Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4 - Snow Rabbit
Looking down from theof the library, I could see the track team about to return after their practice
There were around twelve to thirteen people, for, in which Nayuki was standing in front
Nayuki looked serious even for things like contacts and reminders, like an entirely different person fro
She really had the looks of a captain
“Thank you for the hard work”
“Thank you for your hard work too”
At last, energetic voices came into the library even when the ere closed The clubeventually I took ered out of the library
Beside the club building, Nayuki, having changed, came out just in time
“Oh, Yuichi”
She sawSilently, I handed her her bag and walked alongside
“Nayuki-senpai, is that your boyfriend?”
A girl’s voice ca to make a joke
“We’re cousins, silly”
Nayuki turned around and smiled Then her juniors bid her farewell and left
“Thank you for the hard work~~”
“You two suit each other, senpai~~”
“Wish you happiness~~”
“Hey, is it fine to be teased by your juniors?”
Still facing frontwards, I pointed backwards with my thumb
“We’re a sports club, but our relationshi+p is extreood So don’t worry~”
That wasn’t what I meant
I wanted to ask whether it was fine if her juniors took me as your boyfriend
Well, we did go to school together every day, and even al home every day now, so it was all too natural, so…it was fine if she didn’t deny it
“How’s your studying going?”
Nayuki changed the topic without noticing the mood
I shook my head
“So it’s hard to catch up the syllabus, certainly”
Lately, I had been staying at the library alone after school to catch up what I hadn’t learnt after changing schools, but it didn’t go really well, especially when I came across those subjects like Old japanese Literature and English which I was originally bad at I couldn’t really puteven when I had opened the book
“If you put some more effort, you’ll catch up really quick, I know, Yuichi”
“It’ll be great if that’s the case”
“Work hard~”
Nayuki gestured her little, usual winning position
But on the following day, the cruel exam assailed me suddenly
“Right We only have the term exam and no mid-term exams in the third semester usually, but we decided to have one this time…”
Before the teacher had finished, waves of chatter overthrew the classroom
“Silence! This exam is for reference for further studies or work next year, so everyone has to put their all into it Well, that’s it for today”
Giving the ti minimally what he had, the teacher left the classroo
“For real?”
I couldn’t help collapsing onto the table
“Exams are nasty~”
Hearing Nayuki’s voice, I lifted my head and nodded impotently
“I thought there was only a ter at all lately”
“Rats”
Kitagawa, sitting at the back, also chipped in
“It’s like a pop quiz”
Kaori also held her wrists in dissatisfaction
“And we’re having world history on the first day Me I hate the most”
“For lish”
Kitagawa held his head; Nayuki heaved sighs; For me…
“The school is torturing transfer students through this exam!”
Then, I let go of my spirit and cried out loud
“Oh, right, Kaori, teach me~”
Turning to Kaori, Nayuki clasped her hands and said
“I think it’ssomeone else teach you”
“But there are so s I don’t understand Don’t you think so too, Yuichi and Kitagawa?”
“Of course”
The two of us boys nodded in unison
“Hether after school Do you have any club activities, Nayuki?”
“Yes, but I’ll quickly end it and go to the library”
With that, we decided to start our studying group
“Kaori, thank you very much I owe you one”
“It’s too much to say you owe me, Nayuki”
Then Kaori said she wanted to make a phone call and left I asked Nayuki, “Is Kaori the sort of person good at studies?”
“She has been number one of the academic year”
“Woah!”
“She has been nu”
“Waaa”
It shocked me initially, but e talked about it, it didn’t occur toan i
“It sheds so”
“Absolutely Work hard~”
But once we started I found Kaori was extremely strict
“Aizawa, thewill be entirely different if you don’t translate this what”
“So to speak, a guild means a comes, which has nothing to do with the tiawa”
She looked at the English I was doing and the world history Kitagaas doing and at the sa our problems
“Phew”
Kitagawa and I heaved sighs and lowered our head at the same time
“Kaori-sensei, that’s too harsh~”
“It’ll be a rade similar to Kaori’s”
“A miracle?”
