Chapter 4. I-it’s a cultural difference…

“Yes! Nngh … ”

Masachika stretched his arms out wide, feeling accomplished after finishing the first week of exams. When he looked around the room, most of the class was already enjoying their freedom and discussing what they were going to do after school, despite still having homeroom after this. Masachika, on the other hand, wasn’t planning on hanging out with his friends once school ended. Instead he would watch all the anime he’d recorded—or at least, that was the plan. But there was one thing he couldn’t get off his mind …

“Hey, Alya.”

“Hey.”

It was the fact that Alisa seemed somewhat, truly only a little bit, distant—kind of cold. Ever since Monday, it had felt like something was off, but it was exam week and it could have all been in his head, so Masachika decided to let it go. But he wasn’t comfortable going into the weekend without figuring out what this strange, unsettling feeling was.

“Alya, uh … What are you doing after school today?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“Oh. Then do you want to walk home together? I want to talk about the closing ceremony if that’s okay.”

“ … Sure.”

“Great. Then let’s head out together after homeroom.”

“Okay.”

The conversation itself was extremely normal, and Alisa’s behavior didn’t seem much different from normal, either, but … something still felt off.

She hasn’t been whispering anything sweet in Russian … I don’t know why, but …

It had been five days, and he hadn’t heard a word of Russian from Alisa. Of course, from Masachika’s point of view, that was a good thing. The sudden whispers weren’t good for his heart, and the muscles in his face got to relax for a change, since she would usually glance in his direction after whispering in Russian, which made his face tense. So not hearing any of her whispers had its upsides, but … he couldn’t help feeling concerned. And the more he thought about it, he realized Alisa had been a bit withdrawn from him this week.

Hmm … I’m sure it’s all in my head, but …

Next Saturday was the closing ceremony, which was a huge event in regard to the election because they had to give speeches and greet the student body. That was why they needed to remove whatever was causing the friction between them before then. But, well …

Did I do anything to make her hate me?

He was a sensitive man, frustrated and unbelievably curious as he wondered what he possibly could have done.

After homeroom, Masachika and Alisa left the classroom together as planned, but they felt as though more people were staring at them now than ever as they walked side by side. Alisa’s otherworldly beauty had always caught everyone’s attention, but eyes were also on Masachika. It seemed as though many students were already recognizing them as candidates and running mates for the student council presidency and vice presidency thanks to the debate last week.

“ … So? You wanted to talk to me about our speech at the closing ceremony?”

“Yeah, about that … ”

Alisa was as cool as a cucumber despite their onlookers, but Masachika hesitated for a few moments before asking her directly:

“Before we talk about that, I need to ask you something, Alya. Is everything all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well … I feel like you’ve been acting a bit off since Monday.”

She suddenly stopped in her tracks, then turned to look at him in amazement.

“Judging from how you’re looking at me … I’m guessing something did happen?” commented Masachika with a forced grin.

Alisa, however, stayed silent, turned about-face, and began to walk away.

“ … It’s just your imagination,” she replied with her best poker face.

“Come on. Do you seriously think you can fool me like that?”

“ … ”

Knowing how stubborn she could be, Masachika made a conscious effort to continue looking forward as he went on:

“Did I do something? Because if I did, I want you to tell me.”

“ … I don’t want to tell you.”

“Mmm … All right, then … ”

“ Sigh … I’ll make sure to work on my behavior. Besides, I’m sure I’ll be back to normal by the time Monday comes around. Isn’t that enough?” asked Alisa, glancing up through her eyelashes at him after letting out a brief sigh. Her somewhat uneasy, childish expression would make anyone want to rub her head and dote on her while saying, “That’s more than enough.” Nevertheless, Masachika managed to get rid of the unholy thought with a shake of his head, and he looked at her seriously.

“Hmm … I don’t know … It has already been five days, and you’re still in a bad mood. I mean, I guess it would be okay if you really were back to normal next week, but … ”

“Was I that obvious?”

“Yeah … ”

“Oh … I really was trying my best to hide it.”

And, well, it really was difficult to tell anything was wrong just by her facial expressions, but the lack of her occasional Russian whispers betrayed her. She didn’t seem to notice, though.

“Actually, you did a good job of hiding it, so I think you are very self-aware. In a good way, of course. I still noticed, though.” Masachika shrugged.

