I started dating a cute girlfriend I met during my eighth grade days when we reunited in high school. - Chapter 2

TL: Mowaso

ED:Anima

---

Chapter 2-The real Tanaka-san <identity of the fake witch>　

 

“Whoa, seriously…”

 

After I parted ways with Tanaka-san and when I was on my way home, I saw a pair of girls walking in front of me. That was all well and good, but they were both my acquaintances. One of them was my childhood friend, Eriko Saito, who was dressed like a gal, and the other was Tanaka-san, whom I had just parted ways with… Despite her appearance, Eriko Saito is a very serious and caring person, and I guess she was helping Tanaka-san, who had just transferred to our school. It was a little awkward so I just pretended I didn’t notice them and overtook them.

 

“Ohー so, you used to live around here in the past, Tanaka-san?”

 

“Yes, my father was transferred to another location at that time. It’s been a while since then, but I’m relieved to see that things haven’t changed that much.”

 

As I walked by, I could hear their conversation even if I didn’t want to. I had a bad feeling, so I tried to walk faster, and that’s when it happened.

 

『—♪ーー♪』

 

Out of nowhere, a strange Chuuni-sounding beat and bizarre Chuuni-sounding lyrics started to play. Yes, I was familiar with this one. It’s a band called “Schwartz Knights,” which is very popular among otaku’s. Their unique style of music is very appealing to some people, yes, only to a certain group of people. For the general public, this band is regarded as extremely embarrassing.

 

Sensing a bad premonition, I looked at Tanaka-san. Then, she turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat. Is this person for real? After our earlier exchange, she didn’t even bother to change her ringtone!

 

“Uhm… What’s with this weird… song, is it coming from Tanaka-san’s phone?”

 

“Eh… Ah… Uhm…”

 

Can’t she even make a poker face?! Seeing Tanaka-san standing frozen in place, I immediately took action. There’s no way I’m going to abandon my former ally in a pinch, not even though we’ve parted ways!

 

“Hey, Tanaka-san! Sensei had informed me that you picked up my treasure! Thank you very much!”

 

“You’re trying to draw Tanaka-san’s attention, aren’t you? I told you before to quit that stupid antics of yours already…”

 

I approached her as if I just noticed them. Eriko clicked her tongue at me with a dumbfounded look. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff was Tanaka-san’s specialty. Besides, impact is important in these kinds of situations. I’m gonna use my eccentricities to cover up her own eccentricities.

 

She looked at me suspiciously for a moment, but soon seemed to understand my intentions.

 

“Eh, yes. I was planning to hand it over to you at school tomorrow, I’m glad we met here.”

 

“Thank you so much, I was really saved. I want to express my gratitude, how about a cup of tea?”

 

“Shinya… I know Tanaka-san is cute, but that doesn’t mean you can hit on her.”

 

Eriko interrupted me with a sour look on her face. Well, I guess if your childhood friend suddenly starts to hit on a transfer student, you’ll probably say, “What the hell is with this guy?” But for now, it can’t be helped.

 

“It’s fine, co-ed school is great, I’ve already made some male friends.”

 

Oh, this line belongs to a female character in a romcom novel we used to read together. Tanaka-san seemed to have guessed that I had already been aware of it, and smiled at me. I really like this sort of stuff.

 

“Well, let’s go. I know a great place.”

 

“Eh, wait a minute…”

 

While Eriko was confused and unable to keep up with the situation, I walked off with Tanaka-san. I guess I’ll have to message her on LINE later, and give her an appropriate excuse…

 

“That was close. I thought I was going to be exposed… Did you see that…? Ad libs and light novels can save your life.”

 

“You idiot, after saying something like that earlier, you nearly got caught right away. You should change your ringtone to something normal. If a normal person heard that music, they would be surprised!”

 

“Because I like it, is that bad?”

 

Tanaka-san, who asked me with an upward glance and was sulking slightly, was so cute. Is that bad? No, not at all. Rather, it’s great!

 

“Your way of speaking is reverting to your old tone, is that okay?”

 

“It’s okay, you’re the only one around now anyway. I’m tired of putting on an act.”

 

“I mean, you’re imitating a character from a light novel with your personality at school…”

 

I don’t think it’s bad that her standard for a normal high school student is from a light novel, in fact, I could relate a little. There is a certain feeling that comes with imitating a character from an anime or manga.

