Chapter 39: Tachibana Coming on Strong [Side: Narumi Ise]
After the seat change, I adjust my desk and look around at our group.
There's me, Tachibana, the buff Kan-kun, the gal Kita-chan (my friend!), and the buff Hayashi-kun (first appearance, a background character).
'If this were poker, it'd be two pairs with the buff guys and the gals!'
Is Tachibana making a jab or something?
Compared to groups where no one has talked to each other before, the vibe here is pretty good. Both buff guys seem to like Tachibana, and since both Kita-chan and I were helped by her, we have a positive impression (not the romantic kind, okay!). So, for an introvert like Tachibana, this group must be easy to deal with, right?
'When they tell us to form groups freely, I always end up left out... But this group is nice.'
(Tachibana... poor thing...)
Is it because she doesn't have any friends in this class? She seems kind of listless, doesn't she?
The other groups are also chatting among themselves with their members. During the first semester, we'll be paired with these members for extracurricular lessons or assignments, but since most people have had some kind of interaction at least once, no one really does special self-introductions or anything...
Is Tachibana staring at my chest?
Honestly, it's super embarrassing, so I tried to speak up to stop her, but then Tachibana suddenly got all excited and
'Ise-san, you know! Your name is so lovely!'
(So she was looking at my name tag?!)
With a sparkling smile, completely different from the slightly gloomy vibe she had earlier, she looked into my eyes brightly and energetically!
'Huh?'
I was totally caught off guard.
'Huh?!'
Rena Kashii from the group next to us let out a surprised sound and looked over at our group.
(Oh, did they hear us from the next group?)
'Kashii-san?'
'Kashii-san, what's wrong?'
'!‥No, sorry about that.'
Rena Kashii put on a smile and turned back to her group.
Was it a misunderstanding? That doesn't seem like something Tachibana would do.
'Seriously, how did I not notice before? The sound and the look of it are both so amazing!'
'Huh?'
I ended up reacting the same way again.
It's not a misunderstanding? Huh?
'Kyaa! Narumi-chan is getting hit on!'
Kita-chan lets out a high-pitched squeal.
'Huh? Why?! What?!'
Rena Kashii now stands up from her seat, turns around, and looks at us.
She hurriedly apologizes to her group, turns back, and sits down, but her ears are totally tuned in to us (lol).
A mischievous urge wells up in me, and I decide to ask Tachibana.
'That much? You didn't notice before?'
Tachibana looks at me with passionate eyes and
'I was just a kid back then, so I didn't get it. But now I do!'
Huh? Is she seriously coming on to me so strongly?!
Am I being targeted? What was with that cold attitude yesterday?!
I notice Rena Kashii in the next group twitching like crazy, but I'm so flustered myself that I can't even deal with that right now!
'...Um, well. If you're saying that much, you can call me by my first name, okay?'
I might be weak to pushy people. No way, we just met, you know?
Honestly, I wouldn't let someone call me by my first name unless we're close! Especially not a boy...
'Nah, I'll just call you Ise-san. I can't call a girl by her first name, you know?'
Huh?
I glance at the next group, and Rena Kashii also has a "Huh?" look on her face.
'I'm really into Sengoku warlords, and there was this fierce general under the Ou warlord Date Masamune named Shigezane Date. And, Ise-san, your name Narumi has the same characters as Shigezane! I just noticed! Even your surname looks kinda like Date at a glance, which is so cool! Ise Narumi sounds like Shigezane Date!'
Tachibana smoothly writes it down on a piece of paper to show me.
'Give me back my fluttering heart!'
It seems like people are paying attention because an introvert is hitting on a gal! And around us, they're saying
'Shigezane lol'
'Hang in there! Shigezane lol'
'Shigezane, that's wrong!'
Thanks to Tachibana, I've got the nickname Shigezane right at the start of the new semester...
After that, Tachibana passionately told me all about Shigezane Date. He was a relative of Masamune and grew up with him since childhood, and
even in disadvantageous battles, he held his ground to let Masamune escape. He was even called a general with 'great courage and strategy.' Apparently, in Miyagi, he's enshrined as a god at a shrine?
I'm pretty weak, so I admire strength like that.
I'd prefer a cool older guy or a handsome young man, but reality isn't like a game, right?
When I asked if he wore cool swords or armor or something,
'Shigezane-san, are you getting a little interested? Apparently, he wore a helmet with a caterpillar crest.'
Huh? A caterpillar helmet?
They say it's because caterpillars never back down.
Huh? That's kinda cool, isn't it? Since the name has the same characters, I started feeling a weird sense of kinship...
But seriously, don't call me Shigezane!
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Kashii-san during Tachibana and Ise-san's conversation (visibly shaken)
'Uh, um, who's gonna be the leader of this group?'
'Kashii-san? Why are you speaking so stiffly?!'