Chapter 22: Welcoming My Best Friend Home After a Long Time

It was a little past 10 on Saturday when the front door opened as I waited outside Haru’s house. Haru peeked out.

"You’re here. Come on in."

"Yeah. Thanks for having me."

Haru invited me inside.

Seeing her, I noticed she was dressed casually—wearing a T-shirt and a skirt that stopped above the knees, something like loungewear.

I felt surprised—and relieved.

I had figured she wouldn’t be all dressed up like she had been the past few weeks, but part of me had expected she’d start dressing more like a guy now.

Just from how she’s been treating me, I understood she didn’t want to be treated like a girl.

But... she’s cute.

There’s something good about casual loungewear in its own right.

Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, which suited her really well—she looked incredibly cute.

"Mom—Kiri’s here, so we’ll be in my room until lunch!"

Haru called out toward the living room, where her mom was probably sitting. Right on cue, her mom poked her head out from inside.

"Want me to bring you two some snacks later?"

Her mom asked playfully.

"Yeah, please~"

Hearing that, her mom looked surprised—like she’d just heard something unexpected—and turned her eyes toward me.

If it had been last week, Haru might’ve wanted to keep us from being interrupted. But now, she clearly doesn’t feel that way anymore. It's a little disappointing, honestly.

While I gave her a wry smile, her mom came closer.

Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Kiriya-kun? You’ll tell me everything later, okay?"

"Ah, y-yeah…"

Last Sunday, after what happened at my place, Haru changed.

Naturally, that must’ve affected how she behaved at home too.

So, of course her mom would think something happened between us. And she probably wants to get the details.

"Hey, Kiri! What’re you doing? Hurry up!"

I heard Haru’s voice calling down from the top of the stairs.

"Ah, sorry! I’m coming!"

I gave her mom a quick nod and headed up the stairs toward her room.

When I stepped into her room, I was instantly surrounded by the same scent of Haru as last week.

Nothing much seemed to have changed inside—it was neat and tidy as always. Well, it’s not like her personality changed. No reason for her room to be a mess.

She sat by the round table, in the same spot as last week, at a right angle to me. She sat cross-legged—and I could almost see her underwear.

Curious how she’d react, I decided to say something.

"Hey, you’re kinda showing."

"Huh?—Ah!? You idiot! Don’t look!!"

Haru turned bright red and hastily pulled her hem down, switching into a formal kneeling position.

That… was unexpected. So she does get embarrassed about that kind of thing.

"Well, you’re the one sitting cross-legged in a skirt."

"…I mean, I was gonna wear shorts since you were coming over, but… I dunno why, I just ended up putting on a skirt without thinking."

So her subconscious chose the skirt over the shorts? That means her awareness of herself as a girl won out over just being a friend… right?

I don’t really get it, but hey—I’m happy either way.

"Sorry you had to see something gross."

"What’re you talking about? I’m grateful. It was a feast for the eyes."

"HUH!? Kiri, what’s wrong with you!? You’re happy you saw mine!?"

"What guy wouldn’t be happy to see a cute girl’s underwear?"

"Cute? Dude… I’m your best friend!"

"Whether you’re my best friend or not doesn’t change the fact you’re cute, right?"

"I mean… yeah, I guess… but it’s still kinda weird, isn’t it?"

Haru thinks just like Nozomu—friends are friends. They’re not the same as lovers, and they don’t become lovers. That there’s a wall between those two roles that can’t be crossed.

That might be true for most people. But Haru and I are different. At least, I think so.

That’s why I decided to try breaking that wall down, little by little, and asked her this.

"Haru. Have you ever thought I was good-looking?"

"Huh!? What the hell are you suddenly—"

"Just answer the question."

I looked her straight in the eyes as I said that. Haru averted her gaze, then after a moment of silence, she responded.

"……Y-Yeah, I have. I… I always think you’re cool. I don’t know why. I know it’s weird, but…"

"See? That’s exactly it. And you’re a girl now, Haru. There’s nothing strange about it. Haru, you’re cute. So of course I’d think you’re cute. It’s a completely natural feeling."

"Kiri!! Stop saying I’m cute over and over! It’s embarrassing!!"

Her face turned bright red as she blushed. She looked unbearably adorable.

I felt the sudden urge to hug her—but held back.

I thought about telling her right then, “It’s okay if you fall for me.” But that would’ve been rushing things too fast.

First, I need Haru to understand that it’s okay to see her best friend as the opposite sex.

That aside—if she thinks I’m cool, there’s one thing I have to ask.

"By the way, is there any other guy you think is cool besides me?"

