Tsukune Tsugumi.
That was the name of the new student.
It may have been just one person, but who cares? Another kid could join the club this year too, and next year we could accept even more.
In fact, the second-year students are all new this year, so realistically speaking, among the students who could be considered members of the literature club throughout last year, there are only three new students, including me. So I can’t say the difference is that significant.
Moreover, all three of those students didn’t join during the beginning of the semester but came in mid-semester.
If we really want to distinguish, I could say that I also joined the club at the start of the semester, but I didn’t actually show up at school during my promotional period, so my case is a little different from Tsuneda’s.
Anyway.
This Tsuneda Tsugumi was, in many ways, a kind and innocent girl.
She seemed like she could play quite well, but she wasn’t good at initiating conversations, especially when she was near Fukuda, where she often looked a bit shy.
Maybe it was because she got caught up with someone who actually played.
As for Fukuda, aside from her looks, she was quite different from the image the public had of a “gal,” but honestly, that was irrelevant.
What concerned me more is that Tsuneda, for some reason, seemed to have no friends in her class.
Isn’t that so?
Even though I often don’t go home together with Mako after school because of clubs or part-time jobs, I would still sometimes go home with her, eating things or going out to have fun.
In class, well, while I wouldn’t exactly say we naturally mixed together, I was always hanging out with those three. Excluding Koko because she’s my sister, I definitely have friends.
Even if it’s not from my class, that’s still true.
I often went home with Yuka, and she and I are the same age.
I’m close with Sasaki too, and I casually say hello to Nakahara across the aisle.
Honestly, I didn’t particularly strive to broaden my social circle, but… no matter the reason, having friends is an undeniable fact.
On the other hand, I’ve never seen Tsuneda hanging out with her friends.
Ever since she joined the literature club, she’d just come in and sit there every after school.
Eating the dorayaki we stocked up on with extra budget.
“……”
Well, that’s fine, I suppose.
I also had my time when I treated dorayaki as emergency food, and ate a few every time I came to the literature club to minimize dinner costs.
But she even eats her lunch here.
In the after-school time, she’d sit there with a somewhat awkward expression until someone else spoke to her, but when she sees us coming in while she’s eating her lunch, her face lights up.
It really looks like she’s never experienced how enjoyable it is to eat with someone.
Koko and I, aside from our curly hair, have quite a cute impression, and Yuka might look a bit stiff at first glance, but she’s not scary when she’s alone.
Moreover, her expression really brightens when she’s with Koko and me.
So it seems like Tsuneda feels some kind of intimate connection with us.
“…Do you pack your own lunch?”
Since it felt a bit awkward for us three to be chatting while leaving Tsuneda out, I sometimes casually talk to her like this.
“Uh, yeah. My mom packs it for me.”
“Same here.”
Koko said while nodding her head vigorously beside me. Koko still thought of Tsuneda as her junior. Well, technically she is a junior.
For reference, Kagami thinks that if we don’t eat all three meals, we’re going to starve in two hours. Since I started hanging out with Kagami, I’ve never gone hungry.
And thinking that eating bread from the school store for lunch isn’t nutritionally good, she always wakes up early in the morning to pack a delightful lunch.
Luckily, it wasn’t a three-tiered bento.
Last year, I used to rely on Yuka for bread, but now I don’t need to. Even though Yuka made a somewhat regretful face, she eventually understood when we showed her the nutritionally great lunch.
Yuka herself still eats bread from the store. The three of us go to the store together, chattering and waiting, and when Yuka buys her bread and comes out, we take that route to the clubroom every day.
So in between, Tsuneda ends up eating her lunch by herself in the literature clubroom first.
The amount of rice remaining in her lunch keeps changing every time I see it.
At first, she must have eaten quite quickly, leaving about half behind, but now significantly more is left than then.
Yuka knows this fact too, so we talked about it last time.
Isn’t she purposely eating slowly while waiting for us?—that was the conclusion we reached.
So, when I compile all this evidence, I can’t help but think that Tsuneda is, in fact, isolated in class.
Just like how Yuka and Nana were back in the first year.
…I was just trying to save money, but still.
The issue is that bringing this topic up is extremely awkward.
Neither I nor Yuka is much older than her by just a year. In terms of months, it’s not even a full year. Yet, I can’t say things like “make friends,” or give advice to someone like her.
Especially since there are people among us who have actually experienced isolation.
Thankfully, Koko didn’t bring it up either. She only seems happy to know her junior is in the club.
“What brought you to this school?”
“Pardon?”
“Not just anyone can get into this school. I thought there had to be some… specific reason.”
Yuka carefully chose her words, trying to keep the conversation going.
Upon hearing Yuka’s question, Tsuneda started glancing around nervously.
And both of us realized a bit late that this was the kind of question we shouldn’t have asked.
