Translator: mii
Editor: Ryunakama
Day 62
The next day after Kouhai-chan told me that kind of thing.
I didn"t know if it was just me being ironic, but the sky was very beautiful and clear. While pedaling my bicycle, basking in the weak late autumn sunlight and cool wind, I thought about today"s matter.
「Senpai, what will you do when I get confessed to by another man?」
Yesterday"s Kouhai-chan"s words were spiralling inside my head for a long time.
What am I to her?
What can I do for her?
What should I do with her?
And also, I haven"t even done the aforementioned「request」.
I have been thinking that since yesterday, and I am still thinking even now.
Deep in thought, I arrived at the bicycle parking lot near the station as usual, before I realized it. I greeted the uncle at the entrance, parked my bike and locked it. Every time I finished an action, the time to meet with Kouhai-chan is approaching, whether I like it or not.
I could hear my own heartbeat. Even after I got off the bicycle, my breath was still rough. Somewhere in my mind, I was amazed that I could also become this nervous one day.
「Good morning, senpai.」
As soon as I pa.s.sed the ticket gate, I quickly found her. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that she found me.
It"s the usual place, with usual appearance, but the atmosphere around her was different than usual. She stood straight, her two eyes were staring at me firmly.
「Ah, morning」
What do you want to do with our relationship, unlike what it was before? How do you want to change it? Do you want to develop it into something more, or should we stop this kind of friendship?
I felt like she was telling me that, making me have to「decide」.
The train arrived.
We were standing in our usual position, but unlike how she would usually lean at the train door, she was standing properly, facing me.
「Yes. Well then, please tell me senpai"s 『answer』.」
I had decided on my answer.
「I still haven"t found it.」
I haven"t decided what my answer is.
「Ha?」
Kouhai-chan flapped her mouth open and close, not understanding what I was saying.
Uh huh. I was waiting for this kind of reaction.
「Er, senpai. Do you even understand the situation? I-」
「Uh huh, that"s why I will decide from now on. Please give me the information.」
I didn"t want to ask her this kind of thing via LINE. I think we should"ve talked about this matter with a face-to-face conversation.
「『Today"s question』. What will Kouhai-chan do if I don"t say anything?」
「I think you interrupted me when you were asking that, senpai.」
Ahh. I wonder if Kouhai-chan had found out that I was interested in her? No, no. It"s too late to even think of that right now. Of course it would be clear as day.
「I didn"t mean that.」
「Senpai, you won"t do anything?」
「Ahhh, really, what I mean is…」
Was my way of asking wrong?
「Then, let"s change the question. If I don"t say anything, and Kouhai-chan accepts your cla.s.smate"s confession.」
「Yes.」
「What would happen to you?」
「Who knows. Of course I will go out with that person, right?」
Of course you will.
「Then, how about us?」
If it became like that, what would my relationship with Kouhai-chan which we meet together in the mornings and weekends (although repet.i.tively), or rather being together in a lot of occasions change into?
「Hmm…」
Kouhai-chan put her finger on her chin, making a thinking pose.
「That person isn"t really that possessive, so it might unexpectedly not change?」
Well, there is only Kouhai-chan and me who use this train route. Maybe I won"t have to worry about commuting to school?
「What do you even mean with ‘that person" and ‘possessive"?」
「It"s from girls information network.」
「How scary.」
I wonder how that information network something evaluated me.
Well, that doesn"t matter. What I should focus on is about Kouhai-chan in front of me.
Even if our weekday morning commuting habit doesn"t change, she wouldn"t suddenly take me out on holidays anymore, and she would also change the direction of LINE messages she sent before going to sleep (it had only been once, though)
Hmm.
I feel like it"ll be lonely when the things that have been there are gone just like that.
「Uh huh, I understand. Then, I"ll『answer』to Kouhai-chan"s question from yesterday.」
I want to continue this vague relationship a little more. I"m sure that having this lukewarm relationship where we couldn"t be considered as just friends, or best friends, or even a lover, or just simply「senpai-kouhai」is the most comfortable for me.
I had decided my goal, or my end point, or rather something with my own belief. Let"s do that since we had reached this point and this day. I have been thinking about the time where I have to fulfill Kouhai-chan"s「request」before that.
I don"t want a boorish intruder to tear up my relationship with Kouhai-chan.
But I also don"t want to suddenly just go fast-forward without any warning.
Little by little, little by little. I think it"s good for us to walk forward, with just a question a day.
That"s why――in this swaying train, I gripped on the handrail and faced Kouhai-chan putting all my feelings into lines that wouldn"t make it strange for someone to call me 「trash」.
「Would you wait for me? I haven"t changed the school rules yet as well.」
Kouhai-chan cast her eyes down, heaving a big sigh.
