Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume10.5 Me and Usagi and My Ambiguous First Love

Me (Watashi) and Usagi and My Ambiguous First Love

Me and Rabbits and My Ambiguous First Love

Even till now, I have been having a recurring dream.

It was about what I saw after school during primary school.

What that girl wrote on the blackboard silently, in the classroom where the sunset was shining into.

It was neither her punishment nor her duty. At first glance, it seemed to be something done for an unknown purpose.

She would write and erase, and, after erasing, write again.

That kid kept repeating this seriously — this girl left an exceptional impression within my heart.

“Yes. I think it’s great to have Himeji Mizuki-san as a Rearing Committee member.”

I was nominated during the first class meeting in 4th grade, and couldn’t help but freeze.

“Choosing Himeji Mizuki-san is a great idea!”

“Isn’t it perfect? It’s a plain and boring job anyway.”

“It sure suits our ‘Plain Lover’-san!”

I could hear whispers from all around. The only ones who would call me that were those classmates who were in the same class as mine in 3rd grade.

“What is it, Himeji-san?”

The facilitating teacher said that, and everyone looked over.

“W-Well, about that…”

I must refuse it. Even though I had that thought, I was so nervous that I couldn’t speak up properly.

At this moment, the stares that were shot at me got sharper.

My mind went blank, and I could only lower my head.

I must refuse it.

It wasn’t that I hated the job, but that my body’s frail. If I get hospitalized, I’ll have to be excused from school for a long time, and that’ll cause a lot of trouble to many people. I don’t want that…

“I, I…”

I tried to squeeze the words in, but everyone’s stares intensified, and I couldn’t say anything.

“—You’re not willing to?”

I heard a concerned and friendly voice.

I looked up, and saw that the boy sitting at the table next to me is talking to me.

“…Yes.”

I nodded my head.

“I see. If you don’t like it, you can say it out loud.”

I looked at the boy and saw him put on a bright smile as he said:

“Erm, can I call you Mizuki-chan?”

I nodded my head silently.

Then, that boy stood up and said to the teacher for me,

“Sensei, Mizuki-chan is very obscene!”

……………Eh?

The boy had stares raining all over him as his voice rang through the classroom.

Ah, well…wait a moment…that sounds like it means another thing altogether.

That boy ignored my doubts as he repeated it again, clearly:

“Mizuki-chan is really obscene!”

It, it really means something completely different when you say it like that!

“Wa, wait wait.”

I hurriedly pulled the boy who still wanted to go on. Don-Don’t repeat such a line so many times!

“Hm? What is it?”

The boy gave me an incredulous look, apparently not understanding why I was trying to stop him. Uu…how, how am I going to explain this…

“I-I-I’m not obscene…”

“Eh? Aren’t you unwilling?”

“I, I’m unwilling.”

“Then it’s the same, right?”

“I’m unwilling, but I’m not obscene.”

“???”

The boy looked cute as he blinked. Ah, what should I do…he didn’t understand at all…

“Aki-kun, the way you say it makes it sound like ‘that kid’s very H’, you know!”

“How pitiful~ Aki-kun’s bullying a girl here!”

“Onee-chan will get angry too!”

The boy’s friends seemed to be teasing him and having fun with this as they spoke up.

On hearing that, that boy finally seemed to understand what I was trying to tell him.

“Ah, no, it’s not like that! It’s a misunderstanding! Mizuki-chan’s obscene but isn’t obscene at all!”

“Which one is it??”

“A-Anyway, it’s obscene to be a Rearing Committee member!”

“Aki-kun, you can’t say that either!”

This situation went on in class as everyone was looking at us.

Auuu…I, I really couldn’t take it…

“W-Well…I’m willing to be a rearing member…”

I was not used to the stares everyone shot at me, and couldn’t help it as I decided to become a rearing member. Uu…I’ll have to talk to the teacher about what’ll happen when I get admitted into hospital…

My name’s written on the blackboard, under the ‘Rearing member. Girl’ column.

“Well then, how about the male rearing member? Is anyone willing to nominate himself?”

The teacher looked around and asked everyone. The male Rearing Committee member column was the only empty slot left.

Who will it be…?

