Chapter Text
That next Saturday is now today.
“I’m home!”
“Oh?”
After taking Kinako for a walk, Mio was surprised to see Saku all dressed up when she opened the door.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
Knowing Saku, Mio knew he wasn’t the type to go out often, so this must’ve been a special occasion. It might just be the usual group of people who invited him out to hang out. She’s glad though, glad that someone is able to take him out from his room and hang out together.
“Oh? Hanging out with Usami-kun and the others?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Saku got his hands on Kinako, giving him a parting dose of pets. His fur felt soft and reassuring, as always. This does put a smile on Saku’s face as he is a vivid animal lover.
“… I’m gonna be back in a bit.”
“Okay! Take care~!”
Saku stepped out from his house, with Mio waving him goodbye. When he got further away from home, he sighed, out of relief.
He was glad Mio didn’t find out about the study session with Subaru.
Phew…
Thank god she didn’t find out.
Would’ve been a pain to deal with.
How Mio ‘interrogated’ Saku last week still boggles his mind, her barrage of questions aimed towards him really sucked his soul out. Saku not letting Mio know what he was up to was admittedly bad, but it was the best thing to do to not stir up curiosity or to cause further misunderstandings between them.
Perhaps she was genuinely worried about him; after all she was the closest one to witness Saku’s growth anyways.
Oh no, I think I’ve arrived way too early…
Subaru arrived to the station…
30 minutes earlier than expected.
Unsurprisingly so.
Ahhhhh… this is so embarrassing.
I was looking forward to the study session today, but I didn’t expect for me to be this…
Sigh.
A hint of red showed, coming from her cheeks. She could feel her face heat up from frustration and embarrassment.
She wasn't in a rush or anything, but she was excited. Too excited.
Subaru sighed. Knowing she had nothing to do but to wait for Saku, she tried wasting time by wandering around the station, hoping to find a store or somewhere to waste time, to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.
Especially in a place that gets crowded quick, she absolutely didn’t want to stand out.
But then, while strolling around the station, something stopped Subaru.
Wait, aren’t I supposed to let Natsusawa-kun know where we will be meeting?
She performed a whole 180, walking back to the meeting point before stopping again…
Wait, no… I shouldn’t let Natsusawa-kun know that I came 30 minutes before the study session, that might make him feel like I’ve waited for a very long time.
What… do I do?
Subaru was in a state of dilemma. One side of her wanted Natsusawa-kun to know where they’d be meeting up, the other side of her didn’t want Natsusawa-kun to know that she arrived in such an early time.
After taking 10 minutes of thinking, she finally made up her mind.
Subaru took a picture of the meetup point and sent it to Saku.
H: This is where we will be meeting up.
N: Noted.
N: I’ll be there in a few minutes.
H: No rush, I can wait…
N: Best to not keep you waiting, no?
N: You were looking forward to this.
H: Just take your time, I’ll be fine waiting you.
N: If you say so.
I knew he would respond like that…
Hoshina-san just texted me.
Said she’s gonna be waiting over there, huh.
Honestly, the only times I’ve hung out with Hoshina-san is when we were all in one big group. This study session is the first time we’ve ever hung out together without the usual group of people.
It’s just the two of us, studying.
It does make me feel a bit restless. It’s not like I’ve never talked to Hoshina-san, or anything. But still, this study session already feels far different than the ones for Rintaro and the others.
helping Rintaro, Shohei and Ayato to study has been a natural occurrence. especially Rintaro and Shohei, they were always the ones that struggle with tests or exams.
Naturally, I’m able to help them out without having to put in much effort doing so. I could just tell them the way to solve the question, or demostrate how to. But somehow, something still troubles me.
What might be the reason, I wonder?
“So Saku-kun.”
“I’ve never said anything about it before.”
“But the truth is…”
“You suck at explaining stuff.”
Ugghh.
Of course it was from Ayato…
Right, right. I do suck at explaining stuff. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t help them out.
It still annoys me everytime when I get reminded of this… especially back when we all met for a study session.
Rintaro and Shohei are also always the ones to go absolutely clueless everytime I try to explain my way of solving problems.
Maybe my way of solving questions was too hard for them to understand? I don’t recall on using really hard tactics for Chidori questions, though…
I guess I was too fixated on viewing things in my own perspective.
