Episode 38 – [Don’t start asserting dominance over me on New Year’s Day !]

After Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

The sky on New Year’s Day was cloudless. The sky was clear and blue, and the outlook for the year ahead was very promising. It was a very pleasant New Year’s day.

It is the morning of the first day of January. I was visiting the largest and oldest shrine in Hokusei City. The approach to the shrine was crowded with worshippers, and the New Year’s mood was in full swing.

Today, the four of us were going to pay our first visit to the shrine. We were waiting for each other.

“Hey, isn’t that Kobayakawa?”

A man’s voice called out my name as I was enduring the cold with my hands in my pockets.

I naturally turned around to see a man I had never seen before standing there.

“It’s you Kobayakawa. Long time no see.”

“……Erm……who are you?”

If he knows my name, it’s not the first time we’ve met, but I can’t help but notice that I don’t recognize him. However, his face was completely unfamiliar to me.

“What the hell. That’s terrible. I’m Ishihara, we went to junior high and high school together.

“O-oh, Ishihara….it’s been a long time.”

I dredged up my memory and realized that it had been a long time.

Ishihara was an alumnus who went to the same junior high and high school. Although we were not close friends, I felt a sense of kinship because we went to the same junior high school, and we had some interaction with each other when we were in high school.

The reason why I could not recall Ishihara’s face immediately was because……

“Ishihara, you’ve gained weight.”

It was his transformation. In my memory, Ishihara was a tall, skinny young man, but in front of me was a big, fat man.

“Stress from studying for the exams.”

“Oh, I remember you were held back a year. You gained about 30 kilograms?”.

“Too bad. Fifty kilos.”

“That much !?”

No wonder I couldn’t tell.

“Will you pass the exam this year?”

“Well, yeah. I got an A on my mock exam. I’ll definitely pass this year.”

“How can you hold back a year nowadays? You want to go to Kyoto University? You can easily get into Hokusei University, so you should just go ahead and attend.”

Ishihara is what is called a child prodigy. The academic ability of the students at the high school I attended varied widely, and once every few years, some of the top students were accepted into the most prestigious universities.

Ishihara was supposed to be one of them. However, he was unsuccessful. He tried the second semester entrance examination, but the results were not good, and he chose to held back a year.

“I don’t want to go to a university where those idiots go.”

“…………”

I was about to swear at him for being so rude, but I kept my mouth shut.

I remember him as this kind of guy.

Ishihara is smart but has a bad character. He always came in first in the regular examinations, but he never had any friends because he was so snobbish about it. He was not popular with girls because he would assert dominance over them without hesitation.

At first I was friendly to him, but gradually I got tired of it and we became separated. I was fed up with him making fun of me for “wasting my time” to devote myself to the band.

The decisive moment was when I started dating Yua. Ishihara was so backhanded and cynical about it that I stopped talking to him at the end.

“If you had studied harder instead of playing in a band, you could have gone to a better university.”

“Don’t mind me. It’s none of your business. It’s a good environment and I have friends and seniors.”

“Don’t act so tough. You actually lowered your choice of school, right?”

You really are a jerk, aren’t you !

Don’t start asserting dominance over me on New Year’s Day !

“I recognized you, you know.　If you’d just studied like a student instead of hanging out with the band, you’d be a better student.”

“Mind your own business.”

“Band is just something you do for fun until you become a member of society. You can’t become a professional even if you work hard. And it’s no use if you end up getting kicked out of the band.”

“Ah, seriously ! You’ve been dripping with sarcasm since the new year, it isn’t funny….wait a minute ! How did you know that !?”　　

A cold feeling ran down my back. Just now, I heard Ishihara say something I couldn’t quite catch.

“You mean that you got kicked out of the band?”

“That’s right ! How the hell did you know about that !?”

“I mean…..from rumor? There’s someone at my prep school who’s in the same high school as me and he’s a friend of yours. I heard it from that person.”

My heart was grabbed by a cold hand.

He said that Yua or Nobuhiko had told everyone that they had fired me.

I was horrified to think that a secret that I would never want anyone to know was walking around all by itself.

“Hehe. I’m sorry to hear that, Kobayakawa. All that effort you put into music has gone down the drain. Your youth has gone to waste.”

“S-shut up…….”

“If you quit the band, you broke up with your singer girlfriend, right? I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had two bad experiences all at once.”

I bit my back teeth when he hit the bull’s-eye.

