V5C1...

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Part 10

Shinoaki,

who had class and was late coming to the club room, and for some reason Nanako

were also asked to join, and the art club's standard newcomer party began as

usual on a hill near the club building.

"I'm

Sugimoto Mikio, a third-year Music Department student! Here is Donguri Koro

Koro!

"Fourth

year student, Department of Theatrical Arts, Kakihara Masaru! Will dance!"

The same

scene that I saw last year is unfolding in front of my eyes. As always, there

is a point where I wonder if this is the very thing that is keeping new members

away from the club. However, after a year, it has become a fun event in its own

right, and I guess this kind of thing can be solved by getting used to it.

However,

it is true that the hurdles are quite high for students who have just entered

the university. The new member, who was supposed to be the star of the day, was

in the middle of the circle, but looked quite confused.

"I'm

sorry, it's always like this."

Unable to

resist, I decided to approach her and talk to her.

"Ah

no. This is more like a university circle, I was rather impressed."

Saikawa

quickly adjusted her expression, but she was clearly confused earlier. Is she a

girl who tries to be brace herself in the strangest ways?

I sat down

next to her and Saikawa immediately opened her mouth.

"Uhm,

I... came to the circle because I had something to do."

Then she

looked at me,

"Hashiba-senpai,

what is it that you need from me?"

She seemed

to have remembered what I had said before.

"Is

that what you came for?"

Saikawa

nodded, saying "yes". It's a firmly determined will.

The real

purpose was to make Shinoaki and Saikawa meet. By making them aware of each

other and improving each other, I hope that Shinoaki will be motivated and

Saikawa will be able to improve.

But that's

just my opinion. If I told her honestly, she wouldn't understand why I would

address a complete stranger there.

So, I

decided to slowly fill in the gaps of my objectives.

"I

once bumped into Saikawa on the way up Geizaka. Do you remember?" (Note:

University slope)

"No...

I remember bumping into someone, but could it have been that time?"

After a

puzzled look, she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"C-Could

it be... is that game related?"

Actually,

I do, but it would complicate things if I talked about it here. Besides, I

don't think she would want that herself.

"By

chance, I found your sketchbook open, and one of your drawings left a deep

impression on me."

"That

drawing? I didn't draw anything that impressive..."

"You

might think so, but for me, it was different."

It was a

short time, but I was sure that her drawing had caught my attention. Later,

though, it was pushed a little deeper into my memory by a more surprising fact.

"I'm

not looking to do something right now, but I'd like to make something with you

someday. That's why I reached out to you."

Saikawa

listened to my words earnestly, but she didn't seem completely convinced.

Well, it

can't be helped if I approach her with "such an excuse" and she

thinks I actually have a ulterior motive. I have to leave it up to her to

decide if she can trust me.

"I

haven't fully trusted senpai yet."

"Eh?"

"This

is a test. Join the circle, observe senpai carefully, and find out if you

really approached me for the sake of creation!"

With a

sharp look, Saikawa turned her piercing eyes on me.

"Ah,

yes, please treat me well..."

"Yes,

I look forward to working with you."

Saikawa

bowed her head. I was reminded once again that she will be a great artist in

ten years' time, because of her straightforwardness and strength of her

character.

I

understood Saikawa's thoughts, so I moved from her side to another place. In

the midst of the chaotic drinking party with all the cheering, or rather

shouting and yelling, there was one girl who looked like she fit right in, she

looked around with an upward gaze, trying to figure out where she was.

I called

out to her and sat down beside her.

"They

call me that as a matter of course, is that okay?"

Only the

atmosphere is paripi, but she is a simple girl on the inside. (Note:

Party people, a person who often goes to night club and enjoy dancing or

hitting on girls/boys. Clubber.)

"It's

okay, people I've never seen before seem to be enjoying it more than the club

members."

Just like

last year, Kiryu-san and his acquaintances had joined the party without any

prior notice. In an atmosphere where it would be considered bad form to

criticize, I felt it was useless to think of NG things.

Nanako

looked relieved, "That's fine then".