 

“That… Thanks for… helping me out…”

 

 “Eh, what?”

 

She thanked me with a faint voice, almost like a whisper. Of course I could hear her, but I pretended to be deaf like some protagonists in light novels and asked her to repeat herself. What? I felt like being a bit mischievous to see how she would react.

 

“That’s… I just said thank you for helping me.”

 

“Oh, you should be thankful and respect me.”

 

She groaned as her face turned bright red. Then we laughed at each other. I felt like we were back in the old days when we were together on the riverbank.

 

“It’s not a lie that we have a lot of things to talk about, would you like to have some tea with me?”

 

Her unexpected invitation left me with no option but to accept. Seriously, could this be a date?

 

I followed her and was led to her house. I was taken to a room with pitch-black curtains, a strange magic circle on the floor, and a mysterious crystal ball. Yes, this was Tanaka-san’s room.

 

Wow, this room was even more awful than I expected. Isn’t a girl’s room supposed to be fancier than this? Shouldn’t it smell nice? It looks like a summoning chamber for demons, and there was some creepy incense burning in there. But… I didn’t hate this kind of thing… Rather, I loved it!　

 

Anyway, I wonder if she doesn’t consider me as a member of the opposite sex because she suddenly brought me to her room.

 

“You can sit anywhere you like. Since you’re here, can you tell me your real name?

 

“Eh, it’s Kisaragi Shinya. I’ve been telling you that for a while. Look, here’s my Student ID.”

 

“Lie… that’s unfair! Why is your real name uselessly cool?”

 

She was unreasonably exasperated when I showed her my ID. Hey, stop that nonsense and ask my parents instead. She has been speaking in her old tone. I preferred this one because it felt more like her real self and it was easier to talk to her.

 

“You haven’t graduated from Chuunibyou yet, so why did you say those things earlier at school?”

 

“Because… my sister told me that if I went to a co-ed high school, I’d be shunned.”

 

“Ahー certainly…”

 

I completely forgot about that, because I was accepted by my classmates as that kind of a personality. But, after all, we’re high school students now. If a person keeps acting like an anime protagonist or manga character, that person might be treated like a lunatic. Maybe she had some unpleasant experiences at her previous school.

 

“No, my previous school was an all-girls school, so I was rather free to do that. I even joined the fortune-telling club and practiced some sort of black magic.”

 

“What? That sounds extremely fun!”

 

“But I didn’t know what this new school would be like, so I decided just to be quiet…”

 

She was trying to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, but it was hard to have someone who knew about her past. I can understand how she feels, but I’m still frustrated, and that’s why I couldn’t help but reveal my true feelings.

 

“I do understand what you’re trying to say, but it was sad to be told to pretend it never happened…”

 

Hearing my words, she widened her eyes in surprise. And then she pouted immediately as if she was sulking. Eh, did I do something to make her angry?

 

“I thought you had already graduated because you dressed normally and didn’t even come to talk to me at school… So I thought maybe it was better if I told you that we should both pretend that it never happened…”

 

Indeed, I used to wear a silver chain and wrap my right arm with a bandage because of the black dragon that was sealed within my body (character setting). I wanted to hit myself from the past. But at the same time, I was glad that she hadn’t forgotten about me. The events at the riverbank were black history for both of us, but it was an important chapter in our lives. I was glad to know her true feelings and that I wasn’t the only one who cherished those memories. 

 

“It’s been a while… Beni”

 

“It’s been a while, Shinya.”

 

She nodded happily at my words. We looked at each other as if savoring the afterglow of a true reunion. If we were in a gal game, this would probably be a flag. However, reality was different and no such event took place.

 

“Excuse me for disturbing you, but I brought you some tea.”

 

“Onee-chan! Please stop coming in without permission.”

 

“I did knock, but I didn’t think you’d bring a boy home. Well, it was worth the transfer.”

 

The one who knocked and came inside was a beautiful woman who looked like a grown-up version of Beni. But her tits were huge!! She smiled when she saw me and then placed two cups of tea and scones on the table in front of us.

 

“So is he your boyfriend, or just a nice boy who doesn’t run away after seeing this room?”

 

“Shut up, he’s not my boyfriend! Please just get out of here!”

 

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. She’s a bit weird, but she’s not a bad girl. This is her first time going to a co-ed school, so she might do some stupid things, but I’d appreciate it if you could take care of her.”

