CH 2

Chapter 2 — The Saint’s Approach

“Would you like to go home together, Kisaragi-san?”

“Huh?”

Afterschool. 

Classes had already ended and I was getting ready to go home when suddenly, the Saint approached me and asked as such.

“What’s up all of a sudden?”

I replied, giving the saint a look of suspicion.

She had her usual “saintly smile” plastered on her face. I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking at all.

“No, it’s just that I want to go home together with you, Kisaragi-san. Or… is it no good?”

Even if you ask me that… Honestly speaking, I reallyyy don’t want to go home together with you. 

One of the reasons for that would be because I don’t really want to get involved too much with her, and—

“So fucking jealous.”

“So jealous.”

“JeALouS.”

…Those guys at the back sending me sharp gazes while gnawing on their thumbs are really scary, man. I can keenly feel the transmitted jealousy oozing from their curses.

That’s why, I have to give her a reason to reject her like a true gentleman. Any more of these gazes and my mental health would be at risk.

“Ah. You see, I’ve already made a promise with Souta and Toudou to go home together today, so—.”

“Ara? Souta and I are going on a date today, so we won’t be able to join you.”

“I mean, I have some business to take care of after school today, so—.”

“Hm? You said you were free for the rest of the day, didn’t you, Manaka?”

“Look, our houses might be in the opposite direction, so—.”

“Then, why don’t you chat with her on the way until you separate?”

“…”

Ooooi!? I’ve got no way to refuse at all though!? Rather, I thought you guys would back me up here!? Even though I’m emanating this “I don’t want to go home with her” aura!?

“…Why aren’t you guys helping me out here!?”

I complained to them in a small voice.

“Well, we just thought ‘Wouldn’t it be nice for you to go home with someone other than us once in a while?’ So, you know, go make some friends!”

“You’re making it sound like I’m a loner.”

Even I, have at least gone home with some friends I made in the class, dumbass.

“Stop complaining—also, isn’t this a good opportunity?”

“…You mean?”

I replied, as I tilted my head at Toudou’s statement.

“While both of you are on your way home together, take that chance to try and find out what that saint’s up to. Once you’ve succeeded, then we’ll gain the upper hand.”

What is Toudou getting competitive with her for? I mean, after gaining the upper hand, what is she going to do?

…Still, it might be nice to find out what she is thinking.

Why is she suddenly trying to get involved with me? That, I definitely need to figure out.

“Okay, I’ll try to find something out.” 

“Yes, I’ll leave it to you. And also, once you’ve found out what the saint’s up to, then—.”

“Then?”

Saying so, Toudou then took a stun gun out from her purse and handed it to me.

“Then use this to dispose of her.”

“Did something happen between you guys?”

It can’t be helped that I wondered what happened between them to make her go this far.

Also, I don’t think a high school student should have such an item inside their purse.

“Where did you even get this from?”

“I ordered it. It’s just for self-defense… I mean, it’s pretty dangerous nowadays, don’t you think?”

…Don’t touch this subject anymore, Kisaragi Manaka. Rein yourself in… telling her that she’s even more dangerous would surely make you the subject of use for this stun gun…

“Well, I guess you’re right about the world being dangerous nowadays, but…”

“Don’t worry, this thing here only cost me 5,000 yen.”

No one is worried about your financial situation.

“Then, will you go home together with me?”

As we were murmuring secretly, the saint, who had been watching, asked once more.

“Ahh, yeah. Let’s go home together then.”

I faced the saint, agreeing whilst keeping a calm composure.

At any rate, I decided to return the stun gun to Toudou. After all… there’s no way I would use it.

♦♦♦

“Ah, so your house is also in this direction, Kisaragi-san!”

“Yep… so that means your house is this way too?”

“Yes!”

The saint nodded her head as if she’s having fun.

We were currently on the way home, finally escaping the murderous glares from the boys as we left the classroom.

Looking around, there were other students who were on their way home, just like us, scattered around.

And, next to me is the beautiful saint’s figure illuminated by the sunlight.

…Really, this would’ve been unthinkable until now. The fact that I’m going home together with the school’s most popular “Saint.” We don’t really know what the world has in store for us.

“Saint, do you always go home with someone?”

“I am always alone, you realize. Also—”

Saying so, the saint then walked in front of me before turning around and pointed her index finger towards me cutely while peering into my face.

“—can you please stop calling me “Saint”? Even I have a name, and it’s Hiiragi Stella!”

“…Isn’t it fine?”

“No! I don’t like being called that!”

“Is that so…?”

The Saint was adorably puffing her cheeks to show her displeasure.

I was tempted to poke her cheeks but I held myself back.

“Then, what should I call you?”

“That’s for you to figure out, Kisaragi-san.”

