Chapter 1
TL: Akabane
***
It was a new school year after spring break.
Most of the students have club activities every day, so they don't seem to have lost their rhythm.
However, I was different.
I wasn't involved in any club activities, and I had a long day off like an elementary school kid, which was quite difficult for me.
"Hey, Touma, you look really sleepy."
"That's right. Pull yourself together, buddy."
It was break time after first period.
As I vaguely fought the sleepiness that had followed me since I woke up, two of my friends approached me.
Their names were Haruki Sanada and Yukito Nishikawa, and they were my friends since I entered high school.
Haruki was in the soccer club and Yukito was in the basketball club, and they were both athletic and handsome.
They have handsome faces and are nice to everyone, so they have a good reputation among girls.
However, they also have good boyfriends and fit perfectly into the "riajuu" category.
I think I'm very lucky to have friends who care about me.
"I don't have any club activities, so I have no reason to wake up regularly. It's been a long time since I woke up early, so I'm very sleepy!"
"Why don't you just join the club?"
"That's right. You should try soccer or basketball."
"Basketball won't listen to me! And soccer is too hard on my leg muscles!"
"But I didn't see anything like that during PE~"
This wasn't an excuse to deceive them, but it was the truth.
My legs can run pretty well in any ball game, and I have pretty good endurance for running, so they seem to think I'm pretty athletic.
Of all the ball games, I wasn't good at playing basketball or soccer.
I'm not very talented at ball games, especially ones where the position of the movement flows depending on the situation.
Still better at ball games like volleyball or baseball, where it's easy to know what to do depending on the position and situation to a certain extent.
"Since you don't have any club activities, then what did you do during spring break?"
"Chatting with you guys."
"No, no, that's not enough to fill your time! Besides, we can't even reply to you while we're doing our club activities."
"Sleeping?"
"You're really lazy."
The two of them, who lived a very active life with their club activities, were definitely surprised.
"I'll ask you back. What did you guys do this spring break besides club activities and hanging out with me?"
""Studying and dating.""
"Ah, I see what you mean."
I regret asking that question.
If you have time, of course you'll go out with your boyfriend if he's free, in addition to hanging out with me.
It's not that I don't like them, it's just that they're too perfect, studying hard and improving each other.
"Why don't you find a girlfriend soon?"
"Don't say that lightly~"
"No, I've heard a lot about girls from my girlfriend, and she said that you're not bad. Why don't you just talk to the girls you like?"
"Girls I like, huh?"
There are many pretty girls with good personalities in our school.
However, there isn't a single one that appeals to me! I'm in the state I'm in precisely because there aren't any girls that I'm particularly interested in.
Of course, if I had a girlfriend, then things would change, and more than anything, I had seen both of them living their current lives filled with things, so how could I not want one?
"Isn't there someone you're a little interested in? Before you say that you don't want to date her, what you should do is get to know her first and find out more about her."
"Oh, that's right..."
"If you're in the club, you can at least hope to have a future relationship with the junior who just joined yesterday..."
"Ugh!"
The words that were actually spoken because of how serious they were for my sake had pierced my heart.
"You're probably right, Yukito. There were a lot of pretty girls recruited for club activities yesterday, before and after the entrance ceremony."
"Hey, she's going to be mad at you."
"Well, I can't help it. It's in a guy's nature to pay attention to cute girls, even if they already have a girlfriend."
If his girlfriend hears, they'll definitely start fighting, so let's hope she's not around.
While we were talking about such things, I couldn't tell what they were talking about because the class was so crowded.
There seemed to be something going on in the hallway outside my class, but we were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't notice anyone else.
"Hey, Touma, you have a visitor!"
"Huh?"
I didn't think that I would be called out loud, so I raised my voice in an unreasonable manner.
The man who called me gave me an indescribable look, and the girl who had just looked towards the hallway and buzzed around was startled and gave a small smile.
(What is it?)
I had a bad image of having been called out by a teacher for doing something strange by accident at the beginning of the new school year.
I don't mind standing out for doing something good, but I don't want to be scolded by the teacher and stand out in a bad light──.
With this in mind, I went to the hallway──
"Hello. It's been a while."
"O-Ohh."
"Yes."
The person standing there was my sister's best friend, whom I used to see a while ago.
"I'll introduce myself again. I managed to get into the school without any problems. I'm Saki's best friend. I'm Rin Mamiya."
"Um, yes. I've heard about you from my sister. Congratulations on your admission."
I didn't expect her to come to see me, so I proceeded to talk to her in a slow manner.
Unlike before, she was wearing our high school uniform and looked more mature.
She had a pretty face to begin with, and that charm of hers made it hard for me to look directly at her.
"Yes, thank you very much! O-Onii-san... Ah!"
She tried to speak as before, but her face reddened quickly, as if she realized that she had said something wrong in the middle of her speech.
"S-Sorry... This isn't the right place to call you like that, is it?"
"No, it's fine if you call me that if it makes you more comfortable. Don't worry about it."
"Yes."
She called me the same way my sister called me.
Of course, it's nothing strange, and I feel that it's quite natural.
It might be a little embarrassing for her, but I don't think there's any need to force her to change her way of speaking now.
"I'm a year older than you in this high school, so if you have any questions or problems, don't hesitate to rely on me."
"Yes! I'll rely on you... I hope you can help me again like you did back then."
"I didn't do anything too serious back then, did I?"
"You're very good at pretending to be stupid."
She looked a little embarrassed as she said that.
It had been a long time since we met again, but nothing had changed in her gesture.
I thought it was really unfair.
"Come on, come on, recess is over. You have to get ready for the next class or you'll be late."
"Yes!"
I managed to pull myself together and sent her off to get ready for the next class.
"......"
(I thought after a while, I'd forget everything and become apathetic since this doesn't involve me but...)
Apparently, the situation between us is no longer that simple.
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