When I reunited with my arrogant childhood friend, she had become a talented and beautiful girl – Even though she has probably forgotten about me and I don’t want to be toyed with, for some reason she keeps getting involved with me!?

I, Kazuki Sato, once had a childhood friend. Well, more like a troublesome demon? Mad dog? Disaster? Anyway, she was a really dangerous girl.

To give you an idea of just how dangerous she was, on our first meeting, she threw a pretty hard dodgeball at my face and said, “Greet me, you new kid!! It’s only natural to greet your seniors in society!” I was trying to hold back my nosebleed at the time. I cursed my own misfortune for transferring to such a ridiculous kindergarten.

For some reason, though, I ended up being liked by her and got dragged around by her everywhere. I did whatever she told me to do, and went wherever she told me not to go. She was extremely bossy and reckless.

Because of her, I was always getting yelled at by someone every day. It was a chaotic time.

However, I haven’t seen her once since I moved away and left her in sixth grade.

Well, now it’s a good memory… no, it’s not. Yeah, it’s a past that I don’t want to remember much.

So why am I remembering all of this now? It’s because today is my first day at Heirei Gakuen, one of Japan’s top prestigious schools, to which I transferred from Kirei Gakuen.

It’s not something to brag about, but due to family circumstances, I’ve transferred schools twice before, once in sixth grade and once in my third year of junior high.

I’m used to transferring schools by now. That’s why I understand that the most important day is the first day of school!

2nd year, Class 3. This is my class.

“Come on in!”

As soon as I heard the teacher’s voice, all eyes in the class were on me.

“I’m Kazuki Sato. I came from the countryside. I would be happy if we could get along. Nice to meet you all.”

After giving a neutral greeting and bowing my head, I received a normal round of applause.

“Alright then, Sato-kun, you’ll be sitting in the backseat by the window.”

“Yes.”

“I lightly greeted everyone and thought it was a good start as I politely replied to each person.

‘Sato… Kazuki.’

I recognized the voice. A woman’s voice that I’ve heard hundreds of times. I was fixated on the owner of that voice. It wasn’t because of her well-groomed hair. It wasn’t because of her childlike face that still had some innocence. It wasn’t because of her captivating large eyes.

Everyone would think she’s a beautiful girl, but there was certainly something familiar about her.

‘Hey… why are you here?’

Shinjo Akane. My childhood friend was there. Moreover, she was sitting next to me… Give me a break. I sat in my seat on the first day, feeling like my heart was about to break.

‘…Kazuki…’

Why is she staring at me so intensely? It’s scary. I prayed it was a case of mistaken identity as I attended class.

And then, lunch break came. As soon as the chime rang, I left the classroom and headed to the store to buy lunch.

But why is Shinjo Akane in this school? I wished it was a case of mistaken identity, but the more I looked at her face, the more I realized it was the Akane I knew. I have to keep my distance from her somehow… My high school life will be ruined!!

‘Hey…’

Well, she might not remember me! We haven’t seen each other in almost five years, after all!

‘Hey!’

So this voice is just a hallucination, and it’s probably not directed towards me!

‘Hey, Sato Kazuki-kun!! Can you hear me~!?’

It was me. I sighed and turned around, and there was Akane, putting her hand on her waist and looking at me with narrowed eyes.

Just as they had firmly resolved to keep their distance, they were accosted by a dangerous person. What should they do…?

“You finally turned this way!! Don’t ignore me!! Honestly!!”

Honestly my foot… give me a break.

“You’re Itsuki, right!? The Itsuki who transferred to our kindergarten and suddenly disappeared when we were in 6th grade!?”

Seriously? She remembers me so well…

“I-I must have mistaken you for someone else…”

“That’s impossible!! I’ve been thinking about you since you transferred!! So there’s no way I could be mistaken, right!?”

Wait, isn’t this getting a bit too heavy? Is she really such a clingy girl? She seems to be so confident, but I need to change tactics here.

“Uh, sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t remember you.”

At that, she froze, her face obviously shocked. I felt a little bad seeing her like that, but what can I do? I don’t want to get involved with her…

“Wh-what… you really don’t remember me? You used to love me so much!!”

What!?

“You used to follow me everywhere, hold my hand, and we were always together… even when you transferred, you cried and said you didn’t want to leave me behind…”

No, wait, that was all you! You were the one who forced me to hold your hand and dragged me around! And when we parted ways, you were the one crying and clinging onto my clothes, saying you’d come with me!

I couldn’t help but express my feelings.

“…………”

“…………”

And then came the silence.

“… You remember me so well, don’t you!?”

Oh no…!! Her baseless accusations were so ridiculous that my soul was rejecting them.

“Hey, aren’t you eating lunch alone? Come on, hang out with me!!”

As she said that, she grabbed my hand.

It’s over… my peaceful high school life was crumbling away.