Childhood Friend Heroine V2 Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The One I Like
Near the end of lunch break, Saito and Lily were happily munching on hamburgers together.
“I’m glad the president and Shirayuri-senpai were able to make up,” Lily remarked.
“Yeah,” Saito agreed. After gulping down his last bite, he muttered that despite everything, he was glad to see the two childhood friends finally reconcile.
He recalled their conversation after the incident had been resolved.
“Takumi-san. I’m sorry. I got your gym clothes all soaked with my tears.”
“This much is fine. It’s far better than that time someone dumped champagne over my head, right?”
“I apologize for that incident—wait, don’t tease me. Honestly, Takumi-san, you’re as mean as ever.”
“I’ve been like this for years. Forgive me.”
The long-standing rift between them was gone. While they weren’t quite used to their renewed closeness, a casual familiarity—the very image Saito had of childhood friends—was definitely there. Yeah, he thought, if you’re going to call yourselves childhood friends, you have to be at least that close.
He did, however, have some complaints about Haruki being sent to the nurse’s office alone for the sake of their reconciliation. And yet, a part of him felt it was a very Haruki-like situation. The guy got caught up in girl troubles with alarming frequency, often returning with bright red handprints on his cheeks or fresh scrapes. Saito had unfortunately grown used to it.
Haruki really should get himself exorcised or something. He’s definitely possessed by some evil spirit or bad juju.
As Saito considered dragging Haruki to a shrine, something pressed against his right cheek, snapping his head to the side.
“What the hell?” he grumbled, shooting an accusatory look at his childhood friend beside him.
“What do you mean, ‘what’?” Lily retorted, puffing out her cheeks. “You had sauce all over your face, so I wiped it off for you.”
“Oh. My bad, then,” Saito conceded.
“Hmm, I wonder about that~” she teased, laying on the guilt. “I didn’t do anything wrong, but that attitude really hurt my feelings, you know~ Boo hoo.”
Realizing he had no chance of winning, Saito obediently raised the white flag. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll make it up to you somehow, so just forgive me.”
“Yay!” she cheered. “Though, it’s not like I have anything special I want you to do.”
“Oi, you should at least think it through before pulling this,” Saito said, holding his head in exasperation at his greedy childhood friend.
“Can’t be helped! I have a chance to make you listen to me. As your childhood friend, I have to secure it first, right?”
“Fair point,” he admitted, a wry smile touching his lips. He knew he would have done the same in her position. Lily mirrored his expression. He really did get along with her.
“…Hmm? Okay, I’ve decided!” Lily announced after a moment’s thought. “Win first place in the next scavenger hunt!”
“That’s all you want?” Saito asked, caught off guard. He had expected a much more annoying request. Besides, winning was already his goal.
When he asked if she was sure about using her request on this, she nodded firmly. “Yup. This is fine. It’ll motivate you more, right? If you win with an overwhelming lead, it’ll blow away any frustration from losing the tug-of-war.”
Her request was a gesture of consideration. Now, he couldn’t embarrass himself by taking anything less than first place.
“Thanks,” he said, a new resolve hardening his expression. “Alright, just watch me. I’m going to win with more than half a lap’s lead.”
“Ooh, big words,” she challenged. “Then if you get anything other than first place, no bento from me for a whole week, starting next Monday.”
“Y-Yeah. That works for me,” he declared, slapping his cheeks to psych himself up. “I’ll damn well do it!”
Ten minutes later, the announcement came: “Final runners, please take your positions!”
“Alright, let’s do this.”
“…Go get ’em.”
“Minazuki! Our class’s points are riding on this, so you better take first place, got it!? Seriously!”
“If I win, I’m gonna confess to Aizono-chan.”
“Oi, stop raising death flags! Minazuki might lose because of you!”
Amid the cheers of his classmates, Saito stood at the starting line, jumping lightly to test his body. He felt good, confident. He psyched himself up, determined to stand out.
“On your marks, get set…!”
Bang!
The starter pistol fired. With his superior reflexes, Saito shot off the line, immediately putting distance between himself and the others. He accelerated, widening the gap, and thrust his hand into the item box, grabbing the first slip of paper he touched.
The topic was “The One I Like.” A fitting theme to conclude the scavenger hunt.
Guess I’ll just grab a random friend.
Normally, a male high school student would get flustered, his mind immediately jumping to a girl he was interested in. But Saito didn’t understand the different kinds of “like,” so his interpretation was far broader. The faces of friends and family flooded his mind without any sense of embarrassment.
“Oh, he’s coming this way!”
“Minazuki-kun, what do you need!?”
“Huh… wait?”
He rushed toward his classmates’ tent to grab a friend, but for some reason, his voice wouldn’t come out.
Why?
He tried to reach out, but his hand wouldn’t obey. He stared at it, bewildered, as his classmates grew anxious.
“What’s wrong, Minazuki-kun?”
“You gotta hurry, Ito-cchi!”
“Did you forget the topic?”
“Then look at the paper!”
“Ah, yeah, good point.”
Urged on by his classmates, Saito checked the paper again. The words hadn’t changed: “The One I Like.”
The one I like. The one I like. Who is the one I like?
He repeated the phrase in his mind, reconsidering its meaning. At that moment, Takumi’s words flashed through his thoughts.
“I like her! I cherish Koyuki deeply.”
Takumi’s feelings for Koyuki went beyond any dictionary definition of “like.” He cherished her, enough to sacrifice his own happiness for hers. It was an abnormal, profound devotion.