Nonetheless, study sessions with these three have always been pretty calm and smooth, except for some parts that tested my explanation skills, but still, it can be pretty fun seeing them actually get the grasp of it and be really happy about it.
That aside…
It is definitely different from what I’m going to experience with Hoshina-san.
Hoshina-san, from what I’ve known already…
She struggles with the opposite sex.
She can be easily nervous and clumsy at times.
Most importantly…
She is trying to get into T-University.
For her to go to T-University? That’s pretty impressive. It’s not like any other ordinary person is able to get in this prestigious school. You are required to ace subjects, nail interviews, maintain a good impression just to even get in the university.
Taking T-University entrance exams means that there are plenty of subjects that you have to fully master, you’ll have to use your knowledge to analyze and solve the question as quick as possible otherwise you’ll fail.
Not only that, I have to be really careful not to ruin her mood. I have to maintain my distance, if not, go absolutely soft on her. I’m still unsure what might be the reason for her to struggle around men, however just by hearing the surface of it, it definitely doesn’t sound good at all.
Especially with how she initially reacted when she saw Waguri-san with Rintaro before, and that time at the beach.
Which is why this is going to be entirely different than teaching Rintaro and Shohei. I can’t stick to my own perspective anymore.
I need to be careful.
Wait.
T-University is a co-ed university, no?
Why would she go there, instead of attending to an women’s university?
What could have inspired her to take the hard way? Is she going to face her hardships straight on?
Well…
I might ask her about that later on, only if she’s fine with me asking.
Few minutes later, Saku has finally arrived to the station. He looked through his DMs with Subaru again, double-checking if this is where they agreed to meet up on.
“Check out that girl over there!”
“Oh my…”
“She’s beautiful…!”
Hearing their praise from afar, Saku looked up, noticing Subaru was already there, waiting for him.
With the help of her silver hair and striking appearance, she sticks out awfully among people. Obviously enough, they can’t take their eyes off her, no matter how hard they tried.
Well…
That’s nothing new, I guess.
She really does stick out like a sore thumb.
"I bet I’m able to bag her."
Wait.
Why does she look… so angry?
Did I make her wait too long?
“You wanna try and ask her out?”
“For sure… I totally dig hotties like her!"
Oh crap..! Gotta get to her before they do…
Saku jogged, not trying to let people to hit on her.
Mm…
There’s just alot of things that I need to get a grasp on before the mock exams. I need to be well prepared for the upcoming entrance exams in order to be successfully accepted for T-University.
I’m just so grateful that Natsusawa-kun agreed to have a study session together. I have a feeling that it’ll help me a lot.
He’s been… really nice to me lately.
I still remember the time he told me to actually have some fun at the game centre, instead of staying away.
I hope he didn’t remember the part when I embarrassed myself playing basketball...
But in the end, it was nice for Natsusawa-kun and the others help me learn how to play basketball.
Ah, I wish to go there with them again sometime later. I had way too much fun.
Anyways…
Although me and Natsusawa-kun didn’t talk to each other much often, he’s always there when I need him the most.
He has given me courage to be more open to myself, to be more socialable. Till this day, I still think about what he had said at that time at the beach, because that really changed me.
I still think about him all the time, but can anyone blame me for doing so? Honestly, even when he mentioned that he hasn’t done anything to deserve my gratitude, it’s not like I have done anything that is worth his gratitude either.
That’s pretty unfair, Natsusawa-kun…
If there’s ever a chance, I hope that I could do the same towards him. I hope that one day, I could also give him the courage he needed.
I just want to show how grateful I am towards him.
Mm…
But I’m definitely not gonna tell him that I’ve waited 30 minutes for this.
Aaaaah… I don’t know, maybe I really wanted to make sure that I won’t get distracted or waste my energy on something less important, so I made my coffee much stronger than before.
That’s probably why-
"Check out that girl over there!"
…
"You wanna try and ask her out?"
“I totally dig hotties like her!"
Sigh.
These people make me sick…
Don’t they have better things to do instead of harrassing other people?
I guess I’ll have to move, I can’t stand people like these.
“Hoshina-san…!”
Wait…
That voice.
It’s him!
"Natsusawa-kun!"
Subaru gleamed, seeing Saku finally arriving really puts her down at ease.
