Volume 1
Chapter 2-8
Several days later during lunch break.
Shinkurou, having been caught in the crowd at the school store, was only able to buy an oolong tea; he had thought about inviting Ginko to come eat with him in the cafeteria but when he came to the cla.s.sroom he could not find her.
Shinkurou asked a nearby girl if she had seen Ginko and he was told that she had disappeared while going somewhere and holding her laptop. The girl told him that he was better off not getting involved with Ginko as a word of advice but Shinkurou simply gave an ambiguous smile, said thank you and then left the cla.s.sroom. Around the first semester there where girls who tried to be friends with Ginko, however now she was completely hated by them. There was a reason for this; it was likely because Ginko gave off an air that made people want to avoid her. Yet, she showed no sign of changing, as she was not worried about how she was viewed.
Shinkurou thought about the difference between compromise and cooperation as he walked through the hall, and as he headed down the stairs, guessing where Ginko may be, he pa.s.sed by the dance hall, running into an acquaintance of his.
“Ah, Shinkurou”
“…Yuno”
Shinkurou could tell that everyone was looking towards them. It was not he who was being looked at but the girl before him. Without asking others, the majority of people pa.s.sing by on the stairs stopped and simply looked at Yuno. All the boys stared enviously. This in turn made the girls grow jealous.
“I was able to see you just in time. This is a teeny work of fate”
Yuno Houzuki, a Seiryou Academy second year student, said this with a gentle smile on her face.
“When you look up ‘Yamato Nadeshiko1’ in the dictionary ‘Yuno Houzuki’ is what’s written,” is what the boys at school said and their girlfriends where gauged by this standard to see how pretty they were. Neat, modest looking and always gently smiling, and yet she lacked all formality. Yuno, whom one could see had a perfect harmony of appearance and personality, was the goal that boys aspired to achieve; in order to simply get a picture of her boys seemed to even come from other schools.
Shinkurou understood this feeling. If he were to think about who was the most aware of the opposite s.e.x, Yuno would be the only one to not come to mind, and if he were to think about who was the most frightening of the opposite s.e.x, she would be without a doubt Yuno.
Yuno was the granddaughter of Shinkurou’s master and as such was like an older sister to him.
Yuno, who had grown accustomed to drawing attention to herself since she was very young, had probably grown accustomed to her current treatment as well. Yuno turned towards the people staring at her and elegantly peeked over towards them and silently gave them a gentle smile. Without knowing why, the people that Yuno smiled at were content. By then it had already been ten minutes.
At school no one was aware of Shinkurou existence, as he was less than average when it came to studies, looks, and sports. This did not bother him; he was able to be free of spite of other and probably was like the shadow of the refreshing air Yuno had. There was the fact that she was his master’s granddaughter, thus allowing for Shinkurou to regularly interact with her but the intimate nature of their relationship could seem a bit strange; this was explained by saying that they were distant relatives. Saying that they were relatives was a lie but they had lived in the same house for eight years.
“Have you already finished lunch Shinkurou?”
“Not yet…”
“Ah, good”
Yuno sighed in relief and handed Shinkurou something bundled up. Without checking what was inside he knew it was a bento box.
“Chi-chan had a school trip today and I went a bit overboard on the preparations. So I figured I would share with you”
“Thank you Yuno”
“Not at all”
Yuno gave him a sweet smile and then winked for some reason.
Then the stares of everyone around them pierced Shinkurou.
“Shinkurou”
“Yes”
“Are you okay?”
“Huh, what is it?”
“You seem a bit unwell”
She had very keen intuition.
Shinkurou was worried that she may see through his façade and figure out that he is guarding Murasaki.
“I feel better when I am able meet you Yuno”
After he said that to avoid her question, Yuno stared intently at him but Shinkurou had decided not to tell her; Yuno, saddened, then dropped her shoulders.
“…It is something that you can not talk to me about isn’t it?”
“Ah, well, it’s because it has to do with work”
“Men always ignore women by saying something has to do with work”
“Not at all, aren’t you exaggerating a bit…”
“It breaks my heart. Despite me opening my heart to you, you keep everything secret; your heart is tightly locked away and I get this feeling like you are saying, I don’t need to speak to you about anything, you must be around your rebellious age. I may just make some chilled Chinese noodles tonight because I am so sad. I will add some finely crushed ice and upon seeing my frozen broken heart my family will eat it; afterwards I will serve them all ice-cold ice cream and they will all still…”
Shinkurou gave in.
“I’m sorry. The real reason that I am so tired is because I was asked to be a bodyguard and I haven’t gotten used to it yet”
“A bodyguard you say, who are you guarding? A woman?”
“A man. An old man. He is a very grouchy person”
“Oh, that seems very troublesome”
Hahah, Shinkurou lightly laughed.
If Yuno found out that it was a job from Benika she would become angry, thus Shinkurou gave her detailed but false information about the job. Yuno knew that Shinkurou was a dispute mediator but as far as how he was involved with Benika, that was a different story. “She is the prime example of a corrupt adult. You are not going to become like her are you?” Shinkurou could not remember how many times he had been told this. She was not even comfortable with the fact that Shinkurou and Benika still a.s.sociated with each other.
“Shinkurou, it is good that you take your work so seriously but are you making sure to take care of yourself?”
“Well, when I get the chance too…”
“Your answer?”
“Yes”
“Good,” said Yuno happily smiling; she then reached out her hands and fixed Shinkurou’s messy school uniform. Yuno patted Shinkurou on his sides and then content she nodded her head.
“See you soon”
Yuno slightly bowed and then went up the stairs. She seemed to not be in a hurry and drifted away. The wind blowing in from the windows made her black hair sway in the wind and the numerous students that she pa.s.sed by turned their heads to look at her. In the midst of them all there also seemed to be some who were taking pictures with their cell phones.
If he had never enrolled at her grandfather’s dojo he would probably have been one of the boys standing at the sidelines. If that were the case though was he truly happy with the way things currently were?
Shinkurou looked at the bento that Yuno gave him and smiled a little as he headed down the stairs.
Translation Notes and References
1) (大和撫子) This term refers to the traditional j.a.panese ideal beauty, and in more modern times simply to refer to an extremely beautiful and delicate woman.