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Title: A Jumbled Mind
Thinking about it calmly, I realized that a strange point had been exposed.
First of all, there were two people. The gentle Arina and the venomous-tongued Arina.
It was impossible to determine which of them were the base personality only based on their opinions. Both of them described the other as the base personality. There was also the memory gap. There’s no certainty about any of this.
All I know is that the gentle Arina has a better understanding of Hiwa Arina’s physical history. She’s been observing the world since sixth grade. She’s also stated that she was taught by the venomous Arina before sixth grade, but that one has no recollection of anything before the third grade.
I considered the possibility of another personality. So not just a double personality, but multiple personalities. Neither of them seemed to be aware of its existence, however. But it was still a possibility that shouldn’t be dismissed.
Arina had a smile as full as a sunflower as she was walking with me. The students we passed had looked at her three times over.
Of course, we’re still fulfilling our duties as student council members.
“Ah, that looks fun!”
She pointed towards my classroom, year 2 class 2.
“By the way, that’s not a cosplay venue. It’s a cafe.”
“Ohh. Class 2, year 2. So that’s Sui’s class, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you not cosplaying?”
“I’m not. I got exempt from it because of this job.”
“Fu~un. What a shame, it looks so fun.”
“Oh, shit, I’m outta here.”
“Eh?”
With a blank stare, a horse with a hatchet approached me.
“Wha- wai- Sui, who’s that?”
“That’s Takane Makoto.”
Arina started flipping through her notes.
“Ah, was he the one who confessed to me? And it says that he and Sui are best friends. You must like strange people.”
“There’s plenty of people who’ve confessed to you.”
“That’s right. It says there’s a total of 72 people.”
“Sheeeeeeeesh, that’s crazy.”
“It says here I turned down everyone.”
“That’s scary.”
“Look in front of you. He’s here.”
I turned my head forward and saw the horse’s nose in front of me.
“Makoto, you’re too close.”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“Follow me.”[1]
He forcefully yanked my arm, creating distance between me and Arina. His grip was so strong that it was shredding my arm. Oi, stop it, that really hurts. I hate you now.
My back was forced against the wall.
The horse stuck its snout at me. With its nose quivering, it spoke.
“That’s just a beauty ain’t it….!”
“Are you talking about Ruka-san?”
“Ruka is definitely cute, but…! What happened to Hiwa…?! Ain’t she just a beautiful girl character now…!”
“Well, it’s definitely not the usual Arina.”
“She’s not the same person anymore…! And that dress…! It’s too beautiful…!”
“You can tell that to Arina, not me. I’m not giving you anything. I’ll drop the tomato juice.”
“Defeat a slime instead, you rotten human.”
Looks like wearing the horse mask makes his personality a helluva lot stronger.
Deciding that it was useless and futile, I tried to communicate with Mimori Ruka with my eyes. I’ll let the ladylike Ruka, who looked great in a kimono by the way, deal with this ferocious horse.
『Take care of this guy for me.』
I wonder if she got my message.
Ruka then took some disposable chopsticks and put them in her mouth. Then she tilted her head.
(How did you interpret that…?)
Apparently, she’s an airhead. She’s a ladylike airhead. I’m sure she’s popular.
Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to get my message at all, so I had to make one final move. I deliberately raised my voice.
“Help! Peel him off me! Get this horse monster off of me!”
Ruka shook her finger. She stepped closer and hugged Makoto’s arm, forcing him with her.
With her back turned, Ruka signed ‘good’. I also gave her a thumbs-up as a sign of good luck. Bye Makoto. I wish you happiness.
After being released from the psycho horse, I returned to Arina, who waited patiently with a notebook covering half of her face.
“I didn’t know any of them.”
“No wonder. You’re actually pretty popular though.”
“I guess so. I’ve heard about you from Akakusa-sensei and read your notes, so I kind of understand the relationship. Poisonous Rose-chan really stands out.”
“Is Poisonous Rose from the notebook?”
“Yes. She wrote down what she’s called: Hiwa-san, Arina-san, Arina-chan, and Poisonous Rose. By the way, she doesn’t like being called ‘you’[2] by Sui. That’s interesting. I like it.”
“Yes, yes, honor, honor.”
“You really are what the notes say you are, huh?”
Hiwa Arina hugged my left arm and rubbed it against her own body. In the spur of the moment, my brain froze and my voice leaked out like my soul was being drained.
“Fuwaaaaaaaaaaaan—”
“Eh~!? What’s is it!? Is it beating!? Is your heart racing!?”
This is— service.
Tertiary industry, service industry. The service industry accounts for 75% of Japan.
I’ve never been to a nightclub, I don’t have any interest in them, and I’m out of the age group, but if they offer this kind of hospitality, it might be worth the money. It makes me think that I should go there at least once when I grow up.
This body— it feels like it’s going to relax and melt. What a delicate body.
“You know, there was a note that said, ‘Be careful around Sakaki Sui because there are rumors about dating.'”
“I-I didn’t know about that.”
“Liar. Fu~un. I’ve gone too far.”
My left arm was freed and felt very light. How strange. I wonder if a poison had been removed. Apparently, this Arina didn’t spit poison, but sucks it up instead.
Anyways, I’m feeling good. I could throw a cannonball to the moon.
“Let’s get back to work, Arina-san.”
“Kay!”
I started walking again. I couldn’t keep up with this gentle Arina anymore. The tension’s all wrong. Our wavelengths are too different.
『Conflicting Personalities』
One retreats and excludes others.
One spreads outwards and engulfs.
I wonder what they would say to each other if they existed at the same time. It’d be a pretty interesting scene.
“Hey. What do you want to do with me, Sui?”
I was confused by the sudden question.
Arina was plainly smiling as if she was talking to herself, but I knew it was a serious question.
“I honestly don’t know anymore. I started out by trying to cure you of your venomous tongue. But then I found out that you actually had a double personality, and my original goal changed, even though I had doubts about getting you back to the way you are now. Next thing I know, you’re claiming it was the venomous tongued Arina who was given the name ‘Hiwa Arina’. Truth is, I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
Arina let out a “fu~un.”
And the gentle Arina said,
“Mou, isn’t it fine to not worry about us anymore?”
Notes:
[1] Makoto says the bolded lines in English
[2] She uses the word ‘omae’ here, which is considered rude unless they’re a close friend