Chapter 2
“Heeey, homeroom’s over~”
Together with a familiar, pleasant-sounding voice, something was moving in front of him.
Haruki blinked a few times to focus his blurry vision.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
The voice belonged to his childhood friend, Yuu, just as he has suspected.
Yuu waved his hand in front of Haruki’s face and stared at him with concern.
“….I heard you.”
“Such a slow reaction! What, did you stay up late again? You didn’t stay up all night, did you?”
Upon hearing Yuu’s question, Haruki paused in his sluggish preparations to go home.
“I got some sleep. It kind of freaked me out when I suddenly woke up to birds chirping outside, though.”
“Seriously….? I’m surprised you’re still alive with that kind of sleep schedule.”
“Like you’re one to talk. Just a while back, you were a game-addicted night owl yourself.”
When Haruki made that retort, Yuu smiled bitterly and said, “Hey, it’s already been three months since I quit.”
It was right after they’d become third-years that Yuu had switched out his game consoles for reference books. Since he was aiming for a national university, he’d probably sacrificed time to enjoy his hobbies in order to keep doing club activities.
“So, why’d we come all the way to the class next door?”
“Aren’t we filming today? You didn’t forget about how you practically forced Masui to free up her schedule, right? And how much you warned her not to be late and all that.”
Haruki was about to make an objection, but he fought back the words at the last moment after seeing the grim expression on Yuu’s face.
He realized he had a long list of “previous convictions.”
Wouldn’t it be better to change the dialogue? Was that really the best timing to use that music? Once he started thinking about movies, he wasn’t able to stop, and he would lose sight of everything around him.
“Once Masui’s ready, we’ll start shooting right away.”
“That should be my line.”
Replying with a laugh to his childhood friend who had made a comeback in no time at all, Haruki stood up with his bag in one hand.
Masui Kana was Yuu and Natsuki’s classmate, and a member of the Choir Club. There were many students in culture clubs that were active until March, and she had also continued instead of an early retirement. With big competitions coming up in summer and fall, she was in the midst of her last spurt.
‘I know she’s busy, but we don’t have any time to waste, either….’
This movie that they were making for their graduation project would be his first and last collaboration with Yuu and Souta.
In all the movies that they’d made as a club so far, Haruki had always been the one to take charge. But this time, with Souta as the screenwriter, Yuu as the producer, and Haruki doing the filming and editing, each of them had their own roles.
Naturally, it gave him a stronger emotional attachment to the work, and more than anything, he was excited for this new challenge.
‘That’s probably why I keep wanting more, without knowing where to stop.’
They weren’t only adding new dialogue for the characters.
They would also be adding in pictures painted by the main character, which would be a key item in the story.
After the meeting with the Art Club yesterday, it was decided that Akari would be in charge of making them.
He couldn’t help but look forward to what kind of picture she would draw with “love” as the theme.
“By the way, where’s Mochita?”
“He was called to the Career Guidance Room. But he said that he’s only going to get some handouts, so it won’t take long,”
Yuu lowered his voice and said this as they walked down the hallway side-by-side.
Was he talking quietly so that people walking past them wouldn’t overhear?
Although he had good marks in school, Mochita was aiming for a designated school recommendation. Judging by his reactions, and how the teachers talked, if it kept going at this pace, it seemed like he would be set for the school-wide screening.
“Looks like people doing recommendations have it rough, too,”
Yuu muttered sympathetically, while a dry laugh escaped Haruki’s lips.
“Can’t be worse than that prep school boot camp thing you have, right?”
“I guess. But I thought it’d be easier to be force myself to study rather than having to do it slowly at home. The quota won’t change, so it’s better to get it over as soon as possible.”
“Ah…. Come to think of it, Yuu, you were always the one to diligently do their homework over summer vacation.”
“And you’d be the one that would copy my picture diary,”
As Yuu’s indifferent tone turned accusing, Haruki couldn’t help bursting out in laughter.
Yuu started laughing as well, and it became hard to stop.
“We’re never going to change!”
He said, half-stating it like a fact, and half-because he hoped that would be true.
Even if they went down different paths from now on and became separated, nothing would change the fact that the four of them, including Natsuki, had been childhood friends.
But he knew that there would be no avoiding at least some amount of change once there was physical distance between them.
‘No one, not even Yuu, has asked about me, though.’
Everyone probably knew that Haruki wouldn’t say anything about it until it was finalized.
They’d listen if he brought it up, but until then, they wouldn’t bother him about it. Although they hadn’t discussed this, strangely, he just had a feeling that’s how it was.
‘Come to think of it, Miou didn’t ask, either….’
She’d only briefly mentioned it on their way home, the day that the course questionnaire had been passed out in class.
“Haruki-kun, are you going to apply for university? Or will you go straight to finding a job?”
“I’ll probably go to a university first. You?”
“I think I’m going to a university, too.”
It was a short conversation that hadn’t even lasted a minute.
After that, they didn’t have anything else to talk about, so Haruki figured they wouldn’t find out until one of their courses was decided.
‘….Either way, doesn’t look like we’ll be going home together for a while.’
“I’ll be going home with Nacchan and Akari-chan until I finish my piece for the art contest. Haruki-kun, good luck on your movie, too.”
Just before lunch ended, he’d received that text from Miou.
Was it because it’d been too hard to tell him in person? Or because she’d only just come to that decision after talking with Natsuki and the others? Anyway, since they both stayed at school pretty late, there wasn’t really a reason to tell him over a text.
Maybe that just showed how much she was focusing on her art right now.
