Episode 5 – A Sparkling First Year Student

“Fuuwahh…….”

I stayed up late at night thinking about various plans and before I knew it, it was morning. But I am a short sleeper so I don’t need much sleep. If I can take a nap for an hour or so, I can do my activities with energy for the whole day.

However, I feel like I’m not getting enough sleep because of yesterday’s series of events that shook me up mentally and physically. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or because I’ve been feeling shaken for the first time in a long time.

(I used to run around all over the place from four in the morning until late at night, acting like a man of justice in the old days.)

It’s partly because I was out of my mind back then, but this is probably the first time since I entered high school that I’ve been so shaken up. That’s how traumatized I am by the events from the past.

In the end, yesterday I had dinner with my mother when she came home, and just reflected on the past while watching my step sister and my mother washing dishes together.

(But I decided on a policy.)

For the time being, I decided to put Shinkai aside. Usually, the student council should be busiest at this time of the year. They arrange the recruitment of new students for club activities, and the student council members are there to counsel students. I don’t know if she recognizes me, but it’s unlikely that she will take action in the next few days.

At best, the deadline is a week, but that’s enough time for me. I probably won’t have the chance to get involved in the first place.

Therefore, what I should do now is……

“During this week, I will create an atmosphere in the classroom so that I won’t get involved with Kisaragi.”

I came up with a lot of plans yesterday.

– Making sure that I always stay out of Kisaragi’s sight.

– Overwrite Tachibana Kanata with Shiina Kanata.

– Forcing Kisaragi to drop out/

– Make Kisaragi etc…

However, all of these ideas are very burdensome and risky for me. Besides, it might be difficult for me to meet Kisaragi face to face.

I will have to check today to see what happened, but yesterday there was a social gathering among the new classmates with Kisaragi at the center. Kisaragi probably made friends with many of her classmates there.

If that’s the case, there’s no need for me to get involved. If Kisaragi has made so many friends, her student life is guaranteed to be fulfilling even without me. But the face I saw when we parted ways in the classroom is still in the back of my mind.

(The look in her eyes yesterday……as if she questioned my existence.)

I, Shiina Kanara, still have a trace of Tachibana Kanata in me, though it is only a little. I’m sure Kisaragi noticed it and came to talk to me. And it’s safe to assume that she will continue to do so.

“She’s  the type of person who asks questions and explores them until she understands. She doesn’t seem to have changed, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

But I’ve already decided on the first action to take.

First of all, today’s homeroom. There should’ve been a self-introduction, but Kisaragi crushed it. Firstly, there….

“Well, for the time being, I only have one step.”

And while I’m at it, I might as well try to remember the names of classmates I could use and find out who is building relationships with whom. There might be a clue to solve this problem.

※

I left the house for school about an hour after my step sister left. It takes less than 15 minutes to walk from my house to the school. My step sister leaves the house before seven o’clock every day for the student council office because of her business there. She has to work so hard every day for someone she doesn’t even know.

“…..”

As I walked, I was going through my morning routine for the first time in about a year. The first thing I did was to check on the commuting status of the surrounding students.

Who is going to school, at what time of day, with whom, and why? I tried to investigate this at each moment when the environment changed. This way, I can prevent meeting unnecessary people, and it also gives me clues about human relationships.

So I was doing that for the first time in a year…..

(The freshmen are quite noticeable…..environment has changed quite a bit, and this is going to be tough.)

Everywhere I look, there’s a lot of first-year students around me. I’m guessing that those were mostly third-year students, since I didn’t see any faces I used to see until last year.

But freshmen are just fine. No one would know who I am, and the chances of them getting to know me are zero unless they make a move. Feeling relieved, I decided to stop thinking for the moment and concentrate on my work.

But then, my gaze fell on a particular point. I looked around and saw that many students were also looking at the same place as I was.

“……”

A female student wearing our school uniform. But there’s a big difference between her and ordinary girls. She has shining hair, blue eyes, and no makeup (?). Despite that, she has a beauty that attracts others.

(Blonde hair……it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it at this school.)

I’ve never seen her before, so she’s definitely a freshman. She probably has natural hair, as dyeing hair is not allowed at this school. Her facial features indicate that she’s probably half Japanese and half Russian.

Then, one of the boys walking away from her pointed at her and called out to the boy next to him to check her out.

“H-hey. That’s Nanase Natsume…..”

“It’s that model !?”

“Wow, she went to our school !”

“……”

The female student called Nanase, who probably heard the boys’ voices just now, walks quickly toward the school. Perhaps the male students also realized that they had done something wrong, and they had an apologetic look on their faces.

(If there had been a girl like that yesterday, there would have been a commotion. So did she skip the entrance and opening ceremonies?)

Or maybe she simply had modeling work to do, or maybe there were other factors. I looked at her face for a moment and saw dark circles floating under her eyes. I thought for a moment that she was wearing no makeup, but it seems that she hid it well where it was hidden.

And somehow, I could see her lower legs through her skirt. They were not mere model’s legs. At the very least, the girl called Nanase was probably more athletic than the guy who were gossiping earlier. If I’m not careful, I might get crushed by her.

Maybe she trains separately from modeling. Judo? Or maybe kickboxing?

Nanase Natsume,……I’m going to remember it, just in case.

I’m sure she and I don’t know each other, but it’s obvious that getting involved with such a prominent student would be troublesome. If I get noticed for that reason, all my hard work for a year will go to waste.

From now on, I need to remember when she goes to school and intentionally shift the time. If I don’t do that, the risk will always be there.

Suddenly, I thought to myself.

(Somehow, there’s a lot of land mines around…..me.”

When I was young, I must have thought that I could become an ally of justice. I wish my grandma had at least taught me a little more modesty. Or perhaps a necessary evil.

If it’s possible, I would’ve beaten the hell out of me in middle school and elementary school. I would tell him that it was his hypocritical activities that made life so difficult for me.

“Hm?”

As I squint my eyes at this unrealistic thought, I immediately spot a familiar figure. That person kept smiling and greeting every classmate in sight, actively engaging with various people.

“Good morning, everyone !”

“Ah, Kisaragi ! Yesterday was fun !”

“Good morning, nice to see you again today.”

As expected, Kisaragi seems to have a lot of connections with many students.  I hope she’s satisfied with that. 

“Well, I’m sure I’ll figure something out.”

I made up my mind to get over the first wave and followed Kisaragi to the school.