Childhood Friend Heroine V2 interlude
Interlude
Hunger
Just before six in the evening, as the sun began to set.
“Vice President, where should I carry this?”
“Please take that over there.”
“Vice President, we’re missing parts here. Are there any extras left in the storage room?”
“Yes, there are. We have several spares in the storage room just in case. I’ll go get them.”
“No, no, that’s fine. As long as I know they’re there, that’s all I need. We’ll handle the rest ourselves, so Vice President, please keep an eye on everyone to make sure no one’s slacking off. At this pace, we should barely make it in time, but if anyone starts slacking, we won’t.”
“Understood. Thank you very much.”
Koyuki was directing the tent setup operations.
They had planned to split the setup across two days, but due to tomorrow’s rain forecast, they ended up having to cram everything in one day, leaving the site quite hectic. The senpai who came to help assured her they would make it in time, but at this rate, they would definitely exceed the curfew. She felt she needed to do something, but there was no way to increase their numbers any further. Hardly any students remained at school at this hour—only those exhausted from club activities or relay practice. It would be too much to ask them to help with setting up tents.
“Hmm, this is quite troublesome.”
“Koyuki-senpai, are you okay?”
Just as she was at a loss, she heard the voice she most wanted to hear.
“Haruki-kun! And Mizuki-san. What are you doing here?”
When she turned around, there stood her beloved and her rival.
“I happened to be staying late helping a teacher,” Haruki explained, “and I got worried seeing you still working at this hour.”
“I came to help too, desu,” Mizuki added.
Normally, these two would head home right after school. But today, perhaps by some divine intervention, they happened to still be at school. Her heart raced at their thoughtfulness, and Koyuki rushed over to embrace them both.
“Thank you so much.”
“Whoa!”
“Your chest is annoying, desu.”
She felt the warmth of their bodies on either side of her, and the coldness in her heart began to thaw. These two are truly kind. Mizuki, who despite being her romantic rival and clashing with her, still helped when she was genuinely in trouble.
‘You’d probably be fine on your own, senpai. But working alone for hours would be lonely.’
And Haruki, who noticed Koyuki’s true feelings that no one else picked up on, always extending his hand to her with kindness.
‘I’m busy with work right now. Can we talk later?’
‘If you have time to make such things, do something else instead.’
‘Honestly, don’t bring me presents made from roadside flowers like this. It’ll damage the Shirayuri Group’s reputation.’
Unlike her parents and Takumi, who never offered warmth and only threw cold words at her, Koyuki found these two, overflowing with humanity, deeply endearing.
I absolutely won’t let you go.
“It hurts, desu.”
“Um, did something happen?”
“I’m sorry,” Koyuki said, quickly releasing them and composing herself. “It’s nothing. I’m just so happy that you two came.” She hid her faintly trembling arms behind her back. “So, since you’ve been so kind, may I ask you to help those two people over there? After all, two people can’t really set up tents.”
However, if she kept talking like this, she risked being found out. Haruki was dense when it came to romance, but strangely perceptive in other ways. Before he could notice, Koyuki gave them instructions. “Understood,” and “Leave it to us, desu,” Haruki and Mizuki replied, blending in with the students setting up tents.
“Phew.”
“You tired, Shirayuri-senpai?”
“Hyah!? M-Minazuki-kun, why are you here?”
Just as she thought she could sort out her feelings, a kouhai suddenly appeared from behind, startling a scream out of her.
“Well, practice ended but you were still going, so I thought you might be short on people and came over,” Saito said with a slightly awkward expression. “I didn’t expect to startle you that much though.”
“Our childhood friend is causing trouble,” Lily said, pressing down on his head. “I’ll make him work extra hard, so please forgive him.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing that requires an apology. I’m genuinely grateful for your kindness. But aren’t you both tired from practice? You don’t have to worry about us and can go home, you know.”
