15 Classroom of the Elite Vol. 2 Chapter 3 Part 2

The front entrance of the school was overflowing with students on their way home for the day.

I was a little worried about how I would meet up with Ichinose, but my worries were immediately resolved. She managed to stand out, even among so many other students.

Although her cute appearance could have been part of the reason, it also felt like she had a presence that controlled the area.

Honestly, I didn't know how to describe it. I could only vaguely describe it as a gentle, yet powerful feeling. Something that was amplified by the attention she received from the surrounding first-year students.

It was similar to the attention Kushida received, if not more so. She was popular with everyone, constantly being called out to by the other students one after the other. As a result, I wasted about 5 minutes trying to find the right time to call out to her.

"Ah! Ayanokouji-kun, over here!"

Ichinose eventually noticed and called out to me.

I pretended as if I had just arrived as I raised my hand and joined up with her.

"So, what should we do next?"

"I intend to wrap this up as quickly as possible, so follow me."

I put on my shoes and followed Ichinose to the other side of the school.

We eventually arrived behind the gymnasium. It seemed like an ideal place to make a confession.

"Well…"

After taking a moment to prepare herself, Ichinose turned around to face me. There's no way… Ichinose, to me!?

"Confess-"

No, something like that–

"I… I think someone's going to confess to me here."

"…Huh?"

Ichinose then showed me a letter. It was a sweet love letter sealed with a cute little heart sticker. Although it would be rude for me to look inside, I took the letter out as I was prompted to. It didn't seem like the letter was written by a boy at all. Instead, the handwriting on the inside was pretty and clean, no different from the envelope's appearance.

I then noticed what I had been feeling curious about ever since coming to this school.

The meeting information written in the letter was Friday evening at four o'clock, behind the gymnasium. It was about ten minutes away.

"Wouldn't it be better if I wasn't here?"

"I… I don't know much about love. I don't know how to respond without hurting their feelings, and I don't know if I can stay close friends with them after this as well. So I want you to help me."

"I don't think I'm the guy you should be asking since I don't have any experience with confessions either. I'm sure there's plenty of other people you could depend on in Class B."

"The person confessing to me… is in Class B."

I see, so that's how it is. I was somewhat able to understand why she asked for my company.

"I'd like today's event to be kept a secret as much as possible. Otherwise, things would become rather awkward in the future. If it's you, Ayanokouji-kun, I think it's unlikely that you'll go around spreading rumors."

"But Ichinose, aren't you used to confessions by now?"

"Eh?! No, not at all. Of course not. I've never been confessed to before."

If she hadn't called me out here to help, I would've never believed it.

"I guess you really are clueless."

I couldn't help but find that strange with how cute she was. Moreover, considering the way she had interacted with others since this morning, her personality seems to be pretty good as well.

"That's why… can you please pretend to be my boyfriend?"

Whoa, is this seriously turning into such a cliche situation?!

"I did some research and found out that if the person being confessed to is already in a relationship, it will hurt the other person less…"

"I understand that you want to avoid hurting the other person's feelings, but it will only hurt them more if they realise you lied about it, you know?"

"I could say that we broke up, or that you dumped me later on."

I don't think that's the problem here…

"Honestly, I think it would be much better to meet with him one on one."

"But- Ah!"

Ichinose noticed something and awkwardly raised her hand.

It looks like the confessor came earlier than expected. I wonder what he looks like?

The person in question had a boyish look, and he appeared to be cross-dressing in a conservative skirt.

No, she was definitely a girl no matter which way I looked at her.

I had some doubts after seeing the letter's handwriting, but it really was a girl after all.

Unlike a confession between boys, it felt like this one might be more successful. Then again, that might only be because I'm a guy myself.

"Um, Ichinose-san… who is that person?"

The girl who had come to confess seemed to be wary of my presence.

"He's Ayanokouji-kun from Class D. I'm sorry Chihiro-chan, for bringing somebody along that you don't know."

"Is he possibly… Ichinose-san's boyfriend?"

"Ah, uh…"

Ichinose tried to speak, but she paused. She probably intended to say "that's right" but the words got stuck in her throat due to the guilt she felt for lying.

"Why is this Ayanokouji-kun person here?"

Confused by the unexpected situation, tears began to form in Chihiro's eyes.

'Is he her boyfriend? Why would he be here if he wasn't?'; these were thoughts that were most likely going through her head as she seemed unable to understand the situation.

Noticing her tear up, Ichinose quickly began to panic, not knowing what to do.

I had expected her to be a fairly reliable person, but it seems like she has some unexpected weaknesses.

"Um, could you please go somewhere else? There's something important I'd like to talk about with Ichinose-san."

"W-Wait a minute, Chihiro-san. That's, uh- To be honest, Ayanokouji-kun is…"

It seemed that Ichinose intended to turn her down first.

She probably thought it would have made things harder if Chihiro actually confessed her feelings.

"…What is it?"

"Ayanokouji-kun? He's, you know, my-"

I was left with no other choice.

"I'm just a friend."

I cut in before Ichinose could say the word.

"Ichinose, it may not be convincing for me to say this since I've never been confessed to before, but I think calling me out here was a mistake."

I spoke honestly for their sake.