「Seriously. Just how long do you want to make me wait?」
From Kouhai-chan"s face which she raised after breathing out, I could see a faint smile.
「Really, I"m doing this because it"s senpai, okay?」
At least, she doesn"t seem disappointed.
Since it already becomes like this, I have to declare it to Kouhai-chan.
Err. The closing ceremony will be held on December 22nd, and the winter holiday starts after the Emperor"s Birthday Holiday on the 23th. After that, there would be less opportunities for us to meet.
By the way, it was close to Kouhai-chan"s birthday, right? Was it the 12th? Actually, I felt like if we could stay like this, it would be the best. But maybe I was being a little too harsh.
That"s why, let"s finish all of this by the closing ceremony.
「By the end of the year. I will put them all the school rules into shape, so wait for me.」
「I understand. I will wait for senpai.」
The things I know about my senpai 62
I was kept waiting until the end of this year.
Translator: mii
Editor: Ryunakama
Day 63
Kouhai-chan got confessed to by another guy on Wednesday.
And then, she asked me regarding that matter on Thursday.
And today, on Friday morning. I told her to wait for me a little more.
Was this the best choice?
I wonder if tomorrow we would be able to return to our usual relationship again.
I don"t want to go all at once, and I don"t want to lose her. What I said to her was basically that. After thinking about it calmly, I felt like I was being a little too selfish.
With those kinds of things in my mind, I was browsing through my Twitter and the web novel site on my tablet. Suddenly, I saw a notification at the top of the screen.
Maharun♪：Good afternoon
It was from Kouhai-chan.
Looking at the clock, it was around 11 o"clock at night. So it"s this late already? Yesterday was a holiday, plus there were only a few pieces of homework this week, making me too free. I should go to sleep already. I didn"t have to get up early in the morning tomorrow, though.
Iguchi Keita ：Hey
Maharun♪：Senpai is still awake?
Maharun♪：You should still be doing something, right?
Iguchi Keita ：Then, I"ll sleep now
I decided so.
Since I already took a bath before, I clean up my desk, and go get my toothbrush.
Maharun♪：Yes?
Maharun♪：Uhm
Iguchi Keita ：Yosh, I"ll sleep well now
Even though I already entered my bed at this time yesterday, Kouhai-chan"s LINE didn"t come at all because someone else told Kouhai-chan something strange. Actually, I was a little bitter with that guy.
Iguchi Keita ：Right. I already entered my bed.
I took around five minutes after the first message arrived. Men sure have it easy for this kind of thing.
When I sent a LINE message to senpai before going to sleep, it seemed like senpai also already entered his bed.
He said that he usually slept a little later though, is this alright?
Maharun♪：Senpai, are you going to sleep now?
Maharun♪：Before, you said that you usually sleep when the date changes
Iguchi Keita ：It"s fine
Iguchi Keita ：I"ll sleep early today
Maharun♪：Is that so?
It seemed like it was alright for him.
Uhn. What should we talk about?
Our first concept was to kill time until our hands and feet were warmed up enough since both of us are sensitive to cold. Uhnn…
I imagine senpai who is lying down on his bed. Is he lying upward? Or sideways?
Maharun♪：Senpai, are you still wearing your gla.s.ses?
Iguchi Keita ：Why are you suddenly asking that?
Iguchi Keita ：But yes, I am
For people with myopia, you should remove your gla.s.ses when you are sleeping. If you sleep with it on, you might accidentally crush it after being squashed by your body, and it would be very dangerous.
Needless to say, I was wearing contact lenses during the day. It seemed like it was not good to sleep with them in, since it would be bad for the eyes.
What troubles me is whether I should wear my gla.s.ses while playing on my smartphone before bed like this. If I put them on, it makes it easier to see the screen, but I"m afraid that I will fall asleep. If I don"t put it on, it"s hard for me to see the smartphone, making me have to look at it at a short distance. As a result, it would be bad for my eyes.
Senpai was the type to put it on no matter what, huh.
Iguchi Keita ：Ah.
Iguchi Keita ：I see
Maharun♪：？
Iguchi Keita ：Kouhai-chan is wearing contacts, right?
Iguchi Keita ：That means, you should be removing them before you sleep
For some reason, I feel a weird sense of intensity transmitted from the characters across my smartphone screen.
Iguchi Keita ：Are you not wearing it right now? Or do you go with gla.s.ses?
I was wondering why she suddenly asked me about my gla.s.ses.
Then I recalled that Kouhai-chan was also myopic, so I asked her instead.
Maharun♪：I"m currently wearing gla.s.ses.
I closed my eyes (of course not to sleep)< and="" imagine="" kouhai-chan="" in="" gla.s.ses.="" i="" had="" imagined="" it="" before.="" maybe="" a="" month="" ago,="" around="" my="">
Since then, how much closer had my relationship with her became? I"m not sure of it myself.
