Chapter 6: CH 6

Gaze

In the end, I didn’t get a read from Asatani-san until the next morning. I somehow woke up early today and started doing something I didn’t usually do, which was studying in the morning.

Then, I woke my sister, who was not a morning person, in time for school. My sister usually went to an all-girls high school in the city and was in her third year.

“Ruru-Nee, you’d better get up soon or you’ll be going to school with a piece of toast hanging in your mouth.”

“Hmmm…toast…fish in my brain…” She mumbled in her sleep.

“Good, you’re awake.”

I didn’t wait for her to wake up. She was never a good sleeper, so it was not uncommon for her to come out of the covers and discover that her pajamas were completely peeled off.

Usually I was with my sister up to the point where we have breakfast and leave the house together, but today I was already prepared to go out.

I felt like I shouldn’t look at the magazine until I knew for sure why Asatani-san had called me – so the magazine with her as the model was still in the bag untouched.

I knew that such righteousness was completely unnecessary in my current situation. In fact, I was not sure how to behave when my male friends bought a magazine that had her in it’s front cover. That kind of behavior would look like nothing more than unrequited love.

“Nakkun… Good morning. What’s wrong with you? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m just having a normal problem……. You woke up earlier than expected.”

“I thought you were going to leave first, but you were standing there with your eyebrows furrowed. Your sister was so surprised that she almost opened her third eye.”

“What’s with this story so early in the morning?”

“What? I thought Nakkun would laugh if I said that.”

When she put it that way, it was hard to deny it. Feeling like I’d been caught, I tried not to look directly at my sister and told her after all these years.

“You need to get rid of that habit of unbuttoning your clothes when you’re having trouble sleeping.”

“Ehh… Nakkun, you’re acting like such an adult. Who do you think washed Nakkun’s underwear yesterday?”

“It was an automatic washing machine.”

“Correct! Nakkun deserves the right to fold your sister’s clothes with great care!”

“When I feel like it. Ruru-Nee, I’m going first.”

“Oh, you’ve been talking to Kiri-chan all night. Has she forgiven you?”

On the contrary, there was no reply when I sent a message – but the words ‘forgiven you’ which Ruru-Nee must have said casually, pierced my heart.

I couldn’t deny the possibility that Asatani-san would be mad at me because I didn’t pick up the phone yesterday. But I was sure she was not the kind of person who gets angry because her friends didn’t answer her call.

“The moment you entered high school, Nakkun began to worry so much about girls….. Is this some kind of high school debut?”

Certainly, being dumped right after entering high school was a debut failure. I wondered whether I would be considered too arrogant if I say that I never intended to make my debut in the first place .

There were more than ten or twenty things on my bucket list I wanted to do when I entered high school. For example, we could meet and go to school together in the morning. But even when all my wishes turned into dreams, I still had to go to school.

I used to think of people who had trouble going to school because of their love life as overdramatic, but when it finally happened to me I understood how they felt.

Though, the only reason it didn’t happen was because of my sister, who never took things too seriously.

“Just in case Nakkun decides to go on a date. I’ll have to get you some clothes to wear. Onee-Chan haven’t received this month’s payment yet, so wait until the end of the month. If you do, I’ll get you the money.”

“You’re just trying to play dress up with me… You need to use your money and time more wisely.”

When I said something that sounded like I was worrying about my sister’s future, she was so moved that she let me leave without pestering me any further.

If you’re so naive, then I’m really worried about you as a younger brother, so please be more smart, Ruru-Nee.

Riding my favorite city bike, I headed for the school through the city.

It was still early in the day, so there were not many students to be seen walking. I passed through the school gate, parked my bike at the parking lot behind the school building, and took a deep breath before I started walking towards the school building.

From here, I could run into Asatani-san at any time. She sometimes took time off school for her work, but when she came to school, she was usually quite early. She was a punctual person by nature. Before we started dating, we went to our club activities together once and we were fifteen minutes earlier than everyone.

At that time, I was so excited to spend time with Asatani-san that we both showed up early and made a small connection.

The reading club and the astronomy club had few members, but the heads of the clubs got along well with each other, and sometimes the members would hang out together on their days off. The members were mostly girls. As per their rule, I, a man, was not allowed to mix with them, but at that time, there were various reasons.

(I don’t know what kind of face I should make when I see Asatani-san… No, we’re just friends now, so it’s not like I absolutely have to talk to her. But I should at least apologize for not answering the phone. I don’t know what to do.)

I was thinking in circles, so I almost didn’t notice that there was a reply to my text.

“It was just a small errand, don’t worry about it. You’ve been busy, haven’t you Nagi-kun?”

(…… Asatani-san, are you still upset?)

If I read it straightforwardly, it was a text that understood my situation of not being able to answer the phone. However, I found it unsettling.

