Sasaki And Miyano: First Year Students

Translator: humu

“Senior & Junior” 

In my second year, I gained a junior.

“Hirano-senpai, please listen to me!”

“I’m not listening.”

I―― Hirano Taiga, had gotten to know Miyano, a junior member of the committee, very well.

He was fine enough to think about it now. But even so, he was pretty bummed out about this1 for a period, even staying quiet at times.

“Conversely, you can tell me a little bit more about your roommate.”

“No way.”

While searching for a suitable place for the investigations2, I remembered the time when I had just met Miyano.

***

On a day in early April, we had our first disciplinary committee meeting after school.

Two committee members from each class were elected for the meeting and the atmosphere was clouded with the new freshmen’s nervousness. It made me feel like I was wearing a skin-tight, unbreathable shirt.

“I’m Yoshikazu Miyano. I look forward to working with you this year.”

ーーYoshikazu, was there such a guy?

As the new freshmen disciplinary committee members introduced themselves in turns, I suddenly felt uneasy and looked down at the list.

First year. Miyano Yoshikazu3.

ーーSo this was it.

The letters appeared very soft, but the sound of the words was very sharp.

I looked over at him as he sat back down with a nervous look all over his face, and he coincidentally turned to look at me too. But our eyes didn’t meet. I could tell that his gaze was on my head.

Even while the other students were talking, I caught glimpses of his stares flying over to me.

ーーHe’s like an honor student.

The way he bowed his head in greeting, the way he spoke and his good manners exuded in his mannerisms and attitude. He didn’t seem to fit in with the ruffian types like me.

Why is a member of the school disciplinary committee blonde? Hanzawa, who was next to me, seemed to have noticed it too as he flashed a small smile at me as if to say, “You’re being watched.”

This was all the more evident since he had a document in his hand that listed the checkpoints to be met during the disciplinary inspection.

The other first-year students also showed their curiosity, but none of them showed it as plainly on their faces as Miyano.

“You seem to like your job.”

Hanzawa’s smile deepened in amusement.

~

And as expected, Miyano executed his job very well.

His attitude toward life was serious and proper.

He still occasionally flickers his eyes at me as if he wanted to say something. This wasn’t something you could get rid of by forcing yourself to act like a senior. I thought that if he was intimidated by me, I should just keep my distance and observe him from far.

Through our brief time together, I could see that Miyano had a strong work ethic, even if it didn’t mesh well with mine. Hanzawa was good at following up on that. Hanzawa even became the head of the dormitory this year, thanks to his attentiveness to those who didn’t fit in and couldn’t make a place for themselves.

And Miyano, who had been quiet in the beginning, started to talk more. I guess the walls between us were starting to thin. The turning point came when I was talking to Hanzawa.

~

There was a group assault on campus.

Miyano, who happened to be at the scene, came to me for help.

I was surprised that he didn’t go to Hanzawa, who was easy to talk to. But perhaps it was easier to rely on me, whose appearance made people think I was strong against any trouble.

I couldn’t rush to his aid instantly, but when I reached the scene, Sasaki was there laded with injuries, which was indeed a surprise.

I was stunned to hear that he was not acquainted with Miyano or the victimized student, but rather, he had covered for them on the spur of the moment.

“You said you didn’t want to fight because you’re not good at it.”

I showed Sasaki the message that Miyano had sent me, expressing his gratitude.

“Ah…… So uncool…”

“Are you kidding me?”

What’s uncool about you defending someone?

Although I never said it out loud, I was grateful that he was able to protect the juniors.

In addition to that, I was surprised that Sasaki voluntarily took such action. I had the impression that I just witnessed a moment of something changing rapidly.

However, such sentiments quickly faded away.

It was because Miyano’s attitude had visibly changed right after the incident.

He suddenly spoke a lot less and when he looked at me, his expression became gloomy.

He had always acted as if he wanted to say something, and then decided to retract his words after hesitation.

Cautious at best, indecisive at worst. This was one aspect of that guy.

However, I felt that this should not be left hanging. It was a hunch based on my short time as a senior.

Since it took quite a few days to solve the case itself, I thought that he might be tense because he was worried about the unknown culprits, but Miyano’s unnatural attitude continued even after the culprits were identified just before the summer vacation.

Rather, it seemed to have gotten worse.

I discussed with Hanzawa that since he was already a high school student, if it was just a temporary change, we should keep an eye on him rather than forcing him to spit it out. But it didn’t seem to go well. It was right after the start of the second semester that I called Miyano to the disciplinary room.

* * *

“Hey, you got something you want to tell me?”

Perhaps concerned about his shortened lunch break, Miyano was distracted from the start.

A bewildered murmur reached my ears, “What is this situation?”

“Uh……4“

“I won’t get mad at you, just say it. I’m seriously not angry.”

I was mindful of the fact that people often say they fear being seriously questioned in a one-on-one situation, but I think I looked like I was scowling. Miyano’s voice faltered.

“Are, are you sure? For real……?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“……Well, I get moe feels from Hirano-senpai.”

I couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of Miyano’s words, which seemed to have come from the heart.

“……Moe?”

