Chapter 6.3

*H**EY, we’re going to go hang out with Kushida-chan and some other people after class. You want to come*?

I received that text message in the middle of my afternoon class while absentmindedly jotting down notes. Ah, weren’t these supposed to be the halcyon days of our youth? This was the first time that friends had invited me to hang out after class. I had no reason to refuse their invitation, but I thought I’d ask who was going.

I mean, I didn’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of people I didn’t know. That would be awkward.

I quickly received a reply. I saw Ike and Yamauchi’s names, as well as Kushida’s. Including me, that made five people. Didn’t seem like anyone whom I didn’t already know was included. Well, that sounded fine. I confirmed that I’d go, and a response quickly followed.

Kushida-chan is my target, so don’t you dare get in my way! –Ike-sama

No, no, Kushida-chan is mine. You stay out of the way! –Yamauchi

Huh? You say you’re after Kushida-chan, too?! What, are you trying to pick a fight?

It’d be nice if we all got along, but the two of them started fighting over Kushida via text. I’d been looking forward to hanging out with everyone, but now I thought it might be a hassle. When class ended, I left with Ike and Yamauchi. Even though I’d been here a while, the school grounds were so expansive that I still didn’t know the area very well.

“We couldn’t leave with Kushida even though we’re in the same class, huh?” I said.

“She said she had to talk to a friend from another class. Kushida-chan is quite popular.”

“Do you think maybe she’s talking to a boy?” Ike mumbled.

“Relax, Ike. I’ve already confirmed it. She’s talking to a girl,” Yamauchi said.

“All right, all right.”

“Are you guys seriously going after Kushida?” I asked.

“Of course. She’s my dream girl.”

Yamauchi must have shared this opinion, considering the fact he kept nodding in agreement.

“You’re interested in Horikita, aren’t you? She’s definitely beautiful, I gotta say.”

“No, I’m not. Really.”

“Really? Didn’t you guys sneakily exchange looks and nonchalantly touch fingertips? You know, something bittersweet and yet kind of irritating?”

While Ike relentlessly pressed me, one of the very girls we were talking about ran over.

“Sorry for being late, but thanks for waiting!” Kushida cried.

“Oh, no worries, Kushida-chan! Hey, wait a second, why are they here?!” Ike had been jumping up and down excitedly, but now he tumbled over and sprawled across the ground. What an energetic guy.

“Oh, I just happened to run into them on the way, so I thought I’d invite them along. Was that not okay?” Kushida had brought Hirata and his girlfriend (at least, I was pretty sure she was his girlfriend), Karuizawa. There were also two other girls, Matsushita and Mori, who always hung around Karuizawa.

“Hey, don’t we have some way of making Hirata go away?!” Ike whispered, putting his arm around my shoulder.

“I don’t think there’s really any reason to make him leave,” I replied.

“That pretty boy will completely overshadow us! What are you going to do if Kushida-chan ends up liking Hirata, huh?! We can’t let that pretty boy end up with a cutie like Kushida!”

“Well, I don’t know about… Hey, wait, isn’t Hirata dating Karuizawa? I wouldn’t worry.”

“Hey, just because you say he has a girlfriend is no guarantee. I can’t relax. Besides, anyone in his right mind would choose a pretty angel like Kushida-chan over a sloppy, easy gal like Karuizawa!”

Ike furiously prattled on, his spit spraying my ear, which grossed me out. Not just the spit, either; his vile words were pretty disgusting, too. It was true that Karuizawa certainly was one of those gyaru types with tanned skin and everything, but she was plenty cute.

“Hey, Ike, you do know that there’s no guarantee that Kushida-chan is a ******, right?” Yamauchi joined our conversation, his anxious voice a strained whisper.

“W-well… Yeah, you might be… N-no, Kushida has to be a ******!” Ike said.

They continued to discuss their wild, delusional fantasies, though I thought it was more misogyny than anything. If at all possible, I would’ve rather not been involved.

“Um, if we’re a bother, perhaps we can just go separately?” said Hirata in a reserved tone. He seemed to have noticed our secret conversation.