Lightly furrowing her brows, Kaori looked at me
“It’s called a miracle because it doesn’t happen”
“…”
“If you work hard, Aizawa, you can get a good grade without hoping for any miracles”
“It’ll be great if that’s the case”
“So work hard on the next question”
“Eh…”
Before Nayuki returned fro the three of us
I photocopied Kaori’s notes and returned home
Having finishedplaced the photocopied notes on the table, had no progress whatsoever
“Sigh…”
It was better studying at the library If there wasn’t anyone to watchit
Nayuki should still be studying, I guess
I looked at the alarm clock beside h I had questions in English I wanted to ask her, I could only wait till the next day Let me just sleep now
But then the door was knocked
“Yuichi, Can I come in?”
“Sure”
In her pajamas, Nayuki walked into the room
“Good evening”
“What’s up? For you to come in this late”
It was about ht, a time familiar to me but a miracle for Nayuki to still be awake
“How’s preparations for exa?”
“No dice No any exaggeration here”
“Me too…”
“Sigh…”
Nayuki and I heaved another sigh, adding up to our hs accumulated this day
“I feelwith everybody at the library”
“Me too”
“So now probably it’ll be better if there’s two instead of one”
“Probably…”
“Let’s study together, Yuichi”
Was that fine? Akiko was here today, but for us two to be in the saht…
“Yuichi, does it trouble you?”
“No Right, I have questions to ask you anyway”
“Absolutely!”
“Coher invitation, I took my notes and revision materials and left my room
Anyway, let hts
I had have seen her room from the outside several times, but this was the first I had entered
The size and the accessories should be siirl’s rooht-coloured curtains and bed covers catchNayuki’s shampoo floated in the room
“Sit down Make yourself comfortable”
I sat down on the flower-patterned ave me, a bit in embarrassment
“So let’s begin”
Nayuki i I also decided to tackle English, the subject I was bad at the lish textbook with one hand and the dictionary with the other
“…Yuichi~”
But not even after fivemy attention flatly
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’m sleepy”
Nayuki rubbed her eyes and scratched her chin like a cat
“Sleepy? Didn’t you just start studying?”
“But I’m sleepy”
So I had been right about concentrating But it seemed more than impossible for someone that had to sleep up to ten hours every day While Nayuki spoke lackadaisically, her eyelids looked like sticking together
“Hey!”
If Nayuki slept noould be tempted to sleep as well
“Wake ”
“When that happens, I’ll doodle on your face”
“Please don't pull any pranks on so”
“If you don’t want it, concentrate and work hard”
But Nayuki see no response now
“…Ku~~”
Whack
I rolled the answer sheet and hit her head
“Ouch”
“I will hit you again if you start sleeping”
“Wuu…”
Then the two of us repeated the sounds of “Ku…” and “Whack!”, while working hard
“That’s too much My head hurts”
“Because you’re sleeping”
“Because I want to sleep”
“I want to sleep too”
It had been two hours already since we began
“Get a hold of yourself You can go through it, Nayuki”
“…Yes Work hard Oh…Ku…”
Whack
We continued to work hard afterwards, but as we seeht sleep was , so I decided to end it
“So that’s it for today If we push ourselves toothe day after”
“Are we still studying tomorrow?”
“Eh, yes, if you’re willing”
“I want to do ue voice, “like the e did in the past…”
“In the past?”
You have forgotten it, haven’t you?
Nayuki’s eyes spoke with loneliness but of a similar tone
“We once did our winter break assignether And we also opened our textbooks in my room…it’s that year you last caet angry”
“…”
I tried to i opposed to Nayuki like this, but it didn’t rese in my memory Memories that could almost be connected vanished like white dust in a snap
“I’ such weird stuff”
I shook my head
What is this? My memories will come at unexpected times, yet when I try to recall them they vanish
When I first ca those memories would distress me
Now having lost of the precious ot infuriated of myself I really wanted to recall thes I had towards her
“I am sure that there are sorrowful memories~”