Saku was taken aback, he never expected her to regain her mood back instantly, especially from the face she was making. Maybe she really wanted to see him.
"Sorry for making you wait."
"No worries! You didn’t make me wait. I just got there early anyways."
Huh, she seems relieved, considering what just happened.
I’m actually so glad to see him. He saved the day once again.
"Y’know, I thought you were mad at me because you had been standing there for so long."
Shocked, Subaru instantly replied.
“N-no! Why would I be mad at you?"
“I don’t know. I just got that vibe from you.”
“I wouldn’t get angry just because of that!"
“Though I think you’re right. My friends do often ask me if I’m angry about something.”
“Well? What had you making that face anyways?”
Definitely don’t want to tell Natsusawa-kun about earlier…
“… I was just thinking that there’s a lot of things I should study today.”
“I’ll try my best to help.”
“Thank you, Natsusawa-kun.”
“Don’t mention it.”
She never changes, huh…
“Off we go, then?”
“Yeah.”
The duo walked off, leaving the station.
“Welcome!”
“Oh, if it isn’t Hoshina-san.”
“Here to study again?”
The waitress greeted Subaru warmly since she’s a regular in the cafe. However things are not the same for Saku, as it is his first time being there.
“Yes, the mock exams and regular exams are right around the corner.”
“Ouch… you’ve got it rough, huh.”
Of course, they wouldn’t notice the guy who was standing right behind Subaru, they might’ve thought that it was just a random customer waiting for their order.
They seem to know her quite well…
“Same old?”
“Actually…”
Subaru turned.
“Would you be okay with that?”
“What?”
“W-wait, he’s with you?!”
“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry, I have no idea!”
“Don’t worry about it…”
Saku waved them off, telling them that it’s okay.
“What were you asking again?”
“My regular spot.”
“Where might that be?”
Subaru brought Saku to her regular spot, which was a counter that was next to the wall, with the city view in front. This spot may be very constricted, but that’s her go-to spot for studying, since she was used to study alone.
“Here, I usually study alone so… it’s a bit cramped.”
And with the cafe being crowded at afternoon, it’s safe to say Saku’s plans to maintain distance from Subaru broke apart. With this amount of space, there is no way Saku could give himself a little space from her, even if he wanted to.
No, it’s not just a bit cramped.
It is very cramped…
Especially at a time like this…
“I’m so sorry..! But we don’t have any open tables right now…”
…
“I mean, if you don’t mind me sitting close to you?”
“I’m fine with it.”
“Okay…”
Subaru glanced at Saku while slightly tilting her head and raising her eyebrows, It’s almost as if she’s asking him if he’s ready.
Saku looked back, just by seeing her silly face already told him that she couldn’t wait any longer. She was genuinely looking forward to this day.
“I guess it’s settled.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“Manager, Hoshina-san brought a boy with her!”
“Waaah…!”
“I couldn’t believe it either…”
Seeing the person behind was accompanying Subaru, the cafe employees were pretty much taken aback. It’s the first time that they have witnessed Subaru bringing someone to the cafe. And to add, that person is a boy.
“You really know all sorts of places, Hoshina-san.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s great here, it has a pretty relaxing atmosphere. It helps me focus on my studies more, so I usually come there whenever I can’t focus at home.”
“I could tell, you have grown acquainted with the employees here too.”
“They have been treating me well, so naturally we have become closer as time passed by.”
“Honestly? I never got that feeling from you, but you did seem to be more socialable than before, after all.”
“Oh really? Maybe it’s more like the people around me are all such nice people that I grew comfortable talking with them.”
“… Especially you, you know.”
Subaru murmured.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“I heard that…”
“Not telling.”
“Whatever…”
But seriously though…
I feel really at ease just by talking to you.
“Anyways.”
“Of course, there’s still some people that I want to avoid at any cost.”
“I’m still far from being Madoka or Usami-kun.”
“Yeah, those two are in their own league. Nothing could ever compare them.”
“Hehe, you’re right.”
“More importantly.”
Subaru reached in her bag, pulling out what seems to be an exercise workbook of Maths.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
“There’s just alot of things I wanna ask regarding about the material.”
“… Okay, let’s do that.”
Subaru placed the workbook on the counter, flipping the pages where she struggled the most.
