The Me That Is Watching You Isn’t Really Me - 2

That Gami had an older sister, not to mention a step-sister.

"That's unexpected. I thought you were pretty close with Mikagami-san, Yafune-kun."

"She never talks about her family after all."

"Masuzu-chan had always been against the divorce of her parents…which is why she couldn't accept this remarriage." Shizuku-san narrowed her eyes, like she was harboring some complicated feelings. "I do know that it's a complicated topic. During such a precious time, going through a remarriage like that, so it makes sense she couldn't live with it…"

"Shizuku-san, were you not against the remarriage?"

"I…I just wanted my mother who had raised me all this time to be happy. Not to mention that I'm older than Masuzu-chan, so I needed to keep a grip-."

"Isn't it quite troublesome to have Gami…Masuzu-san as a younger sister? She seemed pretty harsh just now."

"That's not true. Masuzu-chan is a very kind girl. Even now, I want to talk with her about her favorite food and clothes and all that, so I got her to tag along with me. However, I think that she wasn't really interested in the clothes, and just tagged along because I constantly asked her. She never asked me for anything back in return after all…However, when I brought up the talk of our parents, she got angry. I missed the timing, and messed up." Shizuku-san took a sip from her tea cup, and let out a sigh. "It's true that Masuzu-chan can be quite strong-willed. However, deep down she's a good girl. It's just that her environment was negatively impacting her…Because she couldn't be together with the people she wanted in the way she wanted, she became unable to really trust others. To Masuzu-chan, feelings and bonds must be something hard to accept for her. That's why she is trying to become the absolute ruler, and getting relationships by force."

"..."

I thought back to all the things Gami said before. She always looks down on others, standing above everybody else in class. She never talks about her own family, so I figured that something must be going on there, but…this is quite unexpected. I didn't think that she was dealing with these kinds of circumstances. I never would have imagined that someone who stood at the top of the school caste would hold emotional pain and problems like I could. I always thought that we lived in two different worlds.

To me, Gami is someone like Sakana, who constantly makes me aware of my inferiority, and instills fear into me that I'm always on the brink of being excluded from the class if something happened. That's why I'm trying hard to not spoil their mood. But, obvious as it is, she is a human herself.

"…When my mother brought up the idea of remarriage, I prepared myself to form a proper new family and bonds with them. That's why, even if we aren't related by blood, Masuzu-chan is my important little sister." Shizuku-san showed a warm smile.

It sounded like smooth talking for sure, but her smile showed that there was no lie in her words.

"…You really are kind, Shizuku-san. And, very strong."

I said that she gave off this cozy atmosphere, but I don't think what she's doing is that simple.

"Fufu, once I've decided on something, I won't give up that easily. Once I've fallen in love with something or somebody, I will continue to feel that way… That's why, when I first met Masuzu-chan, I realized that she was acting strong, but a good girl deep down. That's why I want to get along with her.

I'm not giving up just yet. Although I'm probably just annoying her at this point." Shizuku-san relaxed her hand, and turned towards me and Aotsuki- san with a gentle tone. "That's why, I would be happy if you two could get along with Masuzu-chan."

I looked at Aotsuki-san.

"…Yes, it would be nice if we could."

That wasn't a lie. After all, that would make it much easier. I understand that putting trust into us from the bottom of her heart is too much to ask. But at the very least, I want us to get along on a superficial level. Constantly being on rivalling terms is too exhausting. But, I doubt that it'll work out that easily.

"Leaving that aside, you mentioned that you were doing a stage play for the culture festival, right?"

Almost as if she read the complicated emotions inside of my chest, Shizuku- san changed the topic at hand. She really is considerate deep to the core.

"That's right, but…Masuzu-san said that she won't be participating. Though, she's not the only one."

To be perfectly honest, only three people of our class will be participating in it.

"I figured. Even if Masuzu-chan appeared in the play, she probably would have hated the idea of me seeing her." Shizuku-san showed a bitter smile, but that vanished right away. "But, I'm quite looking forward to your play.

Because of my job, I can only come on the last day, but I'll definitely be there for the culture festival."

After that, we continued to talk about this and that, and left the cafe. In the end, Shizuku-san paid for everything, and yet she showed an apologetic expression at the end.

"I'm sorry that I had you tag along with me. Since you are classmates of hers, I wanted to at least see you for myself, but I must have bothered you on your date…"

""…Eh?""

