Vol. 1 Chapter 9: Friend.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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“Oh Miyamoto, morning.”

Katayama, a guy from my class, spoke to me as if we’ve been friends for ages. Actually, is Katayama his name? Eh, I think it’s right. Either way, it was a peaceful time before homeroom. Students spent their time as they wished; a small resistance to the classes that would follow.

No classmate usually approached me, so I was kinda surprised that Katayama, with whom I have no particular contact, suddenly started talking to me. I was relieved he didn’t seem to harbor any negative feelings toward me, judging his chirpy smile.

“Yo, what kind of wax are you using?” He asked me.

“I use a 50/50 mix of Babel 07 and Protect.”

“Oh, it’s a mix! Sometimes you really can’t get the style you want with just one, huh.”

“What do you use on your hair?”

“I use TWO’s cream. It’s a bit softer, so it’s easier on the top.”

I see, the reason he walked up to me finally clicked in my mind. He had neatly arranged brown hair and a well-proportioned face, keeping his uniform in a way that, although a bit asymmetric, wouldn’t look sloppy. He exuded a fashionable aura, a result of his efforts.

He’s one of the popular boys at school, and also one of the most outspoken in this class. Despite that, he was a student just like me, even though he paid insurmountable attention to his appearance. Of course, the other popular guys were also good-looking, though in comparison to Katayama they hadn’t much to offer.

That’s why, I guess, he walked up to a guy who seemed equally fashion-conscious—me—and started talking.

“I’m sorry for suddenly coming up to you, ‘kay? I just wanted to talk since, after the summer break, you suddenly started looking pretty darn cool. Some guys said this was your debut or something, but it really takes effort to change that much. That’s an amazing thing.”

“I think you’re the most stylish guy in class, Katayama. Isn’t that backpack you carry Kanata Matsumoto’s?”

“Oh, you get it!”

Kanata Matsumoto is a domestic brand anyone with a bit of knowledge in the area knows, but it wasn’t that used among high school students due to its larger-than-usual price. That’s why no one around Katayama had noticed it. Since I did, his eyes glimmered.

While considering this, I also felt a mix of embarrassment and happiness for being praised by him, a fashionable dude.

“You’ve changed, haven’t you? I thought you had changed a while ago, but now you seem gentler than before. In any case, I feel I can get along better with you now, so from now on feel free to come up to me! I’d love to talk more about clothes and stuff!”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I look forward to working with you from now on.”

Just as I said that, the chime for our day of school rang and he returned to his seat, raising his hand with a smile as he walked. I wonder… Have I made a new friend?

I felt a tremendous connection during our conversation, which went smoother than I expected, and my cheeks naturally relaxed at that sudden good fortune. I prepared myself to take at least six months to make a friend, but thanks to his social skills, my goal was achieved basically instantly.

Still, there was much to learn from his straightforwardness and honesty. His natural way of speaking to others without being too formal and his chill responses were also based on previous knowledge. He also made me feel at ease by interjecting an apology due to the confusion of his sudden approach, and he didn’t even hesitate to compliment me. Apart from those, I still had countless other things that I could take from him, so I decided to have a meeting with myself and my brain to discuss the possibility of making him an actual friend.

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Well, that meeting got quite heated and school soon ended without it concluding. Today again, Kurosaki came to get me and we walked home from school. As we walked, she said, “By the way, Senpai, do you think me dying my hair is stupid?”

There are a couple of people in the world with prejudice against it, saying it’s attention-grabbing or stupid. I wonder if they have some painful memory regarding other colors apart from black? Either way, as someone who admired anime and video game characters, I think it’s quite cool.

“I don’t think so. I’ve been involved with people with bright blue hair, so I don’t really have a prejudice or anything.”

“…Hmm.”

Hey, I didn’t mean to put you on a bad mood. Was it difficult to understand my point of view on colored hair? Indeed, there were many different types of blue. There was sky blue, turquoise blue, and aquamarine, for example. As I looked around, I spotted a student with colored hair right in front of us.

“Look, that girl standing at the school gate. She has blue hair and…”

“Hm? Is something wrong, Senpai?”

I suddenly lost track of what I was saying, and Kurosaki noticed with a tilt of her head. The student in front of us wasn’t just any girl, was she? Wasn’t it her?

I’m pretty sure her uniform was from an all-girls school, the one that wasn’t that far away from ours. The fact she knows my school is understandable, but why is she here? No, it’s not a surprise if she had friends in this school, it happened often with others. She must’ve come looking for one of her friends or something, so I’ll just keep enjoying this nice conversation and—

“Ah, Yuta-kun! It’s Yui!”

“…Senpai?”

Many stares started to pierce me as people wondered who was the person the girl with the strong blue hair was talking, and one gaze, in particular, was much stronger than the others.

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