| To the future me, |
| |
| From the me who’s about to graduate from middle school, to the me reading this in the future. |
| What are you doing now? How do you feel now; how are you spending your days? |
| |
| I spent all three years of middle school single-mindedly focusing on my studies; I worked hard to get excellent grades. |
| |
| My three years were fulfilling, and I’m satisfied, but
There are more than a few things I regret as well. |
| I held back in all sorts of ways in order to prioritize my studies. |
| |
| There was a lot to be gained from that attitude. But even if I regret the time that has passed, “that time” will never come back. |
| I can never relive it. |
| That’s why I want the future me to treasure “this very moment in time.” |
| |
| From the me in my third year of middle school |
| |
| Kazunari | Sigh~.... |
| Banri | GJ. |
| Kazunari | ...Hm? Ah, it’s Settsuar~. |
| Banri | Those eyebags are insane. You’re in trouble if Azami finds out. |
| Kazunari | Right? That’s why I’m avoiding him. |
| Banri | So do you think you’ll finish your assignment? |
| Kazunari | One way or another. |
| Banri | You’re doing this one at the dorms, right? |
| Kazunari | Yup yup~. There were too many people in the studio at school, I couldn’t concentrate~. |
| I think I’ll just barely make it because they let me use the storage room~. |
| Banri | I’m glad. What about lunch? |
| Kazunari | This is today’s lunch! |
| Banri | Pancakes from the school menu…? |
| Kazunari | Yup. I’m almost done with my assignment, so I ordered an early treat for myself~. |
| They’re popular right now because they come with a chocolate pen, and you can draw on the pancakes. |
| Banri | What are you, a girl? |
| Kazunari | I’m gonna make full use of my art student techniques to make it instegrammable No. 1! |
| Banri | Huh~. |
| Kazunari | What should I draw~. |
| —uh, woah. |
| Banri | Watch out, the chocolate’s getting all over the place. |
| Kazunari | Kinda like, art is an explosion[1]? |
| Banri | No, that’s just a mistake. Pfft, you don’t look like an art student. |
| Kazunari | “#Art #Exploding #Literally” post... there we go. |
| Banri | You’re gonna post it like that? |
 |
| Kazunari | Got 10 likes in a second~! |
| Banri | Fast. |
| Kazunari | Ah, Azu gave me a like too! |
| Banri | Huh, that’s surprising. |
| Kazunari | Azu tends to respond to the fun posts. Settsuar, can you hit like too~? |
| Banri | Yeah, yeah. |
| |
| Kazunari | .... |
| ——. |
| I’m done~...! |
| Izumi | Kazunari-kun, can we come in for a second? |
| Misumi | Here’s some triangle onigiri~. |
| Kazunari | Ah, thanks, both of you~! I literally just finished! |
| Izumi | Really!? Nice work! |
| Misumi | Nice work, Kazu~. You worked so hard~. |
| Kazunari | Hehehe! |
| Izumi | Wow, this is an epic piece! |
| Kazunari | Yup~. This one was kind of a lot of work. |
| Misumi | Let’s show everyone else~! I’m gonna go get them! |
| Kazunari | You don’t have to~. |
| Izumi | But you’re going to take it with you tomorrow, right? We might as well show everyone now. |
| Kazunari | Ah~, true. You’re right! |
| The onigiri looks good~. Itadakimasu! |
| Izumi | You didn’t even eat dinner today. |
| Kazunari | Ah, that’s right. I need to write this.... |
| Izumi | What’s that? |
| Kazunari | It’s a memo for the caption~. |
| Izumi | Caption… Ah, the stuff with titles and explanations? |
| Kazunari | Yup. I usually only write the title, though~. |
| Izumi | Really? |
| Kazunari | It’s kinda embarrassing, writing a whole explanation—how should I put it, I don’t really know what to say~. |
| Tenma | Kazunari, I heard you finished? |
| Yuki | Nice work~. |
| Misumi | I brought everyone~. |
| Muku | Wow, amazing! I didn’t know it was this huge! |
| Kumon | Japanese-style painting! This is so cool! |
| Kazunari | Isn’t it killer~. Praise me, praise me! |
| Tenma | Did you really paint this...? |
| Yuki | There’s such a gap between the creator and the creation. |
| Kazunari | You’re so rude, Tenten, Yukki...! |
| Izumi | Ahaha. |
| Tenma | But it looks like we can start getting ready for our next performance now. |
| Kazunari | I’m sorry for being totally wrapped up with this~. |
| Izumi | We still have time in our schedule, so it’s fine. Let’s really get started tomorrow. |
| Misumi | Yeah~! |
| Muku | This is exciting! |
| Kazunari | Yup! |
