#(haven't seen that tag in a long while heyoooo)

[deus-ex-mona]

Suki ni Naru Sono Shunkan Wo.: Prologue

this is just an attempted tl of the hina movie novel, so lol—

(this is in first-person, so i’ll denote the pov characters with ~s during every pov switch!!)

~Setoguchi Hina~

Our first meeting had been the absolute worst—.

It happened when I was in my First Year of Middle School.

On that day, I, Setoguchi Hina, had been tasked with cleaning the area near the school entrance. Having swept the place clean, I checked my watch to see that it was almost 4pm.

“Whoa, it’s gotten this late?! I’ll be late for track practice!!”

If this went on, I was going to run late for practice! My seniors from the Track and Field Club were really strict about punctuality too. Us First Year students had to get there early to set things up. Thus, I absolutely had to finish cleaning up as quickly as possible!

As I hurriedly headed for the storage closet to put my broom away, I heard someone’s panicked voice.

“Aah!!”

…Aah?

When I turned around, I realised that a male student had tripped on my broom.

Eh?!

Right before my very eyes, the trash bin that that guy had been carrying flew out of his grasp and upended all over the floor. A loud, painful thud echoed throughout the hallway.

Having instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, I fearfully cracked an eye open to survey the damage. The male student had fallen flat on his face, his eyes appearing to be spinning.

Ju-just what the hell is this guy doing?!

“Ouch…”

As I stood there, stock-still in dumbfoundment, the male student slowly peeled himself off the floor. His plain, thick-lensed glasses appeared to have tilted from the impact of his fall.

“Aah!”

That guy let out a miserable scream the moment he saw the trash scattered throughout the hallway.

“The trash~~!!!!”

My cheeks twitched in irritation as I watched as the male student tried to pick up the trash in a panic.

That should be my line! I had just painstakingly cleaned up the area, you know?!!!

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

The crouched over male student turned to look at me in confusion. “Ah, I’m sor…”

“I’m in a hurry, so clean up that mess properly, got it?!” I put my hands on my hips as I stomped my feet, effectively spacing my legs apart.

“!...”

The male student, who had been looking up at me with a blank stare till that point, suddenly blushed deeply.

“Hm? What’s with that look?”

“Well… um…”

Oh geez. He’s seriously getting on my nerves!

“Just spit it out!”

I hate timid, hesitant, and fidgety guys like him the most!

“...Your… panties…” the male student mumbled embarrassedly as he averted his eyes.

Eh?

My panties?!

I slowly looked down, only to be hit with the realisation that I had been giving him a full view up my skirt the entire time.

“Aaaaaah!!” 

My face burned as I hurriedly pushed my skirt down with both hands.

To think that I was seen by such a colossal screw up, of all people!!!

I gripped the handle of my broom tightly, tears beading at the corners of my eyes.

Side: Kotaro, Shibaken, and Kodai. Location: The Hallway; After School

~Enomoto Kotaro~

I, Enomoto Kotaro, had been assigned to clean the space beneath the stairs as a group of three along with my classmates, Shibaken and Kodai.

The slim, bespectacled guy had the name of Yamamoto Kodai. The other guy, who was flashy in both appearances and personality, was named Shibasaki Ken, better known as “Shibaken”. I refer to Kodai as “Kodai” normally, though.

All three of us couldn’t be more different when it comes to our personalities and interests, and yet, we often hang out together all the same.

On that day too, we were chatting away as we slacked off on our cleaning duties when—.

“Hold it right there—!!”

—The spirited voice of a female student drifted into earshot.

“?”

This voice— is Hina’s, right?

Sure enough, as I had deduced, Hina came sprinting down the hallway, brandishing a broom in her hands.

When I say “Hina”, I’m talking about Setoguchi Hina, my next-door neighbour. We’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten, so it’s common knowledge that we’re childhood friends.

Hina looked to be running in pursuit of a tearful, plain-looking, bespectacled male student.

“Aaaaah!”

