/
The Good Friend Speaks
‘—Then…C-Come visit my place!!’
After talking with the top 2 girls on the vulgar speech ranking, Koga and Murata, my classmate and Goddess, Natsukawa, started to act off. With the end of my heated battle against Big Sis, my close associate (provisional) Ashida pulled me to this family restaurant, and after being cornered by my close associate (provisional), these words came out of my goddess. Thanks to that, I was reflexively about to cut off my finger like a Yakuza, which got me a troubled gaze from the female waitress.
Don’t underestimate me and my love for Natsukawa over these past three years, I’ve been agonizing over and over, so something like this won’t kill me. O impure temptation luring at the bottom of my stomach, vanish this instant to return mine reality. Haa…Haaa aaah haaaa…! Japanese math English physics history modern society politics psychology—
“…Alright, neutralised.”
“What exactly?”
By overruling my consciousness with reality, I managed to keep my energy and tension under control…When you’re a veteran like me, this is like pre-breakfast. It’s fine, no matter what Natsukawa might say or mean, I can bear with it—Ah, crap, I’m remembering it again.
“…Fuhehe.”
“Gross…”
“……”
We were still in the family restaurant. In such a locality, I found the greatest possible shock treatment. Namely, the verbal abuse of a classmate of mine. Despite my consciousness being blown across the clouds, that simple word dragged me down to reality. As a prize for that, I shall shed a few tears in pain. Sniff .
“Sorry about this, I was just having a hallucination.”
“Well, I can’t blame you for that…Aichi said it in a confusing way after all.”
“—So, what was that about? I still feel the urge to shout out loud now.”
“Don’t, you’ll just bother everybody else.”
Grumble grumble grumble…! *Death Growl
I mean, a shout and death growl aren’t too far apart, I guess. You might not be shouting, but the energy you emit is about the same, which is necessary for me to let out the shock. Then again, even if Natsukawa’s words didn’t have any special meaning in them, just hearing them alone…Ahh, what happiness.
“So, Sajocchi, about today.”
“Eh? We’re not done yet? Natsukawa is hiding her face, looking down.”
“It’s fine, this is Aichi’s limit right now. We won’t make any progress at this rate.”
Eh, really? Is this some mental problem? I kind of feel bad ignoring my idol Natsukawa despite her being right next to us. Can I not pat her on the head? I can’t? You demon.
“Let me just get to the point. Aichi wants you to meet Ai-chan.”
“Huh………Hm?”
Eh, who? Is she talking about Natsukawa’s little sister? Their names are so similar I couldn’t tell what she was on about. Ashida’s naming sense is questionable, alright. Her name is basically the same as Natsukawa’s. It’s Airi-chan, right…Airi-chan. Sounds like the name of a famous soccer player’s wife…Yeah. Wait what?
“Eh, why? Didn’t she tell me that someone gross like me shouldn’t approach Airi-chan because it would negatively influence her?”
“Gaaah! There’s no way Aichi would really be feeling that way!”
“Eh? I’m not gross?”
“This and that are different!”
“What am I supposed to feel…”
Why didn’t you just deny it this once…I don’t know if I should be happy or sad now. I’m a human being, right? I have a hand to hold the rice bowl, alright? I can put back toilet paper on the holder in the toilet, you know? I can dry my hands after washing them. I’m not that gross towards Natsukawa, right…? Can I just take it that she doesn’t actually hate me…? Or, are this and that different after all? What is it…?
“Leaving aside that eternal debate or me being gross or not, what is going on? Natsukawa always said that she won’t let me meet her little sister. Since this was about her cute little sis, she was very adamant on that, and I’ve been trying not to bring it up again, so…”
“Even if you say that…A-Aichi, this is the first time I heard of this, you know?”
“Urk…”
Ohh, the Goddess has recovered! She has returned! It is an honor to be in your presence—Woah, her face looks like she’s in pain. Maybe because I’m gross after all? I’ve never seen that expression before.
“B-Because…I knew you’d get angry at me, Kei…”
“Of course I would!? Denying his entire existence only to have him meet her either way!? How much of a contrary person can you be!?”
“U-Uuu…”
O-Ohh…I don’t really get it, but Ashida sure is aggressive towards Natsukawa today. It’s a rare sight, especially because Ashida would always chase around Natsukawa’s tail, treating her like a saint.
“I-I told you, it’s because I didn’t expect to be feeling this way…!”
“Huuuh!? Why are you getting angry at me now!?”
“Alright, calm down you two! You’re starting to fight for real!”
