3

“Dunno ‘bout that…”

After grading the three subjects that she had quizzed within the allotted time, Mio’s thoughts escaped her lips without her even realizing.

She was in her cram school’s study room. Desks were separated into partitions, and each one held a different student looking at their own set of past entrance exam questions. After getting off at Mejiro-Yamashita Station earlier that day, Mio had taken the Shounan Monorail and Enoshima Electric Railway to finally get to Fujisawa Station, where she’d picked up a copy of the Red Book from a bookstore.

The book posed her questions that she could expect on the secondary entrance exam for Suizan Academy, her first-choice college. But there were some really tricky questions that made it a lot more difficult than she was used to. Then there were some annoying questions that she could swear were only in there to take off points.

After grading, she found her notebook marked with an exact 60-40 split of right to wrong answers. If it were a mock exam, she’d probably get a C. Not bad, but certainly not passing.

Her only hope was that if the exam happened to include more questions in the areas she was strong at, she might be able to bank on a possible passing mark. It felt more like a roll of the dice than a true test of her abilities.

“You say something, Mio?” Sanae poked her head out from the seat next to Mio.

“Did I say something?”

“Something about you don’t know?”

“Oh, I guess I did say that. Sorry.” It had been entirely unconscious.

“Well, it’s about time I head home. What about you?”

Mio checked the time on her phone. Just past 6 PM. Were Ena and Eita still out together? Had they already gone home? It didn’t matter. It was entirely unrelated to her and none of her business, but it kept on coming to mind anyway.

“This is a good stopping point, so I think I’ll go home, too.”

Mio knew she had to clear her head. Studying questions for three separate exams all at once was guaranteed to exhaust her, and pushing any farther could come back to bite her. If she forced herself to keep studying the way things were going, she might even start to panic about her lack of progress and question her capabilities. Basically, there was no good ending to that game.

Mio flipped her notebook shut, setting it in her school bag alongside her pencil case. Her brand-new, uncreased Red Book went right alongside it all, then she stood up. She left the room quietly with Sanae, making sure to shut the door slowly so the sound wouldn’t disturb the other studiers.

Several students were gathered in the break area by the cram school’s entrance. The room had a counter connected to the teacher’s rooms, which let the students ask questions and chat with the various cram school staff. Although a lot of students were trying to get a hold of the teachers, paying closer attention showed that barely any of them were asking exam-related questions. In fact, several of them were being told to, “Hurry up and submit your college applications.”

Sanae and Mio said their goodbyes to the teachers and left the cram school.

“You submit your application yet, Mio?” Sanae asked as they walked the outside stairs.

“Not yet, actually.”

“Me, neither. They want it early next week.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, see you tomorrow.”

When they reached the bottom, they waved goodbye to each other. Sanae lived right near Fujisawa Station, so she could walk straight home.

As Mio watched Sanae get farther away, a timid voice behind her asked, “Natsume-san?”

It was a voice she recognized.

She knew it was Morikawa Hazuki before she turned around. But even so, when she did finally turn around, she was momentarily lost for words.

“…” Mio blinked several times silently.

It was definitely Hazuki. There was no doubt that Morikawa Hazuki was standing in front of her.

But her hairstyle was completely different. Her clothes were different. The Hazuki that Mio knew always came off as quiet, or to be blunt, plain. But her hair, normally tied back behind her shoulders, was let down and flowing freely. Her clothes were simple yet mature. Hazuki’s tall and beautiful body was perfectly accentuated by both choices.

“I knew it… I look weird, don’t I?” Hazuki lowered her eyes concernedly.

“No, it’s not that.” Mio shook her head emphatically. “You look incredible. Really.” Mio was too short to pull off that kind of hair and outfit. It honestly made her jealous. “But where’d this all come from?”

It made for a very drastic change. Was she aiming for some kind of result? Was it maybe… because of Haruto?

“My sister told me that if I kept my plain old style, I’d stick out like a sore thumb in college.” Hazuki looked a little embarrassed as she explained.

“Oh… That might be right. And spring’s right around the corner.” Hazuki had told her before that she had been granted a recommendation for an all-women’s university in Hyougo. “Morikawa-san… what made you choose your current path?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, sorry, that was kinda random.”

“No, it’s alright. All of my family are farmers… And I’ve already decided that someday I’ll help run the family business. But I was interested in trying out college before that ‘someday’ came… that, and I wanted to try living on my own.”

It had been a casual question, but Hazuki’s answer was calm and collected. It clearly wasn’t something she made up on the spot. Mio got the feeling she’d explained it several times before. She had wonderfully grounded reasoning.

“And an all-women’s college in Hyougo would give you that…”

“I guess you could also just say I don’t want to grow up yet.” Hazuki smiled shyly. “You’re aiming for Suizan Academy, right, Natsume-san? Why?” Hazuki’s follow-up question was asked with a soft-spoken tone that sounded grateful for the chance at conversation.

“Well, I don’t really know any more.”

Mio’s preferred school had remained unchanged ever since she decided to take the Center Test. Her choice mainly stemmed from the fact that her older sister Mina attended the same college. She checked out a school festival and it seemed fun enough, so she figured she’d just go there.

She never really had a secondary reason, and for the longest time there was no need for one. Her academic ability was sufficient, and that was all that mattered. But she had just bought a new exam booklet, and she performed so terribly, and it was honestly getting her really depressed… So her mind was swirling with questions about what she was doing and what she even wanted to do.

“Sorry. After I brought it up and everything.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize.”

“Thanks. Well, it’ll be fun to see Souma’s reaction tomorrow. Bye.” With a gentle wave, Mio turned back towards the bus stop.

“Um… Natsume-san!” Hazuki’s voice called out from behind her, stronger than before.

“…Mm?” Mio turned back towards Hazuki, confused.

She found Hazuki watching her with a serious gaze.

“Sorry if I’m reading too much into things, but…”

“…What?” What on Earth could Hazuki want? Mio had never seen her like that before. There was an anxious sincerity that shone from her eyes as she looked at Mio.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Do you, maybe… Is Souma, perhaps…”

Mio didn’t need to hear any more than that. Hazuki’s eyes spoke louder than anything she could have said. That sad visage as she bit her lower lip was a library of information.

The assertion took Mio by complete surprise, and her heart started pounding. She took slow breaths, waiting and calming down before preparing her response.

Mio looked down, searching for her true feelings. Then she met Hazuki’s eyes directly. And she was honest with how she felt.

“I had a crush on him.”

“…Right.” Hazuki lowered her head, her voice breaking. It seemed like she had figured it out a while ago. Mio could only wonder when. Mayuko and Momoka had noticed, so maybe she was being more obvious than she thought. But either way, it was fine. What mattered most was her present and future.

“I had a one-sided crush on him since middle school. I cherished it with everything I had…”

“Natsume-san, I-” Hazuki tried to cut in, but Mio didn’t let her.

“But I understood something recently. I let my first love hold me back. Nothing ever came of it, mostly because I didn’t want anything to come of it. I thought just having it was enough… So when my friends asked if I had a crush, I could join in the conversation and claim I did.”

“…And… now?”

“Now, it’s a bittersweet memory.”

“…Really?”

“Really, really.”

Despite Mio’s efforts, Hazuki didn’t quite seem convinced. So Mio put everything into her final words.

“Because now… I have a real and genuine crush.”

She tried to say it with a smile… and failed. But she thought maybe it was better that way. No, actually, she knew it was better. Because the utterly embarrassed grin that resulted would definitely be enough to convince Hazuki.

End of Chapter 6