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Chapter 1, Childhood Friend And I — Episode 24 : Mental Break
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
Hmm?
What’s this? When I came to school in the morning, I found something in my desk. I took it out and found…
A white western envelope?
No way, is this what I’ve heard rumored to be a love letter!? There is only one piece of letterhead in it.
I looked for the sender’s name and found it written at the end of the letterhead as “Mina Onizuka”…
——At lunch break.
That’s a hard way to bring a love letter to a former fat guy. After my fantasy was successfully busted, I came to Onizuka-san’s designated rooftop.
The hinges and damper on the door that was kicked off are tired or half open. When I passed through the door and stepped out onto the roof, I saw a girl’s long golden hair fluttering in the wind.
The girl in the back was gazing blankly at the sky as I had seen her before, gripping the netting of the anti-jumping fence tightly. Perhaps noticing my footsteps, the girl turns around and makes an appeal.
「Kirishima!? Tell me, if you know something about my sister…」
「Your sister? Who’s your sister, Onizuka-san?」
I know that this happened at Mt. Ootake. But there is no information I can know about Onizuka-san’s sister. So that’s when I tried to tell her I didn’t understand.
「Ahh, I’m sorry about that. Her last name is different from mine, so you don’t know who she was. My sister is Kashiwagi Rina, a meteorologist.」
I was surprised and confused by the name she gave me…
「Ehh!? Are you saying that Onizuka-san is Rina-san’s sister?」
「Yeah, I was taken in by my mother, who returned to her maiden name after my parents’ divorce, and my sister, who was on her own, and we have different last names. But we are sisters from the same parents…」
I see, the reason I was interested in Onizuka-san was because she had Rina-san’s face…
「It’s a tough one, but is it alright?」
「I’m alright, just tell me everything you know about what happened to my sister. I’m tired of looking up at the sky forever and waiting for my sister to come home…」
Did she cry alone? Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and I started to tell her about the first encounter I had with Rina-san.
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Six months ago, I was planning to go hiking with someone to Mt. Ootake. Mountain climbing was not something I liked because of my body shape as shown here, but I remember being elated at the mere thought of going with them.
However, the day before the appointment, the other party unfortunately caught a cold or developed a high fever and was unable to goI thought about cancelling the appointment too, but even if I canceled now, I wouldn’t get my money back.
If I had known I was going to be involved in an accident, I could have honestly given up the cancellation fee…
I decided to climb Mt. Ootake to bring back some souvenirs for the kids who couldn’t go with me because they were too scared to go to the mountain.
After all, I couldn’t afford to buy any souvenirs. But… who was I going to buy such a thing for?
Now it’s not about that, it’s about Rina-san.
We took a sightseeing bus leaving from in front of the station and arrived at the foot of the mountain in a few hours. I was a loner on a hiking tour of Mt. Ootake.
Many of the people I hiked with were older than me, and they took care of me in many ways, giving me sweets and talking to me about things.
「I see, I’m sorry to hear that. But it’s really nice here.」
「Ahh, I’m sure you’ll be impressed with the feeling of fulfillment you get when you finish the climb and see the scenery below you.」
A kindly couple of mature years taught me a lot of things. But after this, the two of them…
Mountain weather is changeable.
We prepared for the changeable weather with rain gappas, body warmers, warm clothes, emergency rations and emergency provisions in advance from the tour company in our backpacks…
The weather was cloudless and sunny, and although it seemed hot for early summer below, as we climbed, it turned out to be a perfect day for hiking.
Haah, haah, tortured by the weight of my pack and my own body weight, but encouraged by my surroundings, I climbed up.
「Today’s wake-up TV weather corner will be reporting from Mt. Ootake～! The weather at the summit today was… sunny!」
Just near the top of the mountain, we encountered a TV crew filming with cameras and microphones.
Each station has its own weather girl, but Kashiwagi Rina, who is popular for being especially cute and whom even I, who am not familiar with the area, know, was being filmed while the staff was paying people off, although I didn’t know whether it was a live broadcast or a recording.
「This is Kashiwagi Rina reporting from sunny Mt. Ootake. Have a good day!」
Rina-san smiles and waves to the camera. I am sure many boys were soothed by her smile, and the dread of commuting to work or school was blown away. It didn’t matter to me, though, as I’m off today.
We had just climbed to the top of the mountain and were coming back down after admiring a spectacular and heart-warming view. The TV crew had finished broadcasting and was about to start packing up when something unusual happened. Steam started to billow out of the crater, which had been quiet until then.
The TV crew, which had begun to clear out, was hurriedly trying to film the steam in the crater. The smell of sulfur, like burning, rotten eggs, wafted in the air around them.
