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Chapter 88 – The People Who Were Toyed Around by Sweets
Strange.
According to common sense, there was no way that the girl called Hiwa Arina would ever give me chocolate. It was impossible, the chance of that happening was second only to an apple falling upwards.
There was no precedent to this, other boys thought that getting Arina Choco was impossible and yet this girl was saying that this Sakaki Sui would be graced by the fabled Arina Choco? I suspected that her words were merely auditory hallucinations, but her voice sounded too real for that. Another possibility was that she was drunk when saying it, but last time I checked, they didn’t sell alcoholic beverages to minors.
In the end, I came to the conclusion that everything was real, she really would give me chocolate. But, of course, things wouldn’t be that simple. She had an ulterior motive, that I was sure of. Poison, sleeping pills, all kinds of possibilities came to my mind. I racked my brain to the best of my capability to come up with an answer.
Poison.
That was the answer. This answer didn’t come from nothing, it was a result of a thorough calculation based on her daily behavior. After all, this was the girl who threatened to kill me and physically abused me with her pen and fists. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that she had something planned for me. Honey trap, that was what this method was called. She would lure me with the sweet temptation of her chocolates before moving in to finish me off.
But I was Sakaki Sui. This method wouldn’t be able to fool me.
“Are you trying to poison me?”
I asked her bluntly.
They said that when someone lied, you could tell it by their tone and gesture. There was also a possibility that she would brush my question off by changing the topic or threatening to kill me. If she did those two things, that meant it was certain that she wanted to poison me, but if she didn’t, then the situation would turn troublesome for me.
I didn’t know if I could notice her tone and gesture if she were to lie. I came unprepared, what a great mistake!
“Of course not. Just think of it as a token of my appreciation.”
“It smells fishy. You know you can kill me and sell my organs in the black market, right? I doubt that you want to miss this opportunity to get some pocket change for nothing.”
“Do you prefer handmade chocolate? Maybe I should give you that.”
“Wait, is ‘chocolate’ some kind of secret code for something else? Like bombs? Is it this kind of story where I have to sacrifice myself to eat a bomb to save the country? Am I going to be a hero now?”
“Get some help.”
“Oh, it’s also possible that you mistook chocolate for curry! Let me tell you this, chocolate is sweet while curry is spicy! Chocolate is usually solid and curry originated from India! Try to write them down.”
Phew.
If I stopped talking, I would be unable to control my emotions.
I never expected that she would actually think about giving me chocolate. If I were to stop talking nonsense, I would probably start spasming here out in the open and my social life would officially end right then.
This was the age of the internet after all. Someone would record my pathetic act and spread it to every corner of the world. It would be a blessing if I were to become a meme, but chances were I would become an internet clown instead.
“Hah… Honestly, this isn’t my idea, but her’s…”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“The other me. She wrote about it in the note. Many times.”
“As expected of the great angelic Arina, you should learn a thing or two from her.”
“I should poison you for real… Anyway, that’s it. Look forward to it, I guess.”
I see, so it was from her other self.
It all made sense now. After saying that, Arina sipped on her coffee before turning her head to the other direction. She looked so pretty when she did that.
In any case, this girl’s personality really had softened. Nowadays, I couldn’t even talk properly with her without getting flustered. Our silly talks would linger in my mind even when I didn’t want them to. We talked a little more after that, but the content of our conversation escaped my memory.
*   *   *
“Brother, I don’t need to give you chocolates this year, right?”
“WHAT THE F*CK?!”
I got back home.
As I grabbed a glass of tomato juice from the fridge to cleanse my coke-contaminated esophagus, Ugin, who was standing behind me, said that shocking statement. It couldn’t be! She wouldn’t give me any chocolates this year?
Just kill me already.
I staggered.
“I see, so that’s how it is. You’re at that age already, huh? I’m going to cry…”
“What are you on about?”
“You’ve found someone that you love, haven’t you? You don’t need me anymore don’t you?”
“Eh, no, I’m just lazy. Stop acting spoiled, you’re already this old!”
“Now that line hits deeper than I thought. I don’t want to grow up…”
“Why are you fussing about this? Arina-san will give you her chocolates, no?”
“How did you know that? Are you a clairvoyant? Is your mutant power finally showing up?”
“You two get along well. Isn’t it normal for her to give you a chocolate or two?”
“Really? Well, that isn’t important. So, who’ll you give your chocolate to?”
“No one.”
“Huh? Could it be… You aren’t actually my little sister… But my little brother instead?!”
“Woah… I shoulda recorded that line when you said it, I could do a lot of things with it… Anyway! I’m busy studying, I have no time to make chocolates or whatnot. They’ll all be obligatory ones anyway, what’s the point?”
