The Beautiful Girl With a Kind Personality and Good Looks, Who Happens to Be My Childhood Friend, Seems to Have Eyes Only for Me
Side Kamiya Yamato
“…Phew, we’re done, Maho-san.”
“Good work, Yamato. I just finished up too.”
After practice, I returned the cleaned-up ball basket to its designated spot and let out a big sigh.
Normally, Haru, Yuma, and I would be heading home together after practice. But today, Manager Hayase Maho stopped me, saying, “I need a little help with something,” so I ended up staying behind in the club room.
Honestly, I did wonder why it had to be me and not another club member.
But, well… I guess it’s just because we’ve known each other for so long.
Avoiding Maho’s gaze as she continued tidying up, I pulled out my phone and opened the messaging app. A notification from Haru had arrived.
‘Yuuma and I are heading home first. Thanks for your hard work at club activities today, Yamato.’
It wasn’t something she needed to send specifically, but she was so conscientious, so kind… and precisely because of that, it made my chest feel a little warm inside.
Realizing I’d started grinning, I hurriedly turned the screen away.
Going home alone with Yuma didn’t make me feel particularly uneasy.
Yuma was an important friend to me too, and he and Haru had known each other for a long time. To me, they seemed like close friends—and above all, he’d once said this clearly:
[I’m rooting for you two, you know.]
So it was fine. …At least, that’s what I thought.
“…Hey, what are you grinning about on your phone?”
“Whoa!? N-no, nothing…!”
“Hmm…?”
Stared at with those intense eyes, I straightened my back involuntarily.
Maho-san, looking amused, closed the distance sharply.
Close enough that the slightest movement would bring our faces together.
My heart made an unpleasant sound.
“That reaction… means I still have a chance, right? Yamato?”
Her voice sounded playful, but her gaze was unnervingly serious.
I found myself speechless.
Hayase Maho.
The basketball club manager. Caring, beautiful, famous throughout our grade.
Honestly, someone like me wasn’t her match.
“Will you go out with me?”
She’d joked about it before.
Knowing it was a joke, I’d laughed it off.
…But.
My number one is Haru.
That alone won’t waver, no matter what.
“…Let’s go home, Maho-san.”
“Ah, you’re changing the subject.”
“I’m going ahead.”
“Hey, wait up!”
Hating to be teased any further, I hurried out of the club room.
Maho-san caught up right behind me, and we walked side by side.
Out the school gate, on our usual way home.
Along the way, a familiar, cheerful voice rang out.
“Yamato-senpai! Yamato-senpai!!”
Turning around, I saw a junior running towards us.
“You’re heading home now, right? Would you like to walk together?”
The one who said this brightly was the junior manager, Koharu Sakura.
A tomboyish, energetic girl, a little cheeky even.
“Sure. You’re okay with it too, Yamato?”
“Yeah, of course. Let’s walk together.”
“Yes!”
Koharu pressed herself tightly against my other side, and Maho-san, not to be outdone, closed the distance too.
…I’m sandwiched.
“Sakura-san, aren’t you a little too close?”
“Maho-senpai, shouldn’t you be a bit further away?”
A small spark ignited, starting between me.
Please, don’t compete over something like this…
Noticing my troubled expression, they both looked away as if calling a temporary truce.
—If Haru saw this scene…
I’d hate for her to get the wrong idea… but she should be home by now.
As we walked, Maho-san suddenly spoke up.
“Come to think of it, what’s the connection between Yamato and Sakura-san?”
It was Koharu who answered.
“I met Ayase-senpai when I went to watch my high school basketball team’s game on my day off. Ayase-senpai was really easy to talk to… and then she said, ‘I’ll introduce you to Yamato.’”
I recalled that day.
After the game, Haru called me over, and when I went, Koharu was there.
I was nervous meeting her for the first time, but because Haru was there, conversation flowed naturally.
After that, I started hanging out with Koharu, and lately, we’ve been meeting more often without Haru.
“…I see. What a coincidence. Ayase-san was also how Yamato and I met.”
“Huh, really?”
“…Yeah, definitely.”
It all started in our first year of high school when I accompanied Haru to talk to Maho-san about a class matter.
There were rumors about her being a “scary girl,” but with Haru there, the conversation flowed surprisingly well. Now, we’re both members of the basketball club and managers.
“Somehow, Ayase-san is like Cupid, isn’t she?”
“Really. …Well, Yamato himself seems completely oblivious to our feelings, though.”
“…That must be tough.”
“It really is.”
…Why are you two looking at me?
“Did I do something!?”
I blurted out, and they both sighed simultaneously.
“You’re hopeless.”
“A total airhead.”
“That’s harsh!”
But they just chuckled softly and said nothing more.
…Well, to be honest, I don’t dislike spending time like this together.
Because they see me as the real me.
“…But Ayase-san really is a tough opponent, huh?”
“Indeed. Childhood friends are formidable.”
The sudden mention of Haru’s name made my heart skip a beat.
—Childhood friend.
For me, that phrase holds special meaning.
Someone I’ve been with since childhood, sharing ordinary days—a precious existence.
Haru’s smile flashed through my mind.
[…I like you, Yamato.]
Those words, spoken to me years ago, still linger in my heart.
That’s precisely why I believe.
Someday, these feelings—they’ll surely reach her.
Our parents have known each other for ages,
and Haru has always been right by my side.
…It’ll be okay.
“Speaking of which, Asahina-senpai is pretty amazing too, right? I heard he was selected for the Japanese national youth team when he was in elementary school and was insanely good at basketball.”
“…Huh?”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Apparently he was playing alongside middle schoolers.”
Koharu’s casual remark sent a chill deep into my chest.
Yuma.
My best friend. …But that topic alone still makes me nervous even now.
“We went to different middle schools, but rumors were flying. But then he got injured and quit basketball… Do you know anything about it, Yamato-senpai?”
“…”
I couldn’t answer right away.
That was over. It was the past.
Yuma didn’t even realize it.
…So it was over.
“…I don’t know the details. It must be painful for him… I think it’s better not to bring it up too much.”
My voice felt slightly hoarse.
“…You’re right. Well, I guess I should just focus on doing my best!”
“Yeah, do your best. Even though we’re rivals, I’ll cheer you on.”
The topic drifted away, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s okay.
To me, Yuma is a best friend. …That’s all.
I still remember that day clearly.
Back in elementary school, on the way home at dusk.
On a narrow road, I half-jokingly played a prank on my mom who was driving.
I didn’t think it was a big deal. I just wanted to startle her a little—that was my lighthearted intention.
But—.
The moment the car started moving, I saw a staggering shadow ahead in my field of vision.
And then, just a split second before impact.
Through the windshield, I saw a boy’s face.
Eyes that were just stunned, defenseless, before they could grasp the shock, the terror, the pain.
When I saw Yuma in middle school, I knew immediately.
…It was him.
That became a “memory” that wouldn’t fade within me for a long time.
…And then, in my third year of junior high.
I couldn’t stay silent any longer.
When it was just me and Mom alone, I finally let out the words I’d kept buried deep inside my chest.
But while I was talking, I felt someone’s gaze through the crack in the door. It felt terrifying, but since no one was there, I didn’t think much of it. Maybe… someone heard me talking?
Maiasa