<Author's Comment>
Following the previous one, I received a request in the Miss Contest survey asking for a 'Side story where one hangs out lazily with Azuma-neesan...!', so here is that story.
As I was writing it lazily, it ended up being quite a lot of words...!
“Are you serious...?”
Under the scorching sun, I muttered feebly to myself in front of the firmly closed school gate.
This morning, despite it being a day with no plans during summer vacation, I woke up unusually well. Recalling some knowledge I recently gained—that 'school is open during summer vacation and club activities are possible'—I thought, 'I'll go practice the drums for free!' I high-spiritedly changed into my uniform and spent an hour and a half making my way to school.
However, standing before me now was a signboard that read 'School Closed Today.'
To be sure, I did think it was strange that I hadn't seen anyone else in our high school uniform on the way from the station, even for summer break. But I never expected it to be a closure day... Even if the school is open during summer, it's not every single day, is it...?
In the first place, an announcement for closure days was probably handed out in a printout or something. I just didn't know about it. This is what happens when a novice acts on half-baked knowledge. I'm sorry...
Anyway, if it's closed, it can't be helped.
Since I came all this way, maybe I'll go to a rental studio in Kichijoji, I thought, turning on my heel. Just then—
“Oh. It's Konuma.”
Azuma-neesan, in her uniform and carrying her bass on her back, stopped with a surprised look on her face.
“Oh, Yuri. What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean 'what am I doing'? Obviously, I came for club activities. Are you here for club too, Konuma? Wait, are you leaving already? Huh? Why is the gate closed... Ah!? I forgot!”
Her expressions changed rapidly in an amusing way as she spoke.
“That's right, today is a Full School Closure Day... How could I...”
Eventually, she held her head with one hand and let out a deep sigh.
“Full School Closure Day?”
It said 'School Closed,' but what did 'Full' mean? When I tilted my head, the Riajuu senior caught on.
“Ah, I see, Konuma doesn't know. A Full School Closure Day is when not just the students, but even the teachers don't come. For students, it's more like a 'No Entry Day.'”
“I see.”
I see. It seems Yuri forgot today was a Full School Closure Day and showed up. This normally reliable sister-figure is occasionally an airhead.
“Yuri, are you okay...?”
“Ah, yeah, the club is fine... I told everyone beforehand that there wouldn't be any practice.”
“Is that so...”
I was asking about Yuri's mental state, but since her first response was about the club, she really does have a strong sense of responsibility as a president. I wish the Rock Club president, who didn't mention the Full School Closure Day at all, would learn from her...
“Man, I messed up. What should I do... I wonder if I can climb over the gate and sneak in...”
While I was sending telepathic prayers to the Angel-san who was probably in an air-conditioned house right now, I heard a rather dangerous remark from beside me.
“No, it'll be bad if the SECOM alarm goes off.”
“You think it'll go off? But hey, sneaking into school and being chased by a security guard—doesn't that sound like 'youth' in its own way?”
“How is being chased by a security guard part of youth...?”
The President of the Youth Club was, as usual, letting her eyes sparkle at things I didn't understand.
“In my opinion, we might not be able to get inside the school building, but the schoolyard should be safe.”
“What's safe about it? Even if you get into the schoolyard, you can't practice, right? Is there any point?”
“Alright, I'm going to try climbing. Konuma, hold my bass.”
With a huff, Yuri put her hands on the gate. Yeah, she's completely ignoring my questions...
She challenged herself to lift her body, and each time, the gate made a loud clanging sound.
After succeeding on her several-th attempt, Yuri extended her arms on the gate, and just as she was about to straddle it, she looked back. Naturally, her eyes met mine as I looked up.
“Hey, how long are you going to keep looking?”
To Yuri, who was pouting with slightly reddened cheeks, I said,
“S-Sorry!”
And turned my back.
That was close, I almost looked under Azuma-neesan's skirt...
“Well, I'm wearing spats under my skirt, so it's fine... Heave-ho.”
