Chapter 1: Me and You (1)

Me and You (1)

Two weeks ago, I awakened a supernatural power. I don't know why. But it seems to be true.

The supernatural power I've awakened is a mundane one: the ability to read people's thoughts and emotions. To give you an idea of how mundane it is, it's about the same as the academic ability of this high school.

"The above is the basis for the theory that Oda Nobunaga was a woman, which has been gaining attention in recent years," said Japanese history, Mikami-sensei, wrapping up a rather unconvincing lesson. "That's all for today. It's most likely not going to come up on your entrance exams, so there's no need to memorize it."

There are a few things I would like to say, such as why did she spend an entire class explaining this, and isn't this terrible considering most of the students in this class are hoping to go on to higher education, but the thing I want to say most is that the majority of the male students were looking at Mikami-sensei with lustful eyes and weren't paying any attention to the class at all.

I should point out that this is not the case for me. Well, it's true that I didn't listen to the lectures seriously, thinking of them as boring background music, but I wasn't particularly paying attention to Mikami-sensei's body line, which was overflowing with female hormones.　

Wherever my attention is directed, that is, from Hitotose-san, her inner voice pops into my head.

(Wow, Asami-chan really does have a great body.)

Asami-chan refers to Mikami-sensei full name, Mikami Asami.

Hitotose-san is a girl, but she is a girl who joins the boys in ogling Mikami-sensei.

However, she is a beautiful girl. And how beautiful is she? Her beauty is incomparable to the academic level of this high school. To be more specific, she's so beautiful that it would make the top of Japan's most famous idol groups run away barefoot.

"Make sure you use contraception," Mikami-sensei said before leaving.　

(That's none of your business!)

Hitotose-san is making a comment in her mind. It's a tasteful comment that evokes sadness.

Hitotose-san's expression darkens slightly.

(... P.E. class is next. I don't want that.)

I agree. Moving to another class to changing clothes is a hassle.

(...I wonder why it had to be me.)　

The melancholy look on her face really suits her.　

The reason I became interested in Hitotose-san was not because I was attracted to her beautiful appearance, which, despite being doll-like and inhuman, had no unnatural qualities like those of poorly done plastic surgery.

According to what Hitotose-san said and when I say "said," I mean I'm just peeking inside her head, but she believes she was originally a boy. Apparently, during the spring break between her first and second years, she was turned into a girl by a giant fly that called itself God. The perceptions of the people around her have also been tampered with, so no one can realize that she was originally a boy.

That's what Hitotose is convinced of. Of course, I'm not just skeptical, I'm 90% skeptical. I'm not 100% doubting her because there are people like me out there, and I think it could be possible.

Now, this crazy beautiful girl, Hitotose-san, is what people call a loner. That said, she's not being bullied. She just rejects everyone.

According to Hitotose-san, she dislikes boys because they have ulterior motives - from her perspective, they are ulterior motives from the same sex - and she doesn't want to get involved with girls because they have a pesky, feminine attitude. She also finds the jealousy of the girls, which she occasionally glimpses, annoying and irritating.

Well, that's what Hitotose-san is like.

And it was because of that I became interested in her.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for any sexual thing from her, like love or sex.

The reason I'm drawn to Hitotose-san is because I find her twistedness fascinating, and as long as it satisfies my curiosity, I don't need any other reason.

So, I decided to talk to Hitotose-san.　

"Hitotose-san!" I called out to her as she was about to leave near the school gate after school.　

"What...?" I wasn't sure what that bell-like voice actually sounded like, but it was certainly a voice that suited that description well, and Hitotose-san spoke without even trying to hide her wariness.　

(Whoa, who is this guy? Damn, I can't remember his name.)　

Wow, it wasn't a matter of caution or anything like that.

"Hey, do you know my name?" I can't help but want to bully her, but is it because of her boyish nature, or because of Hitotose-san's cheerful demeanor?

"Ehhh..." a clear, voiced sound came out of Hitotose-san's mouth. "Etto..."　

(What a pain. I can't remember anything at all, yet he is attacking me with pinpoint accuracy...)

I think it's pretty amazing that I can hold back my laughter.　

(Huh? Wait a minute.)

Hitotose-san seems to have noticed something, but there is no visible change in her expression.

(Did he come to talk to me just to ask that?)　

Now that you mention it, that does seem strange.　

Hitotose-san's wide eyes suddenly change into those of someone looking at a suspicious person.

So, I'll drop a bombshell for now: "Why did Hitotose-san suddenly become a girl?"　

"!?" Hitotose-san's eyes widen.　

(──?!)