She transformed her image upon coming to high school. So it might be better not to mention her middle school memories.
In reality, Yuka settled in this school after hopping around numerous schools, so she hadn’t considered this.
“Um… well…”
Sweat began to form on Tsuneda’s forehead.
Yuka looked over at me, fidgeting.
In such a situation, I wasn’t sure what to say. To be fair…
“Th-the school uniform!”
“School uniform?”
When Tsuneda finally managed to reply, I tilted my head and asked again.
“School uniforms are pretty, aren’t they? You don’t see these clothes anywhere else…”
“R-Right!”
Yuka responded a bit louder in agreement.
“School uniforms are pretty! Unique and sailor uniforms!”
I agree that they are pretty, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a bit of a stretch.
It feels pitiful, but it’s hard to say that out loud.
“Tsuneda. The school uniform suits you.”
“Y-Yes?”
Tsukune pointed to Koko, and Tsuneda’s eyes widened.
“The school uniform suits you. You look cute.”
Koko said that to Tsuneda again.
“Is… is that so?”
Tsune’s face turned slightly red.
“Yep!”
When Koko nodded her head, Tsuneda’s face brightened up.
“……”
Then thanks to Koko, both Yuka and I were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
*
“Let’s go outside today.”
I said that to Izumi.
“Outside?”
Surprised by my sudden statement, Izumi, who was sitting and reading a book, looked up at me.
“Yes. We’re holding a welcome party for the new students.”
Actually, we already did it. Just a simple one in the literature clubroom.
At that time, Tsuneda’s face turned red, and she looked emotional about something.
But somehow, seeing the situation today, it felt like we needed to make it more grand.
When I glanced at Tsuneda, Izumi turned to look at her too.
Tsuneda had been diligently reading a book.
Right next to her was Koko, and across from her was Fukuda. It seemed like Fukuda might have liked Tsuneda, as she always occupied the seat next to her, reacting like a small animal every time.
Mako sat there with a stiff expression, smirking while watching Tsuneda.
Now that I look closely, it seems Tsuneda was only pretending to read; her eyes were just fixated on the page of the book.
“……”
Then noticing the situation, Izumi let out a small sigh.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Izumi said while closing the book.
Being a third-year who had to keep asking Izumi for this felt a bit strange, but Izumi was still the president.
None of the second-years stepped up to take the presidency, so… Well, someone will have to take on the position soon anyway. For now, it’s the beginning of the first semester, so there’s still some leeway, but by the second semester, both Kaoru and Izumi will be busy studying.
“Are we really going outside?”
“Yep. I mean, the welcome party should be grand.”
I replied to Kaoru’s remark.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
When Izumi said that, the eyes of the club members focused on her. They’re all good kids.
Seeing the attention directed at her seemed to make Izumi a bit nervous, but as the president, she said what she needed to.
“Today, let’s go outside for a bit. It feels a bit stale to just stay in the clubroom, right? We did have a welcome party before, but I think having social gatherings regularly is a good idea. Especially since our literature club has just had such a huge increase in members.”
Seeing that she didn’t mention doing the welcome party again like I suggested, it seemed like she was thinking ahead about this as the president.
“Anyone who wants to go out and play?”
When Izumi jokingly raised a hand, Fukuda instantly shot her hand up.
“Me!”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Izumi said with a smile.
I subtly looked at Tsuneda’s face.
Her face was slightly flushed, and her eyes were wide open.
She wasn’t dead, right?
When I waved my hand gently in front of her face, Tsuneda blinked rapidly.
Koko followed my lead and waved her hands in front of Tsuneda’s face the same way.
Not knowing how to react to that, Tsuneda waved her hand back at us.
Yuuki looked at her in a way as if he found it a bit silly.
“Shall we go to karaoke?”
“Karaoke.”
Yuka was the one who reacted.
…Ah, right.
She might not have had many chances to go to places like that.
Since I hardly ever visit karaoke or similar places with her unless she asks first, I felt a bit sorry.
Well, we can just go together then. After all, we’re bound to move around as a group anyway.
What can I say, moving around as a group like this really makes me feel like I’ve become a different grade.
We have both juniors and seniors with us. Friends I made throughout my first year too.
At first, I said it out of pity for Tsuneda, but the moment we step out, my mood starts to lift too. Maybe I’m starting to feel younger as I age.
I thought that wasn’t a bad thing.
*
If I may say so, Mako is an expert at these things.
Just like she did last year for me, Mako was doing the same for Tsuneda.
She may have had experience counseling similar kids as they have backstories like Fukuda or Yuuki.
Even though Tsuneda looked a bit flustered at first, she eventually brightened up and smiled brightly, going around here and there with us.
“Kurosawa-senpai, you sing well!”
