āOh! Takanashi-kun is stunned! Is it possible that he drew a difficult subject?ā
This subject should have been easy for others, but for me, itās a very challenging taskā¦
Especially since Yuji is not here.
Also, Sara-senpai and Natsumi-senpai are not of the same gender.
āKazunari! Is it difficult!?ā
Yokogawa?
What aboutā¦ that guy?
Like the 200m dash, Yokogawa came to the nearby cheering area.
From his expression, I could tell he truly cared about me.
Besidesā¦
I didnāt ask him for support, but he sent me cues and cheered me on.
Even now, heās worried about me and calling out like this.
Indeed, thereās a lot to think about concerning Natsumi-senpai.
But at the very least, he didnāt hide it and told it to me honestly.
Since then, heās gotten involved with me even if I didnāt say anything.
Maybe itās because we both struggled concerning friendships that I understand how he feelsā¦
Most of all, it doesnāt feel bad.
Also, heās the first person to ask me to be his friendā¦
Thus, I approached Yokogawa.
āKazunari? Is there anything I can do for youā¦?ā
āCome with me!ā
I grabbed Yokogawaās arm and started running.
According to the rules, when you bring a subject, you have to be in contact with them.
āRoger~!ā
Without asking me anything, he started to run.
It was concerning that a few girls were looking at us weirdly for some reason, but we made it to the finish line without incident.
We didnāt take first place, but third place was high enough.
The attendant checked my subject and read it aloud at the finish line using a microphone.
āA close friend of the same gender!ā
It was embarrassing to hear it aloud.
Yokogawa looked surprised.
Well, itās only natural.
I felt awkward, so I decided to call out to him first.
āWell, thank youā¦ Hayato.ā
Upon hearing my words, Hayato grinned.
āNo problem, Kazunari!ā
Then Hayato energetically crossed his shoulders with mine and, when the attendant saw it, gave the OK signal.
And thatās how I made my first male friend at this school.
āāāKyah! !āāā
Loud noises erupted from the girls. But they donāt seem to be screaming in disgust.
āāāāāāāāāāāāāā
He linked arms with Takanashi-kunā¦
Except for the boys in the student council, I donāt remember most of the boysā faces.
Many men approached me even though I didnāt know them, so thereās no reason to remember each and every one of them.
But I do remember him.
Iāve seen him talking to Mr. Takanashi a lot recently.
To be honest, I thought that Takanashi-sanās close friend would be a little more on the serious sideā¦
No! Donāt think like this, Sara! This is for Takanashi-san to decide.
The important thing is that Takanashi-san has made friends.
Takanashi-san has not been blessed with good classmates, and plus, I have never seen him with a male friend at school.
Thatās why Iām very happy for him.
Congratulationsā¦ Takanashi-san.
āāāāāāāāāāāāāā
It was lunch break, and I was on my way to the flower garden.
I had considered inviting Hayato, but Sara-senpai might not like the idea. Plus, I didnāt like the idea of him using me to get close to Natsumi-senpai. And I decided I wonāt be doing that in the future.
So I came here aloneā¦
There is a lady in front of me.
She is probably in her 20s and is quite beautiful.
At first, she looked at the flower garden, but then she turned her head towards me, perhaps sensing my presence or the sound of my footsteps.
When our eyes met, she smiled and bowed her head.
She was probably here to support a relative, but to see her at the flower gardenā¦
I didnāt know what to say to her, so I got all flustered.
āFufuā¦ what seems to be the problem?ā
She might have thought my appearance was amusing and decided to talk to me.
āN-No problem! I was just surprised because this is a place where not many people come!ā
There was a sense of being reserved or perhaps a hint of mischievousness in how she spoke to me. That made me unintentionally nervous and thus, made me answer quickly.
āThatās trueā¦ This place has always been like this.ā
That phrase implies that she has known this place for a long time.
Was she an alumnus, by any chance?
āIām glad I came today. Iāve never seen her having such a good time. I still canāt believe she left the live coverage area without permission. I would never have thought sheād break a rule like that.ā
Her? Live coverage?
Those two alone limit the number of people I can think of, and the only serious person I can think of who wouldnāt think of breaking the rules is Sara-senpaiā¦
So this person should be Sara-senpaiās older sister. But Sara-senpai doesnāt have one.
āExcuse me. Youāre Sara-senpaiās older sisterā¦ right? I wasnāt told that she has an older sister.ā
āAra~ ara~, what a good child. Iām sorry that my little sister didnāt explain it well. Takanashi-san, thank you for always taking care of Sara.ā
Sara-senpaiās older sister greeted me politely.
āAh! Excuse me! I am Kazunari Takanashi. No worries! Iām always indebted to Sara-senpaiā¦ā
āNo, the pleasure is all ours. Since Sara met Takanashi-san, she has really brightened up. She said going to school every day is fun.ā
With a smile, she approached me very closely.
Then, she wrapped her hands around mine.
āI canāt thank you enough, Takanashi-san. No words can ever express my gratitude. Please take care of Sara for the rest of her life.ā
She smiled and pulled my hands close to her chest as she said this.
I froze involuntarily, probably because of being embarrassed or shy. Still, the older sister looked at me and gave me a mischievous look.
Am I perhapsā¦ being teased?
But even if I am, there is nothing I could do about itā¦
āTakanashi-san, Iām sorry to keep youā¦ waiting.ā
Sara-senpai sawā¦
Instead, seeing this situation, she put on āthat smileā for the first time in a long while.
āWhat are you doingā¦ For starters, please let go of his hands, Mom!ā