I wanted to know whose name will be written on it. If that person’s going to work with me, I would end up bothering him a lot. No, maybe no one will raise names because nobody wanted to work with me. If that person gets nominated and didn’t like this job, it would cause trouble to me too…

Thinking of it really made me depressed.

Then, right beside me…

“E-Erm! I’d like to be a rearing member too!”

The boy from before raised his hand energetically.

“You want to be a rearing member!? Aki-kun!? Really!?”

“Aki-kun. Do you know how to take care of animals here!?”

“Alright, I’ll do it too!”

And, after saying that…

“Mizuki-chan, please take care of me.”

The boy turned to me and smiled.

“Y-Yes. Please take care of me too…”

And this was my very first encounter with Yoshii-kun.

☆

“Heh~ so that’s how a rabbit house looks like on the inside.”

On the first day of rearing duty, Yoshii-kun and I arrived at the rabbit house located beside the school building as rearing members.

“Ah, there’s a new rabbit this year.”

Yoshii-kun carried the smallest of the three rabbits.

The rabbit was shocked, and at first, it started flailing its legs.

“Good boy good boy.”

The rabbit quickly calmed down after it was patted, and quickly quiet down within Yoshii-kun’s clutches.

“Do you want to carry it too, Mizuki-chan?”

“Eh?”

Yoshii-kun carried the young rabbit in his hands over to me.

“Ah, are you not good at dealing with animals?”

“Er, erm, that…”

I was at a loss of words.

Actually, I really could not handle animals. When I went to a pet exhibition, I wanted to pet a dog on the head when I got the permission, only for the dog to timidly let out a growl “Uuu…!”

“It’s because you’re scared of the dog that the dog is frightened of you, Mizuki. That’s why it started barking.”

Otou-san said after he saw this, and continued, “If you want to be liked, you have to like others first.”

“—Mizuki-chan!”

“Ah, it, it’s nothing.”

“Really?”

“Right, we should start cleaning.”

I remembered what happened when I tried to touch the dog, and turned my eyes away from the rabbit.

“You’re right. Then, everyone, be good kids and stay here.”

Yoshii-kun put the rabbits at a place where they won’t interfere with the cleaning and takes out the grass from their nest. During this time, I used the broom to sweep the floor.

“I’ll go change the water then. Mizuki-chan, please do the feeding.”

“Eh? Ah, okay.”

Yoshii-kun took the rabbit water pail and walked out of the house. I wanted to change the water because I was scared of them biting my hand when I feed them…

However, it could not be helped. I would still have to continue my job as a rearing committee member, so I should get used to it earlier.

I put the grass and vegetables on the large plate, and got ready to put it in front of the rabbits.

“He, here…”

I timidly pushed the plate, and once the rabbits smelled it, they came scampering over to me

“Nu, nu♪”

They seemed to be humming as they ate.

Ahh…they look, so cute…

Its small mouth continued to nimble. I guess it was tasty as their ears and tails were twitching. The smallest one seemed to be having a hard time eating it though, as its food continued to slip outside, and its tilted face was rather dazed. It really looked adorable.

"Erm…there’s quite a lot that overflowed…”

I said these words as I was overly concerned that too much food overflowed.

However, the rabbit continued to look into the tray energetically.

“The, then, please excuse me…”

I said softly, and put the vegetables the rabbit tossed out onto the floor back onto the tray.

And then, that rabbit looked like it really wanted to eat a lot as it ate the vegetables in my hand.

“Wa…wa…”

Its unexpected action caused my body to stiffen up.

However, the rabbit continued to nibble without caring about me, and even started licking my hand, maybe because of the smell of vegetables on it.

“Hya.”

It was warm, and a little itchy.

I let out a cry, and the rabbit tilted its head at me in a mystified manner before turning to eat the food on the tray again.

The young rabbit happily twitched its ears and tail, and did not look scary at all, but cute. I started to have a feeling beside fear at this point.

Should I touch it a little…?

It is feeding now, so it should be alright to touch the back. I thought as I reached my hand to the rabbit’s back.

The child that was focused on eating did not show any signs of irritation after I touched it.

