Chapter 5: However, We Cannot Guarantee Your Life
After school. The classroom.
Mizuki, who was preparing to go home in the seat in front of me, pointed at Ayano’s empty seat.
“Yumemigasaki-san was absent today, wasn’t she.”
“Yeah.”
Perhaps because Ayano had been too tense at the talk show yesterday, it seemed she fell ill as soon as she got home.
Mizuki pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
“So, what was all that about yesterday in the end?”
“All that yesterday?”
“You know! The thing yesterday about Yumemigasaki-san’s notebook that Amamiya-sensei returned! What was that all about, making me go out of my way to do a broadcast for it? “I asked Yuri-san about it later, but she wouldn’t tell me anything either…” “
I’d love to explain it from the beginning, but I’m sworn to secrecy about Ayano writing novels under the pen name Takeko Utani… Besides, if Mizuki, who knows that ‘Takeko Utani’ and ‘Kota Nibuke’ are an anagram, finds out about it, things will probably get even more complicated…
“Hmm… Well, this and that?”
“This and that?”
“Anyway, you saved me. Thank you so much.”
“Hmph! …Well, whatever. In exchange, you’re treating me to a hamburger as thanks today!”
“Yeah. I’ll treat you to as many as you want.”
Then, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated with a buzz.
Hm? Is it Yuina?
…Wait? Haven’t I made a habit of just assuming it’s Yuina whenever my phone rings? That’s actually incredibly sad…
When I took out my smartphone, the incoming call notification was displayed, and the words ‘Ayano Yumemigasaki’ were floating there in huge letters.
Saiko-san again… no way, right. I wonder what it is… I don’t wanna answer it… But, I’m scared of what will happen later if I ignore it…
“Do you mind if I take a quick call?”
“Go aheaaad~”
I moved a short distance away from Mizuki, tapped the call button, and put the smartphone to my ear.
“…Hello.”
“Hya?!”
“…………Helloooo.”
“Ah, um, Kota?”
“Yo. What’s up? Is your body okay~?”
“Yes. It’s gotten considerably better. So, um… I haven’t properly thanked you for yesterday yet, so.”
“Ah~. It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“No, I can’t just let it go. I’m truly grateful to you.”
“I get it, I get it.”
“So… I want to properly say thank you, so could you come to my house right now?”
Why did it come to that…
“No, no, it’s fine! You’ve conveyed it enough already!”
“No. I won’t be satisfied otherwise.”
“Even if you say you won’t be satisfied…”
Ayano really is weakened, so she probably won’t confess, but… I’ve been raising her affection so much lately, it’s a little scary to be alone with her…
“If you won’t come, I’ll go to your house right now.”
“Why!”
“And to show my gratitude, I’ll perform a dogeza in front of your entryway for three hours.”
“Is that harassment?!”
“Then, you’ll come, right?”
That’s basically blackmail…
“…I get it. I’ll go. So just stay in bed for now. You’re still not feeling well, right.”
“Yes. Well then, I’ll be lying down waiting for you. Come quickly.”
…How did it come to this.
Is it because I ignored Nekohime-sama’s warning after all…?
When I hung up the phone, Mizuki tilted his head with a tilt.
“From Yuina-chan?”
You too… Treating me like a loner with that cute face…
“No… Or rather, my bad. Something came up.”
“Ehh! What about my hamburger?!”
“Next time. Sorry.”
“Jeez!”
Parting ways with Mizuki just like that, I exited the classroom and nearly bumped into Amamiya-sensei who was in the hallway, twisting my body at the last second to dodge her.
Amamiya-sensei glared at me with a sullen look.
“Excuse me, Nibuke-kun. It’s dangerous if you don’t look carefully where you’re walking.”
“S-Sorry…”
Amamiya-sensei looked around carefully, then placed her hand over her mouth and asked in a whisper.
“Also… about that, did you properly give it to Saionji-kun?”
