Prologue

Translated by rsa16
Edited by bachi
Proofread by CosmicRunner

Read the PDF version —> HERE

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

Fold. Stack. Fold again.

The evening sun had started to set, painting the classroom in its shade of yellow. A single person stood in the room among the rays of the light. Bathed in its colors, Hinano sat alone, folding paper cranes.

Hinano didn’t particularly have an interest in origami, nor was she especially skilled at it. It was simply something she was doing out of necessity. Nothing more.

“Only a hundred more to go…”

Her eyes squinting through the fringe of her overgrown bangs, she glanced between the paper cranes she had folded and the remaining stack of origami paper.

Suddenly—

“Huh? Someone’s in here?”

—A boy’s voice rang out from behind the classroom doorway.

Hinano’s entire body unconsciously stiffened.

She was naturally terribly shy. Excluding her family, it was almost painfully difficult for her to converse with another person. Even less so a boy her age. Her silent plea to be left alone went unheard, however, as the boy walked right up to the desk she was sitting at.

“Knew I heard someone. Let’s see… you’re Hiiragi, right?”

Hearing her name, she reflexively looked up.

The boy was wearing a newly bought, slightly oversized school uniform, his child-like features contorting into a friendly expression.

Hinano recognized him.

Izumi Yamato, a boy from her class.

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

Facing a boy with whom she had never had a conversation with before; Hinano’s nerves were stretched to their limit. Yamato didn’t seem to notice or mind, however.

Picking up a paper crane from her desk, he held it in his hand. “What’s this? A paper crane?”

“Y-Yes. For the girls’ basketball team, um, well…” She stumbled halfway in her attempt to explain, her mind beginning to blank from the nerves.

Still, Yamato seemed to understand what she meant. He lightly nodded. “Ah, I get it. You’re folding a thousand paper cranes ^[1] since the third-years are retiring soon, right? Wow… you guys sure have it rough. Glad the guys don’t have to deal with stuff like that.”

It was then that Hinano remembered that this boy, Yamato, was a member of the basketball club. He seemed fairly popular as well, often joking around with friends during club breaks. Their voices could easily be heard from the girls’ basketball team practice area.

Outgoing. Sociable. Full of friends.

—The exact opposite of Hinano. He was the kind of person she struggled with the most.

“But why are you folding these by yourself? There are other members of the club, aren’t there?”

Oof. Yamato’s question hit a sore spot. Though, he didn’t seem to be asking with evil intent.

“E-Everyone else in the club… got help from their friends and already finished… I’m the only one who, u-um, still hasn’t…”

—Because I didn’t have any friends I could ask.

Her throat stiffened with embarrassment, and no words would come out. The words were left stuck in her mind. She couldn’t even lift her head.

What if he laughs at me?

“Ah… I see. How many more do you have left?”

Contrary to Hinano’s fears, however, Yamato, for reasons unknown, casually dragged a chair from the desk in front of her and sat down. He faced her directly.

Then, humming, he began to fold.

“Eh… um, w-why…?” Hinano stammered, bewildered.

Yamato blinked in confusion. “What do you mean ‘why’? We’ll finish faster if we work together, won’t we? Everyone else got help from their friends, so it’s not like you can’t do the same, no?”

“That’s true, but…”

He wasn’t wrong. But still—she couldn’t understand why someone who had never spoken to her before would suddenly go out of his way to help her. Yet she lacked the courage to ask twice. And so, she just looked down, letting her bangs obscure her eyes and avoid his.

“…Hmm.”

Yamato seemed to come to some sort of realization, and he gave a decisive nod before rummaging through his pockets.

“Ah, found it.” He pulled out a hairpin—a girl’s hairpin.

With it in hand, Yamato stood up from his chair and leaned closer to Hinano.

“Hiiragi, hold still for a sec.”

“I-Izumi-kun?”

Although unsure of his intentions, Hinano froze up instinctively. Though she would’ve stiffened regardless of whether he’d said anything.

Reaching out with his hands, Yamato gently pulled her bangs back and attached the hairpin. “There we go,” he said with a carefree smile. “It’s hard to see with those bangs in the way, no?”

He was right. Her vision was much more clear now.

“Ah, um, th-thank you.”

It was the first time a boy had touched her hair, and she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her a moment later. A delayed blush creeped into her cheeks.

“You’re welcome. Actually, uh, I bought it for myself, but I got completely roasted—they said it was lame, and I think someone went like ‘A girl’s hairpin? Seriously?’ Oof… yeah... I guess I got a little too bold.” He grimaced, remembering his past mistake.

The image popped into her head, and Hinano couldn’t help but laugh.

“…Pfft.”

Seeing her reaction, Yamato dropped the sour look he had on his face and flashed a cheerful grin. “See? You really do look better when your face is visible, Hiiragi. It’s a waste to keep your head down when you’re this cute.”

The sudden compliment caught her off guard, and she tensed up all over again.

“I-I’m not cute...”

“You think so? I’d say you’ve got potential if you polish up a bit. Actually, how about this—since we’re here, I’ll give you that hairpin, Hiiragi.”

She shook her head. “Th-There’s no way…. I can’t accept that.”

“Come on! Just think of it as me giving it a proper send-off ^[2]. I’m not gonna wear it anymore anyway.”

Hearing that, it felt rude to refuse, so Hinano hesitantly nodded.

“Th-Thank you...”

She ended up accepting it—her first gift from a boy.

But what should I do now? Should I give him something in return? I don’t have anything on me right now. I don’t want to seem rude... but what do I do?

“U-Um, you can have this… from me.”

After much hesitation, Hinano picked up the paper crane she had folded earlier and held it out to him.

But she immediately realized how silly it was.

What was she even thinking? It was just a piece of paper. Basically trash.

“Oh, you sure? Wow, you folded this really neatly. You’re pretty good at this, Hiiragi.” Yet Yamato accepted it without hesitation, his expression turning into a playful grin. “Guess I can’t let you show me up. Watch—I’ll fold the most perfect crane you’ve ever seen.”

He dove back into folding with a newfound vigor in his movements, fully absorbed in the makings of the crane.

Watching him, Hinano felt a bit foolish for getting so worked up.

“...Yeah. Thanks.”

Three months into middle school—

That was the moment Hinano made her first friend.

Translator's Notes:

[1]: The crane is considered a mystical or holy creature in Japan and is said to live a thousand years. Folding a thousand paper cranes represents each of these years, so it represents wishing for the person receiving the thousands cranes to live out all of those years. It is a tradition believed to grant a wish, symbolizing hope, peace, and healing. Hinano is folding the cranes to wish her seniors (the third-years who are graduating soon) eternally good luck. Also, for reference, the Japanese have six years of elementary, 3 years of middle school, and 3 years of high school.

[2]: The word used here is kuyou (供養), originally a Buddhist term referring to giving a memorial service or sort of offering for the dead, if you will. I translated this as “giving it a proper send-off” as he is likely jokingly saying that he is putting it to rest by giving it someone else. I dunno, that’s how I interpreted it.