Daily Lives of High School Boys: Sanada North Scramble
Tadakuni just wanted a normal after-school life. Instead, he's stuck between Yoshitake's bizarre "carbonation divides humanity" theories and Hidenori's deadpan nonsense—and that's before his little sister texts him that she's stocked the school vending machine with his underwear.
Now Tadakuni is sprinting for the school gate, his two idiot friends tagging along for the show, only to find the legendary Jaw Guy conducting "probability manipulation research" on the very machine dispensing his brie
Daily Lives of High School Boys: Sanada North Scramble - The Night School Building, the Showdown, and Tomorrow's Takoyaki
The school at night was a completely different creature from the one in daylight.
The only thing echoing through the hallway was our footsteps. The fluorescent lights were off, and the moonlight streaming through the windows laid out pale blue rectangles across the floor. Every classroom door was shut, and each room kept its silence, as if hiding the fact that no one was inside.
" ...Hey, Tadakuni. Is it really here?"
Yoshitake, with his blond hair, whispered while practically glued to my back. For someone who's 178 centimeters tall, he looked awfully small right now.
" It's the vice president's intel. It's gotta be right."
I answered without turning around. I tightened my stomach so my voice wouldn't shake.
" But man, a school at night is seriously surreal. It's so loud during the day, and now it's like a graveyard."
" Have you ever even been to a graveyard?"
" No, I haven't, but it's the image, you know? The image."
" Don't talk about images. ...Quiet. We're here."
I stopped walking.
At the end of the hallway, in front of the science lab. Only the green emergency exit lamp floated faintly in the dark. And in that dim light, there were two figures.
One was a girl with sharp, unfriendly eyes behind glasses. Her black hair was pulled back in a single bundle, and she'd folded the hem of her Chuo High uniform skirt short. Yanagin.
The other was a girl with twin tails. She wore the navy blazer of Sanada East Girls' High and was smiling cheerfully. She looked cute, but there was poison in that smile. Ikushima.
They must have heard our footsteps, but they just stood there without turning around.
" You're late. I got tired of waiting."
Yanagin turned her sharp eyes behind her glasses toward us.
" Sneaking into school at night — the North High student council has gotten pretty delinquent, haven't they?"
Ikushima giggled.
From behind me, Hidenori stepped forward. His brown hair and glasses glinted white in the moonlight.
" You're the ones — what are you doing at this hour? This is trespassing."
" Oh, you're one to talk. You're doing the same thing."
" We just came to get my sister's diary back."
I looked Yanagin straight in the eye.
" Give back the diary. That belongs to my sister."
Yanagin snorted.
" I stole it. I've got no obligation to give it back."
" Don't give me that! You stole it! Of course you give it back!"
My voice echoed down the hallway.
That was when it happened.
"—Hold on, Tadakuni."
A low voice came from behind me.
I turned. Karasawa Toshiyuki stood leaning against the wall, wearing a black cap. From under the brim, his sharp black eyes fixed on Yanagin. Behind him were the student council president, the vice president, and Motoharu.
" Yanagin. I know what you want to say. But before that, let me confirm one thing."
Karasawa stepped forward.
" Did you post the contents of that diary on the school bulletin board?"
Yanagin's expression changed in an instant.
" ...Huh? What are you talking about? I'm not the one who posted it. It was one of you!"
Yanagin raised her voice.
" ...What?"
Hidenori's eyes went wide behind his glasses.
" What's that supposed to mean?"
Yoshitake tilted his head dramatically.
" ...In other words, the one who posted it is among you."
Karasawa said it in a flat voice.
" That's right. I only scheduled a post to publish the diary. But someone canceled that schedule. And then it got posted from my account without my permission."
Yanagin bit her lip in frustration.
" ...Vice president."
Karasawa turned around.
The vice president — scary-looking but a gentleman at heart — stepped forward. His eyes were sharp, like a former delinquent's, but his expression was serious now.
