Chapter 1

Makoto Himuro ③

I was filled with sweat as I was running in the early summer sun, thinking it’d be risky to be late, and just as I thought I’d made it in time, I realized I’d forgotten my lunch box at home.

“It’s hot… and I’m so hungry!”

I completely overslept this morning, owing in part to the fact that my mother wasn’t present.

In a way, it’s miraculous that the alarm didn’t go off.

I didn’t have time to eat the breakfast that had been left for me, and I also forgot to bring my lunch box to school, which was the worst feeling ever because of the undemanding Dojjiko style event. (TLN: A dojikko, in otaku culture terminology, refers to an extremely clumsy female. The type is used as a stock character in Japanese light novels, anime, and manga according to this site.) (EDN: Does this make him have a trait of a heroine…? So does this mean that he’s a heroine???)

I could have gone shopping for something, but I’m low on cash and I have some plans with it, so I’ll just have to grit my teeth and bear it for today. I believe I can deceive myself by drinking water for a day or two.

I creep up the stairs like a zombie and enter the classroom just in the nick of time.

As I sat there, contemplating how the floor of the classroom slightly resembles a chocolate bar, a voice called out to me, as dignified, clear, and pleasant to the ear as ever.

“Good morning. You seem to be having a hard time, Himuro-kun. Are you okay?”

About a month had passed since the day of the seat change, and Hasumi-san’s attitude had softened to the point where she could be described as a completely different person compared to the first time she talked to me.

Even now, she asks me this question with a worried expression on her face and a concerned voice.

If I asked her to accompany me to the infirmary, I’m sure she’d lend me a shoulder or something.

“Hasumi-san, good morning. Don’t worry about it, I’m just hungry.”

I wasn’t feeling very sick at the time; my stomach rumbled as soon as I replied back to her.

I was so hungry that my face resembled that of a wet anpanman.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, just leave me alone for the time being.”

I felt bad for her, but I was too tired to talk back with her, so I let her sit at her desk early in the conversation.

We talk basically everyday nowadays, but it’s not like we have any conversations about anything important or whatnot; I’m sure there are plenty of other people that she could talk to as well.

◆◆◆◆◆

The first period was modern literature, but the chime rang with me being unable to understand any of the content told by the teacher.

In any case, as I sat down at my desk, I tried to expend as little physical energy as possible.

I let out a second sigh, feeling the 500 yen that remained in my pocket, and then I meditated.

I kept doing the same thing at every break, and it seemed like it was already lunchtime. With their lunch boxes in hand, everyone began to make their way to their seats.

“‘Hey, hey, hey, your face is looking really awful. Don’t bite me, okay?”

“I ain’t no zombie. I overslept and forgot to eat breakfast and I also forgot my lunch.”

“Wait a minute, who do you think you are?”

Takashi and Ken, who always eat lunch together, laughed and shared a little bit of their lunch with me.

But they are also high school boys with big appetites. They share what they can, but it’s not enough for them.

“I’m going to go drink some water and fill my stomach. I won’t be back for a while, so you’re on your own for now.”

“Hey!”

I drank some water, but I wasn’t hungry, and I didn’t want the sound of my stomach rumbling to be heard while everyone else was eating their lunches, so I went to the gymnasium, where there weren’t many people, partly to kill time.

It’s already summer, huh.

A hot wind blew in my face as soon as I stepped out into the hallway, telling me more than enough about the change of season.

“Why can’t I just eat the clouds…?”

“That’s a serious statement to make, Himuro-kun.”

I turned around as I was talking to myself like an idiot and looking at the cotton candy-like clouds in the sky when I heard a familiar voice speaking behind me.

Her lovely hair was swaying in the breeze, gleaming and reflecting the light of the sun. Her gentle smile looks like it’s even cooling the early summer heat.

It’s almost as if I’m looking straight at a painting.

In my foggy mind, I believe so.

“Hasumi-san? What’s wrong?”

It’s extremely unusual for her to be here.

I assumed that she always ate with her group of girls. I wonder if something happened today.

“I thought I’d give you some of this.”

She says to me while holding up her lunch box with some snacks.

She seemed concerned about me.

“What’s the deal with that?”

Her bento box is always small, and she was never really a big eater, but she was carrying a lot of sweets, which bothered me a little.

“I suppose it’s just what we girls like to do? They’re all kept in the locker rooms and clubrooms.”

I see, I didn’t realize that. I guess women do a lot of things differently.

“I didn’t realize that, but it’s fine, it’s my fault that I didn’t want to spend any money.”

I refuse because it’s completely selfish for me to ask her for that, and I’d feel really terrible about it. I’d rather buy something myself than receive something she purchased for free.

I really want to eat it, but I can’t be that picky just because she offered me some of her own food.

“It’s okay. It’s just an advance for the stuff they give me in exchange for looking at my notebooks during the test period. I couldn’t eat all of them myself during the last test, so I figured I’d pay my debt with the extra money I got early.”

Indeed, there were rumors circulating that she had scored the highest in her grade on the competency test administered prior to the seat change.

