Daily Life of a Chunibyo

Chapter 3: New Friends

School ended. I was ready to confront the culprit.

I made my way to where our lockers were. A yellow haired girl with glasses was busy rummaging through something. She seemed to not have noticed my approach until I brought her to her full attention.

"Yukimura Tsubaki-san."

Her head jerked up suddenly. Noticing me standing a few feet away from her, her hands shaking as she was desperately trying to hide something behind her back. A nervous smile on her face as I slowly approached her.

"Ah, Junto-san. How nice to see you here. Are you going back home?"

I wasted no time and went straight to confrontation. "Yukimura-san. You don't need to steal in order to get other people's attention. I'm sure if you step out of your shell, people will accept you for who you are."

She took a step back defensively, still not ready to give up her act. "I-I'm not the culprit. What are you talking about?"

I sighed. "I don't want to do this to you, but it looks like I must. After speaking to Emika senpai over lunch today, I went to the principal's office to talk to the him about the thievery in the academy. He told me everything."

"You don't have proof-" she began to object. I continued, giving her no time to escape. "Your last names were a huge giveaway. There's no coincidence that you shared the same last name as the principal. My suspicions were correct. You were his daughter and that was why the thievery continued. He was covering for you."

She was silent. She lowered her head. Her bang covering her eyes. I could not read her emotions. "If friends are what you were worried about. I can be your friend. But you can't just steal from others to get their attention." I rested a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "I understand where you were coming from though."

Yukimura-san looked up. Her green eyes were filled with relief. "R-really?" She asked. I nodded. "Yeah. In my previous school, I was the one that nobody cared for because all I liked was anime and I was a weeb. I stood out because I liked things differently than those around me."

"But that's not right." She objected. "Everyone shouldn't be shamed for what they like."

"I agree." I smiled. "And that's why I left that school and transferred to this one instead. I actually don't have friends so I don't really mind being friends with you."

Yukimura-san shook her head violently. "N-no, you can't be friends with me. I'll only bring your popularity down. I mean……you're beautiful, popular and smart. Hard to believe that you were the forgotten one in your old school and…..well, no one ever noticed me before….."

I felt she slowly shrunk away in her own shadows. The locker room was quiet. Without saying a word, I gave her a hug. Suddenly, she broke down as I rubbed her back in comfort.

"I……. No one hardly notices me anymore. My mom died when I was 10 and everything started spiraling from there. My dad brought home a different lady. She was nice but she won't ever replace the importance of my own mom in my heart…… and dad…..he's so busy running this school that he doesn't have time for me anymore….. I tried to make friends, but those glasses and my geekiness over school makes me look nerdy and no one wanted to be around me because of it…….."

She sobbed, her voice came out in hiccups. I shushed her softly and just held her in a secure hug. I felt her arms wrapping themselves around my waist. I smiled. "Don't worry. I'm more than glad to have you as a first friend." I pulled away and looked at her. "Call me Seika. Being called Junto-san felt strange for me somehow."

She wiped her tears on her uniform sleeve and gave me a smile in return. "Then feel free to call me Tsubaki Seika-chan. Thank you for being my first friend."

I laughed. "I should be thanking you for being my first friend. It wasn't easy confronting you like this considering I'm never one to break someone's heart."

Tsubaki-chan chuckled. "However, you'll have to return the stuff you took back to their respective owners." I said solemnly. "It's wrong to steal after all."

She fidgeted her hand as she looked down. I placed my hand over them. "But don't worry, I'll be there for you. You won't do this alone."

Her smile returned to her face. I couldn't hold back my own as her smile was contagious. With a little makeover, she could be just as beautiful. Perhaps I'll have to help her to be more confident as her friend.

I went home first as she was waiting for her dad to finish up his work so they could get home together. I waved goodbye to her only to be stopped by Kuroka-kun. I almost forgot that he and Miyamoto-kun were both in detention.

"Do you need something?" I was confused. I was almost out of the gate when I heard him calling my name. He made his way toward me. His face was blushing. Or at least I thought he was since the sun was going down and it was making everything red so it was hard to tell.

"Uh, yeah. I heard about what happened with Yukimura and I have to say, I felt bad for you for getting picked on for simply liking anime and for being a weeb." He stuffed his hands in his pocket. His eyes avoided contact with me.

"Pffft. It's not like I need your sympathy." I huffed. "Well, I have to go. I don't want my grandma and grandpa to worry for me."

"I- I don't mind being your friend too….."

I stopped. Did I just hear that right?

I turned around. "I hope you're not pranking me for fun because I honestly don't believe that you would want me as a friend."

He looked away. "Well, as much as I hated to admit it, you're a good company to be around."

I tilted my head. I barely talked with him and yet he thought I'm a good company? What?

"Well, you accepted Yukimura so maybe I thought I could try my chance. Looks like you officially hate me so I'll just leave you be. Sorry about yesterday. Bye. Nice talking to you." He turned around and was about to walk off but I stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait Kuroka-kun."

He only turned his head around. "I don't mind honestly. It was fun fighting with you so I don't mind doing it again any time soon." I finished with a grin. He rolled his eyes with a shrug before walking away. I couldn't see his expression, but somehow I could tell he was smiling.

"What about me though? I mean, I'm fine with you not bein' my gurlfriend but yer entertainin'." I felt an arm around my shoulder and turned my head to see a grinning Miyamoto-kun. I gently pushed him away. "Sure, but I'd prefer you keep your hands to yourself in the future."

"Awesome! Thanks Junto. Just wanna say you seemed cool confronting Yukimura like that. Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes."

I perked up hearing my favorite detective's name. "Wait, you read Sherlock Holmes too?"

"Are ya kiddin'? He's mah favorite detective!" He started ranting away. We chatted about Sherlock Holmes and our favorite volume for a while before I realized that it was getting a lot darker than I thought. I said a quick goodbye to him before pedaling away on my bike. Oh man, this time, I'm definitely getting some good scolding from my grandma.