He let out loud wails, as though he was about to get slaughtered, as she chased him down with an absolutely terrifying expression on her face.

I tried to call out to them, but they just ran past us at full speed, not even having the time to acknowledge our presence.

“What was that all about?” I remained in place in utter dumbfoundment.

“Hm? Did something happen?” Shibaken looked up.

However, Hina and the plain glasses guy had already disappeared down the hallway, out of our line of sight. I don’t know what that guy did to Hina, but there’s no way that he could run away from her, especially since she’s on the Track team.

Well, it’s only a matter of time before she catches up to the plain glasses guy. He’s so slow.

But, that guy’s our upperclassman— right?

Side: Hina and Koyuki. Location: In Front of the Third Years’ Classroom

~Setoguchi Hina~

Despite this guy seeming slow, he still somehow managed to evade me for quite some time!

Having finally managed to corner him up against a wall, I slammed my hand right next to him so that he wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Eeek! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” the male student desperately apologised to me, trembling in fear.

“You saw them, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t see them at all! I didn’t see your panda panties…”

“!! So you did see them!” I hollered furiously.

“Eek!” the male student grew visibly frightened, even shrinking his neck into himself, much like a turtle.

Why did I have to wear childish panda panties today of all days—?

Why today—?!!!!

As I tightened my grip on the handle of my broom, almost as though I was trying to snap it to bits, the door to the classroom that was right beside us opened with a clatter.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Hina-chan~?”

Ah, it’s Nacchan!

Nacchan, the one who had just exited the classroom, was my next-door neighbour who’s two years my senior, and thus acts like a big sister to me. Her full name is Enomoto Natsuki, but I just call her “Nacchan”. She had a slender build, wore her hair in a cute hair bun, and she even had a great sense of style to boot.

Nacchan shifted her gaze from me to the male student I had pinned up against the wall. “Wait, huh? Koyuki-kun’s here too…”

“E… Enomoto-san…” the male student turned to look at Nacchan, his face remaining as stiff as ever.

“Enomoto-san”? “Koyuki-kun”? What’s the meaning of this?

I looked at Nacchan, and then at the male student she had called “Koyuki-kun” in turn.

“You know this guy, Nacchan?” I asked, jabbing a finger at the male student.

Nacchan grinned brightly. “We’re classmates.”

“You’re classmates?!” I blurted out in surprise.

“Yup. He’s my classmate. His name is Ayase Koyuki.”

“Wait, that means…”

I looked up to check the plaque that was affixed to the top of the door to the classroom. The characters “3-B” stared down at me.

This guy’s really a Third Year student?! Seriously?!

I dropped my hand from the wall and backed away from him.

Ayase—senpai smiled awkwardly as he scratched his cheek.

Oh no~~, what do I do?!

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that you’re my upperclassman…” I bowed my head as I apologised earnestly to him.

He didn’t give off the air of an upperclassman at all, and he spoke so formally that I assumed that he was in the same grade as me.

But if he really was an upperclassman, why didn’t he say so sooner?! I even whacked him with my broom with all my might too!

Of course, it was my fault for not making sure of it first. But, in my defence, I never thought that I’d ever have such an unreliable-seeming upperclassman! Had I known he was older than me, I wouldn’t have chased him around like that.

…I wonder if he thinks of me as a cheeky underclassman, though.

I fearfully snuck a peek at Koyuki-senpai’s face.

“I’m really sorry too,” Koyuki-senpai smiled as he apologised as well.

He sure seems unreliable— but, he has a kind, heart-warming smile.

Huh—?

I found myself surprised by the thump that had resounded through my chest, courtesy of my heart.

“I’ll clean up the trash, okay?” Koyuki-senpai gave me an apologetic look as he spoke.

Our first meeting had been the absolute worst.

But, some day in the future—.

I’d end up falling for him.

Such was the hunch I had felt at that moment, as I found myself unable to break my gaze away from Koyuki-senpai’s eyes for an entire moment.