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Surprise, Splash, Split
A few days passed, and the new school term began. Christmas and New Year’s Eve all passed, along with New Year and all those intense events. Winter break felt awfully short. Especially compared to summer break. If I had to guess, this is probably caused by a conspiracy between the executive boards of education. Doubtless they want to control the number of student couples who snuggle their bodies together during this cold winter so they don’t waste their essence on the poison called ‘love.’
And in response to this crafty plot conceived in darkness, bold heroes must step forth with a display of righteousness to voice our distrust in society. While I was making great efforts to mop the floor sparkling clean in front of the staff office, however…
“…What are you doing?” Azuki Azusa asked while watching me from the stairs.
She has looked oddly stylish as of late, even when solely donned by her school uniform. She had a puppy pin on her chest, and her uniform’s ribbon was neatly in place. The length of her skirt seemed to be a bit shorter as well, and she had some ear mufflers on. Or maybe she hadn’t changed all that much, but it was solely just me starting to pay closer attention to her. When I started just staring at her in silence, the girl clapped her hands together like she had received an epiphany.
“Since it’s the new year, you went ahead and started cleaning the floors, right?! How wonderful!”
“…Well, something like that.”
The young puppy clearly hadn’t deduced my intentions behind doing this.
“Fufu. That’s Yokodera for you!”
Her eyes lit up, and her imaginary tail rhythmically wagged left and right. Her trustful smile dazzled me a bit too much with its brightness. I don’t dislike it when people show me respect, but this makes my chest hurt.
“…By the way, I saw your email. I do have the afternoon free, but is this thing you wanted to talk about what I think it is?”
“Exactly!” Azuki Azusa nodded determinedly. “It’s time to start our preparations for Tsutsukakushi-san’s birthday!”
*
I let Azuki Azusa grab my hand and drag me all the way to the prefabricated clubroom building. I glanced at the sports clubrooms on the first floor and was overwhelmed with nostalgia. We went up the stairs to the second floor. The nameplate of the room read ‘Children’s Welfare Club’.
“This is…”
…The club Tsutsukakushi is a member of. The club often visits nearby kindergarten schools or welfare centers, plays with the kids, organizes shows and events, and does all kinds of things to make the days more enjoyable. If I had known about this club earlier, I would have gladly joined it so that I could get a free annual pass to visit real kindergarten schools.
“Um, I got along with a Kouhai-san in here.” Azuki Azusa said, while opening the door. She swallowed her breath. “—Tada! Thanks for waiting! I brought our savior!” She said this with a loud voice, making me feel a bit embarrassed.
The few first-year students in the room all stopped what they were doing and looked towards us.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Azusa-senpa—Eeek!”
The ‘Eeek’ came out when one girl looked over at me. I know you must be nervous meeting the famous Ouji face to face. I have the aura to go along with that title.
“I-Isn’t that…?”
“Th-There’s no mistaking it. I’ve seen his picture on the blackboard outside…”
“…The Perverted Prince…”
“Were we deceived? Sold out? Ruined?!”
“Th-The police… police… Ah, what was the number again!? Zero zero and then!? How many zeroes did you have to add!?”
“Calm down! He shouldn’t be able to catch everyone! Only one of us has to be sacrificed!”
“Dear mother and father, I’m sorry but I won’t be coming home today…”
The seven girls inside the room were panicking and running around. They constantly bumped into each other in the small room. They looked like a startled flock of birds. Now then, which girl should I catch first?
“…Um, it seems like there’s a lot of rumors going around here…” Azuki Azusa lowered her eyebrows. “But this person is just easy to misunderstand. He’s not a bad person in general.”
“…N-Not a bad person?”
The first-years stared with wide-open eyes, muttering to their friends.
“He’s not a bad person…”
“Not a person…?”
“Not a person.”
“A monster?”
“A monster! A dog wearing the mask of a human! Pervert!”
“Pomade, pomade~”
Hello there, I’m a monster. I don’t know how that happened, but these people are really bad at playing telephone, I guess. Communication is key in today’s world, and yet they’re utterly failing at it.
“Now now, you don’t have to be so scared.”
“—Hyaa!”
I took a single step forward and a cacophony of shrieks broke out. If I stepped to the right, the group acted terrified, and if I stepped to the left, they all moved to the right. What is this? Am I Swimmy1? Ha ha ha, how cute. I’ll gulp you all up!
“—Will you give it a rest already!” A single person silenced the panicked voices of the girls.
The Azuki Puppy’s eyebrows were furrowed in rage, which was a rare sight.
“Yokodera, put these on for a moment.” She spoke in a fierce tone of voice, and she forced the ear mufflers onto my ears.
What is this? What’s going to happen? Is this some soviet strategy meeting that I’m not allowed to listen in on?
“Azuki-senpai…”
The seven shivering chicks all looked up at Azuki Azusa.
“It’s fine. No matter what you say, he won’t be able to hear it. Just let me ask: What kind of rumors did you hear about him?” She spoke with a calm tone, like she was trying to give a comfortable feeling.
I see. Rather than reigning through fear, she’s trying to create a situation where the girls are able to talk with ease. However, these ear mufflers are a little bit too small, so I can totally hear everything they’re saying.
“R-Rumors?”
“I heard that he does all sorts of gross things.”
“That he’ll eat you up?”
“That he’s a brainless pervert who only wants all sorts of disgusting stuff.”
“My mother told me I should stay away from perverts.”
“He’s using chain mail…”
“There’s lots of bad stuff people are saying online, too…”
…Although only seven of them said anything, it felt like a hundred people were stabbing me right in the heart. The pain was so great that I almost lost consciousness in the process. I hope nobody heard my glass heart shatter! However…
“—That’s all? Listen, everyone.” The Puppy spoke with a resolute voice. “You have never confirmed this with your own eyes and ears.”
“But everyone said…”
“So what if everyone said it?” She spoke with a kind voice, but it had a certain amount of pressure to it.
It was a voice very much like Azuki Azusa. Faced by this, the first-year girls all grew quiet.
“You’ve never even talked with him, yet you’re judging his personality by mere hearsay. Is that really the right thing to do? Why do you have your own eyes and ears if all you do is just believe what others say?”
I couldn’t help but feel entranced as she spoke.
“Also, if all of that were true, they would have made an aquarium for Nessie at Loch Ness already, and they would have held a party with the yetis up in the snowy mountains, right? But that’s not the case! They won’t!”
…Uh, Azuki Azusa-san?
