<Author's Comment>
Caution!
After the short story, a character design image of Sako Hasu is posted at the very bottom (afterword section). Please be careful if you want to keep her visual identity in your mind only.
"Sooo, who are we photographing next?"
Erina-san's photoshoot ended successfully, and the little devil asked me as we were leaving the empty classroom used for the shoot.
"Let's see..."
I hummed in thought.
Next would be either Sako or Azuma-senpai. Azuma-senpai is likely at her midday practice with the Instrumental Club.
"Maybe Sako. So, Class 4..."
I let my arms hang down as I let out a small sigh.
While the burden isn't as heavy as it used to be, going to a classroom that isn't mine still feels awkward. I really don't like that atmosphere of 'an outsider is here, who's in charge of handling them?'
"I see! Well then, let's go to Class 4!"
Erina-san grabbed my arm and started walking, pulling me along while I hung my head.
"E-Erina-san?"
As I stammered in confusion, Erina-san turned her head halfway toward me and delivered a textbook wink.
"Takuto-kun is Takuto-kun after all, so you hate going to other classes, right? Erina doesn't mind that stuff at all!"
"O-Oh...!"
What's with this person? She's actually really nice!
...Or so I thought for a brief moment.
"Hellooo! Takuto Konuma-kun has arrived!"
"Wait, what!?"
As soon as we entered Class 4, Erina-san announced it in a loud voice with a beaming smile. What are you doing!?
For a split second, the classroom went silent. Everyone stared at us, then they all resumed their chatting and eating with an air of, 'Oh, it's just Princess Erina's usual antics...' It seems they're quite used to her... And apparently, no one is going to come over and help...
As I stood frozen at the classroom entrance, a voice spoke to me.
"What happened?"
It was an expressionless voice. I couldn't tell if she was trying to throw me a lifeline or if she was angry that the calm atmosphere of the class had been disturbed.
"Ah, Sakosh!"
When Erina-san waved her hand with a calculated, cute gesture, Sako delivered a light chop to her fluffy head.
"Seriously, you aren't Takuto Konuma, are you?"
"That's true, but I shouted on Takuto-kun's behalf!"
Holding her head, Erina-san looked up at Sako with exaggerated teary eyes. I'm sure it didn't hurt that much.
"That loud voice is what's troubling our Takuto."
"Ehh, but Erina is doing this to help Takuto-kun!"
"Sure, sure. So, what's up with you, Takuto?"
Sako lightly brushed off Erina-san, who was pouting in protest, and turned her gaze toward me (probably).
"Oh, about that..."
"Takuto-kun came here to see Sakosh, right?"
Erina-san looked up at me with a mischievous grin.
I mean, that's technically true, but isn't that a terribly misleading way to put it?
"...Is that so?"
Sako's expression remained the same, but unusually, she asked me with a rising intonation at the end of her sentence.
Pierced by her testing, straight gaze, I gave a slow nod.
"W-Well, yeah..."
"...I see."
Sako began twirling the ends of her blonde hair that fell around her shoulders.
As a mysterious, slightly embarrassing atmosphere began to drift between us, the devil who created it snickered.
"Well then, Erina is heading off! Good luck, Takuto-kun!"
That 'Good luck' felt pretty malicious too...
"Um... I'll explain properly, so can we change locations for a bit?"
"...Okay."
Sako nodded while still playing with her hair, averting her eyes slightly.
"...Miss Contest."
Back in the empty classroom from earlier, I explained the situation. Sako made a rare, visibly disgusted face.
"I never said I'd enter something like that."
"Well, I don't know the details, but apparently it was by recommendation."
"Then I'm not doing it. I have the right to decline, right? See ya."
"Wait, hold on!"
Seeing her try to end the conversation unilaterally, I accidentally grabbed Sako's slender arm like a certain legendary male idol.
She glanced at my hand and then asked.
"...What?"
...Hmm. When she asks 'what', I wonder what it is myself.
It wouldn't actually trouble me if Sako didn't participate, and as she said, she should have the right to withdraw.
And yet.
Since I grabbed her arm, it feels like her obvious intent to leave has weakened. Or rather, has it vanished entirely?
As I tilted my head slightly, wondering what to do, Sako offered an additional question.
