“Of course I don’t have one. A girlfriend? Me? No, no, no… Of course I don’t. There’s no way. Can you even imagine? Crazy.”
“Why’s that?”
“Huh? Why? Pick a reason. This is me we’re talking about. It’s beyond impossible.”
“Oh, come on, it isn’t impossible, it’s—heh.” Yukisada broke into a grin. “You know, Sousei, you have a pretty funny way of talking about yourself. Not a lot of people act the way you do.”
“Uhh…I guess I don’t really try to act tough or cool. I suppose I’m in the minority there… Right, yeah…”
Sousei Takarai aimed to be a normal high school student like everyone else. Naturally, he tried to sound like the other boys in his class as much as possible.
…But it just doesn’t come naturally to me. It always feels a bit off. Every time I try to talk like one of the guys, it’s more embarrassing than anything else…
“Anyway, it’s fine to say you don’t have a girlfriend, yeah?” Yukisada asked, double-checking.
Sousei nodded.
“Right. And I’ve never had one before, either…”
He wanted a girlfriend. He’d had that desire before.
…It just doesn’t seem possible. I haven’t even had a crush on anyone before. I probably won’t have one anytime soon, either… Maybe not for the rest of my life. Yeah, looks like getting a girlfriend isn’t going to happen ever!
Sometime later, Yukisada told Asumi Shiramori that Sousei Takarai didn’t have a girlfriend, and Asumi asked Yukisada to give Sousei a message.
According to Yukisada, she wanted him to meet in the corridor between the buildings after school.
…Is it a duel? Does she want to duel me…?
The classic scene of a standoff between a swordsman and a gunman popped into Sousei’s mind.
In the connecting corridor? At school…?
The location seemed strange. A showdown between a swordsman and gunman was strange as well. Also, where did the swordsman and gunman come from?
…Is it a trap?
Once school ended, Sousei headed toward the corridor.
It was empty.
Class had only just ended, so that wasn’t surprising. When Sousei had rushed out of the classroom, Asumi was still sitting at her desk. Sousei decided to wait for her about halfway down the corridor.
Before long, students in sports clubs and other people started to come and go along the corridor. Only Asumi didn’t show up.
…What is this?
He started to hear the energetic voices of boys and girls coming from the direction of the gym and field. Club activities were already in full swing, meaning Sousei had the corridor all to himself.
Have I been set up after all…? What kind of trap would this even be, though? And Shiramori still hasn’t shown up. This must be a trap…
Sousei lowered his gaze. His face was on fire.
…So embarrassing. This is no good. Definitely no good. I don’t know what exactly is no good, but I just know that it isn’t. Maybe I’ll just go home now. Yeah. I should get going. Time to head out…
Just as Sousei was about to run off, Asumi appeared at the opposite end of the corridor.
“Ah!” Sousei exclaimed without thinking.
Asumi was also looking at Sousei. For a moment, it looked like she was about to say something. However, she ended up simply walking up to him in silence.
Her legs, they’re so long…
Sousei couldn’t bear to keep looking directly at Asumi’s face. Before he knew it, he was staring at her legs instead.
…Huh?
Sousei suddenly had a thought.
That’s not quite right…
Asumi’s legs weren’t just long. They were beautiful. Too beautiful. Sousei felt drawn to that kind of beauty. It looked like she took good care of them, but purely for cosmetic reasons. Were her legs toned and trained? Could she run fast? Could she jump high? Could she mercilessly kick down her enemies? It seemed highly unlikely with legs like that. They were extraordinarily appealing legs in terms of aesthetics, not functionality.
Asumi stopped in front of Sousei.
“Sorry,” she said in a really small voice. “There were just so many people. You got here too quickly, Takarai.”
“Ah, so there were too many people…”
Sure enough, there were quite a few teachers and students going up and down the corridor until just before.
Is that why she was late? Because she was keeping an eye out and only showed herself once it was deserted…? Oh, I see…
Sousei tilted his head a little to the side.
…So it is a duel after all?
“You don’t have a girlfriend, right, Takarai?” Asumi brought up information that she should have known already as she leaned against the parapet of the corridor.
“G-girlfriend…”
Sousei glanced at Asumi’s face. Her full lips looked impossibly soft. And a little glossy. It wasn’t from regular lip balm; she probably put something special on them.
“No, I—I do not have one at the moment.”
“You’re so stiff and formal.” Asumi gave a slight smile and swept back her lightly colored hair.
Sousei grabbed at his shirt. There was a sweet aroma of perfume or something in the air. Was that the reason his chest felt tight?
My heart rate…
“So, hey,” Asumi said, then lightly kicked the floor a few times with the heel of her right shoe. She was looking at the floor. “If you don’t want to, you can say no.”
“No?” Sousei felt lightheaded. “…Say no? T-to what…?”
Asumi glanced up at Sousei through her eyelashes.
“Would you…”
It was against school rules, but Asumi was wearing makeup. While it wasn’t particularly heavy, most wouldn’t consider it light, either. As far as Sousei could recall, she hadn’t been wearing any in the classroom. That meant she must have gone out of her way to put it on after classes were over and before coming to the corridor. But even her makeup couldn’t hide how much Asumi was blushing.
“…please go out with me, Takarai?”
For about seven or eight seconds, Sousei just stood there in stunned silence.
…Wait… Why does she sound so formal now?
Doubt welled up in him. It was extremely distressing. At some point, he had started holding his breath. He’d suffocate if he kept this up. Eventually, Sousei had no choice. He breathed out and then in again. Sousei breathed out slowly and then gave his answer.
“Yes.”
Sousei left the corridor to go get his bag before leaving school. He headed to his classroom.
…Was it all a dream?