Chapter 20: CH 20

A Puppy’s Sense of Distance (1)

It was at the end of the homeroom period when Takane-san switched seats with Watanabe-san.

“Watanabe-san, do you want to sit a little more front? I think I’ll get nervous if I sit at the front of the class.”

“Yes, the second from the back is just right. Thank you, Takane-san.”

“No, I’m the one who needs to thank you.”

“Eh?”

“Um… I’d like to sit as far back as possible…”

I was listening to the conversation next to me, and I was getting nervous – Over here, Takadera and Ogishima were talking to me.

“Ah, I don’t think I can take it till I get home. Do you want to get something?”

“From the way you say it, do you want to go somewhere? I don’t have club activities today, so I guess it’s fine.”

Takadera rubbed his stomach – I was not much of a foodie, but it might not be a bad idea to get outside food once in a while.

Ogishima kept his voice low until the homeroom teacher left, and when the teacher did, Ogishima immediately jabbed Takadera on the arm.

“Ogi is so serious that I’m sure the teacher will cut you some slack.”

“Takadera cares too little. What about you, Senda-kun?”

“I don’t know…”

I couldn’t even casually ask what Takane-san’s plans were.

Is this what happens when we go out with someone without telling anyone?

On the other hand, should we gradually instill the idea that we are close enough to talk to each other normally? I wondered if there’d be a good time to tell Takadera and Ogishima about me and Takane-san. Though when I do tell them, I should be careful, especially when telling Takadera since he seemed to be looking for a relationship himself.

“Ah, Senda, you haven’t decided on a club activity yet, right?”

“Would you like us to go around with you then?”

“No, the two of you have already decided on a club, you don’t need to keep me company. Also, it looks like Takadera is nearing his limit already.”

“I’m sorry, but if I don’t eat ramen in the next 30 minutes, I’m going to die.”

“Eh… Then let’s go to a ramen place. Senda-kun, let’s go together next time.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Freshmen who hadn’t decided on a club yet could look around the school and take a tour.

“Nabeyu, let’s go home together.”

“Yeah. Has Asatani-san left already?”

“Yeah, she left to go somewhere else. She was on the phone so I guess it was probably work-related.”

“What should we do? Do you want to stop by somewhere? I’ve got the time.”

“Ah, Takane-san. Thank you. You switched seats with Nabeyu, right?”

“No, me too. I like the back seat more.”

The three of them were surprised, or rather stunned, by Takane-san’s soft answer.

To put it bluntly without favoritism, it seemed that they were fascinated.

“Um… Takane-san, why didn’t you become the class representative?”

“I think if you had applied, you would’ve won.”

In the homeroom period today, we decided on our class representative, but no one applied for it.

I could just tell from the atmosphere of the class that everyone was expecting Takane-san to apply.

But, as it turned out, Takane-san didn’t run for the position, so Sato-kun and Yamaguchi-san, who had been on the class committee at their previous schools, raised their hands.

“Oh, is it because you’re running for the student council?”

“You can’t run for the student council though. Two students from the first-years will be chosen to join at the end of the first semester.”

Students who were candidates for the student council would be in and out of the student council room for the first semester as part of their training. However, Takane-san shook her head at that as well.

“I’m not going to join the student council because there are a lot of things I want to do in high school.”

“Eh… That’s a shame though… Someone like Takane-san is-“

“First, I want to do my best to be a member of the library committee.”

“Oh, I see… I guess being in the student council while also preparing to be in the library committee would be really hard.”

“I’m sorry, Takane-san. We had our own image of you and thought you’d be on the class committee… I was just feeling intimidated. There’s even Kiri-chan in our class. I don’t even know if I should be the class representative.”

“We all voted for Yamaguchi-san, so don’t worry. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know. We’re in the same class after all.”

She was truly a saint – no, maybe a goddess. Even the remaining students who were still in the class were purified by Takane-san’s words – No, I couldn’t just sit here and listen to her, I had to get out of my seat.

“Ah, um… once again, I’m sorry about yesterday…”

“…You can’t say that, you know?”

“I know it wasn’t nice, but I just said it on the spur of the moment. No, even if it was on the spur of the moment, it wasn’t okay…”

“Eh, What’s going on? Did you say something strange to Takane-san? I’m sorry, I also apologize and take responsibility!”

I didn’t think Watanabe-san was there, but she sensed the atmosphere and bowed her head.

I wondered if some sort of girl’s faction had formed in class, but it didn’t seem so – or was it Takane-san’s aura that made it so.

“Then… To Senda-kun, let’s apologize together.”

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

Yamaguchi-san and Inagawa-san reacted in the exact same way. As for me, I still thought that I should have left earlier – but I was very happy about Takane-san’s feelings. I was in a very complicated dilemma.

I was just sitting at my seat and didn’t expect them to apologize, but both Yamaguchi-san and Inagawa-san were already looking at me. Please don’t look at me like you’re trying to skim me at the edge of your vision.

“Ah, um… I-I’m sorry…”

“No, no, I’m not bothered by that that much… If you apologize to Takane-san, then that’s it…”

The two of them looked relieved at that, but I said the word ‘that much’ and they both look even more apologetic – Then,

“I-I knew that Senda-kun was a friend of Kiri-chan’s, but since he was with Takane-san, I wondered if something was going on…”

–So that was the reason. I thought that these two were treating me like I didn’t exist, so I was confused about it.

