Prologue

"I need to talk to you after school, so wait for me."

When my lunch break was almost over, Hinagata Shiori

called out to me just like that. It made me nervous for a
moment.

'After school... I need to talk to you...'

If someone of the opposite s*x, one of the best looking

girls in your school, doesn't give specific information, but
rather she gives you a slightly murky nuance, you can't help
but be nervous.

Is it a confession or something like that? I couldn't help

but imagine.

At that time, I replied with a faint nervousness, "Oh,

okay..." But when I thought about it, there was nothing
between Hinagata and me. We're childhood friends, so it's
nothing like that. When I thought about it, the logic was as
simple as one plus one.

"——Oi, Tonomura. Let's go home, okay?"

Sugiuchi, who was in my class, came over to my desk,

where I was leisurely getting ready to leave for school.

"Ahh.... today it's... That....."

"What do you mean by that?"

I glanced in the direction of the person at fault, Hinagata,

and checked my bag again to make sure I hadn't forgotten to
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pack my lunch box.

"I want to go home alone today."

"...Ohh. Well, okay."

I'm sorry, my friend. We're together all day, every day, but
not today. We exchanged a few words of greeting.

Just as Sugiuchi was about to leave the classroom, he

suddenly stopped in front of the door and looked back with a
straight face.

"Well, that tanned gal adult p**n video you recommended

was so subtle!"

"You're being too loud... Don't say that now!"

Sugiuchi laughed, waved his hand, and finally left. I'm

sure he did it on purpose.

The classroom, where there were still a few people left in,
went silent for a moment, and a few people quickly left the
classroom. I had just entered the second year of school, and
I could see that my popularity had immediately hit rock
bottom...

Hinagata pulled out the chair next to me, and sat down
beside me.

"——Can I talk to you?"

She had slitted eyes that looked a little sharp and a fair,
well-shaped face. Her black hair easily swayed when she
turned her head. I can understand why people think of her
as a cool beauty or something.

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 "What is it with you, calling out to me again?"

"I'm not a tanned gal, okay?"

Sugiuchi.... I won't forgive you...

"It's sad when people treat me cruelly like that."

It wasn't my intention to give her that attitude.

Perhaps it's because of her solemn but clear voice that

made it even sadder.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but you're the one who started
teasing me, okay? So, can we talk?"

"Fine."

I put my cheekbones on the bench and urged her to

continue, but Hinagata just rubbed her knees together and
didn't say anything. She squirmed, looked at me anxiously,
and then lowered her eyes. She opened her mouth as if
making up her mind but then closed it again as if hesitating.

Her cheeks were red, and I'm sure it's not because of the
sun that has shone into the classroom.

Hey, that reaction, no way...

Tell me.

"I've found someone I like."

"...Oh... Yeah, yeah..."

I was scared. I don't know. I don't know why. I was a little

nervous.

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 "Good for you."

"Yeah."

Hinagata's cheeks relaxed. People tend to think of her as

cool and expressionless, but her emotions just come out like
this sometimes.

"So?"

"I thought Ryunosuke would be able to give me some

advice."

"Don't call me as if I've been into hundreds of battles."

"I know, I know. You're a virgin."

"—Stop."

On the contrary, I've never been in a relationship with

anyone. And, well, she knows that.

...Hmm? And she's asking me for advice?

"Shiori, are you sure you want to talk to me? Aren't you
asking the wrong person?"

"I'm not mistaken." She assured me.

"That kind of thing, you know, you should ask a girl you're
close to or something."

"...It's embarrassing. Besides, you can't know how a boy

feels by asking a girl."

I see. Girls who grew up on shoujo manga can't

understand how men feel.

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 "I know you like tanned gals, but..."

"—Don't bring up a pinpoint example."

That's a subtle poke in the eye, isn't it?

"Look, Hinagata. As an example, you'd get bored if you

had meat and potatoes every day."

"?"

She was puzzled.

"Let's go crunchy at least for today! ―There are times

when a man feels like that."

"?"

She was puzzled again.

"Tanned gal, crunchy...?"

"You don't have to remember that."

It was still too early to teach her the realities of being a

gentleman, apparently.

And I was a little relieved around the idea of her wanting

to know how boys felt.

Her slender height and cool face are popular with both
boys and girls. Hinagata is more popular with girls than
most boys.

Hinagata, who receives quite a few confessions, has

turned down an equal number of both. That's why I hear
there are rumours that it's not a man who she likes, but a
woman.
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 "Just to confirm. If you choose me as your advisor and
want to know about guys' minds, that means you like guys,
right?"

"Yeah."

Okay. It's important, I had to check there.

"It's like a romantic-ish feeling... right? Not 'like', but

'love'."

I'm a little embarrassed to say the word 'love' outside of

English class.

"It's love. I'm serious."

Serious love.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what
kind of guy?"

When I asked her out of curiosity, she looked up into the

air as if thinking and then answered.

"Familiar, kind, and handsome."

Oh, most of the boys are different. Counting the good-

looking guys I can think of... Since Hinagata is in a girls
basketball club, a male member? The basketball club is
refreshing and cool. It's something that is familiar to us.

"It's about face after all."

I knew it. I knew it. However, it's limited to good-looking

guys.

"I... I like his face. I don't know what other people think."

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 "Hmmm. Do you want to go out with that guy, hold
hands, and kiss him?"

She made a strange onomatopoeic sound and froze for a

while, her face turning red. After a while, she finally gave a
slight nod.

"...Yeah."

It was the expression of a maiden in love.

No, I didn't know what the expression of the maiden in

love was, but it would be exactly that if I were to describe her
expression.

"I want to kiss."

"Hmm."

Once again, Hinagata covered her face with her hands.

She could hide her reddened face but not her reddened ears.

Is that so? I don't think I can have someone who thinks of

me like this.

"What's it like now? What's the distance between you?"

".....Someone I can talk to if I want to."

So, I guess the most likely candidate is someone from this

school.

"Who?"

"Still secret."

When it comes to love, she's not very good at it — or so I

think. She would not speak so lightly of it. If I knew who it
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was, it would be easier to give advice, but I guess I don't
have a choice. I don't want to forcefully pry like a kid, and
maybe Hinagata confided in me because I'm the type who
thinks that way.

"Contact information?"

"I think I can find it out if I look it up, but I don't know
about SNS or anything like that."

She said that they were close enough to talk but not close
enough to keep in touch in private.

"Well, you need his contact information first. Otherwise,

you can't talk about what you want to say, right? "

"Yes, I'll see what I can do."

"Why not invite him on a date?"

"Well, yeah...! But I can't...!"

She is holding her chest and taking deep breaths. Just

imagining is enough to fill her up with happiness.

She doesn't even know his contact information yet, but

she's so quick... I mean, there's probably no boy who would
refuse to be contacted by her.

I tapped her on the shoulder with a pop. Hinagata's body

bounced... Huh? Did I surprise you that badly?

"Hinagata, be strong. No one is going to say no to you

when you ask them for their contact information."

"Yeah, I guess."

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 "Yeah." I nodded my head again and again.

***

The teacher came and told us to leave the classroom

because it was going to be locked, so we left. I looked at the
time on my cell phone and saw that we had been talking for
more than an hour, and before I knew it, the sun was setting,
and the hallway looked a little dark.

As I walked up to the gate, I pulled out my sneakers from

the still unfamiliar shoe box and dipped my toes in them. As
I started walking, Hinagata lined up next to me.

"We haven't walked home together since the spring of

eighth grade."

"Oh, right."

I remember it well. We were both busy with club

activities, so we came home at different times. Just because
we were going in the same direction didn't mean I had to go
home at the same time.

"Are you dating?" I didn't want to be ridiculed by my

seniors and classmates, and I was embarrassed to be seen
with my family.

I guess it showed on her face and in her attitude. Hinagata

no longer spoke to me in the classroom or on campus, let
alone on her way to and from school.

She seemed to have had enough of my advice for the day

and didn't ask me anything more, so I didn't say anything
either.

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 ...I think I'm less embarrassed now, even though we
haven't been home together in a while.

"Um...." I heard a whisper and looked next to me to see

Hinagata standing still a few steps behind me.

"Ryunosuke."

"Yeah?"

Hinagata thought she pulled her cell phone out of her

pocket, but she didn't hold it properly and dropped it on the
ground.

What's wrong, are you okay?

"Is your phone okay?

"Yeah. It's fine."

She took a deep breath and held out her cell phone, which
seemed to be okay to me.

"....Let's shake it"

(Note: One of the features on Line is "Shake It!" since it

allows you to instantly add a person by shaking the phone.
For this to work, you and your friend need to be close and
have the GPS or Location Services turned on.)

Is this the SNS ID exchange?

"Well, I didn't know that."

I don't think I've ever had that opportunity before because

we were in different classes. Even if I knew it, I wouldn't
have messaged her privately because we never talked.

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 I took out my cell phone and exchanged IDs with her.

But now that I know, it's easier to talk to her.

"T-Thank you..."

"No, it's fine," I said, letting it slide.

Hinagata looked at her cell phone screen and gave a small

smile. It was the expression of a maiden in love.

I know her face well enough to know that she is usually

expressionless, but her relaxed expression is extremely cute
without being patronizing.

....I suddenly thought back to our earlier discussion. The

person she likes is probably at the same school, familiar, and
she doesn't know his contact information.

Who likes Hinagata... Well, of course not.

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 Chapter 01: The Reason Why I Started Talking
Again With My Childhood Friend Who Was
Estranged

"Did you quit?"

It was the day of spring break. After officially informing

my teacher that I was quitting the club, I ran into Hinagata.
We hadn't talked much since we entered our 2nd year of
high school. It was a little rough and awkward for us to talk
after such a long time.

"Ahh, yeah."

"...just heard you talking to the teacher."

I didn't want to get on to her for eavesdropping, so I tried

to leave. I didn't want to make any excuses to her, and I
didn't want to be asked why I left.

For whatever reason, quitting club activities is not good.

Even though we've known each other since childhood, I still
have my own pride. I looked away; I didn't want her to see
me like this.

"Don't quit!" "Don't give up!" "What a waste..." I'm sick

of hearing people say things like that. It seems inappropriate
for someone to talk to me like that after such a long time.

But Hinagata was different from everyone else.

"You did your best. Thank you for your hard work."

When I looked at her, I saw a small smile on her face.

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 Well, I remembered the first time I played catch was with
Hinagata.

"...Do you remember? At first, I was a better catcher than

you."

"Only for the very first time. It wasn't long before I was
better than you."

"...What a show-off."

When Hinagata spoke to me, her tense expression had

dissolved.

"It's a fact."

It felt like I actually talked to Hinagata for the first time in

a while after seeing her eyes. Our talks used to be normal
and common.

That day was the last time we saw each other. The next
time we met was the day of the opening ceremony, in front
of the class list posted on the bulletin board.

"We're in the same class."

My voice, which was so quiet that it was no wonder I

couldn't hear it, reached Hinagata's ears.

"...Yes."

When I entered the classroom and checked the seating

chart, I found that we were next to each other. I sat down
first, and Hinagata, who had just arrived, took her seat.

"If you lose your textbook, you don't have to go to the next
class to borrow it from me."

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 "When was that? Third grade, right?"

"That was in the fourth grade."

Well, I don't remember.

"Until we switch seats, don't forget your textbook."

"Okay."

I could hear people around me saying, "I'm looking

forward to working with you for the next year." but I guess
there's no need to be pretentious with my childhood friend
now.

It was less awkward than the last time we'd met, and from
that day on, We began to have small talk every so often
during classes and breaks.

It was well known that Hinagata was popular, and equally

well known that she was strong willed. She kept turning
down confessions from all kinds of people, and now that I
think about it, it was because there was someone she liked.

Hinagata's feelings are so strong that she rejected so

many confessions. Once I understood the magnitude and
seriousness of those feelings, I decided to consult with her
because I wanted to help and support her.

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 Chapter 02: The Beginning Of My Daily Life

I saw Suiguchi on my way to school this morning and

tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yo."

"I was wondering who it is, but it's you, Tonomura."

He greeted me with an "Un." and I replied with a similar

tone.

"Yesterday, you made the classroom a living h**l."

"What? You're the reason I lost all my s*x drive."

"And you will be stuck with that for the rest of your life."

"I was hoping for something a little more... realistic.

There's no such thing as tanned gals nowadays."

I don't know.

"God, it just started, it was too sudden."

"At least your body is more honest." Sugiuchi, who had

been wearing a blank expression on his face, burst into
laughter with my words.

I've known Sugiuchi since junior high school, and we've

been in the same class for two consecutive years in high
school.

I could count on one hand the number of friends I had in

high school, so he was a reassuring presence.

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 "Aren't you dating Hinagata-san?"

"I've never dated her, alright?"

"What a waste, even though you are so close that girl who
looks so similar to Seina, the actress."

Seina is Sugiuchi's favorite actress, Hishikawa Seina. It

seems that she was originally a model or something.

Because of this guy, I had to learn useless information

that I wasn't interested in.

"We're not really close... we're just sitting next to each

other, so we talk."

"Hmm~"

"Everyone is overreacting. You'll lose interest quickly if

you constantly look at beautiful women. How can I say that?
It's because I'm used to seeing her."

"So you admit she's beautiful?"

"Don't be a prick."

We walked with the handles of our school bags slung over

our shoulders and our hands in our pockets. I'm taller than
average, and Sugiuchi is shorter than average, and when we
stand together, we stand out even more.

"So~ even if I do those things to Hinaga-san, you won't

mind right~?"

The way he muddled up the words, "those things" was a

bit realistic.

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 By 'Hinaga-san', he is actually talking about Hinagata. It's
just how Sugiuchi calls her.

I've known him since junior high. He's a good guy, so if

there's a girl he likes, I would want to support him.

"Only if you mean it, Sugiuchi."

"By the way..... can you even support that f*****g s**t?"

"Ah... well... I don't know if it's f*****g s**t or not."

Sugiuchi looked up at me and laughed, 'buhaha'.

"I'm kidding. Please don't make a serious face. You know

what I'm joking about. I kind of figured out that you don't
like it when other guys mess with you."

"That's not the case."

"Isn't your body quite honest?"

"It's not like that. It's different from what you're

imagining."

I know that a lot of boys have been messing with

Hinagata.

The first time was probably in the fifth grade.

That was the time when I discovered that she was

confessed to by a boy who was in first grade of middle school
— quite an older boy when seen from the perspective of a
fifth grader in elementary school.

I'm not sure how that happened.

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 It's quite often to have such puppy love happening with a
boy classmate. But, to Hinagata, that's not it. For her who
may be in the adult field romance, will only see them as a
child plays.

And thanks to that huge influence, she can't even

remember those faces who had confessed to her before.

Maybe it's because they weren't my friends.

"Have you heard of Hinaga-san in the backstage beauty

pageant?"

"Backstage?"

"Yes, the girls who didn't participate in the beauty

pageant secretly voted on who was the best. It's different
from the official one because all the girls can vote, so it's
pretty serious."

"I knew she was popular, but I didn't know she was that
popular."

"Your childhood friend is very popular," said Sugiuchi,

looking like an expert.

I've heard the phrase "the most beautiful girl in school"

but apparently she's really the best.

I could tell that the boys in my class were aware of

Hinagata, because they would look at her and see where she
was or what she was doing. There was no shortage of boys
who would come to show off to her, regardless of their grade
or class.

The same goes for the boys who tried to join in the
conversation with her whenever she was chatting about

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something unimportant.

All of these events were enough to confirm the fact that

she was the first runner-up at the backstage beauty pageant.

"Many of the girls who participated in last year's beauty

contest were not very good, right? Some of them were just
flashy, some of them were just in the mood, and some of
them just wanted to show off."

Let's not listen to Sugiuchi's diss.

"Oh, speaking of rumors..." Sugiuchi's gaze met

Hinagata's.

She was walking in a group with some of her clubmates.

Hinagata, who was probably listening to the conversation,

reacted with only about 10% gesture and a small smile.

She doesn't say much and tends to keep her face

expressionless, but she's not the type of person you can't tell
what she's thinking.

A tall girl walking next to Hinagata, Uchino Kura-san,

noticed us walking behind and tapped Hinagata on the
shoulder.

When she saw me, she turned around so quickly that I

thought she had a spring in her step.

"Hey, Tonomura, I think they don't like you..."

"No, no, it's not me. Then you're the one who's hated."

"What?"

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 "Huh?"

While we were joking around and lightly punching each

other on the shoulder, we heard the word "tanned gal"
coming from the group of Hinagata.

"..."

"It's Tonomura after all."

"It's your fault."

I thought I hit him lightly, but it seemed to have hit him in

a strange place, and Sugiuchi was in agony.

I'll give it back to him for the prank he played on me

yesterday.

But Hinagata doesn't talk to her about it, even though she
has a girl she goes to school with like that.

I wonder if being close to her is not the same as being able

to talk to her about anything.

I don't know about me.

When I find someone I really like, I wonder if I'll talk to

my good friend (or so I think) Sugiuchi about it.

I might be embarrassed too to do so.

Hinagata thought she could talk to me about it, right?

I'm in a mixed mood, happy and not so happy.

***

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 At the end of the orientation and the 10-minute break, I
confirmed yesterday's progress with Hinagata.

"What's happened since then?"

"What do you mean?"

I spoke in a low voice so that no one would hear.

"No, I was just wondering if you were able to get the

contact information."

Yesterday or today, you still haven't talked about that?

"I asked."

"Ahh. Okay..."

Even though she's shy, she has a great ability to act.

Is it the power of a maiden in love or something? If it were

me, it would take me about a week just to get ready.

...Well, if it's about SNS, maybe you can find it through

your friends.

"Hey, don't you want to say 'hi'?"

Hinagata shook her head.

"What are you going to do with... greetings?"

"What will I do..."

What do you do with them?

I thought that if one said something like, "Nice to meet

you." girls would get excited about it.

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 I glanced at Hinagata.

"?"

Is she a shy talker, even on SNS?

On the internet, I don't like it when people talk so much

that they change their characters.

"But now that we have it, we have to do something with

it."

"What?"

"You know, Wh—"

"—I'm sorry, I'm just a young child. I have no idea what

you're talking about~" Hinagata was spoken to by another
girl when the conversation was cut off, so the story ended
there.

***

It was the night of that day.

—*Ring* *Ring*

I noticed the ringing of the phone and picked up the

phone.

The display showed "Shiori".

What is it? Did you have something you wanted to ask

me?

"Hello?"

『............』
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 What? No response.

I checked the display again, but the call was still active.

"Hello—o?"

『.........n.』

I can vaguely make out what seems to be a presence.

Does that mean that the microphone is bad or the volume

is too low?

"Hello? Am I not audible?"

『Ryu...』

"Ryu?"

I can hear the quiet sound of breathing.

『Ryunosuke.... Ah, no. Tonomura-kun, are you there?』

Are you there? Or are you not? Is someone becoming one?

Well, I'm glad you can hear me.

"Um, Hinagata? If you ask for Tonomura-kun, this is his

phone, so you get that right."

『Ahh...』

I heard a sound effect and checked the screen again to see

that the call had been cut off.

"Huh...?"

What is it now?

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 Did she overhear the conversation? While thinking about
that possibility, I tilted my head to the side as I read the
message.

It was from the one I received "Are you there?"

Ding. And then I received another message.

When I opened the message box, there were two stamps

of a bear on its knees.

Then, the same stamps were shot 10 times in a row.

"Oi oi oi oi!? calm down, Hinagata!"

I said looking at my phone.

『Mistake.』 A message appeared.

Well, which one are you talking about? The one where you
called on the spur of the moment like an old friend looking
to catch up? Or the "Are you there." thing? Or that you shot
off a series of bear stamps?

I didn't know what to say, so I just sent a message saying,

"Don't worry."

The message was read in a second.

Let's just forget about the little mistakes. I'm not a kid to
make a big deal out of such things.

I hear an incoming tone and bring my eyes back to the

screen.

『Can I come to you tomorrow morning?』

Morning? You mean you are coming to my house?

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 As I wondered, the message was deleted.

Hinagata didn't say anything about the deleted message,

and I didn't pursue the matter.

Hinagata didn't come to my house in the morning, and I

went my way to school without a hitch.

***

The first class was homeroom, and the newly appointed

homeroom teacher explained that we would introduce
ourselves again and decide on our committees.

"I'm sure you'll learn my name soon enough. Let's change

seats."

Adopting someone's random advice, the homeroom

teacher began to write seats and numbers on the
whiteboard.

Then, the teacher made a lottery with some handouts.

"Seat numbers are written behind."

The teacher goes around in turn, putting the lottery

tickets inside an envelope about the size of A4.

Sugiuchi puts his hand into the envelope, worshipping it.

He opened the lottery and looked up at the sky, saying
"Noooo, it's too subtle!"

No one paid any attention to Sugiuchi's number, and the

lottery was drawn solemnly, and it was my turn.

It didn't matter where I was, as long as it wasn't at the

front or where the teacher would see me.

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 I got a good seat in the last row, slightly closer to the
window.

As each of us moved our desks, Hinagata came next to me.

"I-I'm seated here."

"Ah, I'm here."

We both point to our new seats. Apparently, we were

neighbors again.

Sugiuchi was seated in the front row of the hallway,

almost on the diagonal.

I could feel his envious gaze on me, but I ignored it.

"N-N-Nice cho meet you."

N-N-Nice cho meet you....?

"Oh, yes, Nice to meet you."

Just as everyone was settling into their new seats, one of

the girls called out to Hinagata.

"——Hey, Shiori-chan, will you switch seats with me?"

I didn't know her name because I didn't have any contact

with her in the first year, but she was a rather flamboyant
girl.

"Eh?"

"Will you trade seats with me?"

"Um..."

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 "It's not that big of a deal, right?"

The flashy girl was two seats down from me, next to
Hinagata.

As she said, it's true that not much will change.

When I thought Hinagata would be nervous, her eyes

suddenly became sharp.

"Nope."

"Eehhh, why~?"

"—If it doesn't change much, you don't have to change

seats, right?"

Because I thought it was stupid, I said what I had in mind.

Hinagata looked at me.

Her eyes were shining with happiness, as if there were

stars scattered around them.

Guess it's true that the eyes speak as much as the lips.

"Well, that's true..."

The conversation ended.

I felt a little embarrassed and looked away.

When you're in high school, you can always tell who's

going to get along with whom by the atmosphere.

If there's a girl near Hinagata's seat who's a good friend of

hers, I can understand why she really wants to exchange.

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But there's no one like that. I mean, they're next to each
other, so there's not much point in moving them.

After the teacher's announcement, "If you have bad

eyesight, you may exchange with someone in front of you."
Everyone was seated.

"Tonomura-kun, thank you."

Hinagata called me by my surname name in front of

everyone.

"No, it's fine. I get nervous too when I'm next to someone
I don't know."

"I don't though?"

"Are you seriously saying so? After all this?"

She chuckled and whispered, almost replying, "Is that

so?"

"I kind of do."

"What?"

I saw her melancholic face, shyly smiling.

Ah, ohh, that's what it is.

I immediately understood when I saw the changed

scenery of the classroom.

"It's because the desks are spaced too narrowly here."

Among all the seats, the space between Hinagata and I is

strangely small. I could say that we are almost attached to
each other.
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 Heave-ho!

I moved my desk to the side to open a proper space

between us.

We're adolescent boys and girls, after all.

The distance between us could have made her a little

nervous.

I was thinking that I could move a little closer, so it was

just right.

"..."

Looking at Hinagata, she looks like she lost some the

vitality in her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"...I'm fine."

Her voice was faint, like a ghost.

It was definitely not okay.

"Nervousness isn't bad at all."

...What are you saying out of the blue?

"Some tensions make you stiff and impair your

performance, while others don't."

"Oh.. yeah, I know."

Hearing this, Hinagata closed her eyes tightly and looked

up to the heavens.

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 "Then I'll be going." the teacher said and walked out of the
classroom, not caring that there were still a little more than
ten minutes of homeroom left.

"Why did you move your bench?"

Huh? What are you mad about?

"'Why' you say? They say it makes you nervous, and it's
only when you forget your textbook that you stick them
together."

"Then I forgot."

"What do you mean you forgot?"

She looked forward with a sullen expression on her face.

"Not in a good mood?"

This time, she turned her face down, grabbed the edge of
my desk and yanked it.

The distance between the two desks shrank with an itchy

voice.

When I saw the white hand she was holding the bench
with, the blood vessels were visible. The heck, she's really
strong!? The grip strength is amazing regardless of how it
looks!?

"I'm not nervous."

"Really?"

That's fine then.

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 Hinagata started to prepare for the next class and put her
textbooks and notebooks on her desk.

She said "I forgot." but I know she's the type to put all her
textbooks on her desk...

"It's been a while since we were next to each other."

"Yeah, you are correct."

"It's been... since fourth grade, so I'm kind of happy."

I was impressed that she remembered so well. I looked at

her profile.

As if she noticed, Hinagata touched her hair to block my

gaze.

"Hey, are your ears getting red?"

"Wha..."

Quickly, she hid her ears in her hair.

***

In the first class of the new school year, half of the time is
spent on the teacher's self-introduction. The rest of the time
was mostly spent explaining on how to proceed with the
class and how to assign homework. I barely wrote anything
down in the notebook I had been using since the first year.

To my right, Hinagata was crunching away in her

notebook, earnestly writing down what the teacher had said.

The guy on my left was a boy from the soccer team, and he
had been asleep ever since he bailed lightly when we

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changed seats.

"Ryu... Tonomura-kun, aren't you writing?"

"Yeah, I think I'm good."

I could tell that Sugiuchi was moving his pen because his
seat forced him to pay attention to the teacher.

"In classroom, you're calling me by my last name, right?"

"What?"

"No, I don't mind either way, just decide which name to

use."

"But Tonomura-kun, you're calling me by my last name."

"That's been the case for a while..."

Hinagata's lips puckered up in a sulk.

"When I was in elementary school, you used to call me

'Shi-chan'. But, when we entered middle school, you started
calling me 'Hinagata.'"

"Well, I did."

Is it weird calling you by your last name?

Also, how can you remember when or what it was?

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing to call you Shi-chan when

we're on middle school after all."

When I was in elementary school, that was the way we

were called, so I didn't resist.

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 Many of the boys and girls around me called me by my
first name, too.

But when I entered middle school, the number of people

who didn't call me by my first name increased, so I just kind
of went along with it.

"Isn't it fine? Hinagata has a cool ring to it."

"I'm not sure what the boys mean by cool."

I saw her fiddling with her phone under her desk. Then
suddenly, my phone seemed to receive something and
vibrated.

I was receiving a message from SNS.

...The sender was Hinagata next to my bench.

No, don't bother messaging me. Say it with your mouth.

It seems her stubborn mode has been activated.

What is this...

When I looked at the message, I saw a stamp of a bear

gone berserk with the words 『Furious.』

"There's nothing to be mad about. Why are you angry?"

"The other girls.. You're also calling them by their last

name."

"That's obvious. Because, I'm not really close to them."

Why I am not closing my distance with others?

Even if you ask me, I don't really think much about it.
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 At the very least, it was uncomfortable for me to call my
classmates by their first names or call them by their friendly
nicknames.

"...Even though... I'm the only one who's always been

close... with you."

Hated being called by last name... Same as the other

girls...

"...Ohh, is that what you mean?"

I think I may have solved the mystery.

"What's that about?"

Geez, you're totally mad at me, aren't you?

"The point is, you don't want me to treat you like the other
girls. Therefore, you want to be treated specially, right?"

Hinagata stared at me with a look of surprise.

