【009】Target

【Tamura Misaki】

School was closed for a week after Tanaka-sensei’s body was discovered.

The police were conducting their investigation at the scene. I was questioned by the police several times. Apparently, I was considered the first person to discover the body. The officer assigned to me was a young female police officer named Inoue.

Then came the weekend. I suppose you could say things had finally settled down somewhat.

When I returned home from questioning, it was already night. Just before I reached the entrance, I noticed someone in front of the door.

“Ah, Misa-kun!”

It was Nanaka-san.

“Welcome home.”

“Yeah, I’m home.”

Nanaka-san was holding a shopping bag. I could see various vegetables inside.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Huh? No, no. I just got here.”

It was a lie. Nanaka-san’s ears and fingertips were red. I could tell she’d been waiting for close to an hour.

But pointing that out would be tactless.

“It’s cold, so come inside.”

I let Nanaka-san in instead.

“Pardon the intrusion,” Nanaka-san said in a drawn-out tone as she stepped into my room.

“Let’s make hot pot today. We’ll finish with udon noodles.”

“Sounds good. Do I have a pot though?”

“It was in the second drawer in the kitchen.”

“…You know my kitchen better than I do at this point, Nanaka-san.”

I smiled wryly as I opened the second drawer. Sure enough, there was a pot. I’d bought it at some point but never had a chance to use it.

“I think even I can handle preparing hot pot, so Nanaka-san, why don’t you go take a bath?”

“Huh, but—”

“Your body must be cold.”

“…Okay!”

Nanaka-san handed me the shopping bag and headed into the bathroom. I began preparing the hot pot.

【Nakano Nanaka】

Doesn’t this mean we’re already in love with each other?

I thought that as I bathed in the warm shower. But I wasn’t certain.

Misa-kun must have realized I’d been standing in front of his door for a long time. Acting like he didn’t notice while still being considerate. Misa-kun really is a kind person. I love him.

But there’s one thing that bothers me.

Even when Misa-kun lets me into his room, he doesn’t get embarrassed. He used to have such adorable reactions at first, but now he lets me in like it’s completely normal. I mean, that makes me happy too, but…

I want him to see me more as a woman…

My chest is bigger than average, at least.

And I think my face isn’t bad either.

I know people call me the most beautiful girl in school.

Do I not have feminine charm…?

Or maybe Misa-kun has convinced himself that I don’t like him. That’s possible.

Should I make more aggressive appeals? But I want to avoid standing out too much right now.

What should I do?

Hmm, well, whatever.

I finished my bath, dried off, and found clothes placed in front of the sink. Misa-kun must have set them there beforehand. I’d thought about deliberately forgetting clothes to show some skin, but he beat me to it. I love considerate things like that about him too, so I don’t mind at all.

The clothes appeared to be Misa-kun’s.

I would’ve preferred unwashed ones, but just being able to wear his clothes is enough for now.

A sweatshirt and long pants.

The sweatshirt was one size bigger than mine, making the sleeves flap around.

The so-called “boyfriend shirt.”

I wonder if I can keep this later.

…Probably not.

When I returned to the room, Misa-kun was in the middle of making the hot pot. A wonderful smell hit my nose.

“Ah, Nanaka-san. Welcome back.”

“S-so…!”

“So?”

“No, nothing! It’s just, seeing Misa-kun in the kitchen is kind of refreshing.”

“I’ve been leaving everything to Nanaka-san lately, huh.”

I almost said it out loud.

Misa-kun in the kitchen is so cool!

Cool, cool, cool.

Ah, I almost started drooling.

“M-Misa-kun, I’ll take over from here.”

“Then want to do it together?”

“Cough!?”

“Nanaka-san!?”

Sneak attacks are brutal.

Is Misa-kun a natural flirt? Is he?

“No, don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s get this done quick.”

I stood next to Misa-kun and started cooking.

It’s like a dream.

If a third party saw us right now, how would we look?

A cohabiting couple? Newlyweds?

I wish we could be like that someday…

Throb.

“…!”

I stopped cutting vegetables with the knife.

I’d had a sudden headache.

I pressed my head. But whether it was just sudden or perhaps my imagination, the pain didn’t come.

“…?”

I tilted my head.

Maybe it was just my imagination.

“Nanaka-san?”

“No, it’s nothing!”

Yeah, it’s nothing.

We’re building our world together like this, Misa-kun and I.

Nothing’s wrong.

【Tamura Misaki】

School after a week away had a strange atmosphere. That was only natural. A school teacher had been murdered by someone. There was no way school life could return to normal.

For students craving the extraordinary, that was only expected.

Class 1-3’s classroom had been moved to a different location. An empty classroom on the second floor of the new school building was being used as a temporary classroom for Class 1-3. Since we originally had to go up to the fourth floor, the reduced travel time made things a bit easier.

When I arrived at the classroom, eyes gathered on me.

This was normal, so it wasn’t a problem.

The inside of my desk was stuffed with garbage as usual.

I felt a bit resistant.

I didn’t want to open the cleaning supply locker.

No, there wouldn’t be a corpse inside.

Even so, I couldn’t rationalize it.

Well, that couldn’t be helped.

I took out a plastic bag from my school bag. One piece of wisdom from experience—always carrying something to throw away garbage.

It must be a hassle to deliberately put garbage in my desk. I thought that as I put it into the plastic bag.

Still, the stares felt especially strong today. I briefly made eye contact with a classmate. When our eyes met, they looked away.

Something felt off.