Oregairu Vol 13 Chapter 3

 Chapter 3:  Until the end, Yuigahama Yui continues to watch


After  coming  out  of  the  student  council  room,  I  dragged  on  my  feet  that  felt  heavier
through every step. The fatigue accumulated throughout the day presses heavily onto my
body and mind.

As I walked out of the school building, the sun has already went down, the chilly winds of
the night started to erode my body.

I had the chills as a gust of wind blew across me, I reacted by putting on the coat that I've
been  holding  in  my  hand  up  until  now.  The  fatigue  continues  to  crawl  over  my  entire
body, that I can't even get myself to properly roll up the scarf hanging around my neck.
The way I'm dressing up probably looks familiar to Takanohana Koji's style in his early
days[6].

As I  dragged  myself  with  what's  left  of my  consciousness  towards  the  bicycle  porch, I
remembered that I took the monorail this morning due to the rain.

I continued to drag on my feet, and turned towards the school gate.

On the road, I saw Iroha running in front of me, her skirt fluttering in the wind.

She seemed to have noticed me too. Before I could call out to her, she ran over with small
steps, and then landed a punch onto the side of my waist.

"Ah, it hurts..."

Due to  her wearing  soft gloves,  I  didn't feel  painful at  all,  but in  front of  her  unhappy
expression, I shouted out as if I was in pain to play along her act. However, Iroha did not
seem to cheer up, staring at me with a cold sight.

"Are you stupid or something? Why did you have to make things so conflicting?"

"No, listen. It's not just me, Yukinoshita also acted really..."

I tried to give an excuse, but Iroha refused to listen, made a hmph sound and turned over,
starting to walk away, I proceeded to follow behind her.
"Listen  to  me  alright?  You  saw  that  didn't  you,  how  stubborn,  how  super  duper
troublesome..."

"Oh hey, good job with your most accurate self-introduction ever."

"You're  welco...  wait  I'm  not  talking  about  me.  Even  though  I  did  acted  the  same  way
back there."

Saying that, I sped up my footsteps in order to catch up with Iroha. However, the distance
between did not shorten at all.

"By the way, aren't you walking a little too fast? This is the kind of speed one uses when
they're trying to get rid of this random annoying guy in front of the train station."

"Ah, I don't need these."

Without looking back back, Iroha replied in a low tone.

Yup, that was cold. I guess she won't turn around even if I start shouting Vanilla Vanilla
high income[7]. So I continued to follow her footsteps.

If my memory serves me well, Iroha should be heading to the station a mile ahead of us.
Even  if  the  trains  we  take  go  in  opposite  directions,  we'll  still  have  to  start  out  at  the
same station.

So I continued to step upon Iroha's shadow for quite some time.

During this period, neither me or Iroha said a single word. Only the rustling sounds of
dried leaves, the ringing sounds of the bicycles passing by, and the roaring sounds of the
wind could be heard.

It is natural for Iroha to feel so frustrated. The conversation between me and Yukinoshita
never  felt  coordinated  throughout  the  process,  to  the  point  that  I  had  to  declare  my
opposition against her. Iroha who was unaware about the competition going on in the
Service Club probably felt really confused. I even promised her that I'll talk it through
properly before we enter the student council, for things to result in such a way. I really
felt sorry.

I guess its better if I apologize to her huh... as I was thinking, Iroha suddenly stopped in
her tracks. Standing on the small road beside a park, and under the dim lights from the
two vending machines nearby, she let out a weak, frustrated breath.

She then turned around, looking at me speechlessly. She then pointed her finger at the
vending machine while remaining silent.
Is  she  asking  for  a  treat?  Well,  if  this  can  change  her  mood  for  the  better,  then  its
definitely a worthwhile investment. But to look it in another way, she's also offering a
peace treaty through me buying her a drink. What a nice person....

I  put  some  coins  into  the  vending  machine  and  started  to  choose  drinks.  Warm  max
coffee and...milk tea? No, perhaps bean soup is a better option...... or corn soup should be
fine too. Eh, whatever. I then pressed on the button.

I  then  handed  over  the  drinks  that  I  chosen  at  random,  Max  coffee  on  my  right  hand,
bean soup on the other. Iroha looked at my drinks of choice and shown a sign of disgust.

"Why does it have to be these two..."

While complaining, probably thinking that its not nice to straight up refuse, she took the
can  of  bean  soup  reluctantly.  Chiba  residents  are  surprisingly  incompatible  with  Max
coffee huh...

She then squatted down, leaning her back onto the vending machine, took of her gloves,
open up the bean soup, and took a sip. Releasing a puff of white gas in the process.

"...So uhm, sorry."

"For what."

Standing  beside  the  squatting  Iroha,  I  opened  up  my  can.  Awaiting  her  reply  while
drinking. Iroha who seemed to have some trouble speaking out, muttered slowly.

"If I never mentioned about the prom, perhaps things wouldn't have ended up being so
conflicted."

The way Iroha said it sounded so awkward and intriguing, that I find it funny and cute, so
I accidentally looked at her in an unnatural way. Iroha then reacted by pulled her scarf
over her mouth, saying "what are you looking at..." in a muffled voice. I smiled bitterly
and shook my head.