Wow, what a pain. Even though she rejected how someone referred to her, she’s still leaving it up to them to decide what to call her. Can’t be helped. I’ll think of something.

“You.”

“Rejected.”

“You.”

“No.”

“You.”       

[TLN: Okay so the you‘s here are お前(omae)、あなた(anata)、and あなた様 (anata-sama) respectively. They all mean the same but, お前(omae) is a rude way of calling someone you, while あなた(anata) is more of like a general/neutral way of calling someone you and lastly, あなた様(anata-sama) is a level above the previous you as it is attached with “sama,” making it more of a respectful way of calling someone you. Fuck you.] 

“Geez! Why won’t you just call me by my name!?”

You were the one who told me to figure it out. Please don’t complain to me.

“…Haah. Then, will ‘Hiiragi’ do?”

“It can’t be helped, then. That will do~”

As I said as such while heaving a sigh, Hiiragi looked kind of happy as she gave her approval.

…Hah, has this girl always been like this? 

She smiles at anybody and everybody. But today her expressions looked authentic. Looking at that figure of hers as she walks in front of me, it felt as if her gait was strangely lively.

“Why are you having so much fun…?”

I muttered to myself as I walked behind Hiiragi.

♦♦♦

“Fufu, is that right? So, you’ve been friends with Sakuragi-san and Toudou-san since middle school.”

“Well, yeah.”

We continued our idle chatter. As the both of us walked a fair distance from school, I had surprisingly found my conversation with Hiiragi quite fun.

At first, I tried to probe her intentions, but as we continued to talk, the conversation became more enjoyable and I let my guard down.

…Is this what they call “Saint Power?”

“They really gave me a hard time, you know?” 

“You say that, but you look like you’re having fun when you’re with them, Kisaragi-san.”

“Really?”

Is that really what it looks like? I’ve been with them ever since middle school, so I don’t really know.

Besides, when I’m with them, their normie aura makes me feel sick. Plus, Toudou immediately gets violent at every little thing, and Souta is so handsome that all I can feel inside me is jealousy—is that really fun?

“It is, Kisaragi-san… And honestly, I feel envious…”

Her words matched her expression; Hiiragi indeed looked like she was envious as she said those words—and it even looked like there was some sense of loneliness.

…Was it just my imagination?

Like the others, she is also just a girl. When everyone around her refers to her as “Saint”, all she can do is to show them that same usual smile. Somewhere inside of her, she must be feeling stressed.

Well, not like it’s got anything to do with me…

“What a cold-hearted man.”, is what you might be thinking, but see, I’ve never had any real contact with Hiiragi until today. You might call it my first proper conversation with her.

Besides, she and I don’t have any special relationship, nor are we particularly close. Thus, there’s no reason for me to get involved with whatever burden she is carrying.

“Which reminds me, is it true that your parents are British? I’ve heard that your hair is natural…”

Standing beside her, I could clearly see that her hair didn’t show signs of being dyed. Her eyes as well, being unlike the typical black eyes of Japanese people, showed clear, blue eyes.

Whether her parents were actually British or not has been on my mind, and since I was a little curious, I decided to ask her seeing that this was a good opportunity to do so.

…This is one of those casual conversation topics, no?

“Yes, that’s right. My mother is British and my father is Japanese.

“British… Hmm, I see.”

If she has British blood, then I could see why she looks caucasian.

Britain’s language is English right? If her mother is British then would that mean she’s good at English?

“Then, is it okay to recognize that you are good at English?”  [TLN: english in raw] [EDN: eigo jouzu desu ne]

“E-eh…?”

“…Then, is it okay to recognize that you are good at English?” [TLN: ²]

“E-erm… I’m afraid I couldn’t quite follow what you said…”

In an attempt to ascertain my guess, I tried talking to her in English. However, Hiiragi, who had suddenly been spoken to in English, only showed a question mark on her face—or rather, that was the impression I got of her.

“I asked you if it was okay to recognize that you are good at English?” 

“I-it’s quite embarrassing to admit, but… no, I’m not good at English…”

Well, I had an inkling that she didn’t understand.

“Well, everybody has their own weaknesses. By the way, how much did you score on the last English test?”

“T-thirty-two points…”

“Let’s try our best.”

Ah, I’m sure this girl is one of those kinds of people. Those people who start with a “ba” and end with a “ka”. [TLN: “I” kara hajimatte “T” de owaru jinshu.]

Though, her looks and atmosphere really make that hard to imagine.

“My mother might be British, but… I was raised in Japan…”

“I see… My bad.”

Being biased is pretty bad. I feel like I’ve said something rude to Hiiragi.

Still… isn’t her English score a little too low?

While thinking about such things, we continued walking.

