Volume 3 - CH 5

It was the first day of school after the New Year.

As usual, Yuzuru was eating lunch with his friends.

“Hey, that looks warm.”

Soichiro said enviously as he looked at Yuzuru’s lunch box.

Yuzuru nodded as he sipped his warm consommé soup.

“Ah. It’s nice to be able to eat hot food and soup in the winter.”

Yuzuru was using an insulated lunch box that could also hold soup.

Of course, the contents were Arisa’s homemade bento.

The white rice, side dishes, and soup were still warm.

Until now, he was using a random bento box he had at home, but over the winter break, he decided to change it up.

“I think I’ll get one too… By the way, what about in the summer?　Doesn’t it get moldy easily?”

“They say it’s safe because bacteria can’t multiply when it’s hot.　It’s more likely to spoil if you let it cool down.”

Apparently, Arisa also uses the same insulated lunch box.

Her knowledge of cooking is as perfect as you would expect from Arisa.

(That’s right…if I can marry Arisa, then I can have meals like this for the rest of my life.)

Conversely, if he lets go of Arisa, he won’t be able to eat this.

Yuzuru renewed his determination to make the proposal a success, stating that he would definitely make her his own.

“What are you smirking at? You’re creepy…”

“Sorry. I was thinking about Arisa.”

When Yuzuru proudly replied to Hijiri’s remark, he made a face as if he had eaten a sugar cube soaked in honey.

He drank the tea as if to cleanse his palate.

“My class has PE later…”

Then he said that as if to change the subject.

He seemed to be very uncomfortable.

“After lunch…”

“That’s tough. Especially this time of year.”

Yuzuru and Soichiro feel sorry for Hijiri.

How can this time of year be “especially” difficult?

It was because of a certain event at Yuzuru’s high school that was coming up in a month.

“The marathon tournament.”

At the beginning of February, Yuzuru’s high school holds a marathon.

At this time of the year, almost all of the physical education is switched to endurance running in order to practice for the event.

“It was… 10 km for boys and 7 km for girls right?”

When Yuzuru remarked that, Soichiro nodded.

“That’s a long walk, isn’t it? Ten kilometers.”

Yuzuru has never been averse to exercise.

He sometimes runs long distances for his health.

He was confident in his endurance.., but he was not a marathoner, nor was he a regular exerciser.

It was the same case with Soichiro and Hijiri.

“Well… it’s a long run if you’re thinking about how many more miles you have to go. But if you run without thinking about it, it’ll be over soon. I mean, in terms of experience.”

“You’d get bored with that…A marathon is boring.”

Yuzuru’s words were answered by Hijiri with a sigh.

It depends on the person who likes or dislikes long-distance running such as marathons.

But.. at least Hijiri doesn’t seem to like it much.

“You think so? I like long-distance running. Because I can just run with my mind empty and be done with it. It’s easier than sports where you have to think about every move you make.”

It was Soichiro who said that.

He may look serious, but he’s actually a bit of a handful.

At the same time, he is a man with a good head on his shoulders.

( If I think about Arisa while running… No, I shouldn’t, because my face would break out in a grin)

A man running with a grin on his face would be quite creepy, to say the least.

Yuzuru decided to restrain himself.

“Well…It is boring to run without a point. Why don’t we have a match? The slowest guy should treat others to a meal. How about it?”  

Yuzuru suggested, and the other two grinned at him.

They seemed to be on board.

“I don’t mind.”

“Me neither. It’s more fun to have a goal, after all.”

This is how the “match” was decided.

It was Yuzuru himself who started the idea, but …he resolved that he would have to take the PE class a little more seriously.

Now, after school.

Yuzuru was standing alone in front of the school gate.

As he waited for a while…, a group of girls came walking towards him.

They were girls from the same class as Yuzuru.

And there was one girl who is smiling amiably as she blends in among them.

(……In this way, she’s surprisingly inconspicuous.)

As Yuzuru watched Arisa chatting with the girls, a thought occurred to him.

Although Arisa was an incredibly beautiful girl, when she blended in with the group, she was surprisingly inconspicuous.