So, the one he “liked” had to be someone he was fond of, attracted to, and cherished enough to sacrifice himself for.
Saito scanned the faces around him. First, Haruki. He was fond of him, but not particularly attracted, and certainly not willing to sacrifice his happiness for him. So, not Haruki.
Next, Minaka. He was fond of her, and their sync during the three-legged race had piqued his interest. But would he sacrifice himself for her? No.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
After dismissing several others, his eyes met Lily’s.
He’d been fond of her for a long time. She was a good cook, athletic, skilled at games, and smart. She was comfortable to be around. And ever since they first met, she’d had a certain precariousness about her. Even now, knowing she was strong, he sometimes couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He was probably attracted to Lily.
Finally, he considered if he could sacrifice himself for her happiness. He realized he could. Maybe it was because she’d been bullied in elementary school, or maybe it was just pity. But he knew he wouldn’t mind cutting away a piece of himself for her sake.
Shocked by the realization, his unmoving hand shot out and gripped Lily’s.
“Let’s go, Lily!”
“Huh? Wait!?”
Ignoring her confusion, Saito started running toward the goal.
“Hey, what was the topic!?” Lily shouted.
“Dunno!” he yelled back without missing a beat. A bewildered “Huh?” followed from behind him. But it was the honest truth. He didn’t know if this “like” he felt for Lily was the same as Takumi’s.
“Then why did you call me!?”
“Because you felt the most right,” he replied, flashing a smile as he showed her the fluttering paper in his hand.
“…Wha? Huh, wait!? What’s that supposed to mean!?” Lily let out a pathetic sound, trying to probe for his true intentions.
“? I meant exactly what I said.”
“Ngh~~!? Ugh~, seriously! I don’t understaaaaaand!!”
To Saito, it was simple—he had chosen her because she fit the topic best. But his answer made Lily turn bright red, her scream echoing across the entire field.
After the scavenger hunt, a senior official approached them. “I need to collect the papers to verify the topics, okay~?”
“Yeah, here you go.”
“Yes, thank you. Let’s see, the topic is… Heh~ Oh ho~”
She took the paper from Saito, her already smirking face breaking into an even wider grin as she peered at Lily.
“~~!?”
The moment their eyes met, the heat rampaging inside Lily intensified, and she buried her face in her arms.
Badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump badump.
Her heart was racing faster than ever before. She was agitated, embarrassed, and most of all—
“Ngh~~!?”
—she couldn’t stop grinning.
Being chosen by him. Being told he liked her. She was so incredibly happy she couldn’t stand it.
This totally means that, right!? It has to mean that!
A boy bringing a girl for the topic “The One I Like” during the sports festival’s scavenger hunt—it was practically a confession. No doubt about it. She didn’t know when Saito had started seeing her as a member of the opposite sex, but all those small moments must have finally moved his dense heart.
The thought filled her with an indescribable sense of accomplishment, and her grin widened. She knew she needed to control it, but her cheeks wouldn’t obey.
I see, I see. Saito liked me all along but just didn’t show it. Heh~, oh ho~. How adorable. He knew I’m not good with this kind of thing, so he was being considerate. But in that moment, he couldn’t hold back his feelings anymore. Not that I’d mind if he was conscious of me. Actually, it’s totally welcome. He just needs to show me his embarrassed face and no one else. Of course, I’ll take burst shots and make it my phone wallpaper. We’re practically boyfriend and girlfriend now, so it’s fine, right? It’s fine! Even if he says he likes me, hugs, kisses—I don’t have to hold back anymore, right!? Ahaha~! This is bad, bad, bad. I can’t stop fantasizing.
Her maidenly circuits went into overdrive. As Lily writhed, her cowlick bouncing wildly, an announcement flowed through the grounds: “This concludes the scavenger hunt. All participants, please exit.”
“Senpai, do the people we brought exit with us?” Saito asked.
“Let me ask you a question—are you seriously gonna leave someone here alone while everyone else exits?”
“Good point. Thanks. Alright then, Lily, let’s head back together.”
With that, Saito held out his hand.
“Y-Yeah.”
Lily reached out and took it, intending to grip it tightly as they walked back together. But the moment she did, his hand slipped smoothly away.
“Huh?”
“Hm? What’s up?” Saito asked, tilting his head curiously.
His gesture gave her a strange, nagging feeling. Was this really how someone acted toward the person they just confessed to?
“Aren’t we gonna hold hands?” she asked, the heat inside her rapidly cooling.
“? Why would we need to hold hands?” Saito replied, another puzzled look on his face.
“Don’t you like me, Saito?”
“I do. The topic was ‘The One I Like’—there’s no way I’d bring someone I hate.”
“R-Right. So then, don’t you wanna hold hands or anything?”
“Why?”
They still weren’t on the same page. Her thoughts and this alien childhood friend’s thoughts were subtly misaligned.
“S-Saito, you said you like me, right? In what way—”
So Lily asked the decisive question. How did he think of her? What kind of “like” was it?
“What way? …Same as always.”
The result was crushing. Lily had completely misunderstood. She had gotten carried away, while Saito had no awareness of having made a confession at all.
A wave of tremendous embarrassment washed over her. She wanted to erase the memories of her self-indulgent fantasies, but it was too late.
“※＄￠％~~!?”
Lily let out an inarticulate scream.
Apparently, her journey to becoming this childhood friend’s main heroine was still a long way off.
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