Sasamori Suguru had a weak body.
Furthermore, he didn’t have many friends, perhaps because of his shy nature.
However, even Suguru had some people he was close with.
“Hey hey, Suguru! Today’s lesson was tough as usual, wasn’t it?”
One of them was Natsume Kaede. Suguru’s childhood friend who he knew since kindergarten.
Though they were high school students, they still walked home together.
While her prideful ponytails swayed and fluttered, she asked a question to Suguru with a smile that reminded him of a sunflower.
Suguru’s heartbeat quickened upon her suddenly getting close.
He knew that he was nervous.
Kaede was said to be the most beautiful girl in the whole class…no, in the whole school.
Furthermore, her grades were excellent and she was the ace of the tennis club.
He nodded in response to the words that Kaede, the girl who was out of his league, said nonchalantly.
Though he had been with her for a long time, Suguru still couldn’t keep up with Kaede’s spirit.
Sometimes he would wonder why he was allowed to associate with such a charming girl.
While such a thought emerged in his mind, he heard a lively voice call out from behind Kaede.
“Hey! Sorry! I’m late! There was a soccer club gathering!”
“Kazama Seiki”, a brown-haired lively guy who was very popular with the girls, rushed over to the two from behind.
He was also a close friend of Suguru. It started when they met in middle school and Kazama came to talk to him.
They liked manga a lot, and soon began getting closer.
Kaede had also joined in on their conversations.
The days went by where they helped out the frail Suguru, even when he didn’t say anything.
“Geez! You’re late! I thought I said we were going to study at Suguru’s house today!”
“Hahaha…well, I suppose you did say that! It’s just that the soccer club was really busy…”
Kazama and Kaede got deep into conversation, brushing Suguru aside.
Suguru and Kazama. The two were complete opposites.
Even though Kaede had been angry just earlier, she now had a smile.
Suguru watched in silence from the back while harboring unease.
“Kaede…it seems you’re really hitting it off with Seiki.”
He spoke as such with an inaudible voice.
He hadn’t revealed it yet, but Suguru had feelings for Kaede.
He always did since childhood.
Such feelings never faded away, but recently…he began wondering if Kaede had feelings for Kazama.
He spent nights without sleeping, thinking about it.
He berated himself for it. This was his close friend, who always helped him out, that he was talking about.
To think that he would harbor feelings of jealousy.
Suguru believed that having such feelings was a bad thing.
However, just like a rubber ball being bounced, the more he thought about it, the stronger his feelings became.
The two had the looks, the brains, the athleticism, and the sociability. They were the popular kids in the class.
Anyone could see that the two would be happy together.
His paced slowed down. It felt as if his whole body was shouldering lead.
However, Kazama noticed him and voiced his concern.
“Whoa, what happened?
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
“Hmm, Suguru…you seem to be in a bad condition today. Are you alright?”
Suguru was uneasy, but he asserted that he was fine.
Upon which, Kazama noticed something and spoke to Kaede.
“Ah, since Suguru’s in a bad condition, you can go on ahead while I stay here with him.”
“Huh?! Is that really okay?”
“You get to walk home with Suguru all the time! Leave this to me!”
“Umm…I understand.”
Kazama told Kaede to go ahead in a somewhat pushy manner.
Kaede reluctantly complied, picked up her bag, and separated from the two.
Thereupon, Kazama faced Suguru. Suguru wondered it he could be thinking about.
Kazama suddenly got straight to the point.
“Do you…like her?”
“…I do.”
Suguru responded to Kazama after some delay without being too shaken.
It seemed that Kazama couldn’t hide his surprise towards Suguru acting out of the norm.
Kazama calmly said “I see,” and made a slight smile.
He didn’t want his feelings to lose to anyone else’s, and he didn’t want to lie about them either.
Suguru’s feelings for Kaede were the real deal.
Though, if Kazama and Kaede were in love with each other…he would want to bless them from the bottom of his heart.
Kazama walked towards Suguru and spoke.
“Alright! I thought so! I’ll be cheering you on…Suguru.”
“Huh, what?”
“Hahaha! Did you perhaps think that I was trying to get intimate with Kaede?! There’s no way! When I look at you guys, I can’t feel that way.”
