Chapter 21: Date With Chinatsu (2.5)

Chinatsu and I headed to the arcade to have some fun. She was currently watching as I skillfully secured the fourth stuffed toy from the claw machine.

"You got it again, Tsubasa!"

The stuffed toy was successfully retrieved, and I handed it to Chinatsu. Now she had accumulated four stuffed toys.

"You're pretty skilled at this."

"I played all the games in the arcade during middle school."

"Middle school, huh? Now that I think about it, we weren't in the same class back then. You were on your own, weren't you? Without me and Natsumi by your side."

"I wasn't exactly lonely, you know."

"Oh, really? How come?"

"I made some friends."

In middle school, I had been fairly isolated, so I didn't have many opportunities to make friends. However, there were a few instances where I had managed to connect with someone. One of those instances was when I became friends with Suwano Yuzuha. She was somewhat of a loner at our middle school. I hadn't approached her for conversation simply because we were both loners; it just so happened that we bumped into each other at the arcade and decided to play together. That's how we became friends.

Suwano was now studying at a different school than mine, so I didn't see her anymore after graduation. Still, someday, I would like to see her again.

"You're thinking about another girl, aren't you?"

By the time I noticed, Chinatsu was already giving me a stern look.

I replied gently, "Nope. I was just reminiscing about a friend."

"Is this friend of yours a girl?"

"Can I keep that a secret?"

"Do you want to get your eggs crushed?" Chinatsu retorted, making her point clear.

"Don't worry. My friend is a guy," I lied. Well, it was sort of a lie. I didn't want Chinatsu to get angry with me, so I decided to fib a bit. It wasn't entirely untrue, as I did have a male friend. However, our friendship had ended on a sour note.

"You seem like you're telling the truth," Chinatsu noted.

It seemed my poker face was working even though I wasn't being entirely honest.

"Why would I lie to you?"

"You're always so secretive, Tsubasa. Always hiding something."

"Well, don't you like having a mysterious boyfriend? I remember you reading those manga where the main character is mysterious. You even kicked your legs while lying on your stomach reading them, didn't you?"

"Well, I do enjoy that you're mysterious, but can't you let me peek into your mind just once?"

"If I let you in, would you let me grope your breasts?"

She grinned mischievously, "Well then, after that, would you like me to castrate you?"

"Nope, not at all. I still want to enjoy having fun with you and Natsumi."

"That's fine, but don't casually say something like that in public. Someone might overhear us."

"Yes, ma'am."

We walked toward the exit of the arcade, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a familiar color – ginger hair. I abruptly stopped and glanced in the direction where I had seen it, but there was no sign of the girl who might have owned that hair.

"What's wrong?" Chinatsu asked.

"Nothing."

We continued walking.

×××

[Suwano Yuzuha's POV]

"Hmm? Kurogane?" I said, turning around. I spotted a boy accompanied by a girl with a flashy outfit. There was something oddly familiar about him, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Yuzuha? What's up?" one of my friends asked.

I put the lollipop back in my mouth and continued rolling it around with my tongue. "Nothing," I replied, not wanting to dwell on it.

I continued walking with my friends, not bothering to look back at the boy. He was different from the guy I knew. It couldn't be him. The guy I knew was kind of a dork, well, most of the time. Well, he could be cool sometimes, but it wasn't the dominant trait. The boy I just saw with a girl was the polar opposite – undeniably cool. Besides, there was no way someone like Kurogane could have a girlfriend.

That's right, there was no way...

"Kurogane..." I murmured to myself. I wondered what he was up to now. It had been nearly three years since we last met. The last I heard of him was during our graduation...

I really wanted to see him again, but perhaps that would happen sooner or later. The world wasn't that big, and if we didn't bump into each other by chance, I could always try adding him on social media and sending a message.

But that didn't seem like a wise idea, now that I thought about it. What if he already had a girlfriend, and she found out I was messaging him? That could lead to potential drama that I'd rather avoid. Well, I could just explain it was all a misunderstanding and that I was just a friend from middle school, nothing more.

However...

"Kurogane having a girlfriend, huh?"

For some reason, that didn't sit well with me. Kurogane was my only friend during middle school. I was a bit of a loner back then, but he was too. To be honest, I didn't want to connect with anyone back then, but somehow, we hit it off. He was an unusual guy. He had a bowl cut, wore glasses that made his eyes look enlarged, and yet, he was both smart and talented in sports. It was a stark contrast to the usual stereotypes – nerds were weak at sports, and jocks struggled with academics, but he excelled in both.

Kurogane was indeed an enigma.

And that enigmatic quality was what had drawn me to him in the first place.

So, why did the mere thought of him having a girlfriend somehow hurt my chest?

I pondered this, trying to make sense of my emotions. It wasn't like I was in love with Kurogane... or maybe I was, but my mind refused to acknowledge it at that moment.

"Yuzuha? Are you okay? You've been lost in thought for a while now."

That brought me back to reality. "I'm fine. So, where are we going?"

"We're meeting up with Ueno-kun. Where else?"

I couldn't believe I was going to spend most of the day with my friend's boyfriend. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Did she plan on making me a third wheel? Ugh, I wished I hadn't come. If I hadn't, I could have stayed home, watched TV, and snacked all day.

I just hoped this wouldn't drag on...

Suddenly, my friend's phone rang.

"Hello, Ueno-kun? Where are you? Huh? You're canceling our date? Why?"

I heard my friend say that, and then she fell silent, listening to the voice on the other end. I couldn't hear the voice, but I could feel the tension in my friend's body as she listened.

"Uh? So, you're canceling our date because someone messed with you? And you're going after them?"

That was surprising. Ueno Kouhei was known as a skilled fighter and one of the famous delinquents at our school. It was unexpected that someone had messed with him. Who could be this unfortunate soul?

"Can't you just forget about them? Are they more important than our date?" My friend didn't sound upset or disappointed that her boyfriend had changed plans at the last minute. In fact, she seemed quite pleased.

"Okay, fine. You can do whatever you want," she said. After ending the call, she turned to me and Tsubaki, smiling. "Yuzuha, Tsubaki, would you like to join me in watching a movie?"

My other friend and I exchanged glances and sighed. "Okay..."

With that, we all went to watch a movie together.