CH 6

At the time, I was the kind of kid who would immediately act on his thoughts without any deliberation. That's why I went around in circles and never made any friends.

And so, when I found the two I was looking for, I was so moved that I shed tears, and when I shook hands with them afterwards, I cried even more because I was just so happy. Of course, the pair went into a panic after seeing that spectacle in front of them, and the teacher even arrived after hearing about the commotion.

Having skipped the process of getting to know them first, I used my break time to have conversations with them in order to find out what kind of people were they.

What was their favorite food, favorite sport, favorite class...

I asked them a lot of mundane questions, taking notes so I wouldn't forget each one as they responded. They looked at me as if I was some kind of strange guy.

After that, I appealed to the both of them with the same interests, and we gradually became closer. Through their connections, I made even more friends.

I was so happy when they invited me to hang out with them that I took hold of their hands saying, 'Let's have a good time at this park!', with great vigor. We began to play every day just like children would. It was around this time I learned that they lived next door to each other.

As expected, I was still in elementary school. There was no way I could have grasped the concept of love just by reading manga, so I gradually forgot my purpose and spent my days hanging out with them.

And then, when we reached middle school, they started to look the same as they were now, and people gathered around them.

I heard through a friend that there was a couple from another class, so I went to see them after school with that friend.

They were people I had never spoken to, but their expressions and gestures seemed ephemeral and beautiful.

It was at this time that I finally, albeit late, came to know what love was through other people.

Then, I dreamed of a scene.

Replace the hero and heroine in that story with Tasuku and Ayane.

This reminded me of my original purpose.

I moved with the intention of trying to achieve that.

And it was then that I realized something.

I was too attached to them, I thought.

Looking back, the three of us were together most of the time. I didn't know how it went for siblings, but during the walk to school, lunch break, and even after school, the three of us were together most of the time.

I can't possibly continue with that!

Immediate decisions were my policy. I tried to just observe from a distance.

The result was a resounding failure. It only lasted for a week.

I made up excuses as we went to school, lunch breaks, and after school to be alone from them, but...

If I woke up later than usual, they would wait by the intersection. Even if I tried leaving early, somehow, they were waiting for me first.

If I pretended to sleep at my desk during breaks, they would come to chat by my side.

And during after school, while I got ready to head home alone, they told me that we should go home together.

I wondered if they could read my thoughts because we had been together for so many years, but since I never told them about my dreams, they couldn’t have known whatever it was I was doing.

Eventually, I stopped thinking about it because I always blanked out when they asked why this was happening.

How about a classic date then!

I invited them to go around the city to look at clothes and furniture, and then bailed out on the last minute. I thought what I did was the worst thing I possibly could to have them be on a date by themselves, but I couldn't help myself. I waited for their report at home, when they would come to my house in the afternoon and give me a smack on the head while I wondered about what kind of date they were having.

It seemed that they had been going around together until noon, but they felt uncomfortable that I wasn't there and contacted my mother, where they found out I cancelled. In the end, the three of us decided to play games at my house. I wanted to ask how it went, but I couldn't ask on the spot.

Later, I learned that they went around looking for clothes and other things as usual, had lunch, then that was it. A bit disappointing that the report only had a few words on it.

If a change in their daily life wouldn't work, then the next stop is at a school event!

Although there wasn't any showy at the school festival, some of the classes opened shops, so I suggested to Ayane that we hold hands while looking around together, but as they did that after I told them to, they came back a little later instead and forcefully grabbed my hand as the two dragged me along with them.

Then how about I make Ayane see how cool Tasuku is at the sports festival!

I asked Tasuku to be the last runner for the relay, and when I thought he would gladly accept, he said instead, 'I want to pass the baton to Hiro', and so my plans to place him in a position that stood out failed, and I became the anchor. During this time, for some reason, the girls were grumbling. By the way, thanks to everyone's efforts, we came in first place.

Then the perfect place should be the school trip!

When we were planning our schedules as we became part of the same group, I checked the travel destination in advance and decided on a place to go because I knew we would get to see a beautiful scenery.

It was a mixed group of four, so it was Tasuku and Ayane, and me and another girl who paired up, and before we knew it, the four of us were standing side by side looking over the scenic cityscape. In the end, that spot I chose was too far away from where we were staying, so there was no way we would be able to get there in a short time, and we had to give up on it.

Before we went to sleep, Ayane visited the double room Tasuku and I were staying in alone, and I couldn't believe it! As I thought that, we dove under our teacher's sights to go outside and have some fresh air.

After recalling what happened during the day to some extent, I said I was getting sleepy, so I left them by themselves while I sneaked back to watch (pervert) them without being noticed.

In the end, their relationship never progressed and nothing was achieved.

Was there something more exciting that a school trip? I still clearly remembered being in shock on the bus on the last day of the trip.

After entering the exam season, I didn't have a particular high school I wanted to go to, so I ended up choosing the same place as the two. I tried studying alone to have them be by themselves, but after a while, Tasuku asked for help in his studies, and soon enough, Ayane also did. In the end, the three of us continued to hold study sessions.

I was never able to give my congratulations to them.

I often heard that there were a lot of things that could go wrong in life.

For me, I tried doing everything I could, but the kindness from the two backfired against me.

If this was the situation, then high school was the time to start the biggest game of a lifetime. I shouldn't make the same mistakes.

I would gladly want to see them nurture their love even more than already did and become a beautiful, lovey-dovey couple that would make everyone around them be very envious of.

I also thought that it would be great honor if they would invite me to the wedding as their best friend or something.