Chapter 161Just the Right Thing
It's a good thing Ichinose-san came running right after we finished eating our lunch. Had she done that when we said, "Now let's open our lunchboxes", we both would have had a bad time. That was averted by Ashida's colorless voice saying, "Okay, let's go back to class!".
Natsukawa replied, "That's right!", as if trying to convince Ashida. I silently looked up at the sky. Indeed, there was no blue sky there, but only a concrete ceiling. There was a swallow's nest in the corner. Be patient, me... ...don't let me die here. Help me, Akiko...
Eh, am I okay? Am I sure I can follow right behind them? If they treat me like I'm not here, won't I look like a stalker? Hello, haven't I gone back to what you were doing a while ago? Hello...!
Or rather, I might be a little late, — While I was thinking about that, from the direction of Natsukawa who was walking with a glum expression on her face, Ashida slowly approached me. What's wrong? Has she found a way out of this situation? Ashida, you're very kind indeed. I'll stroke that weird hair of yours.
"Sajocchi, aren't you a complete idiot, huh...? ...What the heck are you trying to do in front of the two of us, though...!?"
"Bah...!"
I held my breath as she said the most outrageous thing under her breath!
"That's not it, you know... ...Of course I'm just joking...! I never thought that Ichinose-san would actually get on board the Sajocchi, you know!?"
"Aren't you spoiling her too much...!? She's that kind of girl, and I think it's almost too late for you to fix her back anytime soon...!"
"Hmmm..."
I got a real lecture. What a cheeky girl... ...What the heck was she talking about...? ...But I really don't have the words to answer her. It's true that the distance between me and Ichinose-san seems to be getting closer and closer. The first time I met her at our part-time job was the worst of times, so I guess I still have that "I must try to be liked by Ichinose-san...!" feeling inside me. I'm sure she'll always be nice to me, and she's that kind of girl.
"All you care about and pay attention to is Ichinose-chan. Sajocchi, haven't you forgotten something very important...?"
"Huh...? Something very important, huh...?"
"At the end of this month. Don't you know what will come at that time?"
"Huh, how could I forget?"
That's right, there's a big event coming up at the end of this month. It's not just a Halloween trick like the disturbing Fever Night in Shibuya. This is something much, much more important to me. Asking me that, it's like you're asking me what my name is.
"That was the day Natsukawa came down to Earth, wasn't it?"
"That's right."
That's right, the end of this month, on October 31st, is the day Natsukawa was born into this world. In short, it was her birthday. No, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was the day he came down to Earth. A new history following the Gregorian calendar had begun. Come on, Shenron.*
(TL Note: Name of the dragon in the Dragon Ball franchise. RIP Akira Toriyama-sensei.)
"Have you prepared anything for that day appropriately?"
"I have, in fact I started doing it since November 1st of last year."
"That's heavy."
It's good that you don't look down on me too much. Especially at that time, Natsukawa's birthday was still a very important day for me where I could make offerings legally. What do I mean "legally"?
I'm not kidding, I remember thinking about what I wanted to give her next year when it was already 12 o'clock in the midnight. Hey, this isn't a lovesickness anymore, is it? It's a madness. I can't believe Natsukawa is already treating me normally right now.
"W-Wait a minute...!"
"!"
As Ashida and I were reminiscing about me last year, Natsukawa's voice, which should have been in front of both of us, interrupted us. No, she had already cut in us. I was so happy and grateful.
"Wh-What are you two talking about just being alone together...?"
"Eh, um..."
"Eh...?"
"Oh, um..."
It was almost... ...Natsukawa's jealousy was so emotional that I misspoke. It's hard to understand when I should use words according to "true feelings" (Honne) or "public opinion" (Tatamae), because they have slightly different meanings. No, don't worry about that, Natsukawa is cute (both according to true feelings and public opinion).
"No, Ashida just asked me something. About this month-..."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!!!"
"Ngh!? Ngh!?"
As I tried to answer normally, Ashida's palm flew towards my face. She covered my mouth, but before she could do so, my mouth slipped open, and the bottom of her palm landed on my cheekbone. Ouch... ...what the heck? Ma'am, I'm going to lick your palm! Can I lick your palm? Can I lick it as your friend?
Just as I was struggling with lust that exceeded my anger, her palm was quickly removed and I turned to Ashida with a jerk of my shoulder.
"Eh? You must be trying to say something normally right now, right? That's right, isn't it? Aren't people like this usually lame?"
"No, it's because of the current relationship between me and Natsukawa, isn't it inevitable that I should surprise her? I plan to go to school early in the morning and give it to Natsukawa while saying "Yes, this is a present for you" before anyone else does."
"What's with that one tablespoon of your passion... ...It's so hard for me to comment on you, though!"
"Gosh...! What's wrong, huh!?"
When I turned around, I found Natsukawa waving her hand in front of her chest and making a sullen face. You see, Natsukawa was angry at Ashida because she made it sound like the two of us had left her alone. Really, she would have felt hurt if the two of us had done this kind of thing to her.
"Awawawa, there's no need to be angry, Aichi. There's a deep reason for this, you know...!"
"...What's the reason?"
"It's because... ...That's right! I was lecturing Sajocchi! I reprimanded Sajocchi because I think he's too close to Ichinose-chan!"
"..."
Hey, stop that. Stop using the distance between me and Ichinose-san as a cover. If the situation between all of us becomes awkward not only between me and Ichinose-san but also between me and Natsukawa, I might die.
After hearing Ashida's explanation, Natsukawa looked at me sharply. That's strange... ...although it's a rare expression, but it's giving me goosebumps right now. What is this? I feel like I'm being cornered right now...?
"...I-I'll be more careful from now on."
"...Yeah."
