CH 182

A girl standing in front of the teachers’ table mumbled such that a student couldn’t help but ask back.

“Shizuku-chan, …is it true?’

“It’s true.”

Shizuku assured her without any hesitation and remained resolute.

The majority of the classmates, even Yuuto’s eyes widened at that sight of her.

After school, Friday.

It was the last day for the election campaign, and just like yesterday, the discussions regarding the sports festival were about to take place.

After the homeroom teacher had left the classroom with some instructions, the classmates moved into a position that was suitable for discussion to take place without anyone saying anything.

A few students got up from their seats and even tried to leave the classroom.

I sat and watched the scene for a while, remembering my conversation with Shizuku yesterday.

Kirasaka was still looking at her paperback next to me, and Yuuto was putting away his handouts.

Shizuku then stood up with vigor the moment the homeroom teacher left and the atmosphere in the classroom changed with that.

“As for participating in the sports festival, I won’t take part in any of the free events other than the three-legged race.”

With this declaration, the noisy classroom was enveloped in silence.

Everyone was speechless, and all eyes were focused on the same person.

“Shizuku-chan, …what’s going on all of a sudden?”

A girl, who had been serving as a scribe sometime ago, near the teacher’s desk stood and asked.

“I’m sorry, I thought I’d make my wishes known as well.”

The girl apologetically replied, and then continued in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone present.

“If possible, it would be ideal to have the teachers fill out a volunteer form and collect them, and then everyone would make up for the missing numbers.”

“That’s possible, but…”

The girl in front of the teacher’s table, mindful of the stares of those around her, modestly asked for feedback from those around her.

A few students expressed objections, but only to the extent that they are just excuses.

None of the opinions were enough to overturn the plan Shizuku had presented.

“Yesterday you weren’t against it, but now all of a sudden…”

Only one comment by Yuuto, sitting behind Shizuku, changed the atmosphere in the classroom again.

However, that’s just an opinion, not a disagreement.

“I’ve just been thinking about it a little bit.”

Normally, Shizuku would have replied with a smile while seated facing the same way, but today was different.

Standing there, she replied looking down at him.

At that sight, a few students took their seats sensing that they had to be quiet.

“Kanazaki-san, you’re suddenly so dismissive of my opinion… your body’s even shaking a little, perhaps, are you afraid?”

“…It’s easy to keep silent, but when it comes to expressing it through words, it comes with an overflow of emotions, that’s my reason for being a bit agitated.”

“…I wonder what happened yesterday …to make her change so abruptly.”

“I don’t have the slightest idea.”

Scary, this girl next to me is scary.

How can she be so intimidating when her eyes are still on her book?

Why is it that the page she’s grabbing slightly wrinkled, and starting to tear off?

Still, I had thought that Shizuku would voice her opinion once the atmosphere for discussion was set, but I had no idea that she would make a move before it’s settled.

Certainly, from the perspective of others, her opinions would appear as if they were sudden.

Up until now, she has not affirmed or agreed, but she has not denied either, so the sudden change of her impression will be held.

“Then, what about Kirasaka-san?”

A boy turned his gaze toward Kirasaka.

The timing and the worst question that could be asked made Kirasaka turn her gaze just to that student.

“…”

Slam!

Kirasaka deliberately closed the book with a loud noise and put it in her bag.

The boy, succumbing to the sharp gaze and silent pressure, immediately retracted his statement, “N-Nevermind!” and sat down.

Seeing Kirasaka’s reaction, Yuuto, who turned around and looked at me sitting at the back of the classroom, seemed to have an idea of the change in her.

He nodded a few times and raised his hand, looking strangely convinced.

“I’ll ask the teacher about the form, and if it’s too difficult, I’ll make a simple one and we’ll call it a day.”

Yuuto suggested, anticipating that the atmosphere would only get worse if it was dragged any longer.

Most of the students agreed, and many of them left the classroom exhaling their breaths that they were holding in for so long.

The students who usually flock to spend after-school time with Yuuto and Shizuku were not present today.

They must have sensed the unusual behavior of those two and refrained from doing so.

They are sensitive in a way, after all.

At the edge of the classroom, which had become more hectic in a different way than before, I looked out the window and sigh sadly alone.

“…Is it the only way to do it?”

Thinking about a different matter, I muttered.

The only four people who left after about five minutes were me, Shizuku, Yuuto, and Kirasaka.

“…Well, I think I’ll go to the staff room.”

To stop Yuuto, who was about to get up from his seat, I interrupted.

“Yuuto, …we need to talk.”

“…”

The only difference is that Kirasaka is present this time.

Sitting back down after he half-stood, Yuuto looked back.

Shizuku and Kirasaka moved to the back of the class and I sat down next to Yuuto.

Our gazes meet, and the thoughts I’ve been pondering over the past night began to fade away.

“…”

I’m not used to the well planned conversation that Shiraishi usually engages in.

With a sigh, I let out my thoughts and opened my mouth honestly.

“It’s annoying because there’s no clear definition to the word ‘friend’—“

“Minato?”

Yuuto was skeptical of the words he cut out.

His expression looked as if to say what I was even on about.

“It’s hard to draw the line, …whether they’re friends sharing the same hometown or if they’re friends just because they played together once, …what do you think?

“…I guess it’s a question that varies from person to person, …for me a friend is someone I can spend time with at a place, together.”

Yuuto answered, and then reverted the question right back at me.

It seems to be a model response from someone who has a wide range of connections.

“So, to Minato, what does the word “friend” truly mean?”

“…”

For me, spending time in the same place or studying place is not enough to be called a friend.

For me, a person can only be called a friend if we’ve exchanged words, acted together, and understood each other to at least some degree.

