Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: CONNECT When It All Began

When It All Began

It was a bright morning, about halfway through the month of May.

A month into the new semester, the relationships of the students found in newly formed class 2-5 had already solidified, with each of them happily going about their youths in this new environment.

Many of them were busy chatting with either their newfound friends in class 2-5, their old friends from previous classes, or both.

The number one topic of discussion amongst them was the transfer student that was supposed to be coming to their class today.

Why now, a month into the semester? Is it a guy or a girl? I hope it's a hot guy. I hope it's a cute girl. I hope they're funny. I wonder if they're smart? Is there a sport they're good at? It'd be cool if they played an instrument.

...However, there was one girl removed from said bustling conversation, sitting alone at her desk with a frown on her face as she read her book.

Her silky black hair was a sight to behold, and her refined facial features gave her an air of sophistication.

She was Yozora Mikadzuki.

She would occasionally grimace upon hearing the cheerful voices of her classmates and yells from the sports teams practicing on the track below, all without lifting her bored-looking eyes from her book and its plain book cover.

Ever since she became a junior—— No, ever since she came to this school, Yozora spent most of her days in class like this.

Her looks were good enough to grab people's attention, and back in April some of her classmates did indeed try to talk to her, however due to the fact that she would always speak in a cold voice and offer only the meagerest of replies (or sometimes no reply at all), there was no one left in class who would talk to her anymore.

On top of her hard-to-approach atmosphere, she also possessed great academic and athletic abilities, and would give anyone who tried to mess with her the coldest of glares, which spared her from any bullying that may have otherwise occurred.

In addition, her attitude in class was certainly not what one would call good. It was especially bad in English class, where she would completely ignore any activity that required pairing up with someone, and instead opt to stare blankly out the window. However, despite her attitude, no teacher ever rebuked her for it on account of her grades being at the top of the class.

A solitary person who likes being alone and hates other people.

That was how the other students of class 2-5 saw Yozora Mikadzuki, and it was Yozora herself who had built up that reputation.

A school life in which she had no friends, talked with nobody, and got involved with nobody.

It would be a lie to say that she enjoyed it.

It would also be a lie to say that she had no interest in living an enjoyable school life.

It's obvious that enjoying something is better than being bored by it, that's only common sense.

It wasn't that she liked being alone, nor was it that she hated other people.

Even so, if it meant having to go through that, then it was better to avoid an enjoyable school life.

No friends, no boyfriend.

I'm fine all by myself.

That is what Yozora believed—— Or rather, that is what she forced herself to believe.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of their morning homeroom.

Three minutes later their homeroom teacher walked into the classroom with a worried look on his face, and told the class that, "For some reason, the transfer student who was supposed to come today isn't here," sending the class into a buzz of whispers.

Who cares, Yozora thought to herself.

It doesn't matter if some transfer students come here, it's got nothing to do with me.

Homeroom then ended with some students still whispering to each other as Yozora took out her world history textbook and notes from her desk before returning to her book.

She didn't have a particular dislike for reading, but it was also true that she very rarely found reading a book in class like so to be enjoyable.

At school, she would often choose to read minor foreign titles translated into Japanese and academic books, the kinds of books that would put almost anyone else her age to sleep.

In fact, Yozora herself was not especially fond of said books either, and she would often end up lazily following the words on the page without actually comprehending what was written.

Her criteria for picking books to read in class was simple.

She wanted books that, if asked what she was reading, would make someone awkwardly smile and walk away after being told what the book was.

The books Yozora read at school were nothing more to her than a shield with which to repel others.

Thanks to her frequent reading of such books, she acquired a great depth of knowledge regarding trivia and miscellaneous facts, however said knowledge was useless given that she had no one to share it with.

Truth be told, she enjoyed simpler, entertainment-based books.

She could read and enjoy a good mystery, or romance, or fantasy novel, but she actually liked manga even more than novels—— In particular, she liked shounen manga aimed at younger children.

The protagonist always wins. Effort is always rewarded.

And above all else—— friendship is eternal and never ever falls apart.

Victory, effort, friendship. Yozora liked stories based upon those simple principles.

How could she not? After all, they were much better than the real world.

