Childhood Friend Heroine V2 Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Fiancée
“President! I’m so sorry about yesterday! Are you okay? I hit you pretty hard, didn’t I?”
“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Once I calmed down, I realized what a terrible thing I’d done. I couldn’t sleep at all last night.”
“I see. If you’ve reflected on it that much, then that’s punishment enough. But if it happens again, I’ll be negotiating with the teacher to have you write a ten-page apology, so keep that in mind.”
“Hieee! Understood! It won’t happen again. Anyway, thank you, President. I need to go apologize to the others for making things so awkward. See you later.”
“Yeah. Make sure you apologize sincerely.”
“President~! If you’re free, could you help me set up this tent~? I can’t manage it alone.”
“Got it. Nonohara, I’m leaving the rest to you.”
“Whoa, hold on, President! You’re injured, so leave the heavy lifting to me. Come on, you should be sitting down.”
“No, but… you’re weaker than I am, aren’t you?”
“Guh. True, I may be more of a beanpole than you are, President, but I can handle setting up a tent. So, with that said, could you please take care of reception?”
“Nonohara… Sorry, I’m counting on you.”
“I owe you a huge debt, President, so this is nothing. Alright, Kawada, hold it right there. I’ll lift from the other side.”
“Okaaay~”
“…The President’s back to normal.”
After school, Saito—who had arrived at relay practice before Lily—muttered to himself as he watched Takumi. The coldness from the previous day seemed to have vanished, replaced by the even-tempered, warm conversations he was having with the other students and student council members.
This was, without a doubt, the usual Takumi. In other words, yesterday must have just been a case of him being in a bad mood.
Just as he was settling on that thought, Koyuki rushed over to Takumi’s side.
“President, I’ve finished setting up the tents in Block A.”
“I see. Then get the other blocks done next. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, and it’ll be a problem if we leave the equipment out. Set them all up immediately.”
“All of them? Yes, understood. Um, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I not only troubled you, but I also caused your injury. I am truly sorry.”
Koyuki had come to report and apologize, bowing her head deeply. As she did, the color drained from Takumi’s face.
“It’s fine. Just don’t stick your nose into troublesome matters anymore. Frankly, if you can’t stop a conflict of that level, you’re just in the way.”
Koyuki was left speechless. The action she had mustered her courage to take while everyone else held back was flatly dismissed as useless.
“That’s too much…”
“Hmph. Were you influenced by that guy or something? Utterly ridiculous.”
“Please don’t speak ill of Haruki-kun! There were people who were saved because he took action.”
“Perhaps. But what did you change by getting involved? Nothing, right? Actions like that are meaningless.”
“…!”
“If you have time to be infatuated with boys, you should be polishing yourself. Then maybe you’ll be able to change something someday.”
He continued hurling terribly detached, sharp words at her, seemingly indifferent to her crestfallen expression.
“…Why would you say something like that…? No, thank you for your valuable words. I have to go set up the tents, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Koyuki’s face twisted in sorrow as she turned and fled.
Something’s definitely off. The Student Council President is clearly being harsh with Shirayuri-senpai on purpose.
He had almost dismissed it as a misunderstanding, but it was undeniable now. Takumi’s response was only this harsh when he was dealing with Koyuki. He didn’t know why. Was it some rivalry between the children of large corporate families, or had Koyuki done something to earn his dislike that Saito wasn’t aware of?
All he knew for sure was that seeing two people he liked being hostile toward each other felt awful.
“President. What was that just now?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Saito stormed over to Takumi. Takumi’s eyes widened for a moment before he frowned, as if the situation had just become more troublesome.
“Minazuki. You saw that?” he asked, as if clinging to the slim hope that Saito hadn’t overheard the exchange.
“Yep. Why are you only treating Shirayuri-senpai like that? It’s not like you.”
“Haa…” Takumi sighed, a deep, weary sound. “Sorry you had to see something so unseemly.”
No. That wasn’t what Saito wanted. An apology was the last thing on his mind. This was about his relationship with Koyuki.
“Tell me why you’re only harsh to Shirayuri-senpai.” He slammed his hand on the desk, pressing him again, his own frustration radiating a palpable pressure.
“…You don’t need to know.”
But Takumi remained stubborn, deflecting the question with evasive, adult-like words that only irritated Saito more. He looked unpleasantly like he was acting too grown-up.
If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll make him talk.
“I do need to know! I’m friends with both of you, and as a friend, I can’t just stand by while you’re on bad terms. So—”
As Saito worked himself up, pressing his point, a carefree voice cut in. “Alright, that’s enough, first-year brat.” The collar of his gym uniform was yanked from behind.
