The Summer You Were There

· @manga_collector· Yuama (ゆあま)

Capitol 1

1. I...

2. “The summer you were there”

1. With this... 2. I finally... 3. "Alright, next up," 4. "Hoshikawa Shizuku."

1. "W-Well..." 2. "Ah..." 3. "Read the next paragraph." 4. "It's the fourth paragraph."

1. As I thought... 2. "?" 3. "..." 4. I am no good at dealing with this type of person. 5. Well...

1. Not like I'm good at dealing with any type of person. 2. "Hoshi-kawa-san!" 3. "..." 4. "Would you like to eat with us?"

1. I'm sorry. 2. I'm sorry. 3. It's better if I am alone.

1. I don't want... 2. to get hurt again. 3. "...it's done."

1. I've finally written 2. My first 3. and last novel.

1. It took around a year... 2. Such a long time... 7. With this, everything ends. 11. "..." 12. But before that...

1. Breath out 2. breath in... 3. I can do this.

6. "Ah" 7. "Ha" 8. "Ha" 9. "No..." 10. "Ha..." 11. "Haa" 12. "Haa"

1. "Ha..." 10. I need to be able to do this.

1. I decided I'd publish my novel after finishing it. 3. That's what I 4. decided...

1. "Ah..." 2. I can't just leave it somewhere random... 3. Maybe... 4. I shouldn't have used notebook pages for the draft... 5. If I throw it in our trash someone might find it... 6. As I thought...

1. Luckily it's trash collection day so this should be fine... 2. If I really throw this away... 3. I...

1. "Hoshi-kawa-san!" 2. "Hm?" 3. "I was on my way home and noticed you here, Hoshikawa-san." 4. The girl who sits next to me...

1. "What's this here?" 2. "I'm sorry!" 3. "Did you drop it when I surprised you?" 4. "That..." 5. This is bad. 6. "Ah." 7. "Ah." 8. "Asaka-san..." 9. "Hopefully it didn't get dirty..."

1. "Eh...?" 2. "Ah..." 3. "..." 4. "This..." 5. She's gonna see it...

1. "Kaori!" 2. I'm... 3. "I'll be there in a sec!" 4. "Ah!" 5. "We're gonna leave you behind!" 6. I'm saved...? 7. "Sorry, Hoshikawa-san." 8. "But..."

1. "I'll be borrowing this." 2. "Eh?" 3. "What?" 4. "I'll bring it back tomorrow!" 5. "Wha..." 6. "You have to be joking..." 7. "You have..."

1. "Haaaaa" 2. "Ah... Sorry, Shion..." 3. This is the worst.

1. She's the most popular girl in class, friends with everyone. 2. The girl sitting next to me, Asaka Kaori-san. 3. With that novel. 4. I don't know what she plans on doing. 5. I have no idea what's on her mind. 6. Asaka-san will... 7. Once she reads that depressing story 8. It's pretty obvious it's a novel once you take a look at it. 9. She'll probably read it.

1. "Ha" 2. "Ha..." 3. "Woof!" 4. "Ha" 5. "!" 6. "Shion..."

1. "Thank you." 2. That means I'll have to talk to her... 3. I'll ask Asaka-san to return the novel... 4. The first thing I'll do at school tomorrow. 5. Talking to her...

1. "I wonder if I can do it..."

1. I ended up coming earlier since I couldn't sleep. 2. It's still way too early... 3. "Good morning!"

1. "Do you always arrive at this hour?" 2. "You got here early, you were the first to arrive." 3. "Asaka-san...!" 4. I have to do it now. 5. "A-" 6. I have to do it. 7. I have to do it. 8. "There's usually no one else here at this time, right?" 9. It's... 10. Before she says anything else.

1. "It's okay if you throw it away!" 2. "W-well..." 3. "It...?"

1. "I could never throw away something like that!" 2. "The novel?" 3. "F-From... Yesterday..." 4. "Ah right, I wanted to talk to you about it!" 5. "B-but..." 6. "Are you talking about..." 7. Ah 8. "What I thought about it!" 9. No 10. No 11. "I thought..."

1. "I'm serious!" 2. What...? 3. "The novel was amazing!!" 4. "...it was incredible, Hoshikawa-san!!" 5. "Incredible..." 6. "Especially in the las-" 7. "The choice of words was beautiful." 8. "And although it was a sad story, I felt I could really relate to it." 9. "Are..."

1. "Are you sure" 2. "you're not confusing it with some other novel?" 3. "I-" 4. "I mean..." 5. "Nope." 6. "With themes like those..." 7. "Empathy, sexism, shame, death." 8. "It was so dark and boring."

1. "I'm not mistaken." 2. "That's how I really felt reading your novel, Hoshikawa-san." 3. "I'm sure of it." 4. "It really touched me."

1. "When they hold hands like this." 2. "!" 3. "Specially that last scene." 4. "And come to terms with what was about to happen to them." 5. "It actually made me cry a little..." 6. Feeling her body heat through my hands. 7. Those lightly swollen eyes. 8. A voice that I've never heard her use in class.

1. Those words she said to me. 2. There was not a hint of deception in them. 3. About the novel I loved so much. 4. "Even if it was something you wanted to get rid of, Hoshikawa-san." 5. "It ended up being really precious to me." 6. "So you shouldn't be so insecure."

1. The main reason I wrote that novel, 2. "Ah..." 3. "Eh!" 4. "Hoshikawa-san!?" 5. Like I had never written it. 6. So I wanted to make it dissapear. 7. was simply for my own self-satisfaction. 8. So why do I... 9. It wasn't meant for somebody else's eyes.

1. "...feel so happy" 2. "I'm glad." 3. "It was you who read it."

1. I'm glad. 2. I wrote it.

1. How shameful... 2. How long has it been since I cried in front of someone... 3. "Ah, yes..." 4. "Have the tears stopped?" 5. "So..." 6. "When's the next one?"

1. "Eh..." 2. "What's it going to be about?" 3. "I wanna read more of your stories, Hoshikawa-san!" 4. "Ah..." 5. "Something romantic..." 6. "I wouldn't mind one with a happy ending." 7. "I loved this one but" 8. "I don't plan on writing anything else..." 9. "I..." 10. "That makes me really happy... But..." 11. "I'm sorry."

1. "Eh..." 2. "..." 3. "So... Well..." 4. "...Why?" 5. "Don't stop."

1. "Keep writing." 2. "Hoshi-kawa-san." 3. Asaka-san's hands. 4. "Please..." 5. "B-but..." 6. Are trembling a bit.

1. "Y-yes." 2. "You mean, you have no ideas?" 3. "..." 4. "I have nothing else to write about..." 5. Asaka-san...? 6. Maybe that'll convince her... 7. "..." 8. "In that case..."

1. "Let's start going out." 2. "You and me."

1. "We'll write a story." 2. "About our love." 3. And so, it began. 4. The first... 5. and last summer I spent with her.