That? Ah, that photo… Crap… I was planning to hang out with him today, so I figured I’d give it to him then…
If she tells me to go give the photo to Mizuki right now, it’ll probably take a while…
“Sorry, Sensei. We’ll talk about that next time. I have something to do right now so I’m going home. See ya!”
“Ah! Wait a minute, Nibuke-kun! There’s still something I want to ask you… Jeez.”
Arriving in front of Ayano’s house, just as I was about to ring the doorbell, a voice came from inside.
“Ah! Ko-chan really came! Yay!”
Stay in bed!
While exasperated, I rang the doorbell, and a light ding-dong echoed around.
…
……
………
Click.
“Oh my, Kota. Welcome.”
You don’t have to put on an act of taking time to come from your room after hearing the chime. I know you were waiting right behind the door.
“Yo… Wait, hey, hey. Your face is bright red. Do you have a fever too?”
Ayano was wearing a cardigan over her pajamas, and she had a cooling gel patch stuck to her forehead. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and her hair stuck flat to her neck from the sweat seeping out.
“Yes, a little bit from exhaustion… But, I’m fine. “Fufufu. Ko-chan is worried about me. I’m so happy… But… I was waiting here the whole time, so I might actually be feeling a little worse now.” “
Are you an idiot?
“Anyway, go back to your room and sleep. If you have something to talk about, I’ll listen to it there.”
“Right. “This is the first time Ko-chan has come inside this house. What should we play?” “
She is an idiot.
Passing the entryway, right on the right-hand side as you step into the hallway, there are stairs leading to the second floor. Going up there, there’s another hallway, and Ayano’s room was the very first one.
Upon entering the room, the first thing that jumped into my eyes was the almost bizarre number of books. When she was in elementary school, she must have had a fair amount of manga, but now there was almost nothing but novels lined up on the bookshelves. What’s more, the bookshelves completely covered every wall except the front one with the window.
Perhaps because of that, the entire room looked cozy, but other than books, there was nothing but school-related items, so it didn’t feel all that cramped.
Beside the bed sat a washbasin containing a white cloth and steaming hot water. She was probably wiping the sweat off her body with this.
“Hey, don’t stare too much.”
“Ah, my bad…”
Following Ayano’s lead as she sat on the bed on the right, I borrowed the chair from the study desk placed next to the window.
When I put my weight against the backrest, it let out a creak.
“Amazing… Ko-chan came to my house… It’s like a dream!”
It’s embarrassing when you’re that happy about it…
“As expected, you really have a ton of novels.”
“Of course. Reading is also studying, after all.”
“…Ayano… Actually, there’s something I need to tell you first—”
Just as I got that far, I noticed Ayano clutching her head as if in pain.
“Are you okay? Should I just go home for today after all?”
“N-No, I’m fine.”
“Then, lie down for now. We can still talk while you’re lying down.”
“…Yes. I’ll do as you say… So, could you come a little closer too, Kota?”
And so, Ayano lay down on the bed, and I sat on the floor, using the bed as a backrest.
If she’s feeling this sick, it really seems unlikely that she’s going to confess. Besides, according to Nekohime-sama, a countdown will always be displayed ten seconds before I get confessed to, so as long as I don’t overlook that, I should be safe… probably.
If push comes to shove, I’ll jump out that window and run away. If I just say something like ‘There’s a cockroach in the room!’, it shouldn’t lower her affection too much. I’ll probably lose some of her respect, though…
“The notebook…”
Ayano’s frail voice came from behind me.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“Thank you for bringing my notebook.”
“Ah, about yesterday. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“…I really didn’t want anyone to see what was inside that notebook… But, it’s necessary for writing novels, and I absolutely had to have it…”
…That thing is necessary for writing novels?
“Being a novelist is tough, huh.”
“…Did you really not look inside?”
“I said I didn’t. Are we repeating this conversation again?”
Even though I actually accidentally saw it when the notebook dropped…
“More importantly, was it okay for you to say all those things at the talk show? I heard bigwigs from the publishing company were there.”