No, no, what does it matter if she's wearing 'spats' or whatever. My concern is only whether the line of sight is under the skirt or not; the material of the fabric or how close it is to the skin is irrelevant. (Though there are various schools of thought on that matter.)
After the gate's lock rattled a few more times, one final 'Clang!' rang out, followed by the sound of shoes hitting the ground.
Along with the sound of someone presumably dusting off their hands, a bouncing voice came from behind me.
“I'm in!”
It seemed safe to look at Yuri now, so I turned around.
“Come on, Konuma, you come too!”
I saw an innocent, boyish smile. It's dazzling...
No, wait.
“There's no point in me entering...?”
“Huh? If Konuma doesn't come with me, there's no point in me entering either!”
“Why though?”
While exasperated, I decided to go over as well, urged on by the sisterly voice telling me to hurry up.
First, I carefully handed the bass over the gate to its owner, then my bag, and then I placed my hands on the gate with a 'yo-ho.'
While I was climbing, our eyes met, and Yuri was looking up at me with a face like she was saying, 'Whoa...'
“What is it...?”
“Eh? Ah, no, I thought Konuma was scrawny, but you actually have some arm muscle... Is it because you're a drummer?”
“No, I'm definitely scrawny.”
Compared to Ohtomo-kun, even though we're both drummers, my muscle mass is nowhere near enough.
“Singing well, muscles, Adam's apple, bulging veins on your arms... You have quite a few unnecessary 'popularity points' for someone like you, Konuma...”
“I've never been popular because of stuff like that.”
“Ahaha, that's funny.”
“It's not funny...”
Answering her, I straddled the gate and landed on the side where Yuri was standing.
“Whoa! There's seriously no one here!”
“Seems so...”
For some reason, Yuri was frolicking across the schoolyard with her arms wide open. (By the way, at Musashino International High School, when you enter through the gate from the Shin-Koganei Station side, there is a schoolyard first, with the school building located beyond it.)
Well, since it's a Full School Closure Day, it would be bad if someone was here. Rather, it's bad that *we* are here.
Ignoring my anxiety, Yuri looked back at me energetically from a short distance away.
“Konuma—! Let's go to the school building!”
“As expected, we can't get in, huh?”
“Obviously.”
After rattling the firmly locked large doors of the entrance a couple of times, Yuri let out a carefree laugh, not sounding particularly disappointed.
“Well, for now, let's go to the vending machines!”
“Yes, yes...”
When I nodded as if I'd given up, Yuri made a dissatisfied face.
“Wait, why is Konuma acting like he's humoring me? Isn't it usually the other way around?”
“I agree it's usually the other way around, but isn't your tension abnormally high today, Yuri?”
“No, no, Konuma. Do you understand the situation?”
She looked at me as if to say, 'Are you an idiot?'
“Uh... I can only see it as trespassing...”
“That's right! A deep blue sky! White cumulonimbus clouds! The summer break of our second year of high school! The noisy chorus of cicadas! And then, trespassing!?”
She began to speak leaning forward with sparkling eyes. I didn't know someone could say 'trespassing' with such a glittering expression...
“Right now, we are living the peak of 'youth'!”
However, seeing her so earnest and full of joy, I couldn't help but smile. Unaware of my expression, Yuri continued.
“Ah, but sneaking into the school at night is also hard to pass up. Like jumping into the pool with your clothes on! Ahaha, would they be see-through?”
“They definitely would...”
I started to imagine Yuri in front of me jumping in while wearing her uniform and shook my head, thinking 'bad, bad.'
“Hey, Konuma—what are you thinking about?”
“No, that one wasn't my fault!”
I replied with my ears turning red to Yuri, who was asking with a mischievous face.
“Ahaha, that's funny. Anyway, let's come here at night next time!”
“No, we won't... Anyway, Yuri, are you okay with a school at night? The conditions for ghosts appearing couldn't be more perfect, right?”
When I said that with an exasperated look, Yuri's face suddenly turned pale.