 

Her sister left the room while laughing as Beni threw a bat cushion at her. I felt like she had made a huge misunderstanding about me, but it was true that Beni and I were very similar. I wonder if Beni would become a beautiful woman like her sister when she became a college student, and my lines of sight landed on her chest. No, that would be too much to hope for…

 

“Hey, can you please tell me why you’re looking at my chest right now?”

 

“No, your sister seemed to have misunderstood our relationship, and I was wondering if it was fine with you…”

 

I averted my gaze as she grabbed me by the chest. No, It didn’t have any deep meaning. I mean, seriously… She was looking at me as if she was looking at garbage, but she sighed then and let go of me.

 

“Well, it’s not because of what your sister said, but maybe we should go out with each other?”

 

“HAAAAAAAH!?”

 

She dropped her scones and let out a squeak. Oh, what a waste.

 

“You said we should start dating… That… It’s true that I don’t dislike you and I’m glad that we share a common interest, but I’ve never had any experience with that sort of thing, so I don’t really understand…”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t explain myself well enough. You know, our classmates are used to me saying all sorts of chuuni stuff. That’s why. If we become a couple, even if it’s fake, we can make it seem like Beni was just trying to match me whenever you say something weird. Also, are you confident that you won’t get caught?”

 

“Ugh… That’s certainly true…”

 

“If you don’t like it, you can say no. And if you find someone you really like, you can just dump me.”

 

She groaned at my words as she thought about it. Honestly, it was a bold proposal from me. She cherished those memories of me, and I wanted to help her… whom I happened to meet again. Well, I’m not going to lie that there was a little bit of an ulterior motive. I can be myself when I’m with her and maybe we’ll be teased a little when we’re together. The truth is, I liked her, but I never told her that…

 

“Okay, let’s go out. But don’t get me wrong. It’s just a fake relationship.”

 

“Ah, got it, Beni.”

 

She and I enjoyed our conversation as if we were making up for our lost time. Oh, I wish this time could last forever. However, it was getting late, so we exchanged contact information and I decided to go home.

 

“YOSHAAーーーー”

 

I yelled out by myself on my way home. What the hell, I asked her to go out with me. Wasn’t there a better way? I could have simply said, “Let’s be friends.” Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen her in a while that I got carried away. I wonder if I could go back in time and kill myself. I wish I could restart my life from zero.

 

While I was standing there alone, my phone vibrated. It seems that I received a LINE message. It was something that I never got before and I decided to take a look at it.

 

                  ——————————————————————————

Tanaka/Beni side

 

“Hey, did your boyfriend already leave? He could’ve stayed for dinner.”

 

“What are you saying, he’s not my… boyfriend… No, my boyfriend… He’s my boyfriend now!.”

 

I couldn’t help but smile as I recalled today’s events. I was reunited with a former comrade from my junior high school days. He remembered me, and we were still comrades. 

 

“That’s him, right? The boy you met at the riverbank. It’s good that you met him again. I remembered back then, you stopped going to the riverbank because you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to see him again since we were moving, and when you finally decided to go, you came back crying because you didn’t get to meet him.”

 

“Fwaaaaaa… Please stop talking about that time…”

 

I buried my face into the bat cushion in shame. Yes, I had always regretted not saying goodbye to him properly. That’s why I was surprised when I saw him again at school. I had been thinking about how I would respond to him if he spoke to me, but he didn’t, so I did something aggressive, but in the end I was happy that things turned out well. Now that I think about it, I feel like I did something pretty bold by suddenly bringing him to my room. I hope he didn’t feel repulsed…

 

But I couldn’t help it, I didn’t want anyone to hear our conversation today, and I didn’t know where to hang out with boys. Besides, I hadn’t seen him in a long time and I got carried away…

 

But how can I be someone’s lover, even if it’s a fake one? …The truth is that I was a little nervous when he asked me to go out with him. I wasn’t sure if this was a romantic feeling or not yet. Should I do something girlfriend-like for now?

 

“Hey, Onee-chan, I wonder what I should do to be more like a girlfriend?”

 

“Oh, you look like a maiden in love nowー Let me tell you all about it. First, why don’t you make a promise to go to school together tomorrow?”

 

My sister smiled happily. She was really worried about me getting used to my new school, wasn’t she? My sister and I tried to think of a message to send to Shinya. I still don’t know what this feeling in my chest is, but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.

 

---


If you like my translation please consider supporting me on Ko-fi