Chapter 7: Changing Relationships

Chapter 7: Changing Relationships

Chapter 7:

Changing Relationships

O NLY TWO DAYS of winter vacation remained. My relationship with Kei had gone back to how it used to… Actually, no. From Kei’s perspective, it was beyond fixed, even better than before. On the school side of things, even though Sudou used to have a one-sided dislike of Yousuke, they were now getting along. I’d seen an unexpected side to Sakayanagi, which led to encounters with her classmates.

Furthermore, I’d discovered some positive developments within classes that might lead to concerns down the road: Ryuuen and Katsuragi had already begun preparing for the start of the third semester, and Ichinose had blossomed into a new personal stability. It was safe to say that, all things considered, winter break had been very pleasant indeed. There was just one thing. I felt that I still had some unfinished business to take care of during this winter vacation.

The book that I had received as a gift from Hiyori. How to respond? After several days of racking my brain over it, I had reached a conclusion, but I needed to make preparations to pull it off. I had been causing Kei a great deal of anxiety lately due to the matter of Ichinose. I did not want to bring back that awkwardness between us.

I needed to repay Hiyori quietly, without causing any misunderstandings. What would I repay her with? The clue to that lay in the past, in something I had thought about shortly after starting school here.

“Kiyotaka! Listen up, okay? This is definitely, absolutely just for today!” shouted Kei as she hugged me from behind, still clad in her pajamas, just as I was leaving my room.

“I understand. That’s why I made sure to tell you exactly what was going on. Didn’t I?” I replied.

“Yes, you did, but… And you did tell me the reason why, and everything… But I’m still worried!”

I urged Kei to let me go and turned back around, only for her to embrace me from the front.

“You’ll be back by nightfall, right?” she said.

“If you’re that anxious, why don’t you just do as I asked?” I asked.

“But that kind of thing is, like, totally impossible for me. I mean, I’m just not a reader. Anyway, we wouldn’t be able to even have a conversation! We couldn’t even talk about anything.”

Well, I supposed that was true. Forcing Kei to cooperate probably wouldn’t make either of them happy.

“Okay, then, in that case, kiss me!” she declared.

“Okay, hold on, how does that follow?”

Kei’s eyes were already closed, and she was already bringing her lips closer to me. When I obediently responded to her wishes and sealed it with a kiss, she gave me a playful, cutesy smile.

“Have a good day and hurry on back!” she said.

It was as if the angry huff she had been in up until about five seconds ago was a complete lie. Kei watched me go as I left the room.

7.1

W ITHOUT HESITATION, I got onto the elevator and rode it down. As soon as I was outside the dormitory, I powered on my phone. I’d probably hear something any moment now. It would have been more simple to check before I had left my room, but I was trying to avoid worrying Kei as much as possible. This was out of consideration for her. Sure enough, I saw that I had received an incoming call earlier, but since I hadn’t been able to answer it, there was a message.

Apparently, she had gone out for a walk before our meeting time. While I felt astonished at her behavior, thinking that was just so like her, I decided to chase after her. Away from Keyaki Mall, in a spot close to the main entrance, I saw the back of a girl who was simply wandering around, not looking for anything in particular.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“Good morning. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything special. But anyway, it’s really pleasant weather, isn’t it?” Even though temperatures were low, today was a clear day, so most of the snow had melted. “Thank you for inviting me out today.”

“Well, it would’ve been a waste of a winter vacation if you spent all your time holed up in the library every day.”

I had heard from the librarian that Hiyori, who rarely hung out with friends, would come to the library when it opened and stay there until closing time all by herself. Thinking that entering the third semester like this, being all alone, sounded lonely, I invited her out. Of course, I understood that Hiyori didn’t mind. She might even get upset with me over my unnecessary show of concern. But I thought that while inviting her out this way, for her, would be an unnecessary pressu—well. I mean, I’m sure it probably felt like an imposition, like I was forcing myself to spend time with her as a friend.

“Why did you call me?” asked Hiyori.

That was exactly why I needed to be honest.

“I just wanted to invite you out, is all,” I replied.

I just wanted to invite her out, as a fellow person. That was all it was. Needless to say, Hiyori had the right to refuse my offer if she thought I was inadequate.

“I was thinking about how I wanted to show my thanks for the book,” I added. “I couldn’t feel satisfied just thanking you with words for the gift. So, I wanted to spend a day together with you, Hiyori. A day that would make you happy.”

I was aware my words reeked of something a little unsavory coming from a boy to a girl, but I’m sure that Hiyori understood what I really meant.

“Oh, I’m glad.” Hiyori’s gentle tone conveyed both gratitude and a note of apology.

