Oneshot: My Childhood Friend Is a Fraud

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Translator: Soafp

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(–That was a pretty… stupid way to die.)

It might not be right to speak ill of the dead, but that was my honest thought as I swayed on the train home after offering my condolences.

We’ve been tangled up with each other since we were kids… and if I had to sum up her end in one word, it would be “self-inflicted.”

She left home after high school, practically eloping with some guy—only for both of them to be stabbed to death. Apparently, the perpetrator was a customer she had scammed out of tens of millions through her flirtatious sales tactics at her night job in Tokyo. I couldn’t help but be amazed at how she managed to squeeze that much money out of him.

Money troubles can be terrifying. Even a fraction of that amount could strain relationships or lead to violence.

Especially when it reaches the seven-figure range… it’s enough to endanger one’s life. She must have completely lost her sense of money and danger.

(When I saw her parents after a long time, they looked really worn out. Not that I could blame them…)

They had been close family friends since I could remember, so perhaps I’m a bit biased. But at least those two were genuinely good people… I still think so today.

They were deeply saddened by their daughter’s death, but they also accepted it as something inevitable. When we met again, they apologized over and over, to the point where I felt bad for them.

(In a way… they might be more traumatized than I am.)

We were inseparable until middle school, and even after entering high school, we managed to stay close for a while. That made it all the more devastating when our relationship broke down, but that’s in the past now. Although we were childhood friends, I’ve come to terms with the fact that we were just long-time acquaintances…

But for her parents, it’s probably different.

(“You're not a match for me—a mediocre, boring guy.”)

I suddenly recalled the parting words she threw at me. It was around high school when she started to change and become more flirtatious.

Her appearance became strikingly beautiful, but her character deteriorated, leading her down a destructive path… Not only I, but everyone decent, began to distance themselves from her. The only ones left around her were those of a certain kind. And in the end, it came to this.

(Well, it’s too late to care now.)

I feel bad for her parents, but the only reason I showed up at the funeral was because my parents asked me to when I went back home. Nothing more.

From what her parents mentioned, it was clear that her connections after moving to Tokyo weren’t great. Hardly anyone attended the funeral. Out of her old acquaintances, I was the only one who showed up.

She seemed to have made quite a fortune, living it up. But in death, none of that matters. You can’t take money with you to the afterlife.

Lost in these thoughts, I realized I had arrived at my station. Almost home now.

I walked quickly, exited the station, and headed to my apartment. The building had been recently renovated just before I moved in, so it was relatively new. Though, the convenient location made the rent quite high.

As I reached for the doorknob, I noticed it was unlocked. And there was someone inside—could it be?

When I entered my room, I found a familiar woman lying on her stomach on my bed, munching on potato chips with one hand and watching a video on her tablet.

Her whole body radiated a strong, vibrant energy, with a tall and toned physique. She had a strikingly beautiful face with a touch of elegance, and her hairstyle was what you'd call a side-parted layered bob.

Despite her youthful appearance, which made her look younger than her actual age, she was old enough to drink and smoke (though she did neither). I had checked her ID and other documents multiple times to be sure.

Ah, of course, it's her.

Holding my temple, I let out an exaggerated sigh. She looked up at me, completely unabashed, and greeted me with a casually.

“Ya, I'm intruding—welcome back, Hirotoshi.”

“I have a lot to say, but first, I didn’t hear anything about you coming today… and what’s with that outfit?”

She was dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants—probably her loungewear.

“Oh, this? I thought I'd stay over today. It's a new set, actually. How does it look on me?”

“Yes, yes. It looks great on you.”

I wasn’t being sarcastic or flattering. She actually looked good even in such simple, casual clothes.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“I figured you might be feeling a bit down because of your childhood friend's incident. I came to cheer you up. And like I always say, can you please call me by my name, Asuka? After all, we are lovers, aren't we?”

Asuka Hinokami winked at me, raising a finger.

Lovers. Well, Asuka and I had settled into that kind of relationship only recently. We first met shortly after I started university.

Looking back, it was quite a chaotic encounter… but that chaos was something I needed back then when I was still dealing with a lot.

“I showed up out of obligation… honestly, I don't care anymore.”

“Yeah, you say that, but you're a kind person. If you have anything bottled up, you should let it out with me. In every sense of the word.”

Asuka tapped her cheek with her slender fingers. I grumbled about her making lewd comments, but I did share something that had been bothering me a little.

