Chapter Text

- Lets go a bit back to the night after Nukumizu ramen date

It was late night when I arrived home, the walk back gave me moments to cool off and think about what I just decided.

I want to be more than friends with Yanami Anna.

The me of months ago would have looked at me as If I was missing a screw.

I wouldn’t blame him though, my thoughts on her were a mixed bag, trying hard to not see her like a girl. Unfortunately, falling in love is something that can happen at any moment and just a few events can change the perspective of your relationship with a person, or how you view a person. The seeds might be there but they require certain things to trigger growth.

Such a trigger is the new highschool student Morimoto Kenichi. And no, It’s not like his arrival made me fall in love with her. It made me notice that I may want something more than a friendship with her, that she means more than just a transient highschool friendship. That I really don’t want to see her get too close with another person.

Otherwise why do I feel jealous when that happens?

Also… The kiss on the cheek really helped to seal the deal.

Please don’t judge me, If a cute girl kisses you out of nowhere you will be in my position too! I’m a complete noob when It comes to romance!

“Onii-sama, you are finally back, dinner is in the fridge if you are hungry. How did everything go with Yanami-san?”

Kaju greeted me in the kitchen. Showing me her usual smile.

“Just our usual hangout, nothing much happened”

“Are you sure onii-sama? your face seems happier than usual and you seemed to skip a step when you entered the house…”

Am I that obvious? Am I really happy about that kiss? I’m a bit afraid of Kaju overreacting, If she knew the reason. Should I just dodge the question?

“Yeah, nothing much happened, just our usual hang out”

“I see. I thought onii-sama made some progress but it seems the rumors that Yanami-san already has a boyfriend are true, I think Morimoto Kenichi was his name”

Did those reach out to even Kaju? Who spreads them? and Why are they so fast? Suddenly my good mood disappeared.

“Nana-chan is not going out with Morimoto-san!”

“Oho? Nana-chan? So onii-sama did make some progress with Yanami-san after all, or should I start calling her nee-sama? It would take a bit of effort but Kaju can do it”

“I-it’s not like that Kaju! we just decided that as best friends we should have nicknames for each other, that’s all!”

Why do my cheeks feel so hot?

Kaju's expression seemed really eager, like a paparazzi wanting to get more of the latest gossip.

“Congratulations on your level up onii-sama!! I will prepare red rice for tomorrow. But how are you so sure that she’s not going out with Morimoto-san? girls can have best friends as boyfriends at the same time you know?”

“Because they aren’t” I said too fast for my liking

“They could be just really reserved onii-sama, I heard they are going home together after school”

I know, I saw it myself but it’s not like that.

“They are just childhood friends”

“That’s even more suspicious onii-sama, why are you so confident that they are not going out?”

“Because Nana-chan just kissed on the cheek today!”

Ah seems my annoyance got the better of me, damn it I need to save this blunder.

“Kaju is not what you think. It’s not a big deal, It was just a kiss on the cheek, it is really common in Europe”

“Onii-sama is not good to be dishonest about these things, otherwise you will lose”

Kaju was now looking at me seriously, why the sudden change of mood?

“Onii-sama, you shouldn’t dodge your feelings just because it’s embarrassing. You shouldn’t suppress those feelings or you will regret it when someone else steals what you want”

I took a moment to digest those words. I think a part of me would just try to hide those feelings just to maintain the status quo, afraid of losing the friendship I have with her, maybe cheering her in the background. I remember how Nana-chan tried to hide hers from Hakamada-san. afraid of rejection, only to realize she lost the opportunity to even confess. On how Komari and Yakishio managed to find the courage to finally confess their feelings even if rejection awaited them.

All of them shared the same trait, when they managed to express their feelings to the person they loved they managed to grow in ways it wasn’t possible before. Confessing didn’t sever their friendship with their crush, just changed the way they behaved with them. I saw it myself, how they nowadays can smile again, awaiting for their next love.

Maybe I can take inspiration from their strength.

“Has Onii-sama finally decided what to do?”

She looked at me right through my eyes waiting for my answer. It seems she already knows what is going on in my mind.

