Chapter 5: New life

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Translator: Soafp

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April.

With the new school year beginning, everyone carried a mix of hopes and anxieties as they stepped into a new environment.

Today was the entrance ceremony for Kaisei High School.

“Is this… okay? Doesn't it look weird?”

I muttered to myself, alone in front of the bathroom mirror.

A few days ago—

“Hey, Asano. Don't you have the next volume of this manga? I want to read it.”

Endo, sprawled across my bed, asked me that.

“Nope. Go buy it yourself.”

It was my first time living alone.

Even when I lived with my family, I spent a lot of time by myself, but in this new environment, I felt a tinge of anxiety and loneliness in the corner of my heart.

However, that turned out to be unnecessary worry.

“Don't come to my place every day.”

“Why not? We're both lonely, right? Let's keep each other company.”

From the very day I moved into my new place, Endo had been coming over almost daily to relax.

Thanks to that—or maybe not—I wasn't feeling as uneasy as before.

But that wasn't the only thing on my mind.

Just thinking about it made me sigh.

“You're sighing again? What are you worrying about this time?”

“Well, school's about to start soon…”

With the entrance ceremony just days away, I couldn't help but feel a bit down.

“What are you talking about? You worked so hard to get into Kaisei.”

“I know… but I'm worried I won't fit in.”

Even before I got into a fight in middle school, people kept their distance because of my hair color and scary-looking eyes.

I was worried the same thing would happen in high school.

“With how I look…”

“You can't change your scary eyes, but you can dye your hair, right?”

“That's true… but…”

“What's holding you back?”

“My mom had the same hair color… and also…”

When I was torn about my hair, Fukase encouraged me. That's a beautiful memory I still hold dear.

“And also what?”

…No, that's in the past now.

“You're right. I'll dye it black.”

“I'll introduce you to a salon I know. Your hair's grown out, so get a cut while you're at it.”

That day, I went to the salon Endo booked for me and dyed my hair black for the first time in my life.

I felt strange seeing my new look, but Endo praised me, saying I looked handsome, so I decided not to worry about it too much.

That was a few days ago.

“This really… just feels wrong…”

Looking at my unfamiliar black hair in the mirror, I put on hair wax and tried to style it.

I was doing it just like Endo taught me, but… is this really okay?

“Other than your scary eyes, you've got a good base, Asano. Dress up a little and your popularity will definitely go up.”

Taking Endo's words seriously, I'd gone this far, but honestly, I just didn't want to stand out too much.

While I kept fussing in front of the mirror, the intercom rang out through the room.

Who the heck is it this early in the morning…? I thought for a second, but I'd only just moved here—there was only one person who would come visit.

“Morning, Endo. My hairstyle really does look weird, doesn't i—?”

I opened the door thinking it was Endo.

“It doesn't look weird at all. You nailed it.”

“Um… who are you?”

“What are you talking about? Still half-asleep?”

Standing there was a beautiful woman, her long black hair swaying in the spring breeze, perfectly dressed in her school uniform. She looked like a graceful, refined lady.

“…Huh? W–Wait, Endo!?”

“Hey, what are you staring at?”

“Wh–What happened to your blonde hair?! And the piercings!?”

She looked like a completely different person from just a few days ago.

“What kind of reaction is that? Kaisei's rules are pretty strict, right? It's not middle school anymore—gotta be careful not to get suspended.”

“W–Well, that's true.”

“C'mon, let's go. We can't be late on the first day.”

“Y–Yeah.”

I grabbed my bag, locked up, and stepped out of the apartment.

“Asano, this is our high school debut.”

“Uh… is this really what people call a high school debut?”

If “high school debut” means dressing up to stand out and acting cooler, then maybe this was more like a “reverse high school debut” for us…

“Endo… you actually look good.”

“Heh. You do too, Asano.”

And so, our high school life began.

---

Endo and I ended up in different classes.

Kaisei High seems to divide students by academic level. Endo was in the special advanced course, which only had one class. I was in the general college-prep course with the majority.

Apparently, there's even a sports-focused class too.

This school seems to take both academics and athletics seriously.

“Yesterday in PE was amazing. You're super athletic, Asano. Not thinking about joining a club?”

“I want to focus on studying. I'm good without a club.”

I wasn't sure if I'd truly fit in at school, but at least I hadn't ended up isolated like in middle school.

Most of my classmates were nice and would even talk to someone like me, who isn't great at social stuff.

“Hey Asano, are you dating that Endo girl from the other class?”

“No, we're not dating.”

Since dropping the delinquent look, Endo had become known as a smart and stunning beauty around school.

Still, I've been getting asked that kind of question a lot lately.

“Asano. Let's eat.”

Every day during lunch break, Endo comes to my class and calls out to me without a care in the world.

When people see that, it's no surprise they think we're a couple.

“Hey, you listening? Asano?”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.”

We could eat in the classroom, but we'd get too many stares, so we always moved somewhere more secluded.

Our favorite spot lately was an empty classroom in the old building.

Teachers and students barely came around there, so it became our peaceful hideout.

“Things are different from middle school, huh? I mean, sure, I dyed my hair to fit in more, but classmates actually talk to us like normal.”

“Maybe our peers finally grew up enough to notice how awesome we are.”

Who does she think she is…?