She looked at me as if to say that she had finally found the

answer she was looking for.

"Yes... Yes...!!"

She nodded vigorously, though with a faint whisper.

"Look, Hinagata. It's the kind of thing you do with a

person you're in a special relationship with, and if you do
that to me, people will misunderstood our relationship for
suddenly calling me by my first name you know?"

It could be a problem for the both of us. The damage to

me isn't significant, but Hinagata has a guy she likes, and if

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that guy gets a funny misunderstanding, it'll complicate
things.

"...childhood friend is a special relationship."

"I mean there's more than that."

"There is nothing more special than a childhood

friendship."

Ahh, come to think of it...

Sugiuchi told me that his childhood friends were split up

when he went to high school.

I think it's reasonable to think that if a man and a woman

are childhood friends, they would be the subject of a lot of
speculation about whether they like each other or are in love.

I'm sure there are many of them all over the country, but
not all of them still go to the same school as my childhood
friend.

If you put it that way, it's definitely special.

I've been in different classes with Hinagata since middle

school.

But I've sometimes wondered about the atmosphere of

Hinagata's class, and when I was done with my club
activities and she was still practicing in the gym, I'd
sometimes pay attention to her.

I wondered who she was getting along with, what she was
doing during her lunch break, what her grades were, and so
on.

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 If it was any other girl, I wouldn't have cared at all, but it
was different for Hinagata.

"I think it's okay if you call me Shiori."

"You are recommending that I can call you that?"

"Yes. Hinagata is not recommended. Tonomura-kun, you

can only call me by my first name."

"Little by little, okay?"

"Un."

She looked cheerful. She seemed to have imagined

something.

Her sluggish mood lifted and she finally turned up.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Stuff like that, I'm okay without it but..."

"?"

"...Don't you do that to someone you like?"

"Wha!?"

Don't give me that "I'm shocked!" look.

"W-Wha, Why?"

"Boys are not really used to focusing on the superficial

things, you know that thing common in girls."

That's exactly what I was saying.

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 Exactly what she was trying to get me to do before.
Something like 'We're close, so let's call each other by first
names.'

"I don't think it matters what we call each other with, if

we're really close, that is."

"Ehh...!!"

Her mouth partly gaped in shock as she pressed her chest.

But well, her b***s haven't grown much since elementary

school, has it?

"I don't think the way we call each other determines

whether we're close or not."

"Uuaaa."

"I think the flow of conversation and, well, you know, the
amount of time we've spent together, it's easy to change
what you call each other."

"Auu..."

Don't make any weird moaning noises.

Maybe this is just the old-fashioned way of thinking, but

that's what I think.

"——You're being too loud in the back."

I shrugged my head and used the student in front of me as

a shield to escape the teacher's gaze.

I sneakily told Hinagata. "It's fine for me. But be careful,

okay?"

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 "Yup..."

Hinagata seemed to be knocked down in response to my

objection, and she was half-crying with her cheeks on the
desk.

Was she that shocked? I'm sorry about that.

"What should I do, Ryunosuke?"

She's not even calling me Tonomura-kun anymore.

"You don't like it, do you...?"

"That was just a generalization. I'd feel uncomfortable too

if I wasn't with Hinagata."

"So it's fine if it's with me?"

"Yeah. Well, yeah. We've known each other a long time."

"Does that mean I'm special?"

"If you put it that way, I guess so."

Hinagata smiled as she rested her chin on her crossed

arms on the desk.

"Fufufufu..."

"What are you laughing at?"

"After all, Ryunosuke really is kind."

"Is that so?"

When I nodded my head, Hinagata gently smiled at me

again.

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 ***

"It's nice, isn't it, your seat?"

As soon as it was lunch break, Sugiuchi came to my seat

with his lunch in his hand.

"It's everyday now."

"In the last row of seats, sitting on the bench is one of the
beautiful girls in the school, Shiori."

"Hmm hmm~" Sugiuchi shook his head when he shook

the topic to Hinagata.

"I'm not a b-beautiful girl..."

"Sugichi, Hinagata is in trouble."

When the girl sitting across from Hinagata, UchinoKura-

san, said so. Sugiuchi apologized honestly, "Oh sorry."

Uchinokura-san and Hinagata are in the same club and

are good friends. I often see them going to school together in
the morning.

"That's not true."

When Hinagata followed Sugiuchi, I felt the line of sight

from the side.

There was a little pressure to say something

Is that because of that?

...On the verge of entering the lunch break.

"Can we have lunch together...?"

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 "Yes, it's fine."

"Yes yes." Expression of Hinagata suddenly brightened,

and she nodded happily many times.

Then, I accepted Sugiuchi who came, and then

Uchinokura-san came and had a lunch party of four people.

Apparently, being with me meant being alone.

I think I had someone to talk to again.

If there were two outsiders, I couldn't talk about what I

could do.

It's not my place to say, but I thought Hinagata didn't

have a lot of friends either.

I thought Hinagata's relationship with UchinoKura-san

was similar to my relationship with Sugiuchi.

...Tch, girls. I thought their relationship was good as long

as they're gossiping one or two things about love interests,
but knowing Hinagata, I can't really say it.

It will be a sense of security and trust that comes from the

length of the relationship.

I don't think I've been able to give accurate advice.

"Hinaga-san, can you tell me an embarrassing story about

this guy?"

"Sugiuchi, what are you going to do with that?"

"It's for your weakness, of course!"

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 "You already decided on that? Didn't expect you to be this
evil."

I took one of the fried chicken from Sugiuchi's lunch box.

"Hey, what are you doing, taking that!?"

The two girls next to me started giggling at that.

"I've got an embarrassing story to tell about Ryu...

Tonomura-kun."

"Don't say anything funny, okay? To such a mischievous

little villain."

Fufufu... Hinagata laughs quietly.

It was a ladylike smile, as if she had always acted

properly.

After that, we had a casual chat. What will the committee

do, what will the next physical education do? That sort of
thing.

"Tonomura, come with me on the way home—"

"Tonomura-kun, let's go home together—"

Just as the conversation ended, Hinagata and Sugiuchi

both spoke and stopped at the same time.

"Hmm? What's with you two?" I asked.

When UchinoKura-san saw that Sugiuchi and Hinagata

were speaking at the same time, she interrupted with,

"Sugichi, I have something to tell you, so stay with me

after school for a bit."
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 "Eh? W-with me? Why?"

"Just go."

I wonder what are they going to talk about?

As I was thinking this, Hinagata was holding her mouth

with her hand and her eyes were shining.

She put down her chopsticks, clenched her fist and shook
it many times.

"Oh, my God. I can't believe this is happening... Ucchi is

going to confess to me...! What should I do!?"

Sugiuchi was holding his head with his hands. I don't

know what he's talking about, but I'm pretty sure he's
misunderstanding something.

"I'm getting more nervous than you...! Kura-chan,

fight...!"

Hinagata. I think your prediction is probably wrong too.

Or rather, why are you calling out to Kura-chan?

"See you after school, Sugiuchi."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess 'SEE YA'. Just for a little while."

This 'I'm a popular guy' look is annoying.

"By the way, what was your errand, it's a

misunderstanding, man."

"Eh? Me?"

It's not just you.

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 Anyway, it didn't matter.

"I'm going to the convenience store or the book store to

buy manga or something."

Wow, it really doesn't matter. Go alone.

It doesn't seem to be a s**y story, that's for sure. If that's

the case, I wonder what UchinoKura-san has to say to
Sugiuchi.

"I'm so nervous..."

Next to me, Hinagata was nervous.

Well, I guess I can ask Sugiuchi about it tomorrow.

In the afternoon homeroom, the committee I was going to

join was decided, the Beautification Committee.

I was on the committee last year, and it's really easy.

I'm on duty about once a month, and all I have to do is

water the flower beds.

You can leave the detail caring to the janitors.

You don't have to join, but if you don't, you'll be forced to

take on a troublesome role, so if you know it's easy, you
should join willingly.

There was one man and one woman on each committee.

Three tenths of a second after I ran for the Beautification

Committee, Hinagata raised her hand and we were on the
same committee.

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 Homeroom was over, and after school, as I was getting
ready to leave the classroom, which was beginning to be
deserted, Hinagata was breathing hard.

"Let's work hard, Ryunosuke."

"I don't really have much activity to work hard for."

"Really? But I'm surprised. You like flowers?"

I didn't mean it like that, but whatever.

"I think boys like that are great."

Is that so?

I was a little uncomfortable at first because I didn't really

have an image of a guy doing that.

As we were talking, Sugiuchi and UchinoKura-san left the

classroom together.

"I wonder what are they going to talk about?"

I was tapped on the shoulder by Hinagata.

"It's not good to pry."

Like I said you're misunderstanding. Maybe.

From what I've heard, the girls' basketball club is closed

today.

"Did you have something to ask me? You were about to

say something earlier..."

With an ever-increasing whisper, she said softly.

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 "I... want to go home.... together with... Ryunosuke...."

After that, even if I waited for her words, silence

continued.

"...Is that an errand?"

When I asked her back, Hinagata shook her head many

times.

What is that?

"Then let's go home. Together."

Hinagata smiled and gave a small nod, seemingly without

thinking.

"...My pleasure."

Why the polite speech?

After finishing our preparations, we left the school.

There didn't seem to be anything special that we wanted

to talk about, so we mainly talked about school. We talked
about classes, club activities, friends, and so on.

"Oh, yeah! I didn't check something important!"

I realized that I had made a serious oversight in the

matter of relationship counseling.

"Important?"

"Oh, The one you like... does he have a girlfriend?"

"None."

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 She answered clearly. If anything, she answered the
moment I asked her.

Oh, I see. I guess you've already researched that part.

"But doesn't he have anyone he likes?"

"What!?"

She reacted as if she was shocked.

"Unlike a girlfriend, you don't know if you like someone

unless you tell them publicly, right? You might tell some of
your closest friends about it, though."

"Yeah, I don't know..."

Don't look so sad.

"If he likes Hinagata, then it's a congratulation, but in

many cases it's not."

Gulp. Hinagata gulped and stared at me intently.

"Is there someone you like.... Ryunosuke?"

"Me? I don't have one. I'm not sure what's the point of
asking me though."

Phew. Hinagata's expression suddenly relaxed.

"Practice asking."

I'm not very good at it. Should I practice on you since

you're easy to talk to?

I see. Simulation is very important.

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 "Hinagata has a crush on someone, right?"

"Yes. I have a crush."

She replied happily.

I'm curious about what kind of guy he is, and I hope it's
not a weird one.

A maiden in love naturally looks cute and adorable,

doesn't she?

Since she has been showing this kind of expression lately,

even the familiar Hinagata looks a little fresh.

"Ryunosuke doesn't have one?"

"Ahh, yeah. That's how it is."

"You don't have one."

"...What's with saying it again?"

"He doesn't have one. Hmmm~~~?"

It was Hinagata's bouncy footsteps and cheerful voice that

made me feel like a flower was about to bloom.

***

The rain that started falling in the afternoon showed no

signs of letting up, and continued even after school.

The forecast was for cloudy skies, so I thought it would

stop soon.

Sugiuchi and I left the classroom after being locked out

early, and took shelter from the rain in the quiet library,
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fiddling with our cell phones and making small talk.

"Sugiuchi, what did you do for lunch today?"

"Do you like me that much? —Don't get jealous just

because we weren't together."

UchinoKura-san had also gone somewhere, so it was just

me and Hinagata for lunch, instead of the four of us
yesterday.

"Idiot, it's just curiosity."

I lightly kicked Sugiuchi's foot.

In the end, I asked him what he and UchinoKura-san

talked about after school yesterday, but he didn't tell me.

"I told you not to kick me. Well, I've got a lot on my plate."

He muddied the waters, so I decided not to ask any more

questions.

...He might have a girl he likes, too.

If that's the case, well, I don't understand why he's

muddling the waters.

We talked about pornography, but Sugiuchi and I have

never had a real love talk. This is partly because we've never
had such a serious conversation before.

As we listened to the quiet sound of the rain, Sugiuchi

began to breathe in his sleep.

I should leave him alone.

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 Through the window, I can see a few girls coming out of
the gymnasium.

Hinagata has club activities today.

I don't know how long they'll be out for, but they're

probably hard at work practicing right now.

"Tonomura."

Sugiuchi, who I had thought was asleep, was awake. He

was looking at me with a cane on his cheek.

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you going back to your club activities?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"No, nothing ...It's just something."

Sugiuchi didn't say anything else but kept his face down
and fiddled with his phone.

From inside the school, I could hear the cheerful shouts of

the athletic club, which was unable to practice outside.

Just as I was deciding to get wet and go home, someone

came into the library.

"——What are you doing, Tonomura-kun?"

The one who came to me was Hinagata, who was out of

breath.

"What? Taking shelter from the rain. What about your

club activities?"

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 "I have to prepare for the entrance ceremony, so I finished
early."

"Ahh, okay."

How did you know I'd be here? I was about to ask that,
but Hinagata told me that she had guessed.

"I had a good view of where you were sitting from the
gym."

Hinagata seemed to be one of the girls who came out.

I couldn't see her from my side because of the raindrops

on the window, but Hinagata could see me.

Sugiuchi plopped down on his desk and went into full-

blown good night mode.

"Oh, um... If you're okay with folding, I... I-I-I have it."

Have what...?

"A folding... umbrella."

"Yeah, I guessed from the way you're talking that it's a

folding umbrella."

Hinagata puts her bag on the desk and starts rummaging

through it.

Like Doraemon in a panic, she began to pull out the

contents of the bag, looking for this and that, and finally
grabbed a folding umbrella and showed it to me.

"Well, I guess I'll be troubling you."

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 "Uh, yes.. C-Come in... It might be a little cramped, but
still."

Hinagata unfolds the umbrella with a wobbly hand.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you don't have to unfold it

here."

"Oh... yes."

Hinagata hurriedly puts away the folded umbrella again.

The umbrella bag that was originally in the bag is packed

now, probably because it was folded in a hurry.

"Sugiuchi-kun is..."

"That's fine. Just let him sleep."

I didn't want to wake him up, so I grabbed my bag and

urged Hinagata to leave the library.

Sugiuchi, tomorrow you'll say, "Why didn't you wake me

up! When I noticed, it was pitch black and I was all alone!"
I'm sure he'll say something like that.

I heard the sound of the brass band practicing in the

classroom. At the entrance of the school, I bumped into a
senior from the baseball club.

I didn't get along with anyone because I quit the club, but
I felt guilty somehow.

"Thank you for your hard work."

In a whisper, I bowed my head a little, not knowing how

to greet him, though I couldn't ignore him.

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 Senpai—Nishimura-san looked at Hinagata and asked,
"Are you going home now?"

"Ah, yes."

"With a girl? You have a good company."

"I don't mean to do that..."

I turned my eyes down to the rugged words.

He was a senior pitcher, and in terms of rank, I was

higher than him. It was no wonder they were looking at me
like I was an enemy.

"Usu....."

"That..."

Hinagata, who had been listening, opened her mouth.

"Tonomura-kun... didn't run away."

"Hinagata, it's okay."

I stopped Hinagata when she tried to continue.

"Well, take care of yourself."

Nishimura-san, looking sullen, slipped on his indoor

practice shoes and walked away.

"I hate that senpai."

"Don't say that. Well, I don't like him either, but I can't
help it, he's a little sarcastic."

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 What Nishimura-san said was true. Like when Sugiuchi
asked me whether I'm returning to baseball or not, it was
not like the injury made me unable to play baseball at all. It
was just that I could only throw a ball for like 10 meters. I
had no difficulty hitting the ball with the bat or running.

"He became an ace because Ryunosuke was gone."

"Don't say that."

....That is actually also true

Humph! Hinagata looked away abruptly from the

direction from where he left.

I came under the umbrella opened up by Hinagata in

order to leave the school. By this time, the sharp atmosphere
from before had returned to normal.

"It's a love love umbrella." I said, and Hinagata nodded.

"Yeah. That's right."

Love love umbrella...

"When we were in elementary school, we were teased a

lot."

"Hahaha."

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because it reminded me of something."

"Ehehehe. I know right."

She then peeked out with a sly smile.

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 The umbrella was narrow, and her arms were completely
soaked. I knew that the suffering was only that bad because
Hinagata was leaning the umbrella towards me.

"I'll take the umbrella."

"Ehh, sure."

I grabbed the handle of the umbrella and touched

Hinagata's hand.

"—Pyaa!?"

Pyaa?

"S-Sorry. I made a weird noise."

"Your face is all red, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it..."

This time I took the umbrella and pointed it towards

Hinagata. As if she understood that, she said,

"Ryunosuke will get wet."

"I was going to get wet on the way home, so I can afford
this."

"Really?"

After walking for a while, she lent me a handkerchief, as if

she was still concerned about me.

"H-Here, wipe yourself with this."

"Even if I wipe it, I'm already soaked right now, so..."

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 Then Hinagata pouted as if she had decided, and
approached me about half a step.

"...Eh?"

Mine and Hinagata's shoulders and arms are almost in

contact with each other.

"T-This way, .....Ryunosuke won't get soaked..."

"No, that's right—"

—I think you're getting too close, here.

I can feel Hinagata's body heat even through her uniform.

I'm starting to feel weirdly nervous...

"I don't want you to catch a cold because of me."

"I'm not going to catch a cold from this."

In dramas and mangas, people catch colds when they get

wet in the rain.

"I hate not being able to meet you if you have a cold and
are absent from school ..."

Hinagata says, looking at her toes with her upturned

cheeks.

Well, I knew that she didn't want me to catch a cold

because of her.

I'm nervous, and apparently Hinagata is too. As we were

walking down the street in almost silence, a car passed by us
and ran over a puddle of water with great force, causing it to
splash violently.
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 My uniform... and especially my pants, which were getting
a little wet, were soaked by the splashing rainwater.

"Ugh."

"Are you okay?"

I'm glad I was on the side of the road.

"Yeah. Well, I've got about ten minutes left. It's fine."

Hinagata poked me in the pants.

Hey, what are you doing?

"You're wet."

"Don't talk like that."

"What?"

"It's nothing." I shook my head.

I couldn't help but say it in the spirit of talking with

Sugiuchi, but I didn't have any other intentions with
Hinagata.

"Umm. Y-You know... My house is in front."

"Ahh, okay. Here, your umbrella. My house is near

Hinagata's, so I will arrive there soon if I run."

"Almost there, so...."

"Yeah. So don't worry about it——"

Hinagata, with a red face, pointed in the direction of her

house.

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 "U-Uh, l-let's go home and dry our uniforms..!"

You mean at Hinagata's house? My uniform?

"But my house is only about four or five minutes away..."

"I-It's fine."

What do you mean, it's fine?

"You know what? You think I'm a kitten or something,

don't you? I can't catch a cold like this."

"T-Th... There's always a "what if"! P-Please, come to my

house! ...Please..."

I rolled my eyes at her unusually strident insistence. The

last part was a muffled whisper, though.

I don't know if she was embarrassed or if there was some

other reason, but her face was still red.

"Okay. Then I'll take your word for it."

"Funfun~" Hinagata then shook her head several times.

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 Chapter 03: Hinagata Residence

What stopped me was a detached house with a Japanese

style architecture. It was quite large and had more rooms
than my house, and I remembered playing hide and seek
and tag there when I was a kid.

"It's been so long since I've been to Hinagata's place."

"Please come in."

Hinagata opened the door and went up first.

"I'll get you a towel and some clothes."

"Yes, thank you."

She smiled as she turned around, and her skirt billowed

out. She quickly held her skirt and looked back at me.

I quickly averted my eyes and pretended that nothing was

going on.

"..."

Putting on her slippers, Hinagata disappeared into the

back of the hallway.

I think I saw it. Yeah, probably.

Hinagata's panty shot... I-I'm not excited by it! Just this

level... I can't think like this... We're familiar with each other
since we're childhood friends. What am I thinking?

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 I've seen things like that many times in the past, like when
she was in kindergarten and she was flashing all over the
place.

...It's White.

...Today's was different from the one I knew, though.

"...I'm not happy about that at all."

"—Ryunosuke, what are you talking about?"

With curiosity on her face, Hinagata looked at me.

"Whoa!? S-Since when you have been listening to me?"

"When you blurted out that today's was different from the
one you knew."

Did it leak out from my mouth? Gotta be careful...

"What is the difference?"

"Well, it's been a while since I've been at your home, so I

think it's a little different from what I knew."

"But it hasn't changed?"

"Well, I'm sure you can't tell the difference if you look at it
every day."

She wondered if that was the case, and looked around,

tilting her head.

Somehow I managed to cover it up.

She handed me the towel that she had brought with her
and I wiped my wet arms and shoulders.
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 Then she pulled out a pair of slippers that looked like they
were for a guest and quietly said—

"Then... I'll put your uniform in the dryer; you're welcome

to hang out inside until it's over."

"Then I'll do that."

I can't be on someone's doorstep while showing my

underwear.

"This way."

"Got it."

I followed Hinagata as she walked ahead of me. The old

stairs made a creaking sound as we walked.

I haven't seen Hinagata's house in a long time, but it was

almost the same as the one I knew.

I went upstairs and found Hinagata's room right next to

me.

It was a simple room with a bed, a study desk, and a few

color boxes. Surrounding the room were some photos
carefully placed in photo frames and a few snapshots stuck
to the wall with thumbtacks.

"Don't look too much. It's embarrassing..."

"Oh, my bad."

Even though Hinagata had just left, she immediately

returned and handed me the clothes through the door.

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 "T-This is my father's sweatshirt... I couldn't find any
other clothes."

I took it and changed, then handed the uniform to

Hinagata, who was in the room with only her arm through
the door.

"Please wait."

And with that, she went downstairs.

I felt strangely nervous in her room, where I hadn't been

since elementary school.

It smelled even better than the room I remembered.

As the door was knocked, Hinagata sneakily opened the

gap and peeked at me.

"Can I?"

"It's your room. I don't mind."

"Yeah, but..."

Hinagata walked in and sat down right next to me. I could

tell after changing my clothes that Hinagata's clothes were
also quite trenched.

Her black hair was shinier than usual. A part of hair clung
to her cheek.

The wet part of her blazer looked different in color than

the non-wet part. I could see the damp blouse underneath
sticking to her chest. I couldn't help but bring my gaze to the
front.

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 Is it just me or does it feel... oddly erotic?

"You should also change your clothes."

"I will."

She started to take off her jacket on the spot and I turned
away again.

I heard a quiet rustling of clothes. She put her jacket down

with a snap.

I looked for a topic of conversation so that she wouldn't

notice how nervous I was.

"...Did you ask UchinoKura-san, what she and Sugichi

talked about?"

"No, I didn't. I didn't ask because it looked like she

wouldn't tell me."

She just took off her jacket and the change of clothes was
over. No wonder I wasn't kicked out of the room.

Hinagata started to tie her hair up; the ponytail looked

good on her.

"You've been watching too much... Ryunosuke."

"Ahh, sorry. My bad."

Fufufu~ Hinagata laughed. Because the blouse was wet,

the inner underwear was slightly visible.

Please wear something on top as soon as possible. I'm

having trouble with my eyes.

"It's always like this in club activities."

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 "Oh, I-I see." I could barely manage to say.

I have no idea what to say to her. I've never had any

trouble at school or during breaks.

"I know you think you're being nice, but... I don't think
this is a good idea."

"What?"

"Even if you're nice, you shouldn't invite a guy into your

house or let him into your room..."

"I shouldn't?"

She tilted her head with a look of innocence on her face.

"You shouldn't."

There is a tendency of Hinagata to think that boys are

equal to me. I have to tell her right now.

"In a situation like this, there are guys who will do weird
things."

"Weird things? You've never been to your childhood

friend's room in a long time, and you're sniffing the smell?"

"Wha- I'm not sniffing!"

No, I smelled it a little.

Ahem. I gave a deliberate cough and went back to my

story.

"Some people might misunderstand your kindness, so

don't take them home too easily—"

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 "—Don't worry. It's only for Ryunosuke."

Trust, confidence, peace of mind.

That's what we have between us. Because we are

childhood friends. We've done things like this many times
before.

But Hinagata doesn't understand.

We're not the same as we were back then.

"A man can have s*x with you even if you don't like it."

I knew that if I muddled it up, she wouldn't get the

message, so I spoke up clearly.

I grabbed both of her slender shoulders and Hinagata

easily fell on her back.

It may have been a little too scary. When I regretted it a

little and looked away, Hinagata stared at me.

"...Ryunosuke is different."

"Don't think that's the case with everyone."

For example, a story about a senior who is popular. A

story about his friend. And the story my friend told me.

I don't know anything about it, so it seems like a distant

world to me, but people who don't treat women right also
are sloppy with their lower body.

"I'm sure even the one Hinagata likes is—"

—Huh? What am I saying?

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 I didn't mean to have a negative influence. This is the guy
that Hinagata, who's been turning down confessions from all
kinds of guys, chose. I bet he's really popular.

I couldn't say anything else, so I got off the top and pulled
Hinagata's hand to get her up.

"I also feel weird. Be careful..."

What do I mean, 'be careful'? I'm the one who should be

careful.

"You tried to warn me, didn't you? Thank you."

There there. She patted me on the head.

I don't know why this is happening.

"Yeah, but..."

"I won't do it to anyone but Ryunosuke. I promise."

"No, I think it's fine if it's me, or if it's with just someone
you like..."

Hinagata nodded vaguely as she looked deep in thought.

"Then, it's okay."

"It's okay. That made you probably think I'm stupid or

foolish..."

"With Ryunosuke..., it's okay if I feel weird."

There was a pause, as if searching for words, with a raised

eyebrow.

"You know..."
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 I wondered what I should say.

I felt weak, and I nodded my head dejectedly. It seems

that it is necessary to take a little more time to explain what
a man's heart is. For Hinagata, I would be a helper character
of the opposite s*x that cannot be captured.

"Oh well."

I said with a sigh, and Hinagata sneezed next to me.

"You're getting cold because you didn't change your

clothes."

"I'm going to change my clothes. Get out."

I got up and walked out of the room.

Hinagata said it was okay if I got weird ideas, but I

wonder if she said that because she thought I wouldn't be
able to do that. Or is she actually a b***h... no, I don't think
so...

I used to know more about what she was thinking, but

lately I don't know.

***

As I was waiting in the hallway for her to finish changing,

I heard the sound of light footsteps.

"——Ah. Ryu-kun's here!"

When I thought that a little child had appeared, it was

Hinagata's younger sister, Suzuka-chan

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 She was still wearing her little yellow shoulder bag,
probably on her way home from preschool.

"Oh, Su-chan. Long time no see."

When I greeted her, she ran and hugged my legs tightly.

"These are daddy's clothes."

"Yeah. I got a little wet in the rain, so I'm borrowing these

clothes."

By the way, she has grown up. The last time I saw her was
last year or so, and she didn't know how to walk.

As I squatted down and patted her head, I wondered what

she was thinking, and suddenly Su-chan opened Hinagata's
room.

"Shi-tan! Shi-tan! Ryu-kun, he's here!"

She pointed at me, and over there was Hinagata wearing

only a bra on her upper body.

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 "Uyaaaaan!!??"

I turned away from Hinagata, who was half-crying at the

same time with a strange scream, and I closed the door
forcefully.

"Why? Why are you closing the door?"

"Su-chan, Shi-tan is changing clothes right now..."

Hinagata's face was totally red.

I never thought I'd see my childhood friend's top and

panties in a single day.

"Shi-tan, Ryu-kun's here—!"

Su-chan said again as she headed for the door.