If only the real world was as simple as it is in a shounen manga——

Yozora was not naive enough to truly wish for something like that, but she would occasionally find the idea float through her mind.

The bell then rang, alerting everyone to the start of first period.

Their world history teacher, Ms. Asada (a young teacher with a timid look about her), began class shortly thereafter.

She would always follow the textbook exactly when teaching, hence there were no major issues with her classes, however it was rather boring.

This was especially true for Yozora, who would always pre-read the material to be covered in class, leaving her with nothing new to discover.

Aside from the boys who were excited to have the beautiful Ms. Asada teaching them, the class went on with the same dullness as usual.

About halfway through first period, many students were nearly about to or had already begun counting sheep.

Yozora was among said students, her eyelids slowly becoming heavier by the minute as she rested her jaw on her elbow and blankly stared at her textbook before finally allowing them to close completely.

All of a sudden though, the classroom was filled with life again.

Apparently someone had just come in through the front door to the classroom.

Who cares...

Yozora thought to herself without even opening her eyes. I'm too tired for this, she thought.

"Ah, umm, you are...?"

In response to Ms. Asada's inquiry,

"I'm the new transfer student, Kodaka Hasegawa. Nice ta' meat ya'."

Uwah...!?

The voice everyone heard was one so unusually deep it made one's natural instincts scream that danger was about. Even Yozora felt a bit shocked, and thus opened her eyes to look at the owner of said voice.

In that instant, every last spec of sleepiness within Yozora was completely and utterly blown away.

A head of brown and dull blond hair that made it look like he tried to dye it and messed up, and a set of sharp-looking eyes that gave the impression he was glaring at you all the time.

And as if his already scary face wasn't enough, for some reason his eyes were bloodshot, causing him to look like some kind of criminal.

——Holy crap does this guy look like bad news.

Thoughts similar to that dominated the minds of those in the classroom. Even Ms. Asada appeared to be afraid.

However, Yozora alone was busy thinking something completely different from everyone else.

I know that boy.

I remember him. I've always remembered him. I never forgot about him. I'd never forget about him.

Taka!

Yozora's best friend who left her all of a sudden 10 years ago.

10 years had passed, but that unique hair of his and look in his eyes were still the same as they were back then.

His name was "Kodaka", hence she called him by the nickname "Taka".

She, on the other hand, never told him her actual name, "Yozora", and instead made him call her by the nickname "Sora".

She hid her gender and slowly became better friends with him, but as the days passed, there was a sharp pain in her chest that kept growing. That pain ——likely from the guilt she felt—— eventually became too much for her to bear, and so she finally worked up the courage to tell him the truth, but then, all of a sudden, he vanished.

Yozora's life after that was so disastrous that the only way to describe it would be to call it her dark past.

She tried many things to fill the void left by Taka's disappearance.

She tried things that would make her moan and squirm in agony just by remembering them again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

And, after all that, what Yozora finally settled on doing—— was simply to give up.

She told herself she was simply incapable of having a normal youth anymore, and resigned herself to that fate. She then locked the fun memories of the days she spent with Taka deep in her heart and abandoned all attempts to live a fun life, instead choosing to keep to herself and just kill time every single day.

"O-Okay, then, um, y-you can use that empty desk over there..."

Ms. Asada directed Kodaka to his seat.

Before walking to his seat Kodaka took a look around the classroom and made an incredibly fiendish, intimidating smile, like the kind you'd expect a man-eating monster to make, causing the mood in the classroom to grow even colder.

Yozora was likely the only one who saw that smile and felt relief, rather than fear.

He really hasn't changed at all in these 10 years.

He's fatally awful at making a smile, and any attempts he makes to be friendly with other people always backfire on him.

...Yozora liked that part of him as well though, because she was very similar.

Kodaka Hasegawa then began walking towards her on the way to his seat.

The rest of the students quietly looked away, but not Yozora, she alone stared intently at Kodaka.

Kodaka, with the same fiendish smile as before still on his stiff face, casually walked right past Yozora's desk.

He seemed to be incredibly nervous, and didn't notice Yozora staring at him in the least.

While she was a bit upset that she didn't get him to notice her right away, today was the first time in a long... a truly long time that Yozora had felt this excited.

Taka came back to me.