“When my childhood friend was stabbed and taken to the hospital, it was already too late to save her. But in her delirious state, she called out my name.”

With the news of her death came a plea from her parents to forgive their daughter, even though they knew it was an unreasonable request.

Her parents weren’t there when she was taken to the hospital; they heard it second-hand from the hospital staff. I also had the police ask me about it, so it wasn't just a made-up story to make her look good.

“What was she thinking, calling out my name at the end?”

I didn’t feel anger towards her, nor did I pity her. Those feelings had long since worn out. I was simply curious.

For both me and my childhood friend, I thought this was all just ancient history, something that didn’t matter anymore.

Was it simply that she was reliving memories in her mind’s eye, causing her to call out my name? Or was it something else?

“Hirotoshi, have you been worrying about that?”

“If I had to put it into words… yeah, sort of. It’s not a lie to say I thought it didn’t matter.”

“Is that so…”

Asuka crunched on a potato chip and then said,

“Probably—your childhood friend just wanted to go back. Back to the good old days when things were supposed to be different. People sometimes don’t realize things until it’s too late.”

She spoke in a flat, dry tone without changing her expression.

In contrast, I found myself unintentionally muttering, “What the hell is that?” That seemed like an overly cynical take, but…

Even if that were true, I still wouldn’t feel anything. If anything, I’d just feel even more pity for her parents.

I might be heartless for thinking so, but considering what she did, I can’t bring myself to sympathize. She was the one who severed our ties, and too much time has passed.

“Personally, I think it’s a pretty selfish story… and it makes me angry. No matter how much she cried, screamed, or repented at the end, the reality she built with her own hands doesn’t change. The chance to take a different path was lost long ago. To try and… at the very end—”

Asuka stopped mid-sentence, an unusual irritation showing on her face. No, more than that…

“Asuka, are you mad for me?”

“Yeah… of course I’m mad. My loved one was mocked, treated like a fool.”

“…Sorry.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Asuka muttered in exasperation, “Why is Hirotoshi apologizing?”

When asked why, it was because I made her worry… but admitting that felt a bit embarrassing and pathetic.

—I should probably get changed.

As I tried to leave to reset the situation, I felt a tug on my pants. At some point, Asuka had grabbed the hem. When I asked her what was up, she smiled a little and said,

“Like I said at the beginning, I came to comfort you… don't you feel like it?”

“…I'm all sweaty from the trip and, well, you know…”

“I don’t mind.”

She was being considerate. But… well.

(Maybe I should just go with it…)

Though I still had a lingering smolder of thoughts about my childhood friend, Asuka standing before me was far more important.

Just for today, I decided to take the hand extended to me and let myself lean on her a little.

[Asuka PoV]

I happened to meet her again at a coffee shop in town, I finished listening to her story and sighed. Her attire was sophisticated yet not overly flashy—if you didn’t know better, you might think she was a pure and innocent college student.

(Well… she’s still as beautiful as ever. At least, her appearance has matured a lot.)

Suppressing the urge to voice the sarcasm that almost slipped out, I decided to give my straightforward opinion on the matter she had consulted me about.

“No… I think it’s impossible at this point. Manami… haven’t you given up yet? If my memory serves me right, you were the one who turned down your childhood friend’s confession.”

I didn’t want to say such things to my former friend whom I hadn’t seen since high school graduation, but half in disbelief, I told the woman before me—Manami Hashimoto.

To think that she was still hung up on something she had ruined herself, and couldn’t let go of it even now—what can I say… it’s just exasperating. What happened to the idea that women’s love is like overwriting a file, as someone once said?

“If I recall correctly… yeah, you said you couldn’t see him as a man. Called him a gross otaku and said he was impossible to deal with. You even gossiped about him with your friends. Then you went after that good-looking senior from the soccer team with a bad reputation…”

“…Ahaha, Asuka-chan, you’re as harsh as ever.”

Manami tried to laugh off my words, but her voice was strained.

Seriously, she has no idea how much trouble she caused us back then.

After another sigh, I continued, getting back to the point.

“And then, after belittling your childhood friend like that, he ends up saving you… and you do a complete turnaround. Let me say this now: you were so out of it, even lending yourself to other members… it goes beyond having a thick skin, don't you think? And your childhood friend was trying to smooth things over with some half-hearted wordplay.”

“…………….”

