Chapter 5 begins. Important chapter ahead.
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Several days after the gift shopping. Late August — break almost over. Next year is exam-prep so this freedom would end.
I was at my desk studying for the post-break test.
“Might beat Ayato this round — but winning like this wouldn’t feel right…”
He’s been off since the open campus. Cold cleared but mood still dark. Suzuno told Kano he’s been making out-of-character mistakes at soccer practice.
(Perfect chance to win on tests — but I want to win fair.)
”…I want him back to normal, this off-Ayato is unsettling.”
He’s at his best with the cocky swagger — the weakness now is hard to watch. He’s been fragile under that arrogance forever — recovery will take a while.
“High specs aren’t unmixed good.”
Setbacks and failures — I’ve had plenty; he’s barely had any. So when one does hit, he doesn’t recover quickly.
Kano had also been bullied as a kid for being too pretty — but she came back from it, so she’s mentally tougher than my brother now.
“And things between him and Suzuno are tense.”
Per Kano, Suzuno’s been visibly low too. If they keep deteriorating Kano and I might have to step in.
“Hope he just gets through it.”
I closed the math problem set and stood. Time for a break — heading to the local bookstore. (Mom was out; I’d grab lunch out and come home.)
The bookstore — I browsed comics, magazines, self-help, business books. Aiming for econ at university, so finance books were appearing on my radar.
“The ero-manga section Yuito always reads isn’t this aisle.”
“Please don’t characterize me as the constant ero-manga reader — wait, why are you here?!”
Kano. Again. The encounter rate was uncanny.
“It’s because we’re tied by the red string of fate.”
“At this point it feels more like a curse.”
“Cursed by me — you might never escape.”
(Like a certain JRPG cursed gold-tier weapon that summons a random enemy every step.) “Joking aside — what are you doing?”
“Studying break — wandering.”
“Right, your break is almost over. Mine still has weeks.”
“You are flexing hard.”
(College breaks are longer. Hers ran another month.)
“Sad? Get into college sooner.”
“If only.”
(Japan does have early-entry programs but they’re niche.) I had a year and a half of high school left.