Kaiwa mo shinai tsurekko no imouto ga, naganen issho ni baka yatte-kita Netoge no friend datta

And when I shifted my gaze, I saw a girl who, like Yasutora, was laughing with a vacant expression. It was Hiyori. The unfocused eyes were tinged with despair.

…Was it that bad for her as well?

“You’re lying! Rin-chan got above 90 in every subject!?”

“Even though the math questions were so nasty!”

“Nanjo-san, are you for real …”

“As expected of one of the top rankers in the school. She also won the ability test by a landslide.”

“Awawa, I—It’s just a coincidence.”

In contrast to these two, there was one girl who was surrounded by her classmates and looked embarrassed. Nanjo Rin. She was bringing her answer sheets to some of her classmates, as she taught each of them where they had gone wrong. Is this what you call talent? Hiyori was standing in the corner of the group, looking dazzled at Nanjo Rin. On the other hand,Yasutora, who had somehow resurrected without me noticing, was yet again captivated by her as he sighed in relief.

When I started to look at her being caught up by the atmosphere, I felt something uncomfortable about her. It was different from the other day at the fire exit’s stairway. It was as if she was forcing herself to act cheerful; it’s like her face looked somehow different from her usual ―

“Ah.”

It was very thin, but she was wearing makeup to hide those dark circles underneath her eyes. Did she not have enough sleep?

“What’s wrong, Subaru?”

“Nope, Nothing.”

Yasutora looks at me suspiciously as I suddenly raise my voice. I was thinking that it would be uncivilized to point out the dark circles hidden underneath a girl’s eyes. I was thinking about that, and for some reason Nanjo Rin spoke up to me.

“How did you do, Kurai-kun? You too managed to get good grades too, didn’t you?”

“!?”

“Subaru!?”

“Fuew!?”

It was unexpected. I couldn’t understand why Nanjo Rin started talking to me. Both Hiyori and Yasutora couldn’t help but raise their voices in reaction. I must have looked strange.

Nanjo Rin let out a giggle and had a somewhat meaningful laugh. Yasutora was glaring at me with grudgeful eyes, while Hiyori had a startled expression on her face, as if she had encountered a ghost or a spirit.

I have no prior associations with Nanjo Rin whatsoever. If there was any, it would only be that incident that took place near the fire exit’s stairways the other day. If we were to act as we normally do, we would never have anything to do with each other.

―What in the world do you think you’re doing?

In that mysterious cocky laughter from her, somehow the cat that had been there just moments ago strangely disappeared.

[TL: By cat here, it means nekokaburi, well in simple terms: wearing a socially acceptable mask… something which is seen common in Japanese girls. Their cute body language (to trap prey)]

“You know that already … don’t you?”

“Fufu.”

Those were the only words I was able to utter in that muddled state of mind.

Nanjo Rin, who came in front of me, peeked into me with her upturned eyes. She had a well-shaped face and glossy, neatly-kept hair. From this position, it was easy to see the destructive force of her style. If I didn’t know her any better, I might have had a heartbeat stolen by her. 

A friendly smile which is capable of making anyone her friend; nevertheless, her eyes somehow seemed to be probing me… or trying to tell something ― either way, they were filled with a color, which was unsettling me.

I had no idea what those colors were trying to convey to me. However, I was troubled by the fact that she was staring so hard at me. Even if she had no intention of doing anything, it was still a bit daunting.

“Because I often see Kurai-kun’s name on the bulletin board around the top students.”

“I think … it is, at best, on the far end of the spectrum.”

“Ahaha, maybe that’s why I managed to remember it all too well.”

Saying such, she started laughing with a sound that somehow mimicked bells ringing sweetly.

The eyes of the class were focused on me. People were asking each other, “Who was that person again?” “Someone who is often together with Sokata-kun” “I’ve never seen him talking with other people,” in murmur, as they looked at me strangely.

I flinched, feeling like I was being made a spectacle of; and, as if not letting the opportunity go, Nanjo Rin took a step closer.

The smile on her face looked similar to a predator’s who was preying on its prey, and it made my heart beat frantically in a different way.

“Hey, Kurai~ku—” 

“Nanjo-kun, were you acquainted with Subaru by any chance?”

“Ya—Yasutora.”

“No, this guy is really unfriendly, but he is top-notch only in studies … Did you know? This guy spent all night playing games when our exam was still going—.”

“Hey, Yasutora.”

“A! aha-ha-ha. …”

In addition to this, he continued to say the incident where I got too full of himself, played overnight just before the exam and arrived sleep-deprived to give them. Even other things like how “He was half-asleep and came to school in flip-flops” and how “I sneezed while eating soba noodles in the cafeteria and have the noodles come out of my nose in a funny way” which elicited laughter not only from Nanjo Rin but also from the whole class in the process.

Normally, I would have forcefully stopped him, but since the topic of conversation had shifted to Yasutora, I did not dare to stop him. Moreover, the way he would include his own dark stories along with mine made him somehow hard to hate. 

―I got saved, huh? When I looked around, no one was paying attention to me anymore.

” ―Damn”

I heard a faint laugh and shifted my gaze to that direction. It was Hiyori. She was smiling and looking at me after hearing Yasutora’s story. But when I noticed her gaze, and as our eyes met, she immediately turned them away. However―

“Ah …”

“What’s wrong, Subaru?”

I noticed.

“Nothing, I’m going back now.”

“Ah, did I make fun of you too much! Sorry! Subaru!”

“It isn’t that goddamnit!”

“Hey, please don’t make that kind of face now!”

[TL note: perhaps a disgusted face?]

What kind of face!? 

I unintentionally retorted to Yasutora’s remarks in my mind.

That’s right. For the first time, I saw Hiyori’s laughing face from up-front. It was a surprise. Her eyes were softly narrowed, and the corners of her lips were slightly turned up. She was smiling more innocently than I had ever imagined.

When I thought that all of it were actually directed towards me, I suddenly started feeling incredibly embarrassed― 

(Ah, Fc!)

― In order to not get found out, I was hurrying to return to my classroom.