"Confessing to someone isn't such an easy thing. Every day, you spend your time in endless worry, simulating the situation over and over again in your head. Yet, you still can't confess. Even when you gather the courage to do it, the actual words get stuck in your throat and can't come out. I think that's just how it works. Don't you think that these desperate feelings deserve a proper response? If you give a vague answer in a situation like this, both of you will only come to regret it afterward."

"Ugh…"

It's likely that Ichinose has never seriously fallen for someone before.

Therefore, she didn't know the right thing to do, or if she was making a mistake.

Trying to prevent Chihiro from having her feelings hurt was a fruitless effort.

When refusing a confession, hurting the other person's feelings is unavoidable.

If you muster your wisdom and come up with a decent excuse, it's true that you can somewhat smooth it over.

An excuse like: 'I want to concentrate on my studies right now', 'There's somebody else that I like', or, as what occured here, 'I'm already dating someone else'. No matter which excuse you give, the other person is still bound to get hurt.

Not to mention that if that excuse is built upon a lie, the other person would only be hurt more if they ever find out the truth. I left the area without waiting for Ichinose to reply. Instead of heading back to the dormitory, I stopped and waited along the tree-lined pathway.

I leaned against the handrailing and sighed as I looked up towards the green leaves.

After about 5 minutes, a girl rushed past me from behind the gymnasium.

There were faint traces of tears in her eyes.

Despite that, I continued to kill some time without moving from the spot.

Around the time the sun began to set, Ichinose wearily walked back from behind the gym.

"Ah…"

Upon seeing me, she hung her head a little awkwardly. However, she looked back up immediately.

"I was wrong. I was trying so desperately to avoid hurting her. I didn't even think about properly responding to her feelings, and instead tried to run away from them. That was a mistake, wasn't it?"

Ichinose mumbled, "Love is difficult…" as she sat down on the handrail next to me.

"I asked if things could go on as they always have tomorrow, but I wonder if that's possible."

"That will be up to the two of you."

"Yeah…" She trailed off.

"Thank you for today. Coming with me on such a strange request."

"It's fine. There are days like this from time to time."

"Our positions reversed huh? I came to you because I intended on lending you a hand, but I ended up relying on you instead."

"I'm sorry for speaking like a know-it-all back there."

Ichinose looked at me and blinked a couple of times as if I had said something peculiar.

"There's no need to apologize Ayanokouji-kun. None at all."

Stretching her hands up towards the sky, she then hopped down onto the ground.

"This time, it's my turn to help you. I'll try to do all that I can."

I wonder what Class B's Ichinose Honami intends to do to confront this difficult situation.

I was looking forward to it a little bit.

8

That evening, I received a phone call as I was browsing through some online shops. My cellphone's screen lit up as it was charging next to my bed, the caller ID indicating it was from Kushida Kikyou. I couldn't resist doing a double-take to confirm that I wasn't seeing things. Since I didn't have the courage to call back if I missed it, I rolled across the room in my chair, grabbed my cell phone and dove onto my bed.

"Sorry for calling so late. Did I wake you up?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was thinking about going to bed in a little bit. Do you need something?"

"Sakura-san's digital camera broke, right? I feel like I'm partially to blame because I was talking to her and made her nervous, so I wanted to take responsibility for that…"

"At least, I don't think you need to feel responsible for that. Besides, she's just going to get it fixed, right? Since it's important to her, wouldn't she go even if she had to leave it with the shop?"

As I asked this question, I realized that it wasn't so simple. Sakura was extremely inept at talking with people, and she didn't seem confident enough to go to the store on her own to repair it. It was probably somewhat similar to the situation where you'd feel slightly hesitant when you enter a restaurant alone.

It was a little hard to believe that the world was full of people of all kinds of characteristics and personalities.

Isn't it particularly surprising that there are people who have trouble connecting with others?

"So you offered to help?"

She probably acted proactively in order to establish some common ground with Sakura.

"Yep. She was a little hesitant, but she eventually said she'd be fine with the day after tomorrow. I think that digital camera is probably really important to her."

In order to have Sakura open up to her, Kushida had done a splendid job with taking the first step.

"But why are you telling me this? Won't it go smoothly with just the two of you?"

"That's true if we were just going to go get it repaired. However, there's one more important thing that I'd like to ask for your cooperation with, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Did you want me to ask about whether or not she knows anything about Sudou's incident?"

"Horikita-san is convinced that she's the witness, and after getting a bit closer to Sakura-san myself, I'm also thinking that she knows more about the incident than she's letting on. However, since she's been denying it, there has to be some reason as to why she's keeping quiet."

While it's true that having Horikita go along with her would be the best option, it would be delusional of me to think of Horikita and Kushida going out with each other on their day off. Through the process of elimination, she probably decided to choose me as I was the least likely to cause any issues. If she was to invite Ike or Yamauchi, they would focus all of their attention on Kushida.

Moreover, it's convenient. I've been wanting to go to the electronics retail store at least once.

I sat up on my bed and leaned my back against the wall. For some reason, it felt rude to make arrangements while laying down.

"Okay, I get it. Let's go."

Although I only had to respond normally, I was a little too eager and my voice cracked slightly.