“Because this is full of misunderstandings. Of course I want to go meet Nessie and the yetis. I want to cuddle with them and take pictures with them! I want them to be part of my family! I want to keep them! You feel me!?”
“Awawa…”
Azuki Azusa-san? The first-years are looking really terrified right now if you ask me.
“But even if I want to meet them, I can’t reject Darwin’s theory of evolution just to believe in them, you know? What’s next, believing in a flying spaghetti monster and forming a cult about it? You have to see things with your own eyes, hear things with your own ears, think with your own brain, because that will cause you to love this world even more! We all love animals, right?!”
It’s all ogre now. She’s succumbed to some form of deranged logic that even I can’t follow. Nessie is one thing, but now she’s bringing up the Flying Spaghetti Monster. What’s her deal? However, her attempt apparently seemed to have paid off.
“Yokodera, you can take them off now.” Azuki Azusa gestured towards me, so I took off the ear mufflers.
I made a confused face, making sure that she hadn’t caught on to the fact that I had actually heard everything. I smiled on the outside, and cried a little on the inside.
“Um, well…” The first-years finished exchanging glances, and one person took a step forward. “…We’re sorry…” After she said this, the other students equally lowered their heads.
“No no, it couldn’t be helped. I’m sorry to surprise you like that.” Those were the only words I could say.
I waved my hand, and the students sighed in relief and lowered their heads one more time.
“So then, let’s do our self-introductions one more time.” Azuki Azusa set two more chairs down in the circle and beckoned me to sit down.
When I moved forward to sit down…
“………”
…She brought her body closer to mine.
“Thank you, and sorry. I’m glad you’re this kind.”
She whispered with a quiet voice. So the righteous Azuki Azusa-san is actually a real angel, huh? My heart started beating so fast that I felt like it might just explode. Seriously, who do you think the kind one here is?
*
The first-year students in the Children’s Welfare club totaled eight people counting Tsutsukakushi. Azuki Azusa had apparently gotten in touch with one of them during some kind of fish-petting event at a local river targeted at kindergarten and grade school students. They were recruiting people, and Azuki Azusa had offered to help out at the event.
They had started talking about Tsutsukakushi, and eventually came up with the idea to do something for her birthday.
“So, as for the plan, what Azuki-senpai thought of was…”
Whenever I met eyes with one of them, they would swallow their breath. I was being treated like the big bad wolf trying to tear down the house of the seven little pigs. It’s fine, though. I’m not scary at all. I’m just something like your father, you see. The reason my mouth is so big is because I’m a kind boy who loves laughing along with others. The reason my breathing is so rough is because I’m excited to meet all of you. The reason I’m licking my tongue is because I can’t wait to taste all of you, roaaar!
Though if I said that, they’d report me for sure, so I’ll keep that to myself. Not to mention that all the girls in this room are just as small as Tsutsukakushi herself. Saying that would absolutely be a no-go. I am a trained wolf, okay?!
“W-We thought we might celebrate it at the next rehearsal…”
This club’s first-years apparently visit a welfare institution together as a group. It’s like their first big event and act of induction. And now they’re using their practice time for this to surprise Tsutsukakushi.
“Or so we planned, but we’re still not sure if we’re going to do a picture show or a play or whatever. We have no idea what would make Tsuu-chan happy, either…”
“Really? I think she’d be happy no matter what you did.”
“Do you really think so, Per—Awawa, Yokodera-senpai?” The female Kouhai looked at me with a serious gaze.
When I saw that, I figured it would be fine to forgive her for almost calling me a pervert.
“I know. Because I intend on understanding her more than anybody else.”
“Fuwawa…”
“See? I told you!” For some reason, Azuki Azusa was the one who proudly puffed out her chest. “Yokodera understands Tsutsukakushi-san the best. This is why I brought him here! He’s the most reliable dolphin in the dolphin show!”
“You don’t have to praise me that much!”
The first-years clearly don’t know yet, but calling someone ‘dolphin’ is quite high praise in Azuki Azusa’s vocabulary. As a level five Azuki Azusa connaisseur, I can guarantee that.
“…I guess that there’s people who understand Tsuu-chan’s interests.” The first-years started talking among themselves, and they stopped to look at me. “A while ago, Tsuu-chan started to change a bit…”
“She acted a bit more grown up, but it felt like she was pushing herself.”
“But she’s a really good girl and a nice person.”
“She notices other people’s problems really quickly, and she looks after others!”
“…She’s a bit of a glutton at times, so whenever we give her some sweets, it looks like she’s melting.”
“She sometimes gets emails on her phone and vents out her anger on a puppet.”
“Ayaya, she’ll scold us if we say any more…”
They told me all sorts of things about a side of Tsutsukakushi that I had rarely seen. I was really worried at first since she had lost her expressions, but I guess she was blessed with some great friends after all. When I saw Azuki Azusa smile, I felt myself grinning as well.
At the end of it all, we talked about various topics related to Tsutsukakushi, but we couldn’t come up with any concrete plans about the surprise event itself. But I’d say this wasn’t half bad.
“So is Tsutsukakushi popular with the kindergarten kids?”
“Yes, although she herself doesn’t even realize it. They didn’t want to let her go when they were drawing pictures.”
“You couldn’t tell them apart.”
“If she stays quiet, then they’re basically the same.”
“There were times when we accidentally left her there.”
“Tsuu-chan would often just fall asleep with the others.”
“The people working there sometimes called the school because they thought some other girl got mixed up with them.”
“—Um, I mean, we were just joking, of course, ahaha…”
They even played a bit of a slap-stick comedy between themselves. When you compare it to when we first met, they’ve opened up to me quite a bit… Well, in the event that something happened, they’d probably be the fastest people to report me to the police, so let’s not think about that for too long.
“Well, I have to head off for my part-time work…”
In case you didn’t know, Puppy Azuki is actually the most popular maid at the animal cafe. She looked at the time, and she apparently was cutting it pretty close.
“It was fun, thanks a lot.”
I stood when Azuki Azusa did. If I stayed behind any longer, things would probably get more awkward without my mediator around. That’s why this Invigorating Prince will take his leave here, before he starts crying. Or so I thought, but the girls interrupted me.
“Um…” They exchanged glances between each other, “If I may be so bold as to ask…”
“Just what…”
“…Kind of relationship…”
“…Do you two have?”
“Are you two dating?”
“Lovey-dovey?”
“Awawa, lovey-dovey?”
