Hirano to Kagiura light novel translation
Chapter 1: The first time.
Part 1
Part 2
Translation notes: sooo yeah I wasn't kidding when I said I'd do it myself lmao. This is my first time translating a whole novel for posting so I'm not too confident in how it'll work out but 🤞 I'll do my best!
(1) This doesn't translate well, but Kagiura has a habit of accidentally speaking casually to Hirano when he should be using polite speech with his senpai. This gives the impression that he's a little more careless compared to Miyano, who always speaks politely, even with Sasaki.
Even the way the train sways is different, on a route that he doesn’t usually take. Of his middle school classmates, Kagiura Akira was the only one to decide to live in a dorm, despite the fact that his new school is within the prefecture. This is because it takes two hours to get to his school from home. In his position, for which early morning practice is essential, he has no other choice.
He had been the first to request to move into the dormitory on opening day, April 2nd, a little before the school entrance ceremony. He gets along with his family well and living at home is cozy, but he’s strongly looking forward to living in a new environment. He’d had his bulkier items delivered, so his only luggage is one shoulder bag. He’d moved out without bringing much.
This is the first time he has taken this train alone since the entrance exam. During the school entrance proceedings, he was accompanied by both of his parents, and as such talked to them without paying attention to the scenery.
The empty seats on the early afternoon train were impossible to miss, but Kagiura had chosen to stand in front of the door. While gazing at the changing scenery through the windows, unexpectedly green storefronts and streets flashing by, he heaves a sigh of relief.
A different type of excitement from the times he stayed over with his club for training camps and competitions wells up inside of him.
They’re probably on their way home from club practice, he thinks, gaze drawn to the jersey-clad high schoolers that board the train, their schools’ names written on their backs.
No one here is from the same school as me.
While reading out letters of the alphabet in his mind, the train arrived at its destination.
The student dormitory that Kagiura is moving into is a fifteen minute walk from the school, and the closest stations are different. There are two types of dorm rooms: two-person and four-person. He is moving into the former.
Dorm leader Hanzawa is acting as a guide—his eyes, narrowed since they exchanged greetings, give the strong impression that he always maintains a smile. He laughs frequently as they chat while passing through the dining hall, baths, and other facilities.
“Right, right, everyone basically uses ‘san’ with each other in the dorms, so you can call me ‘Hanzawa-san’.
“Hanzawa-san.”
“Well, most of the students call me Dorm Leader, though.”
“Really…?”
Chuckling as he watches Kagiura try to figure out which to call him, Hanzawa puts on a veiled smile and continues his explanation.
“Basically, it’s dorm tradition to call everyone but your friends ‘san’. Even the office staff. It’s not a firm rule, but out in society everyone uses ‘san’, so it also serves as practice for that.”
“Huh…do you not use ‘senpai’ at all?”
“Roommates don’t use it much.”
“I see…”
“We’ll talk about the details at orientation—oh, speaking of which, your roommate’s name is Hirano Taiga, a second year like me. I believe it’s mentioned in the pamphlet as well, but first and second years share rooms. I think the point is the ‘buddy system’. If there’s anything you don’t understand or that’s troubling you, you have a buddy you can ask about it.”
“Right. About Hirano-san—”
Just as he is about to ask “what’s he like?” he is cut off by a voice shouting from behind them “Hanzawa-saaan! The phone!” The voice belongs to a clerk from the dorm reception desk.
“I’m coming. Sorry Kagiura, but can you get to your room by yourself? The rooms are numbered, so you should be able to find it…”
*No sooner have the words left his mouth than he turns on his heel, and Kagiura quickly nods.
“Sure, I got it. Thank you very much!”
He watches as Hanzawa hurries off. Dorm leaders must be busy, he thinks with admiration as he climbs the stairs.* His room number is written in the documents Hanzawa had given him, so he has no problem finding the room.
I wonder just what kind of person the second year student Hirano-san is.
I hope he’s kind, he thinks, once again struck by homesickness that had been coming and going.
Up until just last week I was wearing a middle school uniform, but I’m about to start living with someone I haven’t even met yet. I wonder if Hirano-san is part of a club.
If he’s in the basketball club, I have tons of things I wanna ask him. Even if he’s not, he might have some friends in it. Since he’s living in the dorm, he must be far from his parents’ house. I wonder where he’s from—
Kagiura thinks these things while walking, and soon finds his assigned room. He lightly knocks on the door, and it opens quickly.
“Ah.”
Before he can even get his greeting out, he finds himself eye-to-eye with the person who opened the door.
“Ah?”
Reflexively. Kagiura flinches at his glare and the suspicious tone of his sharp voice.
This person seems like a delinquent. He’s blonde, the look in his eyes is sharp, and looking closely, his ears are pierced.
“Um, from today I’m in your care…”
“Oh, you must be Kagiura-kun. Sorry, I overslept. The dorm leader isn’t with you?”