"Huh? Let me think… Nah. I guess not. Nope, no one. Good."

"I see. That’s good to hear. —Wait, why you relieved about that?"

"Good question. I dunno. I just… felt that way, I guess."

I felt a bit of relief. If there had been another guy she thought was cool, I might’ve had to eliminate him myself.

Well, that’s a joke, but if someone like that did exist, I’d be at a serious disadvantage.

After all, Haru sees me with the label of “best friend.” That’s a heavy chain.

But judging from everything she’s said and done so far, one thing keeps tugging at me.

She doesn’t seem to realize it herself, but I think there’s still some trace of romantic feelings toward me.

It might be that those feelings are really for Murakumo-kun.

—Right.

Even if Haru’s perception of me has shifted from Murakumo-kun to “Kiri, her best friend,” that doesn’t mean she’s become a different person. The feelings she had for Murakumo-kun wouldn’t just vanish.

So somewhere deep inside, those emotions are still there. And they’re showing through in her actions—without her even realizing.

Even if those feelings are for Murakumo-kun, they’re still feelings toward me.

Now that I think about it… maybe the reason she chose to wear a skirt today, despite thinking of me as just a friend, is because she still acts the way she did around Murakumo-kun. I hope that’s true.

Yeah… it’s probably just wishful thinking on my part.

"Anyway, enough of that. Let’s play a game or something."

Trying to escape the conversation, Haru pulled out a console and started getting it ready.

We played various games for about an hour.

"It really is fun when I’m with you, Kiri!"

"Yeah."

I nodded as I watched her smiling innocently.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Mom."

Saying that, Haru stood up and opened the door.

"Haru-chan, I brought some snacks and drinks for you two."

"Thanks, Mom."

Haru took the tray of snacks and drinks from her and placed it on the round table.

When I glanced over at her mom, she gave me a knowing look. I figured I’d better step out for a moment.

"Gonna hit the bathroom real quick."

"Alright, have fun~"

Haru poured the drinks into cups and started opening the snacks. Looked like she’d be fine on her own for a few minutes.

I stood up and stepped out of the room—where Haru’s mom was already waiting. We went down the stairs together and headed toward the living room.

"Since Haru-chan’s waiting upstairs, let’s keep this short, alright? What exactly happened last Sunday?"

"Yes, well—"

I gave her a brief summary. Starting from the moment I asked Haru to stop calling me Murakumo-kun and to use my real name instead, up to how she began to recognize me not as Murakumo-kun, but as her best friend Kiri.

Haru’s mom quietly listened all the way through, and once I finished, she paused, deep in thought.

"What kind of changes did you notice at home?"

Unable to wait, I asked her directly.

"Let’s see… After she got home on Sunday, Haru-chan locked herself up in her room. She didn’t respond when I called, and the door was locked so I had no idea what was going on. I was really worried—"

She continued.

The next morning, Haru acted like nothing had happened. She greeted her worried parents—both her mom and dad—like usual, and then headed out right away when I came to pick her up.

Because she seemed so perfectly normal after that—and never showed any noticeable change—neither her mom nor her dad could bring themselves to ask her what had happened that night.

But there was one thing that stood out to her.

It happened Monday evening. When Haru came back from school, her mom asked if she wanted to practice making hamburger steaks again. But Haru declined, saying, “Nah, I’m good.”

At the time, she figured Haru just needed a break from it since they’d been eating hamburgers all week. But after hearing my story, she seemed to realize—so that’s what it was.

"You know," she said, "even after you moved away, Haru-chan kept talking about you non-stop. I really thought she just really liked you—a lot. Ah, I mean, as a friend, of course."

"Even after becoming a girl, it was still all about you, Kiriya-kun. Honestly, I figured out pretty quickly that Murakumo-kun from middle school was really just you, Kiriya-kun. But that girl… she never noticed. Even when I told her, she kept insisting I was wrong."

"Thinking back, I guess there were signs of this whole situation way back then, huh? —So, Kiriya-kun. What are you planning to do?"

Haru’s mom looked me straight in the eye and asked quietly.

"I’m going to make Haru mine. No matter what. I’m not giving up!"

After hearing my declaration, she looked a little exasperated—but then she nodded and gave me a small smile.

In that moment, I really felt the family resemblance. That smile… was just like Haru’s.

"…I’ve got to say, the fact you can say that with a straight face in front of her mom is pretty impressive. …But yeah, Kiriya-kun, I’ll be rooting for you."

"Thank you very much!"

Does this… mean I’ve got her mom’s approval?

We’d gotten so into the conversation that neither of us realized how much time had passed.