“Ugh, right in front of the teacher’s podium...! Sasaki, trade with me!”
“It’s not like you’re in the very front, so deal with it. Suck it up, Yamazaki.”
“Yikes, sitting behind Yamazaki is hilarious. He’s so tall he totally hides me. I can mess with my phone as much as I want. As expected of a Two Highs. Just one more High to go.”
“Murata, he’s got the height, but I’m not so sure about the high education part...”
“Sasaki would work too ♡”
“What do you mean ‘work too’...? Besides, I’m not single...”
“Sajou, then.”
“At least look at me when you say it. Sorry for being a Zero Highs.”
“Is that so? Don’t mind. Ah, let me see your injury. I want to see the hole. Can I take a picture?”
“Don’t talk about it like you’re reading my palm.”
Now that the seat reshuffle was over, the classroom was filled with students making the rounds to greet their new neighbors. Having settled into the fourth seat of the second column from the right, I was already being baptized by the comedy routine of Yamazaki, Murata, and Sasaki, who were lined up vertically to my left. To my discredit, I had ended up as the closer for the countdown of the so-called “Three Highs”—High Height, High Education, and High Income. The black humor of a gyaru from a prep school was truly sharp. If I wasn’t Kaede’s brother, I probably would have felt suicidal like the Young Lady back then... I’m pretty messed up myself.
“Hey, Sajou-kun. We’re neighbors.”
“Yeah, glad to have you. Looks like I can finally relax a bit.”
“Seriously.”
To my right was the Class Rep, Iiboshi-san. Since her seat had been right in front of the podium until now, she must have felt cramped during class. She looked happy to have secured an inconspicuous spot in the middle of the far-right column.
Perhaps as a retaliatory strike for seeing through my heart, Iiboshi-san wore a wicked smile as if she’d thought of something and spoke to me.
“...Don’t mind, okay? Since your seats are so far apart now.”
“...”
“Oh, sorry? Are you actually seriously depressed?”
“No, the seat itself is fine... I just thought the timing was bad again.”
“Ah, come to think of it. I do have a memory of the atmosphere getting weird last time...”
“You’re as observant as ever, Iiboshi-san.”
As for Natsukawa, she had settled into the third seat of the leftmost column. There were three columns between us now; we were no longer at a distance where I could easily strike up a conversation. I suppose the silver lining was that I could still see her profile from a diagonal-rear angle.
Seated to Natsukawa’s right was Ogami, the guy who had secretly recorded a video of Natsukawa and Ashida’s duet and sent it to me while I was recovering at home. I owed him one, but that was a separate matter. I was putting him on First-Degree Alert. Sniper prep, ready.
The last time we had a seat reshuffle, Natsukawa and I had run into Haru—an old middle school acquaintance—while walking home. The atmosphere had turned awkward, and then our seats ended up right in front of and behind each other... Back then, the mixture of joy and awkwardness almost drove me crazy. In the end, though, it had led to us talking more, making it a happy period.
But now—
“Something happened again, didn’t it... You guys are so troublesome. Though Ashida-chan seems to be enjoying herself.”
“...I wonder about that this time.”
Natsukawa’s demeanor had been clearly different from usual since this morning. In the early part of the first semester, Ashida was just someone who found my relationship with Natsukawa amusing, but now she was Natsukawa’s best friend. I couldn't imagine she hadn’t noticed Natsukawa’s abnormality.
“Well, whatever. Just don’t do anything that ruins the mood in the classroom.”
“Y-You’re strict...”
“I am the Class Rep, after all.”
Iiboshi-san spoke in her usual gentle tone and frank attitude. She was a consistent person as always. I wondered what gave her that strange "boss" aura... She was the one who took the lead with her initiative, like starting the class message group, so I’d developed a vague impression of her as a truly impressive person. Even when the atmosphere in class got awkward after Sasaki and Saito-san started dating, she had been the first to move and provide support.
Speaking of those two, Sasaki and Saito-san were finally sitting apart... Thinking back, it was as if they were destined to date from the moment they entered the school, always sitting right next to or in front of each other. I thought it would be the same this time, but it seemed destiny had finally fulfilled its role. To Sasaki’s left was Ashida, and Saito-san had ended up diagonally in front of Natsukawa to the right. Oh? Was there a crack in their relationship the moment they started dating? I felt like I could have a good drink with the current Sasaki. Not that I could drink.
Besides, he’d definitely say something annoying like, “Something like this can’t tear me and Saito-san apart,” with a sparkle in his eyes, and then nonchalantly try to treat me to a drink. I had no plans to drink with him in the future. I could already see him saying, “Don’t worry about it, you’re our Cupid of Love, right? Heh heh.” Sasaki as a Cupid of Love was a no-go. Yamazaki, I’d rather use your stories about getting caught by bad women as an appetizer for my drinks. I’ll pay.
