137. The Agony and Ecstasy of Life as a University of Tokyo Student

Mention the University of Tokyo, and many people's first impression will be the Red Gate, Yasuda Auditorium, and Sanshiro Pond.

Three months had passed since the entrance ceremony, but Jinguji Tsuki had yet to properly enjoy any of those sights.

Because he was not at the Hongo Main Campus.

Students admitted to the University of Tokyo first spend two years studying in the College of Arts and Sciences at the Komaba Campus, after which the faculty they enter is determined by their personal preferences and their grades from the preliminary courses.

This differs greatly from other universities.

Jinguji Tsuki enrolled as a humanities student. Unlike the sciences, humanities are divided into Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3. Aside from the general College of Arts and Sciences courses shared by all three classes, the later specialized faculties differ: Class 1 leads to the Faculty of Law, Class 2 to Economics, and Class 3 to the Faculty of Letters and the Faculty of Education.

Classes 1 and 2 focus on the fundamentals of social sciences, while Class 3 diverges from the other two by studying humanities and social subjects, including languages, philosophy, and history.

As for the University of Tokyo, its Faculties of Medicine, Engineering, and Economics are all well-known top-tier departments. Jinguji Tsuki had a considerable number of options before him, and he still had plenty of time to ponder.

Yet right now, he had no such leisure.

He was busy catching a cat.

"Jinguji! Hurry! Over there! Don't let it get away!"

"I know, keep it down!" Jinguji Tsuki crept stealthily toward the balcony.

"What's this! How dare you use that tone with your senior!"

"I'm not helping anymore, then."

"I'm sorry, I got too carried away!"

That was an exceptionally fast surrender.

Finding it utterly troublesome, Jinguji Tsuki held his breath and inched closer.

The calico cat, currently scratching its neck with its hind leg, merely glanced at Jinguji Tsuki before looking away, entirely unimpressed by this two-legged, upright-walking behemoth.

With a sudden push of its hind legs, Jinguji Tsuki lunged toward the comfortably scratching calico cat. Realizing the human was suddenly attacking it, the cat let out a screech, its fur standing completely on end. With a vigorous leap, it stepped right onto Jinguji Tsuki's shoulder and plunged straight into the arms of the person standing behind the boy.

"Ooh... One-Two-Three, welcome back!"

"Meow~~"

"Jinguji, you're so useless."

Jinguji Tsuki, having clumsily sprawled onto the floor, silently turned his head back.

"Kokoro is much cuter, anyway."

"Ha? Of course One-Two-Three is the cutest."

"For a cat, the moment it was given the name One-Two-Three, its lack of cuteness was already sealed."

"Jinguji has no taste, actually bullying a kitty."

"......"

The woman standing before him, wearing only a tank top and denim shorts who claimed to be Jinguji Tsuki's "senior," was Matsubara Miki, a third-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo.

Presently, she lived in the same student apartment building as Jinguji Tsuki and was his next-door neighbor.

Furthermore, she was a married woman.

To be precise, she used to be a married woman and was currently divorced and single.

"What's going on? What's going on?"

Hearing the commotion on the balcony, a young man rushed from outside into the room, seeing Matsubara Miki holding the cat while Jinguji Tsuki got up from the floor, rubbing his elbow.

"Miki, you brought One-Two-Three to the student apartments again!"

This man was Katagiri Hiroaki, also a third-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo.

And subsequently, Matsubara Miki's ex-husband.

The story between these two shall be left untold for the moment; in short, Jinguji Tsuki was currently living in a rather fiery predicament.

This caused Jinguji Tsuki, who had boldly assured his parents that he could live entirely on his own before moving away from Jiyugaoka, to feel a trace of regret.

"Jinguji said he wanted to pet a cat, so I brought One-Two-Three over."

"Matsubara-senpai?!" Jinguji Tsuki stared in utter shock at the woman who lied without blinking.

"Stop lying, how could Jinguji ever make a request like that?"

"Hmph, I've been exposed."

Just where on earth did you get the confidence that such a lie would be believed?

Suddenly, Matsubara Miki hugged the cat in her arms tighter and cried out, "Ah~~ Jinguji, you were just peeking at my breasts!"

"Who wants to look at those! Besides, your topic transition is way too abrupt, hurry up and send One-Two-Three back!"

"No way! I'm sleeping with One-Two-Three today!"

Jinguji Tsuki felt a genuine headache coming on and cast a plea for help toward Katagiri Hiroaki.

"Miki, Jinguji is right, take One-Two-Three back, or the other students will complain."

"No!"

Immediately after, Matsubara Miki stuck out her tongue and glared fiercely at Jinguji Tsuki.

"I'm going to go snitch to Alice-chan! You're definitely sleeping on the floor tonight!"