Suguru’s body lost its strength upon being relieved of his unease. A feeling of exhaustion assaulted him.
Kazama laughed when seeing Suguru like that, but it was a big issue for Suguru.
“Speaking of cheering you on, I think that Kaede might perhaps…harbor something towards…”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, let’s just head over to your house! We’re keeping Kaede waiting.”
Though what Kazama said at the end was on Suguru’s mind, he didn’t think too much about it and headed towards his house with Kazama.
They held study sessions every time a test was approaching.
However, it felt more like an observation of Suguru’s study habits.
Unlike Suguru, Kazama and Kaede can study very well.
Due to that, in order to attend the same university as them, Suguru was frantically studying.
The three eventually reached a point where they took a break.
From the floor below, Suguru’s mom brought sweets and drinks.
While chatting, Kazama said that he had some business to take care of and began to get up from his seat.
It happened at that moment. Kazama looked at Suguru while smiling.
Now only Kaede and Suguru were in the room. Suguru couldn’t calm down and drank more than usual.
His face turned red and he felt embarrassed.
Thereupon, Kaede closed her reference book and spoke to Suguru.
“Hey…Suguru?”
“Aah, y, yes?! What is it?”
“Are you really going to get into the same university as us? T, this is a bit hard to say, but isn’t that unachievable?”
“Huh?”
Kaede spoke plainly to Suguru while making a mysterious face.
Indeed, with Suguru’s current grades, the chances of failing were high.
He himself knew that the most.
The mechanical pencil he held shook and dropped to the floor.
(Why? Why is Kaede saying something like that so suddenly…?)
Kaede soon panicked, toned down her facial expression, and reassured the saddened Suguru.
“Oh, no wait! That’s not what I meant…I’m just saying that you don’t need to feel pressured to attend the same university.”
“But I want to attend the same university as you and Seiki! However, it might as you say…unlike you two, I’m not good at studying.”
“Err, um! Even if you don’t get into the same university as us, I’ll never abandon you, Suguru! Seiki feels the same way too.”
Kaede was his next-door neighbor. Due to that, he was able understand the meaning of what she said.
Suguru stared at the cup he drank from while thinking deeply.
He wondered if this was really okay. Though, perhaps Kaede had a point.
Thereupon, Kaede put her hand lightly on Suguru’s shoulder.
“You don’t need to do the unreasonable…even if you don’t get into to the same university as us, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
“You’re being pretty blunt, Kaede.”
“Umm, I’d argue that I’m being kind! You’ve got a weak constitution…you’ve been studying late at night, right? I can tell from the dark circles under your eyes.”
Suguru tended to go overboard.
Kaede has recently been looking closely at Suguru and found that his physical condition has been worse than usual.
(I suppose I was feeling a bit lightheaded a moment ago…I’ve been getting a lack of sleep, though it’s partially because I’ve been thinking about Kaede as well.)
“Challenging obstacles is important, but if the wall is too high, then it’s also important to either retreat or find a detour! You should worry first about your body, Suguru.”
“R, right! If it’s you saying it, then I suppose I have no other choice.”
“Whoops, I just got back, but am I interrupting something?”
Seiki had returned just when the conversation had taken a serious turn. He looked over at Suguru and Kaede while teasing them, and then went back to his seat.
Kaede reacted just as ever towards Seiki.
However, Suguru’s heart calmed down and his body felt lighter.
He wondered if he made a breakthrough. Suguru picked up his mechanical pencil.
(Alright! I’ll do my best!)
The two had left to go home. Suguru stopped studying earlier than usual today and laid down on his bed.
A picture taken during a school field trip caught his eye.
It was a picture of Kaede, Seiki and him together.
It brought many happy, unfading memories.
Suguru wanted things to be like that during university as well. And beyond university too…
Perhaps his wishes wouldn’t come true. However, he wanted to do his best.
Suguru’s exhaustion reached its peak, and he went into a deep sleep.
(I’ll see Kaede and Seiki again tomorrow…)
However, Suguru was not aware of something at that time.
From here on out, the gears of fate would move him towards a different direction.
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