Usagi notes: Hi all! It’s been ages since I put this story on hiatus, but now, I decided to continue this. Before I move on to posting new chapters, I will edit the ones that have been posted first. The format will be new, there will be new details, and I also fixed some inconsistencies in the flow of the story. Enjoy reading. （＾ω＾）
A year had passed since he graduated from senior high. He had gotten bored of schooling, so he decided to laze around for almost a year, to the point that he could even be labeled as a reclusive. His mom was not happy about this, so she kept on nagging him, saying, You’re a disgrace to the Ishikawa family! I should’ve disowned you when you were younger, had I known that you were this worthless!
His dad was fine with his decision. Mr. Ishikawa was a very reticent man and rarely butts in when his mom was the one talking. Mr. Ishikawa had given him full support on his decisions, especially since what had happened to him back then, and for this, he was very thankful to his dad. At least, there was someone in their family who understood him the most.
He was a typical guy: black, wavy hair with a short, bob cut, which, was the same haircut he had since primary school; his radiant brown eyes were big for a typical Japanese guy; he had thick eyebrows; stood one hundred and sixty-five centimeters, and yes, he knew that he was too short for a guy; and a fair skin tone. People always mistook him to be Thai and he did not know why. He was thin and so clumsy. Some girls would even call him ‘cute,’ but he preferred not to be treated like a kid, a girl, or a pet. Most bullies would call him a sissy due to his features. He hated it. Yeah, he was one of the nerds—he was so fond of anime and manga, so that he even attempted to draw his own comic book before, but was a big failure. Fortunately, he did not wear thick-rimmed glasses as he would really look like a legitimate otaku. Hope you could imagine how awkward he looked like.
On with the story…
He finally decided to take the university entrance examination and was admitted to K University. Because of this, his mom stopped nagging and started praising him for being filial and finally deciding on becoming a nurse like her. Gosh! His eardrums were almost damaged because of her constant nagging. He knew that this was what she wanted for him because they came from a family of nurses and doctors. In all honesty, he actually wanted to become an engineer someday but, well, he ended up taking nursing classes.
Days passed by so fast and he felt a bit depressed since his long vacation had finally come to an end. It was the first day of school. He could feel the wintry breeze was starting to become warmer, the peach and cherry blossoms were blooming, and here he was, already lost! He could not seem to find his classroom! There were so many tall buildings and he could not find his designated room for his first subject. After going around in circles, he got tired so he decided to rest in a small park inside the campus. He did not know that their campus was this big. What was even worse was that their course did not have a designated building, so he had already foreseen that he would definitely get lost again in the future. Oh, dear…
He did not have any friends to ask help from. He used to have a few close friends but he decided to cut his ties with them a few years ago. He knew that there were a few senpais of his, studying in this university, but he was too shy to approach them. Now, he had to rely purely on his own strengths and capabilities. It was really hard to be alone and not to mention, to be an introvert.
It was a good thing that he was early for school. Perhaps, he was too excited since it had been a long time since he stopped schooling. This excitement came to an end, earlier than he had expected, however. He felt lazy again so he dozed off in the university park. His laziness was something that was hard to remove from his system.
He lied down on a bench and placed his backpack underneath his head. The gentle spring breeze was so cool. He could feel it caressing his face and cradling him to sleep. Finally! He could now really say that winter was over. He hated it when it was too cold. The peach blossoms here in Kyoto just started blooming about a week ago, followed by cherry and plum blossoms. Imagine how peaceful it felt to be laying underneath a cherry blossom tree on a clear, sunny, early spring day.
He was half asleep when he felt someone sat down near his head. He heard this person coughing lightly. For sure, this person might have been irritated since he was using too much space on the park bench, so he immediately decided to wake up and sit properly. He was the type of guy who would always give consideration to others even though he was going to end up the one being aggravated, pathetic, right?
He checked on the person sitting beside him, but he could not see the person clearly from the corners of his eyes. His eyes were still blurry from his nap, so he rubbed his eyes gently to make it clearer.
“It’s a quarter to nine in the morning and you’re sleeping on a park bench. Great.” The guy sarcastically said while reading his book.
“I’m sorry, Senpai,” he said stutteringly. “I’m a freshman and I’m lost. I’m not good with directions and I got tired, so I stayed here to rest. I didn’t know that I dozed off and that I was causing an inconvenience for you.”
The other boy did not respond and continued to look at his book.
He faced the other student with his head bowed down. He was too shy to face the guy directly. He could see from the corners of his eyes that this guy looked tall judging by his long, slender legs. He was really masculine with a slim, fit body. He had a buzz cut and tanned skin. He could tell that he was a basketball athlete by the looks of his uniform that he was wearing. This guy may be one of those that girls sought out for—a popular jock. Apart from that, he could not see his face clearly because he was staring at the book that he was reading, although he could tell that this guy was good looking, based on his side profile.
Since he was spacing out, it was only now that he realized what the guy had said. He checked on his watch and saw that it was almost nine in the morning. My first class starts at nine!
He asked hurriedly: “Sorry if I’m such a pain, but can you…”
He had not finished stating his request yet when the guy immediately cut him off.
“Do I look like a map to you?” he snorted.
He was dumbfounded, so he bowed down to him and said “I’m sorry” three times. He ran off afterwards without waiting for the guy’s response. He was a really shy kid and talking to that guy made him reach his limit.
After running past two buildings, he stopped by a drinking fountain to have a quick drink. He was gasping for air from running and he could feel beads of sweat running down his forehead, so he wiped it with the handkerchief he had kept in the back pocket of his jeans. His heart was pounding hard, so hard that he could almost hear it. “Gosh, I’m really not used to running,” he said to himself. “He’s so rude! I was just gonna ask for directions,” he added then he pouted. Unknown to him, his heart was pounding loudly, not only because he was tired from running, but it was because of something else…and that was their first encounter.
Oh, I almost forgot to introduce our hero, “It’s nice to meet you! My name’s Kichirō Ishikawa, 19 years old, and this is my story. Please take care of me!”
Crescent Moon Translations 