Chapter 1 (1/2)
introduction
“It’s already been seven years since then, huh……”
I pull out the yearbook from the back of my closet and mutter this to myself
On the cover is the naaoka High School”
“So nostalgic The design hasn’t changed at all, either”
If I were to compare it with the yearbook that had been passed out in the faculty room the other day, I wouldn’t be able to tell which was ht tan
“Never really had the chance to look through this again since graduating”
I’m about to open it up for the first tiers only lift the cover
“…… Gosh, aren’t I being a bit too nervous here?”
I laugh softly and turn my eyes downcast
After taking a deep breath, I slowly turn the page
“Wow, everyone’s so young!”
Of course, it isn’t anything like looking at a kindergarten or eleht be al innocent about the smiles of my friends in the photos
My short, soft hair hasn’t changed, but compared to now, I had a much more demure look back then
During high school, I’d often hang out in a six-person group of three girls and three guys
Nowadays, we still meet up to talk about the old days, or catch up with each other
Except for one person
“I wonder how they’re doing……”
We hadn’t ht like the sun
When I close h school come back in vivid detail
The iven it my all
—
Enomoto Natsuki
Birthday: June 27
Horoscope Sign: Cancer
Blood Type: O
Loves to exercise and draw s for Yuu, but can’t bring herself to be honest about them
—
practice 1
It all started with a letter
Placed in her childhood friend, Setoguchi Yuu’s shoe locker—a love letter He had been called to the back of the gy the lunch break, been confessed to by a cute, underclassirl with short hair, and come back to the classroom afterwards
“I just turned her down, seeing as how entrance exa up, too”
Natsuki let out a sigh of relief when Yuu reported this in a plain tone
However, her heart ih he pretended like it was nothing, her childhood friend was blushi+ng in a way she’d never seen before
‘I thought for sure that Yuu wasn’t interested in love or anything like that……’
Even after school, the words that Natsuki had held back still lingered in her heart
Since she was so focused on video gaa, and club activities all the tis before She realized that was the only reason why she assumed he wasn’t interested
He may have turned down the confession this time, but who kneould happen next time
It was at that moment that Natsuki decided she wouldn’t run away anymore
‘…… I’ll confess today, for sure!’
Taking a deep breath, Natsuki looked up at Yuu’s back
It was thirty minutes before school let out, and they were the only two at the shoe lockers
She had their mutual childhood friend, Serizawa Haruki, as in the Filo hootten fed up with her and forced the two of theether
‘…… I feel like my heart could leap out of my chest……’
As she gripped the front of her shi+rt, the beating of her heart ly close
Underneath the track pants that she wore under her skirt, her knees knocked against each other
‘What do I do? Maybe I should just wait until tomorrow’
For a moment, her weak side bubbled up
Recalling her childhood friend’s eround
In her head, she knew that when it caa how a potential couple would
All she needed was a e
On the other hand, regret would last a lifetime
‘—I, Enomoto Natsuki, will now carry out the plan!’
“Yuu! Do you have a minute?”
As the light of the sunset streah the , Natsuki forced out those words
Yuu turned around slowly, and with a strange look on his face, their eyes met
“What’re you being so formal for?”
Natsuki tightened her posture so that her voice wouldn’t tremble, clenched her fists and then said,
“I’m sorry it’s so sudden, but…”
She knew that Yuu was probably feeling nervous, too, because of how the atmosphere between them felt different than usual
Taking a deep breath, Natsuki looked straight at hi back for so many years
“I’ve liked you for a long time now!”
She said it She’d finally said it
Even without having to look in ared
Unable to stand it, she averted her gaze, and this ti in her ears It was louder than before,her wonder if even Yuu would be able to hear it at this rate
As she slowly lifted her face again, Yuu stood completely still, as if taken aback
Their eyes met in an instant
Yuu didn’t seem to realize the reality of it yet, and practically breathed out his next word,
“…… Huh?”
That one as in the forh
‘Yuu is… embarrassed…!?’
It had to be just her over thinking that his face appeared redder than when that underclassirl had confessed to him
In reaction to this unexpected turnout, Natsuki was also at a loss for words
‘I… I have to say so…’
She cast her gaze sideways and tried to search for the words, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a nonsensical sound
“Ju… Ju…”
“Ju?”
Yuu, whose face was still red, tilted his head in confusion
Although he was close to 180 centimeters tall, that cute behavior really suited him
‘I want to pat his head…’
Even Natsuki was surprised at the thought that had suddenly popped up in her hand She knew that she couldn’t think straight right now At this rate, she’d end up blurting out so unnecessary
Before that could happen, she quickly changed the subject
“Just kidding! There’s no way that’d actually be true! Did I get ya good?”
‘I’ve really done it this time,’
She thought immediately
‘No, but just now, that was just another strategy…’
With that fleeting thought, Natsuki realized so
Right, it was the same in both love and war
So she wasn’t running froy
More specifically, this time’s confession rehearsal had been a surprise attack
Yuu widened his eyes, and as if trying to take in Natsuki’s statement, blinked several times in a row
After a little while, he tousled his hair soaze with a sharp look
“Natsuki… You’re really……”
Natsuki heaved a sigh of relief at his tone of voice that sounded half-shocked and half-embarassed
‘Good… He thinks it was a joke… right?’