"Don't make it sound like I sleep with her! If Arisugawa hears that, she'll blow her top again."

"Eh? You don't?"

"As if!"

"But you live in the same room."

"There are extenuating circumstances."

"When you end up getting Alice-chan pregnant, will you use 'extenuating circumstances' to explain that too? Ah~ ah~~ so pathetic! Scumbag! I always said a guy as handsome as this couldn't possibly be any good!"

This woman...

Ever since moving into this apartment, Jinguji Tsuki had been driven to speechlessness by this woman countless times; she was even more exasperating than Yumiya Yo.

At least Yumiya Yo had the redeeming quality of having a head that felt exceptionally satisfying to bonk.

"Katagiri-senpai, say something to her too!"

The man remained indifferent. Though he wore an expression as if he had something to say, the moment Matsubara Miki glared at him, his spirit immediately deflated.

"Hmph hmph! She wouldn't dare do anything to me!" Matsubara Miki looked immensely proud of herself.

Jinguji Tsuki stood in place, staring at her expressionlessly, and muttered, "It's precisely because of this attitude that Katagiri-senpai divorced you, you know."

Matsubara Miki: "???"

"Katagiri-senpai said it when he was drunk, I'm just relaying it!" Jinguji Tsuki hastily added another sentence.

Katagiri Hiroaki: "???"

"Jing~gu~ji~~ Hiro~aki~"

"I don't know anyone named Jinguji Hiroaki!" Jinguji Tsuki turned around and bolted without looking back.

Sensing the powerful aura emanating from Matsubara Miki, Katagiri Hiroaki couldn't help but follow right behind Jinguji Tsuki, fleeing out of the room together.

"Both of you stop right there!"

The two of them didn't even have time to put on their shoes, scrambling to run down the hallway. Catching a glimpse of the elevator stuck on the first floor, they immediately headed for the stairs.

"Jinguji, you bastard! You even dare to drop a taboo line like that!"

"I was merely stating the facts."

"Idol! I don't remember ever saying anything like that."

"Like I said, you were drunk."

Arriving at the apartment lobby on the first floor, they trepidatiously turned back to look at the stairwell. After waiting for a good while, there was no movement at all.

Just as they were about to heave a sigh of relief, the elevator not far away emitted a "ding" sound, and the doors slowly slid open, revealing Matsubara Miki's figure.

At that moment, the apartment's glass double doors parted to both sides, and a young woman carrying a plastic bag walked in from outside.

"Arisugawa!"

"Save me! Help!"

"Eh? Jinguji-kun, Katagiri-senpai, what are you two doing h... Whoa whoa whoa!"

The two adult males acted as if they had found their saviors, hurriedly hiding behind the girl who was less than 1.6 meters tall, facing the elevator with expressions as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Wait... Jinguji-kun? What is going on here?"

The girl who had just stepped into the apartment was completely baffled by the current situation, her head full of question marks.

"Alice-chan! Help me catch them!"

"Eh? Matsubara-senpai?"

Though clueless, she still instinctively grabbed Jinguji Tsuki and Katagiri Hiroaki by the arms.

"Crap! Jinguji, these two are in cahoots!" Katagiri Hiroaki immediately turned pale.

Before them, Matsubara Miki smiled grimly, closing in on them step by step.

......

......

"Katagiri-senpai! No matter what, you shouldn't say things like that, anyone would be hurt hearing it!"

"Yes! I am terribly sorry."

"You're apologizing to the wrong person."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Miki."

"And Matsubara-senpai, I know you love One-Two-Three very much, but the apartment strictly forbids keeping pets. It's already very late, so as the apartment manager I'll turn a blind eye for tonight, but please make sure to send it home tomorrow."

"S... Sorry."

Although she was a freshman, the girl standing with her hands on her hips cut an imposing figure of authority. The idiotic ex-couple were sitting side by side on the tatami mat, lowering their heads in agreement.

"Jinguji-kun." She turned her gaze to the boy beside her.

Jinguji Tsuki offered a soft response.

Suddenly, the girl smiled gently. "Would tonkatsu for dinner be alright? I managed to buy some very fresh pork today."

"Yeah, I've always been causing trouble for you, Arisugawa."

"Ah ah! How sly! Only Jinguji didn't get scolded! Alice-chan is playing favorites!" Matsubara Miki immediately began making a fuss.

"Matsubara-senpai doesn't seem to be reflecting at all. Shall we let One-Two-Three roam the streets tonight, then?"

"I am deeply sorry! Lady Arisugawa!"

Fair is fair, when it came to kneeling in defeat, she was truly fast.

Ever since moving into this student apartment, Jinguji Tsuki had crossed paths with the three people before him. As the only four University of Tokyo students living in this building, they naturally grew close.

