Early In the New Year, The Gal Sitting Next to Me Asked “Hang Out with Me”, So I Thought It Was a Punishment Game, But It Turned Out to Be Just a Tsundere Confession of Her True Love
Episode 1
“Hey, you. Hang out with me.”
“Huh!?”
The year 2024 has finally arrived, and the school year has begun.
As soon as I got to school and sat down, the gal in the next seat confessed to me.
What the hell happened?
At the beginning of the new year, I ――Meinen Arata, was not handsome, brilliant, or athletic, but just a simple first-year high school student.
On the other hand, the one who asked “hang out with me” was the gal sitting next to me ――Nene Kushiro.
Oh, I see. I get it. She told me to hang out with her, but she meant me to accompany her to something. That’s right. There is no way that Kushiro, a Gal, would want a relationship with a plain guy like me.
That’s what I thought.
“Huh? What’s with that? Are you dissatisfied with me? For the record, I think I’m pretty popular, you know. Even just for a trial, wanna give it a try?”
“Huh?”
I didn’t expect “hanging out” to mean “dating”, but it sounded like a relationship, and again a strange voice came out of my mouth.
“Hey, what’s going on? Since when did you become a deaf character? Hey! I’m embarrassed too, in case you don’t know! Will you hang out with me or not!!”
…… Is it just my imagination? After all, I still feel like she’s confessing to me in a romantic sense.
And somehow, Kushiro’s face seems red.
“…… Umm, just to be sure, where am I going to hang out with you?”
But I don’t want to embarrass myself, so I’ll just confirm it without being obvious.
“Argh!! Seriously!! You idiot!! Since when did you become the clueless type! When I say ‘hang out with me’, I don’t mean the place!! I’m talking about going on a date with me!! Like a romantic relationship!! Do you get it!?”
“…… Why?”
“…… Why, you ask? B… because I like you. Because I like you! I want to be with you! Come on, if you don’t want to, just reject me already.… I’m so embarrassed I feel like I’m going to die.”
Kushiro’s eyes, which had been so energetic until just now, began to moisten. And her face is redder than before.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Surely… this isn’t a real confession?
Episode 2
…… What should I do? I don’t know what I should do.
Honestly, I want a girlfriend. And Kushiro is cute. And, this is the year I want to break away from my boring self who is bad at studying, sports, and romance.
So if Kushiro really does go out with me, that would be too good to be true.
But.
“…… Is this a joke confession? Or a punishment game? I mean, who would make a serious confession by saying something like, ‘Hang out with me’?”
Somehow, I was curious about the way she said it, so I said that.
I should have just said yes, even if it was a joke confession or a punishment game. I mean, even if the world were turned upside down, there’s no way someone like me would ever get a girlfriend.
I’ve never even been friends with a girl, let alone had anyone confess their feelings to me before.
So maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea to experience what it’s like to date someone, even if it was just for a joke. Ah, maybe this is why I can’t get a girlfriend.
I was fully prepared for rejection. But…
“…I feel nauseous. It’s humiliating. …… Meinen-kun, I like you. Please go out with me. Now… is this… enough?”
With moist eyes, Kushiro confessed to me again. Perhaps embarrassed, her face is bright red and her body is trembling.
(You’re kidding, right? Hey… this girl is super cute, isn’t she??)
“Uh. …… yeah, that’s fine. If Kushiro is fine with me then okay.”
Kushiro had suddenly become so honest that I didn’t know what to do, so that was the only reply I could give.
But Kushiro looked relieved.
“Really? …… I’m glad ……. Just so you know, this is the first time I’ve confessed my feelings to someone!!”
Saying this, she buried her face in the desk to hide her face.
“That’s definitely a lie. Well, maybe not. Kushiro is so cute.”
I muttered to the back of Kushiro’s head, whose face was no longer visible.
Then I saw Kushiro’s ears twitch.
“…… Really? Even from your point of view, you think I’m cute?”
Kushiro asked while looking away.
“Yes.”
I replied with only one word. Then she turned her head to me and started grinning happily.
“Hehe. Hey, how about I go on a date with you after school today.”
But I didn’t like the way she said it. So.
“…… If you’re going to say it like ‘how about I’, then no thanks.”
When I say that.
“…… Meinen is such a pain… Would you like to go on a date with me after school today?”
Kushiro, sulking about how troublesome it was, rephrased her words.
