let my Takuto kun get a red mark.”

Sigh….

Seriously, this girl is really cute.

My cheeks naturally burst.

“Would you like to go to a family restaurant today? Yesterday, I just got paid for my part-time job.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“I’ll buy you a drink as a thank you for teaching me.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you don’t have to buy me a drink, you know?”

“Is that so? It’s okay, you don’t have to hold back.”

“Yeah. In exchange, please give me something good for my birthday.”

“Whoa, you’re raising the bar…..”

“Ehehe.”

Rina san’s cheeks break into a smile.

It looks like I’m going to have to give her something good for this one……

“I mean, when is Rina san’s birthday?”

“It’s the 18th of December.”

It’s the 26th of June, so roughly half a year from now on.

It’s quite far ahead…..

“That’s why…..I don’t want to break up.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll definitely give you an amazing birthday present that will surprise you, Rina san !”

“Really? You promise?”

“Yes.”

I promised to continue this relationship and give Rina san a birthday present six months from now.

That’s right, I swear to do so.