It felt like time had at last begun to move again for her after having been frozen these 10 years.

Before she knew it, Yozora had unconsciously let a smile slip out onto her face.

This is it—— my youth begins now!

☺

This is it, my youth begins now!

There was a time when even I had such thoughts.

"Why hasn't he noticed yet!?"

Yozora yelled in a rugged voice, unable to contain her frustration as she stood alone in her classroom at sunset.

She soon realized what she'd done though, and began to blush as she quickly moved to check outside the classroom.

There was nobody in the hallway, it appeared as though no one had heard her scream.

As the relief washed over her, Yozora walked over to Kodaka Hasegawa's desk near the window.

She then opened the window and sat on its ledge, and let out a deep sigh as she stared at Kodaka's desk in front of her.

Over a month has passed since Kodaka came to this school.

She spent the first few days waiting in excitement wondering when Kodaka would realize who she was, which was in itself fairly enjoyable.

However a week soon passed, then two weeks, then three weeks, with no sign of Kodaka having any clue that Yozora was his old best friend, Sora.

In fact, she hadn't even had a chance to talk to Kodaka a single time yet.

All of Yozora's classmates saw Kodaka as someone to be feared after his terrible first impression, and while Kodaka had been putting forth his best effort to fix that by talking to them, his incredible bad luck caused it all to have the opposite effect.

Even Yozora thought that the way he glared at the students sitting at the desks around him like a hawk eyeing up its prey looked like he was trying to decide when to mug them. In fact, it was so bad that she found herself wondering if maybe he really was a delinquent from time to time.

She felt hesitant to initiate a conversation with the (guy everyone thinks is a) delinquent who nobody talked to.

On top of that, Yozora normally avoided talking to anyone else in class, hence if she went over and talked to Kodaka she would be unable to avoid standing out.

...It was just, how to put it... too embarrassing for her.

The biggest reason though—— was that after spending such a long time alone and isolated at school, she didn't even know how to go talk to someone else.

This was a very serious problem.

How should she call out to him? Should she say "Um", or "Hey", or "Yo", or "Sup", or "Excuse me"? How does everyone else decide which one to use? She was completely at a loss.

Thus, Yozora had been waiting for Kodaka to come talk to her, but... For some reason Kodaka only tried talking to other guys, and no matter how casually Yozora walked by him, or how often she went back and forth between her desk and her locker behind her, pretending to grab textbooks and handouts, Kodaka didn't seem to notice at all.

Thinking about how she'd spent the past month filled her chest with an unbearable amount of irritation.

I'm trying so hard to talk to him, but he just...!

The irritation in her chest continued to swell up with no sign of stopping.

This is getting bad. I need to do my "routine".

"——Hey, what do you think, Tomo-chan?"

All of a sudden—— Yozora turned to her side, and started talking to the empty space beside her.

An air friend.

Yozora came up with this fictional existence after a "certain incident" during her middle school years, and it was essentially like the friend version of an air guitar.

Her name was Tomo-chan.

Tomo-chan was an attractive, athletic, superhuman of a girl, skilled in many arts including singing and painting, but also very caring towards others and especially so with her best of best friends, Yozora. She was the perfect friend who would always have a fun story to tell or be ready to lend an ear (an ear made of air, of course).

Unlike most imaginary friends a certain percentage of the world's children typically dream up, Yozora could not see Tomo-chan, and of course she did not believe she truly existed either.

Even Yozora felt that what she was doing was utterly ridiculous.

It truly was ridiculous—— pathetically so.

The name she gave her was rather simple, and thinking about it rationally, there was no way a perfect superhuman like Tomo-chan would have Yozora as her only friend.

But, even so, that didn't stop Yozora.

Much like how one can feel full of energy after seriously playing an air guitar and pretending they just gave a real performance, having an unreserved conversation with Tomo-chan was honestly enjoyable for her.

In fact, instead of enjoyable—— it might be more appropriate to say that it allowed her to play the role of her "normal" high school girl self having an enjoyable conversation with her "normal" friends.

She'd had similar experiences back when she used to pretend to be a superhero with Kodaka. She would get too into her role and attempt to bend her body in ways not meant to be bent in an attempt to pull off some special attack, only to end up hurt. Simply put, Yozora had always had a tendency to take any acting she did too far.

