You and I Are Polar Opposites (正反対な君と僕)

Your eyebrows.

Why would a memory from last year suddenly—

Entering through the south gate...

going down the nearest set of stairs...

and then getting on the train right in front of me at platform 3...

is the most efficient way to get to school.

But instead, every morning, I enter through the north gate...

go down to the farthest end of the platform...

and ride in the last car of the train.

Doing it this way, I get to sit down, and I don't run into people I know.

I just sort of found myself doing it like this.

YOU AND I ARE

POLAR OPPOSITES

I feel like there's something else I was supposed to tell you.

I'll remember it and tell you tomorrow. Let's have a good new term.

He's really okay with leaving it there?

Whoa! The sky's so dark!

It's like nighttime!

I did happen to bring an umbrella.

Huh? Is it supposed to rain today?

They said it might snow.

My grandma said...

There it is! The grandma forecast!

Oh! Yuu-chan, look!

Yuu-chan

That nickname...

Taira's already outside the gate.

He tends to head home early when he doesn't have a shift at work.

I wonder if he just likes it at home.

Really? I never noticed.

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

STOMP

That's cold!

Snow?

What is this?

I don't have an umbrella! Today can't get any worse!

Taira!

You walk way too fast.

I spotted you and thought I'd join you, so I started walking,

but I couldn't catch up at all!

m 99 91 l 127 88 124 182 107 191 88 162

You went out of your way to...

Huh? Why?

Taira, do you have an umbrella?

No, I don't!

So that's it...!!

Here.

You should use it. My jacket's waterproof, so I'm fine.

Later.

Huh?!

TMP STMP TMP STMP

No, wait! Wait! You should use this yourself!

Hey! Wait!

Don't need it! Go on, hurry up and open it!

I said I'm fine!

What's the big deal?

Here.

This is not what I wanted.

No, seriously. You can just leave me here.

But getting soaked when it's this cold would be rough, right?

At least let me hold it.

Oh. Thank you.

That's crazy, Taira! You immediately broke it!

I'm not the one who broke it!

Crap! I can't get it to go back!

Just leave it. Let's run!

This is crazy. I'm still cracking up!

You're laughing too much.

Taira, you laughed a little, too, didn't you?

Ugh. My hands are freezing.

Whoa! They're bright red!

Take a heat pack. Here.

Huh? I'm fine.

Actually, yeah, thanks.

Hey, Taira...

What do you think about dying your hair black and styling it for a wet look?

Huh? What brought that on?

Because it kinda looks like that right now.

Seriously?

If I did that, people would think I was some guy who doesn't wash his hair.

You put yourself down too much.

You should have more confidence in who you are now.

You changed because you were interested in fashion, right?

Enjoy it or you'll regret it, y'know?

Huh?

What?!

Three-Quarter Sleeves.

It wasn't for a positive reason like that.

"Interested in fashion" "Enjoy it"

I mean, it's a waste, isn't it?

Putting in all that work and not having any confidence.

I've been rooting for you the whole time, you know.

Huh?

My legs get nice and warm on this train. It makes me sleepy.

Wake me up when we get to the station.

Huh? Hey, wait...

What?

Your eyebrows. Why not try changing them?

Huh?

MUTTER MUTTER MUTTER MUTTER

You made your hair lighter, so if your eyebrows...

were to match, I think they'd definitely look better.

Huh? What brought this on?

Can I mess with them?

Of course not!

Oh! You styled your hair!

Oh! Nice backpack!

Why point out every little thing?

Just bought

I'm absolutely certain she's making fun of me in her head.

No...

But the way you rooted for me was...

I've had the wrong idea this whole time.

Oh! It's cleared up!

That's great. I'm glad.

Azuma.

I'm sorry.

For what?

You're what?

Is it because you fell asleep too and we missed our station?

GASP

Uh, well, that too, but...

No, wait. Is that really all my fault?

For lots of stuff. The umbrella, the heat pack... and everything else.

Everything?!

That's scary!

Uh, well, I don't really get it, but...

Instead of people being weirdly restrained or saying sorry...

Hearing stuff like "yay" or "thanks" works better for me...

As long as you're the one saying it, Taira.

You can be more casual about stuff. We're friends, right?

Really?

Yeah.

When I'm alone...

When it's quiet, memories swirl around in my head.

All I worry about is how other people see me,

but I don't want to hurt anyone,

so I put unnecessary distance between us.

The way I put myself down... The way I jump to conclusions...

I only became aware of it today, and now I'm full of regrets, but...

Even more than that,

today, doing stuff like running full-out like idiots...

The whole situation was so ridiculous that it was actually kind of fun.

And there was the stuff about being thought of as an equal.

For some reason, while mulling over all these tiny pleasant moments...

I can't tell if I'm happy, pathetic, or just relieved.

I don't understand it myself...

but I cried just a little.

What's this?

Hey. It's rare for our school commute times to overlap, isn't it?

Right?

A few minutes later

PACKED

PACKED

PACKED

It always gets crowded at this station, right?

I think I'll go back to my old car after all.

Tani-kun, you have library duty this week, right?

Yeah.

You do? Understood.

What is it this time?

What is it? Is something wrong?

No, nothing at all.

Every time I notice that she seems to be thinking about something,

I can never figure out what it is.

And if I try to speculate, it ends up being something totally different.

EMBARRASSED

STRETCH

Beaten

Library

It's been a while.

I look forward to working with you again this term.

As do I.

FIDGET FIDGET

For some reason, even though I haven't spoken with Tani-kun very much,

because Yamada-kun shares all sorts of things with me every day,

End of the year

First shrine visit

I feel like I'm closer to him than I was before!

If I get weirdly relaxed, I might blurt out all kinds of things.

Even though from Tani-kun's perspective, I'm someone he doesn't know very well!

RRRRUMBLE

Mental Focus

What is she doing?

Do you feel sick?

No! I'm fine! I'm sorry!

No, I don't mean to scold you.

Come on. It's fine! Yamada, you should come, too!

Let's go read at the library!

I'm fine with that, but I know you're gonna be too obvious.

It'll be fine! Don't worry!

I can act much more naturally than you might expect.

GRIN

It's already showing on your face.

BA-DUMP