Chapter 40 - Because You Are Here
(1)
The next day.
"Toya-kun, wake up."
Airi's sweet voice whispered in my ear.
Where did she learn to do that?
"I love you."
Saying so, Airi gave my cheek a peck.
"What's with you all of a sudden?"
"Ehh~ I told you yesterday~"
Come to think of it, she was up incredibly late yesterday.
"Aren't you sleepy?"
"Eh, I'm totally fine~"
You're lying.
She's hiding it with makeup, but there are dark circles under her eyes.
"...Sorry."
Then, Airi pulled on both of my cheeks.
"Ow, what are you doing?"
"Toya-kun, stop apologizing so quickly~. You haven't done anything wrong~"
"But yesterday..."
Next is a kick.
"Stop grumbling about things that have already passed~. I've actually recovered, you know. Thanks to the phone call last night."
"Ah, sorry for the late—!?"
Airi's kiss cut off my words.
"That's how it is. Well, I'm heading out~"
Saying that, she left the room.
That was how we spent every morning.
At night, I'd study after waiting for Airi to return.
Kanna was also desperate.
And for good reason; in addition to regular exams, academic achievement tests were held every month.
The amount of homework every day was a mountain.
Since the homework itself took up the time, preventing test study, Airi was working through it desperately.
It was rare.
Even though she always looked like she was just winging it.
I wondered if there were some pressing circumstances?
"Hey, Airi."
"Yeees?"
"You said we should be able to talk honestly, right?"
"W-what?"
Her pen stopped.
Airi wore an anxious expression.
"Is there something going on with the next test?"
"Not really~"
"For someone who says that, you seem pretty fired up."
"I thought so too. Airi's been kind of scary lately."
It seemed Kanna shared the same thought.
"It's okay! I won't lose!!"
Huh?
"What do you mean 'won't lose'... you're always at the top,"
Kanna pointed out.
"Just this once... no, I don't want to lose, ever."
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to concentrate and study alone?"
"It's meaningless if I don't do it with everyone!"
???
Kanna and I looked at each other.
Airi was desperate to study.
Eventually, Makoto arrived and Kanna went home.
After that, the two of us studied for a while longer.
"Toya, it's about time you walked Airi-chan home..."
Mother came up, worried.
"Airi, let's stop here for today, okay?"
"Yeah..."
I walked Airi to her house.
"Well, see you tomorrow~"
As she smiled and tried to go home, I called out to stop her.
"Airi, um... will you tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"Why are you so desperate? I feel like you're better off being your usual self. If you put in this much effort now, you'll definitely mess up during the actual test."
"...You think so~"
"You said you'd let me hear your honest feelings... won't you tell me? I'm worried, even if I don't look it."
"...I'll call you when I get home."
"Alright."
Then I went home, took a bath, and returned to my room.
My smartphone was blinking.
Damn.
I checked the call history.
Airi had called.
I hurriedly called her back.
She didn't answer.
Did she fall asleep?
I'll leave it for tomorrow.
Just as I thought that and tried to sleep, the smartphone rang.
I answered.
It was Airi.
"Hello! Sorry, I was in the bath."
"I thought so, so I went to the bath and just got back~"
"...So, the reason. You'll tell me, right?"
"Yeah... I didn't really want to say it, but it's a promise, isn't it?"
Is it that hard to say?
"If it's something you really don't want to say, I'll stop asking."
"It'll just be complaining, is that okay? I'll be putting a burden on Toya-kun again, will you be angry?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
"Then, I don't want to keep secrets, so I'll tell you. You see..."
The story was about something that happened a week ago.
(2)
When I entered the classroom, what caught my eye was a giant drawing of a shared umbrella doodled on the blackboard.
The names were mine and Toya-kun's.
It's started again.
I silently erased the doodle.
I've been used to this since elementary school.
Everyone in the class was giggling or whispering something.
"Tosaka-san?"
The one who spoke to me was Saeki-san.
"Are you dating Katagiri-kun?"
"I am."
When I said that, the whole class became noisy.
I could hear voices cheering and teasing.
To be honest, I was scared.
My legs were shaking.
"My feelings are always by your side."
Only those words from Toya-kun were my support.
"Are you saying you've been beating us while spending your time on such trivial things?"
"It's not a trivial thing."
"I heard you've been studying with Katagiri-kun and Otonashi-san."
