What was with that attitude?
I walked along the path to the school gate, kicking the ground as I went.
Just what am I to Ichikawa? What does she think I am?
“Ah, Senpai!”
A classmate. That’s true.
A band member. That’s also true.
“Wait, wait, Konuma-senpai...?”
But that’s where the guarantees end.
If so, what was with that attitude?
From what position was I acting like that?
“Hey! Hmm, that’s weird...?”
What is this muddy, burnt-like feeling lingering in my chest and stomach?
“Hey, Konuma-senpai!”
My arm was suddenly yanked.
“Nnh?!”
“Geez! I was calling out to you, so don’t just leave me behind!”
Standing there was my small animal-like kouhai, looking quite pun-pun angry.
“Ah, Taira-chan, sorry...”
“What on earth happened? You had such a scary, scary face! Like this!”
Saying that, Taira-chan made the most exaggerated scowling face she could.
“Seriously...?”
Was I making such a lovely face...
“Seriously!”
Taira-chan stood with her hands on her hips, huffing through her nose.
“By the way, Senpai, are you a loner? If so, let’s go home together!”
“...I’m alone, but I’m not a loner.”
“Geez, those kinds of quibbles don’t matter right now!”
With that, she trotted along to walk beside me.
“I don’t know what you’re angry about, Senpai, but when you’re upset and stay alone, you just keep thinking about it over and over, and it only amplifies. Nothing good comes of it, you know?”
“I guess so...”
“For example, I’m the type of person who stayed angry alone and fell to the dark side, and I ended up causing a lot of trouble for you and the others because of it...”
Taira-chan slumped a bit as she spoke, depressing herself.
“No, no, I’m fine, though...”
“Yes, I’m glad to hear that... Anyway, anyway! When you’re feeling like ‘I’m so annoyed!’, the best thing to do is talk about unrelated things with someone unrelated like me!”
Taira-chan beamed a bright smile at me.
“I see... Thanks.”
“No problem at all!”
Somehow, this kouhai-chan seems to have matured quite a bit since we first met last month.
As I watched her, Taira-chan looked slightly anxious and asked,
“...Um, just to confirm, you aren’t angry... because of Taira, right...?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Phew, thank goodness...! Then, I’ll talk about something unrelated! Let’s see, let’s see...”
Taira-chan flicked her index finger around as if conducting, her round eyes looking up at the sky as she searched for a topic.
“Ah, I know!”
She seemed to have thought of something. She clapped her hands happily.
“Um, at our high school, my childhood friend who was studying abroad just came back yesterday!”
Hmm...?
Feeling a flicker of unease, I furrowed my brow. Taira-chan declared with a brilliant smile,
“His name is Tokugawa Sōshi-kun!”
...Yep, strike one!
“Hahaha...”
A dry laugh escaped me.
She tilted her head at my laugh and continued,
“Sōshi-kun and I are from the same neighborhood.”
“I see...”
Unaware of the reason for my displeasure, Taira-chan continued talking about Tokugawa-san.
No, for Taira-chan, it was rare, but she really wasn’t at fault this time.
“Sōshi-kun has loved UK rock... Is ‘UK’ right? Well, anyway, he loves British music, so he went to the UK for a year to study abroad, but he returned to school yesterday.”
“...Taira-chan, weren't you a loner?”
When I asked,
“Sōshi-kun is an exception!”
Taira-chan patted her stomach lightly with a grin.
“An exception, huh?”
Is he like dessert or something?
“Sōshi-kun and I will even be performing together at the school festival!”
“Eh, really?”
They’re that close.
“Yes, yes! The performance times for the school festival are already set, so we can’t add extra time for Sōshi-kun, but I don’t need that much time for myself, so I decided to give him half of mine! We were talking about doing at least one song together since he's back!”
“Heh.”
“Ugh, are you not that interested...?”
“No, it’s not that.”
It wasn't that, but once Tokugawa-san’s name came up, well.
