Episode 252: Yukata

I nearly died from Sara-san’s powerful moe attack, but I somehow managed to pull myself together thanks to the cold stares from everyone else and my own willpower.

I figured thinking about this any further would be dangerous in various ways, so I knew I should probably focus on something else, but… putting the talk about sizes aside, I just couldn’t stop thinking about yukata.

After all, the sight of Sara-san in a yukata is an irreplaceable, precious memory to me.

That day, I was so captivated by Sara-san’s beauty that I was literally speechless from the shock. I still remember that feeling vividly even now, and I know for a fact that seeing her like that was what gave me the final push to confess my feelings.

That’s exactly why I have such a strong emotional attachment to it.

「…nari-san.」

And Sara-san’s smile, looking so genuinely happy when I confessed. Her crystal-clear eyes brimming with tears like jewels, and her hair in an up-do, which was different from usual and suited her so well…

「Kazunari-san!」

「!?」

Snapping back to reality after hearing my name called out so loudly, I found Sara-san suddenly right in front of me. As she peered intently into my eyes, I felt my heart skip a beat at her somewhat bashful expression. I’d been so lost in my own world that I hadn’t even noticed her getting this close.

「Kazunari-san, is something the matter? Um… your face is…」

「No, no, Satsukawa-san. You have to ask him what kind of pervy things he was thinking with that goofy grin on his face.」

「I, I wasn’t thinking anything like that. But, did something happy happen…?」

Given the flow of our previous conversation, she probably thought I was still imagining those kinds of things. It would be a problem if I just stayed quiet and she thought I was some kind of creep, so I figured I should be honest and tell her she was wrong.

「I was remembering how you looked in a yukata, Sara-san. You were so beautiful back then… I honestly think you’re the person who suits a yukata best in the whole world. There’s no other woman who looks that good in one, you’re definitely number one. Of course, you’re more wonderful than anyone else in your normal clothes too… mmph!」

Squeeze…

The moment I thought the blushing Sara-san had closed the distance, she already had her arms wrapped around my head, pulling me into a forceful hug. She’d pushed me right into her usual spot, effectively sealing my mouth with her signature move. In other words, she wanted me to stop right there.

I only intended to talk about how wonderful and beautiful she looked in a yukata, but I guess I got carried away while I was talking. It seemed I’d slipped back into my own world again, but I honestly felt it couldn’t be helped. The shock of seeing Sara-san that day was just that huge, and it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

「Goodness… even though I told you no… here is a punishment for the mean Kazunari-san.」

「Mmph…」

「Of course I am happy to be praised, but I get embarrassed when you go that far… you were staring at my… earlier too… you are being mean today, Kazunari-san…」

I certainly didn’t mean it that way, but it seemed I’d ended up making her feel quite embarrassed. Setting the praise aside, I suppose I really was in the wrong for staring earlier… although, if I were allowed an excuse, I am a guy, after all…

「Are you reflecting on your actions?」

Nod.

「Yes, good boy♪」

Stroke, stroke…

She seemed to cheer up once I nodded obediently (though she probably wasn’t even a little bit angry), and after loosening her hug, she gently stroked my head. I was glad she seemed to have calmed down.

「…What are these two even doing…?」

「…A punishment? Is this it?」

「…Wow… their logic is as wild as ever…」

「…………」

「If you like it that much, Kazunari-san, should I wear a yukata at home too?」

「Eh!? No…」

「Even Satsukawa-san makes jokes, huh.」

「Right. It’s obvious, but it’s still refreshing…」

「Eh? I am not joking, though?」

「…………」

For the record, I’d known from the start that she wasn’t joking and was actually serious. It’s not like Sara-san never jokes, but if she judges that something will make me happy, she’ll seriously consider even things that sound like a joke.

So if I were to actually ask her here, I had no doubt she’d seriously start wearing a yukata at home.

「Um, to me, seeing you in a yukata is special, Sara-san. So, I want you to wear it for special occasions.」

「I understand. If you’ll praise me that much, Kazunari-san, I shall make an effort to wear a yukata whenever the opportunity arises from now on.」

Sara-san seemed satisfied with that and slowly let go of me. She looked a bit reluctant, but I agreed that it was hard to talk like that. To be honest, since it was only for a short time, I found myself feeling a little disappointed too.

「Haa… same as always…」

「I’m actually used to it by now… By the way, the talk about yukata reminded me, isn’t there a festival coming up soon?」

「Oh, the festival at the shrine nearby? I think that’s next month.」

I’m not originally from around here, so that kind of information is really helpful. An autumn festival at a shrine sounds like the perfect event.

By the way, I’ve heard that the shrine where Sachie-san lives doesn’t hold festivals despite being in the neighborhood, so they must be talking about another shrine nearby.