“There’s no problem. According to Saiko-san, they were actually delighted to find out I’m Ichika Kaidou’s daughter.”
“…Oh. Is that so.”
Then it would have been better if you had just said so from the beginning… Or does it mean Ayano wanted to keep the fact that she’s Ichika Kaidou’s daughter a secret that badly?
Ignoring my questions, Ayano muttered quietly.
“…Also, thank you for persuading my mom.”
“That was… I just conveyed your feelings, that’s all. I didn’t do anything.”
“My feelings?”
I took out a single notebook from my bag and showed it to Ayano.
“That… could that be the notebook I used when I was in elementary school?”
The events of that day floated clearly to the back of my mind. The events of that day when I hurled harsh words at Ayano.
I had tried to apologize many times, but I could never muster the courage, constantly putting it off until today.
“That’s right. …I’ve kept this in my bag the whole time, intending to return it to you… Sorry. I showed it to Hanae-san without your permission.”
“…I see. Mom read that novel, huh.”
I moved away from the bed I was using as a backrest, turned to face Ayano, and bowed my head.
“Ayano. …When we were in elementary school… I’m truly sorry for saying things that hurt you.”
Then, Ayano shook her head side to side with an apologetic face instead.
“No… I’m the one who should be apologizing…”
“…Eh?”
“Actually, I knew that novel wasn’t interesting.”
“…Huh?”
“I realized it while I was writing it. ‘This novel isn’t interesting at all’.”
“Eh? N-No, but when I told you it wasn’t interesting, you were shocked and ran out of the classroom, right?”
“Of course I was shocked. To think I made Kota, who always enjoyed reading my novels so much, say something like that… But you know, I was even happier than that.”
“Happier? You’re saying you were happy being told it wasn’t interesting?”
“Yes. Because, after reading that uninteresting novel, you were the only one who properly told me it wasn’t interesting, Kota. …Everyone else read it and praised me just like always. ‘It was interesting,’ ‘Do your best next time too,’ ‘I’m looking forward to it.’ They gave me the same usual compliments. …I couldn’t stand that. …I realized that everyone was just pretending to read my novels. They weren’t enjoying my novels at all.”
Ayano slowly sat up on the bed and turned to face me.
Ayano’s clear voice echoed in the room.
“But, you were different, Kota. You noticed that the novel wasn’t interesting. When I had you read my novel that time, the truth is, I was so anxious and anxious I couldn’t help it… What if even you, Kota, hadn’t actually been reading my novels… What if even you, Kota, said this novel was interesting… But you! …Only you, Kota, faced my novel head-on. …Th-That’s why, ever since that time, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say.”
My figure was reflected in Ayano’s tear-blurred eyes.
“Kota, thank you for reading my novels. “Ever since that time, I fell deeply in love with you, Ko-chan.” “
That nostalgic smile dyed on her flushed cheeks was undeniably that of my childhood friend. That precious smile I thought I had lost, that I thought I had broken.
I had always wondered. Why Ayano would ever fall in love with someone like me.
I instinctively turned my back to Ayano.
I was so happy that Ayano had loved me, and I didn’t want her to see my mouth, which had hopelessly and awkwardly loosened into a smile.
However, I couldn’t stay here any longer. Truly, if the atmosphere was set this perfectly, it wouldn’t be strange for her to confess at any moment.
For the sake of Ayano, who cares for me this much, I should prioritize staying alive right now above all else.
“I understand your feelings perfectly well, Ayano. But sorry. It’s already time. I should be heading h—hm?”
Looking back, Ayano had squirmed back under the covers and let out a pained groan.
“Ugh… “Ahhh… After saying what I wanted to say… my condition… “ “
“H-Hey! Are you okay!”
I approached her worriedly, but felt the sensation of the hem of my shirt being pulled taut, and lowered my gaze to check it out. Then, for some reason, Ayano’s hand was extending from under the covers, tightly gripping my shirt.
“U-Um… Ayano-san?”