I couldn't help but wonder what kind of conversation was happening in the studio right now. These helpless thoughts, which were supposed to have nothing to do with me, began to march through my entire body.
“Konuma-senpai, your mind is really somewhere else...”
“...Sorry.”
“No, no, it’s fine! It’s not like I’m in love with you, Senpai!”
“L-Love?!”
The sudden mention of that word made me flinch, my voice cracking.
“Ah, I succeeded in getting Konuma-senpai’s attention! It’s my victory!”
She chuckled happily, clasping her fingers in front of her face.
“W-Why, love...?”
“Well, you see, if I were in love with you, Senpai, I’d probably be really bothered by your wandering mind or your half-hearted responses. I might get a bit grumpy, or feel hurt, or maybe, just maybe, I’d think that side of you is cute...”
She seemed a bit embarrassed saying it herself. Taira-chan spoke with a faint blush on her cheeks.
“...Is that how it works?”
I also felt somewhat awkward.
“Well, at the very least, you don’t get angry at someone you don’t care about, right?”
“I guess so...”
Taira-chan clasped her hands behind her back and asked me,
“Senpai, do you know what the opposite of ‘love’ is?”
“The opposite of love? Uh, it’s ha—”
“It’s ‘indifference’! It’s not ‘hate’, you know?”
Yeah, I was just about to say that... That’s a very famous quote, you know? I thought to myself, but seeing Taira-chan’s smug, triumphant face, I felt it would be a pity to point it out, so I didn't.
“So, I don’t know what you’re angry about, Konuma-senpai, but at the very least, you’re angry because you can’t be indifferent. Maybe it’s because you don’t exactly dislike the person?”
The kouhai smiled with a surprisingly mature expression, illuminated by the setting sun.
“Don’t... exactly dislike...?”
“Just kidding! I’m just repeating what Yamatsu Rui-sensei said! It was in a work posted about two years ago!”
Taira-chan laughed it off as if it were a joke.
“Azuma in middle school, huh...”
“No, no, that’s not it.”
“Eh?”
What is?
“Master is Master, and Yamatsu-sensei is Yamatsu-sensei.”
“Ah, I see...”
Believers and fans are really particular about that kind of thing... Scary, scary.
“Ah, I mean, sorry! I intended to talk about unrelated things, but I ended up saying something related...!”
Taira-chan lowered her head slightly in apology.
“Eh...?”
What, did she realize it was about Tokugawa-san?
As I stood there bewildered, Taira-chan said with a considerate look,
“Konuma-senpai, you had a lovers' quarrel with Master Azuma, didn't you?”
“...Huh?”
Why Azuma? Ah, wait, what?
“Taira-chan, do you really think Azuma and I are... dating?”
“Geez, you don’t have to hide it!”
“I know!” she said, puffing out her chest.
“No, no, no, no, it’s not that I’m hiding it, we’re really not dating.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Don’t be so formal! Who do you think I am a disciple of? As a result of my training during summer vacation, I’ve acquired the ability to understand a bit of what a person is thinking by observing their expressions several times!”
“Fr?”
“Ahhh! That’s a normie word!”
After retorting, Taira-chan smiled brightly.
“I haven't observed you for long enough to read you completely yet, Konuma-senpai... But, but! Since I’m always looking at Master, I can understand her perfectly!”
She declared confidently.
I sighed.
“Sigh... If that’s the case, you need more training. Because Azuma and I really, truly aren't dating.”
“Eh? Like, really, really, truly?”
“Like really, really, really, truly.”
“...Can you swear it on amane-sama?”
Just how much has amane been deified in Taira-chan’s mind?
“I can swear it on amane-sama.”
When I answered that,
“If that’s the case... um...”
Taira-chan suddenly looked down and mumbled.
“...No, it’s nothing! It’s just like you said, Senpai, I just lack training, right? I’ll do my best!”
She smiled sadly, her eyebrows slanting downward.