"I'm really exhausted!"
"I say, let's call it a day. It's almost time for dinner anyway."
Karuizawa Kei and Mori Nene slumped over the table, as if they'd used up every last bit of energy.
He glanced at the time. It was already past five and nearly six, so Chiba Yu decided it was about time to wrap things up. He stood and prepared to go find Hirata to let him know.
As he got to his feet, Hirata happened to finish up his work as well. The two of them looked at each other.
Hirata spoke first. "Everyone's tired, so let's call it a day."
"Agreed!"
"Yeah, it is getting late. Oh, right—should we find somewhere to eat together?"
Before long, the conversation had shifted from heading back to the dorms to deciding where to go for dinner.
Whatever they planned to do next, Chiba Yu packed up his things, slung his bag over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.
"Chiba, why don't you come with us..."
"Maybe some other time, Hirata. I just want to go back to the dorm and lie down. As for dinner, I'll just grab a bento on the way and make do."
Without waiting for Hirata to say anything else, Chiba Yu shouldered his bag and headed for the exit. But just then, a burst of shouting caught his attention.
"What?! You're saying I'm both ignorant and incompetent!" Sudo slammed his hand on the table, making a huge racket that drew the attention of nearly half the people in the library.
"That's right. You can't even solve a system of equations. Just thinking about what you'll become in the future scares me." Horikita continued to fan the flames, calmly saying something sure to make Sudo even angrier.
Sure enough, the moment Horikita finished speaking, Sudo grabbed her by the collar and snapped back furiously. "So what if I can't do that? What good is studying, anyway? Instead of forcing myself to slog through textbooks, I'd be better off practicing basketball and aiming to become a pro!"
What a pointless farce.
That was Chiba Yu's honest assessment of the situation.
Of course, most people didn't think studying was the only path in life. Plenty of students shared Sudo's mindset.
Studying isn't for me. There's no point in doing it, either. I'd be better off using this time to pursue what I'm interested in, and hopefully make a name for myself in it someday.
The ideal was beautiful, but reality was often cruel.
Take Sudo's dream of becoming a professional basketball player, for example. Every year, hundreds or even thousands of high school students aimed to become professional players. In the brutal selection process, only a handful managed to stand out and make it onto the national team.
But even if you made it onto the national team, you might find yourself stuck on the bench, or barely getting any time on the court at all. Those challenges alone were enough to weed out ninety percent of the hopefuls. The remaining ten percent had to rely on their own abilities.
Compared to such cutthroat competition, studying was arguably the fairest path available right now.
What's more, if Sudo were expelled for failing this exam, his dream of becoming a professional would grow even more remote. He didn't seem to realize that, though.
Hirata naturally couldn't just stand by and watch. He hurried over to stop them.
"Haah..."
Chiba Yu sighed and left the library without paying any more attention to what was happening.
After leaving, Chiba Yu didn't go wandering around anywhere else. He headed straight back to the dorm.
Night had fallen, and the sky was dark. Moonlight blanketed the world, and the silence seemed almost frozen in place, broken now and then by the rustling of leaves in the wind.
The leftover cup-noodle container on the desk showed that the boy had just had about as simple a dinner as possible.
"I'm thirsty..." Lying on the bed, Chiba Yu stared blankly into space. His whole body felt too exhausted to move, but in the end, thirst won out over laziness.
He put on his shoes, opened the dorm-room door, and started down the hallway.
He glanced at the door to the room next door, and his unsettled thoughts gradually eased.
"Good. Looks like those other times were just coincidences. I mean, curses and stuff like that can't actually be real." Muttering to himself, Chiba Yu stepped into the elevator and headed for the vending machines near the dorm entrance.
"Make way! Make way!"
Just as Chiba Yu was about to enter the stairwell, a boy carrying a huge jug of drinks suddenly burst out of the elevator. Inevitably, he collided with Chiba Yu, and the drinks spilled all over the floor.
"Ah—sorry! Are you okay?"
The boy fell straight to the floor, while Chiba Yu was merely knocked off balance and didn't fall.
"I'm fine. You're from... Class C, right?" Chiba Yu recognized the boy standing in front of him. They'd only met once, and all he knew was that the boy was from Class C.
"Yeah. Sorry, I was in a rush just now."
As he spoke, the boy crouched down and started picking up the drinks scattered across the floor. Chiba Yu sighed at the sight, then crouched down to help. Before long, they'd picked them all up.
"Thanks."
"Be more careful next time." Chiba Yu patted the boy on the shoulder, reminding him not to be so careless again.
"Sure. I've got something urgent to take care of right now, so I'll see you around." The rugged-looking boy smiled, then ran down the dorm hallway with the drinks in his arms. He really did seem to be in a hurry.
Ignoring the little incident, Chiba Yu continued downstairs.
"Chiba?!"
Just as Chiba Yu reached the entrance, he heard someone call his name. He stopped and looked back. Hirata was walking toward him from the right, looking as if he'd just gotten back.
Could it be that I really shouldn't leave the dorm today?
"What are you heading out to do at this hour, Chiba?" When they met, Hirata casually asked, since Chiba Yu looked as though he was about to go out.
"Nothing much. I'm thirsty, so I thought I'd buy a drink from the vending machine nearby."
"It's probably best not to drink too many of those. They're not exactly healthy."
What was with that tone, like a parent worrying about their child?
Still, Chiba Yu nodded in reply. "Got it. By the way, did you just get back, Hirata?"
For some reason, as soon as Chiba Yu said that, Hirata's expression seemed to change. A wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Chiba, there's something I'd like to ask you. Do you have a moment?"
"..." He really wanted to say no, but seeing the almost pleading look in Hirata's eyes, Chiba Yu couldn't bring himself to. "Of course. I wasn't doing anything in particular."
I've just learned something new about how much of a pushover I am.
"I see. Then let's talk while we walk."
Cicadas and insects chirped along the quiet path as Chiba Yu and Hirata strolled beside the pond. Chiba Yu tried to find the vending machine he remembered being somewhere nearby, while Hirata considered how to bring up the subject.
At last, after they'd walked for who knew how long, Hirata's voice came softly.
"Chiba, what do you think Karuizawa is like?" Chiba Yu was puzzled by Hirata's sudden question.
"Just tell me what you think, Chiba. Things like her personality."
"Hmm..." At Hirata's question, Chiba Yu began searching through his memories of Karuizawa Kei.
"If I had to say, she's probably proud. She has a forceful personality and is a natural leader among the girls." After thinking it over carefully, Chiba Yu gave an answer that sounded almost like an official statement—one that wouldn't offend anyone, but wasn't too one-sided either.
Hearing Chiba Yu's answer, Hirata seemed to pause for a moment, then smiled as if relieved.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to know what you really think."
This man standing in front of him seemed to have seen through something. Chiba Yu wasn't sure. He'd always believed there was nothing wrong with his actions, but for some reason, this man named Hirata Yosuke seemed to have seen right through him.
Hirata seemed to trust him without a second thought. As if in a trance, Chiba Yu reconsidered the question once more.