They asked me something tremendous right to my face. Why are their eyes glimmering with excitement and expectations? If they had these eyes 24/7, I would assume they all read the work of Tsuboi Sakae, but I guess they belonged to the world of romcoms. I guess girls just love talking about this sort of thing, huh? Isn’t it more important to ask if I’ve tried assaulting her already? As a side note, I haven’t! Not physically, that is! Just in the philosophical sense!
“Oh come on…” Azuki Azusa blushed ever so slightly. “We’re not going out. We’re not even a rhinoceros beetle and stag beetle. We’ll talk about this another time!”
“Ehhhhh?”
“Let’s get together another time during lunch break—” She skillfully dodged the topic and decided on the next day to meet up.
That kind of skill is really hard to pull off, you know. I felt deeply moved to see the former loner Azuki Azusa holding a decent conversation with other people. Since she inherited the blood of her sociable Mother Azuki, this might actually be her real personality. Or maybe some external stimuli brings out this personality in her. As for this stimuli, I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what it is, so I’ll try not to think about it.
“Then we’ll see you later.”
Azuki Azusa and I bade our farewells at the door.
“See you!”
“Howawa, time passed quickly today.”
“Thank you very much for today.”
“Good work today.”
“Bye bye!”
“We’ll be waiting here again.”
“Keep it a secret from Tsuu-chan!”
The Kouhai girls all waved their hands together… Again, are you a pack of zebras? Are you living together in fear that you’ll get eaten whenever you show your personality?
Making a wry smile, I stepped out of the room along with Azuki Azusa.
“…Oh?”
Tsutsukakushi stood in the hallway. She was watching us as she passed by.
“Y-Yo, Tsutsukakushi! What brings you here?”
“…I forgot something. What about you two?”
“Ahh, well, Azuki Azusa, you know, right?”
“Eh, eh, eh? Y-Yeah, it’s that.”
“W-We got lost, right?”
“We got lost at school!? No way, we were just returning something!”
“Oh, that’s right. There was a book I couldn’t return because I missed the time the library was open.”
“We came to the clubroom to hand it back to you.”
“But I realized that I forgot it at home!”
“That’s basically what happened.”
Our perfect excuse left Tsutsukakushi unable to speak. From within her transparent eyes, she closely observed me and Azuki Azusa. Her small throat moved up and down. Her right hand was reaching out like she was trying to grab something. However, that right hand eventually fell down to her left hand, reaching nothing. Her left hand hung down like her right, like she was holding back, refraining from doing something.
“…Hm…” Contrary to her movement, her voice was the same as always. “Is that so? Good work today.” She lowered her head and entered the room like nothing had happened.
Luckily, we somehow had managed to avoid revealing our plans for the surprise party. Inside the actual clubroom, we could hear things going similarly well.
—W-Wow, Tsuu-chan, we weren’t doing anything! We didn’t do anything with Azuki-senpai and Yokodera-senpai!
The seven little pigs panicked a bit, and I heard their voices from behind the door. These girls are definitely way worse than us at keeping something secret. Anyways, I feel like this surprise plan will fail quite quickly.
*
The third school term was much more enjoyable than the second. Only around 75 days had passed since the school trip, and I was really worried about what would happen afterwards. Now that it had actually started, it wasn’t half bad. I continued my days mopping in font of the teacher’s office while plotting to destroy their hidden reign. Around noon, I met up with Azuki Azusa and the other girls to make plans for Tsutsukakushi’s birthday party, and at night I tried to cram some more studying into Steel-san. I was living my days to the fullest, you could say.
This indeed is the daily life of a high school student. The most generic type of student, too. I’m not in the wrong in the slightest.
“How fun, how fun, I don’t have anything fun to do~” Humming to myself, I spent my time mopping the floor…
“…This is where you were at, huh?” Maimaki passed by me.
She was carrying some documents in her hands. Now that school had started again, she probably had to take care of the budget, the athletic meets, and all that. She was wearing her jersey trousers beneath her skirt, giving off no feeling of eroticsm at all. Not that I expected any from her, though.
“What are you doing here?”
“Heh. So the time has come for me to tell of my great plans. That’s right, I’m doing this so I can see a girl’s underwear in the floor’s reflection—”
“Huuuh?” Maimaki snorted. “Knowing you, I figured you’d be at a loss as to what to do now since you’re still not allowed at club practice, so now you’re trying to behave so you’ll be able to get back in, right? Don’t act like a pervert, you pervert.” She said all that in one breath. “Hey, moron. Don’t just tell me the truth. What is this…”
I concealed my face and dropped the mop right there. It felt like I had been cleft in two. Unlike Puppy Azuki, this can’t be dealt with by normal means… Because indeed it is just like Maimaki said. I’m still not allowed to join club practice. Old Miss aside, when the advisor of the track-and-field club heard of this incident, his anger towards me only grew. He seems to really hate me this third school term. That’s why, even though these are my final moments in my second year of school, I have become fully engrossed with cleaning all the time. B-But cleaning while fantasizing isn’t half bad, okay?!
“We started the formal process a bit slowly at first, but now that Club President Tsutsukakushi is in good health and you’re banned from the club, the club positions are mostly determined.” She waved the documents in her hand at me, grinning. “At this rate I’ll become the club president. How do you like them apples?”
“I don’t really care.”
“I see. You’re jealous and frustrated. That’s what you get, former ace.”
“Again, I don’t really…”
Seeing her be this serious about something aside from perverted talk was a rare sight. This is the religious follower of the Club President Tsutsukakushi cult who is fully intent on inheriting her club: MaiMai-san. Tranquility reigned in this new track-and-field club, and there were no signs of any sudden romances emerging between two club members or between a club member and the outside world.
“Let me throw you a bit of a bone here.” Maimaki shrugged. “If you cast away your pride and lick the socks of the new club president Maimaki Mai-sama, I might be willing to speak to the teachers on your behalf.”
“Ohoho?!”
I had no idea if she had finished talking, but I didn’t care much. I immediately dove forward and clung to Maimaki’s feet. This is like the supply and demand of this girl trading underwear! I can only call this the newest type of technique in this world of fetishes!
“Ouch!?”
…Or so I thought, but she totally stepped on my head.
“…Pervert.”
“I thought we had an agreement!?”
“You total pervert.”
She had a disgusted expression on her face, and no other abusive words aside from these came out. But why? You gave me permission and this is how you’re treating me? Wasn’t this part of your fetish?
