“You said that you don’t have anything on the agenda on the second day, right? So, did you already make plans with someone for the first day?”
“…………Huh?”
Because of this unexpected question she threw at me, it took me a second to get my thoughts under control. Even though I’m completely innocent, I subconsciously tried to ignore Natsukawa’s question just now. To think I would try and shut out Natsukawa’s beautiful voice on purpose…
“Who are you meeting up with on the first day?”
She probably assumed I simply didn’t understand her question, as she rephrased it in much simpler terms. It’s weird, her intonation is the same as always, but I feel this odd change of pressure in her voice. All right, let’s calm down. I can just be honest with her. I’m not doing anything indecent, after all.
“Oh yeah, on the first day, I—”
No, wait a second. Should I really tell her? I don’t have any special relationship with either Ashida or Natsukawa, but would they really be happy to know I was spending the previous day before our promise with two other girls? No, most definitely not. It’d make it seem like I don’t even particularly care about them, and that I’m just choosing whoever’s willing. And if I was in their position, I wouldn’t like it, either. If I knew about Natsukawa walking around with some random guy, I might just cry myself to sleep for the next three weeks. Well, there’s no need to be honest either. I can just come up with a random excuse.
“I gotta help with our class on the first day. That’s what I meant.”
“And what about the afternoon?”
“Huh?”
“Your shift for the seat filler is only in the morning, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
And why does Milady know the exact specifics of my shift? I was bewildered at Natsukawa’s surprising amount of information. Since she’s part of the committee, she’s excused from helping in her class, and yet she even knows about other people’s shifts. How amazing can she be? I don’t even remember everybody’s shifts. Yet again I realize that my eyes have not betrayed me. Depending on the environments people are raised in, they develop a severe case of arrogance and superiority complex. And yet, Natsukawa excelled at looks, inner values, and personality. I feel so proud to polish this flower to such an extent. Doesn’t really help me in the end, but it’s one star on the board.
“That’s amazing. You know everybody’s shifts?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, because you know when I gotta work…”
“Ah! Th-That’s…”
“Why not join the event? Sasaki said he wanted to participate and got himself a shift.”
“Since he’s participating, I gotta walk around the festival as security…!”
“Seriously? He really pushed that onto you, that bastard…!”
“But I got the whole second day free thanks to that, so don’t blame him!”
“O-Oh, okay…”
Seeing Natsukawa step in to protect Sasaki sent a sharp pain down my chest. I guess being in a committee together gives them a special connection that I can’t share no matter how much I help. Having a secret with Natsukawa, though…He got guts, I swear.
“S-So, what plans do you have in the afternoon?”
Natsukawa sure is obstinate for some reason. Guess my plan to deceive her didn’t work…I was just trying to bring up a different topic altogether. I should come up with a better excuse or I’m definitely gonna eat dust here. After all, telling her the truth would only hurt her.
“I made plans to walk around with Yamazaki and Sasaki.”
“Huh? But, Sasaki-kun said he’d be spending time with the people from the soccer club in the afternoon.”
“A-Ah, right…Yeah. That’s what he also told me. It’s actually just me and Yama—”
“I asked Yamazaki-kun and he said he’ll walk around with people from his middle school…”
“Wha…You asked him?”
“Ah…Wh-What’s it matter…?!”
It matters a lot, you know?! Natsukawa asked Yamazaki about his plans…? So she possibly wanted to invite him…? Y-You’re kidding, right? I didn’t think she’d be into his type of guy…!
“Because if I don’t, I wouldn’t be able to…”
“Huh?”
“N-Nothing!” Natsukawa forcefully cut off the conversation with a fierce tone.
I’m still curious, but if I latch on to that now, I’ll only get out of this with third-degree burns. I’ll just ask Yamazaki about this instead.
“In my case, it’s not just Sasaki and Yamazaki. Not like we’re particularly close, but I’ll maybe walk around with Nakazato just to make sure I ain’t some loner walking around by myself.”
“…”
“…Natsukawa?”
She suddenly went silent. I was curious and looked at her face when she gave me a dubious gaze.
“Erm…what?”
“That’s a lie, right?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been scratching the back of your head for a while now.”
Natsukawa pointed at my left hand, which indeed was currently rubbing the back of my head. Weird, I’m not doing this with any particular implication…
“And…what about that?”
“You always do it when you’re trying to hide something.”
