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 Chiya
โWhat the hell is going on hereโฆ!โ
Sitting upright on my bed in my room, I hugged my Aiai stuffed animal tightly. With my other hand, I operated my smartphone.
The screen showed the rumors spreading on the bulletin board since yesterday. About the perpetrator of the accident, how despicable they were, how they were supposedly still at schoolโthe more I read, the more my chest churned.
And then.
115 repliesโผ
ใปWho do you think it is out of the three?
ใปIsn’t it Kamiya Yamato ? I always thought he had a shady side.
โHuh!? What is this?!โ
I blurted out loud. I slammed Aiai down on the bed.
With trembling fingers, I opened the reply box.
Replyโผ
Yamato Kamiya isn’t like that. He’s kind and the coolest guy in school. Please don’t say things like thatโฆโ
โโSent.
After sending it, my heart started pounding. Posting on an anonymous board might not even matter, but I still couldn’t stay silent. Yet, like adding insult to injury, the next post scrolled in.
ใปSpeaking of Kamiya Yamato, his childhood friend was apparently stolen by someone else
ใปServes him right lol
โโฆUgh, seriously!โ
I pressed Aiai tightly against my chest.
What’s wrong with these people? They don’t know my brother any better than I do, yet they just say whatever they want. They don’t know how kind he is, how much he looks after me at home, or how he helps Mom. They don’t know any of it.
โNothing but insultsโฆ They’re the worst.โ
My eyes stung with heat.
And thenโthere’s that accident too.
I heard about it from Mom and my brother. A child suddenly darted out, and there was no way to avoid it. It was just a series of unfortunate events. It’s like saying, โYou happened to step on something by the roadside, and it turned out to be a gem, so now you have to pay compensation.โ
But still.
They act like he was a bad person from the start, arbitrarily deciding his life, hurling words at him like stones.
โFor something like that to end a familyโฆ that’s crazyโฆโ
The muttered voice was weaker than I expected. The smartphone screen refreshed again. I was scared, but I couldn’t look away.
Butโ
โโฆI’m on your side, though.โ
Hugging the stuffed animal tightly, I whispered that in a voice no one could hear. I switched the smartphone screen and tapped a familiar name from the chat list.
โ๏ธMitsuri
โIsn’t this board weird? It’s just full of nasty things about my brother.โ
Immediately after sending it, the โreadโ notification felt unnaturally quick.
โYou’re right, Yamato-san is kind.โ
โExactly! So please help me keep the attacks from targeting my brother.โ
‘Just asking, but is Yamato-san really not involved with the board?’
The moment I saw the first reply, a small weight lifted from deep within my chest. โโMy fingers froze at the last sentence. The screen’s light felt unnaturally bright. My throat tightened. I couldn’t honestly say I wasn’t involved. In fact, those posts were probably all directed at my brother.
I know.
I realize it.
Even so.
(Lying to my best friend for my family’s sakeโฆ?)
A voice echoed in my head. But another voice quickly drowned it out.
(Of course. Family is obviously more important.)
My one and only brother in the world. The only person connected to me by blood.
Mitsuri is a precious friend, butโeven so.
With trembling fingers, I typed the words.
โOf course! onii chan wouldn’t do something like that!โ
The moment she pressed send, her chest twinged with pain.
โGot it. Should I ask onee chan for help too?โ
โNo way!
Haru onee chan abandoned onii chan
I don’t want to speak ill of her big sister, but she has terrible taste.
Absolutely don’t tell Haru-nee!!โ
I felt relieved that Mitsuri agreed, but then I saw the message about consulting Haru-nee later and sent it immediately. I gasped.
I might have gone too far. It’s definitely unfair to speak ill of Haru-nee over this. But I can’t take it back.
‘Yeah. Got it.’
That reply made me feel both relieved and even more uneasyโa strange mix of emotions. I closed the chat window. Instead, my mind grew chaotic.
(What should I doโฆ)
In our class, there’s Kawaguchi Yuto, whose name is on the bulletin board. But even though he’s only been here a month, he’s somehow already become the center of the class, and no one says anything bad about him.
And he himself seems somehow unfazed, like, โThere’s no way I’d do something like that.โ
If someone in our class gets targeted, it might make the atmosphere bad. Besides, Kawaguchi is kind and a bit of a fool.
Thenโ
Another name naturally came to mind.
Kusunoki Yuya.
Second year.
Basketball club.
He’s in the same club as my brother, so we have some connection.
The more common ground they share, the more likely they are to be suspected.
(โฆAlright, let’s go with this guy. Better than my brother getting hurt any moreโฆ)
Deep within my chest, a dark feeling quietly spread. Clutching my phone, I stared at the screen for a while, unable to type anything.
—
โNee chan. Are you sure this is okay?โ
โIt is okay.โ
โYou heard this recording, right? Yamato is completely at fault for this bulletin board incident.โ
โThat’s why you need to be close to support Chiya, who might suffer. โBecause you’ll probably be the only one left around her.โ
โYeah, I get it. Chiya’s at fault this time, and I need to distance myself from such a terrible family.โ
—-
โโฆBesides, I want to see Chiya clinging to me, with no one else left to rely on.
My very own Chiya-chan.โ
Maiasa