9 Trying to Make A Change (1)
A/N: This may seem as if I rushed too much with how many introductions I did here, but there'll be some sections that were visibly cut completely so I won't overdid it. Specifically, I'll move cut ones to another segment. At the moment, I will make Hirosha to focus on Ai's case first.
***
It was when the introduction session had almost finished at Ayanokouji's section. Someone smashed the entrance door open.
"—I-I'm sorry," it was Hoshino. She had a number of people, all girls, on her back. "I saw Yoshikawa-kun here, so I reflexively did that— Ugh, I'm really, really sorry...!"
Everyone was surprised, obviously, including me. [She's too impulsive. Was she this crazy before she met him?] I remembered that Hikaru had, in fact, a positive influence on Hoshino's personality. [No, now is not the time for that.]
"What's the matter, Hoshino-san?" I stood up from my chair, heading over to her.
Hoshino smiled brightly, completely disregarding the incident right away. "Let's go check out the clubs together!"
I glanced at the group of girls behind her. They were probably her friends. There were three of them, and with the names clearly displayed on their chests, I could tell who everyone was.
"Ohh, is this your supposed first friend?" One of them moved closer to me.
The girl doesn't know private space. She practically pressed her body against me.
I didn't react in particular. Hoshino, however, reacted with a hint of surprise. I don't wanna see my classmates' reaction.
"He does look handsome," another girl chimed in, smiling. "Yoshikawa-kun, isn't it? Do you have a girlfriend right now?"
"W-What? You're gonna jump straight in there?!" Hoshino exclaimed hysterically.
"Ahaha, of course not... Well, there are exceptions to everything, though."
The last girl spoke up. "Scummy."
In response, she put on a dry smile on her face. "Aw, don't be like that, Misuzu-chan. I'm very hurt, you know?"
"Then so be it."
The girl who's still clinging to my side chuckled. "They're amusing to see, don't you agree?"
"...Yeah," I tried to gently disentangled myself from her, to no avail. For a girl, she had considerable strength. I could do it forcefully, of course, but went for the simple one instead. "Can you get yourself off of me?"
"Hm? Of course, sorry 'bout that," she complied with my request instantly.
"Thank you," I said, then looked at each of them in turn. "...Chisato-san, Nanami-san, and Gundou-san, yes? You're in the same class as Hoshino-san?"
"Yep."
"You're correct."
Gundou simply nodded in silence.
"They're my friends," Hoshino seemed happy. "So how about the offer, Yoshikawa-kun?"
"I don't mind," I responded. "I intend to get into a club anyway."
"You are? What is it?"
"Literature club."
"Uh, writing things, you mean? I didn't know you're interested in it."
"I admit, I didn't look a lot like one."
"No, no," Chisato interrupted, pointing at me with a smile on her face. "You "looked" like one. Dunno why, though."
I chuckled. "Sure, that's your opinion."
I turned my head back briefly. I was expecting someone to come along voluntarily without me having to ask, but quickly gave up when no one seemed inclined.
Upon entering the club I'm aiming for, a few hours after that, I plan to start my move with Chitoge Kirisaki. She's my classmate. I had read through her Diary for today and found something that I could use to introduce myself to her very well.
As we were walking together, attention are coming from nearly everywhere. [...I don't like this.]
"I heard you live alone, Yoshikawa-kun," Nanami said, getting closer to me. [Do they all have no understanding of private space at all?] Chisato is still understandable, I suppose, but this girl is another matter. [She's a sociopath.]
Hoshino and Chisato were bustling about together excitedly, drawing the attention of the students nearby. They were a fine pair of friends. As for Gundou... Why did she even come here?
"Yes, I left my hometown to pursue more progressive affairs." I responded Nanami's remark.
"Hmm..." Nanami hummed, before pulling out a cell phone from her pocket. "Want to exchange contacts?"
I pulled mine. "Sure."
"Thanks," she smiled sweetly. "You can call me Mami, Yoshikawa-kun."
"You can call me Hirosha, then."
Hoshino, overhearing that, lunged at me. "That's not fair, I want to call each other by first names too..."
"You can, anytime," I dryly smiled, ignoring the stares I was getting at.
It's an obvious fact, but Hoshino's presence at this school is a major surprise both in and out of school. On all sorts of social media, I'd seen at least one or two posts about her attending this school. It came barely informed, after all. I'm not interested in Idols, so they were honestly a bit annoying. [Considering she's someone famous, it's not unusual for her to be accompanied by a guard or the like. Wait... isn't Chisato—]
I curse my slowness in realizing this.
[Isn't she an assassin?] I'm at least sure she's in a firearms-related organization. If that also applies here, given her above-average physique, it's not impossible for her to work as Hoshino's guard or something.
[That said, I didn't see that fact in Hoshino's Heroine Diary.] In other words, it was intentionally hidden, assuming Chisato really was her protector. [But why?] I thought Hoshino could cover her identity with her acting skills.
This is when I wish I had a Heroine's Diary. I can't help but feel anxious about the obscurity of her role here.
In any case, we all went to the main field of the school to see the club representatives do their speeches. Registration is after.
"They sure are passionate," Hoshino blurted out, impressed.
"This school is famous for forcing them to be enthusiastic, after all."
"...That sounded so negative, Misuzu-chan."
Gundou shrugged. "I'm simply stating the truth."
I had to agree with Hoshino, though. Although this school rule was probably one of the reasons they had to take the club seriously— which was usually not taken seriously in most schools— the enthusiasm they gave in their speech didn't sound phony. They seemed to be taking their roles positively, yet seriously at the same time.
"We missed the introduction of the student council, huh?" Chisato pointed.
Right. The class introduction session took more time than expected. I could only watch the backs of them leaving right now.
I spoke up. "You guys invited me here, but are any of you going to join a club?"
"Not really." "Nope." "Nuh-uh." "No."
"I see..." I wasn't interested in finding out their reasons. "Well, I'll split up, then. I've already found the club in question."
Hoshino looked a little reluctant. "I'd love to join, but honestly, I'm not that interested in writing."
I laughed. "We can still talk outside the club."
Mami and Chisato waved their hands. Gundou was indifferent. [There's still plenty of time to develop our relationship... And it's not like I must get closer to them anyway.]
***
After registering at the club, experiencing ridiculous events along the way, I moved on to my next plan for the day.
Monday, March 11, 2024
10:00 AM (Chitoge Kirisaki)
Tsugumi went out on some business, so Claude replaced her to look after me... Still, she's taking too long! It's just a trip to the convenience store. Even five minutes would be enough! What's going on?!
***
I continued reading and found that from the looks of it, they were also affected by the way this alternate world worked.
[I doubt I can make a good impression on Claude, someone I'd rather make a good impression on.] He's too paranoid, overprotective, and overcautious. But even Kirisaki should be good enough for a start.
[Why am I doing this...?] It's not that different with me leaping to another world to upgrade the Diary. To save Hoshino. Still, asking that question would only waste my time, so I shrugged them aside for now.
I've been familiarizing myself with the layout of this area for the past two to three days. When it comes to the closest convenience store, which is the one Kirisaki described, I know where it is.
[I might— no, I will almost certainly have to resort to a struggle.] I sniffled. [Well, I can use this as a warm-up. I'll just go with that in mind.]