“…A person guy who can really speak his mind.”

I don’t have the vocabulary to convey these thoughts out in a simple way.

So, I told him that one short sentence.

“I know you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about, and I know it’s going to offend you, but I have to tell you that I …hated you a little bit.”

“Haha, it’s a lot harder when you say it to my face like this.”

With a sullen expression on his face, Yuuto turned over and muttered.

However, he showed no signs of resentment and listened quietly.

“It’s just a story of comparing yourself and Yuuto and hating yourself, isn’t it just a self-serving argument coming from you?”

“I hate to say it, but I’m used to people looking at me that way.”

I’m used to people looking at me that way.

The words he said sadly carried a weight of their own.

“The reason I’ve kept a certain distance from you since junior high school is a trivial thing when you put it into words.”

“—I used to be jealous of Minato too, or maybe I still am.”

Next, Yuuto began to talk, and I listened.

It was the first time we exchanged words without any pretense.

“I’m trying to get along with everyone around me, but Minato doesn’t care who he’s dealing with, he just brushes off anything he doesn’t like, and the first girl I ever liked was in love with you, …I felt that inferiority complex too.”

When he said that much, Yuuto stopped speaking.

…Is this a shounen anime?

Are we characters from a sports manga, passionate, hot-blooded boys who exchange fists and tell each other what we think of each other?

It was a really serious and important matter, but one side of my brain says otherwise.

“This is embarrassing, let’s not do this. It’s not like us.”

Perhaps feeling the same way, Yuuto also said in an embarrassed tone.

Then he looked up, took a deep breath, and said smilingly with a clear expression on his face.

“You’re twisted and quite a pain in the ass! I won’t deny that part of you, but I hated you a little!”

“…”

I felt like the bell for the match had finally rang.

I took a deep breath, and returned it with a twitchy grin on my mouth.

“That fresh look you’re putting on is pretty annoying, thought you’re rotten inside, aren’t you?”

“You say a lot of things like you’re someone smart, but in reality you aren’t.”

Without missing a beat, Yuuto retorted to my words.

However, that won’t stop me from saying what I want to say.

“You think the world revolves around you? You’re acting like you’re the MC, and it’s really getting on my nerves.”

“If you’re going to keep acting like that, don’t bother the people around you.”

“It’s not acting, it’s a personality.”

“Then mine is a personality too, you’ve always been like that, always pushing his own ideas onto others.”

We both inhaled at the same time to catch our breath, then we approached each other until our heads were almost touching and eyes glaring at each other with all our might.

Feeling a little annoyed that he was looking down on me completely from above due to my height, I thought of my next words.

Then I said with a low voice, not loud, but seriously.

“Lecher.”

“Siscon.”

“”…Haa!?””

There were no boys here, neither the refreshingly fresh prince of the school, nor the quiet boy in the class.

However, there were two who of them cursing at each other, both telling the other what was wrong with the other one and what bothered them.

Probably, even Shizuku had never seen them like this.

Naturally, Kirasaka was stunned at how different they looked from what they usually did.

Then, their calm judgment returned.

I was standing there, stifling my words, when Kirasaka spoke up and said what she thought.

“It’s like a children’s quarrel.”

“Fufu …but it’s also the first time I’ve seen them being so emotional.”

My gaze returned again to the person in front of me from the two, who was laughing and watching the scene.

His eyes were still filled with a strong will.

We could go on and on and on arguing like this.

But as long as there were words coming out from either side, there won’t be an end to it.

“Minato is so despicable that it often makes me depressed too. …So I’ve already told you before, I’m the only one who can be friends with you.”

“…In the first place, it’s often because of your actions that I’ve to act like that.”

I think we’ve calmed down.

Now, the two of us are talking to each other with our true feelings, which we have never told each other to our faces before, and what comes after this is important.

I didn’t start the conversation for the sake of swearing.

I started this conversation to make sure we don’t make a mistake.

“…”

Once again, a moment of silence arrives to solidify our own resolve.

The difference between the three of them and me is a crucial one that cannot be filled by hard work.

The three of them and I are vastly different.

“You’re not going to ask him to end up bad-mouthing each other, are you?”

Kirasaka asked the question that everyone must have been wondering.

I get the feeling that Shizuku is also paying attention to what I say and do after this.

“Ah …Yuuto, are you sure you’re going to run in the student elections?”

“That’s my intention.”

Yuuto affirms my words.

The reason for this is not to ask now, it will only lead to excessive questions later.

Having reaffirmed that Yuuto had not changed his mind, my resolve was strengthened as well.

“Let’s do it then.”

“…Minato.”

The boy in front of me opened his eyes in surprise and muttered.

The two people in the back of the classroom also showed a surprised expression, although they didn’t say any words.

If I was to face Yuuto now, it would definitely be in the student council election.

There’s no competition, whether it be sports or academics, which I can fight with an equal footing.

That makes it clear that I am inferior to him, but it would be meaningless to challenge Yuuto to a challenge which he is weak in.

The only way to lead him is if he makes the first move.

The outcome may seem obvious.

However, if a situation is presented in front of me where we are fighting on equal footing, there is no way I won’t take advantage of it rather than just end up arguing with him over words.

It is not because I want the support of others, but because there may be something that I can understand only after a real confrontation with him.

I was prepared to suffer a crushing defeat and suffer disgrace.

That is why I declared with firm determination.

“If you going to say I’m not joining the next student council or that my words and actions have changed too much, say what you want. …If I can blow you out of your bubble, I’ll do it even if I have to put my pride on the line.”

I said with a crooked smile on my mouth.

…But I still didn’t feel like a villain, completely.