Inside Aichiâs arms, small arms and legs were flailing about. When I gently rubbed Ai-chanâs back, she showed a relaxed expression, and rubbed her cheek against Aichiâs breasts, going back to a deep sleep again. How nice, Ai-chanâŚWait hold on!
âWhat did you doâŚ?â
âArenât you a bit too guiltyâŚ?â
When I was genuinely trying to hear out Sajocchi, Aichi joined after me, but it sounded like she was trying really hard to hold back her anger. I wholeheartedly agree with you, AichiâŚEven I have a few words I want to say.
Sajocchi himself was unable to look at the wonderful scene Ai-chan was offering, and only looked down at his knees, like he was truly feeling awkward. Even his expression was saying âWhy did I tell themâŚâ and to be honest, itâs already too late to worry about that, Sajocchi.
âUm, could you just act like you didnât hear thatâŚâ
âNo can do.â
âNot happening.â
You canât expect us to turn a blind eye to that outrageous statement of yours. We wonât be able to rest easy unless you tell us what that was aboutâŚI mean, having a girl bow down on the floor in front of you, thatâs no joke. How did you end up like that, Sajocchi!
ââŚUm, ehm.â
âTell me. Explain yourself.â
Aichi sure is strong, huh. Not too long ago, she all looked like âI want to be of help for himâ, and like âA family memberâs problemsâ treatment? Well, not like I can stay calm myself now.
âAlsoâŚisnât that your fault, Sajocchi?â
âUrkâŚWell, you could call it a tragedy caused by me not considering the other partyâs personalityâŚâ
âIs itâŚa quiet girlâŚ?â
ââŚâŚâ Sajocchi nodded in silence.
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Aichi gave Sajocchi a stern gaze. I might actually look the same as her. I mean, making a quiet and docile girl do that, I canât even imagine that. Not to mention that Sajocchi was the one to do soâŚ
ââŚâŚâ Aichiâs eyes grew more sharp.
At the same time, Sajocchi stayed silent. Now he should know that running away wonât work. But, being terrified doesnât help either. If he doesnât tell us everything in full honesty, we can only make him spit it out. Though, he might get away with covering it up. However, Sajocchi showed an upright expression, so heâs probably ready to let us hear him out. I felt relieved to see that expression, because I was worried that he wouldnât tell us.
âIt might be a bit of a complicated story, butâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
Sajocchi started explaining himself. I could tell that things only grew more confusing the more we listened to it. But, I also realized that Sajocchi was carefully choosing his words to make it easier to understand for me and Aichi, who never worked part-time. At first, I was left baffled, and then confused. Sajocchi is being serious about this. Knowing him, I figured it was some odd reason, and I didnât expect that Sajocchi was actually doing his job properly. I know that Iâm being rude.
Aichi was diligently listening to Sajocchi. I knew that she wasnât feeling the same way I did, and it wasnât shocking to hear him be serious either. She knows how serious he can be after all. Thinking about it, that should have been something obvious. Aichi and Sajocchi have known each other since middle school, knowing facts and faces of each other I have no idea even exist.
Not to mention that their emotions show on their faces almost instantly, which results in them both being oddly sensitive towards the other, which I can tell best myself. Or, thatâs what I want to think, but weâve only known each other for about half a year. When I glanced over at Aichi, she was gently caressing Ai-chanâs head, yet showed a saddened expression.
âSo youâŚwellâŚended up this emotionalâŚâ
ââŚI mean, I guessâŚâ
Iâve seen him be emotional before. It was back when he and his older sister were talking up on the rooftop. That definitely wasnât a trivial matter. Hearing Sajocchi be angry for real, I myself thought âSo he can speak in such a low voiceâ. It surprised me enough to forget the guilt about eavesdropping, and because it was such an odd situation, I wasnât given time to properly think about it, butâŚ
âWell, yeah, this is whatâs been on my mindâŚSo, I was wondering what I should do tomorrowâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
I canât think of anything. He kept it simple and short, but since I never worked part-time, I canât talk about customer service. Thereâs no docile girls in the volleyball club either, and I donât have any connections to any introverted girls. I know that trying to be considerate will just end up with you being a bother.
But, now that itâs related to work, Sajocchi was practically forced to hold the bare minimum of what you could call a conversation. Thatâs why, I think Sajocchi had no other way to say itâŚand it made me realize that even things like these happen.
