—I’ll shine for you, Yoshiki.
Yuzuha had said that before, but this was the first time I heard the reverse.
Considering that, I answered.
“That’s a heavy burden.”
“How cruel!? Why!?”
“Well, unlike you, I’m just average when it comes to everyone’s trust and all.”
“That doesn’t matter! Besides, I just wanted to hear your feelings, that’s all!”
“Hey, I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”
“Huh?”
Yuzuha blinked her large eyes repeatedly.
Of course I’d accept.
I owe her for relying on her for my social relationships this past year. There’s no option to refuse.
Even without that debt, I probably wouldn’t refuse.
Because.
“Isn’t that what friends are for? You said so yourself before.”
“…Is that so? Well… I guess that’s fine then.”
Yuzuha’s cheeks relaxed, and she spoke in a voice that didn’t seem displeased.
As for me, I was happy that she seemed pleased just by such a declaration.
I finished drinking my bottled water and asked something that had been on my mind for a while.
“Yuzuha, why do you trust someone like me?”
Yuzuha narrowed her eyes.
“Huh? Because I trust you. Do I need a reason for that?”
“I’d feel more at ease if there was a reason. I’ve been receiving so many benefits from you daily, I’m worried it might come back to bite me in an unpleasant way.”
“Ugh, what a troublesome personality…”
Yuzuha said bluntly, then hummed thoughtfully.
After showing a slightly hesitant expression, she strung together her words.
“You know the person who dumped you, right? Seto Miyabi.”
A sharp pain ran through my chest.
The name of the person who ruthlessly dumped me in the winter of my second year of middle school.
Just being dumped wouldn’t have left such a deep wound.
False rumors were spread, and my reputation plummeted.
In the end, I even quit the handball club right before the last tournament.
That decision was made because Seto Miyabi became the club manager.
She was a girl who had thrown my life into chaos to that extent.
“That girl was originally my childhood friend.”
I widened my eyes.
“…I didn’t know that. You never mentioned it.”
“Nobody knows. I barely talked to anyone in middle school. Unlike you and Nikaido-san, we’re not close anymore.”
Yuzuha gave a wry smile and shrugged her shoulders.
“When Miyabi tried to set you up, I did everything I could to stop her. But I was a bit late, and you had already quit the club and stuff.”
—You’re doing such cowardly things behind people’s backs! Yoshiki is my friend, so if you have a problem, why don’t you say it through me?
…Only Yuzuha could have stopped it in such a direct way.
In middle school, I was an existence that would have been finished if not for Yuzuha.
That self-awareness comes from there.
“So, is this atonement for that? I only think of it as being saved.”
“It’s not about how you think of it… maybe it’s about taking responsibility. The family is responsible for the family’s mistakes, you know.”
“Taking responsibility, huh. So, is that why you’re friends with me?”
I asked, feeling a bit dejected.
Yuzuha blinked her eyes and said “Huh?” before bursting into laughter. Don’t laugh there, seriously.
“Haha, you can relax about that! If it was just that, I wouldn’t be spending so much time with you, let alone getting close to you. I’m not that much of a saint!”
With her eyes crinkled in amusement, she continued in a gentle tone.
“Yoshiki, when you didn’t trust me before, you said things like ‘I’d rather eat in the toilet.’ Now that someone like that has warmed up to me, how can I not find it endearing?”
“…Is that really true?”
“That was just the starting point!”
Yuzuha stretched her body.
“Miyabi is really unbelievable~ Yoshiki is such a good guy!”
A sharp pain ran through my head.
—Yoshiki is a good guy, isn’t he?
It overlapped with the words from that day.
“She said that to me too.”
“…I see.”
Yuzuha’s eyes looked sad.
…It was an expression she rarely showed.
Even between Yuzuha and me, there were increasing things we could only talk about when alone.
Today, that might be particularly evident.
As I was thinking about this, Yuzuha suddenly relaxed her cheeks.
“So, you know. If you ever desperately want to lose your virginity but can’t find a partner, just tell me, okay? I’ll consider it if it’s you, Yoshiki.”
I blinked several times before finally understanding the meaning.
“…What!? How did it come to that!?”
Seeing my reaction, Yuzuha curved her lips into a smile.
“Is this atonement?”
Then she hooked her index finger into the collar of her shirt, creating an alluring space.
It couldn’t be seen from the front, but if looked down from above, it would definitely be dangerous in various ways.
At the very least, the full extent of her underwear would be visible.
Because even from the front, her mole could be seen.
It was fortunate that there were no other students around, no, that’s not the point.
“It irks me when everyone says I look easy, but~ Well, if it’s someone I can think of fondly, there might be a chance.”
“…How serious are you about that—”
“I’m serious. I don’t think I’ve lied to you much, Yoshiki.”
“That’s a problem if it’s true!”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
But she does joke around a lot.
What was she planning to do if I was the type to eagerly take her words at face value? The answer to that would probably be affirmative too.
Don’t be fooled, I’m still a virgin.
As I desperately resisted the sweet words, Yuzuha continued.
“Your date with Nikaido-san is just for practice, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Then you can’t do what you do at the end of a date, right? I’m sure Nikaido-san didn’t suggest it with that intention.”
“Of course not. We’re not really dating or anything.”
“Right. So, I could take care of just the ‘what you do at the end’ part for you, if you want?”
There it is again. Again, that tingling sensation in my head.
Yuzuha says she’s not normal, so if that’s true, maybe these recent statements are really serious.
At the very least, if I agreed right now, Yuzuha isn’t the type to spread rumors.
In other words, it would be easy to nod here.
No risk, just an opportunity lying right there.
…Is it really no risk?
Like in the winter of my second year of middle school, making a decision without thinking could lead to the first mistake.
The first mistake is often something you can look back on and laugh about in the future.
But I don’t want to make that mistake with Yuzuha.
If the relationship itself could become a risk.
“If I answered here, we’d become what you call friends with benefits, right? Considering the risk of things becoming awkward, even a pubescent boy couldn’t possibly think it’s worth it.”
Yuzuha widened her eyes and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“I see, so that’s how you reject it? Hehe, you’re good, my friend.”
“Even virgins have their pride, you know.”
I answer like that, but I might regret it when night falls. My pride is only that much.
But since my pride managed to push back my instincts and come to the forefront, I’d like to be allowed to act cool for now at least.
“Besides, I can’t direct such desires at a friend who trusts me.”
“Even if that friend says it’s okay?”
“I don’t believe that part!”
“Haha. Yoshiki, you really are a good virgin~”
Yuzuha stood up from the bench.
She patted her chest area of her shirt and then did a quick spin.
“I’m so glad I could be of help to you, Yoshiki!”
“…I-is that so?”
“Yup. About what we were talking about earlier, there’s actually more to why I believe in you now.”
“Like what?”
“You’re always worrying about love, right? About how things are going with that crush of yours? I mean, anyone who can stress over something so pure like that can’t be a bad person. You’re just… a virgin!”
“That last part has nothing to do with this!! And wait, is being a virgin that big of a deal?!”
Yuzuha burst out laughing at my response.
Sure, for people our age, losing your virginity might seem like a goal or something, but how you go about it is important too.
At least, that’s how I feel—though my thoughts on this change depending on the day.
“Don’t push it too far. What would’ve happened if I had actually taken the bait?”
“Eh, I dunno. I wasn’t really testing you or anything.”
“…Yeah, right.”
I gave a short reply and stood up from the bench, following Yuzuha.
That’s when I noticed a figure a few meters ahead in the hallway.
It was a girl, small and delicate, almost like a little animal—Yuka Hanazono.
Standing next to her was a male student, clearly an upperclassman.
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