"So

the new student Kyoya was talking about is that girl?"

Pointing

with the hand that held the glass, she continued.

In the

distance, there was a girl in the middle of a drinking party.

"Yes,

that's right. The long-awaited new student of the Art Department. It's been a

long time since we had her in Art Research Club. So the seniors got more

excited than usual."

I didn't

say anything about what I was trying to find for the time being. The

explanation seemed to be too complicated, and there seemed to be no advantage

to it.

"Fu~hn..."

Nanako

blushes a little and takes a sip of her citrus sour from her cup.

"She's

cute, isn’t she"

"Eh?"

When I

questioned her again, Nanako took another sip of her sour. This time, she drank

it down in one gulp. Then she poured more sour into the cup.

"Cute...

You can't fool my eyes. That girl is cute. There's a pretty high-level girl

behind the glasses. She's a little strong character and firm, which in turn

makes me want to protect her, and even her long skirt has an erotic quality

that makes me want to flip it up. Yes, it's erotic, that is~. "

"Uhm,

Nanako-san?"

I mean,

this girl, I see! She's already turned 20, so she lifted the ban of alcohol!

It's just that the law says so, but she's so weak!

"I~

understand it~!"

Nanako

crushed the empty cup and grabbed me by the chest,

"Hey,

you're catching a new cute girl again~, you're~ just trying to be nice to her

and take care of her, and before we know it, you'll have her in your

possession, right! Am I right?"

"Y-You're

wrong! In fact, I haven't even talked to her that much yet."

"Hoho~hn,

you have done something more intimate than a conversation, so you don't need to

talk anymore, huh! Oi! That kind of innocent, natural, and wonderful way of

doing things, why don't you think it's making a lot of girls cry! Kora! Don't

look away, look at me properly!"

Ah, this

is bad. There are things that are leaking out that the usual Nanako wouldn't

say.

If I'm not

careful, I might even say something dignity-related,

"Nanako,

let's stop drinking for now, drink some water and get some rest, okay?"

Trying to

change the mood, I suggested that she take a break somewhere else.

Nanako

turned away from me and let out a fu~. I thought her mouth mumbled

something, so I put my ear close to her.

"Eh,

Nanako, what did you say?"

And then,

"...me"

"Ha?"

"Kiss

me too. Then hug me tightly. If you do that, I'll be quiet."

Before I

knew it, Nanako's expression had returned to a straight face. No, her face was

even more serious, her eyes were a little moist, and she looked at me as if she

was pleading.

"Ah,

u......."

I couldn't

say a word.

I didn't

expect Nanako's stiff talk to come at this time. Maybe she hadn't been drunk

all along. Maybe she wasn't drunk from the start, but was pretending to be, and

was looking for an opportunity to make a decisive attack on me....

As if

captivated, I was unable to move. It was an atmosphere that I would never be

able to escape unless I did or said something.

I can't

make a joke here. It would be rude to Nanako if I didn't talk to her properly.

I

desperately tried to compose my answers so that I could answer all the

questions about what I was thinking now, about my love life, and about my

relationship with Shinoaki.

"Nanako,

uhm... I am"

As I

opened my mouth, Nanako leaned over me.

"U,

uaah..."

The

unexpected direct attack made me moan out loud.

W-What

should I do? If Nanako is this aggressive, there's nothing I can do about it.

"N-Nanako..."

Her

breathing only became more ragged. I could feel the heat on her shoulders, and

the sweet smell was beginning to melt my brain. The reddish nape of her neck is

vivid, and her breathing is-

"Nanako?"

"Kohyu......

Suhyu...... Nmyu......"

All at

once, the tension dissipated.

"Hiyama-sa~n"

In this

kind of situation, there is no choice to dump it to a girl. This idea is like

putting a curse on a curse.

"Hmm?

What's wrong, Hashiba-kun"

"Nanako

fell asleep drunk, can you take care of her?"

I said,

pulling Nanako away and pushing her towards Hiyama-san.

"Oh,

okay, I got it. Look, Nanako-chan, come here."

Hiyama-san

lured Nanako to her chest, held her there, and patted her head.