‘Isn’t this the first time I’ve seen Miou so motivated?’
It wasn’t that Haruki didn’t feel sad about it, but he was genuinely happy about Miou’s transformation.
He actually wanted to encourage her, and said some harsh words to her yesterday because of that.
It was said that since the Art Club at Sakuragaoka High School had been established, there hadn’t been a single year where they didn’t win an award.
In particular, the president, Akari, and the vice president, Miou, performed exceptionally well, and whenever there was a school rally, they would always be called up onstage to receive a certificate.
‘Even though she has talent, Miou has a habit of trying to keep everything neat.’
If even an amateur like Haruki knew that, there was no way that the judges didn’t notice.
Compared to Miou, who often ended with only honorable mentions, Akari was like a seasoned champion.
Carefree brushstrokes, and a clear distinction between static and dynamic drawing.
Those that saw her art had their emotions shaken and overwhelmed, without question.
But the thing that was even more amazing was that the power her works had could clearly convey something to not only the judges, but even to those that didn’t understand the technical aspects of art.
‘There’s no winning or losing when it comes to the arts. That’s why I….’
That’s why he wanted Miou to have more confidence in herself.
He had carried out the meeting with the Art Club with that in mind.
Yesterday, the president of their club, Yuu, had given a brief explanation of their movie.
After that, Haruki, the director, had asked Miou and the two others a question.
He asked them something in regards to “love,” the theme of their piece.
“Say, what color do you think love is?”
“….Pink, I guess?”
Natsuki had been the first to answer,
It was an honest and simple answer, just like the pictures that she drew.
“Love can sometimes be bitter, or painful, so I think blues and blacks would be used, too.”
Miou continued after her, speaking in a somewhat reserved manner.
It was good concept, taking Natsuki’s answer into account and showing a new perspective. Haruki nodded with interest, but Miou herself looked down immediately after she finished, as if she lacked confidence in what she had said.
‘But it’s a good talent to be able to capture things from different angles….’
While thinking it was a shame that she didn’t see her own talent, Haruki finally turned his gaze to Akari.
“I’d say…. gold, I guess. It’s pretty, and shiny, but it rusts when you leave it alone for too long, right? And when it shines too brightly, it can be blinding, so I think that’s similar to how love can be.”
Haruki was shocked by Akari’s words, as if a flash had gone off right before his eyes.
It wasn’t because the answer was unexpected, but because it was exactly the same as his own.
‘Wow, I didn’t think that was possible.’
Afterwards, when the three of the them displayed their actual works, Haruki became even more excited.
The works that won awards were usually put up around school, so he’d seen them a countless number of times.
However, there were pieces that weren’t drawn specifically for contests mixed in among the artworks laid out on the desk, making their individuality stand out all the more.
‘So this is what Natsuki and Hayasaka usually draw, huh.’
As Haruki looked at each drawing with his heart beating fast, he realized something.
Miou was the only one with all her works “neatly contained within the canvas.”
“You drew them smiling, but it looks more like they’ve failed at something. What a waste~”
“You should give it more of your own flair. Why do you try to keep it so neat?”
Even if he said exactly what he thought like that, he was sure that Miou would only smile without saying anything.
That was why he decided to voice his opinions without holding anything back, as if he was talking to Yuu or Souta.
“Don’t the expressions seem kind of stiff?”
“The technique is good and all, but.… they feel more like references.”
If it was Miou, surely she’d be able to understand the intention behind those words.
Although it’d been put on hold for now, they had worked together before. She knew that he was surprisingly bad with words, and how his explanations would turn abstract due to relying too much on his senses.
‘….She’ll never get better if I’m too easy on her.’
It had been Haruki who had suggested they work on something together.
He wrote a script to serve as the foundation, and from that, Miou would turn it into artwork, and after that, they would revise the story again. It was fun to see things slowly take shape after repeating that process over and over.
But at one point, it just stopped progressing altogether.
The visuals that Miou drew had become vastly different from Haruki’s aesthetic.
It wasn’t something you could really compare, but Miou’s art wasn’t as dynamic as what Natsuki and Akari drew. Instead, it had a sincere, and delicate quality about it, just like the artist herself.
On the contrary, critics often called Haruki’s style “edgy” or “fresh and promising.”
Haruki was also aware of those things being his strengths, and part of the image that he’d consciously polished.
‘But that means I can’t make use of Miou’s art….’
He could always just ignore Miou’s art and edit it into something he could easily work with. It would definitely go a lot faster that way, and to be honest, he’d considered that numerous times.
But every time, Haruki was stopped by Miou’s presence in the artwork.
‘Hey, Miou. I’ll work to get better too, so….’
Unable to say it loud, Hatsuki muttered silently to himself like a prayer.
The words that he’d always wanted to tell her, but was never able to, were still waiting for the day they would be conveyed.
The sky that he saw through the window today was blue again, scorching down on his skin.
No matter if they laughed or cried, the last summer vacation of their high school life was soon approaching.
❀ ❁ ❀ ❁ ❀
As soon as summer vacation started, Yuu took off for his prep school boot camp.
Meanwhile, Haruki and Souta had started to edit the footage that they’d been shooting since early spring, while also worrying over the last scene that had been recently changed.
Today was another day of isolating themselves in the club room since morning, groaning as they wrestled with the script.
Tepid wind and a chorus of cicada cries came in through the open window.
The papers piled up on the long table in the center of the room rustled noisily.
“….Hey, Haruki,”
Haruki heard Souta speak up after clearing his throat.
They’d been sitting there without saying a word for a while, so his mouth must have been dry.
“Hm?”
