Part-1 Ch-09 Ep-04

 “Don’t you think Ichinose-san has become even cuter than before?”

A few days after the new year began and school resumed, during lunch break. I was leaning against the window on the corridor side of the classroom, idly fiddling with my smartphone, when Asahina-kun suddenly popped his face into view.

He leaned into the classroom through the corridor-side window and settled beside me, the wall between us. I leaned my upper body back toward the corridor from inside the classroom and replied, “Everyone’s been saying that, you know.”

“A girl in love gets cuter.”

“Huh? What’s that, bragging about your girlfriend?”

“…Hehe. Well, my girlfriend is cute too. Nagase-san, hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re kind of oblivious?”

“Huh? Are you picking a fight?”

“If I did, how much would you buy it for?”

[T/N- Japanese word play here I guess. "Picking a fight" = ケンカを売る (literally meaning "to sell a fight").

He flips it literally: "If I really sell it to you, what price will you pay?"]

We traded jokes like that, and before long, both of us fell silent. Lately, with Asahina-kun, we have reached the point where we can share the same space without forcing conversation.

When I once asked him, “When you’re talking with me or Maki, doesn’t Seishuku-san* get jealous?” he answered seriously, “Do you really think that guy, the number one member of your fan club, would get jealous? If anything, I was assigned the mission of taking two-shot photos of you.”

[T/N- Btw I probably never mentioned Seishuku is name of one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions (二十八宿), specifically the "Star Mansion" in the Chinese/Japanese constellation system.]

Asahina-kun might be having a tough time too. No, rather, he might actually be enjoying it.

“She’s really cute.”

“Huh? Who?”

“My girlfriend.”

“Oh… I see.”

“You just lost interest instantly, didn’t you?”

“Please, go on.”

For someone enthusiastically bragging about his love life, it probably does not matter whether the listener is truly paying attention. Planning to let Asahina-kun’s bragging go in one ear and out the other, I lowered my gaze back to my smartphone.

“At first, she was just one of the group. As long as we could all have fun together, that was enough.”

I tapped the screen and launched the puzzle game I had been hooked on lately. The game immediately began, blocks falling from the top of the screen as I connected those of the same color to erase them.

Connect, erase. Connect, erase.

“But then, with a small trigger, we started talking just the two of us. As our conversations started to click and we talked more, I saw sides of her I never expected. I really liked the strength at her core. It’s the first time I’ve ever fallen for one girl.”

“I see…”

The words I was supposed to be tuning out swirled in my ears, and before I realized it, “Game Over” floated on the screen.

“Do you want to continue?”

I tapped “No” beneath the message and closed the app. What Asahina-kun had just said was the very preamble he delivers in the game when he confesses to Maki at graduation.

After getting lost together in the forest during the school trip, the two of them find a chance to talk, and afterward become friends who occasionally chat.

Through that ordeal, Asahina-kun comes to admire Maki’s reliability, kindness, and innocence, and gradually becomes conscious of her as a girl.

So the Asahina route is really gone now. I let out a deep sigh inside my heart. If I were to put it into words, it would be regret, but I truly believe that Asahina-kun and Seishuku-san were naturally drawn to each other and started dating.

In that case, as their friend, I want to celebrate it.

“Congratulations. You found a great person.”

“Thanks.”

Asahina-kun’s broad grin sparkled.

“Oh, by the way, Asahina-kun, wasn’t there an intimidating guy in your class?”

I recall that when I thought about capture targets, there had been another one we were supposed to meet at the cultural festival, Ranjishi-kun.

“Intimidating?”

“Yeah, a guy with a scary face. Ranji… shi-kun, I think? Apparently, during the cultural festival, he helped Maki when she was being hassled by students from another school.”

“Ah, Ranjishi. Yeah. I talk with him a lot. We even went to the arcade together after school the other day. He’s not scary at all once you talk to him.”

