I Became Friends with the Second Cutest Girl in My Class (WN) - Chapter 270 – Choosing Autumn Clothes (2)

Chapter 270 – Choosing Autumn Clothes (2)

Last Saturday of the month. As we had planned the other day, Umi and I would be going together to pick out new autumn clothes for our date tomorrow.

Usually, we’d just go to the nearest commercial district, but Umi suggested that we should go to an outlet mall near the edge of the town, so we would be going there. Apparently, it was the third year anniversary of that mall, so they were having a huge sale over there. We could get a lot of things, not only food and clothes, at a discount.

Wearing my usual hoodie and jeans, I rang the intercom to Umi’s house. Usually, Umi was the one who’d pick me up for our dates, but today, Sora-san was going to drive us to the outlet mall, that was why I was here early in the morning.

It was currently eight in the morning… I really wanted to sleep a little longer, but Umi told me that if we didn’t go there earlier, the items on sale would be sold out.

…People really got that enthusiastic over a little shopping, huh?

{Welcome, Maki-kun. Umi is still getting ready, so come on in first.}

“Okay. Please excuse me.”

I looked at my phone screen to see how did I look before fixing up my messy bangs. After that was done, I entered the house and went straight to the living room. I was greeted by a familiar scene; the veggies and fruits on the table, the smell of bread, Sora-san’s humming and my cute girlfriend’s bright smile.

“Come here, Maki~”

“Mm…”

I did what she told me and sat down next to her on the couch. Almost immediately, she grabbed my arm and embraced it. I used to refrain from indulging her like this because Sora-san was here, but the latter never made a fuss about it, so I figured that there was no need to do so. Umi also never made a big deal out of it anyway.

Well, if Daichi-san was here, it might be a different story…

“Sorry for the trouble, Sora-san. We could just take the bus to get there, but we just had to trouble you for this, hadn’t we…?”

“No, it’s fine, I don’t mind. I have to get some groceries for our house anyway, so I figured that it’d be more helpful to have you two help me carry them… Umi, don’t make that face. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you two to go on your date alone, okay?”

“…I-I’m not making any faces! Right, Maki?”

“Huh? Well, y-yes you aren’t…”

With her pinching my back, I couldn’t just deny her words…

Well, in any case, the mother and daughter pair seemed as close (?) as ever.

Still, couldn’t she hold back a little? Her pinch really hurt… Well, actually, I didn’t mind it that much…

In any case, Umi had already finished getting ready just before I arrived, so we quickly got into Sora-san’s car and went straight to the mall. It had been a while since I rid a car driven by Sora-san like this, so—

“Is something wrong, Maki-kun?”

“Ah, no… Nothing…”

…Let’s just hope that everything will be okay.

Umi and I sat in the backseat. Naturally, we held each other’s hand. Because both of us were wearing seatbelts, we couldn’t exactly do anything more than this.

“Ah, right, isn’t it almost time for the parent-teacher discussion? Masaki-san is busy with her work, isn’t she? Are you gonna be okay, Maki-kun?”

“Yes, Mom would be taking a day off on that day… By the way, have they posted the schedule for your class, Umi?”

“Yeah, I checked it the other day, we’ll take the interview on the same day as your class, Maki. Right, will you be hanging out with Masaki-obaa-san, Mom?”

“Well, if we get to take the interview on the same day, of course. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out. Getting some alcohol— no, maybe tea would be better?”

“I’m sure my mom will be more than happy to go with you, Sora-san. Whether you’ll be inviting her for some tea or alcohol, she’ll be fine either way.”

“Is that so? I’ll invite her out later then.”

The parent-teacher discussion, one of the events that all the second year high schoolers hated to participate in. That event will be held next month for around three days.

Umi and I had already decided the university we wanted to go to, and our grades were already decent enough, so, all we needed to do was to work hard to achieve our goals. But, not all second years shared the same fate as us. The rest of our group, Amami-san, Nitta-san and Nozomu, fell into that category.

“Still, I can’t believe that my baby will graduate in a year and a half… It feels like it has only been a few months ago that she learned how to walk… Like they said, children grow up quickly… I thought I’d need to take care of both my children for a little longer, but it seems like that isn’t the case…”

Umi and I, Riku-san and Shizuku-san. From Sora-san’s perspective, everything would change drastically from what she used to. Riku-san would finally leave her for his new life with Shizuku-san soon, and if things were to go well, Umi would also do the same next year.

With Daichi-san away from home often and both her children leaving the house… She’d end up by herself most of the time…

I took a glance at her face using the back mirror. She looked as calm as usual, but I noticed a hint of loneliness on her face.

“…Well, my dear husband is still there, so it’s fine. In any case, looking at you two made me think of the good old days. What do you think about it, Umi? Maki-kun?”

“…D-Don’t ask me, ask Maki!”

“W-Why me?”

It was hard for me to comment on it since I was the one who took Umi away from her.

These days, it felt like I’ve been talking to Sora-san more than my own mom, so I resolved myself to take proper care of her too in the future. Thinking about the mother-daughter pair made me let out a wry smile.

