Chapter 14: The Inexperienced Pair

“…Perfect.”

“Yeah, yeah. You can give me more compliments, you know?”

Sakurazaki puffed out her chest proudly.

If proper communication exists at all, then in moments like this it’s customary to heap on even more praise to lift the other person’s mood…

However, Daikichi Sakoda wasn’t the kind of boy who could be perfectly considerate.

“If you want excessive compliments, then ask someone else instead of me.”

“You’re so mean…”

Sakurazaki said that in a sulky tone—but she didn’t really seem angry, as she made a cute duck face.

Such girlish gestures would normally have an ordinary boy going, “Ah, ah, I wasn’t trying to be mean at all!”… but that wasn’t the case with Daikichi Sakoda.

“By the way…”

Daikichi Sakoda changed the subject. The consciousness survey wasn’t finished yet—there was still one student whose section hadn’t been filled out.

It was Sakurazaki herself.

After all, Sakurazaki was the one who had forcefully started helping Daikichi Sakoda without answering at first, so her own entry was still blank.

“Sakurazaki, your section is still blank. You could have filled it out on your own while you were on the move or during a little free time.”

“Huh? Uh… filling it out myself just doesn’t feel right, you know?”

“If you didn’t want to fill it out yourself, you could’ve answered when I first asked, couldn’t you?”

“Hmm… I thought it’d be best to leave it for last.”

Sakurazaki fidgeted. Her actions clearly showed that she wanted to stay together a bit longer and chat more, so Daikichi Sakoda couldn’t really argue.

However, he couldn’t let it drag on forever. He needed to complete all the items in order to finish his work.

“I see… well, whatever. If you can’t fill it out yourself, then I’ll have no choice but to ask you.”

“Y-yes!”

Sakurazaki’s eyes sparkled, and with her adorably childish expression, Daikichi Sakoda was especially vulnerable to that kind of look.

Childishness—whether deliberate or not—is both an expression of the desire to lean on someone and a disclosure of one’s own vulnerability that needs nurturing.

Because Daikichi Sakoda was well aware of his own emotional frailty, he couldn’t help but see himself in anyone showing weakness, making it hard for him to brush it off.

“Standing and talking is tiring… let’s change our location.”

Daikichi Sakoda immediately thought of a spot where they could sit down and talk calmly; he figured they could use one of the vacant rooms on campus.

The fact that he could find such a place so readily was a byproduct of having been saddled with various errands around the school for the past six months.

He had the school map memorized—and he held the keys to every room, so he could enter any room he wanted.

“Sakurazaki, let’s go into that vacant room.”

“Eh? A vacant room…? So… you mean you want us to be alone?!”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not planning to do anything weird—I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

“W-well, if it’s just a little weird, I guess that’s fine… But wait, how did you know that room was empty?”

“It’s the room used for career counseling, and it’s normally locked. But today, none of the grades seem to have such plans—everyone’s heading home.”

“I see. But if that’s the case, wouldn’t you need a key to get in…?”

“I have the key.”

Having declared that, Daikichi Sakoda showed Sakurazaki the key—and then realized with a quiet “Damn it” that he’d made a blunder. While the notion of an empty classroom could have been mere guesswork, actually possessing the key to that room was undeniably odd.

If only Sakurazaki hadn’t noticed… but Daikichi Sakoda’s wish went unanswered.

“Why do you have the key??? And, by the way, why is it that you, Daichan-senpai, are handling the survey?”

Sakurazaki came at him with wide eyes, and Daikichi Sakoda looked grim.

“…There are a lot of things going on. Don’t pry.”

“I’m curious!”

“It was just a coincidence.”

“Is that really just a coincidence?”

“…”

Seeing that Sakurazaki showed no sign of relenting, Daikichi Sakoda looked skyward, cursing his own foolishness.

But that wouldn’t solve anything.

Daikichi Sakoda quickly shifted his thinking, pondering how best to extricate himself from the predicament, and reluctantly decided to engage in a sort of negotiation.

