Chapter 22: Weakness.
"Haha, and then what? What did you say?" Hagiwara Kenji asked curiously.
"I didn't answer." Morofushi Sora'aki leaned on the edge of the rooftop railing, looking down. The school rooftop wasn't very high, but it was still quite cool when the breeze blew through, carrying pink cherry blossom petals, and occasionally a petal would fall over the safety netting.
"Eh—that's Sora'aki-chan's answer, it's such a shame," Hagiwara Kenji said with a smile.
"You just love watching the drama unfold." Matsuda Jinpei rested his hands behind his head, lazily closed his eyes, and yawned.
"Because it's really interesting." Hagiwara Kenji's eyes crinkled. "But speaking of which, what kind of person does Sora'aki-chan like?"
"Brother." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
"Besides my brother?"
"Hagiwara and Matsuda."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
"Ah, should I say it's a good thing you didn't answer?" Matsuda Jinpei opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness in his sharp blue eyes.
Morofushi Sora'aki looked over: "Why?"
"…Well, in a way, Sora'aki-chan is pretty scary too." Hagiwara Kenji remarked.
Not only his two close friends, but his older brother and his friends also sometimes liked to make these kinds of nonsensical remarks. As long as it wasn't something important, Morofushi Sora'aki would usually ignore it or ask a direct question.
The same applies now. Ignoring this part of the conversation, Morofushi Sora'aki said, "But that person gives me a very strange feeling."
"Strangeness?"
"...The feeling he gives me is very similar to the feeling you all give me." Morofushi Sora'aki considered his words for a moment: "But I'm sure this is the first time I've met him."
It was a very strange feeling, as if Nozaki Umetarou had known him for a long time and considered him a very good friend—but it was all one-sided.
Not only Nozaki Umetarou, but the other students in the class also felt this way. It was as if they had skipped the adjustment period for first-year high school students and directly become a loving and close-knit class. However, Nozaki Umetarou was the most obvious among them.
"Huh?" Hagiwara Kenji thought for a moment, then asked in confusion, "...Is he naturally outgoing?"
When Morofushi Sora'aki said these things, he did not specify the other party's identity. The description in the conversation was "encountered someone," so Hagiwara Kenji was not very clear about the specific situation.
It's possible for one person to be naturally outgoing, but you can't expect the whole class to be naturally outgoing, can you?
Morofushi Sora'aki hesitated for a moment.
Hagiwara Kenji cut to the chase: "So, does Sora'aki-chan not like it? If not, remember to just refuse."
"Hmm." Morofushi Sora'aki nodded, without saying whether he liked it or not.
When Morofushi Sora'aki gave that answer, the amulet hanging on the pull ring of his schoolbag suddenly lit up.
Matsuda Jinpei, who was using Morofushi Sora'aki's schoolbag as a pillow, noticed: "Hmm?"
His voice attracted the attention of the other two people: "What's wrong?"
"…Ah, it's nothing, I misread it." Matsuda Jinpei yawned and sat up. "But seriously, I should have just skipped the entrance ceremony like Morofushi did. This morning was so boring."
"But you still ran off halfway there under the pretext of going to the bathroom?" Hagiwara Kenji sighed. "You two ended up leaving me all alone there. That's too much!"
"I'll buy the bread for lunch," Matsuda Jinpei said.
Morofushi Sora'aki thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll buy drinks."
"Deal!" Hagiwara Kenji, seeing that he had won, said, "So, Sora'aki-chan, you're rich now?"
"I've got it." Morofushi Sora'aki nodded.
"That's good."
"We're lucky, the three of us are in the same class—" Hagiwara Kenji stretched: "Alright, Sora'aki-chan, you skipped the whole morning, so go report as usual this afternoon."
"Okay." Morofushi Sora'aki picked up his schoolbag and walked behind his two friends who had already stood up.
If things continue at this pace, going to school twice a day wouldn't be too difficult.