Fortunately, she didn't say anything about it since it didn't seem particularly strange.

For a while after that, Kushida and I chatted enthusiastically about various unimportant topics.

Since the conversation was casual, I didn't feel nervous about it. Rather, there wasn't any reason to get worked up at all.

It stood as proof that she could intrude upon my personal space by this much and still not make me uncomfortable.

I guess on the inside, I've already firmly recognized her as a friend.

"By the way, it was terrifying when Kouenji-kun and Sudou-kun were about to start fighting."

"Ah. It was an explosive situation, but I guess you could say that they were on the verge of exchanging blows."

Although Kouenji always does things at his own pace, if Sudou had swung a blow at him, he would've fought back.

If things had continued any further, it would've been a catastrophe.

"I was so scared that I couldn't move… Hirata-kun is amazing. Truly respectable."

"Yeah."

Realizing I was a little jealous of her praise for Hirata, I did some self-reflection.

It was only natural to feel respect for somebody who could courageously interject into a situation like that.

"Class D was somehow able to take shape thanks to you and Hirata. It's also due to the fact that both boys and girls were involved."

Sometimes, matters between girls can only be resolved by girls.

"I'm just doing things as I normally do. It wasn't anything special."

"I think Hirata would've said the same thing."

Most of the time, special people don't consider themselves as such.

"While we're speaking of special, isn't Horikita-san more special than someone like me? She can study and her physical abilities are excellent. It makes me wonder why she was placed in Class D."

That doesn't make her special. Instead, that makes her a rather unique type of person.

I kept quiet as I was afraid that saying too many bad things about her would come back to bite me later on.

"Wasn't she assigned to Class D partially because she's not very sociable?"

"But isn't she normal when she interacts with you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"You're saying that's… normal?"

If we were to base things off my interactions with her, the way Horikita treats others is really miserable in comparison…

I trembled slightly as I recalled Ike fainting in agony.

"I still feel like there's some sort of wall between Horikita and I. Or perhaps I should say that's just the extent of our relationship, just in case you're misunderstanding something."

"Uh-huh~"

She responded with an amused, yet doubtful tone in her voice. I really don't want to be misunderstood by Kushida.

"Ah, that's right, there's something I wanted to ask you. Your room is on the 9th floor, right?"

"Eh? Ah, yeah that's right. What about it?"

"No, it's nothing. I was just a little curious is all."

Before I realized it, Kushida had fallen into silence. A silence that came unexpectedly, without any signs of arrival.

Our conversation, which had been going smoothly for some time now, suddenly stopped.

Usually, Kushida would continue our conversation almost immediately, but that wasn't the case here.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to ask what floor she lived on?

I was too restless to calm down, and aimlessly looked around every corner of my room.

Aaah, I want to be an ikemen with exceptional communication skills right now. I couldn't help but think so.

It was so quiet that we could only hear each other's breathing.

"It's getting late. Should I hang up?"

Unable to bear the silence anymore, I gave up.

It was too painful to stay on the phone with a girl in complete silence.

"Say."

"Hm?"

Kushida broke the silence but didn't continue to speak. It felt like she was hesitant to speak, nothing like the usual Kushida who would always try to make the conversation brighter.

"If…" She trailed off. "What if I… I-"

She stopped once again. Silence came as five, then ten seconds passed by.

"… No, it's nothing."

That reaction doesn't seem like it's nothing…

However, I didn't have the courage to respond with something like 'What is it? You were about to speak, so just say it.' so I decided to let it go. Sorry Kushida, forgive me. If I was to go to the battlefield, I'm the type of person who would chicken out and hide in the back with a sniper rifle, far away from all the action.

"I'll see you the day after tomorrow then, Ayanokouji-kun."

With that, Kushida cut the call.

I wonder what she was trying to say there?

It seemed like it was going to be a long, sleepless night.

9

Just before noon on Sunday, I went to the shopping mall in order to fulfill my agreement with Kushida. Since I usually opted to spend the weekends alone in my room, coming somewhere like this was just a little nerve-racking for me.

Someone else was sitting on one side of the two benches. I wonder if they're waiting in the same type of situation as I am?

After all, since it's a day off, most students would be going out and about as they pleased. I sat down on the vacant bench while I thought about something that felt so obvious to me.

Since we both live in the same dormitory, I thought it would've been better for us to come out here together. However, Kushida was being a little peculiar. She appeared to have some sort of fixation towards meeting up on-site.

"Good morning!"

Tearing through the clatter of our surroundings, Kushida approached with a wide smile on her face.

"O-oh, good morning."

My heart unintentionally skipped a beat as I fumbled with my words and lightly lifted my hand.

"I'm sorry, have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here too."

While we exchanged words that seemed like they came from a standard dating template, I unintentionally stared at Kushida's body from head to toe. She was cute, too cute. I couldn't suppress my excitement at seeing Kushida's figure in casual clothes for the first time.

"This is the first time we've met on a day off. What a fresh feeling."

Kushida appeared to feel the same way, as she laughed at my comment. What's with that cute smile? It's unfair.

Is it possible that even Ike and the others have yet to see her like this? Maybe I'm the first one to get this far?