When people get all riled up, they tend to say anything to those they think they’re a bit closer to.
“…Call me Kotone.”
When I said that, Tsuneda’s eyes widened a bit.
Is it that surprising to have someone tell you to call them by their name?
Fukuda was already calling Tsuneda by her name.
“There are two Kurosawas in the club, right?”
I gave a logical reason for that.
That’s right. I may want to be friends, but that doesn’t mean I want to skip the steps.
The reason I had her call me that is purely because there are two people with the name Kurosawa in our club, including me.
“Kurosawa.”
“Kurosawa Koko!”
As I pointed to Koko, she followed my lead and said, “Kurosawa!” pointing to herself.
“And Kurosawa.”
“Kurosawa Kotone!”
I pointed to myself, and Koko shouted that while pointing at me as well.
“That’s confusing.”
“It is!”
“Right, it is.”
Tsuneda nodded with an incredibly serious expression. It seemed she didn’t want to cross any boundaries.
How should I put this.
It feels like her looks and expressions just don’t match. No, it doesn’t seem like it wouldn’t suit Tsuneda per se, but slowly the image of Tsuneda is embedding itself in my mind.
“Oh, that reminds me.”
While we were conversing, Fukuda chimed in.
“But Kotone, don’t you still call me Fukuda?”
“…Did I?”
Oh, that’s true.
I hadn’t consciously registered it.
“You call Mako, Mako, and Yuu, you call Yuu, but why do you call me Fukuda?”
“…”
I have no counter-argument.
Fukuda’s manner of addressing others has also changed. At some point, she stopped adding the suffix “chan.” It could be said that Fukuda got tired of adding it midway, but…
Having spent a year in Japan, I kind of got the hang of their customs.
Not calling someone by a suffix means you’ve become closer. The expression “so-and-so-chan” means you’re using some sort of formal expression, so I thought it felt more comfortable to call Fukuda without a suffix.
“Okay, say Harumi.”
“Harumi.”
“That was too fast.”
But you asked me to call you that. Did she somehow expect me to get embarrassed or something?
Sorry, but if she wanted such an expression, she could have said this earlier. Initially, I called Fukuda that just out of habit, not out of any particular distance.
“Well, how about Tsugumi~?”
“Yes, yes!?”
“Could you call me Harumi? Okay?”
“Uh, I-I can’t possibly call a senior by her name…”
“Why not? Koko and Kotone are both calling each other by name, why can’t I?”
“N-No, that’s not it…!”
Hmm…
It seems like Harumi doesn’t want to think of it that way but somehow it feels like a senior is trying to mess around with her junior. While that’s infinitely more benign than the ugly expressions and ugly swears that could arise from a confused middle-tier army senior messing with their junior, merely evaluating the conversation gives off a similar vibe.
The difference is, Harumi would probably genuinely think nothing of calling Tsuneda by her name.
“Um, I mean… so…”
Caught in a situation where she couldn’t decide what to do while Harumi was grabbing her shoulders and gently pushing her in front, Tsuneda suddenly froze.
“Hmm? Tsugumi?”
Harumi blinked.
Tsuneda stopped in her tracks, and we all stopped walking.
Looking at Tsuneda, whose eyes were wide open as she gazed at a particular spot, I turned around to follow her gaze.
There, a group of girls who resembled Tsuneda was standing.
They had dyed hair in many colors, wearing our school’s much more ordinary-looking uniforms.
Those girls were looking at Tsuneda and suddenly burst into laughter, as if they had seen the most hilarious thing.
And while they continued to laugh at Tsuneda, they turned and walked away.
Uh-oh.
I somehow had a feeling I knew what type of girls they were. They were probably Tsuneda’s former middle school classmates.
And probably…
“…T-Tsugumi?”
Harumi asked, looking a bit uneasy.
“Yes? Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
Even though no one had asked, Tsuneda replied just like that.
We exchanged glances before looking back at Tsuneda.
Tsuneda’s hair was close to a light golden color, but none of those girls had hair like that. I think I saw one with blue hair.
Their outfits seemed a bit more delinquent than ours. Their uniforms were enormously short, and there was a hint of darker skin tones.
Hmm.
“Tsugumi-chan.”
Mako quickly spoke to Tsuneda.
“Shall we go get something delicious? How about ice cream?”
The weather had warmed up considerably, so I thought that would be a good idea.
“…Yes.”
We somewhat forced the slightly downcast Tsuneda to follow us to the ice cream shop.
I remember someone saying that sweet food is effective when you’re feeling down.
When I handed her a large chocolate ice cream, Tsuneda’s eyes sparkled as she gobbled it down.
I was relieved that she seemed to feel much better after finishing it.
However, while she felt better, the initial problem still remained.
I wondered what could be done to help Tsuneda feel a little better.
It was worth thinking about.
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