“First I’d love for you if you started teaching me there…”
“Actually, hold that for a second.”
“Huh?”
“Try solving this question right now…”
“I’d like to see how you solve it, and where you struggle with it.”
“Okay…”
Subaru took a quick look at the question, before taking her pen, writing down the solution.
Only for her to be encounter a ‘roadblock’ that stopped her from continuing.
“… Right there.”
“I always struggle on this part of the formula.”
“Even when I analyse the solution, I can’t seem to get it.”
“Hm…”
“I think I got it.”
Saku, unaware of the person next to him, unintentionally leaned over to his left, trying to solve the question.
Wait, he’s way too close…
Wait, that’s Hoshina-san..!
Saku immediately widened his eyes, realising who’s next to him as he retracted his body back as quick as possible, trying not to make Subaru feel uncomfortable.
“O-oh, sorry.”
“I think we should switch seats…”
“What?”
“I mean, when I sit next to you, I’ll have to get closer to be able to teach you…”
“And I thought you wouldn’t like it.”
“No, no… I’m perfectly fine with it, don’t worry about it, Natsusawa-kun.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“… Okay.”
“Then, where was I…?”
After having permission to get close, Saku slowly leaned over, demonstrating how to solve the question.
Saku’s demonstration made Subaru get a firm grasp on the solution, understanding the key to solve it. She beamed, knowing she had figured it out.
“So that’s how you solve it!”
“That makes so much more sense!”
“I’m really glad to hear that.”
Saku was delighted that his new way of teaching people worked.
He seemed… happy.
“Hey Natsusawa-kun?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you ask me for another chance to ‘test’ yourself?”
“Huh?”
“Your style of teaching has changed completely from last time…”
“You did mention you were looking into it, but what exactly did you do?”
“… Nothing, actually.”
“I just stopped looking at everything one-sidedly.”
“One-sidedly? Well, I guess it did feel like that back then.”
Surprisingly brutal with words huh, Hoshina-san..?
“… Remember when we all gathered together to study for exams?”
“I just so happen to see you and Waguri-san teach Shohei and the others.”
“Made me realise something.”
“Just one change in conveying information, can have such big impact on other people’s understanding.”
“I started to observe how our teachers would teach us during class once I know about this.”
“And let’s just say… it opened my mind.”
“It’s important to stand on other people’s perspective while teaching.”
“I mean if people ask me to teach them, wouldn’t it be a waste if they still don’t get it at the end?”
“That’s how I managed to teach people more efficiently, instead of… what happened before.”
“Hehe, I still remember you being all flustered about it.”
“Oh trust me, I know…”
“It still frustrates me. I get that I suck at explaining, but that was really embarrassing.”
“Aghhh, you shouldn’t have reminded me of that, this still haunts me, even in my sleep…”
Subaru chuckled softly.
“You don’t have to worry about all of that. You’re doing really great now!”
“I mean you helped me to get a clearer view on how to solve this question, just now. That’s improvement right there.”
“We all do make mistakes, but what matters is how we are going to correct them.”
“And you did a very good job at that, Natsusawa-kun. So no need to stress this out.”
“I guess you’re right…”
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“… No problem, I guess.”
Natsusawa-kun, you’re such a kind person…
I’m so tired…
I can’t focus…
“Hoshina-san, how about we grab a bite? We’ll get to these questions later.”
“Sure, let’s get something to eat.”
Hours of studying and doing exercises non-stop completely drained both Saku and Subaru. They couldn’t continue on with the study session without losing their focus, so they agreed to order something on the menu.
“I have to say, seeing you work on the exercises with ease was really impressive.”
“Thanks for letting me borrow the workbook, although I do think T-University is sure a step above what I’m used to.”
“Speaks volumes when you react that nonchalantly after these…”
“Oh! By the way, have I ever told you how delicious the food and coffee here?”
Subaru’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“I’m about to find out.”
“Hoshina-san.”
“Hm?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask, if you don’t mind me asking..?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why is it that you chose a co-ed university?”
“I mean, I’m sure you fully chose it because you want to fulfill your dream of becoming a lawyer.”
“It’s just, I expected you to choose a women’s university. After all you did mention that there are people that you didn’t want to run into, especially with the opposite sex, but you’d probably be confronted with men a lot in a co-ed university.”
