Haibara's Teenage New Game+ Volume 2 (eBook)

“What do you want?” I asked her bluntly.

“I didn’t say I came to see you,” she said with a sniff.

Fair enough, I thought.

Nanase took advantage of the brief pause in our conversation to interject. With her best customer service smile and voice, she said, “Please follow me to your seat,” leading Miori away.

Noticing Nanase’s presence, Miori turned to greet her. “Oh, Yuino-chan! Thanks a bunch!”

“Not at all,” Nanase replied. “Is there something special happening today? It’s quite late for you to be out.” She switched to a casual tone in response to Miori’s friendly attitude.

Nanase’s flawless when it comes to reading between the lines, I marveled. It’s the key to how she has so many friends in spite of her cool demeanor.

“Practice wrapped up for the day, and I wanted to have a strategy meeting with that guy over there,” Miori said with a smile pasted on her face as she pointed at me.

It’s not polite to point at people! Also, what the heck?! So you did come to talk to me! You always refuse to be honest or to agree with me, just like when we were kids.

“Strategy meeting?” Nanase asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“It’s nothing much. You two are almost done working, right?” Miori asked.

“Yes. We get off at ten,” Nanase said as she looked at the clock. It was already 9:30 p.m.

“We can’t stay here past ten. Our manager will get mad,” I told Miori.

This part of being a high schooler was inconvenient. I used to work late into the night when I was a college student, but we could only work until 10 p.m. due to the law. Ah well, what’s a student to do about it?

“Really? Then let’s go home together,” Miori suggested with ease.

I paused and then grudgingly said, “Well, sure. Fine, I guess.”

She must really want to have a strategy meeting. Did she make any progress with Reita?

“I can stay here until you clock out, right? Oh, I’ll have a coffee!” Miori decided without waiting for my opinion and settled down in her seat.

Pushy as always, and that’s why you’re the brat commander. There were few customers remaining, but I was still working, so I couldn’t continue talking to Miori. I left her and returned to the area behind the counter.

Nanase followed me and commented, “You two are very close.”

“Well, more or less, I guess. We’ve gone to the same school since elementary school,” I explained.

I say that, but before my time leap, Miori and I weren’t originally close enough for her to randomly drop by my workplace. We’re just bound by a pact to help each other out. She said it was for a strategy meeting, so all we’ll be discussing is that, I thought.

My throat was dry, so I took a sip of water. Right as I did so, Nanase asked in an impassive tone, “Are you two dating?”

“BFFUH?!” I exclaimed, almost doing a spit take. I barely managed to force the water back down before any could escape. Boy, that was close! Where the hell did that come from, Nanase?! “N-No way!” I denied fervently.

“Really? She came all the way here after practice to see you, she’s waiting for you to finish working, and she wants to walk home with you. Objectively speaking, you two look like a couple.” Nanase looked over at Miori who was blissfully fiddling with her phone. “Also, a strategy meeting? Whatever for?”

“W-Well, uh... Yeah, you know,” I mumbled.

“Will you enlighten me about what you two are planning?”

“U-Uuuh...” I fumbled for words. The deal between me and Miori was that in exchange for helping her date Reita, she’d help me with my Rainbow-Colored Youth Plan.

Nanase already knew about my high school debut, so it was probably fine to divulge my side of the deal, but I’d have to tell her that Miori was gunning for Reita. I doubt Miori would care if Nanase found out, but this isn’t the sort of thing I should talk about without her consent. I agonized over how I might clear up this misunderstanding without exposing Miori’s secret.

Nanase shook her head. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you’re uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, but...” I trailed off.

“I think I’ve got a good idea, based on your response. I’ll ask Miori-san directly next time.”

“Sorry, please do that instead,” I said gratefully. “Hold on, are you two close?”

The two of them had bumped into each other while the club fair was going on and during our study group session. I’d seen Miori talk to the others before, but I couldn’t recall a single time she and Nanase had exchanged words.

“Not particularly, but she’s in the same club as Uta, so we’re already on pretty good terms, right? A friend of a friend is basically already my friend too.”

Ah, the logic of a popular kid... Are you serious? I’m not gonna lie, but I’ve been low-key assuming that Nanase leaned towards my side of the introversion scale... In my opinion, a friend of a friend is a stranger. But hold on! I’ve barely ever met any of my friends’ friends. Oh wait, I didn’t have any friends. Ha ha ha! This is where I’m supposed to laugh, right? I thought sardonically. It’s all about communication skills in the end—which I’m sorely lacking.

There hadn’t been a hint of discomfort in Nanase and Miori’s conversation just now. They both maintained the appropriate amount of familiarity and spoke without hesitation. If I ever tried to speak to a friend of a friend, there’s no doubt that I’d make things awkward. I’d waffle on whether or not I should say hello to them at school and end up averting my eyes to avoid the situation, for sure!

Nanase interrupted my stupid thoughts. “I want to become good friends with Miori-san. She’s cute... Plus, she has excellent features. Very nice!” She nodded in agreement with herself as she looked in Miori’s direction.

“Yeah, she’s great if you just look at her,” I said.

“That’s the most important part. Beautiful women are the best.”

“N-Nanase?” I said, bewildered by her tone. Is it just me or has her personality gone rogue?

Nanase let out a small gasp. “O-Oh, i-it was just a joke. I’ve only spoken to her a few times, but I think she has a delightful personality. Yes, yes, of course she does! That’s why I want to be friends with her. I don’t have any ulterior motives.”

“O-Oh, really?”

I really want to believe that the alarming vibes you were exuding were just my imagination. I’ve never heard you speak so quickly either... I feel like every now and then, Nanase accidentally reveals some of her inner self, probably because we’ve been getting along well. I want to brush it off as my imagination playing tricks on me, so please keep a tighter rein on your thoughts and hide it better!

***

After I finished my shift, Miori and I exited the café together. Nanase had left ahead of us without delay, likely out of consideration for the two of us.

The sky was completely dark, but we were right in front of a station, so there were many street lights dimly illuminating the main road. The streets were mostly empty, with few people walking around. We passed by an occasional drunk middle-aged man or a weary-looking salaryman. It was already past 10 p.m., after all.

“I’m happy to have a strategy meeting, but why so late at night?” I asked Miori.

“Because I basically have practice every day. And we’re in different classes, so we barely get the chance to talk. When else are we supposed to discuss the plan? Today was perfect since you had work.”

“I get that you have practice, but until this late? Do you guys really go this hard?”

“Uta and I got wrapped up in a conversation afterwards, and now here I am.”

“Shouldn’t you watch the time more carefully? You are a girl, more or less. Aren’t you nervous about walking around at night?”

“What do you mean ‘more or less,’ huh?” she asked and pulled my ear.

“Hey! That hurts!”

“Sheesh! How can you say that to a cutie like me?” Miori let out a little huff of anger. She’d never done that in the past, and the gesture almost seemed flirtatious.

Because of Nanase’s strong emphasis on how pretty Miori was, I subconsciously examined her face. She really is attractive. She’s certainly beautiful enough that I might’ve accidentally fallen for her if I didn’t know her personality already.

Feeling my gaze upon her while we walked, Miori suddenly turned, and our eyes met. Startled, she took a step away from me. “Wh-What? Why’re you staring at me?”

“Oh, uh, no reason,” I replied.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No. I told you it’s nothing,” I replied hastily. My response came out colder than I’d intended because I was panicked.

Silence fell over us for a short while.

“Then, were you just staring at my face?” she asked, breaking the silence.

I didn’t want to admit that I had been because it...