"I have."
"You'll regret it someday. If you have time for that, why don't you devote your time to your own studies?"
I got pissed off.
Toya-kun and the others are working hard too. They aren't just playing around. Even if I don't teach them, those two can study.
"Why do I have to be told such things by Saeki-san?"
"It's not just Saeki-san, I think so too."
Nakama-kun joined in.
"I told you, didn't I? Do you intend to throw your future away? For someone like you, there are other paths..."
"Stop talking about that!!"
I was screaming.
Because of that talk, how much pain had I suffered?
How much pain had I put Toya-kun through?
I'd had enough.
The words naturally escaped my mouth.
"Even if I study with Toya-kun and the others, I will absolutely not lose to you two."
"What was that?"
Saeki-san's expression became grim.
But that didn't matter.
Because I was already pissed off.
"If you want to talk about that, say it after you've beaten me. I absolutely won't lose."
Lines the usual me would never say.
But just this once, I couldn't forgive it.
"...You'll regret this."
Saying that, the two of them returned to their seats.
The most recent test was the academic achievement test before Golden Week.
I absolutely will not lose.
(3)
I listened to Airi's story in silence.
When the story ended, I spoke.
"It started again, huh."
"...Yeah."
"But Airi... don't get too heated. Being your usual self is fine. That's enough to beat those two. If you put too much pressure on yourself, your grades will actually drop."
"But then Toya-kun and the others will be made fun of again."
"...To tell you the truth, the same thing happened to us."
"Eh..."
As expected, it was a week ago.
A shared umbrella drawn on the blackboard.
The names written were mine and Airi's.
Makoto and Kanna got angry.
I erased the doodle in silence.
When one of the classmates cheered them on, Makoto grabbed that guy by the collar.
I hurriedly stepped in to stop him.
The class became chaotic.
Then, Mikimoto-sensei... commonly known as Mickey, entered the classroom.
He's the PE teacher.
"What are you doing—! Get to your seats, quickly."
Everyone took their seats as if nothing had happened.
After school.
"Hey— Toya, let's go home."
Kanna tried to go home as usual, but the boys in the class had surrounded me.
"Is it true you're dating Tosaka-san?"
"I am, but is there some kind of problem with that?"
"Give it up! You're not a match for her."
"Yeah, that's right."
This is bad. If Kanna sees this.
"You guys, enough already..."
"Kanna, calm down!"
Saying that, I held Kanna back.
"Are you dating Otonashi-san too?"
Does just putting an arm around a shoulder count as dating?
What kind of short-circuited thinking are they doing?
"Seriously, if you don't stop..."
Kanna swung her arm up.
Someone grabbed that arm.
It was Makoto in his tracksuit.
"I thought it might be something like this."
Makoto was also on the verge of snapping.
"Makoto, you calm down too."
"I am calm!"
It doesn't look that way...
Whether they were overwhelmed by Makoto's aura of anger or not, everyone scattered.
Makoto kicked a chair.
"That's why I'm telling you to calm down."
"You're too calm! That's why you get looked down on!"
"I don't really care what people say."
The two of them were surprised by my words.
"The ones who stay quiet like that are the scariest. One day they explode, and like in second year, they suddenly snap..."
"Coming from someone with a record like you, that has no persuasiveness."
"I won't do that now. If I did, it would damage my internal reports, and above all, it would only make Airi suffer."
"...You've changed."
When Makoto said that, I nodded.
"Strangely, I'm calm. Because that night, I talked with Airi and understood her feelings well. I'm still not confident, but I haven't done anything wrong. I decided to be dignified. I won't hesitate ever again. That would only make Airi suffer more."
When I said that, Makoto laughed.
"If you understand that much, I've got nothing to say. Just know that your allies are right here! You can rely on us anytime."
When Makoto said that, Kanna also nodded.
"Looks like you finally understood what I was saying. I've got nothing to add. ...Good luck!"
"Yeah, thanks to both of you."
That was the story I told Airi.
"Did I make Toya-kun suffer again?"
"I told you, right? I said I won't hesitate anymore, and you're the one who told me to have confidence, Airi."
"Yeah!"
"I'm fine, so... Airi, you should stop putting weird pressure on yourself too. The usual Airi is fine."
"I understand!"
"Well, it's late, so I'll hang up."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
(4)
After that, the bullying escalated.
