Oneshot: I Heard from Her Friend That My Childhood Friend Girlfriend Is Cheating.

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Translator: Soafp

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I have a childhood friend girlfriend whom I’ve been going to the same school with since kindergarten.

Mizuki Yuge, who has been close to my family and me even in our second year of high school, is a beautiful girl who often got confessions since middle school.

We, who were like siblings, became a couple when Mizuki confessed to me soon after we started high school. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I liked Mizuki too, though I didn’t have the courage to confess. Unable to tolerate my hesitation any longer, Mizuki was the one who confessed to me.

Since the person I liked confessed to me, I immediately said yes, and we became a couple. After a year and experiencing various things together, our relationship started to resemble that of real lovers. However, recently, dark clouds have been looming over our relationship. Apparently, a guy from our grade named Aizawa, who confessed to Mizuki three months ago, has been hanging out with her alone on weekends.

I only found out about this yesterday, which is why everything is just hearsay. I thought it was strange that Mizuki started turning down my invitations to hang out on weekends more frequently. It was Iida, a friend of Mizuki’s who went to the same middle school as me, who told me about it. When she showed me a picture of Mizuki walking arm in arm with Aizawa, I was deeply shocked.

Just this might not be enough to call it cheating, but considering our age, we’ve spent most of our lives together as childhood friends. For Mizuki, perhaps I, her childhood friend and boyfriend, had such little value that she would throw me away for someone who appeared just a few months ago.

I’ve been down ever since I told Iida that I would think about what to do for a while. Aizawa is quite a handsome guy, and compared to that, I’m just an average-looking guy, so I understand if Mizuki’s feelings shifted. If she were going to break up with me, I would have preferred her to tell me directly rather than hearing it through an acquaintance.

“Ibuki, let’s go home together!”

And then, as if nothing had happened, Mizuki invited me to walk home together after school with the same attitude as usual. What is with her? Doesn’t she feel any guilt?

I spent all last night alone, mulling things over in my head, but I realized that if I didn’t talk to someone about how I felt, I might explode soon. Despite the cheating suspicion, I still love Mizuki and don’t want to hurt her. If I explode, I know I’ll end up saying hurtful things—I know myself well enough for that.

With that in mind, I decided to go to the literature club after school today, where I had already gathered my three otaku friends for advice.

“Ah… sorry, I have club activities today.”

“Eeh!? You should have told me earlier!”

Mizuki looked disappointed when she heard that, but once you start doubting someone, everything begins to look like a lie. However, since I haven’t confirmed anything yet, I don’t want to jump to conclusions until I hear it from her directly.

So, I saw Mizuki off with a wave and the usual expression, telling her “see you tomorrow.” Then I headed to the literature club room, where my friends were already gathered, and I vented all my frustrations to them.

“That’s some high real-life NTR stuff.”

“I can’t handle it; I just can’t deal with NTR.”

“Those who can’t accept it tend to get caught up in it even more. I think Ibuki has a talent for this.”

These guys are useless. Not a single one of them had any comforting words for me. As I glared at them, almost in tears, my friend nicknamed “Macho” snorted.

“We don't even have girlfriends ourselves, so we have no idea what to say when you ask for advice.”

“Use your imagination, man!”

“If you have a real girlfriend, just break up with her already and come back to us.”

“You sound cool, but do you realize how incredibly awful that is to say!?”

The usually gentle and Buddha-like guy, nicknamed “Daibutsu” (Great Buddha), said this with a tone of dismissal. I complained with what felt like a scream of frustration—what's happened to you?

“Honestly, no matter what we say, we won’t know the truth. You should just ask her directly. If you end up breaking up, that’s that. If it happens, let's have an all-night session watching gut-wrenching, messy romance anime together.”

“Isn’t your choice of anime weird!?”

My friend, who often takes the lead and is called “Leader,” concluded with that suggestion, and I immediately retorted. Sure, what you’re saying makes sense, but I could use some encouragement or kindness. Seriously.

