Volume 2 - CH 1

Ah, school starts today. I don’t feel like it at all…

As I was heading off to school by myself, Satoru called me from behind in his usual jovial manner.

“Oh! Yuuri! Ohayo-san!”

“Oh. Good morning.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with you today? You didn’t go to school with Sakashita-san?” [TLN: Hazuki’s last name]

I felt a pain in my chest. I knew that Satoru, who didn’t know what was going on, had no malice toward me, so I couldn’t do anything about the feelings welling up in me.

“Oh, ah. Hazuki and I are no longer going to school together.”

Huh? Is that so? Did you have a fight? Or you don’t mean to say..”

“Well, it’s just as you’re imagining. Hazuki and I have already broken up.”

When I said that, Satoru, who is always cheerful, became very depressed.

“I’m sorry. I said selfish things without knowing your feelings…”

“No, it’s not your fault. If you didn’t know what was going on, it would be natural to wonder. But please don’t spread the fact that Hazuki and I broke up without asking, okay?”

“Oh, I’m aware of that much.”

“I think people grow as human beings by overcoming heartbreak. You think so too, don’t you? Oh, you never had a girlfriend before you got your heart broken, I’m sorry!”

“Shut up! Damn it, I’ll definitely get a girlfriend in high school!”

This guy with a lot of emotional ups and downs, his name is Satoru Mishima. We have been friends since we started high school and are on the basketball team. We are the closest of friends in this school, and I think it is no exaggeration to say that we are probably best friends, but now that I have recently gone through a trauma, I hesitate to call Satoru my best friend.

“Come to think of it, there’s a class change today! Yuuri also decided to take the liberal arts preparatory course, didn’t you? I hope we’ll be in the same class again!”

“If we’re in the same class again, that means we’ll be together for three years.”

“That would be great! And then there’s Kanade Miyama! It would be great if the three of us were together.”

Despite Satoru’s happy mood, I honestly couldn’t wait to see the results of the class change. Because Hazuki had chosen the same liberal arts class as me. If we were to be in the same class, it would be more than just a pain in the a*s. The worst thing would be to be in the same class with only Hazuki and without any of my close friends. I hope that’s the one thing I can avoid. God… if you really are there, please somehow avoid that scenario…

———

The results of the class change were posted at the entrance to the school. A crowd had gathered around us, and it was difficult to find out which class I was in. When we finally saw the posters, we turned to each other and high-fived.

“You made it! We’re in the same class, Yuuri! We are in the same class for three years now!”

“Oh! We’ll be in the same class for another year! Oh, Kanade is in the same class as us.”

Now I just hope Hazuki is in a different class… Oh, it says Hazuki Sakashita… We were never in the same class when we were dating, so why would we be in the same class at this point?

Satoru was wondering when he saw me suddenly depressed, but he saw the poster and figured it all out.

“Well, we’re here for you. Don’t worry. I’ll support you as much as I can.”

“Satoru! You’re my only hope.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t forget about me!”

I turned around to see Kanade standing there with her cheeks puffed out and her arms crossed.

“Of course. You’re the best. I’m counting on you the most, so I’m seriously begging you.”

“Hmm. If you say that much, I don’t have a choice, do I? I’ll help Yuu-kun out too.”

I was thrilled to see Kanade looking up at me with a smiling, carefree smile.

It was too much of a surprise…

I was so nervous, but Kanade looked around and said, “Kozue-chan! We’re in class together again!” She waved her hand in the air as she spotted her good friend Tanuki Kozue.

“Kanade-chan, I’m glad to be with you again. Yamagishi-kun and Mishima-kun are also with us. Let’s get along again for the next year.”

Tanuki-san belongs to the literature club and is a pure literature girl. By the way, we have been in the same class as Tanuki-san since the first grade, which means the four of us have been together for three years.

We were happy to be in the same class and started walking to our new class. Walking down a different hallway, I felt fresh and excited.

Then Kanade came up next to me and said, “Hey, hey, hey.”

“We’re in the same class as Hazuki. Are you okay, Yuu-kun?

“I was prepared for it and I think I can handle it. Satoru, Tanuki-san, and Kanade are in the same class as me.”

“I hope you’re okay. Just don’t ever push yourself, okay?”

“Oh, thanks. I also told only Satoru that I broke up with Hazuki. I’m sure he’ll keep it to himself.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Satoru will take care of it. If word got out that Hazuki and Yuu-kun had broken up, the school would probably be in an uproar.”

“Well, Hazuki is a beautiful woman. I’m sure there are a lot of guys at this school who like her.”

“Un. I’m sure that’s true, but I think it’s going to get pretty noisy around Yuu-kun, too.”

“Me too? What are you talking about? I’ll be fine.”

When I laughed, Kanade made a dumbfounded face and said, “I can’t help it,” and we laughed together.

I was forcing myself to be excited, but I was really grateful for Kanade’s willingness to go along for the ride.

There was one woman who was staring at us from the shadow of a pillar. However, I was too intoxicated by the atmosphere of the new semester to notice her gaze.