Sasaki And Miyano: First Year Students

Studying is such a pain in the arse! I want to have a fun school life!

Despite occasionally being betrayed by friends and unexpectedly joining club activities, I was having a good time.

This was the story of the unprecedented, exciting school life of me, Tashiro Gonzaburo!

What a joke.

There were two classmates who had been bothering me lately.

I might as well say that I’m worried.

I’m talking about Kuresawa, who seemed to have been involved in a dispute during the first semester, and Miyano, who was often tangled up with a slightly scary looking second-year senior.

It’s been a little more than half a year since we started this class, and although we’ve come to enjoy chatting with each other, I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of the incident that happened before summer vacation.

The senior who hung around Miyano was probably the one involved in the incident.

***

It was a day when classes ended in the morning due to preparations for an event.

As soon as the short homeroom class was over, I called out to Shirahama. We’ve been friends since junior high school, and we’re well acquainted with each other.

“You don’t have any plans today, do you?”

The basketball team that Shirahama belonged to had a set number of days off each week, so he should be free, but I’ll have to check before and after games to make sure.

“Yeap.”

“Then you wanna go eat some cake with me?”

“Why cake?”

I declared to Shirahama with gusto as he tilted his head in confusion.

“The number of Christmas decorations has increased since the beginning of December. You know, the illuminations and stuff. When I saw the cakes, I wanted to eat them.”

“Oh, yeah I kinda get that feeling.”

As soon as Halloween was over, the displays were replaced, and the high school boys’ appetites were stimulated by the sight of the tantalising cakes.

“Let’s get crazy this Christmas!”

“There’s almost a month left, though.”

That’s right. We still had quite a bit of time. Couldn’t we just dream for a minute?

“Well, maybe I’ll eat with my girlfriend.”

“You, Tashiro? That’s impossible.”

I did my best to retort to the rude remark with a forced laugh.

“Shut up! You never know if there’s any! Love letters! In the shoe box!”

“There’s no way there will be such stuff coming from a girl in an all-boys high school.”

Ahh!! That’s true. I missed that blind spot.

In any case, Shirahama, who laughed at the idea of love letters in the first place, was confirmed to join in the grand plans. We both knew that I didn’t have a girlfriend.

“But, well, the cake is settled. Since we’re at it, let’s get more members.”

“Oh. I’ll try to talk to them.”

Once I had decided that, it was time for action. I immediately got up from my seat.

As usual, Miyano and Kuresawa were facing off with each other in a tone that made it difficult to tell whether they were chatting or not.

“Hey, we’re going out for cake later, do you want to go?”

They looked up quickly and replied in unison.

“Nope.”

I’m impressed with the harmony of…… I persisted on this topic.

“You guys never ask me out. What are you busy with then?”

“I’m having lunch with my girlfriend today.”

“I didn’t ask Kuresawa. I know that much.”

There was no one in the class who did not know about Kuresawa’s girlfriend-first attitude. He was a man who didn’t talk much about his personal life during the first semester, but his firm stance had become completely widespread before long.

“I don’t like cake.”

Miyano, who looked compatible with sweets, refused me outright. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Huh?”

“Miyano looks like he would like sweets.”

“Because he has a cute face.”

When the face puffed up, he looked even younger.

“It’s prejudice. I’ll never forgive Tashiro.”

I’m not afraid of staring.

Kuresawa agreed with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Tashiro, you’re numb from being in an all-boys school and seeing too many guys.”

“Eh? I’m not dumb. I thought Miyano was a girl at first during the entrance ceremony.”

“Hey, look closely, Miyano has a man’s face no matter how you look at it. My girlfriend’s pretty.”

“I’m glad Kuresawa’s my friend.” (M)

As a result, Kuresawa started bragging about his girlfriend. I nodded while looking at my handphone, not at Miyano.

“You can be happier.” (K)

I didn’t dare delve into the fact that he’s looking at her picture again. I’m sure he’ll narrate a story to me.

“You guys are kind of weird.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s so?”

—You failed this time, didn’t you? Too bad!

“Yes, you are.”

It was a bad idea to stall them, so I left them there, and decided to talk to the other classmates.

Although Kuresawa and Miyano were now in a friendly relationship, I rarely saw them together during the first semester. And even now, they were not always together.

Even at lunch, we prioritized club activities and committee activities, so surprisingly, we don’t eat together.

Unlike me and Shirahama, the two of them didn’t go to the same middle school.

―― I wonder what happened.

When I think about it, the first time Miyano mentioned Kurasawa’s name was before summer vacation.

There was an incident where Kurasawa was attacked and injured on campus. At that time, the school was in a tense situation. All the teachers and the disciplinary committee were conducting patrols and investigations. It was not an atmosphere for the curious onlookers to get involved.

It was around the beginning of October that I vaguely learnt that a person named “Sasaki-senpai” seemed to be involved in this matter.

Sasaki-senpai had started coming to visit the classroom just around the time we had a change of uniform.

The person he looked for was Miyano and usually left after a short conversation. They seemed to be getting along well. With Miyano who wasn’t the pushy type, he talked back to him boldly and joked around harmoniously. 

Sasaki-senpai’s appearance was the complete opposite of Miyano’s, and was far from the impression of ‘serious’.

He was what you would call a flirtatious delinquent, with dyed hair and lots of piercings. Not only that, his expression was cold and unapproachable.

His tall stature that seemed to exceed 180 cm, also further added to the intimidating aura.

Yet his words and actions towards Miyano were soft and surprising. The moment his face became expressionless, he looked like a fierce and scary upperclassman.

I heard that this happened a lot in boys’ schools, and I wondered if Miyano and him had a special relationship. Anyway, the two of them were getting along well, and I thought to myself, “That’s nice.”