An unexpected intruder had Koyuki flustered. With a mix of calculation and genuine concern, she gently declined, but—
“I’m fine. I run every morning, so practice like that isn’t nearly enough.”
The pure-hearted kouhai didn’t pick up on Koyuki’s intent and cheerfully laughed, declaring he could still go on, which made Koyuki’s lips twitch slightly.
“Today was just baton pass practice, so I’m not particularly tired either,” Lily added. “But if we’d be in the way, I’ll take responsibility and bring him home.”
“Hey, hey, Lily. I can’t let that ‘in the way’ part slide. I’ve been setting up tents every year since elementary and middle school. I can totally do it.”
“Don’t lie. During that camping trip, you forgot to tie the top cover and caused a disaster, remember?”
“That was just a one-time mistake. I don’t usually mess up like that.”
Unlike him, Lily seemed to sense Koyuki’s reluctance and tried to take him home, but Saito was completely ready to help, showing no sign of backing down.
“I hope that’s true,” Lily said, giving up and timidly checking with Koyuki. “Um, he’s like this—should I let him help?”
It was hard to say no at this point.
“It’s fine. Actually, to be honest, I’d welcome any help I can get, so you’d be doing me a favor. So, Minazuki-kun and Machigane-san, please work with the two upperclassmen near the entrance over there to build the tents.”
“Got it. Alright, let’s go, Lily. Let’s use our power to finish this up quick.”
“Yes, yes. Well then, excuse us.”
She instructed Saito and Lily to go in the opposite direction from Haruki and the others. One left eagerly while the other bowed apologetically before departing.
…I’m the worst, aren’t I?
Left alone, Koyuki fell into self-loathing as she watched the two first-years walk away. Saito and Haruki were classmates and good friends. They would probably prefer working together. But Koyuki deliberately prevented that for a purely selfish reason: she didn’t want Haruki and Lily to come into contact. That’s all—just for that, Koyuki sent them to separate locations.
But if those two become close, I’ll be alone again.
What crossed her mind were memories from the world before time rewound. When she became a third-year and graduation drew near, Koyuki was rejected by Haruki. Soon after, he started dating Lily, who had harbored feelings for Haruki just like herself. A major shift in relationships, the physical distance and environmental changes that came with university—mainly due to these two factors, Koyuki’s relationship with Haruki gradually faded. By the time she became a second-year university student, they were completely estranged.
She supposed it was inevitable. Haruki was busy with university entrance exams and his new life, and meeting frequently with Koyuki wouldn’t sit well with his girlfriend, Lily. Especially if that senpai had a past of being hurt by many people and betrayed by friends—all the more so. Thinking it was better not to make her kouhai anxious, Koyuki had put a lid on the feelings remaining in her heart.
But when that happened, Koyuki inevitably returned to the daily life void of love or warmth from before she met Haruki. Before meeting him, she could have lived without thinking anything of it, accepting it all as her destiny. But she had learned. The joy of being loved. The warmth of another person’s touch. The blessing of having someone by your side when you’re weak. Once you know luxury, you can’t go back.
At random moments, she was overcome by unbearable loneliness and hunger.
—I want someone to see through my true feelings again.
—I want to be held tightly.
—I want them by my side.
—I want to be kissed gently.
—I want to be loved.
Hungry.
Hungry, hungry.
Hungry, hungry, hungry.
Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry.
With each repetition, the hunger intensified. That one year as a third-year university student—she truly felt like she might go insane. Unable to bear it, she tried sending messages to Haruki, but he was busy and his late replies hurt. She found relief in the kind words that arrived past midnight, then immediately realized she wasn’t anyone special to Haruki and got hurt all over again. Those were the worst days.
If she was going to suffer like this, she wished she’d never known.
When she regretted it, a miracle occurred. Before she knew it, time had returned to shortly before she met him, to the spring break of her first year of high school. She didn’t understand. She was dumbfounded. She didn’t know what was happening. That day, her head wouldn’t work properly, and she spent the whole time lying on her bed. Thanks to that night’s sleep, when she woke up, she at least understood that she had returned to the past.