Episode 3
In the end, I made an appointment with Kushiro, who politely rephrased herself, to go on a date after school.
Kushiro smirked happily again, but to be honest, I don’t know why she looked so happy.
Kushiro is cute and there’s no doubt that she’s popular. …… Plus, she’s clearly a gal. I think she’d be better suited with a flashy, handsome guy than a plain guy like me.
But…… now that I think about it, I’ve never heard any frivolous rumors about Kushiro.
―― I was thinking about such things right now, in the middle of P.E. class.
The boys were playing basketball and the girls were playing volleyball.
Kushiro had her hair in a ponytail and was facing the ball with a serious expression on her face.
Honesty…… I think Kushiro with her hair up and a serious look on her face is cute. A girl like that is my girlfriend? Seriously?
“Nene, here we go!!”
“I got it!”
A gal who is good friends with Kushiro tossed the ball, and Kushiro hit it beautifully into the opponent’s court.
…… I hadn’t really thought about it, but I thought that Kushiro could be athletic.
On the other hand, I’m not good at sports. That’s why the ball never comes my way.
That’s what I thought.
“Hey, Meinen!! Here comes the ball!”
“Huh?”
Was he trying to pass to me, or did he miss a pass to someone? The basketball flew towards me and hit me squarely in the back of the head.
◇
SNAP.
When I woke up, I was in bed in the nurse’s office. No, to be exact, my classmates were worried about me because I had hit my head, and told me that I should go to the nurse’s office just to be safe, but there was no one there, so I just went to sleep. But I accidentally slept too much.
Beside me, Kushiro, a cute girlfriend who worries about me…… wasn’t there. Not even a school nurse was in the nurse’s office.
I’m alone. All alone.
Feeling a little lonely, I looked at the clock and saw that 15 minutes had already passed since my lunch break.
(Oh no! If I don’t leave right away, the lunch boxes at the store will be sold out…!!)
I rushed out of the nurse’s office. Then someone stopped me.
“Meinen-kun!”
It was a cute girl’s voice. But I didn’t have time to stop. If I don’t hurry, I’ll miss lunch. ――When I looked back, I saw Kushiro in gym clothes and carrying a large paper bag.
Episode 4
“Hey, Kushiro. What’s up?”
I couldn’t help but ask.
“…Lunch. I bought some for you. If you don’t get there early, our school store sells out.…… Here, take it.”
But, without looking me in the eye, Kushiro handed me the paper bag.
“Why are you talking so stiffly?”
“Shut up. Do you want it or not.”
“No, I want it! Thank you, you saved me.”
I took the bag and looked inside—there was a special bomb bento, yakisoba buns, some mentaiko pizza toast, a hot chili dog, and coffee.
There was quite a lot. And they were all things a man would buy. And…… it’s all the stuff I buy often.
“Yeah. I’d feel bad if you skipped lunch. See you later!”
Saying this, Kushiro ran off, her ponytail swinging.
I think this while watching Kushiro run away in her gym clothes.
(…… Huh? Doesn’t Kushiro…… always bring a bento box from home? Did she go out of her way to buy this for me? ）
Then I remembered a conversation I vaguely overheard between Kushiro and a friend during lunch break one day.
“Nene always has a bento ready, don’t you?”
“Yeah. But the store is always crowded, and if you don’t go early, they sell out. The pressure from the boys when they are choosing is also intense, you know? …… I can’t handle it. And it’s even tougher after P.E. It’s too embarrassing to go there in gym clothes.”
She certainly said that.
And yet…… – No way, could she really have just bought this selection, which is obviously meant for boys, in her gym clothes, in a hurry, withstanding the pressure of the boys, just for me?
Moreover, they were all things I normally buy…
I was half thinking that Kushiro’s confession was false or a punishment game, but… maybe it was the real deal after all.
When I think about it, something wells up inside me….
I can’t help but smirk.
Really? Is Kushiro actually in love with me? Such a cute Kushiro? And she’s my girlfriend? Isn’t that crazy? It’s crazy. My girlfriend is just too cute.
Suddenly, I feel like I’m getting carried away, and then I come to my senses.
No, no, I guess something like this just can’t happen, right?
Normally, I’m known to have poor athletic ability, so the ball never came flying towards me, and it was rare for one to hit me on the back of the head, prompting me to go to the nurse’s office.