After that, they gave me a mix of useful and dubious advice like “Avoid being alone when you talk; do it in a lively place like a family restaurant” and “Record the conversation so you have proof in case she tries to make you look bad.” Where did they even get this knowledge? Probably the internet.

“By the way, do you know this Aizawa guy?”

“Nope, never heard of him. What class is he in? At least, he's not in classes 6 through 8.”

“Not in our class either. If he’s the kind of guy who can steal someone else's girlfriend, he must be handsome, and his name should be well-known.”

While the three of them were talking skeptically about Aizawa, I had already left the club room, so I didn’t hear that conversation. If I had, I might have considered more possibilities.

At this time, I was desperate to not lose my important childhood friend and girlfriend, Mizuki, and was trying my best to figure things out.

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“I’ll take their advice and invite her to a family restaurant on the weekend.” I thought to myself, but when it came time to invite her, I suddenly hit a snag. I had prepared carefully, including asking Iida to send me the pictures she showed me. If Mizuki found out that Iida was the informant, it might damage their relationship. I had to avoid that.

The next day, I spent the time until after school feeling restless, waiting for Mizuki to come to the classroom to pick me up. Thinking about it, it's strange—if she were cheating, wouldn't she stop bothering to come pick up her boyfriend from the classroom? Although, given our history as childhood friends, she might be coming out of habit or inertia.

“Ibuki—! Let's go home!!”

As I sat at my desk, waiting for the moment of confrontation, Mizuki's cheerful voice rang out in the classroom. Most of our classmates had already left, leaving only a few behind. Depending on how the conversation went, rumors might start spreading about me getting dumped, so it would be better if the room emptied out.

“Mizuki, can you sit down? I need to talk to you.”

“Eh? Can’t we talk while we walk home?”

“No, I want to have a calm discussion.”

Hearing my serious tone, Mizuki looked puzzled but turned the chair in front of her and sat down. I showed her the phone screen displaying the picture.

“So, who's this guy?”

When I asked, Mizuki tilted her head, staring at the picture for a moment before her expression shifted as if she remembered something.

“Well, um…”

While Mizuki hesitated, we luckily ended up being the only ones left in the classroom. I didn't plan on raising my voice, but I preferred to discuss such a sensitive matter privately.

“Oh, that’s right! His name is Aizawa-kun, and he confessed to me. So we went out together and went on dates.”

“…………?”

Her response matched what Iida told me, so it wasn't surprising, but her reaction before answering was strange. Normally, Mizuki would look me straight in the eye when answering, but this time she was glancing around before her gaze suddenly fixed on something. Was there something behind me? As I turned to look, Mizuki exclaimed “Ah!” loudly, making me turn back to face her.

“Uh, um… He’s a kind person, Aizawa-kun.”

“Does that mean you like him? Are you planning to break up with me and go out with him?”

When I asked this with a slightly lowered voice, Mizuki shook her head vigorously, as if denying that she had ever considered such a thing.

“No! I don't want to break up!”

“Because you went on dates with another guy on your days off, right? I've got information from a certain source that you probably went out with him more than just the time shown in this picture.”

I couldn't mention Iida. Even though she's Mizuki's friend, she shared the information with me out of kindness, and I didn't want to cause her any trouble. So, I kept it vague, but Mizuki seemed more shocked by the word “break up” than anything else, and tears started welling up at the corners of her large eyes.

Seeing her reaction made me think that maybe it wasn't cheating but a misunderstanding. Normally, if someone likes another guy, they wouldn't care about what their ex-boyfriend thinks and would treat them more callously, wouldn't they? I don't know since Mizuki is my first girlfriend. But from what I've seen in manga and novels, that's how it often seems to be portrayed.