“…You’re as much of a moron as ever. I was joking, of course.” Maimaki rubbed the corners of her eyebrows, letting out a sigh.
After that, she gazed straight at me.
“Now for a serious question. Are you in any trouble as of late, YouYou? How do you feel about that club?”
“Of course I’m fine. Track-and-field aside, MaiMai is calling me ‘YouYou’ now. I’m surprised we’ve gotten that close.”
MaiMai had been calling me that mentally, so I guess it wasn’t just a fleeting nickname. Then again, I did the same and stuck with calling her MaiMai. What is this? It’s like we’re lovers! MaiMai… Ehehe, kyaa~
“…Your eyes look disgusting.” Maimaki MaiMai slapped her palm on my forehead, and got back to the point. “Don’t you think… that this life of yours is wrong?”
Oh my. A hard question has been brought forth. I see. If I answer ‘yes,’ I know she’ll say something cold like ‘Then go kill yourself right away, pervert’, and if I say ‘no,’ she’ll go with ‘So you aren’t even aware of it yourself? Go die in a fire, pervert.’ So it’s nothing gained and a lot lost either way. I can already see through your responses, Maimaki!
“—I told you I’m being serious here. I’ll hear you out.”
“………”
“You keep getting pushed around and pulled around without looking at your own life. You can’t even participate in the track-and-field club. Are you really going to be satisfied with this after you graduate?”
…Or so I thought, but her words were more honest than I thought. When she confronts me this straightforwardly, I can’t cover anything up. It’s a bit dazzling, to be honest.
“Are you not jealous of me or anything? Aren’t you frustrated? You should be. You’d better be, moron.” Maimaki narrowed her gaze in anger. “Weren’t you the one who told me to live my life so that I wouldn’t regret anything? And right now you’re doing everything half-assed. You just keep getting cast aside. Are you fine living for the sake of others?” Her words hit me right where it hurt.
…Of course it isn’t good. That’s why I thought it would be okay for me to lick her socks if that would allow me to get back into the track-and-field club. But…
“…This is my life. I don’t mean to brag about it, but it’s not something you should look down on.”
“Do you really have no problems living your life for others?”
“I’m not living it for others. I live it for my own sake, and I just do whatever I can. If I have to throw away the track-and-field club for this, then… well, so be it.”
This is my philosophy. This is what Tsukasa-san told me ten years ago. No matter how arrogant you try to be to choose everything, there is a time when you have to choose between things no matter what. And I made my choice during the field trip. Not for anyone else’s life, but for my own. I did what I wanted to do to cause everyone to be happy.
No matter how arrogant I may be, I know shame even if I can’t feel it. I decided to live my life for someone.
“You…”
“Yup.”
“…Moron.” Maimaki cut off her words mid-sentence and shrugged.
She tore her gaze away from me, straightened the documents in her hand, and entered the staff office. That was my sign that this conversation had ended. I don’t think she understood. She probably just gave up trying to lecture me. Then again, I don’t want her to understand. This is my own territory. It’s a shame, but that’s how it works.
*
As a side note, when such discrepancies in opinions occur, the best thing to do is to walk away from the other person. If not, things will just get awkward. Such as right now. Maimaki appeared yet again after she had finished her business in the staff office. I was still standing there, cleaning the floor.
“……”
“………”
A long silence ensued. I just kept cleaning, and she didn’t say anything either.
“……”
“……”
“…Again, I want to walk away, but I can’t…”
Unable to bear the silence, I was the first to open my mouth. She really knows how to get me during the weirdest moments.
“So you want to, huh?” Maimaki crossed her arms.
Weren’t we done talking a second ago? Do you want attention or something? Are you lonely without me around?
“Basically…”
“Yes?”
“…You prioritized your girlfriend over track-and-field club, YouYou.”
“How did you draw that conclusion!?”
That makes it sound like I’m some kind of womanizer who only wants to woo girls all day! Yesterday I saw a report about how protagonists who are serious and diligent are popular with the girls, so I want to transfer to that train if at all possible! I want to be popular even if I have to change myself, okay?
“Isn’t that what it is, though? You’re a worthless pervert who follows your girlfriend everywhere.”
“Again, it’s not like I’m choosing between two things… Also, who are you even talking about? What girlfriend?”
“That sparkly noble lady.” Maimaki put one hand on her mouth, giggling like one of those cliché noble ladies.
You have to appreciate MaiMai and her imitations. As for who she’s imitating, I already know. I guess she still looks like that to other people? As for me, I can only see her tail wagging.
“Azuki Azusa isn’t my girlfriend.”
“Huh?”
“Go ahead and ask her yourself. She’ll deny it as well.”
I thought back to the time when the kouhais had asked her about it, and how adamantly she denied it.
“……” Maimaki let out an annoyed sigh.
She looked at me like she was unable to comprehend what was going on.
“So what is she?”
“…Who knows?” I just shrugged.
I want to know the answer to that question, myself. How do I feel about this girl? I can’t find the answer if I don’t even know how I feel.
“What do you mean? Take responsibility. If you like her, make her your girlfriend. If you hate her, don’t. That’s all there should be to it. Do you hate her?”
“That’s not how it is…”
“How is it then?”
“I can’t put it into words… It’s difficult, okay? A lot of things. Where the boundaries are and all that…”
“Boundaries?”
I thought about it some more. How should I put it so that Maimaki will understand? How can I best put into words what I feel?
“…Let me give you an example. Do you think that you and I have a chance of becoming a couple?”
“Not even if it kills me. I’d rather die. Actually, I’d just kill you and keep living myself.” Maimaki made an expression like she had seen hell, even adding a click of her tongue at the end.
“Haha, it figures.”
She couldn’t have said it any better. I don’t hate her, but I also can’t imagine a future like that.
“So even If I do something like this, it’s not like your heart will start beating faster, right?”
“Huh?”
I embraced Maimaki’s shoulders. To emphasize the significance, I put a lot of strength into the hug.
“…………Eh?”
Yeah, it seems like she’s not really bothered by it, considering her relaxed (?) voice.
“Even if you think that someone is a friend, there are people who are safe to do this with, and other people who aren’t, right?”
I took it to the next level and rubbed my cheeks against her. I see. She’s soft. But that’s about it. Unlike a certain someone, my heart isn’t about to explode just because I touch her. Even if they’re in the same category of ‘friends’, there’s still a distinct difference.
“………………Haeh?”
