Chapter 13: Things I Didn't Know, Things I Learned End

Things I Didn't Know, Things I Learned

Summer vacation is over, and my high school is filled with complaints like "I'm so bored" and "I wish we could have another break."

"Haruka... isn't school boring?"

See?!

That's what the guy next to me said.

He said it the moment we got to the classroom.

In fact, he said the same thing on the last day of summer vacation, and the day before that too.

How much does he hate school?

I don't hate it that much, but I guess that's different for everyone. There's no need to say it out loud.

"....."

I parted ways with Yuuki to go to our respective seats.

I was about to sit down in my seat when...　

"Hey, Kirihara-san... Could it be... you and Fuuji-kun...."

"....Eh?"　

Sakura-chan, sitting next to me, asked with her eyes sparkling.

That's right, I haven't told anyone yet.

I was afraid a certain group of five would make a huge fuss, saying things like, "We won't let you get away with sneaking ahead like that!"

Well, judging by her reaction, it doesn't seem like she has any bad feelings.

... It'll be alright.

... I hope so.

"Yeah... It's pretty much what you thought..."

"So you've finally started dating! Congratulations, Kirihara-san! "

"Congratulations...? Wait, don't you like Yuuki?"

"Of course not."

"Hah?!"　

Questions were floating all over my head.

Wait, Sakura-chan doesn't like Yuuki? 

Sakura-chan, who said things like, "Today I really want to hang out with Fujii-kun."

Even though she was giving off an aura of liking Yuuki, she didn't like him?

It was beyond my comprehension.

"Ah, well... the four of us, including me, were watching Kirihara-san and Fujii-kun for a very long time. So we decided to support your love."

"Huh?"

"We became Kirihara-san's love rivals to make you notice your feeling toward Fuuji-kun, something like that?"

"Huh?"

In other words, it must be something like this.

[Haruka-san is always close to Fujii-kun, so it must be a lie that they're not dating!]

↓

[Let's get them together!]

↓

[Let's create harem situation in the process with us as Kirihara-san's love rival!]

That's probably what it boils down to.

... I see.

I understand now. 

So Yuuki's popularity and harem were all fake.

I feel relieved somehow. He couldn't be popular for no reason. If he were popular, I'd feel so sorry for my past self that I'd want to cry.

Now I won't have to listen to his bragging anymore. This will make my life easier from now on.

.....

Wait, how many did Sakura-chan say earlier?

Four, including Sakura-chan?

As far as I know, Yuuki's harem had five people.

"So it was just four of you?"

"Uh, yeah. It was just four of us."

"Who?"

"Well... me, our junior Akari-chan, Uzuki-san from neighbor class, and our senior Hakaze-san."

"..."

....

Yeah, I feel like someone's missing.

Does that mean it wasn't an act? She was the one I most wanted to be acting!

.... So, she really did that because she likes Yuuki.

"Ah, sorry, class is about to start..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

What will happen to me if that girl find out that Yuuki and I are dating?

... I'll try to avoid meeting her as much as possible.

★

Time has passed, and it's now lunchtime.

I finished lunch early, so I have plenty of time.

Meanwhile, Yuuki is...

"Congratulations.... You two really took your time, huh?"

"...Congratulations."

"I'm so glad you're officially dating! Fujii-senpai is like a prince and Kirihara-senpai is like a princess!"

Ayano-chan and Hakaze-san offered their congratulations, looking strangely tired.

Akari-chan looked at him with sparkling eyes.

He was surrounded by these three.

It seems they found out from Sakura-chan's information.

A girl's information network is scary.

"Wait, what do you guys mean?"

"Haah~"

I sighed because this guy didn't understand anything at all.

... I had the same reaction a little while ago, though.

From Yuuki's perspective, the girls who liked him suddenly started congratulating him.

Well, it's understandable that he's confused.

I'll explain it to you so you can understand.

"Simply put, the harem was fake."

"...Seriously?"

"...What? Are you a disappointed?"

Whether he had a harem or not, he's an annoying guy. He must have been thinking, "I'm so cool because I have a harem."

"Fujii-senpai, I like you. Not romantically, though."

"...Thank you."