"Su-chan, Shi-tan already knows, you don't have to say

again."

"Ohh?" Su-chan tilted her head. "Ryuu-kun's face is red.

Cold?"

"That's not what it is. It's just that I saw your... sister's
clothes."

"Do you want to see Su's clothes?"

"Don't want to."

"Look—!"

Why are you showing that?

"Mouu~ Okay."

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 Hinagata emerged from her room. Her complexion had
already returned to normal.

When our eyes met, I couldn't help but look away.

The scene from earlier wouldn't leave the back of my eye

lids.

She was white and slim, with a beautifully curved neckline

that wouldn't be apparent if she was wearing clothes.

"Come on in, Ryu-kun, come on in."

Grabbing my fingers, Su-chan forcibly pulled me into

Hinagata's room.

Hinagata had changed out of her school uniform and was

wearing a one-piece with a cardigan.

The atmosphere of the room changed; she seemed to be

standing out a bit.

I sat down crossed legs and Su-chan sat on my lap.

"Suzuka. It'll be troublesome for Ryunosuke."

"It's okay, right~?"

She puffed up and clung to my sweatshirt.

"It's okay. Su-chan is light."

This time, Hinagata puffed up.

What's with these sisters? They're so cute.

Su-chan, whom I hadn't seen in a while, gave me a status

report. She told me about what happened at the nursery
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school, how her mother, her sister, and so on were.

By the way, Hinagata's father is working alone. He comes

home once a month or so, and seems to be quite busy.

"I'm sorry, Ryunosuke."

Anyway, Su-chan was all over me.

"Maybe she was lonely because father wasn't around."

"Shi-tan, that's not it. Suzuka is going to marry Ryu-kun.

That's why it's okay to do this!"

"Are you and I going to be married?"

"Yes, married."

Su-chan hugged my neck with a happy smile on her face

I squinted at her like a good old man and gave her a pat
on the back.

She's so cute and pure...

"—No, it won't happen."

Hinagata's eyes lifted up, and she put her hands around
Su-chan's sides, lifting her up and trying to pull her away.

Even so, Su-chan didn't seem to want to release her arm

around my neck and held on tightly.

"I'll do it! Ryu-kun, help me!"

"Hey, Hinagata... don't pull so hard."

"Which Hinagata? We're both Hinagata."

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 Staaare.

"Umm... Shi-tan—"

"—It's Shiori."

"...Shiori."

I got scared and just repeated the name.

"Shi-tan said she won't marry Ryu-kun, so Suzuka will."

Hinagata is correct but is that the way the system works?

Su-chan loves me too much, doesn't she?

"I-I didn't say that."

"You said that!"

The battle between Hinagata and Su-chan continued for a

while, with Hinagata trying to pull away and Su-chan trying
to stay close, until finally Su-chan was peeled off.

"UUUU... UUUUU... UUUAAAAAAAAN—"

It was a big cry.

"MUUMMMYYYY! Shi-tan will take Ryu-kun! I'll be left

alone!"

She left the room crying and went downstairs to ask her
mother for help.

"Take him? He's not mine or Suzuka's."

"Mouu, I don't know what's happening anymore."

Hinagata sighed in frustration.

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 "Aren't you the older one? You didn't have to go that far."

"Ryunosuke, are you a lolicon?"

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Because you're sweet to Suzuka."

I'm sweet... Well, I can't help but be sweet if the little one
from someone's house is so friendly.

"Well... what kind of person do you like Ryunosuke?"

"What do you mean...?"

When suddenly asked, it was hard to answer...

"Like... Someone kind." I said.

"Vague, like an idol's answer."

"Even if you say that, it's..."

I pondered and came up with one.

"—Big b*****s."

"That's a no go."

"What do you mean, no go? It's a matter of taste. Taste."

"Whom do you prefer, thin or thick?"

"Well, you know, the thin one."

"O... Ohh. Okay."

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 Her eyes, which had been lifted, gradually returned to
normal.

"Big b*****s and being thin are contradictory. It's almost

impossible to have them both."

That isn't the case. There are a lot of them on the other
side of the screen... I didn't say it even though I thought it
was true.

"How about height?"

"Height?"

"Small like Suzuka or a little over 160cms like... me?"

"It's the latter."

The latter is very specific.

"Fuun~ Okay."

Her expression loosened a little again. I mean, those

questions are extreme, aren't they? Give me one that's
somewhere in between for height and body type.

"Ahem." She clears her throat. "I am also as light as

Suzuka."

Impossible. A girl in the second year and a preschooler

weighing about the same.

But when asked about her weight, I didn't receive a direct

answer.

"Wanna try it?"

"Ahh, yeah."
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 But how? When I was about to ask, she came towards me,
turned the other way and sat on my lap.

She leaned back slowly, as if she was embarrassed.

...What is this?

Unsure of the situation, Hinagata's ears gradually turned

red.

If you're embarrassed, don't do it!

Hinagata was much lighter than I expected. The parts that

touched my legs, chest, and other parts of my body were all
so soft.

Girls are so different.

"Well...?"

"Heavier than Su-chan, of course."

She slapped me on the knee.

"But you're lighter than I thought."

"Glad to hear that."

Kiii.... When I heard the door creak, I saw Su-chan

looking at us through the gap.

"——Shi-tan will... take... Ryu-kun..."

Her eyes were already teary.

Hinagata stood up silently, slammed the door tightly and

returned to the same position.

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 Is my cross-legged position so comfortable to sit on?

"What type does Hinagata like?"

"A gentleman. Someone who is kind and will seriously

warn me if I'm about to do something wrong."

Kind and gentle.

I thought such people only existed in manga.

But she was very specific, so I knew she was talking about
someone she liked rather than her type.

Hinagata leaned her back against my chest with all her

might, and blurted out, "It's warm."

"——OPEN UP! I've come to tell you something

important!"

Outside was Su-chan, shouting.

"I can hear you, so say it from there."

And here Hinagata was with no intention of opening the

door.

"You want to eat my mother's cooking right, Ryu-kun~?

Right? Right?"

"What are you going to do?"

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was

already 18:00.

It was already time? My uniform must have dried by now,

and I could go home if I wanted to.

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 "It's been a while, so I guess I will eat."

"Suzuka, Ryunosuke will eat."

"All right!"

The sound of footsteps faded.

"Don't worry about Suzuka's marriage. She just says that."

When Hinagata finally stood up from my lap, she said as

if to remind me.

"I know. I don't take the words of a little girl seriously."

If I tell Su-chan directly, she might create a river of tears...

So, I won't...

"We also did that, right?"

"...Did we?"

Hinagata turned back towards me, her looks saying, 'Are

you seriously asking that?'

"Yes, but, Ryunosuke, the next day said he was going to

marry his preschool teacher."

"......"

"What a cheating b*****d."

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't remember any of this! I mean,

when were we talking about this? Forgive me..."

She chuckled at my weakness.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you now."

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 That's fine. I knew that Su-chan is just saying marriage as
a sign of her good feeling.

I heard a voice calling us from below. It was Hinagata's

mother's voice.

It seemed that food was ready, so we went down to the

first floor.

When we came to the dining room, Su-chan was tapping

on the seat next to her.

"Here's Ryu-kun. Shi-tan is over there."

Su-chan pointed to the farthest seat.

"It's fine. I can go anywhere."

I smiled a little at her mature response, which was

different from before.

"It's been a long time, Ryunosuke." Hinagata's mother

said to me.

I gave her a small bow and replied "It's been a long time."

She's in her early 40s, about the same age as my mother.

She's a kind mother.

Hinagata has probably inherited her mother's genes

strongly.

Oh, by the way, I should tell my mom that I won't be

having dinner today.

I sent her a message on her cell phone, and she just

replied with "Ryo."

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 "Is Tonomura-san working today?"

"She's working at night, so I might stay here for a while."

"Ara, I should have invited her then."

I jokingly said that like it's not a big deal but she replied
with "ufufu~" expression.

"Ah, don't mind me~"

She said as she looked the other way.

Okay?

"Ryu-kun, here are your chopsticks."

Su-chan took the trouble to hand me the chopsticks for

the guests.

"Thank you."

I thanked her and patted her on the head, and she snorted
with pride.

As I sat down and surrounded the table, I noticed that one

person was missing.

"Where's Ayahi?"

The middle of three sisters. She's a junior who will be in

her third year of middle school this April.

"She's at the dojo today so she'll be a little late."

"I see."

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 Shiori, the eldest daughter, is said to be the quiet, cool
beauty. Suzuka, the innocent and pure bomb. And then
there's the gymnast and open-minded karate girl, Ayahi.

These are the three beautiful sisters of the Hinagata

family.

Hinagata's mother took her seat and we all clapped our

hands together.

She asked me about the latest situation on the variety

show BGM, and I answered it.

"Mom, you ask too much just because it's been a while."

Hinagata said as if to admonish her, and she rolled her

eyes.

"Shiori... where are you going with those clothes on?"

That's what I thought. For loungewear, it's really amazing.

Ahh, does she have any plans for the future?

Even so, this is a rural town with nothing around.

Most stores close at 7pm, and the only place open is a

convenience store.

"....Nowhere. Just sort of."

"Ohh. I see. Fufuun~"

When Hinagata's mother smiled as she knew what was

going on, Hinagata interrupted her gaze with her bowl.

"It's true! Shi-tan, you always wear baggy clothes!"

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 "I don't wear those! Don't be silly."

"Ryu-kun, Shi-tan is getting angry... But it's true..."

"Don't bring Ryunosuke into this."

After she told her in a whisper, Su-chan started sulking

towards me.

"Come on. Don't fight in front of Ryunosuke."

I wondered if this was a usual thing, but aunt seemed to

be smiling.

It's been so long since I've eaten at Hinagata's house that

I've forgotten about it, but I remembered that when I was in
elementary school, Ayahi, not Su-chan, used to do
something similar and have skirmishes with Hinagata.

I feel a little nostalgic for this homey atmosphere that

hasn't changed.

"Have you found someone you like, Ryunosuke? Do you

have a girlfriend?"

Hinagata reacted with a twitch and stopped her hand as

she tilted the bowl up to her mouth.

"I don't have one."

"You seem like a popular guy."

"Saying something like I'm popular, there's no way that's

true."

It makes me a little sad to hear myself say it.

"Mom, stop asking weird stuff."

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 "It's not weird, is it?"

"Nn—Mouu, okay."

At school, Hinagata doesn't say much, yet she gives the

impression of being ladylike and neat, but in front of her
parents, she becomes childish.

I wonder if that's the case, but the gap is a little strange.

"Oh, yeah." Hinagata's mother said, remembering

something, and told me that my uniform was dry.

I am glad that I'll be able to go to school tomorrow.

***

After finishing dinner, I went to the living room to talk

with Su-chan, and before I knew it, she fell asleep.

Hinagata came over to me after she finished helping in

cleaning up.

"I think she was happy that Ryunosuke came. She was
very excited."

"Is she always like this?"

"No. She's always a little quiet."

I left Su-chan in Hinagata's care and got ready to leave.

The sneakers I put on at the door were still soaking wet,

but I'd have to be patient for a while.

"I'll walk you home."

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 Normally, I think the roles should be reversed in this kind
of thing.

As I was about to say no, the door opened with a bang.

"——Oh, Nii-chan's here!"

"Yoo."

I was confronted by a noisy one.

Ayahi was wearing her familiar junior high uniform, but

today her short hair was pulled back in a bun.

"What, did you have dinner at our place?"

"You're always so annoying, you know that?"

"Don't say that. It's been a long time since I've seen him,
so it's to be expected that I'll be excited. Nee-chan, you
should have told me that Nii-chan's coming! I would have
skipped practice."

The expression on Ayahi's face, with her lips pouting in

frustration, is very similar to Hinagata.

"I wasn't planning to do that originally."

She glanced at me and Hinagata in turn, and made a

curious face.

"Now I get it... Nii-chan, are you here to do something

erotic to Nee-chan?

"You don't get anything at all. It's just a shelter from rain."

"Ehhh~? That's suspicious~!"

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 "Shut up."

She pointed a finger at me, and when I brushed it off,

Ayahi laughed.

I said goodbye to Hinagata and Ayahi and walked out the

door. Ayahi started following me from behind.

"What are you following me for, like it's natural?"

"I'll walk you home!"

"No, it's fine. My home's right there."

Ayahi stretched out and brought her face closer to my

neck.

Sniff Sniff.

"Nii-chan smells like Nee-chan."

What are you? A dog?

"Do you really mean that?"

"I'm sorry I didn't live up to your expectations. There's

nothing."

"Liar—!"

"I'm not lying." I said, waving my hand and walking away.

But I guessed Ayahi really intended to walk me home, so

she followed me on the road.

"You took shelter from the rain and warmed each other
up, right?"

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 "Hinagata has a boyfriend. She's not going to do that with
me."

"Fuhaha! That's funny!"

"That's not funny."

"Because that's..."

It must have been very funny, because when the laughter

subsided, Ayahi scooped up the tears with her fingertips.

"Have you, by any chance, listened to anything? About the

one Hinagata likes?"

"I haven't heard, but I know. It's been a long time."

"It's been that long......"

"Ehhhh, really? Isn't that idiotic? It's not Tsukkomi or

anything right? Right?"

Ehh? Seeing my sluggish reaction, Ayahi seemed to be

convinced of something.

"Arya, it seems that it's going tough for you too, Nee-
chan." she muttered.

Ayahi has been hearing about this for a long time—?

"What if it was me, or ....?"

Its obviously not like that...

—Or so I thought it to be.. or rather was something like

that, that I was expecting.

"Ne~ fufufu, who is it indeed~?"

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 "Who is... what?"

Why don't you deny it? What's with the smirk?

"Well, come to my house again, Nii-chan. Su-chan, me

and of course Nee-chan will welcome you too."

"See ya." She waved her hand and walked away happily.

"What do you mean, what is it..."

What's with that grin?

"No, nopee. Nii-chan, you're being too self-conscious,

buhahaha."

Nothing, it's meant for Ayahi. She'll probably say

something like that?

The thing is ...

"Hmm—"

If I synthesize all the information I've heard about the

people she likes, it could be... me?

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 Chapter 04: It was Bothering

During the afternoon class, Hinagata slightly shifted her

seat. She was easy to understand.

It was hard to see it in her facial expressions and

attitudes, but she sometimes showed it in her actions like
this.

"About that soccer-club-paisen... he's gonna confess,

right?"

As I was changing in the locker room after gym class,

Sugiuchi, who seemed to have heard the whole thing from
someone, asked.

With hands on his waists, he continued saying with a

dignified attitude.

Even if you say, 'Not in front of the tea ceremonial club',

there is no place other than that.

"What? So that's what it is?"

"Kah. I don't know anything about this boy. In such a

quiet place where there are no people, boys bother to call
girls after school? I mean, it's a cloak and dagger, or an
unspoken agreement, to call you there for that purpose."

The man with his hands on his waist who claimed to know
what he was talking about said that calling her there after
school meant he was going to confess.

I knew I was right, but I didn't realize that's what he

meant by "in front of the tea ceremony room."
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 "Enough of this nonsense, hurry up and put on your
uniform. You'll be in the way of people using this place for
club activities."

Before I knew it, Sugiuchi and I were the only ones in the
locker room.

PE was the last class of the day, and from the window of
the locker room, I could see a few students getting ready for
club activities on the field.

Perhaps it was because of the entrance ceremony in the

morning, but the students who were about to start their club
activities seemed to be in a state of excitement, thinking
about the juniors they hadn't seen yet.

"Why don't you go to class and stop her?"

"Why?"

"What are you gonna do if she says 'yes', you idiot!?"

"She won't. I know she's already in love with someone."

"What? Really?"

"Yes." I said, and began to fold my gym clothes, which I

had taken off because I was too bored to do anything else.

Sugiuchi was puzzled, but then his expression changed.

"That's even worse! Why are you taking so long to fold

your gym clothes, huh!?"

"What do you mean by 'even worse'?"

"What if that guy's the lucky one—?"

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 .....Ahh.

"But if that's the case, it will have a happy ending."

"If she is happy, that's the end of the story for both of us."

Heh, what an embarrassing thing to say, this guy.

"Don't smile like you're embarrassed!"

"All right, all right. Don't make a fuss. Get dressed."

"It's spring, why not be a little open-minded?"

"Pull yourself together, idiot."

"I'm not getting dressed unless you go!"

"What kind of threat is that?"

That's not a threat.

I left the locker room and went back to the classroom,

partly because Sugiuchi was annoying me and partly because
I had finished folding my gym clothes.

There was no one in the classroom anymore, and the bag

that was always hanging on the seat next to me was already
gone.

"No way... was that the lucky Person...?"

Is there such a thing as a... convenient development?

For some reason, I mumbled to myself in honorific

language, and prepared to leave.

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 I turned my body around to go to the elevator and walked
to the special classroom building where I could see the tea
ceremony room.

The tea ceremony room is not inside, but stands alone

near the school building.

"No, but that's because I promised to go, and I'm only

going... But..."

SuZuSuZu.

"If he was the lucky guy, she'd be a little happier about

it....."

TaTaTaTa.

If the person she likes, if I have even one chance on being

the one she likes, then there is also a possibility still
remaining about that, that senpai too being one of her love
interest

ZuDaDaDa.

"T-There they are!"

From the window in the corridor, I could slightly see the

front of the tea ceremony room. The senpai who was waiting
for Hinagata, fidgeting.

As usual, there was no one else in the room. It seemed

that Hinagata hadn't arrived yet either.

I was relieved, but not for long.

Hinagata appeared, accompanied by UchinoKura-san. I

thought they were going to listen to the story together, but it

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seemed that she was only accompanying her to that point,
and UchinoKura-san immediately turned on her heel and
went away.

...They started to talk about something.

I could tell that their lips were slightly moving, but I

couldn't hear them through the window.

"...."

I gently unlocked the closed window and put my hand on

the window frame. It didn't open easily, probably because I
don't usually open and close windows, so I pulled with all
my might.

Then, Kuru Kuru Kuru—! A high-pitched sound echoed.

Whoa! The sound was loud!

Suddenly, they both looked at me at once. I quickly

squatted down to get away from their sights.

I'm pretty sure they know I'm here.

Sighing loudly, I leaned against the wall and threw my

legs out.

The h**l I'm doing...?

I could hear them speaking, but I couldn't make out what

they were saying. Eventually, the voice disappeared, and I
raised my head fearfully.

The only person there was Hinagata, who was staring at

me.

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 "What are you doing?"

"Y-Yoo. Hey, where's that senpai?"

"Club activities. He said was in a hurry."

"He confessed, didn't he?"

Hinagata nodded.

"That's... true...."

"I'm sorry, I knew."

What do you mean, "I knew"? Like a report.

She's so used to it, I guess this is a regular occurrence for

Hinagata.

"During the lunch break, the senior said he wanted to talk

to me, and I could tell from the atmosphere what he was
talking about, but I didn't want to be wrong."

"I see."

I, who told her to refuse him at that time, was just

drinking tea without saying a single word.

My actions and thoughts seemed to be spinning out of

control, so I wracked my brain and let out a small sigh.

"Were you worried?"

"...I just thought it would be nice if that guy was someone

Hinagata liked."

The only thing I'm skilled at is mudding the waters.

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 "And then you wouldn't have to ask me for advice on
relationships anymore."

"Do you really think so?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

Hinagata gave me a straight stare.

"Good luck getting in, Junior Women's basketball."

I diverted the subject, picked up the bag at my feet and

slung it over my shoulder.

"Hold on."

As I stepped out to leave, I was stopped.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to finish my club activities later today, but...."

Hinagata held her hair in the breeze with her hands, and
whispered with her eyes downcast as if embarrassed.

"I want to go home with you when... I'm done..."

She answered before I could ask her how long I was going
to wait.

"Sure."

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Chapter 05: Waiting For The Club Activities To End

As I walked down the corridor, wondering where to kill

time until Hinagata's club activities were over, I saw a
familiar figure in the classroom.

I peeked inside and saw Sugiuchi sitting by the window,

fiddling with the cell phone in his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"As you can see, I'm playing a game."

"Do you want to play too?" He asked, but I shook my head

in response.

"Look, what you're doing at my desk. Why don't you just

go home?"

"It's my choice where I play my games, right?"

I walked over to the seat and plopped down. I decided to

stay here since I had nothing better to do.

"Hinagata-san, did she reject him?"

"How did you know?"

"Looking at your face, it's quite apparent."

...Was my expression so obvious?

But as the conversation proceeded, it became more and

more difficult for me to talk while keeping my head straight.

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 "I didn't know there are still people confessing to
Hinagata."

"Of course there still are. They fell in love with her even
though they knew she had rejected a lot of people, you
know?"

Despite Sugiuchi's idiosyncrasy, he talks as if he actually

knows something.

"I was wondering if..." he paused, "...people who assume

they're the only ones who can make it work are the ones who
can confess to Hinagata."

"There are people like that, aren't there? It's not like it's a
bad idea. Maybe it's easier to say something when you know
99% of the time it won't work."

"So it was because of the peace of mind that comes from

knowing the outcome."

"Yeah, yeah. Exactly that."

After seeing that person from the Soccer club, the feeling
that, Did she just now come to seriously like that person?
Well that feeling never came... But I can't actually say....

If you're a senior, you probably have had a lot of

opportunities to see or hear rumors about Hinagata in the
past year since starting high school.

Since junior high school, Sugiuchi and I would often talk

about what kind of girls will be in our senior class and what
kind of girls will be entering the school as juniors. We mostly
talk about these things once April comes.

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 I think it's in the nature of boys to look for girls that they
are interested in. I'm sure that the rest of the boys are also
talking about this sort of thing.

"That senior, he seriously likes her, I guess." Suguichi

whispered.

"There's no such thing as, too late... or too early... in

love...!"

"Your pauses annoys me." he replied and chuckled as if he

was waiting for my comment.

"Well, it doesn't matter when you fall in love, does it?"

Yeah, I guess so, I thought in agreement.

"....Just now came to seriously like that person....?"

I repeat the words I thought after watching the confession

scene.

"How many times are you going to say the same line,
Tonomura? I'm tired of hearing it."

"I'm not saying this to entertain you. I mean, why are you
playing games here?"

"Then where should I play?"

"Your room."

"My efficiency won't ever rise in there! My room is, in one

way or another, the most inefficient place to be in."

"How efficient is your gaming in the first place?"

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 In the quiet after-school atmosphere, I heard a few small
clicks of a metal bat.

"So, what are you doing, Tonomura?"

"Killing time."

"Well, then come with me. I'll be locking doors and

windows anyways."

Sugiuchi then put his cell phone in his pocket and left the
room.

"I saw you in class a while ago."

Sugiuchi asked me to follow him, so I followed him to the

first gymnasium, one of the two gymnasiums. The boys and
girls of the basketball team were practicing here today.

It was also the place where we had just done a shuttle run
for our physical fitness test.

"Sugiuchi, what are you trying to find?"

"It's in the storage, wait a min—"

"—Don't be so coy."

I gingerly opened the door to the gym and went inside. I

looked for Hinagata, and found her diligently practicing. She
had her hair in a bun and was nimbly jumping and running.

"A beautiful girl, no matter what she's doing, will make a

perfect picture right."

"That's correct..."

I kept in tune with Sugiuchi's polite tone.

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 I waited for Sugiuchi to enter the warehouse and he came
out with two baseball gloves and a softball in his hand.

"Come along."

He handed me a glove as if to force me to take it. It was a

left-handed glove that I could use.

"It's a softball, but that's okay."

Hahaha. Sugiuchi laughs.

"If I say I don't like it, will ya stop?"

"No."

"I knew it. —Let's go. We'll get in the way of club
activities."

The moment I saw what he brought, I thought we could

play catch. When I looked inside again, Hinagata noticed me
and gave a small wave from the side of her waist.

I responded by raising my hand just to bail.

As my steps weakened, I was pushed backwards.

"Adolescence!! Let's go already!"

"Don't lose your temper so suddenly."

"You're the one who's interfering with the club activities

the most!"

We didn't have a specific place in mind. After seeing what

was going on from outside, we decided to use a corner of the
ground, so we changed our shoes and walked to a place
where we wouldn't disturb them.
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 After putting down my bag and taking off my jacket. I put
my hands on a dead leaf-colored, dusty-smelling glove that I
couldn't even tell what the original color was.

Sugiuchi had played baseball in elementary school and

junior high school, but quit altogether when he entered high
school.

The softball went back and forth between Sugiuchi and

me, who were a little apart.

We never threw the ball out of bounds, and we never

missed catching the ball.

"You're surprisingly good at throwing."

"I am."

"Does it hurt? Shoulder? Or elbow?"

"Shoulder. It's only light at this distance, so I'm okay with

this."

Even after listening to the whole argument, Sugiuchi just

reacted with a fuun, as if he didn't care.

"Oh, wait a minute. Didn't you win the school inter-class

ball-game competition this year...?"

After I remembered that, my heart suddenly started to

throb.

Last year's ball games were soccer, baseball, basketball,

and volleyball, and if it's the same as last year, those who are
in those clubs will have to participate in another ball game.

"With you and me together, I don't think we can lose...!"

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 "Are you into some kind of shonen manga lately?"

"Ehh, How did you know? Are you a detective?"

Don't look so shocked. You're so easy to read.

"You don't have to quit the club... do you? Even if you

can't pitch, hitting is probably not a problem. When I first
heard about it, I wondered why."

"Sugiuchi, you're throwing a boomerang."

"I'm making my high school life debut, you know. I'm

going to quit being a baseball boy and live a high spirited
high school life."

"You thought that was your debut?"

"Shut up. It's because I care about you."

"Kusukusu." Oi don't laugh! and he threw a fastball at me.

When I caught it, it made a nice cracking sound.

"...Sugiuchi, maybe you were waiting for someone?"

"Huh? What? I don't know what you mean."

Don't be upset in an easy-to-understand manner, this guy.

"Tell me. I'm not going to tell anyone about it. There's no
such thing as too late or too early in love, right?"

I threw the ball fluently, and Sugiuchi caught it with a

snap. The left-hander, who used to have a mid-130 kilometer
pitching speed, was now doing the best he could.

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 Sugiuchi turned the ball in his hand, looking at the
stitching, and said softly—

"What do you think of U.... Uchi—"

"UchinoKura-san?"

Instead of a reply, a ball came towards me.

"It's not like that! Just a little bit, Just a little bit."

You're not saying anything concrete.

"It's okay."

"I-Is that so?"

So you are waiting for Women's Basketball.

What, aren't you and me the same?

"You're waiting for Hinagata-san anyway."

"What do you mean, 'anyway'? It's just that we're going

back in the same direction. Do you want me to ask Hinagata
about UchinoKura-san? I won't mention your name."

Well even if I don't, she'll know.

"Well, I'll tell her if she asks."

"You aren't honest."

"Shut up!"

Perhaps due to his exertions, Sugiuchi threw the ball out

of bounds, and it rolled towards the track and field club
where they were practicing.

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 A member of the track team noticed it and threw it back
to him. Don't forget to say, "Thank you!" and "I'm sorry".

I asked Sugiuchi what was bothering him.

"Did you have anything to do with UchinoKura-san when

you were in middle school?"

Me, Hinagata, Sugiuchi, and UchinoKura-san are all from

the same middle school.

"I don't know. That's why I think that people fall in love
with people when... they fall in love with them. The length of
the relationship probably has nothing to do with it."

Maybe it was because he didn't say it in a mocking way,

but I found his mumbled words a bit convincing.

***

"I mean, what time does it end?"

It was around 7p.m.