She pretended not to hear the painful twang her heart made and cracked a smile
“Just now, that was a confession rehearsal”
“Huh? Rehearsal?”
“So? Was I cute? Did your heart skip a beat?”
Going along with the flow, she peered into Yuu’s face, and he looked back with a cold and hard stare
In tiher when the other didn’t say anything In a panic, Natsuki’s smile weakened
“D-don’t look at me like that… I’m sorry…”
“So you’re gonna get serious?”
“……Eh?”
This time, it was Natsuki’s turn to become speechless
Her heart pounded loudly Almost painfully
‘Was that a joke? Or…’
“I was kidding Noe’re even”
Just as she thought she saw hirin, Yuu’s hand came down on her forehead with a chop
And like it was part of a comedic sketch, Natsuki let out a cry at the blow
“Gyah!? Hey, Yuu, go easy on me, would you!?”
Blatantly ignoring her complaint, he said, still with a sour look on his face,
“So, who’re you doing the real thing with?”
“The real thing? You mean the confession?”
“Yeah The fact that you’re rehearsing ht?”
Natsuki’s breath stuck in her throat, seeing how easily he’d believed the lie she’d thought up on the spot
But she kneas her own fault for calling it a rehearsal
Even so, and even if it was as a joke, she didn’t want to be told that she had someone else she liked Not from Yuu
Natsuki pushed down her cos, and clenched her fists again
And at the sa for an ansith a broad grin, and unleashed a round of blows on his ribs
“There’s no way I can tell you!”
“O!!”
Natsuki bent over to , and as usual, set out to secure their next promise
“Hey, c’mon Help me practice~”
“… Guess I’ve got no choice But in return, treat me to ramen”
“Eh~ So stingy!”
“It’s a cheap price to get to practice with me, don’t you think?”
“Wow, are you saying that for real?”
Saying whatever they liked to each other, they would always end with a smile It wasn’t that they’d decided on this out loud or anything, but it was like an unspoken rule between them now
‘But, today was… kind of…’
Along with a dull pain, her heart was crying out like it had been stabbed with needles
‘It’s so stressful to fall in love with someone And it’s even more stressful to say how you really feel’
The sunset that day was red enough to
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Listening to the afterschool bell chih
‘Shoot… I totally slept through math today’
Although she’d gone to bed early yesterday, she’d woken up countless tiht
And to s worse, she hadn’t had any appetite at breakfast or lunch
‘Isn’t this just like a girl in love? Well, actually, it is, but…’
Rehearsal or not, she had finally confessed yesterday
And the one she had confessed to had been her childhood friend, the recipient of her long-tis He must have been nervous the whole tiined
‘The one good thing is that we can still talk like before’
Natsuki lived close to Yuu, and their seats in the classrooht in front of him
Whenever they passed printouts down the rows during class, they’d always end up face-to-face And if she fell asleep during class, he was close enough to wake her up before she got hit by the teacher
‘… Come to think of it, I feel Yuu slept a lot today, too’
She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw that surprisingly, even Yuu had a bed head, which swayed in the wind that blew in froet self-conscious about it, so she decided not to say anything
“Yuu~ Are we going straight to the clubroom?”
During lunch and afterschool, there were always people gathering around Yuu’s desk
Right now, Mochizuki Souta, nickna up like a puppy
Yuu, Haruki, Souta, and Natsuki were all childhood friends
In particular, the guys had all joined the Filether, and chatted with each other with the sa
“I have to stop by the faculty rooo ahead first”
“You’re gonna ask about the report for su too,”
Haruki grinned at Yuu’s words, s sun
“Yeah Alright then, let’s go!”
Souta nodded lightly and took a hold of Yuu’s arm
Pulled along by the other two, Yuu left the classroom
As Natsuki gazed after their departing figures, she mumbled unconsciously, “How nice…”
“The guys irls won’t lose to them, you know?”
She felt a tap on her shoulder, and then a soft, pleasant-sounding voice at her ear
“Nacchan, let’s go to the clubroom, too?”
After that, she was proentle and kind voice
“Akari, Miou……”
When she turned around, she saw her two friends standing there, s cheerfully
The dark-haired pretty girl, Hayasaka Akari, and Aida Miou, with her soft, cute hair They had h school, but since they had all joined the Art Club together, they’d become fast friends
They all had things in common, but Natsuki also felt that they were friends that supported each other
‘They must have co out since this …’
Instead of thanking therin
“Yeah! I wonder if Eri-chan-sensei is already at the art room? We’ll be in trouble if we’re late~”
“Sensei’s been really enthusiastic, saying things like, ‘This year for sure, let’s get the gold!’”
