“Huh? Who the hell are you?” Misono-san spat. Her voice was so harsh it startled me and I couldn’t speak, but Hadori-kun kept a calm and composed expression on his face as he looked at me.
“I already told you. I’m here to get my friend, Yuzuki.”
“Yeah, since it looks like she’s in trouble!” Kanon-san said with a forceful smile.
“And helping someone out when they’re in trouble is what friends do!” Chikaze-san added, an angry look on her face.
Their attitudes only made Misono-san angrier. “So what? This is none of your business, so stay out of it!”
“I told you, she’s our friend. We’re not gonna just leave her here when she’s in trouble. Plus, what’d Yuzuki ever do to you?”
“We were her friends too! Until she ruined everything!”
Misono-san told them what happened at our school before I transferred. I didn’t want them to know about it. I didn’t want them to think I was some annoying kid who sucked at keeping friendships, and I didn’t want them to think badly of me either. There’s no way they would still want to be friends with me after hearing this story. It hurt so much I just covered my ears with my hands.
And a few minutes later, I hesitantly glanced over towards Hadori-kun and the girls. Huh? The three of them had surprised looks on their faces. I pulled my hands away from my ears as Hadori-kun tilted his head to the side. “How is any of that Yuzuki’s fault?”
“Yeah, Yuzuki didn’t even do anything!”
“Sounds like you’re blaming her for your own mistakes!”
All three of them agreed.
“Huh?! She doesn’t know how to read the room—she was the one who messed up the vibe of our whole group!” Misono-san screamed.
But Hadori-kun just sighed. “So what’s more important to you? Your friends or ‘the vibe’ of your group?”
“W-Well...”
“I don’t even have to ask you. You wouldn’t even hear Yuzuki out to see how she felt about it. I can tell you look down on her.”
“Yeah, if the roles were reversed, there’s no way she’d blame you!” Kanon-san said with a smile. It was a smile, but I could tell she was furious, even angrier than Chikaze-san, who was outwardly mad.
And I realized I’d gotten close enough to them that I could pick up on that.
All of a sudden Chikaze-san banged her fist down on the table. “You’re blaming Yuzuki and bullying her all because your crush didn’t like you back?! And now you’re sitting here ganging up on her! It’s pathetic and you should be ashamed of yourselves!”
“Yeah, that’s all her friendship meant to you guys. All you cared about was some stupid vibe and assigning ranks to each other. The reason everyone turned on her was all because of you guys!” Hadori-kun pointed out.
Misono-san blurted out, “What?! That’s reality right now. If anyone can turn on you at any time, that’s all the more reason to stick together with your group!”
“Yeah, right.” Hadori-kun snorted with laughter. “Lately I’ve been talking with this guy who’s an introvert—he doesn’t care about being a loner. And as I got to know him better, it really made me think about things. Not too long ago, loners and otaku were looked down on by the cool kids. It made me wonder what anyone’s problem with them was.” He chuckled to himself.
I had a good idea who Hadori-kun was thinking about right now. A certain someone who didn’t mind being alone, who didn’t care what others thought of him, who said he couldn’t help me when I asked for it—and yet at the same time had a sad look on his face while he said it.
But since Misono-san had no idea who this person was, she was confused. “S-So what am I supposed to do, then?!”
“Are you trying to change anything? Have you and your friends ever gotten together and tried to make a difference about anything? You haven’t, have you? What they did was stick to what they liked.”
I knew exactly what he was talking about, because I’d been a loner for so long. No matter what bad things happened to me, I never thought about changing things or tried to get people together to help make a change. I just retreated to my own little world, where things were comfortable.
Hadori-kun’s eyes were steady and strong as he continued. “Loners stuck to what they liked, no matter what anyone said about it, and no matter what society thought about them. That’s how otaku culture began to thrive. That’s all it was.” Hadori-kun put a hand on his hip and let out a sigh. “So if people start to look down on us, then isn’t it our turn to hold on to what’s important? I don’t wanna be on my own. I feel like there’s way more value in being around everyone else. But that’s also why I value every single person who makes up my group. Even if they say awkward things sometimes that affects the vibe.”
“So what’s going to change, then?”
“Not a lot, but...” He thought about it for a moment and then laughed. “If you value your friends who can be real with each other, people will notice that and you’ll earn real respect. There are loners who think we’re pretty cool too.”