Sugiuchi finally began to complain.

After about 30 minutes of playing catch on the field, we

returned the glove to the warehouse. It was getting dark and
it was hard to see the ball.

After that, we spent our free time going to a convenience

store to buy some sweets and eat them, or taking a nap at
the nearby city library.

There were a few patrons in the library, but it was only me

and Sugiuchi in the free space.

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 "Tonomura, when does the girls basketball end?"

"Don't ask me."

"You don't know either..."

Sugiuchi fiddled with his cell phone, complaining that she

should at least promise to call me.

"Then you should just call her, Sugiuchi."

"That's, well, you know..."

Know what?

From the window of the library, I began to see students

going home. I don't know which club it is, but it's about the
right time.

"Let's go back to school."

"...Ou."

Even though we had gone home together many times

before, I was starting to get a little nervous.

"You can't speak for others either."

It was the first time since junior high school that I had
met up with someone to go home like this, as far as I could
remember.

It was about a five-minute walk from the library to the

school.

We walked in silence and looked into the first gym.

There, the club members were cleaning and mopping up.

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 After another fifteen minutes of waiting, we saw more
members of the basketball team walking towards the school
gate after they had finished changing.

"Ryu.... Tonomura-kun."

Hinagata came out with UchinoKura-san.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"Aa, yeah."

Sugiuchi poked me with his elbow.

"Say something like 'I didn't wait'. Don't you have

something besides a template greeting?"

This guy was giving me the feeling that he was tired of

waiting just now.

"See you later, Shiori. You too, Tonomura-kun."

With a wave of her hand, UchinoKura-san walks off on

her own.

...Hmm? Sugiuchi, don't tell me you're waiting for a signal

without putting in effort?

I couldn't help but notice that Sugiuchi was having a hard

time talking, so I called out to UchinoKura-san.

"I heard that this guy is going to treat you a juice."

When UchinoKura-san stopped and looked back at me, I

pointed at Sugiuchi.

"What? Wai—"

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 "—It's fine, just go."

"These things have their own timing, you know..."

"It's okay."

Sugiuchi, who had walked out complaining, lined up with

UchinoKura-san.

A caring guy.

"No, Tonomura said he was waiting for Hinagata-san, so I

was forced to go along with him."

You used me as a soup stock...

Hinagata watched the scene with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Sugiuchi-kun... K-Kura-chan..."

Hafuhafu, she was unusually excited.

I could hear the conversation between Sugiuchi and

UchinoKura-san.

"No, it's just that... those two are going home in the same
direction."

When I gave a painful excuse, Hinagata nodded her head.

"The same...?"

...No. It's nothing.

"We should go home too."

"...Yes."

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 We left the school gate and headed home. What did we
usually talk about?

I've never gone home like this before, so I have a hard

time finding a suitable topic.

"It's late, isn't it? Not as late as the baseball team,

though."

"Well, yeah. You're practicing hard."

You came to the warehouse but what were you doing?

She asked me what I was doing there, and I then narrated
the whole thing to her.

"You're good friends with Sugiuchi-kun, right?"

"We were in the same club in middle school."

"...Must be good."

"What?"

"I'm jealous."

"Cause we played catch?"

"Yeah, that, too."

That too?

The streets were already dark, with street lights lighting

the way at even intervals.

"I don't mind, but you don't want me to get the wrong
idea, do you?"

"Why?"
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 Hinagata tilted her head curiously.

"You're saying... It would be troublesome if people

thought we were dating, right?"

"Surely."

You just realized that.

"But it's okay. I won't get it wrong."

Why are you so sure of yourself?

If you want to predict the true love of your life, gently put
aside the possibility in a corner of your mind... is it someone
you are close to but don't usually interact with.

If you were from a different school, you probably wouldn't

see me walking around like this.

"You know, like the people you see in games and stuff?"

Seeing them at a tournament is a classic pattern. You just

remember the school, the number, and the face, and then
you get to know each other at practice games, and then you
have a chance to get to know each other.

"It happens sometimes."

Hmmm. It's starting to look like that.

The possibility of a one-chance game has been reduced to

about 0.2 chance.

I didn't have high expectations, but it's a little

depressing....

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 At this time, it doesn't matter what I think. Regardless of
the circumstances, since I have decided to help Hinagata, I
have to see through it.

"Did you see the way he played the game? Or do you just
like his face?"

"Both, including personality."

That's impressive, both things huh.

The basketball team is so refreshing. They're thin and tall.

They seem to sweat lightly. Though that's just my image.

"But he's been injured lately."

Sprains and that kind of trouble are common, I guess.

"I see. So you can't watch him play until he's healed."

"Yeah."

I mean, based on everything you've said so far, isn't it

unreasonable to think that he doesn't have a girlfriend?

He seems to be a very popular guy.

"Are you sure he doesn't have a girlfriend? Is it possible

that Hinagata doesn't know?"

"No. There's no possibility that I don't know."

"That's a lot of confidence."

If I were to start dating someone, I'm sure I'd be in a

position to grab that information right away.

Oh, this lovers' talk reminded me of something.

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 "UchinoKura-san... Does she have a boyfriend?"

She stared at me. She furrowed her eyebrows

suspiciously, and gradually her eyes became half-lidded.

"Kura-chan, what? Why?"

Sugiuchi, can I tell her? That he's in love with

UchinoKura-san.

"Why? ...I was just wondering if she had a boyfriend,

that's all."

Hinagata pouted, her lips puckered and she spoke quickly.

"You don't have to worry about Kura-chan, Ryunosuke."

"No, well, I guess so, but..."

"You'll get into a fight with Sugiuchi-kun. So it's a no."

Sugiuchi, your favoritism is apparently already obvious.

Hinagata puffed out her cheeks angrily as she continued.

"We're going home together, and you're talking about

another girl."

"This other girl is your friend."

Pssst. Hinagata exhales in a strange way.

"I was hoping you'd come to the next practice game, but
nevermind."

"A game? Where?"

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 "Our gymnasium. But now it's impossible. Ryunosuke
cares about Kura-chan.""

"I care, just out of curiosity..."

"Mou, I'm going home."

We are on our way home currently though.

I walked faster, keeping pace with Hinagata, who was

walking faster.

"Kura-chan is an ace and the coolest, so Ryunosuke can't

come to see her."

"Why? Why aren't you performing?"

"I'll perform, I think."

"So, it's okay for me to come and see right?"

"...."

Our walking pace slowed down.

"It's been a while since I've seen a game, so I'd like to

check it out. I haven't seen a game since I started high
school."

I glanced over at her and saw her face relaxed.

"Alright. Then it's decided."

Hinagata said rather calmly.

Then she gave me the date and time.

***

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 When we arrived at Hinagata's house, Ayahi was the first
to appear at the door with chopsticks in her hand.

"Nee-chan, nii-chan, spending some time together~

Okay~!"

"We're going h-home in the same direction that's why...."

Hinagata whispered as if to explain.

"Su-chan, your brother is here..."

When I called out, Su-chan came out of the hallway with a

thud.

"Ryu, Ryu-kun came! Shi-tan, Ryu-kun is here!"

"Yes. We came home together."

"A-chan, Ryu-kun! Ryu-kun is here!"

"I understand, I understand, don't pull the jersey. My

panties are visible."

"Then take your time~" said Ayahi as she took Su-chan in

her arms and went to the back.

"Ryu-kun~~~!" I heard Su-chan's voice.

"It was lively."

"...I'm sorry, it was noisy."

"No."

"Thanks for today. I know I've kept you waiting a long

time, but... You that..."

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 When she stopped speaking as if she was lost, she walked
into the doorway and just showed her face.

"Yeah, It was a pleasure...."

She quickly retracted her blushing face.

There was still a shadow in the frosted glass.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

I said and heard a small voice saying, "Yeah."

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 Chapter 06: Honma Konatsu

When I arrived at school, Sugiuchi came over to me just in

time to see that Hinagata was not there.

"Yo. How was it yesterday?"

Sugiuchi is a self-proclaimed man who knows what he's

doing. So he must be good at whatever he does.

When I asked him about it, he began to tremble.

"Because of you..."

"What? Me?"

"Because you said something unnecessary like buying

juice, I'm..."

When I asked him about what happened, he told me that

he had less than 100 yen left.

That's not cool...

"Uchi laughed at me."

"Isn't that good? It's good to laugh."

"I know~ But~" he collapsed to his knees and plopped

down on my desk.

"So, did you ask?"

"You mean UchinoKura-san? ...That seemed to have

created a strange misunderstanding and a whole lot of

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unpleasant vibes."

Sugiuchi slipped off the desk and fell to the floor.

"I can't do it anymore. It's all over."

"Well, cheer up."

In the first place, I think the worst thing that happened

was that when I went to the convenience store with her
yesterday, I got carried away and bought too many
unnecessary things.

"It's so good for you... eating a beautiful girl's homemade

lunch and going home with her..."

"Homemade lunch?"

"Is it not? Ucchi said so yesterday."

I knew it was home made!

It was true that there were no leftovers in the lunch box,

nor did it have the air of a well-prepared homemaker's lunch
box.

All the dishes were well made, and Hinagata happily

shared them with me whenever I commented on them.

"Don't tell me she's giving it to you again today?"

Sugiuchi, correct answer.

"In addition to that, this is from my mother." And then

she handed me my lunch again this morning.

"Does that mean, today is another...?"

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 "I won't give up... I'll carry and accomplish everything all
the boys are feeling."

Sugiuchi stood up shakily, mumbling a curse, and went

back to his seat.

Ahh, because the bell rang.

He had a serious style of getting to his seat before the

teacher arrived.

"Sugiuchi-kun, what's wrong?"

Hinagata came back.

"He seems to be carrying the thoughts of all the boys on

his shoulders."

"?"

Hinagata tilted her head curiously.

As I started my lunch break, Sugiuchi came to my seat

with a small plastic bag from the convenience store in his
hand.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"I don't mind."

Sugiuchi had borrowed a chair from the seat in front of

him and gave Hinagata a caring look. She was taken aback.

Yare Yare. With a sigh, UchinoKura-san sat down across

from Hinagata.

"Well, sometimes it's good. Sometimes I want to spend

lunch with Shiori."
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 Hinagata nodded repeatedly with a twinkle in her eye.

I compare the lunches spread out by the two people across

from me.

"...Really, it's the same thing." Sugiuchi blurted out.

"Hey, Shiori, when did you get up this morning?"

Twitch. then Hinagata shook her head, like she didn't

want to answer that question.

Looking at today's bento, I think that's the case.

There is something cute or charming about bento...

"K-Kura-chan, shush, shush...."

The blushing Hinagata glanced at me and tried to keep

her mouth shut somehow.

"Ahh, something wrong?"

"Ucchi, apparently this guy doesn't know that these are

handmade by Ohina-sama (Hinagata)."

"You didn't tell him?"

Hinagata shrugged her shoulders and became smaller and

smaller, and then whispered, like a mosquito speaking,

"Ahh, if it doesn't taste good, you can blame my mother..."

It seemed to be a kind of precautionary measure to

pretend that my aunt had made it.

""Maiden...""

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 Sugiuchi and Uchinokura's voices came together.

"How was it yesterday, Tonomura-kun?"

"The bento? It was good."

"Told you Shiori."

UchinoKura-san pointed her index finger at Hinagata's

beet-red cheeks with a smile.

"Failure or success, your mother gets the credit, okay?

Why are you hiding it?"

"It's my... first time, so I'm not sure..."

With a stern face, Sugiuchi pointed at Hinagata.

"Hinaga-san, you're too cute."

"Ryu... Tonomura-kun, I'm sorry I lied to you... I made it

up."

"It's okay, I don't mind."

Relieved, Hinagata smiled.

"I came here to ruin the lovey-dovey mood, but it seems

impossible now."

"I'm not flirting."

That's why you're here, isn't it? Is that what all the boys
are thinking?

I heard that was the intention, but after that, we had a

normal lunch and chatted about unimportant things. It was
fun.
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 In front of us, Sugiuchi interacted with UchinoKura-san
normally. It was very smart, with no signs of rushing or
tempering.

Oh, I see. Why don't the four of us have a lunch break

together?

When I suggested it, UchinoKura-san looked at Hinagata

first.

"...Yeah, we should do that."

With a smile, Hinagata nodded.

"If it's okay with you."

"..."

Sugiuchi stared at me with god-fearing eyes.

"Tonomura, I'm sorry... I was wrong. I've... done nothing

for my friend.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I don't care if we're friends
or not."

"I don't want our friendship to end up being a one-way

street."

It's futile to explain it to a hot-tempered Sugiuchi.

And thus, this is how the four of us assembled during

lunch time.

***

After school, we had our committee meetings, so Hinagata

and I went to the classroom where the committee was held.
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 The classroom was the one I had spent last year in, first
year class C.

As I sat down at a suitable seat and looked out the window

nostalgically, Hinagata, to my right, said quietly, "This is
where Ryunosuke sat for the first time, right?"

How can you remember? Even I'm not sure about it.

The Beautification Committee members from each class,

both male and female, were beginning to gather, as were the
new first-year Beautification Committee members who were
still wearing their brand new uniforms.

I spotted one of the freshmen, a girl who was my junior in

middle school.

"——Ahh, Senpai."

"Honma?"

Honma Konatsu. She was the only girl in my junior class

whose name matched her face.

I don't remember what triggered it, but we were on good

terms in junior high school.

Hinagata quickly looked at Honma.

Honma smiled and gave us a small bow.

She took a seat to the left of us, ignoring the boys who
were also on the Beautification Committee.

Well, there's no fixed seat, so it doesn't matter where you

sit.

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 "Honma, you got into this school?"

"Yes. I've always wanted to be here."

"Oh, really? Wasn't Honma smart? I thought you'd go to a

smarter school."

"Ehehe. I've been chasing after my senpai."

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 I felt a rush of something like a killer coming from right
next to me.

I was scared, so I turned my head towards her.

"Fufufu~ I was joking."

"Don't say anything funny."

Huh. I let out a breath.

Just as Honma was about to say something else, Hinagata

pulled her uniform tightly around her.

She said, in a cold voice,

"Look in front of you. The teacher is here."

"...Yes."

At the committee meeting, the chairperson and vice

chairperson were chosen from among the third-year
students, the teacher told them what they would be doing,
and then they decided who would be responsible for
watering the flower beds.

The meeting lasted less than 20 minutes.

"Senpai, what does the Beautification Committee do?"

"—That's what the teacher told us a while ago."

I was about to answer, but Hinagata spoke up first.

"We clean up the school once a month and water the

flower beds on duty."

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 It was easy, considering all the other committees and odd
jobs we were forced to do.

As the class was dismissed and some students were

leaving the classroom, Hinagata and Honma were
exchanging glances with me.

It was an hour in time—

That's how it felt like... but I think it was actually less than
10 seconds.

It was rare for Hinagata to show her hostility like this.

"I was so careless, I didn't hear it. Sorry."

Honma laughed in an embarrassed manner and stood up.

"Well, senpai, see you later." she said with a smile and
waved as she left.

When I was in junior high, I heard a rumor that Honma

liked me, although I didn't know if it was true or not.

"......"

I couldn't look back at my childhood friend who wasn't

going to the club activities that she was supposed to attend
and was making weird onomatopoeic sounds like GoGo
GoGo behind me.

***

ChiriChiri, The bicycle that Sugiuchi was pushing made a

small sound.

"Honma? Oh, that Honma-chan?"

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 And just by mentioning the name, Sugiuchi immediately
thought of someone, apparently.

"She joined us? Huh."

Well, that's the normal reaction, isn't it?

After that, Hinagata left for her club activities in silence,

and I was left in the classroom, when I received a message
from Sugiuchi.

He said, "You're still at school, aren't you? I'll be there on

my bicycle, just wait for me." So, about 15 minutes after
receiving the message, he showed up at school in his
uniform.

"What's with all the bacen again?"

『Batting center』. 'Bacen' for short. It's the nearest one,

and I have to go to the next town over, so it takes about 20
minutes by bicycle.

"You're not busy anyway, are you?"

Well, yes.

I sat on the back of the cycle where no one seemed to be

looking and asked Sugiuchi to paddle.

"She's cute, isn't she, that Honma-chan?"

"Yeah."

She had the appearance of a prep school idol and was as

popular as Hinagata in our junior high school. Maybe
Honma was more popular than Hinagata, because she was
more open with others.

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 "You couldn't even buy UchinoKura-san a juice, Sugiuchi.
Do you even have any money for Bacen?"

"It's just that I didn't have it on hand that time. I have it

with me now."

This guy seemed to think that he had no time to waste

while waiting for UchinoKura-san, so he wanted me to join
him to pass the time.

"It's been a long time since I've been to Bacen."

"Oh well." I replied absent-mindedly.

After a short time on the back of the bicycle, we arrived at

our destination. I was worried that I would get marks on my
butt from sitting on the back of the bicycle, but if I left it
alone, it would go back to normal.

There was only one janitor in the old facility, and Sugiuchi
and I were the only guests.

"Shall we get on with it?"

I sat down on the bench behind Sugiuchi and watched as

he went to bat.

"Argh!", "God damn it!" It's hard for Sugiuchi, who's noisy
even when he's alone, to get a good hit.

"What kind of girl is Honma?"

The arm of the pitching machine whirled with the ball on

it.

"Well, don't ask me that since you already like someone!"

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 A foul-tipped ball was caught in the net and rolled under
Sugiuchi's feet.

I guess the rumor is true.

"Left field's open."

"Oh well."

I sat up, took off my jacket, picked up my bat and walked

into the batter's box next to Sugiuchi. I put two 100-yen bills
into the machine, and the machine roared... and a red light
came on to indicate that I was ready to start pitching.

The weight of the bat and the stance felt strangely

nostalgic.

I've only been away for a little over three months.

The first pitch. I struck out at the wrong time, and

Sugiuchi laughed at me.

The second pitch. As I swung, I heard the distinctive

sound of a softball hitting the ground. I caught the ball, and
it flew at a different angle to the direction from which it was
thrown.

"It doesn't matter that Honma-chan enrolled in our

school. But why did Tonomura come to our school, which
isn't very strong in baseball?"

Sugiuchi, who had finished practicing, asked me over the

net.

"Because it's... close. Distance is important, right?"

"Well, yeah."

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 He replied as absent-mindedly as I had done before.

Sugiuchi was burning through his money fast.

A few hundred yen for batting. The reason for this was
that he had spent a lot of money on UFO catchers at the
arcade attached to the building.

As a matter of course, I went back the way I came while

calming Sugiuchi who kept complaining about the bumps on
the road.

***

By the time we got back to school, it was almost seven

o'clock in the evening.

"I think Shiori is still there."

That's what UchinoKura-san told me when I ran into her.

"Hey Uchi, how's it going back there? I just got my bike...

I'll help you reach your destination...?"

Sugiuchi pointed with his thumb at the back of his cycle.

Oh. So that's what this guy was going for, huh?

"I'm sorry. It's not allowed to ride with two people."

"I see..."

Sugiuchi's plan was shattered in an instant.

Don't worry.

It's easy if you try it, but sometimes people can't ride on
the back.
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 UchinoKura-san walked away at a brisk pace. Sugiuchi,
who was pushing his bicycle, began to chase after her, his
wheels chirping.

He parked bicycle in the parking lot, and I was wondering

what he had gotten himself into.

"Here! Give it back later!"

He threw the key of the bicycle at me, which was just

baggage now.

"I don't need the bicycle—"

By the time I caught the key, Sugiuchi, who had been

chasing UchinoKura-san, was already a long way away.

I should just leave it at the bicycle parking lot and give

him the key tomorrow.

"What a hectic guy..."

"What?"

"Whoa!"

I looked next to me, and before I realized it, Hinagata was

there.

"Ryunosuke, did you wait for me again today?"

"It might be more accurate to say I was forced to wait for

you."

"Hmm."

The grumpiness was washed away and the mood got

softer.
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 "Sugiuchi lent me his bicycle, do you want a ride?"

"It's against traffic rules for two people to ride together."

I knew she would say that.

"Well, I guess I'll just go home."

As I put the keys in my pocket and started to walk away,

she tugged on the hem of my uniform.

"Riding together is against traffic rules."

Don't repeat the same lines like you're an NPC or

something.

"Ahh, yeah. I just heard."

"But... I want to ride... in the back."

You want to ride in the back?

Maybe Hinagta could ride in the back. I did it a few times

for fun when I was in elementary school.

"Sneak up quietly and don't get caught..."

"Okay."

As I walked to the bicycle, I thought about the deserted

street that leads to my house.

I unlocked the bicycle with a click and stepped onto it. A

few moments after leaving the school gate, I took Hinagata's
bag and put it in the basket.

After making sure she was seated on the back, I started to

pedal slowly.
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 I chose a road with as few cars and people as possible, and
ended up going down a very dark road with sparse
streetlights.

Hinagata, who hadn't said a word, was still holding the

hem of my uniform.

"Also...."

Also....?

"A little more... slowly..."

She was just too scared to speak.

In response to the request, I pedaled leisurely. If I get

found out, I can just pretend that I was seduced by her.

When Hinagata's house was almost at a distance, her

hand left the hem of my uniform and her arm went around
my waist.

"...We're almost home, right?"

When I came within sight of the lights of the Hinagata

house, I felt warmth from my back.

I couldn't see her face even if I just turned my head

around. Apparently, her head was attached to my back.

"More..."

More?

"More... a little... like this, is it fine...?"

Passing Hinagata's house, I continued to pedal into the

night.
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 Chapter 07: One on One

"Didn't we learn how to ride a bike together in the park?"

"That was during elementary school."

When we first began learning how to ride a bike, Hinagata

fell off the bike the first few times and cried like a baby.

"Ryunosuke, you're pretty bad at this."

"Ehh, it's my fault? It's because you struggle."

When I finished speaking, her arms tightened around my

waist.

"No... It's Ryunosuke's fault..."

I realized that she was not talking about that time, but
about something else.

I pedal my bike aimlessly.

I thought we might as well be walking with how slow we

were moving.

That's what I thought to myself.

"That's not true."

What she said was ambiguous. I don't know, but it's not
the same.

We live in a country town so there wasn't really anyone

outside during the night so I never get punished for violating

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traffic rules.

"Ah, elementary school."

I suddenly noticed a nostalgic school building, which was

indeed the alma mater of Hinagata and me. Only the staff
room was lit, but the rest of the school was completely dark.

"I want to go there."

"You can't go in there."

"We can go to the playground, but we can't go into the

building."

I came to the school half-heartedly and was allowed into

the playground as Hinagata had said.

It may seem like a noisy place, but I guess that's how safe
it is.

The place hadn't changed since then, and I felt nostalgic

for the back nets in youth baseball, the basketball goals, the
swings, the seesaws, and any other things that seemed so
small now.

I parked my bicycle at the entrance and walked into the

school grounds, where I found a ball lying in front of the
gym equipment room, which I had forgotten to put away.

The ball was placed neatly in the corner, as if it had been

"forgotten".

"Ball."

Hinagata, holding the ball in her hands, bounced it with

the same hands which were on my waist. The sound of the

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bouncing echoed well in the quiet ground. Bong, bong,
bong.

"Let's play ichi-ichi."

"Okay, let's do it."

Hinagata has been calling one on one basketball "ichi-

ichi" since elementary school.

"Kura-chan got Sugiuchi to buy her juice."

"You want to bet, juice?"

"I'm in."

Fortunately, the court was lit by the lights in the staff

room, so it didn't look like it would be too dark to see.

Hinagata ran happily to the court and made a spectacular

layup shot.

"......"

I'm not taking her seriously, but I wonder if I can win.....

I'm too worried that my pride as a man will be dented.

"You can't lose to a girl who's exhausted after club

activities, right?"

I'd like to put up a good fight so that I can at least look

cool.

Five games in a row. Loser buys juice. We played rock-

paper-scissors to decide who would go first. I got to go first.

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 "I guess it's time for me to show my power and physicality
that the girls don't have."

"Ryunosuke is actively raising the flag for losing."

This girl.....

I passed it to Hinagata standing across from me, who

passed it back to me.

My turn begins.

I dribble towards the goal, out of Hinagata's reach.

That quick-witted thinking of her that read what her

adversary wants to do, made her repel the ball that was
supposed to be in the strike zone.

"Fugee!?"

Bong, bong... and the ball rolled away.

"Pususu...... fufu~...... foreshadowing recovery, fast ......"

I managed to hold it in, but Hinagata, she was laughing so

hard.

"Don't you have any idea what it's like to be an amateur

with... flowers?"

"The game is ruthless."

Oh, I see.

I went to get the ball, and when I came back, I was on the
defensive side this time.

Hinagata passed me the ball, and I returned it.

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 As if skipping, she bounced the ball once and started
dribbling low.

This girl's serious!

I quickly tried to keep up with her, but as I blocked her

direction of travel, she pivoted and created an opening to
shoot.

The moment she shot the ball, I extended my hands and

my fingers grazed the ball.

The ball hit the ring and the board, and fell downwards.

I was relieved, but not for long.

I jumped at the same time to pick up the rebound, and

even though my position was bad, I managed to get it.

Oh, that was close.

It was a good thing there was a height difference, if she

had been a little taller, I would have lost.

"My childhood friend, it's time to teach you what

physicality is."

"That's not fair... Before physicality, there's a height

difference of over ten centimeters between Ryunosuke and
I."

"The game is ruthless, you know."

Muu~ She puffed up and took out her shorts from her bag
and put them on under her skirt.

"You're stubborn."

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 "They're not supposed to be seen today."

Hinagata, the way you say it, it sounds like they are to be
seen, okay?

Hinagata's defensive skills were high as she went into

competitive mode, and she wouldn't even let me, an
amateur, get a shot off.

I struggled on my own, but I was able to get three shots

off. At that point, I was already breathing heavily, and I felt
like I should have lost.

As if to show that I had lost my mind, she easily took the

rest of the shots and I lost the game completely.

"Juice."

"I know, I know..."

Unlike me, Hinagata wasn't gasping for air. She's really

serious...

"I don't feel comfortable putting too much pressure on a

girl."

I don't know if I should say that there is a softness unique

to girls that boys don't have, but every time our bodies
collide, I'm made aware of it, and I'm a little hesitant.

I am a bit of a loser though.

"....Girl?"

Hinagata pointed at herself, so I pointed at her too.

"It's you, you."

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 "....Glad to hear it. Treat me like a girl."

As if embarrassed, Hinagata bit her lips sweetly in a

embarassed manner.

"——Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here!?"

It seems that the sound of talking and basketball had been

heard in the staff room, and one of the teachers came out.

"Oh, s**t."

I ran out and grabbed Hinagata's hand, who was puzzled.

"Let's go."

"Ehh, ahh, yes."

"Wait!"

And then the teacher came after me.

"Are you angry...?"

"Maybe—if I get caught!"

We graduated from this elementary school, but I don't

think it's going to end in a peaceful manner like "Is that so,
hahaha." The teachers were in the mood to scold the
students playing at such times.

I walked over to my bike and was lucky that I forgot to

lock it, so I was able to start pedaling right away as soon as
Hinagata got on .

I pedaled with full power, which was different from

before, and in an instant, the teacher's footsteps and voice
were far away.
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 Of course, words of caution flew at me about riding with
two people.

"Oh, that's dangerous—"

I said, catching my breath.

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my heart,

which was pounding in many ways.

Then, behind me, Hinagata let out a burst of laughter.

"Aahahaha. I thought you'd be mad at me!"

"Ahaha, What's so funny,?"

I was laughing too as I said it.

"Because Ryunosuke's face, your serious face, it's funny."