…Anyway, it seemed like I had to deal with this kind of atmosphere for another hour. I wonder if I could last that long?

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

Chapter 271 – Choosing Autumn Clothes (3)

After that, it took another hour and a half for us to arrive at our destination. Since it was a holiday, the streets were more crowded than usual. Thanks to that, we arrived later than scheduled, albeit we did manage to arrive safely.

“It’s huge…”

Looking at the building through the car window, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself. I knew that buildings like this existed, but it was the first time I’ve ever visited it myself, so I was practically struck with awe.

In the building, there was a large convenience store that sold a lot of food, a movie theater, a public bath, a food court with various fast food chains occupying it and many more. It felt like you could spend a whole day here without getting bored due to how many things were there to experience.

Since the mall advertised its third anniversary through various medias like TV ads and newspapers, the parking lot was almost full when we arrived. Not only that, there were also people who came in by bus, creating a long line that stretched from the entrance of the mall, all the way to the bus stop.

Though, the crowd was still manageable compared to the fireworks festival— Right, this time for sure, I’d stick with Umi closely…

“Alright, let’s get our groceries first. You two will have to carry a lot of things, so, I’ll be counting on you, Umi, Maki-kun.”

“Roger. Sorry for dragging you into this, Maki.”

“It’s fine. I’ve always been in your family’s care. I’m more than happy to help.”

After getting out of the car, we went to the large convenience store to get our groceries. Unlike the convenience stores we normally went to, they sold everything by weight here. Those included, but not limited to fresh products like meat, fish and veggies, to processed ones like butter, cheese and sausages. Since you had to buy them in bulk, if you were to live by yourself, getting them here would feel a little excessive, but if you didn’t, or you had to prepare for a dinner party or something like that, these were practically godsend.

There were also various food courts inside the convenience store. They sold pizza, hamburgers and other snacks you could munch on to pass time.

“Ah, right. Mom, for today’s dinner, how about we have some yakiniku? While we’re at it, let’s invite Maki as well. If we buy the ingredients from this corner, it won’t cost much.”

“Oh, you’re right. Maki-kun, can you help me get five packs from that shelf?

“Are you sure you want to invite me…? Anyway, got it, I’ll get them.”

I followed the mother and daughter pair, who were pushing the trolley around, closely. Occasionally, I’d run around to pick what they needed from the shelves and place them inside the trolley. I guess this was Daichi-san and Riku-san’s duty, but since neither of them were here, it automatically became mine.

Other than meat, veggies, rice and other ingredients for today’s yakiniku dinner, we also grabbed some desserts; cakes, pudding and such, along with snacks and some canned foods… And as you’ve guessed it, the trolley was filled to the brim in a short time. Since the item packages were quite big, it was a little hard to fit them inside, but in a way, it was a rather fun experience.

…Well, I could already tell that I’d be dead exhausted by the time we go back home, but that was a story for another day.

After paying the bills and bringing the groceries to the car, Umi and I split up with Sora-san. We then went to the area that was filled with various clothing stores, the main purpose of our date.

Unlike the convenience store, which was filled with people walking around with their families, this place was filled with people that were similar to our ages. They were either coming here with their friends or partner.

“I haven’t been here since the mall first opened~ There seem to be a lot of new stores around. Where do you want to go, Maki?”
“Well, I don’t care about brands and I won’t mind going anywhere in the men’s area, so… Why don’t we start from there?”

I took a quick look and decided to go to a seemingly less crowded store. Judging by the price tags of some of the clothes displayed, it seemed like this store didn’t fit me, a high school student who was struggling to get enough money to buy new clothes, at all. But, just by seeing the clothes, I managed to get an idea on what kind of clothes I wanted to buy.

“You know, looking at it like this, most of the clothes here have a rather dark color…”

“Since the weather will only get colder from now on, you need to pay attention to the materials too, okay? Don’t think that adding more layers to your clothes is enough!”

“…Yes, yes, I get it.”

I used to think that autumn clothes meant long-sleeved clothes and nothing else. Since I didn’t have much money, I couldn’t buy a lot of clothes in the first place. So, what I had been doing was to wear my cheap clothes and add things that fit the season and be done with it, similar to what Umi had done, except I did a worse job than her.

Anyway, so far, I had only been relying on Umi to pick my clothes for me, but I did feel the need to come up with clothes arrangements for myself. After all, if I could make people look more favorably at me, it’d be less likely for me to embarrass Umi in public.

Based on the advice I received from her, it seemed like I’ve been doing a steady job at it.

“This shirt seems good on its own, but I think it’ll look better if I were to wear it with the gray hoodie I usually wear. The color accent complements each other.”

“Ah, the zip up hoodie? Well, it’ll also depend on the pants and shoes you wear, but yeah that shirt is nice. Good job, Maki.”

As my girlfriend, her opinion was most likely biased, but since she found it at least passable, then it shouldn’t be that bad. As for the price for the long-sleeved shirt, since there was a 50% discount, I just grabbed it without thinking much further and went to the cashier to pay for it.