Iguchi Keita ：I see
Iguchi Keita ：What kind of gla.s.ses?
What did she say about it last time? I remembered she told me that if I want to see her in gla.s.ses, I need to come to her house.
Maharun♪：Are you curious?
Maharun♪：Do you want to know, senpai?
Iguchi Keita ：U, uh huh
This small devil"s way of talking is really!!!
Maharun♪：It can"t be helped thenー
Maharun♪：This is because senpai is special, okay?
When I was going to send, ‘What do you mean with special?", the chat log shifted up.
Maharun♪：[Maharun♪ sent you an image.]
It was Kouhai-chan"s selfie, with her making a peace sign sticking to her smiling cheek, together with a fluffy pillow in the background.
Her eyes looked a little sleepy, with metal frame surrounding them. It made Kouhai-chan looked somewhat different from her usual impression, but the thin silver frame looked good on her. As always, she was cute.
Maharun♪：How is it?
Iguchi Keita ：You look sleepy
Maharun♪：I"m not sleepy
Maharun♪：Not yet
Maharun♪：Eh, it"s already 12 AM, huh
The date changed in the middle of our chat log. November 18th, Sat.u.r.day.
That means, the privilege of asking a『question』has been restored.
It should be alright for me to ask something that has been in my mind since a while ago, right?
Iguchi Keita ：By the way, this is「tiday"s question」time.
Maharun♪：Eh
I began the question with a joking manner, but what I was going to ask was a serious topic.
Iguchi Keita ：What did you answer to him?
Iguchi Keita ：That confessing guy
It might be unfair for me to ask her like this, but as I thought, I wanted to know. I had the right to ask anyway.
Maharun♪：[Maharun♪ started a call.]
「Senpai?」
My drowsiness was blown away.
「Why are you suddenly calling me?」
It"s late at night. Both of us tried to press down our voice inside our blanket. Ah, I heard this kind of senpai"s voice before as well, eh.
「It"s senpai"s fault for suddenly asking that.」
「I"m curious after all. Well then, it"s my『today"s question』, you know.」
Won"t I be able to lie then?
「No, I told him that I can"t go out with him. Just that.」
「He should be asking for your reason, right?」
Senpai is really decisive only at this kind of time. Seriously.
I closed my eyes, taking a breath to make sure that my voice wouldn"t sound shaky, and I spoke out.
「I said that, I have someone I like.」
I could hear senpai gulping out his saliva over the phone.
「No, I mean, uh. Err, it"s just like that, senpai. It"s not like what I have to explain to him the whole truth, and he might think that it"s weird if I tell him everything. Yes, that"s it. It"s not like…」
The warmth of my cheeks and ears must be because I was wrapped inside my blanket. That"s how I convinced myself.
「I see. Thanks.」
And then, we hunged up the call.
Maharun♪：My sleepiness is completely blown away now
Maharun♪：It"s senpai"s fault
Iguchi Keita ：I see, sorry
Maharun♪：As an apology, please accompany a little bit more
Maharun♪：Until I feel tired enough to sleep
After this, she also asked me to send her my selfie.
The things I knew about my senpai (63)
His selfie was really awkward.
Translator: mii
Editor: Ryunakama
Day 64
Sat.u.r.day.
I accompanied Kouhai-chan and chatted with her via LINE, and we stayed up until late at night. I ended up waking up late as usual… no, it was a little later than my usual waking up time. Specifically, I woke up around noon.
As soon as I woke up, I checked my smartphone. Well, you know, right? It would be bad if Kouhai-chan actually sent me another message, right? However, it seemed like it was just my needless worry, as I only received a few commercial emails.
Just like that,I spent this Sat.u.r.day in peace.
Pa.s.sing noon, the sun sets, and it becomes night.
There was still no contact from Kouhai-chan. Eh?
Even at 11 o"clock, when I entered my bed and prepared to sleep, there was no new message on my LINE at all.
How weird.
Filled with that feeling, I fell asleep before I realized it.
The next day, Sunday.
Even after I woke up, Kouhai-chan hasn"t contacted me by any means.
For the time being, I got out of my bed, washed my face, and ate breakfast.
After that, I went back to my room and picked up my tablet. I tried to read all of the web novels updates I had been acc.u.mulating these days.
It didn"t enter my brain at all. Everytime I read a line, I would think about Kouhai-chan, and everytime I finished a page, I would open my LINE. This is no good.
After noon, I finally lost my patience.
Iguchi Keita ：Hey, are you alive?
Even so, I would definitely not make myself sound like I was worried.
I hoped she would forgive me with my a little bit too harsh words.
Maharun♪：I"m alive
Maharun♪：What a rude senpai, eh
I got a reply from Kouhai-chan around an hour later.