He twisted his head to see one of the student council members he’d met before—the muscle-bound senpai—gripping the scruff of his neck.
“—Wh-what are you doing!? We’re in the middle of something important, so don’t get in my way!”
“Ow. What ridiculous strength. Oi, Hamaguchi, help me get him out of here. This guy’s a real wild horse.”
“Ehhh? If even Gori-da is having trouble, he must be something. Got it. Sorry, kouhai-kun, but we’re restraining you for a bit.”
“Wait!? Why do you have handcuffs at school!?”
Saito struggled, grabbing the arm and pulling with all his might, but his resistance was futile. A downtrodden-looking student council member slapped handcuffs on his wrists and ankles.
Why on earth did the school have these? As he boggled, the female senpai spun a pair of handcuffs around her finger with a nihilistic smile. “I got them through my parents’ connections. I keep them on hand for fun.”
Oh, she’s a dangerous one.
A chill ran down his spine as his instincts screamed a warning.
“Well then, we’ll take good care of this one. President, you handle reception.”
“Leave the discipline to me.”
“Nngigi! You’d better remember this, President! I’m definitely gonna get it out of you—”
“Alright, alright, let’s be quiet now~”
“—Gyaaaaa!”
It was too late. There was no way he could get out of real handcuffs. Saito was unceremoniously carried off by the muscle-bound senpai and the downtrodden girl.
“…Go easy on him,” Takumi said, his voice laced with a strange sympathy that stuck in Saito’s memory.
“This should be far enough.”
“Right.”
“Uwaaah! Ow, ow, I hit my head!”
They reached a deserted area behind the school building and dumped Saito on the ground. As he was writhing from hitting his head, he heard the click of a lock opening.
“Huh? Aren’t you letting me go a little early?” He had fully expected to be left like this until the lecture was over and felt caught off guard.
“Well, you’ve calmed down a bit on the way here, and you don’t seem like you’re about to attack the President anymore. Besides, we can catch you easily if you try to run from here, so we took them off.”
“That’s right. Having a kouhai restrained behind the school building would look bad.”
“Doesn’t it already look bad that you restrained and carried me here in the first place?”
“Ah, true. Well, it happens pretty often at our school, so it’s fine.”
“I guess it is.”
“It really is. This Gori-da—I mean, Gouda—was restrained a few months ago and photographed with the title ‘Zoo Gorilla.’”
“That was awful.”
Gouda and Hamaguchi laughed heartily, reminiscing. It seemed they hadn’t planned on keeping him restrained for long after all.
Sorry for thinking you were a dangerous person.
Saito mentally apologized to Hamaguchi. “Um, there’s something I want to ask,” he said. “Why are Shirayuri-senpai and the President like that? When I asked her about it, she said their relationship was normal, but I can’t see it that way.”
“Yeah, your intuition isn’t wrong. They only became like that recently. Before, they were getting along just fine as senpai and kouhai.”
“Really?” So, just as Koyuki had said, their relationship hadn’t always been bad. “Then why did it turn so hostile?”
When he asked for the cause, the two of them just smiled awkwardly.
“Well, there are… various things. Those two go way back, you know.”
“Those born to stand above others have their own difficulties.”
“No, don’t be so vague—please just tell me. Isn’t that why you brought me here?”
The senpais were speaking in riddles, clearly hiding something. But Saito, who was terrible with roundabout conversations, couldn’t grasp their meaning. He protested that if they were going to tell him, they should just say it clearly.
“Don’t be stupid. Of course not. We brought you here to separate you from the President and let you cool your head. If we’d left you there, it could’ve turned into a fight.”
“Besides, we can’t just go around talking about people’s private lives without permission.”
“Come ooon~. You senpais are so stingy.”
“We’re on the President’s side, obviously.”
“If the President made a decision, we’ll follow it. We decided that when we joined the student council.”
The two of them, who clearly admired Takumi, wouldn’t yield to Saito’s protests. They were firmly on his side, and that wasn’t going to change. However, they seemed to have their own thoughts on the matter, and the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
“But, you know, while we respect the President’s will, we’re not entirely convinced. So, sorry to spring this on a kouhai, but we have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Make the President and Koyuki-chan realize.”
“Please.”
Their tone shifted from carefree to something almost pleading and pained. It was clear they genuinely wanted Saito to accomplish this. However, the request itself was still terribly abstract.
“Realize? Realize what?”
“Sorry, we can’t say any more than that. But you, who can charge straight at both of them, should be able to do it.”
“Our words won’t reach them. So, do your best. We’re counting on you.”