" Yes. I just checked the bulletin board's admin panel."
The vice president turned his phone screen toward us.
" All scheduled posts have been canceled. And all the diary data has been deleted."
" ...What?"
The words slipped out of me.
" ...Actually, I'm the one who canceled the scheduled post and deleted the data. Right before the scheduled publish time, I used my admin privileges to force-delete it."
The vice president spoke quietly.
" You...?"
Yanagin's eyes went wide.
" Yes. I had anticipated your actions to some degree. So I erased everything before it could go public."
" Since when — ! You had the authority to do that?!"
Yanagin's voice trembled.
" I'm the vice president of the student council. I've always had admin rights to the bulletin board. And I knew everything — that you stole the diary, that you scheduled the post."
" ...Then why did you stay quiet until now?"
Hidenori asked, puzzled.
" ...I was waiting for the timing when I could be certain to stop the post. I also calculated that you would come here."
" ...Ha. Not bad. The North High vice president is quite the sharp one."
Yanagin laughed sarcastically. But her voice was clearly rattled.
" ...Well then, Yanagin. That's all your cards gone. Hand over the diary."
Karasawa took a step toward Yanagin.
" ...No. I won't. This is my tool for revenge."
Yanagin clutched the diary to her chest.
" ...I see. Then listen to what I have to say."
Karasawa put a hand to the brim of his cap.
" The story of the scar on my forehead."
Yanagin's body gave a jolt.
" ...Stop. You have no right to talk about that."
Yanagin spoke as if forcing the words out.
" Yeah, I know. I have no right to say anything to you. But even so, let me say it."
Karasawa took a deep breath.
" It's a fact that you were hurt because of my past. I know that better than anyone. So I'm apologizing. I'm sorry."
Karasawa bowed deeply.
Silence fell over the school at night.
No one said anything.
Not me, not Hidenori, not Yoshitake, not the president, not the vice president, not Motoharu.
And not Yanagin, not Ikushima.
Everyone was staring at Karasawa's bowed head.
Karasawa — always calm, always sharp, never showing weakness to anyone.
Now, he was bowing.
" ...Karasawa."
Motoharu murmured quietly.
Yanagin was biting her lip.
Her eyes behind her glasses looked wet in the moonlight.
" ...So your sister has nothing to do with this. Give it back to her. Please."
Karasawa said it again, still bowing.
Yanagin was silent for a while.
Then, slowly, she held out the diary.
No — more like she tossed it.
" ...Fine! Take the stupid thing!"
The diary traced an arc through the air and landed against my chest.
I caught it reflexively with both hands.
It was heavy.
This was my sister's diary.
The diary she'd been writing in, a little at a time, every day.
" If you do this again, I won't let it slide! Remember that!"
Yanagin shouted, her voice thick with tears.
" ...Yanagin, that's enough. Let's go."
Ikushima tugged at Yanagin's arm with a wry smile.
" ...Shut up! You stay out of it!"
Yanagin shook off Ikushima's hand.
But Ikushima gently grabbed her arm again.
" Come on, let's go. We can't stay in the school at night forever."
Ikushima pulled Yanagin along.
Yanagin looked back at us once.
Her face was a mix of anger, frustration, and just a little bit of sadness.
Then the two of them disappeared down the hallway.
Their footsteps faded.
Soon, they were gone.
" ...Thank you, Karasawa."
I spoke to Karasawa while clutching the diary to my chest.
" ...I haven't done anything to be thanked for. If anything, it's my fault your sister got dragged into this. I'm sorry."
Karasawa pulled his cap down deeper.
" ...No, that's not true. The diary came back because you bowed your head. Thank you, truly."
I bowed again.
" ...I see. Then it's fine. More importantly, go home and give that diary to your sister."
Karasawa said quietly.
" ...Yes."
I nodded.
" All right! That's one case closed!"
The student council president, who lived on momentum and vibes, suddenly shouted.