I figured that someone well-behaved and sensible like Hiyori thought I was taking pity on her. No matter how many words I used to deny this, preconceived notions couldn’t be easily dispelled. Even so, she hadn’t rejected my invitation, and now we were out and about like this.

In that case, all I needed to do was show her through my actions. Usually, when two or more people were doing things together, they’d rarely act spontaneously. Most of the time, I handed the reins over to the other student or students and let them introduce me to new experiences. Not today. I had decided to take the initiative in escorting Hiyori.

That being said, our choices for activities were limited this time of year.

“So, um, was Karuizawa-san…all right with this?” Hiyori asked. “I can’t imagine she’d be very happy for you to be out alone with a girl like this.”

When talking with a member of the opposite sex, there were a certain number of concerns, regardless of the situation. This wasn’t exclusive to me, but rather to anyone who was already dating. Like, someone could ask me, “ Ayanokouji, if Kei were to go out alone with a guy, just the two of them, would you be okay with it?” Of course, you didn’t always have to ask about these things. Only those who believed any alone time with the opposite sex was an indication of something would say these things. I had already taken the fact that Hiyori was such a person into consideration.

“At first, she wouldn’t listen, saying that she’d come along,” I said. “That would’ve been fine, but it wouldn’t have been very fun then. She would have only been here to chaperone. Plus, it would have been disrespectful to you, Hiyori.”

“How did you convince her?” asked Hiyori.

“I told her to at least read a book so that you’d be able to find some common ground and have something to talk about.”

Hiyori’s eyes widened, and a welcoming smile spread across her face.

“I’m sure you can guess how it went, considering she’s not here,” I said. Yesterday, Kei cracked open a book, gave up on the first page, and collapsed on the spot.

“Oh…I see. Yes, you’re certainly right,” said Hiyori.

“So, anyway, yes, I made sure to get proper permission. Of course, I still got some grumbling out of her, up until the very last minute.”

Hiyori smiled warmly, relieved to know that I wasn’t up to anything furtive.

7.2

H IYORI AND I arrived at Keyaki Mall, chatting about things we encountered and experienced in the library, the all-too-familiar library occurrences people could relate to. Just then, a certain female student spotted us, came up, and said something.

“Wow, starting off the year shameless, huh?”

It was Kamuro Masumi, who I normally didn’t have much contact with. For some reason, she was looking at me with an expression of obvious disgust on her face. When Hiyori approached Kamuro, Hiyori gently bowed and offered a greeting, but Kamuro ignored her and continued to one-sidedly call me out.

“I just saw you out on a date with Karuizawa at the end of the year. And you start going out with a different girl as soon as the new year’s started?” Pure contempt in her eyes. It was certainly true that if someone saw only this scene, they probably couldn’t help but take it that way. “And she and Karuizawa are completely different types of people, too. What are you thinking?” Kamuro asked

“Um, good morning, Kamuro-san,” said Hiyori.

“You’re Shiina, right?” said Kamuro. “I didn’t think you and Ayanokouji were that close.”

This misunderstanding would continue unless I said something, I thought.

But Hiyori explained first. “He invited me to have fun today, as friends.”

“And I got proper permission from Kei,” I added.

I thought that might’ve convinced her a little, but her expression remained stern even then. “Even if that’s true, it doesn’t change how it looks.”

That statement was valid. I didn’t know what the situation looked like from an outsider’s view.

“But if that’s how it is, doesn’t that mean it’s fundamentally impossible for men and women to be friends?” I asked.

“There’s just the vibe, y’know,” Kamuro said. “Even from a distance, you can sense something is not normal about this.”

That was Kamuro’s own personal interpretation, but I couldn’t say with certainty that she was completely wrong. Among the female students, Hiyori was someone I regarded quite highly. Though she didn’t have a reputation for it, she was erudite; she shared my hobby of reading books, and despite that, she wasn’t someone who talked too much. We were on the same wavelength. On the other hand, it could be inferred that Hiyori looked at me in a similar light. In that case, I supposed it was not unreasonable for people to assume that we had a relationship that was deeper than a normal friendship.

“I take care to avoid misunderstandings as best as I can,” I replied.

“That would be the wise thing to do,” said Kamuro.

“Did you come all the way here just to give me that warning?” I asked.

“No, I have business with you. There’s something else I want to confirm.” Still without having even offered a proper New Year’s greeting, Kamuro marched up to me, shortening the distance between us even further. “This conversation is gonna get a little involved. That okay?”

I shot Hiyori a look, asking her with my eyes if she was okay with sticking around for this, just in case. She didn’t seem to mind, so I figured I’d just proceed with the conversation.