‘What should I do?’
The moment she regretted wishing she’d never known human warmth, time rewound. Perhaps it was God granting Koyuki’s wish, but unfortunately, there seemed to have been a mistake—her memories remained intact. The days spent with Haruki were vividly etched in her mind.
What’s the point if I can’t forget this?
She felt depressed the next day too, but at some point, a devilish thought occurred to her.
If Haruki-kun and Machigane-san don’t date… if I date Haruki-kun first, wouldn’t that work?
She knew this was a terrible thought. She didn’t know the details of their situation after entering university, but objectively, Haruki and Lily made a perfect couple. After graduating, they would surely get married and build a happy family. But that was just one possible future. If Koyuki acted now, it might be her, not Lily, standing beside Haruki. She might be able to fill this unbearable hunger.
Once she thought that, she couldn’t stop.
‘This time, I’ll monopolize that person’s love.’
Fully aware that she’d be destroying someone else’s happiness, Koyuki chose to wish for her own. She had endured the first time, so surely the second time was okay. Armed with that indulgence, Koyuki shifted her focus from forgetting Haruki to dating him. Starting from when Haruki helped with her work just like before, she went full throttle, launching passionate attacks at the limit of what wouldn’t make him uncomfortable. Their relationship deepened faster than the first time.
‘Koyuki-senpai.’
The first time around, he didn’t start calling her by her first name until after summer break. In this life, reaching that point in just one month was proof enough that her romance was going smoothly. But Koyuki couldn’t shake her anxiety. That was, of course, because of her kouhai, Machigane Lily.
Haruki was strangely concerned about Lily. Almost unnaturally so. But when she heard their origin story from Lily long ago, Lily said he had saved her from a stalker right after school started. This meant he couldn’t have saved her without knowing beforehand that Lily was being stalked. So she thought he was worried because he knew about the situation. However, even after the stalker incident was resolved, Haruki’s eyes still followed Lily sometimes. How could she not be anxious about this? Something definitely happened between them during that incident, and Haruki was conscious of Lily. If she became a romantic rival, Koyuki might lose again.
Driven by that fear, Koyuki tried to keep Lily away from Haruki and ended up intimidating her.
“How pathetic...”
She had the resolve to steal someone else’s happiness, but she lacked the resolve to face her rival head-on. She found herself terribly miserable and pathetic. But once she’d started, she couldn’t stop. She would keep maneuvering to prevent Haruki and Lily from making contact, buying time while making her presence larger in Haruki’s heart. Then surely the future would change. Haruki would choose her. This time she wouldn’t go hungry. She’d be happy.
“Maybe I’ll go buy some juice.”
Seized by anxiety again, Koyuki decided to go prepare a reward for her cute kouhais to distract herself. Thanks to their help, the work had progressed quickly and would be finished soon, so the timing was perfect.
“Excuse me, I’ll step away for a bit.”
“Understood.”
Koyuki informed a nearby student and left the grounds. She retrieved her wallet from the student council room and headed to the vending machine in front of the cafeteria.
Clunk. Clunk.
Let’s see, Minazuki-kun likes grape juice and Machigane-san likes milk tea. And…
“What are you doing when the work isn’t finished yet?” someone spoke to her from the side.
A voice she recognized, but one she didn’t particularly want to hear. Because she found him difficult, she could easily tell who it was without seeing his face.
“…President.”
When she checked, sure enough, there was Takumi with a displeased frown. Frankly, he was scary. They’d known each other since childhood, so couldn’t he be a bit gentler, like Haruki and Saito were with their childhood friends? But that was an impossible wish. He’d always been strict with Koyuki, probably because they were the same type. He couldn’t stand that someone who would eventually bear the responsibility of a Group like himself was inferior to him. Every single time she made even a small mistake, he’d hurl harsh words at her. It was understandable that she’d develop an aversion to him.
