“What’s this, a declaration of war?”
Kondo Haruka’s reply to Xiao Chun Miura was much more patient than at the beginning.
After some time talking, Kondo Haruka had calmed down.
She was completely different from when the conversation in the infirmary began, much quieter than her earlier explosive state.
This also gave Xiao Chun Miura the confidence to explain everything clearly.
As long as she could clear up those misunderstandings for Kondo Haruka here, then no matter what happened afterwards, she wouldn’t owe this girl—whose feelings had been intruded upon—anything.
She needed to untangle the essence of that misunderstanding for her right here.
“– If you want to take it as a declaration of war, that’s up to you, Kondo-san.”
“But please, after listening to what I have to say, judge for yourself how to see it.”
“Anyway, you’ve already listened to me for so long just now, so bearing with me for a few more sentences shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“In the eyes of outsiders, the gentlest and most patient Kanzaki-kun must also have that much patience towards the girl he cares about most.”
Xiao Chun Miura looked into Kondo Haruka’s eyes with meaning.
“Xiao Chun Miura, even if you try to provoke me like this, I won’t fall for it again.”
Kondo Haruka looked back.
“Say whatever you want.”
The gazes of the two girls crossed in the air, as if heating up the very atmosphere.
For the first time since the conversation began, Kondo Haruka made eye contact with Xiao Chun Miura—and suddenly understood something.
…So this was it.
What had changed about Xiao Chun Miura, whose atmosphere was now completely different from usual?
She finally understood when their eyes met.
— It was the look in her eyes.
The current Xiao Chun Miura, those eyes seemed able to capture even the feelings she tried to avoid, able to unearth even the hidden truths she concealed—and even to probe the depths of her heart she herself didn’t know.
Is that it?
It was because of this change that she had become so proactive, a side of her never shown before.
“Kondo-san.”
It was at the moment the girl with chestnut-red curls realized how the once timid girl had become like this that Xiao Chun Miura’s voice sounded.
“Do you think you lost?”
Just like before.
Xiao Chun Miura asked a question that sounded strange to Kondo Haruka.
“– Lost?”
But the face that had finally calmed down changed instantly.
“You said lost??”
“I didn’t lose!”
“Are you kidding me? The result of the match may have been that you guys got a ranking, but I had to stop the match. If I had finished normally, how could I have lost! I was only injured…”
“No, Kondo-san.”
Just like when she refuted Kondo Haruka’s answer to the first question, Xiao Chun Miura interrupted her with a nearly cold tone.
Then, as if helpless, she spoke.
“…But yes, that’s just how you should be.”
“No one can deny you were nearly invincible at the sports festival. That means, if you’d finished normally, my classmate and I wouldn’t have a chance to beat you, not even if we raced ten or a hundred times.”
“But that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“And I think you know deep down what I meant when I said, ‘Do you think you lost?'”
Xiao Chun Miura interrupted her, her gaze—already changed—shone like a torch, making it hard for Kondo Haruka to avoid.
“If you haven’t realized, I can remind you.”
“It’s not about winning or losing this single Borrowed Item Relay match, nor about whether your injury was caused passively or actively.”
“– You’ve always been afraid of losing.”
“Just like how you immediately turned the question back on me when I asked. You don’t want to lose, nor admit to losing.”
“– If you can win, you want to keep winning.”
“I think that’s not just your nature, it’s how your classmates see you—and how Kanzaki-kun has always seen you.”
“Do you agree?”
“– I wasn’t wrong to say, ‘Once you step onto the field, you’ll give your all in every match,’ right?”
Still, just like with the first question.
Xiao Chun Miura’s words here were also true.
— So, at the moment Kondo Haruka needed to react, she could only go along with Xiao Chun Miura’s words.
…It’s frustrating to admit, but you’re right.
So, as Xiao Chun Miura had anticipated, Kondo Haruka responded accordingly.
“If possible, I want to beat you ten times, a hundred times, countless times. I want to take every First Place before you all.”
So Xiao Chun Miura was able to continue.
“Good.”
“– Then, I have a new question, Kondo-san.”
“I think you’ll also be confused when you consider the answer to this one.”
…If you desire victory so much, why, when you could have easily won another match by dashing through the finish line, did you choose to stop and interfere in someone else’s race?
“Even if you blocked us and started running again, you couldn’t have gotten First Place.”
“But if you’d ignored our lane and just sprinted ahead, you would surely have crossed the finish line first.”
“What was going through your mind, that made you choose to block us instead of chasing the ranking?”
“Don’t you love victory most?”
“Why did you make that choice during the match…?”
As Xiao Chun Miura expected, Kondo Haruka fell silent after hearing these questions.
