Sei-chan MeetsAirin

I told you, it has to be Sei-chan!

Uh, who was that again?

Seto Airi, a member of a group that grossly stands out even among the heroes,

Why you do not know him!? Its that Seichan, yanno!?

Like we know any Sei-chan!

Towards Setos unreasonable question, Nojima could do nothing but retort .

If Airi phrases it like that, then is that person someone were familiar with?

Nope? Ya not know him, yanno?

Then we cant possibly know!

Though Shimizu sent her a helping boat, Setos statement had her off the path to be saved .

Rather, whats with this Sei-chan in question? Whats between you two, Airi? An item?

Upon hearing Amakawas question, Seto scratched her head with face coloured in red .

Y, you little~ Lovers, you say~ Dont make me blush~ . Not even close, tho .

So youre not!?

Sigh were going nowhere . So? Say this Sei-chan is here somewhere, whatcha gonna do?

Eh? I just feel that, I want help him~ or something

So Sei-chan is in a distressing situation right now!?

Nojimas retort was quick .

I cant see where this is going! We dont even know whos this Sei-chan in the first place, and we cant do anything about him .

No, no way~ You guys are cruel~

Im just making a sound argument here!

No matter how much Seto tried to tell them about the person called Sei-chan, Nojima and the other two couldnt do anything about him since they didnt even know who she meant .

Furthermore, Seto had no plans nor anything in case she did meet Sei-chan in the future .

Alas, Shimizu reorganize the situation with a single sigh escaped .

Phew One thing we know for now about this Sei-chan person Airis been looking for, is that hes in class F, right?

Rite!

Since its such a hassle, why dont you meet him first and act accordingly? Its not like we know what Airi has in mind .

S, suddenly ambushing him like that wont he hate me if I do so?

WHAT A PAAAIIINNNN!!!!!

Nojimas cry of anguish couldnt be justified more .

Whilst Shimizu tried to calm Nojima down, Amakawa suddenly broke into grins .

Rather, ysee, looking at Airis reactions~ No matter how you see it, shes gotta have a thing for this Sei-chan, aint she?

Eh!? Ya mean it!?

Well, I kinda suspect so .

In response to them, excluding Nojima, Seto was .

N, n, nnnnot, not a a chance, mkay!?

Doubt

Said the three simultaneously .

Airi youre basically an open book

No, Yuka still couldnt read her

I, I could, okay?

Calm, girls . At any rate, Airi, you like this Sei-chandoncha .

These three girls who found the matter troublesome at first, as expected of girls, suddenly so gung ho about it since it turned into a love story .

Airis face stiffened, confronted by the three with a glimmer of curiosity in their eyes .

W, what izzit

Be a good girl and tell us everything!

UWAAAAH!!

Airi who was jostled up by the girls, acted like the high school girls they were, or maybe closer to junior high ones, gave up .

I, I got it, okay! Ill tell, Ill tell!

Good .

Agreed, surrendering is important .

Ou, then tell us already!

Airi looked at them a little bit reproachfully, then let a sigh escaped before she started her story .

Haah First I met Sei-chan was at Junior High . I have ya girls know, but back then I was a loner, yanno?

You serious!?

You, Airi? I cant imagine that .

Totes unexpected~

The three didnt hide their surprise .

They were friends with Airi since the first enrolled High School, and Airi seldom talked about her Junior High phase . Well, Airi first became what she currently is when shes halfway her second year in Junior High, she said .

I really was loner, like lonely loner, before that the reason I could become the current me is all thanks to Sei-chan .

Eh?

Again with the surprising fact, the three once again raised their voice .

I told ya I was a loner didnt I . So like, I eat my lunch on the stairs leading to the rooftop . Really, its nostalgic to remember .

With that as the preamble, Airi started to call back her past .

Sigh

Junior High .

ISeto Airi, was spending my lonely lunchtime with a sigh .

The reason I was eating my lunch all alone just as I said before, I didnt have a single friend . Unlike now, I was reserved yanno?

Anywho, I first found this ideal Loner Meal Spot namely the staircase to rooftop after I enrolled Junior High and had been eating my lonely meal there every day .

My Junior High was just like any other Junior High, the rooftop was a forbidden area, so I went there to eat my Lonely Meal . If it was forbidden to enter anyway, why would they make a staircase to there? Well, I assumed it was for emergency times .

Either way, I could use it for my spot, so I really had nothing else to say .

With that condition, by the time I finished my meal like usualSei-chan appeared .

Eh? Theres someone here!?

Sei-chan popped out so suddenly, and I was really troubled by it . I never thought that such a man of valour would come to this fantastic Lonely Meal Spot .

My impression when I first saw Sei-chan was well, must be that . I thought he was the typical bullied kid .

