The Issue With Her Arrow Pointing at Me Being Way Too Big
“Hey… Ayaka?”
“What?”
“…Aren’t we close?”
“Really? But I can’t see my work unless we’re like this.”
Ayaka said this with a completely matter-of-fact expression.
Our study sessions with Ayaka had become routine, but I guess you could say I was serious about it… I’d never skipped a single one, always meeting up with Ayaka like this.
“…No, seriously, you’re too close.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like it’s going to hurt you.”
“Well… I guess you’re right.”
Nothing was being lost, and in fact, I was gaining more.
Thanks to Ayaka teaching me, my terrible grades had improved. Whenever tests were handed back, the teacher would look utterly stunned.
Seeing that look made me happy, knowing it meant my efforts were paying off.
“…Well, I’m grateful.”
“Huh?”
“My grades are better because of you… I used to hate studying, but when I’m doing homework at home, I remember this time and it motivates me.”
“…Ehehe, I see.”
Thinking about it, my interactions with Ayaka have only been positive for me… Wait, even though I said I’m grateful, I never actually said thank you.
“Honestly, even though I’ve said I’m grateful before, I never said it like this… Thank you so much, Ayaka.”
“Ah… uh… yeah.”
My parents’ teachings!
Always express gratitude—isn’t that what they always told me…? Well, they’re not dead or anything.
After that, she taught me intensively for about an hour.
Normally, I’d be tempted to fiddle with my phone or do something else halfway through, but since she was using her own time to teach me, I couldn’t be so rude… Thanks to that, by the time we finished, my body was stiff as a board.
“Ahh… I’m exhausted today too.”
“Good work.”
I stretched my arms toward the ceiling, loosening up my body.
It was about time to leave the school building, and it seemed like we were the only ones left in the library.
“Well then, go ahead and head home, Ayaka. I’ll leave a bit later.”
“…I don’t mind at all.”
I mind.
My existence at this school tends to stand out… in a bad way. So even though Ayaka is the complete opposite of me, I’d hate for her to get caught up in any rumors.
The kind of thing people might think is that she’s being blackmailed or something.
“Well then… see you tomorrow, Amato-kun.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Looking back several times, Ayaka left the library.
“Man… you really saved me there.”
Thanks to that, I’ll get full marks on this next quiz for sure.
Just as I thought it was about time to leave the library, I noticed a ridiculously dirty chalkboard eraser and a trash can overflowing with garbage.
“…Damn it, they should clean this properly during cleaning duty.”
No good… I don’t have to do this, but that useless urge to clean things, drilled into me by Mom… Uoooooooooh!
I want to clean dirty things, but I’m also lazy.
As these conflicting feelings battled… I ended up deciding to clean it.
“…Oh.”
My reflection appeared in the windowpane as I hummed a tune while cleaning the chalkboard eraser.
I thought to myself how much my body had really grown, but seeing myself quietly cleaning like this… well, it’s a bit funny, even if I say so myself.
“Alright then, that’s it.”
After that, I cleaned the chalkboard eraser and emptied the trash bin.
“They say picking up what others discard is like picking up your own luck… well, maybe not exactly trash cans, but doing this really does put me in a good mood.”
With my tasks done, I finally left the library to head home.
When I reached the shoe lockers, an unexpected figure was waiting for me.
“Ah… Amato-kun.”
“…What are you doing here, Ayaka?”
It was Ayaka, who should have already gone home.
“I was waiting… You’re late, huh?”
“…Why were you waiting?”
“I… thought I’d like to walk part of the way home with you.”
“……………”
So that’s why she was waiting…
Actually, this is the first time someone’s ever asked me to walk home together… It’s not that I’m happy, but… it’s super embarrassing.
“…It is pretty empty out here.”
Just the sounds of club activities echoing from the field… Well, at least it seemed unlikely anyone would see us and start rumors.
“Is it… bad?”
“…It’s not bad.”
Faced with her upward glance, I couldn’t help but nod.
So, I ended up leaving school with Ayaka… but I soon realized that walking home with her like this was actually a good thing.
“So, about that manga… oh!”
Ayaka, who had been happily talking about her hobbies, stopped in her tracks.
Wondering what was wrong, I followed her gaze. There stood another guy with a rough-looking, delinquent vibe.
He looked hot-tempered at first glance, but his build wasn’t much different from mine.
“Ayaka, what’s wrong?”
“……………”
Ayaka trembled and hid behind me.
This… something’s up, I thought, and didn’t ask any more questions. But the man in front of us had already noticed Ayaka. He grinned and started walking towards us.
“Who’d I be expecting? It’s Otonashi, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Hey, hey, cold reception for a reunion like this?”
This guy… His smug grin was infuriating.
“Seriously, who is this guy?”
“…It’s none of your business, Nakazato-kun.”
“See? That’s cold. To your ex-boyfriend.”
“!”
Ex-boyfriend… That word made Ayaka’s body tremble.
I was a little surprised too, but it was just too unbelievable… I couldn’t help but think it was absolutely impossible.
Even if they had been that kind of relationship, there had to be some kind of reason for this.
(…From the looks of it, Ayaka seems to dislike this guy… So what I need to do is get Ayaka away from here.)
I placed a hand on Ayaka’s shoulder, hidden behind me, and walked right past the man… Nakazato.
Of course, he immediately closed in on us, but I put every ounce of force I could muster into my face… and glared at him with all my might.
“Huh?”
“!?”
What the hell? I glared at him with murder in my eyes, and it seemed to work.
[Listen, Amato. If you think someone’s an enemy, glare at them like hell. Make them think you’re superior—just showing that instantly can scare them off, make them wonder if you’re stronger than them.]
Those were my dad’s words… Seriously, both my parents are weird, honestly.
But it’s true that their words and how they raised me live on inside me… I’m actually grateful for that part.
“H-hold on…”
But it seemed this guy still had something to say.
In a way, if this escalated into a fight, that might be easier, but then the school might get involved… Well, for now, I’ll just focus on protecting Ayaka.
“I don’t know what happened between Ayaka and you. Maybe you really were dating, maybe you weren’t… But if you were, I’m sure there was a reason, you know?”
“Amato kun…”
Ugh, don’t make that pathetic sound.
This is no time to hide behind a guy like some princess… especially behind a pathetic loser like me who failed at high school debut and has few friends.
“Well, judging people by appearances isn’t good either… After all, Ayaka and I get along just fine.”
“N-No, that’s not true! Amato-kun is super kind and a really good person! He’s totally different from Nakazato-kun!!”
“Oh~, thanks for that.”
Alright, alright, looks like she’s perking up.
Ayaka is usually way too quiet, so I know when she’s like this, it means she’s actually feeling good.
“So, I’m gonna head out now, okay? If you’ve got anything else to say, say it to me—go on, say it!”
“…Ugh, you’re annoying.”
With that, Nakazato walked off.
“Man, I’m glad I got Dad’s teaching and this look.”
“…Pfft.”
By the way, Ayaka knows surprisingly well that deep down, I’m actually a coward.
Ayaka chuckled amusedly, but then murmured softly.
“…Thanks, Amato-kun.”
“No problem.”
It’s also kind of like paying you back for helping me with my studies all this time.
Right after we started walking again, with Ayaka fully back to her usual self, she spoke up about what had just happened.
“If you call us boyfriend and girlfriend since we’re dating… well, I guess that’s not wrong.”
“Oh…?”
“Nakazato-kun was a classmate in middle school… and he bullied Makoto.”
“…Huh? I kinda figured that.”
“That’s something… Well, I couldn’t abandon my childhood friend Makoto… So I told him to stop picking on Makoto.”
“Yeah.”
“Nakazato-kun found it amusing and forced us to date as a condition.”
I see… So that’s what it was.
Wait, this story is exactly like the manga they were talking about… Stuff like that actually happens in real life, huh.
“But it only lasted about two weeks… He got bored and we stopped, and nothing happened after that.”
“I see… That’s really all there was to it?”
“Huh? Yeah… That’s really all there was.”
…Well, I guess middle schoolers wouldn’t actually do something like that.
“By the way, does Makoto know about this?”
“Makoto doesn’t know. I never told him. He was relieved the bullying stopped.”
“…I wonder how that is, though.”
It’s already over, so maybe we should leave it at that.
“Anyway, I’m glad nothing came of it.”
“Ehehe… You’re worried about me?”
“If we were just strangers, maybe not. But we’re close enough that you’re helping me with my studies, right? It’s only natural to worry.”
“…You really are kind, Amato-kun.”
After that, I made sure to walk Ayaka all the way to her house.
When we parted ways, she didn’t seem to be dragging anything along with her. She genuinely looked well, and that was a relief.
Maiasa