“I do, no worries your brother will win”

I said with a smile, patting her head, she seemed happy with my answer

“I’m glad onii-sama finally realized his feelings for Yanami-san, still If you want, Tsuwabuki Investigation Advisors can offer their service at a discount price for this occasion onii-sama, I know Asagumo-senpai would be more than happy to help you with this.”

More than you know Kaju, I asked Asagumo this morning for help to distract Morimoto-san with Sosuke. In a literal minute she sent me the pictures of Sosuke getting out of the forbidden zone in a nearby library. When I asked for her price she just said ‘It’s free, anything for onee-san favorite pair <3’

I still shiver just remembering that, Asagumo-san is quite frightening and dangerous. I better avoid her having contact with Kaju as much as possible. Maybe put her on top 1 of my list?

“No worries Kaju, your brother got this!”

I gave Kaju a reassuring smile, she seemed content with my answer. Still I’m not sure what to do now. How should I behave when I’m with her? Should I try flirting? Am I capable of that?

“Kaju knows, after all onii-sama can make any girl fall in love with him by just being himself!”

I appreciate the vote of confidence sister but I’m going against a literal light novel MC.

My mind went back to the moment of that kiss… maybe just being myself can be helpful.

“as your best friend I have to teach you on how to treat your future girlfriend right”

Also there’s this training Nana-chan mentioned, maybe I can use it as an excuse to get close to her. There’s also the coming school festival…

Right, the school festival, our club needs to do something new this year. I need to write a new proposal to the student council. Maybe we can…

Slowly but surely my mind started to turn the gears on making plans on how to approach these new challenges that I have, everything while eating my sister's delicious food. The soup was perfect, calming my heart and the rice with the bonito flakes cleared my thoughts, the tender meat fueled my ideas.

Nana-chan is right, food really helps with your problems.

After a long day of classes, I went to the literature club. I asked Sakurai-kun about Basori-san’s whereabouts, he told me she was in the club room. As I got close to the door I heard some voices talking.

“So boys really are sensitive there? I never thought of that”

“I-it’s like a taboo zone for them, but they are, there are multiple books with stories about it”

“Komari-senpai you must recommend me some of those books”

“O-f course I’ll send you a list on Line”

“Thank you Komari-senpai”

“By the way Chika-chan, is the new character left or right?”

“Y-you mean K? Well against N he's left!”

“Really Komari-senpai? he looks like a right to me, I mean he is the classic delinquent who is cool and stoic but also smart”

“That's the magic of N, he's right when the least you expect. With H and A, N is left but with S and K he is right. You should've seen when N had him pinned against…”

I violently opened the door, for some reason I felt I would have lost the little dignity I have left If I let that conversation continue.

I was greeted with an unusual sight. Komari-san was sitting in the middle of Tiara-san and Himemiya-san, holding a book. The three of them looked at me with surprise.

“N-Nukumizu I thought the club meeting is in a hour”

“Yes it is, I’m actually looking for Tiara-san”

I noticed Basori-san cheeks reddened a little, does she have a fever?

“M-me? What do you need me for Nukumizu-san?”

“Just wanted your pre approval of my proposal for the school festival”

I handed her the paper with my proposal, the three of them read it for a minute and then looked at me with surprise.

“A-a collab event?”

“With the drama club?”

“Nukumizu-san this really sounds interesting but have you talked with the drama club?”

“Yes, I asked Sakurai-kun to introduce me to their club president. I know the drama club has been struggling a bit, so I think this is a good opportunity to show the school how amazing the literature club is”

During one of my hangouts with Ayano-san and Sakurai-kun, he mentioned how the drama club is in trouble due to how bad their performances have been, and they have an incoming competition in a couple of months. They need something original to impress the judges, a story that moves both actors and public.

So why not offer our services? I think our club members are talented and can write something good for them that will move everyone. Well at least probably better than having a ghost die twice like last year…

Not to mention, this hopefully will change how people view our club. Especially after the failed presentation we had to the first years at the beginning of the year. We just barely saved the club recently and we had to commit several crimes for it, and now Morimoto-san is with us so we are good for now. Unfortunately everyone except Shiratama-san is in their second year. This means next year the club will be in the same position it was just months ago, maybe even worse.

