Higashi Hazuki Is Very Bored

Beep—

The instant the whistle sounded, I pushed myself with everything I had toward the target in front of me.

I gulped down air, burning through what little energy my body had left as efficiently as possible, just to make my stride a little longer.

In the end—

Seventeen seconds.

That result really wasn’t very impressive.

Well, I can’t exactly expect much from someone who only consumes the bare minimum of calories needed to stay alive every day.

“Higashi Hazuki.”

Aoiwadara Furon seemed to have already memorized my name.

He didn’t even need to look at his notebook.

“Haah—”

He sighed.

Clearly disappointed in me.

“I’m very sorry, Sensei.”

Apologizing promptly helps improve relationships.

This kind of self-awareness is something teachers tend to like.

“I can tell you have potential for sprinting, Higashi, but why—”

His words were filled with confusion.

“Why do your results always end up—”

He trailed off at the end.

It’s fine, Sensei.

You can say something harsher if you want.

For me, there are no words left that can stir my heart anyway.

Come to think of it, this is less about being thick-skinned and more like not caring about anything at all.

Even though Aoiwadara Furon looked regretful, as if he were watching a good piece of material being wasted.

I felt nothing about it.

After all, someone who’s already prepared to rot away at home can’t exactly pour out youthful sweat.

“I’ve disappointed you, Sensei.”

Even so, I still had to keep up appearances.

“…Next.”

In the end, he didn’t say anything more.

“Your form is perfect, Yue.

So why did you end up with that kind of time?”

Shimizu Miya looked utterly baffled.

She was sitting beside me along with Kamizuki Yue.

“Mm, maybe sprinting just isn’t the right sport for me.”

I wasn’t putting on an act.

I really had tried my best.

“But Aoiwadara-sensei said you have talent in sprinting that’s no less than ours, Yue.”

Kamizuki Yue said, sounding just as confused.

“Maybe he was just being polite.

With someone like me who only ran eighteen seconds in the first test, there’s no way I could reach your speeds.”

I blinked at them playfully, really just wanting to brush this off quickly.

“Especially you, Yue.

Aoiwadara-sensei has really high expectations for you.”

“Eh-hehe, it’s not that exaggerated, Miya.

I’m sure you’re faster than me.”

“I haven’t even been tested yet.

If you say that, Yue, I might get angry, you know.”

“But I honestly think you’re better than me, Miya.

You also have more experience.

Didn’t you say you’ve been training sprinting since middle school, and even took first place in class?

Compared to you, I only just started sprinting.”

“But talent isn’t something experience alone can make up for, Yue—”

Shimizu Miya took a deep breath.

Her expression turned serious, and she suddenly became very earnest.

“To be honest, I’m not confident I can beat you.

All I can do now is prepare as thoroughly as possible.

Maybe only by pushing myself to the limit can I barely touch your level.”

“Miya—”

Kamizuki Yue looked at a loss.

“—By the way, it seems Ichijou didn’t come to school with you today.”

Realizing her attitude had become a bit strange, Shimizu Miya quickly changed the subject.

This time, however, it actually piqued my interest a little as I’d been idly watching them talk.

“Yeah.

Rikuhiko caught a cold.

Ever since that heavy rain, he’s been coughing nonstop.

This morning he couldn’t even get out of bed, and when we checked, he had a fever.

He asked the teacher for leave and stayed home to rest.”

Looks like he caught it from me.

He went out of his way to take care of me, a fake, and ended up like this.

That must feel awful, Ichijou.

Thinking that, I felt surprisingly little guilt.

In the end, it was his own decision that led to this.

I’m sorry, Ichijou.

If Kamizuki Yue weren’t here, I’d definitely go check on you.

Though I’d also have to consider whether I might infect myself again.

That would basically be like playing volleyball back and forth with germs.

That would be a pretty funny scene.

“Eh?

Is it serious?”

“It’s not that bad.

Rikuhiko can take care of himself.”

Still, it sounds kind of pitiful.

Being sick at home alone.

That was supposed to happen to me, but now Ichijou Rikuhiko has taken it on instead.

“Mmm, well, that’s good then.

But Yue, why don’t you look worried at all?

Weren’t you calling him ‘Rikuhiko-nii’ nonstop before?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.

Rikuhiko-nii is amazing.

I’ve never worried about him.

Ever since we were little, he’s never lost to anyone.

To me, he’s always been a hero.”

Kamizuki Yue looked proud.

“When we were kids, he protected me from bullies.

Even when faced with unreasonable adults, he could reason with them.”

“But Rikuhiko-nii actually gets shy really easily.

Especially after middle school.

Whenever he meets other girls, he gets so nervous he can’t even speak.

It’s only in front of me that he relaxes.”