“O-oh? You did, huh?”

Alisa arched an eyebrow while fidgeting with her hair.

“In other words, you were really concerned? You couldn’t get me out of your mind, even though it was exam week?” she asked a bit provocatively.

“Of course I’m worried. You’re my partner, and I care about you,” he replied with a dead serious look on his face.

“O-oh … Huh.”

“And I care about you. And I care about you. And I care about you … ” Those words of his echoed in Alisa’s mind, and her fidgeting increased. The ends of her hair were going to get tangled at this rate … but her fingers suddenly froze, and her eyes narrowed in frustration.

“Then why … ?”

“Hmm?”

“ … ”

Alisa looked away from his confused expression and pouted. Masachika changed out of his school slippers and put on his shoes, wondering about her sudden change in mood. Then they began to walk toward the school gate, and Alisa eventually muttered:

“ … Your birthday.”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you invite me to your birthday party?” complained Alisa, still avoiding his eyes … but Masachika had no idea what she was talking about.

“Birthday party? What do you mean?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Your … ”

Thinking he was playing dumb, she glared at him, but that still didn’t help Masachika understand what she was going on about.

“Uh … ? A birthday party? Me?”

“ … Yes, you.”

“ … This is the first I’m hearing about it. Who told you I had a birthday party?”

“What do you mean this is the first you’re hearing of this? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Wh-what the … ? I’m telling the truth! I have no idea what you’re talking about! And why would I even have a birthday party anyway? What am I, a first grader?!”

“Huh … ?”

That was when Alisa realized something wasn’t adding up, and she looked at him quizzically, her brow knitted. At the same time, Masachika came to a sudden realization.

“O-oh, wait. Hold on. Do teenagers in Russia usually have birthday parties?”

“Y-yeah. Are things different in Japan?”

“You usually stop having birthday parties in Japan once you hit middle school … Wait. I take that back. There are probably a good number of students at our school who still throw birthday parties. Some kids apparently even throw huge parties at their house. At any rate, I, personally, haven’t had a birthday party since middle school.”

“Oh … ”

“How are you only realizing this n—? … Oh. Sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Oh, uh. Nothing.”

She never had any friends to celebrate birthdays with. That was why. It wasn’t like he could say that, though, which was why he decided to hold his tongue, but his lips curled a bit as he looked at her slyly.

“ … What?” she asked grumpily.

“Don’t worry about it. I just had no idea you wanted to celebrate my birthday with me that much.”

“ … !”

Alisa scowled and immediately looked away, but she wasn’t fast enough to prevent Masachika from seeing her snow-white cheeks flush pink.

“ … Not telling someone your birthday in Russia is no different than saying you don’t want to be friends with them.”

“Ohhh?”

“What?”

“If you say so, Alya. Wink, wink.”

“Tsk … !”

He could almost see a vein bulging from her forehead, so he decided he should stop teasing her and make her feel better instead.

“So … Wanna go do something for my birthday? We’re three months late, but … ”

“Huh?”

“Of course, I still want to be friends and hang out more. How about we go somewhere for lunch next Monday, since it’s a half day? We can talk about the closing ceremony and whatnot then, too … Or is it bad luck to wish someone a belated happy birthday in Russia?”

After pondering it for a moment, she shook her head.

“It’s not good to wish someone happy birthday early, but late … should be fine.”

“All right, then. Let’s do it. Ahem. While I know it is late, it would be an honor if you would grace me with your presence at my birthday party, which I will be holding next week,” announced Masachika with an unnecessarily grave expression.

“Are you okay in the head?” Alisa scoffed, but Masachika was relieved to see that she appeared to be in a better mood. That look of relief on his face made Alisa stare at him with suspicion once more. Perhaps she realized he was trying to humor her to make up for teasing her, like an adult rattling a toy for a baby. Alisa glared at him out of the corner of her eye with a look of disgust … until they reached a fork in the road, and he faced her.

“Well, I’m going this way. Anyway, see you Monday. Have— … ?”

Alisa’s eyes suddenly began wandering, darting around in every direction.

Is she looking for something?

It was easy to imagine a question mark hovering over Masachika’s head, and he began looking around as well until he suddenly realized Alisa was grinning at him. This set off alarm bells in his head.