We definitely can’t be bothering the other people. See, that female employee is already looking over at—Over at me? Hold on, this isn’t what you think this is. Don’t give me that disgusting look, okay!?
Since it seemed like these two got fired up beyond the point of no return, I stood up and stopped them. Especially Natsukawa seemed like she was going out of control. If I didn’t stop them right here, it felt like they might start fighting for real. Hence, I tried my best to break between the two.
“I-I don’t really mind, no matter what you say to me! I’ll hear you out, so don’t worry about it!”
“R-Really…?”
“Really really!”
“—Hmph.”
When I threw in a few words that basically accounted for nothing at all except convenience, Natsukawa showed a relieved and adorable face, as she looked me in the eyes. In response to that, Ashida let out a bothered snort. That’s almost like I’m the usual Ashida. Natsukawa is me, and Ashida is Natsukawa. If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that our bodies were swapped. That means I’m a girl right now? Hehe…Ah, I really am gross.
But, that sure surprised me. So Natsukawa isn’t entirely denying my existence…I figured that rather than some basic affection, I had been in the minus all this time. I’m so happy, but reality hasn’t really set in that much.
“But…where did that come from? Did I do something to deserve that? Was that decision based on some fundamental investigation?”
“I-I wasn’t investigating anything.”
“It’s between being gross or not. And, she apparently thought you were gross, but actually weren’t, so she wants you to meet Ai-chan.”
Can you stop chanting gross gross gross all over the place…Even if we weren’t facing each other right now, hearing that over and over is making me twitch in pleasure, as I am a boy after all.
“T-That’s not true.”
“It’s not true!?”
It ain’t true? So after getting my hopes up, you crushed them again? Thank you very much, that kind hurts.
“Haaa…”
“Urk…!”
Ashida let out an exhausted sigh. And indeed, it really sounded like that was directed at Natsukawa. Guess this is what she meant by not making any progress. If so, then I just have to ask a question that won’t allow any avoiding no matter what. I said something unnecessary before after all.
“Your change of heart doesn’t matter right now. What I’m curious about is that it’s not ‘I don’t mind you meeting her’, but rather ‘I want you to meet her’. Is there some special reason for that?”
“T-That’s…”
A-Ahh…! Natsukawa is blushing! So cute! Super duper cute! Is she embarrassed!? Don’t show me that face! My brain won’t be able to handle the stimulus!
As my head was about to explode, the waitress brought the fries we ordered. Couldn’t you have hurried up a bit more, it’s already this late, so barely anybody is here to ea—Ah, it’s that employee again. Eeek, she glared at me.
“That’s…what?”
“T-T-T-That’s…”
Although we got interrupted by the employee bringing our food, Ashida didn’t let up, questioning Natsukawa even further. Aren’t you pressuring her a bit too much? Natsukawa isn’t even embarrassed anymore, she’s straight-up terrified. Look at her going pale.
“—ki-kun…”
“Eh…?”
“Because Sasaki-kun…”
“Because Sasakin?”
“You call him ‘Sasakin’…?”
Sasaki, huh…I don’t know why the handsome bastard of our class would come up here, but hearing it from the person you like sure doesn’t feel great. I’ll spill some more facts about him to his little sister Yuki-chan next time…!
When I retorted on Ashida’s choice of nickname, she glared at me with a ‘Shut up for a second’. I’m sorry, but your naming sense is just too wild. It took me by surprise there, to a level where I’d be like ‘Who?’ in the process. I mean, ‘Sajocchi’? Really?
“—Because Airi…got along with Sasaki-kun…and the others as well…”
“……?”
“………?”
??? Isn’t that great? What’s there to be angry about. I knew about some girls from our class visiting Natsukawa’s place, with Sasaki being the only boy—Now that I think about, Sasaki showed me that selfie with him and Airi-chan. I’m sure the other girls must have taken pictures themselves. What a heartwarming scenery that must have been. That bastard Sasaki is trying to build a harem, I knew it.
“Is it that bad to take pictures?”
“N-Not really, but…”
“That reminds me, Ai-chan was trying really hard to remember everybody’s names.”
“Huh~”
I can see Airi-chan surrounded by everyone, pat on the head, urged to remember their names. Must have been a lot of fun for her. You, Sasaki, leave.
The atmosphere from before had vanished, as now a comfortable mood reigned. Thanks to Airi-chan being an angel, even Ashida seemed to have relaxed a bit.
“So, what about that.” Ashida continued.
“You really snapped, huh.”
“Shut up.”
Ouch ouch ouch! Don’t grin your toes into my shin! That is some great personality you have there!
“S-So…I thought it was ‘different’ from what I imagined…”
“Different…?”