I felt guilty because I was with Takane-san at that time. I couldn’t deny that, but the choice of not seeing Takane-san off was impossible, even when I think about it now.

Asatani-san had not told me the reason for the call. Should I ask her in person, or should I just reply to this message and be done with it?

“…. Um…”

“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about …….”

When someone spoke to me, I reflexively answered, and then I realized that the voice sounded familiar.

I turned around and Takane-san was standing there.

She was not supposed to be biking to school, so she had no business in the bike parking lot. I hadn’t expected to see her here at all.

(…Is it possible for her to come over here by accident? I’m curious as to why she’s here.)

“Uhm… Do you… remember me?”

“No, no, how could I forget you? Good morning, Takane-san.”

“……”

I thought I greeted her casually, but Takane-san reacted so strongly – Was my greeting so unexpected that she was looking at me with such wide eyes?

“…… Good morning, Senda-kun.”

Once you see her, even if you never spoke to her, it was unlikely you would ever forget her.

Today’s appearance was a little different from yesterday – the ends of her long hair were loosely curled. Even such a slight difference could change the impression she usually gave. Though, I was sure that she would still be beautiful, no matter the style she went with.

“Thank you for yesterday.”

“It’s no problem. How was your lesson?”

“Thanks to you, I made it. My piano teacher is the kind of person who leaves if I’m not in front of the piano on time, so I’m glad I made it back with some time to spare.”

“So you also play the piano, Takane-san. I heard you’re also great at tennis. I envy your versatility.”

“No, no… It’s just that I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.”

I didn’t think the word ‘multi-talented’ fitted her as it seemed that she had put in a lot of effort.

Still, she had no intention of continuing tennis in high school. If I were to be recruited by those seniors, I wouldn’t even want to continue playing, but I’m sure that Takane-san was not quitting for that reason.

“I’m thinking of joining a cultural club in high school… I’d like to continue playing tennis for my own personal enjoyment.”

“I’m not very good at it but I like tennis quite a bit.”

“Yes, me too. I play tennis because I like it. And I will continue to like it.”

“Oh, I see…”

‘What are you thinking?’, you might ask, but when Takane-san repeatedly said, ‘like’, I felt unsettled.

(If you look at her again, she’s just too beautiful… For a girl this pretty to come and talk to me on her own, she must be an angel.)

Cool and an unapproachable pretty girl or something like that was just the impression I got from looking at the surface.

Her calm manner of speaking and her clear voice that seemed to soak into your ears naturally soothed you when you listened to her.

“Have you decided on which club to join yet, Senda-kun?”

“If I’m going to join a club, I need to decide soon…I haven’t been able to visit any club yet, so maybe I’ll go today.”

“Oh, um… If you don’t mind, can I ask you to let me know once you decide on which club you want to join?”

I wondered if Takane-san wanted to hear which club I was going to join and use it as a reference. That’s totally fine, but to be honest, I was not sure if the high-spec Takane-san would find my too-normal choice to be helpful.

In this school, it was not compulsory to join a club. The admission booklet stated, ‘It is recommended that you join a committee, a school-related activity, or a club activity.’

So I could choose not to join a club, but my sister insisted that I join one. She wanted me to join the drama club and play the leading role opposite Asatani-san. That’s being too hopeful. I was fine with joining any club that looked good.

“Okay, I’ll let you know when I decide.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Oh, yeah I’m also curious about what kind of club you’d like to join, Takane-san.”

“That’s …. well… I can’t say yet.”

“If it’s still a secret, you don’t have to tell me. You’re doing music at home right? So maybe you want to do something else?”

” …… It’s a secret. I’ll tell you when you tell me, Senda-kun.”

This had been… a very straightforward equivalent exchange.

In the classroom, however, it was difficult to talk to Takane-san. She and Asatani-san were the two most popular girls in class, and she was always surrounded by other classmates.

If I wanted to be able to contact her, we would have to exchange contact information. Just as I was about to ask her, the number of students arriving at school increased, and the bicycle parking lot started to get crowded.

“It’s about time… Shall we go now?”

“Yeah, that … you want to walk with me?”

Takane-san and some dull boy were walking together. It was not hard to imagine the number of hot stares I would get from people wondering where the h**l I came from.

“Let’s go…?”

The words were just a little different, but there was a big difference from the first time

Takane-san’s eyes were a little moist. She seemed anxious, and when I looked at her, I couldn’t help but feel protective of her. She looked just like a big puppy.

(Am I allowed to go to class with Takane-san?)

We lived in different worlds. The top of the school caste and a commoner. Yesterday’s events were special, and today, Takane-san and I were going to class together.

One by one, all the things that were bad were fading away. This kind of peaceful everyday life – I didn’t want it to end, but it didn’t look like it would continue.

