Volume 2 - CH 2

Huh, it’s so hard…

I sighed loudly as soon as I sat down in my seat in my new class.

It had to do with the seating order in my new class. At first, we were assigned to our seats in alphabetical order, but I was seated in the back by the window, and Hazuki was in the front row in the center.

This seating arrangement meant that Hazuki was inevitably in my line of sight. At first glance, I felt that Hazuki’s attitude was the same as before. Seeing Hazuki like that makes me feel like a small person and irritates me.

However, I am surprised that I have not been damaged more than I thought. When spring break had just started, I had suffered so much. I guess it’s because Kanade was with me the whole time…

———

“Yuu-kun, are you sure you’re okay?”

As soon as the first period ends, Kanade comes to my seat and looks at me with concern.

“Well, it hasn’t been that long since then. Today was my first day, but I’m sure I’ll gradually get used to it.”

“I’m just too far out of sight in my current position. I hope there will be a seat change soon…”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! What are you two whispering about? Let us in the mix too!”

As Kanade and I were whispering so that no one around us could hear, Satoru and Tanuki-san came over to us. Satoru is a nice guy, but his voice is too loud and he attracts everyone’s attention in a strange way.

“You’ve got a big voice!”

“Sorry!”

“Satoru, you’re always so loud, aren’t you? Now that we’re in the third grade, we should be a little more mature.”

“Shut up! We are still in high school, so we can be kids! Hey, don’t you think so too, Tanuki-san?”

“Hmmm. I also think you should be a little more mature.”

“Tanuki, san… you’re going to betray me too…”

I found myself laughing from the bottom of my stomach, forgetting about Hazuki. I’m not alone. With these guys here, I feel like I can really enjoy the rest of my year in high school.

Class started again, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel anything special when Hazuki came into my sight. I was in a nervous state, but these guys must have refreshed me. I thanked them in my heart.

After that, school life went on peacefully without any problems, but during lunch break, a storm suddenly came to the classroom.

———

(Maybe I should invite those guys over for lunch.)

When I was dating Hazuki, we always ate lunch together at the school cafeteria, but now I have to eat with someone different.

I wondered if he would be okay with me asking him out. Just as I was about to get up from my seat, the classroom door slammed open.

“Yuuri-senpai! Let’s have lunch together!

I was startled by the sudden call and turned back to the door with a start.

“Don’t run so fast, Yoshi-chan! And this is a 3rd-grade classroom. What are you doing!”

“Huahua, it’s okay! Let’s have dinner with Yuuri-senpai, too! I’m sure it’s okay. Right?”

“Hey? Hey? What are you two doing coming all the way out here?”

The two noisy visitors who came to me were my younger sister Hanaka and her friend Yoshi-chan aka Akiyoshi Yoshimi. My classmates were a little taken aback by the sudden arrival of the duo, but when they came to their senses, they said, “Woah! They are so cute! What? Wait? They know Yuuri?” And suddenly they became noisy.

Well, of course, they will.

After all, Yoshi-chan is a pretty girl with twin-tail hair that looks really good on her, and she is the center of an idol group. Hanaka, who is standing next to her, also has a face that would be adored by older boys.

The boys in the class must have been excited to see these two beautiful girls.

“Oh, Yuuri-senpai! Let’s go out to eat together. I’ve always wanted to go to the cafeteria!”

“Wait a minute, Yoshi-chan. Yuu-kun is going to have lunch with me, so you can’t just run off.”

“Oh, it’s Kanade-senpai! Don’t be so mean and be nicer to the new first-years!”

“I want to eat with Yuu-kun, too, so today is not a good day to do that.”

I thought things would get out of hand, so I suggested that we all go out to eat together between the two of them. Then I wondered when Satoru and Tanuki-san were behind me and decided to go to the cafeteria together.

On the way to the cafeteria, I asked Hanaka what was bothering her.

“I mean, is it fine that Hanaka didn’t go with her classmates?”

“Hmmm. I was so surprised when I thought it was lunchtime and Yoshi-chan suddenly ran out of the room. I didn’t expect her to go to Yuu nii-chan’s classroom, so I was really surprised.”

‘You’re still as intense as ever, Yoshi-chan. You’re having a hard time too. ……”

As I was petting my sister’s head and sympathizing with my own sister, Kanade and Yoshi-chan who had spotted it with their own eyes, forced me to pet them as well.

———

Of course, Hazuki is not among the members heading to the cafeteria right now. But the reason why Hanaka, who loved Hazuki like a big sister, didn’t say anything is that I told my whole family that I broke up with Hazuki during spring break.

The whole family asked, “Yuuri, what did you do?” “If you did something bad, I’ll apologize too, so fess up.” “Yuu nii-chan. You have to apologize properly.”

“No, everyone. I’m the victim. It was Hazuki who betrayed me!” There was no way I could say that, and in fact, all I could say was, “That’s just how it is. I’m sorry.” That was all I could say.

But they didn’t pursue the matter any further, probably because they were concerned about me.

———

“So this is the school cafeteria! Hanaka, you seem to have become a high school student.”

“Yes! I’m so excited!”

The third-year students were smiling at the fresh reactions of the first-year duo. Then, after calming down the two who were cackling, they managed to secure a seat in the cafeteria, which was gradually becoming crowded.

“Now, you two don’t know Satoru and Tanuki-san, do you? Let’s just introduce ourselves while we eat, shall we?”

“Yes! My name is Akiyoshi Yoshimi! I came to this school because I love Yuuri-senpai!”

“Oh, hey! What are you talking about all of a sudden, Yoshi-chan?”

“Because it’s the truth. I studied hard to get in here, you know?”

Damn, the upturned eyes of Yoshi-chan are too cute and mocking. When I looked away from her too brightly, I saw Kanade looking at me with grim eyes… scary.

“I’m Hanaka. I’m Yuu nii-chan’s younger sister.”

After Hanaka finished her self-introduction without hesitation, Satoru and Tanuki-san followed with their own introductions.

———

“Hey, Akiyoshi-san, why do you like Yuuri so much?”

“Satoru! What are you asking all of a sudden?”

“Ummm. That’s a secret. I’m not going to tell you why I like him, because if I simply say why I like him, it will sound like my feelings for him are light. Hehehe, but it’s true that I like you, you know?”

Ignoring my protests, Yoshi-chan gave a firm answer, which again unnerved me. It’s too lame to be pushed around so much by a younger girl… And I feel like Kanade is staring at me the whole time, and I’m getting more and more uncomfortable…

“If you say you like him in a place like this, Yuu-kun will be in trouble. If you’re going to say something like that, you have to choose the right place. People around you are staring at us.”

“Oh, it’s true…”

“This is embarrassing. I don’t want to see my best friend approaching my own brother.”

“Maybe one day I’ll be Hanaka’s big sister.”

“I told you to stop already!”

The exchange hit a nerve with us and we burst out laughing, and they both looked at each other and started laughing together.

———

There was no shortage of topics for us to talk about, but as lunch break was coming to an end, we promised to have lunch again and returned to class.

By the way, when I warned Yoshi-chan, “If you come to class suddenly, you will disturb a lot of people, so call in advance before you come,” she responded in a small voice, “Yes.” Yoshi-chan is a very energetic girl who says what she thinks right out loud, but she is also a very nice girl who cares about others.

After that, classes and club activities went smoothly, and the first day of school came to an end.