In what way? From the way she made it sound, she wasn’t satisfied, right? Natsukawa said that, as the reason that she didn’t want me to meet Airi-chan, she was worried about me being a bad influence. Does that mean that this was the same for Sasaki and the others? And, since she’s giving me permission, were these guys even worse than me? Just what did they do…
“Do you regret having Sasaki and the others meet Airi-chan? Were they a bad influence after all…”
“N-No, that’s not true!”
“Ah, I-I see…”
I couldn’t see that cozy-type Shirai-san doing anything troublesome either. I’m glad she didn’t turn out to be like some toxic girl.
“…I get it.”
“Eh?”
Eh…? You get it, Ashida? Hold on now, don’t leave me behind. Why are you crossing your arms like you arrived at the solution? Is this the kind that won’t make sense if you’re a man? Is this the maiden’s heart they always mention? Can some loner that sits in the corner of the classroom, namely me, even understand that?
I cold sweat ran down my back, as my eyes met with Ashida’s. She must have caught on to me panicking internally, as she let out a sigh. Excuse me, but that really hurt.
“—You couldn’t accept that, right? Ai-chan left aside the person closest to you and got along with everybody else, and that certain someone wasn’t even there in the first place.”
“…Urgh.”
“…Excuse me?”
“And, you happened to see Sajocchi in Sasakin.”
“S-Stop it already…”
“…What?” I failed to understand this sudden development.
That almost makes it sound like she has positive affection towards me. Impossible, that should not be the case. After all, everything I’ve done so far is annoying Natsukawa in every way possible.
“Listen, Sajocchi, I don’t get everything myself, but I heard from Aichi. This very morning, the plan of ‘Sajocchi meeting Ai-chan’ was already written in stone in her head. That’s why she was so severe all day. Because you weren’t giving Aichi any attention, not coming to talk to her at all.”
“Eh…?”
I don’t get it. The words reaching my ears I failed to digest. Calm down, and analyze the situation. Natsukawa wants me to meet Airi-chan. I don’t know the definite reason, but it was something she decided on, which is why she came talk to me all these times today. But, being pulled along during lunch break, and having her strangle me on the rooftop, why was that? Is it because she couldn’t stand me talking to Murata and Koga? But, why would she care about me to such an extent…?
“Eh? Natsukawa, is this…”
“—home.”
“Eh?”
“I’m going home!!”
“Huh!? Ah! Natsukawa! Wait!”
Natsukawa suddenly jolted up. With a beet red face, she stormed out of the family restaurant, leaving behind her bag even. Since she’s heading to school by foot, her family must be home at this point, so I don’t have to worry about being locked out of her house…
“……”
“……”
I stood up to reach for her arm in an attempt to stop her, but froze up. Isn’t this pretty bad? From an outsider’s perspective, it must seem like I was dumped by my lover. No wait, with Ashida here, isn’t that even worse? They will think I’m two-timing, right?
“…U-Um, dear customer?”
“Ah, we’ll be leaving. Sajocchi, money.”
“…Aight.”
Unable to say anything, Ashida just stole my wallet from me, and finished paying for our meal and drinks. I on the other hand went to grab everyone’s bags, and followed after her. I tried to get a better idea of what even just happened, but that failed. I can only take it for what I experienced. That however had my head spinning. I only got a hang on my memories by the time we left the family restaurant, walking down a street with no other people around.
“…All I remember is Natsukawa being super cute…”
“Please try to remember the rest, even if it hurts.”
“Alright then.”
It started to get dark outside, so I tried to be nice and offered to send her off, only to get a ‘Then until the street light’ back. I wanted to be an actual handsome and polite guy for once, but now I just feel hurt. I was just walking down the street.
—Do I really have to hold all this shit? Especially Ashida’s sports bag weighing down my arms. There’s definitely volleyballs in there, right? For every step I take, it’s hitting my butt…Also, do you take volleyballs home from school? Is that normal?
“—You must have figured it out with that, Sajocchi.”
“W-What exactly?”
“That Aichi doesn’t really think of you as gross as it seems. Being told all these years, it started to become something like a greeting, but never too serious, right?”
“I really thought she was serious all this time. Not to mention that this is no proof that Natsukawa doesn’t hate me.”
“Right~ But, Aichi must feel the same way. Like ‘Hm? Hmm???’, you know.”
“What’s up with that…”
“You might be fine with that, Sajocchi. After all, you say whatever you want to. But, you really should not forget about this, no matter what.”
“……?”
“—Sajocchi, to Aichi, you’re already a member of our group. This is the place you belong to.”