As the president of this club it is my duty to protect it now and the future as much as I can.

“Basically each member of the club will prepare a story for the drama club, the submission will be anonymous and the one that the drama club likes the most would be chosen for the festival. The rest would be shown in an exit hall of the theater where people would also vote for their favorite story. The drama club offered their help to decorate the room in exchange for our services. This benefits them too because that way they can also have a backup story that they know the general public will like. This also saves us the problem of decorating our room and we can just focus on writing, If everything goes well, it will impress both general public and the student body”

I finished my presentation and three of them looked at me.

“N-Nukimizu, that's genius! How did you manage to convince them to do this?”

It took some background work and knowing how to deal with unique people, their club president was really someone really eccentric but nothing compared to dealing with you girls daily, not that I'm going to say it aloud, I value my life. Thank you very much!

“Sakurai-kun helped me a bit, I also saw one of their performances last year. I knew they needed help and I offered it”

“A-as expected of the president of our club I taught you well Nukumizu”

You never taught me anything.

“This sounds really great Nukumizu-kun, I have a couple of friends in that club, thank you for helping them!”

Himemiya-san's smile is too bright and the BGM is louder than before!

“If your club agrees with the proposal then I think the council will approve it, thank you for consulting with me before sending it Nukumizu-san”

“It’s nothing, it better to be safe than sorry”

It's good that I got the council approval, It was the only thing I was worried about. Now I think I should talk about the elephant in the room.

“By the way, what were you guys doing in the club? not that you are unwelcome but I’m curious”

The three of them looked at me with flustered faces.

“B-Basori-san was looking for you to address some things of the club but she found only me here, I decided to help her with them”

Tiara-san nervously nodded multiple times

“Y-yes Komari-san was a great help, she’s definitely a great fit for vice president of this club”

Weren’t you just calling her senpai a few moments ago?

“And I was just hanging out with Chika-chan. It's not every day me and her can hang out with just the two of us.”

Himemiya-san patted Komari-san’s head, which she accepted leaning into.

Those two have gotten close since the start of the year. It seems Komari-san has grown a lot these past couple of months. I would never have imagined she could handle someone as extroverted as Himemiya-san. A part of me really felt proud of her, is this the feeling parents feel when you see your children succeed in life?

My eyes then moved to the book Komari-san was holding, the cover contained two beautiful men smiling.

Oh no…

Komari-san immediately hid the book with a lighting speed I didn’t think was possible. I looked at her asking If what I saw was what I really thought it was.

An awkward silence invaded the room for a minute.

“Komari-san is that…”

As soon as I was going to ask for the contents of that book, the other two immediately standed up.

“Well I think it’s time for me to go, thank you Komari-sen…san please send me the information of the club that I asked you to my line”

Basori-san said giving the most awkward wink I have ever seen, like not even fully closing her left eye, walking as fast as possible from the club

“Oh look at the time, Sosuke-kun must be waiting for me. Thank you for spending time with me Chika-chan, let’s continue our talk some other time”

Himemiya-san winked at her, as she walked next to me her BGM changed from the usual angelic BGM to a Dark S**ls BGM, I heard her whispering some things.

“So boys are sensitive there? maybe I can try it with Sosuke next time…”

Godspeed Hakamada-san, I don’t envy you one bit. I will not hold any responsibility for the monster my vice president has just created, blame Nana-chan for introducing each other.

“Wait guys, don’t leave me alone with him!”

That’s what I should say, I’m not the one corrupting innocent students!. Just for that now you are in the top 5 people who shouldn’t get too close to my dear and innocent Kaju!

As I was going to say something about corrupting other students when the rest of the club appeared.

“Hey guys, seems you are earlier than us as always”

Yakishio-san greeted us with the rest of the club behind her.