Honestly, it was a complete mess, I think back on it and feel a strange sense of nostalgia. It was just a year or two ago, but it feels like a lifetime.

My childhood friend thought his jokes, tinged with subtle sexual innuendo, were clever and funny. It made me realize how young he still was.

…Though he is the same age as me, and unless he dropped out, he’s probably still in college. I wonder if he’s still like that. Maybe Manami knows?

…But that would be too painful, so probably not.

“What was it again? Oh, right. You said, ‘I’ve been subtly trying to get his attention, but he hasn’t noticed.’ Well, of course not. Do you really understand what you did to your childhood friend?”

“I understand…”

Really? I exaggerated my reaction on purpose.

“If you really understood, you wouldn’t be acting like this. You probably took his pity words seriously back then. Don’t you get it? What you’re doing is just cruelly reopening the wounds of the person you hurt.”

“…That…”

Manami averted her eyes and hesitated. I sighed deeply for the third time.

Well, if she truly understood, she wouldn't be acting this way.

Manami trashed her childhood friend's sincerity and the time they spent together, discarding it all like garbage. Then, just because he helped her, she shamelessly acts as if she’s a victim and tries to cozy up to the person she belittled. It’s a kind of talent, I suppose.

Suddenly, I remembered another childhood friend, a deceitful woman who betrayed Hirotoshi. After the funeral, I was curious and did some digging.

…In just a year or two since moving to the city, an endless stream of scandalous stories emerged. The sheer audacity of clinging to Hirotoshi, the person she had trampled on, even at her dying moments, left me more dumbfounded than angry. They say a fool never learns, and it’s painfully true.

Hoping the woman before me could realize her mistakes before reaching such a point, I mustered the energy to continue speaking.

“If you really can't give up, then you should try groveling, begging—whatever it takes. I just don't see any sincerity in you, Manami. Your approach is the worst. ‘Isn't he still a gross otaku?'… Are you doing this on purpose?”

“…No, but, I mean, really—”

“Don’t ‘but’ me,” I responded, feeling genuinely exasperated. She probably thought she was giving a compliment. She believed she was praising him for the transformation he underwent after that incident, which made him more confident.

True, Manami herself had buckled down on her studies and got into a prestigious women’s university. I could give her credit for that.

But this made it clear—her time at university was just more coddling.

She probably glossed over the truth when talking to her friends. And when she sought advice from others, she likely received the typical reassurances:

Young people make mistakes.
It’s natural to be attracted to flashy men.
Only immature people care about virginity.

These words reminded me of others who had spoken so knowingly about similar situations.

How much do they need to belittle and hurt sincere men—and women—before they're satisfied? It's maddening.

“Listen. What you're saying just shows you haven't reflected at all on how you trampled on your childhood friend's sincerity. He's not a gross otaku now because he's cool? What if he went back to how he was? Would you mock him again behind his back?”

“You got it wrong”

“I am not wrong. You're only looking at the surface.”

Manami's face fell, and I sighed again, more deeply this time.

“True sincerity isn’t conditional, Manami. It’s not about whether someone fits your ideal image. It's about genuinely valuing who they are, flaws and all. And until you can understand that, you have no right to approach him again. You hurt him deeply, and you need to understand the gravity of that if you want any chance of making things right.”

Her silence told me she was absorbing my words. I could only hope that this time, she truly understood.

I let out another deep sigh, losing count of how many times I’d done so, and stood up from my seat. If she couldn’t understand after all that, it was hopeless.

“I’m leaving now. My boyfriend is waiting for me. Honestly… no, I’m sure you and your childhood friend just aren’t meant to be. At least, not the way things are now.”

“A-Asuka, I—”

Manami desperately tried to say something, but no words came out. I continued,

“We’re still students, but we’re adults now. I’m not saying you can’t rely on others.”

At the very least, I couldn’t always be there to help her like before. I had someone precious in my life now—Hirotoshi. I had my own life to live.

I couldn’t keep supporting Manami in her endless struggles.

“So…”

“In the end, you need to be able to take responsibility for your own choices. Otherwise, you’ll just keep repeating the same mistakes.”

I sincerely wished for Manami to become independent as I said this.

…I hoped my words could spark some change in her.

Manami remained silent, her head bowed.

“Well, Manami. If fate allows, we’ll meet again someday.”

Without waiting for a response, I took my bill and headed to the cashier.

I was going back to where someone precious was waiting for me—Hirotoshi.