While I was unable to suppress my excitement, Kushida spoke up, as if she had remembered something.

"Were you busy during last week's holiday? You should've come along then as well, Ayanokouji-kun."

Last week? Should've come along? What on earth is she talking about?

"I mean, the time when I went to the cafe with Ike-kun and the others."

This was the first time I had heard of it.

I don't remember learning how to trigger this hidden event.

"Maybe-"

"A-Ah, is that so? Well, about that… I haven't really heard of it."

I looked up at the sky and lamented on my own cowardliness.

Ike and the others weren't in the wrong for not inviting me. Rather, the one to blame was myself.

"You're just attempting to play it cool, aren't you? Sorry, I seem to have said something unnecessary…"

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind at all… Did you guys have a good time though?"

"The only thing I know is that you seem to mind an awful lot…"

Far from being the first person to see Kushida this on a day off, I'm probably the last.

I considered myself lucky that it could be just the two of us, even if it was only for the moment.

Students who occasionally passed us by would become fascinated by Kushida's figure in her everyday clothes. In the case of a couple, the girlfriend would have to pull her boyfriend away by the cheek with an irritated look on her face.

This showed that she was so cute that even people in relationships would be charmed by her.

…I feel like I'm flattering Kushida a lot.

Although I was only speaking the truth, I still ended up feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

Kushida seemed to find it strange that I had been standing stiff and motionless, so she bent forward a little and looked at me. Every movement of hers was cute.

"I was just thinking that the weather is really nice today."

I responded with a line that even I thought was cliche.

Calm down a little. Just how many times have I used the word 'cute' today?

If I continue to use the term at this pace, I'd end up repeating myself one or two hundred times per day.

"I was just thinking that I kinda look out of place compared to you, sorry."

I was wearing simple, easy-going clothes. By any standard, I'm certainly not the type of guy who could match up to Kushida.

"That's not true at all. I think those clothes suit you really well."

"Should I interpret that as though you're insulting me for being a good fit for plain clothes?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Swish~~

It felt as though I was being stabbed by a sharp knife. It's alright though. Don't go digging me a grave or anything like that, it was just extremely shocking.

"Is Ayanokouji-kun unexpectedly delicate? It feels like when I say something, you usually don't seem to mind. I wasn't trying to do something like bad-mouthing you at all. I really do think it suits you well."

It seems that I was being made fun of in some way. Even if it was something that would normally make people angry, Kushida would be able to get away with it with a single playful remark. How cunning.

"So, what about Sakura-san?"

"It doesn't look like she's here yet."

It was just about the appointed time, but there was no trace of Sakura.

"Was inviting me alright with her?"

"She asked me to invite you, Ayanokouji-kun. Aren't you in contact with Sakura-san?"

"Sakura said that? No… We've hardly ever spoken to each other."

I thought back to the time when I ran into Sakura in the special building. That was the level of contact that the two of us have had.

"Could it be that she fell in love with you at first sight or something?"

Kushida had a smirk-like smile. Such a dramatic development could hardly be expected.

(Illustration: https://imgur.com/WNTfPAD)

"Do you want to just sit and wait for now?"

"Yeah. Say… Isn't that Sakura-san sitting on the bench next to us?"

When I quickly looked over, the person seated on the other bench apologetically greeted me with a small nod.

I had no idea that the person seated on the next bench had been Sakura all along.

The presence she carried was so insignificant that I almost didn't notice her. She blended into the background in much the same manner as the average nameless extra.

"I'm sorry, my presence is thin… Good morning…"

"No, I don't think there's anything particularly thin about your presence. After all, I noticed your existence."

"That didn't help very much, Ayanokouji-kun."

As I apologetically lowered my head, Sakura slowly stood up.

Although I hoped that she would forgive me for not noticing her, Sakura was wearing a mask along with her hat. In any case, it would've been hard for even a close friend to recognize her like this. I wonder if she caught a cold.

"Hey, she looks like a somewhat suspicious individual…"

"Instead of looking suspicious, I think it's the opposite; she's standing out more this way."

"Yeah, you're right… I guess it's especially conspicuous in a place like this."

Sakura said so and took off the mask she was wearing apologetically. She didn't seem to have a cold. Instead, it appeared that she was just wearing a surgical face mask. Just how much does she dislike being noticed?

"To repair the camera, we just have to go to the electronics store in the shopping mall, right?"

"If I'm remembering it correctly, they should have a repair service."

"I'm sorry… Making you accompany me for something like this…"

Sakura lowers her head and apologised again, seeming to mean it from the bottom of her heart. Seeing this made me feel a little sorry myself.

10

There's a retail store outlet located on campus, as the brand it belongs to is a famous nationwide retail chain store that entered into a partnership with the school. As their only customers would be students, the store itself isn't very large. Even so, the store readily sold supplies that students may need on a daily basis as well as electronics that students may be interested in.

"If I'm remembering correctly, the repair service is located at the counter in the back."

Kushida seemed to have been here several times before, as she promptly remembered where to go and headed deeper into the store. Sakura and I followed behind.

"I wonder if they'll be able to fix it soon…"

With an uneasy expression, Sakura tightly gripped the camera in her hands.