Still, she didn’t hate him in the past. Everything he said hit the mark, and while she had complaints, she could accept it. However, both in the first timeline and currently in the second, his attitude had changed after a certain day, becoming colder and lecturing her over increasingly unreasonable things, which made Koyuki dislike him.
“My kouhais came to help, and thanks to them, we should be able to get all the tents up by curfew,” she explained, desperately trying to defend herself. “I thought I’d get them something as thanks.”
“Oh? Then you’re not buying for the others? The tent setup wasn’t done by the kouhais alone. It’s thanks to the cooperation of the members who were there originally. They deserve compensation too, don’t they?”
“That’s… true.”
“You should have realized this with just a little thought. Stop giving that to the kouhais. It’ll definitely cause resentment.”
“…Yes.”
Thinking she’d be lectured again, Koyuki’s defense only exposed her own immaturity, and she was criticized for yet another pointless act. This was definitely her mistake. So she honestly accepted it, but a question remained—wasn’t it rude not to thank the kouhais who helped?
‘Work deserves appropriate compensation.’
‘Always return the favor.’
These were words Takumi himself had said long ago. They contradicted his current self. Which words were correct? Koyuki definitely believed it was the old Takumi’s.
“Then I’ll buy for everyone.”
Besides, if she just bought for everyone else too, this problem would be solved. Fortunately, Koyuki had the financial means to do so. This time, she’d go the extra mile for her kouhais. When Koyuki declared she’d buy juice for everyone, Takumi made a face of utter derision.
“You really are a fool.”
And leaving those abusive words behind, he bought a tea and left.
What an unpleasant person to the very end.
While watching Takumi’s receding figure, she muttered poison in her heart, then Koyuki pulled out a wad of thousand-yen bills from her wallet and purchased juice for everyone.
One minute later.
“…I’ve done it now.”
Koyuki held her head in her hands before the mountain of juice. Why didn’t she realize when Takumi called her a ‘fool’? That while she could buy a large amount of juice, she didn’t have the strength to carry it all by herself. Her bad habit had completely emerged. She’d always been like this. Once she got stubborn about something, she became absolutely rigid. Even though she realized partway through that she couldn’t carry it all, having already said that to Takumi, she couldn’t stop midway. One bench was now gloriously buried in juice.
What should I do?
“Oi, Shirayuri, what are you doing here?”
“Wow, so much juice. Can I have one?”
As she was at a loss, the senpais from the student council showed up, having seen her embarrassing moment.
“Nonohara-senpai and Kawada-senpai. Please, help yourselves. I’m having a bit of trouble handling all this,” Koyuki explained in a dry voice.
The two reacted differently.
“It’s rare to see Shirayuri in such a state,” one said, looking surprised with wide eyes.
“Lucky. Mmm, delicious,” the other rejoiced innocently. “Hey, hey, with this many, let’s make them presents for everyone. Everyone will be happy. Since you’re stuck dealing with them anyway, that’s fine, right, Shirayuri-chan?”
“Ah, yes. I don’t mind.” For Koyuki, their suggestion was a godsend. Thinking a goddess of salvation had appeared, she readily agreed.
“Yay. Well, I happened to have a plastic bag in my pocket, so let’s put them in here and carry them.” Then, Kawada hummed while pulling out a folded plastic bag from their pocket.
“Won’t that one alone be tough for this amount?”
When unfolded, it turned out to be large bag, but not quite enough to fit all the juice.
When Nonohara voiced what Koyuki was thinking, Kawada wagged their index finger back and forth. This confident attitude suggested they had a plan.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’ll put in as much as won’t tear it, and leave the rest to Nonohara-kun.”
Oh, raised hopes only to reveal—the plan was to push it on someone else. Koyuki and Nonohara both slumped in disappointment.