Aotsuki-san's and my voice overlapped. We both were bewildered, unable to immediately deny it.

"Fufu, you two look great together. So please, enjoy the rest of your date."

"Eh…No, um! We aren't actually like that…" I finally regained my senses, but it was already too late for me to deny that, because Shizuku-san already walked away. "…So, should we go as well, Aotsuki-san."

"Y-Yeah." "..."

"..."

We walked next to each other, but no words were exchanged. Damn it, because of what Shizuku-san said, there's a weird atmosphere going on right now. Aotsuki-san's cheeks were reddened, and she averted her eyes from me, like she was feeling awkward.

"Aotsuki-san, you need to look ahead…!" "Eh? ...Kya!"

On a weekend, there's a lot of people. A bulky man walked towards Aotsuki- san on fast feet, and fully bumped into her, almost blowing her away—

"Careful…!"

Luckily, none of the stuff we bought would suffer from falling to the ground, so I threw that away, and accepted Aotsuki-san's body.

"You okay?" "Y-Yeah…"

We were at a distance close enough for our breaths to touch. Her cheeks were even more reddened than before. Her glass marble eyes seemed a bit dampened. Are you kidding me…this is exactly like a scene out of a romcom.

"Y-Yafune-kun…Um…so…I can't tell you, but…you know…"

Inside my arms, Aotsuki-san was gently quivering, her mouth opening and closing...Why would she show such a reaction? Would she show this kind of face towards somebody she dislikes? Also, I've been trying not to think about it, but there were several dubious parts about her today.

Why would she ask me what kind of fabric would look better on her? Why would she go out of her way to buy new clothes just for the occasion? The more I thought about it, the more my fingertips grew cold, and my thought process came to a halt. My head is refusing it. Even if I thought 'Maybe', it immediately switched to 'That's impossible', as I put a halt to any thoughts like that, completely subconsciously. It even makes me want to say 'Your face is read, do you have a fever?' like a dense romcom protagonist.

"It'd be bad if you fell over, so be a bit more careful, okay?"

In the end, I could only force out the fake smile I would show in front of Gami.

Today was an odd day. I sat on my desk, resting my head in my arms, and reminisced about the events of today. I went out with a girl for the first time, and even talked with Gami's older sister. After that, the expression Aotsuki- san showed me, as I held her in my arms…I still can't forget it.

—I know that I'm just a creep living in my fantasies, but…what if she really had feelings for me, what would happen?

"You're wonderful, Yafune-kun. Always smiling, liked by everyone."

Just imagining that I'd receive a gaze full of respect by her—had me shiver.

"You were even paying attention to me, who was treated like an outcast by everyone. You really are kind, Yafune-kun."

—Kind? If I really was kind, I wouldn't have used Senpai to set up this plot to make me the culture festival hero, and I would have broadly declared that I'm your ally. That's right, can't I just be open about it?

"I'm worried about Aotsuki-san, and I want to be friends with her, so I'll help

her."

But…

"Aotsuki-san might be cute, but her attitude is awful, right~ Not to mention that she now wants to stand out at the culture festival? Kinda gross~"

Can you really call me kind for not stopping my classmates' words, and even laughing along with that?

"Yafune-kun, you're cheerful, kind, and reliable. You are a wonderful person."

The Aotsuki-san in my fantasy smiled again. But, me being cheerful, kind, and reliable is just a false hallucination. The more she looked at me with her sparkling gaze, the bigger my urge to puke becomes.

I think that Aotsuki-san is wonderful. I'm not just talking about her looks, she's straightforward, not bothered by what the people around her think, and tries her best despite being clumsy. What if it was someone like Sakana. He might not be as aware of his surroundings as I am, but he's considerate enough to care about someone else. He'd definitely be a better match than someone who hides his gross and disgusting true self. It'd just be me deceiving her all the time.

"I…like you, Yafune-kun."

Bang, a loud sound rang out. I slammed my hand on my desk, forcefully cutting off these fantasies.

There's no way she would ever say that. Never would she say that. I know it. The reason she bought these new clothes is because she didn't have many chances to go out, so she wanted to feel beautiful as the girl she is. The reason she blushed in my arms is because she's innocent, and doesn't have any experience. She would have shown that reaction towards anybody, not just me. That's right, there's no meaning here to be found.

Aotsuki-san doesn't know the real me. She doesn't know how much of a

disgusting coward I am. Even if she was conscious of me in that way, in a one in a million chance, she's just being deceived. That's why I won't get the wrong idea.