“But I guess that’s possible. We’re in the same class so if you meet on the way to school, you’d at least talk to each other.”

“…Well, me talking with Takane-san, it is quite surprising.”

“No, that’s not true, right?”

Yamaguchi-san asked Inagawa-san to agree. I guessed it was surprising to be honest, and she seemed to think that there was no way that me and Takane-san could have a connection.

“…From now on, I won’t make any crazy assumptions.”

“I want to emulate Takane-san’s example and aim to become a woman with an aura.”

“You’re not sorry at all are you, Ina…?”

The three of them greeted Takane-san properly and left the classroom. For a short while, all eyes were on Takane-san, but when she gave a small cough, everyone started to move in a hurry.

(……..?)

I received a message on my phone. I opened it secretly without letting anyone see it.

[If you’re going to visit the club, can I go with you?]

“……..”

I couldn’t help but look at Takane-san. I had to see her in order to understand.

But I couldn’t see her face. Still, I could tell that she was typing a message to me.

[We can spend the rest of the day together. Let’s meet up in the hallway.]

She had taken a lot into consideration. I replied with an ‘Okay, I’ll meet you outside’, and went out into the hallway. I didn’t tell her where I was going.

If I walked very slowly, would that be okay? I secretly wondered – No, there was a limit to how slow I could walk.

I passed by other classes, and there were still some students left. Some were finishing up their studies before going home, others were talking with their friends.

When I was in middle school, every time I passed through the hallway, I would try to find Asatani-san in the next class. I could hardly see inside the classroom if I tried not to look suspicious, but I still did the same thing over and over again.

How I came to talk to Asatani-san was all due to that point of contact between the reading club and the astronomy club. It had nothing to do with my own efforts.

–Now, I was about to make the same choice as I made in middle school.

But it’s not because I want to be in the same situation as in middle school. The club which Asatani-san joined would not have a connection to the reading club.

Before entering high school, I had thought about joining the same club as Asatani-san. But I thought Asatani-san wouldn’t want a relationship that was so tight knit. Then, I wondered if I should choose a different club activity.

But that’s all in the past. It was not so sentimental as to be a fond memory.

It was just a misunderstanding on my part. I said ‘I like you’, and we exchanged addresses. We promised to meet during spring break, but the schedule didn’t work out.

Until she said ‘ex-girlfriend’, we didn’t have the substance to call it a relationship.

“…-kun.”

I thought I heard a voice.

I should stop, I thought. I had just made a plan with Takane-san –

“…Nagito-san…”

The hem of my uniform was pulled down, and a voice was quieter than the first time, but still reached my ears clearly.

The noise of my surroundings returned. The voices of students engaging in club activities on the field, the sound of a brass band coming from afar, and someone’s joyful laughter was all heard.

I hesitated for a moment to look back. It wasn’t long after I left the classroom, but I found myself thinking about Asatani-san again, and I couldn’t understand why.

Still, I turned around as naturally as possible, as if nothing had happened.

“…Nagito-san.”

She called my name again. She was supposed to call me ‘Senda-kun’ here, and I was sure she knew that well enough.

But when I thought about her feelings and how she called me by my first name, my chest tightened.

“Sorry, I took the liberty of saying I’d like to join you…”

“No… I’m sorry, me too.”

“But there’s no need for Nagito-san to apologize…”

We apologized to each other. If anything, it was my fault for not answering right away. But then,

“Fufu…”

“…Takane-san?”

“It looked like Nagito-san was going to leave me. That’s why I panicked ……, but since he didn’t, I felt relieved. …… It’s strange, isn’t it, that I suddenly laughed.”

“No, that’s not true. Thank you for pulling me back.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. The uniform will stretch, won’t it… It’s always in the same place…”

Now that she mentioned it, the same thing happened yesterday. She pinched the hem of my uniform, and I thought that she looked like a puppy.

“…Hahaha…”

“Nagito-san…?”

“I’m sorry… My uniform, you can stretch it as much as you want. You don’t have to be so reserved.”

“Ah, yes… We need to be a little more casual, don’t we…”

An easygoing and shy-free relationship. Just because we’ve only been dating for a short while doesn’t mean we should remain tense all the time.

“…But I’m glad. As long as it makes Nagito-san laugh, I’ll do anything.”

“Ah… Um… I’m afraid to say this, no, I’d be happy if you can overlook this, I think… Takane-san…”

“Eh… M-Me?”

I was not the kind of person who would say, ‘I think you look like a puppy.’, with a straight face. This was quite tricky, and I didn’t think Takane-san would be happy to hear it.

However, ‘I think you’re cute’ was not something I could say in the hallway at school.

This was a hallway. I came out at a discreet time, but this was no time for a normal boyfriend-girlfriend exchange.

Just then, a few students passing by started talking to Takane-san.

“Whoa, so beautiful… Just by standing on a hallway next to a window, you look like you’re in a painting, Takane-san.”

“Takane-san, you were first in the physical fitness test, right? I heard you had a great competition with Kiritani-san.”

“I heard that Takane-san is an astonishing young lady. Isn’t it amazing that you’re the top student in the first year and also have athletic ability?”

“Ah, I was asked by a senior to recruit Takane-san into the club…”

Takane-san’s aura was so overwhelming that they didn’t even realize I was there. Even so, I had to get away from the recruitment of club activities.