Leaving Saito to puzzle over their cryptic words of encouragement, the two of them walked off. This was a problem; he still had more questions.
“Ah, wait—hey! The cuffs on my feet are still on! Heeey!”
Saito tried to chase after them, but only the handcuffs on his wrists had been removed. He took a spectacular tumble, and his desperate calls went unanswered as Hamaguchi and Gouda disappeared from view.
“…Seriously?”
“Huh? Ito-cchi, what are you doing in a place like this?”
“Having restraint play at school is honestly a bit much.”
“Oi, you two, you’re wrong! You’re completely misunderstanding! This is—”
As he sat there alone in a daze, Shuri and Minaka happened to pass by, looking at him as if he were a pervert. When Saito desperately explained what had happened, it turned out that, just as his senpai had said, this sort of thing was common at their school.
“Ohh, that.”
They accepted it without another thought. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was really okay, but for now, he was just grateful they understood.
“So please go get the key!”
“Okay, I’ll go grab it. Ito-cchi, do you remember the senpais’ names?” Shuri volunteered.
“Umm, I don’t remember the girl’s name. But the guy was called Gori-da. That was pretty memorable.”
“Okay, so I just need to find Gori-senpai. Well then, I’m off~”
Minaka, who remained, saw her off before turning back to Saito.
“We have some time until Shuri gets back. Can you tell me the story in more detail?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Saito nodded and carefully explained everything from start to finish—from noticing the hostility between Koyuki and Takumi to the strange favor he’d been asked.
“I see.” After hearing it all, Minaka nodded, then murmured, “…Come to think of it, those two…”
“Kanzaki, do you know something!?”
“I-I don’t!” Minaka’s face immediately showed she’d messed up, and she quickly looked away. She would make a terrible culprit in a mystery story, Saito thought. Even someone as dense as him could tell she was lying.
Grab.
He seized her by both shoulders to prevent her escape. “You definitely know something. Please. I need any information I can get right now! Tell me, Kanzaki. If you do, I’ll do anything.”
“O-okay, just… stop grabbing my shoulders. You’ve got ridiculous strength.”
“Ah, my bad.”
Staring into her face, he interrogated her, and she cracked easily. Minaka really wasn’t cut out to be a criminal. She was a genuinely good person at heart, he thought as he let go.
“Before I tell you, I should say this is secondhand information, okay? I don’t know if it’s actually true.”
“Yeah, I don’t care either way.”
“…Got it. Apparently, there was talk of an engagement between those two a while back.”
After her careful preamble, she dropped a bombshell that felt far removed from the world of ordinary high school students.
“Engagement? …Huh!? An engagement—for real!? Those two are g-g-g-getting m-m-married!?”
The story was so far from his own reality that a ridiculous sound escaped his lips.
“I-idiot! Your voice is too loud! It was just a rumor that there was talk, okay? They’re not actually engaged. If they were, Koyuki-senpai couldn’t be all lovey-dovey with Nishizono-kun like that.”
“You’re right. If they were getting married, they couldn’t do that.”
“See? Calm down a little.”
Minaka tried to calm the flustered Saito, but panic isn’t so easily fixed. The words looped in his head, throwing his thoughts into chaos. He’d been warned it might not be true, but this was still a complete overload.
No, no, no, getting married in high school is way too early, right?
To Saito, marriage was something adults did. He heard romance stories from friends, but as someone who was still very much a child, he had no clear vision of it for himself. As long as the present was fun, that was enough. The future was something to think about later. For someone who had lived with such an in-the-moment mindset, the word “marriage” was a shock. It felt like he couldn’t stay a kid anymore, and a quiet anxiety took root deep in his heart.
“Heeey! Ito-cchi~! I got the key~”
“O-Oh. Th-Thanks, Yakumo.”
His agitation hadn’t settled, but Shuri had returned. She burst out laughing at his broken syllables. “Bwaha! Whoa, Ito-cchi, you’ve turned into a robot! That’s hilarious. What on earth did you do, Mina-cchi? Human experimentation?”
“There’s no way a mere student like me could do that. I just told him something, and he turned into a broken toy.”
“Terrible. Key… won’t go in.”
“Heee~. What did you teach him? Tell your best friend, too.” Shuri was intensely curious about what could have changed Saito so much in the short time she was gone. She clung to Minaka like a snake.
“…Can’t I keep it a secret?”
“Even if you beg cutely, no can do~. And so, it’s time for the Armpit-Armpit Punishment until you spill! Haven’t done this in a while~”
Realizing she couldn’t escape, Minaka tried to plead her way out, but the response was merciless. Shuri narrowed her eyes like a cat and lowered her arms from Minaka’s neck to her waist.