That is different from what I expected. He was supposed to be the type who could not fit in with the class, whose emotional gap would be filled by Maki, leading him to fall for her.

“Oh… I see. If he’s fitting in with the class, that’s good…”

“He’s got a bit of a naturally airheaded side, so now he chats with the other guys too. Today he’s probably out playing soccer in the schoolyard.”

“I see.”

So his emptiness was filled.

“Apparently, someone told me that Ichinose-san met Ranjishi at the cultural festival and that he had trouble making friends because of his scary face. Since we’re in the same class, I was asked to go talk to him.”

“Huh? Maki did that?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty kind, isn’t she?”

I see. She set that up as well. She is capable. Capable, but that is not what Maki’s original role was supposed to be. If anything, it almost feels like she is using Asahina-kun as a convenient intermediary.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Nothing.”

“Hm.”

After that, we talked about Asahina-kun’s recommended date spots, which surprised me with how thoroughly he had researched them, gossip from other classes, how we spent winter break, and other trivial things, until lunch break came to an end.

Maki had been away from her seat at first, but partway through she returned to the classroom. She noticed me talking with Asahina-kun and watched us for a while.

Normally, she would immediately rush over and wedge herself between us to join the conversation, but today was different. When we waved at her mid-conversation, she suddenly smiled brightly, gave a small wave back, returned to her seat, and began chatting with the students around her.

“Ichinose-san has gained some composure, huh.”

Asahina-kun whispered into my ear. Even if Maki had gained composure, I wondered why that made Asahina-kun sound so happy. What if this year, too, nothing progresses with anyone?

I think about the remaining capture targets in my head.

“You know, right after school started again in the new year, I saw Ichinose and, without thinking, thought she was cute.”

Kagami-kun said this while stifling a yawn, looking sleepy. The scene shifts to after school.

As usual, it was my turn for class duty. Maki had gone to submit the class journal, leaving Kagami-kun, who was on duty with her, and me, who was not on duty, alone in the classroom.

For the record, just a little while ago, Maki had turned down Kagami-kun’s offer of “I’ll take the journal” and said, “It’s fine. The staff room is close anyway. You’ve always been considerate in so many ways,” before quickly leaving the classroom.

“Huh?”

“Well, that’s all. Cute girls are nice to look at.”

“Oh… y-yeah…”

“No, why are you flustered? Normally you’d be happy, like ‘Finally Kagami-kun is starting to notice Maki’ or something.”

“N-no, you’re right.”

I was flustered by my own fluster. Thinking about it calmly, Kagami-kun is very straightforward when it comes to praising people. He is good at expressing his feelings without making either boys or girls uncomfortable.

And then I realized that I was trying to convince myself that there was no special meaning behind Kagami-kun praising Maki.

“…Ugh.”

“…Nagase.”

Kagami-kun gently patted my head.

“I hope you figure out soon why Ichinose suddenly seems cute to you, and why you’re feeling frustrated right now.”

“….”

“I really like you two.”

Leaning forward over the desk as if he were about to fall asleep, Kagami-kun flashed a wide grin.

“Nagase, even if we end up in different classes next year, let’s still hang out.”

“…Yeah.”

“Oh, apparently there’s a practice match at Todoroki soon. Let’s go watch. Invite Ichinose too.”

“Got it. I’ll ask her when she gets back.”

“She’ll come if you’re going anyway.”

“Well, that’s true…”

“And on the way back, there’s a place I’ve been wanting to try…”

Looking at it purely as romance, there may not have been any remarkable progress this year. But before I realized it, I had gained many reliable people around me, and precious friends without even noticing.

My first year is about to end. I am honestly worried whether my second year will be okay like this.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we head home?”

“Yeah.”

“Um…”

Up until now, I had only been thinking about Maki and pushing things forward. But this year, I will become a second-year high school student too.

Maybe it is time I faced my own feelings a little more, what I truly want to do. Because from here on out, I will continue living my own life in this world.

End of Part 1

First-Year High School Arc