Chapter 4.5: Reunion

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“Oraaaaaa!”

Hamanami roars.

“In the end, it got found out DID’NT IIIIIIIIT?!”

It’s the afternoon at the university cafeteria. Hamanami’s voice makes the water in the cups tremble.

“Well, you’re the one who got your student ID seen, Hamanami.”

And after the date, Touno had been in contact with Miyuki-chan, aka Hamanami. Hamanami had caved under Touno’s pressure.

“And you’re the one who spilled everything in the end, right, Hamanami?”

“Huh? MY FAULT? You’re saying it’s MY FAULT?!”

“Is it not?”

“Of course it’s not, you idiot!”

She’s right. Hamanami was just dragged into this, as usual.

“It’s because Kirishima-senpai, as always, comes up with fake girlfriends and these sly little schemes that things end up like this! He never learns! Kirishima-senpai’s plans always turn into a complete setup for failure! A guaranteed flop!”

Speaking of which, Hamanami continues.

“Touno-san is totally head over heels for Kirishima-senpai, isn’t she?”

“Is she?”

“She totally is!”

Apparently, when she was forced to spill everything, it was pretty terrifying. Touno’s a bit of a rough-and-tumble girl who sometimes relies on brute strength.

“That’s not what we agreed on! You said a female friend was starting to seem a little interested, so you wanted to make it look like you had a girlfriend, right?!”

That’s how I’d asked Hamanami. I wanted to make it seem like I was taken to avoid any romantic complications and have her give up without making waves.

“I mean, I thought you were full of it! Like, who’d even fall for you? But she really, truly likes you, all maidenly and stuff. And! That ‘like’ has been going on for a while, hasn’t it?!”

That’s right.

The first time Touno and I actually talked was in April of our second year, after that mahjong showdown where Touno was the prize—but no, that’s not it.

It was during the winter of our first year.

Before Fukuda-kun saved me, when I was still holed up in my apartment, surrounded by books piled up like a mortar bowl, wasting away like dried fish, something happened, and I started sensing Touno’s feelings for me.

“So you lied about having a girlfriend back then?”

“Yeah.”

At the time, I just thought if I said I had a girlfriend, even just a name, I could avoid those kinds of feelings being directed at me. I wanted to keep my distance from romantic entanglements. And when Touno asked for my girlfriend’s name, I said, “Tachibana—” Maybe a high school memory flashed through my mind. Since the culture festival, whenever someone asked, that’s what I’d answered. But I couldn’t say that name, so I quickly corrected myself and said, “Tachibana Miyuki.”

“It was smart to base it on a real person. They say mixing truth into a lie makes it more believable.”

“Saying she was a high schooler was good too. Claiming she’s at a strict boarding school gave me an excuse for why we never met up.”

But you can’t fool people with that forever.

Once I found out Fukuda-kun also likes Touno, I needed to be more proactive in making Touno give up on me. Plus, since the five of us were hanging out all the time, there was a chance they’d notice I had no trace of a girlfriend around me, despite claiming to have one.

So I came up with a plan to have Touno meet my girlfriend. Touno’s a good girl, so I figured if they went on a date together, they’d definitely get along. And once they were friends, Touno would think it’s absolutely wrong to like her friend’s boyfriend and would try hard to cut off her feelings for me. It was obvious.

The problem was that Tachibana Miyuki was just a name, and I wasn’t even in contact with her. But luckily, no one knew what Tachibana Miyuki looked like. A stand-in was possible, and I had a candidate.

Someone I knew, who Touno and the others didn’t know, and who could pass as a high schooler without seeming out of place—a girl who didn’t seem too mature.

“In other words, Hamanami.”

“Damn it~!!”

Hamanami slams the table in frustration.

Since the start of my second year, I’d noticed a familiar girl walking around campus.

She’d enrolled at the same Kyoto university as me. I hadn’t planned to talk to her. I was aware I’d caused her some trouble back in high school. But with things like this, I had no choice. So, I confidently approached Hamanami as she walked down the path, put my hand on her shoulder, and said, “Yo.”

“Pigyaaaaa!”

Hamanami was deeply moved by our reunion across time.

“But you didn’t have to be that shocked.”

I strut around the university in that outfit every day, bold as ever.

“I thought you’d noticed I was at the same university.”

“No way! When some weirdo in a kimono comes walking toward you, the normal thing to do is avoid eye contact and look away!”

At first, Hamanami flat-out refused my request. But when I told her I wasn’t in the mood to date anyone, she got a bit serious and agreed to help as a “girl repellent” to some extent. There was a risk Fukuda-kun might find out Hamanami was at the same university, but it wasn’t a big deal. I just needed to keep the lie up with Touno.

During the four-person date, Hamanami showed up decked out in trendy vintage clothes, and Touno kept calling her cute. Touno probably thought she was a cash-strapped high schooler making do with secondhand clothes and pulling it off with style. But it was just because Hamanami was living alone and broke. Anyone who knew Tachibana Miyuki would know she’d never wear vintage.

“Still, to think we’d reunite in Kyoto. How’s it going with Yoshimi-kun?”

“We’re rock-solid, so no need to worry.”

Hamanami’s dating her childhood friend, Yoshimi-kun. He’s at a university in Kanto, so they’re long-distance, but since they’ve known each other forever, it’s not an issue.

“Enough about me.”

“Getting shy, huh?”

“More importantly, what’re you gonna do?”

Hamanami says, kicking my shin under the table.

“You’re pretending not to notice, aren’t you, Kirishima-senpai?”

“Notice what?”

“When you talk to me about Touno-san and Miyamae-san, you make them sound like really comical girls. But from what I’ve seen when I met them, they’re both incredibly charming women.”

That might be true.

I’ve been trying to frame them as part of our fun little five-person group, trimming them into comical versions in my head. Whether that’s right or wrong, I’d say it’s not exactly fair. I’m putting a bias on them, and no one would want to be seen through that kind of distorted lens.

“I get where you’re coming from, Kirishima-senpai. Looking back at your past, taking a stance against romance makes a lot of sense.”

But on the other hand, Hamanami continues.

“Even if you start liking someone new, I think that’s a perfectly natural human emotion.”

Of course, people like that Kimura guy, who speak for “society” or “everyone,” would probably strongly disapprove of falling for someone new.

But, Hamanami says.

“At the very least, Touno-san probably wants you to move forward, Kirishima-senpai. And on top of that, she wants you to properly acknowledge her feelings. That’s what she’s hoping for, don’t you think?”