Bonus Short Story
A Summer Vacation Moment with Motomiya Miori
The end of summer vacation was nearing. Miori had way too much time on her hands recently and often hung out at my house.
My parents know that we were close as kids, so they welcome her with open arms. Plus Namika is ecstatic whenever Miori comes over, but she also knows that Hikari came over only a short while ago, so Namika’s been giving me the cold shoulder. I already explained to her that Miori and I aren’t like that, though...
I poured us some barley tea and returned to my room. Miori sat on a floor cushion with her back leaned against my bed. She was reading a long-running action manga that she’d picked out from my bookshelf, the same as always.
“Is it interesting?”
“Yeah. Action manga is where it’s at—it gets me pumped up.” Miori had been absorbed in that series since yesterday, and she’d read around twenty volumes in two days. “How long have you been following this manga?”
“Uhhh, since second year of middle school. That’s around when I got hooked on manga and started collecting them.”
“I see. So that’s when you turned into an otaku.”
“Well, I got into manga, light novels, and anime too... So it just sorta happened.”
It felt like we’d returned to how things used to be, and that made for a good time.
“I wonder if it would’ve been any fun if we’d talked back then,” Miori said nonchalantly.
Hearing that made me suddenly overcome with guilt. I feel sorta bad... “Who knows. You might’ve gagged, called me a gross otaku, and pulled away.” The mood had taken an unfortunate, gloomy turn, so I cracked a joke.
She giggled. “True. I had zero interest in indoor hobbies back then.”
“I know, right. You’re the same old brat commander gallivanting about outside.”
“Can you quit calling me brat commander? How can you say that to such a cute girl!”
“Meh, people who don’t know what you’re actually like would just call me a liar.”
“Are you telling old stories about me to people who don’t even know me?! Hey, you better stop that!”
“Uh, but they ask me all the time. The boys want to hear all about you.”
Puzzled, Miori tilted her head. “Why?”
She’s thickheaded about this sort of stuff, despite knowing she’s cute. “Isn’t it ’cause they want to get to know you better?”
She blinked at me. “O-Oh, gotcha,” she mumbled. “Wait, they’re asking you?”
“Yeah, because it’s common knowledge that you and I are childhood friends. They’re always telling me how jealous they are: ‘Can’t believe you’ve got a cute childhood friend like you’re living in a manga, you bastard...’ You know, stuff like that.” Well, reality isn’t gonna go like a rom-com.
“‘A cute childhood friend,’ huh... Do you think that too?”
“Uh, well, popular opinion dictates that you look nice on the outside.”
“I don’t mean popular opinion. I want to know what you think.” Miori pushed her face up to mine.
Don’t come near me! Stop it! If you’re this close to me, I’ll have to acknowledge it—that you’re actually a cute girl. Not to mention that you look a little upset, so I’m gonna get the wrong idea. I know it could never, ever happen, but I’ll end up fantasizing that it will! My heart raced.
“Do you have a problem with it if I do agree with them?” I managed to wring out, keeping my eyes averted.
Miori hastily pulled away for some reason and threw herself on my bed without asking permission. Why’re you clamming up now?! I’m the one who’s embarrassed here! I shot her a spiteful scowl. I couldn’t see her expression since she was facing the wall, but her ears were bright red. Evidently, she was feeling shy.
“Don’t ask for my opinion if you’re going to get flustered.”
“Shut up, Natsuki. How dare you get sassy with me!”
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