Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Part 106

"Junta says he won his first game," I comment to Tsukasa, who smiles.

"I'm not surprised. He's already one of the stars of the team, despite being a second year." He squeezes my hand in his and I blink, realizing I'm staring at the ground with a blank expression. "You made the right choice. He seems really happy there."

I nod. It's been a few weeks since our house became one of two, and we're starting to fill in the blanks Junta left behind. He's thriving in his new school and team, but we still call and text as much as we can. Little stuff like what we had for breakfast, big stuff like winning a game or making a new friend; we share it all. Things aren't awkward between us anymore, at least, I hope so, which makes it easier to talk with him.

And, of course, we've been up to visit him a few times on free weekends. His house is small but cozy, as he's pretty good at indoor design, which is a very specific skill to have, but I'm glad he has it. Everything's being paid for by the school and his parents, since he doesn't have time to work a job with his practice taking up most of the day.

School's started up for us as well. I was worried Tsukasa would be awkward about us dating but he's fully committed, eating lunch with Emi and I, walking to and from school with me, and doing other sweet boyfriend-ish things. He's so perfect I can hardly believe it sometimes.

"Haru? Are you spacing out?"

"W-What?" I laugh jokingly. "No! What—Me? You think I'd space out?"

He chuckles, bumping me with his shoulder. "I do, actually. Did you hear what I said?"

I search my memories but come up blank. "Sorry, I didn't."

"What should we have for dinner tonight? I can make something, but we'll have to go to the store for that."

I frown at the ground ahead of us. "That sounds like a pain. We could just get takeout. Oh!" I realize, "I still have a free sushi ticket from Kiki! Emi can come too, since she's already coming over to play games. How's that sound?"

He nods thoughtfully. "I could go for some sushi."

"I can always go for sushi!" I inform him happily.

"I never knew." His face is so serious I can't tell if he's joking, but I confirm it when his lips twitch into a smile.

"It's not a well known fact," I agree, laughing.

"Oh," Tsukasa mutters, pulling me to the side. I realize there's a dark haired boy around our age walking the opposite way, but even with Tsukasa's help I still can't avoid bumping into him.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" I let go of his hand to worry around the boy as he stumbles, then straightens, sighing. Suddenly he flinches, turning to me slowly.

I know that face.

The boy's expression turns sickeningly sweet. "If it isn't little spring forest! It's been too long!" He puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in.

"Haru? You know him?" Tsukasa wonders, looking worried.

I'm frozen. Why is he here? Seeing his face brings it all back way too suddenly; everything I went through in elementary school floods back into me. But something's different this time. It isn't completely overwhelming, taking over my body and making my whirling brain stop. This time it's something I can see; something I can fight.

"We're childhood friends!" the boy tells Tsukasa, tightening his grip on my shoulder. "Isn't that right, Haru?"

I take a deep brain, sigh it out, and push his arm off me. "Tsukasa, meet my childhood bully, Kuragari." I step back to his side, glaring at the boy, who stares at me in shock. "Needless to say, we're not friends."