But this part was different from before.
Xiao Chun Miura didn’t give Kondo Haruka time to react.
This was different from Kanzaki Sou.
— When explaining Kanzaki Sou’s issue to Kondo Haruka, Kanzaki Sou wasn’t there.
Even if some details were slightly off, with the person absent, she wouldn’t be exposed.
Though those words were carefully thought out and arranged, Xiao Chun Miura only had an extraordinary sense of empathy.
After all, it’s not mind reading—errors are normal.
She could only say things she was absolutely sure of, guess at less certain points, and avoid topics she had no idea about.
With the person not present, this adjustable aspect was a little more free.
But now, the problem with Kondo Haruka had to be resolved.
She was right here, in front of her.
The previous parts of the conversation had all built up to this final offensive.
The short trust built up in the talk—if a mistake was made here, there would be no way to proceed.
Mistakes were not allowed.
— To avoid difficult situations, she couldn’t give Kondo Haruka too much time to think.
She had to keep her following her own logic, best if she didn’t think of anything extra until the end.
“I’ll explain it, Kondo-san.”
“The reason you gave up the victory within reach was because you were afraid of losing a more important match.”
“– You were afraid of losing to me in the ‘battle for Kanzaki-kun.'”
Kondo Haruka visibly wavered.
Xiao Chun Miura continued without pause.
“You couldn’t accept the possibility that Kanzaki-kun might leave you, be with me, and see me as his only one—instead of you always holding that special position.”
“You felt your possession was taken, your territory invaded, your Childhood Friend privilege invalidated.”
“That’s why you were so anxious, became confused, and even though you were on the track, your mind wandered elsewhere, compelling you to block those two Class (5) students—not because you didn’t want them to win, but because you didn’t want to lose to me in this rivalry.”
“On the surface, it looked like you wanted to stop me and my classmate from finishing the race, but in reality, you didn’t want to lose in the competition with me.”
“Am I right?”
Each sentence was like a sharp scalpel, cutting open the most secret and unwilling-to-be-shown part of Kondo Haruka’s heart.
Kondo Haruka opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but found she couldn’t make a sound.
Her face turned pale, lips trembling, tears uncontrollably flowing again.
“You… What do you know about me…?”
She protested weakly.
“I don’t understand? I know even more.”
“Kondo-san, like I said, you’re too afraid to lose.”
“– You’ve gotten used to being First Place; you can’t accept not being First Place.”
“But being First Place in a match is just a moment’s thrill.”
“You’ve been intoxicated by that feeling of standing at the top for so long, you can’t leave that atmosphere anymore.”
“So you’ve gradually become unable to accept not being First Place in others’ eyes, too.”
“Just standing on the podium isn’t enough—you want applause, admiration, following eyes, roaring cheers.”
“Shut up…”
“Stop, Xiao Chun Miura!”
“– There’s no such thing as you say! It’s because I like Sou-kun that—”
…I just like him too much…
“Ah, like, huh?”
Xiao Chun Miura let out a light laugh.
There was no hint of mockery; her laugh was filled with sadness for Kondo Haruka.
“Kondo-san.”
That call was even gentler than any other Xiao Chun Miura had uttered.
“–You really…w”
However, to Kondo Haruka, that tone sounded like the most grating slide, filling her with a bad premonition.
Soon, her premonition came true.
Because just a second later, Xiao Chun Miura’s words landed solidly.
“– Do you really like Kanzaki-kun?”
“What nonsense are you spouting! We’ve grown up together since we were kids! No one knows him better than me! No one likes him more than me!”
Kondo Haruka glared and shouted.
“What do you know, you outsider who suddenly showed up!”
“Then tell me.”
Xiao Chun Miura spoke calmly, stepping forward, closing in on the bed.
Her shadow covered Kondo Haruka, a formless pressure weighing down.
“– When you look at Kanzaki-kun, does your heart race, and you feel too nervous to breathe?”
“– Do you imagine scenes of kissing Kanzaki-kun?”
“– Do you toss and turn all night after accidentally touching his hand, your heart fluttering?”
“– Do you get so excited after helping him and being thanked that you can’t sleep?”
“– Does just a simple ‘Good night’ from him make the whole world light up for you?”
All these consecutive questions left Kondo Haruka speechless.
Chestnut-red curls stopped swaying.
Eye contact makes your heart pound?—Kiss fantasies?
…Heart racing from a touch?
Touching…had already happened countless times.
Eye contact doesn’t make my heart pound, right?
Kiss fantasies… Of course, I’ve had them?
— Have I?