Haruki gave a half-hearted reply as he flipped through a script covered in handwritten notes and sticky notes.
His attitude made Souta lose the last of his patience, and he stood up from his seat, slamming his hands down on the table.
“You realize that we can’t keep going on like this, right?”
“Yuu will help clean up once he gets here, so we’ll be fine.”
“We can’t afford to wait until he comes back! Put your script down! Take a good look at this room before you say anything!”
Unlike usual, Souta’s words were forceful.
At this rate, he’d probably start shaking Haruki by the shoulders next. As his childhood friend, he knew that Haruki wouldn’t look up from the script otherwise.
‘Trying to figure me out? Or maybe he’s just used to this by now?”
Either way, he realized that Souta would really start to get angry at this rate.
Haruki folded down a corner of the page to mark his place, and slowly looked up.
“….Wow, it does look pretty messy.”
The wooden surface of the long desk in front of them was no longer visible.
There were dictionaries and novels that they’d borrowed from the library to use as reference, and bundles of print-outs of the revised script. There were misprinted papers mixed in, as well, making it hard to tell what was what anymore.
“See, didn’t I tell you? We can’t even work like this.”
As Souta stood dauntingly with his arms crossed, Haruki laughed to reassure him.
“Well, it’s only the desk that’s a mess, right? You can’t even see the floor in my room.”
“What’s your point?! Also, you made a mess of your room /again? I already told you I’m not helping you clean up anymore.”
Haruki thought that shifting the topic would make things better, but it seemed to have the complete opposite effect.
After being scolded so quickly, he looked helplessly out the window.
“Summer vacation just makes you feel so lazy….”
“You said that when we finished with exams, too!”
“….Alright, let’s tidy this up.”
Haruki pulled himself to his feet and gathered up the scattered notes.
Souta, always the good sport, picked up a nearby stack of papers, though not without letting out a sigh.
As the room was overtaken by the cries of the cicadas and sound of shifting papers, it felt like the temperature was steadily rising.
It usually wasn’t awkward for there to be silence between them, but ever since the meeting with the At Club, both Souta and Yuu had felt like something was off.
Haruki glanced over at Souta, and without looking up, the other asked, “What’s up?”
“….Nothing, I was just wondering when Hayasaka would be done with the art.”
“A-ahh.… You mean Akarin? She’ll be fine, don’t worry!”
Souta insisted with his face bright red, tightly clenching the paper he was holding.
He didn’t sound very convincing, so Haruki asked again to make sure.
“It’s not Hayasaka I’m worried about. Mochita, you’ve been keeping in contact with her, right?”
He’d known since they’d started high school that Souta had a crush on Akari.
That was why he’d consulted with Yuu, and put Souta in charge of communicating with Akari.
‘But, it looks like he still has as much trouble talking to her as always….’
Once summer vacation had started, they mainly communicated over texts. Even for Souta, who couldn’t talk to her without avoiding eye contact, it shouldn’t have been an impossible mission.
Haruki stared intently at Souta, which made him avert his gaze and mutter, with some effort.
“….Even I’m capable of sending a text, so yes.”
“That’s what I thought! I’m expecting some good news soon~”
Haruki grinned, but Souta only stiffened.
Haruki tilted his head in confusion, but the other only sighed in response.
“It might sound weird putting it like this, but you shouldn’t base everything on your own standards.”
“Huh?”
He was too shocked to say anything else besides that.
As Souta smoothed out the wrinkles in the paper, he jutted out his bottom lip in a pout.
“Yeah, I know that you aren’t aware of it yourself. But that’s why I think it’s a problem…. In any case, about the thing with Akari, don’t give me too much pressuuuuure?!”
Once again, he clenched the paper he’d just finished smoothing out, and widened his eyes as far as they would go.
Haruki scratched the back of his neck, not quite understanding.
“It sounded like you were starting to say something meaningful, but what’s with that weird scream all of sudden?”
“I-I-I mean, look at this! What’re we gonna do about this?!”
Souta was holding the paper up to his eye level, but it was shaking so much that it was harder than anything to read what was actually on it.
Haruki squinted his eyes and tried to track each letter.
“En…. que…. te? Oh, the one the Newspaper Club sent us?”
The school paper had a column where they featured each club in a relay format.
It would be the Film Club’s turn for the September issue, so their club president, Yuu, should have already filled it out.
“Yuu did seem pretty busy right before summer vacation. We’re still good on this, right?”
“….Not Yuu, you, Haruki.”
“What about me?”
“Didn’t we tell you that we’d be finished after you fill in your part?! Also, here!”
Souta repeatedly tapped a certain section of the enquete form, as if he intended to stab a hole through it.
“Um, I can’t see with your finger covering it.”
“Be quiet! It says right here, ‘Deadline: Last day of school’!”
A long silence dragged out in the club room after that.
By the time they could hear the cries of the cicadas and shouts from the sports clubs outside, Haruki was sweating bullets.
“Being organized sure is important.”
“Yeah, it really is! Ahh, what’re we gonna do? Is the Newspaper Club going to be okay?”
“The vice president is a guy in my class. I’ll send him a text later.”
It wasn’t something to be proud of, but organization wasn’t part of his skill set.
Glancing over, he saw Souta muttering to himself as he began disassembling the mountain that had piled up on the desk.
While Haruki mentally admired his prompt performance, he looked over the questions on the enquete again.
The club president, Yuu, and vice president, Souta, had taken care of answering how many members they had, their meeting schedule, why they had formed the club, and other general questions like that. The only ones left were all the more complicated questions.