Although we had only just begun, picking up clothes together like this felt fun. Looking around at the various clothes, imagining how they would look on us and so on… Thinking about it like this made me understand why Amami-san and Umi loved to window shop every once in a while.

After that, we went to various shops to complete the set of clothes for me, all while keeping our limited budget in mind.

I put on various clothes, hearing comments from Umi that ranged from ‘That one’s pretty good,’ to ‘Nah, no, just no.’ The preparation for our date tomorrow was going smoothly.

Before noon, we managed to fill my hands with paper bags as we walked around the mall side by side.

Considering that other couples around us were doing exactly the same thing as us, guess I could say that we blended into the surroundings well.

“Well, I guess we can say that we’re done with your clothes for now. Personally, I’d like for us to go around a little more, but I’m getting hungry…”

“Right, it’s almost lunch, huh? Let’s meet up with Sora-san first before going to the food court. I’m curious about the American-sized pizza they have.”

“I know right? That huge pizza and colored soda… There’s no way that it’s healthy, though.”

“Like they said, ‘I’m here for a good time, not a long time.’”

We enjoyed our shopping time together, holding each other’s hands while making jokes to each other.

Well, shopping time, more like a date, but I didn’t really care about what we called it since as long as I was together with Umi, I’d enjoy anything.

After that, we contacted Sora-san and decided to meet up with her at the food court, so we went back to the way we came from. The place was less crowded than before, probably because, like us, everyone was moving to the food court.

I casually looked at the surrounding stores, but through one of the stores’ windows, a certain girl caught my eye. Her downcast face looked familiar and she was holding something in her hand.

“…Umi, that…”

“Yeah. That’s Nina for sure. Did she come here by herself?”

Thinking that she might have come here with someone else, I hesitated to call Nitta-san out. But, as I was hesitating, she noticed us and let out an awkward smile.

Now that things had come into this, we couldn’t just pretend not to notice her.

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

Chapter 274 – Choosing Autumn Clothes (6)

When we first bumped into each other, the atmosphere turned tense for a while, but afterwards, things were proceeding as usual (at least on the surface).

“Alright, I need to go with my parents now. I’d love to go with you guys, but I don’t want to disturb Maki-kun and Umi’s date~”

“I know, right~? Well, it’s about time for me to meet up with my sister. I’d rather leave her by herself, but it isn’t like I can just do that.”

“Okay, see you guys later then. Let’s go, Maki.”

“Ah, okay… See you, Amami-san, Nitta-san.”

““See you~””

I thought the four of us would go around the place together for a while, but to my surprise, Amami-san and Nitta-san just left us as soon as they finished eating.

Amami-san said something about not wanting to disturb our date, but in truth it was probably because of the thing that happened between Nitta-san and herself.

Still, I never expected that Nitta-san, someone who usually acted as the balance keeper for our group, would get involved in something like this. Their relationship would probably grow a little awkward because of this, just like what happened back when Amami-san and Umi fought.

“Ah, that’s a cute one~ Maki, what do you think about the hat? Isn’t it cute? Do you think it’ll suit me?”

“Huh? A-Ah, yeah, it’s cute, yeah. It’ll suit you… I think…”

“…Hmph.”

“W-What’s wrong?”

“That praise just now wasn’t sincere. It lacks soul.”

“Ugh…”

That was my honest opinion, but it was obvious to Umi that I was incredibly distracted by something else. Thanks to this, she didn’t accept my praise and puffed her cheeks in displeasure.

Seriously, I was in the middle of a date. I really should focus on my girlfriend instead of thinking about something completely unrelated.

Still, it wasn’t like I could just stop thinking about those two. I had a feeling that if I didn’t do something about it, their problem would never get resolved.

“…Sorry, Umi. I just can’t stop thinking about those two.”

“I knew it. Well, me too, actually. Let’s look for a place to sit, shall we?”

“Okay. Thank you, Umi.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m already used to this by now.”

I thanked her again for always listening to my selfish demands. After that, we went to an empty sofa where they allowed us to sit and sat there.

Normally, this would be the time when I started to doze off on Umi’s shoulders. I had been walking around for hours in this mall, so I had naturally grown tired at this point. But, for some reason, my eyes didn’t feel heavy this time.

“By the way, have those two ever fought before?”

“No, this is the first time they do. Well, Yuu and I went to all-girls school, while Nina went to public school, so there are bound to be differences in their views about certain matters. They respect each other enough so that never became a problem though… Well, both Yuu and I only knew Nina for a year and a half, so we didn’t really have many opportunities to get on each others’ nerves to begin with. Compared to that, Yuu and I used to fight  a lot when we were kids…”

“That’s surprising. You two? Fought a lot?”

“Is it really that surprising? I mean, when you know each other for so long, things like this are bound to happen, no? …Well, it’s probably because we are so close to each other that there are just some things that we can’t just ignore…”

“…I see.”