Refuting her is indeed a bad idea... ...Following this mysterious intuition of mine, I honestly said a single word of regret, Natsukawa took the time to make a judgment with a single word, then immediately turned her body and walked forward.
"Bleh."
"D*mn you."
Ashida stuck her tongue out at me, then she ran over to Natsukawa and jumped on her back. A high-pitched "Kya!" pierced the eardrums of my soul. I envy her, if only I were a girl, I would be able to handle that kind of thing... ...Maybe it's good that I should give the two of them some time together first.
Yeah, what happened between me and Ichinose-san was enough to make Ashida mad at me and lecture me, and what's more, Natsukawa cares so much about her life like a courtesan. I kind of understand the reason why her mood became bad after the two of us showed a scene like that.
"..."
I don't know how I should behave anymore...
I realized that I didn't want to be miserable after spending so much time with an unattainable flower, but in the end I still continued to be around her without thinking about it. Yesterday, I got a lucky hug on my back, and I guess I'm still in Natsukawa's life for now. Boys are really stupid... ...I hope I don't offend girls without realizing it again.
As I watched the two of them, a pair of best friends start to make out a little further, that kind of worry became food for the Big Bang, the big explosion at the outer edge of the universe.
♦
When I returned to my classroom, Shirai-san and Okamocchan found Ichinose-san's behavior to be strange after being chased by them, and she sank to the dusty floor under the verbal abuse of four girls in one day. Did you know...? Verbal abuse from girls is very effective against boys, and moreover it's a tricky technique with critical hits and unlimited ammunition. You also don't have to struggle through the attack game without a save. If I had not been trained by Big Sis, I would have slowly made my way to the rooftop by now. Oh God — Give everyone in this world a heart of steel.
After the fifth period, I rushed to the men's restroom. For the first time in my life, I found it difficult to be in the same room as girls.... Coincidentally, I met a boy from the same middle school as me who was a big fan of mine, and as I managed to mend my weak heart, we went through a conversation in the middle school student level one. I think it's been a long time since I've had a stupid conversation with someone like this.
"Oh!"
"Hieh?"
"No, so what?"
When I left the men's restroom and turned my head in the direction of the source of the sound, I found that Ashida had also just come out of the women's restroom. I couldn't help but feel very scared when I ran into a girl named Ashida, or rather high school girls, to the point that I screamed. As if she didn't like that, Ashida approached me and glared at me.
"High school girls are scary!"
"Serve you right, Sajocchi."
I didn't expect that this would happen to me just because I was worried about Ichinose-san. From now on, I'll stop trying to be Ichinose-san's backrest, even if it's just as a joke. That makes my joke no longer a joke.
"Or maybe you should also be nicer like that to Aichi."
"What, don't you think it's disgusting?"
"Well, "Do you want to use my stomach as a backrest?" is an exaggeration, even if it's just a joke."
"An exaggeration?"
No, it wasn't an exaggeration, though... ...Although I didn't think so at the time, but now that I think about it, those are bad words to say to girls my age. If it had been any girl other than Ichinose-san, I might have been forced to talk to the Disciplinary Committee, the school, our parents, the police, and even Big Sis, and my life might have come to an end.
"Well, I remembered that Aichi's birthday is coming up, so I think I came just in time..."
"What are you, you think I'd forget about that?"
"I don't think so... ...But from the sounds of it, it seems like you guys had a big celebration last year."
"That's not true, you know. Isn't it natural to celebrate her birthday? It's Natsukawa's birthday, so she deserves to celebrate properly. That's all I can say."
"In that case, what present did you give her for her birthday last year?"
"A necklace."
"It's heavy."
No, it's not heavy. What was the need for Natsukawa to wear the necklace I gave her? With her beauty like that, her beautiful collarbone would definitely be hidden by the chain of the necklace, and Natsukawa would definitely hide her decolette that was glimpsed through the slit of her collar, just like how people wear clothes. Since middle school, that decolette of hers has always corrected my deviant sexual tendencies. Someone, please execute me right now.
"Last year, you two were still in middle school, weren't you...? Wow, she must have had a hard time handling you..."
"Stop saying "Wow" like that... ...Well, it sounds like she's getting annoyed..."
I wonder why I didn't think that she would consider me a nuisance. I wonder if she has a value system where the amount of money people spend is equal to how much they love her... ...That was close, that was serious. Right now, I'm reminded of the troubled face that Natsukawa put on last year. That kind of face is a face that I don't want her to show me... ...I'm sure it won't happen again this year. She'll be fine with me as I am right now.
"So, is it true that you've been thinking about a present for her birthday this year since last year?"
"Until a while ago, huh? I'm not going to buy the kind of thing I gave her last year."
"What are you planning to buy her, then...?"
Next year, we're going to be high school students soon — So I should be able to buy her brand-name stuff, at least that was my view when I just graduated from middle school. What's horrible is that I don't think I thought the same thing a few months ago. Burning love is dangerous, to the point that it can drive people crazy. I feel happy that I now know the extent of my own level of commitment...
"In that case, are you going to buy her something a bit more subdued this year?"
"Yeah. Like I said earlier, I also have a bad relationship with Natsukawa right now."
"N-No... ...that's fine..."
What do you mean? That's fine? I don't care if it's good or not. It's very difficult to prepare items that are neither too cheap nor too expensive. I think it involves much more affection than just buying something expensive. Don't you dare to criticize my taste?
"By the way, what will you get her as a present?"
"A ring."
"It's heavy."
Author's Note:
[Wataru?]: "It weighs about 3 grams, you know."
TL Note: There's an extra chapter after this one, but because it's an LN-only chapter, we're not gonna translate it, if you want to read it, you must purchase the seventh volume of Official English of the LN version when it comes out at the time.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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