“I want you… to stay here a little longer~”
Eh? What’s with that spoiled voice.
“No… Even if you say that…”
“I don’t want you… to go home~… Ugh…”
She cried?!
“A-Ayano, san…?”
“I don’t want you to go home~…”
This feeling… It’s exactly the same way of talking as Ayano’s inner voice that I always hear. Did her condition worsen and bring out that personality?
“Ko-chaaaan, don’t go hoooome.”
“I get it, I get it. So don’t pull on my shirt.”
“Yaaaay. I’m with Ko-chaaaan.”
I haven’t heard her inner voice at all for a while now… She’s seriously not thinking about anything, is she.
That’s exactly why I’m incredibly scared she might just accidentally confess to me…
…Yeah. Let’s get ready to escape through the window! And after that, I’ll dash all the way out of the range where I can hear her inner voice, and if I wait for things to cool down in a faraway place, I won’t die from a headache even if I return within the range of her inner voice again… probably. …Hopefully…
“Heeey, Ko-chaaan.”
Being called that again makes me feel embarrassed…
“Wh-What is it, Ayano? Did you get sleepy? Want me to sing you a lullaby? Hm?”
“I’m… all sweaty.”
“I see, I see. All sweaty, huh.”
“So… I want you to wipe it off.”
Yeah. No can do.
“Th-That’s a bit…”
“Ugh… ugh… Ko-chan… is bullying me…”
No matter how you look at it, I’m the one being bullied here.
“No, no, you’re just acting weird right now because you’re sick. You’ll definitely want to die when you remember this later, so just bear with it for now.”
“Ko-chan called me… weird… Ugh! “Ko-chan is bullying me!” “
Guh! The headache!
Th-This girl, is she trying to blackmail me! This isn’t a joke!
“Ugh… “Ko-chaaan!” “
Gaha! Dammit!
“I get it! I get it! I’ll wipe it! Please let me wipe it!”
“Fufufu. Yay.”
Looking all happy like that… Besides, are headaches this easy to trigger…? …Come to think of it, these headaches occur when the other person’s affection level plummets. Which means, the higher her affection for me, the greater the amplitude of the drop…
Does that mean this is happening because I’ve been raising Ayano’s affection non-stop lately?
Ugh! I really should have just listened to Nekohime-sama obediently!
“Ko-chaaaan, not yeeet~?”
…Anyway, right now I need to return this weird-acting Ayano to normal, or just put her to sleep like this. At this rate, she might casually drop an ‘I love you, Ko-chan~’ before I know it. I’ll die the instant she does.
“A-Alright. I’ll wipe your forehead for now. I’m taking off this dry cooling patch.”
“‘Kaaay.”
This spoiled little girl! She’s pretty cute, isn’t she!
I peeled off the cooling patch, dipped the white cloth that had been set aside into the hot water, and pressed it against Ayano’s forehead.
“Feels goood~”
“I bet. It’s warm, isn’t it. Getting sleepy? You’re getting sleepy, aren’t you?”
“Yeah… A little…”
“Alright. Then just close your eyes and count sheep. That way you can drift right off into happiness.”
“Sheeeep?”
“That’s right. Sheep.”
“‘Kaaay. …But before that, I want you to wipe down here too~.”
Ayano pulled back the covers over her, lifted the hem of her pajama top with both hands, and exposed her stomach.
“Look, I’m drenched in sweat…”
Awawawawawawa!
“W-Wait a second, Ayano! That’s going too far!”
“Eh? Could it be Ko-chan doesn’t want to touch my stomach?”
Guh!
Eh?! What is this?! As long as I get these headaches, do I have no freedom?!
“Ugh, Ko-chaaaan. “Just as I thought, Ko-chan hates me. He’s mad because I didn’t contact him for so long. Even though I gathered my courage and came back.” “
Gyaaah?! S-Stop it! Your house is going to become a stigmatized property at this rate!
N-No good… The current Ayano has lost her mind and regressed to a toddler… Because of that, she can’t handle actions from me that she would normally brush off easily…
W-What a troublesome existence Toddler Ayano is!