I took a small, deep breath to calm myself down and then, in a gentle voice, asked Mizuki:

“Hey, Mizuki. I just want to know the truth. If you really like another guy more than me, even though I hate the idea, I'm prepared to step aside for your happiness. That's why I wanted to talk today, but it seems like there's more to it. Can you tell me honestly?”

“…I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ibuki.”

Mizuki apologized while crying, her words coming out in bits and pieces. Then she suddenly shouted in a loud voice, “Maya-chan! I can't take it anymore!”

As I wondered what was going on, I heard the sound of a chair or desk moving from the back of the classroom. I reflexively turned toward the sound and saw Iida standing up from the floor.

As I wondered why Iida was there, she brushed off the dust from her skirt and approached us.

“Geez, Mizuki-chan. You have to try harder. This was Mizuki-chan's idea to begin with.”

“But being suspected of cheating by my dear boyfriend is really tough~”

Iida gently held and comforted the tearful Mizuki, patting her back. Obviously, she was the one who had given me the information. I was left standing there, stunned, trying to figure out what was happening.

“Um, could someone explain this to me?”

I timidly asked, and Iida, with a slightly troubled smile, began explaining. Basically, it was a prank.

Mizuki consulted Iida about a month ago. Even though things were going smoothly and she was very happy in our relationship, she started to worry that if everything stayed peaceful, I might get bored of her and become interested in someone else. It was a groundless fear, but apparently, from Iida’s perspective, Mizuki was genuinely troubled by it.

But of course, if Mizuki actually cheated, it would defeat the purpose, and not all couples constantly face problems. After some thought, Iida suggested that they fabricate a little cheating suspicion for Mizuki.

“So, that means there's no such classmate as Aizawa…”

“He doesn't exist. I checked all the boys in every class to avoid any complications with a fake boyfriend's name overlapping with someone real.”

What a perfectionist. I remembered Iida had that trait since middle school. By the way, the guy in the picture was Iida’s younger brother. He's a third-year middle school student, just a bit taller than Mizuki, so in the picture, their faces were close, and it looked like they were getting along well. They actually know each other, and through Iida, they're friendly. Even though he's younger, the idea of Mizuki having a close guy friend made me feel a little uneasy.

The reason Mizuki couldn't go out on dates on weekends was because she was planning this whole thing. When I heard that, I felt a sudden wave of relief and slid down from the chair onto the floor. Ah, I'm so glad! It wasn't cheating, thank goodness!

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ibuki!”

Mizuki threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly as I sat on the floor. Feeling her soft, warm body and realizing I hadn't lost my precious girlfriend, I instinctively hugged her back tightly.

“By the way, Ibuki-kun, do you know why I suggested doing it this way?”

While Mizuki and I hugged, Iida crouched down to our eye level and mischievously asked.

I couldn't think of any reason and shook my head. Then, Iida, with a somewhat teasing smile, explained:

“If this had caused a rift between you two, I was thinking of putting myself forward as Ibuki-kun's girlfriend.”

“No way! Ibuki is mine!! I won't let you have him, Maya-chan!!”

Before I could respond to Iida's words, Mizuki yelled in my ear while hugging me even tighter. The loud shout made my ears ring, but the strength of her embrace, reflecting her feelings for me, made even the pain feel precious.

“Iida-san, I'm sorry. Even though you tried to lighten the mood with a joke, Mizuki isn't able to take it as a joke right now.”

When I said this, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way, Iida nodded as if she understood. We watched Iida wave lightly and leave the classroom, and then Mizuki and I continued to hug until she calmed down. Once Mizuki finally settled, I wiped the tears from her cheeks, and we naturally exchanged a kiss. Laughing together innocently like we did when we were kids, we walked home hand in hand. I couldn't help but wish that we could keep walking side by side like this, happily together forever.

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“…I wasn’t joking.”

Watching them from a window in the school building, Iida muttered these words as she gazed down at their retreating figures. At that moment, neither Ibuki nor Mizuki had any way of knowing this.