"...It has nothing to do with the prom. In fact this might be exactly what we needed."

"Eh?"

Iroha looked up at me looking confused. Is it because of the warmth and sweetness of the
coffee? My voice sounded a lot more softer than I thought. This made me feel a little shy,
so I raised my head looking towards the sky.

"If we don't bring things to an end, we'll end up being stuck with our current situation. A
destination, or specifically a goal is needed. Its not just the prom, whatever request we're
taking on will turn up the same way it is right now."
"Is that……so."

Her  weak  reply  made  me  feel  concerned,  as  I  looked  back.  Iroha  is  hugging  onto  her
knees  looking  down,  as  if  she  is  thinking  over  something.  But,  Iroha  really  shouldn't
really feel sorry about it.

Me,  Yukinoshita  and  Yuigahama.  The  relationship  between  the  three  of  us  became
distorted before we could realize it. Yes, our relationship did started out being somewhat
distorted. But it has been corrected little by little as time passes, and at some point we
managed to create a space that seem comfortable for the three of us.

I am responsible for the collapse of this comfort zone. Even if there are things that I can't
stand with, things that I find unnatural, but on the other hand I also ended up wishing,
that things could stay the way they are, and have the days pass through as we conceal
ourselves with shallow words.

Such an unstable state, will easily collapse no matter what junctures come upon it. This
time it just happened to be the prom, and Yukinoshita Haruno's interference. Iroha was
simply dragged into our mess. So I should be the one to apologize.

"I'm sorry too, for making things so chaotic."

Hearing that, Iroha simply shrugged and answered in a lazy tone.

"Ah...  that  doesn't  matter  actually.  Like  I  said,  as  long  as  the  prom  can  be  held
successfully, I'm fine with anything~"

"Hmph……"

Replied me with a similarly lazy tone, and our conversation came to a sudden halt.

The warmth from the can in my hand is slowly fading. However, neither I or Iroha were
in a hurry to finish off our drinks, as we stared quietly into the night. Perhaps the fatigue
accumulated from this busy day is starting to show itself again. We might be even more
busy starting tomorrow.

I never wanted to be related to work and labor, yet before I realize it I'm already actively
trying  to  get  myself  involved  with  the  prom.  In  fact  I  was  against  this  during  the
beginning,  yet  I  got  defeated  by  Iroha's  enthusiasm.  Like  seriously,  where  did  all  her
enthusiasm even came from?

"...Hey, honestly speaking, why did you want to organize the prom so badly?"

Iroha glanced at me looking surprised, then pulled herself a distance away from me step
by step.
"I mean, you never gave us an actual reason back then."

At least she did show us her determination. But one could say that, she only conveyed
her determination.

But due to us being familiar with Iroha to an extent, just listening to her determination is
enough for us to decide on helping her out.

She talked about wanting to become Prom Queen back then in the clubroom, but that's
probably not what she really had in mind. There are times where Iroha would use really
shallow words, there are times where she would blow things out of proportions, there
are also times where she would make silly jokes, and sometimes she would just come out
with random words that popped up in her head.

But, Iroha is also smart enough to be aware of the true nature of things. So she probably
has an intent of her own with organizing the prom.

"Well...its about that you know, the thing about Hiratsuka sensei being shifted away."

"...You already knew that since the beginning?"

"Well,  yeah.  There  was  this  time  where  I  was  going  to  hand  in  a  report,  where  I
overheard about it through the conversation among the teachers."

Iroha  said  it  without  paying  too  much  attention.  This  girl  is  truly  amazing.  Not  telling
anyone else about the news after learning about it, and silently worked on the prom...

I nodded in admiration, Iroha then said with slightly embarrassed tone.

"It was that time where I thought that, if I don't properly send her off, that if I don't give
her a proper farewell I'll definitely regret it."

"I never knew that you felt...that way towards Hiratsuka sensei....sniff."

I covered my mouth to hold back my sobs. Muh man, she really, really is a good person.
Such a beautiful mentor pupil love...That Iroha, who gets scolded by Hiratsuka on a daily
basis, and always shrugs off her comment with a poker face.... Hiratsuka sensei, your love
has really reached into your students hearts...

As I was feeling moved, Iroha silently gazed away and whispered.

"Ah, well, yeah, I don't... to that kind of degree you know."

"Erm? What? What did you just say?"
But then again, this sounded more like a shitty excuse than an actual reason.

Iroha cleared up her throat through a few light coughs, then made a really cute smile, and
looked at me teasingly.

"Well,  isn't  senpai  the  exact  same  kind  of  person?  The  kind  of  person  who,  will  tell
himself that he didn't manage to do anything, and feel regretful over it."

"Well yeah, I guess so..."

It is true that I'm currently feeling regretful at the moment, which made my true feelings
blend into my voice, giving it a sense of solidness. Iroha then nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm probably this type of person too."

Her words surprised me a little. As I looked at her in confusion, Iroha made a pale, lonely
smile, and looked into the distance.

"I mean even for someone like me, I don't actually have a lot of friends, isn't so?"

"What kind of person did think you look from the outside..."

"Uhm hmm."

"Please continue"

Realizing that I've interrupted her, I nodded a few times as an apology, and allowed her
to continue. Iroha gave me a cold look, and sighed deeply, she then lowered her head,
playing with a small stone beside her shoes, and slowly continued to speak.