“When did you shoot your first movie?”
“Why did you decide to shoot that movie?”
“What is the appeal of making movies?”
As he stared at the questions, Haruki remembered why he had put this off.
I was annoying to write things down, so that was part of the reason, but it was mostly because he didn’t have the answers.
‘How can anyone remember when they started a habit?’
In Haruki’s case, the first camera-like device that he’d ever touched was the 8mm camcorder that had been in his grandmother’s house.
His earliest memory was spending all day filming the cats sleeping on the veranda.
Haruki wasn’t sure if you could have called that a movie. But to him, it was one of his own productions. By the time he realized, he was already holding a camera, so even if you were to ask what led him to take up filming, he wouldn’t know how to answer.
‘I guess that’s just how it is when something feels natural.’
It was the same with Miou.
He didn’t know when he’s started looking at her like that, but by the time he realized it, he’d taken a liking to her.
Not just in terms of “a friend that I have things in common with,” but as “a girl that I want to cherish.”
There had been countless opportunities to tell her his feelings.
Despite that, the reason why he still hadn’t told her was because he felt comfortable being beside her.
If he confessed, that perfect distance between them might break, and there was a possibility of it never going back to the the way it was before.
The thought of that always made him stop right before the act of confessing.
‘What would you even call what we’ve always had between us….?’
Friendship? Or was it—?
Even though it bothered him so much, there was another reason why he couldn’t bring himself to answer that question.
But he knew that in the end, that reason was also nothing more than an excuse.
‘….When it comes down to it, I’m the most hopeless one here.’
He’d told Natsuki, “Even I’m starting to feel impatient just watching you from here!” and pushed her to confess to Yuu. He’d even gone as far as to make it so that they could be alone together.
It’d apparently ended up as a “confession rehearsal,” but it obviously a huge step forward.
‘Even Souta’s capable of stepping up when he needs do.’
Outside the window, Ayase Koyuki was tending to the flower beds again today.
He was Yuu and Souta’s classmate, and Haruki had seen him during joint lessons, as well.
They weren’t particularly close, but he often saw him exchanging manga with Natsuki, his childhood friend, so he recognized who he was.
‘Wasn’t it right at the beginning of July that Ayase got a haircut….?’
He didn’t know what had triggered it, but one day, Koyuki had completely changed his appearance, and slowly started to actively interact with those around him.
From Haruki’s point of view, it looked like he was consciously trying to get closer to Natsuki, who he’s always been the closest to.
It was clear that Koyuki liked her more than just a friend, and it seemed like Yuu had noticed that, as well.
Koyuki tried to change himself because he had someone he liked.
As for himself, he blocked out his feelings because he didn’t want to destroy a comfortable relationship.
Maybe the two of them couldn’t really compare, but he couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic.
“Why do people have to fall in love?”
His words were drowned out by the cries of the cicadas, unable to reach anyone’s ears.
Just like his feelings of love that searched for someplace to go.
❀ ❁ ❀ ❁ ❀
Koyuki suddenly felt someone’s eyes on him, so he stopped watering the plants and looked up.
Recalling where he’d heard Souta yelling from a moment ago, he immediately looked up at the highest floor.
Just as he’d expected, he saw someone looking down from the open window.
‘It’s Serizawa-kun. I wonder what he’s looking at….’
Koyuki looked around to be sure, but there was no one else in the courtyard but him.
When he looked back up at the window, Haruki had already gone back inside the classroom.
‘Maybe he was looking at the flowers?’
It would make him happy if that were the case, he thought, squinting against the dazzling flowerbeds that sparkled with water droplets.
He put a lot of care into growing these flowers, so naturally, he would be happy if they caught someone’s eye, and Koyuki had his reasons to be especially happy if that someone was Haruki.
Serizawa Haruki.
He learned that name not long after he’d come to Sakuragaoka High School.
It wasn’t as if he was the leader of a group, or a lone wolf, but there was something about him that stood out. Even though they were in different classes, it was normal to hear things about him.
And then, right after summer vacation in their first year, the situation surrounding Haruki had changed all at once.
The short film that he’d secretly uploaded online had spread by word of mouth, until finally it reached the eyes of critics. After that, he became the new hot topic on news sites and in magazines, and he started to gain attention from both within the school and outside, as well.
‘I heard that he’s still winning awards, too. That’s amazing.’
The only time Koyuki ever interacted with him was during joint P.E. class.
They were in different classes, but Haruki must have known that he exchanged manga with his childhood friend, Natsuki, because there would be times where Haruki would talk to him when they passed by each other in the hallway. Even when Koyuki looked away in confusion, Haruki would speak to him like they were close friends, saying things like, “It’s hot today, isn’t it?” or “That manga you lent to Natsuki, can I read it too?”
‘That’s one thing that Serizawa-kun and Enomoto-san have in common, I suppose.’
It wasn’t just Natsuki. Just like Haruki, Yuu and Souta also treated Koyuki the same way.
Even after he’d cut his hair, and switched out his glasses for contacts, they were the only ones that didn’t tease him or pry for a reason why.
‘Enomoto-san and Mochizuki-kun have always been kind, after all….’
As for Yuu and Haruki, it was probably because they had a firm grasp of who they were.
Since they didn’t feel a need to compare themselves to others, they probably wouldn’t think of looking down on others and wanting to come out on top. That must be what allowed them to treat everyone the same.
“….I’m sure that someone like Serizawa-kun would be able to confess to the girl he liked.”
In the flower beds, the sunflowers were in full bloom.
They stood straight and tall, reaching up for the sun in the midsummer sky.
