Vol 2 Chapter 1 (1/2)

VOLUME 2-1

Chapter 1

“See ya, Touya-kun.”

After school.

Hinooka Homura waved her hand carrying her bag at the boy she encountered at the school entrance.

The long-awaited summer vacation began tomorrow.

The area around the school shoe racks was filled with noisy and buoyant students, and Homura was chipper herself as she swiftly slipped her indoor shoes into her purse.

“I’m heading home first. See you again in the second semester!”

“…Hah?”

As Homura spoke with a energetic tone, Touya gave her a withering stare.

But Homura chose to pretend not to see that.

“We’re going to go and discuss what we’re going to do over the break, so I’ll be quite busy!”

“I didn’t hear anything about that, though,” interjected Kujou Orie, Homura’s friend, from where she waited a step ahead at the door.

“Err, yeah, like I said, we’re going to discuss it on our way home.”

“…Hmph.”

“What’s with that ‘hmph’?”

Not letting herself be discouraged by her friend’s weak reply, Homura shot a “See ya” at Touya and waved in an over-exaggerated fas.h.i.+on.

But his merciless words pulled Homura back before she could walk away.

“You haven’t forgotten about the plans for our summer club activities, right?”

Screeeeech.

“…Ah, wait, please stop, don’t make me remember it!”

“But even excluding that, don’t you have to take make-up lessons over the summer anyway?”

Screeeeech, screeeeeech.

“I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not listening! I’ll properly check the email on the club activities schedule later! So please don’t erase this feeling of absolute freedom as I delude myself into thinking I can do whatever I want starting tomorrow for just this moment! The reason we high school students diligently go to school every day is for the sake of this day, this moment, right? This single instant that signals the start of an endless summer vacation in our minds!”

Touya looked at her in disbelief.

Kujou listened to her expressionlessly.

The two of them exchanged brief glances, and then—

“Wrong.”

“That’s wrong.”

Homura was completely refuted from both the front and back.

“Studying is so that—we can have a future with freedom and many possibilities.”

“It’s because we want to know—the tips (wisdom) acc.u.mulated by people of the past.”

The two of them exchanged glances again over the discrepancy in their answers, while Homura plugged her ears with both hands.

“It’s too late now. It’s collapsed. My dreams of summer vacation have completely crashed and burned away.”

As Homura slumped forward, crestfallen, Touya picked up the purse at her feet and took out her indoor shoes without permission, directing a nod at Kujou.

“Sorry, Kujou. I’ll be borrowing this girl.”

Kujou nodded silently.

“An instant reply!? W-Wait, please say something to this kidnapper.”

Homura begged for help from Kujou, who made a slightly troubled expression…

“Goodbye, Hinooka-san. If you survive, let’s meet again in the second semester.”

…But remained completely unsympathetic.

“H-How cold of you. That isn’t just a joke in my case, you know~?”

Touya then left the school entrance and began walking quickly through the school hallways, all while carrying Homura’s bag under his arm as a hostage.

Homura followed after him, on the verge of tears.

“I’ll bear a grudge against you for the rest of my life, for having interrupted the date between me and Kujou-san!”

“Really, your whole life? Summer vacation is pretty long, so there’s no need to get all fl.u.s.tered over a little lost time.”

“It’s very hard to catch and keep hold of Kujou-san, you know…” Homura grumbled.

She halted in surprise when Touya unexpectedly turned to head in a different direction than usual.

“We’re not going to the club building? I thought for sure that Mori-chan had announced an emergency summons.”

“No…the truth is, it’d be awkward to go to the club building right now.”

“…Then are you taking me somewhere for personal reasons?”

“It has to do with the entire Exploration Club. You too, Hinooka.”

“In that case—”

“Well, I do apologize for having dragged you off without explaining anything. Please accompany me for a bit.”

“What’s this all about?”

“It’s about her—Inari-senpai.”

The place that Touya led Homura to turned out to be the student council room on the third floor of the school building.

“Thanks, Kurama-san.”

“Pardon our sudden intrusion.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” said a female student, Kurama Kifune-san, with a shake of her head.

She was the only one inside the student council room when the two of them arrived.

“If I remember correctly…You’re in the same cla.s.s as Touya-kun, right, Kurama-san?”

“Yep.”

“Then Ame-chan is also in your cla.s.s.”

“Ame-chan? Ah, Fujimori Ameno-san? Yeah. Thanks to her, I’ve had no shortage of stuff to post about on our blog.”

She pointed at the laptop she’d been in the middle of working on before they came in.

It was displaying the student council’s notification on the school’s website, and the entries were almost wholly about her personal, everyday experiences.

It seemed she and the rest of the council were quite busy, based on the piles of summer itineraries for every club on top of her wide desk.

Not minding that in the least, Homura switched to her chatty mode.

“Right? I’m so jealous.”

“I’d actually like to write about you too, though, Hinooka-san.”

