There's Definitely Something Wrong with My Childhood Friend

[New story now underway. Check out the one next door: Surviving Between the Itoshi Brothers]

[Coming soon: The Feasibility of Being a Saint in a Sports Anime]

[Coming soon: [Blue Lock] My Sudden Arrival Really Does Have a Problem, pairing with Chigiri]

[Complete]

I think my childhood friend is terrifying, but nobody believes me.

After moving away, I unexpectedly lost touch with him. A few years passed, and just as I'd nearly forgotten about him, he showed up again.

The childhood friend who used to be a demon lord looked at me, a jumble of inexplicable emotions flickering in his eyes. At last, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he greeted me shyly. “Koizumi, long time no see.”

I immediately went on high alert.

...Because how could the demon lord who haunted my childhood possibly turn into a sheep?

But he looked completely bewildered by my accusations, wearing an innocent expression.

I couldn't help wondering:

What if it was true? What if he'd grown up and gone white?

Me: Poke poke.jpg

He rubbed his face, but nothing happened.

Maybe... he really wasn't scary anymore?

So on the court, I got cocky for once, planted my foot on the ball, and asked him, “Huh? Is that all you've got?”

Then my childhood friend, Kiyoshi-kun, suddenly smiled.

● A naturally airheaded, secretly wicked heroine x Kiyoshi. A fluffy everyday romance with little plot, slow and steady. You don't need to know the original to enjoy it.

● There will be match scenes, but I'm not a professional writer. Feel free to point out any mistakes. (Bows.)

● Other sports and slice-of-life anime characters will make appearances. Assume a big, happy HE ending. There are no cases to solve; I really want to see Conan, the little shinigami, play soccer in Blue Lock qwq

● Lots of author-invented details, including a plot where the heroine disguises herself as a boy to play soccer. But she doesn't do it just to play alongside the male lead! The heroine puts sports first, and soccer won't be her future career. If this bothers you, please don't force yourself to read.

● I'm a chronic perfectionist and revise often, so please bear with me. I want to give everyone the best I can. I'm very sensitive, so if you don't like it, just leave.

● All covers, character designs, and character cards were commissioned by the author for commercial use.

● There is OOC. There really is OOC. (Seriously.)

Please check out my new story, Surviving Between the Itoshi Brothers

Introverted Akiko seems born to attract troublemakers and is always getting bullied. She wants someone to help her, anyone at all. She'll cling to whoever she can, anyone at all.

After transferring schools, she finds herself living under someone else's roof. The older brother in the family is a perfect candidate. She carefully hides under his wing, but Sae Itoshi only glances at her and treats her as if she doesn't exist.

To Akiko, that means he's agreed to let her cling to him.

She stays safe beneath his vague, unspoken protection. But after the occasional “time outside,” she gets bullied again and comes back in tears. He just stares at her for a few seconds without offering any comfort.

Yet the people who bullied her always come to apologize the next day.

His younger brother, however, seems unhappy with her behavior. “Stay away from my brother,” he complains.

Thinking about what might happen if she left his brother's side, Akiko's eyes redden. “But... I'm scared...”

Rin Itoshi looks choked up, then turns away awkwardly. “...I didn't say anything.”

And then he tacitly allows her to keep doing it.

-

Then one day, the older brother who'd been her shelter leaves, leaving behind the younger siblings he'd protected.

Afraid of falling back into the cycle of being bullied, Akiko starts trembling.

But it doesn't happen. It actually doesn't.

Because Rin Itoshi takes over his brother's “responsibility.”

Even after the brothers' relationship falls apart, he still carries it out. Akiko is afraid he'll leave one day, until she discovers that if she tells him he's stronger than his brother, the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly.

How awful, Akiko thinks.

But every time, she says it quickly, and she's getting more and more practiced at it.

She's got a powerful survival instinct!

Then Sae Itoshi suddenly returns to Japan.

As the two brothers each hold one of her arms, heat surrounds her and their opposing auras quickly spread.

She has no idea what they're arguing about, but a bad feeling makes her tears fall one by one.

...They seem so scary now. It's dangerous here.

*

It turns out she was right. The only problem is, she doesn't know whose back to hide behind to avoid being bullied.

“You really are such a fence-sitter, Akiko,” her older brother says. “So, still not sure which side to choose?”

The younger brother scoffs. “What does this have to do with you?”

Akiko: “...”

I'm doomed.

There's no escaping... there's no escaping.

● A love story caught between the Itoshi brothers. The heroine is a tearful, soft-hearted fence-sitter who has absolutely no interest in soccer.

Theme: Love is a fair where souls meet.