I can’t imagine that Kushiro would be able to buy a menu that is exactly to my taste in that murderous store full of boys.
…… I guess that confession was just a punishment game, and someone bought this lunch for me, and someone somewhere is probably having a laugh at my expense.
I’m a skeptical person who suddenly thinks about such things.
Maybe this is why I can’t get a girlfriend.
But…… if Kushiro’s embarrassed, shy face… was an act, it was too good.
Which is it? Is it a joke or a serious confession?
I sat there thinking for a while.
Episode 5
I thought about it for a while, and then suddenly realized something.
Oh no, I have to get changed and eat quickly, otherwise my lunch break will be over!!
With that in mind, I hurried back to the classroom, got changed, and took out the contents of the paper bag Kushiro had given me.
Then, I found a very cute, girly note inside――
【Is your head okay? I’d hate it if our after-school date got canceled, but I’d also hate it if you weren’t feeling well, so don’t push yourself if it’s too much. Here’s my LINE ID, just in case.】
It was also written in colorful pens and handwriting that seemed very girly.
I wondered, though, if she couldn’t have phrased ‘Is your head okay?’ a bit better.
If this was all just part of a fake confession, I was starting to feel a weird sense of respect for the effort.
I sent Kushiro a LINE as a thank you for lunch.
[Kushiro? It’s me. Thanks for the lunch.]
[“It’s me”? Who are you?]
[Who do you think? Are you handing out lunch to a bunch of people or something?]
[Of course not, idiot.]
[Thought so. Thanks again.]
[Yeah.]
If you look only at the text, it is a casual exchange. But while eating lunch, I take a look at Kushiro’s face next to her friend in the same classroom, she’s grinning happily as she looks at her smartphone screen.
“Nene, what’s up? You look so happy?”
Kushiro’s friend, who was nearby, talked to her. Then Kushiro said.
“I got my first LINE message from my boyfriend!!”
She replied with a happy smirk again.
…… Seriously? Hey. Even I’m getting a smirk on my face.
I hid my grinning mouth with one hand.
Then another LINE came from Kushiro……
[Hey, today’s after-school date…… Do you think you can still make it?]
That’s what I was asked.
[Yes.]
I replied with only one word.
And then.
[Good ♡♡♡.]
There are three heart marks at the end of the sentence.
What is this? This is bad. I’m grinning so much that I feel like my face is going to melt. With that in mind, I took a quick look at Kushiro’s face.
She was holding her smartphone to her chest and trembling with a happy expression on her face.
“What is it, Nene? Are you obsessed with your first boyfriend?”
Kushiro said when her friend asked her that.
“Shut up. I’m so happy right now, so don’t bug me ♡.”
She seemed to be in a good mood and was smiling as she replied to her friend.
（…… Hey, wait. What did you just say? Didn’t you say I was your first boyfriend? ）
Kushiro said that it was the first time she had confessed her feelings to someone. But no way…… I can’t believe I was the first person she had dated.
（…… I’m sorry for suspecting that it may be a joke or a punishment game.)
I apologized quietly in my heart without anyone knowing.
Episode 6
――It was after school. But I was in a hurry.
I had made plans to go on a date with Kushiro after school, but on days like this, a teacher asked me to carry their luggage.
(Sensei, just because I look like a plain and serious student doesn’t mean I don’t have any plans after school. Well, today is a rare day when I do have plans.)
While thinking about this and giving off an aura of urgency, the teacher spoke to me.
“What’s the matter, Meinen? You seem awfully fidgety. Do you have an after-school date planned?”
“Er……?”
It was too close to the mark that I couldn’t say anything.
“What! That’s it. Even though it’s winter. Spring has come for you, too. Maybe the person you’re going out with is Kushiro? Just kidding. There’s no way. Hahaha.”
“Eh… why did you say that?”
Even though I didn’t say anything, I was so surprised that the name came out of the teacher’s mouth that I ended up affirming it.
“You’re kidding, right? No, because you can see the cold-looking Kushiro at the school gates from here, waiting for someone. I just wanted to say anything… sorry. Go quickly and warm her up.”
Sensei, that remark was a bit morally harassing, but I looked out the window. Sure enough, there was Kushiro waiting for someone at the school gate.
(…If that’s how it is, I should have met her somewhere warmer!)
With that regret, I said goodbye to the teacher and ran to the school gate where Kushiro was.