Kanon-san and Chikaze-san nodded. I could tell they all really trusted Yashiro-kun. All of a sudden, Hadori-kun linked his arm through mine and helped me stand up. “Anyway, we’re taking Yuzuki home now. I’m sure you all don’t wanna cause a scene, so you better never come near her again. Because if you do...I’ve got something up my sleeve, just in case.”
Hadori-kun glared at Misono-san and the other two girls, intimidating them into silence.
“Oh!” I realized we were about to leave, so I put some money down on the table to cover the cost of my coffee.
Hadori-kun started to leave but then turned around. “If you guys don’t change the way you treat people, all you’re gonna do is fall until you can’t get any lower.” That was all he said before he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the diner. I’d never seen him angry before. His face looked super scary, but at the same time...
I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
◊◊◊
Meanwhile...
I hope everything went all right. I’d completed two hundred strokes of the kendo sword and the sprints while the rest of the kendo club members warmly watched over me. I staggered out of the gym once they’d finally let me go.
I thought I was in good shape from all the cycling I did, but swinging that sword made me use muscles I didn’t even know I had. Just lifting my arms a little made them tremble like crazy. My legs were shaking too.
Ugh, this sucks... I’d already been feeling exhausted lately. But now with all that added torture, my body had reached its limits. My engines were stalled. I unsteadily walked over to the western side of the school building and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to the ground. Since I was on the west side, I felt warm from the setting sun.
All right. I was conscious, so I’d just overexerted myself. What the hell am I doing lately? I thought absently, feeling the wall against my back.
I was sure by now Hadori-kun had met up with Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san to stage some dashing rescue of Sato-san like a prince on a white horse. Meanwhile, I was crumpled on the ground behind the school because I’d swung a kendo sword one too many times and did too many sprints. It was pathetic. But I guess it also kind of suited me. Maybe I’ll just take a little nap. I’m tired, and maybe I’ll feel better if I rest a bit, I thought, and I quickly lost consciousness.
◊◊◊
Whoosh.
I can still remember it clearly. A hand shooting up into the air, a perfectly straight posture, and a calm face, ready to say anything. I never thought there could be something more beautiful or reassuring.
It was the first meeting for the library committee. I like reading, so I decided to join. The first order of business was deciding when everyone would work. The job included opening and closing up the library, checking out and checking in books, that sort of thing. It was the typical kind of work for someone who wanted to join the library committee, after all.
“There are ten shifts—lunch and after school, Monday through Friday. Does anyone care which shift they work?” one of the older students asked. Everyone was basically like, “Eh, I don’t care...” when suddenly a hand shot up.
Wait, I think she’s in my class.
“Um, you’re a first-year, right? Which shift do you want?” he asked.
The girl answered, “I want to work all the lunch shifts.”
“Huh?”
“I was already planning on spending my lunch break at the library. So I can be the one to unlock and lock up when I’m done,” she explained frankly. None of the other volunteers really knew what to say.
I heard them whispering among themselves...
Huh? Is that really okay?
Well, she says that’s what she wants...
It’d make it easier for us if she took our shifts.
Meanwhile, all I could think was...
Beautiful.
She didn’t care that no one else knew what to say. I fell in love at first sight when I saw her hand shoot straight up in the air—when she sat straight up in her chair. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I felt this sensation like excitement building up from deep in my belly, rising all the way up to my chest. The reason I fell in love with her was because she didn’t care what anyone else thought—with absolute confidence, she spoke her mind about what she wanted to do.
◊◊◊
“Mmm...” When I woke up, I felt a warmth on the right side of my body. Did I fall asleep leaning against something warm? As the fogginess of sleep began to clear, I slowly realized what that warm thing was.
“Nue...?” She was sitting down on the ground pressed up next to me, reading a book. “Sorry, was I heavy?” I asked, but she shook her head. She must’ve come looking for me after I’d stopped texting her. She’d watched over Sato-san in my place to make sure nothing bad happened, and she was the one who’d been recording that video I showed Hadori-kun.
I yawned and stretched out, wondering how long I’d been asleep. I checked my phone and saw messages from Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san.
Kanon: operation: save yuzu-chan was a success!
Chikaze: hadori went back to kendo club so we’ll take the princess home
Well, that was a relief. Things must’ve gone smoothly. Oh, that’s right—I made a promise to Nue. “You wanted walnut mocha from Isozaki-ya, right? I’ll go buy some n—”
“No.” I started to stand up, but Nue reached out and put her hand on my shoulder, stopping me. I glanced over at her but she was still looking at her book. I took the hint and sat back down.