Put that way, the scratchiness of his low voice is indeed characteristic of someone who’d just woken up.
“Earlier he was called away by an office worker, so he only told me about our room…”
“I see, sorry about that. …Come in. Take off your slippers here. You can change them for the ones inside.”
Leaning down, Hirano pulls his own slippers into the corner to make it easier for Kagiura to change into his. The polite gesture was a complete turnabout from his rough initial impression.
Oh. Maybe he’s not so scary…in fact, he seems kind…
His chest gradually begins to feel hot. It seems to warm the part of him that admitted to being lonely.
“Thank you very much. …Hirano-san. For the next year, I hope we get along.”
“Ah, nice to meet you, Kagiura-kun.”
Even after unpacking a set of luggage that had arrived early, his desk is half-bare without textbooks to fill it. The uniform hanging in the space for clothing is just a little big, with the expectation that he’ll get taller. The overwashed and tattered sheets are soft to the touch and seem like they’d feel good to throw himself down onto.
The space that Kagiura surveils will be his usual living quarters from now on.
Even though my parents’ home is in the prefecture and I can go home on the weekends if I want to, it’s just not convenient if I want to devote myself to club activities—
“...Kagiura-kun, are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“No, it’s just, you seem a little tired.”
“It’s…not that.”
“I see,” Hirano murmurs, falling silent.
Kagiura softly gets to his feet and peeks over at the other side of the room, where Hirano sits facing his desk. In complete contrast to the flashy impression given by his blonde hair, his studious profile shows no traces of having overslept.
After all, he is an advanced student.
Most of the students in the dorm are in the advanced course. Although his first impression was that Hirano was a delinquent, watching him study with careful posture makes Kagiura think he is a diligent senpai. And his well-defined features stand out, giving the impression that he is difficult to talk to.
What should I do when I get hungry? Kagiura suppresses the urge to ask, instead feigning interest in his desk. With the dorm usage pamphlet spread out, he contemplates how to go about filling his stomach.
Due to getting a lot of exercise, Kagiura is quick to hunger. Despite their limited pocket money, dorm students are forbidden from getting part-time jobs. The purpose of the establishment is so students can focus on their studies and club activities, so it’s to be expected.
I wonder if I can get seconds?
In the meantime, Kagiura had begun to doze off.
A gentle tapping on his shoulder has a soothing rhythm that makes sleep all the more pleasant. When a voice like a lullaby calls to him, he is flooded with relief upon realizing it’s not a teacher.
Kagiura’s growing body craves sleep, and he falls asleep whenever he gets the chance. He tends to doze off during class, to the exasperation of his middle school teacher.
“Hey, get up. Or I’ll leave you behind.”
He shakes his head, sleep disturbed by the feeling of someone poking his head.
Cut it out, I’m awake, he thinks, shaking his head peevishly, now suddenly wide awake.
Right, this person isn’t a teacher—
“Kagiura-kun. Get the hell up.”
Shooting upright just as Hirano prods him again, he hears Hirano’s voice say “woah” in his ear.
The one who’d woken him up from dozing at his desk had been none other than his roommate, Hirano, the senpai one grade above him.
His sparkling blonde hair is reflected in Kagiura’s sleepy eyes, shining beautifully. In that moment, he nearly murmurs that color suits you. Unfortunately, his tongue is jumbled from just waking up.
Hirano doesn’t seem bothered by Kagiura’s incessant blinking as he pulls on a parka over his t-shirt.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Do you wanna go together?”
“Yes!”
His first meal in the dorm is delicious. If it’s like this every day, I’m going to enjoy myself here, he thinks. They sit facing each other as they eat, exchanging detailed self-introductions. Hirano listens intently as Kagiura tells him about getting into the school based on recommendation for sports as a left-handed player. He doesn’t seem the type to smile and make pleasantries, but the conversation doesn’t need to be lively to flow comfortably.
But on the way to his mouth, Kagiura’s fork freezes.
The flavor’s good, but—
“You’ve been at it for a while now, but you’re not good with peppers, are you?”
With a jolt, Kagiura tries to move his chopsticks as prompted, but he can’t bring himself to do it.
“..........Yes.”
Hirano stares at Kagiura, who hangs his head, concerned but unsurprised.
“..........You should get over that before you graduate. I'll take 'em.”
As Hirano reaches out his chopsticks and nimbly snatches up Kagiura’s leftovers, he seems to Kagiura to be glowing with a halo. How is he, just one year older than Kagiura, so good at caring for others?
“........Thank you very much.”
Through his full mouth, Hirano only mutters "it's delicious".
Certain he would be told off, Kagiura is taken aback by Hirano's kindness.
I might like this senpai…..
His brusque manner of speaking is completely at odds with his behavior, and Kagiura's heart is beginning to warm up to him. It is just a feeling, but he is getting the sense that this year is going to be fun.
*****
Part 2