"You're really fond of that camera."

"Yes… Is that weird?"

"No, not at all. Instead, isn't it a good hobby? Well, that's just me assuming that I know what you use the camera for. Nevertheless, I hope they'll be able to fix it quickly."

"Okay!"

"There's where they take care of the repairs."

As there was a lot of merchandise inside the store, we were unable to see our surroundings properly. However, Kushida had found the repair center at the innermost section of the store.

"Ah…"

Sakura stopped moving forward for some reason. From the side of her face, I could see that her expression had become one of blatant disgust, as though she had seen something unpleasant.

I followed Sakura's line of sight, but I couldn't find anything particularly out of place.

"What's wrong? Sakura-san?"

Kushida also seemed to find Sakura's behavior strange, so she called out to her.

"Ah, uh… That…"

Though she seemed to have something to say, she ended up shaking her head and taking a deep breath.

"It's nothing…"

After saying that, she put an earnest smile on her face and walked up to the receptionist at the counter of the repair center.

Kushida and I glanced at each other, but since Sakura said it was nothing, we followed after her.

Kushida spoke to the clerk and commissioned for him to repair the digital camera.

While that was happening, I took a look at the nearby electronics out of boredom.

However, the way Kushida conducted herself was rather fierce. She was talking to the store clerk, who she had only just met for the first time, as if they were old friends. Although Sakura was the owner of the camera who was seeking the repair service, she was only speaking up when she was being asked for consent.

That said, the clerk was in frightfully high spirits. He was energetically talking on and on with Kushida carrying a torrent of momentum. Based on the snippets of the conversation that I was able to overhear, it appears that he was asking Kushida out on a date to the movie theater to see the screening of an upcoming female idol concert. He seemed to be an exaggerated otaku, who was skillfully choosing his words to approach Kushdia with a wide range of topics, from how the elections were going to matters regarding idol magazines.

Since Kushida didn't show any signs of annoyance, he probably thought that he could smoothly tempt her into accepting his offer. However, I thought that he was doomed to fail, and that she found the situation distasteful instead.

The clerk seemed to be emotionally excited about being around a cute girl, so the conversation hadn't progressed at all.

As expected, Kushida felt that the situation was crude and pushed the conversation forward, urging Sakura to present him with the digital camera.

The clerk opened the camera and made a simple check inside. He stated that some of the parts had been damaged by the impact of the drop, which prevented the camera's power supply from turning on properly. Fortunately, since the digital camera was purchased after entering the school, it was included under warranty and it was to be repaired free of charge.

All that was left was the process of Sakura filling out her personal information. Or at least it should be, but Sakura's hand came to a stop just before the paper.

"Sakura-san?"

Kushida thought something was strange and spoke up. Sakura appeared to be hesitating about something.

I wasn't planning on interjecting, but the way she was acting worried me.

Besides- I looked at the clerk.

The clerk, who had been indulging in conversation with Kushida, was now staring at Sakura.

As both Sakura and Kushida were focused on the form in front of them, they were unaware that the clerk had a terrible look in his eyes that would even make men shudder a little.

"Hold on a second, okay?"

"Eh?"

I stood next to Sakura and motioned for her to hand over the pen she was holding.

Looking uneasy, as she didn't understand what I was doing, she handed the pen over to me nonetheless.

"Please contact me when you finish the repairs."

"W-Wait a minute sir. She's the owner of the digital camera, right? It's kind of-"

"There were no problems verifying the manufacturer's warranty and proving the sale and purchase date, and there shouldn't any legal issues either. Besides, there shouldn't be any issues if the person filling out the form is different than the original purchaser, right?"

I began listing the required information, such as my name and dorm number, before he could even reply.

"Or is there a reason why it has to be her?"

I added on, without shifting my attention off the form.

"N-No. I understand sir… There won't be any problems."

Shortly after, I finished filling out the form and handed it over to him along with Sakura's camera without a hitch. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

It would take about two weeks for the camera's repairs to be finished. Looking very disappointed with this, Sakura hung her shoulders in frustration.

"Mr. Shop Assistant was really terrifying… The way he was talking on and on was so imposing that it made me feel a little anxious."

"The way he was talking so incessantly was a little gross, wasn't it…?"

"Well, I didn't personally mind it. Do you know him by any chance? The salesclerk?"

Sakura gave a small nod. It seems that she met the clerk back when she bought the camera.

"What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Kushida asked for my opinion.

"Well, I guess he may have had a somewhat unapproachable temperament. Especially with girls."

"There was a situation where he tried to speak with me before… Because of that, I was afraid of going to get the repair done alone…"

Kushida made a small sound as if she had realized something and turned towards me with wide eyes.

"Is that why you did that then, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"It's because she's a girl. I thought that she might be hesitant to write down her personal information such as her address or phone number."

Whereas, as a male, there wouldn't be anything to worry about if he had my information instead.

"Th-thanks… Ayanokouji-kun. You've really done me a great favor…"

"No, it was nothing really. All I did was write down my address. I'll get in touch with you when I'm notified that the repairs are completed."

Sakura nodded happily. I felt sorry thinking that was all that it took to make her happy.

"You're watching over Sakura-san pretty closely."