Yesterday, it was a natural thing to say. I remembered that and got a grip. I put a spell on myself that the rest wouldn’t matter until I got to class. I implied that I was invincible.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“….Yes!”

She replied with such joy. I could definitely see the dog ears on Takane-san and her fluffy tail wagging in the air.

As I was leaving the back of the school building, I had a ‘hunch’.

The two boys who had tried to recruit Takane-san yesterday were standing near the entrance of the school. If they had ambushed her, the teachers would have been notified, so they were hanging around and pretending that no one was waiting for them.

“…What should I do?”

I looked at Takane-san, who was following me from a little behind. At first, I couldn’t hide my uneasiness, but then she looked at me firmly and said,

“Please lend me your power again, Senda-kun.

“Understood. So let’s talk about yesterday.”

The situation that made Takane-san feel uneasy on her way to and from school needed to be fundamentally changed.

This was the first step toward that.

I slowed down my walking pace. Takane-san, who sensed this, quickened her pace a little.

The two of us walked side by side. And then we had a casual conversation.

“I bought some cream puffs yesterday, and the whole family loved them. My sister was about to eat two, but she held back.”

“…… Senda-kun’s sister seems very kind.”

“Well, why do you think that?”

“Because she’s …… Senda-kun’s sister.”

“I’m not that kind, though. There are a lot of people kinder than me.”

“If everyone was like you, there would be no war in the world.”

(I thought I was talking about something normal, but it seems like …. Takane-san’s opinion of me is far higher than I imagined….)

As we were talking, two boys from the tennis club noticed Takane-san. First he grinned, then he looked at me walking next to her, and his expression visibly changed.

“Oi… that guy, why is he with Nozomi Takane?”

The senior student, who was supposed to be very confident, calling her “Nozomi-chan” in a familiar way, was surprised to say the least.

“Ehh.. No way. Don’t tell me those two…”

And the other one hesitantly said. With this, if he had ulterior motives for recruiting Takane-san, it would be very difficult for him to do so now.

(It’s a good idea to keep an eye out for those guys in the future, as they are not likely to give up that easily.)

I suddenly felt like I was missing out on something very important.

“Senda-kun, you showed Asatani-san your notebooks, didn’t you?”

“…… Oh, yeah, Asatani-san and I went to the same junior high school.”

It was not like I was saying anything wrong. However, it seemed as if I was using “same junior high school” as an excuse, and it made me feel bothered.

“Senda-kun is able to get along with both boys and girls without any distinction. I can’t really talk to boys… so I need to fix my shyness.”

I didn’t think Takane-san was shy at all, but I thought she was, shall we say, extremely reserved.

She was a cool, talented and beautiful girl who was hard to get close to. However, if you talk to her, you would find parts that didn’t match her appearance and more charms would gradually appear.

Because she’s the kind of girl she was, there’s no way that people would misunderstand her if they saw her walking around with an ordinary person like me. That’s why, we walked around talking to each other because we were trying to shut down the recruiters.

“Are those two dating?”

“……”

“What…?”

I looked over to who just said that. It was a group of girls.

One of them was Asatani-san. What I just heard was not Asatani-san’s voice, but the voice of the girl who was standing beside her.

Asatani-san looked at us. The look in her eyes was something I had never seen before.

It was like when she was acting out a role as an actress named Kiritani Noa. An expression that tugged at your emotional heartstrings to the point where you couldn’t take your eyes off her.

The gaze she had pointed at me felt like no time passed at all and was averted as if nothing had happened. In spite of Asatani-san’s silence, the two girls who were with her continued to talk.

“Maybe they just ran into each other on the way to school. Those two don’t seem to have any connection.”

“Takane-san is very popular, right? It’s unlikely that she’s attracted to him.”

“It’s not good to start rumors. They’ll hear it.”

“Oh… sorry Noarin, wait no… It’s Asatani-san.”

“I told you not to call me that!”

Asatani-san stopped her friends from gossiping.

That’s just the way she was. She was a celebrity so she knew a lot of things could be speculated and written on the internet. She never spread rumors that weren’t true.

“…….”

“Takane-san?”

“No, …… it’s fine. It’s nothing.”

Takane-san smiled to herself. It seemed that she was not offended by the rumors that were being heard.

I changed into my school shoes and headed for the classroom. I thought we would have to split up at this point, but Takane-san waited for me.

On the way to the classroom, Takane-san told me as she walked next to me, drawing the attention of all the students in the same grade.

“I don’t pay attention to what people say… Senda-kun is a very kind person. I had a great time talking with Senda-kun.”

The words reached my ears clearly, even though it was almost drowned out by the class noise.

After entering the classroom, Takane-san, who sat diagonally in front of me on my left, looked back at me once and smiled, as if she was happy that I was sitting so close to her.