Episode 9 – Sucked a little in the past

“Excuse me. Two of these shortcakes, please.”

After school on a weekend, I was alone in one of the city’s famous sweet stores.
I had been thinking of buying a cake or something to take home for a while now, as a way of thanking Kasumi for coming to our house.

I wanted to keep it as a surprise, so I parted ways with Kasumi at school, but she seemed curious about what I was going to do and tried to follow me until the last minute. I was glad Asahina san took her to karaoke.

“Okay, let’s go home.”

As I was walking along, taking care never to drop the box containing the cake, I saw a familiar face.

“…… Kuramochi san?”

It was Kuramochi san, one of Kasumi’s friends.
Kuramochi san was walking with a boy from another school, so I thought to myself, maybe that’s her boyfriend. Aside from Asahina san, I had never talked to Kuramochi san, so I had nothing special to think about. As I was about to walk past her, Kuramochi san turned around, which I didn’t expect.

“………..Ah! It’s you, Rindou kun.”
“Rindou?”

I have been noticed.
Kuramochi san probably knew me via Kasumi. So I was going to raise my hand a little and leave, but I was more concerned about the guy. Because that guy–.

“Rindou….I knew it was you. It’s been a long time.”
“….Ah”

Because he was a classmate of mine from elementary and junior high school.

[You guys are always together, seriously. It’s disgusting.]
[You haven’t been with Shirasagi lately, have you? What’s wrong with you?]

Maejima – the guy who has been getting involved with me and Kasumi at every turn.
Toward the end of junior high school, when Kasumi and I had nothing to talk about, this guy kept getting involved with me with a smirk on his face, and to be honest, it was annoying.

“….Aryaa? Do you two know each other?”
“Well….yeah”

I don’t have anything in particular to say to this guy.
I would like to thank Kuramochi san for watching over Kasumi, but that will have to wait for another time.

I was about to walk away when Maejima stopped me.

“Hey, Rindou, are you and Shirasagi still on bad terms?”
“…..”

This guy is not going to change no matter how long it takes.
Pissed off but more dismayed, I moved my halted foot. But then he grabbed me by the shoulders.

“Wait a minute. I believe you went to high school together, right? I’m sure she followed you around a lot, and I’m sure you have a lot to tell……., come to think of it, Mikoto chan is with you too right?”

Come to think of it, this guy used to be a fighter. I wondered what I should do if I backed away from him. As I was thinking this, I felt that Kuramochi san’s mood had changed somewhat.
Maejima, without realizing it, starts rambling on.

“Hey, Mikoto chan, listen to me. There is a childhood friend of his that was close to for a long time, and she stayed by his side all the time, you know? But from the latter half of junior high school, they stopped talking to each other. I’m sure she didn’t like him because he was with her all the time. It’s not appropriate for such a beautiful girl to have someone like that by her side in the first place!”
“……you say a lot of things.”

Sorry, I’m a little ticked off.
Well….Of course I didn’t like being ridiculed by my classmates, including this guy, but most of all it was because I was weak.

“Is that all?”
“Ah? What a cheeky reaction.”

This guy….Can I hit him?
I was about to make a fist like that when Kuramochi san, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.

“I see, so that’s what happened. Hey, Maejima kun.”
“If you want, I can tell you more. If you accept my confession—“
“I’m so annoyed with you. Your personality is like that, and your care sucks, which is good because I wasn’t going to accept your confession in the first place.”
“……..Eh?”

Kuramochi san’s words made Maejima freeze in dismay.
Of course, I was the one who was surprised. …… They were not dating, apparently. Kuramochi san muttered a little something about taking my hand and going, and walked away from the scene, leaving Maejima frozen in place.

At some distance away, Kuramochi san stopped.

“Ahh~, I knew he was annoying.”
“…..I take it he’s not your boyfriend?”

When I asked her this, Kuramochi san buzzed and shook her head with great energy.

“A friend of mine who went to the same high school as him introduced me to him. So I met him today. I’m not a lightweight woman who would allow someone like that to do so many things to me. Well, maybe he thought I had a light ass because of my looks.”
“….I knew that much”

Sure, she looks even more like a gal than Asahina san, but I don’t think so.

“I don’t care about me. I was going to smash him as soon as he said those things about you and Kasumi.”

Kuramochi then took out her smartphone.
Apparently, she deleted the contact information for Maejima that she had registered.

“He was a little annoying from the talking stage, and he said funny things that had been bothering Kasumi for a long time. …… I think I’ll go back now and hit him after all.”
“[Let’s not be violent] …….can’t even say that”

And I was about to make a fist of mine……
I looked behind me in case he was coming after me, but Maejima didn’t seem to be following me. It was an unexpected encounter with Kuramochi san, but I was glad to see that she was thinking about Kasumi from every section of our conversation.

It sounds like Kasumi has been blessed with some really good friends, as have I.

“……Ah, Rindou kun has a very kind face.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah, You were thinking of Kasumi, weren’t you?”
“…Well, maybe you’re not wrong.”

Was it that easy to understand?
She also looked at the box I was holding in my hand, and her smile deepened even more, as if she had guessed.

“Hey, Rindou kun, watch over Kasumi, will you? Don’t bother her anymore.”
“…..Roger, That’s the plan.”
“Yes. That’s calming ♪”

You never stop smiling, Kuramochi san.
Then we talked a little and I left Kuramochi san and went back to my house. Apparently, Kasumi had already returned, which surprised me a little, as I thought she was still playing with Asahina san.

“…… too late.”
“….ooou”

Kasumi was waiting for me in the living room.
When I talked to her, she said she thought I would be waiting for her alone, so she came home right away. I immediately apologized for that.

“You don’t have to …… apologize that much. I’m sure I missed you, but …… Kazuki has his own time too.”

She used to cry endlessly, but she’s really grown up!
I felt like an old man, but I sat down next to Kasumi and patted her head.

“…..Something like this…..something like this….Funyaaa”
“Are you in a better mood now?”
“Two frames to spare for a quick fall”
“You say that to yourself?”

By the way, she was happy when I served her a cake after dinner.
And when I told her that I had gone out to buy it, she seemed even happier. After that, Kasumi never left me for a moment until I went to bed.