Chapter 19: Long Black Hair and Black Tights

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Translator: Soafp

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“Haah… haah…”

I jolted upright from my bed, breathing heavily.

This time, the “nightmare” wasn't Yuzuki or Komori-san.

I didn't know who she was, but she was a long black-haired girl from my school.

(I need to sort this out before I forget.)

I sat down at my desk and opened my notebook.

The most important detail was that someone had jumped—or fallen—from the rooftop or some similarly high place.

There was a possibility she had been pushed.

But the empty look in her eyes when they met mine for that brief instant—

(Most likely… it was suicide.)

Are there any other clues that could help identify her?

I tried to recall every detail from the dream as clearly as I could.

But it had all happened far too quickly.

Aside from her hairstyle, there was nothing left to go on.

On top of that, after hitting the ground, her face had been turned downward, so I couldn't even check the color of her ribbon to tell her grade.

(This is like trying to grasp clouds…)

If I couldn't figure out who she was, there was no way I could help her.

Unlike Komori-san, whose appearance was somewhat unusual, there were dozens of girls with long black hair at our school.

At the very least, was there anything distinctive about her build or clothing?

I closed my eyes and pictured the girl lying face down, blood pooling around her.

(Black tights… maybe.)

But even that wasn't a strong clue.

It was something plenty of girls wore.

Still, I sketched out everything I could remember from the dream.

Though I couldn't confirm it since she was lying down, her face seemed small, her figure was exceptional—what you'd call model-like.

On top of that, she appeared to be quite tall for a girl.

(No, wait. Something about her clothing feels off…)

Everyone in the classroom—including me—was wearing summer uniforms.

Based on the ribbon color and the math lesson, it was most likely first year—meaning this would happen sometime this year.

And although my seat now wasn't by the window, in the dream it was.

That meant it was probably after the seat change—in other words, the second term.

(Then… sometime in September?)

At our school, everyone switches from summer to winter uniforms on October 1st.

Which meant the only time first-years wore summer uniforms in the second term was September.

That girl who jumped was also wearing a summer uniform.

(…Wait. Summer uniform with black tights?)

Tights were meant for warmth. They should be fairly thick.

What she wore in the dream wasn't thin summer stockings.

Wearing black tights in the lingering heat of September would be unbearably hot.

(For now, I'll try searching with just these clues.)

I'd had all kinds of “nightmares” before, but this was the first time it involved suicide.

To be honest, I didn't know if I could stop her.

Even so, I decided I'd do everything I could to shake off this indescribable unease.

---

Komori-san came to my house again this morning.

This time, just like at dinner yesterday, Anna-chan came along too.

For some reason, Komori-san looked extremely nervous.

“G-Good… morning, R-Ren!”

“Huh? Wait—you were only going to call me by my first name in messages, right?”

“Eh? R-Really!? I thought we were doing that everywhere…”

She visibly slumped in disappointment.

Ah… damn it. I messed up.

To her, I wasn't just her second friend anymore—I was her only friend.

“Well, if you're okay with it, I don't mind. Nodoka. What do you think?”

“Ah, yeah! If we're friends, this is how it should be, right? Don't you think, Anna?”

“I wouldn't know. I don't have any friends.”

“It's fine! You'll make some too, Anna!”

Komori-san—no, Nodoka—stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

Why was she trying to assert dominance over her own little sister…?

Soon, Nodoka went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Anna, my mom, and I stayed in the living room chatting while we waited.

“I know I'm one to talk, but shouldn't you help Nodoka?”

“I tried. But she said she's so careful that it's faster if she does it alone.”

“She's probably used to doing things by herself since she's introverted.”

“I see. It's not because I'm clumsy, right?”

That wasn't entirely untrue, but I couldn't exactly say it out loud.

“More importantly, things are progressing pretty fast between you two, aren't they?”

“What ‘progress'?”

“Well, yesterday you were calling each other by your last names, and today suddenly it's first names.”

“Well, Nodoka was the one who suggested it.”

“Ara, so even if she's introverted, she's actually the pushy type?”