I felt a soft and fluffy feeling on my hand, together with a slight throbbing.

“Waa…”

This first touch on a rabbit felt a lot better than I expected, and I was engrossed as I continued stroking its back.

“It’s cute, isn’t it?”

“KYAH!?”

A voice suddenly came from behind, and I jumped up in shock.

“Ah, sorry, did I scare you?”

Yoshii-kun, who returned, looked at me in an apologetic manner.

It seemed I was not the only one shocked here—the rabbits seemed to be protesting or were simply panicking as they hopped around Yoshii-kun.

“Wa, WAH WAH!”

Yoshii-kun lost his balance trying to dodge them, and the water he was holding was poured down his head.

“Auu…looks like I have to go back again…”

Yoshii-kun took the water container and went out of the house again.

It was really funny to see the rabbits give the “How about that!” look as they watched him leave, and I could not help but laugh.

☆

It has been past three weeks in the new class.

At this point, everyone was already used to this class and formed all sorts of small groups. For examples, the boys who like sports would group themselves together, or the girls who were more mature would group themselves together as well.

During break time, the girls would start talking about more mature stuff during break time inside the classroom.

“Akihisa-kun seems decent.”

“Yeah. He’s cute and athletic.”

“And he has a gentleness that the other boys don’t have~”

“Yeah yeah!”

The ones chatting happily belonged to the group of the very outstanding girl in class—Kanda-san. This Akihisa-kun they were talking about must definitely be the Yoshii Akihisa-kun who was doing pet caring work together with me.

It was just as they said. Yoshii-kun was very charming. His responses were as cute as a little animal’s reactions, he was always energetic, and unlike the other naughty boys who would play pranks, he was extremely gentle. Most importantly, he was always positive—he looked very dazzling to me as I got attracted to him.

“How about we attack him~?”

“Eh—? Really~?”

It’s too sneaky of you to run away like that--!”

Attack...as in, becoming his lover, is it?

That’s great... I did not have such frivolous thoughts of liking each other, but I too wanted to improve my relationship with Yoshii-kun...like calling him by his given name or something

However--

“I don’t think...I’m good...”

I could not help but sigh.

No matter what other people say, I’m not cute, I’m gloomy, fat, not athletic...

The more I thought about this, the more I could not stop sighing.

...Haa...

“I wonder what kind of girl Yoshii-kun likes...”

“Hm? What about me?”

“HYAAA!?”

I did not know when Yoshii-kun stood beside me, but he heard me muse to myself. Wha, what shall I do!? Did he hear everything!?

“Ah, it’s Akihisa-kun!”

“Akihisa-kun, raise your hand!”

“Hm? Okay.”

"Ahaha, you really did it~"

"Just like that Jirou I raised at home!"

"???"

It seemed that Yoshii-kun did not understand that he was being teased as he still had his hand raised up.

"Akihisa-kun, come over and talk~."

Kanda-san, who said that she wanted to go out with Yoshii-kun, waved at him.

While Kanda-san was trying to lure him over, Yoshii-kun answered,

"Sorry, but I'm looking for Mizuki-chan regarding something, so let's talk later--"

"Eh?"

I could not help but let out this voice. Looking for me regarding something? What is it?

"..."

Kanda-san gave me a sharp expression, probably because she felt that I got in her way even though I did not plan on doing so in the first place...

"Er, erm...is there anything you want from me?"

"Yes, well, I'm sorry about why I did to you before."

"Before?"

It might be explainable if it were the other boys, but Yoshii-kun probably did not do anything...

"I'm talking about the pet caring member thing. You got involved because I pulled you in, isn't it? You said that you didn't want to do it, Mizuki-chan, so I'm sorry about it."

“Ah…”

Speaking of which, I remember now.

I was not concerned about it in the first place. At that time, I was just bothered by the ‘very obscene’ line here.

“So here's something for you. It's very late, but it's a present as compensation."

Yoshii-kun handed a small package to me.

"What compensation?"

"Don't say that. Please accept it."

I wanted to refuse, but Yoshii-kun gave a troubled look.

"I, I'll accept it then..."

"Un."

I reached my hand out, and Yoshii-kun smiled happily. That smile showed so much happiness, and I could not help but be stunned by it.