“You guys are also earlier than expected”

“I didn’t have much to do so I just came here knowing any of you would be here, I found the rest while coming here”

Well, better sooner than later, having extra time to hang out together is not a bad thing. Especially since Yakishio-san doesn’t have any other club activities to do right now.

“Might as well start the club session, please sit up in your usual spot. I need to announce something related to the coming school festival”

I could see everyone was surprised at the mention of the school festival. Seems they have forgotten it is just a week away. I started to explain my proposal, their expressions changed from surprise to excitement.

“So Prez, is this like a competition between all of us? Will there be a reward for the winner?”

“Well not really, just the winner story is going to be used by the drama club”

“But Nukkun, every competition has price, even a small certificate or something, we are offering our help, that’s not a proper reward”

“Yeah Hiko-kun, what’s the reward for us working so hard for the school festival”

Were the three of them plotting together? their response was almost in sync. But they are right, maybe giving extra motivation to write something good could help.

I’m sorry again wallet-chan.

“I will treat the winner to any restaurant they want”

As soon as those words left my mouth everyone in the club cheered, especially Nana-chan, there was a fierce fire in her eyes, because of course she would be the most motivated when food was involved.

“I-is the least you can do for our work Nukumizu, expect some really expensive food”

Weren’t you agreeing with my proposal a few minutes ago?

“To any restaurant? You are the best Mizu-kun!”

From the excitement of hearing free all-you-can eat food, Nana-chan got closer to me and said her thanks with a smile from ear to ear, her face too close to me, I could a bit of drool in the corner of her mouth, probably imagining where she could make me bankrupt.

“Ah no problem, Nana-chan”

My cheeks flared a little, seeing her this close I could see her sapphire eyes and smell the flowery aroma of her shampoo invaded my nose, a great reminder that this otter was the cute girl I have fallen in love with.

When I looked at the other members, they were completely silent for a minute and then the chaos started.

“EHHHHHHHH”

Everyone said in unison

“Did Yana-chan just call Nukkun a cute nickname? Komari-chan am I dreaming?”
“I-I heard it too Lemon-chan, Nukumizu. What kind of disgusting blackmail are you using against the poor Yanami-chan?”

“Eh? Why am I the bad guy?”

“But Prez what am I going to say to my sister now? you shouldn’t call other girls cute nicknames when you already have me”

“Shiratama-san! we already resolved that misunderstanding!”

I looked to Nana-chan for help, I need help to clear this misunderstanding.

“W-we just decided to have nicknames, after all we have been friends for so long, right? It’s normal for friends to have nicknames after some time, isn’t it?” she said while both of her index fingers shyly touched each other

Why are you stuttering at a moment like this?! That timid finger motion doesn’t help the situation either!

“Yeah, I asked her if we could be best friends and she said yes, nothing else! and she proposed to call me water so I’m calling her seven as revenge, there’s nothing wrong with it, right?”

I tried to support her argument, the looks of suspicion of the three never ceased.

“G-guys it's not a big deal, there’s no way me and Nukumizu would be dating right? you know how he is, there’s no way for that to happen.”

“Yeah, that’s right… hey wait a minute what do you mean by that? What’s so bad about me?”

According to Kaju I’m a catch, thank you very much!

“You know what’s the problem with you Nukumizu-kun”

We looked each other in the eye, putting our faces closer, both our brows frowned, her finger poked my chest.

Really that phrase at this moment? weren’t you holding my arm until we arrived at your home like a koala yesterday? the audacity of this girl!

“Really? then what about…”

“Alright guys enough”

Ah thank you Yakishio-san, I almost slipped that she kissed me yesterday. It would be disastrous If I say it out loud, It would ruin my plans.

“Seems nothing changed between Yanami-senpai and Prez, a shame”

A sigh escaped Shiratama-san, wait a minute, what do you mean by that?

“H-heh, as if he could have the courage to do something like that, It’s Nukumizu we are talking about”

Don’t smirk like that Komari-san, I do have the courage, j-just not the motivation to do it right now.

“Yeah at least they have a cute nickname for each other, a bit weird though, you guys definitely need to step up your game on that, just like me!”