"But that's no excuse for taking out comics to read during class—" Hagiwara Kenji complained on his way home from school, carrying his schoolbag. "I think the teacher has completely memorized you! A troublesome student who skipped class on the first day and read comics during class!"
Matsuda Jinpei didn't see anything wrong with it and said, "Lend it to me after you've finished reading it."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Okay."
Hagiwara Kenji: "Okay, one more troublemaker student added."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Does Hagiwara want to see it?"
Hagiwara Kenji: "...I want it!"
"Yes, there are three now," Matsuda Jinpei said coolly.
"Well, what can I do? I like you guys so much that I'm willing to degenerate for you~" Hagiwara Kenji clutched his chest and put on an affected performance.
"Is reading comics a form of decadence?" asked Morofushi Sora'aki.
"Ignore him." Matsuda Jinpei kept his distance from Hagiwara Kenji with a hint of disdain.
Hagiwara Kenji blinked, looking aggrieved: "Is being with me really that embarrassing?"
"Yes, it's embarrassing," Matsuda Jinpei replied decisively.
"I'm hurt! I'm really going to get hurt!! My heart is aching so much—Jinpei-chan is so mean!"
Morofushi Sora'aki instinctively tried to reply, but received a glare from Matsuda Jinpei: "If you dare repeat yourself, I'll beat you up too!"
Morofushi Sora'aki closed his mouth, which had just opened slightly, and looked away as if he hadn't seen anything.
"Alright, Morofushi won't cooperate with you this time either—" Matsuda Jinpei raised his fist menacingly, "Let's see how you plan to act now!"
Just then, a high school couple walked out of the store in front of them. Judging from their uniforms, they were probably from the school next door, and the atmosphere between them suggested that they had just started dating.
Hagiwara Kenji's attention was immediately drawn. His eyes narrowed, and his gossipy heart began to stir. He whispered, "Shall we bet on when those two will hold hands?"
"Aren't you bored?" Matsuda Jinpei said sarcastically before immediately adding, "Three minutes."
"Five minutes?" Morofushi Sora'aki casually gave a time.
"Heh heh heh, based on my extensive experience, it'll be in thirty seconds!" Hagiwara Kenji held up one finger and counted the time of their conversation: "Ten seconds left—"
"nineteen..."
But after the countdown ended, the couple in front of them still didn't make a move. Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow and said, "Looks like your experience can be wrong sometimes."
Hagiwara Kenji frowned: "How is that possible?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Is it possible that it's because of our connection to what's behind us?"
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji decisively grabbed his two friends and slipped around the corner, then peeked out to secretly watch the couple who were still walking forward.
Hagiwara Kenji then observed that the man in the couple glanced behind him, seemingly casually, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was around.
Then, their hands "accidentally" touched, and they both froze, embarrassed. After a while, the man finally mustered the courage to take the woman's hand.
Despite being complete strangers, Hagiwara Kenji clenched his fist, his eyes lighting up at that moment: "Yes!"
Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms, looked at his excited friend, and curled his lip in disdain: "You're really boring."
Hagiwara Kenji, adopting a mature demeanor, said with a smile, "You wouldn't understand~"
"He said he was disgusted, but Matsuda was very cooperative just now." Morofushi Sora'aki said.
"...I don't think I need to interfere in other people's relationships, do I?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What a surprise! Is Jinpei-chan really this mature type?!" Hagiwara Kenji exclaimed dramatically.
"Aren't you annoying me?!"
"Is Jinpei-chan envious?" Morofushi Sora'aki always had the ability to turn a question into a statement.
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei suddenly had a bad feeling. He took a step back and asked, "Wait, what do you want to do?"
"I'm so sorry, even though I consider myself Jinpei-chan's closest friend, I'm not as perceptive as Sora'aki-chan—" Hagiwara Kenji gently raised his hand: "It's just holding hands, you don't need to envy others! We have it too!"
"Then I am Jinpei-chan's second friend." Morofushi Sora'aki also extended his hand: "We have three people, and they only have two. We won."