However, she was also very well aware of how said tendency had gotten her into trouble a number of times in the past, hence she would take care in choosing when and where to talk to Tomo-chan, but... Today she was not careful enough.

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it back then you said——"

Kachak.

——All of a sudden, the door to the classroom flew open.

——And she met eyes with Kodaka Hasegawa, staring at her with a stiff look on his face.

...It was awful.

Kodaka has pretty terrible luck, but I have to say mine's just as bad—— Yozora thought to herself on her way to the pits of despair.

Did he see me? No way, did he really see that just now? See me talking to my air frie... No, see me happily talking to myself... Crap, crap, this is bad, what do I do, seriously what do I do...!?

"".........""

After a brief awkward silence, Kodaka began walking towards her.

W-why...!?

It was because Kodaka's desk was right in front of the ledge Yozora was sitting on, but she was simply too confused by the whole situation to notice.

A fiendish smile then rose upon Kodaka's face, and it made him look like...

"...That smile makes him look like a hawk licking its lips after spotting its prey...!"

Yozora had accidentally let her thoughts slip out of her mouth. How could she not? Even Yozora thought that Kodaka's smile was scary.

Kodaka looked a bit hurt, and a bit apologetic after hearing Yozora's words.

Yozora's heart skipped a beat after seeing that expression on his face.

In that instant, Yozora finally realized that this was the chance to speak to Kodaka for the first time in 10 years that she'd been wishing for the past whole month.

Yozora directed a passionate gaze at Kodaka.

Remember—— Remember, Taka.

It's me—— Sora.

Your best friend, Sora.

"Ah, um..."

Kodaka opened his mouth.

"...What?"

Yozora said, trying to dispel the pounding of her heart by replying in the most calm tone of voice she could manage.

"...Umm..."

Kodaka seemed to be nervous as well.

Could it be? Does he recognize me?

Yozora gulped down her own saliva as she waited for Kodaka to continue.

It was only a few seconds in actuality, but after that brief period of time that felt like an eternity——...

"C-can you see ghosts or something?"

............

"Hah?"

Yozora let out a confused voice after having her expectations betrayed in a way she'd never even imagined.

...In the following moments, contrary to her will, Yozora's anger and irritation at Kodaka for not realizing who she was took control of her as she blurted out how she'd been talking to her air friend, and how wonderful a girl Tomo-chan was.

Kodaka looked at her as though she were the most pitiful thing on the planet.

Now I've done it, Yozora thought to herself, regretting her actions all too late.

"...If you want to talk to some friends, then why not just make some real ones? ...You know, like, not an air friend, but ones that actually exist..."

Kodaka's oddly condescending comment set Yozora off.

"Hmph, I wouldn't have an air friend if I could do that."

For some reason, she was incredibly annoyed with him.

You're one to talk, you don't have any friends either, she yelled at him in her head.

Why am I the only one who has to go through all this? Why is Kodaka acting fine when I feel this way? I'm through with you!

"Hm? Now that I take a good look at you, you're that transfer student who's always alone in our class. You're the last person who should be lecturing anybody about friends, Mr. transfer student."

Yozora said with all the nastiness she could muster.

Kodaka then frowned and replied,

"...I've been here for a month now, stop calling me 'transfer student'."

I see, so he doesn't like being called 'transfer student'? In that case,

"......What's your name?"

Yozora asked, her intention being to see how he preferred to be addressed, but...

"...Kodaka Hasegawa."

...He named himself. Even though she'd known it this whole time.

Argh, why didn't he get what I meant?

Tomo-chan would always be able to tell what I really meant—— Why am I being so dumb? Of course she would, I made her. I know that. Yeah, I know that.

Ahh, this is so annoying. Yozora knew that she had no right to get angry about it, but she still couldn't stop herself from feeling irritated.

Maybe I should just go right out and call him "Taka". Maybe that would make him realize that I'm Sora.

...But, what if he doesn't realize?

Maybe I should just call him "Hasegawa" until he figures it out—— No, I don't want to call Taka something as reserved as "Hasegawa", no matter what.

Hence, Yozora decided that for the time being—— until they were friends again—— that she would call him "Kodaka".

