"Go on, tell me."
"I'll move closer so no one can hear."
"...All right."
Eito stepped closer and leaned down toward her ear, speaking softly:
"Chabashira-sensei, I want to..."
"What?!"
Chabashira was so startled by his words that she nearly jumped to her feet.
Then, as if it were fermenting, a visible blush spread across her neck.
On top of that, the breath against her ear made it itch a little, and she felt an unfamiliar restlessness rising throughout her body.
She took a deep breath, banishing all the sudden fantasies, then looked at Eito, who had returned to his original spot:
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
"..." Chabashira fell silent for a moment, then said, "Give me some time to think about it. I'll tell you later."
"Sure, take your time, sensei. I'm in no rush... If there's nothing else, I'll get going?"
"Get out!"
"Got it!"
Eito hurried out of the office.
As he neared Class D, he heard a lot of noise inside. When he reached the door, he realized they were introducing themselves.
He was about to turn around and leave when he heard Yamauchi's voice:
"My name's Yamauchi Haruki. I made it to the national table tennis tournament in elementary school, and I was the ace pitcher on my middle school baseball team. My jersey number was four. But I got injured during the high school league, and I'm recovering now. Nice to meet you."
"Interesting—"
After Yamauchi finished introducing himself, Eito walked into the classroom:
"Everyone, is it my turn?"
"If you're ready, Takeda, you can go first~"
Kikyo answered him, her sweet smile like morning dew, cleansing his soul in an instant.
The others had no objections either.
With so many people suddenly staring at him, he felt a little embarrassed. After a brief cough, he said:
"My name's Takeda Eito. I like baseball, and I play pitcher, too. In middle school, I competed in the high school league and accidentally beat the crap out of someone named Yamauchi. He's recovering now. Pleased to meet you all."
The Class D students fell silent for a few seconds. Then—
"Hahaha—"
Quite a few of them burst out laughing. Even more tried to hold it in, their shoulders trembling.
Yamauchi jumped up at once. "What are you talking about? I didn't even know you in middle school! How could you have injured me?"
"Huh?" Eito looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean, 'huh'? I didn't know you in the first place. How could I have lost to you? Don't let him fool you, everyone! He's lying!" Yamauchi tried desperately to expose Eito's lie.
What he didn't realize was that everyone already knew it was a lie. They'd even seen through his own introduction. How could a middle schooler compete in a high school league?
They were laughing at him because they knew. Unfortunately, he didn't know a thing.
What an idiot.
Hirata Yosuke, who had organized the activity, stepped in to smooth things over:
"Okay, I understand, Yamauchi. Calm down for now. The other students still need to introduce themselves."
"Yeah, Yamauchi, if you want to argue, go do it outside. Don't hold us up."
As expected of Hirata, a girl quickly spoke up in agreement.
"Tch." Yamauchi pursed his lips, shot Hirata a jealous look, then slowly sat down.
"I'm next—"
By then, Eito had returned to his seat.
He glanced behind him and saw that everyone in the back row had left except Ayanokoji.
He remembered the last row had been occupied by Suzune, Sudo, and Sakura...
"Hey, hey~ Takeda, that was so cool!"
His deskmate, Sato Maya, had come over to talk to him.
"What was?"
Sato looked excited.
"I've disliked that Yamauchi for ages. I can't believe you embarrassed him with just a few words. That felt so satisfying. I feel much better now."
"Oh."
So Yamauchi was hated, huh.
Yamauchi-kun.
Chapter Five: Horikita Suzune Is Registered
"My name is Kushida Kikyo. None of my middle school friends came to this school with me, so I'm all alone. That's why I hope I can quickly learn everyone's faces and names and become friends with you. My first goal is to get along with everyone here. Once everyone's finished introducing themselves, please make sure to exchange contact information with me."
With her sweet, adorable smile, the brown-haired girl was immediately welcomed by her classmates.
In fact, she'd already made friends with many of them. It was easy to imagine that her standing in the class would be no lower than Hirata's.
After saying a few more words, Kikyo sat down.
