Chapter 9: 2.4

“All right, then.”

“Oh yeah, see you tomorrow.”

It has been almost two weeks since we changed our recruitment strategy.

After finishing today’s work, Nito and I parted ways at the main gate and went our separate ways.

The days have been going like this for some time now. We meet in the club room and start recruitment activities. After school, we stay in the club room and wait for those who want to join us. When it’s time to leave the school grounds, we go home.

I sighed.

I looked up at the sky in a daze.

The clouds were tinted gold and the sun was shrouded in lavender.

A small light twinkled in the eastern sky—if I were an astronomer, I’d probably be able to tell what kind of star it was. A moped drove by me, and I heard children cheering in the distance.

“…Surprisingly, it didn’t work out.”

It has been a long time since we started recruitment activities.

We had handed out nearly two hundred fliers, and a huge number of star cards were taken from the school’s getabako.

Quite a few students had come to visit the club room.

There were about five students total, male and female.

They seemed cool and interested in getting involved.

But for some reason, none of them joined the club.

I didn’t expect them to be so reluctant to join the club after making the effort to come all the way to the club room…

“…Well, it sure is hard to get into.”

I muttered as I tried to put myself in their shoes.

“The club currently has only two members, and they’re quite close, I should say… It’s a pretty uncomfortable situation to get trapped in.…”

If I was in the same situation, I’d probably be thinking something along the lines of,  “I’d just be alone if I joined this club, wouldn’t I?” or “I mean, these guys are actually dating, right?” That would make it difficult for me to join.

“I wonder what we should do about it.…”

How do we find the third member?

The recruitment period for new members was almost halfway over. Still, I was getting impatient with the fact that we had yet to secure any new members.

And…

“…Hmm?”

As I was walking through a residential area, I saw someone standing across the street.

There was a dark silhouette of someone backlit by the setting sun.

They had also struck an intimidating pose in the middle of the road—crossing their arms and staring straight at me.

“…Uh, hmm.”

Something about this whole situation seemed a bit off.

Standing on a street where cars also drive by. It looked like trouble.

The best thing to do is to stay as far away from such matters as possible. I’ll just walk by as if nothing is happening

Luckily, there’s a fork in the road between us. I’ll retreat in that direction with a nonaggressive look on my face.

I turned the corner with a look on my face as if to say, “My house is that way…” and just when I thought, “Thank goodness I’ve managed to avoid this…

“H-hey, wait a minute!”

The suspicious person came running at me.

And the voice was that of a girl who sounded familiar.

“Igarashi-san?!”

This girl has been Nito’s best friend since junior high. She feels bad about not being able to accompany Nito to school every day. She’s also the one who was the most distraught after learning of Nito’s disappearance on the day of the graduation ceremony.

It was Mone Igarashi.

“Why are you running away?! I was waiting for you!”

“I mean, who wouldn’t run away if you’re standing in the middle of the road like that?!”

I’m also aware that you hate me! Even now, I still want to get out of here!

“Huh… Well, whatever. So, Sakamoto. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Talk… Wait, how do you know my name?”

“Well, there are a lot of ways to find out, like digging through social media and listening to gossip.”

“…Scary.”

So Igarashi-san is that kind of person? Does she often act like a stalker?

Well, if she just wanted to know my name, I guess that’s okay…

“Anyway, Meguri Sakamoto-kun. A graduate of Shimendo Junior High School, born on the 30th of May, blood type O.”

“No, seriously, that’s scary! How do you know so much?!”

I was stunned, but Igarashi-san simply pointed me to a nearby park and kept a poker face.

“…Let’s sit down and talk for a bit.”

Her voice sent shivers down my spine.

“…Ehh?”

Am I being backed into a corner?

Will she demand I return Nito?

Does she resent me because she can’t go to school with her?

*

“You know, I’ve been friends with Chika since kindergarten.”

“I-I see…”

We sat side by side on the swings in the park.

As I expected, Igarashi-san started the conversation like this.

“Our families are close, we’ve been in the same classes since elementary school, we’ve had a lot of sleepovers together, and… in short, we’re best friends.”

“I see… Well, it sure feels that way.”

I responded appropriately to this unpredictable turn of events.

Actually, Igarashi-san and Nito complement each other well.

Both are upper-class, stylish, remarkable, and popular with boys. Plus, Nito’s dark hair perfectly complements Igarashi-san’s light hair marvelously.

“But you know…”

Igarashi-san spoke slowly.

“Lately, since you two started organizing club activities, we’ve been growing distant from each other. You guys are together all day from morning until after school, aren’t you?”

