During class, he found his thoughts drifting to Kotori.
Regardless of how it happened, the Kotori from middle school—who was so timid she couldn't talk to anyone and was isolated in a different way—was now in a circle of people, and to be honest, he was a little envious.
After all, Takumi wasn't alone by choice.
Even as a child, he was ostracized because of his looks and was forced to just watch the other kids play from the sidelines.
Playing by himself was boring, and he spent his days looking at them with a longing gaze.
He tried to talk to them several times, but they would overtly run away.
Even if they did listen to him, his lack of communication skills got in the way, and they would leave.
(...Acchan, huh?)
But there was once a person who reached out to him.
He was a leader among the kids who didn't care about Takumi's looks or his poor communication skills. He was always at the center of their games, and Takumi remembered he always had scrapes on his face and limbs.
They played kick the can, high tag, and tag using the park and the surrounding residential area.
They played Daruma-san ga Koronda, hide-and-seek, and jump rope in the shrine grounds and the village grove.
They had skipping stone competitions and looked for four-leaf clovers by the river.
They were all old-fashioned games that didn't require video games or toys.
However, games that involved everyone moving their whole bodies didn't require much talking, and there was a sense of unity, which allowed Takumi to easily slip into the circle.
It seemed to be the same for Kotori, who was extremely shy back then, and his interaction with her also started at that time.
But one day, Acchan suddenly moved away.
Naturally, with Acchan, who was the center of everyone's group, gone, the circle of games fell apart.
With the loss of Acchan, Takumi and Kotori were once again alone.
However, the days they spent playing with Acchan in the group still shone brightly in his heart. Because of that, Takumi had a strong desire to be in a group again.
"'Takumi, you're so fast, you should do track and field.'"
To Takumi, Acchan was a benefactor. The reason he started track and field was because of those words from him.
As an individual sport, it didn't require him to talk to anyone, and he could just silently focus on practice, which suited his personality. He also had a feeling that if he continued track and field, he might be able to meet Acchan again. And he hoped that one day, he might lead him back into the group.
However, last year, an unfortunate accident caused an injury that forced him to quit track and field.
He knew that the thought that everything would get better if he continued track and field was a childish wish.
Even so, the old wound on his right knee ached.
Perhaps one of the reasons Takumi went along with Kotori's routine was that she was now able to be in a group, just like before, even if it wasn't in the way he had hoped.
It was as if she was doing something for him that he couldn't do himself.
Takumi glanced at Kotori, who was taking notes, and swallowed the feeling of his own inadequacy.
---
As soon as the lunch bell rang, the school was instantly filled with a noisy commotion.
In various parts of the classroom, students were pushing their desks together to eat their bento boxes, while others were heading to the cafeteria in groups.
He glanced at Kotori, who was leaving with her usual group of "First Army Girls," carrying her bento box. They were probably going to eat in the courtyard or somewhere else.
Takumi watched them from the corner of his eye and headed to the school store alone.
The cafeteria was always crowded, but whenever Takumi sat down at a table, the seats opposite and on both sides of him would always be empty. Ever since he realized that, it had subtly hurt his feelings, so he stopped using it.
The school store, on the other hand, was easy because he could eat his bread alone wherever he wanted.
The store was just as crowded as the cafeteria, but he liked that the students, all desperate to get the popular deli-style bread, were too focused on their goal to care about him. For the same reason, he didn't hate crowded trains.
Like everyone else, Takumi charged into the crowd at the store in search of his prey.
>By some luck, he grabbed the last one of the yakisoba croquette bread, which was one of the most popular items. At the same time, a hand reaching from next to him grabbed the same thing.
"Ah."
Takumi let out a low gasp, and his hand trembled.
This was the first time this had happened. It was the last yakisoba croquette bread, and he didn't want to let it go.
What should he do? Should they talk it out?
Or should they decide it fairly with a game of rock-paper-scissors?
As Takumi was lost in thought, a frightened, trembling voice came from beside him.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
He looked over and saw a male student with a pale face, trembling.
Takumi didn't know what to say and just stammered, "Uh, ah..." The student seemed to misunderstand his stuttering and immediately let go of the yakisoba croquette bread, fleeing the scene like a scared rabbit.
Takumi's face twisted. Whispers about him spread like ripples, and an empty space formed around him as no one wanted to get involved.
A confused look from the store clerk pierced him. At this rate, he might be seen as causing a disturbance, and more baseless rumors might spread. It would be best to leave as soon as possible.
Unable to bear it any longer, Takumi narrowed his eyes, quickly paid, and left the area with a feeling of dissatisfaction.
Why are chapter 4 and 5 the same?
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