CM Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Last Day

Chapter 1, Part 3.1

Novel Title: ひとりじめ (Completely Mine)

Author：椎崎 夕 (Shiizaki You)

Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 細川 湊 (Hosokawa Minato -MC) & 荻原 浩志 (Ogiwara Koushi -ML)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The final day of Minato’s teaching practicum dawned under a brilliant blue sky.

After finishing his farewell address at the podium, Minato stood at his usual spot off to the side, scanning the classroom of Class 6, Grade 2, where he had spent the past four weeks.

He had done this multiple times since morning, each time his gaze stopping at the seat located near the middle of the hallway-side row.

The occupant of that seat—Ogiwara—had been absent for the past three days. Minato had heard that he would return to school on Monday, after the weekend.

The accident that involved Minato and Ogiwara had occurred when a train collided with a car stranded on a railway crossing, causing a partial derailment. Fortunately, there were no fatalities among either the car occupants or train passengers, but many sustained minor to severe injuries. Over ten students from their high school had been caught up in the chaos, creating a temporary uproar.

Among them, only one student was hospitalized, and that student was Ogiwara.

Ogiwara had vomited immediately after the accident. Even after being taken to the hospital, his vomiting continued, likely due to severe blows to the back of his head and his back, necessitating careful observation. Coupled with his injured right knee, it was decided that he would remain hospitalized until the weekend.

Minato, on the other hand, had only sustained light bruises and abrasions, so he returned to school the following day and conducted his lesson demonstration. Considering his minor injuries, the limited days left in the practicum, and the availability of observers, he had declined to postpone it. After completing his demonstration successfully, every time he entered the classroom afterward, he felt a deep sense of guilt for having caused Ogiwara’s injury.

Later, Minato, accompanied by his supervising teacher, moved to the math department office to express his gratitude and bow. The teacher smiled, his narrow eyes crinkling deeply.

“Keep doing your best from now on. It was unfortunate that such a disaster happened at the very end, but you worked hard. If you feel like it, come visit us again sometime.”

Encouraged by the unexpected words, Minato’s heavy heart lightened a bit.

Back in the waiting room on the third floor of Building Three, the other two practicum teachers, who had already finished their farewells, were busy packing up. After completing their final cleaning and leaving the building together, the surrounding area was still bright, and cheerful voices echoed from the school grounds.

When they reached the school entrance, the female practicum teachers went their separate ways, saying they were heading to a sweets café to bid farewell to some female students.

“Are you heading straight home, Hosokawa? Not stopping by the Photography Club?” one of his fellow practicum teachers, Yumoto, asked.

“I already said my goodbyes during yesterday’s activity,” Minato replied. “What about you, Yumoto? Heading to track practice now?”

“Not yet—I have to pick up snacks first. Those guys even specified cream puffs from the bakery near the station.”

Walking alongside the complaining Yumoto, Minato left the school grounds.

Just three days ago, he had been walking this same path with Ogiwara almost daily. Perhaps because of that, having Yumoto beside him now felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Are you visiting Ogiwara after this?” Yumoto asked.

“Yeah. He asked me to help him catch up on his studies during his absence.”

“You’re visiting him every day for that? It’s his request, right?”

The tone of Yumoto’s question made Minato glance at him. Yumoto hesitated briefly before looking away awkwardly and speaking again.

“Ogiwara’s having surgery on his right knee during the summer break.”

“…I heard. They said they needed to wait for the inflammation to subside before proceeding. Including the pre-surgery period, he’ll be hospitalized for about three weeks, so they decided to do it right at the start of summer break.”

Recovery would take around ten months before he could return to sports, which meant Ogiwara wouldn’t be able to participate in club activities until next summer.

“Returning to club activities after the summer of your senior year—it’s not realistic, isn’t it?”

“Haven’t you heard? Ogiwara’s quitting the track team. He said he can’t make a full recovery for competition-level sports.”

“…What?”

Minato’s feet froze before he could even think. Staring blankly, he watched Yumoto search for words, conflicted.

“But… Ogiwara himself said he could return to sports about ten months after surgery…?”

“For regular physical education or as a casual hobby, yes.”

“…”

Seeing Minato at a loss for words, Yumoto hesitantly continued.

“Ogiwara tore the ligaments in his knee. Torn ligaments don’t regenerate, so surgery is needed to reconstruct them. Even after a full recovery, there will still be limitations on his activities, and there’s always the risk of re-injury. The ‘sports recovery’ he mentioned is only within the scope of what’s possible for an ordinary person, not for someone like Ogiwara, who was competing at a national level in the Inter-High School Championships.”

“When did you hear about this?”

“Two days ago. His advisor went to visit him and was told by Ogiwara himself. The official withdrawal notice is expected next week.”

Minato looked down, unable to meet Yumoto’s eyes. His gaze fell to Yumoto’s chinos, around the right knee area.

The memory of Ogiwara, clutching his right knee with a pale face as he lay on the train floor, came vividly to mind.

When Minato visited him the day after the accident, Ogiwara, still pale, had expressed regret about missing Minato’s demonstration lesson. Two days ago, he had finally started to recover from his headaches and had smiled. Just yesterday, he had said with a rueful laugh, “Tomorrow’s your last day, isn’t it? I wish I could’ve attended your lesson.”

Although further observation was advised post-discharge, tests had shown no signs of brain damage. Laughing, Ogiwara had said, “It’s just my knee now. I’ll treat this like a vacation and behave.”

He wasn’t lying. He had merely chosen to withhold certain truths from Minato.

“It might be unnecessary advice, but… you should probably stay away from that high schooler for now.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There are rumors among some of the track team members that Ogiwara’s knee injury happened because you collided with him during the accident. Apparently, some of them were in the same train car and saw it.”

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*Translator’s Note: The fuck are they blaming him for? It was an accident. It could happen to anyone! Grr! And hell, Ogiwara had always been indifferent. I think other people care more about his athletic career than him. I mean, he’s smart too. He can be anything. Ugh. -K

Next update: 2026.08.03

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