Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Tsukishiba-sensei’s Class and an Unfamiliar Sense of Guilt

Although he had been embarrassed that morning, the rest of the day passed without incident, and after lunch break, Hiyori’s Modern Japanese class took place.

“Um… Okihara-san, could you please read from the first line on page twenty?”

“Yes.”

The female student who was called upon stood up and started reading the designated passage from her textbook.

There was no chatter, but that was only because several students were dozing off.

It wasn’t ideal for them to be sleepy after lunch break, but one of the reasons for this was likely that Hiyori’s lessons were neither good nor bad, just average.

Being a new teacher, it was unavoidable to some extent, but her voice still lacked energy due to nervousness.

Moreover, her plain and unremarkable appearance at school, coupled with her soft voice, gave a strong impression of dullness.

Hiyori was probably aware that some students were dozing off, but as far as Toru knew, she had never pointed it out.

Was it because she couldn’t interrupt the flow of the lesson, or was she avoiding attracting resentment?

In any case, she was currently being underestimated by the second-year students.

However, Hiyori wasn’t a gloomy person by nature.

If she could show the same side of herself that she did yesterday, fewer students would doze off.

‘…Well, it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it, not being a class representative or anything.’

Since it wasn’t a problem he could solve immediately, there was no solution other than for her to gain experience and become more comfortable.

Toru came to that conclusion, though he himself, strangely, didn’t feel sleepy at all.

***

After the afternoon classes ended, it was time for Toru to leave.

Just as he stood up to go pick up Kana from the nursery school…

“Ah, Toru. Can I talk to you for a second?”

“What is it, Shiomi?”

When Toru, stopped by Shiomi, asked her what she needed, she took something out of her bag.

“This, a friend from the class next door asked me to give it to you.”

“Hmm? Ah…”

Toru’s eyes widened for a moment, but then he saw what Shiomi handed him and his lips twitched in awkwardness.

It was a rectangular letter, faintly tinged with pink.

He opened it and read the contents…

“I’ll be waiting for you on the rooftop after school…”

“Oh boy, this is definitely a confession.”

“Yusei… Don’t just barge in like that. You surprised me.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Yusei, who seemed curious about the situation, peeked in from the side and apologized lightly to the surprised Toru.

“How many times has this been now? You’re really popular.”

“It’s not that many compared to you, Yusei. In fact, I wonder if I’m even worthy of being the recipient.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. Clean-cut, handsome guys like you are popular, you know?”

Shiomi nudged Toru’s side with her elbow, telling him that there was a reason he was being confessed to, even though he was being modest.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy about it, but Toru didn’t find it particularly joyful.

“I can kind of guess the outcome, but what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to turn her down, sorry. I don’t have the time for a relationship.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“Um, could you give her the answer in person?”

Shiomi clasped her hands together and bowed her head to Toru, who had already made up his mind.

“I know you have to pick up Kana-chan, but I think it would be easier for her to give up if you tell her directly…”

The fact that she handed him the letter knowing his circumstances meant that she couldn’t bear to ignore it.

Feeling somewhat responsible for burdening her with this troublesome task, Toru said, “Don’t worry about it,” and continued.

“It’s not like I have to go right after school. I can give her an answer.”

“Thank you! I don’t know if this makes up for the trouble I caused, but I’ll treat you to lunch at school sometime!”

“Alright. Well, I’m off.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye-bye!”

After parting with his friends, Toru headed to the rooftop, the designated meeting place.

He arrived in less than five minutes, and there she was, the girl who had asked Shiomi to deliver the letter.

She had light brown, semi-long hair that gave a mature impression.

As soon as she realized Toru had arrived, she blushed, looked down, and started fidgeting with her fingers.

She was probably nervous.

He felt a bit guilty for being so calm compared to her, but then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked up and slowly opened her mouth.

“K-Kuwa-kun. I’m sorry for suddenly calling you out like this. I’m Kanai… from Class 3…”

“Don’t worry about it. So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Um, well, that is…”

Although it was a bit harsh, he asked her about her purpose, and Kanai’s already red face turned even redder as she stammered.

She gripped her skirt, as if to distract herself from her nervousness, and looked directly at Toru.

“U-Um! I-I’ve kind of liked you since my first year, and… I like you! Please go out with me!”

She confessed, mustering all her courage.

Many emotions crossed Toru’s mind, but none were strong enough to change the answer he had to give.

That’s why…

“I’m sorry. I’m not interested in dating right now, and I have to take care of my little sister, so I can’t go out with you, Kanai-san. I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your confession.”

“!”

He bowed his head as he declined her confession, trying to show his sincerity.

He heard Kanai let out a small gasp as she realized she had been rejected, and she took several breaths, trying to suppress her sadness.

When Toru looked up, as expected, she had tears in her eyes.

It would be easy to apologize, but that would only leave a deeper scar on Kanai’s heart.

He didn’t want to indulge in such self-satisfaction, so he just stood there silently.

“Th-Thank you. Actually, Shiomi-chan told me that there was little hope, but I’m glad I was able to tell you properly. E-Excuse me!”

“…Yeah.”

Kanai left the rooftop quickly, tears streaming down her face.

Toru watched her go and then let out a small sigh.

No matter how many times he experienced it, he couldn’t seem to get used to the awkwardness after rejecting a confession.

He also felt a pang of guilt for using his sister as an excuse, even though it was unavoidable.

But it was true that he had decided not to have a girlfriend because of Kana.

His priority right now was to ensure his little sister grew up healthy and happy.

That’s why he needed to cut back on time spent on romance.

“Oh, I need to hurry.”

He couldn’t afford to wallow in sentimentality. Toru pulled himself together and headed out of the rooftop to pick up Kana, who was waiting at the nursery school.

Just as he stepped through the door and onto the stairs…

“—Kuwa-kun?”

“…Tsukishiba-sensei?”

He bumped into Hiyori, who was coming up the stairs.

—————-

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