Time passed by, and I was near my apartment. Thus, marking the end of my “going home with Hiiragi” experience. 

I also… did not find out anything special.

“Well then, my apartment is over this direction, so…”

I said, pointing my finger to the street corner, and was about to go a different path than her.

“Ah, I’m also going this direction.”

“I-I see…”

So the Saint’s house is also in the same direction, huh? In the same row of houses as me.

Hiiragi’s house is surprisingly close to mine, huh?

With these thoughts in my mind, we started walking again.

“My house is over this direction…”

“My house as well.”

“”…””

“Well then, see you tomorrow—”

“…I’m also going that way.”

“”…””

“I’m going over—”

“—there too…”

“”…””

Such exchanges between us continued—

“I live in this apartment…”

“…I also live in this apartment.”

At last, I have arrived at my beloved home.

Built 11 years ago, it’s a 3-storey 1K personal apartment, and I live on the second floor.

To confirm my suspicions, I fearfully glanced over at the community mailbox. There, the name “Hiiragi” can be seen written on the room 303 mailbox in an easy to understand manner.

“Do we… perhaps live in the same apartment?”

“T-that seems to be the case…”

The saint was also shocked as she looked at the community mailbox in a daze. 

Eh? Wait a minute? I haven’t noticed her here though?

I’ve been living here for over a month now. EVen though her name was magnificently written on the community mailbox; I never noticed at all! Moreover, I’ve never once seen her here! 

“So you… are living by yourself, huh.”

“…Kisaragi-san as well, you’re living by yourself, I see.”

At this shocking revelation, we both were dumbfounded for a while.

“Or rather, Hiiragi, can you really live alone? Are you alright? Are you living properly?”

“P-please don’t make fun of me! Even I can do something like living by myself!”

The saint protested while sticking her chest out pridefully. As she did that however, what was instead emphasized was her highschooler-like chest—ehem! What do you mean, I didn’t say anything?

“I am also a proper lady, you know! I can clean and do the laundry!”

“Hou… you can clean and do the laundry, you say?”

“Yes!”

I see, I see. So she’s properly living by herself, I see.

“Cleaning.”

“Yes!”

“Laundry.”

“Perfectly!”

“Cooking.”

「……」

“…”

The lovely saint of our class had suddenly gone silent as I asked such a question. And it seems like she can’t do one of the most crucial tasks for living alone.

“I see, so our class’ saint can’t cook, huh~ *grin grin*”

“I-I can! If it’s something like boiling water then I can do it!”

So you mean you can only make cup noodles?

“What about you, Kisaragi-san? Can you even cook!?”

“Hmm, me? Unlike you, I can cook, see.”

“You can… cook, huh…”

After saying that, the saint then, for some reason, stared at me fixedly. 

Stop it, saint~. If you stare at me too much, I’ll get embarrassed, you know.

“Then, can you clean and do the laundry?”

“…”

“Cleaning and laundry?”

“…”

“Hello? Cleaning and laundry?”

“…I can’t.”

I said, as I turned my face away from the saint who suddenly closed in to hear my response.

Hey, I can’t help it, you know? I’m bad at things I’m bad at! 

What!? Is not being able to do cleaning and laundry that bad!? You see… People have their own strengths and weaknesses, right? 

“…Hah, it seems that we have exposed our strong and weak points.”

“…You’re right.”

Saying that, we both slumped our shoulders at the same time. Which brings us back to the question, why are we having such an exchange in front of our apartment?

“Anyway, let’s go inside.”

“Yep, let’s.”

We both were a little bit tired, but we still went up the apartment stairs nonetheless.

“Well then, I’m over here, so…”

Walking up to the second floor, I then gave Hiiragi a quick holler before heading towards my room. 

“U-uhm!”

Then, Hiiragi called out to me from behind. Turning my head towards her, I saw her face, red as an apple,  looking down shyly.

“I-I… had a lot of fun today… S-see you tomor…row.”

Leaving those words behind, Hiiragi made a dash to the stairs.

“It was… fun?”

I said as I watched her figure disappear from my sight before heading to my own room.

“Fun,” a word that describes how I felt today.

I wonder why I felt this emotion? Didn’t I just say that I didn’t want to get involved with her because I didn’t like her forced expressions?

“…No, today was different.”

At the very least, that wasn’t the kind of expression Hiiragi gave me today.

It didn’t feel like she was treating me as she does with her “Saint” personality, but rather as a girl, as Hiiragi Stella.

…Was that why… I also had fun today?

Besides—

“…Why… can’t I get her face out of my mind?”

These are feelings I’ve never felt before.

With curiosity towards these newfound feelings of mine, I entered my room.

EDN: An attempt has been made to edit this. May have taken a lil while tho… Teehee