Finally arriving back home, I opened the door and instinctively said the usual thing I say even when I was alone.
"I'm back…"
"Welcome back home, Haruki-kun"
Sakurai's voice, which could be heard from the living room, greeted me.
"…"
Noticing that I have yet to move after her greeting, Sakurai opened her voice once again.
"Aren't you coming inside? Haruki-kun?"
"…Ah, sorry. I was just surprised." I said, as I finally started walking.
"Surprised?"
"Yes. I just said that out of instinct. I was surprised because it was a voice outside of my family since they were the only ones I heard that from back then."
"Ah, I can understand."
Arriving in the living room, I sat down on the couch while letting out a sigh of relief, forgetting that I was laying down a patch of grass just a few minutes ago.
"*phew* Now then, can we talk about the sports festival?"
"Yes."
"I dont know whether it's fortunate or unfortunate, but, no matter what it is, we can't just deny what's really happening. You and I are on the same team at the relay event for the festival, correct?"
"Yes, you are indeed correct."
"Right, and that's why we need to be careful when referring to each other. We must avoid any accidents like what happened just a few minutes ago at the meetup."
"I'm sorry about that."
"No, don't worry about it. If it were any other girl, your mistake would've been ignored. But you only call other people with '-san' so it seems odd that you'd use that to me. Thankfully, Watanabe didn't seem to mind, so we should be fine. Of course I'm not mad, I'm just making sure we're careful about these things later on."
"Of course."
"Good."
Thinking that our conversation was over, I stood up from the couch and was about to take a bath since.
But Fumiko-san suddenly asked me a question.
"Um, Haruki-kun, if I may."
"Hm?"
"Why were you so hostile with Watanabe-san? I don't think Haruki-kun will be hostile to someone for no good reason, so if you could tell me, how did you know each other back then? Though I guess the latter question is useless since you said that you forgot most things about your childhood…"
"Ah, that was a lie."
"Eh?"
"Yeah, I have a pretty good memory of my childhood. So I remember him, no, especially him…"
"Umm, was he bad to you back then?"
"Kinda? Alright Fumiko-san, get ready for a flashback scene."
Fumiko gulped, getting ready for the next few hundred words to be written.
"You see, he was actually my classmate in elementary school. And back in elementary school, he was a real pain to deal with. It's because he'd use me to talk to girls since I was popular in elementary school."
"What… That sounds crazy… Haruki-kun being popular sounds… Impossible."
"Oi, are you going to listen to my story or will you just talk trash to me?"
"Oh, my apologies, please continue."
"*Ahem* Anyway, since he used me to talk to girls, saying things like 'My friend's father is the CEO of one of the biggest game companies in Japan!'"
"That sounds pathetic…"
"I know right? But as you would imagine, I was really bothered by it since people would surround me when he talked about his 'amazing friend' while slowly changing the topic to be about himself."
"Ugh…"
"And that's how I slowly came to hate him. I entertained him back then even though I hated interacting with so many people, since father told me to make friends. But after elementary school, I started to dress more like what I do now in an attempt to have a more peaceful life with only 1 or 2 friends. Though that backfired since I became a loner."
"Huh…"
"But yeah, that's why I was so hostile to him back there, since it reminded me of our elementary days. Though I don't know why he didn't bring up how we were classmates in elementary. Perhaps it's because he's embarrassed about his past, so he didn't bring it up, afraid that I'll tell you guys about it."
"I see…"
"However, father told me that he has changed, so I'm willing to give him another shot. After all, I need to make sure he doesn't talk about my background either. If people find out that I'm the son of someone super wealthy, there will surely be a lot of trouble for me."
"True…"
"Luckily, it looks like my father was right, as he isn't as talkative compared to back then. So I think having him as a friend would be helpful. But, of course, I'll still keep my guard up. I'll probably have to apologise to him tomorrow too…"
"Yeah… But after hearing you describe your life in elementary school, I'm quite curious about your face now… But you said you don't like being touched…" Fumiko said, while poking my arms with her fingers.
"Well, if it's Fumiko-san, it should be fine."
"Eh?! Really?"
"Sure."
After my confirmation, Fumiko-san reached out to my bangs with her eyes closed and while making a cute expression.
And she was about to reach it…
"I can't… It'd be rude for me to do so…"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I can't do it."
"I-I see…"
"…"
Me and Fumiko stayed silent, as there was nothing to talk about. Though there was something stuck in my head.
'…Why did I want to head pat her when she was reaching out to me…'
But I quickly got it out of my mind and asked Fumiko about something.
"A-Anyways, you maintained quite a distance from Watanabe back then. Are you perhaps uncomfortable around him?"
"Ah, yes. Actually, it's not that I hate Watanabe-san, but rather, I feel uncomfortable around him because some girls in class ships us…"
"Ahh… so shipping is still a thing nowadays huh…"
"Yes…"
"Well, I'll be around you, so if you ever feel uncomfortable, feel free to come near me."
"…I might take you up on that offer."
"Just make sure you don't get too close that they'll get suspicious, of course. Watanabe seems to have good senses."
"Of course! I'll be extra careful whenever I'm with him from now on."
"Good. Now then, if you may excuse me, I should probably take a bath since we laid down grass after you guys left."
"Ah, please, I hope you have a good bath."
"Thanks."
Finally, I began my walk towards the bathroom where I took a much needed relaxing bath.
Our dinner wasn't anything special either. We ate and Fumiko and I decided to focus on the sports festival for this week, so we both slept early to preserve energy in preparation for tomorrow's practice.
Though, even if it's only imagining it, I'm already dreading tomorrow's practice…