“I see, so you’ve decided to stay single for the rest of your life like me.”
“Don’t lump me together with you. Seriously, if you won’t stop talking nonsense, I’ll tell mom to cut your tomato juice supply off.”
“Forgive me. Please don’t mind my words.”
But I wanted to taste her chocolates again…
I regretted not treasuring them more. I shoulda taken some pictures of them and submitted them as a candidate for national heritage.
She mentioned something about being busy and that reminded me of something. This was around the time when they were taking interviews for the school entrance.
I remembered back when I took mine, it was the first time I’ve ever experienced any kind of interview.
When they asked me about the reason why I applied to the school, I answered ‘because I was charmed by the school’s ideology and philosophy’. The whole room went silent when I said that. I was so embarrassed and was about to find a hole to bury myself into. Even the interviewers replied to me awkwardly after that.
Jeez, remembering it made me want to kill myself. It went out okay because I passed in the end but, whenever I passed by the teachers who interviewed me, that awkward memory would resurface.
Oh, right, at this point they shoulda read our fliers already, huh? Please, I hope that they wouldn’t do that, it was embarrassing. Just throw them away, please.
*   *   *
February 12th.
Two days before Valentine’s Day. I could see the boys squirming whenever they passed by the girls. Why were they so cringe? Jeez. I asked that question in my head as I drank my tomato juice.
A brilliant idea came to my mind. I should shout ‘chocolate’ loudly to rile them up. They would probably beat me up, but it would be worth it.
I saw my good friend Makoto fidgeting uneasily. A perfect target.
“Chocolate!”
“Aaah!”
“Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!”
“No!!”
Woah, this was fun. His reaction was top notch.
“What are you fidgeting about?”
“Haah… Haah… The same thing… As everyone else…”
“You’ll get one filled with love from Ruka, why are you even worried about this? Who knows maybe she’ll mix her blood in there too.”
“Blood… ehh…”
“Don’t worry.”
“But, what if she won’t give any to me?”
“She will.”
“There’s nothing certain in this world!”
Look at this guy. Seriously, just… I don’t know, get married, buy a house somewhere and breed?
I ignored the guy and turned my gaze toward Ruka. She nodded at me.
‘I’ll give him a handmade one.’
That was what her gaze entailed. I responded to her with a thumbs up.
‘He’ll love it.’
‘Thank you.’
See? You didn’t need to worry, Makoto.
I left Makoto struggling with his first-world problem and left the classroom to throw away the empty can in my hand.
The can was next to the vending machine, so I had to walk quite a distance away. On my way back, I saw a familiar (?) face.
He bowed to me and I returned his bow. The boy looked familiar, but I didn’t remember who he was exactly. Or maybe it was really a stranger and the gaze he had on me right now was a befuddled gaze due to my normally abnormal behavior?
“Um, are you okay, Senpai?…”
Dammit, who was he again? I knew he was a kouhai, but I didn’t remember him at all.
No good, I can’t remember.
“I’m good.”
“Is that so?… Anyway, do you remember me, Senpai?”
“Yes, of course I remember you.”
Who the f*ck are you?”
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Of course! I’ll never forget you, Sir Former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill! Your tank strats were the best!”
“I’m Nakatani Taku!”
“Nakatani? …Ah, that kouhai who tried to confess to Arina and got crushed by her! It’s been a while!”
“R-Right… Sorry for bothering you back then.”
“Don’t fret it. Arina is that kind of girl, after all.”
“Ahaha…”
That memory probably became a trauma for him. It was hard for me to watch it, let alone him who experienced it directly. I felt sorry for him.
Then again, it wasn’t like I could just tell him about Arina’s condition either.
“So, do you still like her?”
“Eh? …Um… Yes…”
“I see. Do your best, I’m sure she’ll notice you one day. She’s a tough nut to crack, though.”
“Y-Yes! I thought I had changed from my pitiful self back in middle school, but… Once a loser is always a loser, huh?”
“Don’t fret too much about it, it’s just life. I know you want to live a life without regrets, but that kind of life isn’t easily attainable, this is one of the hurdles you have to face to attain it.”
“But, what if I keep on failing?”
“Then, try to turn that failure into success. I know it’s a cliche saying, but, you know, in the past few months, I’ve come to realize that the saying has its worth, after all…”
He answered, ‘I understand’.
I hoped he could talk with Arina properly again. When that time came, that would mean that Arina was finally able to communicate properly with other people.
And that would be the time when I finally completed my mission.
The end of my relationship with her.
It would probably happen this year.
TL: Iyo
ED: Dodo