V2Ch7: Fun, enjoyment? Time to leave school

Translator: Soafp

---

It had been an eventful day, with classmates flipping their attitudes and the arrival of a transfer student who caused chaos from the very first day. Now, afternoon classes were over, and it was time to head home.

Todoroki, who was now sticking to me as if it were natural, and I walked together with Mio to the entrance.

“You really don’t plan on going back to the tennis club?”

“Nah, I have no lingering attachment to it anymore.”

I couldn’t bring myself to go back after being treated like that. I wasn’t that good at tennis to begin with, and getting along with the others was out of the question. It was a shame that I couldn’t walk home with Mio anymore, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Yeah… it feels lonely without Taiga…”

Mio seemed genuinely sad as she looked down. Seeing that, Todoroki, who knew nothing, teased us.

“What’s with you two? You look like a couple or something??”

“It’s not just looking like it, we are a couple. Right, Taiga?”

I nodded in agreement as Mio said that, winking. This was the violence of cuteness. The destructive power was so high that I thought my heart would stop.

“W-W-What did you say!? How can such a ridiculously cute girl be with a guy like him who looks dead in the eyes?! What’s happening in this world…”

Along with the overreaction, I felt like I was being insulted with every breath he took, but oh well. While ignoring Todoroki muttering, “I wonder if it’s okay for me to be in the middle of a couple…,” I waved goodbye to Mio and parted ways.

In retrospect, what Todoroki muttered made sense, but well, Mio seems to like her, so it can’t be helped.

It was a little sad to part ways with Mio, but it wasn’t bad to walk home alone either. I was quite tired today, thanks to the annoying girl next to me.

With just a word, “See ya,” I tried to leave and, for some reason, Todoroki had a puzzled look on her face.

“What are you saying? I’m coming too! We’ve become good friends, so let’s go home together!”

Seriously…

I couldn’t refuse with that innocent, childlike smile. And it would be weird to refuse anyway, so I ended up walking home together with Todoroki. I wondered if I would be stuck walking home with this girl from now on.

I learned that Todoroki’s house was quite close to Mio’s house, and not too far from mine either. In other words, we would be taking the same route home all the time.

As I walked with a sense of fatigue, Todoroki talked about her favorite manga and anime, and stories about her troublesome older brother, even though I didn’t ask. I gave vague responses while walking along.

She really is such an energetic girl… I couldn’t help but think that this is what it would be like talking to an elementary school girl. When I let my guard down, I might forget that she’s a beautiful girl who, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even be able to talk to, just like Mio.

She mentioned something about not being popular in middle school because of her brother, but she must not have been popular anyway…

“What’s wrong? Ehi!? What’s with that look? It’s really scary when you give me that pitying gaze, so stop it, okay!?”

“…Sorry. It’s just that I couldn’t help but feel so disappointed…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

I unintentionally looked at Todoroki with pity, disregarding the fact that I’m not popular myself, and she started tearing up.

Do my eyes really look that dead? Todoroki seems genuinely frightened. Maybe it’s because my mood changed, but if she keeps saying it so many times, it starts to bother me…

As I was about to ask if it was really that bad, a familiar voice called out to me from behind and ran towards me. I was so worn out from walking that I didn’t notice until she was very close.

I couldn’t escape anymore. The girl who had run up to me with a dash crashed into me with all her might.

“Yes! Boom!!!”

“HIIIIIIIIIIII!!!”

Todoroki, who hadn’t actually been hit by anything, was screaming for some reason, while I managed to brace myself and avoid falling.

“No way! That was too dangerous! Yuzuki!!”

“Ehehe~ Taiga, you’re so slow! Who’s this person? Hmmm? Already cheating?? Uwaa~ I won’t forgive you! I’ll tell my big sister!!”

She didn’t seem remorseful at all as she laughed while glaring at me with a cold gaze.

This girl is Mio’s younger sister, Yuzuki. We should be getting along just fine, but every time we meet, she plays such extreme pranks. I’ve dealt with her mischief countless times in the past, and each time I’ve scolded her, but she shows no signs of changing her ways.

It’s infuriating how Yuzuki, despite having a childish face and a low mental age, looks so unnecessarily cute. That’s just how Mio’s sister is, I suppose.

I’ve never met a girl in my first year of high school who looks good with twin tails other than Yuzuki.

When I was about to say that I’m not cheating, Todoroki firmly denied it before me.

“No, he is not cheating!! We’re just friends!”

“No, we’re not even friends.”

“Is that the part you’re going to pick on?! Then, what are we?”

“Well… Maybe we’re just people who ended up sitting next to each other?”

“That’s so sad!! Hey, Taiga~? We had lunch together, didn’t we?”

Yuzuki, who had witnessed the exchange between me and Todoroki, laughed out loud.

“Hahaha! You two are so close! Yuzu gets jealous.”

“How does it look like that to you?!”

“But I’m glad you’ve regained your energy! I was a little worried, just a little bit, though!”

“You’re really… But, thank you.”

Yuzuki teased me like that, but I remembered that she had actually been quite concerned about me when I first started going to school and ended up falling into a trap.

Yuzuki’s attitude towards me hadn’t changed. Even when I didn’t have a place at school, if we happened to meet on the way home, she would interact with me like this. I was somewhat saved by Yuzuki.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her much lately, and I didn’t have the luxury to worry about it, but Yuzuki is also an important person to me.

Now that I looked closely at Yuzuki’s face, I noticed faint traces of what seemed like bruise marks.

“Yuzuki, what’s that on your face?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“No, it’s the bruise on your face. It seems to be almost healed, but it bothers me a little.”

“Eh! Really?! You noticed even though it’s almost invisible! You’re too into me, Taiga-chan!”

Well, I’ve seen her face enough times to know. Trying to change the subject, Yuzuki said something incomprehensible, but I pressed her until she confessed while laughing that she had gotten into a fight.

A fight? Yuzuki isn’t the type to do such a thing… Well, if she says so, I guess that’s fine. The wound doesn’t seem serious, and it’s already fading, so I decided not to ask any further.

“Anyway! Taiga, you quit the club, right? From now on, we can go home together every day! I’m also in the Homecoming Club, so I have to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t cheat on that cute girl, for my sister’s sake!”

“He is not cheating on anyone! And by the way, calling me cute… Thanks, but I’m your Senpai!”

“Eh?! No way! You seem younger!”

Yuzuki tried to link her arm with mine for some reason, and Todoroki was making a fuss next to me.

Whether it’s because Todoroki gets along well with the Sakuragi sisters or because both of them have good communication skills, it looks like they’re getting along just fine from the outside.

Surrounded by two people whose mental age is similar to mine, it became quite an exhausting journey back home.