“Oh, s-sorry”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“No… it’s nothing”
“…Hehe. Yosshi, you’re weird”
Hanazono laughed softly.
My heart skipped a beat.
…She’s as cute as ever.
If Yuzuha is what you’d call a gyaru—or rather, the beautiful type—then Hanazono’s appearance is the opposite of hers.
Yuzuha’s looks sometimes give off an unapproachable aura.
While I admire her edgy fashion of wearing a hoodie over her uniform, it’s true that it led to some misunderstandings back in middle school.
In contrast, Hanazono has a gentle atmosphere, and she’s rumored to have a lovable quality that makes all the boys want to protect her.
Such talk has probably reached Hanazono’s ears as well, but she doesn’t seem to put on airs at all.
Regardless of what others think of her, Hanazono appears thoroughly laid-back, sometimes even giving off an aloof vibe, and doesn’t talk much with others.
She barely speaks even with the popular crowd, so the boys have started calling her the school’s “secret angel.”
The central figure in our class is Yuzuha Yui.
But Hanazono is actually just as popular as Yuzuha.
As someone who’s known her since middle school, I think it’s natural that she’s popular.
I want to brag that if you get close to her, she can actually be quite funny.
But in the end, I’ve barely spoken during this time alone with her.
If I let this chance slip away, I feel like our estranged relationship will continue.
Maybe the feeling that we once had a good rapport was just my imagination.
But the fact that we used to chat happily is undeniable.
The fact that she called out to me today means this probably isn’t just my one-sided perception.
It doesn’t make sense to become estranged again with someone like that.
As these feelings were welling up inside me, Hanazono spoke softly.
“Thanks for helping me. It would have been heavy on my own, so I’m glad you came along, Yosshi”
“N-No problem at all, I’m a sturdy guy after all. Besides, if it was just you, Hanazono, you would’ve been late with all this”
“Yeah, if Yosshi hadn’t been there, it might have been my first tardy”
“Call me the Man Who Saved Hanazono”
“The Man Who Saved Hanazono”
“It’s embarrassing when you actually call me that!”
Hanazono giggled at my comment.
Seeing that, I felt warmth spreading in my chest again.
Even though it’s been quite a while, Hanazono’s aura hasn’t changed at all.
Since middle school, Hanazono has had a unique, mysterious air about her.
But at the same time, she gives off a warmth like sunlight.
Back then, I used to love this peaceful time with her.
…Yeah, I think I can talk to her like before.
“Since you saved me, maybe I’ll rely on Yosshi for all my class rep duties from now on?”
“Please spare me that!”
“Aww, that’s too bad”
Hanazono replied while smiling with her eyes.
To be honest, I’d love to carry her things and walk with her every time, but I’m afraid she’d be put off if I honestly replied, “Leave everything to me from now on!”
So I chose an answer that could get a laugh while avoiding risk, but if I actually saw her asking other guys for help, I’d definitely regret it.
In fact, if it’s Hanazono, she probably would have gone along with it without hesitation.
…Damn, I messed up.
I guess it really has been long enough for me to forget how to interact with her.
Right now, I’m probably just spinning my wheels.
I leave the south building where the staff room is located and head towards the north building where class 1-2 is.
It’s quite a trek for someone as hungry as me, but with Hanazono by my side, I don’t even notice the emptiness in my stomach.
I’m still conscious of the stares from others, but Hanazono doesn’t seem to be aware that she’s a standout presence.
As we reach the courtyard connecting to the north building, Hanazono speaks up again.
“Yosshi.”
“Hm, what is it?”
“Yosshi, you’re close with Yuzuha-san, right? How did you become friends?”
Surprised by the sudden question, I blink.
“Huh? We just went to the same middle school.”
“That’s all it took to become close. Amazing.”
“No, no, Hanazono, you’d make friends easily too. You’re both popular, after all.”
I let my true thoughts slip out.
Hanazono quickly denies it, saying, “Not at all.”
Her lack of false modesty is typical of Hanazono.
“Well… even if that’s true, I think Yuzuha would welcome you anytime. She’s basically friendly, even though people often misunderstand her since middle school.”
“But Yuzuha-san always seems busy. There’s never a chance to talk to her. And I don’t have the courage.”
“Ah… I understand the lack of courage.”
Back in middle school, I too once mistakenly thought Yuzuha was scary.
There must be others besides me who take time to warm up to her.
Hanazono reacted with surprise.
“You understand? Even though Yosshi is a social butterfly?”
