Chapter 2

Tetsu-kun, want some chocolate?

Chocolate?

I got this whole bag of assorted chocolate, but there’s no way I can eat all of it.

There’s a bunch of flavors too, see~! There’s milk and dark and caramel and matcha… and a ton more—Which one do you want?

Hm~… I’ll take the milk chocolate. I’m always going for the more basic flavors when it comes to this stuff.

Then I’ll take the matcha flavor. Munch munch…

By the way, how did the meditation work out? You got any ideas for your personalized outfit yet?

Ngh~… Well earlier, the only thing I could think of was “cool” ‘cause it was so sudden.

But I feel like I’ve been able to shake off all my worries and really think about what a personalized outfit means to me.

…Which is?

When I saw Shinobu-kun’s personalized outfit a while back, I thought it was awesome how it kinda showed off what he loves and thinks is important.

But when it comes to me, I couldn’t get any ideas in my head. So instead I tried thinking about what I’d look like wearing the costume…

The personalized outfit is supposed to be a way to express who I am, right? But no matter what it ends up looking like, it won’t change who I wanna be or what I wanna show off.

Well yeah, those are things you keep inside you. So you’re right—That kinda thing won’t change based on what you wear.

Yeah, for sure. At least, that’s what it feels like for this personalized outfit… I dunno, I can’t really phrase it well.

I gotta make sure the costume doesn’t just represent who I am—It has to show my feelings about my own feelings… Otherwise, I’m not wearing the outfit; the outfit’s wearing me.

Wow, what a hunk~ By the way, what do you wanna show off and be and stuff? Do you mind me asking?

Nah, it’s cool. I wanna get my thoughts together while we talk, anyway.

…What do I wanna show off, hm. I guess it’s all the effort I’ve been putting in, and how much I’ve grown? And what I wanna be never changed.

A man among men!

You got it!

…No, wait, quit taking all my lines!

Sorries~ It’s basically your catchphrase at this point, so it kinda stuck with me.

Well, being a man among men has always been my ideal. And my determination to reach that ideal’s never, ever gonna change.

…It was the same thing when that first year came to ask for my advice earlier. If someone’s relying on me, I wanna do what I can to help.

I’ve got kouhais who look up to who I am right now. If you were in my shoes, you’ wanna be the kinda person who wouldn’t betray their expectations of you, right?

So for that reason… I’ve gotta use whatever brain cells I’ve got to make myself better and better. The only thing I can do is keep working hard.

……

Even if I get frustrated or annoyed. When that happens, I won’t waste any of those feelings—I’ll embrace them.

No matter how much I falter, no matter how much I stumble and fall along the way. I’m not gonna lose heart, I’m not gonna give up, I’m just gonna keep running forward with all I’ve got.

…?

Hey Hinata-kun, why’re you so quiet today? You’re barely talking.

I wanna watch you be all manly, I guess.

But y’know, if you just tell Anzu-san everything you told me, I’m sure she’ll really feel your passion. I hope that’ll lead to a kickass costume.

…But we’re just talking feelings here, it’s not like you’ve come up with any concrete ideas ♪

Urgh. B–but I’ve got some things I for sure wanna put into my costume, okay?! Like Taishou and um, a tiger!

A tiger? Like y’know, rawr~ ♪

Gwah?! It’s sooo not fair to go for my side all of a sudden!

Ahaha! You were wide open~ ♪

…If you keep grinning like that, I’m gonna—! Hah!

Kyaaa~! Oh no, you caught me~ ☆

It’s payback! I’m gonna chomp down on you, no holding back ♪

But like, what I’m imagining isn’t a cute little “rawr rawr~” tiger—I want it to be more “king of the jungle” and stuff!

So don’t you forget it. ‘Cause one day I’m gonna be able to embody that ideal I’m aspiring for ♪

…So yeah. I wanted to have a round two of the meeting to talk about my feelings.

But this time it’s just you and me, Anego. As for those feelings… I pretty must just said everything I wanted to say.

Sorry I couldn’t say like “oh, I want a cool costume that’ll express my passion!” or anything…

You think I have something left to say after all? You’re pretty sharp, Anego.

—Actually, it’s pretty small. I’ve been wondering if we could do this for a while.

I dunno if this is how personalized outfits are supposed to work or anything, but I kinda-sorta wanted to make it a little bigger than my size right now.

Or maybe give it a little more “grown-up” feel or something. I wanna put it on and feel like I should work hard to become someone who can fill it out.

Ummm, so like. I want an outfit that’ll help me grow, or something…

Huh? You’ll think about it?

You’re gonna do your best…? Thanks a bunch, Anego!

So much is going on every single day, but I’m gonna use all of that as food to help me grow into a man among men.

My personalized outfit’ll be another opportunity to grow up big and strong. So just keep your eyes on me…!