The Man Who Is Always Leaning Forward in May

What comes to mind when you think of May?

A long row of memory drawers. I gaze at the memories labeled with the May tab.

Now, which one shall I pull out today?

Children's Day, Mother's Day. Golden Week.
Perhaps a heartwarming family episode?

Or should I make it a work story involving the 'May blues'?

Oh, there are quite a few similar episodes bunched together here.
They are all clumsy stories that convey my 'Maiton-ness,' though...

Well, that's fine. Today's story is decided.
Shall we begin?

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Mission 1: Make full use of Love Mode!

The first memory is from 24 years ago.

After six years of an all-boys school, I entered university and successfully made my college debut, andI finished my first kiss early on as well.

(I think you are 120% misunderstanding me with this phrasing, so if you haven't yet, please read this.)

While you might hear the term 'Rikejo' (science girl) these days, back then, science departments were almost entirely male.
While engineering departments were truly 'one red flower among green leaves,' the pharmacy department I entered had nearly half women, which was asuperband rare environment.

And naturally, as a high school student who had fully installed that fact, if I had used a 'brain maker' app back then... the result would have been exactly as you might guess.

At the very least, it is a fact that I displayed my perverted nature by thoroughly checking the names of the girls who were regular top scorers in the national mock exams at S-dai and KY-juku.

That said, knowing their names is one thing, but whether I could talk to them is another. The university had prepared a divine event for me, as I had not yet mastered the command to talk to the opposite sex.

An overnight trip for all incoming freshmen.

This made me feel excited, thrilled, and restless. (There are so many katakana words that my eyes hurt.)

And it was at that training camp that I met her.

The one destined for me (creepy).

And by the following May, I had confessed (?!).

This was truly a case of charging ahead blindly.
By the way, no particular events occurred between meeting her and confessing.
We didn't hang out, eat together, or lend each other notes; none of that happened. What should have been there simply wasn't.


Honestly, I didn't know much about her, and looking back, I don't even know what I liked about her. Perhaps this was a case of being in love with the idea of love. I don't even know that. It was likely that the way she talked to me in a friendly manner on the night of the training camp that made me misinterpret things.

That she was interested in me.

And that illusion gave me courage, but since that courage was half-baked, I ended up telling her I liked her via email.

Yes, via email.

"Hello. This is Maiton from your year. I've liked you since we talked at the training camp. Please go out with me."

Something like that. The absolute worst way to do it. The kind of situation where she must have been thinking, 'Who even are you?' *cries*

And instead of getting a reply, the next day I was told a certain fact by a friend.

"Your email is being passed around the department."

I cried for the first time since enrolling.

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Mission 2: Beware of Eavesdropping!

I learned the hard way that you shouldn't confess your feelings via email.
University is where you learn things that aren't in the textbooks.

But I won't give up. A man named Maiton is quick to start running and just as quick to get back up after falling.

I confessed to a different girl that same May.

This time, over the phone (rolling eyes).

I can hear the voices of 100 million people across the country saying, 'Calm down, Maiton.'

No, even now, I have no idea why I did something so reckless.
I can only assume I had a screw loose from studying too much.

By the way, the person I confessed to this time was very kind and turned me down politely. But her voice sounded quite surprised. Well, of course it did, poor thing.

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Mission 3: Wipe Out the Invisible Enemy on the Ship!

After firing off two confessions in a row, I finally calmed down. Something had clearly gone wrong. When I looked around calmly, I realized none of my classmates were acting as frantic as I was. Everyone else seemed to be calm and enjoying their campus life.

First, I had to learn the right way to confess.I desperately watched the TV show 'Ainori.' Ainori teaches you things that even university doesn't.

And so, I reached the conclusion that a confession must be face-to-face! You have to look them in the eye and hand them the ticket! I was finally ready to attempt my third confession.

Coincidentally, it was May, one year later.
I was on a ferry floating in the Seto Inland Sea.



A sky full of stars. The night breeze felt pleasant. It was the perfect situation for a confession.

And right next to me was a classmate from my tennis club whom I had spent the last year getting to know. I was not the same person I had been a year ago. I had graduated from being a runaway truck that crashed into a girl I didn't even know the hobbies of,and had become an adult capable of confessing only after truly getting to know the other person.

On the boat heading to the club's training camp, I was alone on the deck with the girl I had called over after the drinking party, saying I had something to tell her.

My heart was pounding so hard it threatened to drown out the sound of the waves and the boat's engine.

I desperately listed all her good qualities and poured out my feelings, and in the end, she nodded quietly.

I silently pumped my fist in the air, thinking, 'Yes!'

Saying, 'Wait a second,' she slowly took out her phone.

'Oh, hello, it's me... Like I mentioned a little before, I've found someone else I like at university... Yeah... I know...'

I couldn't hear much over the sound of the waves and the engine, but she had started a breakup conversation right in front of me.

Wait, she had a boyfriend?

I thought I knew a lot about her, but in reality, I knew nothing.

I had succeeded in my first confession, and at the same time, I had succeeded in stealing her away.

Mission complete.

As a fanfare played in my brain, a sudden spinning sensation filled my head—was it dizziness, seasickness, or perhaps just too much to drink?

Anyway, my confession ends here for now.

May sickness is a sickness of love.

That, too, is a fact not found in any textbook.

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Afterword

Thank you for reading until the end.

This time, I delivered a story related to May for Nao Kurosaki's event.

#NaoKurosaki2024MayMuses

If this story made you laugh, my feelings can finally rest in peace. If you liked it, please leave a like, comment, or follow. If you support me, I'll be your fan for life ฅ•ω•ฅ meow

This was Maiton 🌈

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I also wrote a follow-up story after that.
If you are interested in this as well, please be sure to read it!