Chapter 2
“Heeey, homeroom’s over~”
Together with a familiar, pleasant-sounding voice, something was moving in front of him.
Haruki blinked a few times to focus his blurry vision.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
The voice belonged to his childhood friend, Yuu, just as he has suspected.
Yuu waved his hand in front of Haruki’s face and stared at him with concern.
“….I heard you.”
“Such a slow reaction! What, did you stay up late again? You didn’t stay up all night, did you?”
Upon hearing Yuu’s question, Haruki paused in his sluggish preparations to go home.
“I got some sleep. It kind of freaked me out when I suddenly woke up to birds chirping outside, though.”
“Seriously….? I’m surprised you’re still alive with that kind of sleep schedule.”
“Like you’re one to talk. Just a while back, you were a game-addicted night owl yourself.”
When Haruki made that retort, Yuu smiled bitterly and said, “Hey, it’s already been three months since I quit.”
It was right after they’d become third-years that Yuu had switched out his game consoles for reference books. Since he was aiming for a national university, he’d probably sacrificed time to enjoy his hobbies in order to keep doing club activities.
“So, why’d we come all the way to the class next door?”
“Aren’t we filming today? You didn’t forget about how you practically forced Masui to free up her schedule, right? And how much you warned her not to be late and all that.”
Haruki was about to make an objection, but he fought back the words at the last moment after seeing the grim expression on Yuu’s face.
He realized he had a long list of “previous convictions.”
Wouldn’t it be better to change the dialogue? Was that really the best timing to use that music? Once he started thinking about movies, he wasn’t able to stop, and he would lose sight of everything around him.
“Once Masui’s ready, we’ll start shooting right away.”
“That should be my line.”
Replying with a laugh to his childhood friend who had made a comeback in no time at all, Haruki stood up with his bag in one hand.
Masui Kana was Yuu and Natsuki’s classmate, and a member of the Choir Club. There were many students in culture clubs that were active until March, and she had also continued instead of an early retirement. With big competitions coming up in summer and fall, she was in the midst of her last spurt.
‘I know she’s busy, but we don’t have any time to waste, either….’
This movie that they were making for their graduation project would be his first and last collaboration with Yuu and Souta.
In all the movies that they’d made as a club so far, Haruki had always been the one to take charge. But this time, with Souta as the screenwriter, Yuu as the producer, and Haruki doing the filming and editing, each of them had their own roles.
Naturally, it gave him a stronger emotional attachment to the work, and more than anything, he was excited for this new challenge.
‘That’s probably why I keep wanting more, without knowing where to stop.’
They weren’t only adding new dialogue for the characters.
They would also be adding in pictures painted by the main character, which would be a key item in the story.
After the meeting with the Art Club yesterday, it was decided that Akari would be in charge of making them.
He couldn’t help but look forward to what kind of picture she would draw with “love” as the theme.
“By the way, where’s Mochita?”
“He was called to the Career Guidance Room. But he said that he’s only going to get some handouts, so it won’t take long,”
Yuu lowered his voice and said this as they walked down the hallway side-by-side.
Was he talking quietly so that people walking past them wouldn’t overhear?
Although he had good marks in school, Mochita was aiming for a designated school recommendation. Judging by his reactions, and how the teachers talked, if it kept going at this pace, it seemed like he would be set for the school-wide screening.
“Looks like people doing recommendations have it rough, too,”
Yuu muttered sympathetically, while a dry laugh escaped Haruki’s lips.
“Can’t be worse than that prep school boot camp thing you have, right?”
“I guess. But I thought it’d be easier to be force myself to study rather than having to do it slowly at home. The quota won’t change, so it’s better to get it over as soon as possible.”
“Ah…. Come to think of it, Yuu, you were always the one to diligently do their homework over summer vacation.”
“And you’d be the one that would copy my picture diary,”
As Yuu’s indifferent tone turned accusing, Haruki couldn’t help bursting out in laughter.
Yuu started laughing as well, and it became hard to stop.
“We’re never going to change!”
He said, half-stating it like a fact, and half-because he hoped that would be true.
Even if they went down different paths from now on and became separated, nothing would change the fact that the four of them, including Natsuki, had been childhood friends.
But he knew that there would be no avoiding at least some amount of change once there was physical distance between them.
‘No one, not even Yuu, has asked about me, though.’
Everyone probably knew that Haruki wouldn’t say anything about it until it was finalized.
They’d listen if he brought it up, but until then, they wouldn’t bother him about it. Although they hadn’t discussed this, strangely, he just had a feeling that’s how it was.
‘Come to think of it, Miou didn’t ask, either….’
She’d only briefly mentioned it on their way home, the day that the course questionnaire had been passed out in class.
“Haruki-kun, are you going to apply for university? Or will you go straight to finding a job?”
“I’ll probably go to a university first. You?”
“I think I’m going to a university, too.”
It was a short conversation that hadn’t even lasted a minute.
After that, they didn’t have anything else to talk about, so Haruki figured they wouldn’t find out until one of their courses was decided.
‘….Either way, doesn’t look like we’ll be going home together for a while.’
“I’ll be going home with Nacchan and Akari-chan until I finish my piece for the art contest. Haruki-kun, good luck on your movie, too.”
Just before lunch ended, he’d received that text from Miou.
Was it because it’d been too hard to tell him in person? Or because she’d only just come to that decision after talking with Natsuki and the others? Anyway, since they both stayed at school pretty late, there wasn’t really a reason to tell him over a text.
Maybe that just showed how much she was focusing on her art right now.