"Er, erm, can I open it?"

"Yes, open it then."

I took note not to crush the things inside as I opened the packaging,

"Wah..."

There were cookies of all shapes and sizes inside.

"I did taste it beforehand, but just tell me if it doesn't taste nice."

Yoshii-kun's words caused me to doubt my ears for an instant.

Eh...? Taste...that means,

"Did you make it yourself, Yoshii-kun?"

"I did give it to onee-chan to taste, so it should be fine..."

Yoshii-kun said without much confidence. He's able to cook? Amazing! I did not know how to do anything at all.

Just when I was wondering whether I should learn cooking from Yoshii-kun, Kanda-san walked over and said,

"Looks good--Akihisa-kun, I want some cookies too ♪."

"Umm, sorry, I only made enough for Mizuki-chan."

"Fumm"

Kanda-san gave me a cold stare. Ah...it seemed that she was angry...

"You'll become fat if you eat cookies."

"Right~?"

"Ah, I should have been the pet caring member in the first place."

Kanda-san's friends said.

It's true that I'll get fat...but...

"...Erm, about that--"

KIN GONG KAN GONG

The end of the recess bell overpowered Yoshii-kun's words.

"Ah, it's time for PE next."

"Time to change."

Everyone in class walked out of the classroom. I should be going too.

"Thank you, Yoshii-kun. I'll try it."

"Ah, un. About the pet caring committee member thing, I'm really sorry." After thanking Yoshii-kun, I head off to the changing room too.

☆

"We'll be playing dodgeball for today's PE lesson. Boys and girls, get into 4 groups of 4!"

Sensei said that we would be playing dodgeball, and the boys let out loud cheers happily. It seemed that the boys liked dodgeball, but I was not good at it...

We got into groups to decide on the teams, and then, the group I was in had too many people, probably because some people from other groups did not come over.

"Someone has to leave."

"That's right."

Kanda-san and the rest whispered as they stared at me...was it because they were angry at what happened during break time?

"Erm...I'll join another group then."

I raised my hand and said, and Kanda-san and the rest nodded in a satisfied manner after that.

"Is that so? Sorry then."

"Please."

"Okay."

It would be awkward to be in the same group as Kanda-san's group. This might be better. As I was thinking about that--

"Our team is lacking numbers here. Does anyone want to join us?"

I heard Yoshii-kun's voice. So his team is lacking players? It seemed that I really have quite the fate today. I'm a little happy...

I scampered over to Yoshii-kun and said,

"Yoshii-kun, we have too many players on our team here. Can I join your team?"

"Hm? Ah, Mizuki-chan."

And just when I was about to join Yoshii-kun's team,

"Wait, Plain-lov--Himeji-san. I should just step out."

Kanda-san, who came over out of nowhere, said this.

"Eh? But I..."

"So be it then. I'll come up and join Akihisa-kun's group."

It seemed that Kanda-san wanted to be in the same group as Yoshii-kun. But I wanted to be in the same group as Yoshii-kun too...

"??? So the one joining isn't Mizuki-chan, but Reika-chan?"

Yoshii-kun did not know who was joining as he looked at Kanda-san and me from time to time.

"Well..."

"Yes! Me! I want to join!"

Kanda-san forcefully pushed me aside as she stood in front of Yoshii-kun.

"But wasn't it supposed to be Mizuki-chan right from the beginning?"

"It's me! And--"

Kanda-san looked at me and said,

"--I'm more useful here than Himeji-san, right?"

Now that she said that, I had nothing to do.

It was just like what Kanda-san said. She's athletic, outgoing, and...unlike this fat me, she was pretty...

It could not be helped if I could not beat her out, I told myself.

"Then, I'll go back to my group--"

Before I could finish, Yoshii-kun said to Kanda-san,

"I hate it when people say it like that."

"Eh...?"

At that moment, Kanda-san was stunned. Yoshii-kun did not care as he said,

"Mizuki-chan, how about you join our team? Sorry, you can go back to your team, Reika-chan."

Yoshii-kun then raised my hand.

That means...Yoshii-kun chose me, did he...?

This unbelievable situation confused me.

