Volume 1 - CH 17

Yuzuru and Hijiri first looked at the girls who were with them.

Hijiri looked at Arisa, and Yuzuru looked at Tenka.

Then they turned their gazes to their companion girls.

Yuzuru looked at Arisa, and Hijiri looked at Tenka.

Arisa had a very troubled expression on her face.

Then she looked at Yuzuru and gave a small nod.

You’ll have to deceive them skillfully.

I thought I heard such a voice.

“Once again, what an odd coincidence, Hijiri, and Nagiri-san.”

“That’s right.”

“That’ s right, Takasegawa-kun.”

Both of them said this with calm expressions, their initial agitation gone.　

As expected of people from Ryozenji and Nagiri, they are very good at what they do.

Then the two of them glanced at Arisa, who was standing next to Yuzuru.

“I’m Arisa Yukishiro, in the same class as Takasegawa-san. Nice to meet you, Ryozenji-san and Nagiri-san.”

Arisa also made a small bow with the fake smile that she usually wore at school.

She looked like a well-mannered honor student.

“I’m Yuzuru’s friend, Hijiri Ryozenji.”

“I’m Tenka Nagiri, a classmate of Ryozenji-kun”

After exchanging greetings, we got down to business.

The one who started it first was Hijiri.

“….So Yuzuru, what are you doing with Yukishiro-san?”

“I just happened to run into her here ……. Isn’t that right? Yukishiro.”

“Yes. I happened to meet Takasegawa-san by chance,……, and we decided to play tennis together “

It was a bit of improvisation, but Arisa went along with it.

It wasn’t strange at all, since there were facilities like batting machines here where one could play by themselves.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever accidentally bump into a classmate though.

“…… Are you guys close?”

“To the point where if we happen to bump into each other, we might play tennis together, you know?”

“We’re in the same class after all”

It’s not an answer at all, but it’s okay because I don’t plan to answer it in the first place.

Hijiri also guessed that Yuzuru did not want to answer.

He didn’t say anything in particular.

Now, it was Yuzuru’s turn to ask.

“What about you, Nagiri-san and Hiriji?”

“We met here by chance, too. Right, Nagiri?”

“We were playing tennis a while ago. We thought we’d go bowling now.”

Hijiri and Tenka said this as they took advantage of Yuzuru and Airisa’s lie.

Ah, that’s a lie…

It’s a date for sure, Yuzuru guessed, but he didn’t go into it deeply.

…… The important thing is that we were able to confirm each other’s intention to hide this matter.

“That’s why…… Please don’t tell anyone about this. I don’t like to make a big deal out of it.”

“Yes, I understand……. Please take care of this side, too.”

Yuzuru and Hijiri promised each other to keep this a secret.

Yuzuru saw off Hijiri and Tenka, and then looked at Airisa.

She raised her well-defined eyebrows and asked Yuzuru.

“Will it be okay?”

‘He’s a tight-lipped guy, so it should be fine……. If he tells anyone anything, we might let it be known that Nagiri and Ryozenji are having an affair. I’m sure he wouldn’t like that either, so he probably won’t talk about us.”

“I hope it is so.”

It was understandable that Arisa was worried.

She didn’t know Hijiri’s personality. She probably only has the impression that he is a flirtatious person.

Yuzuru also doesn’t know Tenka’s personality (nor does Arisa).

The impression of her appearance and demeanor is that of a ladylike Yamato Nadeshiko (TN: the ideal Japanese girl)……, but what about her personality?

According to Hijiri, she’s  “like a demon”.

(But would you go on a date with a demon?)

I don’t want to think about it too much, but he might have said “demon” in the same way a second-grader might say something bad about a girl he likes.

If that was the case, Yuzuru thought, it would be very amusing and he would make fun of him someday.

“Are those two people in a relationship?”

“Who knows… I’m not sure if they’re lovers, but I’m sure they have some feelings for each other. If not, they wouldn’t have come here alone together.”

And after saying that, Yuzuru realized.

It was a big boomerang for them, too.

“Well, Takasegawa-san. Are you waiting for me to interject there?”

As expected, Arisa noticed and said in a somewhat exasperated voice.

And looked at Yuzuru with slightly cold eyes.

“We are a little different. We have to play the role of two lovers.”

He scratched his cheek and said as if to make an excuse.

It is natural to say that they are here to report to the parents of both parties that they have been on a proper date because they are lovers and fiancées. But usually, people do not go on dates unless they have the appropriate feelings.