‘Isn’t this the first time I’ve seen Miou so motivated?’
It wasn’t that Haruki didn’t feel sad about it, but he was genuinely happy about Miou’s transformation.
He actually wanted to encourage her, and said some harsh words to her yesterday because of that.
It was said that since the Art Club at Sakuragaoka High School had been established, there hadn’t been a single year where they didn’t win an award.
In particular, the president, Akari, and the vice president, Miou, performed exceptionally well, and whenever there was a school rally, they would always be called up onstage to receive a certificate.
‘Even though she has talent, Miou has a habit of trying to keep everything neat.’
If even an amateur like Haruki knew that, there was no way that the judges didn’t notice.
Compared to Miou, who often ended with only honorable mentions, Akari was like a seasoned champion.
Carefree brushstrokes, and a clear distinction between static and dynamic drawing.
Those that saw her art had their emotions shaken and overwhelmed, without question.
But the thing that was even more amazing was that the power her works had could clearly convey something to not only the judges, but even to those that didn’t understand the technical aspects of art.
‘There’s no winning or losing when it comes to the arts. That’s why I….’
That’s why he wanted Miou to have more confidence in herself.
He had carried out the meeting with the Art Club with that in mind.
Yesterday, the president of their club, Yuu, had given a brief explanation of their movie.
After that, Haruki, the director, had asked Miou and the two others a question.
He asked them something in regards to “love,” the theme of their piece.
“Say, what color do you think love is?”
“….Pink, I guess?”
Natsuki had been the first to answer,
It was an honest and simple answer, just like the pictures that she drew.
“Love can sometimes be bitter, or painful, so I think blues and blacks would be used, too.”
Miou continued after her, speaking in a somewhat reserved manner.
It was good concept, taking Natsuki’s answer into account and showing a new perspective. Haruki nodded with interest, but Miou herself looked down immediately after she finished, as if she lacked confidence in what she had said.
‘But it’s a good talent to be able to capture things from different angles….’
While thinking it was a shame that she didn’t see her own talent, Haruki finally turned his gaze to Akari.
“I’d say…. gold, I guess. It’s pretty, and shiny, but it rusts when you leave it alone for too long, right? And when it shines too brightly, it can be blinding, so I think that’s similar to how love can be.”
Haruki was shocked by Akari’s words, as if a flash had gone off right before his eyes.
It wasn’t because the answer was unexpected, but because it was exactly the same as his own.
‘Wow, I didn’t think that was possible.’
Afterwards, when the three of the them displayed their actual works, Haruki became even more excited.
The works that won awards were usually put up around school, so he’d seen them a countless number of times.
However, there were pieces that weren’t drawn specifically for contests mixed in among the artworks laid out on the desk, making their individuality stand out all the more.
‘So this is what Natsuki and Hayasaka usually draw, huh.’
As Haruki looked at each drawing with his heart beating fast, he realized something.
Miou was the only one with all her works “neatly contained within the canvas.”
“You drew them smiling, but it looks more like they’ve failed at something. What a waste~”
“You should give it more of your own flair. Why do you try to keep it so neat?”
Even if he said exactly what he thought like that, he was sure that Miou would only smile without saying anything.
That was why he decided to voice his opinions without holding anything back, as if he was talking to Yuu or Souta.
“Don’t the expressions seem kind of stiff?”
“The technique is good and all, but.… they feel more like references.”
If it was Miou, surely she’d be able to understand the intention behind those words.
Although it’d been put on hold for now, they had worked together before. She knew that he was surprisingly bad with words, and how his explanations would turn abstract due to relying too much on his senses.
‘….She’ll never get better if I’m too easy on her.’
It had been Haruki who had suggested they work on something together.
He wrote a script to serve as the foundation, and from that, Miou would turn it into artwork, and after that, they would revise the story again. It was fun to see things slowly take shape after repeating that process over and over.
But at one point, it just stopped progressing altogether.
The visuals that Miou drew had become vastly different from Haruki’s aesthetic.
It wasn’t something you could really compare, but Miou’s art wasn’t as dynamic as what Natsuki and Akari drew. Instead, it had a sincere, and delicate quality about it, just like the artist herself.
On the contrary, critics often called Haruki’s style “edgy” or “fresh and promising.”
Haruki was also aware of those things being his strengths, and part of the image that he’d consciously polished.
‘But that means I can’t make use of Miou’s art….’
He could always just ignore Miou’s art and edit it into something he could easily work with. It would definitely go a lot faster that way, and to be honest, he’d considered that numerous times.
But every time, Haruki was stopped by Miou’s presence in the artwork.
‘Hey, Miou. I’ll work to get better too, so….’
Unable to say it loud, Hatsuki muttered silently to himself like a prayer.
The words that he’d always wanted to tell her, but was never able to, were still waiting for the day they would be conveyed.
The sky that he saw through the window today was blue again, scorching down on his skin.
No matter if they laughed or cried, the last summer vacation of their high school life was soon approaching.
❀ ❁ ❀ ❁ ❀
As soon as summer vacation started, Yuu took off for his prep school boot camp.
Meanwhile, Haruki and Souta had started to edit the footage that they’d been shooting since early spring, while also worrying over the last scene that had been recently changed.
Today was another day of isolating themselves in the club room since morning, groaning as they wrestled with the script.
Tepid wind and a chorus of cicada cries came in through the open window.
The papers piled up on the long table in the center of the room rustled noisily.
“….Hey, Haruki,”
Haruki heard Souta speak up after clearing his throat.
They’d been sitting there without saying a word for a while, so his mouth must have been dry.
“Hm?”
