Chapter 97: Beautiful Girls, Ready for the School Festival (Part 1)

"…Ayumi-chan, are you ready? You’re not feeling sick, are you?"

"I-I’m fine…!"

The day of the school festival. As I was putting on my shoes at the entrance, Mom asked me the same question for what felt like the tenth time today. Do I really look that unsteady?

…Well, I am a little—no, pretty nervous, but still.

"Ayu-nee-chan, your shoes are on the wrong feet."

"Wah!? You’re right!"

My little brother Kaname pointed it out, and I hurried to switch them. But because I panicked, I lost my balance.

"Whoaa—!"

"You okay, Ayumi?"

Dad caught me just in time and steadied me.

Actually—why is everyone here seeing me off!? The entire Sakura family is lined up! It’s cramped in here!

"““Well, we were worried.””"

Don’t say it in sync like that! You’re too coordinated! …But I guess it is a little nice to have them cheering me on like this. They’re all coming to watch the play today, too, so I’ve got to give it my best! …Though that’s exactly why I’m extra nervous.

"Ayumi. I’m going to take plenty of photos today."

As usual, Dad raised his bazooka-sized camera.

"Then we can give them to Ryouji-san! Right, Ayu-nee-chan?"

Kaname stacked his comment right on top of Dad’s.

"Ryouji…"

Even though it was still morning, my face heated up like a boiled octopus. No, no, no! I’m remembering what Moeka-chan and Sakurako-chan said in chat yesterday and now I’m overthinking everything. Am I really going to school with Ryouji like this!?

"What’s wrong, Ayumi? Getting your picture taken is making you nervous?"

Dad looked slightly concerned. I guess he noticed I wasn’t acting like normal.

"N-no… that’s not it. Just, if you’re going to take pictures—"

Yes—if you’re planning to give them to Ryouji…

"Make sure they’re cute, okay?"

With a loud thud, Kaname fell straight onto his butt in the entryway. Dad, for some reason, started crying.

"Perfect, Ayumi-chan! Ahh, you’ve grown into such a lovely young lady. Mom is so proud!"

And then Mom hugged me tight.

What is even happening right now!? My family really is weird!

"W-well, I’m heading out!"

Leaving the three of them reacting however they wanted in the entryway, I stepped outside.

Just then, Ryouji arrived and stopped his bicycle.

"S-sorry! Did I keep you waiting?"

For some reason, I couldn’t look him in the eye and glanced away.

"Nah. I did think you were taking a bit longer than usual, though."

He wasn’t wrong—thanks to the chaos at the door, we were running a little late.

Since it’s the day of the festival, we have to start moving right when the venue opens, so we need to get to school early. We should hurry.

I rushed toward Ryouji—or tried to, but my nerves made my legs stiffen awkwardly, and I tripped over my own feet.

—Oh no, I’m going to fall!?

"Careful. Don’t you dare get hurt on the big day."

I was sure I was about to faceplant spectacularly, but that future never came.

Maybe he predicted I’d do something dangerous, but Ryouji caught me right before I fell.

Caught me… meaning—

My whole body was held firmly in his arms. From the outside, it probably looked like we were hugging. We were that close.

So close our bodies were touching. My heart was pounding violently—nothing has ever made it beat like this before. And when I breathed in, I could smell Ryouji—

Wait, smell!? I’m not some kind of pervert! S-stop it, I’m just overthinking everything because of yesterday! Calm down, Ayumi-chan. It’s fine. I’m totally okay-desu.

"Hey, seriously, are you okay? Don’t tell me you twisted your ankle or something?"

Since I wasn’t reacting at all, I must have made Ryouji worry.

"I-I’m okay."

Doing my best to look calm, I lifted my gaze toward Ryouji’s face. Well… even if I try to act calm, my face is probably bright red. So embarrassing.

Ah. I was panicking so much that my eyes are actually teary.

When he heard my answer, Ryouji let out a low “grh—” kind of groan and turned his face away. Am I really making that terrible a face right now?

"A-anyway, let’s get to the station."

As if trying to shake something off, Ryouji shook his head hard and said that.

Once the school festival began, more and more visitors started coming in.

We, Class 1-A, carried signs and flyers, putting our all into promoting the play starting at 3:00 PM.