「Come to think of it, it is already that time of year. Last year, Natsumi and Eri invited me and the three of us went together…」

「Didn’t you get hit on like crazy?」

「Right? Just Satsukawa-san by herself seems like she’d attract a lot, but with Nishikawa-san and Natsumi-chan there too, it feels like it would be a riot with all the idiots looking to pick up girls.」

Sara-san goes without saying, but the usual, non-clumsy Nishikawa-san looks like a beautiful young lady, and Natsumi-senpai is a well-known stylish beauty who’s popular even with other girls. With those three together and no guy around, it’s not hard to imagine things getting out of hand.

「No, we were fine. Eri was there, after all.」

「Eh? You’re fine as long as Nishikawa-san is there?」

「Does that mean Nishikawa-san drove them off?」

「No, around Eri… well, various things.」

Sara-san was being a bit vague, but one possibility I associated with Nishikawa-san was that she might have had bodyguards… or SP types with her.

I’ve never seen anyone like that when we’re hanging out normally, but I know they were stationed among the staff at the venue where we settled things with Yamazaki. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for people to be working secretly in the background to handle those kinds of things.

Regardless, now that I knew there was a festival coming up, there was only one thing I needed to do.

「Sara-san, for this year’s festival, will you go with…」

「Yes♪ It seems there will be an opportunity to wear the new yukata soon.」

Before I could even finish my sentence, Sara-san nodded with a smile. She probably expected me to ask her out of the blue.

That said, this gave me another thing to look forward to, and I’d get to see Sara-san in a new yukata… I’m really excited.

「Good work today~」

Entering the student council room just as the conversation broke off was Todo-san, one half of the W-Angels. By the way, the other half of the angels, who claims to be my big sister, hasn’t quite recovered from the shock she received earlier.

「Good work, Todo-san~」

「Good work~」

「Good work today!」

「Good work, Todo-san.」

「Yeah, good work. Hey, did a huge commotion break out in your class, Takanashi-kun?」

「Eh!?」

「Hmm? Did something happen with the first-years?」

The one who immediately reacted to Todo-san’s mention of a「commotion」was the former president, Uesaka-san. He was supposed to be a total bystander until a second ago, but I wonder if reacting to that was some kind of reflex from being the former president?

As for whether something happened in my class, well, there was almost too much…

What Todo-san was talking about was definitely that. I figured a commotion that big was bound to be heard by the other classes.

「I could hear some intense shouting and what sounded like screams from one of the classes. When I was talking to Yokokawa-kun earlier, he mentioned it seemed to be coming from Takanashi-kun’s class next door…」

Hayato is in the class next door, so he definitely would have heard a riot like that. If even Todo-san’s class could hear it, maybe every first-year classroom on the same floor heard it?

「Ah, that was…」

「Was it about my mother causing an inconvenience for Kazunari-san? Or perhaps…」

「Satsukawa-senpai’s Mother?」

「Wait, what? Satsukawa-san’s mother caused trouble for Takanashi-kun…?」

「Did she barge into your class or something?」

「No, um, she pretended to be Kazunari-san’s mother and attended the parent-teacher observation.」

「「「 WHAT!? 」」」

As expected, this story was quite a shock, and even the male members who weren’t part of the conversation let out cries of surprise. Even though her logic was that she would be his future mother-in-law, I still felt she went way too far this time. It’s only natural that others would be even more surprised to hear it.

「That’s even more of an event than just barging in.」

「Won’t the teacher be mad if they find out?」

「Takanashi-kun, were you okay?」

「I managed to be okay for the most part. The lesson ended without any real incidents.」

「Is that so? Huh? But if that’s the case, then what caused the commotion…?」

「That was because of a different problem, obviously.」

「A different problem?」

Before I knew it, Hanako-san had recovered and returned to her usual spot on my left. Everyone’s eyes turned toward me at Hanako-san’s words, as if demanding an explanation, but Hanako-san ignored them and just kept talking.

「Kazunari and the Wife officially announced they’re engaged.」

「「「 !!!!!!!! 」」」

Everyone fell silent in shock for a moment. But just as quickly, they started exchanging looks with each other, and after swapping some meaningful signals, they all nodded in unison.

What was that reaction all about…?

「…It’s finally happened…」

「…Well, let’s see how things go…」

「…The real movement will probably start on Monday.」

It was as if the time had finally come, and the officers were checking something with each other. Uesaka-san in particular looked serious and thought for a moment before facing Hanako-san.

「Hanasaki-san, as for the classroom…」

「Leave it to me…」

Apparently, they understood each other with just that. Judging from the flow, they were definitely exchanging something related to our relationship being made public.

Seeing such a meaningful exchange made me feel slightly uneasy.

If anything is going to happen because of today, tomorrow is Sunday, so that’s fine, but it wouldn’t be strange for things to move starting Monday. I should probably be careful myself.