[LN] Tomodachi no Ushiro de Kossori Tewotsunaide - Volume 2 - Chapter 1 - Part 1

 

Chapter 1 - Promises to Meet (Part 1)

Among the five of us, none of us joined a club, so we always walked home together.

We walked huddled together along a large country road with large rice paddies on either side.

"About the band, what should I do?"

After sighing, Seiran put both hands behind his head along with his thin bag.

It seemed that one of his acquaintances from the Light Music Club had invited him to join the band to perform at the school festival later.

But the band members were like ghosts, and almost none of them could play an instrument properly. So Seiran, who is good at playing the guitar, felt alienated.

He had yet to find a drummer, and now he was in trouble.

"Now the band members are left with the base and the vocalist, right? If Seiran plays the guitar, then the others can just watch, right? Can you do it?"

Asagiri-san said.

Seiran lamented and replied: "I don't think I can do it.

But as a person who knows nothing about music, I can't get involved in this matter.

"Hey, Shintarou. Really, I'll leave the food booth to you."

"I don't have the right to decide on my own. Every class wants to open a food booth, so it all depends on the results of the lottery later."

"Huh. What about being an organizer? Is it hard?"

We who were walking behind Seiran and Asagiri-san chatted like that.

In about a month and a half, the Miyama High School Cultural Festival will be held.

Shintarou was chosen to be the organizer of the cultural festival.

He wasn't the type of person who liked to get involved in such things, but he had to because of the class lottery.

"Yeah, I have a lot to do anyway. But I enjoy it in my own way."

Then Seiran, who was walking ahead, looked back with a grin.

"Of course you're enjoying it. That's why you can get close to that beautiful senpai, right?"

"Wait, Seiran!"

Shintarou seemed to be excited, but me and the other two girls didn't follow the conversation at all.

Seiran looked at us while stroking Shintarou's small head.

"Actually, I have seen him a few times. Recently, he was quite close to a third-year student who is also an organizer. What's his name... Konishi-senpai, right?"

"I-I told you, it's not like that!"

"Even so, it seems like she's quite friendly. Just now, you were secretly communicating with Konishi-senpai through your Hand phone, right? I think I saw two heart emotes earlier."

"Bwah...ugh..."

I hadn't noticed it at all. It turns out that Shintarou has this kind of relationship.

Well, after all, he's a friendly shota and popular with One-san (if you tell him that, he'll definitely get angry), so I understand why he can get along with Senpai.

Asagiri-san looked at Shintarou as if he had just found a toy.

"What is this? Is it the season of love for Shintarou?"

"Ugh... That..."

"Ugh... So, does Tanaka-kun like Konishi-senpai?"

Narushima-san asked him with a smile.

Shintarou looked down shyly, scratching his forehead.

"Yes."

He nodded silently.

"Uwaaahh, damn you. You finally admitted it! Isn't that big news?"

"If so, won't you be the first of us to have a girlfriend?》"

The overexcited Asagiri-san and Seiran jumped together while high-fiving each other.

"Anu, I pity Tanaka-kun if you guys tease him like that..."

Narushima-san made the same face as Shintarou.

They must not have noticed.

Just before Shintarou nodded, he glanced at Narushima-san.

Actually, he had fallen in love with Narushima-san some time ago. And he had almost confessed his feelings.

And the worst part was that I was the one who stopped him from confessing his feelings.

After that, the three of us made a promise not to date anyone in the group and not to confess our feelings to them.

This was shortly before we formed the group's no-dating alliance, which we called NDA.

"Ugh..."

I felt nauseous again, and then I closed my mouth.

"What's wrong, Junya?"

I signaled to the confused Seiran that I was okay.

It's possible that Shintarou still likes Narushima-san, but he's trying to undo it and find another love.

I don't know either, and I don't have the courage to confirm it.

「Yosshhaaa!」

I took the opportunity when everyone was excited.

「Since it's a holiday tomorrow, we'll work out a plan to support Shintarou with Konishi-senpai!」

I had no other choice but to give such a cheating suggestion.

「Eh? No need, no need. I'll do something about it!」

「Ah, Junya just wants to play together, right?」

「Ahaha. Got you, Koga-kun. How about we meet in front of the station tomorrow at 1pm?"

「Ah, B-but, if Tanaka-kun wants, we can talk about that too.」

When I was making my usual noise, before I knew it we had arrived at the usual intersection.

Narushima-san and I stopped for a moment and waved at everyone.

「See you tomorrow.」

「Y-yeah. See you everyone.」

They also waved goodbye to us.

Everyone already knows that Narushima-san and I live independently in the same apartment.

