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Chapter 1: Lilac

Second year of high school, October.

After school, a crimson-colored light shines through the windows. The sports club’s yelling could be heard from the schoolyard, and a musical band practicing hard at their piece. All sounds intermingled with each other at this hour after school.

Some were on their way home, others worked to sweat at club activities while some worked at school committees. In short, everyone was busy doing something or the other except me, who was sitting alone in this empty classroom all by myself.

Amidst the sounds coming from various sources, another sound, albeit faint, echoes in the classroom. The sound of my pencil gliding across my notebook.

I take a satisfying breath before putting down my pencil.

I looked at the seat diagonally ahead of me, there was one more bag on the desk apart from mine.

“Today as well… huh?”

I can easily imagine what could happen next in a story such as this, I start to mutter and narrate it to myself.

… wait… No, concentrate.

With that ongoing thought, I let my hands run over the notebook yet again.

I wonder how much time has passed, five minutes, ten minutes, or maybe not even a minute.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulders.

Even though I knew it was coming, my heart screamed in shock, as I jumped up in an instant for my shoulder being tapped.

When I turned around, there was a girl smiling at me looking as a beautiful sun illuminating the classroom; waving her hand at me.

“I’m sorry, Shiranui-kun. Did I startle you?”

“Obviously you did. But Takamine san, was that on purpose?”

“Only, Half~”

She smiled, a mischievous expression on her face.

“Were you writing the novel today as well?”

“I guess that’s not even worth answering. On the other hand, at your end, I presume it must have been yet another confession?”

“I guess that’s not even worth answering.”

In a somewhat strange tone of voice, she said the same words as I did moments ago.

“I’m not sure, but are you trying to imitate me?”

“Un, did it look alike?”

“Not at all. You need to put in more practice.”

“I see. Then I need to study more by chatting with Shiranui even more than before.”

Saying such sort of things with a nonchalant expression on her face is really something I can really never get accustomed to.

Thit is the sort of thing that makes me start thinking uneasily, but I make sure to never say it out loud. Rather, I decided and went on to forcibly change the flow of our conversation before I became overly embarrassed.

I forced myself to change the subject before things got awkward with my teeth-chattering line.

“By the way, did you accept today’s confession?”

“Nope. I turned it down.”

“Is there really no one? You can fall in love with.”

“I guess so. But as I told you before, I’ve decided that the first person I date will be the person I fall in love with, and I’ll be the one to confess my feelings to him.”

“You are such a romanticist, aren’t you, Takamine-san? I really can’t believe that you are still not dating anyone.”

“What’s that? What do you mean, do you want me to be a slut?”

She poses to puff her cheeks and directs her anger towards me.

This technique is also becoming more and more popular nowadays. Is it because the most popular beauties in schools use it these days?

“No, no, I didn’t try to mean it to that degree. But, since it’s someone as popular as Takamine-san, you must have a myriad of choices when it comes to nice and cool people, don’t you?”

When I said what I really thought, which was neither flattery nor insulting. Her eyes rather narrowed down at me.

“A kind person or a cool person huh… Shiranui-kun, you know, I am a girl who believes in the so-called red thread of fate. If you go on to find someone kind or someone cool, there can and may be many in this world, don’t you think? But when you plan to choose only one of them to be your partner for life, I think that someone should have things better than just some coolness, gentleness or kindness in them. Or someone who just happens to be the right fit for you. That person will be my destiny. And I want to connect and be with that person and that person only.”

“As I thought, you’re a romanticist.”

“Don’t make fun of me. Do you realize how embarrassing it is?”

“Also” she adds.

“Shiranui-kun is the first person with whom I’ve talked about my take on chastity. Understood?”

“I understand. I am not planning to tell it to everyone, so rest assured.”

Destiny — — — —

Destiny, huh?

Then is it also because of destiny that me, Amane Shiranui, and this girl, Takamine Hana, are talking to one another right now?

One is a beautiful girl who never ceases to charm those who see her, and the other is a dull literary boy with almost no presence.

I dare to wonder if it is really fate that brought the paths of these two people, who have walked completely different paths up till now and will most probably walk a completely different path from one another even in the future, cross each other at this very moment in time?

“Ah~ come to think of it—-…”

When did this relationship even begin?

I decided to reminisce back into the memories of my past.

『An After School affair with an Unattainable Flower (Hana).』