There's a lot of noise and I can't read her thoughts very well.　

But I continue, "No one has noticed it, so what's going on?"

(──!??)

Just as I was thinking how confused she was, Hitotose-san grabbed my wrist and started walking quickly. Her movements were quite sharp and well done.

I can feel the gazes of those around me. I can roughly tell what they're thinking without using my supernatural powers, so I don't bother to peek into their thoughts.　

Hitotose-san is silent on the surface, but that's not what's going on in her mind.　

(Who is this guy? Why hasn't his perception been altered? Why did he tell me that? What's his purpose? By the way, what's his name again?)

Apparently she really can't remember my name after all.

The town we live in is a moderately sized core city. That's why it's not hard to find parks where there aren't many people around, and where children aren't playing.

"You don't know, huh..." Hitotose-san muttered in a voice like windchimes, as she sat on some rusty and dangerous playground equipment.

When Hitotose-san asked me, "How did Minamoto (that's my name btw) notice?" I lied and said, "I don't know," which led to the image of Hitotose-san swinging on the swing with a puzzled look on her face, and that's where she remain to now.

It's past 5:20 PM.

"I'm going home now," said Hitotose-san as she jumped off the swing, she actually jumped like a boy. Then she looked at her own hands and exclaimed, "Wow, they're dirty."　

Probably got some rust on her hands.

Hitotose-san looked at me with a nasty look on her face and said, "Take this!" and tried to rub her hand against me.

So I avoided her. "What are you doing?" I said, hurriedly.　

"Don't avoid me." The tone was completely masculine, but it didn't feel strange. However, I couldn't understand why she kept trying to use my uniform as a wet towel.

After this exchange of attacks several times, Hitotose either got bored or gave up, muttering "I'm hungry" and declaring that he was going home.　

"You already said it before."　

However, without offering any explanation, Hitotose-san just said, "See you later," and left.

I still think she's a weird girl.

Since then, I have been interacting with Hitotose-san frequently.　

"Hey, Minamito," Hitotose-san said, coming over to me as I was putting away the most famous math textbook in the exam industry. "Go buy some yakisoba bread for me."

"No thanks." Since when have I become a gofer? And most of all, Hitotose-san has a child's palate and is a pain. "Generally, yakisoba bread without pickled ginger is not sold in the convenience store of a second-rate rural high school that pretends to be an academically advanced school." Apparently, she has a terrible aversion to spicy food, so we need to interpret "yakisoba bread" as "yakisoba bread without pickled ginger."

"Pfft," Sakaki-san, sitting next to me, burst out laughing. I couldn't tell if she was laughing at Hitotose-san, who had requested a yakisoba bread without pickled ginger, a dish similar to chicken curry without meat, or at the look on Wada-sensei's face, a national university supremacist who looked a bit like he'd just eaten cold tempura, if not quite a bitter one, but anyway, it didn't really matter.

But Hitotose-san is a very laid-back person. Without a care in the world around her, she begins, "Yesterday," with a familiar air that makes it hard to believe she'd just uttered a stereotypically delinquent-like line. "I saw it."

"What?" I sense someone listening next to me.

"The festival guy," Hitotose-san often finds himself at a loss for words.

But then something clicked for me. Yesterday, a local festival was featured on TV, and they were showing footage of food stalls that looked like they were from last year.

"Did it have to do with the festival food stalls or something that made you want to eat yakisoba?" I reluctantly offered up something like a theory.　

"Yes, that's it." It seems i got it right. Hitotose-san flashes a smile that looks like it could bring in money. "I wonder why food stalls always look so delicious."　

"But you don't want to add pickled ginger, right?"

"Of course," she declared, her face now serious.　

I vow to secretly add pickled ginger to something next time and give it to her.　

(I want to force feed her and make her cute face distort. I want to make her cry.)　

Sakaki-san also loudly agreed in her heart. It seems like there are no good people in this class. I should be a little nicer to our homeroom teacher, Mikami-sensei

By the way, when Hitotose-san says, "Go buy some yakisoba bread," what she's really thinking is, "Let's go eat!"　

The sky outside the window is overcast with gloomy clouds. The weather forecast says there will be no rain, but that prediction is becoming less and less reliable.　

"..."　

I hope it doesn't rain.　

My supernatural powers don't work on rainy days. I wonder if this will improve if I grow a bit more.　

"So, you see, Yamashita played a game like that—" Hitotose-san seemed to like professional baseball, and even after emptying her lunch box, she continued talking endlessly about the player named Yamashita.

However, since I have little interest or knowledge about the sport, I basically just ignored her. 