I got what she was trying to say. Like, you wouldn’t go out of your way to help out an ‘acquaintance’ or a ‘friend’ if something were to happen to them. You might try to help them, but you wouldn’t do more things than necessary. On the contrary, if it was your ‘best friend,’ ‘lover,’ or ‘family member,’ you’d definitely stick your nose in their problems. Sometimes, that would lead to a fight with them, similar to what happened with me and my parents a while ago.

With that taken into consideration, I guess it was a sign that those two had grown considerably close to each other. That meant, the current situation wasn’t necessarily a bad thing… Well, as long as they could make up with each other afterwards.

“But, what happened to them? Why did they even fight in the first place?”

“…Well… You know…”

“You don’t know why either, Umi?”

“I mean… I’ve been only paying attention to you these days, Maki, so, you know…”

“I see… ”

“Well, they understand where I’m coming from at least. That’s why they teased us instead of getting genuinely annoyed by us whenever we flirted in front of their faces.”

Personally, I think she should spend more time with those two, but I had the feeling that if I were to say those words out loud, something horrible would happen to me, so I restrained myself.

In any case, I should respect her feelings and let her do what she wants to do.

“Phew… Before we start discussing this seriously, I want to go to the toilet. Can you wait here for a bit with our luggages, Maki? I’ll buy a drink for you while I’m at it.”

“Sure. Give me hot tea, please.”

After that, Umi left me alone on the sofa. I rested my back on the soft surface of the sofa.

Amami-san and Nitta-san… Those two had never done this before. What happened to them?

“…There’s also the matter of Nitta-san asking me out on a date…”

If you were to ask me about something strange that happened in the period of time between the sports and fireworks festival, that one event would be the first thing that came to my mind. But, even if Amami-san ended up knowing about that, I doubt she’d fret about it much since Nitta-san herself passed it up as a joke.

I assumed that they were probably in disagreements about something. Most likely, Amami-san was doing something that Nitta-san couldn’t ignore.

“…Ah, jeez, I don’t know anymore.”

If I were to put more thoughts into this matter, I had a feeling that I’d go crazy. In the end I decided to forget about those two and think about something else.

Something like, tomorrow’s date, I guess. Now that I think about it, we planned on a date tomorrow, but we haven’t worked on the details yet. Like, I didn’t even know where we would go.

Since we’ve done our shopping today… I guess we could go karaoke or to the arcade? If she didn’t want us to spend too much money, we could also just go to the park or something.

As I started to think about my possible date with Umi, my previously spent energy gradually returned.

This was probably what I should’ve been doing. Just thinking about Umi. Indulging myself with her, chatting with her, having fun with her and… doing all sorts of things with her…

…Come to think of it, it has been a whole month since we last did ‘it.’ Now that the sports festival was over, it should probably be okay if I were to ask her for it, right?

“Why are you grinning to yourself like that, Rep? Gross.”

“Huh? A-Ah, uh…”

Just when my imagination moved to a weird direction, a certain someone’s voice dragged me back to reality. It was Nitta-san, looking at me with her arms folded while wearing a disappointed look.

“Nitta-san?”

“Heya, we met again~ Well, I tried to ignore you, you know? I really did. But you were acting so suspiciously, so I couldn’t help myself. So, why are you here by yourself? You didn’t get into a fight with your lovely girlfriend, did you?”

“Of course not, she’s just going to the toilet… What about you? Why are you alone? You haven’t found Yuna-san yet?”

She said that she was going to meet up with her sister, that was why she left the group quickly. But, she wasn’t with anyone at the moment.

Well, if she couldn’t find her sister, guess it wouldn’t hurt if I were to help her.

After hearing my question, Nitta-san answered my question nonchalantly.

“My sister? Ah, that was a lie.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, it was a lie. I came here by myself.”

“…What?”

I could feel my brain die the moment I heard those words come out of her mouth.

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

T/N: Thank you Thiranoyama for the coffee!

Chapter 275 – Choosing Autumn Clothes (7)

“C’mon, Rep. Sorry for telling you such a weird lie, but surely you don’t need to react like that? Your jaws are wide open!”

“Huh? A-Ah, s-sorry, I—”

Nitta-san had told us silly jokes and made a fool out of us, but she never lied to us before. That was why I found this to be so surprising.

At a first glance, she seemed to be laughing at my reaction, teasing me like usual. But it was clear that she didn’t feel the same way inside. Just like I thought, not long after, her laughter turned to sound bitter as she let out a deep sigh.

“Well, I get what you’re feeling. I don’t even know why I lied to you. Actually, I came here by myself for no reason at all. I probably thought that if I just told you guys that, you’d find me pitiful or something… Well, at least, thanks to that lie, Yuuchin didn’t have any strange thoughts about me being here.”

“I see. Is Yuna-san still studying at home, then? Or maybe she’s in the cram school?”

“The former. She was nagging at me, telling me to study or something when I was lazing around at home, so I went outside. Since I didn’t make any plans to go out with anyone today, I couldn’t just invite anyone to come with me out of nowhere. And, I don’t want any of my friends to see me loitering around if I were to go to the usual places, so I took the bus ride and came here instead.”

