Chapter 57 - Entrance Ceremony
(1)
"Good morning, Toya-kun~"
It's a voice I haven't heard in a while.
I was sitting on the edge of my bed.
Airi sits down beside me.
I gaze steadily at Airi.
It's something I've been doing constantly since her birthday.
Her makeup seems light, the same as when she was a middle school student.
But right now, more than that...
"The uniform suits you."
This is what I should be focusing on, right?
I didn't hug her.
Airi, wrapped in a brand-new uniform like a doll—if I hugged her now, the clothes would get all wrinkled, wouldn't they?
However, Airi clung to me regardless.
"Thank you~♪"
Airi looks happy.
I pat her head.
"Toya-kun is so kind~. I'm so happy~, I was worried you might have gone back to how you were before."
I'm being careful.
"Shall we head downstairs soon?"
"Yeah, Kanna is here too."
When I went downstairs, I was startled.
"Yo."
Kanna gives a short greeting.
The length of her skirt is quite short again, and her makeup is done perfectly.
Is she going to be okay from the first day?
"Kanna, is the length of your skirt okay?"
"Hm? For a high schooler, this is normal, right?"
"You're commuting by bicycle, aren't you? That..."
"Ah, right."
Saying that, Kanna tries to adjust the length of her skirt right then and there.
I instinctively look away.
"Kanna! Not here!! I'm borrowing Toya-kun's room."
"What's the big deal, I told you I'm wearing something underneath."
"Just hurry up!"
Saying so, Airi pushes Kanna up to the second floor.
In the meantime, I finished breakfast and my preparations.
(2)
It takes about 20 minutes by bicycle to get to school.
My parents are apparently coming later.
I look at the class list.
All three of us were in the same class.
We head toward the classroom.
Seats were assigned in Japanese syllabary order.
Kanna is in front of me.
Airi was a little further away.
Boys are already swarming around Airi.
Airi is acting obviously annoyed.
But that doesn't matter to the boys.
The boys are desperate, trying somehow to get close to her.
Then, Airi suddenly stands up from her seat.
She comes toward me.
What's going on?
Then, she takes a surprisingly bold action.
"Toya-kun~"
She says, grabbing my arm.
Wait... hold on...
By the time I realized the situation, she had returned halfway to her own seat.
Toward the other half who were slow to give up, she says one thing.
"Sorry, but I have a boyfriend."
During this, my arm remained captured by Airi.
Most of the boys left.
Ignoring the few remaining boys, I return to my seat and start reading a novel I had left unfinished.
While waiting, it felt like sitting on a bed of needles.
"Why does a guy like that have a girlfriend like her..."
I was bathing in those kinds of gazes.
Seeing me like that, Kanna was laughing.
(3)
When the entrance ceremony ended, we returned to the classroom.
The homeroom teacher enters.
It was a still-young female teacher.
I wonder if she looks like Mayumi-chan.
Though their personalities are completely different.
Mizuta Mari. Single.
Appearance is ordinary.
After the homeroom teacher's self-introduction, there was a brief explanation about the school, and the day ended.
Well then, I'll head home too.
Then, a voice calls out to stop me from behind.
"Wait up!"
If I recall... was it Kiritani Eita?
"Do you need something, Kiritani-kun?"
"Eita is fine! So, which one are you dating?"
Huh?
"I'm dating Airi, though?"
"But you seem close with Otonashi-san too. She's cute, so if she's dating Tosaka-san, maybe I'll aim for Otonashi-san?"
"...Just so you know, Kanna has a boyfriend too."
"Seriously!?"
"Yeah, he goes to a different school, but anyway, see ya."
He looked devastated.
Leaving Eita, who looked like he wouldn't be able to recover from the shock, when I left the classroom, Airi and Kanna were waiting.
"Now, shall we go home?"
"Ah... y-yeah."
"Did something happen...?"
Kanna asked me since I was acting strange, but Airi didn't lend an ear.
"It's fine, it's fine. Let's go, Kanna."
"Ah, no, but. It seems like something's up with Toya."
"He's probably just thinking about eating ramen or something like that, right?"
You saw right through me.
"But today we're eating lunch out..."
"Fast food is fine, right?"
"In terms of cost-performance, ramen is..."
Fast, cheap, and delicious!
There's nothing to complain about!
"I don't mind ramen,"
Kanna threw me a lifeline.
"Uuu..."
Alright, if I give it one more push, I can make it!
Kanna gave that one more push.
"Then, you want to go eat ramen with me, Toya?"
"...Fine. I'll go too."
Yay!
But I can't exactly be floating with joy, right?
I wonder if Airi is in a bad mood?
I steal a glance at Airi's expression.
She doesn't seem angry, but she has a somewhat gloomy face.
