Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 5Volume 1 .1 - An Unexpected Invitation......?

An Unexpected Invitation……?  1

On the morning of Wednesday, June 1st, Sakuto overslept a little.

His head nodded off on the train, still feeling drowsy. It felt as if half of his body was still buried in a hazy dream.

(Try to unravel it, huh…)

After returning home, a big aftermath hit late at night.

Lying in bed with his eyes closed, he felt restless.

His eyes were wide awake, his throat parched. He drank water in the kitchen, then lay down in bed again.

He blamed the discomfort on the futon and pushed it to the foot of the bed, but then it was too cold to sleep.

Thus, as the hours passed, two o’clock, three o’clock, and as it began to brighten outside the window, Sakuto finally fell asleep.

Then he only managed to sleep for about two hours.

His aunt Mitsumi was surprised by his pale complexion.

Worried, she suggested he skip school if he felt unwell, but Sakuto refused, saying he was fine.

At that moment, he felt a little awkward.

Probably because he couldn’t explain the reason for his lack of sleep, unnecessarily worrying her.

Suddenly, Sakuto looked out of the train window.

The morning sun was intensely pouring through the gap in the lowered sunshade.

Occasionally blocked by buildings and utility poles, it brought moments of darkness with its deep shadows.

The intervals of light and shadow quickened, crossing each other multiple times.

Was the train moving, or was the scenery moving? ──Such an illusion struck him.

The only thing he knew for sure was that light and shadow coexisted in this world at the same time.

***

As he was about to change his shoes at the entrance and head to the classroom, Sakuto suddenly stopped.

Usami was standing in the same place as the day of the tie incident after school.

Holding her bag with both hands, she leaned against the wall, looking determined yet anxious, a different expression from the sullen one when being scolded.

“…Usami-san?”

“T-Takayashiki-kun!”

When he called out, Usami looked at Sakuto’s face with surprise.

But she quickly averted her gaze.

After what happened yesterday, Sakuto also felt somewhat awkward.

“Are you… perhaps not getting enough sleep? You look a little pale…”

“Ahaha… yeah, a bit sleep-deprived… Usami-san, you’re all red, aren’t you?”

“What!? A-am I!?”

Usami said awkwardly, covering her cheeks with her hands.

“Do you need something from me?”

“Um, well…”

Her cheeks turned even redder, and her eyes darted around restlessly.

She seemed to be battling embarrassment. Feeling a bit impatient but waiting, Sakuto let Usami gather her thoughts.

“Um… could you come to the courtyard after school today?”

At Usami’s bashful gesture and demeanor, Sakuto’s heart fluttered for a moment——

『——You know… I have something to talk to you about after school today, Sakuto…』

Suddenly, memories from junior high school flashed in his mind, and it felt like his heart hit the brakes.

“? What’s wrong?”

“…? Ah, nothing… After school? Got it…”

Usami looked at Sakuto’s face, worried.

“You look even paler than before…”

“Uh, no, I’m fine… I’ll see you later in the courtyard after school──”

Sakuto said just that and hurried off to the classroom, leaving a puzzled Usami behind.

He wanted to believe this time it was different.

However, it seems the past is always with him.

***

During lunch break, Sakuto was absent-mindedly thinking about this morning while having lunch in the cafeteria.

Maybe because of the lack of sleep, he didn’t have much appetite.

On a day like this, it’s unfortunate that today’s daily special lunch is the students’ favorite chicken nanban set.

Normally, he would have enjoyed it, but he was too preoccupied with the thoughts of Usami.

And then, there was the girl he had resolved not to meet again, the one he had put the brakes on his heart for——and that’s when a shadow fell over him.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

Before Sakuto could give permission, Tachibana from student guidance was already sitting across his table.

Sakuto quickly checked the reactions of those around him.

It seemed less conspicuous than he thought.

“Are you worried about the surroundings?”

“No, well… it’s just that it’s my first time having a meal with Sensei, so I’m a bit surprised…”

Seeing Sakuto’s reaction, Tachibana chuckled.

“I think it’s okay not to mind, but I guess boys your age are conscious of it?”

“…You knew that and still sat down her?”

“Yes. I wanted to see your reaction.”

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Looking at Tachibana’s tray, it was a grilled fish set.

Perhaps she was conscious of her diet on a regular basis.

More importantly, Sakuto was concerned about why she was involved with himself like this.

“Is it about Usami-san’s matter from yesterday? If it’s about Usami-san──”

“No, it’s not about Usami. I wanted to talk about you today.”

“About me? What is it?”

“Why did you hold back in the recent midterm exams?”

Taken aback by the blunt question, Sakuto was surprised.

“…Hold back?”

“Yes. Why did you intentionally get a low score?”

This assumption in her tone must come from some kind of certainty.

That’s why she came to ‘check his reaction.’

Sakuto braced himself while trying to appear calm.

“Why do you think so?”

“I compared your midterm exam answer sheets with those of others.”

The rumor that copies are kept for analysis of correct answer rates and to prevent cheating seemed to be true.

Putting that aside, the fact that his answers were compared is problematic.

He might have been found out.