Episode 203: Precious…?

Lunch break after fourth period.

The most enjoyable time at school has arrived once again.

I stood up to head quickly toward the flowerbed, but then I remembered… what about Hanako-san?

「Hanasaki-san! I…」

「Hanasaki-san, let’s eat lunch together!」

「Ah! We asked her first!」

「It’s more fun with a big group, you know?」

As expected, she was being called out to by various groups. I knew this would happen, so I wondered what Hanako-san intended to do…

「T-Takanashi, want to eat with us today?」

「Hey! Takanashi-kun is eating with us!」

「Takanashi-kun, how about joining us with Hanasaki-san?」

Man, I’m surprisingly popular… jokes aside, these guys are being way too obvious.

In this class, the fact that Yamakawa and the others who are closest to me aren’t acting like that makes them much better friends.

Also, the two from the Natsumi-senpai Fan Club and some of the more sensible students look completely fed up with the farce.

Tug, tug.

This movement of pulling on my sleeve is, of course, Hanako-san. It’s a common action she takes when she wants to tell me something.

「I’m going too.」

Since Hanako-san knows I eat with the usual members at lunch, this was her way of expressing her desire to be taken along.

「Sorry, I’m eating at my usual spot!」

「Sorry, I have plans too.」

When Hanako-san followed up my statement with her own, she quickly grabbed her things and began moving after me. The moment we left the classroom…

「…I knew it, those two are dating, aren’t they?」

「…I-I’m so jealous!」

I heard voices like that.

Right now, every time a break starts, things get so hectic that there’s no time to talk, but I should definitely clear up the misunderstanding later…

「Oh, here they are!」

「Kazunari-san, good work today. Hanako-san, welcome.」

We were late because of the delay in leaving the classroom. When we arrived at the flowerbed, it seemed everyone had already finished preparing and was waiting for us.

「Sorry I’m late.」

「Sorry, did we keep you waiting?」

I sat down right next to Sara-san as usual, and Hanako-san sat down right on my other side.

「Fufu… it feels a bit strange to have Hanako-san here.」

「It really does. That uniform looks great on you!」

「Thanks.」

She’s as blunt as ever, but her expression looks softer or more settled compared to when we’re in the classroom. It’s not about this morning’s talk, but I’m happy to think that Hanako-san likes this group too.

「Sorry about earlier, you two.」

「I’m sorry too. Was everything okay after that?」

Hayato and Todo-san offered apologies, clearly worried about the earlier commotion.

After that… nothing really changed.

「It was fine, so don’t worry about it. Right, Hanako-san?」

「Yeah, nothing in particular happened.」

Hearing our replies, both of them looked relieved.

「Well, that’s good then.」

「Yeah. But honestly, when the four of us gather, we forget we’re in a classroom and end up slipping into our usual rhythm!」

「True. I completely forgot it was a classroom back then.」

「Right!」

Todo-san giggled happily.

「You all seem to be having fun. Sara, should we… no, I guess I’ll stop.」

「? Natsumi, is something the matter?」

「No… (I can only imagine Sara going on a rampage in Takanashi-kun’s class.)」

「(I can see Satsukawa-senpai being all lovey-dovey with Takanashi-kun and the classroom turning into a disaster.)」

「(Actually, it would probably trigger an uproar across the whole school.)」

The three of them suddenly went silent, looked at each other, and gave a simultaneous nod.

What was that about?

「?」

Sara-san tilted her head in confusion.

Cute…

Getting back on track, everyone began eating their bentos. Eventually, when the small talk started, Natsumi-senpai brought up a topic she’d just remembered.

「Still, to think you actually transferred in~. Wasn’t the transfer exam hard?」

「With my current level, the stock I built up back when I was a shu… re-evaluating myself and aiming for greater heights was enough to get by.」

She almost said「the period I was a shut-in」…

Well, that was partly Yamazaki’s fault.