“Me? I don’t mind if you do, you know?”

“No, you really should mind. Hey, Hinooka, can we save the chatting for later and move on to the main topic?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say—so, you mentioned Inari-senpai?”

“The truth is, it seems she came to school today.”

“—Eh?”

Homura’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.

“The second year student Inari-san? She actually came?”

Kurama brought her chair closer with a meek expression.

She turned to give Touya a look that asked ‘Can I tell her?’, and Touya nodded.

Inari-senpai was a second year student and a member of the Exploration Club.

She should have been spending all her time in the club as a senpai to the first year members Homura and Touya. However, she’d been skipping school since the end of last year.

After an accident occurred during Exploration Club activities, she went to recuperate at home and had taken a long leave of absence from school. Homura and Touya didn’t know the details of the accident. All the people involved in it kept their lips sealed on the matter.

The president of the Exploration Club, Misasagi-senpai, had also been stranded in the accident. But ever since then, her friends.h.i.+p with her best friend Inari had been decisively broken. Their kind senpai, who usually taught and guided the two of them without reservation, became dejected whenever the subject of the accident came up.

In the end, the accident and the absence of Inari-senpai lay as a vague source of unease hidden beneath the usual bright mood of the Exploration Club.

“—Is Inari senpai still in the school building?” Homura asked.

“No, she’s already gone home,” Touya replied. “From what I heard, she’s going to resume school next semester, so she showed up to cla.s.s to inform the teacher. So she was here for less than an hour.”

“I heard she was hospitalized for a while, but I don’t know how much she has recovered… And does your club president Misasagi know about this?”

Touya shook his head at Kurama’s question.

“I don’t know. And even if she doesn’t know about it, broaching the subject to her would be a bit…”

…difficult to do.

Homura finally understood why Touya had purposefully avoided the club building and borrowed the student council room. This was certainly a subject they couldn’t lightly speak of in front of the club president, whose relations.h.i.+p with Inari had been broken off.

However, Homura still wasn’t satisfied with this.

“What’s with that dejected face, Touya-kun?”

She gave him a slap to the back of the head.

“Oww. Don’t hit me.”

“Isn’t this a good thing? A student who has been absent for nearly a year has finally returned to school. President Misasagi will surely be happy too, won’t she?”

“That’s true, but…”

Worried about Touya’s half-hearted response, Homura turned to Kurama.

“Kurama-san, are you also worried about Inari-senpai? Even Exploration Club members like us haven’t directly met het yet.”

“Well, you know, just a bit…ah!?”

Just as Kurama was shrugging vaguely, she practically jumped out of her chair at the sight of the wicked grin peeking out through the slightly-opened door.

“President? Y-You were here!?”

“That’s Rokujizou Takara,” said Touya to fill in Homura.

“I already met her,” Homura replied smugly.

“Fufufu. It’s only natural Kurama would be worried. Right?”

Ignoring Kurama’s sullen glare, Student Council President Rokujizou entered the room as she closed the door behind her and looked at Touya insinuatingly.

“—So, who did you hear this from, young man?”

“Even I have acquaintances among my uppercla.s.sman. It’s not like there’s a gag order on this. In fact, I came here in order to hear about it in greater detail from you, president.”

“Is that so? Sorry about that.”

The student council president sat down in a chair while sheepishly scratching her head, but then she suddenly turned to look at Homura.

She held out a finger to the ribbon tying up the back of Homura’s hair and touched it to make it sway.

“You’re cute as always, Hinooka-san. You have a refres.h.i.+ng summer-like air about you today.”

“Thanks.”

The president folded her arms and nodded enthusiastically, and then leaned back sloppily against her chair and turned back to Kurama.

“In comparison…What’s with you, Kurama? Even though it’s summer, your hair is perfectly combed, you’re wearing a sweater, and you even have sleeves covering your arms. Are you an old grandma? Are you the student council’s fussy senior office lady?”

“It’s because a certain someone keeps lowering the temperature so much with the air conditioning that I have to take such defensive measures.”

“Considering how people are always coming in and out of the student council room all the time, this temperature is just right. You’re really boring, you know?”

Out of good manners, Kurama offered barley tea even to this excessively warm-blooded president.

“I spend most of my time sitting in this room—unlike you, always hopping around everywhere throughout the school.”

Seeing Touya visibly grow impatient while listening to this childish conversation, the president burst out laughing and gave a broad smile.

“Sorry about that. Back to the subject of Inari.”

“…Did you know she came here today, president?”

“I heard Inari had come to school from the teacher in charge of my cla.s.s after the morning a.s.sembly. I didn’t get the chance to meet her myself. Apparently she came to school with her parents, greeted her cla.s.smates and cla.s.s teacher, and then left immediately after.”

“Is it true that she’s returning to school starting next semester?” asked Touya for confirmation.

“That’s what I heard. If it’s true, it’s wonderful news.”

