It was summer vacation, and a mixed group of seven was
camping out with the ulterior motive of getting Shuji
Nakamura and Yuzu Izumi to start dating.
"Time for girl talk!!" Mimimi—full name Minami
Nanami—shouted excitedly as the three girls lay around
their log cabin in the evening.
"Okay, okay, but at least put down your bags first."
Aoi Hinami sounded like her mother, but Mimimi
responded energetically. "Yessir!" She quickly set her
backpack on the floor, then accidentally toppled it over with
her foot. Bags of snacks spilled onto the floor. "Nooo, my
kettle chips! Let's eat these, you guys!"
"Sounds good! I brought some snacks, too." Hinami
excitedly pulled a pack of cheese-flavored cookies from her
bag.
"Ah-ha-ha! Of course Hinami goes for the cheese ones.
I'll get mine, too." Izumi laughed, pulling some Jagariko
potato snacks, strawberry Pocky sticks, and a drink out of
her backpack. Preparations complete.
"So just what do you mean by girl talk?" Izumi sounded
confused, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
"It's summer, which means summer love! And we're
camping out, which means girl talk! Which means
romance!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hinami said softly. "I want to
charge my phone; can I use that outlet?"
"Sure!" Mimimi chirped. "…Hey, Aoi, you're not
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listening!"
"Huh?" Hinami knelt down and plugged her phone in.
"Aren't you just dying of curiosity? I mean, what is going
on with those two?" Mimimi pushed the bottle she was
holding into Hinami's face like a microphone.
"Those two? You mean…"
Hinami and Mimimi both looked at Izumi.
"Exactly! Yuzu and Nakamu!"
The secret goal of the trip was to get the two of them
together, so Hinami and Mimimi didn't need to discuss the
necessity of delving into their relationship now.
"…What?" Izumi asked, confused but just a little excited
under their stares.
Mimimi redirected the bottle toward Izumi. "Any news
to report?!" she asked insistently.
"…Well…" Izumi's face clouded over a little. "We've been
getting along, and I think I'm probably Shuji's best female
friend, but…"
"Yeah?" Hinami asked, like she was really enjoying the
conversation.
"I've been worried about something."
"Ooh, what about?" Mimimi asked with deep interest,
raising her eyebrows.
"Well…recently, I asked Shuji for some relationship
advice…"
"What? What'd you ask him?" Mimimi asked.
Hinami smiled like she could already guess the answer.
"Did you ask Shuji about Shuji?"
Izumi nodded solemnly. "Yeah."
"Huh? What? Nanami-san is confused!" Mimimi said,
raising her hand.
"What I mean is—I told him that I liked someone, but I
wasn't sure if that person liked me back!"
Mimimi was silent for a second, then shouted just a little
too late. "Ohhh! That's what you mean! I didn't know you
were the type to do that, Yuzu!"
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She sounded surprised, but Izumi nodded like it was
completely normal.
"Oh, I definitely am."
"Wow…"
Mimimi was mildly shocked. Even though she was
always joking around, she thought she was a little more
grown-up than the other kids her age. But she couldn't even
imagine playing these kinds of love games; when she heard
Izumi talking so matter-of-factly about it, Mimimi felt like a
late bloomer.
"You're so grown-up!"
"Oh no…I don't think so."
"Hmm." Mimimi couldn't help being a little skeptical,
but Izumi went on, oblivious.
"Anyway, he had no idea I was talking about him, and I
think it might have been a mistake."
Hinami nodded in agreement. "That strategy might have
been a little advanced for Shuji."
"Really? You think so?"
"Yeah. But what can you do? It's Shuji." Mimimi laughed
at the couple.
"Poor Nakamu; he has no idea what we're saying about
him…" Hinami laughed, too, but Izumi just sighed. Her eyes
were serious.
"What do you think I should do?"
Hinami sank into thought for a moment. "…You'll
probably have to be more obvious."
"How so?"
The conversation drifted into silence as Hinami and
Izumi thought over strategies. Meanwhile, Mimimi was lost
in thought about something else. She wondered if she should
be more proactive about her own love life, and she stroked
her chin with her finger.
Suddenly, Mimimi's phone buzzed. She picked it up and
saw a notification for a message from the LINE group they'd
set up to discuss the plan to get Izumi and Nakamura
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together. It was from Mizusawa.
[Apparently, Shimano-senpai's been telling Shuji she's
having problems with her bf, ha-ha. That's keeping him
from moving on]
Mimimi glanced around and then typed a response.
Hinami was doing something on her phone, too, which
prompted Izumi to look at her own phone. It was easy to
sneak in a few LINE messages.
[yeah, she does stuff like that.
i don't like her!]
As soon as she sent it, a reply came back from Mizusawa.
[Yeah, she's bad news]
Then a message arrived from Hinami, who was sitting
right next to her.
[Is she stringing Shuji along? lol]
[Fumiya said exactly that, right to his face. We freakin
lost it]
Mimimi almost burst out laughing at Mizusawa's
message.