Ichinose-san was sitting three seats to my left—diagonally behind Natsukawa—sitting as still as a stone.
Several classes passed with a fresh feeling following the reshuffle. While nothing particularly problematic had occurred, my head kept spinning, and I felt a constant cold sweat on my back.
“...It doesn’t look good.”
I’d decided to wait a bit longer to see how things went, but when I caught a glimpse of Natsukawa from the hallway at the back of the classroom, she still looked listless. Unable to watch any longer, I instinctively leaned my back against the hallway wall to cut her off from my sight and let out a sigh.
“What doesn’t?”
“Natsukawa is—oh, hello, Ashida-san.”
“What is?”
“Ah, grabbing my arm so suddenly is quite bold—”
“Let’s change locations, shall we?”
“R-Right...”
With a forced smile, Ashida dug her thumb into the gap between the two bones in my right forearm. Her understanding of arm anatomy and the strength in her fingertips were exactly what you’d expect from a member of the volleyball club. This was a pain I simply had to endure. I was dragged into the shadows of the stairs past the restroom.
“About Aichi. You definitely know something, don’t you?”
“Yes...”
“Is it Sajocchi’s fault?”
“Yes...”
“Hmph.”
Ashida crossed her arms and began circling around me, tapping her own arm with her index finger. I could tell from her expression that she was in full interrogation mode.
“P-Please go easy on me...”
“What did you do to Aichi?”
“Well, it’s just... there are circumstances... and I can’t really tell anyone...”
“Are they things you can’t even tell me?”
“It’s... it’s not just Natsukawa. There are other people involved in this, and their privacy is at stake...”
“Then just tell me what you can talk about.”
Standing directly in front of me, Ashida spoke with an expressionless face. Whether she had judged the gravity of the situation from the words I’d sputtered so far or not, she stopped her deliberate inquisitor-like behavior.
What I could talk about... or rather, the scope of what I could say. There might be a few things. Not only did I want to avoid leaving Natsukawa in that state, but I also wanted to avoid placing a burden on Ashida by keeping her in the dark and letting her frustrations build up. If possible, I wanted to handle it without saying anything, but at this point, it would be best to tell Ashida at least a certain amount.
“It’s about this left hand. There are other people involved in the events that led to this injury.”
“And they are?”
“I can’t say.”
“...Anything else?”
“Um, how should I put this... there was also money involved in this story.”
“...”
As expected, even Ashida was surprised. Her body jerked for a second, and her expression turned awkward. It had likely become harder for her to pry further information out of me. Without trying to hide her bitterness, Ashida continued her questioning.
“...So, why does that lead to Aichi losing her energy? I can’t believe she’d get like that just because there were financial transactions.”
“That’s...”
That was... outside the scope of what I could say. I couldn’t tell anyone else beyond this. Personally, I didn’t want to tell Ashida. Would she become a second Natsukawa, or would things get twisted in a strange direction...? I didn’t think I should speak when I couldn't foresee the outcome.
“—I can’t say.”
“...”
“I’m sorry.”
“...”
Once again, Ashida lost all expression and looked straight at me. All I could do was apologize. As I stood still without averting my eyes, the tension drained from Ashida’s face, and her expression shifted into one of anxiety.
“...If it’s like that.”
“...Ashida?”
“—If it’s like that, there’s nothing I can do for her, is there...?”
“...”
Ashida finally dropped her gaze to the floor. Seeing her in a state I rarely ever witnessed made my chest tighten. At the same time, a pain like being pricked by countless thorns welled up within me. This might have been the first time I’d ever felt this way toward Ashida.
She hadn't asked all those questions just out of curiosity. Her desire to help her friend came through painfully clear. That was likely the source of my guilt. Natsukawa was withdrawing, Ashida was depressed, and I was just being tossed around by the constraints of other people’s circumstances. ...Even so, I couldn’t afford to falter here.
“Wait. There’s more I can tell you.”
“Eh?”
“It’s a fact that Natsukawa became like that because of me. But I don’t think it’s simply because I hurt her or made her sad.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s more like... um—I gave her a huge shock, in a way...”
“A huge... shock...?”
“Yes. Besides, I think there are other misunderstandings. If I can communicate that properly, then somehow...”
The regret born from ending up with an injury like this, and my vow for the future—if I could explain that to Natsukawa and get her to understand, then I could soften the shock I’d given her. Then she’d stop feeling mired in confusion without realizing that she was actually just afraid of the abnormal thing I’d done. Probably, maybe, surely.
“...Eh? Is that... is that something Sajocchi is going to do...?”
“Eh? What do you mean by that...”
Ashida looked at me with surprised eyes. I wondered why she would think that. When I looked back at her as if to ask why, Ashida spoke with a bewildered face.
“I thought... Sajocchi wasn’t going to do anything anymore.”