“If you’re so concerned, then I’m going home.”

Daikichi used Sakurazaki’s feelings for him as a bargaining chip. Of course, he knew it wasn’t a good idea, and it wasn’t meant seriously—it was just a tactic.

In the first place, if he really went home, he’d be abandoning his work, and Daikichi simply couldn’t do that.
So, if she were to notice, his position could quickly be reversed—a risky negotiation indeed.

But Sakurazaki, oblivious to all that, panicked. It became clear that when someone has feelings, they become confused and lose the ability for clear thought.

“Na-no, I don’t want that! I won’t listen anymore!”

Sakurazaki grabbed Daikichi’s sleeve and shook her head vigorously. No matter how good she was at studying, when it came to the unsolvable equations of romance—where experience, not formulas, ruled—Sakurazaki seemed completely lost.

And, at the same time…

Even Daikichi, who had devised this negotiation and challenge, was struck with bewilderment at Sakurazaki’s overreaction. In the first place, it was the very first negotiation he’d ever tried—a spur-of-the-moment idea with only a vague hope that things would resolve smoothly. He never expected such a meltdown.

“To-t-to that extent…!”

Without even speaking directly, Sakurazaki’s attitude and actions unabashedly revealed her fondness for him, making Daikichi’s ears heat up and his cheeks turn as red as apples.

“Because, because…!”
“If you think about it for a minute, smart Sakurazaki should understand there’s no need to take what I’m saying seriously!”

“What?”

“I can’t just leave the consciousness survey unfinished—I have to complete it and submit it. That means I have to fill in your part, too. If you leave on your own, it’s me who’ll be in trouble.”

Unable to bear the guilt any longer, Daikichi explained, and Sakurazaki finally seemed to realize with an “Ah… I see,” her face softening into one of relief.

“Calmer now? Come on, let’s go.”

“Yeah…!”

Sakurazaki wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and happily trailed after Daikichi.
As for the key and the reasons she’d been asked to handle the consciousness survey, Sakurazaki no longer seemed inclined to ask about them—one could say the crisis had been averted.

However, upon realizing once again that Sakurazaki genuinely liked him, Daikichi’s emotions became complicated—as if caught in a storm.

(Somehow my heart is restless. Don’t worry about it, me. Sakurazaki will eventually forget about me. And that’s okay. That’s how it should be.)

And so, the consciousness survey that Daikichi conducted on Sakurazaki in the empty classroom unfolded in an indescribable atmosphere.

――So, it’s been half a year since entering this school… As for the results as a special scholarship student… well, you said before that they haven’t fallen, so it seems fine.

――Wait, wait! Look, while your grades are totally fine, special scholarship students have different exam content and all that. To be honest, it isn’t exactly easy…

――We’re managing within the bounds of our efforts, so there’s no problem. Now, onto the next item.

――There’s no problem, but that’s not it!

――The next item concerns relationships with others. Well, there doesn’t seem to be any major issues there either. She’s always with her friends, seems to know the other scholarship students well, and is probably managing fine.

――Ugh~!

――Don’t moan. Relationships are fine, right?

――…I haven’t really had any conflicts; I get along well with my friends, but that’s among girls. I don’t really talk much with boys, so it doesn’t mean I handle relationships with everyone perfectly…

――Relationships with the opposite sex often run into problems, as you see in the news. There’s no need to be overly close with boys.

――Could it be… that Daichan-senpai dislikes me getting close to boys?! I guess I can’t help it… Baby, you can rest easy, okay? I’ve always been bad with boys, so I won’t get too close… okay?

――Your imagination is really over the top… Alright, next item.

Even though Daikichi had intended to keep his distance from Sakurazaki, an opportunity like this still presented itself. He couldn’t understand how it had come to this.
Yet, strangely enough, he didn’t feel repulsed; he even thought that sometimes, these kinds of moments might be nice.

Being bonded… Daikichi was aware of that too.