White Album 2 Omake/Story04/Chapter 2/PartA

Chapter 2 - That Snow, Two Years Later

"I think this place would be great for skiing!"
"Hey, let's go diving at Okinawa!"
"Swimming at Okinawa would be after April. It's impossible to do that during the spring, no?"
"Then what about at Guam or Saipan?"
"... you do know your seniors' budget here, don't you?"
"Hmm~, what a pain. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't..."
"That's why I'm telling you to just go with skiing."
"Hey, hey, where do you wanna go, Setsuna-chan?"
"Eh? What?"
"You know, where we're going for the seminar training camp... rather, that's why we gathered here, isn't it?"
"Ah, I'm sorry... umm......... let me think about it a bit more..."

Even today was filled with the clamor of adolescence, as the social science students gathered at the farthest table in the cafeteria of Building 6.

"But you know, why is it that we're the ones organizing even though we've never gone to a single seminar?"
"The seniors asked us because they're in their final exams though..."
"Even though we're in the same program?"

Outside was so gloomy it might snow, let alone cold and cloudy. However, the students' were so knee-deep in their conversation, as if the spring holidays had come and the winter had long passed.

"Generally though, the second years didn't get to come up until last year, so it's fine, right?"
"Well, it can't be helped this year. The seniors were all in a riot when the regional seminars were decided."
"... so then, it's like that?"
"So what we should look for is..."
"........."
"........."

Though, at that moment, when she realized that their conversation had come to a screeching halt, everyone had their eyes on her.

"Eh? Eh? Ah, yeah... well, what about going to an onsen?"
"........."
"........."
"S, seems like what an old lady would do, no?"
"........."
"........."
"Eh? W, what...?"

And the moment she had such a hysterical reaction, being the girl whose fate was to always attract the attention of others...

"Ah~, forget it, I give up, I give up. Someone else do this."
"What's with that magnificently slow boke of yours? Was it on purpose? Well, was it?"
"Oh god, Setsuna really is so cute! I know she's right in front of me, and I know she rejected me long ago but I have to say it!"
"Wait right there! That's not something I'm going to let go of so easily!"
"It's okay, Setsuna. You don't need to hold back or be worried, just being here is fine."
"Yeah, yeah, that alone gets the seniors and professors going, compared to us."

Even though the evening sidewalk cafe had just regained its peace, the unforgiving noise from a while ago had compeltely returned.

"... sorry..."

But, they didn't know.

They didn't know that Setsuna's magnificent boke wasn't some calculated mischief of hers, even considering how naturally beautiful she was.

They didn't know that she was just concentrating on not hearing anything at all.

At least for this moment, as the sidewalk cafe speakers had been blasting "The Love That Will Not Reach"...

---

It'd been about two years since Setsuna enrolled in Houjou University...

A year had passed, and the famous song once concealed to hundreds of people had become a standard number to thousands during the winter.

"The Love That Will Not Reach" had its first broadcast on the Houjou campus during the school festival last year, in the evening. But even after that, the radio channel kept vigorously playing it. There wasn't a single soul within Houjou University who hadn't known of the song now, as there were those from the attached school who knew of it, and new listeners who were taken in by it.

However, as always, people around those who knew were on the offensive. And this didn't stop at recruiting to bands, entry requests into the Miss Houjou contest, or even confessions in all the chaos.

And as always, with Setsuna in the center of it all, she'd just give a vague smile while never actually getting into any of these.

Even so, if there was something that had changed in her even just a little...

"Well then, this makes up who's responsible for what. You heard that loud and clear, Setsuna?"
"I'll be fine. Contacting the seniors, right? Leave it to me."

It was how she could form friendships with people other than the "group of four".

Stage performances, beauty pageants, and dates were off limits.

However, she'd be more likely to go to gatherings or tea ceremonies. Holding high hopes for herself, she wouldn't forget the faces of the organizers or students.

She was moderately close to people, moderately polite, not being haughty or vulgar, and she would never be emotional.

"The charm of a fleeting dream".

She'd polished up on this point of hers she'd gained since being in the attached school.

But Setsuna had no idea if this was a progression or a regression of hers.

Because after all...

"By the way, Tomochika-kun... is Kitahara-kun going to be in this? Or not?"
"He was still a maybe on it since yesterday... maybe it's a tough choice for him?"

Like this, she'd hear how Haruki was doing through other people for the time.

Like this, she'd confirm how Haruki was doing through people other than herself.

It was a sign of the things Setsuna gained in a year, and what she lost in return.

"Besides, if Kitahara-kun never took control in the first place, we wouldn't be able to gather like this."
"Don't be pushing everything on Kitahara. He'll be in part-time jobs even when the spring holidays hit."

A little less than a year ago "on the day", Setsuna had come to a halt.