Ack! Something bad is going to happen, isn’t it?

He instinctively took a step back, but Alisa took a step forward before he could effectively make his escape. They were so close that they could almost feel each other’s breath. Alisa placed a hand on his shoulder as he stood frozen, then placed her cheek against his and whispered into his ear:

“ < I can’t wait. ♡ > ”

But in the blink of an eye, she stepped back and glared at him.

“There. We’re friends again. See you Monday,” she spluttered before instantly spinning on her heel and walking off.

“Yeah … ”

Masachika watched her leave in mute amazement, then walked awkwardly in the opposite direction on autopilot. But the moment he turned the corner, he grabbed a nearby fence as his legs gave out.

Ha-ha-ha … The first thing she has said in Russian to me in four days … Shouldn’t have let my guard down.

“I’m pretty confident I could actually cough up blood right now if I wanted to,” said Masachika tensely, clutching at his chest.

I feel like the bar has been raised twice as high now …

He thought he could get away with taking her to some cheap chain restaurant in the neighborhood, but not after she said that. It was going to have to be somewhere more high-end and proper now.

I’m going to have to look for a nice restaurant over the weekend …

This is going to be a pretty difficult mission for someone ignorant about these kinds of things , thought Masachika bitterly with a tight smile, but at least he now knew what had been bothering Alisa, so he decided to call it a win. However, there was something he understood even more than that, for he had discovered …

Having her whisper into my ear like that … could actually kill me.

The following Monday had arrived. The week after exams was essentially for going over the tests in the mornings, and in the afternoons, they discussed summer homework while others attended parent-teacher conferences. The conferences went by student number, which meant Alisa’s and Masachika’s were the following day.

“So? How’d you do on the tests?”

“I did okay, I guess. My grades were higher than the class average in every subject, at least,” replied Masachika, who was working out a crick in his neck on their way out the school gate. That morning, the students were given a brief transcript of what they’d scored on the exams along with the class average. While they went over the tests in class, students would sometimes find mistakes the teachers had made while grading, which was why the official class rank would be posted on Saturday. So they would be using tentative report cards during the parent-teacher meetings. It so happened that they had a half day of school every other Saturday, and this coming Saturday was the closing ceremony, where they would receive their finalized grades for the semester.

“Anyway, I don’t know whether I achieved my goal, but I did a lot better than last time.”

“Oh? Congratulations.”

“Right? Feel free to shower me with praise now.”

“Wowww. Good job,” replied Alisa robotically.

“ … Gee. Thanks.”

Masachika shot her a piercing glare, but she completely ignored him and feigned innocence.

“ Sniffle. You’re so mean, Alya.”

“If you’re trying to act like Masha, please stop. It’s grossing me out.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The fact that not even her eyes were laughing wiped the goofy look right off his face. His eyes wandered for a few moments until he suddenly changed the subject without even trying to be subtle about it.

“So … Pretty hot to be walking around in the middle of the day. Doesn’t help that it is so bright out, either … ,” commented Masachika, tugging at his collar and fanning himself while frowning down at his clothes. “Why do our school uniforms have to be so hot? It’s summer, and we’re still wearing long sleeves.”

“Oh, this isn’t normal in Japan, is it?”

“Not even close. Most schools pass out short-sleeved shirts for the summer. Even businesspeople get to wear short-sleeved button-downs nowadays.”

The shirts they were wearing were made of a thinner material than the winter uniforms, but the long sleeves retained too much heat. But why was the school so set on keeping the uniforms this way, even in this day and age? For the same reason their schoolbags hadn’t changed in years. Because it was tradition. Seiren Academy’s school uniform was rather well-known. People would instantly recognize it around town if they saw it. In a way, the uniform itself was a famous brand of clothing, and the students of Seiren Academy were proud to wear it. However, it also kept the students in-line so they would act proper even outside of school because they were always being watched. Masachika, on the other hand, thought differently.

“They’re really downplaying the effects of global warming, aren’t they? At least let me take this blazer off.”

“Wasn’t the student council president trying to do something about the uniforms, though?”

“That was one of his campaign pledges … It sounds like he’s having a tough time. Even if he does get the rule changed, I’m guessing we won’t be seeing it implemented until the next school year.”