That’s not something to really be proud of Yakishio-san, I would worry more about improving my test scores than work on that.

At least it seems the crisis was just averted this time.

I looked at Morimoto-san, he was quiet the whole time, a stoic expression on his face. I couldn’t get a reading on his face, except for a minor twitch on his eye. Oh? Is that jealousy, Morimoto-san? good.

“So are you two dating or not?” he finally said.

As it was our automatic response, me and Nana-chan said.

“Absolutely not!”

Yeah the girls are right, some things are the same between her and me.

After a few minutes everyone in the club went to do their own things in the club, brainstorming for the upcoming school festival.

Morimoto-san sat next to me.

“Hey Hiko-kun, I just finished the book you recommended me”

Ah right I remember I recommended to him ‘my childhood friend is now my step-sister?!' When I met him, he read it very fast. I still need to catch up to his recommendation.

“So what do you think of it? Was my recommendation worth it?”

Morimoto-san took a deep breath.

“Dude, It was so sweet. The title looked a bit cliche and weird, but the story will give me diabetes I swear. Especially the parts where both continued the tradition of calling each other each night talking about their day, but also slowly and surely as they were getting closer and closer those calls were done in person instead, over a cup of tea and snacks. And the confession, It was ugh, man you sure have good taste”

I couldn’t help but smile at Morimoto-san's enthusiasm, hearing talking like this you would forget he’s one of the most popular boys in school right now.

“Yeah, and did you remember the part where they went to the shrine because Annie wanted to cut ties with his ex? It wasn’t really a shrine to cut ties but one to create and strength bonds instead, she made him come with her because she wanted their relationship to last forever and gain courage to confess express her feelings for him”

“Dude really? That’s really sneaky, so she had feelings for him since that point?”

“Yeah since that early, maybe even for before but she didn’t want to confront them thinking it would ruin the friendship”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s a special side story. It was a limited time novel, you know the one where you have to go to a specific place to get it. I have a copy of it, I can give you on Monday if you want”

“You would do that for me?”

“Of course, we are fellow readers and club members right?”

I sincerely smiled at him. It feels great to have someone to share your hobbies with, especially light novels. I really want to be friends with Morimoto-san, but a part of me knows that right now is not a good time, we are currently two guys competing for the same girl’s heart.

“Hiko-kun thanks a lot!”

He then hugged me. He must have definitely liked my recommendation a lot. It was sudden and I didn’t know what to do nor where to put my hands.

“Ah no worries Ken-san”

I patted his back awkwardly, I’m not really used to handling people of the likes of him and Hakamada-san.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Komari-san watching us with a pen in her hand and a smirk on her face

“Thanks for the food!” she said from what I read from how her lips moved.

Ugh, this is going to taint my reputation a lot more, right?

At least I’m sure that now I have someone to talk about my novels, at least the tamest ones for now. I spent the rest of my afternoon talking about novels with him

Also, what he said was true. It was cute when both protagonists called each other at night to talk about anything.

Maybe I could use something like that today.

“Come on Kazuhiko, It’s just a call”

It was now night, I was in my bed, looking at my phone. On it, there was Nana-chan's contact number.

“Come one I can do it, It’s just a button away”

As for why I’m hesitating is because I haven’t really called a girl before. What do I talk about? How do I start the conversation? I haven’t even started the call and my heart is already racing.

As I take a deep breath I finally find the courage to press the call button.

The sound of the call trying to reach dries my mouth.

Come Kazuhiko, you can do this, it is Yanami Anna we are talking about, she’s anything but scary.

“Hello? Mizu-kun are you alright?”

I heard worry coming from the phone, I clumsily grabbed it and put it close to my ear.

“Hello Nana-chan, how are you?” That's a good start line right? it never fails.

“Just in my room watching TV, how about you? It’s really unusual for you to call me, did something happen?”

There was a bit of worry in her voice.

“Ah nothing really, I was just thinking that since we are best friends now, so we should do best friend’s things and I read somewhere this is one of them”

I let her digest my words, I could swear I could feel her smirk from here, is that possible?