“W-we don’t really mind at all, do we? Right, Yamauchi?”

“Y-yeah. Let’s all go together. The more the merrier, you know. Right, Ike?”

Moments ago, those two had shouted that others would “be in the way” and that they needed to get rid of Hirata. But if they did such a thing, then Kushida might like them less. Whether or not there was any chance she’d like them in the first place was another matter.

“Well, obviously, that was the idea. Why are you three whispering about us?” Karuizawa’s words were certainly understandable, but I was shocked to be lumped together with Ike and Yamauchi.

“Well, here’s my thought. If we include Hirata and Karuizawa, then we’ll have the same number of boys and girls. So that means it’d be a triple date. Ayanokouji, this could be your chance, you know?”

“So, you’re good with Matsushita, Yamauchi? I’m gonna talk to Kushida-chan,” Ike said.

“Hey, don’t screw with me! I’m the one after Kushida-chan! We’re going to get married under an old cherry blossom tree, exchanging vows like a sweet promise between childhood friends! It’s fate!”

“You’re full of crap! I’ve thought about doing that for a while now. You’re a total liar!”

“Huh? It’s all true, all of it!”

If you were to believe everything Yamauchi Haruki said, then he had been a skilled gamer since childhood, scouted by professionals from overseas, and a national ping pong competitor. Then, in junior high, he’d been his baseball team’s ace player and a promising future star. What an incredibly gifted man.

Though there was no confirmation that any of that was the truth.

I didn’t know where we were headed, so I quietly hung to the back of the group. While Ike and Yamauchi daydreamed about Kushida, they flanked Hirata on both sides.

“I’m just going to ask you, Hirata. Are you going out with Karuizawa?” Ike asked point-blank to determine whether or not Hirata was his enemy.

“Uh…where did you hear that?” Hirata asked. As expected, he looked a little surprised, or even panicked, by that question. “Oh, guess you figured it out, huh? Yeah, we’re dating.”

Karuizawa latched onto Hirata’s arm before he could say anything. Hirata just lightly scratched his cheek, as if signaling resignation.

“Seriously?! I’m so jealous that you’re dating such a cute girl like Karuizawa!” said Yamauchi, feigning envy. You’d think that lying while being unaware that you’re lying would be easy, but it was surprisingly difficult.

“Kushida-chan, do you have a boyfriend?” Ike managed to shift attention over to Kushida without missing a beat. Pretty clever, huh?

“Me? Oh, no, unfortunately,” she said.

Both Ike and Yamauchi clearly rejoiced, breaking out in massive grins.

Their joy leaked out for everyone to see. Although it was possible that Kushida was hiding the fact that she had a boyfriend, she’d basically confirmed that she was available. I was a little glad to hear that, too.

“Oh, no, I’m crying…”

“Don’t cry, Yamauchi! We’re finally almost at the summit!”

Their destination no longer waited at the peak of an insurmountable mountain, but instead at the end of a precipitous path…

Hirata, Karuizawa, Ike, and Yamauchi all surrounded Kushida as they walked. The rather uninteresting pair of Matsushita and Mori followed behind the main group, while I walked farther behind them, alone.

“Hey, Ike. Where are we going?” someone asked.

“It hasn’t been that long since the entrance ceremony, remember? Just wanted to check out the campus facilities,” Ike answered, seemingly irritated.

So, there was no clear destination, which meant that this somewhat awkward experience would go on for a while…

My unpleasant expectations unexpectedly changed.

“Hey, Matsushita-san, Mori-san. What do you two want to go see?”

While Ike and Yamauchi happily chatted with each other, Kushida fell back to talk to the other two girls.

“Huh? Oh, um, well…I’ve wanted to see the movie theater at least once.”

“Yeah. Since school’s done for the day, I wanted to go, too.”

“Oh, yeah! I’ve wanted to go as well, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Karuizawa-san, have you gone to any special places on dates?”

Kushida started to organize us into three groups, just as I’d expect of her. No matter how hard I tried, I could never have done something like that. Also, as a nice bonus, she occasionally turned and smiled sweetly at me. I didn’t expect that.

