Lame Problems About Seeking Friends

"Sorry I'm late!"

Ichinose arrived before long.

"That's no problem," Kirisaki responded a little stiffly.

Komi remained silent, and Tsugumi have no particular reaction.

Ichinose laughed awkwardly. "I had business with my other friends, see. But now I don't. Let's get started, Kirisaki-san. Ah, as for Komi-san...?"

She gave me a quick glance.

"She'll try to observe—for the same reason as Kirisaki," I answered.

Ichinose widened her eyes.

"Komi-san can't converse so well either?"

Komi gave a nod.

"Ohh," Ichinose parted her mouth into an O of surprise. "That's rather unexpected. Why didn't Komi-san also join Kirisaki-san, then?"

Komi immediately looked over to me, her expression was probing.

I chuckled. "You could try saying 'Hi' to her."

Ichinose let out a "Huh?"

Komi didn't question me. She quickly turned to the confused Ichinose, who had taken a seat beside her. Kirisaki and Tsugumi were looking on curiously.

Both of them were staring at each other face to face.

Komi took a small breath, then— "H-H-H-H-H—"

"Komi-san?!" Ichinose shouted in panic.

"Hey, are you okay?!"

"Should we take her to the hospital?!"

Kirisaki and Tsugumi joined in the panic.

I stifled a laugh.

[Indeed, not only was her speech stuttering, but her seizure-like frame was jarring for normal people.] How could they not? Even after knowing it beforehand—without seeing it firsthand—I was still weirded out by her reaction.

"You can stop now, Komi-san," I said.

She had done so as I was saying it, eyeing the three girls in puzzlement.

"H-Huh?" Ichinose seemed as puzzled. She stared at me in a daze. "...Is her communication problem this serious?"

"Yes," I nodded. 

Kirisaki and Tsugumi were speechless.

"You don't have to be so moody, Komi-san." 

She had lowered her head in shame. 

At my remarks, she lifted her head and looked at me with that blank expression of hers. I could tell she was confused.

I continued calmly. "Although you have extreme communication problems, it's not like you can't make friends in other ways. Conveying it in the way you're using now is not impossible and difficult. I'm proof of that, aren't I?"

She didn't reply for a while, then typing something on her phone and showed it to me. 

{Isn't that a strange approach? Would anyone want to be friends with a freak like that? What if they mock me for it?}

"I've thought about that, of course," I replied, still calm. I turned to the other three girls. "So, Kirisaki, Tsugumi, and Ichinose, do you mind having a friend like Komi? Answer immediately."

Kirisaki was the first.

"No, I won't," her face is resolute. "Yes, it is weird, but it's not something I would take so seriously. I'd still like to be friends with her."

"My opinion is the same as Ojou's," Tsugumi followed suit. "Such a trivial thing is not something to think about. I don't think friendship is defined by that alone."

"If anyone judges by that, they don't deserve to be your friend," Ichinose smiled. "Not everyone is the same, after all. I personally wouldn't mind being friends with you if you wanted to, Komi-san."

I returned to Komi. She was visibly surprised.

"You worry too much, Komi-san—not that it's anything unreasonable," I said with a smile. "But you can try first, and see the results. Sure, failure can't be out of the list, but what would you gain without trying it? At least failure has something to reflect on—in many cases."

[Fear of failure is natural, but not fearing any failure is foolish.] I thought of it that way.

There are those who believe that failure serves as a means of becoming better, but that does not apply to all cases, clearly. 

If—in a specific case—there was an encounter between a killer and an ordinary person who was to be victimized, the failure of the victim could lead to death. I don't know other people's views on death, but for me, it is the end of all possibilities. You will not be given another chance to do better when that happens.

Upon hearing my words, the corner of Komi's lips curled up slightly. "...Thank you."

"Huh…" I widened my eyes in surprise. 

Ichinose and the others were no different.

Her smile disappeared quickly, and her blank face resurfaced.

"C-Can you do that again, Komi-san?" Kirisaki quickly asked from Tsugumi's side.

{Do what?} She went back to typing on the phone.

"Speak!"

{I can't.}

"B-But what about just now?"

{It came out on its own.}

"—ugh, that instinctive thing?"

Komi nodded.

Ichinose dryly laughed. 

"Well, putting that aside, when are we going to start the communication training? I understand why Komi-san won't do this with us, but still, I'll still try my best to find the way from now on! Ah, in any case, time will run out first if we continue to linger, so let's get on with it, Kirisaki-san…!"

"Right…!"

They sat facing each other immediately. Tsugumi moved next to me, with Komi on the other side.

Ichinose had the ability to attract people around her with her presence and cheerful nature. Although I knew she had a good head on her shoulders, I thought I should step in as I believe that Ichinose wouldn't understand certain problems that Kirisaki had when communicating. To my surprise, she didn't need any.

Kirisaki was fairly stiff when trying to communicate with her. It would come out weirdly to others, naturally, and with her background, her interlocutors would likely think poorly of her. Ordinary people with an ordinary background wouldn't experience that kind of situation. 

Ichinose calmly and thoroughly corrected her. 

I nearly yawned in boredom at having nothing to do.

***

At the lunch break.

"Yoshikawa-kun, want to eat with us?"

"Hm?"

A girl with blonde hair in a ponytail offered that to me cheerfully.

She was sitting diagonally to my left, next to Hikigaya. To her left was Kirisaki, and to the left again was Ichika, one of the quintuplets.

"Hayasaka-san—right?" I asked in confusion, looking behind her. "By eating together, do you mean with Kirisaki, Tsugumi, and Ichika?"

She provided an enthusiastic nod. "Yep. The more, the merrier. What do you think?"

Kirisaki didn't seem to expect this development. Her eyes opened wide as her mouth dropped open. Tsugumi was no different. 

As for Ichika, she had an amused smile to Hayasaka's actions.

I smiled dryly. "I will refuse. I don't want my reputation to escalate in a more unreasonable direction by constantly hanging out with new girls."

"Ahaha," she laughed in response. "Have you been struggling all day since yesterday? Well, walking with Japan's No. 1 Idol Ai Hoshino— of course, it's not so surprising—but with three other beautiful girls? Of course, social media went crazy…!"

"All just because I accidentally got acquainted with her..."

"How did you get to know her?"

"I can't answer that," I replied calmly. "You can ask her directly."

"Ehh, how?"

"By going to her class?"

"That would be weird, you know?"

"Of course."

We exchanged words for a while, and in the end, I still joined them by acting like I had no choice. [—with so many other people overhearing our conversation, I won't attract too much unwanted attention. In this class, at least.]

I took Komi along too. A number of boys came along. They had a nice foothold in the class, though I personally didn't know who they were. In Anime, of course. Not everyone is from Anime. 

Anyway, there are three guys, namely Tokimune, Yamanaka, and Sanraku. 

To summarize, Tokimune is an average height man with bluish hair that gives off an aura of cheerfulness. 

Yamanaka is a blond-haired man who looks like a prince—or whatever the hell you call it in exchange for my lack of vocabulary. 

Sanraku was a black-haired man, slightly short, and gave off a rather moody aura. 

Yamanaka and Sanraku were junior high or elementary school friends, apparently. [—I forgot their introduction yesterday.]

***

Chitoge Kirisaki's Diary

Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

-I sure didn't expect Komi-san to have communication problems. She has it worse than me, as a matter of fact, but worry not, we're still best friends! Ichinose is a wonderful trainer. I was able to naturally get Hayasaka and Ichika to eat together for a start. That's a big step. I'll keep working hard like Yoshikawa-kun said. Maybe, just maybe, this highschool won't be as lonely as in elementary or middle school.