Haruki gave a half-hearted reply as he flipped through a script covered in handwritten notes and sticky notes.
His attitude made Souta lose the last of his patience, and he stood up from his seat, slamming his hands down on the table.
“You realize that we can’t keep going on like this, right?”
“Yuu will help clean up once he gets here, so we’ll be fine.”
“We can’t afford to wait until he comes back! Put your script down! Take a good look at this room before you say anything!”
Unlike usual, Souta’s words were forceful.
At this rate, he’d probably start shaking Haruki by the shoulders next. As his childhood friend, he knew that Haruki wouldn’t look up from the script otherwise.
‘Trying to figure me out? Or maybe he’s just used to this by now?”
Either way, he realized that Souta would really start to get angry at this rate.
Haruki folded down a corner of the page to mark his place, and slowly looked up.
“….Wow, it does look pretty messy.”
The wooden surface of the long desk in front of them was no longer visible.
There were dictionaries and novels that they’d borrowed from the library to use as reference, and bundles of print-outs of the revised script. There were misprinted papers mixed in, as well, making it hard to tell what was what anymore.
“See, didn’t I tell you? We can’t even work like this.”
As Souta stood dauntingly with his arms crossed, Haruki laughed to reassure him.
“Well, it’s only the desk that’s a mess, right? You can’t even see the floor in my room.”
“What’s your point?! Also, you made a mess of your room /again? I already told you I’m not helping you clean up anymore.”
Haruki thought that shifting the topic would make things better, but it seemed to have the complete opposite effect.
After being scolded so quickly, he looked helplessly out the window.
“Summer vacation just makes you feel so lazy….”
“You said that when we finished with exams, too!”
“….Alright, let’s tidy this up.”
Haruki pulled himself to his feet and gathered up the scattered notes.
Souta, always the good sport, picked up a nearby stack of papers, though not without letting out a sigh.
As the room was overtaken by the cries of the cicadas and sound of shifting papers, it felt like the temperature was steadily rising.
It usually wasn’t awkward for there to be silence between them, but ever since the meeting with the At Club, both Souta and Yuu had felt like something was off.
Haruki glanced over at Souta, and without looking up, the other asked, “What’s up?”
“….Nothing, I was just wondering when Hayasaka would be done with the art.”
“A-ahh.… You mean Akarin? She’ll be fine, don’t worry!”
Souta insisted with his face bright red, tightly clenching the paper he was holding.
He didn’t sound very convincing, so Haruki asked again to make sure.
“It’s not Hayasaka I’m worried about. Mochita, you’ve been keeping in contact with her, right?”
He’d known since they’d started high school that Souta had a crush on Akari.
That was why he’d consulted with Yuu, and put Souta in charge of communicating with Akari.
‘But, it looks like he still has as much trouble talking to her as always….’
Once summer vacation had started, they mainly communicated over texts. Even for Souta, who couldn’t talk to her without avoiding eye contact, it shouldn’t have been an impossible mission.
Haruki stared intently at Souta, which made him avert his gaze and mutter, with some effort.
“….Even I’m capable of sending a text, so yes.”
“That’s what I thought! I’m expecting some good news soon~”
Haruki grinned, but Souta only stiffened.
Haruki tilted his head in confusion, but the other only sighed in response.
“It might sound weird putting it like this, but you shouldn’t base everything on your own standards.”
“Huh?”
He was too shocked to say anything else besides that.
As Souta smoothed out the wrinkles in the paper, he jutted out his bottom lip in a pout.
“Yeah, I know that you aren’t aware of it yourself. But that’s why I think it’s a problem…. In any case, about the thing with Akari, don’t give me too much pressuuuuure?!”
Once again, he clenched the paper he’d just finished smoothing out, and widened his eyes as far as they would go.
Haruki scratched the back of his neck, not quite understanding.
“It sounded like you were starting to say something meaningful, but what’s with that weird scream all of sudden?”
“I-I-I mean, look at this! What’re we gonna do about this?!”
Souta was holding the paper up to his eye level, but it was shaking so much that it was harder than anything to read what was actually on it.
Haruki squinted his eyes and tried to track each letter.
“En…. que…. te? Oh, the one the Newspaper Club sent us?”
The school paper had a column where they featured each club in a relay format.
It would be the Film Club’s turn for the September issue, so their club president, Yuu, should have already filled it out.
“Yuu did seem pretty busy right before summer vacation. We’re still good on this, right?”
“….Not Yuu, you, Haruki.”
“What about me?”
“Didn’t we tell you that we’d be finished after you fill in your part?! Also, here!”
Souta repeatedly tapped a certain section of the enquete form, as if he intended to stab a hole through it.
“Um, I can’t see with your finger covering it.”
“Be quiet! It says right here, ‘Deadline: Last day of school’!”
A long silence dragged out in the club room after that.
By the time they could hear the cries of the cicadas and shouts from the sports clubs outside, Haruki was sweating bullets.
“Being organized sure is important.”
“Yeah, it really is! Ahh, what’re we gonna do? Is the Newspaper Club going to be okay?”
“The vice president is a guy in my class. I’ll send him a text later.”
It wasn’t something to be proud of, but organization wasn’t part of his skill set.
Glancing over, he saw Souta muttering to himself as he began disassembling the mountain that had piled up on the desk.
While Haruki mentally admired his prompt performance, he looked over the questions on the enquete again.
The club president, Yuu, and vice president, Souta, had taken care of answering how many members they had, their meeting schedule, why they had formed the club, and other general questions like that. The only ones left were all the more complicated questions.