In contrast, Kanda-san understood this situation earlier than I did--

"Wh, why...!?"

--And she raised her eyebrows while biting her lips angrily.

"...Don't get cocky there. You just earned Akihisa-kun's pity over there--Plain Lover-san."

--She glared at me and returned back.

Kanda-san's words caused me to feel extremely depressed after the happiness before this.

I was already used to people calling me this...but I did not want to have people calling me that in front of Yoshii-kun...

Concerned about Yoshii-kun's reaction, I turned over to look at his face tentatively.

"I don't like this..."

"...Eh...?"

And at that moment, I saw a different expression from usual on Yoshii-kun's face, startling me.

"Yoshii-kun...?"

"Hm? What is it?"

I called out to him, and he answered me like usual. Was it just my imagination...?

"Pl, please take care of me."

"Yeah, same here."

I lowered my head, and Yoshii-kun answered me similarly.

"Do your best, Mizuki-chan."

He looked very happy for some inexplicable reason. Normally, he would be showing a disgusted expression for choosing me instead of the very athletic Kanda-san...

And then, I realized something--

Does Yoshii-kun not know that I am bad at sports...?

"..."

The moment I thought about that, I felt a chill.

That, that's right! Yoshii-kun hasn't been in the same class as me up till now! Of course he doesn't know how bad I am at sports!

"Ah, waah..."

Wha, what should I do!? We cannot swap around here. If we lose because of me and Yoshii-kun hates me...!

...An, anyway, I should apologize first!

"Er, erm, Yoshii-kun."

"Speaking of which, Mizuki-chan."

"Actually, I'm really bad at sports--"

"About Reika-chan just now."

"I'll definitely pull everyone down--"

"Let's get rid of her first, shall we?"

".........Yes?"

These unexpected words caused me to let out an impromptu cry. Reika-chan...he was talking about Kanda-san...right?

"Well, get rid of her, as in...?"

"Ah, of course we're not going to fight. I'm talking about dodgeball."

"I know that!"

I could not help but raise my voice.

This is that Kanda-san we are dealing with here!? Her athleticism will not lose out to any of the boys. How do we eliminate her!?

As I panicked--

"I'll pass the ball to you. Throw at her as much as you want."

Yoshii-kun smiled as he said to me.

As I stared at this smiling face, I really could not say 'I can't do it'.

But if I did not say so...

"Yoshii-kun, I..."

Even if I get the ball, I would not be able to throw the ball strongly...

"Let's begin-- A group and B group, step onto the court!"

The teacher's voice rang. It seemed that Yoshii-kun's group was B group, so we were to step on the court right from the start.

"So that's how it is. Keep looking at me."

"Ah."

Yoshii-kun stepped onto the court without caring about my lack of confidence. What should I do...I have not told him that I am bad at sports...

"Then we'll choose courts through rock-paper-scissors."

The teacher said this, and the match began.

In that case, I could only do as what he said.

"Look at Yoshii-kun, look at Yoshii-kun, look..."

I continued to repeat these words and stared at Yoshii-kun seriously.

Right from the beginning, I just kept following what he said, and stared at him as if my life depended on it--

"...Amazing..."

And I was stunned as I looked at him.

He gently picked up the ball that was thrown at his feet and threw a sharp ball, hitting an opponent. As I thought about that, he created another opportunity for his teammate to pass. Yoshii-kun was dazzling, being so active on the field even if I did not want to see him.

"Here, Mizuki-chan."

"--Eh?"

My name was called, and I looked over, only to see the ball fly right at me. Ah! Is this the moment when Yoshii-kun said that he would pass the ball to me...!? I, I must catch it!

"Wa, wa!"

I panicked, and could not hold onto the ball properly.

Boing boing, the ball bounced gently into the opponent's court.

"Kukuku..."

Kanda-san smiled as she stood on the opposite court. It was my fault that the ball bounced off to that side...

"So, sorry!"

I lowered my head to Yoshii-kun. What was I doing...he already said that he would pass the ball to me...

However, Yoshii-kun did not mind about my miss,

"Don't worry. We'll soon get the ball back."

He smiled as he said that, and walked right to the opponent.

