Chapter 1 : Footsteps of Turmoil

THE SUMMER VACATION is finally over and the second semester of the second year starts today; which means that we will soon be turning the corner into our three-year school life.

I tied my tie and put my arms through my sleeves. Looking in the mirror, I do my hair, make sure my appearance is in order, and head for the door. On my way to school, I was joined by Sudō, who was yawning loudly, and we exchanged greetings while walking, and headed out of the dormitory.

"Suzune warned me about the possibility of a written exam early in the second semester, so I'm staying up all night."

"You were studying even up until the last day of summer vacation?"

"I've got a full curriculum to go through. I want to get higher scores so I can bring my OAA's academic performance up to B or something."

B or better is a big deal. I'll honestly be impressed if he manages to achieve it. If he's been studying hard during the summer break, it's no question he'll have improved his academic performance. Sudō's become a man for whom the phrase "both literary and military arts" fits quite well. His tardiness, absenteeism, falling asleep, and other minor life problems have decreased dramatically. He still has a part of him that gets heated when the situation calls for it, but I guess that's just Sudō's personality.

"I'm going to ask you something weird, but do you think that Kanji guy has already kissed Shinohara or something?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's great that he's got a girlfriend, but it's frustrating that he's getting ahead of me. It's been bothering me a lot lately, you know?"

"Why don't you ask him directly? I think Ike would give it to you straight."

"I can't ask him that... if he says that he hasn't even held hands yet or if he says he's gone way further than that then my fists might start doing the talking."

"Given Ike's personality, he's going to want to brag about it. If he doesn't say it, then logically he hasn't gone that far, right?"

"I guess you have a point. But maybe it's different when it comes to love. I don't know, I don't have any experience. I've never asked, but have you ever had a girlfriend, Ayanokōji?

I can't help but feel Sudō's passionate gaze on me as he asks, "What do you think?"

"There's no use in lying to you, so I'll confess to you that I got my first girlfriend a little while ago."

"S-seriously? You're serious?"

Faking it wasn't a good idea, considering that it would soon spread from Kei herself.

When I answered honestly, Sudō sighed as he held his head. Right after that, he hurriedly grabbed me by both shoulders.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Don't worry. It's not who you think it is."

"Really? You're sure it's not Suzune, aren't you?"

"Yes. It's not."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's okay then... I thought my heart was going to stop for a second..." He put his left palm to his forehead and wiped it messily, as if sweat had broken out. Then he showed me the sweat on his palm, showing off his impatience.

"Then who is it?"

"It's..."

"Ah! I found you!"

Just as Sudō regained his composure, we could hear the sound of rushing footsteps from behind us. When those footsteps caught up with our walking speed, she looked up at me with a somewhat angry face.

"We were supposed to go to school together, but you didn't tell me you weren't in your room!" Kei complained, puffing out her cheeks and pouting.

"You never told me you wanted to go to school with me..."

"That's because... I was nervous until the last minute."

Sudō looked at us suspiciously as we suddenly started a mysterious exchange from his perspective.

"We were just talking about something important between men, so don't interrupt us."

Apparently, he hadn't noticed the nature of our conversation. He didn't seem to be happy with the fact that she had shown up here. When you think about it, the two of them hardly ever get along. They're neither close nor bad.

If anything, they're just bad.

"Kei, are you going to tell them about us today?"

"Huh? Umm, hmm. I was considering the timing but... It's not like I'm going to announce it as soon as I get to school. It's surprisingly difficult to make an announcement like this. It's not the same as saying, "Listen to me, I have to tell you something."

"It seems like you were quick to declare when you were with Yōsuke."

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it? This is a completely different situation."

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about...?" Sudō, who had been showing signs of dullness, stopped and looked dumbfounded, as if he had caught on to the fact that I was calling Kei by her first name and what I was saying.

"Yo, what? Why are you talking to her like that, Ayanokōji?"

He still couldn't seem to make a connection, but he started getting an idea. In a sense, he was a good icebreaker in terms of who to tell first.

"We're dating."

Kei grinned and then bumped me on my shoulder with her own. I think she was just happy to hear me say it.

"Ha... hahaha! Oh my god!"

I guess he was taken aback, so he shouted out loud, more exaggeratedly than I imagined. There were no classmates around by chance, but other students turned their heads to see what was going on.

"Can you please quiet down?"

"Wow, my bad. But, no, eh! Hey, why is it Karuizawa?"

"What's that, does that mean there's something wrong with me?"

"It's not that there's nothing wrong with you but..."

He looked between the two of us as if he was a little taken back, and twisted his head in an unconvincing manner.

"What, did you want me to go out with Horikita?"

"Nah, screw that! No, that's not what I meant but... hey."

He grabbed my shoulder and put his lips close to my ear and whispered in a quiet voice,

"I'm sorry to say this, but... Karuizawa was dating Hirata, and before that, I don't know what kind of flashy relationships she had in junior high school, you know? You're not dissatisfied or uncomfortable by that? Isn't she too much of a hurdle for your first girlfriend?"

I guess that's the image that my classmates have of Karuizawa Kei. In fact, that's how I perceived her too, until I learned about her past.

"What are you whispering about?

"Nah, it's nothing."

I'm not going to push the matter further. I'm sure he felt bad for saying something so close to rumours in the first place.

"Ayanokōji and Karuizawa are dating...? I'm trying to make sense of it but I just can't wrap my head around it. My sleepiness is getting to me, this is too much for me in the morning."

I'm sure I'll hear more from Sudō about it later on.