“Did the sleepiness go away?”
“Hmm… yeah, it’s gone. Sorry, and thanks.”
Yuzuha yawned widely before tossing her empty can into the trash.
Since entering high school, Yuzuha has clearly been late more often, so giving her caffeine is the quickest solution. It hurts to treat her occasionally, but I have to do at least this much since she helps me out a lot.
Well, Yuzuha probably doesn’t think she’s helping me out.
Anyway, it’s better than her having to repeat a year.
“Yuzuha, you’ve been late a lot since starting high school. The teacher even asked me to warn you.”
“Eh? Seriously? I’ve already reached that level? The teacher said it’s their first year as a homeroom teacher, so maybe they’ll overlook it considering they’re getting toughened up by me~”
“From what position are you saying that?!”
Yuzuha laughed softly, saying, “Yoshiki, you’re so strict~”
She’s probably joking, but if the teacher heard that, they’d be furious.
After a short pause, Yuzuha cracked her shoulder.
The scent of soap wafted from the hoodie she wore over her uniform.
“By the way, how are things going with Nikaido-san?”
“Ah. We managed to walk home together successfully.”
“Eh, not bad. So what happened after that? Was I right about her being into you?”
“Not really… nothing happened. I can’t do weird things with a girl who’s about to become everyone’s crush.”
Not that I could do anything even if that wasn’t the case.
Yuzuha shook her head at my response.
“Everyone’s crush? That’s Hanazono-san, right? She’s the one with the crush-worthy image in our class.”
“Well, that’s true too…”
Indeed, Hanazono is becoming not just our class’s but our year’s crush among the boys.
Her name always comes up when discussing cute girls.
She’s becoming so established that mentioning Hanazono’s name in such discussions is considered boring and unoriginal.
The day Remi transferred in, the boys in our class didn’t obviously crowd around her probably because they didn’t want Hanazono to see them like that.
But well, Yuzuha is in the same league when it comes to being a crush.
The fact that Hanazono is called the “Secret Angel” is proof that Yuzuha is more popular on the surface.
While Hanazono might be considered “second in class” among the boys, from Yuzuha’s perspective, she might think Hanazono is first.
In any case, I’m not shallow enough to tell Yuzuha all of this.
“Hanazono is certainly have a lot of admirers, but it might be more accurate to say she has many secret fans.”
“Hmm. Yeah, I can see that image of people whispering about how cute she is.”
Yuzuha nodded in understanding, then opened her mouth slightly.
“…What do they say about me?”
“…Well, this isn’t something someone else said, but I think of you as the everyday idol gyaru. Everyone connects through you.”
“Idol gyaru! What a naming sense!”
Yuzuha’s eyes widened, then she burst out laughing.
Then, with her mouth still upturned, she suddenly spoke quietly.
“…I see. If that’s what you think of me, Yoshiki, then I guess my efforts are paying off a bit.”
…I have to say, that was quite apt of me.
Though I’m surprised the idol gyaru laughed so much at it.
“Speaking of Hanazono-san, Yoshiki, weren’t you in the same cram school during middle school?”
“Oh, you remember well. We’re not anymore, though.”
“Right. I’ve never seen you two talking, so I was starting to think you might be lying.”
“I wouldn’t lie about that. Guys have their own circumstances too.”
There’s an unspoken understanding among the boys recently that Hanazono is off-limits.
That’s one of the reasons I was cautious of our surroundings the other day.
“You should talk more in the classroom. I’ve been creating a better atmosphere than in middle school for that reason.”
“I appreciate it, but this is different.”
It’s hard to talk now because I was indirectly rejected, after all.
Yuzuha, who has no way of knowing this, said with a carefree expression, “You’ll be fine, Yoshiki!”
“Based on what…?”
“I have a reason. You’re a friend I’ve taken a liking to.”
Yuzuha grinned.
…Even if most people wouldn’t believe that I had a good thing going with Hanazono in middle school, Yuzuha might be the only one who would believe it.
If I told my sister, she’d probably curse at me, saying, “That’s not a good thing at all! You’re so gross for misunderstanding!”
“But realistically speaking, Nikaido-san seems more likely to be into you, since you’re childhood friends.”
“Idiot. Neither Hanazono nor Nikaido are into me at all. Even yesterday—”
“Why not? You said yesterday that she was watching you. That’s definitely a sign she likes you.”
“Just because she was watching doesn’t mean she likes me…”
If it were Yuzuha Yui that boys were looking at, maybe that would be the case.
I sighed at the carefree response from the top of the social hierarchy.
“Hey.”
“What?”
I threw my empty can into the trash.
It traced a beautiful parabola before being swallowed up.