"Heyah!"

The ball was thrown at Yoshii-kun from close distance. If it were me, I would definitely be knocked out if such a fast ball flies right at me.

"Niheehee. Too bad."

Yoshii-kun easily caught the ball.

This time, the ball was on our side, and it was a chance as the opponent was right in front of us.

"Watch this. Right back at you!"

"Wa, waahh!? Danger!"

As Yoshii-kun got ready to throw, everyone on the other side scampered like spiders in front of him.

At this moment,

"Here, Mizuki-chan. Please."

He pretended to throw it out, but he actually threw the ball to me at a speed I could catch it.

"Wa..."

I barely managed to catch the ball, and standing right in front of me was Kanda-san, who thought that the ball definitely would not be thrown at me as she remained undefended--

"Go, Mizuki-chan!"

I heard Yoshii-kun's voice.

"Ye, yes."

I stared at Kanda-san, who looked really shocked, and threw the ball out with all I had.

The ball flew out, hitting Kanda-san on the foot, and landed on the floor.

""Ah...""

Kanda-san and my voice rang in unison.

It hit...? I, I hit Kanda-san...?

"Okay! Got it!"

The ball rebounded back after hitting Kanda-san, and a teammate picked it up.

"Aki-kun, over to you!"

"Alright!"

Yoshii-kun received the ball from the teammate's pass, and at that moment, hit the last remaining person.

"B team wins!"

The last player on the opposing side got hit, and the teacher declared the end of this match.

As everyone cheered, Yoshii-kun looked over at me.

"Here here, Mizuki-chan. Your hand."

"Eh? Eh? Like this?"

I reached my hand out while not understanding why,

"Nice job!"

Yoshii-kun said that as he high-fived my hand.

"Ah..."

The overlapping hands had a vague warmth within.

"Hey, Aki-kun! It's too sneaky of you to ask a girl for help like that!"

"Hehe! We win either way!"

Yoshii-kun's friends on the opposing teams said that, and Yoshii-kun ran out.

As I remained there, I spaced out as I clenched my hand that touched Yoshii-kun's hand.

☆

"Listen to me, something really amazing happened today!"

Once homeroom meeting was over, we could return home.

I hurriedly packed my bag, and ran off to the rabbits' hut.

"I hit Kanda-san when we played dodgeball today!"

The three rabbits were the ones listening to me, and they gave me a "What's for mealtime?" look, but I was so excited that I did not notice and immediately hugged the smallest rabbit.

"And I was in the same group as Yoshii-kun. I worked with him!"

It was something that happened in the morning, but my excitement did not subside even after school.

To me, who normally ended up getting hit immediately and picking balls, what happened today was really memorable.

"Hmmm~, shall I write a diary entry today~?"

I was so happy as I rubbed the rabbit with my face.

The rabbit felt that my actions were weird at first, but after it understood that this was an expression of love, it licked my face.

Recently, I had been starting to understand what otou-san meant when he said that 'if you want to be loved, you have to love others first'.The rabbit I liked would respond to me affectionately in my clutches. As I was happy, I would come over even when it was not time for our duty.

"Well, Yoshii-kun's really amazing at dodgeball--"

As I wanted to continue, the rabbit looked behind me.

I followed its stare and saw Yoshii-kun walking right at me--for some reason, my heart raced somewhat.

"Then, that's all for now. Time to eat~"

The rabbits heard that there was food, and happily leaped over to my feet.

Yoshii-kun came near the house, taking care not to step on the rabbits as he opened the door and went in.

"You're here early, Mizuki-chan."

"U, yes, well...I want to see these children earlier."

I was not lying. I really wanted to see them earlier, but I will keep what I said before as a secret.

"I see. The rabbits sure are cute, aren't they?"

"Yes."

I was a little happy that I had the same thoughts as Yoshii-kun.

"Arre? Is this one male?"

"No. That's the mother. This one with the larger tail is the father."

Amongst the 3 rabbits, one of them was a 4-year-old father, one of them was a 3-year-old mother, and the one I liked was a young girl that was less than a year old.

"Then, this one?"

"This is the youngest girl."

The three rabbits really looked the same, but they had their unique traits. I was proud that I could distinguish them from each other just by their movements.