"That's misleading. To be exact, I was watching the distinct mannerisms of the shop assistant. How do I put it… He gave off an atmosphere that screamed 'pervert', didn't he?"

"Ahaha… That's for sure."

It must have been pretty tough on the defenseless Sakura; even Kushida had enough of him.

"Because Kushida-san was with me today, he didn't focus all of his attention on me. Thank you."

If Sakura had faced the clerk one on one, she might have ended up running away.

"If it's something like this, I'm totally willing to lend you a hand. Sakura-san, are you a fan of digital cameras?"

"Yeah… though it wasn't a passion of mine when I was younger. I slowly came to like them after my father got me one before I got into middle school. That being said, I just like to take pictures, I don't know anything about how cameras work at all."

"Understanding how cameras work and enjoying photography are two different things. I think it's great to be passionate about something."

"If I'm remembering correctly, you said that you usually like to take pictures of landscapes right? Do you take pictures of other stuff, like people?"

"Ehh!?"

Sakura backed up quickly, in the blink of an eye. Did I ask an inappropriate question?

I thought that I had asked her something completely natural. Does she take pictures of something else, or is her specialty in taking pictures of scenery or landscape only?

Sakura opened her mouth in shock as her body stiffened.

"…S-Secret."

I see. She doesn't want to give a detailed answer to someone like me.

"T-That, that's because… it's very embarrassing…"

Sakura blushed and looked away in shame as she spoke. Is she taking pictures of something embarrassing?

It was a situation where my imagination ran wild with the possibilities, but it would've been rude to let that show on my face, so I had to bear with it.

"Is that so? Anyways, sorry for this, but can I take a quick look around the store?"

"Are you looking for something?"

I don't know if there's something I'm looking for, or if there's just something on my mind.

"It's fine if the two of you take a look around as well."

"Then let's all go together. Right?"

"Y-Yes. It's my bad for having you come out and accompany me… so I also have some free time."

It appears that both of them ended up deciding to come with me, though I was hoping they wouldn't.

Kushida and Sakura. Looking at the two of them walking side by side, I feel like the distance between them has shortened significantly over the course of today alone. I wish Kushida would share the secrets of how to do that with me.

The two of them engaged in some sort of girls' talk, and in order to avoid disturbing them, I decided to make a check for what I was looking for. I opened up the contact list on my phone.

I had been exchanging my contact information with others recently due to a gambling thing that Ike occasionally forced me to participate in.

Though the number of contacts may be few, there's no doubt that my number of friends has been steadily increasing.

I went down to the S line in my contacts, selected『Sotomura (The Doctor)』, and started a call.

"Doctor, do you have a minute?"

"Hm? Tis quite unusual to be phoned by Ayanokouji-dono. What can I do for you?"

The one on the other side of the call was Sotomura, nicknamed The Doctor. While his nickname makes it seem like he has a good head, in reality, he's just a passionate Otaku. He gathers information on a daily basis, covering a broad range of topics, from the latest bishoujo games to anime and manga.

"That notebook computer you're always using was bought with points from the school, right?"

"It is so. I parted ways with 80,000 points. But what of it?"

"There's something I'm looking to buy in the electronic appliance store on campus."

I told him that I was already in the store and gave an outline of what I was looking for. I explained that although there were many similar products in front of me, I didn't know which one to pick.

While I think it would have been faster to just ask the clerk, that would have been met with various difficulties.

"Ayanokouji-dono… do you figure me as well acquainted with things of that nature?"

"It's fine if you don't know."

"Wait a moment!"

He called out to me as I was about to cut the call.

"I do know. I used to have two of those things back at my parent's house."

"No way. You were making mischief like that back in middle school?"

"Don't misunderstand. At the time I was experimenting for the sake of foreign language studies."

"Well then, if it turns out that I need it, is it fine for me to ask you to set it up?"

"Fufu, It has been entrusted. Someday, it might come to light that I, too, am in need of your assistance."

He was the right person in the right place. For things where I hold no expertise, there's always another person with detailed knowledge to fill the gap. I ended the call and turned to Kushida and Sakura.

"Sorry, I've kept you both waiting."

"You're already finished?"

"I'm just previewing things today. I don't have enough points to buy any electronics anyways."

"Huh?"

Kushida abruptly stood still and stared at Sakura's face.

"Sakura-san, have we ever met somewhere before?"

"Eh? N-No… Not that I can remember, but-"

"Sorry. For some reason, when I looked at you just a second ago, I vaguely felt like I had seen you someplace before. Erm, if it's alright with you, would you mind taking off your glasses?"

"Eeeh!? T-This is a bit…! My eyesight is so bad that I can't see anything…"

Sakura refused Kushida's request while waving her hands from side to side in front of her.

"Hey, let's get together sometime, Sakura-san. Not just you and me, but with other friends as well."

"That's…"

Sakura began to say something, but her words trailed off and she didn't make it to the end of her sentence.

It appeared that Kushida also felt it would be troublesome to ask again, so she didn't say anything in particular. No- perhaps she couldn't press the issue anymore?

Eventually, we ended up back at the spot where we met up in the beginning.

"Um… Thank you very much for today. You've really become my savior."