In the end, the four of us somehow bumped into each other here, unplanned, leaving out Nozomu, who was busy with practice, like always.

If Nitta-san and Amami-san weren’t having some kind of problem with each other at the moment, all four of us could just hang around here together like usual.

“I see… But, why are you telling me this? I don’t know about Umi, but I completely bought your story. You could just not tell me the truth at all, you know?”

Also, it wasn’t like she needed to call out to me in the first place. I was clearly daydreaming. Hell, I didn’t even notice her until she called out to me. She could just pretend that I wasn’t here and moved on.

Hearing my question, Nitta-san answered in the same nonchalant tone he used when she revealed the truth to me.

“I don’t know… I mean, I tried to ignore you, but your creepy face disgusted me, so I felt like I should bring you to your senses.”

“…Did my face really look that strange?”

“Yes. I won’t be asking you what you were thinking about, but I can tell that it’s something perverted.”

“N-No comment.”

“That’s basically admitting that I was right.”

It was a bad habit of mine to daydream whenever I was by myself. This was something that I was painfully aware of and normally, I’d do my best to prevent this kind of thing from happening. But at the moment, I was too exhausted to do that.

Usually, Umi would pinch me to bring me back to my senses whenever this happened, but… She wasn’t here at the moment and I couldn’t see her anywhere among the crowds…

After she confirmed that her assumption was correct, Nitta-san stretched her body and plopped down on the sofa next to me.

“Seriously, though, what’s wrong with me lately? Normally, I could just work on things to prevent everything from going this badly… Rep, this is all your fault.”

“What? Why me?”

“Because it’s your fault. It’s Umi’s, Yuuchin’s and Seki’s fault too. Seriously, when you hang out with four stupidly honest dummies for a long time, their stupidity just infects you like a plague.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“That’s because you’re the biggest dummy of them all. You’re literally the gang leader himself.”

“What? No?”

From my perspective, it felt like I was someone who wasn’t supposed to be in the group. But it seemed like according to Nitta-san, that wasn’t the case.

Instead of Umi or Amami-san, she thought that I was the center of our group.

Honestly, that kind of thought had never crossed my mind.

“Well, that aside, sorry for lying to you. I’ll be going home now, staying here by myself just bores me. I still have to study… And there’s also the whole parent-teacher interview thing… Ugh…”

“Ah, okay… Take care then…”

“See ya.”

After that, she stood up, waved her hand and walked away.

Maybe she felt better after talking to me, but her expression was lighter than usual, as if a heavy burden had left her chest.

…At that moment, my hand moved and grabbed her shoulders before I realized it.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… You see…”

I wanted to know what happened between her and Amami-san.

At first, my relationship with her might have been distant. She was just a friend of my girlfriend and I was just a friend of her friend, but that didn’t matter anymore. Right now, she was my friend and I believed that she also felt the same way towards me.

“…You really want to know why?”

“Ah… If you’re okay with it, yeah… But, if you aren’t… I won’t force you…”

While I might not be able to help her on my own, if everyone else were to help, there should be no problem.

Umi, Nozomu and the others were more than willing to help if I were to ask—

“Then, can you keep this a secret from Umi?”

However, Nitta-san’s next words made me realize how naive that kind of thinking was.

“Eh?”

“I can tell you, but you’ll have to keep it a secret. You can’t tell anyone about it. Not Umi, not Seki, no one. Can you?”

“T-That’s…”
“So, can you?”

“…No.”

I couldn’t give her an answer right away.

Keeping it a secret from Umi… Yeah, there was no way that I could do that.

While it was true that Amami-san and Nitta-san were precious friends of mine and I’d willingly help them if anything were to happen to them…

I wouldn’t do it if it meant I had to disregard Umi in any way.

Just imagining Umi keeping a secret from me while doing things behind my back made me feel sad and I didn’t want her to feel that way.

At that moment, her saddened face came into my mind.

Yeah, there was no way I’d let her make that kind of face again. I’d have to protect her innocent smile, no matter what.

“…So, what are you gonna do now?”

“Sorry. Just pretend that I never asked.”

“Okay. Well, I expected you to say something like this anyway.”

It felt frustrating that I couldn’t do anything for her as a friend, but it was my decision to prioritize Umi above all else. All I could do for her was to believe in her for now.

The five of us should be there for each other… How did things turn out to be like this?

It wasn’t like any of us had done something wrong…

“…Don’t give me that look. Things will return to normal in one or two weeks time, you don’t need to worry about it. Yuuchin and I also wouldn’t want things to go on like this forever.”

“If you say so…”

“Mhm. You should just do what you normally do. Flirt with your girlfriend without a care in the world. It’s frustrating for me to see you like that, but that’s really the best thing you can do for now.”

“You didn’t need to put it that way…”

For a moment, I recalled the fun time when Umi and I were flirting in my house. But, I realized that I shouldn’t think about that at the moment, or else I’d make another strange face that Nitta-san could tease me about.