“Oh? and that’s the only reason? Are you sure it isn’t because you miss hearing my beautiful voice?”

I’m starting to regret this, my cheeks feel hot right now, usually that would annoy me but right now I would be lying If I said that hearing her this close to my ear isn’t nice. Still, I can’t succumb to her teasing.

“No, I heard enough of your voice during the day. I just thought this would be something nice to do, especially after that day… Sorry If I’m bothering you or If you are busy…”

Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe I shouldn’t have called her.

“No, no you are not bothering at all Mizu-kun, It’s sweet you decided to call me, girls like guys taking initiative you know?”

She interrupted me trying to reassure me.

“Oh? So this also counts as part of my training?”

“Good catch Mizu-kun, precisely. When you have a girlfriend it is good to have calls with her if you are far apart from time to time, and you are also correct that best friends do that”

As expected of Nana-chan, she must have a lot of experience since she has been childhood friends with both Hakamada-san and Morimoto-san.

“So do I get points?”

“That depends on your performance during this call mister”

I chuckled a bit, this doesn’t seem to be hard.

“So what have you been reading recently?”

I remember her buying a novel called ‘Starting today we are childhood friends’.

“Oh you know that I like the childhood friends genre. Recently I started to read one that has been on my mind a lot, Mizu-kun”

“Oh? what happened?”

“Well there was this part where the protagonist confesses his love to the girl with a ring candy. It was the sweetest thing I have ever read. It was almost a marriage proposal!”

“That sounds kind of cute”

“Right!? I was talking with my friends about it and they said it was really childish and silly. They don’t have the vision Mizu-kun, I tell you that. Imagine having a ring that you can also eat, it’s the best of both worlds!”

It is a bit childish but it fits your brand Nana-chan, anything related to food makes you happy.

“Of course it is for you, you glutton” I said in a joking manner, I read that best friends tease each other, hopefully I’m doing it right

“Mizu-kun, don’t be mean!” She said without any hurt in her voice, a bit of chuckles after saying that, it seems It worked.

“I’m kidding, that’s a definitely unique way to confess, you don’t see that kind of candy around here anymore”

“Yeah, the last time I ate one was when I was in primary school, after reading that part, I wanted to eat some. After doing some research, I found where I can get one, but you have to take a 40 minutes train to get to a store that has it”

“Sounds like a lot of work. That reminds of that chocolate cookie that stopped appearing on the stores a few years ago”

“Oh you mean turin cookies? They were the best, they had this sweetest and sourness that made them so unique”

“Yeah, they were really good, do you also remember…”

We talked for a while about candies of our childhood and how they have changed, after that we stood silent in the call for a few seconds until Nana-chan started talking again.

“You know Mizu-kun, recently I found out about something that has opened my mind”

“Oh? what did you find out?”

“Well from an adult's perspective, we are still kids. So at some point if we reach a certain age, we will see these years as part of our childhood. So any friends you have right now can basically be called childhood friends!!!”

It was a bit complicated logic but It made sense, kind of? like how when we were ten we saw 5 years old like babies and now I see 10 years old kids like babies.

“So that means we are childhood friends?”

“Well that depends Mizu-kun”

“On what?”

“Do you want to be friends with me until we become old adults?”

I paused a bit, during my first year I thought my relationship with Nana was just going to be superficial and fleeting. Most of your friendships in highschool are like that, once you reach adulthood and start working, it becomes harder and harder to even hang out with them, drifting apart until you are just acquaintances.

So what about now? Do I want to have Nana as my friend until we become old? I think my answer is yes, I would hate for her to see me as a stranger again, even if she is a pain to deal with most of the time, I have grown to love that part of my life.

“I do, Nana-chan” I said with a smile on my face.

“Then it’s done, starting today we are childhood friends!”

I could feel the cheerfulness coming from her voice, it seems she really wanted me to say yes. Does this count as my second childhood friend? or the first?

“So that means now we have to go together to school!”

Eh?

“What do you mean Nana-chan, don’t Morimoto-san or Hakamada-san go with you to school?”