“I should be minding my own business, but… I don’t know. It boggles my mind…”
“Like you might not have anyone to protect you from them, or such…”
“So… yeah.”
…
I crossed the line, didn’t I?
“It’s fine if you don’t want to answer it.”
“You’re… incredibly considerate, aren’t you?”
“You must be pretty worried about me.”
“Wha-?! I don-”
“Your order is ready!”
“…”
“… Thank you very much.”
What in the world am I thinking…?
“Let’s eat…”
…
“… Well, I am worried about you.”
“We’re friends, right? That much should be a given.”
“That’s true.”
“And you’re also right, my first choice was a women’s university up until the end of last year.”
“The truth is, I couldn’t muster up courage to apply for T-University even I wanted to. After all my trouble of dealing with the opposite sex isn’t fully solved, either.”
“So even if I continued to avoid that issue and managed to get away from it, I know that it’ll creep right back to me when I successfully become a lawyer as a roadblock in my way.”
“So that’s why you chose a co-ed university.”
“Is to conquer your fears, head on?”
“Mm.”
“… That’s quite the aggressive therapy method.”
“Oh you’re definitely not wrong about that.”
“But the reason why I managed to make that decision was because of you and the others.”
“I realized that there are also people like you who exist in this world.”
“It’s funny. I managed to restore my faith in humanity after just becoming friends with you.”
“Such positive experience… really helped me out alot.”
“Just by spending time with you, really allowed me to become more positive and it given me the courage to aim for something much greater.”
“Once I enrolled in T-University, I’d like to meet all sorts of people unrelated to their sex, and just talk to them, so that I could gain more experience in talking to people and grow from it.”
“Of course, there’s no telling how that would end up.”
“But if I don’t take this opportunity now…”
“I would surely come to regret this decision later in the future.”
For a moment, Saku could feel his heart had skipped past a beat. Seeing Subaru shine just out from the ordinary wasn’t something he expected to witness.
“But before that, I have to get accepted into T-University.”
“Y-you’re right.”
That surprised me…
Just for a moment, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
It’s easy to see how much she had changed compared to how she was before.
But thinking back…
Hoshina-san always had the courage to take the first step towards change.
Never really paid attention to this before, but she is someone who can always work towards being better.
That strength alone…
Is worthy of admiration.
Hoshina-san, you’ve really grown out a lot…
It was already evening when the study session was finished. Both of them had helped together to get a better understanding of the questions that they were unsure about.
The feeling of finally being able to take down the hard questions felt great for Subaru, as she takes a step closer to be accepted in T-University.
On the other hand, the feeling of finally being able to use his way of teaching to help people with their studies felt great for Saku, as he managed to teach Subaru effectively today.
As both of them stepped into the station, it was time for them to go their seperate ways.
“Thank you for today, Natsusawa-kun. I really appreciate you making time for me.”
“Don’t mention it, I’ve learnt alot today as well.”
“I’m gonna go this way now…”
“…”
“See ya..!”
“… Actually.”
“Maybe I should also have a go at it.”
“The mock exams, I meant.”
“Oh? What brought this up?”
“Well… it’s not like I have decided which university to go…”
“It’s just I figured… I might as well see where I’ll stand.”
“Though, I’m still unsure if I’m going to T-University as my first choice.”
“… That makes me happy.”
“I had intended to go there by myself, so I feel a bit anxious…”
“Then what do you say we head together on the day of the exams?”
“Having you with me would be very reassuring.”
“… Of course.”
“Goodbye, and thanks for everything, Natsusawa-kun.”
“Bye.”
As they both got further away from each other, something new had crept up into their minds.
Reassuring… she said.
She trusts me way too much…
Though… she might probably feel the same way with the other guys too.
There’s no way that she would only say that to me.
It’s too good to be true.
Why does Hoshina-san feel so… different to be around with now?
I think I’ve gotten used to interacting with people and how they behave whenever we hang out…
But for some reason…
When he leaned over,
My heart…
Just what was that about…?
Was he too close to me? Or was I too stiff?
Why do my feelings with Natsusawa-kun feel so much different than before..?
Sigh.
What is he currently thinking..?
What does she have in her mind now?
What am I feeling?
What is this feeling?