“Sorry. I’m kinda… 20% lost.”
“Getting lost on your own school grounds? That’s a new one.”
“Right!? But honestly, I could use some help!”
She was awfully forward for a junior.
Expressive, fearless, and cheerful—hard not to like.
“Can’t you rely on the other 80% to get back?”
“Ahah—well, 80% of that 80% is me relying on you right now.”
“……Doesn’t that mean you’re 36% lost?”
“Whoa, quick math! So cool, senpai!”
“Uh, thanks…”
“By the way, what’s this little lodge for?”
Typical middle schooler, jumping topics fast.
Were middle school girls like this when I was one?
It was only last year, but now that I was in high school, I couldn’t even remember.
“It’s a dorm lodge. Not used anymore, though.”
“Ohhh, got it… Why’d they build it all the way out here?”
……Now that she mentioned it, yeah.
Never thought about it, but the location is terrible.
“Huh… Good point. Never questioned it before.”
“It’s okay! I still respect you as my senpai!”
“That reassurance is coming at the worst possible time.”
“Speaking of, senpai… You’re not suddenly craving yakisoba bread and wanna treat your junior, are you?”
“Are you trying to mooch off me? Is that how you treat your elders?”
So you tried to flip the tables on me in an instant, huh…? This brat…
Not gonna lie, I’ve never felt this level of defeat before. Kinda shocking.
“Ahahaha, sorry! Just a little joke~”
She stuck out her tongue with a tehe~ grin.
What a crafty little move—yet weirdly enough, I didn’t find it annoying.
If anything, it made her easier to talk to. After a second, it hit me why.
She’s… normal.
She doesn’t carry that vibe most students at this school have. Instead, she feels like someone from my old school—just a regular, unpretentious kid our age.
“You’re… easy to talk to, senpai. I kinda couldn’t help it.”
Turns out she felt the same way.
But agreeing out loud would’ve been weird, so I steered the conversation back.
“You said you were lost, right? No way you don’t know your way home, though.”
“Yep, definitely not that lost. I know about 80% of the way!”
“Where’d the other 20% go?”
“Hmm~ Maybe that’s the lost part? Ahaha! Anyway, it’s the way there I don’t know. Someone told me the Drama Club’s room is in this building, but I can’t find it.”
Ah, so that’s why she wandered out here.
Drama Club, huh? What a weird coincidence.
“…Hey. You’re not, like, some famous actor, are you?”
“Huh? Do I look that pretty to you?”
“Not what I meant.”
“Senpai, you’ve got a great smile, so you’re already in the ‘good’ zone—but let’s start with a date first, okay?”
“I wasn’t confessing or anything—”
“A fancy restaurant with a night view would be perfect, don’t you think?”
“Are you… pitching me a date plan right now?”
“And there, we’ll share a romantic dinner… of yakisoba bread!”
“One of us is definitely getting scammed in that plan.”
“Fufufu~ As the perfect kouhai, I’ll graciously let my senpai pay for it!”
“So I’m the scam victim. Got it.”
“Hurry up, senpai~ How long are you gonna keep me waiting? Go buy it already!”
“Aye aye, kouhai! One yakisoba bread, coming right up!”
“You’re so slow, senpai. What took you so long?”
“Barely made it in time for dinner, huh?”
“The cafeteria was packed.”
“Here. Eat up.”
“…Swoon. What a dreamy date. I might just fall for you~”
“Are you seriously happy with this?”
“By the way, ‘swoon’ is archaic phrasing.”
“So it’s fancy?”
“More like ‘being showered with affection.’ But sure, I’ll let you pamper me~”
“Your Japanese is broken…”
“Nahahaha! Senpai, you’re hilarious!”
“You’re the hilarious one.”
What even was that conversation? Was any of it necessary?
Well, at least she’s probably not an actor. Her acting’s as bad as mine.
“Oh, by the way—I’m not in the Drama Club.”
“Then that whole exchange was completely pointless…”
“Are you in the Drama Club, senpai?”
“Not even close.”
“Yeah, figured.”
“Don’t ‘yeah, figured’ me?!”
That stung a little, okay?
Whatever. I shook my head and spoke up.
“I do know where the Drama Club room is… but if you’re looking for members, they’re probably not there.”
“Huh? Wait, really?”
“Might’ve changed recently, but if you want guaranteed people, try the practice hall in the main building.”
“Aah… That explains why no one gave me directions…”
She clapped her hands (pon!) and nodded, satisfied. Then—
“Guess the missing 20% is the way to the practice hall, then~?”
“…………”
“Peek~”
“…Fine, I’ll guide you. Follow me.”
“Sorry~ My parents said never to follow strangers.”
“—I’ll end you.”
“Ahahaha!”
She laughed, bright and carefree.
Why was I this looked down on by someone I just met? No clue.
As I grimaced like I’d bitten something sour, she suddenly bowed her head.
“Sorry, sorry! Just joking, senpai. I realized… I never got your name.”
“Oh… Kageyuki. Kageyuki Sou. First year, high school division.”
“Wow, so formal! Thanks, senpai~ I’m a third-year in middle school—”
As she spoke, she looked up with a beaming smile.
Her wispy, lightly colored bob swayed in the breeze at that moment.
Her big, round eyes—brimming with unmistakable curiosity—met mine.
“—My name is Tsuchikura Natsuki.”
If I could look back on this day from the future…
I’d probably realize—this was where it all truly began.
“You can call me Natsuki if you want. Nice to meet you, Sou-senpai!”
※
—In the end.
This is the story of a boy named Kageyuki Sou, who, after transferring to a new high school, meets five girls who all share the same name—and his journey to deciding which one of them he’ll call by her first name.
That’s right. It’s nothing more than a painfully ordinary, awkward adolescent moment—the kind where a boy musters the courage to call the girl he likes by her given name.
A tale of love and youth, painted in lies and calculation.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Afterword
While writing this, I spent way too much time agonizing over the question: “What exactly is a rom-com?” At one point, I worried I’d spiral into neurosis or trauma. Did I reach a clear answer? Honestly? Not really. Looking back now, I’m fully aware that time might’ve been wasted—but hey, if I’m that self-aware, I might as well stop being rational. So, forgetting all that, here’s what somehow ended up materializing.
[The Story of How I Came to Call You “Natsuki”] was born from a simple concept: “What if all five heroines shared the same name?”
I don’t usually write like this, so it was a fresh experience—building a story around the heroines first.
But in the end, I think it did turn into something unmistakably “rom-com.”
A reunion with a girl from childhood. Bonds with five girls who share a name but nothing else. A long-lost first love, and new feelings blooming now. Who was that girl from back then?
It’s a classic, almost quintessential setup—spiced up just right.
The radiant, ethereal illustrations by Fuwari-sensei elevate the charm even further. (All five Natsukis are adorable. Seriously.)
Anyway…
At its core, though, it’s still the same as always: a story about a weirdo protagonist and his weirdo heroine. Whether you’ve followed my work until now or this is your first time—I hope you’ll enjoy it all the same.
And if, by the end, you find yourself loving one of these characters most of all? Nothing would make me happier.
So then—
Please enjoy this new work, my first in two whole years.
Kou Suzukure
June 2024
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