Chapter 11: My Ex-Girlfriend’s Friend’s Younger Sister

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Translator: Soafp

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After passing the three-way intersection where the azaleas were in full bloom, I arrived in front of Komori-san's house.

She was already waiting by the entrance.

“Ah, um… g-good morning.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

Just a casual morning greeting.

Yet for some reason, Komori-san kept twirling the hair by her ear with her fingertips.

Maybe she was just nervous because it was her first time going to school with a friend.

From behind Komori-san, a small girl suddenly peeked out.

She immediately pointed at me.

“Is this the person big sis woke up early to wait for?”

“Y-Yes, but don't say it like I woke up early!”

“Hmmm…”

The girl slowly looked me up and down as if evaluating me.

This must be the little sister Komori-san mentioned yesterday.

She seemed very curious about me, but she stayed hidden behind her sister and didn't come forward.

Apparently she's shy.

“Your boyfriend?”

“No! Just a friend!”

“Even though he's just a friend, he came all the way to pick you up?”

“Eh? Ah, well, that's…!”

Komori-san opened and closed her mouth in panic.

Then she looked at me with pleading eyes, silently asking for help.

I gave a wry smile and changed the topic.

“Your little sister? She's cute.”

“Ah, yeah. Come on, say hello.”

Komori-san gently pushed her sister's back and nudged her forward.

The girl seemed too shy to make eye contact with me, so she looked down and tightly gripped her jacket with both hands.

“I'm Anna Komori…”

“I'm Ren Fukagawa. I'm your sister's friend. I just happened to have something to do around here, so we decided to go together.”

“Okay… n-nice to meet you…”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

Anna gave a small bow.

Though she still wouldn't meet my eyes.

…My face isn't scary, is it?

I joked with Komori-san.

“Unlike you, your sister is very polite.”

“When have I ever been rude to you!?”

“Not rude exactly, but you did slam me against a wall that one time.”

“Ah, th-that was…”

Her face turned bright red.

“I mean, it was just the heat of the moment… When I got home I regretted it so much. I thought, ‘Great, another embarrassing memory added to my black history…'”

“I'll never forget it. Komori-san's wall slam. Want to try it again? I'll record it this time.”

“Ahh, ahh, ahhh! Why did I do that!?”

She ended up covering her face with both hands.

Man, teasing her is fun.

Then suddenly Anna said proudly,

“I figured it out!”

“It's actually Onee-san who likes Oji-san more!”

“Whaaat!? Th-that's not true!”

“Then you hate him?”

“N-No, I mean, it's not like I hate him… I just like him as a friend! Don't get the wrong idea!!”

She's even doing the tsundere act with her own little sister.

Also… did Anna just casually call me “Oji-san”?

Do I really look that old?

I glanced at the time on my phone and said,

“We should get going.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“By the way, is Anna coming with us too?”

“Yeah. There's an elementary school on the way, so I'll walk her there.”

Ah, right.

There was an elementary school a little past that problematic three-way intersection.

And so the three of us started walking together.

Komori-san held Anna's hand.

At times like this, she really does act like a proper older sister.

Just as I was thinking that, Anna suddenly said:

“Onee-san, shouldn't you be holding Oji-san's hand instead of mine?”

“Eh!? Why!?”

“Because you like him, right?”

“I told you that's not it! We're just friends!”

Kids around Anna's age are probably just starting to become interested in romance.

For some reason she seemed determined to pair me up with Komori-san.

Laughing, I held my hand out toward Anna.

“Want to hold hands with this Oji-san too? Then through you, I'd technically be holding hands with Nodoka-san.”

“Eh… I'd rather not…”

Anna quickly stepped back and made an obviously displeased face.

…That actually hurts a little.

“Fukagawa… are you a loli-con?”

“Of course not.”

“Right? Good. If you actually were, I'd push you into the road right now.”

“Your imagination is way more dangerous.”

I only joked a little and almost ended up with a terrible misunderstanding.

“B-By the way… earlier you called me by my first name, right…?”

“Huh? Well yeah, there are two Komoris here right now.”

“R-Right, that makes sense.”

Komori-san started twirling her hair again.

“A boy called me by my first name for the first time. Hehe… Until now, boys never even properly remembered my last name.”

Lately, whenever she's around me, Komori-san seems to slip into her introvert mode pretty often.

Next to us, Anna nodded vigorously in agreement.

“I get it. There are people in my class who greet me like it's the first time they've ever seen me. Isn't that terrible?”