Maimaki froze up in my arms and started blinking violently. Her head shook left and right, and her eyes were filled with question marks. After a moment of silence…
“—!?!?!?!?!” A shriek that can’t be put into words came out of her mouth.
Maybe it’s some foreign language? Should I ask her to write it down for me? I really hate being able to describe something like this accurately.
“Even though she’s a friend like you, there’s a girl who gets my heart pounding when I do this. Can I use this feeling to judge my emotions? I’m just lost because I don’t know how to judge the boundaries in our relationship, and—”
“You. What. Um. Eh.”
“Are you listening to me?”
“Right now. What. You. Moron. Moron. Moron. Moron. Moron.” Her mouth opened and closed like a fish and she twitched.
“—Go die!”
After a brief silence, she shoved me away.
“O-Ouch… What are you…?”
“Are you an idiot? You are, right? You absolute moron. Dosukoi, you moron.” She blushed furiously as she scolded me.
And then the fierce lecture began. For your knowledge, everyone, there are apparently things you’re allowed to do to friends, and other things you’re not allowed to do. Having our bodies swapped and doing our business in the bathroom is totally okay, but hugging like this is not. I feel like Maimaki’s judgements here are way too personalized.
“Since the chances of us becoming lovers is practically zero, I didn’t think anyone would be hurt by doing this…”
“Moron. The problem is if somebody were to see us—”
“You rang?”
A cozy, comfortable voice came from the corner of the hallway. Cozy-sama was peeking around it, and the impact hit Maimaki right away.
“…!” Maimaki’s back curled up like a scared cat, and she ran away in the opposite direction of Cozy-sama.
“MaiMai, got you~”
…Though she got captured relatively soon after running away to the girl’s bathroom.
“Why are you—?!”
Maimaki was utterly shocked, but Cozy-sama’s instantaneous teleport allowed for no escape.
“Fufu, fufufu. This time I saw you for sure.” She showed a cozy smile, tightly holding Maimaki’s hands.
She looked like an assassin ready to execute her target.
“Why do you keep denying the fact that you’re so lovey-dovey? Reality makes it so obvious~ This is the second time you’ve toyed with your friend’s feelings, you know~”
“You’ve teased me more than two times, right?”
“Hmm?”
“A while ago, you wrote weird stuff on my report, about how I feel about this guy and whatever. Do you know how long it took me to fix that?”
“You dare talk back to me? Fufufu…”
“…No, that’s not what this is. Definitely not. Calm down. Let’s talk things through.”
“Pull things through?”
“No! Talk things through!”
“Tie you up and talk things through?”
“You’re not even listening to me…”
“Okay, leave it to me. I’ll be gentle!” With an attitude of a kind tanuki going for a picnic on a grass plain, she took Maimaki’s hand.
“Wait. Wait wait. Wait. One more minute. Please let me mentally prepare myself.”
“It’s fine~ One minute won’t be enough anyway~”
“Again please don’t moron no more don’t smile like that you’re scaring me.”
“Now you even insulted me. Fufufu…sniff…fufu…”
“Ah, wait, no. This…no…I just…” Maimaki tried to fight her impending death.
She was dragged into the bathroom, and all I could hear after that were her screams of agony.
That being said, I’m a man myself. In a lot of ways. I should save my friend Maimaki when she’s in a pinch, so I tried to think of ways to get inside the girl’s restroom without being arrested. Cozy-sama finally came out of the toilet, alone. With a cozy smile, she looked at me, and she fixed the ribbon on the chest part of her uniform.
“About that just now, Ouji-kun. You’re thinking too deeply about the idea of being friends,” She said.
“Um, more importantly, is Maimaki okay?”
“You’re thinking too deeply about the concept of friends.” Cozy-sama just repeated her previous words with a smile.
Is this what I think it is? If I don’t press the ‘OK’ button, the story won’t move forward no matter what dialogue choice I make? I was too late, it seems. I’m sorry, MaiMai.
“I’m just trying to be thorough about it, you know.”
“Why do you have to be so thorough about it?”
“Um, well…”
“If you treat people like they’re important, isn’t that enough? Thinking about who’s your friend, and what kind of friend they are, isn’t fun at all, don’t you think? Even if MaiMai becomes a wife, I’ll still go out with her, and even if she hates me, I’ll continue liking her.”
“………”
“There’s no need to have a switch that you can just flick whenever it feels convenient. The only thing I can think of is that you want to put a specific label on your relationship or else you won’t rest easy? That feels a bit sad, doesn’t it?” Cozy-sama spoke in a carefree manner.
I think this might be a comment on the whole borderline argument I had with Maimaki earlier, but why was there a need for her to bully Maimaki if she heard everything in the first place? Well, I’ll keep this thought to myself, because I’m also just as scared of this girl.
“That’s all I wanted to say~” She spoke with about 60% seriousness. “Also, please take careful of MaiMai in the future as well.”
“Okay?”
“MaiMai looks really happy whenever she’s with Ouji-kun. If I see her happy, I’m happy myself. So I’ll give you this.” She pushed a ribbon into my hands, and waved her long sleeve at me.
Last time it was a sock, and now it’s a ribbon. Why do I keep getting Maimaki’s personal belongings? Is she my girlfriend or something? What am I supposed to do with this? Put it away in my closet on a display? Maybe I’ll wake up a bit happier then? But if Demon Lord-chan came over, I might get killed right away. Then again, that doesn’t sound half bad I guess!
*
I only stopped to think about something more important later. After everything that had happened, I still think that Cozy-sama has some kind of deep personal trust in MaiMai. Someone else’s happiness is her own happiness. Even if MaiMai hates her, she would continue to keep liking her. They are friends, but also they aren’t friends. How long did it take for her to think of saying that? As expected, human relationships couldn’t be more complicated.
I—No, we—were wrong. The very concept, the starting point of chasing each other because we’re friends, or waiting because we’re friends, was flawed from the very beginning. If you want to chase after them, chase. If you want to wait for them, wait. All that would have been fine. You should be friends so you are friends. It’s a solid relationship. Instead, we just relied on categories, averting our eyes from reality. And we only figured that out the following week.
*
The weather was weird when the new day came around.
‘It’ll be snowing today, mhmm…’ is what the weather Onee-san said, with a grave expression. That was the first odd thing I noticed that day. She must have been out of it because of the change in weather. It was kind of hard to watch, not going to lie. I hope she doesn’t get fired because she’s lacking her usual upbeat jokes.