“Wha…”
S-Seriously? Why am I hearing about this only now? I had no idea I had this kind of habit. Maybe I’m actually just that bad of a liar? I dropped my gaze as if a security guard had just grabbed my shoulder, just looking at Natsukawa’s feet moving closer. When I raised my head again, I had her face practically in front of me. Actually, she’s way too close!
“…Is it a girl?”
“Huh?! Erm, well…Ah!”
I realized that my hand had begun moving to the back of my head. I was about to repeat the same gesture as before. And Natsukawa caught on to this as well, as her gaze grew even sharper.
“So it is a girl…”
“U-Um…”
“…”
“…Yes, it is.”
I couldn’t lie, after all…I didn’t think Natsukawa would be so persistent about this…Maybe I was scratching the back of my head from the very beginning. That’s probably why she kept asking me, I’m sure.
“…With who?”
“Erm…Ichinose-san.”
“…Just the two of you?”
“…And Sasaki-san.”
“Sasaki-san? Sasaki-kun’s sister?”
“Ah, no, the one from the school visit for middle school students…”
“Ah, from back then…Wait, so she’s still in middle school?!” Natsukawa complained with a bit of spice in her voice.
I mean, I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t know how to feel if I watched this from an outsider’s perspective. However, she wants to attend Kouetsu High… so it’s my duty together with Ichinose-san to show her around. So that Natsukawa wouldn’t get the wrong idea about this, I immediately delivered this explanation.
“That makes sense, but…!”
“Well, um…”
“You…have a lot of female friends…”
Her tone clearly had a lot of nuances packed into it, as Natsukawa averted her face with a pout. As expected, she’s now in a bad mood. I gotta do something or I’m gonna experience a true hell during this cultural festival…
“…”
“…”
With that, our conversation came to an abrupt end. It had to happen right now that my head turned blank. Sajou Wataru, where did your previous oblivious self go? Right now would be the perfect time to drop a smooth “I’ve only got eyes for you” so why can’t you do that?
“……”
Even as I tried to come up with anything to diffuse this bomb, all that came out of my mouth was heaving and panicked breathing. It seems as if I’ve got no skill whatsoever when it comes to making a single girl happy. Then again, if I had a technique like that, I probably wouldn’t make her get angry at me about three times a day…Wait, I’m starting to lose confidence now…Maybe I should cancel my promise with Ichinose-san and Sasaki-san…
Following that, we spent a few minutes in absolute silence. Man, my excitement and fulfillment levels were on full MAX and hyperdrive because I got to go back with Natsukawa, but now I feel like running away and leaving her behind…No, I can’t call myself an admirer of Natsukawa if I did that! I’ll send her home with a smile, no matter what!
“Natsuka—”
“Ah…”
“Ah…?”
Right as I wanted to make an attempt at clearing up this awkward mood, Natsukawa spoke up. She simply looked straight ahead, focusing on a single point. I grew curious about what had caught her attention and traced after her gaze.
“…Oh.”
It was the all-too-familiar T-crossing. If I go straight, I get to my house, and turning left would bring me to Natsukawa’s place. It’s the same path I take every day, but walking together with Natsukawa sure changed the impression it gave off.
“…”
“…”
After what happened that day, after a simple accident, we had lost the concept of distance that previously reigned between us. To me, it was a blessing in disguise, but I still don’t know how Natsukawa feels. In the end, I got rejected already…so I shouldn’t think about it too deeply.
“Natsukawa.”
“Ah…um, Wataru…”
The time for me to care has passed. All I should do now is offer Natsukawa a safe space that can make her feel at peace. All I know is that I still have to grow as a man who can make her smile. If I feel like it, I’ll work on that.
“Make sure not to trip again, yeah?”
“…Ah…”
I said that with a faint smile, which probably had Natsukawa flustered because she remembered that incident since her cheeks turned into a rosy color. I guess she wanted to forget that, huh? That does hurt a bit, but what can you do? I began to lament in my own sadness when Natsukawa suddenly pouted and opened her mouth.
“That’s…You can never know!”
“Huh?”
She used an oddly fierce tone to declare that. Seeing such a provocative expression from Natsukawa had me bewildered and I froze up.
“When I realized it…I couldn’t stop myself any longer.”
“…”
She grinned at me. That devilish smile pierced me right through the chest. She practically made me shut up with all my worrying and complaining. But even so, I couldn’t close my mouth. I just stared at her in disbelief like some idiot.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Y-Yeah…” I mumbled.
Natsukawa turned her body towards me and walked to the left. She gave me a gentle smile as she passed me and kept on running forward as she did on that day. And just as before, I was left standing on that spot in a daze.
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