“Right!? Just because you haven't talked much, how can you not even remember your classmates' names?”

“I want to make boy friends like you did, big sis, but they never pay attention to me… How did you do it?”

“W-Well… maybe… a wall slam?”

Listening to this introverted sisters' conversation was honestly starting to make my head spin.

---

When I entered the classroom, there was a strange buzz in the air.

Wondering what was going on, I sat down at my desk.

Then Takagi approached me.

“Man, you really did it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You dump Kitayama-san and then immediately start dating Komori-san? Going after all the cute girls in the class, you b*****d!”

“…Eh?”

As I stood there stunned, Takagi pointed at our classmates with his chin.

Ah, I see. So that's what this is.

Someone must have seen Komori-san and me walking to school together and misunderstood.

The words I said earlier when trying to shake Komori-san off probably got exaggerated as they spread.

(That's why Takagi is talking so loudly on purpose.)

He's basically giving me a chance to clear things up.

If I didn't correct the rumor now while everyone was listening, it would be hard later.

Understanding his intention, I raised my voice and replied.

“There's no way someone like me could date Komori-san. We just happened to meet at a convenience store and ended up walking to school together.”

“Huh? That's it? Nothing else?”

“Nope. Komori-san was just staring at her phone the whole time anyway.”

Takagi snorted in an exaggerated way.

“That's proof she's not interested in you at all.”

“Exactly. A flashy girl like her wouldn't be interested in a plain introvert like me.”

“Yeah, I mean, you only dated Kitayama-san because you were childhood friends.”

“Right. We ended up having a huge fight and breaking up anyway. I wasn't good enough for either Komori-san or Kitayama-san.”

I casually glanced around.

As expected, most of the class had been secretly listening.

Now they began whispering.

“See? I knew it.”

“Yeah, there's no way Fukagawa would be popular.”

“No way that sharp-tongued Komori-san would treat him specially. This isn't a manga.”

…Kind?

I think that's definitely a misunderstanding.

She probably only looks sharp-tongued because she's nervous.

I thought the classroom atmosphere would calm down now.

But suddenly Yuzuki stood up and walked toward me.

“Ren…”

“What's wrong, Kitayama-san?”

“Ugh…”

Her hand trembled as she clenched it into a fist.

“You and Nodoka… you really aren't anything, right…?”

“At least we're not dating.”

“I-I see. That's good…”

What exactly was good about that?

Could it be that Yuzuki still had feelings for me?

Well, those feelings would probably disappear naturally once she spent more time with Nagasawa-senpai.

It's not something I need to worry about.

“R-Ren… Do you want to walk home together after school today? It's been a while.”

“Why?”

“Huh? W-Well… we go the same direction home, and I don't have club activities today…”

I had expected this.

Even so, in Yuzuki's priorities, I was still only second place.

If the photography club came first—

No, that's not right.

If Nagasawa-senpai was first and the photography club second, then I was third.

All I could do was laugh dryly.

“Sorry, but I already have plans.”

“Ah… okay…”

It wasn't a lie.

Right now, Komori-san's life was far more important than Yuzuki's lingering feelings.

“Do you need something else?”

“No…”

“Then shouldn't you go back to your seat? Homeroom is about to start.”

“O-Okay…”

Looking dejected, she lowered her shoulders and walked away.

Inside my head, I thought:

(I might seriously transfer schools…)

The fact that there won't be a class change until next year honestly feels unbearable.

---

“Um… Are you really okay walking home with me? Yuzuki asked you earlier, didn't she?”

At the shoe lockers, Komori-san suddenly brought it up.

She must still be thinking about what happened this morning.

“Honestly, having plans with you first actually helped me out.”

“Huh? Really?”

“To be honest, even if Kitayama-san quit the photography club, I don't think I could get back together with her.”

“W-Why…?”

I dropped my sneakers onto the floor as I answered.

“I just can't get Nagasawa-senpai out of my head.”

More precisely, the countless photos I saw in that “nightmare.”

Every date would just make me suspicious and insecure, hating myself while drowning in feelings of inferiority and defeat.

I'm done with that.

In my mind, Yuzuki and Nagasawa-senpai have already become inseparable.

“Anyway, is there somewhere you want to go? Didn't you say you wanted crepes?”

“Ah, crepes would be nice, but I actually wanted to try going here!”

Komori-san showed me her phone screen.

It was a map app.

And when I saw the place name displayed on it, my eyes widened.

“…You want to try going to a love hotel?”