Starting a Night Shift Part-time Job at a Convenience Store.

“Whoa! Your first name is unbelievable! So cool!”

“ーUgh!?”FWE

I wondered when she had taken out my student ID card, and Hyuga was right next to me, her eyes swirling as she raised her voice.

“Return it to me, you idiot!”

When I attempted to catch her, she lightly dodged and slipped away.

“Your name is so striking that even the sparkling names of the day would be beaten by it. Can I call you by your first name from now on?”

“No!! Absolutely not!!”

I gnashed my teeth while howling like a demon. Yeah, I was being serious.

“HuhーEven though it’s so cool!”

“It’s not cool at all! People always say it’s not a good name! It’s a name that doesn’t do me any good! I hate it! I mean… return that!!”

“Oops!”

Hyuga was running away from my arms cheekily. As far as I knew, nobody was more talented at running away and having such sticky fingers than her. Unlike her appearance, she was always moving around for no reason at all. Yet, when satisfied, she would easily return it and apologize to me.

So why did she steal from me to begin with?

“Here’s your student ID card. Sorry, I took it without your permission.”

“You… do you do things like this to your friends too?”

“No, I don’t. If I did, they wouldn’t like me.”

Don’t say that so brazenly.

“You mean it’s okay for you to do stuff like this to me?”

“You know, you get mad at me, saying you’ll beat me up all the time, but you’ll forgive me and despite all that, you never beat me up.”

“Hah…”Translator: MadHatter

You were totally messing around with me. While on the subject, Hyuga turned away and let out an “ehehe” sound. 

“You’ve got a lot of nerves messing with the upperclassmen, you little glasses-wearing prick, I’m going to crush you.”

“You’re so foul-mouthed and scary!”

In contrast to what Hyuga was saying, she didn’t even feel that way. For some reason, Hyuga jumped up and down joyfully.

From that day on, she started showing up in front of me like a phantom after club activities, when I skipped class or was leaving school. It was most often when I was alone that she would pop up.

At unpredictable times, she appeared from behind me, right next to me, or even out of the shrubbery the other day.

Who the hell was this guy?

What did she want, what did she want me to do, and what was so enjoyable about chasing me around? She was so cryptic to the level that I seriously couldn’t grasp her.

Despite the fact that she was a girl, she defiantly climbed the fence, pulled a caterpillar from the wall and presented it to me, mimicked a gorilla, unexpectedly began dancing, delivered one-liners, and didn’t even freak out at the sight of a cockroach; instead, she ran after it.

Wasn’t it normal people like her didn’t exist?

Ever since Hyuga came in contact with me, she repeatedly did this. Whenever I encountered her, I was swept along and ended up hanging out with her because of her strange conduct while I didn’t have any intention of associating with her since I didn’t want to get into trouble with her. 

On the exterior, she indeed had a more girlish appearance than those girls with their gaudy makeup. 

On the inside, though, she was nothing like a girl.

And yet, she was not mannish either. She was an enigmatic creature.

Acting liberally, she delighted in everything. Rather than flouting school regulations or getting into trouble, she diligently attended her lessons and achieved high academic standing. So to speak, she was an honor student.

She was a tomboy at heart, nevertheless.

Every time I saw her in a class held in a different room or passing by during recess, she was always at the center of the class with a clear voice that always went straight through.

At times surrounded by a large number of girls, at times by a group of boys, at times by a couple of teachers, and at times by members of the same brass band club.

Each time she shook her shoulders gleefully and laughed dazzlingly. Though she was one grade below me, I knew her well enough to notice that. She would draw everyone around her and gather them together with her own distinctive ambiance.

Her adept use of words and her intriguing and unpredictable behavior all drew people to her.  And I supposed I was one of those people who was drawn to her.

“Hey, a person can mask their appearance, right?”

On the roof of the main building, I was conversing with Kinoshita and the others while drinking a banana au lait. It was time for the open-ended art class. Our assignment was a landscape painting. Lacking motivation, we used to hang out on the rooftop with our canvases in hand and ditch class.

“Ah, what’s up, Masa?”

“That guy.”Not shared on aggregator sites

Ahead of my line of sight was a pair of vigorous pony-tailed glasses chasing a soccer ball in the schoolyard right below us.

The girls were chattering and clumping together and were aggressively pursuing the ball. Though the girls were more subdued and boisterous than the boys’ soccer team. When Hyuga entered the game, the pace of play immediately shifted.

Even those who were not so enthusiastic about the game somehow started to try to stop her from scoring, and the atmosphere became that of a soccer game. She continued to kick the ball and avoid each opponent as they came at her, nevertheless, no matter how many players were coming at her.

“That girl is impressive! What class is she in!?”

“Wow! She’s peerless!!”