“…Sorry, Mom, but we're not like that. Don't get any weird ideas.”

Just like with Yuzuki, my mom was way too interested in my love life.

Or maybe all mothers were like that.

She glanced toward the kitchen and then said:

“I don't know… my intuition tells me that's definitely a sign of love!”

“Your intuition has never been right even once. It has zero credibility.”

She once mistook a perfectly normal pair of siblings for a couple, after all.

Anna cut into the conversation.

“But it's true—after that accident, Onee-san's been paying more attention to you. Before ringing your doorbell, she kept checking her bangs and makeup in the mirror.”

“See? My intuition is right! I should go greet her parents properly sometime!”

“…”

For some reason, the more they got excited, the stronger my urge to deny it became.

---

After finishing another delicious breakfast, we left the house.

It was a bit of a detour, but we first walked Anna to her elementary school before heading to ours.

“By the way, Fukagawa— I mean, R-Ren—you won't be able to participate in the sports festival, right?”

She still wasn't used to the new way of addressing me.

Honestly, it was kind of cute.

“Yeah, I guess I'll just cheer from the sidelines.”

“Oh, and just so you know, don't cheer when I'm competing! I get nervous when people call my name!”

“Got it. I'll shout ‘Nodoka!' at the top of my lungs.”

“Were you even listening!?”

I could already picture her in gym clothes, face bright red as she protested.

I wasn't very athletic myself.

Sports festivals weren't really my thing either.

Still, this year felt a little different.

“I'll make sure to capture you running your hardest on camera.”

“Am I a grade schooler!? And I'm not even doing the sprint!”

Yeah, that comeback had a nice edge to it.

“Oh right, there's something I wanted to ask.”

“What?”

“Do you know any girl at our school with long black hair, really tall, model-like figure, and who wears black tights even with the summer uniform?”

“That's… weirdly specific. And kind of creepy.”

Honestly, I couldn't even argue with that.

But I had no choice.

Even if it lowered how she saw me, stopping that “nightmare” came first.

“Anyway, I need to know who she is.”

“Why? Planning to hit on her?”

Nodoka glared at me.

“What, jealous?”

“N-No! Why would I be!?”

“Right. So if you know anything, tell me. I'll make it worth your while.”

At her core, she was kind.

Even if she asked for something in return, it wouldn't be anything unreasonable.

Honestly, it'd be easier if she just asked for something material.

“I'm not hiding anything, but you've got the wrong idea about me.”

“Wrong idea?”

“I freeze up around girls too! I don't know anything about them!”

“…”

Even Yuzuki wasn't the type to make friends easily.

It was almost strange how those two had become friends in the first place.

I joked:

“You useless fake gyaru.”

“I'm not fake! I'm at least 25% gyaru!”

“When are you evolving into a half-gyaru?”

Finding that girl from the nightmare was going to take some time.

---

The moment I entered the classroom, I felt the usual stares.

Only Takagi greeted me normally.

“Yo.”

“Morning.”

“Man, you and Komori-san are all lovey-dovey again today.”

“We're not like that…”

“Eh? You're calling her by her first name now?”

“Starting today. Well, technically since last night.”

“Calling each other by first names since last night… wait, don't tell me—”

“That's not it.”

Even Takagi was giving me that look.

Did we really seem that much like a couple?

Honestly, since Yuzuki was my only female friend before, I didn't even know what a normal friendship with a girl looked like.

“Anyway, Takagi—you know all the girls at this school, right?”

“Hey, what kind of image do you have of me!? Well… I do know most of the cute ones.”

“That somehow makes it sound like you know everyone.”

Just like I did with Nodoka, I described the girl from my dream.

If even Takagi didn't know, this was going to take a lot of time.

I might even have to hire a private investigator again.

“Oh, could it be that second-year senpai?”

“A second-year?”

“Yeah. She's pretty famous. She even has a nickname.”

“A nickname?”

Takagi nodded.

“‘The Chuunibyou Senpai.'”

…At that moment, I realized this wasn't going to be simple.

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