"Fumyu...

Un..."

Nanako

didn't seem to understand what was going on, but eventually, as if relieved,

she hugged Hiyama-san tightly and leaned her head.

Hiyama-san

looked relieved,

"It's

under control"

"Thank

you, that was very helpful."

As

expected of the person who have been watching this kind of drunkenness for a

long time.

"But

this girl thoughtlessly got Hashiba-kun involved. It's not usually like

that."

"Drinking

changes things, it's drunken interaction or like that..."

The

alcohol in the beef stew was enough to get her drunk, and I should have told

her that more firmly.

Hiyama-san

patted Nanako, who was breathing peacefully in her arms,

"...Somehow,

it sounds like there was more to it than that, though."

"Eh?"

"It's

nothing. Well, do your best not to become an enemy of girls, Hashiba-kun."

She said,

and fluttered her hands in the air as if to say, "Go somewhere".

I left the

scene and moved towards the other place.

(It looks

like Hiyama-san already figured it out...)

If you're

in front of a girl who's asking you to kiss her or something, you'll be able to

tell that much about the relationship without even bothering to guess. Or

rather, didn't she say "me too" just now? As matter of course, she

shouldn't know about me and Shinoaki, but...

Anyway, at

this rate, the day of decision is coming soon, or rather, the day when things will

explode in unexpected ways is expected.

"If

anything, I should be the one to tell her... Maybe."

It's going

to be a talk that uses a lot of physical strength.

Well, if

you were to ask people on the street who is to blame, 58 out of 100 would say I

am the cause of the problem, but for now I just want to think about my work.

Even if they say I'm a big evil person who doesn't understand people's

feelings.

I didn't

come back here to flirt.

"Saikawa

is... ah, she is there."

Saikawa,

who had been nervous in the middle of the large circle earlier, was sitting on

the floor with Shinoaki at a little distance, talking about something.

"Hee~

So you're an Art Department student, what kind of art do you draw?"

"Y-Yes,

I've always been a pencil artist, but since entering university, I've been

really interested in oil painting."

"Amazing,

I've never tried oil painting before because it seems to take so much work.

Will you teach me next time?"

"Of

course, though, I've only just begun to learn about it..."

Apparently,

without me having to introduce them, they started talking to each other.

(Thank

goodness, this place is properly connected them, huh)

The

conversation seemed to be focused on the common theme of painting. It seemed

that the conversation had evolved into a very detailed discussion of how they

drew, and the differences between analog and digital painting.

"It's

kind of strange."

Ten years

later, they were two strangers who influenced each other in the world. But now,

they are talking directly to each other as senpai and kouhai.

What they

experienced in the world of 2018 led to their meeting by my hand in the world

of 2007. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I can't tell.

"Hee~,

oil painting looks interesting, too. I'd like to try it too."

"Yes,

you should try it, Aki-san, I'd love to see it!"

I wanted

to believe that what was in front of me now was a happy encounter.

(Yes,

let's mention about that)

About how

I came to recognize her in this era in the first place. I have to tell her that

Shinoaki is the one who was in charge of the original drawings for that Haru

Sora.

I took a

step closer to the girls,

"Ah,

um, Saikawa, this Shinoaki is..."

When I

tried to interrupt,

"That's

no good, Kyoya-kun. I'm still talking to her."

Easily, it

was blocked by Shinoaki.

"Ah,

s-sorry..."

"Fufu~,

I'm not going to give Minori-chan to Kyoya-kun ~"

Shinoaki

then grinned and hugged Saikawa tightly.

"A-Aki-san..."

Saikawa

didn't seem too unhappy about it either. She looked embarrassed, but gently

placed her own hand on Shinoaki's arm.

(Well, I

guess we'll have to talk about that another time)

Akishima

Shino and Minori Ayaka.

This was

the moment when the future, which had never mixed, became a single route here.

(I guess

this is finally the starting line)

From here

on out, will this route be happy or bad? No one, including me, knows for sure.

But I will

do what I can. To make the possibilities I wrote in my memo a reality.