"I only have you senpais. Which is why, I wanted to properly send of you, Yukino and Yui
senpai, Hayama senpai...and even Tobe senpai and a lot of my other senpais off."

Her intermittent words weaved themselves into a gentle sound, which made the edges of
my mouth to lose tension. Boi, what an incredible kouhai that I have here. If I don't reply
her with a joking manner, I might really wet my eyes before I know it.

"Ahaha, were you always that good of a person?"

"I'm doing this so that I won't have any regrets. It was all for myself, not for the sake of
you senpais alright."

Iroha emphasized her intent, and made a hmph sound while raising up her chest. Under
the illumination of the vending machine, her slightly reddish ears were exposed among
her swaying hair. I should probably pretend that I never saw that.
To claim that all her actions were for the sake of herself, I don't necessarily dislike such
an attitude.

"...And that's why I wanted to make a prom."

Iroha looked up into the night sky with a dreamy expression, saying out her wishes.

"Like this, to purposely work on something troublesome, spend a lot of time, to think, to
drown deep in thoughts, to the point where we feel stressful, panicked, and starting to
feel tired of each other ... and finally find ourselves at peace, letting go of something we
once held dear to. Is this not a refreshing way to bid farewell?"

Looking at how Iroha raised up both of her arms with a wow, I finally understood what
she was talking about.

That process she said of is probably the path that I once walked on. Can I struggle till the
end in such an unpleasant way, and willingly accept our separation?

"... Well, it's not that hard to understand."

"Really?"

Asked Iroha half teasingly towards the words that went out of my mouth. Even if I knew
that she was joking around, her eyes that are staring at me shone with sincerity. So, I
remained silent, only showing her a faint smile.

"If that's the case..."

Saying that, Iroha pulled onto the my scarf and stood up. She the made a turn with her
arm, and wrapped it around my neck like a gymnastic ribbon.

"Then be a little serious."

Even though she's still wearing a smile on her face, yet using a tone completely different
from the joking sounds from just now, she rebuked me. This distance where we can feel
each others white breath, and the surprise from being scolded by a girl who is younger
than me, made me froze for a moment.
"Ah, ah, sorry..."

I took a few millimeters of distance away from her, and readjusted my scarf. In order to
hide my surprised and blushing face ninja style.

Seeing my reaction, Iroha sighed deeply, and then grabbed onto the corner of my scarf,
playing with it.

"If  you  start  acting  more  serious,  I  can't  get  myself  to  feel  serious  too.  It's  a  problem
alright, this kind of thing. It's so annoying to think of, it's so hard to deal with, and it's so
troublesome. Like very very troublesome."

Said  Iroha,  as  she  tightens  the  scarf,  pinching  it  onto  my  chest.  After  she  beautifully
rolled the scarf to the point no air could pass through its gaps, she gave me a neko punch
across the scarf.

"Ouch it hurts..."

Across the soft gloves and tightly wrapped scarf, I don't feel any pain from her fist at all.

Yet, its sensation continues to echo solidly within my chest.
                                  3-2

I turned on the lights in the living room, and whispered that I have returned.

However no one responded, only the chilly air swirls within the house.

My parents are still at work, Komachi might have gone out too. So where's our beloved
cat ... I made some thinking, and flipped up the quilt placed over the heater. Among the
darkness, a pair of flashy things could be seen, my eyes lined up with that of Kamakura's,
who's lying down comfortably beside our heating machine.

Kamakura  simply  stared  at  my  face,  not  meowing  nor  growling,  staying  motionless.
Telling  me  through  its  eyes  "Human,  the  cold  air  is  entering,  hurry  up  and  close  the
kotatsu." Huh, it greets Komachi whenever Komachi she comes back, but treats me with
such an attitude? Why can't he be a little more close to me, guess Kamakura doesn't like
me getting near him huh... I felt uneasy with that thought, telling him "I'm back.", let go of
the blanket, while turning on the switch to the heater, which tends to be turned off when
no one is left in the house... Time to warm myself up...

Since the cat already had its share of air conditioning, its time for the human to enjoy his.
I  pressed  on  the  remote  control,  adjusting  the  air  conditioner  to  greenhouse  mode.
Warm air then started to blow out, which made me finally feel comfortable. I untied the
scarf wrapped around my neck, and took a deep breath.

I would usually spend the next few hours laying around lazily, but I don't have that much
free time to stay comfy right now.

After taking off my coat, I lay down on the sofa. Held my phone in my hands, and started
to search for information. The keywords being, prom nights.

'I  will  make  the  prom  happen,'  even  though  I  made  such  a  solid  statement,  and  even
though me and Yukinoshita have decided on the directions we'll take on separately. I'm
still lacking actual content and resources.

First of all, I'll have to obtain as much info about proms as possible, before shortlisting
the things I can do.

After researching a certain amount of into, I paste them into the notebook, writing down
my own comments and ideas, and repeat the same process.

The  information  that  I  could  find  on  the  internet,  are  most  probably  content  that
Yukinoshita and Iroha have went through and taken consideration of, which makes me
feel  that  no  actual  progression  has  been  made.  No  matter  how  much  information  I
collect,  it  won't  be  easy  to  come  out  with  a  proposal  that  could  stand  out  more  in
comparison to that of Yukinoshita's.

