Chapter 60: This is my place

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Translator: Soafp

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The warning bell rang, and Sora, happily carrying her bag in both hands, and Ginji, looking a bit tired, entered the classroom. The attention of the class turned to them, but they paid it no mind, greeting others with a glance and sitting down at their desks.

“Takagi…san.”

Mio approached Sora, who sat upright in her chair, lowering her gaze.

“…Good morning, Hazuki-san.”

After a brief pause, Sora returned the greeting with a smile. Since Ginji sat diagonally behind her, he couldn't see it, but if he had seen the smile on Sora's face, what would he have thought? Mio, standing in front of her, had no idea what feelings lay beneath that pasted-on smile.

“Um… about the student council… from Aika-sama…”

“Class is starting soon. We don't have time to talk, do we?”

It was a clear and unmistakable rejection. Ginji was surprised—Sora, who usually got nervous or stumbled over her words, had never taken such a firm attitude before. Mio, confused, thought Sora was angry about the harassment and flinched. Even the girls around them were left speechless by Sora's unusual demeanor toward Mio. Behind Mio, Aika didn't even bother to look back. She clicked her tongue and ran her fingers through her hair.

“That was effective.”

Her voice, firm and from the diaphragm, rang out with dignity.

“Huh?”

What lay beneath that smile was the face of a woman deadly serious about winning. Her hazel eyes gleamed in the morning sunlight pouring through the window, and the contrast between her youthful appearance and her inner intensity captivated everyone who saw her. Sora's transformation was so striking that it was hard to remember how she used to be. The raw pride of a beautiful young girl revealing her true self pierced the hearts of those who witnessed it, even if they didn't know the story behind it.

“You were trying to take my place, weren't you? It was very effective. It scared me. A lot. Really, a lot.”

“No, that's not… that wasn't my intention…”

“Thank you.”

Mio realized her mistake—Sora wasn't angry about the harassment.

“Thanks to you, I realized what I can never give up.”

The chime rang, and the teacher would soon enter. The students standing around returned to their seats as if a spell had been broken. Mio also turned away to return to her seat, and from beyond the wall of the chime's sound, she heard Sora's parting words.

“I'll never forget that you hit Ginji. And whether it was a joke or an act… I'm never giving him up.”

Sora had been jealous of her, for getting even slightly close to Ginji. That jealousy was blazing and fierce, filled with a clear and open hostility.

The teacher opened the door and homeroom began. Since the first period was taught by the homeroom teacher, class began immediately. During the short breaks between classes, there wasn't enough time to talk, and when lunch finally came, Sora grabbed her large bag, took Ginji's hand, and led him out of the classroom.

Left behind, Mio turned apologetically to Aika.

“I'm sorry, Aika-sama. Asking Takagi to help with the student council is…”

“There's no need to ask her. Mio, you'll do it. I've heard there are a few others who'll help. She used to do it all by herself, so three people should be enough, right? Also, I won't rely on you to coordinate the schedule anymore. Don't worry about this morning's mistake. I'll ask someone else.”

Mio nodded vaguely at Aika's smiling face. A faint split end had formed in Aika's silver hair, blown by the wind—something that had never happened before.

Meanwhile, in the usual room that used to belong to the manga club, Sora opened her layered lunch box and puffed out her chest proudly.

“Today is a summer vegetable special!”

“Steamed vegetables? Smells good.”

“The main dish is bang bang chicken with lots of veggies! It's served cold and the sauce is spicy, just the way you like it. There's chilled soup too.”

Seeing Sora acting as usual made Ginji feel quietly relieved. Between what happened in class and yesterday, he had felt that Sora was emotionally unstable, and had a hunch that he might be the cause. But not having any experience being close with girls, Ginji had no idea what he was supposed to do about it.

Of course, he understood Sora's feelings for him. He was prepared to take them seriously—but the fact that they had been so close from the start made it hard to know what the right next step was.

After a bit of internal struggle, Ginji put down his chopsticks, realizing he couldn't enjoy the food like this, and spoke to Sora as she poured the soup.

“Sora, mind if I ask something before we eat?”

“Hmm? What?”

Sora placed the soup in front of him and scooted her seat closer, preparing to feed him and looking up at him.

“Well, I apologized about the art room yesterday, but I still feel like that's not enough. Isn't there something I can do?”

“…You overheard my conversation with Hazuki-san in class, didn't you?”

Sora averted her gaze awkwardly.

“Yeah, I heard most of it. But I didn't catch the end because of the chime. Still, I could tell you were upset about yesterday. I just don't know what to do about it.”

“Well… to be honest… we're still just friends, right? So there's only so much you can do.”

Emphasizing the “still,” Sora rested her head on Ginji's shoulder.

“Things you can't do as just friends?”

“…Honestly, I don't know. Not to brag, but the only friend I remember having is Suzu. I'm not good with this kind of thing… with boundaries.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Well, as long as you make me happy, that's all that matters.”

“I promise I will.”

Sora beamed at his reply and picked up a slice of bang bang chicken with her chopsticks.

“Here, bang bang chicken with cucumber, say ahh.”

“Ahh… You really do know what I like.”

The mild chicken, the crisp cucumber, and the spicy sauce went together perfectly. He could eat this forever.

“Told you!”

“I kind of want to dig in myself, though.”

“Hmph. Then I'll give you the chopsticks if you feed me too.”

“Here.”

Ginji accepted the chopsticks and fed Sora a piece of tomato and chicken. She chewed it with her small mouth.

“Mmh, this texture is just right. There's rice balls too.”

“You think of everything.”

There was a decent amount of food, but they quickly finished it all. With the time left, Sora sat sideways on Ginji's lap and rested her head against his chest. That was all she really wanted. Their shared body heat was almost too much, but the breeze from the window kept the room pleasantly cool.

“Is this really enough?”

“This is perfect. For now, at least.”

Closing her eyes and listening to Ginji's heartbeat, Sora swore in her heart that she would never give this place up to anyone.