「Now, say aahn… For the record, when Hanako-san submitted her transfer application, Father put in a word with the school… though I’m not sure if it had any effect.」

「Ah, come to think of it, Saba is the biggest investor in this school, isn’t it?」

Oh, I think I’ve heard that Saba Electronics invests in this school too. I wonder who I heard that from…

「Eh, Saba as in that Saba? What kind of position does Satsukawa-senpai’s Father hold?」

「Next is this one, aahn… Father is the Senior Managing Director.」

「He’s essentially the number two.」

「「 WHAT!!?? 」」

Munch, munch…

Hayato cried out in surprise along with Todo-san, who had asked the question. Well, that makes sense. I was pretty shocked when I found out too.

If Masaomi-san spoke up, it would likely have some kind of influence.

But more importantly…

「It was a huge help. Thank you again.」

Hanako-san offered a polite thanks, and Sara-san accepted it with a motherly smile.

「You’re very welcome. Though I’m not sure if it was actually useful.」

「Still, thanks. By the way, can I finally ask? Do you always feed him his bento?」

「Yes, aahn… ah, this is…」

「Takanashi-kun’s right hand… even to me, who’s relatively used to seeing it, it’s at a level where I think it’s pretty bad. But Sara is super overprotective of Takanashi-kun.」

Munch, munch…

Actually, the part-time job is over and I’m able to rest it, so the pain is gradually fading.

I can at least hold chopsticks, but Sara-san won’t allow it.

「That’s not true. Besides, this injury of Kazunari-san’s is for my sake, so I will take responsibility for looking after him until it’s healed.」

「(She says until it’s healed, but she’ll probably keep doing it regardless of the injury.)」

「(Satsukawa-senpai looks so happy when she’s looking after Takanashi-kun, I might be a little jealous…)」

「(Well, consider it a reward for Kazunari’s hard work.)」

I wonder why the air feels so lukewarm… anyway, there’s one thing I want to ask too.

「By the way, did everyone know Hanako-san was moving here?」

At my words, everyone looked each other in the eye. I knew it…

「My apologies, Kazunari-san. I had heard from Hanako-san…」

Sara-san gave the answer on behalf of everyone.

I’d suspected as much, but knowing for a fact that I was the only one left out made me feel a tiny bit lonely.

But the second I thought that, I reminded myself that I did the same thing to Sara-san for her birthday, and I managed to hold back.

「A… ah… K-Kazunari-san, please don’t make that face… I…」

For some reason, Sara-san wore a look of utter shock. She set down her bento box and unsteadily reached out her arms as she approached me…

GLOMP!!

Before I knew it, she’d pulled me into her chest with incredible force. Eh… what?

「Sa-Sara-san!?」

「I hate this! Please don’t hate me! I won’t be able to live if you hate me!!」

「…What happened?」

「…Who knows? Takanashi-kun didn’t look any different, right?」

「…Yeah. I didn’t feel anything special either…」

「…Hmm, I guess this is a wild… no, a maternal instinct (limited to Takanashi-kun).」

Uwooo… m-my face is being pressed into Sara-san’s chest with a lot of force… I’m happy, though.

Did she notice that I’d felt that for just a split second?

「I don’t really get it, but I apologize for keeping it a secret. I just wanted to surprise Takanashi-kun. I asked everyone else too, so I’m the one at fault.」

It seems Hanako-san stepped in to follow up for now.

「A-ah, I did the same thing to Sara-san until yesterday, so I understand the feeling. S-Sara-san, that’s why… since I did the same thing, I’m sorry too.」

「No, please don’t apologize. I was truly happy.」

She still wouldn’t let go of me, but she seemed to have calmed down. It was so sudden that I was naturally surprised.

「There’s no way I could ever hate you, Sara-san. If anything, I’m the one worried about you losing interest in me…」

「No! Please don’t say such things even as a joke… There is absolutely no way I could ever lose interest in you…」

I regretted my words as I heard the sadness in Sara-san’s voice. I certainly didn’t mean it that way, but I ended up causing a misunderstanding.

「…Is it coming soon?」

「…Sigh… it can’t be helped, I’ll wait until it’s over.」

「…Ehehe, those two are really close, aren’t they?」

「…Eh? W-well, I guess.」

「I want to be with you forever, Sara-san. I want to stay like this always.」

「Yes, I want to keep spending my days happily with you like this too.」

「Sara-san…」

「Kazunari-san…」

Chu…

As soon as I pulled my face away from Sara-san’s chest, she kissed me on the cheek.