“Shall we play tennis?”

“Sure.”

Feeling slightly awkward, they decided to quickly end the conversation and start playing tennis.

“There was some trouble at first, but it was fun.”

On the way home.

On the way to take Arisa home, Yuzuru muttered to himself.

Arisa nodded as if to agree with him.

“Yes, it was. You’re very athletic, Takasegawa-san.”

“You too.  It was great for someone who has only taken a few lessons for tennis in physical education. “

At first, the two of them only continued to play rallies. ……

After we discovered that we both could play tennis reasonably well, we played a couple of matches.

Yuzuru won the match because of his superior muscle strength and stamina, but Arisa also put up a good fight.

In terms of ability (excluding gender), it seems that they are evenly matched, or perhaps Arisa is slightly better.

“I’d like to try other games next time. You can play …… bowling and darts, right?”

“Yes, we can do that. Let’s come back next time we have a chance.”

He naturally made a promise to play with her next.

Yuzuru looked at the profile of Arisa as she walked next to him.

The setting sun made her flaxen hair shine golden and brightly illuminated her beautiful features.

Her art-like appearance was slightly torn.

It was a natural and soft expression, different from the artificial and inorganic expression she showed at school, which she only showed in front of Yuzuru.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking how great it is to have this kind of relationship with you…..The  matchmaking was a hassle, but I’m really glad I met you.”

When Yuzuru said this, Arisa also gave a small nod.

“That’s right. I’m really glad that I was able to make friends with Takasegawa-san. I would never have gone to a place like that by myself.”

She gave a slight smile as she said this.

For a moment, Yuzuru’s heart made a sound.

It was like an illusion that he had fallen in love, that he had started to like her.

(……Well, it’s probably just my imagination)

However, when he looked at Arisa’s face again, no such feelings came to mind.

Just a feeling that it is beautiful as if you were looking at a work of art or a flower.

It was a little bit of a relief for Yuzuru.

While this exchange was going on, we reached the vicinity of her house.

Feeling a little regretful, I was about to say goodbye to Airisa.

But then.

“Yukishiro-san!……Long time no see.”

A boy who looked to be around the same age as I approached us.

Yuzuru looked for a person whose face matched his in his mental picture book…… but he couldn’t find any…

He concluded that he was probably a student from a different high school.

“Kobayashi-san, right? It’s been a while.”

“Do you know each other?”

“We were classmates in junior high school.”

The expression on Arisa’s face was …..the usual masked expression she would show at school.

But it is not easy to tell the difference between the two unless you know her as well as Yuzuru.

“It’s a strange coincidence that we meet at this place……  How is high school?”

“It’s fun. How about you, Kobayashi-san?”

After saying that, Arisa smiled at him.

It’s the usual fake smile.

Yuzuru reaffirmed that the sudden smile from the expressionless face had misled many men.

“It’s just normal for me. By the way, that person is? “

Kobayashi turned his gaze towards Yuzuru.

Somehow, Yuzuru sensed a hint of jealousy or hostility in his gaze.

“I’m Takasegawa, one of Yukishiro’s classmates. Nice to meet you, Kobayashi-kun.”

Yuzuru stepped forward, then gave Kobayashi a social smile.

Kobayashi’s face showed a slight flinch.

“Oh, uh, …… nice to meet you.”

Then he fell silent.

Arisa, who was acquainted with Kobayashi, looked at me as if to say, ” What should we do?”.

But Yuzuru and Kobayashi have no connection to each other, and as long as Arisa and Kobayashi are silent, this is the end of the conversation.

Then, as if he couldn’t stand the awkward silence anymore, Kobayashi suddenly opened his mouth.

” Well, I’ll be going now. See you next time, Yukishiro-san.”

With that, he ran off into the dusk.

Yuzuru pointed to the back of his figure and said to Arisa.

“I think he likes you…….”

“I don’t need to be told.”

Then Arisa sighed deeply.

She looked very tired.

“It’s easy for me to tell someone clearly that I don’t like them if they confess.”

“Well…… you can’t just abruptly tell someone that you don’t like them when they haven’t said anything after all”

To be continuously approached by a guy you don’t even like.

Yuzuru felt a little bit of sympathy for the beautiful girls for their difficulties.

In addition, he also sent his condolences to Kobayashi-kun, whose heartbreak was already confirmed.