“That’s way too much burden on me! You guys carry some too,” Nonohara protested.
“Ehh, making a frail girl carry things is so mean. The president would carry them without saying anything.”
“Ugh, fine. I’ll carry them, okay?”
“See, I knew you’d understand. I like kids who get it.”
“I hate girls like you.”
“Ahahaha, I got hated. Oh well, I have Shirayuri-chan, so even if Nonohara-kun hates me, no problem. Anyway, I’ll just put five bottles in here. We two will carry this, and Nonohara-kun, please handle the rest.”
“I’m sorry for being impudent. But that’s seriously too much, so please carry some.”
“Ehh, what should I do?”
However, as expected of the beloved daughter of a trading company president—even if small-scale, the negotiation techniques inherited from her parent were quite something. Nonohara was quickly manipulated, and the unreasonable demands had somehow resulted in him, who should have been demanding, bowing his head.
“Kawada-senpai. It’s rather pitiful, so let’s carry about ten more,” Koyuki proposed, sympathizing with the poor Nonohara. It was immature to use proper negotiation techniques against an ordinary high school student who’d never formally learned them.
“Well, if Shirayuri-chan says so, I guess I have no choice. Be grateful for Shirayuri-chan’s mercy, Nonohara-kun.”
“Hehe, thank you so much.”
“Senpai, let’s make it just five bottles after all. Nonohara-senpai isn’t showing any sincerity.”
“Okay.”
“Gaaah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was wrong, so please spare me!”
However, this development was apparently planned between the two. Realizing she was the only one spinning her wheels, Koyuki took it out on Nonohara, who let out a genuine scream this time.
◇
“Lily and Aizono-chan, make sure to support that side properly.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Got it, desu.”
“Good. Now, Haruki, let’s go on three.”
“Got it.”
“One, two, three.”
“Lily, grab the middle one.”
“Roger. Heave-ho, and that’s all of them done.”
“There was surprisingly little left, which helped, desu.”
“Yeah, but the total amount of tents is insane, so I really respect the people who were working from the start.”
“We came to help ’em, so I seriously can’t hold my head high enough. Ahh, done, done. Now we can— Oh, Shirayuri-senpai and the student council senpais. Is that maybe presents? That’s generous.”
“Y-yes, everyone worked so hard. Please help yourselves to whichever you like.”
With the senpais’ help, she brought the juice to the grounds, but her small resistance was futile—Lily and Haruki’s groups were assembling tents together. When she had assigned the work, there was still quite a bit left, and she thought the childhood friend pairs on opposite sides wouldn’t meet. But apparently, they were tent-building pros and had finished when she briefly looked away. While impressed by the sight of all the tents standing, Koyuki’s lips twitched slightly at the fact that Lily and Haruki had made contact.
“Generous presents from Vice President Shirayuri. Everyone, gather ’round.”
“Ohhhhh!!”
However, she only had that luxury for a brief moment. At Kawada’s call, the students who’d been setting up tents all gathered at once, and Koyuki found herself frantically busy, distributing juice with wide eyes. While nearly overwhelmed, she managed to distribute them all, leaving only the carbonated drink she’d saved for Haruki.
“Did you see the video I sent yesterday? The cat one. Wasn’t it hilarious?”
“Yeah, that one. It was really funny and made me feel warm watching it.”
“…You’re really dense and it’s troubling, desu.”
“…Ahahaha, Mizuki-chan really has it rough, huh?”
Searching for Haruki, she found him chatting with friends inside a tent. However, that tent’s cover ropes were all loosely tied, looking like it might fly away at any moment.
That looks scary, like the wind will blow it away any second.
As Koyuki watched nervously, several of the tied ropes came undone and the cover fell.
“Bwah!”
“Whoa!? That was close.”
“Kyah!? Are you okay, Lily?”
