Episode 111 – Tachibana Kanata → Shiina Kanata ①

It was in the spring of the second year of middle school. In middle school, there’s a big event called class change, and you may be happy or sad wondering who will be in which class. Other major changes will also occur, such as the arrival of junior students and the retirement of seniors in club activities. I wonder if it’s a standard practice in any school to have a speech from the principal or the head of the grade telling you not to let your guard down during an unstable period when you’re being pulled from above or pulled from below.

I, Tachibana Kanata, was not an exception to this rule, and I was unusually excited.

It was a pity that I could not be in the same class as Shinkai Sakura, with whom I had been on good terms for more than half a year, but I was excited to be in a new environment because it would be a chance to encounter the unknown. There would be encounters and discoveries that had never been made before.

“My name is Kanata Tachibana !”

I announced myself in a crisp tone, It didn’t take me long to get to know the kids in my new class. There were some familiar faces, and most of them were open to me if I went up to them and talked to them proactively.

Although I was not a member of any clubs, I can say that my new life was very fulfilling.

“Oh, Shinya kun, good morning !”

“Good morning, Tachibana kun.”

The guy sitting next to me is my classmate, Shishiyama Shinya. We’ve been in the same class since the first grade and he was the first person in the class that I approached and became friends with. He is a member of the badminton club, and his skills may or may not have already exceeded the middle school level.

“Come to think of it, Shinya kun, are you going to become the head of the badminton club?”

“Yeah, that’s what the leader recommended, but honestly I’m not sure about it. I’m not that responsible……”

“I think you’ll be fine, Shinya kun.”

I don’t belong to club activities, so I don’t know what kind of atmosphere club activities are wrapped in, but I think Shinya kun won’t have any problems.

He is not a problematic person, and he is able to treat everyone without any discrimination. At least that’s what I thought.

“Speaking of which, have you met with Sakura chan, Kanata kun?”

“Ah. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her much since we changed classes.”

“Hmm. I saw Sakura chan the other day and she was quite popular with her friends.”

I heard that Sakura is the class president in her class. A year ago, Sakura was afraid of people due to bullying, but now it seems that her way of being has changed 180 degrees. It may be that she has gained confidence in herself, but the way she has spent the past year has probably changed her values dramatically. Or perhaps people around her subconsciously understand that she is no longer a person to be bullied.

“Well, I think I should invite her to something sometime and ask her a lot of questions about what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I think that would be good.”

I think she’ll be fine even if I don’t go out of my way to meet her, but it’s important to keep communicating like this. I never know when I will need to rely on her, and she is already capable of that. I remember half a year ago, when we were walking together, she was able to defeat a drunkard who got into a fight with her by using the judo techniques I taught her.

“By the way, Kanata kun, are you interested in the badminton club? We’re recruiting members right now……”

“I don’t think I’m too interested. More than that, I want to be able to move freely.”

“Oh, you’re still the same as ever…….”

Just like when I was in elementary school, I was always on the side of justice. If I remember correctly, recently, I secretly intervened in a conflict between a gangster and a yakuza to bring an end to the fruitless battle without telling Sakura. Well, I thought that I couldn’t win a fight only by physical fighting, so I tried various ways to win.

(They were strange people, what’s with the “Young lady” and all of that…..)

I feel like I’m living a life that has reached the height of chaos, but this is what I’ve been up to. I’m doing what I have to do, and at the very least, I think I’m keeping myself and those around me safe. No one praised me for it, but I was happy with it. I was content with that, because I was convinced that my actions were helping someone.

So I went to class for the day normally, and after school came as usual. While others were relaxing, talking with friends, or heading off to club activities, I packed my bag and made my way home at once. This is the same as when I was with Sakura in the first year. However, the destination was very different.

“As I recall, I was going to buy some flowers, right?”