"No, no. It's not anything you need to be that thankful for. Moreover, Sakura-san, if it's alright with you, could you speak normally? It's strange to use honorific language with classmates."

Sakura's choice of words definitely aren't the type one would use with other classmates of the same grade.

However, this wasn't a very simple matter for Sakura, who appeared to be overwhelmed.

"I'm, not really doing it on purpose… am I strange?"

"I'm not saying you've done anything wrong. However, I'd be happier if we could just speak casually."

"Ah, y-yeah… Understood- I mean… I get it. I'll try my best."

I'd expected her to refuse Kushida's suggestion, but Sakura ended up giving a response that made it seem like she had come to terms with it.

I wonder if this is how people get on good terms with one another, one step at a time.

Even against someone like Sakura, who barely left herself open to others, Kushida had managed to steadily shrink the distance between them.

"You don't have to push yourself if you don't want to."

"I-It's okay. Because… I also…"

Sakura cast her eyes downwards as her words quietly trailed off, unable to reach my ears. However, she didn't appear to be feeling discomfort.

Kushida smiled in satisfaction and left things like that without pushing the matter any further.

I guess that was a tactful place to stop.

From the standpoint of someone who's weak at socializing, it would be appreciated for someone to be willing to take the lead and show them what to do, but on the other hand, if it becomes annoying or if you push them too much, they may end up pushing back.

"Well then, see you guys at school."

Kushida spoke up and began moving the conversation towards ending things there for the day. However, unexpectedly, Sakura didn't move at all.

"Hey…!"

Sakura raised her voice a bit and looked directly at both of us. When we returned her gaze, she quickly looked away.

"About that thing with Sudou-kun… As a thanks for today, I haven't been completely honest but… if it's alright with you…"

She once again paused for a moment, and then clearly spoke the words.

"… About Sudou-kun. I, I may be able to cooperate…"

Sakura personally stated that she was an eyewitness of the incident.

Kushida and I exchanged glances with each other.

"Sakura-san, are you saying that you saw Sudou-kun's fight with the other students?"

"Yeah… I-I saw the entire thing. Even though I just happened to see it by chance… it really is unbelievable, isn't it?"

"That's not true. However, why are you bringing it up now? It's a completely wonderful thing to discuss, but I don't want you to overdo it. I didn't set things up today to make you feel like you owe us something."

Sakura seemed to be at a loss for words and shook her head from side to side.

The fact that she's chosen to speak up now of all times might be evidence that Sakura cares about Sudou's situation more than anyone. It made me wonder if she wanted to cooperate and come forward with information to get a foothold on the situation.

"Is it really okay? You're not forcing yourself here, right?"

Kushida asked the same thing that I had wanted to ask. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines that I was.

Sakura understood that Kushida's question came from a place of concern, so she nodded apologetically.

"It's alright… I think, I may end up regretting it if I keep silent. I also… I don't want to be a burden to my classmates. But, if I was to speak out as an eyewitness, I would end up standing out anyway… I just hate it… I'm sorry."

After offering many regret-filled apologies, Sakura promised Kushida that she would testify.

"Thank you, Sakura-san. Sudou-kun will definitely be pleased to hear this!"

Kushida grabbed hold of Sakura's hands, and Sakura responded to Kushida with a smile.

Was a new friendship born, right here and now? I wonder.

In any case, it was the moment Sudou had been hoping for. A witness had finally been found.

11

Later that night, after helping Sakura go out and repair her camera, I was holding onto my cell phone pretty tightly.

There was so much sweat on my hand holding onto my cell phone that it didn't seem like I was in a room with a functioning air conditioning unit.

"We've managed to shrink the gap between ourselves and Sakura… would you agree?"

"It's better than how it was yesterday, at least. Though, there's still a lot more progress to be made. I'm pretty disappointed in myself."

Kushida probably had her heart set on getting on even better terms with Sakura than what she ended up managing to do. However, it has always seemed like Sakura has placed a high wall between herself and others. Unless we manage to overcome that wall, it would be difficult to call in Sakura as a witness.

"That reminds me, why did you try to get Sakura to take off her glasses?"

"Well, it would be a bit awkward to say why exactly. For some reason, it felt like they didn't suit her exactly- if that makes any sense. Or rather, should I say that she doesn't seem to be very connected to her glasses? I don't exactly understand it myself. I had thought that I had met her before, but I guess it was just a typical misunderstanding."

"No… maybe it's not just you imagining things. Sakura isn't the type of person who dresses for the sake of fashion, right? I'm the same way. I choose to wear plain, non-standoffish clothing to the best of my ability."

"Yeah, you're right. She doesn't seem to be very fashion-conscious. But what's wrong with that?"

When Sakura dropped her digital camera and went to pick it up, I saw her glasses from the side.

The feeling that something was out of place has stuck to me ever since then.

"It feels kinda unnatural that such a young girl would be wearing decorative glasses."

"Eh? Sakura-san's glasses are decorative? But didn't she say she had poor eyesight…?"

"Glasses and decorative glasses may look the same at first glance, but there's definitely a difference between them. Real glasses have a distortion on the other side of the lens. Sakura's lens didn't have any distortion to them. I had thought that she wore them for the sake of fashion, but what she said earlier today has got me wondering."