I tried not to talk unnecessarily, as I felt that would just be a hassle. I tried to look at Kushida in a way that showed I wasn’t ignoring her. If Kushida couldn’t read the room, and merely liked being the constant center of attention, then the message probably wouldn’t reach her.

However, there are people who will lash out and say something like, “Why can’t you read the situation?” to a friend after he refuses to do karaoke, even though they know that friend said he didn’t want to sing. There are, after all, self-absorbed, simple-minded people who assume that because karaoke is fun for them, that means everyone will love it. They simply cannot comprehend that some people dislike singing.

While I’d been mulling over this venomous topic, my surroundings had changed. Apparently, we’d stopped at a clothing store on campus. More precisely, it was a boutique. Everyone seemed to have come to this store a few times already, so we entered without hesitation. Generally, I wore my uniform on weekdays, and since I usually stayed in my dorm on my days off, I hadn’t bought any clothes for going out.

There were many students inside, though few

upperclassmen. The majority appeared to be first-year students. Perhaps it was because of my newness, but I felt really inexperienced and anxious in this atmosphere. We checked out many different items on the racks and, afterward, went to a nearby café. Hirata carried the clothes that Karuizawa had purchased, which cost about 30,000 points.

“Have you all gotten used to this school yet?”

“At first, I was really perplexed, but now I’ve settled in perfectly. It’s like living in a dream. I don’t ever want to graduate!”

“Ha ha! I get the feeling Ike-kun is enjoying his time here to the fullest!”

“I just wish we had more points, you know? Maybe 200,000 or 300,000 a month? After buying cosmetics and clothes and stuff, I’ve already used up almost all of my points,” Karuizawa said.

“Don’t you think it’s abnormal for a high school student to get 300,000 points as a monthly allowance?” Hirata asked.

“Well, if you put it like that, yeah. Even 100,000 is pretty outlandish. I’m a little scared, to be honest. I’m worried about what life after graduation will be like if I keep on spending my school days like this.”

“Do you mean you’ll lose your sense of money management? Yeah, that does sound pretty scary, actually.”

Everyone felt differently about our monthly allowance. Karuizawa and Ike both wanted more points, while Hirata and Kushida were terrified of what would happen when our life of luxury ended.

“What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Do you think that 100,000 points is a lot or not enough?”

At that point, I’d only intended to listen, but Kushida asked me my thoughts.

“Hmm, well, I don’t really fully understand it yet. I’m not sure,” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think I understand what you’re getting at, Ayanokouji-kun. This is honestly completely different from any normal school. It’s hard to understand it without really knowing all the details.”

“Well, there’s no point worrying about it. I’m super glad that I got into this school. I can just go out and buy whatever I want. In fact, yesterday I went out and bought some new clothes.” Ike lived a positive life, always forging directly ahead.

“Kushida-chan and Hirata aside, Ike, you and Karuizawa also managed to get into this place. Aren’t you guys pretty dumb, though?”

“You don’t strike me as being very smart either, Yamauchi.”

“Huh? I’ll have you know that I scored 900 points on the APEC.”

“What’s the APEC?”

“You don’t even know? It’s a super tough test for English.”

“Um, don’t you mean the TOEIC, not APEC?”

Kushida gently brought Yamauchi back down to earth. APEC actually stood for Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership.

“Th-they’re related though, aren’t they?” he asked.

They were as far apart as it’s possible to get.

“Well, this school’s mission is to nurture young people who will pave the way to the future, right? So, they probably don’t choose people solely on their test scores. Honestly, if this school only took in people based on standardized tests, I wouldn’t have taken the entrance exam.”

“Yeah, yeah. Young people who will pave the way to the future. That’s exactly how I’d describe myself.” Ike crossed his arms and nodded.

Despite being the premier institution in Japan, with stellar rates of advancement into higher education and employment, this school didn’t appear to determine the criteria for passing or failing through test scores. If that was the case, then how in the world did it select potential students? I found myself suddenly curious.

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