Booooooooommmm——!!!
It wasn’t red! But gray dust falling on our heads. Our guide was yelling for us to evacuate, but I doubt if he could get through to the last row.
「Calm down! Stay low and put a handkerchief or towel over your mouth… cough, cough, let’s head back to the lodge!」
My vision was so gray that I couldn’t even see a few meters ahead! You’d think there was a violent blizzard blowing, but then I hear another roar where I can’t see anything…
Suddenly a huge cinderblock the size of a light car fell on us, and we heard a crushing sound. The gray earth was tinted a sticky red color. People who were walking in front of me got caught in the cinders and rolled away, reddish…
Ahhhhh…
I couldn’t see the mature couple who called out to me who should have been in front of me.
「Uwaahhh! What are you doing, move along!」
「No, you can’t! Don’t push yourself!」
「Shut up, I don’t want to die here!」
A deranged tour group pushes impatiently ahead of those ahead of them, and they disappear from view as they try to run down the mountain path.
「Don’t push me!」
Uwaaaagghhh——!!!
The screams came from lower and lower, and finally there was a thump, a raw sound, and the voices stopped…
A mountain ridge that has become a scene of carnage.
The fear of the cinder cones that could strike again at any moment dominated my mind, but I followed the guide’s instructions and headed for the lodge. I’m already covered in ashes all over.
Hmm?
I saw a shadow that looked like a person off the road.
「What are you doing here? It’s dangerous!」
A little off the road, I approached a person who was lying almost buried in volcanic ash…
「!?」
I was speechless.
「I’m going to die…」
I didn’t understand it at first, but when I looked closer, I saw that it was what is called a hard blow to the head.
「Why, why is this happening to me…」
Beyond me, a person covered in ashes was crouching and nodding off, so I pulled them by the hand and headed for the cabin with me.
At the time, we didn’t recognize each other’s faces, hair, and clothes as ashen and didn’t think it was Rina-san, but after we were both summoned and shifted, I knew it was her.
On the way, I saw a human-like form that must have died, but it was not moving, so I left it crying and retreated for my life to the lodge. But there were many who did not make it this far and had to leave.
「We were on our way down from the lodge when we got caught in a pyroclastic flow…」
「So, only Kirishima survives, and my sister…」
「No, Rina-ssn was also a survivor at that time. I don’t know if Onizuka-san will believe me or not, but can I tell you?」
The idea of a world transfer is really a wild one. I don’t believe that everyone believes it, even though I tell my classmates about it. They’d be happy to listen to me, even if it’s just for the fun of it.
I can’t imagine that Onizuka-san would be as interested in light novels, webnovels, etc. as Kagetsu-san and Hanayama are.
However, as someone who witnessed Rina-san’s final days, I have an obligation to tell her that she was her sister. Even if she does not accept it.
「So how was my sister’s final days? That’s what I want to ask. No matter how she died.」
I made up my mind and told Onizuka-san clearly about Rina-san’s end.
「I see, thank you… thank you… My sister has stood up for what she believes in. I hated those scruffy guys like the handsome guy who drove my sister crazy, but I’ll try not to be prejudiced like that.」
Being summoned to another world. There, we faced the Demon Lord and the mastermind who controlled him…
She listened deeply to me without doubting what I was saying. Finally, I was so moved that Onizuka-san would lean her body against me and cry. I couldn’t help but stroke her hair. I wasn’t even close to her…
「When Kirishima strokes me, I feel as if my sister is doing that to me. It’s strange, isn’t it?」
「Ahh, no… It’s not like that.」
In the other world, my body… would I say I still had that feeling? That’s not true, because my body is no longer a chimera.
Ehem…
Onizuka-san, who coughed lightly, blushed with her hand over her mouth and looked away, wanting to say something. What is it? To use a metaphor, it’s like a red apple.
After waiting for a while, Onizuka-san finally opened her mouth and said something unexpected to me, which is hard to imagine from her usual brusque attitude.
「Kirishima, you know… it’s you my sister adored. Do you mind if I do the same? Well, I’ll do as I please even if you refuse. After all, Kirishima almost raped me, so how could I say no?」
「Eh!?」
「You know, when you deliberately hit that asshole who kept pestering me, telling me I was a bitch, and then let her go by distracting me?」
Oh, uh, I think that might have happened.
「After that, I couldn’t be honest with him and complained about it, but I was very happy. Kirishima may look different, but Kirishima is still Kirishima!」
Onizuka-san, who is now in good spirits, was slapping my back a lot, which was a bit painful. But I am glad that she is looking forward to the future, even if only a little.