“Um, I like……BL ……romance manga, and Hirano-senpai happened to overlap with that, so things got really exciting…”

“Huh……?”

What the hell are you talking about, romance? I know you like manga.

“I’ve seen situations like the incident in the back of the school building that happened last semester a few times in manga. It seems to be less common these days, but it used to be rather common in the past…”

“…… Oh.”

I’m not sure―― but I nodded once.

“I used to think of them as a form of motif, and if an artist I liked drew it, I could enjoy it. I was thrilled when I met the person who came to help me, or when I came to the rescue at the right moment when one of the people I cared for was in trouble. Now that I think about it, I knew the ending was going to be fine and that we were safe, but I was enjoying it.”

“Hmm…” I gave a friendly smile.

I thought that not everyone who enjoyed reading juvenile delinquent manga was in favor of violence and delinquency, but I couldn’t believe that Miyano, who was familiar with manga, didn’t have that level of discernment. So this was a problem that stood in his way.

It seemed best to let him talk as he wished, so I listened without interrupting.

“But when I saw it in real life, how my classmate was harmed, and how Sasaki-senpai got into a terrible situation because he helped me…. I realized that it’s not something I can just casually swoon over.”

Miyano sucked in a breath.

A hint of self-mockery flashed across his serious expression.

“Of course, violence rarely happens. But I couldn’t get it out of my head, and I thought maybe I shouldn’t even be gushing over BL. And yet, there were times when I thought it was BL-like.” The pace of his words was a little rushed.

Maybe he was ashamed.

“I don’t want this to happen in real life, but I’m sorry for thinking of you in the way I did, Hirano-senpai.”

–Oh, it’s me.

The fact that he mentioned my name at the end convinced me.

So that’s why you told me, I thought. I felt a sense of clarity that I hadn’t felt before listening to him and I understood why he had been trying to talk to me but didn’t say anything.

“I thought you would look at me with withering scorn5.”

I collapsed into a heap.

It reminded me of my own roommate, who was kind of a gutsy junior.

“I don’t know about ……BL. But if you’re going to let it build up inside, just tell me.”

I couldn’t make fun of him for being so serious.

Miyano’s struggle was undoubtedly a serious one for him, and his earnestness revealed that the pain of doubting something he loves must be difficult to express.

“Huh?”

“It’s like therapy. I don’t even think it’s a bad thing that you’re talking to me about whatever you want. As long as you don’t cause any problems, I won’t get angry.”

I had no intention of telling him to stop that hobby or not to make it reflect his real life.

However, since I was the one who found out the voice of the junior who was straightforwardly asking for help at that time, it made sense for me to stay with him until the end.

“Yes……! I appreciate it!”

I wasn’t the type who liked to take on any troublesome things from the start.

It wasn’t until I had a junior in high school that I started to think that juniors were cute. In other words, it was only recently.

ーーI wonder if Kagi-kun’s the one influencing me.

With him in my room, I definitely gained a new perspective on how to treat those younger than me.

It was a big change for me to be able to demonstrate that in the committee as well.

Miyano, who had made up his mind to stop worrying, would sometimes stare at me with an inscrutable expression on his face, but he gradually adapted to being involved with me as the object of a moe story and began to behave freely.

The way he spoke so openly while maintaining a completely respectful tone, made him stand out from the rest of the freshmen.

I wonder how he could think of so many things without getting bored.

I was surprised to find that he would be so enthusiastic about my “relationship with the junior in the room”.

He started to complain that I was too moe and that he didn’t have a chance to see us in real life, but I didn’t care about that.

While he was bold enough to tell me, he never made me feel like an idiot or said anything rude, so I didn’t feel like stopping him after a few months. As I mentioned, I just listened and brushed it off.

Miyano’s comments increased rapidly in the committee meetings.

Opinions on the conduct of the disciplinary committee were inherently difficult for first-year students to express.

The agenda itself was rigid, but the content of the activities of the disciplinary committee needed to be carefully considered because of the delicate issues that could limit the freedom of the students.

It was difficult to change conventions in this kind of thing, so Miyano’s presence increased day by day as he conveyed his ideas without wavering.

He was serious and enthusiastic, yet he was strong-willed enough to say no to things he didn’t want to do. This was also reflected in the direction of moe.

――Well, I guess this was better than him being a hermit.

If he goes too far, I’d just hit him, I decided to myself.

But lately, I’ve been seeing him getting tangled up with Sasaki a lot, and I feel like he’s been talking less and less about moe to me.

In the beginning, Sasaki was persistent in talking to Miyano, but before long, those two were completely comfortable with each other.

It was only for a short period of time that I was worried that Sasaki’s troublesome behavior would catch on.

In fact, being with Miyano, Sasaki seemed to be arriving late for school less often.

If Miyano appeared to be annoyed, I would try to stop Sasaki, but it’s not obvious to the casual observer whether they were getting along or not.

Deciding that it was not a good idea to get too involved, I quietly watched the steady changes in my classmate, who borrowed and lent books from a younger student.

Because good influences often appear unexpectedly.

T/N: No wonder Kagiura fell in love with Hirano! He’s so charming, mature, thoughtful and everything husbando~ well… see y’all in c4.1/ 4.2!