Especially Morimoto-san, he seems the kind of guy that won’t miss an opportunity like that.

They are going together to train, they recently joined the volleyball team, so they go together to school at an earlier time than me. She sounded a bit dejected, so all this time she’s been going to the school alone?

She lives a bit far from where I live, I would need to use a bicycle to get there. Did I just unlock the go together to school event? I was planning to convince her to hang out during our mornings before class but this works a lot more.

“In that case, maybe I can pick you up and go with you? We can ride my bicycle together if you want.”

“That’s a great idea Mizu-kun, If we go together on your bicycle it would be as If I went on bicycle myself burning a lot more calories than just walking. Yeah that works!”

I don’t think you would burn that much calories If you just sit on it, but it’s too late to discuss her weird weight loss theories.

“So do I pick you up on Monday?”

“Hmh, yeah sounds good Mizu-kun!”

There was silence again for a moment until I heard some rustling sounds in the background.

“Nana-chan are you alright?”

“Yeah, just changing to my pajamas” I heard her voice in the distance.

“Oh…”

My cheeks flared red, a mental image formed in my mind.

Stop dirty thoughts, go away!

“Why so silent Mizu-kun? are having dirty thoughts about the innocent Nana-chan, hmm?”

Of course I do, I’m a healthy young man not a monk!

“O-of course not, there is no way to have dirty thoughts just for that” but I’m not going to let you win Nana-chan.

“Hmh this new pajama shows a bit more belly button than I expected, here I sent you a picture to see”

Then a notification sounded on my phone, Nana-chan sent one of those one time only photos that you can only see once you open it. There’s no way I'm going to open it. I'm not a pervert!

…

Ah, It was just a photo of a teddy bear!

“Whoa so fast, are you so eager to see me that way Mizu-kun?”

I’ve been tricked, backstabbed and very possibly, bamboozled.

“I-It’s not what you think , I accidentally tapped it”

“Oh, so you're telling me that you accidentally switched apps and then accidentally tapped on the photo? how clumsy of you Mizu-kun!” she said with a lot of sarcasm in her voice

This girl, fine if you want me to admit it then I will.

“Fine I was just curious, that's all”

“So you do find me pretty! So pretty you wanted to see a photo of me, maybe even beautiful right? Come on admit it, I wouldn’t blame, I know your Nana-chan is really cute!”

“Yeah, so what?”

“W-wait, r-really?”

Why do you sound so embarrassed? Is it weird for me to admit it?

“Nana-chan, I know I'm sometimes mean to you but you are pretty. I said it before, you can have a boyfriend any time you want”

I heard a tiny, almost unhearable gasp coming from the other side. She pondered on my words for a few seconds.

“I-I know… but, sometimes, It seems like I’m not even a girl to you Mizu-kun, It hurts my pride as a girl, you know”

There was a hint of sadness and hurt in her voice. She annoys me a lot and I get weirded out of how she eats sometimes but that doesn’t mean she is ugly. Now I feel a bit guilty about how I have treated her in the past.

“Even If I don’t said it, it’s the truth, you are pretty”

Especially her side profile, I remember how my heart was beating so fast at that view, I didn’t want to admit I could feel something for Nana-chan at the time.

Now look at me now…

“Then… said it again”

“What?”

“Tell me that I’m pretty!!!”

Why are you so demanding now? I gulped a bit while preparing myself to say it.

“You are… pretty Nana-chan…” I said timidly, this is so embarrassing!

“Again!” she said now louder, a bit desperate.

“You are pretty Nana-chan” I said it again, now more smoothly, still it was embarrassing to say it out loud.

“The prettiest~?” she said now with an annoying cutesy voice.

“Don’t push your luck!”

“Hehehehe”

I had to sigh, this girl can act like a child when you spoil her just a little bit.

“Thank you Mizu-kun! 15 points!”

“I’m eager to please!” I said with sarcasm making a mock bow.

Still it was a good score, It seems I’m closer and closer to reaching 100 points!

I looked at the clock in my room. It was really late now, Where did the time go? Is this the power of having a call with a girl? It’s terrifying how it shrinks time.