Just by being together, we were targets of teasing and ridicule.
But it's fine.
Because spending school life together as a pair is what's important.
The only thing I worried about was whether Airi was being bullied where I couldn't see.
Every break time, the three of us would go as a group to check on her.
Without realizing that this only made things escalate further.
Rumors took on a life of their own and became increasingly extreme.
That Toya and Airi were having sex.
It got to the point where they were saying things like that.
If they had that kind of nerve, we'd have done it long ago.
"I'm fine with it anytime, though~"
Airi said, laughing.
However, it reached the teachers' ears.
Airi and I were called to the student guidance room.
Hasuke-sensei interrogated us.
"There are rumors that you two are engaging in inappropriate relations; what is the truth?"
"We have no obligation to answer. However, we have done nothing wrong."
Airi answered.
During that time, we were holding hands the whole time.
No, that's probably too far.
"Let go of those hands! If you have time to be obsessed with such things..."
"I haven't been slacking on my studies."
As expected of the top student.
Hasuke-sensei was left speechless.
Then, Mickey entered the student guidance room.
"Hahaha, Hasuke-sensei. They aren't letting their grades drop, so isn't it fine?"
"Mikimoto-sensei, this is a problem in your class. It sets a bad example for other students."
"If other students want to date, they should just do it. It's just the ones without the nerve to do it who are making a fuss."
"Mikimoto-sensei, it's because you're like that!"
"Hahaha, leave the rest to me! Come on, let's go, you two."
Saying that, Mickey took us to the faculty room.
"So, how about it, you two?"
Huh?
"How far did you go?"
That's sexual harassment, Mickey.
"...There is no reason we have to answer."
Airi was calm.
"I see. Well, you're middle schoolers now, so I don't mind if you've gone as far as you can... but just make sure you do what needs to be done. If you actually get pregnant, even a teacher can't cover for you. Hahaha."
Are you even a teacher?
"Katagiri-kun doesn't have that kind of nerve."
Airi answered with a smile.
That hurts a little.
"Katagiri, toughen up a bit. You're just letting your girlfriend say whatever she wants."
"Sensei, can we go now? I have student council business."
"Oh! That's right. You can go now."
The two of us left the faculty room.
"Phew~"
Airi let out a sigh.
"Good work."
"I'm okay, thank you."
Come to think of it, I didn't say anything.
I pushed the trouble onto Airi again.
"Sorry..."
"What is it~?"
"It feels like I pushed the trouble onto you."
"It's okay~ There are things that are better if I say them. I can be okay because I'm always connected to Toya-kun."
"Is that how it is?"
"That's how it is~ Well, I have student council, so I'm going now, okay~?"
"Yeah, take care."
"When I'm finished, I'm going to Toya-kun's house, so don't do anything weird with Kanna~"
"Y-you idiot..."
"Ahaha~ see ya~"
Airi waved her hand and headed toward the student council room.
A few days later, the academic achievement test began.
Airi demonstrated her usual ability.
The result was...
Kanna and I had raised our grades significantly.
Airi was at the top as usual.
The three of us celebrated together.
Nakama and Saeki were frustrated.
"It won't go like this next time."
"Please do~. Good luck~"
Don't taunt them...
I mean, that's not the kind of character Airi is.
"What do you mean by that...?"
Saeki doesn't have much resistance to taunting either.
"Rankings don't really matter~ as long as I can get into high school~"
"Are those excuses for when you lose, already?"
"You can take it however you like~. However..."
"However what?"
"I don't feel like I'll lose to the current Saeki-san. Even if I'm overtaken in rank, I won't feel like I've lost."
"...I'll remember those words. I'm looking forward to seeing Tosaka-san regret this later."
"I don't think I'll regret it."
Judging that it was useless to say anything more, Saeki left.
"Is it okay to say things like that?"
I asked Airi.
"It's fine~"
Airi was in high spirits.
"What... what will you do if you lose?"
Kanna asked, worried.
"I told you, right? I don't feel like I'll lose. Besides, I'm totally fine even if I lose in rank."
You've just turned all the Class 1 students who are here to see the results into enemies, you know?
"Why can you say that so definitively?"
"Because~..."
Because?
"Because I have you two on my side~! Because you stay close to me~! It's just so much fun I can't help it~"
Airi said so with a carefree smile.