It was weird weather, with a forecast calling for snow, but there ended up being no snow at all, and it got cloudy again. But the wind was oddly cold. As a result of that, by the time our marathon during PE class ended, my fingertips were frozen stiff, and no warmth returned to them no matter how much I rubbed them.
My gloves didn’t seem to work at all, maybe because they were old and the fabric was thin. Normally I’d steal gloves from my friend, but Ponta is currently on an extended trip to try to make world peace. MaiMai is MaiMai, so she’d force me to soil the gloves to a grotesque level until I was allowed to return them.
…Should I borrow some from someone else? All my other classmates don’t even dare to talk to me, so that ain’t going to work either.
“Well…” I returned to the classroom and changed in my uniform while rubbing my fingers.
After doing so, I headed over to the clubroom building to continue our planning for the secret party. Since it was still lunch break, the building was deserted. I could see a few students here and there who had finished classes earlier and were studying by themselves or just passing their time otherwise. I made sure that not many people saw me as I made my way up to the second floor. There I bumped into Azuki Azusa.
“My, Yokodera? Aren’t you quite fast?”
“Same to you! Didn’t we have combined classes?”
The good thing about winter PE class is that the students who finish the 10km run earlier can leave earlier. Of course, there was no runner more skilled than this former rising star of the track-and-field club. The only person I could lose against was Maimaki, of course.
However, I saw that Azuki Azusa arrived before me, meaning that she must have finished before me. That hurt Yokodera-kun’s pride quite a bit. Maybe she spends her days chasing random animals? She is quite the animal lover.
“I had a checkup. Since it’s cold, Sensei told me to go back early.”
“What, do you have a cold? Does your head hurt? Where does it hurt? Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay…”
I put my hand on her forehead. Azuki Azusa was wearing her ear muffler and a mask. Her nose was red through the cold air, and I felt the warmth beneath my palm. When I looked at her, she averted her gaze.
“…Were you actually skipping classes?”
“…I-It’s cold after all…” Azuki Azusa showed a wry smile as she looked up at me.
Of course, I could quickly bring down judgement on her because of this fact, but since we’ve established the fact that Azuki Azusa is an angel, hence her nickname Angel Azuki Azusa, the weather must be at fault here, and society itself. The entire world is at fault, or maybe just my head.
“Well, not running today without enough protection from the wind might have just been the better choice. Your hands are really cold.”
“You’re right…”
Since our school building is relatively old, we don’t have any heaters set up. This season is quite challenging indeed—Or so I thought.
“It’s like the tusk of a mammoth put into the freezer. Would this help in warming it up?” Azuki Azusa tightly grasped my right hand with both of hers.
It was a natural movement. There’s probably no deeper meaning to it. Only middle schoolers would get excited about holding hands like this. I’m t-t-totally used to it. Like this, we arrived in front of the children’s welfare club on the second floor. When I put my hand on the doorknob, we heard voices inside. They must have heard our conversation.
Inside were—not the seven little pigs.
“—Welcome, yes.”
Instead, what greeted us was an expressionless tail-hair-san, standing all alone.
“…W-Wow!” Azuki Azusa was one second too late. She let out a surprised voice.
She let go of my hand at the speed of light and raised her own like she was celebrating something.
“T-Tsutsukakushi-san! Why are you here!?”
“…Because this is the clubroom of the club I am a member of.”
“That’s right, that’s right! I-I totally know!”
“Since the 4th period was self-study, I was looking for some scripts for the new event.” Tsutsukakushi spoke in an indifferent tone.
She closed the book at her hands lazily and looked at us in a detached manner. At the same time, Azuki Azusa-san still held her arms high. Is she pointing some kind of invisible weapon at you?
“That sounds tough! Since there’s eight of you, it must be hard finding a story with enough characters, and then you have to worry about how to divvy up the roles as well!”
“…You know a lot about my club, I see.”
“Y-Yeah! Well! Like a hawk! Master with eyes, master with ears!”
“By the way, why are you two here?”
“U-Um… Ah, we’re taking a walk…”
“At school?”
“Y-Yep! It’s like a special trip to find something new in the scenery you’re used to!”
“I see. So depending on the person next to you, the scenery around you can change.”
“Indeed!”
“So the person next to you, Azuki-san. Is that person important enough to you that being with them is enough to change your world?”
“Y-Yeah! …Wait, really!? Maybe!?” Azuki Azusa looked at me.
That’s only going to make things worse, so let’s stop with this interrogation!
“…Well, you see, we came here to meet someone.” I jumped in to save the day.
“In this club room?”
“Indeed. But, even if it’s Tsukiko-chan, I can’t quite reveal the truth, so could you maybe forgive us? There will be a time when I can repay you in full.” I put one hand over my cheek, acting like some cringey isekai protagonist.
The key to lying is to keep 90% truth and 10% lie, or so I’ve read in a book.
“I see.” Tsutsukakushi nodded and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “Now that you mention it, it’s lunch break, so the others should be coming soon.”
“The others?”
“The other seven club members who are in the same year as me.”
…I didn’t even tell her who we’re meeting, but she had already figured it out, huh? No, this must be telepathy. This is proof that she understands us after all!
“Also, the play coming up is planned for the children, so if you hold another event, I suggest you hold it during one of the rehearsals.”
…She even has the details figured out… No no, it should still be fine. She might have caught on to what we’re planning, but there’s no proof that she’s got everything figured out.
“By the way, rather than planning a secret party for my birthday, I would much prefer a planned party and a celebration with everyone.”
“…We’ll take it into consideration…” Azuki Azusa hung her head.
Now there’s no surprise element left at all. Tsutsukakushi is responsible for the main script, and Tsukiko-chan takes care of the roles. Since when did she find out? It should have been a perfect plan.
“Anyway, I will be taking my leave here.” Tsutsukakushi bowed and gave us a quick glance.
Azuki Azusa was still holding her palm high in the air. Tsutsukakushi stood on her tiptoes to grab that hand and pulled it down, returning it to its previous location. Or in other words, into my hand.
“…Here you go. Take your time.” She said and walked away.
She looked like a cat that had been shooed away.
“W-Wait!” Azuki Azusa shouted.
It must have been something she did on reflex. She seemed surprised at the volume of her own voice, blinked in confusion, and let go of my hand. And then she grabbed Tsutsukakushi’s hand, doing the same thing again. Namely, she made me hold Tsutsukakushi’s hand.