“I-I get it… I’ll wipe it… I’m really going to wipe it, okay?!”
“‘Kaaay!”
I’m telling you to stop with those cute replies! It makes my heart skip a beat!
I pressed the cloth I was holding against Ayano’s stomach and, though awkwardly, firmly wiped away the beads of sweat.
“Feels goood~. “Ahh… This dream is so happy~… I hope I never wake up…” “
Dream? This girl thinks this is a dream?! Grrr… If I appear in your dreams, is this the kind of stuff you make me do…
“There… All done. Well then, I’m going ho—”
“Here toooo~”
Ayano grabbed the arm I was holding the cloth with and shoved it straight up toward her chest from beneath the raised hem of her pajamas. My hand, holding the cloth, bumped against a soft sensation.
GYAAAAAAH! SO SOFFFFFT… Eh. This is completely different from Mizuki-san’s. What is up with this elasticity.
“Ayano! Give! Give! I can’t take it anymore!”
“Not yeeet. …Ehehe~. After this, wipe down below toooo.”
Ahhh… I really can’t take it anymore… Please stop toying with me…
Just as my consciousness began to grow hazy from the sheer shock of it all, without any warning, the ding-dong of the doorbell echoed.
“Hm~? The doorbell~?”
With a hazy mind, Ayano gently released my arm.
My chance!
Not missing the opening, I immediately pulled my hand back and draped the flipped-up covers back over Ayano.
Perhaps slowly beginning to awaken from the sound of the doorbell, the usual sharpness returned to Ayano’s eyes. Then, with a suspicious look, Ayano glared at me sitting next to her.
“Eh? Hold on! I-It’s actually pretty embarrassing having someone stare at me from so close while I’m sleeping, you know… “That surprised me. After having such a weird dream, it’s somehow a little embarrassing to face Ko-chan…” “
Rest assured. I already know you’re the most embarrassing person imaginable.
Even so, isn’t it bad that you can’t distinguish between dreams and reality? Isn’t that what they call an occupational hazard? You should get that checked out. Also, please stop making the ‘me’ in your dreams do whatever you want.
When the doorbell rang again, Ayano let out an exasperated sigh and crawled out of bed.
“Are you okay to be up?”
“Yes. Thanks to getting some sleep, my body feels refreshed and I feel great.”
That’s because I wiped you down, you jerk!
Ayano left the room with unsteady steps and went down to the first floor, and I, feeling the call of nature, followed right behind her.
“I’m gonna borrow your bathroom for a sec.”
“Sure. The bathroom is that door right there. Please sit down when you do it. Otherwise it gets dirty.”
“…Yes.”
She’s so reliable… She’s just like Yuina.
I opened the door located toward the living room from the bottom of the stairs and stepped inside.
Sitting on the toilet seat, exhaustion washed over me all at once.
Haaah… I’m so tired~… I wanna go home already…
While doing my business, I heard an “Ugh”, a clearly disgusted voice from Ayano.
What is it? Did some weirdo show up?
Remaining seated on the toilet, I strained my ears and heard a clack-clack sound, realizing Ayano was putting the chain on the door.
She’s being somewhat cautious. Did someone that suspicious actually show up?
With a clink, the sound of the chain pulling taut echoed, and then,
“Can I help you, Saionji-kun.”
Saionji? Don’t tell me Mizuki came here? But why?
“Ah, s-sorry for barging in so suddenly. “Saying ‘ugh’ earlier, no matter how you look at it, it must have been because she saw me through the peephole… Does Yumemigasaki-san really hate me that much?” “
Mizuki, you’re currently pretending to be a guy, you know… From Ayano’s perspective, a boy she’s not particularly close with suddenly visited her house, of course she’d be somewhat cautious.
“…So, what do you want?”
“Y-Yeah… Actually, Amamiya-sensei asked me to deliver these handouts.”
“Is that so? But why you, Saionji-kun?”