"Don't laugh at people's serious faces, okay?"

"HAHAHAHA." Hinagata laughs, unusually aloud.

"Huh, it's crazy."

It was a satisfying murmur, as if she had just eaten her

favorite food and said, "It's so good."

In addition, her arm is tightly turned around the waist. It

felt tickling, comforting, and mysterious.

"An after-school date with Ryunosuke."

I was a little nervous, but I replied as if it was nothing.

"It's pretty late after school."

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 "Tomorrow, you'll buy me juice. After that, I want you to
take me out to town on a day off from club activities."

From the way she was laughing, it seemed that Hinagata

was very excited right now, and she started to say things that
she normally wouldn't say.

Though I don't mind.

But you have someone else you like, don't you?

I was about to say that, but I pushed it to the back of my

throat.

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 Chapter 08: Watching The Game And Making
Promises

Due to the school's rule on bicycles, students who live

within a 20-minute walking distance from the school are not
allowed to ride their bicycle to school. Both Hinagata and I
live within walking distance.

"Well, I'll just have Sugiuchi pick it up."

After some hesitation, I decided to leave my bicycle by the

garage and went to Hinagata's house.

I woke up earlier than usual today so I was a little drowsy,

but it all went away when I rang the doorbell.

"It's Tonomura."

"Ryu-kun's here!"

With a rustling noise, I was called out to, "Yes, Su-chan~,

get on this~", the melody of her rustling hairs with the smell
of sunshine is felt.

I was greeted with an adorable voice that sounded several

times louder than before.

"Good morning, Ryu-kun!"

"Good morning."

"Wai—why, why are you standing outside?"

"Because Shi-tan is late."

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 "I was just getting ready. I'm not... late."

"It's okay. It's just-"

I can hear the lively conversation of the sisters over the

intercom in the morning.

"Ryu, Ryunosuke, I'll be right there. Wait for me."

After hanging up the call, Hinagata came out of the front

door in about a minute.

I could see that Su-chan was waving from the window so I

waved back at her.

"Sorry for making you wait."

"No, it's fine. I didn't wait for long."

Today, I am on duty as a member of the beautification

committee.

I had to leave the house a little early because I had to

water the flower beds in the morning.

....However, it didn't have to be that early in the morning

since it could be completed in ten minutes.

Yesterday, I suggested that we walk together since I was

on duty.

Hinagata looked surprised, but she nodded her head in

agreement.

"It was late last night, did your mom get mad at you?"

"No, she didn't, since I'm always late because of club

activities."
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 "I see."

But Hinagata said that since Ayahi saw me pedaling on

my bike, she was questioned about what I was doing.

"'Why only nee-chan, that's unfair—!', this is what she

said."

"I could see it in her eyes."

When she was a little girl, the three of us often played

together, so I could say that Ayahi was also my childhood
friend.

"You can go along with basketball, but you can't go along

with karate."

I've heard she's pretty strong.

"Uhmm... Ryunosuke... This..."

After rummaging through her bag, Hinagata pulled out a

bento box.

"Did your mom make this?"

...There was a pause as if she was lost for a moment, then

Hinagata shook her head.

"I... I made it."

She seemed to be extremely nervous, even though that

was all she said.

"You're not going to lie to me anymore, are you?"

"Because Kura-chan told you."

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 My mom had already made me a bento box today, but I
decided to accept it gracefully.

"Why did you come to my house today?"

"I thought this would be better than making you wait

behind a vending machine."

Hinagata's cheeks flushed. She turned her face away to

avoid being seen and mumbled.

"I was not waiting for you... It was just by chance..."

"Yeah let's just put it that way."

When we arrived at school, I took out two watering cans

from the equipment storage and gave one to Hinagata.

We drew water from the tap.

It was a common water supply for the athletic club to

drink from, and in the summer, they sometimes wet their
heads to cool off.

"——Good morning, Senpai."

I turned to face the direction of the voice and saw Honma

smiling at me.

"Yoo, Honma. Good morning."

"Good morning, Honma-san."

The other day, Hinagata seemed to be on the verge of

killing me, but today, she returned my greeting in a good
mood.

"Hinagata-senpai, did something good happen to you?"

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 The tightly knit mouth of Hinagata gradually loosened.

"Nope, nothing at all, no problem whatsoever.."

There was a person here who was not good at lying.

"Is that so?"

Hinagata said to Honma, who tilted her head curiously.

"I think I messed around too much with you yesterday.

I'm sorry."

No, no. Honma hurriedly waved her hands.

"Don't worry about it. I was so happy to find senpai that I

got excited..."

"No, no, no." "No, no, no." The two of them bowed their
heads.

There was a time when I had a sneaking suspicion that

they didn't actually get along... I'm glad that my fears were
unfounded.

As a senior member of the committee, I taught Honma a

few things. Hinagata, a first-year member of the
Beautification Committee, even started taking notes.

Stop it, I'm not teaching you anything that big.

In the meantime, more and more students began to arrive

at school. Honma, who seemed to have quickly become
popular, was called "Konatsu" or "Honma-san" by her
classmates, who waved and exchanged greetings with her.

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 There were several times when I heard rumors that she
liked me, and I thought there must be something behind it.

But I never heard anything bad about Honma's rumors.

I'm sure she likes me, but she didn't say she only likes
me... I've decided to accept that it was probably just a
coincidence.

"I've been thinking about it since middle school, but..."

Hmm? Both Hinagata and I stopped our work and looked

at Honma.

"You two aren't dating, are you?"

Hinagata stiffens with a click.

The only sound that could be heard was of the water being
poured onto the flowerbed.

"N-No, no, we're not dating. Why would I and

Hinagata...."

Don't ask me that straight out of the blue. It's early in the
morning.

"Right?" She nodded vaguely with a subtle look on her

face when I turned the conversation to Hinagata to seek her
agreement.

......What's with that reaction?

I couldn't stay here anymore, so I backed away from them

as if to run away.

"Ehh~? Really—?"

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 Honma questioned me as I moved away.

"Why are you doing that~?"

"Why, you say..."

When I was at a loss for an answer, Hinagata's face turned

red and she raised her voice as if she had made up her mind.

"H-Honma-san!"

"Ahh yes!?"

"Uhm... Aren't you gonna be late?"

Hinagata, we still have about 20 minutes to spare. You're

not very good at deception, are you?

"That means Hinagata-senpai will be late too..."

The boomerang came back to Hinagata in an instant.

"So, senpai isn't dating anyone right now?"

"T-That's right."

I've never been asked such a direct question by a girl, so I

was unintentionally embarrassed.

"Ahh, well, Senpai is embarrassed, aren't you?"

"I'm not embarrassed, hurry up and go to class!"

"Hahaha, scary!"

When she turned her head toward the elevator, her skirt
spread out like flower petals.

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 "I'll see you later", she said, waving adorably as she joined
the line of students on their way to class.

What do you say... that's what it is.

Muuu. The sound was spilling out of Hinagata as she was

staring with resentment and jealousy at Honma leaving.

"....Cunning."

Oh, yeah. It's a bruise.

***

Maybe it was because I woke up early, but I slept through

half of my morning classes today.

I knew people were nudging me to wake up, but my

sleepiness was overpowering so I kept dozing off.

I finally opened my eyes when I felt hungry. I saw

Hinagata next to me staring at me with a faint smile on her
face.

"You're up."

The last class of the morning had just ended and the
classroom was getting noisy.

"What are you looking at?"

I asked, fighting back a yawn, and Hinagata shook her

head with a smile on his face.

"No, nothing."

I guess she was watching my sleeping face.

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 I think you'd get bored with something like that in five
seconds.

"I have some business to attend to today."

Suguichi came over to say that and then left.

Neither Hinagata nor Uchinokura could think of anything

that Sugiuchi needed to do, and both wondered why.

"Shiori's homemade lunch looks delicious."

UchinoKura-san said as we began to eat our lunches,

taking a peek at mine.

"Yeah, it's pretty good."

In contrast to Hinagata, who seemed satisfied with my

impression, UchinoKura-san laughed at me.

"So-so."

"So-so is a win."

"It's fine then, isn't it?"

Yes, yes. Hinagata nodded her head.

I couldn't imagine Hinagata cooking, so the fact that she

made her own lunch was surprising. She also seems to be
aware that she is not used to it either.

"But isn't this the same as before?"

Snap, Hinagata's hand stopped moving.

"Yeah, I guess so."

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 I hadn't noticed it at all, but now that you mention it, yes,
it is.

"It's yesterday's leftovers."

"How much extra do you have?"

Fufufu~, UchinoKura-san laughs.

"I see, I see. I think I know what Shiori is thinking."

"Eh, what?"

When I asked UchinoKura-san, Hinagata tensed up next

to me as if she was nervous.

It was as if UchinoKura-san and Hinagata had the

dynamic of a great detective and a criminal.

"You don't have anything else in your repertoire, and you

don't want to make something different and fail because
someone told you it was good. That's why you keep making
the same thing over and over again, don't you?"

Hinagata looked away from the grinning detective.

"T-That's not it..."

I'm pretty sure it was.

UchinoKura-san chuckled, probably thinking the same as

me.

I don't know what Sugiuchi was doing at such a pleasant

time of the day when UchinoKura-san is also here.

From the window, I could see the courtyard, and just

across the street, the second floor hallway of the special
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classroom building.

As I casually glanced outside, I saw Sugiuchi walking

down the hallway.

This guy, What's he doing in that place?

"Oh, by the way, you were working on the committee with

Honma Konatsu this morning, right?"

"Yeah. Honma was not on duty, though."

"I apologized to Honma-san."

"I don't think Shiori needs to worry about it that much."

UchinoKura-san gave a dumbfounded smile.

It seemed that Hinagata was bothered that she had given

her a hard time at the committee meeting.

"It's as if both the 'Sun and Moon' had come face to face
in this school."

(TN: Sun and Moon was said in English.)

What the h**l is that?

Hinagata seemed to think the same thing, and she nodded

her head.

"I meant Sun and Moon."

"Well, I know that much."

"The sun is Honma Konatsu. And the moon is..."

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 UchinoKura-san looked at Hinagata as if to say
something.

"?"

And Hinagata, still unable to guess, tilted her head to the

other side.

"Is that what they called you?"

I think it's a perfect call for personality.

On the opposite side of the school building, Sugiuchi met

up with some girls, as if they had been waiting for each
other. They started walking somewhere side by side.

That girl.... Honma?

In a friendly manner, they walked into an empty

classroom that is not used for lunch breaks - the physics
room.

Honma and Sugiuchi?

By errands, do you mean spending your lunch break

with Honma...?

As I was wondering about the unusual pairing, Hinagata

started to ask me about yesterday.

".....Is there something wrong with you and S-Sugiuchi-

kun...?"

"What? With Sugicchi? What do you mean by something

wrong?"

Hinagata started to get embarrassed.

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 "...S-Something is something."

Well, she is trying to get alone together with me on the

way back.

So, perhaps getting kissed or making a move for coitus by

force is the least I must assume out of her I guess.

Ehhh? UchinoKura-san looked up into the air as if

thinking back.

"There was nothing special, but... Oh, by the way, you

asked me for Honma Konatsu's contact information."

"Why this again...."

I glanced at the physics room where they had

disappeared.

"You know, it's not hard to understand. You can't help but
fall in love with Honma Konatsu."

"I-Is that so....?"

When Hinagata inquired timidly, UchinoKura-san said as

a matter-of-fact.

"Isn't that what it's like to have someone other than

yourself give you their contact information?"

I shook my head as she spoke and looked at me.

"We don't really talk about that. I don't know what it's
really like."

I'll have to ask him to find out if it's really true or if I'm
just mistaken.

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 "That's just how boys are."

"I'm embarrassed, you know?"

"You don't have to say it out loud to know that."

"There it is, the bad things about girls."

The kind that says, I can tell by your attitude and mood,
so guess what?

They both sighed at the same time though Hinagata's sigh

was immense, though.

"Tonomura-kun's love sensor isn't functioning."

UchinoKura-san said with a chuckle.

"To some degree, it works."

"Nope—, No No."

UchinoKura-san made it clear, and Hinagata agreed with

her greatly.

How come I'm completely away before I knew it?

"But Sugiuchi—"

—I think he likes you, UchinoKura-san. I was about to say

that, but then I stopped myself.

Even if I did, I'm sure she'd just say, "Nope— No No.", in

the same tone as before.

UchinoKura-san is quite a formidable opponent, isn't

she, Sugiuchi?

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 "That guy, heh... Well, at least he has got the looks with
him."

"Is that so?"

UchinoKura-san looked a little happy, as if her prediction

was correct. I'm talking about you. You.

"Doesn't Tonomura-kun have the looks too?"

"I don't know."

"Uwaa. You're not a very interesting person to talk to."

"Even if you say that..."

"Hahaha. Just kidding. Don't get mad."

Unlike most girls, UchinoKura-san is more like a boy.

Because of that, she is very easy to talk to.

"Ah."

UchinoKura-san noticed something and stuffed a piece of

bread into her mouth, gestured "I'm going." and left her
seat.

What's going on all of a sudden?

"......."

Next to her, Hinagata pouted her lips.

"Hinagata-san? Hello?"

"Kura-chan is good at talking and it's fun to talk to her

because she has a good taste."

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 I thought she was complimenting her, but her tone was
full of thorns.

"......Yeah, well, yeah. What? Are you in a bad mood?"

"Yes."

You're not going to deny it?

"Can't tell you when your love sensor isn't working,

Ryunosuke."

We are at school, but she's not calling me Tonomura-kun

anymore.

I mean... we had a random discussion earlier, but what's a

love sensor!?

***

"There was a lot of trouble during yesterday's lunch break

because you weren't there."

"What?"

On Saturday afternoon, Sugiuchi and I were on our way to

school when we heard that the girls' basketball team had a
practice game.

"There were a lot of things that could be misunderstood...

I tried to ask her, but she was away after school."

"What are you talking about?"

Sugiuchi raised an eyebrow as if he didn't understand.

"What were you doing on your lunch break with Honma?"

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 "W-What are you talking about?"

"No, it's fine if you don't want to tell me. I don't want to
pry either."

"Well, sort of. It's no big deal."

Sugiuchi muddied the waters.

When I told him about today's practice game, he

immediately took a bite, which led me to believe that he likes
Uchinokura-san, but I can't deny the possibility that he's just
bored and wants to keep me company.

The bike I borrowed is now being pushed by Sugiuchi.

Did you enjoy your nostalgia trip? I told him that I went
to my elementary school.

"Must be nice going to an elementary school at night with

your childhood friend..."

Well, in the end, the teacher chased us out and we

somehow escaped.

"Come on, you adolescent a*****e, hurry up and kiss her!"

"Why?"

This conversation is too much.

"So, what did you find out about the guy Hinagata-san
likes?"

"She said she'd seen him play a few times."

"Ohh."

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 "But now he's injured and can't play."

"Ohh..."

"He's probably from a basketball team. From another

school."

"What?"

"Maybe he's sprained his ankle. It happened to me too in

the Basketball club."

"What?"

He handed me the handlebars of his bike and when I took

it, he punched me in the shoulder.

"Ouch!? Eh...? Why...?"

"'Why'?? You bothersome idiot...!"

Sugiuchi closed his eyes with a difficult face and looked up

at the sky.

When I arrived at the school and approached the gym, I

could hear the girls' voices and the high-pitched sound of
basketball shoes scraping the gym.

I peeked in and saw several girls wearing unfamiliar

uniforms from other schools. Behind them, I caught a
glimpse of Hinagata in her uniform.

We decided to go up the stairs to the right of the entrance

and watch the game from the second floor, so as not to get in
the way.

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 The aisle overlooking the gymnasium was lined with
benches and extra school chairs, so it was perfect for a casual
viewing.

According to Hinagata, the morning was joint practice.

They were going to play two games in the afternoon.

"I don't think I've ever seen a basketball game properly."

"I did, a couple of times in junior high."

Sugiuchi touched his cell phone and put it in his pocket,

as if he had finished checking some social networking site or
something.

"...Hey, Tonomura."

With a distant look in his eyes, Sugiuchi looked at the

gym.

"Do you think there will be any slip-ups of polo during the
match?"

"Go die."

"Come on! Now I've lost my thrill!"

You'll lose it for the rest of your life.

"It's not that kind of sport."

Good grief. What the h**l is going on in this guy's head?

"I don't think it's right to look at people who are serious
about sports that way."

It was a girl's voice.

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 "What? You're the one who's looking for the bra and pants
lines of the tennis and volleyball players during practice!"

"That's the kind of thing you don't get because it's

embarrassing. ....What's that called? I heard you wear that
on top."

Information source: Ayahi.

"Huhhhhh? I know what you're talking about!"

"Then what is it?"

"I'm sure you're looking for a girl who's got a sweet side
that says, 'I forgot it today, so I'll just leave it as it is.' But
we're not!"

Why is he so hot tempered, this guy?

"I don't care what you say, but can you please stop
lumping me in with 'we'?

"What are you trying to be, a gentleman?"

"I didn't tell you not to look at me with that erotic look."

"......So, did it sound like a girl's voice?"

Honma peeked out from behind a pillar.

"——Hello~"

Honma waved her hand adorably, and we replied with

some random greetings like "Yo." and "Ui."

The owner of the voice from earlier seemed to be Honma.

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 "I was going to join in, but I couldn't because of the
strange conversation between the two of you."

Honma chuckled.

She also told me that I should wear a camisole or a tank

top on top.

"Sorry about that, Honma. Sugiuchi is a Scumuchi."

"No, it's alright."

"I'm not okay! And what the h**l is Scumuchi!?"

"Scum-Sugiuchi. In short, 'Scumuchi'."

"I knew you'd say that!"

Honma sat down next to Sugiuchi, regardless of Sugiuchi

howling.

"Honma, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm observing a club activity. I was wondering

which club I should join. And then I saw you two walking
in."

"Oh, yeah, it's that time of the year."

Then, Uchinokura-san in her uniform on the court

noticed me. She then poked Hinagata and looked at me
again, as if to encourage me to look at her.

"Wha!?"

When Hinagata saw us, her complexion became so red

that even from a distance we could see it, and she then
quickly hid behind Uchinokura-san.
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 "Hinagata-senpai, she's so cute~!"

"She's the one who said she wanted me to come watch."

"That uniform is embarrassing Hinaga-san, what a

maiden you are...."

Deeply moved, Sugiuchi nodded.

One of the club members acting as a referee sounded the

whistle and went to the center of the field with the ball in
hand, and the players lined up.

Uchinokura-san, who seemed to be the ace of the team,

and Hinagata, were also in the starting lineup.

Whistle. The whistle sounded, and the game began with a

jump ball.

I wondered what club Honma was in when she was in

junior high school, but I guess she was probably in the
homecoming club.

And even though it's during the... club activity observation

period, why would she bother coming to see it on her day
off?

Sugiuchi was completely absorbed watching the game.

You could tell that there wasn't going to be any accidental
slip-ups.

Hinagata had mentioned several times that Uchinokura-

san seemed to be the ace, and the attack seemed to be
centered around her. Sure, it's kind of cool.

"Ah, yes, senpai. Is lunch ready yet?"

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 "Yeah. I was thinking of stopping by a convenience store
later..."

With a rustle, Honma took out something from her bag.

"Here, senpai. If you'd like."

She handed me a bag from the convenience store, and

when I looked inside, I saw two rice balls from the
convenience store.

"Ehh, a store-bought rice ball?"

Sugiuchi, who had peeked inside from the side, furrowed

his brow.

"It's not for you."

"No, I know about that..."

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 Sugiuchi glanced at her and saw that Honma's expression
had hardened into a smile.

"It's normal..."

With a sigh, Sugiuchi wrinkles his brow.

"If you haven't eaten yet, Honma, let's eat."

"It's fine, I-I'm alright!"

"Oh, Is that so?"

I took out a rice ball from the package and bit into it.

In the game, Hinagata steals a pass from the enemy and

shoots a layup into an opponent's basket.

"Whenever she's playing sports, she becomes thirty

percent more attractive."

I agreed with Honma's impression.

Hinagata, smiling and lightly clasping hands with his

friends, seemed like a stranger to me.

"You too, senpai?"

"Eh?"

"I was watching the fall tournament. I knew you were a

great guy."

"If you get injured and quit, you won't have anything left,
though."

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 Honma shook her head when I got a little self-
deprecating.

"I don't think so."

Hope so, I mumbled, and took another bite of the rice

ball.

Sugiuchi got up from his seat.

When I asked him where he was going, he said, "I'm

getting hungry too, so I'm going to get something to eat."

I tried to give him one of the rice balls I had received, but
Honma looked sad, so I decided against it.

The game was going well, with repeated intervals and

halftimes.

Hinagata was replaced at halftime, and after a while she

took the court again.

As I was thinking about the freshness of the substitution

system, which I had never seen in baseball, Honma asked
me about Hinagata.

"How long have you been friends with Hinagata-san?"

"I don't know how long exactly, but since kindergarten.

We used to play together a lot."

"In junior high school, you didn't have that kind of

atmosphere at all, did you?"

"Well, we were both busy with club activities, and it was

much more fun being with boys than with girls."

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 "With Sugiuchi-senpai?"

"Not only with Sugiuchi, but also with other guys."

"Boys are like that, aren't they~?"

Honma let out a single sigh of dissatisfaction.

"Aren't there any girls like that? Isn't it more fun to be

with girls than with boys?"

"Yes, but it seems like a lie. Someone who professes that

kind of thing even though one hasn't asked. It's like they're
trying to enclose you. It's like they're saying that anyone who
runs away is a traitor, and I didn't like it."

"I think I understand."

The score of the game was almost the same, and the game
continued to go back and forth between the two teams,
making it hard to get bored.

And then Honma came into my view.

"Don't you like her? Hinagata-senpai?"

"What's with this out of the blue?"

"You entered the same high school a year late, and now
you're getting closer. I'm sure something happened."

"There's nothing going on."

We started to talk about various things after the romantic

consultation. But that's all.

The fact that we were in the same class for the first time in
a long time must have pushed her over the edge.
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 I think part of it was that I was going home together with
her and had more time on my hands.

I pushed the head back that was blocking my view back

into place.

"I'm just conforming, aren't I~"

"What's going on with you and Sugiuchi? I saw you going

into the physics room yesterday during the lunch break."

Honma's eyes lit up when I said it.

"...By any chance, are you jealous!?"

"What? No."

The shining eyes lost their light in an instant.

"You don't have to deny it so clearly..."

"I was wondering what you were talking about."

"It's a secret."

She then gave me a very nice smile on her face, as if she

enjoyed being pestered by me.

I guess you could say it's a man's best interest to be

pestered by a junior who looks like an idol, but I can't help
but wonder if there's more to it than that.

"I really wanted to be the manager of the baseball team."

"Why don't you become one? It's a den of b******s, so it

doesn't matter how many female managers there are."

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 "Become a manager, support, ace, and eventually they'll
fall in love..."

I laughed at the theatrical tone, and Honma laughed, too.

"I... had a blueprint of what it would look like."

"It's not too late for those blueprints, okay?"

"I'll never make it."

As she watched the game, Honma chuckled.

"...I wish I was the same age as senpai."

It was a sad murmur that seemed to be filled with real

feelings.

I didn't know what to say, so I watched the game for a

while, and Honma was entranced, as if she was watching an
idol on TV.

"Hinagata-senpai, she's so cool and cute. She's white,

thin, and has a tiny face. She's tall for a girl, and her hands
and feet are long and beautiful, and she has great style."

I was afraid to say I agree with her, so I let it slide.

"Is that what you like about her?"

"You know what..."

What do you want me to say?

I was getting sick and tired of these kinds of questions.

"Ah. I understand, I understand. I won't ask anymore!"

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 Honma said and changed her attitude completely.

I've had several chances to talk to Honma since junior

high school, and she was very good at keeping her distance.

She would step in or step out, depending on the mood and

color of the person she was talking to.

It's no wonder she's popular with both men and women.

She is the complete opposite of the clumsy and
uncommunicative Hinagata.

Eventually, the match ended in victory, and they seemed

to have taken a short break.

"What do you want to do after this, senpai? Do you want

to come to my place?"

"I'm not coming."

"You're not coming? That's a shame."

I heard footsteps and thought it was Sugiuchi, so I looked

towards the stairs and saw Hinagata and Uchinokura-san in
their club jerseys just coming up.

"Hmm? Wasn't Sugiuchi here?"

Glance glance. said Uchinokura-san while looking

around.

"That guy, he went off to get something to eat."

Fuun as Uchinokura-san snorted, Hinagata gave me a

questioning look.

"...."

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 What's wrong? What's with the staring?

"Thank you for your hard work, both of you. You guys
won! It was my first time seeing it properly, but it was really
cool!"

"What are you doing here, Honma-san?"

When Uchinokura-san asked, Hinagata seemed to be

asking the same question, and gave a small nod in
agreement.

"I was just visiting the club activities. Because there was a
game going on in the gym."

""Just?""

"Yes, just."

"Are you coming to girls' basketball? It's hard though."

"Ehh... Then I won't!"

Both Uchinokura-san and Honma were smiling and

talking, but even I could tell It was obvious that they were
talking while hiding their true feelings.

Good grief. said Uchinokura-san while shaking her head

and then she sat down next to Honma.

The only remaining vacant spot was next to me.

"Shiori, come here too."

When invited, Hinagata shook her head, purring.

"......Right now, sitting next to him is not good..."

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 I'm sure she wants to sit down after the game, but she
refuses to.

"Hinagata-senpai, I don't think you smell like sweat, so

it's okay."

"Huh!?"

I'm not sure if Honma had guessed her true intentions,

but Hinagata shrugged her shoulders.

Oh, that's what you're worried about.

"Sit down here, Hinagata. I don't mind."

"Senpai, senpai. That's not the part where you say, 'I don't
mind.' but where you whisper, 'Everything smells good
when it smells like you~'"

You're crazy.

"That's why... Well, should I sit down?"

I patted the space next to me. She whispered and then sat
down quietly.

All I could smell was the lingering scent of her hair from
when she walked and the smell of the Hinagata's fabric
softener from her jersey.

Uchinokura-san began to ask Honma questions in a

caring manner. What club activities are you going to join?
And so on.

While they were having this conversation, Hinagata, who

was sitting on the edge, said—

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 "....We have one more game and then we're done. So if
you're bored, you can go home."

"No, it was fun."

"Glad to hear that."

"You're a pretty good basketball player, aren't you?"

"Eh? Now?"

I've been thinking about it for a while now...

"I thought about it the other day, but... You were cool."

"~~~!"

I'm not sure if it was an unexpected impression, but

Hinagata's face was reddening as she made a V shape with
her mouth.

The number of blinks were unusual.

Is she embarrassed? Is that it?

"....Ahh, um..."

"What?"

"Umm..."

Even though I waited, Hinagata did not follow easily.

Uchinokura-san got up from her seat.

"Shiori, we have to go downstairs now. I'm going first."

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 Oh, ah, Hinagata started to get impatient as she looked at
her watch and me.

"Uhm. Uhhh—"

"Calm down, Hinagata."

There There. I calmed her down with both of my hands.

"C-Can I contact you at.... when I get home?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Her expression cleared up.

"Okay, bye. See you later!"

With a small wave of her hand, Hinagata walked down the

aisle with a bouncy step, caught up with Uchinokura-san,
and went down the stairs.

.....Hmm? That's it?

"Hah... What's was that? That's really really, cute."

Honma absentmindedly took a deep sigh, at loss of words.

***

After the meeting, we'll go back to the joint practice.