"What do you think about it, Minamoto?" Hitotose-san's eyes pierced me.

I don't know anything, so I'll try to read her thoughts.

(This guy, he didn't hear me again)　

It was obvious.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you." There's no point in making excuses, so I just confess honestly.　

"Haa," Hitotose-san sighed. "It's okay, it's okay. I know you're a complete idiot who doesn't value baseball, or any sport in general."　

"Paczki are Polish fried pastries."　

When I said that, Hitotose-san let out a long "haaah" and squeezed out a lump of air that seemed twice as big as before from her lungs. "Shut up! Shut up! I don't really need that kind of information."

"Sorry"

"By the way," Hitotose-san seemed satisfied with hearing the apology, and changed the subject. "Are you free this weekend?"

"I guess I'm free enough."　

"Let's go see the Silver Phoenix game," she said, adding that her dad had given her tickets.

The Silver Phoenix is a baseball team that was founded about 10 years ago and is based in the prefecture where we live. According to Hitotose-san, they are usually in last place.　

To be honest, even if they were a regular contender for the championship, I probably wouldn't be interested, but that doesn't mean I absolutely don't want to go. I don't have any plans, so I answer, "Sure."　

Hitotose-san's mouth twisted and she simply said, "Yeah."　

But deep down she was thinking, (Yosh! I won't feel lonely going alone! Yatta!)

What is this girl? She's interesting.　

So I said, "Oh, sorry. I just remembered I had plans."　

"Huh?!"　

(Huh?!)

On Saturday, Hitotose-san and I were at the brand new stadium. It was a day game.　

Amid the noisy, though not overwhelming, audience, Hitotose-san still stood out. A beautiful girl of a different level, wearing the team's uniform, yelling things like, "Why don't you hit it now, damn it!" "I believed in you. I know you can do it if you try!" and "Don't mess with me, we're not here to see a horror movie!" A random older man might understand, but if Hitotose-san kept quiet, she was so beautiful she could even change the mind of an idol who was bullying her group members behind the scenes with just her gaze. It was really strange.

The surrounding audience members were half-way through watching Hitotose-san rather than the baseball game, saying things like, "Oh, this is worth watching," "I see, quite something...," and "That guy next to her is getting in the way..." and started thinking evil thoughts - for now, I wish they'd stop exuding murderous intent.

"Ahh," Hitotose-san suddenly let out a cry that sounded like a character in a horror movie going mad and dying. "They have lost..."

I was so busy watching the crowd watching Hitotose-san watching the match that I didn't pay much attention to the game. Before I knew it, it was over.

The scoreboard read 13 to 15. I wondered if baseball was really a sport with that many points scored.

"...I'm going home," Hitotose-san muttered. She quickly stood up and looked up at the sky. "It's still quite bright, huh."

In Hitotose-san's mind, when she was a boy, Hitotose-san was fairly well-known as a baseball prodigy - indeed, although their school calls itself a preparatory school, it is a regular at Koshien. And Hitotose-san had aspired to become a professional baseball player.

However, once she became a girl, the future she had imagined was definitely not possible. There seems to be a women's professional baseball team, but that seems different. She still wanted to enter the world of professional men's baseball, which she had watched since she was a child. It was her dream to excel there.

However, she didn't sulk or hate baseball. She told herself that there was nothing she could do about it, so she'd just enjoy professional baseball as a fan.　

We got off the bus on our way home and walked side by side through the early summer city.

Hitotose-san continues to talk aimlessly, but deep inside, there is a sense of unease, as if a turbulent wave of emotions is coiling up.

That said, most of the time what she is thinking is, (Ah, I want to play baseball too.)

So I suggested, "How about we play catch?"　

However, I immediately regretted it, because I have never played catch before. I'm confident that I have better-than-average athletic ability, but I wondered if that would be enough to satisfy the self-conscious Hitotose-san—it might even leave her feeling unfulfilled.　

"...How much can you do?" Hitotose-san also seemed to wonder.　

"I won't know until I try."　

"Well," she said in an exasperated voice, "that answer says it all." Surely it's poorly done, Hitotose-san thought, raising one eyebrow.　

(Hey, let me show you my change up.)　

"..."

Her words and actions don't match up at all.

I think she should become an actress or something. I don't think it would be strange for her to appear casually in a morning drama that I don't know what's interesting about.　

However, I was feeling something was off at the moment, so I asked the enthusiastic Hitotose-san, "You wouldn't throw a curveball when playing catch with an amateur, would you?"　

"There's no rule that says I can't use it," Hitotose-san asserted firmly.

