"It's fun just gathering with friends and chatting like this, you know?"
"Right? We do this after school too. Although one person's missing today."
"Oh, speaking of which, there were three members invited by Jasper. What happened to the other one?"
I feel like it wouldn't be unusual for them to be here after school...
"Aoi Yuki had some family matters and went home early. She asked to be introduced to Dawn."
"Oh, so Aoi is written with the characters for 'Aoi' and 'Yuki'? I was wondering how to read that when I looked at the member list."
"It's a rare name. I couldn't read it at first either!"
"I'm looking forward to meeting Dawn. Just the fact that she wants an introduction gives me hope."
"Oh, sorry about that. I just assumed she'd want to meet you; she hasn't actually said anything."
"If Jasper weren't a girl, I'd probably be ready to punch him right now… huh?"
I relaxed my clenched fist and sighed just as I heard the sound of several people running down the hallway.
"..."
Ordinarily, I might have thought it was just someone making a racket, but I felt a strange certainty inside me.
"...Ethan? What the—"
As I stood up suddenly, Jasper, puzzled by my actions, was about to ask why when the door at the front of the classroom swung open with a loud crash, revealing a familiar girl rushing in.
"Brother—!! Pass!!"
The moment she entered the classroom, my sister Summer was already in her pitching stance, instantly assessing my position. For some reason, she tossed her shoes at me.
"What's going on?"
I asked for an explanation as I slipped off my slippers and replaced them with her shoes, chasing after Summer as she ran toward the window.
"Explanation later!! We're leaving, brother!!"
"Got it."
Summer flung the half-open window wide and planted her foot on the sill.
"Wait, Summer—!?"
Recognizing what she was about to do, Jasper reached out in an attempt to stop her, but it was too late. Summer vanished outside, as if swallowed by the scenery.
"Is this the second floor—!?"
Jasper's scream echoed throughout the classroom.
"Let's go!!"
A voice shouted, drowning out his panic as someone eagerly jumped onto the window ledge.
"Yeehaw!!"
Of course, that was me.
After a brief sensation of weightlessness, I landed smoothly, utilizing the spring in my bent knees to take off in a dash. I thought I heard Jasper and Momiji shouting something from above, but I chose to ignore it.
"So? What the heck just happened?"
Catching up to Summer, I fell in beside her and threw my question her way.
Just before I jumped down, I caught a glimpse of a few people rushing into the classroom. Summarily, Summer had definitely been chased.
"It seems like I've gained a few enthusiastic fans," she said.
"Huh? You messed up just like me, didn't you?!"
"I thought so too! But as soon as school ended, they swarmed me, shouting, 'Summer! Summer!' It was terrifying!"
"All I get are pitying looks! Being attacked would have been better than this!"
"That's easy for you to say since you didn't actually get chased! You don't understand how horrifying it is until you experience it!"
With that, Summer and I chatted animatedly on our way home, marking the end of my first day at the new school.
To be continued...
"This time of morning really is nice and quiet," I thought as I walked alone down the school hallway. I didn't have a particular reason for being there so early; I had simply woken up early and decided to come on a whim.
What about waking up Summer? Oh, no worries there—my collection of blaring alarm clocks would ensure she'd wake up whether she liked it or not.
As I strolled through the eerily still hallway, I reflected that while I enjoyed the noisy times, there was something special about this quiet moment. Always being hyper can be exhausting, after all.
"Oh, I should definitely thank Jasper later. He took the time to put away my slippers."
Yesterday afternoon, I had dived out of the window with Summer. Shortly after, I received a message expressing concern for us and letting me know that he had tidied up the slippers. I made sure to reply with thanks, but I think it's better to say it in person.
"Well, there are still two hours until school starts. I can wait patiently in the classroom."
I muttered to myself as I opened the classroom door. A pleasant spring breeze brushed against my skin as I stepped inside.
"—Good morning."
A clear voice floated through the air, carried by the wind.
Turning towards the sound, I locked eyes with a girl who was struggling to keep her hair in place as the wind tousled it.
"…You're beautiful."
"?"
"Oh, I'm sorry for saying something so strange out of nowhere. I was just thinking how lovely your iris color is and it slipped out."
Her irises sparkled like amethyst. It was the first time I'd ever seen someone with such striking irises, and I found myself captivated.
"You really are a strange one, just as Jasper said. I realized that during introductions."
"Please, don't dig up my past embarrassments like that. It's going to drive me crazy… So, you're Aoi Yuki from Mizuno Rapids?"
"That's right. Aoi Yuki from Mizuno Rapids. Feel free to call me however you like."
"Well then, Aoi Yuki. Why are you at school at this hour?"
"Isn't that the same for both of us? I just like the quiet atmosphere of the morning. The classroom is empty and peaceful."
"Ah... Am I possibly a nuisance? I could take a walk around if you'd prefer."
"It's fine. If you're a friend of Jasper's, I don't mind."
...So, does that mean it would be a problem if it were someone else? I guess I do have a vibe that keeps people at a distance.
"Hey, Fukinagi-nii, do you want some candy?"