She should have taken Haruki's hand, clung to his chest, and buried herself in all the lonely, painful, yet beautiful moments up until then.

She should have, but thanks to a single song that rode the airwaves, the overflowing emotions and courage that Setsuna built up had been snatched away.

"But you know, the main thing about being a student is..."
"Studying. Could you say he's neglecting his studies given his grades?"
"I'm telling you, that's not really the whole story..."
"Don't criticize us low-income students. Even I'm planning to do part-time jobs in the spring, but if you ask Haruki whether or not to pass on this..."

Since then, the two had grown emotionally distant, yet they were so physically close.

However, Setsuna mourned her failure so much that she blamed herself for the whole thing, not going the whole mile like she'd given up.

It was as if her heart had been finally sliced into pieces...

"... Tomochika, I've been always wondering about this, but why do you get so serious and cover for Kitahara like that?"
"What are you two up to...?"
"Oh yeah, you're both doing the same part-time job, right? Two of them, in fact?"
"... you guys are dating?"
"They're pals with similar tastes, and they both don't have an interest in girls... just maybe?"

It was around when winter just started, when Setsuna began making new friends. Perhaps it was to hide the loneliness of not being able to reach Haruki.

Perhaps it was an automatic balancing mechanism with Setsuna so that she could live on.

... but doing so would trap her in a vicious cycle of building up guilt for "running away" from Haruki.

"Ridiculous. You guys have no idea. Kitahara's quite popular with people out there."
"Eh~, really?"
"Besides, some girl forcibly approached him in his last job..."
"... eh...!?"
"You're joking! Someone approached Mr. Class President!?"

At that moment, Setsuna's gulping down her voice had luckily stopped her from letting out a cry.

"What's with calling him class president even though he's a university student now... even though it's accurate..."
"So, so, how'd it go? Did Kitahara-kun go out with her?"
"What happened, Tomochika-kun!?"
"If you're so interested, just ask him personally..."
"Well, not really..."
"Certainly he's smart, tends to people, makes a lot of money, looks good, and if you consider his prospects I'm sure he's quite something!"
"Well he'd be on the right track if he got used to showing himself off a litle."
"What's that? You saying Kitahara's a hot item?"
"But he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd get close to others."
"That's right, he has this unbalance where he tends to people yet he forces them away."
"... well let's just leave it at that. Anyways, I'm not trying to sell my best friend or anything like that... actually, I've said too much. Forget about it."

Murmuring that at the end, he didn't say any more since claiming to be Haruki's "best friend".

---

"Tomochika-kun!"
"Ogiso? Huh? Your home is this way?"

After the meeting had finished, she called out in a clear and thorough voice that wasn't too loud, to a male student who seemed to be hurrying through the school gates.

"I have something to do in Onjuku... are you going to your part-time job, Tomochika-kun?"
"Yeah, and then Goodies afterward."

And the reality of Setsuna calling out to a guy must have been devastating to those who recognized her as "Ogiso Setsuna, the Houjou University idol".

But the man who she called to had only seen her as "a female friend in the same program", keeping a natural attitude.

"Really, seems pretty close by."
"Thanks to all this though, it's been awkward encountering so many people."
"Heheh... I also go there sometimes."

Though it was a normal reaction, it wasn't normal at all. Though it was comfortable for her, unfortunately she had no room to recognize that.

"Speaking of which, the school uniform for the girls is quite cute over there."
"I suppose. The same goes for the male customers and the men working there."
"Ahaha... perhaps you're one of them, Tomochika-kun?"

After all, Setsuna already knew that Tomochika Hiroki had been working there in the first place, and calling him from behind like this was no coincidence.

"Cut that out... I was simply introduced there."
"Introduced?"
"This guy knew that I had trouble with living expenses, so he got all involved and forcibly had this story spread to the store..."
"Quite a meddling guy, isn't he...?"

Setsuna knew that it wasn't a lie for him to say that he had "trouble with living expenses".

Tomochika Hiroki was an older student who happened to be in the same year, failing the entrance exams and retaking them a year later.

He was a prodigy in high school, and he should have gotten in on the first try, but as luck would have it, his family situation kept him from doing so.

Because three years ago in the winter when he graduated from high school, his mother who was his only family had fallen ill.

And he devoted a year to nursing her as well as making enough money to pay for tuition. Two years ago, he finally managed to enter in the same year as Setsuna and her classmates through a scholarship.

... she heard Takeya grumbling about this at some ponit.

Io had joked "It's too bad Haruki got taken by another guy", but the truth is it wasn't just Takeya that noticed people close to Haruki. Setsuna also almost felt the same way.

"So, I'm guessing it's Haru... Kitahara-kun, right?"
"Heh, you sure know him."

Indeed, the reason why Setsuna called out to him was not to learn about how Tomochika was working so hard.

"Because see, you said he was working with you at that store a while ago..."

