Chapter 48

I was able to have a happy morning call with Yuzu senpai.

Today was definitely going to be a good day.

With that conviction, I went to school and immediately spotted Yuzu senpai at the shoe lockers.

“Yuzu-yuzu, should I grab those for you?”

“It’s fine… It’s totally fine!”

Today of all days, Yuzu senpai stretching on tiptoe to grab her indoor shoes was cute.

“T-There! I got them out today too!”

“Whoa! That’s amazing, Yuzu-yuzu!”

Her friend was applauding the proud Yuzu senpai, too.

If I remember correctly, that tall person was the one Hime-chin senpai and Yuzu senpai called by that name.

She was overwhelmingly taller than the tall, handsome Ayato, which was pretty impressive.

“Hmph-hmph! If it’s up to—”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Yuzu-yuzu?”

With an indoor shoe in one hand, Yuzu senpai froze.

Right in her line of sight was me.

“…I-I’m going on ahead!”

“Ah, wait up, Yuzu-yuzu. It’s dangerous to run in the hallway, you know?”

She put on her indoor shoe at top speed and bolted away.

Even though she had said it was a secret, it made for a somewhat sad morning.

Morning HR ended, and first period was a classroom-transfer class.

Ayato and I were moving down the hallway holding our textbooks and writing utensils.

“If we have a transfer class right from the morning, wouldn’t it just be better to gather over there from the start?”

Ayato, the tall, refreshing handsome guy walking beside me, complained.

“I mean, we have way too many classroom-transfer classes at this school.”

“Well, it’s the Sports Course, so isn’t it different from the regular course?”

“I just want to hole up in the same classroom forever…”

That was quite a statement from a tall, refreshing, handsome, genius high school baseball player.

“If we did that… we wouldn’t have to meet any girls. Right, Kakeru!”

“Nah, I can’t really agree with that.”

“Then you’re my enemy starting right now!”

“Has the bond forged since junior high school come to this!”

We both held our textbooks and pencil cases in both hands and took stances, but there wasn’t really anything more to it.

It was just silly fooling around between best friends.

The catalyst for all this was Ayato’s typical problem of having a phobia of the opposite sex.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuzu-yuzu—”

“No, it’s fine, Hime-chin.”

“Hick!?”

Right at that moment.

There were two figures walking toward us from the opposite direction.

Because of their height difference, it was a very noticeable duo.

That’s right, Yuzu senpai and Hime-chin senpai.

Apparently, their class had a classroom-transfer too.

Incidentally, that final scream belonged to Ayato, the tall, refreshing handsome guy with severe gynophobia.

“It’s such a pain when there are so many classroom-transfer classes—”

So said Hime-chin senpai.

Apparently, the regular course had plenty of classroom-transfers, too.

“Yeah, yeah. Really, you know…”

“Yuzu-yuzu?”

And then Yuzu senpai froze.

Right in her line of sight was, of course, me.

And as an extra, Ayato was hiding behind my back… though that probably didn’t matter.

“Something wrong?”

“N-No. N-N-Nothing at all!? Ah, I left something behind in the classroom, so go on ahead without me!”

“Eh? Yuzu-yuzu, I’ll go with you too—”

And she bolted away again.

It was a compounding wave of sadness.

“H-Has the crisis passed…?”

“It looks like the time has come for us to part ways.”

“Eh, are we still keeping that bit going?”

We had just become enemies, after all.

Lunch break.

I had come to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria proudly boasted by Shinme High School had a rich menu, and because it was cheap and delicious, it was extremely popular.

Today, it was bustling with students as well.

“Hey, Kakeru! Over here! Over here!!”

From one of the tables in the crowd, the tall, refreshing handsome Ayato waving his hand looked remarkably picturesque and stood out completely.

Yet, it carried a painful look, like a small animal thrown into a beast’s cage.

Ayato, a handsome guy immensely popular with the girls, drew gazes even without doing stuff like that.

He must have felt uneasy being by himself.

“Thanks, Ayato. Sorry to make you do this every time.”

“Don’t sweat it! We’re best friends, right?”

Instead of me, who couldn’t run, Ayato had dashed to the cafeteria to secure a table and our lunches.

Being able to casually say things like that without a shred of embarrassment was Ayato’s good point.

A square four-person table, with Ayato and me sitting across from each other.

“Come on, let’s eat quickly and get back to the classroom!”

Ayato, suffering from early-onset homesickness—no, class-sickness—placed the textbook he had been spreading across the table right onto his own lap.

It was camouflage to keep other students from sitting there.

You couldn’t really call it good manners, but it was a defensive measure until I arrived, so I’d appreciate it if you cut him some slack.

If three girls surrounded him, Ayato would surely die.

“Ah, thank goodness, this seat is open! Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

“Dwaaaah!? G-Go, go, go, go… ahead…”

See, once they started eating, he actually had the guts to properly give up his seat.

“Thanks a bunch—”

“Y-Yup!”

Carrying a tray piled high with a mountain of school lunch food, Hime-chin senpai sat down right next to Ayato… Hime-chin senpai?

“Hey, Yuzu-yuzu! Over here!”

“A-Ah, thanks… There are always a lot of people here, aren’t there…”

The remaining seat was right next to me.

The person who brought the cafeteria tray was Yuzu senpai.

The table seated four.

Ayato was trembling, Hime-chin senpai was smiling, and Yuzu senpai was frozen solid.

“T-Thanks for your hard work…”

And I offered a bitter smile.