#something there

the original something there ask is actually dated before the release of ch 24 of hirano to kagiura, so there's definitely some new avenues to explore in terms of what went on there and what's going on in something there. my overall point remains: sasaki's extra Aware of kagiura because he's aware something is happening with him and hirano, even though he's unclear about the details. he's thinking, huh... what is hirano's roommate like? if he's popular, how does that affect his and hirano's relationship?

as an aside, shirahama's complaining about the number of vday confessions kagiura is due to totally heterosexual reasons. yes sirree. sasaki mentions he's curious about kagiura and you complain about the confessions he gets, unprompted. to a guy you Know is dating a guy. why are you conflating any curiousity or interest with confessions. i'm sure those implications mean nothing... man is that relationship fascinating though. because like. he also knows that kagiura's hopelessly pining after someone he loves...? so it's like. kagiura is popular and a starter on the team as a 1st year and also he knows a very vulnerable side of him, and whether he wants to know or not, it's already in his heart. idk. shirahama could've just been like looking from afar and wanting to compete with him, but the fact that they seem to casually talk to each other a lot always gets at me.

since I already talked about what's going through sasaki's head in something here, I think I'll actually devote this ask to analyzing the sasaki-kagiura interactions of ch 24 of hirano to kagiura. because boy are they fascinating. first, I don't think sasaki's particularly confused by the animosity. in fact, i think he recognizes it.

this expression comes from ch 12 of sasaki to miyano, and it's a really critical moment of sasaki being possessive and jealous. it happens again in ch 20 of sasaki to miyano, but the expression is less intense and I think we actually don't get to see it in full, considering makimura's relationship of what was that face? seems to suggest he looked more intense than what's depicted. we also don't actually get to see kagiura's expression in ch 24 of hirano to kagiura, but we do see his reaction—he's ashamed. he can't make eye contact. (and man... the idea of shame sure is a theme that recurs again and again in hirano to kagiura). whether that expression was filtered through misery or anger, we can debate, but I know it was an expression of jealousy. and then kagiura does the same thing he did in the adult au—he runs. i don't think he wants anyone to look at him like this... all... ungraceful. not good.

so, sasaki's reaction. his first thought we see is he... was looking at me, right? the way I interpret this is that sasaki recognizes that kagiura's jealous, but he can't grasp why. because he can't imagine that someone would actually feel threatened by his & hirano's relationship. this makes perfect sense to me. hirano is influenced by sasaki, and sasaki is influenced by hirano. they are friends. but they don't self-describe as close, because hirano's probably thinking of him as that guy he had to chase down during his first year to turn in assignments and stuff, and sasaki gets so weird about friendships that he has an internal freakout about calling hirano his friend... in their third year. you can find these moments in the first years and second years light novels of sasaki to miyano, respectively.

so when we look at the expression at the back of volume 5, that's what I see going on: kagiura's like, ahhh this guy is close to hirano-san and i don't know what's up with him! it's almost a mirrored realization to the jealousies of vol 10 of sasaki to miyano, where both sasaki and miyano kind of have to confront that they dont exist entirely in each other's circles anymore. miyano doesn't know who ugawa is, and sasaki doesn't know who shirahama is, and they both just have to witness this friend and person they don't know exist in a way they don't know anything about. sasaki, there, is like, hirano's roommate-kun looked at me weird and i know something is up with them but i don't know why he looks so wary of me.

but. he's also ignoring it. going back to ch 24, sasaki's subsequent thoughts are. ...that was roommate-kun, right? he's the one who gave him those earrings... nah, not gonna tug at that thread.

sasaki "avoidance" shuumei my BELOVED. first, I love that sasaki still only thinks of kagiura in terms of hirano. he's "roommate-kun" here, and in ch 46 of sasaki to miyano, he asks shirahama if "kagi-kun" is around. second, he immediately connects the "roommate he wakes up in the mornings" business with "earrings gift, which hanzawa mentioned is not a normal gift between friends at all." and then he consciously makes the decision not to really think about hirano and romance in the same breath. but then the fact that he makes those connections really quick means that he is actually paying attention to them. in the second year novel extras, when hirano mentions being jealous of sasaki's height, it's sasaki who brings up the fact that "roommate-kun" is taller than him. and once again, looking at hirano's pleased expression, he goes "hm..." and then thinks about myaa-chan. refusing, once again, to tug on that thread. hell, even ch 46, where he calls kagiura "kagi-kun"... he does it again! he brings up kagiura of his own accord, and then immediately backs out of actually talking to him when shirahama offers to get him. and he refuses to tell miyano anything because I imagine he's protecting hirano's peace. it should be mentioned that in ch 43, sasaki just saw hirano wearing a ring. the next two chapters involve sasaki and miyano's date, and the ch after, when he happens to be in the school, he asks after kagi. I am almost 100% sure that was the reason he asked.

it's a little involuntary, I think. he doesn't mean to get involved in it, because he's not the meddlesome type, and he'd probably die if he talked to hirano about it directly, but he can't stop paying attention, and being curious. he literally sends kagiura a pic of hirano yawning in the vol. 8 extras. probably bc he thinks he'd like it. maybe he is a little meddlesome. it's such a sasaki-esque kind of thing to do, yknow? that casual support. the way he offers kagiura a dango when they run into each other. telling that mother that he can take care of the customers so she can pick up her kid.