I mean, not like I want to make fun of Sei-chan, but he was, like, super plump and his face wasnt the most pleasing to look at .

He had a particular body odour, I didnt care about it myself, but it seems like other people didnt really like it .

Those qualities of him made him got bullied real hard .

Fortunately for my case, I had no friends, so its not like I got bullied or anything

Anyway, neither of us expected anyone to be here, so it was awkwardly silent for a while .

The first one to speak up was Sei-chan .

Umm a loner?

And youre speaking!?

Twas such an unexpected remark from him that pulled out my retort

But Sei-chan paid no mind and just laughed .

Hahaha! It is weird that I called you that, of all people! I feel like crying now!

I, uh, Im sorry?

It sure hurts when being apologized with an interrogative sentence!

Even since then, Sei-chan had been high-strung and it was hard for me to keep up with his tempo .

So, why do you eat your lunch in a place like this?

No Im pretty sure youre here for the same reason

Eh Then, you really are having a lonely meal!? You kidding me!?

Thats sure some word from someone whos having lonely meal too

Ah, youre right . No, but you see, Im doing it because Im being left out, but I feel like thats not the case for you . Thats why I asked, why do you eat lunch here .

Nothing you should be concerned about .

I guess that much . But if this spot is already taken I dont know any other place to eat alone

Watching Sei-chan making a troubled face, some words escaped my mouth .

Then, why dont eat together?

Eh?

Yer being bullied, aint cha? If so, wouldnt you prefer to take it easy at least when having a meal?

Well thats extremely grateful, but are you fine with that?

[Im not evil enough to chase you away . ]

I see Then, Ill gladfully take your consideration .

That was the start of a strange relationship between Sei-chan and I .

Ever since then, we were always there, on the staircase leading to the rooftop during the lunch break, having loner meal no, two loners having a meal together .

When I tried to talk with Sei-chan, I began to learn that, while he is so high-strung that I find it hard to cope up with time to time, he is nothing short of kind .

In addition, for two people who shared no taste in anything, I started to find it comfortable to talk to Sei-chan, since he was unexpectedly a good listener .

Days like this continued, and for the first time I found someone close or maybe I should say, I had made a Friend . And so, I said it with all my spirit .

Se Sei-chan!

Eh? Sei-chan?

It was the first time I called Sei-chan like that, so his expression was that of confusion .

Yeah! Taking the Sei from Hiragi Seiichi, so its Sei-chan!

Come to think of it Sei-chans name was Hiiragi Seiichi .

Ive been calling him Sei-chan all this while, so I forgot about it .

In addition, if I think that Im the only one who calls him Sei-chan How to put it, it feels like Im someone special to Sei-chan, and it makes me happy .

Anyway, since it was the first time I called him Sei-chan, he was quite dumbfounded for a while, then immediately put on a smile with a hint of pink .

No, how do I say it Ive never been addressed like that, so its quite embarrassing

He was so cute .

No, I dont know how other people take it, but for me, Sei-chans smile is the strongest in history . Dont you know? Among us gals, cute means justice . Though I dont know if it stays true now that were in another world .

But that wasnt the end of it .

Then I also want Sei-chan to call me as Airin!

Airin!? Oi oi, we both are loners here, you now? Thats way over us

Isnt that too harsh!?

I kid . But Um that nick is

Sei-chan just wouldnt call me Airin . I guess my despondent showed up and he catched it, so Sei-chan, stuttering and half-shouting, called to me .

A, Airin!

Hehehe~ It sure is embarrassing~

Im the embarrassed one here!

I teased Sei-chan who hid his red face behind his hands for a while .

Thus, after we decided our nicks, we returned to our usual chemistry .

Right . Though Ive admitted it by this time, Id begun seeing Sei-chan as a member of the opposite sex .

Well, for me who didnt even have a friend, lovers and such relationship looked like a hurdle too high to reach .

It was just, I never encountered Sei-chan outside lunchtime .

Even if I called out to him, Sei-chan just ran away from me, you see

It was a hard blow to me and I felt quite hurt he did so, but I learned that he did what he did precisely because he was bullied and hoped I wouldnt be dragged along with And that, felt like rubbing salt in my wound .

And one day, when we were having lunch together as usual, Sei-chan voiced one question with a curious face .

Come to think of it, Airin . Why are you a loner?

Aint that one painful question you just casually asked!?

Upon my reaction, Sei-chan continued his inquiry .

Ah, no, Im sorry . I didnt meananything bad . Im just thinking, unlike me, Airin isnt exactly being left out, right? So

Its not like Im alone because I want to . I just, yanno, its hard for me to talk with people

Even though you talk to me this much?

Sei-chan, its because you well youre easy to talk with . Also, Im not sure I can

Oi, oi, have some confidence! Youre cute, Airin, so if you just dress up a bit and talk to others like you do with me, youll make friends in no time!