"Calling me by my first name already...?" Kodaka asked with a look of confusion on his face, but Yozora paid it no mind, no mind at all.

After that little exchange, Yozora began probing Kodaka for information about how he'd spent the past 10 years.

Apparently it wasn't because he was unlucky that he hadn't made any friends yet here, he didn't have any friends at his school before this one either.

...Yozora felt a little relieved to hear that.

The two of them then began discussing how exactly one goes about making friends.

It was the first time Yozora had chatted with a classmate in a long while, and yet their conversation moved along smooth as could be.

Perhaps it was because she'd always spent time talking to Tomo-chan... Or perhaps it was because Kodaka was special to her.

"...It's not like I want friends that badly in the first place."

That's the truth—— All I need is you.

"Huh?" Kodaka asked back with a dubious expression, but Yozora was able to casually dodge the question.

I doubt many people out there have someone who they share a true friendship with (like we once did) that isn't just something superficial anyway.

Yozora told Kodaka with a hint of cynicism in the midst of their conversation.

Upon hearing that, Kodaka made a lonely look on his face, and said,

"...Maybe, but I still wish I could find a real friend out there."

...You have one, right in front of you.

...You could grant your own wish if only you'd notice that fact.

A sharp pain ran through Yozora's chest.

Yozora and Kodaka's conversation about how to make friends continued on after that, and it wasn't long before Kodaka came up with the idea of joining a club.

Joining a club—— It seemed like a truly excellent way to make friends.

...But that idea was no good.

Kodaka had finally come back to her, if he joined a club then he'd have less time to spend with her.

Maybe I could join a club with Kodaka then... That idea did cross Yozora's mind, but even that wouldn't allow them to be alone together.

And what if Kodaka made new friends in that club...

Yozora racked her brain and used every reason she could think of to get rid of Kodaka's desire to join a club.

And, luckily, she seemed to have succeeded.

Kodaka fell into silence afterwards.

Yozora breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time... she felt that a "club" wasn't too bad of an idea.

"...Still, a club, huh...... A club..."

Being in the same club as Kodaka would allow her to spend more time with him.

She could talk to him in school without standing out under the pretext of being in the same club.

However, joining a club still had many demerits to go along with its merits.

If only there was a club for just the two of us...

"——That's it, a club!"

Yozora involuntarily let out an energetic yell at her sudden flash of brilliance.

Kodaka wore a look of bewilderment on his face, but Yozora simply directed a smile full of satisfaction at him.

☺

Just you wait, Taka.

After leaving Kodaka standing stupefied in the classroom, Yozora quickly made her way to the faculty lounge in order to obtain the necessary paperwork to start a new club.

It's so simple, if there's no club then all I have to do is make one. A club for Taka and I.

Thanks to having memorized all the school rules written in her student handbook as a way to kill time, Yozora knew that it was easy to make new clubs at this school.

As she walked, Yozora thought about what to name their club, and what would make for a believable description of it. She also considered how to obtain a clubroom and an advisor as well.

Her mind was surprisingly clear, and good ideas kept coming one after another.

This is it—— I can do this.

Each time a smile leaked out onto her face, she would quickly adjust her lips back into her usual grimace.

Then, all of a sudden, something came into her vision.

It was a bulletin board in the hallway, one with the final exam results from her freshman year posted on it. Yozora's eyes glanced at her name in the fourth spot from the top.

She was currently at the top of her class, class 2-5, and her final exam score was plenty high, but no matter how high you go there's always someone above you.

All Yozora cared about was getting through class by herself, and far from caring about her rank, she actually resented being in the top 10 because of how it made her name stand out due to it being printed so large. Even so, the name at the top of said list belonging to the student with the highest score was one she just plain did not like.

Sena Kashiwazaki

That was the name of the insane honors student who has always taken first place on every single exam in every single subject ever since the entry exam to get into this school.

After hearing that she got a perfect score on Saint Chronica's notoriously difficult entrance exam, Yozora had wondered just what kind of bookworm she was, but she turned out to be a dazzlingly beautiful girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and an amazing body.

In addition to being skilled at academics she was amazingly athletic too, and on top of that, she was also the only daughter of the school's chairman. She was so well-known that even Yozora, who spoke with nobody in her class, had heard that the boys in that girl's class worshipped her like a god.