"...Who else is in it?"
That was an easy question to answer.
"Let's see, Ichikawa and..."
"Then I'll do it."
Whoa, she answered instantly the moment Ichikawa's name came up.
"I-I see... I'm glad to hear that, but why?"
When I asked, Sako bit her lower lip, and her expression took on a slight tinge of animosity.
"...I won't be satisfied until I take that woman down a peg or two at least once."
"That woman..."
You guys are in the same band, so please try to get along...
So, we started over.
"...Would it be better to smile to win?"
Regardless of her motive, I felt a bit warmed inside seeing Sako suddenly acting proactive, but I considered the question.
"Hmm... well, I think you're fine as you are, Sako. There's not much point in forcing a smile, and I feel like the emotions behind your expressionless face get across somehow anyway."
"...I think that's only because it's you, Takuto."
"Really?"
Looking at the behavior of people like Erina-san recently, I feel like others besides me have started to understand Sako's expressions quite well.
Thinking about that, I prepared the camera for now.
"...Well, as long as you understand, that's fine. Then, well, here."
Sako said that and reached for the hair on her right side.
"Oh."
I pressed the shutter at that exact moment.
That was a habit Sako has whenever she tries to compose herself while being expressionless.
"I got it."
"Mm, you already took it?"
Sako's eyes widened by a mere fraction of a millimeter in surprise.
"Yeah. I think it came out beautifully."
I nodded while checking the screen.
As expected of the DSLR I borrowed from the executive committee. The image quality is quite high. I don't really know what 'Single-lens' or 'Reflex' means, or if this digital camera even is a DSLR. I basically think any camera that isn't a smartphone is a DSLR—am I right? (Ignorance)
"Beautifully... I see."
Seeing Sako acting mysteriously fidgety over the high image quality, I offered the camera.
"Do you want to check it?"
But she replied.
"No, if you're okay with it, Takuto, then it's fine."
Being told that makes me feel like I have a huge responsibility...
While zooming in on Sako's face to check for any slight camera shake, something caught my eye.
"Now that I think about it, you've been wearing that hairclip since we started high school."
I casually asked while pointing at the five purple petals that stood out against her blonde hair.
"This? Yeah, well."
"Is that a violet or something?"
I know nothing about flowers, but when I took a random guess, Sako answered softly.
"...Tsurunichinichisou."
"Eh, what was that?"
I accidentally let out a line like a dense protagonist who has no friends, but it was simply because the name of the flower was so unfamiliar that I had to ask again.
"I said, it's a Tsurunichinichisou."
"Tsurunichinichisou? Isn't that a lot of 'nichi's?"
"It's not like I'm the one who named it."
"That's true..."
Yeah, you're right. Sakosh is being perfectly logical.
"...Anyway, I didn't choose it for the name. I chose it for the flower language."
"Hoo...?"
While giving the kind of half-hearted acknowledgement that would probably get me scolded by Yuri-nee, I pulled out my smartphone to ask Google-sensei. Even I can perform a simple search like that perfectly!
"Let's see, 'Tsurunichinichisou flower language'..."
"Wait, no! You can't!"
Then, as if in a panic, a pair of beautiful hands covered the smartphone screen in the split second before the search results appeared.
"Eh, why?"
"Just because."
When I looked up, Sako's face was cast down, her cheeks flushing a deep red that was unimaginable for her usual self. What's with her all of a sudden...?
"Eh, now that you've done that, I'm really curious..."
As I became intensely interested, she looked up with a bright red face and glared at me.
"...If you look it up, I'm not doing the Miss Contest, and I'll never speak to you again, Takuto."
"What..."
"Absolutely not. Promise me."
Saying that, she kept her left hand over the screen and thrust out her right pinky finger toward me.
"Ah, okay, fine, I get it..."
I quietly tucked the smartphone I was holding with my right hand into my pocket, slowly extended my pinky, and we made a pinky promise.
...Sigh, I'm trapped.
No matter what, I can't break my promise to Sako.
If I did that, I think I'd have to swallow a thousand lit fireworks, and besides.
"...Good."
Seeing my childhood friend's expression look so completely relieved just from interlocking our pinkies, there was no way I could go back on it.
"Takuto, thank you."
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