[srsly? go tomozaki go!] she wrote back, with a GIF of a
rabbit cracking up.
[He was glaring so hard at me when I said it],
Tomozaki wrote back.
Mimimi giggled under her breath, then transcribed the
reaction for the group chat.
[lolololol]
Hinami broke in with another update. [Hey! We heard a
bombshell from Yuzu, too!]
[Bombshell?] Tomozaki wrote back.
[Yeah. Yuzu said she actually told Shuji she has a crush
on someone! LOL]
Mizusawa sent a GIF of a pretty boy with his hand up
saying, "Wait a second!"
[lol Shuji told us the girl he likes asked him for advice
about her crush]
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Mimimi looked at Hinami.
Izumi was asking Nakamura for advice about the guy she
liked, while Nakamura's crush had told him she liked
someone.
Mimimi and Hinami couldn't help grinning.
No question about it, the feelings were mutual.
[oh shit lmao
they're totally into each other]
[Get together already!] Hinami added.
They'd been joking around like that for a while when
Izumi interrupted them.
"Hey, I'm the only one who's talked about my love life so
far. What about you two?"
Hinami and Mimimi slid their eyes smoothly from their
phones back to Izumi.
Mimimi looked pensive, while Hinami smiled deviously.
"I don't have much to say…," said Hinami oh-socasually. "Do guys telling me they like me count?"
"Ooh, do tell!" Izumi was the first to react.
"I knew you had something!"
"Well, some guys do ask me out every now and then, but
I don't know them that well. And I can't tell you who!"
"Hey!" cried Mimimi. "That's against the rules, Aoi!"
"Yeah, that's not fair!"
"Really? Okay, fine then…" Hinami gave them a resigned
smile, stuck one of the cabin's cushions behind her back, and
leaned against the wall.
All of a sudden, Mimimi shouted like something had just
clicked. "Now and then? So you mean there's more than
one?!"
"Ahh, you know."
Mimimi poked her in the ribs. "Stop messing with us,
you sly fox! You're so cute! I love you!"
"Oh, you flatter me. Thank you, thank you!"
Izumi watched this exchange between Hinami and
Mimimi with sparkling eyes before eventually breaking in.
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"Come on! Just one name!"
"I don't know…"
"You really can't?"
Izumi made a sad face. If she'd been pushy about it like
Mimimi, Hinami probably would have easily said no, but
when Izumi got all emotional, even Hinami had a hard time
resisting. She drew her brows together.
"Well…I guess he wouldn't care."
Mimimi and Izumi exploded with excitement.
"I knew you'd come through, Aoi!"
"Who?! Who?!"
Hinami looked down. "Um, do you know who Takahashi
is, from the soccer team?"
"Oh my gosh! I know him!" Izumi's eyes grew round with
surprise.
"Takahashi… Sounds familiar, but I'm not sure." Mimimi
tilted her head to the side.
Izumi excitedly answered for Hinami. "You know, the
one with the brown hair? Definitely permed?"
Mimimi clapped her hands together. "Oh, I think I know
who you mean! He's tall, right?"
"Yeah! Pretty tall!"
"And really good?"
"Yeah, him!"
"No way! He's hot!"
Izumi and Mimimi were in a complete frenzy about this
unexpected bombshell about a popular boy on the soccer
team.
Hinami shrugged, watching them.
Mimimi leaned forward and cut right to the chase. "So
what happened?! Yes?! No?!"
"Hmm? Oh, I turned him down."
"Surely you jest!" Mimimi stumbled backward from
Hinami's breezy answer.
Hinami laughed.
"You're an impenetrable fortress, aren't you, Aoi?" Izumi
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asked.
Hinami looked up in thought for a moment. "Possibly."
"Definitely," said Izumi. "But what about you? Do you
like anyone?"
"Me?" Hinami clammed up. "…Let me think," she said
uncertainly.
"Aoi, I think you're making her point for her!" Mimimi
teased.
"Ah-ha-ha. You think so?" Hinami grinned.
"Okay, then I have a question!" Izumi said, as if an idea
had just occurred to her. "Out of the four guys on this trip,
who do you like the most?"
"Ooh, now that's a question!" Mimimi leaned forward,
right in Hinami's face.
"The four guys… Hmm…"
Hinami's gaze wandered around the room, a little lost.
The boys on the trip—Nakamura, Mizusawa, Takei, and
Tomozaki.
"…Hey, am I the only one who has to answer? You guys
should say who you like, too!"
"Okay, that's true," Izumi said.
Mimimi grinned playfully. "We already know you like
Nakamu," she teased.
"Hey!" Izumi slapped Mimimi's shoulder, embarrassed.
"Good point. So that leaves me and Mimimi."
"Yeah!" said Mimimi. "…Aoi, you decided already,
right?"
"Hmm… Well, if I'm choosing, then yeah, I'd say so."
"Really?! Wh-who?!" Izumi asked. Her face was filled
with curiosity but also with a vague worry.