Yukinoshita and the others were not wrong with their direction of fixing the issues of the
parents'  concerns,  but  their  plan  doesn't  seem  to  guarantee  anything  either.  Another
rejection from the parents or the school will mean that they'll have to start from scratch...
urghhh... I don’t understand this~ can’t think anything~ can't find any inspiration at all~
I struggled with my brain to figure out an idea, while rolling on the sofa.

There  are  less  than  two  weeks  until  the  graduation  ceremony.  If  we  take  the  actual
preparation time into consideration, I'm left with two to three days' time to think of a
solution.  The  proposal  has  to  be  done  before  that,  its  a  deadline  that  must  not  be
exceeded.

No, wait a second, think about it in a more flexible mindset...

It is true that the deadline cannot be broken, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it
can't be delayed, isn't so? Ah hah, now that's how you deal with an editor flexibly! Truly
well played, man am I a genius.

Unfortunately, unlike the flyers back then, the opponent is not an editor, but a scheduled
activity that will not change its date, a much stricter timetable is upon us.

We're being forced to a desperate situation right now.

For now, a change in perspective is necessary. This is when I have to change my point of
view. As I continued to think, I rolled down from the sofa, and kept rolling until I went
under the warm quilt kotatsu.

This  is  definitely  a  very  weird  act  from  the  viewpoint  of  an  outsider,  but  history  has
proven that people who do strange things tends to lead them into new ideas, especially
when they give up on caring about the views of others.

After rolling myself under the blanket, under the dim light, Kamakura seemed shocked,
and  fled  to  the  corner  furthest  from  me,  looking  at  me  with  eyes  that  spells  "What  is
wrong with this guy ..."

AHA! EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED! This is time where, even a cat's paw could be of use! If
I place the ball of meat on its paw to rubs onto my eyelids, it could heal up my tired eyes,
bringing  my  soul  towards  inner  peace,  such  serene  grace,  leading  us  towards  world
peace, and the new series of ARMORED CORE will be released!

Trying  to  get  Kamakura  lend  me  its  paw,  I  reached  out  my  arm  towards  it.  Which
Kamakura responded by jumping out of the stove.
As I popped my head out of the kotatsu, not sure when exactly did she came back, my
eyes lined up with that of Komachi's, who stood in front of me with a stern look.

"...What are you doing brother?"

As she stared at me coldly, Kamakura moved towards her feet, rubbing his face onto her
feet. Komachi then kneels down, rubbing all over Kamakura's body. While maintaining
her cold attitude towards me.

"Don't roll around in your uniform, go get a change clothes first. Its wrinkled and there's
sticking hair."

"Oh, alright..."

I answered while standing up, and began to loosen my tie while walking into my room.

I quickly changed into my jersey and walked back into the living room. Komachi who has
also changed into her casual wear could be seen walking into the kitchen.

"Onii, have you eaten yet?"

"Ah, no."

"Mom prepared a pot of stew , are you okay with it?"

"Well sure... not like there are any other choices."

I too, walked into the kitchen, secretly looking around to see if there's anything else. But
other than the bubbling contents within the clay pot, nothing else could be seen above
the  stove.  Come  to  think  of  it,  we've  been  having  nothing  else  but  hotpot  for  dinner
recently  ...  The  pitcher  for  noodles  in  the  summer,  and  the  pitcher  for  hotpot  in  the
winter, the battle for the strike king title in this year is as exciting as usual.

As I shown a displeased face, Komachi pointed at me with a ladle while placing her hand
on her waist.

"If you have a problem with it, then make your own food."

"Alright……"

She seemed so upright about it, that I could only nod obediently. Preparing dinner for us
even when you're so busy, thank you mum and dad, very cool.

Well, in comparison to the days where we only had plain noodles, the charm of hotpots
lies in how they can come out with different trick balls, sumo pot assorted pot chicken
pot spicy cabbage curry and even porridge udon and so on, which makes it just so much
better. If you post such a thought on Twitter, chances are that you'll receives a bunch of
trash replies like "HaNGiNG nOoDLeS ArE NoT thAt BaD! aS LoNG aS yoU pUt iN eFForT,
yOu cAn COmE ouT WiTH mANy VariATiOnS toO! LOL." that shit is truly annoying, look
our family cook noodles for the sake of its simplicity alright, spending effort on making
variations of it is doing the exact opposite. If your reply them this way, you'll get even
more  dumb  answers  like  "ThE  kEY  oF  CooKInG  DeLIciOuS  nOoDLeS,  oNlY  rEQuiReS
PlAiN NoOdLEs. CoME ovEr To MuH pLAce, I'lL ShOW yOU HoW iTS DoNe." this is just so
annoying, inviting people to their place the next day just to prove that, look I have own
plans too alright. This kind of person would spend a few hours talking about the different
tastes of plain noodle, just eat them that way, with no other seasoning but a pinch of salt.
Looking  at  these  ingredient  enthusiasts,  salt  enthusiasts  and  soup  enthusiasts  arguing
with each other is just simply abnormal.