Mizuki and Saito, who were near the edge, avoided getting caught, but Haruki and Lily, who were in the middle, were beautifully trapped under the cover. While the remaining two worried in a fluster—
“Hyah! Wait, where are you touching, idiot!? Why are you touching there!?”
“S-sorry. It’s pitch black and I can’t see anything—it wasn’t on purpose.”
“Just get that hand away already.”
“G-got it.”
“Why are you going for my butt now after saying that!? Pervert!”
Something indecent seemed to be happening inside as they rustled around, and Koyuki’s crisis-detection sensors immediately responded.
“Minazuki-kun, grab that end. Let’s get the cover off quickly.”
“Got it.”
She gave instructions to Saito and immediately removed the cover to find the two tangled in an odd position, like they’d been playing Twister.
“~~!? Die!”
“Gwah!”
As light returned and she grasped the situation, Lily turned bright red and, along with the ultimate insult, kicked Haruki away.
“This is absolutely unbelievable!”
“Sorry. I really didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Shut up, pervert! Don’t talk to me!”
“Ah…”
Koyuki’s eyes widened involuntarily at the scene. She felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Her chest tightened at the exchange that was exactly the same as the first time. Shortly after being saved by Haruki, when Lily couldn’t be honest yet, she had lashed out at him like this. Over time, she gradually softened, and the two eventually started dating.
No. This time I’ll make Haruki-kun mine. So don’t take him. Don’t leave me alone again.
Her trauma was dug up, and her body trembled. Her vision blurred.
“Hii, hii, hii.”
Her breathing became difficult.
Hungry.
Again, hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry.
Just endlessly, relentlessly hungry.
“Shira—ri—pa—”
“Ko—ki. Shi—suru—su.”
Unable to bear the overwhelming hunger, Koyuki collapsed on the spot and lost consciousness, the kouhais’ calls falling on deaf ears.
◇
Thirty minutes had passed since then.
At a certain timing, the world dyed in darkness sparkled in madder red.
“Mm, where is this?”
In the overwhelming brightness, when Koyuki opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling and Haruki looking down at her with concern.
“Koyuki-senpai, thank goodness! You woke up.”
When their eyes met, Haruki’s expression relaxed happily.
What’s happening?
Faced with the ideal situation she’d always fantasized about, she desperately tried to recall recent memories through her hazy thoughts to understand how this came to be.
“I collapsed, didn’t I?”
A few seconds later, though she couldn’t remember the exact cause, Koyuki at least recalled that she had collapsed.
“That’s right. You suddenly collapsed and we were so worried. Especially Minazuki-kun—he frantically searched for a stretcher.”
“I certainly caused you trouble. I’ll have to thank Minazuki-kun later. How about a dozen juice boxes?”
“I’m sure he’d be delighted. Please do.”
“And also Mizuki-san over there, and Machigane-san, too. Tsu…!?”
However, while talking with Haruki, she quickly remembered the cause, and Koyuki’s body began convulsing again with anxiety and hunger.
“Senpai! Are you okay!?”
“Ha-ru-ki-kun.”
But the situation was different from before. Haruki, who was by her side, worried about Koyuki’s distress and put his hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing her back. This instantly blew away the hunger and anxiety she’d been feeling. An unprecedented level of fulfillment. It exceeded Koyuki’s capacity by far and became poison, corrupting the girl to a point of no return and generating overwhelming emotion.
“I love you.”
She couldn’t stop anymore.
“Huh?”
“Please stay by my side forever, Haruki-kun. I want you to stay by my side, only mine, forever.”
Leaving the flustered Haruki behind, she spilled what she’d kept locked in the depths of her heart.
She didn’t want to let him go.
She didn’t want to be alone.
She didn’t want to go back.
With only that single-minded thought, Koyuki confessed to Haruki, clinging to him.
Then he widened his eyes in shock and astonishment, and eventually, with a face full of regret, said:
“I’m sorry. I can’t date you.”
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