Pressed by Xiao Chun Miura, unwilling to give in, Kondo Haruka searched her mind for the corresponding feelings and proof—but only recalled strange scenes.
…It was getting First Place in elementary school, running up to Kanzaki Sou with the test paper, and feeling proud when he praised her.
…It was winning a tennis match in middle school, Kanzaki Sou handing her water at the sideline, the envious gazes of surrounding girls filling her with superiority.
It was each time Kanzaki Sou rejected confessions from other classes at the school gate, then walked over and said, “Let’s go home,” making her heart brim with that “See, he’s still mine” reassurance.
— There was no heart-throbbing flutter.
— Nor any blushing shyness.
More than anything, it felt.
Yes.
More like a matter of course.
A sense that “the best must belong to me”—that kind of matter of course.
“I…”
“Eh…?”
Kondo Haruka’s gaze began to drift, her voice losing its confidence.
…Standing to the side, Xiao Chun Miura watched the reaction of the once prideful and unyielding Kondo Haruka, feeling certainty within.
— As expected.
As a veteran player who’d read countless romance game scripts, Xiao Chun Miura was all too familiar with this pattern.
Childhood Friends were indeed easy to win, with mutual understanding gained over time, whether personalities matched or not, whether hobbies aligned or not, whether lifestyle habits synced or not… That old married couple feeling formed even before the story began, previewing post-marriage cohabitation beyond any shared route.
In the end, love develops into family affection, and Childhood Friends become family even before love appears.
So everything falls into place, just like that.
The passion ignited on some ordinary day transforms deep friendship into love.
Then, the two naturally end up together.
…This is the Childhood Friend trope—once one side has feelings, the other, even if not immediately smitten, still stands a high chance of ending up together.
But the template of “Childhood Friend” roles in romance games is also highly standardized.
Many times, so-called “Childhood Friends” are not synonymous with love—as discussed, it’s more about family.
A habit, a routine, a title of identity.
Without it…there’s a sense of discomfort.
Childhood Friends give that kind of impression.
For girls like Kondo Haruka, who’ve competed for First Place since childhood, Kanzaki Sou was not just a friend, but the brightest medal in her life.
As her Childhood Friend, Kanzaki Sou was her proudest achievement, gained, kept, and held onto to this day.
— Because he was also excellent, as good as her, or even more perfect.
First Place should stand with First Place, right?
This was the real truth of Kondo Haruka’s heart.
“Kondo-san, you’re the Ace of the Tennis Club, a prominent figure in your grade, and you’ve grown up with such brilliance, always used to excellence and winning.”
Xiao Chun Miura spoke slowly, her tone no longer aggressive.
“Naturally, Kanzaki-kun too. Excellent since childhood, now First Place in the grade, the Prince of the School all the girls admire.”
“– In your eyes, only someone like Kanzaki Sou deserves to stand next to someone like you—both First Place.”
“Only Kanzaki Sou deserves to stand by your side, and only you deserve to stand by Kanzaki Sou.”
“It’s a perfect match, the way of life you’ve grown used to.”
“– You can’t accept a future where he might leave.”
“Your feelings for him aren’t the kind that make you want to give your whole self to him; what you have is an obsession with the unique title of ‘Kanzaki Sou’s Childhood Friend.'”
“That’s a kind of First Place, too.”
“Your reluctance to lose him is like not wanting to lose a tennis match or get second place in an exam.”
“That’s your most important First Place.”
“Because of that, you gave up First Place in the Borrowed Item Relay.”
“No, you were forced to give it up.”
“Losing Kanzaki Sou is harder to accept than losing First Place in any sports match.”
“But in the end, it’s just your competitive spirit acting up.”
“– It’s not love at all.”
“–!!”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! Stop! Don’t say any more!!”
Xiao Chun Miura’s last sentence snapped Kondo Haruka back to reality.
“You’re talking nonsense! You don’t understand us at all! We’ve been together for over ten years…! I know him best!! How dare you act like you know us!!”
Watching Kondo Haruka’s current state, Xiao Chun Miura sighed.
“Yeah, it’s been more than ten years.”
“You two still aren’t dating.”
“If it were really romantic love, after more than ten years, no matter when those feelings started, why haven’t you ever confessed?”
“Or is it…”
“Don’t… Don’t! Don’t keep talking…”
“Or is it—You don’t even know when you started liking him, so you never even had the chance to confess?”
“–!!”
…….This hit the bullseye.
There were no more excuses. No more arguments left.
Xiao Chun Miura had blocked every escape, trapping Kondo Haruka in a cage of her own logic.
Like all her strength had been drained, Kondo Haruka fell back and collapsed onto the bed.
Yeah.
— Why?
Never confessed.
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