An attractive, intelligent, athletic, popular little rich girl.

Yozora pondered to herself if the term "normals" was made specifically to describe her.

Every time she ran into her in the hallways, Yozora would wish that she'd just die already.

...Still, even an annoying normal like her was insignificant now.

After all, Yozora had her school life with Taka to look forward to now.

Sena Kashiwazaki—— I've never spoken to you, but I suppose I could spare some sympathy for you now.

Starting today, I'm a normal too!

☺

After getting the forms needed to create a new club, Yozora filled out the necessary blanks on it before leaving the building and making a visit to the chapel located on the school grounds.

Despite being a missionary school, very few students, including Yozora, were actually Christians, and as a general rule very few students ever came to the chapel.

Both the nave and lounge in the chapel are typically left open to the public, and Yozora would often come here to kill time when it was too loud and thus uncomfortable in the classroom or library.

Yozora was currently en route to Lounge #4, the place Yozora thought she might be able to use as the clubroom for her new club with Kodaka.

Maria Takayama was the sister in charge of said lounge, and Yozora had often seen her napping on the sofa inside.

Yozora had never spoken to her before, but she was a very cute Northern European-looking girl who resembled a Siberian husky puppy, and she was a sister too, hence Yozora was sure that she would be a kind and understanding child.

Her mind was made up, that girl would be their advisor.

In order to form a new club one needs to have at least one club member (ie. all you need is the person making the club), and an advisor. The people who can serve as advisors are teachers, special lecturers, sisters, and other staff employed by the academy.

It was highly unlikely Maria Takayama was already advisor to another club, making her the perfect choice.

...And, well, Yozora... didn't find children to be unpleasant.

There was a child who was fond of Yozora who frequently visited the book store she had a part-time job at, and as a result she was used to talking to children.

Maria likely didn't have any friends her own age given that this was a high school, and Yozora didn't think it would be all that bad if Kodaka and her spent some time playing with Maria every now and then.

As Yozora was busy considering such things, she had arrived at Lounge #4.

"Excuse me."

Yozora entered the room after knocking on the door, causing Maria Takayama, who had been sleeping on the sofa, to go "Fueh...?" and let out a sleepy groan before getting up and looking at her.

As Yozora made her way over to Maria, all the while thinking how she looked like a cute little animal,

"W-who are you!? This is my holy afternoon nap room, trash like you is not allowed in here!"

Maria defiantly yelled at her with great force all of a sudden.

...Huh? She's a bit different than I imagined...

Maybe she's just upset that I interrupted her nap, Yozora thought.

Still confused, Yozora took out the club establishment form, and asked,

"...Um, I'm seat number 31 from class 2-5, Yozora Mikadzuki. There's something I'd like you to do for me, Maria Takayama-sensei, if you could."

"No!"

...This brat.

Yozora managed to keep her face from going stiff with anger, and continued on in a calm tone of voice.

"...Umm, could you at least listen to what I have to say first?"

"No! Beat it, moron! Mooorooon!"

Yozora persevered through Maria's insults, and went on to say,

"...I'd like to make a new club, would it be possible for me to use this room in doing so?"

"Hell if I know, mooorooon!"

...OK, I think I'll punch her now.

As that thought crossed Yozora's mind, Maria's stomach let out a cute growling noise.

"Uu..." Maria mumbled, and after seeing her face tinted slightly red with embarrassment, Yozora's irritation all but disappeared.

What, so she's just upset because she's hungry? Yozora found that childish reaction to be quite adorable.

"...Um, how about I give you something you'll like first?"

"Something I'll like!?"

Maria's face lit up like a light bulb as she waddled her way over to Yozora.

Sheesh, so she really is a nice little girl.

Yozora rummaged through her bag in search of her present for Maria.

The chocolate she'd bought yesterday should still have been in there, but her bag was so full of notebooks and textbooks that she couldn't find it (Yozora made sure to never leave her materials at school).

Maria took a peek into Yozora's bag, her eyes still sparkling with excitement.

"Ah, here it is."

Yozora yanked out the chocolate from her bag in one swift motion.

Smack!!

"Bgobya!?"

