Chapter - 6

"Open the way, ...! I'm here!"

"Here she is, the most frugal wife in the entire class!"

"Yoichi Nasuno, reborn in the modern era!"

"Cheaters will be killed!"

"Show me your unforgiving heart!"

"Kurumi Ayase, second year, third class, archery club!"

"Ohhhhhhh!"

This class is still very noisy.

That same Ayase-senpai is standing there with a strangely hardened smile on her face, as if she can't even hear her name being called.

Was it really that shocking that I held my senior's hand? It's only a hand.

Fufu, it must be shocking...because I was also very upset when I saw you and senior holding hands.

You're probably thinking that you want to slit my wrists right now, ahaha.

"Ku, Kurumi...this...that..."

Senior moans while craning her neck.

Somehow, I feel like a husband who really caught his wife cheating on him.

Ugh. I'm not satisfied, I don't understand.

If he's not my boyfriend or anything, I wish he'd have a more determined attitude.

"Yo-kun."

He strides up to me, imposing because he's taller than me.

He scratches his hair with a casual hand, but with my good fuselage vision, I don't miss that his fingertips are trembling slightly.

In his hand is a furoshiki in which he wrapped his lunch box.

In addition to his own, he must have prepared one for his senior.

But it was sudden.

A pop.

He punched me in the arm. Near the elbow, like this, with a simple swinging fist.

It zinged and tingled.

The hand I'd unwittingly let slip from my grasp──shoved aside as if it were a fly, and forced me to step in.

"Let's eat lunch."

He smiles at me, but I'm out of sight.

I'm being forcibly ignored. Wow, this is a bitch.

But I'm not going to back down like this. I'll fight back.

"Mr. Sun, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Eh?"

He hasn't recovered from the confusion yet.

I think we need to hit him hard, so let's go for it.

"Aase-senpai is your childhood friend, right──you're not exactly a couple, are you?"

Hmph. She elbowed him and one cheek twitched.

If she was denied here, she would have no place to stand...,

"Uh...that...that..."

Senior only stammered, but didn't try to answer.

Perhaps he's afraid of Kurumi Ayase's majesty as she emits a 「Say lover」 beam from her eyes.

Ugh. I was expecting that such a dull senior would confirm right away, but my expectations were dashed.

Oh well, it doesn't matter, I'll take it easy and attack.

The odds are not zero.

Anyway, for now.

"──Lunch, will you let me join you?"

I'm just taking my chances.

That's how I ended up at the dreary lunch meeting.

Kurumi Ayase's aura is heavy.

It's like an unspoken "Get the hell away from me" pressure.

Nevertheless, because she doesn't want to be separated from her senpai, her face is put on a friendly expression, faking hard work.

You're very used to the manufactured laughter.

She's a bitch to be taken down, but you admire the zeal with which she tails it.

It must have been wagging nonstop for years, like a grandfather clock.

Keep up the good work, I'm about to cut it off, that tail.

"So, Yo-kun, during the break earlier, Azusa was spewing green tea..."

The bitch tires of small talk while artfully ignoring my presence.

I eat my meal in silence.

Even if I talk to the senior here and now, I'll only be interrupted by the bitch. Waste of time.

It's a bit further ahead to speak.

Slowly. It's almost time....

"Yo-kun."

"Huh?"

"Here we go."

Here it is! The "feeding" pose, a deadly move for small children!

The chopsticks holding the side dish are held in the left hand, and the chopsticks are held out fluidly, without anyone noticing.

The blow that comes out of this pose has the power to make all the men swoon and infantilize them.

"...Ahhhh."

She's learning that there's no point in rebelling, so she's following along.

Opening his mouth like a baby bird being fed by its mother.

Ahhh ...I'm sorry. You knew this was going to happen, but up close it makes the hairs on your back stand up.

It doesn't matter how many people are around, it's just the two of you, and the power of lovemaking──the power of creating a claustrophobic space in the midst of a crowd makes you want to groan "ehhhh" when you're watching from the side.

It makes your brain feel like it's cramping up, and it makes the back of your eyes itch.

Ugh.

I immediately wanted to change my plans, grab her lunchbox, and throw her out the window.

Patience...you're being patient, Maya, you're the one who can be patient, you're being patient, you're being patient!

Tyler tells himself, a desperate refrain.

I don't even look away from the horrifying ritual being performed next to me.

Patience even as the chopsticks, already smeared with her saliva, move to touch her senior's lips.

Patience as she watches his outstretched tongue get tangled in the chopsticks and the filling.

Patience with the fact that the bento itself was made by her in the first place, and that the ingredients were mixed with rotten affection.

Even when Ayase Kurumi throws a smug glance in your direction and sends you a meaningful smile──

I apologize. I guess I can slaughter you after all, you bitch.

"Is it delicious, Yo-kun?"

"Yep. You seasoned it just right, huh."

Looks. Awkwardness. Smile & embarrassment, in exquisite synchronized breathing.

Is this what you mean when you say the intestines twist as they cook...!

Muri, no more, no more, I can't take it anymore, I'm raising the beacon of counterattack!

"Stop, senior!"

"Yeah, why?"

I'm in trouble. My voice was inadvertently twisted with tension and hatred.

After a hmmm, and one dry cough.

"...Ja, ah, ah~ang..."

I've been hit, so I'm going to hit back. I'm feeding you too.

There's a difference in our sitting height, so I'm sitting a little higher.

My hands are also shaking.