“Oh.

So that means no one’s competing with you for Ichijou, right?”

“Of course—

No, no.

I also want Rikuhiko-nii to meet someone he likes.”

“But if he’s like you say, then he won’t meet anyone, will he?

Doesn’t that mean—he only needs you, Yue?”

“Eh-hehe—”

Kamizuki Yue shyly lowered her head.

She didn’t deny it, lightly tapping the ground with her toe.

They completely ignored my presence, chatting away on their own.

There wasn’t really any chance for me to jump in.

But for me, this was actually a very relaxing moment.

I also took the chance to observe Kamizuki Yue’s state.

If I had to say, it hadn’t reached a dangerous level yet.

It looked somewhat interesting, but in her heart, she still saw Ichijou as an older brother.

What filled her now was the feeling of a younger sister reluctant to let her brother go.

I could say—

Everything was still under control.

The smile I kept on grew a little deeper.

“Next, Kamizuki Yue.”

“Yes.”

Beep—

“All right, twelve point nine seconds.”

“You’ve improved again, Kamizuki.”

“That’s thanks to your guidance, Aoiwadara-sensei.”

“Your own effort is important too.

Keep this up—next, Shimizu Miya.”

“Yes.”

Shimizu Miya’s breathing grew heavy.

“Be careful.”

I gave a reminder because of what happened last time.

“I understand, Sensei.”

“Then get ready.”

Her posture was impeccable.

At the sound of the whistle—

Whoosh—

Even I could feel the wind.

Shimizu Miya looked like she was wrapped in it as she sprinted toward the goal.

In the end—

“Thirteen point one seconds.”

“Very good.

Your fundamentals are solid.

It’s clear you’ve had long-term professional training.

But—”

Aoiwadara Furon sighed.

“This is probably as far as you can go.”

“Eh?

Sensei, are you saying I—”

“You’re close to your limit.

Of course, it’s not absolute.

The most important thing is persistence.

All right, next.”

That last line was more consolation than anything, and it was easy to tell.

Well, in a way, this teacher is pretty straightforward.

Though it has nothing to do with me.

“Miya—”

Kamizuki Yue looked worried.

“I’m fine, Yue.

Didn’t Aoiwadara-sensei say there’s still room for improvement?”

Shimizu Miya forced a smile.

It didn’t look nearly as relaxed as she sounded.

The atmosphere wasn’t exactly good.

“Me too.”

I spoke up at that moment.

“Aoiwadara-sensei also said I have a lot of room to improve.”

Well, with rock-bottom results, the room for improvement is naturally huge.

“After all, choosing sprint training is about becoming better, right?

If you already ran your best time at the start, wouldn’t that be meaningless?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right.

You just have to work hard.”

Kamizuki Yue joined in, trying to comfort Shimizu Miya.

“Mm.

I can’t give up yet.”

“Looks like I need to prepare to be overtaken by Miya.”

“Hey, why is it impossible for me to surpass you?”

“Mm, sorry to say, but Yue really doesn’t feel threatening at all.”

“Yue, that’s too mean.”

They started joking around.

But inside me was a very dull feeling.

And that boredom only grew stronger as time passed.

At least during lunchtime, it was like that.

I already knew Ichijou had taken sick leave, so I wasn’t surprised not to see him.

Aside from some sporadic chatter, it didn’t really change much.

Ah—except that the scent that barely helped suppress my nausea was gone, making eating even more painful.

“Haah—”

I sighed, looking at a few cherry blossom trees not far away.

This is really boring.

But I’m used to it.

—Ichijou.

I picked up my phone and typed those words.

It wasn’t that I actually meant to contact him.

It was just something I did out of boredom.

What was strange was that he replied.

—Higashi.

—I’m really sorry.

I didn’t come to school today, so I couldn’t eat lunch with you.

He apologized right away.

That really is protagonist behavior.

—It’s okay, Ichijou.

More importantly, how’s your body?

—Higashi, did you hear?

—Kamizuki told me.

Did you eat properly, Ichijou?

—I just made something simple.

What about you, Higashi?

—Same as always.

I can’t swallow it.

—Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a while.

Whether you could accept my cooking.

But then I realized it still made you feel like vomiting.

I’ve been pretty frustrated about that.

—It’s not just your fault.

Your food was the first time I ever felt something was really delicious.

That’s already amazing.

—I’m glad you liked it.

We chatted on and off like that, passing this boring lunchtime.

—Lastly, would you like to listen to a piece of music with me, Higashi?

—Mm.

I opened the link he sent and put on my earphones.

The same gentle, beautiful melody as before flowed around my ears.

—This one sounds really nice too, Ichijou.

—Really?

That’s great to hear.

Before I knew it, a faint smile crept onto my face.