◇
“Sorry, Kushiro! I got caught by the teacher… I’m a lot later than I expected.”
I ran over to Kushiro, apologizing, and found her hunched over, looking cold, with tears in her eyes.
“Meinen, you idiot! I thought you had already left! And my LINE didn’t even get a read…… what do you think I gave you that for?!”
“I’m sorry. As an apology and as a thank you for lunch, I’ll buy you something hot for dinner… so please forgive me.”
After saying that, Kushiro turned away in an exaggerated manner.
“I’m not that kind of cheap woman… But I’ll forgive you if you hold my hand. You look warm, Meinen.”
She said that and then, looking at me with just her eyes, she extended her hand toward me.
(What, this girl…… could it be, no, I had a vague feeling that she was a Tsundere? ）
Episode 7
Even though we were still in front of the school gates, she offered me her hand, and said it was to apologize for keeping her waiting, I found it difficult to refuse.
When I took her hand, Kushiro’s hand was cool to the touch.
(Wow, did you wait in a place like this until it got so cold?)
That’s what I was thinking.
“You didn’t have to wait here until it got so cold. You could have just moved to a warmer place and waited there since you gave me your LINE.”
When I say so.
“Because you didn’t read my messages. Maybe you dropped your phone somewhere, or it broke, or something happened to make you late, but I thought you might come here.”
Because she said that. I felt an extra pang of guilt in my chest.
“Oh, I’m really sorry, I didn’t open my smartphone in front of the teacher, but……. I saw Kushiro waiting for me from the window, so I ran over after I was done…….”
“Yeah. I forgive you because you held my hand. In fact, I feel like you wouldn’t have held my hand if it wasn’t for that, so I’m grateful to you too, Sensei.”
Kushiro said and smiled happily.
(Damn…… what the hell? Kushiro… she’s so… incredibly cute.)
While keeping my inner voice to myself, I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me for a while.
“Hey, Kushiro. Why did you want to go out with me?”
“Eh? …Because I fell in love with you.”
“…… I don’t get it. What could make you fall in love with me?”
“…It’s a secret…Hey, there’s a place I want us to go together. Is that okay?”
“Uh huh.”
With that said, I was taken to a small ink painting exhibition held in a shopping mall.
One of the things that I know make me so plain is that I like ink paintings.
I hadn’t really met many people my age who liked ink painting in real life, so I had never told anyone about it. But just like how she knew what I liked to eat for lunch, maybe Kushiro knew that I liked ink painting without me realizing it.
So maybe she brought me here today to make me happy. That’s what I thought at the time.
Little did I know, there was an entirely different reason… one I couldn’t possibly have realized back then.
Episode 8
The ink painting exhibition that Kushiro took me to featured works by a variety of ink painters.
I took a closer look at each work. Although they were all painted in black and white, each one had its own unique style, with different subjects, angles, and brush strokes, making each one well worth a look.
(Wow, what should I do? This is fun. But…… I don’t think Kushiro is having fun. Because, Kushiro is so flashy…)
Suddenly I felt anxious and took a look at Kushiro’s profile.
Kushiro, like me, was gazing intently at the ink paintings with a serious expression on her face.
I was shocked by her profile. It was the same face she had when she was playing volleyball in P.E. class today.
At that moment, I felt a slight gap between the gal and the flashy Kushiro. ―― I felt my heart heat up when I saw that she was looking at something I liked with such a serious expression.
As I looked at each piece, I came across one after another by a painter I particularly liked.
It is a work that depicts a living creature in an ephemeral landscape.
It was painted by an artist named 『Kanekawa Michine』.
“Wow… I really like this person’s work. This is… a new piece…”
As I whispered this and gazed upon the work, I suddenly felt like Kushiro was trembling, so I turned my eyes towards her.
Then, Kushiro’s face lit up with a grin that threatened to break out.
“Kushiro? …… What’s wrong?”
“Meinen, do you like this picture?”
“Yes.”
“…… I’m so happy.”
She said this with an expression of unbearable joy on her face.
“Eh, why do you look so happy?”
“…… I mean, I painted this picture…… that’s why.”
“Huh?”
I made a strange sound again.
Because, how could it not be surprising. Kushiro, with her flashy and gal-like appearance, liking ink paintings???
“No, no way that’s true. The name is different.”