Arisa herself is probably trying to keep her presence in the background.

In fact, at first glance, she appears to be having a good time chatting with them.., but upon closer inspection, one can see that she has taken a step back and is just listening to the conversation.

Even the smile on her face was forced.

Perhaps it was Arisa’s way of getting by.

When someone is that good-looking, they attract a lot of jealousy and envy. If they’re not careful, they’ll be bullied.

It would be a different story if she were the leader of a group, but Arisa doesn’t seem to be very good at that kind of thing.

That’s probably why she is trying to keep a low profile.

For other girls, it’s comforting to know that the good-looking Arisa is quiet and in a relatively “lower” position than them. ……

This may be a bit too much of a sexist view though.

After thinking about it, Yuzuru took out his phone and played with it … while he waited for Arisa to separate from the girls at the school gate.

He had already researched the fact that Arisa is the only one going home in a different direction.

Then Arisa walked away from the other girls and turned on her heel.

At that moment, Yuzuru called out to her.

“Arisa.”

“Fu~e~!… Yuzuru-san, why?”

Arisa widened her eyes in surprise.

Yuzuru said, a little nervous, but trying to keep his composure.

“I thought I would go home together with you.”

He was actually thinking of filling in the outer moat by talking to Arisa in front of the rest of the classmates. But he changed his plan halfway through because it seemed like it would cause trouble for Arisa.

Of course, soon, he plans to make it a known fact at school that Arisa is Yuzuru’s (to be) girlfriend.

“Is it no good?”

When he asked Arisa, who had frozen up…

She shook her head from side to side several times in a wide gesture, looking as if her head might come off.

“N, Nothing like that! It’s totally fine…”

Arisa’s face was slightly flushed as she said that.

She was looking at Yuzuru’s face with a puzzled expression.

“Let’s go then. Arisa.”

Yuzuru said and started walking with Arisa.

He matched her stride and was careful not to let her walk on the side of the road.

“About that…… Yuzuru-san. Why all of a sudden today?”

“I just thought I wanted to go home with Arisa…I’d like to go home with you when it’s possible. Would that be alright?”

When he asked that, Arisa’s face became increasingly red.

Then she gave a small nod.

“Yes… It is fine. But, you know, about the people in the class…”

“Okay. I’ll just hide and ambush you. “

“… That sounds like a stalker.”

Arisa gave a small chuckle.

Yuzuru laughed in response.

Yuzuru walks with Arisa, keeping the distance between their shoulders close enough to touch.

At first, the two of them were chatting happily, but as the station approached…, Arisa began to talk less and less.

Then, a look of absent-mindedness appeared on her face.

“Arisa. Is there something troubling you?”

Yuzuru asked to fulfill the real purpose of going back with Arisa.

Lately, Arisa has been absent-minded, often in a daze.

He knows this because he has been watching her in class since before the winter vacation.

She used to be serious about taking class notes, but lately, she’s been looking blankly into space as if she’s thinking about something and then rushing to write down what’s on the blackboard.

At first, it looked fresh and cute, but then he realized that she seemed to be having some trouble.

But then he noticed that she seemed to be troubled, because lately when she was thinking about something, her expression was a little dark.

“Eh?… No, I’m fine.”

When Yuzuru asked her, Arisa shook her head from side to side.

However, her words were not words of denial, but words that reassured Yuzuru that she was fine.

“I see.”

To be honest, she didn’t look very fine.

However, he couldn’t just assume that ‘she does not seem fine’.

When Arisa said “she’s fine”, it was because she didn’t want Yuzuru to get involved too much.

And just then, they arrived in front of the station ticket gate.

Arisa turned to Yuzuru and bowed lightly.

“Then, Yuzuru-san. See you tomorrow.”

“Ah… Arisa.”

When Arisa tried to leave, Yuzuru stopped her.

He put his hands on both of her shoulders.

“Eh, um…”

“I’m here on your side. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

Arisa’s jade green eyes shook with agitation.

And her eyes moistened slightly.

“Yes, Yuzuru-san. Thank you very much.”

Then Arisa gave a small nod.