“Hyah, ahaha, haha, wait, that’s cheating! Shuri, haha, that’s a foul!”
“Come on~ come on~, if you want me to stop, you’d better spill it. You know I have three more evolution stages left, right? The longer you hold out, the harder it gets~ Come on, tickle tickle.”
“Hiiiii! O-okay! Just stop!”
Minaka collapsed helplessly before Shuri’s tickle attack.
“Haa… haa…”
“Hehehe. When it comes to me, it’s just about this much.” Shuri was thoroughly satisfied, seeing Minaka reduced to a near-death state in minutes.
“Key… still won’t go in.”
“It still won’t go in!? Ito-cchi, I’ll do it. Lend it here.” She immediately noticed Saito still struggling beside them and unlocked the cuffs for him in exasperation.
Afterward, Minaka once again explained the rumor about the engagement.
“Wha, wha, wha, wha, that’s, f-f-for real!?”
“R-ri, ri, ri, right?”
Shuri became just as flustered as Saito had been, doubling the number of broken robots. Minaka sighed deeply. “This is why I didn’t want to say anything.”
“An engagement in high school, huh. Rich people sure think differently~”
“They sure do.”
After a while, having regained their composure, Saito and Shuri sat side-by-side on the stairs, sipping tea from the vending machine like a pair of old country folks. Minaka, who had bought her tea last, returned and sat next to Shuri with an exasperated look.
“But, like, is there even a point for those two to get engaged? My mom and dad work at their respective group companies, and business seems good. They shouldn’t need one of those profit-driven engagement deals you see in dramas, right?” Shuri wondered aloud, lowering her bottle of tea.
“Th-that’s…” Minaka faltered again.
The eyes of Saito and Shuri glinted sharply.
“Oh, she knows something else! Ito-cchi, go! Restraining attack! Then I’ll follow up with the tickle-tickle attack.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t just ‘yeah’ me! I’ll tell you, so stop! I really can’t handle a second round.”
When the well-coordinated duo prepared for another round of tickle-hell, Minaka immediately raised the white flag.
“Tch, how boring~. Well then, spill it, Mina-cchi.”
“Spill it all.”
The two, who had wanted to play with Minaka a bit more, half-heartedly urged her to explain.
“Why the yankee tone? Well, whatever. This is something you could find out just by looking it up, but the heads of the Shirayuri Group and the Houjou Group have been acquaintances for a long time and are quite close. So if they have kids around the same age—”
“—It’s a manga cliché,” Shuri cut in. “‘Oh, they’re close in age, let’s have them get engaged!’ That might be what’s happening. I see~, so the rumor from earlier probably spread because this information got out.”
“…Yes, probably.”
“Ah, Mina-cchi. You just made an ‘oh, that was a possibility’ face.”
“I did not! Don’t point out every little thing, Shuri.”
“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. You’re just so cute, Mina-cchi, I can’t help but want to tease you.”
“Um, so what does that mean?” Saito asked.
“To put it simply, the President and Vice President are childhood friends. On top of that, their parents might be getting carried away. And everyone around them was making a fuss about that possibility, just like we are now.”
“I see, thanks for summarizing. Huh!? Those two are childhood friends!?”
This new piece of information was also tremendous. The engagement talk might be false, but the fact that Takumi and Koyuki were childhood friends seemed to be true. Saito reflexively stood up in surprise.
“It’s a shocking revelation, isn’t it~”
“Yeah… But if they’re childhood friends, why does he treat her so coldly? Normally you’d be closer, right? This makes even less sense.”
That kind of response toward a childhood friend was unthinkable to Saito. Sure, they could be annoying sometimes, but more than that, they were someone fun to be with. If they fought, he might give her the cold shoulder for a bit, but he would never reject her as harshly as Takumi did, especially not to the point of severing their relationship.
“Well, even the President is a teenager, you know,” Shuri said.
“What do you mean?”
“He probably doesn’t want someone he likes to get the wrong idea, right? If he’s friendly with the Vice President, people might think the rumors are true. So maybe he dislikes that.”
“Is that how it works?”
“That’s how it works. I’m saying this as someone who handled tons of romance consultations in middle school, so it’s definitely right.”
“Ohhh. Then it must be true.” If Shuri, who was more experienced with these things, said so, it must be right.
“Well, the person herself has never actually dated anyone, though,” Minaka added.
“Wait, wait, Mina-cchi, you promised you wouldn’t say that!?”
…Probably. With that one line from Minaka, Saito’s trust in Shuri’s expertise plummeted, and he decided to file her theory away as just one opinion among many.
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