“Nana-chan, It’s really late, you should go to sleep!”

“I don’t wanna~” she said with a pout.

“You know we can’t talk all night right? We will be in a bad mood tomorrow If we stay late” especially you, always talking about having beauty sleeps after eating snacks.

“Then stay with me on the call until I fall asleep, please?”

My cheeks flared a little, isn’t that a scenario from a visual novel? usually they are already dating when they do that

“Isn’t that something people dating do?”

There was silent for a couple of seconds

“Yeah but also best friends do that Mizu-kun, or what? Are you afraid of me hearing you snore? you big chicken?” she said while making fake chicken noises.

This brat, I will show you Nana-chan.

“Fine, just let me turn off the lights and for you information I don’t snore”

As I put the blanket over me, my phone rested on the left side of the bed, I put it on speaker mode.

“Did you turn off the light too Nana-chan?”

“Yeah, do you have the blanket on, Mizu-kun?”

“Yeah!”

We didn’t talk after that, I could hear the soft breaths of Nana-chan coming from the phone.

It felt like she was just beside me.

Imagining just that, doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, it warms my heart a little. I wonder how soft her hair would be at this time of the day? would it be fluffy as it looks?

“Hey Mizu-kun?” I heard Nana-chan half asleep voice

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for having this call with me” there was a lot sincerity in her voice, something I haven’t heard before

“Did something happen?” I got a bit worried, her behaviour has been more open and more daring than usual.

“No, It just lately I’ve been thinking about regrets, maybe it’s the novel I’ve been reading” There was a yawn coming from her side

“Are you regretting something?” I yawned back

“No… I think I’m grateful for what I have right now. It's just I’m kind of afraid of messing things up or that I’m wasting my youth, you know?”

“You sound like an old lady” I chuckled a bit

“S-shut up, I’m being serious here Mizu-kun”

“But I get you Nana-chan, I think between not doing or doing something unless it leads to a bad path, It’s better to do it, otherwise you will definitely regret it. Don’t let the embarrassment win or you will definitely regret it”

“That’s really wise Mizu-kun, Did imouto-chan say it?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“I was right? huh you siscon!”

“I’m not a siscon!”

It's just that Kaju is very wise for her age, that’s all!

“Still you are right, in that case I will do things even If I mess it up, like giving my all in the club contest, you better prepare that wallet mister”

“Only if you win, you are going against me and Komari-san, and Komari-san recently went to top 1 in the side we post our stories, you know!”

“Nah, I’d win”

I let out a loud snort, I didn’t expect that coming from her.

“Really that meme?” I said between laughs

“Sorry but I had to” she chuckled

There was another silence, the noise of singing cicadas outside served as a lullaby, It was comfortable and relaxing.

“Hey… Mizu-kun… would you mind having this kind of call with me more frequently?”

My eyes felt heavy, Nana-chan’s voice sounded farther and father

“Yeah…” I said between yawns in a low voice, seems my body is asking me to sleep

“It’s fun… talking with you like this…” Nana-chan said also in a low voice, seems like sleep will claim her soon

“Yeah… I also had fun” Maybe I should done something like sooner, It’s fun to have a best friend

“I have never done… anything like this before… you are… my first… Mizu-kun… so take responsibility… dummy” as she finished that sentence the call was hung up, probably because her face fell onto the hang up button.

And for the third time of this night I was left with my cheeks flared red, all my sleep now gone. The sound of Nana-chan's half-sleep voice was cute no… the cutest things I have ever heard. It was hard to imagine this loud girl would have a soft side until today.

Girls are really complex creatures huh?

Also I felt a sense of pride hearing her last comment, I just did something with her that neither Hakamada-san or Morimoto-san had done with her.

Something that’s unique between us.

It made me feel as If I was someone really special… Maybe my confession won’t end in failure as I expected, maybe.

With my heart warm and beating like crazy I tried to fall asleep again.

The dreams of that night were about cream sodas and walking in hand with a blue haired heroine, her smile shining like a star in my eyes.

A view I hope to see in real life one day.