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Episode 5: Your Real Name

“As expected, it was just me overthinking.”

That’s what I said to myself.

My fear that Sakuragi-san might intervene in my daily high school life slowly turned out to be groundless.

Since, till it was after-school hours, I didn’t have anything exceptionally uncommon happen.

Well, it was certainly that I felt being on a bed of nails standing in the limelight of everyone.

… and amidst that, for some reason, I also felt like there was a chilling stare mixed among those. But probably it was because the nerves in my spine had become just too hypersensitive.

Since no actual harm was done.

Well then, I guess I should head home soon.

Saying bye to Kisaragi in the classroom and then leaving the school premise.

After walking for a while, I felt a sense of incongruity.

… Am I perhaps being watched? Or perhaps stalked?

Thinking that, As I was about to increase my pace heading home.

“Ah umm, T–Tanaka-kun.”

I Look behind.

Though I can tell, it’s her without even looking. Since the only person who would call me Tanaka was…

“…What’s wrong, Sakuragi-san?”

For some reason, I got called out by Sakuragi-san, who was being shy and timid.

“Ah, you see. Ca–can’t we–we go home together… I’m still a little scared.”

……I see. Well, I’m sure anyone would be. That happened to her just yesterday.

Probably this girl is misunderstood because of how she appears. Though deep down, she’s probably not a bitch, but a somewhat normal girl like anyone else.

…Honestly, I don’t have any merit in helping her, and again if someone from school sees me walking with her, it’ll become all the more confusing. But then again, I do feel wrong with just abandoning her here.

“Okay, I’ll accompany you till we’re close to your home, right?”

“…Ehehe. Un. Thank you very much.”

Her smile was so pure that there appeared close to no malice behind it.

“Is Sakuragi-san’s house nearby?”

“Un. How about Tanaka-kun?”

“Mine’s a little ahead.”

Sakuragi-san grinned happily while talking with me. When I see something think this, I become unsure whether she was a bitch even in the first place.

It can also be because I have been only involved with her for a small amount of time that I was thinking like that.

“Speaking of which…Hey, Tanaka-kun.”

“What is it?”

“Tanaka-kun, your real name is different, isn’t it?”

“Ye–Yes?”

“Your real name perhaps happens to be something different, right?”

Her; Sakuragi san’s eyes seemed just as happy as if there was nothing, to begin with.

Her smile was so well constructed that, in turn, it made me question whether this smile was fake by chance.

“…U–un.”

“I kind of want to hear you say your real name from your own mouth.”

Sakuragi-san dares to make me say my name even though she probably knows it already.

“My name is …Yuugao Sakura. Nice to meet you again. Sakuragi-san.”

“Ahaha, nice to meet you too. Yuugao-kun~.”

This time, it was an innocent smile.

For some reason, her smile prior now looked really scary, but her present smile looks like that of an innocent girl.

“Your name, Sakura, kind of rings similar to my last name, doesn’t it~.”

“I agree.”

(“… Sakuragi Sakura. Yuugao Kaede. Both are good.”)

She looked, mumbling something.

But I didn’t feel like asking. If I were to ask her, I felt like it might be crossing a point of no return.

“This will be enough. It’s just a little bit more from here. Thank you.

“Unn~”

“See you later again, Yuugao-kun.”

I was somehow unable to reply back to Sakuragi-san, who said that.

End Of Chapter