“Endo. I've been getting a lot of questions about you and me lately…”

“Oh yeah? So what?”

“I don't think you realize this, but a lot of guys see you as someone they'd want to date.”

Endo had been eating her lunch as if to say she wasn't interested, but when I said that, her chopsticks came to a halt.

“Well, I am an extraordinarily beautiful woman, after all.”

…That's something others say about you—not something you say about yourself.

“Besides, you’re just as popular as I am, Asano.”

“Huh? No way, that can’t be true.”

Me, popular?

I've always kept my distance from others—how could that be?

“When you started high school, you changed in a lot of ways, didn't you?”

If anything changed when I started high school, it was probably just that I dyed my hair.

But… something like that wouldn't change much.

Or so I had thought—until after school today.

“Um… A-Asano-kun. Is it true you're not dating Endo-san?”

“Ah, yeah. That's true.”

After school.

I had been called out by a girl in my class and now found myself behind the gym.

This spot is well-known in our school as a place where people confess their feelings.

“Please go out with me!”

“Eh… Ehh!?”

Why would she want someone like me?

Before I could even ask, she started speaking confidently.

“A-Asano-kun, you’re good at sports and studies, and you’re quiet and composed… Among us girls, you’re actually pretty popular.”

I couldn't believe it—that I had become someone people liked.

Even my sharp gaze, which I always thought made people uncomfortable, she found cool and intense… apparently.

“Sorry. I want to focus on my studies, so I'm not really interested in dating right now.”

“C-Couldn't you reconsider…?”

I gave a safe and simple reason for turning her down, but she wouldn’t let go easily.

“Yeah. I'm sorry.”

I'm not brave enough to start a relationship with someone I don't even know well.

She looked a little sad, but she seemed to accept my answer, and I was finally released.

…Sweat was pouring down my whole body.

Even now, my heart was pounding like crazy.

The serious look in her eyes as she directed her feelings toward me… honestly, it scared me.

---

“Scared of girls? What are you talking about? You talk to me all the time, don't you?”

“Y-Yeah. That's true…”

She had a point. Right now, Endo was in my room, hanging out like it was no big deal, and I wasn't particularly nervous.

“Maybe it's because we're emotionally close or some────!?”

The next moment, goosebumps broke out all over my body.

“Hey, get off me!”

Suddenly, Endo hugged me from behind, and I quickly shook her off and jumped away.

“Whoa, that's serious. Sounds like gynophobia to me.”

“How would you know!? Don't just hug me out of nowhere!”

“Ah, I get it now. So the emotional wound from Fukase turned into a trauma like this, huh?”

Is she the reason I'm like this…?

I thought I had moved on from her… How ironic.

“Well, I'm sure you'll get over it eventually. Anyway, tomorrow's Saturday—why don't we go somewhere?”

She says that like it's someone else's problem… But realistically, it's not like I hang out with any girls other than Endo. So I guess it's not a big deal.

“I'm planning to study in the school's study room tomorrow.”

“Huh? You're always studying, aren't you?”

“I can't help it. Midterms are coming up. It's not like I'm naturally smart.”

I got into a high-level school by pushing myself. If I slacked off and ended up failing, it would all be for nothing.

“Tch, boring.”

Endo muttered with a displeased look.

---

The next day, I went to the school study room early in the morning.

As expected from a prep school, a lot of students were here using the study space on a weekend.

I focused hard on my studies, and before I realized it, it was already noon.

I had apparently spent about three hours studying.

Since it was lunchtime, I decided to head to the school store, which was open even on Saturdays.

Studying really drains your energy quickly.

But at the same time, there's a sense of accomplishment, and I don't mind this kind of fatigue.

“Asano-kun! Ooi!”

I heard a voice calling out to me from behind, one I wasn't familiar with.

When I turned around, a boy in a uniform was walking toward me.

He was probably in the baseball club.

“Long time no see, Asano-kun.”

“Um… who are you?”

“Eh!? It's me, Shiraki! We went to the same middle school!”

Shiraki? Even after hearing the name, I couldn't recall him.

“Remember? You once kindly took over my cleaning duty?”

“I guess… something like that happened?”

Honestly, even that didn't really ring a bell.

“I heard only you and Endo got into Kaisei from our middle school.”

“Oh yeah. I got in on a sports recommendation. You know there's a sports course here, right?”

From what he told me, this school isn't quite at the level of aiming for Koshien (the national baseball championship), but they do pretty well every year.

“You've really changed, Asano-kun. Even your hair's back to black.”

“Ah… yeah.”

Apparently, the sports course is a lot easier academically compared to the prep course I'm in, allowing students to focus on their club activities.

“Hey, Shiraki! It's about to start!”

A student in the same uniform called out from afar.

“Alright, Asano-kun. I'm heading off.”

“Yeah. Good luck with practice.”

“Nah, practice is already done for today. There’s going to be a practice match in the gym with a girls' basketball team from another school. I'm going to go watch. The girls are pretty cute, you know.”

If he got in on a sports scholarship, shouldn't he be spending that time practicing instead of goofing off…? Not that I said anything out loud.

“You should come watch too, Asano-kun. The girls from Sendou High's basketball team are supposed to be really cute.”

Sendou High… the basketball team…

The moment I heard that name, the face of Fukase immediately popped into my mind.