When I was with Sakura, my activities were inevitably restricted, but recently I realized that when I’m alone, I can act more freely than I thought I could. Unlike when I was in elementary school, I can see some things now that I’m a middle school student. And now I’m taking on the responsibility of serving an old lady I met at a senior citizen’s association. She trusts me and gives me money, so I can say that it’s a great responsibility.

“It’s tough, isn’t it, when people you know die?”

The old lady who asked me to bring her flowers was quite old. She told me that the flowers were intended to be placed on the graves of her close friends. It must be mentally painful for her to see her longtime acquaintances and close friends leave this world so rapidly. It’s a feeling that I, who am still young, cannot understand.

Well, it’s no use worrying about such a dark future from now on.

“Let’s get it over with before it gets dark.”

Flower shops close surprisingly early. If I got distracted and didn’t change the flowers, there would be nothing to be done. For now, I should just concentrate on completing my errand.

And so, I ran all the way to my destination, the flower shop. Normally, it would take me more than an hour to get there no matter how hard I tried, but I have a map of this area in my head and have developed many shortcuts. If I put my mind to it, it would take me less than 20 minutes to reach my destination.

Without losing my breath, I bought the flowers I wanted and went straight to the old lady’s house at the same speed. I knew where she lived beforehand, and I thought it would be more efficient to go there.

Incidentally, there was another kind of incident after that, such as chasing away a smelly door-to-door salesman who was visiting the old lady’s house, but I’ll spare you the details of that.

(There has been no big commotion recently, and this town has become much more peaceful.)

Two years ago, I was the unfortunate protagonist, with some groups going on a rampage and being caught up in strange conflicts, but recently I have been able to spend relatively peaceful days. I have long since moved away from violent incidents. I was walking slowly along the sunset-lit road.

“I felt a little bored.”

Even if you are on the side of justice, if there’s no evil, you are just a NEET with nothing to do. Well, it’s not like I have any intention of being a friend of justice in the first place, but even so, I’m unconsciously aware of it. However, I cannot be foolish enough to fall into the darkness and make enemies of my own.

In short, I was completely overloaded with the knowledge and unparalleled skills that I possessed.

“I’m home.”

And so I return home to the shabby apartment where I live with my mother. It is small and cracked, and to top it off, the wind leaks in from the outside, making it a defective house. But there is no answer from inside the house. My mother is either still at work or…..

“I wonder if she went out to play again?”

The last time I saw my mother was in the morning about two weeks ago, I think. She works mostly at night, so when I was in elementary school, she used to come home during the day and sleep, but recently she doesn’t even come home during the day anymore. And when she came home sometimes, I could smell the scent of a man’s perfume on her clothes. Maybe that’s what it’s all about.

When my father went to jail, my mother filed for divorce and it was accepted without any problem. So, it’s not like she’s cheating on my dad or committing any crimes, so I can’t blame her for it. However, I began to think that it might be only a matter of time before she abandoned me. I was sure that my mother would find me a burden and a hindrance.

“Aunty was worried about her, and I hope she won’t be in any danger.”

Aunty. There is a woman who is a sister to my mother, and she occasionally comes to check on us, worried about us. They don’t seem to get along that well, and I’ve seen them fighting over me a lot since I was little. She was also strongly opposed to her working at night, but she told her that she couldn’t earn any other kind of money, so she overrode her opposition and started working.

She was worried if I was fed properly, if she went home every day, and so on. She never made any changes in her life, but she left us money every day so that we would not have to worry about living. I hope I can maintain this lifestyle at least until I graduate from high school.

“……At any rate, let’s have dinner now.”

This is the daily life of me, Tachibana Kanata.

I can never say that I’m blessed with a good family, but I’m blessed with many friends and acquaintances. If I were on the side of justice, I would be on leave right now. I was a lost lamb searching for my own way.

I was spending more and more time alone and feeling somewhat lonely.

—

“……He’s getting on my nerves.”

Without noticing the overwhelming hatred approaching right next to me.