To be honest, I felt relieved.
I felt like I heard a LINE notification from senpai. Was I too sleepy?
Err, today is… Sunday afternoon, huh. I had been working on my project for next week"s cultural festival. Ah, I see.
Iguchi Keita ：What are you doing?
Iguchi Keita ：Well, maybe
Maharun♪：Of course I am currently preparing for next week, right?
Maharun♪：For the cultural festival
Iguchi Keita ：I see
Although I said that I"ll be painting for the cultural festival, it was a little hectic for me since I didn"t know if I would be able to finish it in time. That"s why I thought of sacrificing this week and started painting.
Thanks to that, I had progressed somehow, but I ended up forgetting and abandoned something instead.
Maharun♪：Ah, senpai, are you actually…
Maharun♪：Here"s my「today"s question」
Iguchi Keita ：Ha?
Maharun♪：Are you bothered that,
Maharun♪：You couldn"t meet me this weekend?
This.
Ever since I started talking to senpai, we always met during the weekends, either it was Sat.u.r.day or Sunday. I didn"t really know the reason why, though.
And since I had been focusing on making progress in my drawing this week, I neglected that matter completely, so I wonder if he was actually bothered by it. There"s no way I"ll miss this chance to tease senpai.
Iguchi Keita ：You are really…
Iguchi Keita ：Well, I am certainly bothered by it
Maharun♪：Hee
Maharun♪：So you are bothered by that, ehー
Iguchi Keita ：Don"t repeat it twice
Maharun♪：Hee. (grins)
I came up with the image of the embarra.s.sed senpai across the screen.
Iguchi Keita ：Since we usually do it
Iguchi Keita ：And it"s always been an enigma to me why you never failed meeting me up to this point, so
Maharun♪：I also wonder why
Maharun♪：I myself don"t really know
It might be a lie to say that I don"t understand. I was conscious of inviting him after all.
Iguchi Keita ：Then,
Iguchi Keita ：Because you"re busy this week, it"ll be impossible to meet?
Maharun♪：Yes
Iguchi Keita ：Honestly, do you think you can manage to finish it?
Maharun♪：I think I can somehow
Iguchi Keita ：Then it"s all good
How weird.
When I thought of sending a LINE message to Kouhai-chan, I ended up getting teased since who-knows-when.
I think she doesn"t even know what she"s saying, but I also don"t really understand.
Maharun♪：But
Maharun♪：To have the routine we always do get cut off just like that
Maharun♪：It feels wasteful, right?
Kouhai-chan began to say something.
Iguchi Keita ：Routine?
Maharun♪：The thing we do every weekend
Hou.
Maharun♪：Senpai, do you want to come to my house now?
Maharun♪：There"s no one here right now
Hey now.
It really makes me surprised. So please stop saying that kind of thing already.
My heart feels like it"s going to stop. What are you inviting me to do?
It would be too straightforward to answer her with a「Yes」, and it also feels wrong to just refuse.
Being struck with a dilemma, I ended up replying to her with teasing words.
Iguchi Keita ：Hee
Iguchi Keita ：Do you want me to come?
Really, why am I saying that kind of thing unconsciously?
Maharun♪：It"s a joke
Iguchi Keita ：You"re not answering me
Iguchi Keita ：The question above will be my「today"s quesstion」. Answer it
Senpai is doing his best to make me say something embarra.s.sing, huh. I will follow that att.i.tude of yours… or rather, let"s use this as a reference in the future.
But first, how should I break out from the situation in front of me?
Maharun♪：Well
Maharun♪：I want you to come,
When I was typing ‘isn"t it obvious?" in my smartphone, I heard a sound at the entrance.
「We"re homeー」
It seems like my parents who went shopping just now have returned.
Maharun♪：Ah
Maharun♪：Nevermind
Iguchi Keita ：He?
I wonder how disappointed the current senpai will be?
Iguchi Keita ：Well, I certainly don"t have souvenirs with me right now
Iguchi Keita ：So it"s fine,
Iguchi Keita ：But why?
Of course he would ask, eh.
Maharun♪：My parents have come back home
Iguchi Keita ：Ha?
Iguchi Keita ：Have you forgotten that you"ve been forcefully coming here when my mother is home?
Iguchi Keita ：You even exchnaged LINE accounts with her the first time you came
Senpai"s barrage of message arrives in a rush.
Maharun♪：That"s true, but
Maharun♪：Senpai, you are not good at socializing like me, right?
Iguchi Keita ：Well, yeah
Maharun♪：That"s why, it"s no good
Maharun♪：See you tomorrow
The main reason was actually because I was too shy to introduce him to my parents right now.
But that is still a secret.
The things I knew about my senpai 64
It seemed like he would mind if there was a gap from the usual routine.