“…Hm…”
“…See, like this…”
An invisible battle occurred. The two of them started fighting to make the other hold my hand. And at the end, Azuki Azusa seemed to have come out on top. She forced Tsutsukakushi’s small palm into mine.
“U-Um, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.” Azuki Azusa muttered in a quiet voice. “We weren’t going to keep this a secret out of any bad intentions.”
“…I am aware of that, yes.”
“I wanted you to get along, you know.”
“I am grateful for that.”
“You and Yokodera, that is.”
“I don’t quite grasp the meaning behind that.” Tsutsukaksuhi looked down at her own hand, shaking her head. Several times.
Eventually, this movement grew more extreme, as her entire body shook left and right, like a small child that didn’t want to listen.
“Do you dislike the idea of Senpai and I getting along, Azuki-san?”
“…I want you to. Then I’d be much happier as well…”
“……That’s just…” Tsutsukakushi raised her head.
Her right hand danced in the air. She tried grasping for something, but she was held back by her left hand. The only difference this time was the fact that her right hand couldn’t quite give up, and reached for something on the shelf. It was a puppet.
“—Could you join me for a second?” Tsutsukakushi looked at Azuki Azusa.
*
The shelf of the children’s welfare club was filled with important documents and material regarding events and club budget. It also had big paintings, colored crayons, gigantic origami statues, and cushion balls of characters. I could even see the picture show paper that Tsutsukakushi had made before, as well as some animal shogi. In the corner was a rubber gun. It looked like a giant treasure box for children.
From between all these objects, Tsutsukakushi took out two puppets that looked like they were made for a puppet theater. They were a distorted pig and a sheep, and by moving your hand inside, you could move them. One she kept for herself, and one she handed to Azuki Azusa. She pulled a desk over, turned it sideways, and crouched down on the opposite side of it.
“I was thinking of doing a puppet theater for this event. In the sonnet collection I found, there was a great verse that I might be able to rewrite, so I wanted to test it out. I would be very delighted if you could puppeteer together with me, Azuki-san.”
“N-No problem, but… I haven’t read anything…”
“It’s fine. You just have to make ‘Baaaa’ sounds while clapping your hand.”
“B-Baaaah? Baaaah…”
“Perfect. You are the closest any high school girl will get to a sheep. At this rate, you might be reborn as one in your next life. I’m sure you’ll have an enjoyable life on a plain in Hokkaido until you get turned into delicious jingisukan.” Tsutsukakushi nodded in a satisfied manner.
Was that supposed to be praise? That sounded way too complicated. Aren’t you simply wishing for her to be eaten!?
“Y-You think?! Ehehe…”
However, this very special high school girl actually thought this was praise, so I guess we’ll get a happy end. Now then, we’ll see you next week—
“Now then, it’s time to start.”
I wanted to pull down the end card for this week’s episode, but Tsutsukakushi started speaking.
“A long long time ago, a pig and sheep lived in a certain place. The two were friends, living on the same farm, and even had similar interests.”
“B-Baaa.”
“Their interests revolved around being eaten. That’s right, these two were excited at the thought of being eaten by a wolf. That’s why they ate lots of food, exercised a lot, and got fatter and fatter.”
“Baaaa…?”
“However, the pig rested on its laurels, thinking its meat was more delicious. It was a very evil pig. It decided it would outwit the sheep with unfair actions. It was a very bad bastard of a pig.”
“Baaa! Baaaa!”
The pig started making secret maneuvers, whereas the sheep just danced through the sky without a worry in the world. The play started to get dark really quick. If the children at the institution heard this, they’d probably have nightmares for the next five years. Also, I don’t remember any sonnets that had any such folklore elements in them, especially not about a sheep and a pig.
“But one day when the pig and the sheep went to a hot spring, the pig was utterly defeated by the sheep. So much so that it had no means of retaliating. On top of that, the kind wolf that wanted to help the pig was actually shot down by a hunter.”
“…Baaa…”
“The pig reflected on this. Very much so. It started to hate itself, only thinking about itself. That’s why the pig decided that I—I mean the pig—would become an adult.
“Baaaa! Baa!”
“…But the pig can’t become a proper pig no matter what.”
“Baaa…?”
It seems like we’re getting to the climax of the story. The pig was dancing in the air, and the sheep joined in with a waltz. Not gonna lie, Azuki Azusa frantically trying to play along was really cute. At the same time, so is Tsukiko-chan as she keeps saying pig here, pig there. If they sold this on Blu-ray, it’d definitely be sold out right away. I found a secret way for the children’s welfare club to earn more money!
“The pig decided to read books, the type of books the sheep liked to read, as well as others. Especially Shake—Excuse me—someone’s Sonnet 116, which talks about how love is a lighthouse even in a storm, and I—the pig—was really moved.”
“…Baaa?”
“But no matter how hard the pig worked, and no matter how much I practiced puppeteering the pig, this is for the best. The pig cannot copy the book, because it is always selfish.”
“B-Baa…”
“The pig realized. Everything that happened inside the book was a story in a world far away. The book doesn’t describe my own feelings. Just watching over it won’t do anything. It makes me want to control it. Force myself into them by being number one. Whenever he’s with someone else, I get annoyed. I start sulking and throw around cynical comments. I keep doing unfair things to the sheep.”
“Baaa…Tsutsukakushi-san… baaa…”
“Embarrassed at how pathetic the pig is, it can’t look the sheep in the eye anymore. Even after receiving emails, it found itself unable to return any. But the sheep won’t get angry no matter what. The sheep is the real adult in the situation. The sheep accepts everything. That’s why the pig started to resent the sheep and became jealous of it. And thus it started to hate itself.”
“U-Um, what is this about, baaa…?”
“The pig knows that it’s the bad person. But it can’t help feeling that way.”
On top of the stage, the pig grabbed the dancing sheep, twisting and turning its horns.
“Even though you’re just a sheep. You just wait to get shorn, and yet…” Half of it sounded like a curse, like she was venting out her anger. The sheep was blown away from the top of the desk, and Azuki Azusa stomped on the puppet. Apparently, she couldn’t stand just making groans in the background.
“R-Right back at you, you’re just… a pig?”
“…That hurts.” Tsutsukakushi looked like she had been stabbed in the chest.
The win goes to Azuki Azusa! That’s two consecutive wins! However, that was the result that was bound to happen the moment she chose the pig puppet.
“Wawawa, I was just going along with the story, baaa!”
“…That’s right. In the end, I’m a pig bastard. I always complain, so it’s a fitting name, I guess.”
