“What’s your deal with us, Senpai?”
“…What is it?”
Yuzuru spoke calmly, while Arisa’s tone was merely a little cold.
Together, they faced Umihara.
Around them, students were opening their lunchboxes and chatting with friends…
though they were clearly paying attention to what was happening.
“…About the other day.”
Umihara spoke.
Then his face twisted—frustration and humiliation clearly written across it.
“Takasegawa-san, Yukishiro-san… I caused you both a great deal of trouble. …I apologise.”
With that, he lowered his head.
The surrounding students seemed shocked.
Even those who had initially looked uninterested were now staring over with obvious curiosity.
…At this point, it was basically a public execution of his reputation.
Well, of course… Yuzuru didn’t particularly care about Umihara’s feelings.
But being resented over something like this would be troublesome, and besides, he didn’t want to stand out any more than necessary.
“Please raise your head, Senpai. It doesn’t bother me.”
Then he glanced towards Arisa.
She… looked stunned.
But under Yuzuru’s gaze—and the attention of everyone around them—she finally came back to herself.
“I’m not bothered by it either.”
Arisa replied flatly.
“….”
Umihara, on the other hand, didn’t seem very satisfied.
Apparently, bowing his head to first-years had hurt his pride.
Perhaps because of that, he added one last remark—like a sore loser—
“…Just because your family’s rich doesn’t mean you should get cocky.”
He spat those words at Yuzuru before walking away.
(Talk about a boomerang, that completely backfired.)
With that, his apology was completely ruined.
“Hey, Yukishiro. Did you report him to your father?”
“Of course not! …I never want anything to do with him again. What about you, Takasegawa-san?”
“This isn’t something I’d go to my parents about. I didn’t say anything.”
Neither Yuzuru nor Arisa had reported the matter to their parents.
So why had Umihara suddenly decided to apologise?
Yuzuru tilted his head inwardly, looking puzzled.
Later.
While eating lunch, Yuzuru told Soichiro and Hijiri what had happened earlier.
“Huh, so he came to apologise to you too?”
Soichiro sounded surprised.
Apparently, Umihara had also gone to apologise to him.
“Did you report it to your dad?” Yuzuru asked.
“Ain’t no way. But… Ayaka and Chiharu were pretty pissed off. Those two apparently exaggerated the story quite a bit when they told their parents. So Umihara got thoroughly chewed out by his father.”
When Soichiro said that, Hijiri theatrically shuddered.
“Damn… women show no mercy. If you’re a guy, running to your parents is pretty lame.”
“By that logic, he wouldn’t qualify as a man. Though honestly… before even getting into that, bringing up your father every time something happens is lame enough as it is.”
Soichiro spoke harshly about Umihara.
From Soichiro’s perspective, Umihara was the man who had tried to hurt his precious childhood friends, so the harsh judgment was understandable.
“Hmm… maybe Ayaka-chan and Chiharu-chan mentioned us too?”
“I’ll ask them just in case… but I doubt it. Those two have enough sense to know better.”
The trouble Ayaka and Chiharu experienced from Umihara was separate from what Yuzuru and Arisa experienced.
It wouldn’t make sense for them to report Yuzuru and Arisa’s situation to their parents along with their own.
“Maybe Umihara ran crying to his daddy. Like, ‘Some guy named Takasegawa bullied me!’ And then he got scolded instead.”
“Or maybe Umihara’s father questioned him. Umihara himself is like that, but I’ve heard Councilor Umihara is a reasonable man. Maybe he pressed him about whether he’d been harassing other girls too… and your name came up.”
Either way, there was no way Umihara apologised of his own free will.
Somehow, his father had learned that Umihara had tried to trouble Arisa—and had gotten into a conflict with Yuzuru in the process.
That much was certain.
“Well… it’s already in the past. Let’s drop it.”
Just thinking about Umihara was unpleasant, so Yuzuru suggested that.
Soichiro and Hijiri nodded in agreement.
“Yea… he probably reflected on it.”
“’Doubt it. A guy who reforms that easily wouldn’t become a serial confessor. But whatever—it ain’t my problem.”
And just like that, the issue surrounding the serial confessor was, for the time being, resolved.
