I Accidentally Triggered The Erratic Childhood-Friend Route! (Part 7)

After lunch with the guys and an otherwise uneventful afternoon, we reach the end of the closing assembly—and the gears of fate finally start to turn at full speed.

As Haruki squirms in his seat, I glance over.

“Is something the matter, Haruki?”

“N-No, I—I just really have to use the bathroom”.

Before you go ahead and judge me—no, I didn’t drug him.

The giant energy drink I gave him was packed with caffeine. A diuretic.

Diuretics reduce the kidneys’ ability to retain water, while also acting as a bladder irritant—or in layman’s terms:

It’s pee pee time.

As soon as the bell goes off, Haruki immediately sprints for the nearest bathroom.

“Hey, wait—Kojima!” one of the girls shouts, as they all give chase.

I stroll over to the bathroom, where a small crowd of girls has gathered.

Perfectly on cue, the student council treasurer steps out of the bathroom and looks at them.

“Hey, do any of you know where Haruki was heading? I saw him jump out the window—he looked like he was in a real hurry.”

A wave of shocked and panicked noises erupts. The entire group immediately takes off to search for him.

Not a single one of them questions the validity of the story—despite the fact we’re on the fourth floor, and Haruki, last I checked, doesn’t have access to any life hacks granting him immunity to fall damage.

The treasurer glances my way and winks.

“Pleasure doing business.”

A quiet acknowledgement of the payment I gave them earlier to lie on my behalf, before they casually stroll away.

My alarm goes off.

Time’s up.

I’m forced to run off to the student council room for a prior commitment, but now that I’ve confirmed this stage of the plan went off without a hitch…

…I can proceed with full confidence in its inevitable success.

***

A short while later, I finish my work in the student council room, turn it in, and head for the door.

I take up position by it, lying in wait—ready to pounce on Haruki the moment he shows up. I need to get to him first so I can whisk him away somewhere private and finally have a proper conversation with him.

I need to get all these frustrations off my chest.

Hopefully I can convince him to start making time for me again…maybe he could even help me figure out how to handle the issue of my student council workload.

“Mind telling me why you’re just standing by the door?”

Shinomiya is watching me with a raised eyebrow—mockingly, but with just a hint of genuine curiosity.

“You look like a dog waiting for its owner to come home. I mean, I get wanting to live up to your nickname and all, but—”

“Please, Shinomiya. Can you cut me a break? Just for today. I’d really appreciate it.”

I turn back to the door.

Several seconds pass.

Then the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Please? Now I know something’s up.”

She’s suddenly right behind me, hands on my shoulders, lips right next to my ear.

Doing my best to hold my composure, I immediately turn and brush her off, giving her a look to make it clear how annoyed I am that she can’t go more than two seconds without bothering me.

“Shinomiya.”

“Fine, fine, have it your way.”

She backs off.

“But only because I’m so kind.”

She makes her way back to her desk and I press my ear closer to the door—just in time to hear Haruki and Tanaka coming down the hallway, talking.

I asked Tanaka earlier to do me a favor and escort Haruki here after he finished using the bathroom.

“Hey, you think Ubakawa’s impotent?”

Thanks, Tanaka. Really glad to have your support.

“He’s always surrounded by your horde of babes but never tries to make a move on any of them.”

Haruki lets out an uncomfortable chuckle—clearly not used to talk of romance.

“Uh…I think he’s already in a committed relationship with his paperwork on the student council. They’re pretty inseparable. Much to Ubakawa’s dismay, I think.”

I’m touched.

Thank you Haruki, you’re the only one who truly gets me.

“What about you, Kojima? So many girls to choose from!”

I hate to admit it, but I can’t help wanting to hear the answer.

“Like what about Yuki? You guys have known each other for quite a while, right? She's pretty cute.”

Haruki without a second of hesitation shoots down the idea.

“Pfft—I could never see her that way. I’ve known her since we were kids, Tanaka. She’s basically like a second little sister to me.”

…Yeah.

I figured that was how he probably felt.

…

“Um, Tomoya.”

My heart sinks.

I turn around and see Yuka standing right behind me.

She was supposed to be off with the rest of the girls looking for Haruki.

“I…I got the signatures you wanted.”

She holds them out, hands trembling, tears streaming down her face.

I instinctively reach out.

“Yuka I—”

She thrusts the documents into my hands.

“I’m sorry—”

And goes running out the door.

I just stand there, staring at the papers in my hands…

…

…

…Right.

This is what I get.

For being stubborn. For refusing to accept things as they are. For trying to force everything to go my way instead of just doing what I’m supposed to.

And now, because of me, the brightest, most purehearted person I know has had her spirit crushed.

Some friend I turned out to be.

As Yuka sprints away, Haruki passes her.

“Oh, hey Yuka—what’s—”

No response.

“...Huh. Guess she was in a hurry.”

Haruki turns his attention to me.

“Anyway, hey Tomoya! Tanaka said you wanted to talk to me about something important? It’s not like I have anything else going on right now, so if you need me, I’m all yours!”

I’m at a complete loss for words.

There’s so much I’ve been wanting to say over the past few weeks—but none of it comes to mind now.

All I can think about is Yuka.

The way she looked.

The way she ran.

I try to speak.

“Haruki, I—”

“I—”

“I’m sorry, man. I just…I really have to go. We can talk another time.”

I brush past him and break into a sprint after Yuka, hoping I’m not too late.

“Okay, well, see you later Tomoya!”

…

…

…what a disaster.