“Alright, I’m going home for real this time. Midterms are coming, so why don’t we have another study session? My grades are getting worse ever since we got into different classes.”

“…Okay, let’s hold another study session. For all five of us…”

“…Sounds good to me.”

Yes. All five of us. Just like always.

“Rep.”

“Yes?”

“You… Shouldn’t overthink this. Just be yourself and do the things you usually do, okay?”

“Um, okay? I mean, I haven’t planned to do otherwise…”

“That’s great then.”

“Are you trying to copy me again?”

“Who knows~?”

After she tried to mimic the way I talked, she walked away quickly from me.

…Well, I hoped that talk could help her ease some of her worries.

Anyway, all I could do for the moment was to pray that everything would go well…

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

Chapter 276 – The Unusual Every Day (1)

I followed what Nitta-san had told me; Not to worry about her problem and just live my life like usual. But, I couldn’t help but think about it from time to time.

When I woke up in the morning, drank my coffee, studied on my desk… My mind couldn’t help but wander to those two; the faces they made back when we bumped into each other in that mall.

Monday, while I was getting ready to school, I was reminded of them once again. Realizing that I really couldn’t keep my mind out of this anytime soon, I let out a sigh.

“Maaa~”

“…”

“Kiii~”

“…”

“Seriously, Maki, hurry up, stop dawdling.”

“H-Huh? Ow!”

While I was in a daze, Umi suddenly pinched my cheek. It didn’t hurt me enough to make me writhe in pain, but it still hurt.

I glanced toward my lover, who was snuggling up to me while puffing her cheeks.

“S-Sorry, Umi. I-I won’t space out again, okay? I-I promise.”

“…Jeez. I know we had a lot of fun yesterday, but you can’t let your guard down like this, okay? Midterm is coming soon, so you have to stay sharp! School won’t wait for you to get your act together!”

“I-I’ll do my best…”

As she said, school wouldn’t just halt their classes and exams and wait for me to get my act together.

In particular, the midterm this time would be held right before the parent-teacher interview, where they’d discuss the students’ career path and grades. As a result of this, maybe Umi and I wouldn’t be able to spend our time leisurely for a while.

…Or maybe not? I mean, we’d be studying together for the exam anyway.

That aside, I felt bad for thinking about other girls in front of Umi, even though those two were my friends.

I really shouldn’t do that again.

“…You’re really worrying about those two, huh?”

“…”

“I knew it.”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this… I don’t know what to do…”

I knew that this wasn’t something I should worry about. This was their problem and they could solve it on their own.

There was a part of me that believed the five of us would continue to be friends. Even after we graduated and went our separate ways, we’d stay in contact with each other, hang out with each other whenever possible and spend our time talking about trivial matters.

“By the way, you don’t seem to worry about them at all, Umi…”

“Nah, I do worry about them. I want those two to make up as soon as possible too, you know? If there’s something I could do to help them, I’d already do it. It’s just…”

“…It’s just?”

“Uhh…”

After pondering for a bit, she continued her words.

“I realized that the best thing I can do for now is to wait. Yes, they’re my best friends. I completely understand your feelings of wanting to help them, Maki, but what they need right now isn’t your help. They need time. Well, that’s what I think at least.”

“You said the same thing as Nitta-san.”
“Hearing you say that pisses me off somehow… Anyway, if she said that, she’ll be alright, just put your trust in her.”

“Then, that leaves Amami-san.”

“Yeah.”

Compared to Nitta-san, Amami-san was a little more stubborn. If they didn’t end up reconciling soon, then the problem definitely came from her side.

Would they be able to completely come to terms to whatever it was that caused the rift in their relationship?

I hope they would.

“In any case, we should just do our thing like usual. Don’t get carried away by the atmosphere, okay?”

“…Okay.”

If that was the stance that Umi was taking, then I’d just follow her. While it might seem cold to just leave those two to their own devices, it would be better than meddling in unnecessarily and accidentally turning the situation worse.

Besides, Umi was my number one priority, not them.

Like Umi said, I should just carry on with my life and flirt around with her. Those two probably wanted me to do just that.

*   *   *

After school. I opened our group chat to check up on everyone and see what they were planning to do for the rest of the day.

It was a week before the exam. Like usual, all five of us planned to hold a study session.

[Maehara: Everyone, can we talk for a bit?]

[Asanagi: Is it about the study group?]

[Maehara: Yeah.]

[Asanagi: Where? In your house like usual?]

[Nina: Are you sure we’re going to study there? You aren’t inviting us to watch you flirting again, are you?]

[Asanagi: Just don’t go if you don’t want to.]

[Asanagi: It isn’t like you need my notes or anything, right?]

[Nina: Please forgive me. I won’t mess around again, I promise.]

[Nina: The interview is coming soon, I need to increase my grade, otherwise I’m screwed.]

[Nozomu: I don’t have to go to my club today, so I’ll be going.]

The three people who responded to me seemed to be acting the same as always.

As for Amami-san… She was still chatting with Arae-san (the latter looked annoyed for some reason, though), so she probably hadn’t noticed my text yet.

