The sunflowers blooming in the garden, the empty bottle of lemonade, and the sound of the cicadas chirping
On a late summer evening in the countryside, I made a small promise to my best friend
Intertwining our pinkies together, we wish for a reunion before a farewell we have no choice but to face
Seven years have passed since then
[Itās huge...]
I, Hayato Kirishima was suddenly aware of this as I looked at my new high school.
The school I moved to was much bigger and prettier than the one in the countryside, which almost made my eyes roll back in my head
I canāt help but think about the things Iāve missed in my past days
Anyway, not wanting to remain overwhelmed, I pulled myself together and headed to the staff room
It seemed that all the procedures had already been completed, so I headed straight to the classroom with my homeroom teacher.
Above the door was a plate with ā1-Aā written on it
From the entrance, gazes of interest pierce through me, making me nervous
[My nameās Hayato, Kirishima Hayato. Iām a country bumpkin from Tsukinose, a place where you might see monkeys, deer, and boars on the road]
I introduced myself in such a self-deprecating way, and although Iām not proud of it, my expression was such that my classmates started to laugh
I breathed a sigh of relief since my first day at my new school was going well
Since I was moving from the countryside to the city, moreover it was in the middle of June, I felt a little uneasy about that
Still, there were some things I was excited about
The fact that I was moving to the same town as Haruki Nikaido, the person I made a promise to when I was a kid made me excited. There might be a chance to meet him
[For your seatā¦. Is there an empty seat next to Nikaido?]
(Nikaidoā¦ eh?)
[Yes]
One of the female student raised her hand and gestured, āHere you goā
She was a very beautiful girl
She has big, round eyes and long, well-groomed hair thatās braided in tufts on each side
The way she smiles at me is as lovely as a bud thatās blossoming to a flower
Sheās a neat and lovely girl who seemed mature and the word āYamato Nadeshikoā suited her well. (TL Note: āYamato Nadeshikoā is a japanese term meaning the personification of an idealized Japanese woman)
On the contrary, the face of my best friend came to mind as I thought, [Oh, this girl is also called Nikaido, just like that guy] ā,
He was a good-natured guy, he might try to approach her and said, āItās fate that we have the same last nameā
When I thought about it, a giggle escaped my lips and I started to choke
[Iāll be in your care, Nidokai-san]
She looked a bit surprised at my reaction, but for a moment, she responded with a mischievous smile that was somewhat friendly
[Iāll be in your care, Kirishima-kun]
I felt nostalgic for some reason when she squinted her eyes at me
(Huh, Why did I feel nostalgic?)
I tilted my head, trying to think. But my classmates started to approach me
[Hey, Kirishima-kun, is it true what you said in your introduction?]
[How remote is that place, seriously?]
[How did you end up coming here from such a place?]
As soon as homeroom was over, I was surrounded by my classmates and was subjected to baptism of fire in the form of questions about me
[Uhm, the reason I changed schools was because of my fatherās sudden job transfer. The last place I lived was deep in the mountains, where there were only 4 buses a day, and we had more livestock than peopleā¦ Honestly, Iāve never been surrounded by so many things besides chickens and sheeps, so Iām a bit surprised]
When I shrugged my shoulders after I said something like that, my classmates started to laugh and some of them said something like: [Whatās that?], [Really?], [Thatās funny!]
I have a good impression of my classmates, and it seemed that my classmates also felt the same way. So they started to ask me more and more questions
[DIdnāt you have any girlfriend or something over there?]
[Itās harder to find someone your own age, not to mention, a girlfriend]
[Do you have any friends? What did you do for fun?]
[Basically, I was either alone or helping out in the fieldsā¦ Oh! There was a guy who used to be a good friend of mine. He made me jump to the river with him from a bridge, climbed a tree in the mountain and fell down when he couldnāt get down, I think he was more of a bad monkey or some monster rather than a friend]
I talked about these things as I replayed my memories with Haruki.
If I were to say anything, all I remember is being dragged around and pushed around all the time. Iām sure itās not really good, but it definitely was a fun memories
*snap*
[Eh?]
[...Ah]
I donāt know why, but at the same time as we were speaking, I heard the sound of something being snapped from beside me
Everyone turned their attention to the direction of the sound source
It was Nikaido-san in the seat next to me
In her hand was a mechanical pencil snapped in the middle
Nikaido-san herself looked surprised, too
A beautiful, innocent girl who looks like a āYamato Nadeshikoā and a broken mechanical pencil in her hand
With this unfamiliar situation, my classmates were more concerned about her than the questions they were about to ask
[Nikaido-san?]
[Uhm, thatā¦ what happened?]
[Are you okay? Are you hurt?]
[Ahaha, donāt worry, Iām fine. This pencil was a bit defective]
She decided to ask me a question as if she was trying to cover something up. Her face was a little tinged with disapproval
[Thatās quite a way to talk about a dear friend]
[Haha, thatās because heās my best friend]
[Oh, I see]
I answered Nikaido-san whilst thinking about my memories withĀ Haruki