"She's wearing glasses only for the sake of fashion? Well, that isn't very typical."

If someone is particular about accessories and the like, you'd expect them to be interested in clothing and makeup as well.

"Or is it an attempt to hide some form of complex? For example, if you wear glasses, you come across as an intellectual, right?"

"That's true. People do look smarter when they wear glasses."

"In Sakura's case, it may be that she doesn't want people to see the real her, so she hides behind glasses. It doesn't seem like she simply doesn't like interacting with people either. Her posture is always stooped down low and she never looks other people in the eye."

It feels like there's something hidden within her, just beyond the wall.

"Sure enough, bringing Ayanokouji-kun along today was the right choice after all. I always feel like you're skillfully looking into other people."

…That's a little embarrassing.

The reason why interactions with Kushida move along so easily is because she skillfully guides the conversation along in a natural manner.

For those unable to walk that path, such as me, she steps up and shortens the distance so that they can get to a place where it's easier for them.

"After that-"

While Kushida was gently leading the conversation, another call came in on my cell phone.

I just need to confirm the caller ID in way that Kushida wouldn't notice. If it's Ike or Yamauchi, I'll just put them off, but if it's Horikita… that, I'd need to think about that. Ah, so it's who I thought it was after all…

The name shown on the display was 'Sakura'.

"Sorry Kushida, can I call you back in a bit?"

"Ah, sure. Sorry for talking for so long."

With vestiges of regret, I ended my call with Kushida. I answered Sakura's call before it had the chance to go to voicemail.

The line was silent after I answered the call, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

"Um… This is Sakura…"

"Ayanokouji speaking."

I thought that this was a strange way to be starting off the conversation, given that we had just exchanged contact information with each other.

Even though we had gone through the formalities of exchanging contact information with each other, I didn't expect that she would actually end up calling me. If a situation arose where she needed to get into contact with somebody, Kushida would also be available.

"Thank you, for accompanying me today."

"No… It's not that big of a deal. You don't have to be so worried about it. After expressing your gratitude so many times, it starts to worry me instead."

"Yeah…"

There was a moment of silence. Rather than being Sakura's fault, it was more that I had failed to properly respond to her. The reality of how much I relied on Kushida to lead our earlier conversation soaked in. Nevertheless, I still felt as though I had to give this conversation my all.

"What's wrong?"

"Erm…"

Once again, the silence continued. What should I do in a situation like this? Big brother Hirata, please guide me.

"Did… did something come to mind?"

Then, absolutely generic, yet unintelligible words came flying.

Does she want to know my thoughts? There's no way that she wants a response like: 'Kushida was cute in her casual outfit', or 'Sakura, you're unexpectedly more interesting than I thought you would be.' right?

There just weren't enough clues, I had no idea how Sakura was expecting me to answer.

"Did something happen?"

I sensed the depths of uneasiness in her words, and tried to lightly reel in a clue by the thread. However, a lightly pulled thread breaks easily, its line melting into water.

"Not at all, sorry… Good night."

Without any chance for me to stop her, Sakura ended the call.

I thought of trying to call back right away, but in the end I understood that I would just be repeating the same failure all over again. In order to take a little time to think, I went over to the sink to wash my face.

My call with Kushida lasted for about ten minutes, but during that time, there was no indication of a call coming in on her end. If a call came in from Sakura before then, it wouldn't be strange to hear about it from Kushida. That being the case, was she planning on calling me, and then Kushida afterwards? In general, when someone makes a phone call, they reach out to their superiors, or someone they're more intimate with first. In other words, in this case it seems reasonable to assess that she's only contacted me so far.

Just to make sure, I sent a message to Kushida and asked about whether or not she had been contacted by Sakura so far.

She responded a few minutes later, confirming that she hadn't heard anything from her.

"She asked me to invite you, Ayanokouji-kun. Aren't you in contact with Sakura-san?"

That's was what Kushida had told me when we met earlier this morning.

At the time, I thought that it was because Sakura would be nervous at the idea of meeting alone with Kushida, so she asked Kushida to invite trustworthy people to come along. But… it seems that wasn't the case.

Kushida had playfully told me that it was love at first sight. Putting that unrealistic fantasy aside, was there some reason why it had to be me? I thought back to how I felt as I interacted with Sakura throughout the day today.

Although almost all of the conversation earlier today was held between Sakura and Kushida, there was also one subject that was directed towards me. That would be the situation that happened between me and the shop assistant when we were trying to get the camera repaired. Other than that, I couldn't think of anything.

Then, was that why she asked me what I had on my mind?

The pieces of the puzzle that I've managed to gather up were far too few in number and simply insufficient for seeing the bigger picture.

Several fantasies, wild delusions, and other things were floating around in my head, but they all lacked credibility.

All I had was the type of evidence that left me unable to decisively decide on any one idea.

Typically I would think it would be fine to just ask about it at school, but when it comes to Sakura, I don't think it'll be that easy.

If I was to go try to speak with Sakura, who doesn't spend any time conversing with others, It would just stand out in a bad way.

I prayed that my worries about her phone call would end up just being needless anxiety, and began to prepare to go to bed.