Since we were classmates, it would probably be better if I just invited her directly, but it wasn’t like I could just barge into their conversation.

As I was waiting for her to notice my text while staring at her, our gazes suddenly met.

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other for a few moments in silence.

Normally, her expression would brighten up and ask me about what I wanted to say, but…

“…Ah, right, Nagisa-chan, today—”

This time, her face reddened and she hurriedly turned it away from me. Then, she continued chatting to Arae-san as if nothing happened.

Except that she stuttered more than before. Arae-san noticed this, I could even see her brows twitching.

“…Amami, that guy— Maehara seems to have something to talk about with you. Are you sure you’re going to ignore him like that?”

“Eh?! A-Ah, does he really? W-Well, I-I’ll talk to him for a bit, then…”

Realizing that she couldn’t fool Arae-san, Amami-san turned to me with an embarrassed face.

“S-Sorry, Maki-kun, I-I was spacing out… W-What is it?”

“Ah no, I was just wondering if you have free time today. The midterm will start in one week, so it’s about time for us to start our usual study session. I’ve sent a text on our group chat, but it seems like you haven’t read it.”
“A-Ah, sorry about that! I-I was talking with Nagisa-chan…”

She quickly took her phone out of her pocket and read the message I sent.

Normally, she was the one who’d answer my text the quickest even though she was talking to other people, so this was a new sight to me.

[Amami: Sorry everyone, I just checked my phone! (つд⊂）]

[Asanagi: Don’t worry about it. So, can you join us today?]

[Amami: Yes, I could…]

[Amami: Ah, wait.]

[Nina: What’s wrong, Yuuchin? Do you have something else to do for today?]

[Amami: No, it isn’t like I have something to do, it’s just…]

[Amami: Can I… Just not go…?]

The moment I saw that text, I turned my gaze towards Amami-san.

“H-Hehe… Sorry, Maki-kun… You even went through the trouble to invite me…”

“Amami-san?”

…For some reason, even though I tried to act the same as usual, Amami-san didn’t do the same. Instead, she seemed to be avoiding me…

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

T/N: Sorry, I wasn’t motivated to TL and I was busy too, so I took a break for a while. I’m back now though! There are also only a few chapters left before we finally catch up! Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 279 – The Unusual Every Day (4)

Although the atmosphere turned a little stiff at one point because we started talking about our career path, we managed to recover from that and continue our studying.

Probably, after the talk, everyone’s mindset, including me, had changed a little regarding the matter. The three of them worked even harder than before, giving Umi and I an easier time to review the materials. This was one big step on its own.

“Ngh~ …Huh? It’s already this late, I didn’t even realize it… My parents are going to come back home soon, so I should get going. Let’s go home together, Yuuchin.”

“Okay. Ah, what about you, Nozomu-kun? Do you want to go back with us?”

“Huh? Ah… S-Sure, I mean, it probably isn’t safe for two girls to walk around at night by themselves, right?”

“Rather, it’s more dangerous for us if you were to go with us.”

“Hm? Did someone say something?”

“Oh jeez, you two, stop! Anyway, Maki-kun, sorry for bothering you until this late…”

“Ah, don’t be, I don’t mind…”

Looking at the clock, I realized that it was already eight. I had been eating the snacks we bought, so I didn’t feel particularly hungry, but I still had to make dinner.

“Oh, I’ll go with you guys. What about you, Maki?”

“Me too. I’m planning on escorting you back home anyway.”

In the end, all of us decided to leave my house together. I didn’t need to take Umi home because it wasn’t the weekend, but it felt a little lonely if I were the only one who didn’t go with the group.

Honestly, I just wanted to stay with them a little longer.

Cold wind brushed our hair as we stepped outside. Although we still had to wear short-sleeved uniforms, it was already October. The weather was too chilly to walk through without wearing a blazer.

“It’s dark around here, Umi. Watch your step.”

“I know… Hehe~”

Umi looked at our intertwined hands. It had been a year since we came to know each other. It was a blessing that we were able to stay close during all this time.

“Can’t you two wait until we’re gone before doing something like this?”

“…Seriously, you guys can flirt anytime, anywhere. I’m actually curious how you manage to do that…”

““…””

Nitta-san and Nozomu chided us, but that didn’t make us let go of each others’ hands. Instead, we brought our bodies together even closer.

At first, I was reluctant to show off our relationship like this, but that changed. Nowadays, I welcome the idea. Everyone should see how close we were.

Well, ‘everyone’ as in ‘everyone in our group.’ Yeah, I wouldn’t do this in front of a crowd.

“I’m so jealous of you two… I wish I could have a boyfriend too…”

“I understand how you feel, but that isn’t important for you, is it, Yuu? You have to deal with midterms. There’s also the matter of you not studying properly during our study session just now.”

“Ugh…”

Hearing Umi’s words, Amami-san’s expression stiffened as she looked away from us with a bitter expression on her face.

It seemed like Umi was telling the truth.