"Hey hey, what time are we starting practice today?"

Around a week passed ever since our shopping trip that Sunday. Today after classes ended, that normie bastard Sakana actually didn't skip out on practice, and said these words to me. Huh? Is the world going to end tomorrow? is what I couldn't help but think.

"Depends on when most people left the classroom…So what, you finally decided to join?"

"Well, if I stood out at the culture festival, I'd be popular with the girls, right."

"I'm thankful for your help, but aren't you pretty popular already?" "Oh my Yafune, do you really feel that way…?"

"You bastard. But…why are you helping us then?"

If you wanted to stand out and be popular, wouldn't you just join a band or do some group dance on stage? I bet that Sakana could easily get some members together. I don't see any reason why he would go with the girl being treated like a landmine.

"Hmm? Well, to be perfectly honest, I felt like swimming against the stream, you feel me?"

"Swim against the scream?"

"That queen of ours, she totally feels like she's ruling over our class, right. So, I felt like going against her for the hell of it. Not to mention that…nobody participating in what we're doing for the culture festival, that's just lame. We only have three years in our high school life, right?"

He probably didn't want other people to hear what he was going to say next,

as he brought his face close to my ears. Definitely was about Gami.

"Then again, if you hadn't taken Aotsuki-san's side, I would have just ignored it. Only because you helped her, and asked for my help, I thought I might as well. I don't really like taking sides, and I don't wanna have this turn into full-blown battle, but a bit of resistance at times surely wouldn't hurt."

"…You were thinking about that sort of stuff?"

Since he's always flirting around with girls, I didn't expect him to think about something this earnestly.

"Of course~ But, I do think that she's taken a liking to you, Yafune." "Well, I am her dog."

"I told you before, but I'm pretty sure she's got the hots for you."

"As if, you idiot. Even today, she was bragging out meeting some hot guys from another school."

"Maybe she's just trying to get you jealous because you only hang around Aotsuki-san?"

"Stop with the jokes, seriously. If the person herself heard that, she'd kill you."

It's a saving grace that Gami isn't here in the classroom right now.

"You sure are dense, alright~ But, it's fun watching you struggle like that. Not like I'm supporting her either~"

Just how forceful is he about that whole 'Gami likes me' bullshit. I mean, Gami's undoubtedly is a beauty, but I can't see her as a romantic interest. We live in different worlds after all, and it'll just fuel my inferiority complex…

Or so I thought up until now. But, hearing about the circumstances she's dealing with, and the environment that's troubling her, I finally learned about

her some more. That being said, not participating in your own class' project for the culture festival is still taking it too far.

Everybody has a lot on their plate in life, and just because she's dealing with it in her own way doesn't mean she's allowed everything. Even Shizuku-san simply wanted us to understand the person Gami some more, but definitely didn't ask us to forgive her.

"Also, Sakana, if you want to show her, then why aren't you practicing a bit more seriously?"

I wanted to avoid this endless teasing, so I switched the topic.

"Come on, what are you talking about~ Am I not kind for not interrupting your fun with Aotsuki-san? I've been practicing on my own, you know."

"My ass, lol. And, even if that was the case, why are you suddenly participating now of all days?"

"I figured you'd get closer if I left you alone, but you didn't make any progress at all, right? I thought you might need a push."

"You keep spurting vague nonsense…"

He really loves talking about love and all that. It's like he doesn't even care who it is, as long as I get together with someone. That is some insane curiosity. There sure are a lot of people who enjoy gossip in this world. Right when I thought that, I heard the sound of paper fluttering through the air.

"Wah! Ah, I'm sorry, I'll pick it up right away!"

This voice came from a boy who's part of the manga research club. With glasses, and a moderate attitude, he was always drawing manga during recess, and someone I'd love to be friends with. He happened to drop a bunch of papers with manga drawn on it. Since it's culture festival season, it must be a manuscript for something.

"You okay?"

"Ah, s-sorry…" While helping him to pick up the paper, I glanced over it.

Woah, this is crazy good! The lines are beautifully drawn, and the designs of the girls are full of expression, exactly how I like my manga. Eh, I can buy this during the culture festival!? I want it…But, with my current character, I definitely can't! However, I do respect it a lot. It takes a lot of effort to make it that far.

"U-Um, thank you very much for helping me. B-Bye."