“So? Where’d you see me before?”
Even the way she referred to herself had subtly shifted as she asked me a question with palpable boredom.
─ ─ Honestly, it’s an unbelievable change—like night and day.
Anyone would wear a mask depending on the time and place. Someone who’s always their raw, unfiltered self is probably rare to begin with.
But even so, this was the first time I’d ever seen someone commit this hard to an act.
And the first time I’d seen someone drop that flawless act just as effortlessly.
“……Nah, my bad. Probably just a misunderstanding.”
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“Huuuh?”
She raised one eyebrow, her lips twisting into a frown. Then, she continued:
“You don’t even care that I switched attitudes? I thought my acting was pretty solid.”
Her tone softened—or at least, it felt like it did.
I shook my head and answer her..
“Nah, I was plenty surprised.”
“Could’ve fooled me… Eh, whatever. You’re kinda weird, you know?”
“……Shouldn’t that be my line?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Normally, people’d get a little more offended. Or so I’ve heard.”
She let out a long, exaggerated sigh before glaring at me again.
“Just so you know, I definitely don’t—”
“…………”
“—know you. Never seen you before. ……Probably.”
“……Why do you sound so unsure?”
“Ugh—shut up!”
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she snapped.
I froze. Without realizing it, I couldn’t look away.
It was strange—despite her thorny attitude, moments like this made her seem oddly endearing.
“Anyway, that’s how it is.”
She narrowed her eyes at my questioning stare.
“Think about it. I’m not even in the student council, yet here I am, forced to welcome some newbie first thing in the morning. You think I’m happy about that?”
“……My bad, I guess.”
“Not your fault. I’m the one who got saddled with this.”
“Oh… really?”
Surprisingly, she sounded almost dutiful.
And just like that, her way of referring to herself had changed again.
“But don’t get the wrong idea—I hate doing this. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t. Just wanted to make that clear.”
No doubt, her honesty was genuine. Showing up at 7:30 AM out of sheer goodwill? Yeah, right.
It wasn’t my request, and that logic meant nothing to her. Still, the fact that she’d grudgingly gone along with it deserved gratitude.
And honestly? I was impressed.
——Because she was mesmerizing.
Not just the bright, friendly demeanor she’d shown at first—but the prickly attitude that followed, too. Both sides of her felt equally captivating.
And that contradiction?
It left me in awe. To discard the flawless mask meant to make others like her—and still come off as adorable? That was practically cheating.
“Hey. Uh… Saying nothing isn’t helping. …Say something.”
Seeing me frozen in silence,
she narrowed her eyes, looking genuinely confused.
Ah—I realized. This was probably her true unfiltered reaction.
Meaning the contradiction earlier? Likely because both sides were acts. Not her showing her real self—but her acting like she was.
“Wow, that’s some impressive acting skill. I couldn’t spot a single flaw.”
“……Are you making fun of me?”
“I really mean it. I’m genuinely impressed. Honestly, I kinda wanna learn how you do it.”
“——You mean that?”
After a pause, she shot me a skeptical look.
Did she not believe me? Since I was serious, I could only nod.
“Yeah, I mean it.”
“……Weirdo.”
She muttered under her breath. Not like I could argue—but I kept that to myself.
Then, in an instant, her expression shifted back to that bright smile, her voice lilting.
“——Well then! Let me guide you to the school building, so stick close, okay?”
Another transformation.
Before I knew it, the girl in front of me was all sunshine and warmth again—cheerful smile, sweetly animated voice, head slightly tilted with an upward glance.
Everything about her now made it impossible to believe she was the same girl who’d been sulking moments ago.
Same clothes, same face—yet she looked like a completely different person. Not a trace of unnaturalness in her act. If someone told me she’d switched personalities, I’d almost believe it.
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
She blinked at me, puzzled by my stiffness.
“You’re the one who’s acting weird…”
“Eh? I… don’t follow?”
“…………”
There was no way she didn’t understand—yet she looked genuinely clueless. Even knowing it was an act, it didn’t feel like one. ——Yeah, this was the real problem.
“Nah… never mind. Just caught me off guard when you switched back.”
“Well, you did praise me. I figured you preferred this version.”
“Then you do get it—”
Not that I preferred it, really—but explaining that was pointless.
She didn’t seem bothered either way.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
Her demeanor made it clear: “I heard nothing.”
I surrendered. No—better to take this as a rare treat.
“……Got it. Thanks for showing me around this early.”
“No problem! It’s my job, after all~”
“Looking forward to it.”
“Then let’s go! I’ll explain the buildings as we walk—though it might take a bit to memorize everything.”
I’m not one to believe in fate.
But on my very first day, seeing such an ideal transformation? Yeah, it made me think.
——Maybe choosing this school was worth it.
Doing things out of obligation, behaving exactly as expected—that’s just pragmatism. Calculating how others see you, presenting the safest, most inoffensive version of yourself.
Everyone does it to some extent, unconsciously.
But if you consciously refine it? You could pull off a shift this drastic. If that’s a skill I could learn, I wanted it. For me, this was the perfect way to wear a mask.
I intended to design my entire three-year high school life around pragmatism.
Learning from my middle school regrets, this was my new goal—Kageyuki Sou’s resolve.
Cutting ties with my past self—the one who’d loathed pragmatism because of childhood trauma—I’d rebuild all relationships on mutual benefit.
That was the true, natural way people operated.
I’d become like the person who’d once called my younger self “unfit.” And in that light, her mastery of self-presentation?
It deserved applause. Almost like… That one-night friend who’d rejected me as a child.
“Ah… come to think of it, I never got your name. Mind telling me?”
Suddenly realizing, I asked.
The girl turned back, her expression the definition of flawless, endearing charm.
Without a single crack in that mask, she answered:
“Natsuki.”
“——What?”
“Shiranui Natsuki. That’s my name.”
And in that instant— A long-buried memory replayed in my mind like a morning nightmare.
“——Choose your friends carefully.”
The ideology my past self had rebelled against.
The words I now believed were right.
My face twisted. Dismissing this as mere coincidence was impossible—it felt too much like fate.
“No need to remember it. It’s a common name, after all.”
As if I could forget.
That name——carried the same resonance as the one-night friend who’d scarred me as a child.
Natsuki
Of all days, of all times—now? No way this wasn’t irony.
Maybe it was fate after all.
But then again— Fate isn’t just about happy coincidences.
※
Even so, the world isn’t that dramatic. A fateful reunion with the girl who’d fundamentally warped my outlook?
No way something like that happens so easily.
Right.
So the idea that she was that girl?
Just my imagination.
Because back then, I simply didn’t know—
That five female students at this school shared the name “Natsuki.”
——In the end.
This is the story of Kageyuki Sou—a boy who abandoned his youth for pragmatism, choosing this school for calculated reasons.
A trivial, meaningless tale of adolescence—
About the moment he finally called one girl by her name.
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