Yozora had pulled her hand out with so much force that it caused the back of her right hand to deliver a backhand blow straight into Maria's right cheek. That had to hurt, Yozora thought to herself.

"Fueh...!? Ah... Au... *Hick*..."

Tears slowly started to form in Maria's eyes.

"Ah..."

Before Yozora could apologize for what she'd done,

"Fuehhhhhhh!! W-w-w-w-why did you just hit me!? You said you'd give me something, why'd you hit me instead!? Why'd you hit me, you idiot, moron, poophead!!"

Maria began sobbing loudly as she glared at Yozora.

At this point, Yozora was her enemy and nothing else. It was unlikely Maria would listen to anything she had to say.

However, Yozora was in a hurry to get back to Kodaka in the classroom, and didn't have time to waste here.

——I guess it's time for a change of plans.

Yozora quickly adjusted her strategy to fit the new situation.

"Hmph, fool! I did give you something, my backhand. You should be thankful."

"Ehh!?"

Maria's eyes were wide open in response to Yozora's tyrannical justification, but Yozora simply continued on.

"The Lord once said, 'If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.'—— Hence, I'll hit your left cheek too."

Slap!

The second Yozora finished her sentence she followed through on her words and lightly smacked Maria's left cheek.

"Fgyah!? U-U-Uwahhhhhh!!"

"Silence. Be quiet, or else..."

"Eek!"

Maria's body shook with fear as she went quiet and obeyed Yozora's ruthless order.

Honestly, Yozora did feel guilty about what she'd done, but she also felt that this was the only way for her to swiftly end her negotiations with Maria.

Even if it was an accident, once you've hit somebody—— once they see you as their enemy—— the safest way to end things is by beating them down until their will to fight has been crushed to pieces.

Yozora was sure of that, for she had always done so up until now.

In any case, Yozora was glad to see Maria was even easier to push around than she'd anticipated.

After all, Yozora didn't want to have to hit an innocent child any more than she already had.

Today her goal was to accomplish her goal as soon as possible, she would be sure to give her some candy later to make up for it.

"...Hey, Maria-sensei."

"Fueh...?"

As Maria sat there trembling with teary eyes, Yozora purposefully made a smile on her face like that of an evil heartless witch, and said,

"...The Lord also said——..."

...Thus, Yozora obtained an advisor for their club.

☺

After finishing all the paperwork necessary for their new club and returning to the classroom, for some reason Kodaka had already gone home.

Disappointed that she was unable to let Kodaka know about the club by the end of the day, Yozora also made her way home——

And then, the next day came.

As usual Yozora had not a single chance to talk to Kodaka in class, however after finally losing her temper Yozora worked up the courage to walk up in front of Kodaka during lunch break, and tell him,

"Kodaka. Come here for a second."

She then left the classroom immediately after without so much as waiting for Kodaka to respond.

Luckily, Kodaka came after her anyway.

A short while later, at the landing of an empty staircase, Yozora finally told Kodaka about their new club she'd made yesterday.

The club's name was the "Neighbors Club".

The description of the club she wrote on the form she submitted read: "In accordance with the teachings of Christianity, we aim to become good neighbors to our fellow students and deepen our fellowship with them by working together with them to better ourselves in a variety of situations."

...Yeah, even I don't think this makes any sense, and I'm the one who wrote it, Yozora thought to herself.

That nonsense aside, the club's true goal was "to make friends".

There was another truth hidden within said true goal though—— namely that the club's true purpose was to help Yozora and Kodaka, help Sora and Taka become friends again.

On this day, time had finally begun to move again after having been frozen for so long.

Yozora Mikadzuki and Kodaka Hasegawa—— The curtains on their new story had at long last been raised.

☺

The following day.

As Yozora and Kodaka were relaxing inside "Lounge #4", someone started knocking on the door to the clubroom out of nowhere.

"Looks like we've got our first potential new member."

Yozora joked with a smile on her face as she stood up.

She was going to tell their rude visitor that this room was currently being used for their club activities.

Ka-lick.

Yozora opened the door, and saw that before her stood a familiar girl.

"This is the Neighbors Club, right? I want to join."

And so, their story, with its curtains now raised, set off in a direction Yozora would never have expected——

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