Episode 5 – Kazekawa Tsuki’s Love Affair
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093087122434729/episodes/16818093093547902695
“Hey, do you enjoy doing that?”
It was the spring of third year of junior high school.
In the new classroom, there were new classmates. However, the relationship was just a carry-over from last year.
Even though the grade level was raised, the fact that Kazekawa Tsuki was a bullied child did not change, just as Aota and I were best friends.
The reason for the bullying was trivial.
Kazekawa was quiet and reserved, often reading books alone in the classroom.
It all started when a flamboyant girl in the upper caste told her that her attitude was pretentious and that she was acting too serious.
The girls ignored her outwardly and talked about her behind her back.
Most of the boys also treated her as if she were a tumor.
And it was none other than Aota who objected to this.
“Hasegawa-kun? W-What, suddenly?”
The flamboyant girl probably did not expect Aota to tell her. She was in a hurry.
“Don’t act like you’re stupid. Everyone ignoring her. Is that fun for you guys?”
“I-I’m not ignoring her.”
“Then why? Why are you doing that ……?”
In order to stop Aota from getting too hot, I grabbed him by the shoulders. I was too …… impatient.
“Aota, calm down.”
“Ren, don’t stop me. I”
“It is not always right to pretend to have a sense of justice in the face of the other party.”
Kazekawa, seen out of the corner of my eye, said nothing, couldn’t say anything, and was shaking her shoulders in a small way in the corner of the class.
She must have been embarrassed. She was probably embarrassed to be the center of everyone’s attention in this way, but in an unpleasant way.
It didn’t seem right for Aota and I to ignore her feelings and make a fuss about it so publicly.
“Ren… sorry, I got angry.”
“Yeah. You’re always able to get angry for other people, it’s really amazing… Stay with Kazekawa for a while. I’ll take care of this.”
Only Aota can be there for a hurt girl. But on the other hand, if I have the right method, it’s easy to change the situation, even for someone like Friend A.
“I’m sorry, please. Ren.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
I mean, I’m here to handle this kind of thing.
After that, I and another collaborator took various measures.
In less than two months, the bullying of Kezakawa Tsuki and the distorted atmosphere surrounding her disappeared and ended unnoticed.
And so, Tsuki fell in love with the “hero,” Hasegawa Aota, who had always been there for her.
***
It was not a long-awaited weekend.
It was the day when Tsuki invited me to the amusement park.
Aota also had a practice game on Saturday, so Sunday was just an off day and convenient for him.
“…. is it about time?”
It was 8:20 in the morning. I was already in front of the nearest station where we were going to meet.
Well, not exactly.
I was not at the meeting place, Fountain Square, but at the counter of a nearby coffee shop, where I had a clear view of the place.
“Okay.”
I took out my phone and sent a message to the group I had created for today.
“Sorry, I’ve got some things to do! I’m going to be about an hour late because I’ve got some stuff to do! Go ahead!”
Of course I’m lying. I don’t have such pinpoint errands on a Sunday morning, or rather, there’s no way I can fit anything else in when I have an appointment.
However.
“I’m friend A. I can’t interfere with the main character’s event.”
To begin with, it is not me who is wanted by Kazekawa. Kazekawa wants to spend this Sunday with Aota, using me as a convenient presence.
“Is your seat next door vacant?”
Suddenly, I heard such words. Of course, it was not an occupied space.
“Yeah……geh”
“Good morning. Hayami senpai.”
Taking a seat next to me with a hot cafe latte in hand was Shiramine Hisui, wearing a white sweatshirt with a logo and wide pants. She also had a cool hat on and a casual yet stylish spring outfit.
“What do you think? Do I look good? Senpai. ”
“On the contrary, I’d like to know what clothes don’t look good on Shiramine-san. ……”
“So you’re planning on making me wear sexy cosplay costumes and doing all sorts of things to me? You’re quite the pervert, senpai.”
“……Yeah, I didn’t say a single word about that.”
Sometimes I don’t understand this girl. No, I don’t even know her very well to begin with. …Hmm, where did the young lady character from the beginning go?
“Ah, by the way. It looks like senpai has arrived.”
“Hmm?”
When I turned my gaze toward the plaza, a figure that certainly looked like Kazekawa came walking by.
“Ou”
Only today, Kazekawa was not wearing glasses. And, more than anything else.
“Cute, isn’t she?”
Shiramine, who was standing next to me, said something.
She seemed to be in complete agreement with me.
“She’s really cute.”