When  you're  eating  something,  its  just  best  not  be  disturbed  by  anyone,  this  sense  of
freedom  is  just...how  do  I  say  it,  like  you've  been  granted  salvation!  In  other  words,
eating  with  Komachi  is  simply  the  best  isn't  so?  Like  how  that  one  best  brother  has
always said, Imouto Sae Ba Ii[8].

I  then  prepared  two  bowls,  scooped  up  enough  rice  for  the  both  of  us,  and  walked
towards the kotatsu.

Komachi then carefully brought the pot over. After I cleaned up the table and placed a
pad on the table, she then placed the pot onto the table, while I arranged the chopsticks
and small bowls.

Komachi quickly filled up the small bowls with food and placed them in front of me.

"Here, which one do you want?"

"Aren't them both the same..."

The taste shouldn't be that different ... and I'm not expert about hotpots either. But after
thinking for a while, I then compared the contents in both bowls.

One has slightly more cabbage, and the other has slightly more pork. Not too much of a
difference.

But since I was asked to choose, I'll have to decide on one of them. Like how Iroha was
forced to choose between the Max coffee and bean soup just now.

"Ah...ahhhh...so that's how it is."

A thought came to me that made me stared at the small bowls, so Komachi picked up her
head.
"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Answering that, I took the one with more pork in it. Komachi pulled over the other small
bowl to her side, and slapped her hands together.

"Well then, itadakimasu."

"Alright, itadakimasu."

Me and Komachi then started eating. The taste of the soup was properly incorporated
into the cabbage and pork, making them quite tasty, very nice. Huh, it’s actually not bad.
Might be an extreme statement but, boys won't complain on their food as long as there's
meat.

We ate silently for some time, the sound of Kamakura munching on cat food could be
heard from the far side of the kitchen.

"By the way, you came home pretty early today."

Its been a few days since the two of us had dinner together. I believe that today is the
first time since we that day our family celebrated on Komachi passing her entrance exam.
For the next few days after passing her entrance exam, Komachi has been eating dinner
with her friends, and always returning home late in the night.

Komachi listened and nodded, answering as she chewed on a cabbage:

"Well, yeah, been pretty busy here ever since the result day."

"What are you even working on..."

Komachi then did some thinking, while counting on her fingers.

"Let see...thank you for all the hard work celebration, congratulations celebration, thank
you celebration, the long time no see celebration, the nice to meet you celebration...and
uhhhh..."

"How many celebrations are there exactly..."

By  the  way,  what  the  hell  is  a  nice  to  meet  you  day...  who  are  you  even  having  a  first
meeting with... Is this sadness? Or is this courage? If this is the case, then its time to say
goodbye to my  tears[9].

Looking  at  my  puzzled  face.  Komachi,  who's  done  counting  her  fingers,  smiled  and
reached out to me with a fist.
"Then, then, since there is no reservation today, so it's a brother's day? Ehehe, Komachi
scored very high with that one!"

"Yes...yes you did"

So she decided to have a brother's day through exclusion method huh, well, fine by me.
Having that say, this girl is truly nuts. Having so many outdoor activities being planned
for a few days time, she truly has the spirit of those young people who would decide to
hang out somewhere on a whim. Won't she feel tired from being high for so many days...
This sounds devastating to me mental and wallet health.

"Having too much friends is also a problem huh..."

I  said  that  while  drinking  my  soup  slowly.  At  least  I  can't  live  that  way.  Komachi
however, doesn't seem to bothered about my statement, and answered normally.

"It's  not  just  the  school,  I  have  a  lot  of  relations  with  your  student  council.  We  even
contact each other on the SNS before entering school."

Ah, so that's what the nice to meet you gathering was about. But really? Starting a social
group before even entering school? That's some high difficulty game mode.

"...Won't you feel awkward after entering school? For being so friendly with each other
before entering school, with the chance of ending up as total strangers when you actually
see them..."

Hearing that, the chopsticks that Komachi was holding froze in midair. She then looked at
me with an awkward smile and disheartened eyes.

"You really like to talk about such unpleasant things don't you onii-chan..."

"But that is something that might actually happen..."

"Well... I guess you're right... but it can't be helped isn't so?"

How  dry~  Komachi  superdry~[10]  she  seemed  troubled  just  now  for  a  moment,  but
immediately replied me with a smile. Such a clean direct attitude my sister has ... While I
started  to  feel  terrified  with  how  bright  my  sister’s  future  seems  to  be,  I  suddenly
remembered of something.

"Is that Daishi guy coming too?"

Kawasaki  Daishi,  the  brother  of  Sa  WhateverHerNameIs  Ki,  also  passed  his  entrance
exam to Sobu High a few days ago. This kid seems to have an interest towards Komachi.
If  that  piece  of  shit  is  also  present  at  the  nice  to  meet  you  celebration,  then  I  must
eradicate  this  bug  from  getting  near  Komachi!  As  I'm  having  very  extreme  thoughts,
Komachi gave me a much more extreme answer.

"Who? Ah, yeah I think he's joining."

"Ouch..."

Without even looking at me, replied Komachi as she added more food into small bowl. In
Komachi's heart, Daishi is just a far relative to us homo sapiens? I'm starting to feel a
little sympathetic towards him being mistreated, press F to pay resp ... Nah what am I
talking about, I don't care about that kid!
                                  3-3

After cooking some porridge using the rest of the soup, clearing up all of its contents, our
stomachs were filled up, and I sat down leisurely drinking a cup of tea.