Hinagata came back up from downstairs and told me that,

so I got up from my seat.

"You're not going to watch the practice, senpai?"

"I've had enough of watching the games, I think I'm

done."

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 Is that so? Saying this Honma sat up too.

But where did Sugiuchi go?

I checked my cell phone, but there was no word. I decided

not to worry about it, thinking that he would call me if
something happened.

As I left the gym, Honma said, "Please show me the

school, senpai."

"There's nothing to see here."

"No problem."

Honma smiled a smile that made me feel like I was about

to bloom.

I had a lot of time on my hands, and there was no reason

to refuse.

We started at the gymnasium, then went to the ground,

the club building, and the special classroom building. There
were very few students, and I could hear the occasional brass
band practicing.

"Is Hinagata... that cute and adorable in the eyes of girls?"

Honma rolled her eyes at my abrupt question.

Fufufufu. Then she laughed.

"Yes. She's the kind of girl that every girl wants to be; cute
and cool. Girls find her attractive in a slightly different way
than boys do."

Heeh. So that's how she looks.

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 "I wonder why we don't stick together."

I don't care if you say so. If she doesn't stick, she won't
stick.

"A boy who knows a lot about baseball told me. He was
the first local junior high school to win the top eight in the
nation in junior high school baseball, and his senior was a
key figure in the team. He said that there was no one of his
generation who played baseball in his hometown who didn't
know about Ryunosuke Tonomura. He was even in the
newspaper."

Honma explained to me as if she were singing.

"That was a long time ago."

"A long time ago you say, that was two years ago."

Honma's expression clouded over as if she was criticizing

a fan player, even though she was talking about me.

"Women's humor is outstandingly good, senpai. Those

who think that such two people should stick together..."

"Uhmm." said Honma, choosing her words carefully.

"There are a few."

"There are quite a few, surprisingly."

"In my opinion, it would be better if the senpai's

sensitivity was so low that he crawled on the ground."

"Why is that?"

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 It's not that I think it's too high, but it's kind of annoying
that people want it to be low.

"Ehh~? Don't you know~?"

She took a few steps forward and then turned around.

"It's a good thing for me, because the competition will be

lower. From my point of view, it's a great development."

I wondered if the rumor was true after all.

"Hey, Honma."

"Yes?"

Honma, who was responding with an adorable smile,

waited for me to say something, and then I heard the
vibrating sound of a cell phone. It wasn't mine.

I looked at Honma and saw that she was looking at the

screen of her phone, her eyebrows furrowed in disgust as if
she was about to click her tongue.

"Oh my god, bad timing..."

But then she quickly returned to her original smile.

"I'm going home for today, senpai. Thank you very much
for showing me around."

"No problem." I said, letting it slide.

"The next time I see you will be when I'm on committee

duty!"

Honma gave a small wave and walked away toward the

exit.
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 Chapter 09: Dating And Prolonged Time Out

After parking my bike at the parking lot, I looked over to

the station to see Hinagata constantly fixing her hair with a
comb.

I checked my cell phone for the time and saw that I still
had ten minutes left before we met.

***

Last night.

As I waited for the call, I received a message around eight

o'clock.

『 Thank you for coming to watch the game 』 The

message said.

About halfway through messaging, I was having trouble

typing so we swapped to calling each other to talk. When we
were about to hang up, Hinagata said a few words.

『I need advice... about dating.』

"Ahh, you want to practice it?"

『Y-Yes.』

When I asked her about her plans for tomorrow, she said
she had a light practice in the morning and would be free
before noon, so we decided to meet at the station.

***

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 "Yo, sorry for the wait."

It was probably because I had called out from a blind spot,

but Hinagata jumped a little.

"...I-I didn't wait though?"

She said she was going to practice, so it was a template

answer.

However, it was a bit of an awkward way of saying that.

I thought she would be in uniform since the practice was

over, but she went home first. She was wearing a small
flowered dress and a denim jacket.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes."

We bought a ticket to the station five stops away. We

boarded the train and sat down in a row of empty seats.

"Are you sure you want to do this after club activities?"

"Yes, there was a light adjustment today."

The reason seemed to be that yesterday had been hard

and the use of the gym was limited today.

Hmmm, I guess. I said with an appropriate gesture.

"Did Honma-san leave after that?"

"Yes, Uchinokura-san's threat must have worked."

"Fufufu. Maybe so."

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 Hinagata laughed quietly next to me.

I don't think I have seen Hinagata wear her casual clothes

since elementary school.

I can't help but glance at her clothes, distracted from the

conversation.

Yesterday it smelled like fabric softener, but today it

smells mysterious and nice.

"You could have kept your uniform on after club

activities."

I suggested that it would be less of a hassle, but she shook

her head.

"I wanted to take a shower after I worked up a sweat..."

I was so embarrassed that I imagined a shower scene.

"I-I see."

"And on top of that... Because of the date too."

I'm starting to feel embarrassed.

"That's exactly what a uniform is used for."

"I wanted to wear my favourite outfit for our first

meeting."

Hou. I made an owl-like gesture, and suddenly realized.

Our first? So, we're going to do a few more practice dates?

Is that what you're planning to do?

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 "But there are uniform dates."

Apparently there is.

After 20 minutes of silent train rides, we arrived at our

destination station as we exited the ticket gate.

At the roundabout, several cabs were parked waiting for

passengers, and I could see people lining up at the bus stop.

This station is regarded as a sacred place by the local

junior and senior high school students, and is bustling with
people today, as if everyone thinks of it as a place to go
shopping or have fun.

If my memory serves me right, I'm sure I'll see someone

in front of this station...

"Hinagata, are you fine with this?"

"?"

"...If the guy you like sees you here with me, won't he get
the wrong idea?"

"Wrong idea?"

"Because he'll think we're... dating, but it's just a

misunderstanding."

I didn't think I'd be forced to say all that, so I ended up

whispering a lot.

Before I could even think about it, Hinagata answered.

"It's okay."

You're very clear about that.

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 Well, if he's busy with club activities, there's no way he'd
be here on her day off.

I took her word for it and headed for a nearby commercial

facility to have lunch.

There were cafes, food courts, bookstores, and clothing

stores in the tenants, so it was an ideal place for people of all
ages.

When I asked Hinagata if she thought it would be better

to have a more stylish cafe, she said it would be fine.

"Have you made any progress with him since then?"

"Progress with him..."

No. When I asked, Hinagata snorted in annoyance.

He doesn't have anyone he likes. He doesn't have a

girlfriend either. And I heard that he was injured and
couldn't play in the game.

"He's from another school, right? If you don't appeal to

him properly, other girls will catch him..."

"Another school?"

"Eh? Am I wrong?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Am I wrong?"

"Yes." she nodded again.

"...What, I'm wrong...?"

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 I asked in Kansai dialect, but the response was the same.

"The school is the same."

The range narrowed quickly.

"Ohh, I see..."

W-Why am I getting nervous?

Coming to the restaurant floor of the commercial facility,

I came to a relatively empty cafe and ordered the same lunch
limited menu.

The possibility that the one she likes is me... Is that

possible...?

It sounded like he was someone from another school, so I

thought it couldn't be me.

When the salad arrived, we picked it up with the fork and

ate in silence. The soup and omurice were brought out
shortly after, and we just remained silent while eating.

"......"

If I expand on the information she gave me about who she

likes... It also applies to me since I am also injured and can't
play any games.

Eehhh... Wait—I don't have the lightness of heart to ask

something like, "Are you talking about me?"

It's still easy to respond to things like "There's no way." or

"Senpai, you're too self-conscious. Fufufu." like Ayahi and
Honma.

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 They would laugh at my misunderstanding, and the
atmosphere would end up being light.

But for Hinagata, she'll just say, "No." and the air will
become tense in a second.

So, I can't ask it...

It was because the distance between us since elementary

school, combined with the fact that she was asking me for
romantic advice, increased the number of factors that could
be misunderstood.

Imagine if it was me... That would be convenient,

wouldn't it be...? probably...

As I finished my meal, Hinagata took a bite of her omelet

with a spoon while I pondered.

"Do you want some...?

She held out a spoon to me.

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 "What? N-No I'm good!"

"You looked like you wanted to eat, that's why..."

The spoon in her hand was trembling slightly.

When I looked closely at her face, she looked away shyly.

Does that mean you're practicing feeding each other with

"Ahh~"?

I took a quick look around the restaurant, which had

about 30 seats. Of course, no one was paying attention to us.

"Well, just a bite."

I took the bite that was offered to me, thinking that now
was the time to eat.

"....How is it?"

"It tastes embarrassing."

"Ryunosuke, your face is red."

"...Yours too."

With a shy grin, Hinagata began to eat the rest of the

meal.

I began to drink water, and before I knew it, it was empty,

and Hinagata noticed this and smiled modestly.

In truth, it would be better for the men to come up with

more of a plan. As it was, it would be the same as usual, just
a change in clothes and location.

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 After all, what should we do on a date...? Is this even a
practice?

As I pondered, Hinagata finished eating and we left the

restaurant.

We wandered around the facility, but didn't know where

to stop.

Then, here now. We're just walking around.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with it... sorry."

At the top of the escalator, I looked away and said, not

looking directly at her.

I looked at Hinagata and saw that she was shaking her

head.

"No, it's really fun."

Really? The thought must have shown on her face.

Hinagata nodded with a smile.

"Really."

***

I bought some ice cream at the food court and ate it in my

seat. Most of the seats were occupied, probably because it
was Sunday.

I'm afraid that if I look around at times like this, I might

discover one or two people I know.

From the outside, it's totally a date... No, it's a practice, so

it has to look like one... Anyway, if someone I know finds me

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and asks, "What are you doing?" There is no other way of
answering other than 'going on a date'.

"...."

Hinagata was staring at the vanilla and chocolate mixed

ice cream in the cup I'm holding in my hand.

"Want a bite?"

"Thank you."

She seemed to be waiting for those words and quickly

reached out a small plastic spoon, scooped out the ice cream
and ate it.

She then licked the thin layer of lipstick off her lips.

I just noticed that you don't usually wear any makeup, but
you have some makeup on today.

Well, it's just practice, so I guess they don't want to wear

all that makeup.

"Do you want some too, R-Ryunosuke?"

I took a bite out of Hinagata's strawberry ice cream.

And then, Hinagata noticed something.

"Ryunosuke, get down!

"Ehh, what, why?"

"J-Just do so."

When she forced me to lower my head, I knew why.

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 There was her mother holding hands with Su-chan a short
distance away.

They were looking around for a seat.

And then, My eyes met with Su-chan's.

"Ah, Ryu-kun is here! Mom, mom! Shi-tan, Shitan, Shi-

tan is here too!"

She pulled her mother's hand and came over to me.

"Why are you here...!"

Hinagata frowned angrily and questioned her mom.

"Because... if you're not going to tell where you're going,

your mother won't know where you are. I'm not an esper."

That's true.

Or rather, it was a no-plan, so it's unavoidable that we

couldn't tell where we were going.

"Ryu-kun, is the ice cream good?"

"It's good. Want some?"

"Sure."

As I took a bite, Hinagata gave Su-chan a bite of her own

ice cream as well.

"This is fine."

"I don't need shi-tan's... But it's delicious."

I'm glad she likes it.

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 "Hurry up and go away."

"You don't have to be so rude towards me. You know?"

Ma'am, please stop directing the conversations in my

direction.

"A-Anyways, just go away."

Hinagata tried to keep her away somehow.

"Now then, I'm going shopping! Ryu- kun, will you join?"

"He's not joining!"

When Hinagaa kicked away Su-chan's invitation, Su-chan

got angry and started pouting. Then she said, "Shi-tan's
idiot!"

"Oh, I wonder if that's what today is about. Shiori."

"I-It's not... Hurry up and go away."

"I'm sorry, Ryunosuke-kun. It seems that your aunt and

Suzuka have interrupted you."

Let's go. Aunt said, pulling Su-chan's hand and leaving

the food court.

Hinagata let out a very big sigh.

Yeah, I know how you feel.

"Didn't you tell her you were going out?"

"I did, but I didn't say where or with whom."

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 I thought someone I knew might find us, but I didn't
expect my aunt and Su-chan to find us.

Somehow I felt uncomfortable. After that, we left the food

court.

***

"Now, what should we do?"

I asked her what we should do, even though it was

something a man should think about.

"I want to see a movie."

It's not the evening yet, so it's perfect.

When I agreed, we headed to the attached movie theater

and decided to watch the movie with the closest showing
time.

We bought tickets for an action movie that had recently

started airing a month or so ago.

We entered the theater, turned off my cell phone, and

waited for the movie to start.

Had this been a romantic movie, there might have been

some lovey-dovey couples holding hands.

I was a little relieved to see that there didn't seem to be

any such element from the synopsis.

When I laid my arm on the hand rest, I felt something soft

and warm.

Hmm?

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 "!?"

It was Hinaga's hand.

"Whoa. M-My bad...!"

No. Hinagata shook her head, swaying her hair.

"It's ....it's fine."

Really? Your face is so red, I can see it in the dim light.

"My elbow rest wasn't... over here."

It's hard to tell which is which... No, if you look properly,

it says.

Once again, I said "My bad." and put my hand down, and
then she grabbed my sleeve.

"Eh?"

"..."

When I didn't know what to do, Hinagata quickly released

her hand from my sleeve.

She didn't have anything to say, and I couldn't read her

expression well because she was looking kind of down.

Just now... What was that...?

It wasn't boring, but that didn't mean it was interesting

enough to share with anyone. But it was an interesting
movie.

After that, Hinagata didn't put her hand on the arm rest. I
wonder if she was allowed to use it.
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 ***

The movie credits rolled, and the lights came on in the

theater.

People were leaving their seats, and as I was about to

stand up, I felt my sleeve being grabbed again.

"Is something wrong?"

"..."

There were many strange pauses.

She seemed to be trying to tell me something, so I waited

for her to say something without rushing her.

Her eyes moved to the right and left, as if she was lost,
and then she took a small deep breath.

"Ryunosuke, you know...."

"Yes."

As I waited again, the attendant came over to check the

seats for any trash or forgotten items.

"It's... It's nothing."

"Really? For some reason, you sounded really upset."

"Uh... Oh, I was just trying to tell you that I need to use
the washroom."

"Is that so?"

Uh, I see. It must have been difficult for a girl to say she
wanted to go to the bathroom.
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 Maybe Hinagata was thinking, you should have guessed.

"Let's head out of here."

As if leading Hinagata, who was still pinching my sleeve,

together we left the theater and parted ways in front of the
restroom.

I vaguely thought back to what had just happened.

"Toilet was it?"

I wonder if Hinagata and I are the kind of people who

have a hard time saying, 'I need to go to the bathroom.'

If that was true, I would be somewhat shocked, but then

again, what else could she have said?

If the attendant hadn't come, I wonder what she would

have said.

When I came out of the restroom, I joined Hinagata and

we left the movie theater.

We chatted about our impressions of the movie, but the

corner of my mind was filled with what had happened earlier
and what had happened before the movie started.

It was almost six in the evening.

"Shall we go home? If we go home now, we'll be just in

time for dinner."

Hinagata didn't respond to the question. We walked to the

station and got on a train heading for the nearest station..

As we sat down, Hinagata began dozing off.

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 The lack of conversation didn't seem to be because she
was in a bad mood.

She might be sleepy. Yesterday, she had to practice and

play a game; today, she also had practice, albeit a light one,
this morning.

Perhaps the speed of the train made her comfortable as

she was resting her head on my shoulders.

The train started to slow down. I felt sorry for her, but I
had to wake her up soon.

"Hinagata, wake up. We're leaving now."

I shook her shoulder, but she didn't respond.

A hand reached out and grabbed my hand.

Hmm? Are you going to wake up......?

"Hinagata?"

You're not responding, so you're asleep...?

It doesn't matter. If we don't get off now, the next stop

will be a long way off–

–While I was in a hurry, the door closed and the next

arrival station was announced.

***

I wondered if this girl might be awake.

I began to suspect the possibility that she might be faking

her sleep. When we arrived at the next stop, I tried to wake

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her up the same way I did before, but she was still face
down.

At that moment, I noticed that her ears were red.

"How far are we going?"

I asked, but got no answer.

Eventually, the train stopped at each station. The cell

phone in my pocket vibrated for a long time. I ignored it,
thinking it was someone calling.

Hinagata's hands, still clasped together, were warm and

had a softness unique to girls.

I could see that my hands were sweating a little because of

the long time we had spent together.

...How and when do I wipe off this sweat?

After I wipe it off, do I hold her hand? Is it okay to hold

them again?

No, No. It's like I'm trying to hold her hand.

I scratched my head in annoyance and sighed.

I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants while Hinagata

quickly let go of my hand. Then, as if searching for
something, Hinagata's hand touched my knee, my thigh, my
wrist, and then our fingers intertwined again.

...Our hands joined once more.

After all this time, I was getting embarrassed.

I wonder how long we've been doing this...

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 ***

Sunday night in the countryside. The people using the

train were sparse, and the only people I saw were those few
students who seemed to head straight back home after
attending clubs.

The train seemed to shake more and more the further we

got along the route map. It was dark outside the window and
I could hardly see anymore.

"I'm sorry."

It's been a long time since I heard her voice.

It was a strange reply with a combination of "Ahhs" and

"Yes."

If I wanted to call back, I would still have the last train to

catch, which was fine by me. Mom was working tonight and
would be leaving in a little while. I didn't have to worry
about her getting mad at me face to face.

"It'll be fine. Your mom will understand."

"I don't know..."

When I looked at my phone to check the time, the screen

was completely black. When I tried to reboot it, there wasn't
a response.

I regretted leaving the house with 20% left on my phone

thinking that I would be back in the evening.

The vibration earlier seemed to be a signal that the battery

was dead...

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 All I carry with me are the three sacred items: wallet,
phone, and keys. Because of that, I didn't bring a portable
charger with me.

"It's a shame..."

I put the phone back in my pocket with a sigh.

"Hinagata, have you contacted them?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"My phone's dead."

You too? I closed my eyes deeply.

*Growling* When I heard a strange sound, Hinagata

hurriedly held her stomach.

"What time is it?"

I asked, and Hinagata checked her watch.

"Nine o'clock."

I thought I had been riding for a long time, but it was

already that long. No wonder she was getting hungry.

"Let's get off at the next stop."

Hinagata didn't object, either because she was awake or

because she thought it was okay to get off.

We got off at a station just before the terminus.

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 On the other side of the platform, a train had just
departed for the return trip.

Only the inside of the station building was bright, which

made the outside look even darker.

The overpass fee took a heavy toll on my wallet.

"I'm hungry."

"You're looking better, aren't you?"

"Is that so?"

Well, maybe it's because she's not sleepy anymore. Maybe.

Our hands were still... clasped.

I didn't want to force them apart either.

I went through the ticket gate and decided to go outside to

find a convenience store.

"I thought there would be a convenience store near the

station."

"Me too."

Headlights dazzled us, and several cars drove by.

We walk along a deserted national highway at night,

where only cars pass by. We walk. And walked. And walked.
And walked.

We passed an empty house, and an old love hotel that

seemed to be open for business.

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 We tried to ask where the convenience store was, but no
one was passing by, and our cell phones were dead when we
tried to check.

Eventually, after about 20 minutes of walking, we saw the

familiar sign of a convenience store and the glittering lights
of the store.

I let out a sigh of relief as I felt like I was in a familiar

world.

We walked in the store and bought some bread and coffee.

As we settled down to eat, I noticed Hinagata looking
around, so I asked her what she was doing.

"I wonder if there's a schedule or something."

"Ah...."

"I think the last train leaves early."

I asked the clerk if that was true. The clerk had black hair
and looked to be a college student. "Yes?" He replied as he
looked at the clock and then at me.

"If that's the case, you'd better hurry. If you're going back
to the station you mentioned, isn't the next train the last
one?"

He said he knew me well because his university was in

that direction and sounded far away.

"Ah, I knew it, have a look."

He was kind enough to look it up on his cell phone. The

display on the phone he held out to me showed the station

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we had just gotten off at and the station closest to us. The
other thing on the display was the time of departure.

"Ahh, Thank you very much! —H-Hinagata!"

I quickly called out to Hinagata, and she was munching on

a melon pan in the eat-in space. She turned around to look
at me.

"Oh no, we've got about ten minutes left."

"Train?"

Om nom nom.

"It's the last train. The last train."

Nom N...om.

The color of Hinagata's face, with the dregs of a melon

pan next to her mouth, grew paler and paler.

"S-Seriously!?"

"Let's go!"

I made a small bow to the worried clerk, and ran out of

the convenience store holding Hinagata's hand.

Hinagata and I ran down the street we had come from in a

hurry. It would have been easier to run if we had let go of
each other's hands, but we kept them together.

We could see the station building in the distance – a train

behind a wire fence, but then our time was up. The doors
closed and the train slowly left.

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 Out of breath, we watched as the only two trains left the
platform.

We had a little over two thousand yen after deducting the

money for our return tomorrow. It would have been nice if
we could have found an Internet cafe, but it was a 20-minute
walk from the station to a convenience store, so there was no
hope.

Hinagata was about the same as me after deducting the

ticket.

"Ryunosuke... I'm sorry... because of me..."

I stroked her head as she bent her head into a heel as if

she were crying.

"It's okay. It's my fault too. I didn't force you to wake up

either."

Tomorrow we have school, a synonym for everyday life,

and yet, left behind by the extraordinary, I couldn't really
imagine what tomorrow would bring.

"Should we go all out in the station?"

The people who came to the station would probably look

at me suspiciously, but there was a roof and benches.

But Hinagata shook her head at my suggestion.

"If we both put our money together, we can..."

This time, Hinagata pulled me along.

We started to follow the road to the convenience store

again, but stopped in the middle.

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 "It's just barely enough."

All rooms are uniformly priced at 2,480 yen for a break

and 4,980 yen for a night, Sunday through Thursday. I saw
such a sign right next to a building with peeling paint in
places.

***

"If Ryunosuke doesn't... hate... it."

Hinagata murmured in a mosquito-like voice.

If I don't hate it....

I stopped at the entrance and took a glance at Hinagata.

"The way you say it, it sounds like you're about to do

something."

I understand that you're not proposing in that sense.

"I-I, I'm not! I'm not! I'm .... not ....going to...."

"I don't want to either. I'm not even planning on it."

But if not here, then where do we go?

I thought about it, but I couldn't come up with an

alternative.

I don't think we'll have enough money to pay for a cab,

even if we both put our money together. I don't know what
time it starts, but I've heard that they charge extra for the
night.

Drip-drops. The rain began to fall in drops.

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 The fact that we were going nowhere pushed me over the
edge.

"...Well, shall we go in then?"

"Yes."

We walked in through the automatic door and found no

one there.

I thought there would be someone standing at the

reception desk like at a hotel or inn, but apparently not.

"Will this be your first time, Ryunosuke?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad. Me too."

What do you mean by 'I'm glad.'?

—While Hinagata and I were wandering around the

seemingly empty lobby, trying to figure out how to rent a
room, we found a casing that looked like a ticket machine.

"Oh, that looks like it."

"Maybe so."

A few of the rooms were booked.

"......"

In these rooms that were booked already... s*x, is what

people were doing...

"Ryunosuke?"

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 "Oh, y-yes, w-what?"

"You're not buying?"

You're right. I said, shaking off my peach-colored

paranoia and spending all the money we had, pressing the
button for room 307.

With a snap, a piece of paper that looked like a receipt

with a password on it fell into the receiving slot.

"I-I see. T-That's how the s-system works."

I felt even more embarrassed as I realized that my voice

was slurring as I said it.

When Hinagata found the elevator, she pressed the button

and we boarded it, heading for the room we were looking
for.

"If you have a charger, you can call your mom and she can
pick you up with it and you can go home right away."

"Okay."

As we walked down the quiet corridor, I naturally strained

my ears to hear if voices were leaking from the sold-out
room. Fortunately, I didn't hear any charming voices and
unlocked the electronic lock with the password I received.
We entered room 307.

The room was more modest than I had expected. There

was a two-seater leather sofa and a low glass table. On the
table were a few lighters and an ashtray. The room was a
little small for two people to lie down on, and there was a
semi-double bed that was a little big for one person to sleep
on, and a small TV across from it.

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 It was more like a business hotel than a love hotel.

"It was tiring right?"

Hinagata chuckled and lay down on the bed.

"When did you wake up on the train?"

Unable to lie down on the bed as well, I sat down on the

sofa a little further away.

Instead of answering my question, she rolled over and

found something.

"I don't see a charger."

It seemed to be a guide to the facilities in the room, and

she was looking through an A4 sheet of printout.

"There isn't one?"

It seems that our extraordinary day is not over yet.

When Hinagata shifted around, I almost saw the inside of

her skirt, so I quickly looked away.

I wasn't too discouraged about the charger, probably

because I wasn't expecting it. Maybe I'm still... somewhere
in the middle of thinking that this is okay.

"I figured they'd have it, because they do, like, internet
and stuff, but, well, they're rundown. I guess they don't offer
that kind of service."

"It's pretty clean inside, though."

If you ask me.

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 It's in the middle of nowhere... Is it profitable?

"Hey, can I take a shower first?"

"Ehh, Ahh, yes. Go ahead, go ahead..."

Grabbing a couple of towels that were neatly folded in the

corner of the bed, Hinagata walked into the unit bath.

I didn't mind much, but from the girls' point of view,

maybe they didn't like the idea of spending the night in the
station house.

I didn't want to get tangled up with the delinquents who

might hang out in front of the station at night.

I could hear the sound of the shower running.

I turned on the TV because the silence made me

concentrate on that.

I was relieved to hear a familiar nighttime program on.

Even with the lights on, the room was somewhat dim. In
between the sound of the TV, I could hear the rain and the
sound of Hinagata's shower.

"Why should I be embarrassed to face Hinagata..."

This is nothing. I tell myself.

In the past, I've taken baths right next to her, and even
napped next to her during summer vacation in elementary
school.

This is nothing. This is nothing. This is nothing.

***
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 I took a shower, switching places with Hinagata who came
out. I felt refreshed, as if all my thoughts had been washed
away.

—Isn't a student from another school.

As I wiped myself off inside, the information I had been

told today suddenly crossed my mind.

"..."

I fill in the information one by one, like the pieces of a

jigsaw puzzle. There's still a lot of potential for me to be the
kind of person who likes Hinagata.

"No, not possible. I don't think it's that."

What's the point of this possibility? I muttered to myself

and left the bathroom.

Hinagata was lying on the bed with her jacket off.

I thought she was already asleep, so I tried to go over to

the couch—

"Here, come here."

I heard a voice over my back.

"It's too cramped for you lying there, Ryunosuke."

"It's fine. Just for a day."

"Your body will be in pain."

"It's okay if it does. It's not like it's going to hurt much or
anything."

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 She shook her head.

"Not good. This spot is empty."

The pouting Hinagata thumped the space for one next to

her.

"Not because it's empty or anything, but because... what if

I freak you out?"

"Freak me out?"

She tilted her head and asked me the other way around.

"No, I'm talking about if I woke you up... I might

forcefully attack you."

Hmmm. Hinagata raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"I'll be in trouble... But..."

But...?

I was waiting for the rest of the sentence, but then she
turned away.

"You're a wimp."

It's better if you don't have that kind of determination.

"We used to take naps together during summer vacation

in elementary school."

She remembered the same thing.

It seemed like I was going to continue bumping around,

so I had no choice but to go to bed. Once I was sure that
Hinagata was asleep, I could go back to the couch.
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 I lay down on the bed with my back facing her.