In times like this, it's that.
I whisper into Airi's ear.
"Want to come over to my house on the way back?"
Airi smiles brightly.
"Yes."
The ramen was delicious.
Surprisingly, it was well-received by Airi and Kanna too.
Thank goodness~.
When I tried to stop by the Convenience Store on the way back, as expected, Airi got angry!
"Only juice!"
"I know, I know."
"Absolutely! ...If you try to buy fried chicken, I'll be seriously angry."
"I-I got it."
Sorry, I can't go against Airi. Goodbye to rice balls and sandwiches too.
The surveillance is strict this time.
She watched me the whole time until I finished paying.
(4)
After seeing Kanna home, I head home with Airi.
I see her off for a moment in front of Airi's house.
"Well then, at the usual time."
"Yeah."
Saying that, Airi went home.
When I got home, I took a nap, ate dinner, took a bath, and played games in my room.
The doorbell rings at the usual time.
I hear the sound of someone coming up the stairs, and the footsteps stop in front of my room.
Then, a knock.
"Come in."
Airi enters the room.
Since I was in the middle of a game, I told her "Just sit wherever," and she sat in the usual spot.
When I wrap up the game, I sit next to Airi.
For now, I check Airi's appearance.
It's her usual loungewear...
Wait? That necklace.
This is it!
"You're wearing that."
I brought up the topic of the necklace.
Airi touches the necklace happily.
"You noticed. Does it suit me?"
"I think I've told you before, but it suits you."
"Thank you."
Usually, Airi would be hopping with joy and hugging me, but today she's strangely calm.
As I thought, did something happen?
Is she worried about that thing from earlier today?
I'll try asking her straight.
"By any chance, that thing from earlier... are you worried about it?"
"It's a little different..."
"If I was at fault, I'll apologize."
"I don't think Toya-kun is in the wrong."
Thank goodness... wait, that can't be it.
There's no doubt something happened.
Because her voice sounds depressed.
Is it good or bad to ask... did someone say that in times like this you should just stay quiet and listen to them talk?
"...We said we'd speak our true feelings, right?"
That's a convenient phrase.
I don't know if we're really speaking our true feelings.
However, Airi's mouth remains tightly closed.
What's wrong?
Did I mess up again?
But she said I wasn't in the wrong.
Still, no matter how I think about it, the events from earlier are the cause, aren't they?
As a result of thinking about various things.
"Did you hate the ramen?"
What a clumsy answer, right?
I thought, I actually said it.
I thought maybe we'd have another big fight.
But Airi just shook her head.
What should I do in times like this?
Should I just throw my opinion at her straight?
I'm scared to ask.
I wonder if she'll start saying let's break up again?
...Whatever happens, happens!
I pull Airi's shoulder close.
"I'll accept anything, so. Let's talk properly, okay?"
Then, Airi hugs me.
And says one thing.
"Please don't hate me."
...Eh?
How does it lead to that?
"I'm a disagreeable woman, aren't I? I'm naggy, meddlesome, selfish... and today's lunch too..."
As I thought, that was the cause.
But...
Is that a reason to hate someone?
"Is that your true feeling?"
Airi nodded silently.
"Airi, you're fundamentally wrong."
"Eh?"
Airi looks up.
"Being naggy, meddlesome, and selfish... that's the cute part of Airi."
"But wouldn't Toya-kun prefer a girl like Kanna, who forgives everything?"
Is that how it looks to Airi?
"Probably, to the rest of the world, it looks like we're flirting, right? At least, that's what I think."
"Is that so?"
When Airi asks, I nod.
"That's why it's fine for Airi to stay just as you are. There's nothing to worry about. Because that's what's cute."
"I thought you might have come to hate me. I thought Kanna, who forgives everything, would be better. That's why I was anxious."
"Kanna is just a friend now. There's nothing for Airi to worry about. Just as Airi told me. You can be confident, okay? Because my girlfriend is Airi."
I wonder if that was comforting.
Airi started crying.
I accept it silently.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Airi apologizes for no reason.
"It's okay."
That was all I could do.
And I think that was probably not wrong.
Sorry...
I saw Airi home.
"Well then, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you."
Saying that, I head home too.
"Wait!"
Airi calls out to stop me.
"Thanks for today... I feel a bit better."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"I wish tomorrow was a holiday."
"Why?"
"...I'll get angry, you know?"
Saying so, she runs to me and hugs me.
"We could have stayed like this forever."
Ah, so that's what it was.
"You can come to my house again this weekend."
"I wish Toya-kun would come to my house instead."
"...Isn't it the same either way?"
"I guess so."
Airi finally smiled.
"Well then."
"Yeah."
And so, I see Airi off as she enters her house.
Then I return home too.
Thus, our high school life began.