I'm so embarrassed that my mouth isn't even half open, it's only a quarter open.

Yes, I'm sure it's an ugly sight from the side.

But I'm also desperate. I'm desperate to make her stop smiling.

What I picked up was a salted broccoli that was made with love, and the colors were vibrant.

I'm going to the corner of your mouth now...!

That's paint, Kurumi Ayase!

"...Crack!!!"

A terrifying-looking bitch kicks out from under the desk.

Hahaha, you're caught, not realizing it's a trap!

I dodge lightly, having read it beforehand.

"Ow!"

And she looks wobbly, like she's off balance.

I pretend to keep it up for a bit, then aim at you and fall down.

Here, if you dodge, I'm just a sick kid, a kid who's crashed into a chair and gotten sick, but you don't dodge.

There's a certainty in this. I did it because I knew it from the beginning.

"What...araki!"

There it is, right on target, right in my arm.

I'm glad my body is small, light, and receptive at this point.

It was a skill that I learned through persistence that I never lost my grip on the broccoli I was holding.

I quickly push the chopsticks toward the senior's mouth while being supported and looking up.

"When?"

The senior turns around, realizing the murderous stare.

Kurumi Ayase hastily wipes away her jealousy-filled expression, but it must have shown for a moment.

Fufu, senior, that's her nature, you can tell she's too much of a burden to be in a relationship with, fufu.

Now it's my turn to be cocky.

I wrap my arms around Senior's waist and hug him tightly while still holding my chopsticks.

A smell mixed with sweat reaches my nostrils. This is my sense of smell──I've imprinted it on my sense of smell.

I've been called a "fickle cat" because of my dragon hair, but I realize that I'm more like a dog at heart.

I am sensitive to odors. In the future, I plan to recognize this smell as "master" and return home.

I was planning to do it secretly, but Kurumi Ayase seems to have noticed my sniffing behavior.

The enemy is also a dog. She seems to be sensitive when it comes to "smells".

She's also wary of being marked.

"Yo-kun...I'll listen to you for a while."

Finally angry, her tone became heavy.

Senior moves her neck. The people around her are watching with bated breath.

"I... I... I like you, Yo-kun."

"I've been in love with you since forever. It's the first time I've said it, but it's been there since the beginning."

"So, please, will you get rid of that obnoxious child?"

Oops... I said it.

Is that okay? Ayase-senpai. You can't take back words once they're spoken.

The distance as a childhood friend that you may cherish in your own way.

You may never be able to get it back again...?

Seven hours after the bitch who wants to be your best friend declares war.

You've just finished dinner and are taking a break.

Your mind is racing as you realize you're about to go to all-out war with her, but you can't do it without the right amount of relaxation.

It's not all about being tense.

With your shoulders relaxed, you take out your cell phone and dial your senior's number, which you already have on speed dial.

But this is the first time you've dialed it. The number is unfamiliar to you.

You realize you need to say his name, but your heart is pounding so hard you can't get the first words out.

I'm nervous about making my first phone call-.

"...Arakini?"

"Uh, how did you know!"

"It's ivy...No, it's nothing."

"Haha."

I was excited in a different way.

"How do you have my number anyway?"

"It's a secret."

"What, a secret?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean, secret?"

"It's a secret."

I'm never going to confess.

"What, never mind...So what's going on?"

"I'll be straightforward, I want you to extend your answer to my confession."

"Extend it, why again?"

"Because I've confessed to Kurumi Ayase and things are getting complicated, and even if she accepts me, I don't think she'll accept me at this point. She's already fierce, but I'm sure she'll get even fiercer. I think it's best to put it on hold until we can take a little time to clear our minds, otherwise this love triangle could end up in blood."

"Listen, Araki. Let me tell you so you don't get your heart racing, I have no romantic feelings for you...』

"I know I don't have romantic feelings for you, but think about it, the current situation is pretty much a two-way street: if you reject me, I'll automatically end up with Ayase-senpai, and I'm sure she'll say, 『By abandoning her, you chose me! I'm happy...!』.

Until now, I've been in an ambiguous relationship because I haven't told her my feelings.

But now that I've said it, she's not backing down, and once you say it, you can't take it back.

And that's what leads to the faintest chance of winning for me──

"I'm not asking you to choose me, I just want to give you time to think, I don't want you to end up with Ayase so that you don't fall apart because you rejected me, I don't want it to be that way, it's not an erasure method, I just want you to think for yourself and decide which one you want to choose, I want you to withhold your answer as a reprieve for that."

The hesitation lasted less than a minute, perhaps because of today's events.

He seemed to realize that Kurumi Ayase had her own warning.

"『...Alright. I'll do that.

「Yes."

After exchanging two or three words, he ended the call. Just then, silence enveloped me.

It's so lonely...just because I can't hear my senior's voice anymore.

Even though I'm hoping to be strong, to be strong, to be strong, I feel like my heart is broken.

I am not strong, not even a little bit strong.

I'm just pretending to be strong, and I can't help but feel it in my bones.

I feel very uneasy about my own body temperature.

I've shed my skin, and the cold reaches down to my core.

You. I want you to become my shell──

I silently wet my cheeks in a pathetic desire and the compassion to grant it.

I have no intention of losing until I affirm this weakness and turn it into strength.

Even if the opponent is that Ayase Kurumi.

I can't pick up the words I spit out, and neither can she.

I've hatched once.

There's no going back into the shell now.