I heard the sound of clothes brushing and felt Hinagata's

body heat on my back.

"Just because Ryunosuke looks at me differently doesn't

mean I've changed at all."

"You have changed. You've grown taller, more girlish, and

more beautiful. That's why people will look at you
differently."

I feel like I've said something embarrassing.

I turned around to see if I could get some kind of

response.

"~~~!"

Hinagata covered her face, which was probably red, with

her hands and made a small fluttering movement with her
legs.

I pretended I hadn't seen it and turned back to face

forward.

Since Hinagata seemed like she hadn't been sleeping well,

I turned the regulator linked to the light bulb, and dimmed
the intensity of light.

"Have you changed...? The way you look at me."

"...No they haven't. They were always and will always be

the same."

There was a definite disappointment in me that I hadn't

felt with the charging machine.

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 Before I became aware of it, it seems that I became more
conscious of Hinagata as a member of the opposite gender
before being my little childhood-friend, but perhaps for
Hinagata, it seems like it's nothing of that sort.

Oh, right. I asked her, and she replied curtly.

I turned my body around and saw Hinagata's face in front

of me.

Our eyes met and we were at a loss for words.

I grabbed her slender shoulders–

"N... No..."

With a flushed and blazing face, Hinagata uttered a

rejection.

"I think there is a... order for these things."

I looked into her moist eyes and came to my senses.

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 "Ahh... I'm sorry... No, that's not what I mea—"

—As soon as I said that, I was pushed away from the face
with a jerk.

"Ouchh! I got it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to have my first kiss just for fun or in the
mood."

This time Hinagata turned her back to me.

***

It was morning when I realized it.

I was thinking of going back to the couch after Hinagata

went to bed, but I accidentally fell asleep.

It was five in the morning, and the first train to the station
would probably start running.

Hinagata seemed to have already woken up. She came out

of the bathroom.

"Let's go home."

After getting ready, we left the hotel.

We went back to the station, got on the train, and stared

at the empty train car.

It seemed like a lie that I had just been in a love hotel with
Hinagata.

"Are you going to play baseball again?"

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 In response to Hinagata's sudden question, I gave her the
answer I've been asking myself.

"Well, maybe I can play a little baseball."

"Maybe you'd enjoy playing grass ball, Ryunosuke."

"Probably, I would."

I don't have the burden of the ace number, and even if I

can't pitch well, they'll accept me as a batter only. The
number of high school students commuting to school began
to increase as we passed the station.

"Morning practice?"

I whispered to which Hinagata replied, "I suppose so."

Eventually, we arrived at the nearest station and our date

practice, which had been a series of happenings, finally came
to an end.

I walked with Hinagata, pushing my bike, my sleep-

deprived mind vaguely thinking that school would be a
hassle.

When we reached the crossroads, I waved to her and got

on the seat saying, "See you later."

"Ryunosuke."

I was called out, and put my feet on the ground.

"Hmm? Oh. I don't need lunch today. I'll eat somethi—"

When I was about to continue, I was interrupted.

"—Actually, there was a charger over there."

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 "What?"

There was a charger?

"There was...? The charger?"

Not understanding what she meant, Hinagata hurried

home as if to flee. By the time I decided to check on her, her
back was no longer in sight.

"I see. They had a charger?"

No, of course they would have. I mumbled through my

spinning head. I wondered.

"Why did she lie to me?"

Thought It's my fault for not checking, but I don't think

he'd lie about something like that.

"......"

If I were to expand it in a favorable way, I would say that

she still wanted to be with me.

But perhaps not.

She only thinks of me as a childhood friend, and while it's

possible that she likes me, it's a slim possibility.

But if that's the case—

But if that's the case, then you like me, right...?

"Well, I guess she just wanted to play with me anyway."

In that case, it makes sense that you passed through with

a fox sleep (?) when I said that I'll sleep on the couch.
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 Maybe she was under a lot of stress at home, in club
activities, or at school.

"But if that's the case..." The thought that I had just had
kept popping up and then disappearing.

As if to shake it off, I rode the bike home.

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 Chapter 10: Sprouting Buds

As a result of falling asleep twice, I arrived at school just

before the start of fourth period.

"You're late—!"

As soon as I got to my seat, Sugiuchi came over and

started teasing me.

There were a few messages from Hinagata and Sugiuchi,

but I was in a hurry and didn't have time to respond.

"Well, in a few minutes..."

"You were doing erotic things late last night, weren't

you??"

I twitched a bit remembering what happened yesterday.

When I glanced at Hinagata, I saw that she had been startled
and was tensing up.

"I know. You tend to stay up late when you're doing

something erotic."

"I-I was not. I didn't do anything like that."

"You were a little late too, Hinaga-san."

"Ehh, was I?"

When he asked her directly she shrugged and nodded her

head.

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 "It's unusual for you to be late, Hinaga-san. Were you
talking to a senpai from the baseball club at the club
building? Was that because you were late?"

Senpai from the baseball club?

I gazed at Sugiuchi, and he vaguely nodded.

"I've got some stuff going on."

It was Hinagata who made an awkward smile.

"Did Nishimura-san confess his love to her?"

Sugiuchi asked in rapid succession, and I was sure he was

interested. But I stopped him.

"Well, don't be so inquisitive. Or neither Honma nor

Uchinokura-san will like you."

"Why are you bringing Honma-chan in here?"

"Why, you say..."

I wonder if it's okay to say it in front of Hinagata.

After watching the practice game, Sugiuchi and Honma

left the gym together.

***

Oh maan. Sugiuchi shook his head in denial.

"Ahh. Here he comes. The prick brain that thinks he's

doing something erotic right away."

"I don't need you to tell me that."

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 "Honma-chan needed a little advice. Some love advice."

"Love advice? From you?"

"I don't think she could have picked a better person."

"What the h**l do you know about love?"

"I'll return those words to you."

Hinagata was horrified when she saw the exchange

between Suguichi and me.

"Both of you, don't fight."

"Hinaga-san, don't worry about this, it's just a little joke."

"Honma... was there no one else you could have talked to

about this besides this fellow?"

It's a pity. She seems to have ten or even a hundred male

friends.

"You know what? You can't speak for others either."

"In many ways, I'm doing fine."

Hmm. Sugiuchi gave me a doubtful half-look.

A girl who seemed to be a senior member of the club

called Hinagata, and she stood up.

With a sigh, Sugiuchi sat down in Hinagata's seat.

"I don't really care who you like or who likes you. I just
want everyone to have a win-win situation."

"Win-win situation."

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 "That's right."

"Did Nishimura-san... confess to Hinagata?"

"I was too far away. But I could tell that the atmosphere
was not friendly, so I wondered if he confessed to her."

It's still fresh in my mind that Nishimura-san gave me a

light sarcastic remark the other day.

If he was jealous of me because I liked Hinagata, then he

would be—cute, but I'm pretty sure he's sometimes...

Hmm, it was yesterday, and I had a bit of a bad feeling

about this.

When Hinagata came back, Sugiuchi calmly said, "I

borrowed your seat. I'm sorry, Hinaga-san." and he went
back to his seat.

"Did Nishimura-san say anything strange to you?"

"No. It's alright."

I hope so.

"Don't worry about the trouble I caused you yesterday,

Tonomura-kun."

"I'm not bothered by it."

As I said this, the teacher came into the classroom and the
lesson began.

"What did your mom do when you got home?"

I asked in a whisper, and Hinagata ran her pencil along

the edge of her notebook.
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 『She was angry... (sad)』

Figures.

I fell asleep and woke up to find my mom had just gotten

home. She accused me of coming home in the morning, and
when I told her that I had no way of contacting her because
my phone died so she was not as persistent.

『What about Ryu?』

"Ryu" means me. I guess it was too much trouble to write

properly.

『Same here.』

I made eye contact with Hinagata, and we both chuckled.

I pretended that I accidentally missed the last train.

『OK, that's what I'll tell her if she asks.』

Hinagata, still trying to tell me something, wrote and

erased, made a puzzled face, wrote and erased again, and
repeated the process, then finally showed me her notebook,
as if she was satisfied with it.

『I had a great time on my date with you, Ryunosuke!』

With a glance, Hinagata smiled shyly.

When she looked at me like that, I felt embarrassed too.

I erased the sentence I was about to show her – "Why did

you lie about not having a charger?" and wrote a different
one.

『Me too.』
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 Hinagata hit her knees from between the legs of the desk,
poking and prodding so that no one would know, and
touched the corner of her mouth, which had naturally risen,
with her hand to restore it.

***

"Ehh, dinner?"

There were no club activities today, and as we were

walking home together in the early evening when it was still
light, Hinagata asked me what I usually did.

"Well, just..."

Some days my mom makes it, some days I just make it for
me. Today was one of those days. I was just thinking about
eating a cup of noodles or something.

My father died in an accident. Afterwards, my mother,

who was a nurse, changed her job from the clinic with
relatively short working hours to a general hospital working
night shifts. She said that night shifts were more profitable.

"I'll make dinner."

"You will?"

YES. She enthusiastically nodded her head.

"It's nice of you to make dinner for me. But first, I have to
apologize to your mom."

"Apologize? Why?"

"For letting you stay out overnight without her

permission."

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 "No, no, no. It's okay. You don't have to apologize!"

"It's just common courtesy. That's what I'm trying to do."

"It's fine!"

Nope Nope. She shook her head, but I couldn't back out of
this, and I was ready to head home.

But it saved me the trouble.

A car slowly drove by us, and as the window rolled down, I

heard a relaxed voice.

"Oh, my~ Welcome back, Ryunosuke-kun."

"Hello. I'm home."

"Ah, mom..."

When Hinagata's expression clouded over with a look of

dismay, I turned my head away.

I was given a ride home and got into the Hinagata family's
car that was parked beside us.

I sat down in the back seat of the mini-car and next to me

was an eco-bag full of groceries.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." she said, "She seems to have

caused you some trouble."

"No, I'm sorry too."

I slightly bowed my head.

Before I could say anything else, she continued.

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 "It's been a long time since I've stayed at Ryunosuke-kun's
house. How long has it been?"

Fufufu. I could see Hingata's mom in the rear view mirror

was smiling broadly.

"My house...?"

I could see Hinagata in the passenger seat tensing up.

I guess she somehow managed to cover up the incident

and it ended up being my house. That's why she wanted to
prevent me from meeting her aunt.

I know how you feel, Hinagata. I totally do.

You can't tell your parents that you stayed at a love hotel
after all.

But you know...

...Even if you are staying at my house, why didn't you

just walk home? It's only a few blocks away you know.

"I didn't do anything."

Fufufu. Aunt giggled and when she looked at Hinagata,

she seemed to still be nervous.

"It's okay, you can do whatever you want."

It's okay?

"M-Mom!"

Hinagata lighty hit her mom.

"I'm not going to do that... yet."

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 ......Yet?

"Oh, my! I see you have plans."

"~~!"

Hinagata was trembling with shame. It seems that even

when it comes to sensitive topics.

"T-Today, I've decided to cook dinner for Ryunosuke."

Hinagata quickly changed the subject. You can tell that

she's upset because her voice is slurred.

"Oh, really? Well, I have to go shopping. What are you

going to make?"

"...S-Secret."

Oh my, Is that so~? Her mom seemed to be enjoying

herself.

***

After dropping Hinagata off at her house, I was dropped

off at my own house and I placed my bag on the doorstep.
My mom, who was working night shift yesterday and today,
had some errands to run during the day and went straight to
work, so she wasn't here today.

As soon as Hinagata arrived on her bicycle, I got on my

bicycle, and we headed to the supermarket to do some
shopping.

"What are you making for me?"

"Secret."

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 I took one of the shopping baskets stacked at the entrance
and went into the store.

I'm even more curious when it's secret.

Hinagata grabbed a carrot and put it in the basket.

"Curry?"

"N-Nope..."

Yes, it's Curry.

As I walked around the store, my shopping cart was filled

with ingredients that looked like it.

Hinagata stopped in front of a certain shelf and glanced at

me.

"Ahh... I think the curry is medium spiced..."

I gently put a box of store-bought curry sauce in my

shopping cart. It was medium spicy sauce.

You can't say that this isn't curry for dinner.

"At home, Suzuka still doesn't like spicy food, so she goes
for a mild one."

I also started as a sweet tooth kind of guy. Really, since

when did I convert to be a medium spicy one.

"Ryunosuke... I think you already became one while in the

fourth grade of middle school."

Is that so? I tilted my head to the side as I said that.

Don't you remember it quite well?

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 Well, since you were trying to live like an adult.

"No, I wasn't. Maybe."

"When you were in middle school, you started to drink

black coffee, and well you are still doing it, it seems."

What do you mean by, 'you are still doing it, it seems.'

***

After paying the bill, we got on my bike in the queue and

started to pedal.

When we got home, I could at least help with the curry, so

we worked together in the kitchen.

While we were preparing the ingredients, Hinagata

reminded me of something.

"What did you and Honma-san talk about?"

You mean on Saturday?

"What do you mean... Nothing important."

"Hmm yeah. But it looked like you guys seemed to be

having fun."

Why do you have a sulky look on your face? You're the one
who brought this up.

It's not that I didn't enjoy it, because I don't feel bad about
being ganged up on.

"Try to concentrate on your game."

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 "I was happy because I didn't expect you to come to see...
I kept checking upstairs to see if you were still there..."

When I whispered to her, Hinagata's cheeks flushed.

I've peeked at the games in the gym a few times, but this is
probably the first time I've been invited to watch one.

I wondered if the guy Hinagata liked had ever seen her

play before.

I was going to ask her, but I decided not to since it

wouldn't make any difference even if I did.

"There's a spring league game at the... Municipal

Gymnasium. I'd like you to come and watch."

"Does it have to be me, or do you want to invite someone

else...?"

She seemed to know what I was talking about and

nodded.

"I want Ryunosuke."

She looked me straight in the eye and I was thrown for a

loop.

"...Well... okay. I'll come."

"Yeah, I'll do my best."

Hinagata bit her lip loosely and closed her mouth in a

tight line that still seemed to be fraying.

Is that guy actually... me?

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 I don't know how many times I've asked this question, but
it came up again.

I don't have the confidence to ask it jokingly. If I say it out

loud, it will be 100 percent serious.

Because it would be such a serious confirmation.

When Hinagata peeked at me, I panicked and shook my

head, saying it was nothing.

"Ryunosuke, please chop the onions."

"Don't force me to do it... just because you're crying."

Hinagata laughed as if to cover up the fact that I was

right.

If I ask her and she says, "No." then—

"......."

I'm not sure why my heart ached when I imagined it.

Making the curry was a success, and we put our hands

together and said, "Let's eat it together."

With the TV variety show playing in the background, we

ate the curry..

"How is it?"

Hinagata asked me with a concerned look, and I shared

my honest opinion.

"I'm sure there's nothing special in there, but it's

delicious."

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 "There's... something special in it."

"Ehh? Like a secret ingredient?"

Hinagata gave a small nod of her head, looking

embarrassed.

I don't know if I've ever put anything like that in my

coffee. I've heard of adding instant coffee or chocolate as a
secret ingredient. The Tonomura family puts Worcestershire
sauce in their store-bought curry. I guess each family has
their own secret flavor.

She didn't mention what she had added, so I said, "Huh?

When did you do that?" and took another bite of the curry.

Probably hungry or something like that?

They say hunger is the best seasoning. Or not—

"—Love? I wonder."

As soon as she said that, she laughed and ate the

remaining curry.

I glanced at Hinagata's hand and saw that it stopped

moving.

"......"

"Hinagata?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Laughing awkwardly, I put the spoon that hadn't been

used to scoop the curry into my mouth.

It's rare for hinagata to tell a joke.

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 I couldn't help but think, if you're that embarrassed,
don't say it.

I refilled my bowl and proceeded to have seconds.

"I should have made a salad."

"That's true. Maybe next time."

"Next time?"

"Oh, no, I mean, if you get a chance."

I don't want to force you, and I don't want to take

advantage of you making dinner for me.

I was going to say that, but Hinagata shook her head.

"I'll make it. Next time, too. If it's okay with Ryunosuke."

"You're busy with club activities. You don't have to push

yourself."

"I'm not."

She sounded stubborn.

"If it's okay with you. Thanks."

"Yes."

We ate dinner together – this atmosphere tickled me and

made me feel somewhat satisfied.

I realized that the word "delicious" was not only an

evaluation of the food, but also an evaluation of the
atmosphere.

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 ***

"Ryunosuke, you sure ate a lot."

Hinagata said in amazement as she was looking at an

empty curry pot before her eyes.

"...Can you still eat?"

"Ehh?"

"It's not like you are giving me little to eat, but if you think
about how much a girl eats compared to a guy, you'll be
surprised."

The lunch she made is enough to fill a girl however it is

not enough to satisfy a second grade boy.

"I see. Ryunosuke, you eat a lot, don't you?"

Hinagata was humming and began to wash the dishes. I

tried to help her, but the sink was a little too small for both
of us, so my offer was immediately turned down.

While I waited for her to finish washing the dishes, I sat at

the table and watched TV.

It tickled me again, and I laughed a little.

"Did you just laugh?"

"No, I just thought it was like we were playing the game of

house."

Fufufu~ Hinagata softly laughed as well.

When the sound of water stopped and I looked towards

the kitchen to see if the dishes were done, Hinagata spoke up
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as if she had made up her mind.

"If I score more than 20 points in the next game, I want to

go out again..."

"What?"

It's not that I didn't hear her, but when I asked her back to
make sure, she quickly squatted down and hid herself.

"If I score 20 points..."

I heard a whisper.

Ten regular shots. The total score in the previous practice

game was a little more than 80 points, so 20 points was
about a quarter of that.

I wasn't quite sure how much of a hurdle that was.

But even without such a hurdle, it would be a simple

matter for us to go out.

"Are you sure you can do 20?"

"Indeed, then 15...."

"Twenty it is then."

"You're mean..."

Weren't you the one who said it first?

"Fine. Any number of points."

"No. Okay, I want that carrot in front of me."

Will it be alright as a reward for your hard work?

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 "It's... You see..."

Are you fine with me?

Is it a reward for being with me?

Or is it just a distraction?

Does that mean I'm easy to ask out because I'm a

childhood friend?

There were so many questions stuck in the back of my

throat that I couldn't say anything.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to invite anyone."

"Then I'll invite Sugiuchi-kun and Kura-chan."

"Well, then, all good..."

"Then it's decided."

You wanted to play with a group of good friends. I'm glad

I didn't ask anything weird.

Maybe she just wanted some kind of reason to work hard.

She didn't plan to stay long, and after washing the dishes,
Hinagata started to get ready to leave.

Because of what had happened the other day, 8:30 still

felt early.

"I'll walk you home."

"...Yeah. Thanks."

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 Hinagata put on a pair of loafers and I put on a pair of
sneakers; we left the house.

Hinagata started to walk in a different direction than

usual, I followed without saying a word.

"What do you want to eat next time?"

"What can you make?"

"Uhmmm... If I look it up online, I am good with

anything."

For real?

I giggled and then she puffed up.

"Ryunosuke, You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I was
wondering if you are good with anything."

"I see, you really don't believe me and the power of the
Internet."

"I guess I don't."

It's Hinagata's competence that I didn't trust.

We walked together through the quiet night streets. It was

a complete detour to Hinagata's house.

The back of our hands touched each other, and I felt

Hinagata gasp briefly.

I guess popular guys can easily hold hands in this kind of

situation. But for me, it's a little difficult.

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 The guy Hinagata likes might be me, or might not be me.

The latter is probably more likely, so I couldn't hold hands

with her like a boyfriend in this situation.

"I'll think about what I want to eat next time. If there's

anything you'd like to make, let me know, I'm always looking
for more.

"Okay."

"You surprised me today."

"What?"

"You cracked a joke. If you're so embarrassed, you

shouldn't have said it."

"What?"

"About the secret ingredient. It's not love, it's more like
friendship—"

I looked at the quiet Hinagata and immediately realized

that I had stepped into a place I hadn't expected to, and at
an unexpected time.

"—No... it's not..."

The words I was about to correct came to an abrupt halt.

It's not? What's different? No, there's no difference. It's

more like friendship, not love.

So.

So, maybe I wanted you to deny it. That's what I've been
hoping for.
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 I was hoping that Hinagata would say, "No, that's not it."

But Hinagata neither denied nor affirmed.

"......Here's fine. Thanks."

With that, Hinagata started to run.

I couldn't stop her.

It's my fault that she looks so hurt.

...Hey Hinagata.

If you are shocked by that statement, it means that it was

hard for you to be called a friend.

So doesn't that mean that I'm the one you like?

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 Chapter 11: Conspiracy and a Batter's Box

I dropped by Hinagata's house on my way to school. Ayahi

told me that she had already left.

"Wait? Did you guys get into a fight?"

"It would have been better if it was a fight."

I wanted to apologise, but I didn't know what to say.

If I had to choose whether I was wrong or not, I would say

I wasn't wrong per se; but if I hurt her then I guess I was in
the wrong.

"Just give her a big hug and a kiss and you're good to go!"

"I can't do that!"

Hahaha. Ayahi laughed it off.

"Well, what are you doing this Saturday?"

"Huh? Saturday? Why?"

"Don't you know? Oh~? Nii-chan hasn't heard of it?"

After saying goodbye to Ayahi, she nodded her head as I

left the house.

Saturday?

Do I have any plans? Or am I just forgetting?

I tried to recall, but I couldn't think of anything.

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 ***

When I arrived at the classroom, Hinagata was already in

her seat.

"Morning."

I greeted her fearfully, and she responded with a whisper,

"Morning."

I couldn't tell whether she was angry, sad, or still in shock.

I was relieved to be able to say the greeting.

We had about fifteen minutes left before the teacher was

supposed to arrive.

"......"

It's awkward.

I don't know why I'm sitting next to her... of all people.

Teacher, please come fast!

Well, Hinagata and I have never had any kind of quarrel

before.

So, I don't know how to apologise or how to make up with

Hinagata in such a situation.

I mean, was that something that needs to be apologized

for or made up for?

It didn't even develop into a fight though...

"Hey, what's with the subtle look on your face?

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 Sugiuchi, who seemed to have just arrived at school, was
walking up to my seat.

"Why are you coming here?"

"I'm just here to say hi. I'm sure you're just killing time."

"Don't come here to kill time."

That being said, good job Sugiuchi. You've taken my mind

off things.

I lightly goop Sugiuchi's a*s as he tries to sit on my desk.

"Stop it dude."

"That's my line."

"Oh, Hinaga-san, good morning."

He greets her as usual, and Hinagata returns the greeting

as usual.

To Sugiuchi, it's a normal response.

"What's going on? Are you guys fighting? Is it true...?"

"It ain't like that!"

How did this guy know?

"It's Tonomura's fault, so apologize."

"Don't assume it's my fault. It's not like we're fighting or

anything."

"I'm sure you're embarrassed because you made some

stupid mistake like the DVD you lent me turned out to be

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p**n?"

It's possible, but seriously, stop it!

Sugiuchi tapped my shoulder.

"I told you not to go for tanned gals, didn't I?"

"Don't talk to me like you know what you're dealing with."

Hinagata's eyes glanced at both of us and were cold

enough to freeze us in one place.

Then, with a swoosh, he let go of the desk.

Damn... I feel like I'm getting even more psychologically

distant from her.

"Hinaga-san, it's fine, relax."

Sugiuchi said, pointing his thumb at me as if he was

following me.

"It's not that he likes tanned gals, it's just that tanned gals
can work too."

"You son of a—"

This guy pretended to follow me and then came to stab

me...!

Then Hinagata moved her desk further apart.

"Hey, Sir Sugiuchi, please follow up somehow."

"What, what, you're asking me to do it after all? Hmmm?"

I'm pissed off now...

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 "I'll let Uchinokura-san tell me a little bit about your saga.

"It. Can't. Be. Helped. Then!"

Sugiuchi was a cash cow.

What's the saga Sugiuchi is talking about? ...Ahh, there's

nothing, huh?

"Hinaga-san, I'm just kidding, I'm not serious about the

black gal thing."

That's right. That's it. I wanted something like that, you

know.

I'm pretty sure I only recommended it once, but it's not

like I'm into black gals-only.

"I would say it's one of a wide range."

That's a bit misleading, Sugiuchi!

"Girls are sometimes in an erotic mood, right?"

"Why the h**l are you asking her this in the morning,
man?"

I couldn't help but interrupt him.

The blushing Hinagata froze.

"B-By the way, when did you...?"

"Stop sexually harassing her, Scumuchi."

Hinagata faltered and said covertly.

"Well—"

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 "—You don't have to say anything!" I said.

"Gethsemane, go back to your seat."

"What the h**l, I'm trying to ask you something you can't
ask anyone else."

You've already changed the subject of that.

After booping and shouting, Sugiuchi went back to his

seat.

The teacher hadn't arrived yet so the classroom was filled

with noise, but between Hinagata and I, there was nothing
but silence.

"......"

Isn't this just making things even more awkward?

Hinagata scribbled something down in her notebook and

tore the paper up. She then rolled it up and threw it at me.

I caught it and opened the unrolled piece of paper.

"How many ecchi DVDs do you have?"

What are you asking me?

"I don't have any."

I returned the message, and she immediately threw

another back again.

"Gals. The one in our class. Do you prefer Hamana-san?"

You're asking a lot of questions!?

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 Hamana-san is a girl who seems to be the center of
attention in many ways. She has a loud voice, puts on a lot of
make-up, and wears nail polish. Teachers often lecture her...
Also she has huge t**s.

"I prefer a more normal girl."

"What is normal?"

"A healthy high schooler, like a typical high school girl...

No gals, no big t**s, nothing like that."

With a swoosh, Hinagata's desk came back to its original

distance.

The teacher came in and we started the morning routine.

Though I didn't care about that and continued to pass

each other notes..

Hinagata's interest was focused on what genres I had and

how many I had.

If you're going to ask so many questions, I'll ask the same

questions as Sugiuchi did.

"That's why I want a normal girl. Someone who's close to

me, who I can talk to without worrying about anything
else, and who's fun to be with."

"Is there such a ecchi DVD?"

"You know—"

I instinctively raised my voice, and it drew the attention of

the entire class. The teacher's voice immediately focused on
me.

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 "Tonomura, do you have something to say?"

"No sir, nothing."

"I don't care if you're not listening, just keep it down."

"Alright, Sorry."

I slightly bowed my head and saw Hinagata chuckling

next to me.

"It's your fault..."

"Sorry."

Hinagata wiped the tears from her eyes as if it was too

funny.

"Hey..."

"Hmm?"

In the notes we exchanged, Hinagata went to the trouble

of underlining the words.

The part that said, 'Someone who's close to me, who I can
talk to without worrying about anything else, and who's
fun to be with.'

"Is this me?"

"No, and it's..."

I quickly looked away. I wrote down what came to mind,

but it didn't necessarily apply to her.

I felt my face turn red, which made me even more

embarrassed.
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 I felt a little relieved inside, as if yesterday's confusion had
been resolved.

"I see."

She seemed to be convinced, but I heard her voice

sounding like it might have musical notes.

The next few days were uneventful.

Hinagata seemed to be training herself on how to cook.

This was evident with the amount of bandages on her hands.

"Did you cut your hand cooking something new?"

I asked casually, and she shook her head.

"No."

"Oh, you injured your fingers?? That's pretty common."

"...Yeah, injured em."

I was satisfied with the answer and didn't think about it

any more.

***

After lunch that day, Hinagata's face gradually became

grim.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Then Hinagata muddled up what she was going to do.

