Chapter 11 In the Darkness

In the Darkness

“Yo, Yuuta. You’re on the same shift today, right? Let’s head there together after class!”

As I tried to catch up on some sleep by resting my head on the desk in the lecture hall, Sasaki-senpai woke me up with a loud smack on my back.

“…By the way, Senpai, is it really okay for you to be at university when you should be job hunting? You only have a year and three months left until graduation, right?”

“Haha… I-It’s fine!”

When I gave Sasaki-senpai a sharp look, he twitched his mouth nervously and smacked my back again. Ouch, that hurt.

“Sigh… Isn’t that right? Yuuta-kun, you should really say something to this guy.”

“Ah, Kinoshita-senpai.”

Behind Sasaki-senpai, Kinoshita-senpai appeared with a sigh, her face a mixture of exasperation and concern.

“By the way, isn’t it unusual for you to look this sleepy?”

“Now that you mention it…”

Oh, realizing he was at a disadvantage, Sasaki-senpai blatantly tried to change the subject.

Since Kinoshita-senpai seemed to go along with it, I decided to follow her lead.

“Haha… The truth is, I just couldn’t fall asleep last night…”

Of course, I couldn’t tell them about Kakizaki-san, so I tried to brush it off with that excuse.

“Really? After drinking yesterday, I figured you’d sleep so much you’d almost oversleep.”

“That’s Kouki, right? Besides, Yuuta-kun doesn’t even drink a🬀cohol, and there’s no way the diligent Yuuta-kun would ever be late.”

“Haha…”

Yeah… seeing these two get along so well always feels oddly comforting.

“Well, you’re attending the afternoon lecture, right? Let’s meet in front of the school gate at 3 PM.”

“Ah, okay.”

“See you later, Yuuta-kun.”

With that, the two left the lecture hall.

“Alright… time for the next lecture.”

I grabbed my bag and headed to the next lecture room.

And then—

―Thud

“Ah…!”

“!?”

Just as I reached the entrance to the next lecture room, I bumped into another student coming out at the worst possible moment.

“S-Sorry, are you okay…?”

“…”

…Unluckily, the person I bumped into was none other than Mushakoji Mikoto-san from the same seminar.

She’s apparently half-foreign, with platinum blonde, wavy hair and striking amethyst eyes that are slightly almond-shaped. Frankly, she’s one of the most beautiful girls in this university.

On top of that, she’s part of the famous Mushakoji Group, a true blue-blooded Ojou-sama.

And for some reason, ever since our entrance, this high-class girl has taken an interest in me.

Every time she sees me, she calls me “gloomy,” “less than air,” and even “worse than a zombie.” She spares no insults.

And now I’ve gone and bumped into her. I should probably prepare myself for a torrent of abuse…

As I braced myself, thinking of all this—

―Grab

“Whoa!?”

Suddenly, she grabbed me by the collar and pulled my face close… Wait, way too close!

“Hmph… Normally, your eyes look like dead fish… but today, they’re only half-dead.”

After making that declaration with a sniff, she pushed me away and walked off just like that.

“W-What the heck was that…?”

I thought she’d say a lot more, but it ended with just that. It was unexpected.

And, to think she’d do something like that…

Watching her retreating figure, I tilted my head in confusion.

“Ahh… finally, it’s over…”

After the last customer left and the manager locked the automatic doors, Sasaki-senpai slumped over the counter.

As for me, I’d finished all my work for the day and was already ready to head home.

“Well then, Manager, Senpai, I’ll be heading off now.”

“Wait!? Yuuta, isn’t it too early for you to leave!?”

“Haha, good work today, Naoe-kun.”

Senpai tried to call out to me, but it was probably to invite me to a mixer, so I ignored him and left the store.

I stopped by the usual convenience store, bought just some milk, and made my way home.

For breakfast, I already had some side dishes Kinoshita-senpai made for me.

When I arrived at the apartment, I climbed the metal stairs and opened the door to my room.

“Ah… Welcome back.”

“Ah… y-yeah, I’m home…”

From the dimly lit room, illuminated only by a nightlight, Kakizaki-san greeted me nervously in her loungewear.

But… why was she sitting in the corner of the room in seiza…?

“Uh, um… why are you sitting over there like that…?”

“Eh? Ah, ahaha… well, you see… I was just feeling a little nervous…”

She said that, scratching her head with a wry smile.

“You don’t have to be so reserved. This is your room too, you know?”

“But! You’re the one letting me live here!”

“No, no, we’re splitting living expenses, and this is just a room share. You don’t have to be so considerate.”

If she kept being this reserved, it’d just make me feel awkward too…

“Besides, if you sit here all alone without even turning on the TV, wouldn’t you get bored?”

“Ah, no. I’m used to just sitting quietly like this…”

“I see…”

Pretending not to pay much attention to her words, I let them pass… but deep down, I felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and helplessness.

Kakizaki-san had grown so accustomed to that kind of life, hiding from the people who chased her, that she had lived alone like this for two whole years.

“…Kakizaki-san. This is your room, but it’s also my room.”

“Ah, y-yeah. Of course, I know that.”

“I prefer the room to be bright, and I usually leave the TV running.”

“Yeah… sorry…”

“N-No, why are you apologizing? That’s not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is, ‘This is my room too, so those self-righteous jerks won’t come here. You’re free to turn on the lights or the TV whenever you want.’”

“Ah…”

After I explained it that far, she finally seemed to realize what I meant.

But… well, I’d help her gradually change her mindset moving forward.

So, with that in mind—

―Click

“See? Now the room is bright.”

“Ah, ahaha… you’re right!”

When I turned the lights back on, Kakizaki-san smiled shyly, looking genuinely happy.