It was precisely because he got to know Katagiri Hiroaki and Matsubara Miki that Jinguji Tsuki realized University of Tokyo students weren't all just bookworms who only knew how to study, helping him shake off that stereotype.

Also, whoever said that getting into Todai makes it hard to find a romantic partner was definitely lying.

Weren't there a genuine student-couple right before his eyes?

Although they were already divorced.

"Ah, Jinguji-kun, leave the dishes to me, it's my turn on the duty roster today."

The four of them had started eating dinner together a month ago. Since neither of those idiotic ex-spouses possessed any culinary skills, after some discussion, Jinguji Tsuki and Arisugawa Alice took over as the designated cooks.

To live on his own, Jinguji Tsuki had honed his cooking skills at home during spring break. For someone like Jinguji Tsuki, who possessed total control over his body and an extraordinary memory, as long as he treated cooking like an experiment and strictly followed the steps, it was impossible for the food to taste bad.

As compensation, they didn't have to pay anything for groceries and could enjoy a free dinner every day.

After all, living alone cost money everywhere, and Jinguji Tsuki had already turned eighteen, making him a legally recognized adult. If he kept reaching out to his family for money at every turn, it would defeat the purpose of moving out on his own.

In other words, this was his first independent step into society as an "individual," free from his parents' care and jurisdiction.

"You had classes today, Arisugawa. You must be exhausted from studying all day, and yet you still cook for us when you get back. I can at least manage something like this."

"Uhm... Well, then, I'll leave it to you, thank you."

"Yeah."

"You two are so lovey-dovey, it's enviable."

"Matsubara-senpai, please be quiet."

"Yes~~"

Perhaps because she had tasted the delicious tonkatsu, she became remarkably agreeable and stopped picking fights.

After dinner, Jinguji Tsuki returned to his room and began studying.

Because of his photographic memory, a book Jinguji Tsuki read once didn't need to be read a second time, nor did he ever need to resort to rote memorization. This allowed him to spend his time reading even more books.

At ten o'clock at night, Jinguji Tsuki had already finished his shower and was sitting in the living room reading Weekly Shonen Jump, treating it as relaxation after studying.

The sound of a door lock turning echoed from the entryway; it must have been Arisugawa Alice returning.

"How did it go?" Jinguji Tsuki asked.

"Matsubara-senpai said she will definitely take One-Two-Three away tomorrow."

"Knowing her, her 'definitely' has a probability of less than ten percent. You should still keep your guard up." Jinguji Tsuki flipped a page of his manga as he spoke.

"Yeah, I know, thanks."

Due to extenuating circumstances, Jinguji Tsuki was currently living under the same roof as the girl before him.

Living together as a man and a woman certainly came with numerous inconveniences—for instance, bathing, sleeping, and the occasional sight of colorful women's underwear hanging out on the balcony.

Although she seemed to always do her laundry at night and retrieve her undergarments in the early morning before Jinguji Tsuki woke up, oversights inevitably happened, and Jinguji Tsuki could only avoid the balcony as much as possible to dodge awkwardness.

"Sorry to bother you for so long. Kube-kun is moving out next month, and as soon as his room opens up, I'll move right in."

"Mmm."

"I'm sorry, it was entirely my blunder, getting my own room reserved for a student from another school without paying attention."

"Since it's already happened, it can't be helped. No need to blame yourself."

"Thank you very much."

Jinguji Tsuki suddenly chuckled softly and slowly said, "Arisugawa, you're always so earnest. You gave people that impression back in high school, too."

"Eh?"

"Look, back in our second year of high school, didn't you compete with me for the position of student council president? Everyone said that if you became president, the school rules would become even stricter, so they voted for me instead."

"Such a long time ago, and Jinguji-kun, you actually still remember. How embarrassing."

"I happen to have an exceptionally good memory, if nothing else."

Arisugawa Alice revealed a faint smile. "I believe that. For three years of high school, I never beat you once on an exam."

"If it were me, I'd probably resent someone I couldn't beat for three consecutive years," Jinguji Tsuki remarked.

"I really did resent you back then."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. Facing an opponent you could never defeat no matter how hard you tried, the pressure was immense."

"However, I've changed my perspective on Jinguji-kun now."

"Oh?"

"Because Jinguji-kun works hard. You work much harder than I do, reading and studying every day. After living with you, I've only grown to find it more incredible."

"Is that because back in high school, everyone spread rumors that I went out on dates with different girls every day?"

"Uh... yes, I'm sorry." Arisugawa Alice wore a somewhat awkward expression.

"It's nothing worth apologizing for." Jinguji Tsuki waved his hand.

After chatting a bit more about past memories from high school, Jinguji Tsuki got up and prepared to return to his room.

"I'm going to sleep now. I've already cleaned the bathtub, you can use it."

"Okay, thank you. Good night, Jinguji-kun."

"Good night."