Yuzuha innocently clapped her hands.
“Oh~ That was amazing!”
“No, that’s not it. You watched that just now, right?”
“Huh?”
“It’s the same as that.”
Yuzuha tilted her head slightly, then snapped her fingers.
“Ah, you mean you’re trash, Yoshiki!”
“No, that’s not it! Don’t make such a ridiculous misunderstanding! It was an example of how you just watched because I was moving! It means she was just reflexively looking!”
“Ahaha, I see, so that’s what you meant!”
Laughing so happily, is she really my friend?
“Geez… let’s head back to the classroom, class is about to start.”
“Eh~ We still have about a minute. Can’t we stay here a bit longer?”
“Your sense of time must be buggy. If it’s only a minute, normal people would go back already!”
“There you go with ‘normal’ again! My normal is just different from yours!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“If you brush me off with ‘yeah, yeah’ again, I’ll get mad.”
“Sorry, okay!?”
As usual, while having a typical back-and-forth, I started walking down the hallway.
The next teacher was pretty laid back, so even if I was a bit late, I probably wouldn’t get into too much trouble.
I was lost in some less-than-ideal thoughts when Yuzuha called out to me.
“Hey, Yoshiki.”
“Hm? What’s up?”
I stopped and turned around.
Yuzuha blinked her large eyes at me.
“…Are you glad we’re friends?”
“…Of course, I am. I don’t really say it ’cause it’s embarrassing, but you have no idea how much you being around helps me.”
Yuzuha blinked rapidly at my response.
Then
“Yoshiki, you tend to say things pretty directly, don’t you? Maybe that’s something I like about you.”
she smiled at me.
“…Yuzuha, you really shouldn’t say stuff like that so openly. If someone gets the wrong idea, you won’t be able to complain.”
“I wouldn’t complain, though. Isn’t it fine to speak honestly? I really enjoy spending time with you, Yoshiki.”
“…?”
I wonder if something happened with Yuzuha.
She’s like the sun in our class, shining on both the extroverts and the introverts alike.
But maybe being that bright gets tiring sometimes.
I had no proof, but that’s what I thought.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
When I got back to the classroom, Remi was already in the middle of her presentation.
It was for our Japanese class. Some of the guys who were listening to Remi’s reading looked a little annoyed as they glanced my way.
But when they saw Yuzuha, they immediately shifted their focus back to their textbooks, as if everything suddenly made sense.
Yuzuha’s beaming smile seemed to have left everyone in a bit of a daze.
The stares I got were sharp with hostility, which I found pretty unfair.
“And that’s it.”
Remi finished her reading and sat down smoothly.
If this had been the old Remi, ending with “and that’s it” after a reading would’ve come off as rude or annoyed.
The teacher, known for being kind, smiled gently at Remi.
“Thank you, Nikaido-san. As for the two who were late, please see me afterward.”
“Ugh… okay.”
I thought the teacher was easygoing, but looks like I’m in for a proper scolding.
Once they set their sights on you, you’re in for trouble.
But Yuzuha didn’t seem to mind at all. She cheerfully replied, “Sorry about that!” in a bright voice.
Her overly energetic response threw the teacher off, who stammered, “A-as long as you understand.”
Being late and dressed like a flashy gal would usually make people think you were some sort of delinquent. But with Yuzuha’s lively apology, no one thought that way.
Normally, even an energetic apology like that could be seen as sarcastic.
By the next break, Yuzuha would probably be back to her usual self, and the class would be bright again.
I sat down and absentmindedly glanced over at Hanazono.
She seemed to be focused on her textbook and didn’t look back at all.
…It kind of stings when someone doesn’t care at all.
But given the circumstances, maybe it’s only natural.
“…Hm?”
When I noticed, Takeru was grinning at me.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you yesterday that you’d get unwanted attention? And now you’re worried people might misunderstand your relationship with Yuzuha—”
“Shut up, face the board.”
“So mean!”
Takeru pretended to sob quietly as he turned back to face the chalkboard.
…Yeah, I know being late makes you stand out.
But I still owe Yuzuha, and I can’t afford to fail and repeat a year until I repay her.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
When I checked it, it was a message from Yuzuha.
Yui [Got scolded, lol. Sorry for dragging you into it, lol.]
…Yeah, I feel the same.
I was about to reply with a stamp when another message came in.
Yui [Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. You once said you’d work hard to move past the “good thing going on” about things, the ‘good vibe’. so where’s that determination gone?]
…She’s got a point.
I know.
If I don’t ask soon, I’ll just keep putting it off.
But there’s something that’s been bothering me.
I glanced over at my childhood friend.
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