" ...President, you're too loud. It's nighttime."
The vice president said, exasperated.
" Well, come on, I was so tense that my shoulders finally relaxed! Man, that's a relief!"
The president laughed heartily.
" ...President, please be a little quieter. The security guard will come."
Motoharu, with his slicked-back black hair, said with a sigh.
" It's fine! We're the good guys!"
" First time I've heard of good guys who trespass."
Motoharu gave the president a cold look.
" Don't sweat the small stuff! Come on, let's go home! I'm starving — let's grab some ramen on the way back!"
" ...President, it's already late. Ramen will have to wait for another time."
The vice president admonished him.
" Aww, and I was looking forward to a celebration..."
The president slumped.
" We can celebrate tomorrow. Today, please let Tadakuni get home early."
The vice president looked at me.
" ...Right. Tadakuni, you go on ahead. Your sister's waiting."
Karasawa gave my shoulder a light pat.
" ...Understood. Really, thank you all so much."
I bowed to everyone.
" Don't mention it. We help each other out when things get rough, right?"
Hidenori grinned.
" That's right! It's called chivalry!"
Yoshitake puffed out his chest.
" You're still using the word 'chivalry'?"
I couldn't help but retort.
" But it sounds cool!"
" You always use it in the wrong situations."
" Hey, it's fine. Don't sweat the small stuff."
Hidenori put his arms around me and Yoshitake's shoulders.
" ...Yeah. We'll think about the small stuff tomorrow."
I gave a small laugh.
Deep inside my chest, something was warming up.
(My everyday life isn't so bad.)
That's what I thought.
——
When I got home, the light in my sister's room was still on.
"Hey, I'm back."
I called out in front of my sister's door.
No answer.
" ...I'm coming in."
I slowly opened the door.
My sister was on her bed, wrapped up in the covers.
I couldn't see her face.
But the blanket was trembling slightly.
" ...Hey. I got your diary back."
I placed the diary by her pillow.
The blanket twitched.
" ...Did you really get it back for me?"
I heard my sister's hoarse voice.
" ...Yeah. But I couldn't have done it alone. Everyone helped. Karasawa, the vice president, Hidenori, Yoshitake, the president, Motoharu. Everyone moved to get your diary back."
I told her honestly.
" ...I see."
My sister murmured quietly.
The blanket was slowly pulled back.
My sister showed her face.
Her eyes were red and swollen.
Tear tracks were clearly visible on her cheeks.
But her face was smiling, just a little.
" ...Thank you, big brother."
My sister said that quietly.
Then, as if to hide her embarrassment, she kicked my shin.
" Ow! Why'd you kick me?!"
I couldn't help but yell.
" ...Because you were acting all cool."
My sister giggled.
" I wasn't acting cool. I just stated the facts."
" Yeah, yeah. ...But really, thank you. Big brother."
My sister said it once more.
" ...Yeah. ...And, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect your diary."
I patted my sister's head.
" ...No. You did protect it. So don't apologize anymore."
My sister gently took my hand.
" ...I see. ...Then don't cry anymore. I don't want to see your crying face."
" ...Okay. I won't cry anymore. ...Probably."
My sister smiled mischievously.
" 'Probably'? Just say you won't cry."
" But if you do something again, I might cry."
" I'm not going to do anything anymore. I won't stuff your underwear into a vending machine again."
" That wasn't me — I'm the one who stuffed your underwear in!"
" Either way, I'm the victim here."
" ...Well, that's true."
My sister laughed.
It felt like the first time in a long while that I'd heard my sister laugh.
(Yeah, my sister's better when she's smiling.)
That's what I thought.
——
The next day after school.
Sunset light poured through the classroom windows.
Hidenori, Yoshitake, and I were lounging around at the back of the classroom, as usual.
" Hey, Tadakuni. About the Rubber Shooter — do you think he was real?"
Hidenori murmured while looking out the window.
" ...
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