Even Tanaka and Nishimura, who were at the back, turned their attention to Hyuga after hearing the applause from below.

She ran for the goal at a high rate of speed, leaving the four of us speechless and mouths wide while being transfixed. Her buddy received a pass from her that was aimed toward the goal, and the latter kicked the ball at a great height for the goal.

The ball, however, was unable to get in the net.

Hyuga stepped in at that point and unleashed a spectacular header that might have contended with anything in the J-League. The ball went straight into the net of the goal.

From below, cheers and applause surged up, accompanied by the whistle.

Jumping up and down, the girls surrounded Hyuga as she ran up to them, raising her hands in the air, looking pleased with herself regardless of her mildly misplaced spectacles or her slightly muddy hair.

“She’s interesting, isn’t she? I think she’s from the 4th class, 2nd grade, in the brass band, her name is Hyuga.”

“Ah! That rumored girl!?”

“Wow! Even though she seems to be a mature girl!”

At Kinoshita’s commentary, Tanaka and Nishimura simultaneously shouted out.

“You guys know her?”

“I’ve at least heard of her name.”

“Yeah. She is a picture-perfect honor student with excellent sportsmanship, outstanding grades, and a flawless interpersonal relationship with her peers.”

Apparently, Hyuga was quite a celebrity in the entire school community.

“An honor student huh… though a fairly eccentric one at that…”

With a wry smile, I looked at Hyuga’s face. She had such a face, and yet she caught insects with her bare hands. I wondered if these guys knew that.

“You’re interested in her?”

Kinoshita took a sip of my banana au lait. Hey, stop that.

“No, not really. It’s just that she attracts a lot of attention… even though she seems so quiet, you know… I think that she’s incredible.”

After saying that, I covered that mouth of mine. It was too late, though.

“Shut up! You guys are being too loud!!”

“Haha! I mean! Masa! You said that she’s incredible! That, that, that! You rarely say such things buahahahahahahaha!!”

“What’s more! More than anything, she’s not even interested in the girl!!”

“It’s gonna be incredible! Tomorrow it’s gonna rain spears!”

“Spears aren’t going to descend, you idiot―!!”

Once they started bursting out into laughter, no matter what I said, it wouldn’t stop them.

It was probably something I unconsciously uttered, which I deflected in an attempt to let it slide and pass over. Now, I was certain I meant those words.

Incredible. I didn’t often acknowledge other people, but Hyuga was incredible. Did I really think so… Yeah, that was right.

She stood in stark contrast to me, who was always on the watch for anything that might come my way and made it difficult for others around me to be close to me, and Hyuga, who was outgoing and popular and embraced everything.

The dexterous Hyuga who could handle everything without a hitch.

Without conflicts, everyone adored her. She always seemed to be having a good time.

Unlike me, who hid myself away in my shell, she was completely different from me.

She possessed a lot of things that I lacked.

A mass of fascination.

Even if I tried to be normal, I would never be like that. Yet she went on living her life that way. She was inexplicable, not being swayed by others, nonetheless, she was on a straight line.

I couldn’t possibly imitate that. Perhaps that was why I genuinely thought she was incredible.

“Oh, no way. Masa.”

“What?”

Nishimura put his arm around my neck and pulled me close.

“Could it be… You’re… in love with her?”

“Huh!?”

“Is it for real! Hey! Hakamada!”

“Are you in love with her!? Masa!!”

“Of course not!!”

“Hey, don’t hide it!”

“I’m not hiding anything!”

“For real! With a girl one grade below you!? Eh!!”

“Don’t stir things up! Tanaka!”

“Sekihan! Somebody make sekihan!”

“Kinoshita! Do you want to get your dick thrown straight up in the air!!”

“Idiot! You’re not suitable for her! I’ll take her first! Then I’ll let you have a taste! Hehehe!!”

“You can jump down from the rooftop now, Nishimura!”

The underclassmen below us spotted us and were staring up at the rooftop as we were making a lot of noise and getting into a mess. Oh, no. The gym teacher was sending us a stern glare.

“Hold the canvas! The canvas!”

In a panic, I held up the canvas that I had left on the floor and made an appeal to show that I was working on it. It was a rather shameless lie.

Ah―

At that moment, my eyes locked with Hyuga’s who was on the ground. She put her hand over her mouth and giggled softly.

I… signaled to her by waving the pencil I was holding in front of the idiots.

Then Hyuga grinned and ran to the other side of the schoolyard.

…What was I doing?

I pulled my pencil back and felt embarrassed. There was no particular need for me to do that.

“Fuu…”

She easily disrupted even my obstinate pace. Hyuga was… terrifying.

“But you’d best hold off on pursuing that girl…” Kinoshita muttered as he watched Hyuga run away.