Chapter 30
Kanzuru Wants to Teach
“Yesterday… you didn’t do anything weird with Yumi-chan after that, did you?”
As soon as I sat down at my desk in the classroom, Kanzuru suddenly asked me that.
“I didn’t. After I walked you home yesterday, Yumi asked me something similar — whether I did anything weird with you.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I told her that there’s no way I’d do anything like that with Kanzuru.”
When she heard that, Kanzuru’s expression darkened slightly.
“…I see. Is that so?”
…Did something about that bother her?
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really. I mean, you’re right — there’s no way you and I would ever do that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, of course not.”
The moment I answered immediately, Kanzuru looked a little sulky.
…But why? I only agreed with what she said, so why did she suddenly look upset?
As I wondered about it, she let out a deep sigh and spoke again.
“Hey, do you think I’m not attractive?”
“Attractive…? You mean looks?”
“Yeah. My looks, or my personality.”
Whether Kanzuru’s appearance or personality is attractive—
That was something I could easily answer.
“I think I’ve said it before, but you’re definitely attractive, Kanzuru. And you’ve got a good personality too. Otherwise, there’s no way we would’ve gotten this close.”
Her looks are obviously good, and if her personality weren’t, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to know her this well.
When I said what I honestly thought, Kanzuru said something a bit unexpected.
“But even so, you don’t see me as a girl at all, do you?”
“Come on. There’s no way I’d look at my friend like that.”
When I said what I thought was only natural, Kanzuru fell silent for a moment, then looked at me seriously.
“…Why are you so insistent on just being friends with me?”
Insistent on being friends.
That was a strange way to put it—but still.
“I’m not insisting on it. It’s just… we’re friends, so we’re friends. That’s all there is to it—”
“Our relationship doesn’t have to stop at just friends. It could change into something else, you know?”
Her expression and tone didn’t change much, but I could hear a rare intensity in her voice.
Change our relationship…
“Is this related to what you said yesterday? About how we’re not just ordinary friends, or that you’d like to become something different from just my friend?”
“That’s right. I understand that you want to stay siblings with Yumi-chan, even though you’re not related by blood. She’s still your family, and I know you’ve got your own reasons for that.
But you and I— we’re not related by blood, and we’re not family either. We’re just a boy and a girl in high school who happen to be friends… So, we’re free to change what our relationship is.”
That was true. Unlike my bond with Yumi, my relationship with Kanzuru was purely friendship—
so it could change freely if we wanted it to.
“I get that. But even if we can change it, we already get along well. What else is there to change?”
When I asked that, Kanzuru looked at me quietly for about ten seconds before finally speaking.
“Hitokazu… will you go out with me today?”
“Go out…? You mean, somewhere you want to go?”
When I asked that, Kanzuru shook her head slightly.
“No. I’m going to teach you— the first step of how our relationship can change from here.”
Kanzuru said that with a small, knowing smile.
The first step… I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but if that would help me figure it out, then there was no reason to refuse.
“…Got it.”
After giving my answer, I accepted Kanzuru’s invitation—
and that afternoon, after school, I went out with her.