"Sure. But what's with that way of addressing me?"
I raised an eyebrow while peeling open a bag of lollipops that looked like it came from a bulk pack.
"You have a sister, right? Since we share the same last name, I thought it would be clearer. Fukinagi-nii and Fukinagi-imouto. It makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Isn't it easier just to use names? You called Jasper by his name, so it's not like you're against it."
"It's just how I feel. Normally, I'll call you by your name."
"Alright."
If Jasper were here, he'd definitely make a comment about this utterly mundane conversation.
"So, what's up? Why did Shuhei come here at this hour?"
"I just woke up early and came on a whim. I was honestly surprised to find you in the classroom."
"I'm always here at this time. So if you want to see me, just come by anytime."
"Isn't my first impression really favorable?"
It felt like I was in a dating sim, establishing a close bond right from the beginning, like a protagonist and their childhood friend teasing each other. The citrusy scent wafting from her hair, blowing in the wind, made me think, So this is Aoyuki's fragrance. Just then, Aoyuki stood up and gestured for me to follow her, her wallet gripped in her other hand. I guessed we were heading to a vending machine.
"That girl is pretty selective about who she gets close to, despite her personality," Aoyuki remarked after we walked down the hallway for a bit.
"Are you talking about Jasper?"
"Yeah. She seems like a people-pleaser, but that's not really the case. She's choosy about who she surrounds herself with and doesn't engage with others more than necessary. Yet, nobody seems to notice."
"…That's surprising. I thought she was just straightforward, with no hidden sides."
"Exactly. You could ask any classmate, 'What's Jasper like?' and I bet they'd all say she's a nice person."
"Hmm… I've thought this since we first met, but Jasper is really hard to read."
"Right? I've known Jasper since the first year, and I still feel like there's more I don't understand about her."
Aoyuki smiled with a hint of sadness. I had imagined her as cool and detached, but seeing this vulnerable side made me genuinely curious about her.
As I stared at her face, Aoi Yuki suddenly noticed my gaze and tightened her expression, returning to her usual cool beauty.
"This conversation is over. I don't really like dark topics."
"With that face?"
"I feel like you're mocking me. Am I imagining things?"
"Sorry, that was a joke. My bad. Just please don't crush my little toe—ouch, ouch, ouch!!"
"Stepping on it with your heel is unfair... What if it really gets crushed?! Damn it!! Oh no, I'm tearing up."
"...It just doesn't make sense to me."
"...?"
Suddenly, the pressure on my foot eased. As I looked up from the ground, where I had been crouching in pain, I met Aoi Yuki's gaze, who was peering down at me.
"I said I didn't like dark topics, but there's one thing I need to confirm before we end this."
Her demeanor was completely serious. I waited, feeling a twinge of anxiety about what she might ask.
Yet, she hesitated to speak, and after a tense silence, she finally broke it.
"When did you first meet Jasper?"
"...?"
I tilted my head, puzzled by the intent behind her question.
What could she possibly want to know with such an obvious inquiry?
"I met him the day before yesterday, on my first day after moving to this town. I ran into Jasper at Wind Jasper Hill."
"Wait, so you really just met her for the first time the day before yesterday?"
"Yeah, that's right... Why?"
"That girl... is supposed to really hate men."
"...No way, that can't be true."
I can't believe it right away. Jasper, a guy-hater? Sounds like nonsense, but Aoi Yuki's Iris is dead serious. She doesn't look like she's lying.
"It's true. I've been watching Jasper for the last two years since I enrolled here, and she even said herself that she dislikes men."
"But... you saw how she acted towards me, right?"
"I'm not sure which part you're talking about, but at least when Jasper called your name during introductions, the entire class, myself included, was left speechless."
"So it's not that I bombed my introduction."
"No, that's a different issue altogether. The fact is, Jasper called your name after the class had gone quiet."
"..."
But if Jasper truly hates men, then I can't understand why she was so friendly towards me from the start. The attention I got when I showed up at school yesterday wasn't just because I was a new face; it was because Jasper was walking around with a guy...
"Hey, Shuhei, do you want some coffee?"
Lost in thought, I found myself at the vending machine without realizing how I got there, the freshly purchased lightly sweetened coffee in hand.
"People are really hard to understand," I muttered after taking a sip of the surprisingly sweet drink, the comment sounding rather philosophical and making me chuckle at myself.
"That's what makes us human, isn't it?" Aoyuki chimed in, echoing my sentiments with similar profundity.
"Oh, by the way Shuhei, you should introduce me to your little sister sometime—during lunch or after class. Since she's your sister, she must be entertaining!"
"She's the same kind of entertaining as me during introductions, which is to say, not very."
"In other words, she's as much of an idiot as you are."
"I won't deny that. Believe it or not, I was quite infamous at my previous school, for better or worse."
"Really? Then it sounds like my daily life is about to get a lot more interesting thanks to you all."
"The way you say that makes it sound like life was boring before."
"It was boring."
Aoyuki answered immediately, downing her coffee in one go, as if swallowing down her everyday frustrations along with the brown liquid.