"Doesn't this one seem rather concerned about us? It has been tilting its head at us."

"That's its trait. It's cute, isn't it?"

"I see. So it's a trait. It's definitely cute . Arre?"

"What is it, Yoshii-kun?"

"Mizuki-chan, you have grass in your hair."

"Eh?"

Yoshii-kun said as he stared at me. There was grass on my hair? I think that child kicked it onto my hair when I cuddled it."

"Eh...is, is it still there/"

"Ahaha, it's on the other side. I'll help you take it off."

Yoshii-kun got close to me and reached his hand out.

His hand touched me. That was the hand that touched mine when we played dodgeball.

I realized this, and blushed as I froze.

"Okay, I took it off...Mizuki-chan?"

"FUAAH!?"

I let out a cry I did not expect. Wh, why!? Why is my face so hot?

"What is it? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It, it's nothing, nothing at all...!"

"??? You're very weird here, Mizuki-chan."

Yoshii-kun tilted his face as he saw my thoroughly blushing face.

At his feet, the one-year-old rabbit was tilting its head in the same direction.

☆

"Good morning."

Yoshii-kun waved at me as he walked into the classroom.

"Good morning~ Aki-kun."

"Good morning. You're later than usual today."

"Un, well, onee-chan..."

"What? Did you do something to make her angry?"

Ever since we swapped seats in the past, my seat got further away from Yoshii-kun. We used to be able to greet each other when we were sitting close to each other...

At these kinds of moments, I would hate myself for thinking too much. Why can I not summon my courage? Someone like me is not cute, bad at sports, and if I have any good traits like being very positive...

"Good morning, Akihisa-kun. What is it? What happened?"

"Ah, Reika-chan. Good morning."

And the girl who was the complete opposite of me, pretty, outgoing, athletic--Kanda-san greeted Yoshii-kun.

"It's not really anything big here,"

"Yes yes--ahaha! Akihisa-kun, what is it?"

"Eh? What is it?"

"Your head! Behind you!"

"Eh?"

Yoshii-kun hurriedly looked behind, and found that there was a cute hair ribbon on the back of his head girls would wear.

"Ahaha! What is that, Aki-kun?"

"Aki-kun, you got pranked on!"

"You're cute, Akihisa-kun♪"

"Ah...! Onee-chan definitely did that."

Yoshii-kun reached behind his head to pull down the decoration. Everyone stared at him and laughed.

"Ah. That's so funny~"

"That's really funny there."

"I don't find it funny at all!"

"Ahaha, is that so?"

"Sorry sorry."

"But Aki-kun, why would onee-chan do that to you?"

"Well, I don't know about that, but onee-chan definitely did not look happy."

"That means you definitely did something again, Aki-kun."

"You can't think of anything?"

"Unn... she asked me 'what happened to the cookies you made?', and I said 'I gave it to a girl in class', and she wasn't happy about it..."

"Did onee-chan want to eat the cookies you made?"

"But onee-chan doesn't like sweet things..."

"That's not the problem. Onee-chan is really pitiful there..."

"I'm the one to be pitied here. I had salt water for breakfast this morning!"

"Salt water for breakfast? Ahaha, that's really amazing!"

"That's not funny at all! Who can live on with salt water alone!?"

"""AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"""

Laughter erupted at that moment.

It was always like this around Yoshii-kun. Everyone was happy, and Yoshii-kun smiled energetically as well.

That is great...he has so many things I do not have...

"Hm~? I wonder who Akihisa-kun made these cookies for that caused him to end up like this~"

Amidst the laughter, Kanda-san whispered as she glanced at me.

☆

The rabbits continued to nibble grass in front of me.

During the pet caring time after school, I spent time alone with the rabbit.

I put the food that dropped out back inside the tray, and the female rabbit happily licked my hand. I could not help but give a grin at this moment.

"Good one, children."

I patted on the back of the rabbits that turned back to eat the food from the tray. The rabbit then tilted its head and gave a soft voice. Rabbits would make noises when they are happy or angry, and I only learned of that as a pet caring member.