However, once I saw Sasaki-senpai talking to Kuresawa, I felt a stir in my heart.

“I know it’s a little late, but are your glasses okay?”

“Yes, the lenses were fine but I couldn’t do anything about the damaged frames so I just replaced them.”

“It’s scary around the eyes.”

It was a short conversation but it left a lasting impression on me, because Kuresawa seemed somewhat small.

Maybe he was being cautious, or maybe he was atrophied.

Thanks to the usual brazen and ‘my-pace’ Kuresawa, the shocking conversation left a negative impression in my memory.

―― Hold on, did that mean that Sasaki-senpai was the cause of Kuresawa’s injury?

“Mm……”

I was curious but I couldn’t hear them.

After that day, I had to deal with a lot of confusion, so I put my impression of Sasaki-senpai on hold. If that’s the case, Miyano was just playing it tough, but inwardly he might be in a bind for being so persistently involved.

On the weekend after five of my classmates went out for cake, I ran down the hallway in a frenzy.

While I was changing in the club room, I noticed a notification on my phone that I had received a message from Kurasawa with just the word ‘notebook’ written.

Ah! I was allowed to leave the room first after my senpai noticed my shout. I told Hanzawa-senpai that I would get my bottle on the way while I took out my notebook, and hurried back to the classroom.

The deadline for submission was after school today, but the representative tasked to collect the work, Kuresawa, told me to hand it in at noon. It was already after school now. If they gave up on me, there’s nothing I could do.

I shouted loudly as I pushed open the door with great force and slipped into the classroom.

“Is Kuresawa still here?!”

“Barely.”

An absent-minded reply came while he stared at his phone. He didn’t even bother to turn around, but it felt as if I could see the holy light of salvation.

“I’m super sorry!! Please submit my notebook……”

Heaving a sigh of relief from being saved, I handed the notebook to Kuresawa.

“Unforgivable,” was what he said, but of course, he didn’t push me away. He’s a kind man after all.

Miyano, who seemed to have no business staying behind, was in class too. I thought that he might have been waiting for Kuresawa, but he was just putting together his log for this week’s morning duty.

―― If these two were the only ones left, that means…… 

A chance! I felt bad for saying so, but it’s an opportunity to ask about the situation I was curious about but couldn’t ask. Out of curiosity, I asked Miyano about his relationship with Sasaki-senpai.

Was it out of goodwill, or was Miyano truly in trouble?

“Oh right, I’ve always been wanting to ask about this for sometime now, is Miyano dating that senpai who drops by a lot?”

“How in the world did you get such an absurd idea?!”

“Well, it’s an all-boys school……? You’re often told that you’re cute by that senpai…… Um… Don’t mind me, I’m just a sitting duck…”

“That’s not it!”

After listening to the story carefully, it turned out that my assumption was completely false and that Sasaki-senpai was instead, a hero who saved Kurasawa from getting beaten up. In short, Sasaki-senpai and Miyano were just good friends.

―― Sorry for doubting you.

As I walked out of the classroom, I reminded myself that it wasn’t good to perceive people based on opinions.

This time I didn’t run, but took my time. Just before I reached the gym, I remembered something important. I was empty-handed.

“B-o-t-t-l-e, I forgot it~”

I went back to the classroom, singing in a very soft voice. If Miyano locked the door, I had to go to the staff room to retrieve the key.

――Huh?

The door was left ajar. I peeked into the classroom, wondering why the door that was closed earlier was open. Then, I saw two figures inside. It wasn’t Miyano and Kuresawa who should have been there a moment ago. It was Sasaki-senpai and Miyano standing in the middle.

――No, I’ve already solved the misunderstanding.

While correcting my mindset, I distanced myself a little from the atmosphere that made it difficult to intrude. 

Their voices did not reach the hallway. Miyano’s face was hidden by his logbook.

Sasaki, on the other hand, was propped up on the desk where Miyano was writing, and I couldn’t see him from the outside either.

――What even?

The thought of a problem arose in my mind, but I took a step back before I was able to move forward.

They said that Sasaki-senpai was a good person, but I still couldn’t get rid of the image of him as a somewhat scary person in my mind.

If something were to happen, the first thing we should do was shout. If Miyano was in trouble, I should help him.

I was ready to make my move, but I caught the sight of Sasaki-senpai’s right hand reaching out to Miyano and returned back just as he was about to reach him, without doing anything.

My view of Miyano was still blocked by his logbook, so he probably couldn’t see me either. Definitely.

――Up till now……

As I unconsciously gulped, their conversation started to reach my ears. In an off-handed manner, Miyano was talking about his hobby, reading manga. Sasaki-senpai didn’t seem to be a reader type, so I wonder if he was trying to match the topic with Miyano.

“Hey, I saw an ad for a BL-like manga at the convenience store today, do you know it, Myaa-chan?”

“What’s the title? Do you remember the words…”

“Hmm… I wonder if I can look it up… Oh, here it is.”

“Ah, this is close to BL but……”

Huh? You’re not scared?

I mean, could Sasaki-senpai have reached out because……

I felt that I could somehow read the relationship between Miyano and Sasaki-senpai, but I stopped prying. If Miyano was alright, then that’s fine.

My heart seemed like stone was lifted off it, feeling much lighter.

Skipping back to the gym, I reported, “I’m back! I made it in time for the submission!”

Hanzawa-senpai, who was taking a break, tilted his head to the side and said, “Welcome back.”

“Your water bottle?”

“OH YA!”

I gazed at the ceiling, realising that I had forgotten that I went back to get it.

But unsurprisingly, I didn’t want to go back to the classroom.

Well, I mean, it’s kind of embarrassing!