“It seems Amamiya-sensei originally intended to ask Kota, but Kota said he had plans and quickly went home… So since I know your address, Yumemigasaki-san, I came instead.”
“…I don’t recall ever telling you my address, Saionji-kun… A stalker, perhaps?”
“I am not! I just knew it because I heard you moved in next door to Kota! …By the way, Yumemigasaki-san, did you move here because Kota’s house is next door?”
“…N-No way. It was a coincidence, a coincidence. “I can’t possibly say that I begged my dad to let me move here…” “
So you’re the stalker.
“…Thanks for the handouts. But next time, you can just leave them in my desk.”
“Y-Yeah… “That means don’t come again, doesn’t it… I guess Yumemigasaki-san really does hate me.” “
With a rustle, the sound of handouts being passed through the chained door could be heard.
“Ah, also… Did Kota properly return that notebook to you?”
“…Notebook? If you mean my notebook, Kota returned it properly yesterday… Why do you know about that?”
“Eh? Because Kota was running all over the school yesterday looking for your notebook, Yumemigasaki-san, you know?”
“Running all over? “But I’m pretty sure my notebook was left inside my desk…” “
Crap… I lied because I didn’t want to raise Ayano’s affection for me…
Ugh! Don’t say any more, Mizuki! You’re making things complicated!
“Yeah. In the end, Amamiya-sensei had picked it up, but she said she couldn’t return it because she had to hand it directly to the owner. Kota begged her after that and somehow managed to get the notebook back.”
“Is that so… “If what Saionji-kun is saying is true… why did Ko-chan lie and say he found my notebook in my desk…” “
I have to come up with a good excuse later…
“By the way, what’s your dream, Yumemigasaki-san?”
…Hm?
“Dream? Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Kota said it, you know, when he was begging Amamiya-sensei to return the notebook. He said, ‘I want to support her dream. I don’t want her to stumble in a place like this. So, please, Amamiya-sensei. Give Ayano’s notebook back!'”
Don’t memorize it word for word without a single mistake!
…Or rather, this is the worst. If you let Ayano hear a story like that, her affection for me might go up again.
“…That just now.”
“Eh?”
“Did Ko-chan really say that just now?”
“Ko-chan? Ah, you mean Kota? Yeah. He did. He said it in a loud voice, so there’s no mistake.”
“I was always… always so anxious… Making Ko-chan read such a poorly-made novel, making him say it wasn’t interesting… I was always anxious about whether Ko-chan would still support me after that. …I was too scared to even ask for his thoughts on my new novels… I was always terrified that deep down, he was disgusted with me… And that Ko-chan… Ko-chan is supporting me!”
Ayano…?
“By the way, what’s your dream, Yumemigasaki-sa—”
“I’m sorry, Saionji-kun. I’m busy right now. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“Eh? A—”
Slam.
A short while after the front door closed, Mizuki’s voice drifted in from outside.
“Take care, Yumemigasaki-san!”
And so, as the pit-pat of Mizuki’s footsteps faded away, the inside of the house fell completely silent.
Slowly pushing open the bathroom door and checking toward the entryway, I saw Ayano, her eyes bright red, glaring at me with a dignified posture.
And hovering above her, for some reason, was a pink, heart-shaped object floating in the air, displaying only the number [10].
What is… that. A balloon?
As I watched, the number made a click sound, and the display changed to [9].
Don’t tell me… this is…
The countdown to a confession…?
Another click sounded, and this time [8] was displayed.
When I finally understood what was happening, a chill ran down my spine, and a tremendous panic raced through my chest.
Bad bad bad bad bad!
Dying if I got confessed to, it never really felt real.
Deep down in the corner of my mind, I thought it was some kind of mistake.
But, confronted with that distorted existence—a heart-shaped object that shouldn’t exist—my mind was dominated by terror.
My heart pounded, I couldn’t breathe, and the back of my eyes burned hot.
[7]
“Hii?!”
The story I heard from Nekohime-sama crossed my mind.