Naturally, Ryouji and I focused on handing out flyers too. People asked for photos at a pretty high rate, so when that happened, I’d lightly mention the beauty pageant as well. I probably won’t win, but even raising my name recognition a bit should help the play on the second day.

Having the play right after the pageant results—honestly, that’s a great timetable.

"No matter how many times I see it, your outfit is super cute, Ayumi."

As he said that, Ryouji gave me a light pat-pat on the head.

Being treated like a kid is… well, a bit of a mixed feeling, but still, being called cute makes me happy. I just have to be careful not to dirty the outfit before the play. I’m planning to change during lunch, of course.

As for Ryouji’s costume, he wore a slightly flowy long-sleeved white shirt and somewhat tight brown pants. To stand out on stage, he had a red cape, but overall the design was pretty simple.

My outfit, on the other hand, was a one-of-a-kind piece Aika-chan poured her whole soul into. To be honest, compared to the others, it stood out quite a bit… maybe too much.

"Ryouji, your costume looks cool too."

It was a little embarrassing, but I said what I honestly thought.

"O-oh…"

He teases me all the time, but when I compliment him, that’s his reaction!?

And so, while a lot happened, we managed to hand out a pretty big stack of flyers.

I was getting tired. The shoes weren’t ones I was used to wearing, they were hard to walk in, and on top of that, I was wearing something like a corset, making it hard to breathe. I’m supposed to be a town girl, so why am I wearing something as heavy as a full dress ensemble!?

"Let’s take a break on that bench."

I nodded at Ryouji’s suggestion. Looking around, we found an empty bench, and after checking it wasn’t dirty, I sat down.

My feet tingled—they must’ve been really tired.

"I’m gonna go buy us something to drink. What do you want?"

"Something fruity… and sweet."

"What kind of description is that? Are you a kid?"

"S-shut up."

Ryouji gave a wry smile and jogged toward the vending machines. His cape fluttered in the wind—looking cool for absolutely no reason.

With nothing to do while waiting for him to return, I pulled out my smartphone.

I reread the message Aoi-kun sent me last night, right before I went to sleep.

He said he’s coming to the festival. Since I was the one who gave him the schedule, it’s nothing strange.

What am I supposed to do…?

Sakurako-chan told me before, “As long as you don’t attach any deeper meaning to hanging out with Aoi-kun, it’ll be fine.” Is that really true…? I mean, it’s not like he confessed to me, and I didn’t confess to him either.

I don’t know what the “right” thing to do even is.

…But I already know.

I like Ryouji.

But that feeling is probably mine alone—and Ryouji doesn’t think of me that way. After all, he knows I used to be a boy. Living as a girl is my decision, not something Ryouji asked for or decided for me.

He hangs out with me and helps me because he’s my best friend. But I’m sure he won’t ever step outside that “best friend” boundary.

Before this, I didn’t even understand myself. But now that I finally do, what scares me isn’t my own heart—it’s wondering what he feels.

…But even so, now that I understand my own feelings, they aren’t going to fade or waver.

Maybe if I had kept things blurry and refused to look at my own heart, I could’ve stayed in that vague, undecided in-between space.

Can I still act like my usual self when I’m in front of Aoi-kun now?

It’s weird, isn’t it? It’s not like I’m dating Ryouji or that I even can date him. And yet here I am making things awkward all on my own—it must look ridiculous from the outside.

If it were Sakurako-chan, she’d probably say something casual like, “Just keep him on hold,” but I’m way too clumsy for that.

"Haa…"

I sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Huh? Sakura-san?"

I turned toward the voice—and there was Aoi-kun. Meeting him right at this moment? I wasn’t mentally prepared at all. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so nothing came out.

He seemed to have brought two of his club friends with him.

"What’s up? Taking a break?"

Leaving his friends behind, Aoi-kun jogged over to me.

"…Yeah."

Inside, I had no idea what to do. Something was swirling and twisting around in my chest, and all I could force out was that single word: "Yeah."

"I see. Is that the costume for the play you mentioned? It’s really cute."

"Thanks."

Being complimented by Aoi-kun does make me happy—there’s no mistaking that. But the way my heart pounds isn’t the same as when I’m with Ryouji.

I couldn’t keep the conversation going, and Aoi-kun also seemed unsure, probably because I wasn’t acting like myself.

And just as the silence stretched between us—

"Ayumi, what’s up? You know him?"

Ryouji came back.