This past Saturday.
As usual, Yuzuru was spending time with Arisa.
During dinner, Yuzuru casually asked her something.
“Do I have… any traits that make me unpleasant to be around?”
“…What? Why the sudden question?”
Arisa blinked in surprise and looked puzzled.
Even though he knew it might not be appropriate to talk about something like this with her… Yuzuru couldn’t help but wonder.
“Well… remember that Umihara guy?”
“Ah… that strange person. Did he do something to you?”
“No, we haven’t interacted since then. But… you heard what he said, right? About me being rich and all that.”
In the first place, someone who constantly brought up his father’s job had no right to say that.
Still, something that bothers you tends to stick with you.
“…Were you really worried about that?”
Arisa blinked her green eyes in surprise.
Yuzuru unconsciously scratched his head.
“Well… it’s not exactly because Umihara said it. It’s something I’ve thought about before.”
The name Takasegawa carried tremendous weight.
Calling it a prestigious family wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
They also made substantial political donations, which likely explained why Umihara had apologised to Yuzuru.
“Well, I suppose you do give the impression of being a bit careless with money.”
“…Do I?”
“Stacking up games you never even play, or buying kitchen tools you never use.”
“…W-Well, I guess that’s true.”
“But plenty of people in ordinary households do the same things. I don’t think it’s because you’re rich, Takasegawa-san. That’s more of a personality thing.”
“…”
Was she comforting him?
Or scolding him?
Yuzuru felt a little conflicted.
“But you’re not obnoxious about it. At least for now. …Actually, I didn’t even realise you came from such an impressive family in the first place.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. You’re overthinking it. That was just a sore loser’s remark. He tried to assert dominance with his family status, wealth, and father’s job—but failed miserably. So he just said that out of frustration. You shouldn’t worry about the words of someone like that.”
Of course, Yuzuru understood that much.
In truth, he didn’t particularly care what Umihara thought of him.
But…
For Yuzuru, the Takasegawa family name carried tremendous weight.
“Though… it’s a little surprising.”
“Surprising?”
“I thought you were stronger than that, Takasegawa-san.”
That word—surprising—was itself surprising to Yuzuru.
He had never once thought of himself as strong.
“…Why?”
“Well, when that man tried to intimidate you, you didn’t seem shaken at all. …I was a little scared, honestly.”
“Well… it wasn’t really something to be afraid of.”
Yuzuru knew that far more frightening people existed in the world.
As the future head of the Takasegawa family, he had seen such people up close.
Compared to them, Umihara—just a second-year high school student—was nothing to fear.
However…
“That’s also because I assumed Umihara couldn’t lay a hand on my family.”
So even when Umihara brought up family status, it didn’t scare him.
In fact, that was precisely why it didn’t scare him.
The name Takasegawa was actually more effective against people like Umihara than it was against ordinary people.
Yuzuru sighed.
“If I hadn’t been a Takasegawa, he probably wouldn’t have apologised to me. In other words, it’s not that I’m strong—it’s that Takasegawa is strong…”
He hadn’t intended to rely on his family.
But for Yuzuru, the name Takasegawa was inseparable from who he was. No matter what he did, the weight of that name always followed him.
As he spoke about something he couldn’t say even to people like Soichiro—who were, in a sense, in the same position—
“Takasegawa-san, do you dislike your family home?”
Arisa suddenly asked.
Yuzuru tilted his head.
“Of course not. …I’m not trying to boast. But I’m proud of it.”
“Then isn’t that fine?”
Arisa frowned slightly, her beautiful brows drawing together as she searched for the right words.
“How should I put this… In the end, things like your name, your appearance, your talents, your education—most people inherit those from their parents, don’t they? So… I think it still counts as your strength, Takasegawa-san. What matters is how you use it…”
Then Arisa concluded firmly:
“Anyway—You helped me, Takasegawa-san. That was thanks to you, Takasegawa Yuzuru.”
Yuzuru felt as though a weight had lifted from his chest.
Like something that had been stuck in his throat for years had come loose.
“Yukishiro.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
Arisa smiled as she said that.
It was incredibly beautiful…
and an utterly natural smile.
For some reason, Yuzuru’s heart started racing.
