Chapter 7:
Her Royal Highness, the Convenience Store Clerk
「Ahh... That was a nice day I had today.」I said out loud.
I, Kiyo Nakano, had just come home after hanging out with Ao and Yoshino. It was still a surprise to me that they were neighbors and had no idea for at least three weeks since Ao moved in.
「That's pretty awesome,」I thought.「Ao and I became friends with him, and today we met him and found out something shocking. I wonder if it's fate.」
Or maybe... it was just a coincidence.
Yoshino Hoshikawa... he was truly a mysterious guy.
I had first noticed him not long ago. As far as I could remember, I started paying attention to him one time when I saw him helping an old woman not far from school. I didn't know anything about him, but seeing him like that, I thought: he must be a kind person.
The next day, I began observing him and wondering what kind of person he really was. Based on my observations, I thought he wasn't an average person at all. How could a kind guy like him be just average? There had to be something about him that would surely get someone's attention if he just tried his best.
However, he was always sitting apart from the rest of us, in his own world. His seat was in the back corner of the room, near the window. All quiet, listening to the lecture or if not, looking out in the window. So, even though I was interested, I didn't know how to make a connection with him.
From an outsider's perspective, we were classmates but more or less strangers, with no possibility of us ever talking to each other, nor opportunities that could bring connection between the both of us.
It was surprising that I was interested in someone like him. He was kind; I always remembered the way he helped that old woman. It just made me more curious about him.
Until now, no other guy had shown me that kind of genuine kindness. I could read most guys' intentions. They acted kind to me, but it was always because they had some sort of motive. Yeah, that kind of 'motive.' But Yoshino... he was different. For some reason, I couldn't seem to read his mind, or even his face.
That's why he was so mysterious to me. And that's what made him interesting.
At one point, I even asked my classmate and friend, Ao, who was famous throughout the school.
「Hey, Ao, what do you think about Hoshikawa-kun?」I said, staring at Yoshino, who was looking out the window, seemingly in his own world again.
Ao replied, 「I think... he's quite mysterious. In my opinion, Kiyo, he's an average type of person, but he possesses a kind face. So, I guess he's interesting if you're asking me like that.」
At this point, it wasn't just me who noticed his mysteriousness. Even Ao said the same. Though, I didn't agree with her saying he was an average type of person. I still believed he was more than that.
「Why did you ask about it, Kiyo? Are you interested in him or something?」Ao said that, making me blush instantly.
Of course, I flatly denied it. I didn't think I was interested in him to that extent... not yet.
But still, I hoped I could learn about his mysteriousness and his kindness. Maybe he had everything I was looking for in a man.
Up until this point, I didn't think there was any way for me to get close to him, so I just gave up the idea of making a connection.
But then, for some reason, the moment I did, something unexpected happened.
It was two days ago. Ao and I arrived at school early in the morning. We thought we would be the only ones there, but we walked in and saw the usual boy at the corner of the room, near the window, reading a book. A manga, at that.
I had never seen him read a book in the classroom before. This was the first time for both me and Ao to see him reading. What's more, he was smiling as if he was in his own world, and he didn't even notice us enter the room.
To be honest, I didn't know much about manga or anime. I knew some, thanks to my older brother being a fan, but it wasn't something I was really into, since my circle of friends talked badly about such hobbies.
So, I would just go along with them, keeping my own thoughts on the subject neutral. The same went for Ao; she was also neutral, from my observation. That's why I was closer to her than anyone else. I didn't think there was anything wrong with having that kind of hobby.
With that, I decided to take this opportunity and confidently approached him. As I did, he seemed shocked, probably not wanting to be seen reading a book like that. But I didn't care. It was his hobby, and I respected it.
「Ooooh, isn't that a manga?! You read something like that, Hoshikawa-kun?」That's what I said first. I didn't know if it was a good question, but I went with it anyway.
Although I asked, he didn't respond. I got anxious. Maybe I had made the wrong move? I decided to try again and checked the book he was holding.
It was a manga series I had seen my brother reading before. My brother liked it a lot, and I remembered it had an anime adaptation. I had read some of it, and it was quite good, so I decided to use that to my advantage.
「Is that...? The Five Equal Brides?!」I said, looking at the manga with sparkling eyes. It wasn't an act; I was genuinely interested.
As I said that, my friend, Ao, asked me,「You know of it, Kiyo? I'm surprised.」
Of course, she didn't know. I didn't usually tell her about this stuff, and I didn't read much anyway. But I decided to take advantage of the situation.
「Well, I never told you about it, Ao, or any other girls, but it's actually one of my hobbies. Reading manga and even watching anime.」I said. It wasn't a lie.
I may not have read or watched much, but the truth was I did read and watch. The only lie was that it was a hobby of mine, but I could easily make that true.
「The reason I'm only telling you this now, Ao, is because maybe you'd hate these kinds of things too. Our friends say it's lame and such. You don't think the same, do you?」I added, also hoping to convince Yoshino.
But then... I got a flick on my forehead.
「Ouchh! What was that for, Ao...?」
「There's no way I would think like that. That's your hobby, so why should I be disgusted by it? We've been friends for a long time now, so... Hmph.」She said, sounding grumpy about what I had just told her.
That's why I was so glad to have her as my best friend. Her reply warmed my heart.
Yoshino, on the other hand, started laughing.
「What are you laughing at now, Hoshikawa-kun?! It hurts, okay?!」I said.
「Sorry, sorry... Haha...」He apologized but was still giggling a bit. He was quite a mean guy, I thought.
And that's when I took my chance.
「But well, Hoshikawa-kun... You seem interesting, you know? Why don't we be friends and talk about manga?! Though, not around my other friends, though.」
I was just playing it safe for now. I didn't want Yoshino to get into trouble because of me. I was doing this for him.
Ao, who was right by my side, surprisingly said something that made me so grateful.
「If it's fine with you two, let me join you. Just teach me about it.」
It was a huge help. Now, it was all up to Yoshino to make a decision.
And then...
「Why not? Let's have lots of talk about it then, Nakano-san! And as for Kizuki-san, you'll definitely like it!」
It was a huge success.
As a greeting to my new friend, I said, 「Well, then... It's nice to meet you, Hoshika— no... Yoshino! Just call me Kiyo, it's fine!」
Then Ao followed suit, saying, 「It would be weird if you're still calling me by my last name when you're calling Kiyo by her first name. Ao is fine for me too.」
「You're quite a shy girl, Ao. Fufu...」
She really was a shy girl, but I knew this would turn out great. With her in on this, I could now know more about Yoshino... Hehehe...
After that, Yoshino greeted us back.
「Ao, Kiyo, it's nice to meet you! Let's have fun!」
「Yeah! Let's have fun!」
In that classroom, two days ago, no other students were there yet. There we were, the three of us, smiling together. Something I never thought would happen: an interaction between my world and that mysterious boy's world.
Thanks to that... a great, mysterious future was ahead for the three of us.
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