Chapter 45

Yuzu senpai looked cute.

Well, she was always cute, but right now, the sight of her gazing at me felt specially cute… For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Her bright red face, moist eyes, rimless glasses, peach-colored lips, and braided black hair.

The more I looked at her, the more I was drawn in, completely captivated by Yuzu senpai as if being sucked right into her.

“E-Even I’m a girl, you know…”

A line with enough destructive power to make my heart feel like it was being tightly squeezed.

Though what was actually being squeezed was my hand—my hand?

“S-Stand up…”

“Y-Yes…”

Led by Yuzu senpai, I stood up.

From bottom to top, a height difference was born.

Right now, I… was holding hands with Yuzu senpai… Not on a chair, but standing up…

“Th-This way…”

She led me by the hand through the narrow literature club room.

The elongated club room, the lined-up desks, the schoolbag and red-rimmed fashion glasses on top of them, the overturned chair, the spilled water from the plastic bottle on the floor, and the evening sunlight.

W-Wait, what on earth is this atmosphere?

What are you planning to do, Yuzu senpai?

“I-It’s almost three months since I met you, isn’t it…?”

“Th-That’s right…”

June would be over next week.

Ever since meeting Yuzu senpai at the very beginning of April, it really had been almost three months.

…July already, huh.

“…B-Because of you, I’ve been able to keep the literature club going, so I’m… happy.”

“N-No way! I’m the one who’s here thanks to senpai—”

“H-Hey! Kido-kun!!”

Yuzu senpai called out to me.

Startled by the force infused into her voice, I stopped, still holding hands with her.

After closing her mouth for just a moment, Yuzu senpai pulled out the chair at a certain desk.

“…S-Sit down.”

“Eh, but this is Yuzu senpai’s…”

“…Senpai’s orders.”

“Yes!”

Our usual face-to-face seating.

The usual seat where Yuzu senpai sat and read her books.

I sat in that seat I had been staring at for so long, our hands finally parting.

When it’s a senpai’s order, I had no choice.

“H-How is it…?”

“S-Somehow, it’s amazing…”

I’m sorry for lacking vocabulary.

But somehow, it really was amazing.

Me sitting in the seat of my admired Yuzu senpai… wasn’t that incredible?

Even though it was just a regular school chair, I could feel an incredible power coming from it…!

“That seat, you know, it’s the seat of successive club presidents…”

“Eh?”

“W-Well… you too, eventually, right?”

“Ah, yes…”

I had no idea it was such a sacred seat.

Right now it was just me and Yuzu senpai, but this literature club had its own history, too.

And I was sitting right at its most crucial center.

It felt deeply emotional, yet complicated at the same time.

Because when the time came for me to sit here, Yuzu senpai would have already graduated and…

“W-Well, for now, it’s mine though…”

“S-Senpai!?”

Yuzu senpai sat down.

With brisk momentum, right onto me.

Usually she sat modestly closer to my knees, but this time she firmly planted herself right against the base of my thighs, resting her back entirely against me.

What I felt was Yuzu senpai’s warmth and softness.

My heart, which I thought had finally calmed down, started raising a ruckus all over again.

“…I-I’m glad you’re here.”

With her back turned to me, Yuzu senpai muttered like she was talking to herself.

“T-That goes for me too, senpai!”

I immediately put it into words as well.

Of course it was my true feeling, including the things I couldn’t say earlier, for good measure.

“…………”

“…………”

…Huh?

“…S-Senpai?”

“…………”

Silence.

Right on my lap, Yuzu senpai remained still with her back pressed against me.

Did I say something wrong, or what!?

“…K…”

Oh, thank goodness, Yuzu senpai opened her mouth.

But… what is “K…” supposed to mean?

“K-Kakeru-kun…”

…Eh?

“I’m glad… that Kakeru-kun is here with me…”

Y-Yuzu senpai!?

“What about… Kakeru-kun…?”

“S-Senpai!? M-My name…!”

She called it out, she actually called me by name!

Yuzu senpai called me by my first name!

She said it three times in a row, so there’s no way I misheard it!

“Y-Yes! I’m glad to be here with you too, senpai!”

“…………”

H-Huh?

“What about… Kakeru-kun…?”

“Eh?”

Word for word, the exact same question came flying back at me.

“I said… I’m glad to be here with you, senpai…?”

“W-With who…?”

“W-With senpai…”

“…………”

Wait.

Hold on a second.

Even a guy like me is going to notice if it’s pushed this far.

Eh, but seriously, call Yuzu senpai… by her first name?

I called her by her first name once before while she was asleep, but to do it face-to-face is still too intimidating, or rather, too embarrassing…

“…Minato senpai.”

“…Hmph.”

“Ouch.”

My desperate compromise was summarily rejected when the back of my head took a headbutt straight to the chest.

But that sealed the deal.

…Phew.

To calm my racing heart, let me just say one thing.

So cute.

Alright.

“Y-Yuzu…. senpai.”

So embarrassing!

Saying it out loud and having her hear it is super embarrassing!

The second I called out, Yuzu senpai straightened her spine with a start right on my lap!

“W-What…? K-Kakeru-kun…”

Ah, she looked down!

Overwhelmed by the embarrassment, Yuzu senpai looked down!

So cute!

“…I’m glad I get to be with you too, Yuzu senpai.”

Thanks to Yuzu senpai’s extreme cuteness, I managed to say it smoothly the second time around.

Man, what is this… just like being cute, actually saying it out ridiculously happy!

“I-I see… I’m… glad too.”

It was a super quiet voice, but I didn’t miss it.

I want to pet her head, I want to hug her, I want to chant how cute she is over and over.

“K-Kakeru-kun.”

“W-What is it, Yuzu senpai?”

“Ehehe. I-I just wanted to call your name… Ehe.”

…Inhale.

“K-Kakeru-kun…? Uhyaaa!?”

She was too cute, and I just couldn’t hold back anymore.