"Well…"
"Yeah?" Izumi prodded.
Hinami paused a little self-importantly, then answered,
"Either Takahiro or Tomozaki-kun."
Izumi screamed. "What?! Really?!"
A beat later, Mimimi screamed, too. "…Whoa! You're full
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of surprises!"
Hinami smiled cynically. "You mean Tomozaki-kun?"
"Yeah," Mimimi answered right away.
Hinami smiled. "Ah-ha-ha. I know. I'm trying to think
how to explain. It's because…"
"Don't keep us in suspense!" Izumi seemed less anxious
than before, now that Hinami hadn't named Nakamura.
"Takahiro is the easiest for me to talk to. Not just about
hobbies or whatever—I mean life and stuff, too."
Mimimi seemed to understand. "I can see that. Both of
you are good at everything."
"Uh, I'm not sure about that," Hinami said modestly.
Izumi nodded. "Oh, I can definitely see it. You'd be a
picture-perfect pair."
Mimimi agreed. "Totally!"
"Ah-ha-ha. Thank you very much."
"But what about the Brain?!" Mimimi asked curiously.
"I'm not sure what it is about him. I feel like we'd get
along in a different way than I do with Takahiro."
"Really?" Izumi didn't sound convinced.
Mimimi looked down and hmmed to herself, deep in
thought.
"It's like…Tomozaki-kun is kind of strange, right?"
Hinami said.
Mimimi smiled, thinking back to when he'd helped her
out with her run for student council president. "Ah-ha-ha,
yeah, he is."
"He's got this surprisingly determined streak about him,
like he doesn't like to lose… I think that's what I like about
him."
Mimimi raised her eyebrows in surprise. He doesn't like
to lose. The description fit, but she was surprised anyone
other than herself would know that about him. "That's
definitely the Brain. And that part of him would be a good
match for you," she said, remembering her conversations
with Tomozaki during the election.
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Izumi nodded. "Oh yeah, I think so, too! He's so good at
video games and stuff!"
Mimimi was surprised. "…I didn't know the Brain got
that much credit for his accomplishments!" She grinned.
Tomozaki had been talking to her, Hinami, and Izumi a
lot lately. And he'd fought beside her in the battle to win the
election.
She felt oddly proud that Hinami and Izumi thought so
highly of him. He really got out there and gave things a go.
Keep it up, Brain! Mimimi thought enthusiastically.
"Anyway, those are my choices," Hinami said.
Izumi and Mimimi both let out a satisfied sigh.
"Well, I learned something new…"
"Girl talk successful!"
"Ah-ha-ha. I'm glad you thought so," Hinami said,
smiling dryly. Then she gave a more scheming smile. "So
what about you, Mimimi?"
"Me?" Mimimi had been caught off guard.
"I answered, so now it's your turn!"
"Oh…" She would've been fine leaving it there, but there
was no backing out now. "S-so I have to choose from those
four, right?"
She sank into solemn thought.
Which one of them did she like? Which one was a hard
no? "Hmm, I'm not sure. Honestly…I don't think I like any
of them."
"Hey! That's cheating!" Izumi protested.
"Yeah, I'm calling foul, too," Hinami added.
"What if you had to choose one of them?" Izumi pressed,
now that she had backup.
"W-well…if I had to choose…"
She'd told them the truth, but she understood why they
weren't satisfied. She thought about it again before giving
another truthful response. "Anyone other than Takei, I
guess?"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha! You're terrible!" Hinami covered her
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hand with her mouth and giggled.
"Wait, so that includes Shuji?!" Izumi sounded a little
nervous.
"If I had to say one way or the other, then yeah? But I'll
let you keep Nakamu."
"Th-that's not what I meant…" Izumi looked down
pitifully, which pulled at Mimimi's heartstrings.
"Oh, to be a maiden in love… You're adorable."
She moved toward Izumi, but before she could get to her,
Hinami slapped her on the head.
"Ouch!"
"Stop that right now!"
"I haven't done anything yet!"
"Yet? So you were planning to do something!"
"Whoops, ya got me!"
"…Geez." Hinami sighed, but she was smiling.
"I'm surprised Tomozaki is on both of your lists!" Izumi
said.
Hinami nodded. "Yeah, that is pretty surprising!"
Mimimi nodded, too. "I wouldn't have expected that,
either!"
Izumi burst out laughing; poor Tomozaki. "Ah-ha-ha!
But it could happen, y'know!"
"What could?" Mimimi asked.
Izumi answered nonchalantly.
"Like, he might end up actually dating one of you two!"
Mimimi tried to imagine that scenario.
It was true that he was a person she could respect,
surprisingly enough, and there were a lot of things to like
about him. But she couldn't quite envision herself in a
relationship.
She couldn't picture him standing next to Hinami as her
boyfriend, either.
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So Mimimi answered honestly.
"No way! That would never happen!"
Maybe one day she'd change her answer.
But on that evening, she didn't have the slightest inkling
that would happen.