Chapter 113: Unheard Voice
Translator: Soafp
“…Toumachi seemed a little down today, didn't he?”
“Yeah☆”
“…”
“I told you, didn't I☆ Well, it's only been two days.”
Tuesday, after school.
The two of them strolled through town like always.
“…Why? He's such a good guy.”
“Hmm, maybe it’s that thing they call ‘standing out in a bad way’☆”
“It's weird for me to say it, but… kind of like how I was before.”
“Yeah. Well, you're not really comparable though.”
(Top grades in the year, that hair color. He's close with the prettiest girl in the grade… He even goes to her house.)
(And after what happened on “Monday” too… especially with the guys. He's definitely got more enemies now.)
(It's not all of them, though. Still, there's a bit of a wall, I guess.)
The idle chatter of their classmates in the classroom, the voices of boys from other classes passing by.
Even though she hadn't seen it firsthand, Hiiragi pretty much knew what happened in PE on Monday.
“…I guess I'll just treat him like usual starting next week.”
“Oh yay! Does that mean I'll finally talk to Toumachi?”
“You seem happy about it.”
“Of course☆”
(“You have no idea how much I held back until Ichigo gave the okay!”)
“…What are you thinking?”
“Haha! I was just thinking about how Toumachi looks when you’re not around☆”
The guy sitting diagonally across from her—his face clearly looked lonely.
During break time, he would vanish from the classroom, so it wasn't easy to catch a glimpse of him.
But Hiiragi was really looking forward to telling him the truth.
She couldn’t wait for that day next week.
It was like setting up a prank and waiting for the reveal.
Would he laugh with relief? Or maybe with joy?
“I hope he makes some guy friends… if not, I'll just treat him like usual starting next week.”
“Yeah, yeah☆ We'll give him lots of attention☆”
The two of them strolled through town, laughing.
Their voices, however, would never reach him.
[Momo Side]
“Whew, I'm exhausted!”
“Good job today.”
It was late at night as Momiji and Rikka Tachibana walked home from school.
The two had grown quite close by now.
Tachibana was loud and boisterous, while Momiji's voice was much quieter… though she was doing her best to keep up.
“Shiori-chan, you've got a lot of stamina, huh?”
“Huh? R-Really…?”
“Where does all that energy come from in such a small body?”
They had stayed late for creative dance practice.
Unknowingly, Momiji had been showing off the stamina she had built up from her time in the mountains.
“You're kind of bad at dancing though!”
“S-Sorry… I don't really listen to music much… It's hard for me to catch the rhythm, I guess.”
“Haha, it's fine, it's fine. You flailing around is cute, Shiori-chan.”
“Uh, thanks…?”
Though Momiji wasn't particularly skilled at dancing, her natural charm seemed to make it hard for Tachibana to mind.
“Oh yeah, you're pretty close to that guy, right?”
“T-Toumachi-kun?”
“Yeah!”
“Isn't he kind of weird? You sure he's okay?”
“…What?”
“He's a little scary…”
“T-That's not true at all!”
“?!”
“Oh… I'm sorry.”
Momiji's sudden outburst surprised them both. It was the loudest her voice had been all day.
They stared at each other, eyes wide in shock.
“You startled me… You really think that highly of him?”
“Toumachi-kun is really kind. He's someone I look up to.”
“…Huh?”
Tachibana looked at Momiji, disbelief clear in her expression. Momiji continued, more confident now.
“He's amazing. Toumachi-kun is.”
“Well, yeah, I mean, he's number one in the grade…”
“That's not all. He's incredible in so many other ways!”
She thought back to the library, to how Toumachi had suggested exchanging letters when she couldn't bring herself to speak. Even when she had struggled to communicate, he had continued reaching out to her.
And that day they had played in the mountains, how he had shown her the path she should follow.
“I see… I guess I misunderstood him.”
“Yes. At least to me, he's someone I truly admire.”
“Hmm… He's a lucky guy, isn't he?”
“Eh?”
“To have someone who thinks so strongly of him.”
“Is that… so?”
“Of course it is! And from such a cute girl like Shiori-chan, too!”
Tachibana laughed as she said that, and the suspicion that had clouded her opinion of Toumachi was gone. Momiji had been so serious, she couldn't help but believe her.
“How about we hang out together again sometime? If it's with Toumachi-kun, I'm sure it'll be fun.”
“Yes, I'd love that!”
“Maybe the three of us could go to the library together.”
“That sounds like so much fun!”
“Your voice just got louder again, you know.”
“Ah!”
(Once again… thanks to Toumachi-kun…)
The voice Momiji had struggled to use so often now came out naturally. While the training books had helped, it was mostly thanks to him.
One month.
In just one month, Momiji had changed so much.
“Let's plan something after the dance performance.”
“Yes! I'll do my best!”
“Haha, your Japanese got a little weird there, Shiori-chan.”
“S-Sorry about that.”
“Let's work hard and practice during breaks and after school.”
“Yes!”
(I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Toumachi-kun and my new friend…)
Their cheerful conversation continued, but of course, none of it would reach Toumachi.
200: Username: Anonymous in Love
It's now 1 AM.
201: Username: Anonymous in Love
…It's confirmed after what happened on Monday.
202: Username: Anonymous in Love
Yeah.
203: Username: Anonymous in Love
Jealousy is such an ugly thing, huh, Dance Club girl…
204: Username: Anonymous in Love
He's only friends with girls, top of the class, and probably good at dancing too.
It's no wonder, really. It's not like 1 did anything wrong.
205: Username: Anonymous in Love
When you lay it all out like that, it makes sense.
206: Username: Anonymous in Love
At least he's got friends to lean on.
207: Username: Anonymous in Love
I hope he's okay.
208: Username: Anonymous in Love
If something happens, 1 will say something. When that time comes, we'll help him out however we can.
209: Username: Anonymous in Love
It seems like 1 doesn't really understand himself…
210: Username: Anonymous in Love
Should we say something before it blows up? He hasn't been on the board much lately, and he seems pretty down.
211: Username: Anonymous in Love
What should we do? 1 didn't show up today…
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1 Comment
212: Username: Anonymous in Love
I hope he doesn't dye his hair back to black and be emo.