Yo. I know you guys are pretty stoked. You’re pretty stoked, right?
Today’s chapter marks the start of the High School Arc.
Not much to say here, except I might have mistranslated a referenced s.e.x scene. This means, I’m not entirely sure if s.e.x actually happened, or if…Hiroto, Ken, and Yuu just met up to have a nice chat…idk. Anyway, I added a notice in CAPS signifying the scene incase you want to skip it or take it with a grain of salt. If in fact something naughty actually happened, I’m putting an R-15 rating on this chapter.
As always, if you enjoyed reading this, please leave a comment or a like ^^.
Thank you!
Chapter 17:
High School – First Part
The season of the cherry blossoms.
I"m finally starting high school.
The story events of the BL novel "Shinjin Gakuen – Beloved by Maou" officially begins.
And the Hero has enrolled into the academy.
His name is Suzaku Hirotaka.
He enrolled in the high school division from outside of the middle school section. Because Shinjin Gakuen is a school with integrated middle and high schools, the majority of matriculated high school freshmen are from the academy"s junior high division.
I only catch a short glimpse of him since we"re in different cla.s.srooms. But I"m still able to make out dark brown eyes and hair the gentle shade of milk tea.
I think he"s the type Hiroto likes.
For some reason even after seeing the Hero, my memories don"t return. Where"s the headache? How bizarre.
(Is this how my life"s going to be like from now on? Ugh. I just want to live peacefully!)
When Hiroto and the others ultimately fall in love with the Hero, I"ll be looking from afar.
It"ll be lonely though; those guys were all my friends.
"Oh well. It is what it is. Gotta aim to live through old age. A peaceful life! That"s my survival strategy! Yah!"
First step: level up!
Teruki: "Yuu, my favorite person! Do you still play that game?"
Yuu: "Teruki…uuu. You traitor…"
My eyes catch the shine of his golden locks.
Teruki used to be around my height, but lately it seems like he"s gotten through a growth spurt. And now he towers over me just like everybody else.
He"s only a little shorter than that giant Mizuki now. When I stand between the two of them it looks like a little kid sandwiched by grown ups. It"s a sore spot for me. I run my mouth on Teruki out of frustration.
"It"s about time for my growth spurt too! So don"t think you can look down at me from way up there for long!"
"Oh♪. Are you looking forward to that?"
His smile shifts from a mischievous boy"s to buddhist priest"s. And so does his laughter. The hand that"s patting my head is bigger than from several months ago. It spurs an increasing sense of security in my heart. Mmm. Teruki"s caressing feels really nice. You"re gonna stroke my head some more? I guess he could read my thoughts because he just smiled and continued to pet me.
"Ehehehe. Thanks, Teruki. Where"s Mizuki?"
"Maybe he"s coming from a different place?"
Suddenly, loud cheers erupt from the schoolyard.
As Teruki peers out the window facing the spectacle, he announces in a clear voice:
"It looks like it"s going to be a lively morning. The whole Student Council"s out there."
[Shinjn Gakuen Student Council]
Also known as the Houou Corps. It"s a group of charismatic people led by the Student Council President, Houou Hiroto.
When their morning duties are completed, each of the Student Council members would get crowds of people watching and following them as they head to cla.s.s.
"Do you want to take a look, Yuu? We can go outside."
"No, I don"t think I can."
Back in junior high, it might have been okay. But now, there"s a Hero among all the high school students.
Because that guy"s related to the Chairman, the Student Council is to personally take care of him. A special transfer student case. As such, he"s basically an a.s.sistant to the Student Council now, and can be seen tagging along with most of their activities.
There"s also after school duties to perform, so the time I get to spend with Hiroto just continues to shrink.
It"d be a lie to say I"m not lonely. But I"ve prepared to let my two closest friends go. It does surprise me that I don"t really mind seeing the Hero with them.
Kenshin"s also really busy as the captain of the kendo club. He"s their ace and holds the most expectations out of anyone else there. As such, the time I get to spend with Kenshin is as much as the time I get to spend with Hiroto – short and lacking. But I am pretty excited that I"ll be able to watch him perform in the Spring Tournament.
(Besides, Teruki and Mizuki are with me! They"re practically like childhood friends. It won"t be strange for us to get even closer after entering high school.)
I"m relaxing with Teruki at homeroom when Mizuki slides into cla.s.s right before the bell rings.
Mizuki: "Good morning. I had a bit of trouble getting here on time with that huge line outside. Oh, I guess we"re getting the cla.s.ses shuffled today."
Teruki: "Yep. Did you see the cla.s.s next to ours? I really can"t say much but it seems like the transfer student is related to the Chairman. And the Student Council has some errands to run because of this."
So that"s how it is. I"m marveling at the complexities of the school"s inner workings.