“Hmm, that’s true…”

“She used to give me that kind of time.”

“…I see.”

“I don’t get it. Chika just walked out on me and went to the Astronomy Club. I don’t understand why she didn’t stay with me like she used to in junior high school.”

Well, I guess she’s telling me that Nito is her best friend and that I should back off. That must be her purpose in dragging me out here for a talk.

However, I can’t just give up on recruiting new members, especially since there are only two of us.

Nito is a core member of the Astronomy Club, and it will fall apart if she decides to leave.

But Igarashi-san, I can tell by your voice that you’re really attached to Nito.

When I look around, I occasionally see people in this sort of codependent relationship.

To be honest, I can’t really wrap my head around it.

Igarashi-san’s desperation is something I can’t understand.

“…Why are you so fixated on Nito?”

To explore compromise, I asked.

“I know that you’re best friends, but why are you being so clingy to her?”

“…Well, there are many reasons.”

Igarashi-san looked down at the toes of her loafers.

“What do you mean?”

“…Why would I want to tell you that?”

“You see, I need to know a little more about you so I can meet you halfway.”

“I see. Hmm…”

As if lost in thought, Igarashi-san was silent for a short while.

“…I was a bit of a brat in preschool.”

She spoke in a low, guttural voice.

“I had a shitty personality and was manipulative to everyone around me.”

“Huh, you were like that in preschool…?”

“Well, I’d like to think that I was mature for my age. To be honest, I admired PreCure[1] and wanted to be a heroine, but I just couldn’t do it. I treated everyone meanly.”

“…Ah.”

Frankly, I know the feeling.

It’s as if you want to be the main character but are only an annoying supporting character at best.

It’s unusual for a kindergartener to be aware of this, but I suspect it’s not an isolated case.

“At that time, Chika was in the next class. We were in the same class for the first time in kindergarten. We immediately had a big fight. She got mad at me for being mean to her. But as we clashed again and again, I started to realize something. She was the kind of person I wanted to be, and everyone liked her. The ideal image I had of myself had already been realized…”

Igarashi-san was surprisingly forthcoming.

Maybe she was looking for a chance to open up to someone.

“…I know what you mean.”

I mumbled unintentionally after hearing about her history with Nito.

“Oh… I know what you mean. Nito knows exactly who she wants to be.”

Before I knew it, I was completely sympathetic to Igarashi-san’s sentiments.

I see. I’m not the only one who felt that way about Nito.

“Huh?! You do?!”

Igarashi-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

“So you get it, too, Sakamoto?!”

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“Yes, I do. You know, I try my hardest when I hand out fliers, but she’s the only one who gets people to come. It’s just like that.”

In fact, over the next three years, she’ll make her dreams come true.

I know too well what it feels like to be struck by that brilliance.

“Really, Sakamoto…? I see…”

“Oh. Sorry for interrupting you. What happened after that?”

“Oh, yeah, um…”

Igarashi-san then cleared her throat.

“So one day, we had an activity in class. The two of us had to pair up for a recital practice. I was afraid she’d hate the idea, but she didn’t. In fact, she was just as nice to me as she was to the other kids.”

She mumbled shyly.

“That… was when I decided I wanted to be friends with this girl… be best friends.”

“Hmm, I see.”

It seemed like a fateful moment.

A person who seemed like your mortal enemy has shown you an act of kindness.

Moreover, if it happened in kindergarten, it was only natural it would have a great impact on Igarashi-san’s personality development.

Suddenly, she turned to face me.

“That’s why… I want to be Chika’s number one.”

She said it plainly as if it was a confession.

She was like the protagonist.

She spoke softly like a true heroine at the center of the story.

“I want to treasure her and be treasured by her.”

It was lovely. Igarashi-san’s feelings were crystal clear.

If anything, I fell for Nito and felt the same, too. Nito’s brilliance has long been a source of fascination for me. Igarashi-san and I are more alike than I thought.

If she’s so concerned about Nito, there’s one thing she can do.

“…Why don’t you join the Astronomy Club!”

I said with full conviction.

“You can join, Igarashi-san! That’ll take care of everything!”

Whatever you think, it’s the most logical course of action.

Igarashi-san can be with her beloved Nito.

The club gets a new member.

It’s a win-win for all involved.

Besides, I think that only someone like Igarashi-san can be the third member of the Astronomy Club in this situation—she’s the only one acquainted with Nito and me.

“H-hold on a minute!”

Igarashi-san looked flustered for some reason and dismissively waved her hand.

