Another Perspective: The Other Side of Month A
The Other Side of Month A: From Sakakibara Akira’s Perspective
The expressionless friend I met at the training camp is, I think, quite a mysterious person. After talking in the same room, I found that although he’s expressionless, he has a sense of humor and boldly declares his hobby is watching rom-com works. However, he doesn’t seem interested in romance himself, as he doesn’t really remember girls’ names. That was the male student I shared a room with.
He’s probably not a bad person. He takes the lead in handing out printouts, and he takes notes the whole time the teacher is talking; he’s perfectly friendly, just expressionless.
Maybe he’s not good with large groups; when the six of us—Takashiro-san, Shironami-san, Sasaki-kun, Umihara-san, me, and him—were eating, he’d only occasionally chime in with simple answers. Yet, he listens carefully to the conversation, and if someone runs out of water, he’s thoughtful enough to quietly bring over the pitcher.
If he showed his expressions a bit more, I’m sure he’d be popular… it feels like a bit of a waste.
Perhaps there’s a reason for my expressionless friend. When I was running away from my sister with everything I had, I impulsively opened the chat at the top of my SNS list—which was his—and asked for help. He immediately gave me escape route instructions and smoothly sheltered me at his house from a café. He was strangely efficient at it, and when I asked, he just said, “I’m just used to this kind of thing.” My case is too specific, but has he had similar things happen many times? The mystery only deepens.
What surprised me was that the moment I told him even a fraction of the circumstances, he was already holding a deodorizing spray. Could it be that he has someone like my sister too…? In the end, I was caught by my sister, but I think I’ll get along well with him.
The next day, when I was heading to school in a daze, he gave me a “wake-up chop” and returned the shoes I forgot at his house. The hand placed on my shoulder in sympathy really hit home.
Thanks to his smooth talking, I even got through the bag inspection. …Or so I thought, but then there was a summons from the Student Council. He seemed interested in the President, so I tried to be thoughtful in my own way, but apparently, the situation I was in was bad. Even if I had nothing to hide, it’s true that from an outsider’s perspective, public morals were being disturbed. I was quite panicked. Seeing me like that, he remained calm, saying, “What’s with all the funny faces? You’re so expressive.” Being told I’m expressive by him gives me mixed feelings, but seeing him as usual made me feel a bit better.
After being released from the chilling interrogation with the President, I was about to leave the room, but only he was left behind.
A bit curious, I pressed my ear to the door to listen, and in response to the President’s strange question, he replied:
“I just live my life thinking that as long as I can see everyone happy, that’s enough.”
Honestly, I was moved. To think he was harboring such thoughts beneath that expressionless face. I became ashamed of myself for only thinking of self-preservation. …I should also properly face both Takashiro-san and Shironami-san.
It would be embarrassing if they found out I was listening, so I fled like a literal rabbit. Using the physical abilities I developed to escape my sister, I went out the window and arrived at the gate before him.
For some reason, I felt like talking to him on the way home, so we chatted until we reached our houses. I hope that someday, I can speak my feelings as directly as he does.
Later, at the freshman welcome sports tournament, I was on the same volleyball team as him, Sasaki-kun, and the President.
He seemed to be concerned about the President, so I thought about talking him up a bit… but apparently, he was testing me and the President.
Passes kept flying strangely between me and the President. When I looked at him for a moment, I saw him staring straight at us.
I don’t know what I was being tested on. But I wanted to live up to his expectations. In that state of mind, I took volleyball seriously.
The result was victory. It was a win born of exquisite support. No one talked about him as a standout, but if he hadn’t been there, we would have struggled much more.
When I tentatively asked what his goal was, he replied, “If I had to say… it was to see the distance between you and the President.” Certainly, the President is top-class in both studies and sports. Compared to her, I’m still far off. Whether I end up with Takashiro-san or Shironami-san, I suppose it means I’m no good if I can’t at least do that much. I need to devote myself more. And if possible, I want to help close the distance between him and the President…
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The Flip Side of Month A: From Yamato Toka’s Perspective
“President, why did you ask him that last question? It was a question that didn’t really make sense…”
“Ah… it’s nothing. I just felt like asking, so don’t worry about it.”