Wearing a spring sweater and coat, and slightly tight jeans, if you look at her differently, you might not even know she is Kazekawa.
That’s how much the current Kazakawa is …….
“Senpai. Can I ask you one question?”
“What?”
“Who is prettier, Kazakawa-senpai or me?”
What kind of question is that? I had no time to think that as Shiramine looked straight at me with a serious expression.
I realized there was no escaping this.
“The word “cute” might be more appropriate for the current Kazekawa. But Shiramine isn’t the cute type to begin with, she’s the beautiful type, right?”
To begin with, the word “beautiful” fits Shiramine better than “cute.”
This way, there are no corners.
“I see. So that’s how it is. Then I’ll ask it in a different way. Senpai, do you prefer the beautiful type or the cute type?”
“Eh, it’s difficult.”
“Please answer me. It is …… quite important for me.”
Shiramine said this and looked away. Rather, it was more like a gesture of intentionally avoiding eye contact.
In the strange atmosphere, my nose caught the faintly sweet and bitter smell of steam rising from the café latte.
“Pretty or beautiful, I like it”
It may have sounded like a deception. But it was true. In the first place, there is no one in this world who likes only one or the other.
“….It’s not fair. If you say so, there is nothing I can do about it.”
“Well, yeah… Ah, it looks like Aota’s here too. Wait, what’s that?”
Following his gaze, Kazekawa sees a man approaching him. I can tell it’s Aota from the way he walks, his demeanor, and his hairstyle.
But what I was more interested in was a girl who was approaching them from a little behind him.
“Huh? Why ……?”
“It’s Mihoshi, isn’t it? Why is she here?”
Koganei Mihoshi. She is a junior from junior high school who recently became the manager of the soccer team.
“Hm? You call her that……?
That means you’re not just an acquaintance?”
I asked, and Shiramine nodded.
“Yes, we are best friends.”
“I see”
Personally, I thought that she and Shiramine would not be compatible, but that seems not to be the case.
Perhaps opposite types really do get along well after all?
“Is it really that surprising? If you were in the same soccer club in middle school, you know her well, right?
“Well, I know her better than I know Shiramine-san …….”
In the first place, I only know her name and address.
“Muu.”
Indeed, Shiramine made such a face.
“I’m going now, what about you, Shiramine-san?”
When I say I’m going, I don’t mean to join the three of them, I’m just going to accompany them to watch over them from the shadows.
“If you’re going, then I’ll go too. Of course.”
Shiramine stood up, lips pursed in dissatisfaction for some reason.
“Okay then, let’s get going.”
“Yes.”
After making sure the three of them had started moving, Shiramine and I left the store together. Keeping a close but not too far apart, we boarded the train.
The train was very crowded, even on a holiday morning.
“Shiramine-san. This way.”
“Ah!”
I made Shiramine stand by the door and stood in front of her.
I felt a bit reluctant to make her endure the jostling and pushing inside the car.
“…What a gentleman.”
“Well, boys are creatures who want to look cool in front of cute girls.”
“…even though you said pretty earlier.”
Shiramine’s cheeks were flushed red, but she pouted and acted displeased.
“No, I didn’t mean to imply that Shiramine-san wasn’t pretty.”
It’s just that the word pretty trumps cute, and if you’re talking about cute or not cute, she’s definitely cute. …… Oh, I use the word pretty so much that I’m afraid I’m going to lose my head.
“I, is that so? Then, that’s fine.”
“Hmm?”
Shiramine plays with her hair with her fingertips again, like she did before. Probably a sign to hide her embarrassment.
“Now, I wonder what’s going to happen.”
“Even though you’re best friends, is it something to be concerned about? The play between adolescent boys and adolescent girls.”
If you put it that way, then Shiramine and I are both adolescent boys and girls. ……
“I mean, Shiramine-san is such a character, isn’t she?”
I had thought for sure she was a lady worthy of the word “young lady,” but the more I talked to her, the more I realized she was… more than just an ordinary girl, she was a little bit special.
“You don’t like me like this?”
Shiramine asked with a joking laugh. However, I somehow thought that it might actually be something very important to her.
“Actually, I like it this way because it’s easier to get along with you.”
“Y…you like it… Hmm. You’re just as I thought you would be.”
I was hoping you’d say that. That’s the vibe I was trying to give off, but my face was a little red and my happiness was shining through it.
The train stop was two stops away. A few minutes’ walk from there will take us to Parqueirand, the biggest amusement park around here.
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