 “Well, I guess it’s a good thing. Now that the band and the girl are gone, you can concentrate on my studies and job hunting. It must be tough to get a job in the metropolitan area from the countryside, so good luck.”

A parade of sarcasm that twined around me like a snake.

Ishihara was always backbiting me while I was in high school. I was crazy about the band and my girlfriend.

At the time, I was able to kick him out of my life no matter what he said. I had something to devote myself to, and the noise he made did not reach my ears.

But now that I had lost my treasure, it was deafening to me.

“Well, from now on, at best, you should cultivate your  episodes for job hunting.”

Ishihara laughed loudly. His voice was unpleasantly grating. Even the way the flab on his cheeks and chin trembled was annoying.

Why do I have to get this kind of sarcasm from him on New Year’s?

I felt so miserable that I wanted to leave immediately.

But then an angel descended on me.

“Kingo, Happy New Year !”

A voice that was infinitely bright and pure. I turned around to see Ari san, dressed in a red furisode kimono, coming toward me.

“Happy New Year, Ari san.”

“Happy New Year, Kingo ! Hey, hey, what do you think?　This kimono?”

Ari san turned around in a relaxed manner in her unaccustomed sandals to show me her beautiful appearance. That alone was enough to wash my heart and make me feel happy.

“You look great ! You look good in kimonos too !”

“Ehehe, I’m glad to hear that. I asked my grandmother to dress me so that I could show Kingo.”

Ari san was delighted as she shook the ornaments on her hairpin. I’m already in a relaxed mood because she showed me something nice from the New Year.

Ari san’s gaze turns next to me.

“Is that your friend?”

The person in front of my line of sight is Ishihara. I remember standing there talking with him. I was so focused on Ari san in her kimono that I forgot about him.

“Let me introduce him to you. This is Ishihara, an alumnus of my school. Ishihara, this is Ari san.”

“Hello, I’m Ari san ! I go to Atago Girl’s Academy.”

Ari san greets him reverently with a bow. On the other hand, Ishihara said,

“I-I’m Ishihara…….”

Ishihara’s reply sounded like a mosquito’s buzzing wings.

He is so curt. Is he nervous because he is meeting her for the first time?

“K-Kobayakawa. What is your relationship with this person?”

“It’s a long story, but I’m helping Ari san with her entrance exam as a tutor.”

“H-heh……so you’re working as a private tutor.”

Ishihara murmured, sounding relieved. What in the world are you upset about?

“What university are you applying to, by the way?”

“I’m applying to Hokusei University !”

“Hmmm.”

I glared at Ishihara, who seemed to have no interest in what he was asking.

To Ishihara, HokuseiUniversity is a low-level university. It was up to him to decide what he thought of Hokusei University, but I would not overlook anything that would discourage Ari san, who was burning to take the entrance exam. So, I nailed him in advance, saying, [Don’t say unnecessary things.]

“Well, good luck. I held back a year, and I’m taking the entrance exam this year, so I guess we’ll be seeing each other…..”

“Yes ! Good luck, Ishihara san !”

Ishihara was blunt, but he only gave a shout out. It sounds sarcastic when this guy says it, but since Ari san is happy, it’s okay.

“Kobayakawa kun, Ari chan. Happy New Year.”

And then Misumi senpai came.

She was also wearing a long-sleeved kimono and her violet-colored base made her look glamorous but clean.

“Happy New Year, Senpai.”

“Happy New Year, Shino san !　You look great in those !”

“Thank you, Ari chan. You look great too.”

The two of them lined up in kimono and I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. The kimono is a standout, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen this look.

The kimono is a conspicuous feature, but the two are naturally outstanding in appearance, so it was only natural that they would be glued to the beauty of the two.

Senpai, in particular, has the beauty of a Japanese-style beauty, so there was no way she wouldn’t look good in kimonos.

“H-hey, Kobayakawa…..! T-that lady…….”

“Hm, yeah, she’s my senior. She is a sophomore in the same department.”

“What…the hell…… There is such a person at Hokusei University…….”

Ishihara muttered to himself with a pale face.

Then there…..

“Kingo, Ari chan, Misumi senpai, Happy New Year.”

Ryoko came in plain clothes. I gave a big sigh of relief as soon as she arrived.

“Ryoko, Happy New Year. You look sleepy.”

“I went to a shrine with my friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve. From there, I did karaoke with all my friends, and came here without sleeping.”