“When did you shoot your first movie?”
“Why did you decide to shoot that movie?”
“What is the appeal of making movies?”
As he stared at the questions, Haruki remembered why he had put this off.
I was annoying to write things down, so that was part of the reason, but it was mostly because he didn’t have the answers.
‘How can anyone remember when they started a habit?’
In Haruki’s case, the first camera-like device that he’d ever touched was the 8mm camcorder that had been in his grandmother’s house.
His earliest memory was spending all day filming the cats sleeping on the veranda.
Haruki wasn’t sure if you could have called that a movie. But to him, it was one of his own productions. By the time he realized, he was already holding a camera, so even if you were to ask what led him to take up filming, he wouldn’t know how to answer.
‘I guess that’s just how it is when something feels natural.’
It was the same with Miou.
He didn’t know when he’s started looking at her like that, but by the time he realized it, he’d taken a liking to her.
Not just in terms of “a friend that I have things in common with,” but as “a girl that I want to cherish.”
There had been countless opportunities to tell her his feelings.
Despite that, the reason why he still hadn’t told her was because he felt comfortable being beside her.
If he confessed, that perfect distance between them might break, and there was a possibility of it never going back to the the way it was before.
The thought of that always made him stop right before the act of confessing.
‘What would you even call what we’ve always had between us….?’
Friendship? Or was it—?
Even though it bothered him so much, there was another reason why he couldn’t bring himself to answer that question.
But he knew that in the end, that reason was also nothing more than an excuse.
‘….When it comes down to it, I’m the most hopeless one here.’
He’d told Natsuki, “Even I’m starting to feel impatient just watching you from here!” and pushed her to confess to Yuu. He’d even gone as far as to make it so that they could be alone together.
It’d apparently ended up as a “confession rehearsal,” but it obviously a huge step forward.
‘Even Souta’s capable of stepping up when he needs do.’
Outside the window, Ayase Koyuki was tending to the flower beds again today.
He was Yuu and Souta’s classmate, and Haruki had seen him during joint lessons, as well.
They weren’t particularly close, but he often saw him exchanging manga with Natsuki, his childhood friend, so he recognized who he was.
‘Wasn’t it right at the beginning of July that Ayase got a haircut….?’
He didn’t know what had triggered it, but one day, Koyuki had completely changed his appearance, and slowly started to actively interact with those around him.
From Haruki’s point of view, it looked like he was consciously trying to get closer to Natsuki, who he’s always been the closest to.
It was clear that Koyuki liked her more than just a friend, and it seemed like Yuu had noticed that, as well.
Koyuki tried to change himself because he had someone he liked.
As for himself, he blocked out his feelings because he didn’t want to destroy a comfortable relationship.
Maybe the two of them couldn’t really compare, but he couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic.
“Why do people have to fall in love?”
His words were drowned out by the cries of the cicadas, unable to reach anyone’s ears.
Just like his feelings of love that searched for someplace to go.
❀ ❁ ❀ ❁ ❀
Koyuki suddenly felt someone’s eyes on him, so he stopped watering the plants and looked up.
Recalling where he’d heard Souta yelling from a moment ago, he immediately looked up at the highest floor.
Just as he’d expected, he saw someone looking down from the open window.
‘It’s Serizawa-kun. I wonder what he’s looking at….’
Koyuki looked around to be sure, but there was no one else in the courtyard but him.
When he looked back up at the window, Haruki had already gone back inside the classroom.
‘Maybe he was looking at the flowers?’
It would make him happy if that were the case, he thought, squinting against the dazzling flowerbeds that sparkled with water droplets.
He put a lot of care into growing these flowers, so naturally, he would be happy if they caught someone’s eye, and Koyuki had his reasons to be especially happy if that someone was Haruki.
Serizawa Haruki.
He learned that name not long after he’d come to Sakuragaoka High School.
It wasn’t as if he was the leader of a group, or a lone wolf, but there was something about him that stood out. Even though they were in different classes, it was normal to hear things about him.
And then, right after summer vacation in their first year, the situation surrounding Haruki had changed all at once.
The short film that he’d secretly uploaded online had spread by word of mouth, until finally it reached the eyes of critics. After that, he became the new hot topic on news sites and in magazines, and he started to gain attention from both within the school and outside, as well.
‘I heard that he’s still winning awards, too. That’s amazing.’
The only time Koyuki ever interacted with him was during joint P.E. class.
They were in different classes, but Haruki must have known that he exchanged manga with his childhood friend, Natsuki, because there would be times where Haruki would talk to him when they passed by each other in the hallway. Even when Koyuki looked away in confusion, Haruki would speak to him like they were close friends, saying things like, “It’s hot today, isn’t it?” or “That manga you lent to Natsuki, can I read it too?”
‘That’s one thing that Serizawa-kun and Enomoto-san have in common, I suppose.’
It wasn’t just Natsuki. Just like Haruki, Yuu and Souta also treated Koyuki the same way.
Even after he’d cut his hair, and switched out his glasses for contacts, they were the only ones that didn’t tease him or pry for a reason why.
‘Enomoto-san and Mochizuki-kun have always been kind, after all….’
As for Yuu and Haruki, it was probably because they had a firm grasp of who they were.
Since they didn’t feel a need to compare themselves to others, they probably wouldn’t think of looking down on others and wanting to come out on top. That must be what allowed them to treat everyone the same.
“….I’m sure that someone like Serizawa-kun would be able to confess to the girl he liked.”
In the flower beds, the sunflowers were in full bloom.
They stood straight and tall, reaching up for the sun in the midsummer sky.
