Osananajimi ga Zettai ni Makenai Love Comedy Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 2

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He who laughs last

Part 2

“Oi, Sueharu. It doesn’t mean you can let the cat out of the bag just because it’s Maria-chan, you know!”

Tetsuhiko snatched away my phone and turned it off. I explained to him that I hadn’t had that intention though, but with a “yeah, yeah” Tetsuhiko simply ignored me.

He tossed my phone back to me.

“I’ve got a message from Acid Snake’s Maa-chan. He said that timewise it has to be settled in an instant or we’ll be in trouble.”

“Oh, I’ll bet. It’s fine, I’ve just finished getting fired up.”

“…… Judging from your eyes, I guess your switch is on, huh.”

It was as he said. The first switch had already been flipped. Right now I was a superhero. Fireworks were going off inside my head. When I was in this state I had nothing left to fear.

“Maru-san, it’s time! If you will!”

“Right.”

As I stood up after being called, I was abruptly assaulted by a dizzy spell.

“Ah……”

“Watch out, Haru!”

Kuroha frantically held me up. Thanks to her it concluded without me falling.

“Haru, are you okay……?! Listen, I’m going to bring some gelatin over right now, so have some alright? You really have been cutting down on food too much……”

It was true that I was hungry. For a week I had sworn off all carbohydrates and eaten as little as possible of everything else. When I looked in the mirror a little while earlier, I saw bloodshot eyes, sunken cheeks; clearly a dangerous person staring back at me.

But so be it. As of right now I had completely entered my role. Having done this much, surely it could be said that I had given my all.

“Thanks, Kuro, but it’s fine. When this is over I’ll go eat a whole bunch.”

“…… Ooh, what I am going to do with you?”

Kuroha’s “Ooh”¹ had appeared; proof of her acceptance.

I stepped forth again, but still some giddiness remained. Then I was hit without restraint in the back.

“Ow! Oi, Tetsuhiko! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“You said from this point you’re gonna settle things, but that walk isn’t gonna cut it, is it? I just figured you needed some motivation.”

“Tsk, as you say, dumbass.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

The pain stretched out, returning my unsteady gait back to normal. With my reinvigorated legs I arrived at the centre of the “stage”.

I was on the roof of a building. A place which was ordinarily empty and deserted; an expanse of only raw concrete. Now lights shone upon it, however, turning it into a kind of “stage”.

The atmosphere was tense. Everyone in the staff knew that this was a contest which would be decided in an instant. Spirit and unease dwelled within us all – failure was not an option.

“…… Suu-chan.”

Standing and facing me was Shirokusa. This was her first shot at acting, but she seemed more confident than I had anticipated.

“Shiro, are you alright? Are you nervous?”

“I am, but…… more than that, I’m excited. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I could so much as act together with you, Suu-chan.”

“I see.”

A signal came from the director.

A contest which would be decided in an instant. I didn’t want to have any regrets.

Therefore I would give this my all. Do everything that I could, all in this present moment.

As I so thought I flipped a switch in my head, setting into motion my second transformation.

Then I turned into a different person.

*

¹From Volume 1 Chapter 2: “Kuroha’s ‘Ooh’ was a shortened version of the longer ‘Ooh, what am I going to do with you’… Examples of times she would use this phrase included, but were not limited to, her already being prepared to forgive the other party while still being somewhat dissatisfied, or… when she appeared reproachful while actually hiding her embarrassment.”