“Wow! Miou-chan, you sound just like her~”
With the tapping of their footsteps against the tile, the three of them went out into the hallway
The reason for their slight busyness was the art contest after summer vacation
Ever since the school had been established, there had never been a year where Sakuragaoka High’s Art Club hadn’t won a medal
However, the club activities were far fro like Sparta
Rather than encouraging techniques on hoin, the club advisor, Matsukawa-sensei, always inal idea Natsuki felt that she was trying to maintain a purely enjoyable creative environment
In the club, the president, Akari, and the vice president, Miou, demonstrated a considerable amount of talent
The previous president and vice president had chosen successors, but because Akari and Miou had so nition for their artwork, there had been an unanimous decision to appoint them instead
On the other hand, there were , ceras like that Because there wasn’t a Manga Club at the school, a lot of students joined just because they wanted to draw illustrations or comics
Since those types usually worked at hohost members
Natsuki attended club s often, but as for her position, it was probably in the grey area
She liked drawing coe canvas, too
They were both different in their oay, and if someone were to ask her which she liked better, she wouldn’t be able to answer It was like trying to weigh her preference of red bean paste and whipped cream on a scale
‘I like both, so I want to do both I thought that was fine, but…’
To be honest, lately she worried about what her place in the club was
She wasn’t like Akari and Miou In the end, wasn’t she only half-baked compared to them?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
There were only a few first-years and second-years in the art room
In the corner of the blackboard, there was a scrawled , “I’ll be on a business trip today See you to it
“Too bad Sensei isn’t here today… I wanted to ask her opinion on some colors”
“Miou-chan, looks like you’re finally ress,”
Akari peered over at the canvas set up on the easel and commented in admiration
“Since I ith a bigger canvas this time, I still need to add more to it What about you, Akari-chan…?”
Miou paused in setting up her paints and looked over to see what Akari was doing Just like yesterday, she only had a sketchbook, pencil, and eraser arranged in front of her
Akari shrugged her shoulders and forced out a laugh
“Well, I still haven’t coood idea yet…”
“You’re fast at working once you have the sketch done, so it’ll be just fine”
‘…… I wish I had talent like those two’
Natsuki sat at a desk with her cheek cupped in her hand, andto her friends’ conversation
Although she was exhibiting so for the contest as well, her canvas and even her sketchbook were still completely blank
She knew that the diligent Miou, and the creative Akari, too, already had nus done in their sketchbooks
Natsuki was the only one that truly couldn’t co
“By the way, Nacchan, did you uchi-kun yesterday?”
Natsuki’s shoulders shook a bit at Akari’s sudden question
“Ah, actually, I wanted to ask about that too But I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to bring it up in the classroom,”
Miou’s brush stopped , and she shyly joined the conversation as well
“It’s nice to be in the sauy you like, but at the same time it’s so inconvenient~”
She suddenly felt e about her crush so openly
Natsuki felt her face grow hot, but when she remembered what had happened yesterday, it immediately cooled down
“Arghh~~…… Let me tell you all about that~”
“What is it? Do tell”
Akari also changed her voice to play along with Natsuki’s exaggerated tone Miou couldn’t help but laugh too, and the ht and relaxed one
Natsuki recounted what had happened in a joking tone, taking away the seriousness of the situation
She told them about how she’d confessed, but then lied about and said it was all just a rehearsal, and about how Yuu had believed her and was going to keep helping her practice
After listening to her story, both Akari and Miou had theiropen
“…… Confession rehearsal, huh? You’re sure done soain,”
Miou’s peeked out fros with round eyes and blinked them in astonishment
Natsuki laughed loosely and continued,
“And then after that, we ate at that ramen place in front of the station on the way back! It was really good…”
Upon hearing the phrase, “ramen place in front of the station,” Akari reacted suddenly
Leaning against the desk, she asked with shi+ning eyes, “Do you mean the newly opened one? Their ramen is the best! Good choice!”
“It was ood at aaaall!!”
As Natsuki corrected herself and held her head in her hands, Akari nodded deeply with a serious face
“You’re right It would be a bit much to treat every time”
“Akari-chan, I don’t think that’s the real problem here…”
Natsuki calmed down at Miou’s calm and steady indication
Clearing her throat, she started over with explaining what she had wanted to do
“I said it was a confession rehearsal because I wanted hiirl… But since we just went slurping raed! He’ll just say that ain!”
Unable to hold it in any longer, she wound upat the end
Akari shtly at Natsuki, who had stood up froony
“It’ll be okay You’re cute when you stay silent, Nacchan”
“But then that’s being too subood at all!”
“For now, let’s just cals”
With pale and slender fingers, Miou gently pushed Natsuki’s legs closed, which stood apart like a crab Even at a glance, she could see that Miou took good care of her fingernails
‘Her hands are really like a girl’s…’
It wasn’t only her appearance, but in terms of her personality as well, Miou was the ested Natsuki wear track pants under her skirt, since she often moved around so recklessly
“And how about you and Haruki, Miou?”
Natsuki was really curious about how her close friend and her childhood friend see quite well
They were in different classes, and they didn’t have lessons together, either If they ever saw each other, it was only whenever Haruki ca out with Yuu and Souta