Shirohara Ren is an upperclassman one year above Mu She transferred somewhere else back in March but she’s coming right back four months later She had an odd grin on her face Her grades are top notch she has seven prefectural records in track and she’s known across Japan as a junior lacrosse player She’s an elite among elites who held the position of student council president in Megutono Academy’s elementary and then middle school And She looked to her uncomfortable-looking little brother and sister
She was Mu ’s first love
N-Nee
And Chi didn’t you start playing lacrosse because Mu was always going to watch
her at practice
Gah That’sI did not
The two younger siblings both yelled at her
And then they both hung their blushing heads
Ange and Mutsumi tilted their heads in confusion
Iwai’s teasing elicited true anger from Mutsuki and Chiaki and the two of them did their best to
change the subject
After killing some time it was time for Mutsumi’s nap so Mutsuki and Ange left
They walked down the road with the two sleeping bags
He had trouble focusing the entire time
(Shirohara-senpai)
The thought of her name brought an ache to his chest
Fweh Eh Oh what is it Ange
Again I’m asking if we need to go shopping after this
He had apparently been walking in a daze so Ange was mad at him
At first he did not know what she meant by going shopping but then he remembered they needed other camping supplies besides the sleeping bags
He nodded his head and she took the sleeping bag he held
Then leave these with me You can deal with the shopping
She started toward the apartment
If Mutsuki was going camping then she would be going as his bodyguard That was fine since it was their friends from school going
But she apparently did not want to deal with the preparations so she left the shopping to him
He smiled bitterly and started to turn around but
Shirohara Ren
He froze in place when she suddenly muttered that name
Ange glared at the boy
Your first love huh
Well um
With a snort she ran off
Mutsuki was confused why she was acting so angry but it was an even more complicated feeling to know Ange had heard his older sister say Shirohara Ren was his first love
Calling her his first love was not entirely accurate
They had not been that close He had simply heard she was an amazing upperclassman and had thought she was pretty when he saw her from a distance That was all she had been
They had barely ever spoken and then she had suddenly moved overseas
But it was true he had spent a lot of his time looking at her from afar
Once
It had happened during July of the previous year which put it over a year ago
Mutsuki had yet to meet Ange Micha Lucia or Machina and he had known nothing of the forces fighting for heaven earth and hell He had lived as a perfectly normal boy
Volleyball had been the big event of this year’s game tournament but it had been tennis the year before
He had played a doubles game with his best friend Tomono Sakae Sakae was generally great at sports so people had had high hopes for the team
Sakae had been incredibly good but Mutsuki had been nothing but a burden They could have won easily with Sakae’s skill but Mutsuki almost always missed when the ball came his way
Feeling pathetic Mutsuki had started practicing afterschool He had not known how to practice tennis so he had done nothing but silently serve the ball
He was naturally diligent so while he focused on that everyone else had left leaving him all alone
What are you doing
He had thought he was alone on the court so the sudden voice caused him to miss the ball quite spectacularly
After just about falling onto his butt he had turned toward the voiceand widened his eyes
It had been past six but the evening sun had showed no sign of setting In front of it a girl had brushed up her golden brown hair and held a lacrosse racket in one hand Anyone in Megutono
Academy would have recognized her
She had had the big round eyes of a doll long eyelashes a smooth bridge of the nose and elegantly glossy lips That had been a year ago so she had been the same age as Mutsuki now
But the image in his memories was of a breathtakingly mature beauty
Her arms and legs had been long and slender and she had had shapely curves from her chest to her hips Healthy legs had stretched down from her flared skirt A body with both the calm of an adult and the delicateness of a girl had worn gym clothes bearing the name Shirohara Shirohara-senpai
As the school’s most talented girl and his student council president Mutsuki had of course known who she was
You aren’t on the tennis team so what are you doing here
The cowardly boy had grown flustered with the dignified upperclassman’s eyes on him
Shirohara Ren had given him a sharp look
Fujita Mutsuki Are you practicing tennis
Y-yes
But she had only frightened the boy for a moment
Is it for the game tournament I appreciate the diligence but it’s about time to leave
Right S-sorry I’ll leave right away
Blushing Mutsuki had run to grab the ball on the other side of the court
Hm
As soon as he had reached the other side of the net
Raise your racket Fujita Mutsuki
Ren had traded her lacrosse racket for a tennis one and she held a new ball
It looked like you had serving down so you need to practice receiving next
Hit this back Ready go
She had hit the ball without a moment’s delay
It had been a gentle shot but it had been too sudden for the body to keep up and he had simply watched the ball bounce by He had raised his blank face and seen her already holding the next ball
What’s the matter If you don’t raise your racket this practice won’t be much use
Mutsuki’s mind had gone blank when he had realized she was helping him practice
Um but Senpai Didn’t you say it’s time to leave
He had still been worried about that nonsense so the student council president had giggled
I believe rules may be broken if you are prepared to accept the consequences
Mutsuki had been shocked to hear the school’s most talented girl sound like an outlaw
It’s a selfish view butFujita Mutsuki Are you prepared to be scolded by a teacher if it means being prepared for the tournament
Yes Oh but
I am too Her tone had been casual but intense I want to help with your practice and I am
willing to be scolded for that
Raise your racket Ready go
She had given him a kind command
He had stared blankly for a moment but that had been cut short by her merciless serve
Okay
Afterwards his worried parents had called his cellphone because he had been so late That had been past eight so it had lasted about two hours
Those two hours had been his only contact with Shirohara Ren
At the game tournament a few days later he and Sakae had made it to the best eight
He had no idea how much help his practice had been Reaching the best eight out of more than fifty teams was quite an achievement but it had really come down to Sakae’s skill They had been kept from the best four by a doubles pair from the tennis team It had been the worst pair to run into Even so Mutsuki thought the receiving technique she had taught him had meant a lot
He had gone to thank her later but she had been busy as student council president and the most he had gotten was a smile from her
He had hoped he would be able to speak with her again after Chiaki had joined the lacrosse team in the second term but no such opportunity had presented itself Then in March of this year she had moved away Her sudden move overseas with the high school entrance exams coming up for the third years had spawned much speculation He did not know if his feelings for Shirohara Ren qualified as a first love
He had looked up to her That much was certain
But was that really a first love He had barely known her and he had been unable to confirm anything because she had moved away