“In a negative way, you mean? I was nervous when I first met you too.”
“Eh, from my perspective, it’s positive! After all, it was Yosshi who invited me to the game.”
The smell of pine tar resurfaces in my memory.
We met in the spring of our third year in middle school.
It’s been only a year, but it already feels nostalgic.
I smirk.
“Come to think of it, you were the one who was more nervous. High-fiving a boy you just met, that’s so unlike the Hanazono I know now.”
“W-why are you bringing that up?! I was just trying to break the ice in my own way!”
“Hahaha, I wonder about that~”
“Ugh… it’s true. How frustrating.”
Hanazono puffs her cheeks slightly.
…I’ll keep to myself the thought that you’re the one I don’t have the courage to approach now.
“Anyway, Yuzuha might seem busy because she talks to a lot of people, but I’m sure she’d say you don’t need to worry about bothering her.”
I can easily imagine Yuzuha being overjoyed, her eyes sparkling as she hugs Hanazono.
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“Even if that’s not the case, there are plenty of people who want to be friends with you, Hanazono.”
“…I’m happy you say that, but it’s not true at all. I actually have few friends.”
“Eh, really?”
“Yeah. But if Yosshi says so, maybe I’ll look forward to it.”
“Then I’ll have your back!”
“Wait, which is it? Am I not going to make friends after all?”
Hanazono looks surprised, then breaks into a smile again.
In class, she seems to be in energy-saving mode and doesn’t try to stand out, but one-on-one, she surprisingly shows her smile often.
I wonder how many people have already fallen for this gap in her personality.
Even I can feel my heart stirring just from talking to her a little.
I hope there aren’t other guys who joke around with her like this.
“Why do you want to be friends with Yuzuha?”
It’s tactless to ask the reason for wanting to be friends.
I know that, but I was afraid of the silence that might follow.
However, the answer I received was unexpected.
“Because… Yosshi, aren’t you dating Yuzuha-san? I thought if I became friends with Yuzuha-san, it might be easier to talk to you like this too.”
“…What?!”
I reflexively raised my voice.
I guide Hanazono to a less crowded area.
There’s a secluded bench in the shadow of the school building.
After confirming no one is around, I string my words together.
“That’s so sudden. …W-why do you think that?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean anything deep by it.”
She quickly clarifies in a calm tone.
I close my mouth and try to calm down a bit.
…What am I doing? Get a grip. If I panic, I’ll ruin this precious time.
“Yosshi, even though we’re in the same class now, you never talk to me. So I thought maybe it was because you have a girlfriend.”
Hanazono squints a little, perhaps because the sunlight is too bright.
I mull over her words in my head. Her statement was that unexpected.
…I don’t talk to her? Is that how it seemed to Hanazono?
We became distant simply because I didn’t talk to her. I thought I understood that, but I never imagined Hanazono was concerned about it too.
“…So you mean, you were being considerate because of the rumors and didn’t approach me?”
“That’s right.”
“If you had talked to me, we could have cleared up the misunderstanding.”
“I thought it wouldn’t be right to force a conversation just for that.”
“Could you at least sound a bit awkward when you say that?!”
Hanazono blinked at my reaction, then chuckled.
“First of all, even Yuzuha denied that rumor, didn’t you know?”
“I was considerate for nothing!”
“That’s my line?!”
Hanazono lets out a pleasant laugh at my retort.
Well, it’s not a bad feeling if I can make her laugh. Just making a cute girl laugh can keep a guy going for a week.
After laughing for a while, Hanazono spoke with a smile.
“I see. So that rumor really wasn’t true.”
“Of course not. She and I aren’t a good match anyway.”
“That’s not true at all.”
“It totally is.”
Hanazono tilted her head and went “Eh, hmm.”
…She’s cute with every little movement.
To still think that about each action…
“Hm… is there something on my face?”
“No, there’s nothing. Sorry.”
I had been staring without realizing it, and hurriedly averted my gaze from Hanazono.
If I stared so intently at other girls, they might find it creepy.
In other words, Hanazono is an angel for still smiling at me. Just as I thought that…
“Then you must have been captivated by me.”
“That’s… not it! It’s been a while since you joked like that!”
“Hehe. I thought if Yosshi was single, I could make jokes like this again. It’s just a joke, so don’t worry.”
“A total joke… it’s rare to hear ‘total’ before ‘joke’…”
Hanazono’s cheeks relaxed a bit again.
And so did mine.
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