Then the next person was—
"Could I ask the student in the corner over there to introduce himself?"
At Hirata's words, everyone looked toward Ayanokoji, who was sitting at his desk.
"Uh..."
This was bad. He hadn't thought of anything yet.
He'd already rehearsed all kinds of introductions in his head. But he'd thought about it so much that now he didn't know what to say.
Just then, he saw a note being discreetly tossed over from the front.
He opened it and found that it was a prepared self-introduction.
So this is what it feels like to have a friend. It's surprisingly nice.
Ayanokoji relaxed and began reading from the note:
"My name is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. My special talent is practicing calligraphy while carrying a piano... Uh... I like keeping small animals. Don't let my dead-inside expression fool you... Um... Actually, that's because a Tibetan fox I kept as a child died, and I'm imitating the expression it had before it passed away... Please be kind to me... Uh... What..."
"...Is Ayanokoji-kun really that strong? He can carry a piano?"
"What's a Tibetan fox?"
Those who knew what a Tibetan fox looked like had started laughing. Those who didn't were asking about it, while the uninterested ones stared at him strangely.
He'd been completely branded a weirdo...
Ayanokoji wordlessly glanced at Eito in front of him and saw that he was sitting there calmly, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Still, he did know a little about piano and calligraphy. But how had that guy known?
Could it have been a coincidence?
Maybe.
Like those at other schools, this school's opening ceremony was just as boring.
After the opening ceremony ended that morning, Eito arranged to go shopping with Ayanokoji for some daily necessities.
In fact, besides Ayanokoji, Kikyo and Sato had both invited him to karaoke or a café, but he'd turned them down, claiming to be socially anxious.
It was only the first day of school. He didn't want to get involved with girls.
No matter how highly girls thought of him, being ostracized by the boys wouldn't do much for his harmonious school life. He didn't want to become the next Hirata.
The supermarket was quite large, with all kinds of daily necessities.
Since he could cook, he wanted to go to the produce section and buy some fresh vegetables, but after seeing the prices, he sighed.
So expensive.
He picked out a few cheap ones, paid for them, and went to meet up with Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji was standing in front of the household goods counter, apparently choosing something.
Looking at the dazzling selection of nail clippers in front of him, Eito couldn't help admiring him from the bottom of his heart:
As expected of you. You're already looking for a murder weapon.
Just then, a striking girl with long black hair walked in. She seemed to notice them, gave a cold snort, and headed in the other direction.
Eito saw her too and patted Ayanokoji on the shoulder:
"That looks like your deskmate. Want to go say hi?"
"Uh... I think I'll pass."
If Eito hadn't been his friend, Ayanokoji might have been a little more proactive, but there was no need now.
Besides, he'd tried talking to Suzune before, but her attitude had been surprisingly bad, as if he owed her money.
Setting her looks aside, probably not many people would like such a nasty woman.
But Eito ignored his feelings and dragged him over anyway.
"Hallo, Horikita-san. Are you here to shop, too? What a coincidence." Eito greeted her warmly, like a friendly neighbor.
Suzune didn't even look at him. She continued picking out products on her own:
"Sorry, I'm Japanese. I don't understand English. If you need help, ask the clerk over there."
Don't eat sour radishes!
Out of good manners, he didn't swear at her. Instead, he asked earnestly:
"Horikita-san, may I ask if I've done something to offend you? Why are you so prejudiced against me?"
"You've misunderstood. I have no prejudice against you. I simply don't like you as a person. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. My dislike of you is my own choice and has nothing to do with you. Likewise, you have the right to choose for yourself. Whether you like or dislike me is your freedom, and it has nothing to do with me."
There were only two kinds of things in this world:
None of your business,
None of my business.
Suzune was clearly an expert in this regard. She applied the principle perfectly in her words, leaving Eito speechless.
"Anyway, I have something important to do. If you have nothing else to do, go bother someone else. You'll have to excuse me."
"..."
As Ayanokoji and Eito watched, Suzune left with an air of hauteur.
Before you continue