“Is that really the case, Umi? I mean, I was the one teaching her, it felt like she studied a lot…”

“You don’t know her well enough yet, Maki. She was faking it. She forced herself to make it look like she’s studying properly, but she actually wasn’t. Am I wrong, Yuu?”

“…Ahaha… Nothing gets past you, huh, Umi?”

Amami-san slumped her shoulders, as if she had given up on resisting and let out a wry smile.

From what I’ve seen, she was studying quite seriously. Unlike usual, where she’d twirl her pen around or plop down on the couch while using her notes as a pillow, she listened to what I said and wrote everything she needed to write.

I had thought that she was studying hard enough, but it seemed like Umi had a different opinion.

“Yuu isn’t the type of person who can stay still. If she were into something, she’d immerse herself in it to the point that she lost the sense of time, otherwise, she’d just mess around, as you already know. Honestly though, you could do it if you try harder, Yuu. I know you were just like that when you studied for our school’s entrance exam…”

“Yeah… Well, back then, my parents were watching me closely, so I had to do my best whenever I studied… They let me off doing whatever I wanted when it was time to rest, though. Yeah, the studying part was tough, but I didn’t spend all my time studying. I did well in the exam too, so all is good.”

Come to think of it, there was that kind of story, wasn’t it? Amami-san decided to take the entrance exam to our school because she wanted to go to the same school as Umi.

Although she wasn’t good at studying, it seemed like she could actually do it if she were to put her mind into it.

Everyone had their own ways of studying. Some people loved to sit down for hours, studying everything they could study, while others would take a more efficient way and study things as needed.

Amami-san was in the latter group. Up until now, she had been talking as much as she studied (well, if I may be honest, she talked twice as much as she studied). Despite that, her grades still improved, little by little.

Of course, while she seemed to be slacking off, Umi was still watching her progress closely. Because of that, at the very least, she did what she had to do.

But, today was different. She tried to keep up with us and didn’t seem to be slacking as much as she used to.

“U-Um, you see… I also have been thinking that I have to work a little harder… I mean, I’m going to continue my studies and all… So, I’ve been trying to study more, listening to what the teachers said, asking Umi, Maki-kun and Nagisa-chan if I didn’t understand something… But… No matter how hard I tried, I always forgot everything the next day…”

“So, you feel like you didn’t make any progress?”

“Yes, something like that…”

Anyone could feel like that when studying, but usually this would only happen if you had mastered the basics first. Amami-san obviously wasn’t someone like that, so it felt a little strange that she felt that way.

Based on what we had discussed, it seemed like she had doubts about her career path. Maybe it was because of that?

…Or maybe it was because of a completely different matter?

“I see. Well, I understand your feelings, Yuu, but there’s no need to rush. Just do it slowly and try to think about the upcoming exam first before anything else. Even if you can’t get a good result, you can always try for the next exam.”

“Umi is right. As long as you don’t get all red marks, you should be able to graduate, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“You’re just scaring her by saying that, Maki…”

“I’m just telling her that she also needs to be a little careful…”

Anyway, you never know what the future holds. Even if she was currently struggling with her studies, things might change down the line. It wasn’t uncommon to hear how people became successful after overcoming things that were holding them back.

Considering that Amami-san could only improve from where she was currently, I wouldn’t be surprised if later in the future, she managed to get into a famed university before Umi and I.

The ‘Amami Yuu’ I knew was a girl with a ton of potential, after all.

“…Thank you. You see, the parent-teacher interview is coming up soon and everyone seems to be anxious, and I… Kinda get swept by the waves… But, you two are right! Others are others, I’m different from them. I don’t need to try and get high grades! I just need to avoid getting red marks first and start from there!”

“Yes. You can increase your goal little by little afterwards. First, avoid getting red marks, then try to reach your class’ average grade and so on. We still have plenty of time, so you don’t need to rush.”

“Thank you, Umi…”

Her tense expression finally softened.

She stared at both of us with teary eyes, but that wasn’t something to be concerned about.

“Ehehe… I didn’t want to be a nuisance to both of you, that was why I haven’t told you this until now, but now that I’ve told you, I’m feeling much, much better! And now that the matter is finished, I’m hungry! Do you guys mind if we were to visit a convenience store first? I want to get some steamed buns!”

“You’re still going to eat more? Well, sure, I’m down with that. What about you, Maki?”

“Me too. I need to buy something for dinner anyway.”

“Hm? The convenience store? Well, since everyone is going there, I’ll tag along as well. You aren’t invited, Seki. Go back home on your own, shoo!”

“Buzz off. I’ll go with you, Maki.”

“Hehe, everyone is going then… Alright, let’s go!”

We all nodded to each other and smiled.

The time when I was a loner felt like a dream. I was surrounded by a lot of good people now.

Compared to back then, I had more worries and anxiety, but I also had more fun.

Of course, I knew that this would persist even in the future. Perhaps even more painful things were waiting for us.

‘But, with the five of us together, I’m sure…’

I muttered to myself, as we walked together under the autumn night.

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo