39
Early April.
The morning of the high school entrance ceremony after graduating from junior high school.
The path to school was not lined with cherry blossoms.
“It’s only about 30% in bloom, I guess.”
I glanced up at the sky as I walked, but most of the cherry blossoms had only just begun to bud and were far from full bloom.
On TV, they said that the cherry blossoms in Tokyo were at their best, but in Tohoku, it’s cold, so they bloom later than in Kanto. Spring in Iwate is like this every year.
They won’t be in bloom in time for the entrance ceremony, and they’ll be gone before Golden Week.
You could say that the half-heartedness is not very elegant, but there’s no point in complaining about a familiar sight.
“Familiar, huh?”
I looked down and saw a brand-new black blazer in my field of vision.
This is the uniform of Shoei High School, a private school that I will be attending for the next three years.
The sleeves are a bit too long because my parents ordered a larger size, thinking that I will still grow taller. It’s not that I appreciate their thoughtfulness, but I feel a little embarrassed because it looks like I’m wearing the uniform.
No one will pay any attention to me, but I guess it’s my nature to be self-conscious about what other people think.
“I bet this will never change.”
I’ve never liked standing out, not since I was a kid.
I think it will be the same in the future.
It’s painful to be the center of attention, and even if someone talks to me, I don’t have anything interesting to say.
They’ll soon think I’m a bore and leave me alone.
I hated that. I would hate myself even more and want to die from self-loathing.
It’s much better not to be expected in the first place than to be disappointed.
“I guess I’m in the minority with this way of thinking.”
When I get to high school, there will probably be a crowd of new students my age in front of the bulletin board.
Some of them will probably try to reinvent themselves, to be different from who they were in junior high school.
They desperately create a new self and try to be liked by others.
I honestly respect their attitude of trying to change themselves, and I think it’s amazing.
But isn’t it hard?
Creating a self that is not their true self, feeling the gap between their fake personality and their former self, doesn’t that get tiring?
What do they want to gain by doing that?
I don’t think I’ll ever understand.
It’s not that we’re incompatible, but there’s an invisible difference in our consciousness that prevents me from understanding.
“Besides…”
No matter how hard they try, they probably won’t be able to rise to the top.
At least, I’m sure it will be difficult to stand out by making a high school debut.
After all, I know that there is a girl who shines with a brilliance that sets her apart from the other students entering that high school.
“…”
I thought of her, and my body trembled.
At the same time, a feeling that could be called fear welled up from the pit of my stomach.
Maybe what happened that time is a trauma for me.
…No, that’s not true.
The breakup with my ex-girlfriend, Misaka Mio, still haunts me even though it’s been more than three months.
(Mio, huh…)
Like me, she had decided to go to Shoei High.
So that means we’ll still be classmates going to the same school.
It’s not that surprising since we initially promised to enter together, but with Mio’s academic abilities, she could have aimed for a higher-ranked school.
Even so, Mio’s aunt came to my house just to tell me that she had naturally narrowed it down to Shoei and passed the entrance exam, but it only felt like she was rubbing it in my face.
Of course, both of our parents already know that Mio and I have broken up, but they seem to be really unhappy about it.
Mio’s mother, in particular, seems to want us to get back together, and she brings up Mio every time we meet, but I just laugh it off.
We haven’t had a proper conversation since that day.
Even when we’re in the same classroom, we avoid making eye contact.
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I’ve been intentionally avoiding topics about her, so I don’t know what happened between her and Shido after that.
He tried to talk to me a few times, but I avoided that too.
I ended up spending my last days of junior high running away.
It was the worst possible ending, with not a single good memory.
I don’t know what Mio’s been up to, and I don’t want to know.
I don’t want to be involved with Mio anymore.
Right now, she’s Mio but not Mio, she’s someone completely different.
But still—
“Why did things turn out this way…”
I thought that would be the last time, so I poured my heart out, but what did it get me?
I couldn’t run away, and I’ll have to keep being afraid of Mio from now on.
She said she wouldn’t let me go.
Just like she said, I wasn’t able to escape.
At the very least, I don’t think I’ll be able to go through the next three years of high school without having anything to do with Mio.
How long will this go on?
Will I ever be able to shake her off?
Will I ever be allowed to be happy――――
“I won’t forgive you.”
—You left me and now you’re trying to be happy? I’ll never forgive you.
Those words still linger in my head.
“I…”
Just then, a strong gust of wind blew through.
The cherry blossom tree swayed violently in the wind, and the few cherry blossom petals that had bloomed fell.
As I watched the petals flutter and fall, I suddenly noticed something.
“……Huh?”
A girl was standing at the end of the path.
Wearing a black blazer, the petite girl was staring at the swaying cherry blossom tree.
Déjà vu.
I wonder if that’s a good thing.
I recognize her.
Somewhere, I’ve seen this girl before――――
“…………?”
The girl in my line of sight turned to look at me, having noticed me standing there frozen.
“Ah, that…”
“The cherry blossoms here aren’t in bloom yet, are they?”
The girl spoke to me as I hesitated to speak.
“Ah, yeah. They’re late bloomers.”
“Is that so? Well, now I have something to look forward to.”
The girl smiled a little happily, oblivious to my confusion.
“Something to look forward to?”
“I’ll get to see the cherry blossoms bloom twice. I don’t think there are many people who can say that.”
“That’s… probably true.”
Why am I having such a normal conversation like this?
I was supposed to be against interacting with people.
Before such a question could arise,
“――――Are you okay now?”
“Huh…”
“Are you okay now? Have you stopped crying?”
The girl asked me.
And then I remembered.
“You’re…”
“Nice to see you again. I made it on the Shinkansen.”
She smiled a small, happy smile.
“That uniform, it looks like we go to the same school. I don’t know if we know each other, but I’m glad to have met someone I recognize.”
“From that time…”
“Yes… Speaking of which, I never told you my name that time.”
She bowed her head slightly and said,
“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Yuka Akanishi. And you are—“
This was the encounter between me, Kouya Tsujimura, and Yuka Akanishi.
“What is your name?”
No, it was a reunion.
“………………………………”
“Humph.”
Who is that girl?