Touya, who was on the same page as Masachika when it came to the school uniform, was apparently working toward updating the uniform requirements, but it was a difficult task, especially since a decent portion of the student population didn’t care how hot it was, as long as they looked good. The alumni association, which consisted of past student council presidents and vice presidents, was strongly against changing the summer uniform as well, which made the situation even more difficult. Meanwhile, Masachika couldn’t help but wonder if they were only being stubborn because they had to wear these uncomfortably hot uniforms back in the day, so they wanted everyone else to suffer as well.

“Anyway, I hope the president gets it done, especially for the sake of middle-class students like us who have to walk home, since we don’t have our own personal chauffeurs.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to see girls scantily dressed?”

“So you’re saying I’m still gonna feel hot and heavy even if we change the summer uniform? Heh! I like the way you think!”

“ … ”

“Because the thought honestly never crossed my mind. I mean, the first day of summer uniforms is supposedly a pretty important event in a nerd’s life, but I’ve gone to this school basically my entire life, so it really hasn’t occurred to me.”

Alisa glared coldly as he explained his twisted thinking, but she suddenly smirked provocatively, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and flirtatiously glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

“So you don’t want to see me in a short-sleeved shirt?”

“I mean, if I had to choose, then yes. I do.”

“Heh. Oh, you do, huh?”

And if he were being a little more honest, he would tell her what he was really interested in seeing: the fabled see-through white shirt with that ever so incredibly faint glimpse of the bra. He was a teenage boy, after all.

But that’s something you want to see when the girl’s sitting in front of you in class … and Hikaru sits in front of me, which is something I’m definitely not interested in seeing.

“Ahem. Are you thinking about something you shouldn’t be?”

“Huh? No way. I was just thinking about how unpleasantly sweaty the president would look in a short-sleeved shirt.”

“That’s … Yes … ” Alisa nodded, her eyes wandering. Within seconds, her smug grin had transformed into a criticizing glare before changing once again at Masachika’s innocent response. It was unfortunate that Touya had to be defamed by such an “innocent” comment.

“I bet Chisaki would take everyone by surprise as well. Her biceps and shoulders must be huge. She doesn’t really stand out usually, but she apparently has a really athletic build.”

“I could see that,” agreed Alisa, checking out Masachika from head to toe and grinning almost mockingly.

“You in a short-sleeved shirt would probably leave much to be desired, though, hmm?”

“What the … ? Why are you dissing me like that all of a sudden? I have a decent amount of muscle, just to let you know.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Don’t underestimate a homebody. Don’t make me show you this sexy, toned bod.”

Masachika immediately imagined himself in a beach lounge chair in a short-sleeved collared shirt (unbuttoned, of course) with his pecs and abs showing … and he instinctively covered his mouth.

“ … ? What’s wrong?”

“Oh … I just imagined something really disgusting. Being ripped only works if you’re good-looking, too, huh?” he contemplated with a heavy heart, and erased the narcissistic image from his mind. She looked up slightly, then began to fidget with her hair as if she had an idea of what he’d imagined.

“ < I don’t think it’s disgusting at all. > ”

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘Great. Now I imagined it, too, thanks to you.’”

“Uh-huh … You didn’t have to actually tell me the truth, you know.”

“You shouldn’t have asked, then,” Alisa scoffed, flicking back her hair. After rolling his eyes at her, Masachika stared into the distance.

How does Alya see me?

“ < Besides, you are good-looking. > ”

Gwah! S-seriously, what do I look like from her point of view?

He desperately tried to keep a straight face while a cyclone of emotions tore through his heart. Fortunately (?), they were approaching their destination, so he was able to focus on that instead, and before long they arrived at a large clothing store by the station that was geared toward teenagers. Why were they stepping inside a clothing store before they went out to lunch? Well, the answer was simple: to change. Masachika was fine with wearing what they had on, but Alisa didn’t seem keen on the idea of wearing a school uniform to a restaurant during this time of day, so they decided to change. That said, they weren’t going to do any shopping. This store actually had a changing room Seiren Academy students could use for free. Masachika had been impressed when he’d first heard about it. Of course, Seiren Academy students were still human. They were young. They wanted to hang out after school before going home, but it was against school rules to fool around in the uniform. While you could probably get away with eating at a restaurant, going to the arcade or karaoke was a definite no-no.