In the novel"s original plot, both Teruki and Mizuki should have ended up in the same cla.s.s as the Hero. But here in this universe, they"re with me. I"m grateful for these two, but I can"t help but feel uneasy at how much the current events differ from those of the novel"s.
Teruki: "Yuu? Hey, Yuu. Are you okay?"
I seem to have gotten lost in my thoughts. Teruki studies me anxiously. Both Teruki and Mizuki must have noticed how worried I was over not seeing Hiroto and Kenshin as often.
I guess I really didn"t have to worry much in junior high. I smile as I turn to look at the two of them, flashing a bright smile.
"Thank you. I"m alright since I have the two of you. I mean, you guys will stay with me, right?"
I try to be charming but my uneasiness ends up showing on my face.
Teruki: "Isn"t it obvious? We"re friends aren"t we?"
Mizuki: "Yeah, that"s right. You don"t have to hold in your insecurities next time. Just talk to us."
Yuu: "Okay! Thanks guys!"
I"m counting on you!
A look of worry suddenly zips across Teruki"s face.
"I guess our senpai will be really busy this year. Are you sure you"ll be alright not seeing them much?"
"Oh yeah. I actually haven"t met with them lately since they"ve been so busy. I don"t want to be a nuisance , you know?"
Teruki flashes me an incredulous look.
"Hey, don"t tell me they can"t even pull a second out of their busy schedules to call you."
"There really is no other way to put it. Ah, but Hiroto does call me from time to time."
"Are you okay about that, though?…d.a.m.n, and I was wondering why he"d glare at me in the halls sometimes."
Hearing us talk about our senpai, Mizuki also throws in his two cents.
"Even brother Kenshin"s been glaring at me. Since I get to see Yuu everyday, he"d come "discipline" or "guide" me during every practice! So please, even if you"re doing okay please contact him!"
I reflect a bit before answering Mizuki.
"I just don"t want to interfere with Kenshin"s club activities. If I go visit him, I"ll just be in the way. And I don"t want to give people any more reasons to dislike me."
"No way, that won"t happen. Well, then, let"s all go to the kendo department! Can you come visit my cousin everyday?"
"Eh? Please no. I"m so out of shape."
I watch as Mizuki writes a letter and places it on my desk before giving in.
Mizuki: "Anyway! We"ve already given you advice. If you don"t get in touch with our senpai, don"t say we didn"t warn ya!"
"What? I"ll be okay, you guys worry too much. But thanks!"
The two of them are concerned for me and it"s kind of embarra.s.sing. But, it does make me feel a bit better.
Catching my gaze, Teruki smiles bitterly before ruffling my hair.
"Well, it might be a good idea not to crowd those two for now. You might get targeted. If you do, I"d be in trouble. And there"s also the other senpai to consider. Hey, Yuu. Try not to be alone by yourself."
"Yeah, yeah."
At that time, I didn"t take Teruki and Mizuki"s advice to heart, which I would regret in the future. But, that"s another story.
Anyway, after getting promoted to the high school division, I do see that Hiroto and Kenshin have gotten terribly busy. We can hardly meet or talk.
But from the time I lost my memory up until entering high school, both Hiroto and Kenshin often came to see me on the weekends.
(THE FOLLOWING SCENE MAY OR MAY NOT BE TOTALLY MISTRANSLATED. SORRY GUYS.)
Every time they"d come over, we"d end up going at it for hours. I"m happy to see them, but it"s pretty embarra.s.sing. I tried to tell them it was a bad idea, since we"d have school the next day. But all this falls on deaf ears.
When the two of them had asked to hold me, I felt as if it were done out of love.
In the deepest, softest part of my heart, I was afraid that if I didn"t, they"d start looking at me with cold eyes.
At those moments in time, I was the center of their world. So when they finally leave me for the Hero on their own accord, I think I"ll be able to endure, holding onto those sweet memories of such gentle faces.
Back then, I cried while thinking these thoughts. Hiroto and Kenshin had panicked and tried to kiss away my tears.
Those two are always so confident and funny in their own ways.
That"s why, I"ll return my thanks to you. It"ll be okay. It"ll be just fine. Watching as those two fall in love with someone else, I"ll be alright.
I"m sitting here thinking, all sorts of deep spiraling thoughts rushing through my mind, while Mizuki"s here posing like he"s praying to the G.o.ds.
"Come to think of it, the group arrangements of the April Camp will be announced today! Ah! I hope I don"t get paired up with brother Ken!"
The April Camp is one of Shinjin Gakuen"s traditional events. It"ll last for 2 nights and is meant to raise the camaraderie between kids who entered the high school division from the junior high division and kids who transferred in from other middle schools. They"ll also be students from all the grades attending, from first years to third years. Each grade is vertically split into 4 groups. Depending on which senpai get a.s.signed to us, and who"s in our groups, this could be a camp out of h.e.l.l! Now I"m also praying alongside Mizuki.
(I hope this training camp runs smoothly!)