Komachi put Kamakura onto her lap, grooming him while humming a song, and I started
scrolling on my phone while lying down.

A  direction  has  been  determined,  but  it's  still  lacking  context.  Prom  night,  graduation
party,  searched  through  all  possible  keywords,  yet  I  never  came  across  any  inspiring
information, I made a deep sigh and rolled over.

My eyesight eventually lined up with Komachi's, who is sitting in front of me. She asked
me what's wrong, tilting her head with a cute smile.

Looking at her, I remembered of something.

"By the way... you are about to graduate soon right."

"Yep."

I asked her straightforwardly, which Komachi nodded while answering.

A strong atmosphere of celebration has been going on, since everyone's attention was
put onto the the fact that Komachi will be entering high school, but before that, Komachi
will also have to go through her secondary school's graduation ceremony. Even if junior
high  school  and  high  school  might  have  some  differences,  they  are  both  based  on  the
concept of graduates celebrating on the new phase of life they're about to step into.

I wonder if I can get any inspirations for the prom from her.

"Speaking of graduation, do you have any plans?"

"Hmm? That's a weird question."

Komachi smiled awkwardly, but she also looked up and did some thinking.

"Graduation... Ah, Komachi wants to go to her graduation trip."

Answered Komachi, as if she just remembered about it. In this instant, I sprung up.

"Yoooo, this is the first time I heard about it. What about me?"

"Huh, of course you won't be joining us. Its not like we're travelling with our parents or
your friends."

I shook my hand towards Komachi in refusal. "No, no, nonononono, having an overnight
trip is a no! I won't allo..." I tried holding back my words on my throat as I realized that I
was about to say 'I won't allow it, but Komachi seems to have heard half of it, and stared
at me with a cold look.

Komachi is no longer a child after all... continuing to act like an overprotective brother
might be a little too much for us. As a result, Komachi started to look impatient, let out a
deep breath, and continued saying.

"And  there's  the  graduation  party.  Well,  which  is  basically  just  everyone  in  the  class
having a meal together."

"Ok..."

I made a casual response, while secretly writing down notes on my phone.

The graduation trip kind of a problem, but the graduation party makes sense. Every one
having dinner at the nearby barbecue shop, enjoy the food while chatting, something like
that. Or even, go to a better place, like the legendary first class yakiniku restaurant in
Japan 'Akamon' for example. At least Akamon's the best option for people living in Chiba.
People who live outside of Chiba might probably choose somewhere like 'Sengoku'.

...  But  then  again,  when  she  said  'everyone'  in  the  class,  does  she  literally  meant
everyone? Like, there tends to be that one or two persons who never gets an invitation
(through my observation) you know? The outlier of the class you know? Apparently I am
quite familiar with this aspect you know!?

Cough.

Anyway, time to ask her something else.

"So is there any other plans? An activity of some sort."

"Oh? Activities?"

Komachi  has  seemed  confused  with  my  question.  But,  she  suddenly  seemed  to  have
remembered something, and made a loud wow.

"...Ah, does the three-send party counts? Is that the one? I'm not quite sure actually."

"The three-send party...ah, you meant that kind of three-send party."

It's not a term that I'm used to, so it took me some time to figure it out, its basically what
they refer to the farewell party for third year students.
Pulling  out  my  memories  from  my  middle  school  era,  in  addition  to  the  graduation
ceremony, there was such an activity that I went through. Where all members of each
class were forced attend, while being forced to sing a song too. Which, the boys part in
our choir got commented with stuff like "The boys! Sing properly!" it was so bad, that the
girl playing the piano cried and ran out, with Orimoto leading the group to go after her,
and me being forced to apologize or something...ouch.

"What  do  you  do  during  that  event  again?  I  remember  that  you're  supposed  to  sing  a
song. Graduation themed songs like kabosu I believe?"

"And sudachi."

"Ah, that one. There's also the song where you go, our dear mother earth~~I think?"

"Yeah,  that  kind  of  songs.  Well,  but  people  usually  sing  "Praise  the  Land"  at  the
graduation ceremony, there's some other performance too, what was that again..."

Some other performance huh...... I picked up my head and suddenly a memory came to
my mind.

"Performance.... ah, is that the one where you go? Hello spring~the light of early spring~
one two, everybody!"

Komachi then sang along.

"One two, everybody!"

"Graduate~"

"Graduate!"

We  split  up  the  boys  and  girls  part,  even  the  two  tone  pause  in  the  middle  was
completely reproduced. Our stupid actions made me smile at Komachi.

"...This kind of feeling?"

Which Komachi responded with a smile, and then shook her head while still smiling.

"No, it's a completely different song."

"Eh... I even sang with all that enthusiasm..."

If that's not the one, why did she not stop me earlier... I looked at Komachi with a look of
resentment, which Komachi replied.

"Also that's a slogan, the one we used back in our elementary school."
"Wait, really? I have no memory of that at all. Well, I've only graduated from elementary
school and secondary school. So its not like I went through a lot of graduations."

