Chapter 5: The Privilege of Childhood Friends

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Translator: Soafp

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[Mimura Sota Side]

I was certain.

Himuro Rin will be mine someday.

…No, maybe not “someday.” It's almost like she already is.

We haven't done any formal confession or anything, but in practice, that's the kind of relationship we have.

Think about it.

We've known each other since first grade.

Our houses are three minutes apart on foot. Our parents are close, too.

Summer festivals, first shrine visits, fireworks—we've done it all together since we were kids.

I'm probably the only one who's ever seen Rin cry.

No one else could have this kind of bond with her.

Ten years of history can't be caught up with in an instant.

So—I don't need to rush.

At least, that's what I told myself.

---

Wednesday lunch break.

I was eating my bento with Sakamoto and the others when the topic turned to Fujimiya Ito.

“Hey, Fujimiya's been going to volunteer lately, right? Even after the three-session penalty ended, he's apparently continuing.”

My chopsticks froze.

“…Seriously?”

“Yeah, for real. Two girls from Class 2 said so. And apparently his reason was something like, ‘It felt good to do it.'”

“Sounds fake.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“There's no way he's continuing out of pure goodwill. His motives are obvious.”

“Well, I guess it's for Himuro-san, right?”

“Exactly. He never learns, that guy.”

Sakamoto chuckled awkwardly.

I chewed my tamagoyaki, swallowing my irritation.

Fujimiya Ito.

Thinking about him makes my gut churn.

The school's biggest playboy. Always surrounded by rumors with girls.

Yet somehow, his reputation isn't bad. “Doesn't cheat,” “Gets along with exes”—stories like that spread around.

…What the hell?

Playing around is already absurd.

And the people praising him as “sincere”? Something's wrong with them too.

“You hate Fujimiya, right, Sota?”

Sakamoto's comment made me bristle slightly.

“I wouldn't say hate. I just can't deal with that type. Flirty and smooth.”

“But Fujimiya even greets you normally, right? The other day in the hallway—”

“That's exactly why he's annoying. You can't trust someone who puts on a nice face for everyone.”

Sakamoto waved me off. “Yeah, yeah.”

He always does that. Only half-listening.

Still—Sakamoto's tolerable.

At least he sometimes says, “Yeah, maybe you're right.”

Lately, the reactions from others seem to have shifted subtly.

Even when we talk badly about Fujimiya, fewer people agree.

More are saying things like, “Well, Fujimiya's not a bad guy…”

…What the hell.

I can't stand that Fujimiya has so many people on his side.

---

Break time after fifth period.

Walking down the hallway in front of the classroom, I saw Rin.

She had just left the classroom, with Yui Ogawa beside her.

I tried to call out—but stopped in my tracks.

Rin was smiling.

“Smiling” might be an exaggeration.

But the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and her eyes were a bit softer.

Yui said something, and Rin shook her head in mild exasperation—but clearly in a good mood.

The Rin I know hardly ever smiles.

Even in class, they call her the “Ice Queen.”

But now—she was smiling.

Sometimes she smiles like that in front of me. Occasionally. Because we've been childhood friends.

…But recently, Rin seems—outside of my presence—to have softer expressions than usual.

No. That's just my imagination. It has to be.

“Rin.”

I called her. She looked at me.

“What?”

The usual curt reply.

The smile—already gone.

“Uh… the next class moves to a different room, right? Let's go together.”

“I'll go with Yui.”

“Oh… okay.”

Rin and Yui walked off.

I was left standing in the hallway.

…No big deal.

It's normal. Rin always walks with Yui. That's natural.

Natural.

Yet—deep in my chest, it hurt sharply.

---

After school.

I stayed behind in the classroom to kill time and overheard Sakamoto and Tanaka talking nearby.

“Did you hear? Fujimiya got confessed to by a first-year girl recently but turned her down.”

“Seriously? Him turning someone down? That's rare.”

“Apparently he said, ‘I like someone else right now.'”

“Oh—so it's Himuro-san, huh.”

“Probably. And the way he refused was apparently so polite that the girl said she didn't feel bad at all.”

“Typical Fujimiya. He doesn't make enemies.”

…I didn't want to hear it.

Said he turned her down because he liked someone else? Politely? In a way that didn't hurt her feelings?

Great. Very impressive. Kudos, Fujimiya-sama.

But basically—that meant he was serious about Rin.

Not playing around. Going for Rin for real.

…Don't mess with me.

That guy is a pl@yb0y.

He'll get bored eventually. A complicated girl like Rin—

No.

Rin isn't complicated. The problem is—

…What the hell am I thinking?

I shook my head and pulled out my phone. Opened the group LINE chat.

“So Fujimiya rejected that first-year girl, obviously he's going for Himuro. Seriously gross. How many girls has he been with? Even if he says he likes Rin, it's annoying for her.”

Sent.

Sakamoto replied almost immediately.

“Hey, Sota, aren't you overthinking Fujimiya a bit? lol”

That made me snap.

“I'm not overthinking. Just stating facts. Are you siding with Fujimiya?”

“Not siding, just… he's a decent guy…”

“Huh? So you're on his side too? You know he's a pl@yb0y, right?”

Read—but no reply came.

Minutes passed. Still nothing.

…What the hell?

Did I say something wrong?

I was just stating facts. Everyone knew Fujimiya was a pl@yb0y, and his motives for getting close to Rin were obvious.

I was speaking for Rin.

Saying what any childhood friend would say.

And yet—no one agreed.

◇ ◇ ◇

On the way home.

I wanted to invite Rin, but she apparently had plans with Yui and had gone home first.

So I walked alone.

As I walked, I thought about one thing.

There's no need for a confession between Rin and me.

I had always thought so.

Being childhood friends meant we could understand each other without words.

But—recently, Rin's behavior had changed slightly.

On the way back from volunteering last week, she had said, “I decide who I talk to.”

She stopped replying to LINE.

Today, she even refused to go to the moving class together.

All of it—small things.

Rin had always been curt. She had always been that way.

But “always that way” and “recently that way”—might be different.

No.

Not different. Rin is Rin. The Rin I know.

The change—was because of Fujimiya meddling.

If Fujimiya hadn't approached Rin, none of this would have happened.

It's all his fault.

At home, I collapsed onto my bed.

I opened my phone. A new message appeared in the group LINE.

From Tanaka.

“Sota, aren't you being a bit harsh lately? All this badmouthing of Fujimiya… some people might be put off.”

…Huh?

Put off?

What about me is off-putting?

I'm just stating facts.

Fujimiya is a pl@yb0y. His intentions toward Rin are clear.

I'm just pointing it out.

I typed a reply. Deleted it. Typed again. Deleted again.

In the end—sent nothing.

I threw my phone on the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

My frustration wouldn't subside.

At Fujimiya. At Sakamoto. At Tanaka.

At Rin—no. Not at Rin.

Not angry—but anxious.

I felt Rin drifting away.

No proof. No concrete evidence.

But—something in the air had changed. Something was slowly off.

And I blamed Fujimiya for it.

…The truth?

Deep down, I knew it might be my own fault.

But if I admitted it, my ten-year certainty that “Rin and I are fine” would crumble.

So—I wouldn't admit it.

Couldn't admit it.

The next day in the group LINE, I wrote another insult about Fujimiya.

No one replied.