“Wait, you're right... What should I do, Konuma? How should I come here...?”
“You're still coming? Choose the option of not coming.”
“Ehh, but it's youth...?”
She looked up at me with moist eyes, a complete 180 from just a moment ago.
“If you absolutely want to come, why don't you bring T-san born in a temple instead of me?”
When I made that joke...
“Haa?”
Could you please stop going back to your normal self so suddenly...?
After that exchange, we bought a can of Calpis each from an outdoor vending machine and sat facing each other at a table next to the cafeteria.
“It's hot... I'm tired... I raised my tension too much...”
“I guess so...”
It seemed even the Youth Sister had overexerted herself under the scorching sun, as she was slumped over the table.
“I'm gonna get heatstroke at this rate... Ah, Konumaaa, try saying 'heatstroke' slowly.”
“No way.”
Having lost her energy, Yuri started saying something stupid. Did she think I didn't know that meme? It's not like she's Ichikawa.
“Ahaha, Amane definitely wouldn't know. I'll try it on Amane next time. Just imagining it... I'm... gonna... die...”
“No, are you seriously okay?”
Just now, I felt like she used mind-reading without even looking at my face, but since it was scary, I pretended not to notice. I took out a clear file containing sheet music from my bag and fanned her.
“Ah—thank you, what a nice breeze... The wind speaks to me... It's hot, too hot...”
Are you Juumangoku Manju or something...?
Anyway, I have a theory that Azuma-neesan used to patrol the internet as much as Taira-chan. At this rate, she probably knows about T-san born in a temple too... Wait, maybe that 'Haa?' earlier was actually 'Haa!' (Spirit Dispel)?
“Come to think of it, Konuma, why did you take the entrance exam for our school? It's far from your house, right?”
While my brain was boiling and things were getting confusing, she asked that question while being fanned, perhaps realizing that the origin of Juumangoku Manju was in the direction of mine and Sako's hometown.
“Because the deviation score was just right.”
“Ugh, what a boring reason.”
Despite giving a concise and easy-to-understand answer, that was her response. Harsh...
“No, but if you say that, the same goes for Sako, right?”
“Sakosh has a different reason, so it's fine.”
“I see...”
I couldn't exactly deflect by asking 'What is that reason?' so I just muttered an acknowledgment under my breath.
“Uh, then, why did Yuri choose Musashino International?”
“Because I wanted to experience youth.”
That was another very concise answer...
“That might be true, but you could do that at any other high school, right?”
“Hmm—my older brother went here too, so when I came for the school festival, my 'youth sensor' reacted like, 'Whoa, it has to be here!' Like this.”
Yuri lifted a lock of her hair and made it stand straight up like Kitaro.
After pointing that sensor-thingy slightly toward me, she let go of it and said,
“In the end, my sensor was correct.”
Yuri sat up sluggishly and laughed proudly, 'Nihihi.'
“Well, you're the type to come to school even on a Full School Closure Day...”
I said, half-exasperated and half-impressed.
“Ahaha, true. I love youth so much that I'd come all this way even if I'm sweating, crying, or having bitter experiences.”
“You weren't crying, though.”
“I was, I was, I've been crying a lot... In places you don't know about, Konuma.”
“Pardon?”
I tilted my head at Yuri's suddenly meaningful words.
“...But, thanks to Konuma, it was fun, so I'm glad I came all this way. I'm really glad I love youth.”
Yuri smiled softly as she said that. Such a grand statement for just today's events...
“Uh, well, for me too, it was much better than just turning back after coming all the way to school. It made me decide to definitely go see the Instrumental Club's performance at the school festival.”
“Eh? Instrumental Club? Why so suddenly?”
The President looked at me with wide eyes.
“Because the Instrumental Club is your 'youth itself,' right? Today, I once again understood your feelings toward youth so much that it was actually kind of off-putting.”
“Don't say it's off-putting.”
Yuri laughed bashfully, then she smiled shyly and whispered to herself like a monologue.
“...As I thought, I'm glad I fell in love.”