“How are you doing that !?”

Ryoko yawned again and rubbed her eyes.

“Oh, who’s that over there?”

Ryoko’s gaze turned to Ishihara.

“Ishihara, we were in the same class in high school. Don’t you remember him?”

“Erm……it’s been a while〜”

Ryoko smiles uncomfortably. She was in the same class with him in the first or second grade, but she definitely don’t remember him.

“K….Kanda Ryoko…..”

In contrast, Ishihara, for some reason, looked pale and muttered the name in horror. It was as if he had been triggered by some traumatic event.

“H-hey, Kobayakawa ! I thought you quit the band !?”

“Y-yeah, I did.”

“Then why are you surrounded by all these girls !?”

Why are you biting there? Does it have anything to do with the band?

I don’t mind talking about it, but it’s a long story, so I don’t know what to do.

I was thinking about it, but the group of girls were chatting away.

“Shino san, the thing you’re wearing around your shoulders is Kingo’s Christmas present, right?”

“That’s right. I thought it would go with the kimono. Isn’t it funny?”

“It suits you very well ! Don’t you think so, Kingo?”

“Y-yes ! It looks good on you, Senpai !”

I looked at her and said what I thought.

The thing that Senpai wears on her shoulder was a gift that I bought at a department store for Christmas. The violet color and pattern match the color and pattern of the violets, so I decided immediately.

“Thank you for using it.”

“No, thank you too for the wonderful gift. By the way, Ryoko san’s scarf was also a gift from Kobayakawa-kun, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I felt sorry for him if I didn’t use it.

“Sense of warm-heartedness?”

“I’m just kidding. I like it because it is warm. Thank you.”

The scarf Ryoko wears around her neck is also my gift. The fresh and cool indigo color is very Ryoko-like and suits her well.

“Geez. You two, not fair. Hey, Kingo, look, look !”

Ari san, who was pouting, held up her hands and showed them to me. In her hands are cherry-red mittens. This was also my present.

“They look great on you, Ari san. Thank you for using it.”

“Eheh, I wore them because I thought they would go well with my kimono. Thanks for giving it to me !”

Ari san is bouncing around in a good mood. She looks cute like a rabbit.

“Each of us got a matching present from Kingo !”

“Matching? The colors and the items are all different…….”

“Shinosan, don’t worry about the details ! We got them at the same time, so we’re matching, right?”

“That’s true. We’re matching.”

“Yes, three sisters who are good friends ! Yes, yes !”

The three of them–or rather the three sisters, are all smiling and excited, wondering what’s so funny.

They’ve been in high spirits since New Year’s. No, it’s because it’s New Year’s that they laugh a lot. It is said that good fortune comes to those who smile, and I am sure it will be a happy year.

“Christmas present…..for the three girls…!?”

“Oh, what’s the matter, Ishihara? What’s that negative aura coming out of your body?”

It’s gloomy, like black smoke or black mold spores flying around.

“Ishihara, it’s New Year’s, let’s be more cheerful.”

I encouraged him. I know he’s probably having a hard time because he’s in a tense state before the exam, but he needs to have fun on New Year’s.

“S-shut up ! You’re flirting with a girl behind my back while I’m studying hard !”

“Don’t say “flirting” in a weird way. I just invited them to my room for a Christmas party.”

“That’s called flirting ! You don’t know that I study every day, but you’re busy with your band and your girlfriends, and you show it off ! Don’t assert dominance over me on New Year’s !”

Ishihara yelled and shouted in anger and tried to leave in the opposite direction from the shrine.

“Hey, aren’t you going to pay your first visit to the shrine?”

“I’m going home to study !”

He left without turning around.

“What’s the matter with him? Did we do something?”

I had no idea. Ari san and Senpai were also tilting their heads in doubt.

“Maybe it’s my fault.”

“Eh, Ryoko’s fault?”

“Yeah. I just remembered that he confessed his feelings for me.”

Eh, what was that ! I have never heard of that before !?

Was that the reason for the uncomfortable situation?

All three of us were surprised, our eyes round and round. Then Ari san quickly intervened.

“What did you say in reply !?

“I just said, [I’m sorry.] After all, he suddenly told me even though we had never talked about it before.”

That’s cool. It seems like Ryoko, but she should at least remember his name.

In the end, we concluded that Ishihara was in a bad mood due to the stress of the exam and the trauma of being crushed by the present.

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