Saying that, I looked at the author’s name again……
『Kanekawa Michine』
And Kushiro’s full name is… “Kushiro Nene”
I was shocked to realize that if you break down the character “Kushiro” into its radicals, it becomes “Kanekawa“.
“Oh, could this be a… pen name?”
“Yes.”
Kushiro nodded slightly.
Episode 9
After seeing the ink painting exhibition, Kushiro and I talked about various things while eating at the food court.
Kushiro’s father seems to be an ink painter. Having grown up watching her father, Kushiro also became fascinated with ink painting and started drawing at a young age.
However, none of her classmates liked ink painting. In fact, she was sometimes ridiculed for having such a mundane hobby.
That’s why Kushiro apparently didn’t tell anyone that he was making ink paintings until she was in the upper grades of elementary school.
In response to being told that she was too plain, she began to dress more and more flashy, and by the time she entered high school, she had become a Gal.
When she was in junior high school, Kushiro was asked to submit her work to an ink painting exhibition for the first time.
Her piece was exhibited among many other works. All the other works looked so splendid that Kushiro felt as if her own work was inferior.
At that time, someone stopped in front of Kushiro’s work and muttered, “Wow, I really love this piece.” Kushiro felt saved by that comment.
And that person was… to my surprise, it was me.
Every time Kushiro had an exhibition of her works, she would secretly attend it.
Kushiro had seen me standing in front of her paintings at an exhibition several times. Kushiro had black hair in middle school, and we weren’t in the same school yet, so I never even noticed her. It seemed like only Kushiro knew about me.
Then, when we became high school students, we unexpectedly became classmates.
Kushiro thought it was fate. But even after becoming a high school student, she still never told anyone that she was still making ink paintings.
She was afraid of being made fun of, and of being told that she was different from the image people had of her.
And while she was aware of me… she didn’t think that someone like me, with my calm demeanor, would like her more flashy self, so it seemed her love remained one-sided.
However, at the beginning of the year, Kushiro suddenly wanted to become a new person.
It is true that the New Year has such power.
So, with that momentum, Kushiro apparently confessed to me right at the start of the new semester.
…… she could have chosen her words a little more carefully. It seemed like Kushiro was trying to hide her embarrassment.
Episode 10
When I heard Kushiro’s story, I was surprised that she was so different from what I had imagined.
And I felt bad for thinking it was a joke confession or a punishment game based on the image I had of Kushiro.
At the same time…… my heart warms at the thought of how seriously she felt about me.
To be honest, I only became aware of Kushiro after she confessed her feelings to me.
From what I’d learned about Kushiro, it was enough to capture my heart, and more than anything, the fact that there was a girl my age who liked the things I liked, things that no one else my age had ever shared, was so touching that I began to think it might be fate.
On the way home from the food court.
“Hey, Meinen…… Will you go out with me again?”
Kushiro, who was holding hands with me, asked me again with an inquiring look.
“What’s wrong? You’re being awfully straightforward this time, aren’t you?”
“…… Shut up. I just find it embarrassing to have to rephrase it all over again!!”
“Huh. Even though it was embarrassing, you did rephrase it this morning. You must have been embarrassed when you went to buy me lunch in your gym clothes too?”
I said something mean to my cute girlfriend. Then Kushiro….
“Shut up, you idiot! Of course I was embarrassed!!”
As I expected, she replied with a bright red face. But she kept holding my hand.
“Sorry, sorry, I thought that might be the case and was happy. I’m the one who wants to go on a date with you again. Not just after school… but on the weekends too, would you go out with me?”
I asked that honestly, too.
Then Kushiro began trembling with joy again.
“Yeah, I guess I have no choice, I’ll go on a date with you on my days off.”
She replied with a happy smirk.
“This gal!”
As I said this, I put an arm around Kushiro’s shoulders.
“Hehe.”
Kushiro, smiling mischievously, is just as cute as ever.
Early in the new year, the gal sitting next to me asked “hang out with me”, so I thought it was a punishment game…… But it turned out to be just a tsundere confession of her true love.
This year also seems to be the year that I fall seriously in love with the first cute girlfriend I’ve ever had.
(End)
Thank you for reading to the end.
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And I hope you enjoy my other works as well!
Soramame Kuu
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◆ My Childhood Friend, The School’s Number One Absolute Idol, Suddenly Ended Up Sleeping in My Room, The Room of An Idol Otaku. Is It Just My Imagination, Or Did I Just Get Confessed To?
Sads Translates 