Sugiuchi had a similar attitude and teased her saying,
"Something's wrong with you today."
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 "Same as always."

"Weird as always?"

I was waiting for a response like, 'Nothing's weird...' but

she was silent, as if something was bothering her.

What's with Hinagata and Sugiuchi?

After school, I found out why they were still acting like
that.

"...Tonomura, let's go to the baseball field."

"Why?"

I tilted my head at the sudden proposal.

At that time, I had no way of knowing what had happened

since that day.

So even though he had a serious face that didn't suit

Sugiuchi, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

The baseball field is the common name for the baseball

team's field. I'm sure Sugiuchi knows that it's hard for me to
show up now that I've quit.

"Look at the baseball field."

"What's over there?"

I waited for an answer, but he didn't say anything, so I

peered through the window looking at the baseball field. The
new first-years were getting ready for practice, and they
were greeting the seniors who were coming out of the club
room with a big loud voice. I felt nostalgic for a moment,

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thinking that I was like them last year, but I was soon
overcome with a sense of unease.

There were two girls in uniforms heading that way. I knew

they weren't the manager because none of them were
wearing a jersey.

....It's not really clear but, could that be—

"Hinagata?"

"Correct. Hinaga-san and her chaperone, Ucchi—"

As I was wondering why, I saw some upperclassmen

playing warm-up catch on the side of the field.

I immediately recognized them by their form.

"Hinaga-san is a batter, and she's going to play a one-

game match against Nishimura-san."

"What? Why?"

"She didn't tell me how it happened, but she said he

pressured her to go out with him."

"What the f**k does he think he is doing."

I had a bad feeling back then and I was right.

...That guy sometimes comes to school from that

direction. I've heard that he sometimes stays at his
grandfather's house or something and goes straight to
school.

That day, we spent the night there as it was a rainy day

shelter, but that kind of facility is basically forbidden until

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18. It should...

If you don't say anything about it, no one will know, but if
someone sees you and reports you, you'll be in trouble.

"Hey, what the h**l are you talking about!?"

"I was told by Hinaga-san, not to tell you. She said if I told
you, you'd be in trouble too."

"No matter what trouble, It can't be this annoying."

"You'll have to tell that to him. Well, anyway. Whatever

the reason, she's going to play a one-hit game against the
current ace of the third year. I swear, when I first heard that,
I laughed and said it was impossible. But Hinagasa-san, she
was really serious. I think she was swinging really hard. The
number of bandages on her hands increased day by day."

"Did you cut your hand cooking something you're not

used to?"

"No."

"Oh, you injured your fingers ? That's pretty common."

"...Yeah, injured."

"If she loses....?"

"I want to know. There must have been something that

forced her to accept the challenge. I've heard nothing but
good things about Nishimura, so it's not unnatural to think
that he's using something as an excuse to come after you."

***

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 As I quickly left my seat and walked out of the classroom,
Sugiuchi followed behind me.

I walked out of the exit in my shoes and ran to the

baseball field, ignoring the voices that said, "Don't you ever
change your shoes!?"

I spotted Hinagata and Uchinokura-san and spoke to

them over the fence."

"Hey, Hinagata!"

A large crowd of other interested students had started to

gather at the fence as a gallery.

"I heard that Hinagata-san, a second-year student, is

going face to face with the ace of the baseball team."

Someone said this as the gathered people ask for an

explanation.

Hinagata glanced at me and smiled nervously.

The senior catcher said to Hinagata, "Here's a helmet, and

you can get a bat from there."

The helmet that she put on didn't suit her shiny hair, and
she picked the bat out from the case.

I asked Uchinokura-san, who was close to me.

"What is happening? Did you know about all this?"

"She said she had some kind of a weak spot."

I knew it, she saw me and Hinagata that day.

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 "I asked Sugicchi to be my coach because I didn't want to
cause trouble for Tonomura-kun." she said.

Uchinokura-san looked over and saw Sugiuchi catching

up with him out of breath.

"Ahhh... I'm getting more nervous... I'm going to throw up

from nervousness."

When Sugiuchi felt my gaze on him, he scratched his

head.

"I told her that Tonomura would be better. But she

stopped me."

"Of course, That's why you're secretly doing this?"

The development was so sudden that I couldn't follow it at

all.

I tried to ask Hinagata, but she was already on the field.

Hinagata picked up the bat and headed for the batter's

box. The crowd, which had been buzzing with tension,
became silent.

"I'm ready."

As Hinagata bowed, Nishimura-san, standing on the

mound, said—

"It's a one-shot game. If it's not a foul and it goes in front

of you, you win."

"Yes. If I win, please pretend that incident never

happened."

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 "Alright! However, if I win, I'll give you a choice between
going out with me or being my manager in a swimsuit for a
month, okay?"

It's not okay. His ideas were no better than Sugiuchi. I

could see that the crowd was a bit taken aback.

"Yes."

"Hinagata! You can't win. So it's better if you already give

up!"

"Shut up, you're the weakling who ran away from me

when I was a monster!"

Nishimura-san's thorny words flew straight at me.

In fact I was a weakling.

I only told the coach how much the injury had affected
me. It was hard for me to tell my teammates that I was a
bird that couldn't fly anymore.

"Ryunosuke is not a weakling."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess."

As if to dismiss the ramblings of a child, Nishimura-san

snickered.

As Hinagata prepared, Nishimura-san swung at her.

"Hey, Sugiuchi. What did you teach Hinagata?"

"'Look at the ball carefully and swing'."

The first pitch.

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 I guess he thought that he didn't need to be serious with
an amateur girl. A loose, elementary school-grade straight
ball was thrown.

But it never hit the bat as she tried to swing.

The crowd let out a small sigh. Sugiuchi let out a

pessimistic murmur.

"High school baseball bats are so heavy dude."

If you swing a bat that doesn't suit your physique and

strength, you will be swung by the bat. That's exactly what
happened to Hinagata.

"But, she just has to shoot the ball forward."

"Yeah... If she can somehow, someway, hit it....."

Uchinokura-san and Sugiuchi were having a somewhat

prayerful conversation.

Nishimura-san, who caught the return pitch from the

catcher, laughed mockingly.

"Two more pitches."

The members of the baseball team also stopped their

activities to watch the game.

Sugiuchi would have seen it coming. Even if the pitcher

was someone else, she wouldn't be able to hit it properly in
the state Hinagata is in.

"Shiori! Go for it!"

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 Uchinokura-san shouted, and Hinagata nodded from the
batter box.

It was the second pitch he threw.

Whether it was due to Sugiuchi's coaching, Hinagata's

hard work, or her natural athleticism, she hit the same ball
as the first pitch. With a small ging, the ball rolled into the
foul zone.

Rather than hitting it, it would be more accurate to say

that the ball just happened to come into the path of her
swing. To put it more simply, it was a fluke.

I wanted her to win, but my baseball history would not

allow me to cheer for her honestly.

"You're doing great, Hinaga-san!"

Sugiuchi couldn't help but call out to her, and she heard
cheering from the people around her.

As I was watching the situation, Sugiuchi poked me with

his elbow.

"Tonomura, it's fine right? Going like this."

"It's not good."

"Then what are we gonna do?"

"What do we do? There's nothing we can do."

"That's not true. Can't you think of anything when you see
Hinaga-san."

Of course I can't.

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 But for now, we'll just have to wait and watch.

"Manager in a swimsuit, I think it's a great idea! Hahaha."

Nishimura-san, in a good mood, twisted his mouth as he

manipulated the ball in the palm of his hand.

He swung and went into motion.

It's not the same as before, but the swing of the arm is
sharp.

Oh... he threw a curveball!

The ball curved so that it escaped Hinagata's bat, and she

struck out.

The crowd let out a sigh that was much louder than in the
first pitch.

"Strike out. I guess I won."

Nishimura-san proudly declared victory from the mound.

He's not even embarrassed to throw a winning shot

against an amateur.

"...Yes."

The sullen Hinagata was biting her lip in frustration. She

clenched her fists and her strength involuntarily went into
them.

"Tonomura, do you have something you want to say to

that man?"

"Yeah."

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 I handed Sugiuchi the jacket I had taken off, bowed, and
entered the ground through the doorway.

"Nishimura-san, can I have a shot at you?"

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 ***

Hinagata's POV

Nishimura accepted Ryunosuke's offer of a one-shot

game.

"Hmph. Fine."

"Thanks."

When I raised my head, I saw that Ryunosuke's face was

very different from the one I knew. It was the same face that
I had seen during the time he used to play, a face that made
me feel nostalgic.

Ryunosuke tapped on my helmet as if to show his

appreciation for my efforts.

I handed him the bat I was holding and he swung it a few

times on the spot.

"What do you want me to do if I lose?"

"Anything. Anything is good. I don't care if it's doing

chores for the baseball team or running around the school in
your underwear. But if I win, you have to pretend that the
whole thing with Hinagata never happened."

"Fine. I don't really have anything I want you to do, but if

you lose, I'll ask you to be the errand boy for a while."

"Okay sir."

"If you get more than one hit, you win."

"Yes, sir. I got it."

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 The senior catcher said to the club members waiting for
the game to end, "Sorry, get on the defensive." and the seven
fielders with grabs took their places.

——It was on Monday of this week that I was approached

by Nishimura, who was waiting for me at the entrance to the
school.

As I was wondering what he was talking about, Nishimura

broke the ice near the deserted club building.

"Not every week, but on Sundays, I stay at my grandpa's

house over there and come to school. So. Last night, just
outside the station, I saw you with Tonomura."

I felt my heart skip uncomfortably with a thud.

"You're looking at the wrong person... I believe?"

I tried to convince him, but he replied confidently,

"There's no way I'm mistaken."

"I wondered what you guys were doing that night and so
I decided to investigate a bit."

He didn't say anything specific, but he had a wicked smile

on his face.

"I can tell the teacher, or not. It all depends on my

mood."

Nishimura showed me the display of his cell phone, which

showed me entering a love hotel with Ryunosuke, as if it
were a weekly magazine or something.

Even though I still wanted to be with him, how could I

have missed the train? My eyes went black.

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 Nishimura then threatened me with the photo. He said
that it would be a problem for his club activities and that it
would be written on his internal statement.

I don't want to get Ryunosuke in trouble because of my

selfishness.

...What should I do?

This is how he proposed to me to play a one-shot game. I

knew that I was at an overwhelming disadvantage, but I had
no choice but to swallow.

——I put my helmet back on and left the field with

Uchinokura to watch the game.

Some of the athletic teams and students who were on

their way home had heard the commotion and were
gathering outside the ground.

"Hey, Sugicchi, I came to find out how you are doing, by

the way, are you ok?"

Nishimura began to practice throwing before the game.

The sound of the mitt resembling an explosive crackling
sound echoed. The other side seems to be getting serious.

"He's not much of a hitter, to tell you the truth."

"Ehh. It's no fun then."

Uchinokura said clearly, and Sugiuchi laughed.

"Yes. It's nothing compared to pitching. It's not like he's

the fourth baseman or the mainstay of the team. But what
can I say? He's got a... good feel for the game."

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 "Well, watch this." Sugiuchi said, shucking his chin and
starting to laugh as he looked at Ryunosuke's feet.

"Oh, yeah, he's wearing indoor shoes. That's not cool."

While the people around him were looking at him

curiously, Sugiuchi didn't seem to be worried. On the
contrary, he was looking at him rather confidently.

Why did he go through the trouble to propose a one-hit

game to Nishimura? I wondered.

Did he think it would be more entertaining as a spectacle

to leave him with a chance of a comeback?

If it had been for me, I would not have made such a

proposal in the first place. If he was threatening me with the
photo, I couldn't do anything about it. Besides, I wouldn't
have had to accept the match with Ryunosuke.

Before going to bat, Ryunosuke bent over a few times and

let out a nice buzzing sound as if it was the last time.

"I was going through the results of all the official games
from junior high school until he quit, and I suddenly realized
something strange."

"Something strange?"

When I asked, Sugiuchi nodded.

"When I counted, more than half of the games we won,

Tonomura scored the winning goal."

"Winning Goal?"

Uchinokura and I tilted our heads at the unfamiliar term.

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 "If you win by one to zero, that's one. It's the same with
the 'goodbye' hit and the come-from-behind hit. That's the
kind of score that decides the winner."

Ryunosuke entered the batter's box and readied his bat.

"His normal at-bats are like c**p, but in a win-lose

situation, there's no better hitter to rely on than that guy."

***

Sugiuchi's POV

The atmosphere of the club members on the defensive

was serious.

"Ah... stubborn..."

I said to Hinaga-san that she could count on Tonomura,

but thinking about it calmly, it was probably too much to
expect from Tonomura, who hadn't been away from club
activities for a while, to be as active as he once was.

"Maybe Shiori likes Tonomura-kun, so unless they want

to, leave them alone during the break."

In the past, after school, Uchinokura called and talked to

me! I was expecting a sweet development like... but the
content was completely unromantic.

I had no intention of interfering with their love affair,

which they may or may not have been aware of, so I decided
to do so as requested.

I've heard that Hinaga-san doesn't talk to Uchinokura,

who seems to be her best friend, about who she likes.
However, she recalled that her good friend, who was quite

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sociable was the same way, and she was convinced that they
were similar in their childhood.

Nishimura, on the mound, put his hat back on and waited

for Tonomura to get ready.

I knew that he was a senior who did not have a good

reputation, and I also knew that he was a person who
regarded Tonomura as a rival and tried to pick on him in any
way.

Hinaga-san confided with me about this secretly, and I

taught her how to swing, but I thought that he might have
even involved Hinagata for the sake of Tonomura.

So naturally, the cheering got louder.

"You can hit it, Tonomura!! Go for it!!"

***

Tonomura's POV

When I heard Sugiuchi's voice from behind me, I raised

my hand in response.

My former teammate was playing defense, and I finally

felt like I was playing baseball.

I don't remember bats being this heavy, though.

"It's not that we want to see the most beautiful girl in the
school in her swimsuit."

As I entered the batter's box, the senior catcher spilled the

beans.

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 "Of course I don't want her to go out with Nishimura. He's
just a friend. He is so pissed off. He probably wants to win
her.

I remember Nishimura-san, who was never much of a

talker. For that reason, I often felt a sense of rivalry and
competition from him. I know that he wouldn't feel good if a
junior member took his position.

As Hinagata said sometime ago, He was the one who

became the ace because I quit – maybe it's aggravating that
people think that way.

"...Hinagata-san's at-bat was a little too immature, a little

too insincere, a little too much."

"Got it. Then can you tell me the type of pitch and the
course?"

"Idiot. It's only a serious game, so cheating is not good.

"Right." I said with a wry smile as I set up the bat I was

carrying.

I struck out on the first pitch.

The ball made a nice sound and landed in my mitt.

I completely missed the swing.

I think he was serious. The speed of the ball was probably

130km/h.

He's blank, it's not mature of him...

The second pitch followed.

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 The next pitch, a change of pace, was completely off-timed
and I struck out.

There was nothing left to do.

"Ain't I a good leader?"

"I didn't know you could lead so well. Didn't know you
had it in you."

"That's sad, we were in a partnership. You've already

forgotten me while I was in my prime."

I took one big deep breath and refocused.

Nishimura-san shook his head at the sign, and then

nodded.

You want to beat me huh...

Shaking your head at the sign... means you're pissed off.

"that's what it means" probably.

I could hear my heart beating louder than the sounds

around me.

The pitcher went into motion. He swung and slowly lifted

his foot to throw the ball.

——The moment I stepped in, I took a full swing.

***

"My heart was pounding so very hard!"

On the way home.

Hinagata, walking next to me, held her chest and said—

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 "That was quite a hit."

The hit was far from pleasant, and I still have some
numbness in my hands.

"It was a big hit, though."

That's not cool.

If it's more than a clean hit, I'll feel like I've made a good
impression.

"You gave a flop hit!" After the game, Sugiuchi, who was
trying to hold back his laughter, tapped me on the shoulder
several times.

"Whatever it was, a hit is a hit."

"I'm glad it turned out the way it was supposed to, but
what were you going to do if I had lost?"

Hinagata smiled confidently.

"Don't worry. I would have chosen the swimsuit manager

then."

"I don't think that's okay at all."

"I would have worn a uniform or jersey over the swimsuit,

so no problem."

"What?"

"It's only a requirement that I wear a bathing suit, they

didn't tell me not to wear anything over it."

"Are you Ikkyū-san?"

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 (TN: Ikkyū-san is an anime based on the historical Zen
Buddhist monk Ikkyū that follows his mischievous
adventures as a child during his stay at Ankoku Temple. In
each episode, Ikkyū relies on his intelligence and wit to
solve all types of problems, from distraught farmers to
greedy merchants. The anime was well-received by all ages
in Japan and throughout Asia, as it didn't rely on violence.)

When did you come up with this in the spur of the

moment.

Hinagata told me all about what had happened this week.

I didn't expect that she should consult with me, but she
didn't want to get me involved.

"Did they erase the photos?"

"Yeah. That's very relaxing."

Suddenly, Hinagata stopped.

"—SERVES YOU RIGHTTTT!!!"

She put her hands over her mouth and shouted loudly,
then broke her stance. Then as if something came up and
she couldn't hold it in and started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"It was amusing!"

So it's been a bad experience for you.

"Ryunosuke must have felt bad, too."

I didn't say anything back to him on that rainy day after

school because he was a senior and I could understand what

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he was saying and how he felt. However, it seems that I have
a tendency to show my feelings on my face, and Hinagata
knew what I was thinking.

I was also uncomfortable with the conditions he set for us

this time.

"Maybe a little."

"Do it too, Ryunosuke."

She urged me to do it, and when I was sure no one was

around, I shouted as loudly as she did.

"SERVES YOU RIGHT!!!"

"You're too loud!"

"Don't f**k with the boys!"

When she said, "I was so very nervous." She doesn't just
mean during the confrontation.

"I was batting for my own swimsuit manager, so yeah, it

was understandable."

No. Hinagata shook her head.

"That's not what... I mean."

"So what do you... mean?"

"A good kind of pounding."

She looked away, her lips pursed inward in a sly smile.

A good kind of pounding?

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 "More importantly, tell me."

"Okay but, what?"

"Sugiuchi-kun told me that when you entered high school,

there were several schools that offered you a special
scholarship."

That guy... he said something unnecessary.

"Why did you choose our school?"

"Because it's close."

I turned my head away, but Hinagata kept coming into my

line of vision.

"Did you choose it only because it's close?"

"Yes, correct."

"Is there not any other reason?"

"N-No reason..."

To put it bluntly, Hinagata puffed up a bit.

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Why did you choose ours, Hinagata?"

When I looked back at Hinagata, who had stopped, she

looked straight into my eyes, illuminated by the setting sun.

"Because the person I like is at this school."

Maybe it's because I'm not used to being stared at so

closely, but it makes me nervous.

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"Ahh, I-Is that so?. I'm glad to hear that."

"Yeah. I'm glad."

She smiled and ran up to me, standing next to me.

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 Epilogue

"Tonomura~! Let's play baseball~!"

I woke up to an annoyingly familiar voice Saturday

morning. When I looked out of the window, I saw Sugiuchi
repeating the same line, just as I thought he would be.

"Tonomura~! Let's play baseball~!"

"What do you want!? Scumuchi."

"Who the h**l's Scumuchi!?"

Just get ready. Scumuchi urged me.

I had nothing better to do, so I changed out of my

pajamas, grabbed some food, and got on my bike.

"What's with baseball in the morning?"

This is the only time you can do it."

"What are you talking about?"

When I looked at my phone, it was almost nine o'clock. It

seemed that I was going to an elementary school, so I
pedaled my bike after Sugiuchi.

As I yawned and rubbed my tired eyes, I arrived at the

elementary school grounds to find Hinagata, Uchinokura-
san, Honma, Ayahi and Su-chan. There were so many of
them.

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 "Baseball? With only this many players? Can we even
play?"

"It's not about what we can do. Let's do it!"

"Why is he so fired up? You should at least feel the

difference in energy between me and you."

When I parked my bike at the school gate, Su-chan was

the first to notice me.

"Ryu-kun, Ryu-kun. He's here!"

"Yes, yes, I'm here. I see Honma and Ayahi are here too."

As Su-chan came running towards me to hug me, I saw

Ayahi and Honma come towards me.

"Senpai, good morning."

"You two can play baseball?"

"Yeah, I guess? I thought we could do it on the spur of the

moment."

Hahaha. Ayahi laughed. She is an athletic person and is

known as a karate gorilla. This girl must be the type of
person who just goes with the flow.

"As for me, I wanted senpai to teach me everything he

knows."

"Honma-chan, I don't need that today."

"Why not? And what do you mean by that?"

Mouu, Honma puffed up.

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 "Ryu... Tonomura-kun, good morning."

"Good-Good morning."

I returned the greeting to Hinagata ad nodded to

Uchinokura-san, who also exchanged bows.

"Sugicchi had originally planned it. Grass-lot baseball

today."

I looked at him to see if that was the case, and Sugiuchi

nodded in excitement.

"That sounds like fun."

"Well, yeah."

While I was explaining the rules, Hinagata was struggling

to peel off Su-chan, who wouldn't let go of me.

"Suzuka, you're bothering him, you'll get in his way!"

"Su—ka, isn't getting in the way!"

"Why are you sounding so confident...!"

Honma, Sugiuchi, and Uchinokura-san laughed at the

sights often seen in the Hinagta family, which seemed to be
fresh for everyone.

"Anyways, you're pitching for now."

He half-heartedly made me pitch, but I was probably the

most sane person in the group, and I couldn't find any
reason to refuse so I stood on the small mound.

"I figured this distance would be fine."

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 Sugiuchi seemed to have taken this into consideration. It
was true that I could throw a ball as far as an elementary
school kid.

I asked Su-chan to let go of me and left her with Ayahi.

"Su-chan, your big brother is going to show you

something cool."

"I'm watching!"

Su-chan's eyes sparkled.

"Shiori's sister is... deathly cute and adorable, right?"

Uchinokura-san was fascinated by Su-chan and Hinagata

was smiling.

It seemed that Sugiuchi had borrowed an extra glove from

the softball club that everyone was carrying. When everyone
had scattered to the ground, Sugiuchi went to bat.

"Ha... haha... hahaha... MUAHAHAHAH! This day has

finally come! In middle school, you were untouchable, but
today... today, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

Uwaa, this small fry.

"Do you enjoy stomping on me when I can't throw

properly?"

"It's fun!"

He's got a good personality.

"Sugiuchi-senpai, you're lame..." said Honma.

"He's a nobody," said Ayahi.

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 "Sugicchi..." said Uchinokura dumbfoundedly.

"Hit the batter." Hinagata said, as if nothing had

happened.

"Sis Sis, can he face my brother?" Su-chan tilted her head

After the first pitch, Sugiuchi hit the ball with ease and
started running.

Ayahi caught the ball and quickly threw it.

"Hahahaha!! Tonomura's throw is nothing to worry

abou─UGYAA!?"

The ball was thrown back by Ayahi and hit Sugiuchi with a
thud.

"Yay!! You're out."

A throw out!?

"Hey, Onii-chan, this is okay, right?"

"Yeah. That'll do for Sugiuchi."

"Waaaaaaait!!"

Sugiuchi bravely plunged in , but fell down. He was in

tears saying, "Ugh, it's bruised..." It's a soft ball, but a direct
hit can be quite painful.

To Ayahi, Uchinokura-san, Hinagata, and the sports girls,

my curved throw was just right, and everyone hit it back
well.

When Honma takes her turn at bat—

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 "Senpai~ Please a little slow~♥"

"I can't pitch anything but slowly though."

"Senpai~ Women don't like man who are fast~"

"Honma-chan, we really don't need a character like that."

"Please don't call it a character. I'm more serious than

serious."

Why is Sugiuchi so hard on Homma?

Honma swung at the ball with an "Ei~" When she hit the
ball, she squealed with delight.

When it was my turn to bat, Sugiuchi took the mound.

"I'll throw the ball properly and you try to hit it."

"Okay." I replied, and easily hit back at Sugiuchi's pitch.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

The ball flew a pretty good distance before it hit the

window of the school building.

I'm glad I didn't break any glass, but , if I remember

correctly, that place looks like... it looks like the staff room....

I sincerely hope that no teachers are working on the

weekends.

As I was praying, I saw a shadow and the window opened

with a loud sound.

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 "Hey! Who are you people! What are you doing!"

The sound of an adult voice that sounded like a teacher

echoed well in the still ground. That voice... is of the teacher
who chased me and Hinagata the other day.

"Hey, Sugiuchi?"

"Hmm?"

"Isn't that teacher angry?"

"That's strange. I was wondering the same thing."

"I wonder why he's so angry."

"That's because we are playing baseball here without

...permission."

"Didn't you ask for permission?"

"It's not my school or anything. Do I really need

permission?"

"Of course you need permission, Sugiuchi-san."

"I'll ask him, but why can't we use the ground without
permission?"

I can't believe this is coming from someone who lives in

harmony.

"Well, Tonomura, you should apologize. Cause you hit the

ball."

"No, it's your fault for not asking for permission in the
first place."

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 Which high school are you students from!? In a loud
voice.

"This is definitely bad. Run away." Ayahi said, and started

running with Su-chan in her arms.

When the teacher disappeared from the window, he

opened the door to the service entrance and came out.

"S-Sugiuchi, Go and give an explanation to him! We are

counting on you!"

"NOPE NOPE!! I'm not good at that!!"

I grabbed my glove and hurried to my bike. Sensing an

emergency, Uchinokura-san, Honma, and Hinagata all
rushed off to leave the ground.

As I got on my bike, Hinagata quickly sat down on the

back.

Uchinokura-san took the wheel of Sugiuchi's bike, which

was not locked, and Honma rode behind her.

"Hey Wai-! That's my bike!!"

Behind the panicking Sugiuchi, the teacher, running

furiously, was making his appearance bigger and bigger.

"Well, I guess I'll be in touch later!"

Uchinokura-san nodded, and we split into two groups and

began to flee.

"Don't ride together─! Wait, both of you boys!!"

Sugiuchi... was a noble sacrifice.

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 As I was praying in my mind, Sugiuchi started to chase
after my bike and somehow managed to escape from the
teacher. Sugiuchi's running speed was deadly fast.

Hinagata, who had been quietly watching the whole thing,

began to chuckle in the back.

I couldn't help but laugh, too.

"He got pissed off... Again."

Hinagata said with an exhaled laugh. I couldn't take it

anymore and let out a burst of laughter.

"AHHAAH. Why again, the same teacher? Hahaha."

I don't know anything about that.

I laughed again.

"Our club activities starts at noon, so we decided to play in

the morning."

Hinagata's arms had been wrapped around my waist ever

since we got on.

"Ahh, that's why..."

No wonder it was so early in the morning.

"I think I'll be done by evening, so when I'm done with

...can I come to your house, Ryunosuke?"

I was startled, and found myself imagining strange things

again.

My answer was yes.

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 "I'd like to talk to you again..."

"Oh." and "Hmm." together we made a strange sound.

The person Hinagata likes may or may not be me─

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I'm starting to

feel like he could be anyone.

At the same time, I was becoming more and more aware

that it would be nice if that person was me.

Maybe I do like Hinagata.

I didn't know whether or not I actually liked her or if I was

in love with her. I finally realized it.

"Oh. I just received a message. We're meeting at

Ryunosuke's house."

"Why my house??"

When I complained, Hinata laughed again.

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 Credits

Source/Translator:
zetrotranslation.com

PDF+ePUB:
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