“You’re wrong, baaa! Baaa!”
“It’s fine, oink. Oink, oink…” The pig puppet cowered down, and continued to oink to itself.
Hearing Tsutsukakushi talk like this feels like she’s giving me a special service. Now I want that blu-ray even more. I feel like I’m going to awaken to some special fetish.
“…But the sheep won’t lie. It won’t hide behind all the wool on itself.” Its movement stopped.
And no, it wasn’t the movement of the pig, but the sheep. It froze in place, like she had been hit by some tranquilizer.
“If anything…” I heard a deep sigh.
It sounded like all the hidden feelings inside her chest were about to come out.
“It forced the pig and the wolf to hold hands, forced them onto each other, wanted them to get along with a smile—I cannot understand that.”
Now, we’ve really broken the play’s fourth wall. Her voice was filled with a certain kind of heat. Her voice should sound indifferent like always, and she should be speaking in a monotone, and yet it sounded like it was overflowing with emotion. All warmth vanished from the room, like it had been sucked into the abyss, and absolute silence reigned. My ears started to hurt, and my shivering skin warmed up thanks to the heat Tsutsukakushi gave off.
“U-Um, how about we leave it there…?”
The one who stood up was Azuki Azusa. Her brow was furrowed as she requested a break.
“Hm. That’s right…” Tsutsukakushi nodded like she had awoken from a dream.
She nodded several times, and reached out her hand towards Azuki Azusa. Almost like she wanted to take back the sheep puppet after stepping down from the stage. It really was a nonchalant action, with no deeper meaning to it.
“………”
But, for some reason, Azuki Azusa froze, unable to move away from the spot. She exchanged a glance with Tsutsukakushi, who stayed on the stage, and tightly pursed her lips. A brief moment of hesitation arrived, and she swiftly walked towards me.
“…I-It’s gotten a bit cold again…” Saying something that didn’t even begin to be a real reason, while flashing a vague smile, she put the ear mufflers she had around her neck on my ears.
“Azuki Azusa—”
“Just a bit more! Just wait a second longer!” She returned to the desk, and continued the play. “T-The pig has the wrong idea about something, baaa. The sheep isn’t lying about anything.”
Even though I was wearing the ear mufflers, I could yet again still hear the entire conversation. They even played along with the puppets.
“Are you doing this sort of thing out of your own real intentions, oink? That really feels like fake feelings. This isn’t something you can just ignore as you see fit. Or did you just give up from the start?”
“I’m not giving up on anything, baaa.”
“Then, what is this, oink? Are you accepting the idea of being second? Is that the level of your feelings, oink?”
“That’s…”
The play restarted with the sheep being on the receiving end. The pig pushed her nose to the corner of the stage. Just when the sheep was about to land on its back, it glanced over at me.
“…There’s no way I can say that, baaa…” She spoke with a feeble voice. “I want everyone to get along, and then… if possible, you know? That’s something I can’t say out loud, baaa.”
“Isn’t that just you trying to hide it?”
“Of course I would, baa. I’m human, so I think about bad things. I sometimes skip PE class, and felt like I wanted to be together longer during Christmas. I’m just trying to not show any bad parts, baaa!”
Correction, the sheep puppet wasn’t looking at me. It was staring at the ear mufflers on my ears.
“I know that I’m not perfect, but I want to be beautiful in front of others. I want to hide my crooked navel…”
“…Oink…” Tsutsukakushi let out a dissatisfied voice.
…Is there a rule where the one who stops their animal noises first is the loser? Maybe they’re trying to keep the balance of the play intact. That’s what I thought, at least, when…
“—”
“…!”
The pig and sheep forcefully bumped into each other. I don’t know who started it, but neither of them were backing down, that’s for sure.
“Isn’t that just you being unfair after all? You were acting much more cunning than I ever thought.” The pig oinked.
“…I’m not cunning. I’m just keeping up appearances.” The sheep groaned.
“That is what they call being cunning.”
“It’s not. The one who calls others cunning is more cunning.”
“I am, but being cunning is still cunning.”
“Cunning is cunning, but cunning isn’t always cunning!”
The two puppets continued to clash against each other. In the end, the problem that lies at the bottom of this, is—Can you call it cunning and unfair to state your honest feelings? In other words, isn’t this just a problem of honest feelings and facade?
I, who had been left in the spectator seat, arrived at this conclusion. I thought I had brought a conclusion to this battle of honest feelings and facade, but nothing had come to an end at all. Like a ghost, it clung to me, possessed me, not allowing me to run away.
“Ahhh…”
Just what have we been doing all this time? I broke through Azuki Azusa’s facade, and understood Tsutsukakushi’s feelings. I became Azuki Azusa’s friend, and got closer with Tsutsukakushi—However, isn’t that…?
Interrupting my thoughts was a dull sound at the door. Reflexively, we all looked over towards it.
“U-Um…”
“We weren’t watching.”
“Not peeking, not peeking.”
“You were just so loud that we…”
“…Thought you were talking about something important.”
“We didn’t hear anything.”
“Awawawa.”
The first-year students of the club froze up at the door. Without realizing it, we had already been in here for half of lunch break.
“H-Hey! We were waiting, haha!” I made a weak response, but the two girls in the center of it all continued fighting.
“…Not fair. Cunning. Not fair. Cunning.”
“No. No. No…”
Their nose and horns continued to ram into the other. Neither pig nor sheep let up. Even their human shoulders were bumping into each other.
“Basically—we were practicing, using Shakespeare as a reference. To understand it, they wanted to put their soul into it—”
…While saying this, I realized just how foolish I sounded. This definitely is not enough to cover up anything. This clearly is not a play, nor is it acting at all. Tsutsukakushi’s lips were tightly shut, and Azuki Azusa had tears in her eyes. Both of them were breathing roughly, and their shoulders were shaking. But still neither of them backed down.
“Not fair. No. Not fair.”
“…Ugh…Uuu…Uuu…”
That’s right, Tsutsukakushi and Azuki Azusa are fighting. Not listening to each other, not saying their own feelings, they just keep going on and on. It’s a fight where they don’t even try to arrive at a common understanding. They just threw words at each other.
Thinking back to it, I only understood it much later. When a friend and a friend of yours become friends, the process is much more complicated than you might think. And, in the truest sense of the word, these two, Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko and Azuki Azusa, were not friends.
1 A picture book by Leo Lionni, talking about a black fish in a swarm of red ones.
CClaw Translations 