Even though I said that, I still written about the three-send event into my notes. It might
not be something that I can take reference to, but it could give me some inspiration. After
all no one really knows what kind of things could give one an inspiration. So I continued
to write down singing, performance, slogans and other related things.

This  kind  of  note-taking  action  works  similarly  to  that  of  brainstorming.  Like  what
president Tamakoma once said, never rush to a conclusion, and that any opinions can be
considered...

As I started to think about people that I remembered deep in my memories, immersing
myself in the nostalgia, Komachi for some reason, looked at me with pitiful eyes.

"Indeed ....Onii-chan still haven't graduated from Precure and school idols..."

"What are you talking about, there's no graduation to those, its lifetime education. People
don't  just  graduate  from  them  by  not  watching.  That's  just  them  being  a  dropout,  a
cultural studies dropout!"

"Onii-chan at this point you're just a repeating student..."

In respond to my protest, Komachi gave up debating and sighed deeply.

Ayyy that's my Komachi, she truly understands me. As I review the events that happened
throughout  the  year,  and  how  I  still  didn't  manage  to  grow.  The  repeating  student
statement  surprisingly  fits  me.  Without  realizing  it,  I  let  out  a  smile  mixed  with  self-
abuse.

Seeing my expression, Komachi tilted her head in grief. But she seems to have decided to
not talk further about this topic, and asked me a different question.

"Is there no three-send ceremonies in high school?"

"Ah, no there doesn't seem to be such a thing."

At least for this year, there are no signs that this activity will be held. Probably because
every clubs might have their very own annual party. Back then I never joined any clubs
so I'm not quite sure about that. Perhaps I should ask someone else about this next time?
So, on my notes, I wrote down "Chat with Totsuka❤".

The  result  of  my  solo  brainstorming  brought  me  to  a  pretty  good  conclusion.  I  had  a
sense of satisfaction, so I put down my phone, and looked at Komachi, who lay down her
head on the kotatsu.
"Is  that  so...  Well,  I  guess  it  makes  sense  that  high  school  students  won't  do  such  an
activity."

Muttered  Komachi,  seemingly  disappointed,  she  continued  to  hum  and  played  with
Kamakura. The melody sounded familiar, probably a classic graduation song?

As I listened to this lonesome song, I turned off the notepad on my phone.

"Well we don't really have a three-send activity, ... but starting from this year, we'll be
doing a  prom."

I opened up the browser, and showed her the prom related web pages that I just went
through, Komachi looked through the pictures and videos I showed her, and gave off a
surprised expression.

"Oh....  Wow,  what  is  this,  this  is  so  cool!  Oh  my,  onii-chan~...are  you  really  gonna  do
this?"

Komachi’s looked up, her eyes sparkling with strong expectations. My mouth twitched
for a moment, but I managed to force a smile while nodding at her. Even though I did not
make a direct statement, my reply also implied that the prom will become a reality.

There's no proof to show her that it'll actually happen, and we're behind schedule for any
preparations. In fact I don't even know how we'll work it out.

But, the prom will happen.

At least this one statement, is what I can be sure of.
                                  3-4

Even after a night's sleep, the fatigue from yesterday continues to linger.

After  laying  down  inside  the  kotatsu  for  some  time  alongside  Komachi,  midnight  falls,
and I traveled across somewhere between reality and dreamscape, fell down on my bed,
and completely snoozed off.

When I came to my senses it was already morning, and its about time I head to school. I
went out after having breakfast and changing into my school uniform, but I can't be sure
if I can even make it before the class bell rings.

Komachi seems to have slept at the same time as me, but she woke up looking energetic,
and has already changed and went out earlier than me.

As  I  calculated,  my  sleeping  time  should  be  that  of  an  average  person.  But  sleepiness
continues to shroud over my head. Thanks to that, my feet felt heavy as I paddled on my
bike.

The  gears  within  my  brain  and  the  gears  on  my  bicycle  don't  seem  to  move  a  lot,  as
opposed to the needles that continued to turn on my wristwatch.

I have to make preparations for the prom starting from today.

There's not much time left, and the means that can be taken are limited. Even under such
circumstances, I have yet to lay out a specific plan. Not to mention that there are people
that I made big promises to.

The more I think about of it, the more tired my legs felt. But after using all my strength
on paddling, I finally passed through the main gate a short moment before the bell rang.

I sped up my steps walking forward, the stairs linked towards the classrooms seemed
crowded, as students who just ended their morning  club activities, and students who're
almost late like me rushed along.

Among them, I noticed a slightly peach colored hair, walking so quickly, that her bag and
her long scarf, and that hair bun leaped up and down along her footsteps.

After recognizing Yuigahama, I hesitated to call her, as I was reminded of that scene from
yesterday. Soon, Yuigahama came shoe closet area, and began to change into her indoor
shoes.

The moment she noticed my presence, her actions paused for a moment. Then, with a
faint smile she placed her small hands over her chest, something seemed to have jiggled
in my view.

This action made me felt a slightly embarrassed, I nodded at her a few times, then pulled
my scarf up and ran towards the shoe shelves in small steps.

Yuigahama whispered to me while poking her hairbun.

"Good morning."

"...Morning."

After a short moment of eye contact, I immediately shifted my line of view towards the
indoor shoes that I just threw on the floor. As I pulled onto the end of shoes trying to
wear them, Yuigahama waited quietly beside me.