With a notebook like that, of course everyone would want to see it.

It would be a lie, however, to say that she was ingratiating herself. I’ve only known her for a month, but I already know that she’s not that type of person. She is the type of person who makes more sacrifices than she should.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. However, wouldn’t it be terrible if I walked all the way here to give you this and then you just want me to return back with everything I had brought for you?”

She said with a sly, accusing look on her face.

At first, I mistook her for someone who was cold hearted and self-centered.

But now I know that she is a kind person with a strong sense of discipline and responsibility.

And, while she isn’t always this way, she can be surprisingly stubborn at times.

In any case, if we keep talking about this, we’ll just end up going around in circles. Let me take her word for it.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She persuades me to join her for lunch, and we both take a seat on the gym floor.

I’m uncomfortable with being closer to her than I expected, but I’m sure it’s just because I’m not used to it, so I keep eating.

“I promise I’ll pay you back, just wait and watch.”

“Hey, that doesn’t mean what I think it means, does it?” (TLN: What do you think it means?        ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

I lightly slap my mouth as my hunger subsides and I am filled with energy; the other party just looks at me, perplexed.

She truly is a nice person. I’m reminded that one day I’ll have to repay her in some way or the other.

“I wish we could keep doing this forever” [OR “I wish….” ]

“Sorry, what did you just say?”

She appeared to be whispering something, but I couldn’t quite make it out.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“I see, but how did you find out that I had forgotten to eat lunch in the first place? Did you ask Takashi and Ken about it?”

I ask this as I recall the friends I had just eaten with.

I don’t think I even told her that I’d forgotten my lunch box today.

“…Something along those lines.”

“I see, thank you so much.”

“I don’t mind, I’m indebted to you, Himuro-kun.”

“Really? I don’t remember doing anything.”

“I see. Besides, it’s kind of cool that you don’t remember it the other way around.”

I’m not sure what she’s talking about, but it appears so. She gave me a heartfelt smile and continued to stare at me without saying anything.

◆◆◆◆◆

“Come to think of it, why don’t you want to spend any of your money?”

After finishing lunch and relaxing for a bit, she asked me a question.

It was a natural question to ask.

“Actually, I’d like to get a motorcycle license sometime soon, and my father is going to lend me his bike too.”

Yes, I was born in May, so I am of legal driving age right now. Of course, I didn’t inform my school about it.

I’m safe as long as they don’t find out, and I’m not going to cause any problems for them either.

“Really? That image doesn’t really look good on you.”

“I know, I know, so don’t tell me that again.”

I know it doesn’t look good on this sober face. My sister made a lot of fun of me for that. I sulked for a moment, then she laughed and apologized.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but why do you want one?”

“It doesn’t mean anything, all I wanted was a ride.”

To be honest, I just thought it would be cool to see my father on it.

He’s the type of person who does most things in a lighthearted manner, and I’m troubled by the fact that he invites me to join him right away.

“Really? I guess that’s why motorcycles are so awesome.”

“It’s not great, but I do it just because I want to do it.”

I just genuinely want to do it. Nothing more, nothing less.

A simple reason that cannot be explained in any other way.

“…You do it because you want to do it? That sounds a little far-fetched to me.”

But, with a thoughtful expression on her face, she responded back.

She does, in fact, have a tendency to overthink other people’s feelings.

She prioritizes harmony with others over what she wants to do. That’s the picture I have of her.

It’s too suffocating for me, and I don’t believe I could or would do it her way.

To be honest, I believe I’m a fast paced person.

I do what I want to do, when I want to do, and in the amount I want to do it in.

Of course, some people have distanced themselves from me as a result of this, but that doesn’t matter.

In the end, I believe that anyone who leaves me just because of that will be gone for a while, and I believe it’s appropriate to just simply let it go. Spending that time on what is important to you and who is important to you is far more meaningful than such trivial things.

“Hasumi-san is overly concerned with her surroundings, right? Do you have anything you want to do?”

“What do I want to do…? I’m not so sure. I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Then think about it for a moment; it could just be as simple as that.”

It’s a shame that she’s so nice, and it’s because of her kindness that she can’t do anything.

She’s the type of person who could do anything she wants to, but I have the impression that she’s holding herself back in some way. I often wish she could live more comfortably.

“What I want to do… Yes, I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea; perhaps it’s not something for me to say though.”

I’m a little embarrassed because I spoke so passionately about her life, which is unusual for me.

“Thank you. I feel like my world has gotten a little bigger.”

She claims that even something as simple as this, which appears to be what everyone else has been doing all this while, has broadened her horizons.

I’m not sure what kind of life she’s been living so far.

But, even if it’s only a little, I hoped that she would be able to enjoy her life more from now on.

“I’m glad to hear that; now let’s get back to work in the classroom.”

“I suppose so.”

Because it’s separated from the rest of the sky, the sky seen through the gymnasium window appeared to be small and narrow.

But when we went outside, there was nothing to obstruct the view anymore, and it was so big and wide that it felt like we could go anywhere we wanted.

TL: Jelt

ED: Spynine01