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Chapter 3 ā First Year High School\nVolume 2\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\n\n
āā¦umā\n
A small voice. If I didnāt concentrate, I might have missed it.\n
āWhatās wrong?ā\n
I acted as if nothing had happened. She might have just arrived here a few minutes ago. As much as possible, I donāt want Fujisaki to see what was on her desk.\n
āOokusu-kunā¦ That ā¦ā\n
āHow long have you been there, Fujisaki ā¦?ā\n
āā¦ From when Ando-kun was approached by Ookusu-kunā\n
My bad premonition was right on the money. If she had heard about it from the beginning, it would mean that everything I had tried to hide was now exposed.\n
āI seeā¦ā\n
I opened my palm. There was a piece of the quiz book that I had just collected. Fujisaki also seemed to know what was there, and apologetically lowered her eyes.\n
āIām sorry. It was my fault that things turned out the way they did.ā\n
āDonāt make me say it again. Itās not Fujisakiās fault. Itās all because of this guy Ando. But I donāt think heāll harass you anymore.ā\n
Whatās done is done. Itās also possible to talk to Noguchi-san about the situation and ask her to buy it again.\n
āI didnāt want to show too much to Fujisaki. Did I show him a bit too much leniency?ā\n
Fujisaki shook her head.\n
āYou might have seen him, but he ran off. He left his racket there, shall we mess around with it?ā\n
She was still shaking her head.\n
āI see. Well, letās just get this over with and get out of here.ā\n
āā¦ Yeah.ā\n \n
I threw away the piece of paper in my hand and went back to Fujisakiās desk. There is a tattered book haphazardly placed there. I couldnāt just throw it away, so I decided to put it in a plastic bag. Iāll take care of it at home.\n
In the meantime, Fujisaki was standing by my side, watching me. She hadnāt said much since a while ago. I guess she was so apologetic that she couldnāt even speak.\n
As I got my bag back on my back, Fujisaki grabbed my blazer. Looking at her hands again, I realized that they were very small. If I wanted to shake it off, I could, but I couldnāt, so I stood there.\n
I asked.\n
āā¦whatās up?ā\n
I thought maybe there was something she wanted to say. But she couldnāt say it out loud. I decided to wait patiently.\n
Eventually, Fujisaki said,\n
āThank you.ā\n
Her voice was muffled and hoarse.\n \n
āI didnāt do anything to deserve your thanks.ā\n
āYou did. I donāt think I could have done it if I had been alone. Youāve helped me a lot.ā\n
āThatās the point. Iām also always indebted to Fujisaki. Itās normal for me to help out a little.ā\n
āā¦Werenāt you scared?ā\n
āā¦no, I wasnāt. Since it was man to man, there was no need to be so afraid.ā\n \n
If I had to say, the only thing I was afraid of was that I would go berserk again. I was really glad that I didnāt show that in front of Fujisaki.\n \n
āAre you okayā¦?ā\n
āNot really, I guess.ā\n \n
Fujisaki hadnāt made eye contact with me since a while ago. I donāt know if it was the setting sun or not that made Fujisakiās face look a little flushed.\n \n
āā¦ Fujisaki?ā\n \n
Fujisaki, who kept looking away, seemed to be somewhat nervous. I didnāt know what to do, so I couldnāt move.\n \n
Fujisaki said quietly.\n \n
āYou know, Ookusu-kunā¦ā\n
āHm?ā\n
āYou seeā¦ā\n \n
She was trying to say something, but she couldnāt get the words to go beyond that. I could tell that she was trying to say something important. I didnāt know exactly what it was, though.\n
I wondered how long it had been. Without saying a word, Fujisaki took her hand away from the hem of my blazer. Then she stepped back and looked up.\n
The expression on her face had already returned to her usual Fujisaki self.\n \n
āā¦ Whatās wrong?ā\n
āā¦ No, itās nothing.ā\n
āHmm. Okay.ā\n \n
Fujisaki smiled shyly.\n
Fujisaki and I got back into our usual groove and walked home, talking about trivial things as usual.\n
The thought of Ando and the harassment had already disappeared from our minds.\n
Fujisaki smiled happily. I felt a sense of relief as I laughed with her.\n
At last, the hardship was over and I could go back to my normal life.\n
That was enough, I thought.\n\n
ļ¼ćļ¼ćļ¼\n\n
āAbout a year has passed since then.\n \n
Fujisaki and I are now in the same class. We both became class chairmen and had more opportunities to be together, just like when we were on the library committee.\n \n
But thatās another storyā\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: And here we are folkes, end of the past chapterā¦ And thatās how Fujisaki fell in love with himā¦ I am actually glad that itās not just a crush from daily interactions, but affection blossomed from actionsā¦ š\n\n