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ăGood moorning!ă
ăMorrning.ă
As we continued to talk leisurely, the door at the back opened with a clatter, and we heard two light voices call out. They possessed neither the peculiar eagerness from today being the start of a new class, nor the absurd nervousness of first greetings being important.
ăOhh, if it isnât Chitose. Hasnât your hair gotten a little long over the spring break? Want me to cut that for you?ă
ăIt kind of feels like the cut will reach a line thatâs important for living, so Iâll have to decline.ă
The one who had called out to me was Aomi Haru, originally from Class 3.
Being someone who played an active role as a shooting guard of the girlsâ basketball club, her limbs were long and slender. She wasnât at all that tall, and at a glance one might take her for a petite, delicate model. But in actual fact, rather than being thin, her body gave an impression of being effectively well-toned.
Rather than being neatly done-up like for Yuuko or Yua, the bundling of her hair into a short ponytail felt more like it was simply because it got in the way of her movement. Below, contrasting with that candid personality and frank behaviour, her smooth nape was somewhat amorous.
Haruâs words prompted a reaction from Kaito.
ăOi, shouldnât you have called out to me first there? Being a fellow basketball club member.ă
ăEhh, I mean, at this point seeing Kaitoâs face has lost all sense of freshness. Right, Yuzuki?ă
ăIâm sick and tired of Kaitoâs face too. But Iâm glad Chitose and Mizushino are here. A feast for the eyes⌠a feast for the eyes.ă
Saying this, Nanase Yuzukiâs face suddenly peered in from behind Haru. Extending to her shoulders, her semi-long hair flowed smoothly, just like in a shampoo commercial.
Also originally from Class 3, and the point guard of the girlsâ basketball club. Apparently the duo she formed with Haru was already well-known even at a prefectural level, though I daresay the reason for that wasnât just their basketball skills alone.\nWhenever the topic of who the cutest girl in our school was came up, the name that would always get nominated alongside Yuukoâs was Nanaseâs. If Yuuko was an idol-type with her status points fully invested into cuteness, then Nanase was an actress-type with a multitude of facial expressions hidden within, at times cute, or breathtakingly beautiful, or easy to talk to or difficult to approach, or gallant or fleeting, or so adorable youâd want to protect her or so sexy youâd want to break her.
However, personally, I did not consider Nanaseâs aforementioned behaviour to be a product of nature similar to Yuukoâs. What she displayed at school was a combination of her own traits bestowed at birth and an appropriately controlled, practically unnatural perfection, resulting from a diligent awareness of the influence the good and the bad would have on her surroundings. I myself was the same, so I could kind of tell.
Incidentally, speaking of her figure, which was no less shapely than Yuukoâs, in contrast to how Yuukoâs overflowed with a girlish softness akin to freshly whipped cream, Nanaseâs possessed a supple springiness akin to a tautly drawn bow.
âŚIâm not just talking about boobs, you know?
With a teasing smile on her face, Nanase approached us.
ăAnd there you have it. Shall I start enjoying my fill of these younglings right away? Looky looky hereď˝ă
Playing along, I and Kazuki reacted exaggeratedly to Nanaseâs words while covering our chests.
ăNoo! Donât look at us with those lecherous eyes!ă
ăSo you were aiming for our bodies after all!ă
Haru joined in on the fun.
ăAinât that fine, ainât that just fine. Hell-loo there. I promise itâll be over before youâre done counting the stains on the ceiling, heh heh.ă
ăUmm, you two were born in the Heisei era, right? This whole thing reeks of ShĹwa.ă
Just as we were getting carried away, Yua cut in with a tsukkomi. Her presence had been on the verge of fading away due to the participation of these grand riajuu.
ăUcchiď˝! Class 3 was lacking that kind of tsukkomi ingredient, you know. Yuzuki just ignores me when itâs a bother. Why donât you become my partner?ă
ăUcchiăź, that kind of sternness is really needed when things go too far. Count me in too.ă
ăâŚHmm, ookay. For the time being, how about you two start over fromăThis must be the first time weâve spoken properly, letâs get alongă?ă
With Haru and Nanase now shuffling towards her, Yua slowly backed away. Feels like sheâs getting eaten, or rather, consumed. Well, these two are prominent riajuu to the point that there isnât anyone in the same year who doesnât know their name, so not much I can do about it.
On that note, the natural-born princess Yuuko still had plenty of spare capacity.
ăYuzuki, Haru, Iâm so glad weâre together! Iâve always wanted to get along with you. But Sakuâs rightful wife is me while Ucchi is his, miss-tress, I think? So letâs get along with that in mind, okayď˝?ă
Both Yua and her couldnât have had much contact with these two before, and yet here they were, not just doing their own thing, but also shrewdly slipping in advice. Anyway, Iâm pretty sure she doesnât know the meaning ofămistressă.
ăWell, at any rate, I guess this means the arrival of new members for Team Chitose.ă
Haru and Nanase responded to my words in kind.
ăâAomi Dangerous Challengersâ.ă
ăYou mean âYu Like The Distant Tsukiâ.ă
ăâŚYeah, I knew it would turn out like this.ă
Well, I suppose itâs pretty much this bunch who will be the riajuu classâs key players.
Such were my thoughts as I casually surveyed the entire class. Those groups I had some recollection of, those who were somewhat careful about their appearance, those with somewhat loud voices, and those looking in our direction like they wanted to join us. Those staring fixedly at their desk or the blackboard, as if they were unseeing, unhearing and unfeeling solitary monks. And in addition, the occasional person emitting glares of undisguised discomfort.
Well, I think those are all natural reactions to us having this kind of noisy conversation so soon after the class change. I could even nod my head in agreement to the one or two glares of discomfort.
However, regretfully, thatâs just the kind of people riajuu are.
To some extent, those like myself, Kazuki, and perhaps Nanase were operating somewhat self consciously, but by no means were we trying to consciously flaunt our difference in status, and neither were we showing off our sparkling selves or anything of the sort.
We were just naturally and honestly expressing our joy at being in the same class as our friends, and messing around as fellow comrades.
Truly, that was all there was to it. However, there are many human beings unable to do that much, so before we knew it we were affixed with labels such as riajuu, or gloomy type, or DQN idiot, so on and so forth, not to mention trash-talked by an unknown somebody on the schoolâs underground site.
Hiriajuu, gloomy characters, and otaku might all think the same thing, but our surroundings would come trying to conveniently place us into a framework. Riajuu are these kinds of people, should be this way, and are without a doubt flimsy and substanceless. Thereâs no mistaking that they are a detestable bunch who act to prove their superiority over hiriajuu.
Well, owing to that, it was clear what the role the teachers wanted us to play in the riajuu class. To befriend those who looked like they wanted to befriend us. To warmly watch over the solitary monks from an appropriate distance, and get along with them if they ever felt so inclined. To keep the disturbing elements in check and prevent them from getting worse, or perhaps placate them. If we did so, then it would mean everyone could freely concentrate on their studies.
I suppose I should do so, and loosely, the Chitose Saku way.
If one cannot live beautifully, then it is hardly any different from being dead.
That is my esthetic. Incidentally, you could also replace theăbeautifullyăpart withăgood-lookinglyă, orăpopularlyăorăwhile being fawned overăorăwhile being surrounded by girlsă.