ââWhat do you think? Even I have my own share of problems.â
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âU-UmâŚYeah, you must have it rough, Sajocchi!â
âItâs not just roughâŚJust kill meâŚAhh, I want to die.â
âS-Sajocchi! Cheer up!â
His words sounded like they were begging for us to cheer him up, despite him clearly not listening to them. Devoid of any strength, Sajocchi fell backwards onto the sofa. It made me feel how heavy this was for him. I felt frustrated at the fact that I couldnât come up with anything. I can only tell Sajocchi to cheer up, and try harder. I mean, I really want to help, butâŚ
At the very least, after hearing him out, I realize that itâs not 100% Sajocchiâs fault alone. However, this is also a world I donât know too well, so I was also scared to say anything irresponsible.
ââYouâre not the only one at fault.â
ââŚHuh?â
Both Sajocchi and I immediately looked at Aichi. She had her hand on her temple, showing Sajocchi a troubled gaze. Unlike me, she seemed to be properly thinking about this. A bit of her stern gaze remained, so she doesnât seem to be Sajocchiâs full ally just yet.
âSo, I donât know how to properly put it into words, butâŚFrom how I can take it, if she was properly able to communicate and express herself, something like this wouldnât have happened. You were just thinking in terms of being a senior at work, right?â
ââŚWell, I guess youâre right.â
I didnât think she would side with him. And, Sajocchi calmly responded. He pushed himself up on the sofa again, and fixed his posture to properly listen to Aichi. Even so, his gaze was still bewildered. Though Iâm pretty sure he can expect more from Aichi at this point.
âYou hadâŚa proper reasonâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
This time, Aichi was the one to avert her gaze from Sajocchi. She seemed to be flustered even. Eh, hold on.
âAichi, are youâŚtrying to comfort Sajocchi?â
âWhaâŚ!? What are you talking about!â
âYour words might have been pretty objective, butâŚâ
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Itâs not that she was arguing about who is right and wrong, and rather âYouâre not the only one at fault, so cheer upâ, you know? I wouldnât have been able to tell without Aichiâs attitude. It feels natural, and it makes sense. Thereâs no way Aichi would be able to remain calm with Sajocchi being this depressed in front of her.
ââŚI see.â
âT-Thatâs right.â
Sajocchi showed a gentle expression, as he looked at Aichi. He gave a relieved impression. Since Iâve never been around when we talked about serious stuff, only now did I really understand âAichiâs kindnessâ, which he often mentioned. I feel like Sajocchi cheered up a bit. Maybe giving him a push was more important than trying to find a way to resolve the situation. Well, itâs still Sajocchi who made a girl do such a thing, butâŚ
Thinking about it though, itâs not really closely related to the work after all. Feels like something that might happen in a club as well. Like, me joining the club despite not being able to do receives? And then Iâd get scolded, etc etc?
ââŚHuh?â
Thinking about that, it felt like something was off. If it really came to that, let alone the person in question being angry, or disgruntled, they would just leave instead, right?
âWhatâs wrong, Ashida.â
âHey, why did that girl not quit?â
âEh?â
âIf it was too much, she could just quit, right?â
I feel like there might be some special reason. A reason that even made an introverted girl prostrate herself, even. Sajocchi thought that she would be happier if she quit as well. Even though she would have been fine, and in a much more comfortable position if she quit, she said herself that she did not want to.
When I looked at Sajocchi, he showed a troubled reaction, as he put one hand on his head. It seems like he was too preoccupied with the guilt and regret that he never asked the girl about her specific circumstances.
âIâm pretty sure thatâŚI wouldnât be able to bend and find common ground with her, just like Sajocchi. But, if you found out about her reasons, you might at least agree with it?â
âThatâs true, butâŚâ
âSince sheâs an introverted girl, everything is over if Sajocchi breaks, huhâŚMaybe you can only forcefully get it out of her.â
âUrkâŚâ Sajocchi showed another troubled expression.
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Seems like I gave him a difficult problem to deal withâŚBut, continuing their relationship with this event unresolved will just be bad for both sides. If thereâs a girl whose thoughts you canât read, then you can only directly ask her.
ââThen, weâll use it.â
ââŚEh?â
âWhaâŚâ
Aichi suddenly announced something. I was completely lost, I looked over at Sajocchi, but he seemed equally confused. In the end, we could only wait for Aichiâs next words.
âWataruâs âPunishmentââŚWeâll use it like that.â
Eh, waitâŚAichi? This punishment we gave Sajocchi was because of a stupid prank he pulled, and scared Aichi as a result. I brought it up in hopes of Aichi becoming a bit more honest towards Sajocchi, but to think sheâd use it for that.
âTomorrow, you will ask about that girlâs circumstances. That is your punishment.â
âAhâŚâ For a second, Sajocchi showed a panicked reaction.