I gave the Vice President a vague reply.
…If I had to say, it was a sense of “wrongness.” Ever since I was young, for some reason, if I talk to someone to a certain extent, I have a talent-like ability to vaguely understand what kind of life they’ve led and what kind of person they are. I first noticed it in kindergarten when I got separated from my parents at an amusement park. As I was crying alone, a kind-looking young man spoke to me. Where I came from, how old I was, what happened to my parents… Realizing I was lost, the man took my hand and started walking, saying he’d take me to the lost child center. I almost felt relieved, but then I had a terrible premonition, shook off his hand, and ran away. Immediately, the man’s face, which had been smiling kindly, transformed into a hideous face full of raw desire, and he chased after me. Later, security guards arrived—perhaps noticing the commotion—and I was safe. The man was arrested; apparently, he was a serial kidnapper.
As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, and joined the Student Council, my precision with that “talent” increased as I interacted with more people. Therefore, I can see through the essence of most humans. That’s why I judged that Sakakibara-kun would be fine and didn’t pursue him further. Sakakibara-kun will likely be able to make the best choice, even while he struggles.
However, I felt an intense sense of wrongness regarding the other boy. That’s why I wanted to hear it from him directly. It was the first time. The first time I couldn’t even vaguely tell what kind of person someone was. The words that came back from him were:
“I just live my life thinking that as long as I can see everyone happy, that’s enough.”
They were cliché, pretentious words. But the moment he spoke them, there was something that came through just a little. A warm kindness, and a cold loneliness. It was very abstract, and it only confused me more.
…I just wanted to know him. I felt like I wanted to know him at a deeper level. It might be like the mindset of a child who wants to see a horror movie even though they’re scared.
…Come to think of it, the freshman welcome sports tournament is coming up soon.
“…Hehe.”
“Eh? What is it, President?”
Perhaps devising a little plan wouldn’t be so bad…
“You look happy, President…”
“Do I? If it looks that way to you, then I suppose I am.”
Feeling a long-absent sense of excitement… and then, the day of the sports tournament. It’s a traditional event at our school held every year at this time. From my perspective, I think it’s questionable to hold a similar event when we already have a sports festival, but apparently, it also plays a role for the sports clubs to size up the new students.
While it’s an event I’m not very enthusiastic about, I secretly used my authority as President to do something. I rigged the teams so that I would be on the same team as that freshman boy from the other day—the only one whose depths I couldn’t read. There’s no doubt it was a “gray zone” action. However, I couldn’t suppress my own curiosity.
The volleyball match begins. The boy isn’t exactly “frail,” but compared to his friend Sakakibara-kun, he has a somewhat unreliable build. His reflexes aren’t particularly good either.
However, what the boy showed during the match were beautiful tosses and receives. No matter the ball, if it entered his range, it instantly became a chance ball.
In contrast, his other plays were perfunctory, but even so, regarding the tosses and receives alone, his skill was enough to make even the volleyball club members marvel.
And I was likely being tested at this time. The balls he passed were lofted beautifully right between Sakakibara-kun and me. Not just once. Accurately, again and again. And the boy’s eyes after he passed… though expressionless, he was certainly watching me. At the same time, I could read the emotion of “joy” from him.
I am being tested. My character is being weighed. Once I felt that, I found myself competing with Sakakibara-kun for the passed balls.
“Hmph! Haa!!!”
Again and again, I slammed the ball into the court. I’m sure I had a terrifyingly fierce expression. Perhaps it was the same for Sakakibara-kun, as he was tackling the game with a serious face. The boy at the heart of it all was only directing a slight feeling of joy toward us. When Sakakibara-kun and I scrambled for a ball on the line, that feeling of joy grew stronger. What is he seeing, and what is he feeling in this moment?
In the end, without finding an answer to my own speculations, the volleyball tournament ended in our victory. I thought about questioning him directly, but I had to move immediately as the Student Council, so I couldn’t do that either. If there is another opportunity, I’d like to talk with that boy about various things.
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