"Who was it that said that answer says it all?"

"...Maybe you'd be good at being a catcher," Hitotose-san suddenly blurted out.

"Why?" My image of a catcher is that of a sumo wrestler. But I'm skinny.

"You have a mean personality," Hitotose-san replied immediately. "I don't think you would be able to block me, though."

"I can block you on RINE?"

"..."

(Th-this guy...!)

The next day, we were at a nearby riverbank.

In contrast to me, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, looking very unmotivated, Hitotose-san was wearing a tracksuit from a well-known sports manufacturer and was warming up briskly.

"Okay, let's do it," declared Hitotose-san, handing me a pair of well-worn gloves and saying, "Here, use this."

"...It's quite thick." It's sturdier than I imagined.　

"Really?" Hitotose-san shook her ponytail, which she usually wears down. "That's how it is."

"Hitotose-san's glove isn't that thick."　

"I was a pitcher."

"Hmm."　

"Let's do this quickly instead."　

And so began my first ever game of catch.　

Hitotose-san swung her arm in a form similar to that of the pitcher (the one who lost) I saw yesterday, and the white ball was released.

Since I could see it, I prepared my glove at the predicted point of arrival, and the next moment the ball landed in my glove with a "snap!"　

My honest impression is that it actually works.　

However, Hitotose-san seems dissatisfied, tilting her head and saying, "Hmm..."　

"What's wrong?"　

"I thought the feeling was different after all!"　

I see.

"Well, never mind," Hitotose-san's expression suddenly changed, and she announced with a smile, "It looks like you can do it better than I thought, so next, try crouching down." Then, while shaking her hand holding the ball up and down, she said something that was hard to understand: "This is a straight shot and this is a curve. This is a change of pace."

It's probably a sign as to which one to throw, but I'm not confident that I can read it accurately, so I simply switch on my supernatural powers.

(Hmm, this softball, the maximum is about 110 gram huh? That's tough.)

I wonder if it's about the weight of the ball. People who play baseball seem to be able to sense it. Amazing.

In this relaxed, yet not-so-relaxed atmosphere, we continued playing catch. Hitotose-san had great control and knew exactly what she wanted to throw and where, so even a beginner like me was able to do it without any problems.

"Sorry to interrupt your date, but I have something to discuss with you," Sakaki-san, sitting next to us as we ate our lunch Onigiri and looked out at the river, said with her hands clasped together. 

Hitotose-san and I exchanged glances. 

(Who was this girl again?)

Hitotose-san should take a bit more interest in her classmates.　

Since Hitotose-san doesn't seem to be much help, I'll deal with it. "What's wrong?"　

"Actually," Sakaki-san began.

To summarize the story, it seemed that Sakaki-san's brother's amateur baseball team was playing on this riverbank, but one of the players had to go on an urgent matter and they were short on players, so would we mind stepping in to help out? Sakaki-san had seen us playing catch and apparently thought, "Maybe they would be okay with that."

I thought there were a lot of people gathered there, and that's what it was.　

Sakaki-san looks up, wondering if it's no good.

"..."

(...Damn. It doesn't feel like it's working at all. Is he so used to girls that his senses are numb. What an annoying guy.)　

Is this the right attitude to ask someone for something? No, the attitude is fine, but what you're thinking is wrong. It's definitely a prejudice.

With her arms crossed, Hitotose-san had been listening eerily quietly on the surface, but then she suddenly spoke. "...There is a condition."

That's so arrogant.　

"What are the conditions?" Sakaki-san swallows, clearly enthusiastic.　

"Hm," Hitotose-sam nodded. Then, like an arrogant villain, she declared, "Let me be the pitcher."

"Sure," Sakaki replied simply.　

"Eh, is that okay?" Hitotose-san's enthusiasm seemed to have been dampened.　

Sakaki-san nodded and looked at the team members, saying, "Right now, we don't have anyone on our team who can pitch, and from what I can see, Hitotose-san's form is pretty good."

Perhaps flattered by the praise, Hitotose-san flashed a wide grin that would have put anyone who wasn't a beautiful girl off, and said, "I guess I have no choice. If you say so, I'll do it," and then she put her hand on my shoulder. "Oh, and the catcher is this guy."　

"Eh, why?" What does she expect from me, someone who doesn't even understand the rules?

"Sure," Sakaki-san nodded again, then, quirking the corners of her mouth, she said, "Wow, you're really brimming with a girl aura, Hitotose-san," and stepped on a landmine. 

However, contrary to my expectations, Hitotose-san simply said, "Shut up," in a brusque tone.