Yuuki being comforted by his junior. He looks pathetic.

It makes all my pent-up frustrations disappear.

Even so, it seems the three girls Sakura told me about were indeed acting.

I didn't realize it at all until she told me. I wonder, were those four in the drama club or something?

"I have a question, what about Hanasa-san..."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"Eh?"

Everyone fell silent.

...Yeah, I guess that's it.

Even everyone who was acting ran away from Nae-chan.

That wasn't acting; it was real. Even the gift with the foreign object in it was all genuine.

I understood Yuuki's feelings all too well. I wished it was an acting too.

"... Congratulations again to both of you. I wish you both much happiness. I still have a little Student Council work to do, so I'll be going now."

"... You should have started dating sooner to save us the trouble. I'll be heading back to the classroom now."

"Fujii-senpai, Kirihara-senpai! I look forward to get along well with you two in the future. You're the only seniors I can talk to. Well, I'll be going now too."

That's strange.

While Hakaze-san seems to have no choice, did the two of them have a reason to leave?

Preparing for the next class... there's still plenty of time, and it could wait a little longer.

If they were just talking to friends... there would have been no need for them to come all the way over to us.

So why did everyone go back to their respective places?

"Yuuki-kun, you were here?"

.... So that's why.

For some reason, I feel an overwhelming pressure.

The person I didn't want to see today, or rather, ever again, is right in front of us.

"Haruka-san's here too... I overheard your conversation earlier, what was that all about?"

"I—I'm not, I'm not dating Haruka or anything, you know?"

"....."

Damn it!

Yuuki's been pressured by Nae-chan's words and he's made a slip of the tongue.

No matter how you listen to it, it sounds like a lie.

It's the same like he's saying he's dating me.

I mean, sure, that's true, but the problem is that the person who least should not find out has found out.

"Hmm... so you two are dating after all..."

"...Well, yeah..."

Let's leave that useless guy aside. For now, I just need to get out of this situation.

"...Is there something wrong with that?"

Honestly, I'm scared, terribly scared. I don't know what she'll do.

Why did I say that a few seconds ago again?

Did I just act arrogantly in front of this yandere?

"Even though Yuuki-kun have me... Why Haruka-san?"

"He confessed to me, and I... I like him too."

"Is that so..."

"..."

I'm being stared by Nae-chan for a while.

It's scary!

I wish she wouldn't just stare at me silently.

"... I guess it's hopeless now. Congratulations, Haruka-san."

"Huh?? Oh, ...thanks."

"Haa... so that's fourteenth. I wonder what went wrong... I wish you two happiness."

I don't know what it is, but it seems I'm out of danger.

I never thought I'd be congratulated.

Could it be that Nae-chan was acting too?

Nae-chan said "fourteenth" earlier, but what does that mean?

Surely not....

.... It's not the number of people who rejected her so far... right?

"What went wrong..." she said.

Yeah, I think it's because she's not even aware of it.

Well, there's no way there are that many people who have suffered the same kind of experiences as Yuuki.

.... There aren't any, right?

If that's the case, does that mean Nae-chan has a constitution that makes her fall in love easily?

"Haruka... I'm sorry. I'm really not good with Hanasa-san."

"....."

What an unreliable boyfriend he is.

Shouldn't this have been your problem to handle, not mine?

Yes, he was the one who confessed, and I accepted it, so I'm not to blame!

Yuuki was the root of all evil after all!

If he had confessed to me a little earlier, even the old me might have said yes, those four wouldn't have become the so-called harem members, and Nae-chan would have given up quickly.

It's all because of him in the first place. Because he thought of himself as a harem protagonist and enjoyed the harem thing.

In the end, that harem was almost entirely fabricated through acting.

Yuuki and I weren't the protagonist or the heroine; we were just one of the countless people in this world, in other words, mob characters.

Even so...

"Yuuki..."

"Yeah?"

"Hm, Darling?"

"Eh?!"

"Hehe, you're blushing."

"Huh?!"

One thing I've learned is that people change after reincarnation.

AN:

This is a clumsy work I wrote entirely in the middle of the night, but thank you for reading this far!

One thing I've learned while writing is that TS Girls are cute.

TS Girls are justice!