Huh? Did I misjudge? Maybe she didn’t want to join the club?

“I have considered it! I have considered joining the Astronomy Club!”

I knew it.

“But I also want to know what you’re up to, Sakamoto!”

“What I am up to?”

“Yeah. Somehow… you’re working really hard to keep the club afloat.”

Yeah, well, that’s true.

I suppose it was obvious. Even from a distance, I was desperately trying to recruit members.

“Why is that? Maybe to get closer to Chika? If so, I’m… I’m worried about her. She’s so earnest. I don’t want you taking advantage of her like that.”

“No, no, no, it’s not what you think!”

I shook my head in panic.

“I seriously want to be an astronomer! That’s why I want the Astronomy Club to carry on!”

“…Oh? Is that so?”

Igarashi-san tilted her head.

“Watching from afar, I thought you liked Chika…”

After hearing these words, I regretted my reflexive denial.

I lied.

I’m working hard to bring back the Astronomy Club so I can be there for Nito. That’s my primary objective. I should have said it.

I know how much Nito means to Igarashi-san.

Many details in her story correspond to her behavior at the graduation ceremony. When she heard that Nito had gone missing, she let out a heartbreaking cry. That could only be done by someone who genuinely cared about Nito.

“…Sorry, I lied.”

I decided to come clean.

“It’s true. I’m working hard to recruit members to be with Nito. But I wasn’t lying about wanting to be an astronomer.”

“Wait.”

Igarashi-san looked at my face calmly.

“Does that mean you like Chika?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I told her the truth.

“I’ve liked her for a long time.”

I couldn’t help but add an extra line.

“For a long time.” Not even a month has passed since Nito and I met in this timeline.

It was obviously a weird thing to say. I got carried away.

“…I see.”

Igarashi-san looked down and seemed convinced.

“You seriously like Nito.”

“Well… yeah.”

Argh, I’m getting so embarrassed!

What the hell?! Why am I talking about romance so seriously?!

Well, now’s a good time to discuss it, but I confessed with such a straight face! I can feel my face burning!

But, as if to add to the shame I feel…

“…In that case, wouldn’t it be better for me to just stay out of the way?”

Igarashi-san looked terribly sad.

She sounded like she was about to cry, but she tried to smile and hide it.

“If you’re really serious, Sakamoto and Chika don’t seem to mind… won’t I just be a bother if I join the club?”

I didn’t expect to hear those words from her.

I thought she wouldn’t let go of Nito that easily.

“…Of course, I know better.”

Igarashi-san had a bitter smile on her face as she spoke.

“I also think that this kind of dependency isn’t good. Now that I’m in high school, I need to get my act together.”

Those words also surprised me.

Just like that, she viewed herself objectively.

“But it just doesn’t feel right to push myself away from her. That said, I don’t want to be too dependent on her and make things more complicated. I wonder what I should do…”

Once again, what Igarashi-san said struck a chord with me.

Before the rewrite, I had never come across anything like this. I had almost no friends and was never exposed to the issues that other people my age faced.

But now I get it.

Even a flashy girl like her, who seemed to have nothing to complain about, has worries.

And that got me thinking.

Maybe she had some regrets at the graduation ceremony. Perhaps she thought there was something she could have done to prevent what happened.

“…Why don’t you try finding a new relationship?”

I mumbled to Igarashi-san.

“One without dependency. A relationship that will allow you to be truly at her side. Why don’t you try looking for it at the Astronomy Club?”

Her eyes widened instantly.

The strange tint of her contact lenses turned directly toward me.

Looking at her facial features, I couldn’t help but notice how youthful she looks.

Unlike Nito, who looks more like her age, and Makoto, who appears to be more mature, Igarashi-san’s face resembles that of a middle school or even elementary school student.

I think that’s where she gets her air of innocence and purity from.

She looked at me for a moment, dumbfounded, then moved her gaze away.

“…Grrr.”

She suddenly had a scowl on her face and squeezed the swing’s chains.

“Huh? Hey, what’s wrong…?”

“…I wish you were a jerk.”

“Come again?”

“I wish you were an asshole, Sakamoto.”

“Huh? Why…?”

“Because if that’s the case….”

Igarashi-san raised her head. She stared at me, her eyes welling up with tears.

And then she went on, clearly frustrated, but also pleased.

“…I can’t let you stand in our way, can I?”

[End of Chapter 2]

[1] The Pretty Cure series (also titled PreCure) is a highly popular Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and Bandai and produced by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Asatsu-DK, Toei Animation and Bandai.

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