At first, I wanted to quit the job of being a pet-rearing member, but I really liked this job. Every day, I would look forward to duty time that occurred once every week. The rabbits were that cute, and...Yoshii-kun had duty as well.

However,

Did Yoshii-kun forget about the duty today?"

I patted the rabbit on the back as I said. Today's duty is swapped over with another day because another class had to go to another school today, so Yoshii-kun probably forgot because of this.

"It's a pity..."

I whispered as I scratched it from behind the ears.

The rabbit probably felt good as it let out a soft voice.

After taking good care of them, I kept the cleaning equipment and closed the rabbit hut door.

"Bye bye. I'll come back."

I said my farewells and went back to the classroom to get the bag.

"...-chan, you find Kojima-san to be better?

"Ehh, but he often play pranks."

"I can't stand him either."

I returned to the classroom, and heard the voices from within. Most likely, there were still some people chatting in the classroom.

I opened the door and silently walked in.

As expected, the ones inside were my classmates--Kanda-san's group of 4 in the classroom.

"Reika-chan, so yours is?"

"Yes, Akihisa-kun."

"Ah, I understand!"

"He's so cool, right? Like during PE class."

"Right?"

I heard the name I was concerned with, and immediately looked over.

And my eyes met Kanda-san's as her group looked over at me.

"..."

Kanda-san narrowed her eyes as she smiled and asked,

"Hey, Plain Lover-san, who do you like most?"

"Ye, yes?"

This unexpected question caused me to panic.

"Do you have someone you like?"

"No, I, well, no..."

I did not really understand what it meant to like someone...and, I did not think that this kind of thing was to be said with others...

"What's the problem here? Tell me~"

"We want to know too."

"Yea, it's too sneaky if you don't tell us after hearing us~"

"Eve, even if you say so..."

I did not hear much, and I did not want to hear them in the first place...

Kanda-san said as she saw that I was unwilling to talk,

"Well, it's--nothing. If you don't have one, so be it."

"Eh?"

She let me off just like that? I thought she would pursue this further.

"I thought you would say Akihisa-kun, but it's great if that's not the case."

"Eh? What's the problem with that. You'll definitely win when compared to Plain Lover."

"Yeah~ you're skinny and cute, Reika-chan."

These words hurt me.

I did feel this way personally, but it was really sad to hear these words said right at me. I am fat, and not cute at all...

As I looked dejected, Kanda-san and the rest continued,

"We can't say that. Boys are kids after all. If you say so--"

"Ah, well, the other boys will move further away from him."

"It's pitiful that Akihisa-kun would be teased by other boys."

"Especially when he got involved with Plain Love, right?"

Ah...

The moment I heard the words Kanda-san's group said, I remembered.

It was true that those boys who talked to the girls would be teased. If that was what would happen when he talks to me, I wonder what will happen if he likes me...

"But does Akihisa-kun really like Plain Lover?"

"Hurry up and say it, you know?"

They asked me again.

I had doubtful feelings of not wanting to cause trouble for Yoshii-kun, felt embarrassed as I wanted to keep this secret, and also...I had a little pride in me.

These feelings intertwined with each other, and before I realized this, I cried out.

"I--I DON'T LIKE YOSHII-KUN AT ALL!"

I did not know why I just had to say it at that moment.

Even if it was just a few moments earlier or later, even if it was just a little softer

Then--

"Ah...erm...did I hear something I shouldn't have listened to...?"

And then, Yoshii-kun would not have heard it.

"A, Akihisa-kun? Why?"

"Haven't you returned back?"

"I remembered that I have pet caring duty, so I rushed back...but it looks like it's done. Sorry, Mizuki-chan."

Yoshii-kun lowered his head at me, but I was thoroughly confused--

"...!"

I took my bag from the table, and ran away from the classroom without looking back.

"Ah! Mizuki-chan!"

"Forget about it, Akihisa-kun. Don't bother with Plain Lover-san."

"Right right. Plain Lover-san doesn't like you anyway, so it's not like it matters anyway."

"Speaking of which, Akihisa-kun, can you talk with me for a short moment?"

"..."

"??? What is it, Akihisa-kun?"

"...Sure, I have something I want to say to you too, Reika-chan."

☆