C, cute!?

I was thrown off-balance when Sei-chan suddenly said I was cute, out of the blue .

Nn? Did I say something wrong?

N, no I mean, cute is a bit

Ah Naturally, I no longer speak whatever embarrassing thing that popped up in mind like I used to, but if I didnt honestly praise someone, then how should I convey my feelings to them? Thats why, I mean it when I said youre cute .

Ah, umm err

Knowing it was Sei-chans true feelings only made me even more lost in cloud nine .

My head was pure white . I tried to come up with anything to say back, but nothing . And before I knew it, my mouth moved on its own .

Sei-chan, do you . want to see me dress up?

I do .

Without a shred of doubt, Sei-chan nodded .

And that was the starting line . The first time I got invested in dressing up

At first I hadnt a clue . I tried referencing to various fashion magazine, how to apply make-ups, how to choose clothes, all that . But theres only so much my inexperienced self could do .

That was why, for the first time I summoned my courage and called out to girls from my class .

It was real scary, but my feeling of wanting to be seen cute by Sei-chan overpowered that .

Just when I tried to summon my courage even to say it myself, it was super anti-climatic how fast I could adapt with the girls group .

In addition, I could talk to them like how I talked with Sei-chan .

When I came to, I realized I was already styling up, gyaru-like or not .

From that point onward, my Junior High School life was gradually changing .

Firstly, not only the girls, but I also became able to speak normally with the boys .

Speaking with a boy other than Sei-chan was a real nervous wreck at first, but that, too, came with time .

Also, even I couldnt believe it till now, but the frequency of being confessed to just got skyrocketed .

Ranging from a boy I could chummy with, to a boy who was obviously a playboy Anyway, I was confessed by a huge variety of boys

But, unfortunately, I already had someone in my heart .

Anyone except Sei-chan was outside the question for me .

Like that, my gloomy loner school life transformed into a bright and cheerful school life, but I lost something important as the exchange .

Lunch break .

Sei-chanDidnt come .

I patiently waited for Sei-chan there, on the staircase leading to the rooftop, but Sei-chan never showed himself again .

In addition to that, with my new friends got in my schedule, my free time was decreasing by the day .

That was why, I could no longer eat there, but rather having lunch together with my friends .

That was the first time I felt like Id prefer being a loner yeah, it crossed my mind .

In the end, I never managed to meet with Sei-chan until the day of Graduation .

The silver lining was, there was a gossip that we got into the same High School or rather, I heard about a bullying case, and Id be lying if I didnt say I wasnt happy, despite the complex feeling accompanying it .

However, once again, I couldnt meet with Sei-chan .

Even if I tried to catch him by surprise in his classroom, or going around the campus searching for him I couldnt find Sei-chan .

It was as if Sei-chan was actively avoiding me

It was something I later found out, but apparently Sei-chan had a time where he shut himself in his house .

That strong-hearted positive and optimist Sei-chan was being a shut-In, I couldnt even picture it .

It made me think that Sei-chan had something terrible befallen upon him, and I was completely oblivious about it .

I felt really frustrated that I couldnt do anything for Sei-chan when he needed it the most . And it was him who gave me my courage .

I didnt want his effort to go to waste, So I in my own way, expressed my gratitude by enjoying the life he gave me .

And that was when we all got transferred to another world out of the blue .

I was really at lost for a while, but after calming down a bit, I felt like nows the time I got to save Sei-chan

I feel like the current me can protect Sei-chan .

-Well something like that

Youre all over him .

I feel like throwing up sugar cubes .

Both you and this Sei-chan guy youve really suffered

You guys are being too harsh! And isnt Yuka being too emotional!

While Rumi and Noa said so with some degree of awe, Yuka was bawling her eyes out . Un, Yukas this kind of person, aint she .

I mentioned this a lot, but Sei=chan is literally my saviour . Thats why I wanted to say thanks to him . And then, Id be the one wholl protect him this time .

When I said so, the three lined up their faces and told me .

Really, you Cant be helped! If you told me such story, what can I say except Ill help you!?

Frankly speaking, its bothersome . But its for Aika, isnt it?

Un . Well help .

Hearing these words, I couldnt do anything but asked them back .

Is it really okay? Its not like you have anything to do with Sei-chan

Its fine . Hes the guy who took care of my little Aika . That means we have to say our thanks too .

Im not yours tough, Yuka?

Were not talking about that, are we!? Read the convo flow!

I laughed at Yukas retort .

. Sei-chan . Its all thanks to you, Sei-chan, that I have made such precious friends .

Then, lets with godspeed raid Class F!

As, as I said wouldnt he hate me if I suddenly showed up?

YOURE REAL CASE OF TROUBLESOME YANNO!?!?

And Yuka, once again, retorted .