It was to learn about the "meddling guy" who'd gotten involved in his situation and supported him.

"He was, yeah. Even though it was part-time, he spoke like he was the manager... well, he did work at that level anyway, so no one complained."
"R, really, is that so?"
"Haruki took care of deciding shifts and training the new guys. Anyone else would think he was a manager-in-training."
"I see, that's why..."
"Hmm?"
"One of the girls working at that store... confessed to him, right?"

She desperately tried to make it sound casual.

Though it was all while desperately hiding her throbbing heart and that she seemed like she'd break a sweat.

"Well... I said it before, but I don't really want to talk about it."
"Ah, I'm sorry. Did I offend you?"
"No, not really."
"I'm really sorry. I was just curious, yet I said something rather rude."
"I'm telling you, I don't really mind..."

All while being obliged to apologize.

All while blaming herself.

"I'm not a decent person... maybe everyone'll end up hating me..."
"Ogiso..."

... however, it was definitely not to put an end to this topic. Setsuna stubbornly continued.

As everyone else kept doing so to her, at some point she came up with this kind of strategy.

She knew people would feel irritated when she did this to them. But Setsuna right now could only do this.

Because she'd been chasing him that much.

Because she was starving for information about Haruki that much.

"... well, I could tell you."
"Tomochika-kun?"

And, Setsuna wondered if it was a bad idea, or maybe that he blinked. Loosening him his shoulders, he gave a light smile.

"Or rather, maybe you have a right to know about this, Ogiso?"
"Eh...?"

Along with a light riddle.

"This is just something I heard from the other girls working at the restaurant..."

And he then pressed forward quickly, as if he wasn't as talkative as he seemed to be.

"She confessed to him, but he rejected her."
"Rejected...?"
"In a really cruel way, I hear."
"... eh...?"

At that moment, Setsuna had a very strange look on her face.

Understanding, tense, relieved, doubting, and bitter... she went through each of these in succession, and although the emotions were there, her expression hadn't shown it at all.

"And, since then she hadn't come to work... so supposedly it's been causing the other employees some trouble."

Haruki had refused the good intentions of a girl...

The pain in Setsuna's heart built up one by one. She didn't want to believe that "Haruki-kun wasn't that sort of person", but she could end up believing "But that's how Haruki-kun is right now".

Because, if Haruki did end up being that sort of person, to "those" that herded him into a corner, it would be harsh and painful .

"... maybe he might get fired?"
"Why?"
"Because it's causing trouble for the other employees, so normally..."
"Like hell it would. It's not like he caused problems with his work, and romance in the workplace would have a bad effect on the restaurant."
"Still..."
"And besides, I don't believe it one bit... though that's just me talking."
"Tomochika-kun...?"

However, this new "best friend" of Haruki's had laughed at Setsuna's worries.

"Haruki's not that sort of person. Besides, he meddles in people's affairs, runs everything, and talks too much. Sometimes he's a bit heavy-handed..."

The expression and words he gave came from the overwhelming trust he had in someone who was flexible, who had an unyielding sincerity, and was an earnest person.

"Even so, I guess I should say he's got leadership for tending to people so well... I can't think of anyone else who works so hard."
"T, thank you..."
"Why are you being grateful, Ogiso?"
"Eh, ah, well..."

Setsuna looked at the older classmate with a bit of a radiant expression, as he was one who should have shouldered his own burden, and had that role pulled away from him.

"... speaking of which, you were with Haruki in the attached school, right? Did you know him from that far back?"
"Well... umm, not really, we weren't in the same class at all..."
"......... I'm pulling your leg. Sorry. That was also mean of me."
"Eh?"
"You're going out with him, aren't you?"
"......... ah..."

And, that expression Tomochika had right there somehow seemed to bring back some hazy, distant memories.

It was an expression that was a little shy, apologetic, and troubled.

"Just so you know, I didn't hear it from Haruki. He seems to keep his mouth shut whenever it's about you, Ogiso."

An expression that told he had secrets he wanted to keep hidden, even though they'd been exposed.

"... well, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing in your case, Ogiso."

An expression that pretended to be thoughtful, but was actually being far more attentive and kind than anyone...

"Hey, Ogiso."
"Eh?"
"I'm guessing, you still can't forget about him?"
"...!"

It was painful for him to ask that question with that look on his face.

Even though he should know.

Even though he should know that expression of his wasn't fake, but real, and not aimed towards himself.

"Well, I'm going this way so..."
"Ah... T, Tomochika-kun..."
"Come to the shop every once in a while. Maybe Haruki'll also be glad to see you?"
"... ah..."

And, in the end he was rather shy, apologetic, and troubled as he ended the discussion. Tomochika disappeared quickly from Setsuna's field of view.

She could only watch him off from behind, dumbfounded, as his figure grew smaller and smaller.