“……”
I saw the street light. Ashida accepted her own bag as well as Natsukawa’s share. Having been freed, Ashida slammed ther sports bag into me.
“What was that for?”
“It’s not about the location and how comfortable you feel. As long as there’s someone who will like you, you’ll definitely be happy. Even if you’re gross, and annoying, it will still give you enough confidence.”
“So I’m still disgusting in the end?”
“If someone suddenly lost the place they belong to, they’d be shocked, and anxious.”
“……”
Ashida left these words behind, slamming the bag into me again, and walked away. I should have been annoyed, but she was grinning to herself for some reason. In the end, she never once denied the fact that I’m gross. That’s what annoys me the most, Ashida.
“…Guess I’ll buy some steamed buns.”
It was a fresh summer night. The widget on my smartphone screen said it was 27°C. It should have felt warm, and yet my body felt cold with no sweat to be found.
*
In the entrance, the shoes of my family were lined up. In the midst of these were even my old man’s shoes, not having been cleaned for a while. I took out shoe-cleaning cream from the shoe box, and put it next to his leather shoes. I ain’t cleaning those, they’re dirty.
When I opened the door to the living room, I had the kitchen and dining room to my left, whereas to the right stood the TV and two sofas. The inside of my head was still blank to a level where I couldn’t remember what I usually did after coming home.
“What are you doing? At least tell us you’re back.”
“Yeah, I’m home…”
Mom was busy doing the dishes, so I headed towards the TV. Yeah, normally I’d just throw around my student bag, fall onto the sofa, and—
“—You don’t need to reenact exactly what I said this afternoon, you know.”
“…Shut up.”
On the sofa that had its back to the entrance, there was already someone inhabiting it. Said person was rolling around on it, fidgeting on her smartphone. One sock had already been flung off, whereas the other still somewhat held onto her foot. If I had to guess, she’s probably as careless with the handsome guys of the student council—the K4. Me? I feel nothing.
Seeing her all listless like that, I couldn’t hold back a grin.
“—Sorry about before Big Sis. I said too much.”
“Huh…? You…”
I handed her a plastic bag, and after seeing the steamed buns inside, Big Sis showed a complicated expression. What, you not gonna eat them? You love ‘em, right? Stuff your cheeks full with your favorite steam buns, bought by your younger brother, and play with your phone some more. Hoi hoi hoi.
“…D-Don’t want them.”
“…Hmmm.”
Thinking about it, she’s eaten so many, I wouldn’t be surprised if the scale screamed back at her. I don’t wanna see that, so I’ll just eat them myself~
“—If anything, I went too far.”
“No, that’s…”
Hey now, why are you giving me that guilty look like a puppy. You always do this to me! Why are you suddenly acting like ‘I’m not normally like this’, hm? Don’t throw your sock at me!
“So, what’d you do with these girls?”
“Can you not make it sound like something happened?”
“Nutting happened? Don’t give me that, you’re just spacing out.”
Urk…! First she apologizes, and then she’s interrogating me. You telling me to respond just like that? After being worried about my youth like that, it’s really hard to answer…
“…No idea. There’s way too many things, it feels like I’m in a trance.”
“Huh, I see. Not like I care.”
Don’t give me the crap, you’re definitely curious, you darn Big Sis. Just by thinking that she’s worried about me, but can’t openly say it, I feel itchy all over.
“…Right, I have something to say myself.”
“W-What is it…”
“Before you worry about others, how about taking care of your own stuff? All four of the student council members? Really? As your younger brother, I don’t know how to really react to that.”
“Wha…!? T-That’s not even the case! They don’t really…!”
“…Well, knowing you, you’ll definitely choose someone at the right time, but I know of a guy who stopped differentiating reality from fantasies. You should probably deal with this while you’re still in the right mindset.”
I don’t want anything to do with trouble, but circumstances change if it’s related to my family. I don’t want the air at home to be insufferable. I’ll use this chance to say everything I want to.
“—Nom!!”
“Ah…!?”
Big Sis leaned forward to take a big bite from the steamed bun I was holding. In shock, I let go of the steamed bun, which immediately vanished in Big Sis’ mouth. You damn glutton…how can you fit all of that…!
“Hm…Momamomam!”
“What are you even talking about!?”
“Mmm!?”
Right as a bit of steamed bun was about to fall out of her mouth, her squishing her cheeks together, I took a row of pictures with my smartphone. Big Sis panicked and hid her face, escaping from the living room. Soon enough, I can make a living by selling these pictures to the K4.
A bit after that, Big Sis returned to the living room with an iron bat, and I seriously thought I was going to die.