But from here on, it's going to be a secret that no one but the two of us knows about.

When we parted ways with everyone, and we're now really just the two of us,

「Ufufu.」

While walking next to me, Narushima-san slowly grasped my hand.

「...I told you, let's stop all this.」

Without meaning to be rude, I let go of my hand slowly.

「Why? No one's watching, really. It's just the two of us now.」

「Even so, it's impossible for me to do this.」

「After all, we're just holding hands. What's impossible?"

Narushima-san again tried to grasp my hand, but I immediately put it behind my back to avoid that.

「Uwaah, you obviously avoided that. That's very rude for a girl you know? You've committed domestic violence!」

「I-I guess it's really bad...」

"If that's the case, can I put my palm on Koga-kun's cheek like Honoko-chan did earlier until it makes a 'pan' sound like before? I really want to try that too~」.

With an evil smile that she never showed at school, she pulled my cheeks with both hands.

If I don't stop her, she's really going to "pan" my cheek. She would really do it. That was Narushima Yoru's true nature.

"What if I kiss you and you have to bear it? Can I kiss you?"

"Like I said, let's stop acting like we're dating, even if we're just hanging out."

"I've already heard that."

"And before you make that expectant face, stop pulling my cheeks."

"The thing is..."

"No question. Let go of my hand for now. Besides, it hurts."

"I see, the great king of the virgin kingdom is a damned boy."

"Hey, Narushima-san, do you really need to add unnecessary things like that? Besides, this really hurts. Let it go."

Narushima-san finally removed her hand from my cheek while sulking and puffing up her cheeks.

She never showed this kind of face at school, and she never showed it to anyone but me.

Narushima-san is an introverted and quiet girl.

But when she's alone with me, she turns into a talkative, evil breast girl.

In other words, she's the girl in the cat suit when she's in front of everyone.

...Well, judging from her nature, she doesn't do it for any particular purpose, because normally she would be a quiet girl when she's in front of people she wants to get along with.

The only reason she reveals her true nature (her mean and bullying character) to me is because she puts me in the group of "people I don't want to get along with"...I think.

To Narushima-san, my existence was just a damned virgin boy that she hated and always interfered with her love affairs. Then one summer day, she secretly called me and threatened me.

She said, "You're getting in my way, so hurry up and get out of here.

She also said that on Tanabata Day, she wrote a wish: "I wish Koga-kun would disappear. I wasn't joking, and maybe she really wrote it.

There were many other threats and insults she threw at me.

Just thinking about Narushima-san that day scares me.

I should have been the one she hated. But as time went on, we somehow came to like each other.

Well, I don't know how others see it, and I don't trust myself yet.

But that day, Narushima Yoru expressed his feelings for me as if she were uttering a curse, and then she kissed me hard.

I laughed at myself for falling in love with her so easily.

"Spending time with friends is more important than a romantic relationship. That's why I'll never look for a boyfriend. I was the one who blatantly bragged about such a ridiculous thing.

The simple boy, the shameless pervert, I knew it all.

I knew it, but I couldn't lie to my feelings, and I had to admit it.

There was no denying it, I liked Narushima Yoru.

But we can't go on a date. We can't be lovers.

All because of the naive sentence I once said to Shintarou, "I'm better off with the current five people," until he gave up his love and looked for a new one.

He and I, as well as Seiran, had vowed not to bring love issues into the group.

But now, do you think I can just say, "I really want to go out with Narushima-san"?

Of course it's impossible.

It's really inappropriate.

But when Narushima-san was alone with me, she kept holding my hand like before and kept trying to kiss me. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I finally told her: "Let's stop acting like lovers.

But when I said that to her, she made a sad face, and it made my heart hurt just to see it.

Then she said this:

"Then at least if I come to Koga-kun's apartment just to make dinner, it won't be a problem, right?"

With a voice that sounded very sad.

Because I always gave her vague answers, Narushima-san bought groceries and came to my apartment almost every day.

You don't have the courage to go out with her yourself, so don't make her your wife... I thought.

But at the time, I wasn't mature enough to kick Narushima-san out.

Even now, she doesn't have any friends, and she's really lonely... Besides, she's a girl I like. How could I just reject someone like that?

Even if you like someone, you have to put them aside for the sake of your partner. That's a common thing that everyone knows.

But whether you can do it or not is another matter. If you say it's the virtue of an adult, then maybe I'll always be a child. The point is that it's impossible for me right now.

That's why I'm really selfish and full of regret right now.

Even though Narushima-san came to my house to cook dinner, I wanted our relationship to return to what it was before, as friends. What a selfish thought.

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