I wondered if the remaining family members of Shirakaba-san and others were waiting for their return like Onizuka-san does. I couldn’t help but worry about that.
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Play
Unmute
This time, just in time for the chime, we both made it back to class without being late for class.
On the roof…
「I… don’t mind, but you know… if we go back together, some people will get suspicious. So, Kirishima, you go back first.」
「I wouldn’t mind that.」
「W–Wait… I’m ready for you! If you don’t get back here before I do, I’m going to butt-fuck you!」
「Okay, okay… don’t kick my butt.」
「T–Thanks, Kirishima…」
「Nhn? What did you say?」
「You stupid… son of a bitch, get your ass back here…」
「Sorry, sorry!」
I was back at the classroom separately from Onizuka-san. We sat down and it was so hot in the late afternoon that it seemed unseasonably hot and sweaty. The air was like summer and even my shirt was chafing against my skin from the sweat.
I was in the middle of a class, with notebooks and other affordable things, and I was even looking up.
It was the time when the Japanese history teacher was sharpening his chalk and eagerly writing on the blackboard. At first, a single female student was watching, but one by one, the eyes of her classmates converged on one spot.
I got curious, too, and looked over to see…
Most students were so hot that they had to take off their blazers and vests and take them off. That guy in the corner of my eye was also down to just a white blouse, but even though he was in class, everyone started buzzing around.
「Everyone, quiet! I have a confession…」
The teacher, who was about to warn that person, turned around and was immensely surprised. The teacher saw it too, and all eyes in the room were on one student.
Because countless red streaks were staining my blouse from the sleeves of the deranged stalker who had tangled with me.
「Wrist cuts… urgh…」
Hanayama unintentionally mumbled a single word… which caused a commotion in the classroom. I wish it was just a wrist cuts, but there are lines of red blood all over her arms and shoulders, staining her blouse…
In a panic, my Japanese history teacher rushed over.
「Hey, hey… Sendō, don’t do this. Go to the infirmary right away.」
The teacher was so taken by the scene that words did not come out smoothly.
「Don’t worry, it will blot when it’s blocked up again anyway…」
The girl took out a cutter from her pen case and inserted and removed the blade with a tinkling sound, mumbling something to herself.
「Anyway, hey, let’s put the cutter away, hey, hey.」
When the teacher was soothing her, the girls’ gazes and whispers were focused on one boy.
「I heard it was Yamazaki-kun’s fault that Kaori became strange.」
「Oh, I know that one. As I recall, Yamazaki-kun’s friends were making a big fuss about his “confirmed sl*t,” so I think they were forcing him to do it over there, too.」
「Uuwaahh, definitely, I’m not!」
「Yamazaki-kun, I thought you were cool, but you’re just a pervert.」
「Her childhood friend Kirishima-kun became so cool that she asked him for help, but he refused.」
「A little bit of both, I guess.」
The girls’ disdainful eyes toward Yamazaki.
「No! I did nothing wrong! Even now, you see…」
Yamazaki was no longer able to stay, so he called out to her and put his hand on the inside of her arm to go to the infirmary.
「Don’t touch me! Everything, it’s Yuusuke’s fault! Lying about Kaname-chan’s death is what got us into this mess!」
Deranged woman got up from her seat and pointed the edge of the cutter at Yamazaki, ranting in a high-pitched voice. The teacher struggled to quiet them both down.
「C–Calm down, Sendō… I know you’re all right. Yamazaki, you, too, sit down now.」
I wanted to turn away, because both sleeves of my blouse were still stained red.
「Anyway, my blouse is soiled. Could you change into a jersey or something? I’d appreciate it if you did.」
The bad mood she was exuding made me wince, but he managed to persuade her to go to the infirmary.
The deranged woman was escorted out of the classroom with the help of her female friend.
「Ahha, ahha! Okay!! She forgot to take her meds today!」
The air became even heavier because she was laughing, the exact opposite of the classroom, which had become like a wake, and the teacher…
「Sorry… Let the rest of us study on our own…」
He said one word and left the classroom. For a moment, there seemed to be silence, and then all the girls started gossiping at once, deliberately trying to sound like they were accusing Yamazaki.
Girls at times like this are seriously scary!
After that, deranged woman said her parents came to pick her up and she left early.
After that, Yamazaki was hated by all the girls in our class for hurting deranged woman, and he wasn’t allowed to say a word to them, the two of them hardly saw each other at school anymore, perhaps because they were worried about it.
I kind of hate mental illnesses because it’s no different over here or in the other world. If that guy had been in another world, he would have been able to forget all the bad memories with Delete…