I knocked on the floor with the tip of my shoe, indicating that we can head over now, she
nodded, and began to walk as is she's guiding the way.

"Ahhh, that was so close, we're almost late back there."

Saying that, Yuigahama took off her scarf, rolled it into a ball and hugs onto it. Using her
usual cheery expression and tone.

But the way Yuigahama is acting like she always does, made me feel unnatural in return,
but I can only go along with her words, nodding in reply.

Even though I'm aware that something felt off, since she is acting in her usual self, it's
better not to bring up what happened yesterday, but the thought of not mentioning it
made me feel dishonest. So I made sure that there were no other students nearby us, and
whispered to her.

"Were you fine yesterday?"

"Eh?"

I  wonder  if  that  question  was  said  too  straightforwardly  that  I  surprised  her,  as  she
stared at me, tilting her head. But, she seemed to have remembered yesterday's events,
and put her hands over her cheeks.

"Ah, um. No problem at all! Sorry, I felt a little... ehehe, like, a little embarrassed about it...
 I said it before didn't I, that kind of things happen often to me."

Anxious, shy, embarrassed, awkward, after a series of changes in her expressions, she
finally let out a smile. Noticing that is her signal to end this topic, I smiled and nodded in
reply. Even if something felt odd, avoid to pursue it naively, to break it down, to push it
away. It might not be long, but the time we spent with each other, is enough to make
finding a comfortable distance for each other a common skill between us.

I  began  to  climb  the  stairs,  while  Yuigahama  willingly  stepped  in  front  of  me,  which  I
followed up at a slower pace. Have most students already entered their classrooms? No
other people could be seen us. As we stepped onto the wide platform at the middle of the
stairs, Yuigahama looked back at me from her side.

"So what about Hikki? How did things went after that?"

"Well... a lot of things happened. As a result I decided to intervene with the prom."

"I see,"

She made a smile looking relieved, then turned back and continued to move forward. I
nodded while looking at her back, and said with my heavy mouth.

"So for today... you should go back before me."

In reality, we didn't actually make an appointment to go home together. Realizing that I
acted overly self-aware by saying this, a felt of disgust emerges from the depths of my
heart.  As  I  was  criticizing  myself  for  misunderstanding  things,  Yuigahama  nodded  in
reply.

"Sure."

Feeling that I got saved, I continued my sentence.

"Not just today, for this period, it will be this way."

"...Yeah, I understand. Its to help out Yukinon after all."

Yuigahama continued to walk up the stairs step by step. We then soon reached the third
floor where our classroom is located. While looking at her at half a step's distance, I pull
my scarf, after getting rid of the suffocating tension over my neck, I turned my head a few
times to relax myself.

It’s better if I talk to Yuigahama about how things went yesterday. Putting aside whether
she could understand it fully, its better to let her learn more about it.

"No, actually... instead of helping her I actually ended up going against her."

"Uhm, su....re? What??"

Yuigahama who has been walking smoothly all the time made a sudden stop, turning her
entire body around. With her mouth wide open, with her shocked and confusion being
expressed throughout her whole body. Her reaction is so huge to the point it actually felt
refreshing. Guess being honest about my mistake was a good idea after all.

"Uhhh yeah, how do I say this.... She was so stubborn, that my request to help out became
a no go. So I decided to oppose her. Otherwise I can't find another way to get involved."

"Ha...ha..."

Yuigahama  started  from  struggling  to  receive  the  info,  to  slowly  understanding  the
things that have happened, turning her confused expression into a conflicted one.

"How do I say it... Hikki you make super clumsy decisions at times..."

"The other way of saying that is. That I'm occasionally super smart."

I  gleefully  walked  past  Yuigahama,  raising  my  chest  for  no  apparent  reason,  while
wearing a smug smile over my face.

As  she  seen  my  expression,  I  could  hear  that  Yuigahama  snorted,  she  then  seemed  to
struggle for a while, and asked me.

"Did you talk through it properly?"

"......Can properly talking through things solve anything?"

Its me and Yukinoshita, mind you. I added such a reminder. Yuigahama then made a deep
sigh, seeming to have understood the situation.

As expected of Yuigahama, she really understands us.

"It  can't.  Which  is  why  we  agreed  on  having  a  competition.  Anyway,  we  first  have  to
complete  the  prom.  Otherwise  nothing  else  can  be  done....  stuff  like  club  activities,  or
even thinking on how do we move on from here."

The more I speak, the more questions that come into my mind.

End the prom, and then what? What should I do about the service club, how do I deal
with this medium that no longer operates? How do we think about our futures?

As I continued to think, I have reached in front of our classroom.

Yuigahama's footsteps sounded light and slow, as if she was feeling moody as we were
walking,  but  when  she  was  about  to  reach  the  door,  she  suddenly  stopped.  What
happened, I look back and saw Yuigahama thinking through something.

She then looked up, staring at me seriously.
"...Can I help?"

Yuigahama can be seen gripping tight onto the strap of her schoolbag, her eyes filled with
unwavering  determination.  Looking  at  the  strong  expectations  shown  in  her  closed
mouth and big eyes.

Such an expression, made it impossible for me to refuse.