“…Has Misasagi-senpai heard about this yet?” Homura asked.

“I haven’t told Mayo about it.”

“Why? We should tell her.”

In the face of Homura’s tenaciousness, both Rokujizou and Touya made awkward faces.

“Hmph, I see now,” said Homura petulantly. “So your friends.h.i.+p with her is only worth that much? Then I’ll go tell her myself.”

“I won’t stop you, but Mayo has already gone home to take care of some family business.”

“Eh…Eeh~”

Homura was visibly disappointed.

In her mind, she could still see it—that goldfish and fox-cat stamp.

It was the personal mark of Misasagi-senpai and Inari-senpai placed on the wrappings of the club’s preserved food, which Misasagi-senpai had explained when they’d previously camped on Nutella.

Homura still hadn’t forgotten Misasagi-senpai’s happy expression as she’d talked about it.

Homura and Touya walked together on their way home from school.

The afternoon sunlight was scorching hot as it pierced their skin.

Desperately wis.h.i.+ng for shade while swaying unsteadily on her feet, Homura mumbled with a sigh.

“I don’t think it’s right to force someone to go to school when they don’t want to, you know?”

Those blunt words made Touya slump his shoulders as he pushed his bicycle.

“Right?” pressed Homura.

“Don’t give me that. Aren’t you being a bit too unfeeling? You were saying the opposite before, weren’t you?”

“I don’t want to be called unfeeling by you of all people, Touya-kun.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Though he said that, Touya’s expression was bitter, perhaps because he too thought himself cowardly.

“There’s no need to concern yourself with the relations.h.i.+p between those two so much. You should let them deal with it themselves.”

“…Even though they’re our senpai in the Exploration Club?”

“Hmph, so what? …Well, saying that might be going too far, but I’ve just recently started doing club activities, so I don’t really feel that kind of solidarity.”

“Is that how it is?”

“Well, I do want to help the club president if she’s troubled… but Inari-san seems like the kind of troublesome person who does whatever she pleases, you know?”

“…Hey now.”

Touya was taken aback at how Homura could say so much about a person she hadn’t even met.

“So in other words, Touya-kun, you want to do something about Inari-senpai because you want to help Misasagi-senpai, right?”

“Well, pretty much.”

“…Hmm?”

Having expected some shocked and embarra.s.sed reaction from him, Homura was surprised by this lackl.u.s.ter response and stared closely at this boy in love.

He continued to push his bicycle while staring straight ahead with no change.

“—But, you know, it’s not like our club does individual matches like in sports. Even someone like her is our comrade. We can’t just ignore and abandon her like this.”

“Comrade… huh?”

Homura crossed her arms, obviously putting on another one of her embellished performances.

“Yeah… comrades are important. For all our sakes… or maybe for j.a.pan’s future, no, for the fate of the world…”

Touya found it too troublesome to retort.

There were no club activities scheduled for the last day of the semester. However, Touya still felt some guilt at going straight home without stopping by the clubroom at all.

As he wondered if anyone was in the clubroom right now, Homura began to speak with a meek expression.

“Ah, there might be one bad thing about this.”

“What?”

“If Inari-senpai returns to the club… We won’t be able to ride in Mori-chan’s car! We’ll be over-capacity!”

“…Ah, because we’ll end up having six members in total.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you an idiot? That’s what you’re worried about? …Then how about we put Ameno in the trunk when that happens?”

Eeeh. How terrible.

“That’s terrible. Ahahaha.”

Homura let out a carefree laugh.

Her expression was bright and lively, with not a hint of seriousness.

Touya both sighed and smiled resignedly at her ever carefree att.i.tude, before changing the topic.

“Hinooka, are you free after this?”

“Eh?” Homura’s smile froze on her face. “…I’m having dinner at home with my family tonight.”

“Then tomorrow.”

“Wait, tomorrow?”

Homura became somewhat fl.u.s.tered. Her ponytail swished frantically.

“W-Well, tomorrow’s the first day of summer vacation, so my schedule is free, I guess? But I have to secure an appointment with Kujou-san as quick as possible, so—”

“Let’s go to Inari-senpai’s home tomorrow.”

Homura was completely taken aback.

“W-Why…!? Can’t you go by yourself!?”

“I already tried that. I told you before, remember? I was chased away at the front door. This time, I’m going to try getting through to her by showing her that our club has obtained an unreliable new member.”

“You’re going to use me as a pretext to get Inari-senpai to come back to the club? There’s no way that will work.”

“Well, even if that plan won’t work—”

Homura couldn’t help become indignant at how easily he admitted the low chances of success.

“I want to ask her directly what she intends to do now. Yeah, I’ve decided. I’ll go, even if it’s by myself. If you’re going to come, be in front of the station by 10 o’clock.”

“That early? But it’s the first day of summer vacation…”

“Come on, you get up early to go jogging anyway, right?”

“But…”

Homura pouted as she tried to put up at least some resistance.