Asanagi’s family summoned me. I didn’t know why they would call me this early in the morning, but I’d bet it has something to do with causing them so much trouble.
After cleaning up, I steeled myself and left the house with Asanagi.
This was all so sudden, I didn’t have the time to prepare myself properly. I tried to dress up properly, but I only have cheap clothes that are function over form, so everything I tried on looked really lame.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, but… Your fashion sense is bad. I know that you don’t care all that much since you don’t leave your house often, but why does everything you choose look lame on you? Seriously, your fashion sense is something else.”
“As you said, I don’t care much about it. Besides, it isn’t all bad. You liked the sweatshirt from last night, didn’t you?”
“That one’s an exception. The rest of your clothes are either black or gray, what’s with that? Are you trying to appeal to the Lord of Darkness or something?”
“I’ll have you know that I graduated from my Chuuni phase last year. Besides, I have white clothes too!”
“Yes, sure, but still… Agh, the next time you go shopping for clothes, make sure to send me pictures first.”
“So you can tell me not to buy them?”
“Of course, your fashion sense is that bad. You probably bought those from a pawn shop or something anyway.”“I mean, it’s cheap…”
Well, if she were to leave me on my own, I would probably leave the house dressed in all-black, so I decided to leave everything to her instead.
But, seriously, humans are such inefficient creatures. They have to go through all this trouble just to go outside.
“Ah, by the way, what about your mom? Should I leave a note for her?”
“I already did, ‘I’ve been summoned by Asanagi’s mom, don’t look for me’.”
“What are you, a runaway child? Also, mom isn’t mad at you, don’t treat this as your death sentence or something.”
By the way, her dad was an SDF member and he had been busy with work, so he rarely came home. (T/N: If you don’t know, SDF is Self-Defense Force. Japan’s equivalent of the army, kinda, since they can’t have one.)
…In other words, I evaded certain death.
I didn’t have a daughter myself, so I wouldn’t know how a parent would feel, but if my daughter came to my house early in the morning with a boy, I would definitely kill him.
Anyway, we walked side by side through the residential area while exchanging jokes.
I was wearing my casual clothes while Asanagi was wearing her uniform. It felt strange to walk with her like this.
I turned my gaze to her.
She said that she just woke up and only lightly dressed herself up, but she still looked beautiful. Her skin looked smooth and the morning sun enhanced her beauty.
She was pretty to begin with, but since this was Asanagi we were talking about, she definitely put in a lot of effort to take care of herself.
After all, even though she acted sloppily around me, she acted properly everywhere else.
The ‘Asanagi Umi’ that everyone knew was the hard-working girl that put her all into everything she did.
“Mm? What’s up, Maehara? Still nervous?”
“No, I’ve calmed down…”
“Then, why are you staring at me like that? You fell for me or something?”
“No. Well, I do like you… As a friend though.”
“…A-ah… okay, thank you…”
“Mm? What’s wrong?”
“N-no, nothing… Anyway, what’s up?”
It was not nothing obviously, but if I were to push for an answer, she’ll hit me, so I’ll back off.
“Well, it’s not a big deal… But, when we’re walking side by side like this, don’t you think it feels unbalanced, somehow?”
I don’t know if it’s because of the sunlight, but Asanagi looked especially radiant today.
Her appearance on the outside is already amazing, and while I’d never say it to her face, she was beautiful on the inside as well. It’s no wonder she became the center of the class along with Amami-san.
And then there is me.
Putting my status as a loner aside, I know that the current me looks really gloomy with the out-of-the-place clothes I’m wearing. There’s also the fact that I keep my gaze on the asphalt all the time, adding more to my already gloomy atmosphere.
Of course I knew that Asanagi wouldn’t mind. She is that big-hearted. That’s why I got along well with her in the first place.
“…You’re still worrying over what the rest of the class had been saying?”
“Mm… Well, to be fair, this is the first time I’ve had this much attention. It's natural to be worried, no?”
Not worrying about it would be easier said than done. After all, they left their negative feelings bare for me to feel, so it was hard to ignore them.
I didn’t know who started this, but lately, baseless, unpleasant rumors about me spread to the other classes.
The trigger of this was the fact that I got along better with Amami-san recently.
Normally, I’d just dismiss those rumors as the wailing of the losers who couldn’t even bring themselves to talk to a girl, but still, sometimes those thoughts would creep into my mind and make me feel miserable. This just happened last night when I was having trouble sleeping.
…I’m such a mess…
I vented everything to Asanagi.
“Ah… The conversation turned heavy this early in the morning because of me, huh?… Sorry.”
“It’s fine… Also, dropping this kind of topic out of nowhere should be a no-no in any kind of circumstances though, not just early in the morning.”
Right…?
Seriously, I’m so inconsiderate.
“Hmm… Maehara, turn around.”
“Hah? What are you on about–”
“Ei!”
The moment I turned my head around, I felt a slight touch on my forehead.
It was a gentle head flick from Asanagi.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Nothing ~ It’s just you looked kinda cool for a second there, so I need to bring the uncool Maehara back to restore balance to this world.”
“Are you kidding me?”
What is she on about? Cool? When I’m venting my inferiority complex like this? Is she okay?
However, Asanagi’s face looked serious as she continued her words.
“Well, I was exaggerating when I called you ‘cool’, but hey, what you were doing wasn’t lame or anything like that, you know? Admitting your insecurities like that… Not everyone could do it even if their lives depended on it…”
“…Is that so…?”
“Mhm. I mean, look at the people who mocked you. They did that because they couldn’t admit their insecurities. That’s why they grouped up with other similar-minded people and talked sh*t behind other people’s backs. I’ve been with Yuu for a while, and their behavior is familiar to me.”
Even within the center of the class, which seemed peaceful on the outside, there should still be some kind of conflict hidden behind the scene. Asanagi’s position as Amami-san’s best friend might have sparked other people’s jealousy, huh?
“Maehara, you might think of yourself as a lame person or something, but I don’t think so. You aren’t lame, not at all. Of course, I’m talking about your personality, not your looks, that’s a whole different story.”
“Shut it.”
“Hehehe.”
Asanagi placed her hand on my head and gently stroked it.
“What are you doing?”
“No ~ thing. Your head is just in the right place for a head pat.”
“How does that make any sense?”
Well, I didn’t mind her petting my head like this, so I decided to let her do whatever she wanted.
“If you think that you being with me is ‘unbalanced’ or whatever, I’ll help you fix that. After all, the only ‘unbalanced’ thing about our relationship is our look. Fixing your appearance to be more presentable is nothing for me.”
“Really? Then, if I ask you to turn me into an ikemen, you’ll be able to do it?”
“Sure, I know a good place. Let’s see… eyelids, chin, nose, and body modification… Yeah, give me two million right now and I’ll fix everything for you.”
“So in the end, it’s all about money, huh?”
“What are you on about, of course it’s all about money. You know those pesky people who badmouthed you behind your back? Yeah, slap them with a thick wad of cash and they’ll shut their stinky holes up.”
“Oi oi, you sound like a massive jerk right now, stop it.”
“Muahahaha! I’ll take that as a compliment.”
In the end, our conversation spiraled back to our usual silly banter, but thanks to that, I felt a lot better.
Another thing became clear.
It didn’t matter what others said, Asanagi was my friend, and they won’t be able to change that fact.