Volume 1 - CH 2.2

[Shu PoV]

“……Has Towa and Ayana gone home already?”

While helping Senpai Iori in the student council room, I muttered this to myself.

Usually, I would go home with Ayana and Towa, but since I was called by Senpai Iori, I couldn’t decline.

“……Ha”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I noticed that I had sighed, but I managed to cover it up.

“………..”

Being in the student council room with Iori Senpai alone was very exciting, but Ayana’s presence was always in my mind.

(……Ayana)

For me, Ayana is a very important childhood friend.

I’ve been with her since I was young, and our relationship is very good because we have been together like family for a long time.

[Ayana-chan!]

[Shu-kun!]

When we were young, it was normal for us to call each other by name and be close to each other, and even now, we still visit each other’s houses like family.

Ayana has become part of my daily life, and being with her is the greatest happiness for me.

(I’ll definitely…get together with Ayana)

It’s embarrassing to put it into words, but I have a certain intuition.

Ever since I was young, Ayana has been by my side, and that hasn’t changed even now that I’m a second-year high school student… She will always be by my side.

[Shu and Ayana are a perfect match.]

[Yeah, yeah! Onii-chan and Ayana are definitely getting married!]

I used to be told often by my mother and younger sister to stop talking about it because it’s embarrassing… Well, my younger sister still says it a lot.

“……Haha.”

I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about Ayana and my family.

Iori-senpai looked at me strangely when I suddenly laughed, but I just coughed and pretended it was nothing.

I was so happy to be able to help Iori and returned to the classroom.

“…… haha, I knew they wouldn’t be here….”

The two people I thought were waiting for me, Ayana and Towa, were already gone as expected.

I looked at my phone to make sure, and found a message from Ayana, saying that she and Towa are going home first.

“Then I guess I’ll just go home.”

I left the school with my bag on my back.

It’s been a while since I’ve walked outside by myself like this, but sometimes I think it’s not so bad to have a day like this.

Maybe it’s because my daily life with Ayana and Towa is just too normal for me.

I am blessed not only with Ayana and Towa, but also with my family.

Yes, I was really blessed with my family as well.

I have a mother, a younger sister, and a father who lives far away from home.

My mother always makes me delicious food and lunch boxes, and she makes me happy by praising me for even the smallest things.

[Shu is our pride and joy, okay? Truly a sweet and good boy, I love you so much.]

When she hugs me like that, I feel really safe.

Mom seems to understand it, and she notices me being uneasy right away… Well, I understand that my mother really values me. Of course, not only my mother but also my younger sister loves me.

[Onii-chan, teach me to study!]

I am not good at studying, but even my younger sister who is in junior high school wants to study with me… Well, I don’t know if it’s because she’s my younger sister, but she loves being with me. She’s really important to me and also cute.

“And my dad is counting on me to be there for them.”

I often talk on the phone with my father who is on a solo business trip, and he always tells me to rely on my mother and younger sister.

I don’t think I’m a replacement for my father, but since I’m the only man left at home, I plan to protect both of them firmly.

“Of course, I will also protect Ayana.”

As Ayana, who has always been by my side as a childhood friend, I will protect her too.

Because she is my important childhood friend… because she is my beloved childhood friend, I will continue to protect her from now on.

“Ayana always helped me when I was bullied.”

I was used to being envied by others because of Ayana since middle school.

So sometimes I was bullied by various people, but every time Ayana protected me.

“Ah, that’s right, Towa too.”

Towa also protected me along with Ayana, I’m sure that was the case.

“Towa has really helped a lot.”

I also care a great deal about Towa, who I’ve known for a long time, just like Ayana.

I wish I could have been that handsome, attentive, and …… person that Ayana would have never complained about standing next to her.

[Hey, Towa, I want you to cheer for Ayana and me.]

A long time ago, I once told him that and he nodded his head.

Because of this, I can trust that there is nothing between Towa and Ayana, and I know that Towa has been and always will be on my side.

Perhaps because I had been thinking too much, I had been standing still for a long time.

“Ah.”

My stomach rumbled, and I laughed as I rushed home.

On the way home, I heard the sirens of an ambulance, as if there had been an accident somewhere, and I naturally turned my attention in that direction.

“…..”

I hate the sound of ambulance sirens.

It is not because the sound is annoying, but because it brings back bad memories for me.

[Shu!]

[…… eh?]

I shook my head and ran out of the house at once, trying to forget the memories that had almost come back to me.

By the time I arrived home and walked through the front door, I no longer cared about the unpleasant things I had almost remembered.

“I am home~!”

It seemed that she had not yet returned home, which was unusual today, as I did not see my sister, who usually responded by saying welcome home.

“Welcome home, Shu.”

As if in place of my sister, my mother came out of the living room.

When she saw me, she approached me with a smile on her face and hugged my face to her ample bosom.

“Hey, Mom?

“Now don’t try to pull away. My sweet son is finally home and wants to do this, right?”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes♪”

It’s embarrassing to do this kind of thing to a high school student. But since the other party was my mother, I did as I was told.

“Did something happen today? You were late. Was it a date with Ayana?”

“No, I was accompanying the student council president today. Ayana should have gone home first.”

“Oh really? Haha, you’re really great. Helping out the student council president’s work is not a small task.”

It’s not really something to be praised, but I smiled ambiguously at my mother, thinking it was not good to depreciate myself too much.

“I have prepared a bath for you, so go take a bath.”

“Okay.”

After putting my luggage in the room, I headed for the bath.

While taking a warm shower, I once again think about how I’m really blessed to have such a wonderful family.

This is something I thought earlier, but I’m truly grateful for this fate.

In a world where there are many types of families, I’m definitely surrounded by the best family and it’s not an exaggeration.

A kind mother, a cute younger sister, a reliable father… and my best childhood friend who is always by my side. At times like this, I feel like I’m the protagonist of a game and my cheeks naturally relax.

“But……”

However, there was still one thing that bothered me.

I’m not sure why my family is so kind to me, but for some reason they have a hard time with Towa, or rather, when I talk about him, they make a face that is blatantly unpleasant.

“……I wonder if something happened.”

I would like us to be friends, but I think these things are easily resolved when we become aware of them and I believe that someday we will be friends with Towa as well.

“Ayana, Towa and I have always been together. That’s why I hope we can all be friends.”

Someday… if I really do end up marrying Ayana someday… I would still hope that Towa would speak at our wedding as a friend representative.

“Haha, I’m too impatient. But… I hope that kind of future will come.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but it’s okay to just daydream like this, and no one can say anything about it.

And I believe that this future will really come.

[Shu-kun]

[Shu]

Thinking about the two people who have been together all this time, I finished my bath and returned to the living room where my mother was waiting.