When my eyes met hers after she pulled away, we both smiled…

「Satisfied now?」

When I looked to the side, Hanako-san was staring at us with her specialty「jitome」look.

It seemed Todo-san was the only one smiling…

With five of us, the maintenance of the flowerbed was finished in no time.

We still had a bit of time to spare, but Sara-san was on day duty and had to prepare for the next class, so Natsumi-senpai went back with her to help. I wish I could’ve taken over if it was something I could help with…

Rattle

When I returned to the classroom with Hanako-san, every eye turned toward us at once. We might be the center of attention for a while…

Once we sat down, the usual trio came over. I figured they’d come eventually, but Yamakawa had been acting so wild that I hadn’t been able to introduce them to Hanako-san.

「Since this is a good chance, I’ll introduce you. These three are the ones I’m closest with in this class. This guy who’s been loud since this morning is Yamakawa, this is Tanaka, and the one with glasses is Kawamura.」

As I called their names one by one, Hanako-san confirmed their faces as if she intended to remember them.

「Takanashi, thanks!! Again, I’m Yamakawa.」

「I’m Tanaka.」

「I’m Kawamura. Sorry about the idiot being loud.」

「It’s fine. I’m Hanasaki, nice to meet you.」

Hanako-san is acting normal now. As long as she isn’t surrounded, she seems fine.

「Man, I’m so happy Hanasaki-san transferred here. I wonder if my wish finally reached the heavens!?」

「? Did you know me?」

「Yes! I saw Hanasaki-san’s photo on Takanashi’s phone, and seeing that, I…」

Yamakawa started preaching again, but Hanako-san wasn’t listening at all.

She was looking at my face with a faint smirk, looking a bit happy.

「I see. Looking at your Onee-chan’s photo even at school, what a hopeless boy.」

「Eh!? A-ah, that was because Hanako-san sent a selfie on RAIN…」

Wait, Hanako-san called herself my「Onee-chan」again. She’s definitely doing this on purpose…

「Well, putting Yamakawa aside, you two seem quite close. Can I ask how you two met?」

Leaving Yamakawa in his own world, Kawamura attacked with a direct question. But a question like that is fine… wait, how we met? The history of our relationship? What should I do? Explaining it would be quite complicated…

「Sorry, it’s complicated and involves our private lives, so I can’t explain.」

Hanako-san, who answered on my behalf, also chose to avoid the explanation. I don’t want to explain anything about Yamazaki either…

「Is that so? Sorry for asking something weird. Then just this… Hanasaki-san, you said Takanashi is precious to you, right?」

「I did.」

「「「「 KYAAAAA!! 」」」」

「「「「 GUOOOOO!! 」」」」

Hanako-san answered without a moment’s hesitation, and for some reason, cheers from the girls and screams from some of the guys erupted.

A friend thinking of me as a precious friend… that makes me truly happy.

Of course, I think of Hanako-san as a precious friend too.

「Thank you, Hanako-san.」

「I-It’s not something you need to thank me for.」

「「「「 KYAAAAA!! 」」」」

As Hanako-san replied looking a bit bashful, cheers erupted from the girls again, and some of the guys looked disappointed.

「Got it. That’s how it is, everyone, so don’t tease them anymore. You too, Yamakawa?」

I don’t know what「that’s how it is」actually means, but it seems Kawamura managed to pull the chaotic class together. This is truly a help.

With that, the class seemed to settle down for the most part. From then on, while she might be surrounded by girls, the guys stopped swarming her. Incidentally, Yamakawa seemed to lose his energy too…?

The last period of today was HR for all classes.

I’d assumed the topic would be the class event for the school festival, but apparently, that wasn’t all.

「Take one and pass them back.」

The teacher handed out two types of prints to the front of each row, and they were passed back in order. After I took one of each and passed them back, I read the print…

『Student Council President Election and General Meeting』

Actually, discussions are already moving toward not holding an election for this. We’re supposed to talk about this in the student council after school today, but as it stands, Sara-san is the only one fit for the role. Since there are no opposing candidates, the only path left is to persuade her.

Well, this is probably thanks to the current President’s hard work. Of course, if Sara-san becomes the President, I’ll just support her with everything I have.

And the other one was…

『Notice of Parent Visitation』

…………Eh?

We have something like that?