"This comparison is completely meaningless, isn't it?" Matsuda Jinpei looked terrified and immediately chose to run away.
However, he was still no match for the two of them. Hagiwara Kenji and Morofushi Sora'aki exchanged a glance, each using one hand to quickly subdue Matsuda Jinpei, who was used to hitting people with his fists.
"You two bastards—"
"Yes, no need to thank us too much. What others have, our Jinpei-chan should have too!"
"There's no need to envy others, Matsuda."
"Who's envious?!" The curly-haired boy was squeezed in the middle, his hands were being held, and he couldn't even cover his face. "You guys are just talking to yourselves, okay?!"
"Actually, Matsuda, you're the one who's more embarrassing right now." Morofushi Sora'aki said calmly.
"So you know how embarrassing it is!" Matsuda Jinpei suddenly realized something from those words and turned around abruptly: "Wait? Hagi is one thing, but you did it on purpose too?"
Morofushi Sora'aki blinked, pretending not to hear.
"What do you mean 'I'll let it go'?!" Hagiwara Kenji complained, then raised his voice at the end: "I thought you, Jinpei-chan, had already realized that Sora'aki-chan is actually more terrifying in a certain sense—that."
Morofushi Sora'aki's initial slowness did indeed stem from a lack of understanding, but that was three years ago.
Moreover, even three years ago, think about it carefully, in similar circumstances, when did Morofushi Sora'aki actually get tricked by the two of them?
Realizing this, Matsuda Jinpei stopped struggling. A sharp glint appeared in his blue eyes as he spoke, "Hagi."
"Hmm?" Hagiwara Kenji realized what his friend wanted to do and smiled as he extended his other hand: "Sora'aki-chan, want to hold my hand?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Okay."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji laughed even harder: "See, Jinpei-chan, this level is completely useless, isn't it?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "So you're not going to pull it anymore?"
Hagiwara Kenji paused for a moment, then smiled and gestured for Morofushi Sora'aki to come over: "Let's go together~"
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Matsuda Jinpei's eyes flashed, and he decisively broke free from Hagiwara Kenji's grasp, escaping with a blank expression and a standard sprinting motion!
"Ah!"
"Hmm?"
"How cunning—Sora'aki-chan, let's give chase!!"
So the three of them started a running race in a chasing posture, and the race ended when all three of them were panting and could no longer run.
"Cease fire!" Matsuda Jinpei supported himself on his knees, trying to calm his breathing.
Hagiwara Kenji, also panting, said, "Ha, ha... Matsuda, you're not getting away!"
At this moment, the two noticed that Morofushi Sora'aki hadn't made a sound for a long time, and he should have spoken by now.
The two turned around and saw Morofushi Sora'aki, who was standing some distance away, his lips pursed and motionless.
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji exchanged glances, temporarily ceased their fighting, and walked over for a closer look. They immediately noticed that a bug had fallen off Morofushi Sora'aki's shoulder.
Matsuda Jinpei was still unaware that something was wrong. He casually patted Morofushi Sora'aki on the shoulder and said, "There's a bug here..."
Before he could finish speaking, he watched as Morofushi Sora'aki reacted by suddenly taking several steps back after the insect was swatted away.
Matsuda Jinpei paused, as if he understood something at that moment, and a hint of malice appeared on his face. He bent down and picked up the insect. "Speaking of which, there are definitely a lot of insects in this kind of weather, don't you think, Raki?"
As Matsuda Jinpei approached, Morofushi Sora'aki continued to retreat, maintaining a distance of ten meters. Matsuda Jinpei immediately recognized the answer from this reaction, a smirk playing on his lips: "So, you're afraid of bugs, right?"
Realizing what Matsuda Jinpei was planning, the person who had been chasing him turned and ran away without hesitation.
Matsuda Jinpei's face lit up with pleasure as he held the insect in his hand: "Why are you running away?! Aren't we good friends?!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "...Not anymore!"
Hagiwara Kenji: "...Huh? Eh? So we're still running... Wait for me—!!"