Or so I thought, but he quickly showed a serious expression, thinking about it. He closed his eyes, and returned an answer.
ââŚGot it.â He agreed rather quickly.
So weâre going to use his punishment for thatâŚWell, if my selfish desires pushed onto Sajocchi would help him in return, then I donât mindâŚThough, a big part of this is just Aichi being kind.
ââŚâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
A long silence followed. With Aichiâs proposition, it basically ended the whole âGiving Sajocchi advice timeâ, and he said that âIâll take it into that directionâ, which resulted in this silence. ButâŚHmmâŚI feel like this is a waste.
âAre you sure about that, Aichi? You could have Sajocchi treat you to all sorts of stuff~â
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âI-I donât reallyâŚâ
âIâm always ready to treat you to something, though?â
âYou shouldnât waste your money like that!â
âHow nice, Aichi, itâs like you have a one-person patreon supporter.â
âI didnât hope for that!â Aichi panicked a bit.
Iâm pretty sure that Sajocchi being this excited is just driven by his love. Though, itâs crossed a normal threshold, which is a bit scary. If Aichi was some bad woman and fully used Sajocchi, he probably would end up like a petâŚ
ââŚWell, I donât mind treating you to something either, Ashida.â
âAeh!? EhâŚw-why?â
Sajocchi suddenly acting all dere with me had me baffled. It was so outside of my range of expectations, I let out a weird voice. What is this? Is heâŚcheating on Aichi!? Sajocchi!? Are you fine with me!? No, I canât, I donât want to hurt Aichi!
âI mean, I didnât expect you to take my trouble so seriouslyâŚSo I feel a bit badâŚ?â
âEh, whatâs up with thatâŚâ
Though, I did feel a bit happy. Sajocchiâs actually thankful. Since heâs mostly rough and rude towards me, I didnât quite expect that. He could just always be honest like that, not cute at all.
âWhy do you not seem satisfied at all? Even without that, I wouldnât mind giving you some service.â
âEh, seriously?â
âYeah, if itâs Kei, thenâŚâ
ââŚHuh?â
Instigated by Sajocchi, even Aichi now looked at me. Eh, why are they all treating me so kindly? When did I end up in this position?
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âE-Ehhh! What happened, you two? Why are you so kind now?â
âW-Well, you know? My instincts canât go against Ashida, I guess?â
âWhat are you talking aboutâŚItâs just, Iâm always in your care, and youâre working hard with your club, so I want to support youâŚI want you to rely on me moreâŚâ
âSame goes for the guys in class.â
âAwawawaâŚH-Hold onâŚ!?â
Suddenly receiving such overwhelming praise, I didnât know how to react. D-Donât just throw all of that at meâŚAh, my face feels hot! Iâm not used to this!
âKeiâŚcome here.â
âWhyâd you suddenly turn into an Onee-chan, Aichi!?â
I looked over at Sajocchi, seeking help. He however just put one hand on his chin, grinning to himself. Donât look over here, pervert! Youâre staring way too much when Aichi and I are flirting! Weâre not doing this to show off to you, okay! Giving Sajocchi a blank stare, he swiftly averted his eyes.
âAnyway, Iâm just saying that you shouldnât hold back. That would make Natsukawa happier as well.â
âYou be thankful to Kei as well!â
âI get it, I get it. Thanks for everything, Ashida. You can flirt some more with Natsukawa.â
âW-What do you mean flirt!? We werenât doing something weird like that!â
âNot even aware of it, huh. Thatâs the best kind. Bless.â
âWhat do you mean bless!?â
Because they really emphasized flirting now, I could see the scenery in my head. As a result of seeing something I shouldnât have, my head grew hot as well. Not to mention that me not feeling satisfied made it all the more embarrassing. Come back, my rational thinking. I gently slapped my cheeks a few times. This isnât like me. I donât like being done in by Sajocchi and AIchi! I need toâŚproperly think this through.
âYou donât have to hit yourself like that.â
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âYou two are at fault, Aichi!â
Even I would break down receiving so much kindness. Even if itâs Aichi, Iâm not at an age where I want to be treated and spoiled like a child. But when I explained myself, I just got back a wry smile. I canât accept this. We were just talking about Sajocchi, so whyâŚIs that their attempt to avoid the topic?
When I looked at Sajocchi, he had his gaze dropped down on his knees again, lost in thought. The punishment Aichi talked aboutâhe really has to talk with that girl he made cry and figure out her reasoning, butâŚI donât think itâs that complicated, and just awkward.
I feel bad for Sajocchi, but it felt like I got to see some fresh faces of theirs at least, so Iâm happy.