That story about the ‘God of Jealousy’ setting a ten-second countdown to make the user thoroughly taste the terror of their impending death.
It was exactly as she said; just as the ‘God of Jealousy’ intended, I was absolutely terrified of the numbers on that countdown.
“Hey, Kota. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
[6]
Before I knew it, I was letting out a pathetic scream and sprinting up the stairs at top speed. Using both my hands and feet, clumsily, but climbing the stairs as fast as I possibly could.
However, this was a bad move. Because I had been considering the strategy of escaping out the window to save myself while I was in Ayano’s room earlier, I ended up going to the second floor where that window was at the eleventh hour.
Dammit! I made a mistake! If I had gone toward the living room, there should have been a window leading to the yard!
Looking back, Ayano, with a puzzled look on her face, was briskly approaching me.
“Ko-chan! Wait!”
[5]
A-Only five seconds left?!
[4]
Guh?!
Anyway, just focus on escaping right now! Don’t think about anything else!
I forcefully threw open the door to Ayano’s room and rushed inside. But my foot caught on Ayano’s school bag sitting on the floor, and I took a massive tumble, rolling across the floor.
Ayano, poking her head into the room, saw me fallen on the floor and rushed over with a surprised expression.
“Hey! Are you okay?!”
[4 -STOP-]
Wh-What? There’s text under the number… …Stop? Did the countdown stop?
“It doesn’t look like you’re hurt… Thank goodness.”
[3]
It started moving again! Th-That’s right! This countdown, you can stop it by distracting her! I talked about that with Nekohime-sama too! I was so terrified I forgot that rule, and my head was completely filled with escaping…
“Kota, you know, actually I…”
[2]
Only two seconds left!
Think! Thiiiink! Is there any, any plan! Something to distract Ayano, something—
“Actually… I’ve been—”
[1]
…Ah… this is…………………………………. death…
The moment I anticipated my death, a certain memory resurfaced like a kaleidoscope.
That was just yesterday. While heading to the talk show venue after retrieving Ayano’s notebook from Amamiya-sensei, I stepped on an empty can lying on the side of the road and took a spectacular tumble onto the asphalt.
“Ouch ouch ouch… Dammit… I just fell down the other day trying to save a cat too… Wait, huh? The notebook is gone!”
Scanning the area, Ayano’s notebook had fallen into the gutter by the side of the road, and I hurriedly ran over to it.
“That was close… If I came all this way only to say I fell and lost the notebook, I wouldn’t even be able to cry about it… hm? Wait? The button on the notebook came undone and the inside is…………………… Wha—?! W-What is this?!”
The inside of that notebook was densely packed with text.
‘[Episode 1983: Doing It with Ko-chan ~I Want to Be an Earphone~]
I couldn’t talk to Ko-chan much today… Ugh… Even though I finally get to be with Ko-chan again…
Whenever I try to talk to him, I get nervous and my face stiffens up… But surely, soon enough, we’ll be able to chat a loooot, a whole loooot like we used to, and I’ll be able to play with Ko-chan lots, a whole loooots, sooo much! Right!
So let’s give it our all again today! Episode 1983! Things I Want to Do When I Can Play a Lot with Ko-chan Again!
S-S-Surprisingly! I heard Ko-chan’s hobby is listening to music (Info from Yuina-chan. Highly reliable)! I had no idea! If I see Ko-chan listening to music with earphones on, I’ll definitely get so excited I won’t be able to sleep! Because he’ll look absolutely cool (I said it, tee-hee)!
I wonder if he’d be happy if I gave him the old earphones I used to use…? But those are kind of lacking for playing back the secretly recorded voice of Ko-chan. It’s like they can’t properly reproduce Ko-chan’s natural vocal quality; Ko-chan’s voice has this alluring sex appeal hidden within its unique tone, you know. He probably wouldn’t like it if I gave him earphones that can’t properly reproduce those delicate nuances…
I know! Then I should just buy another pair of the earphones I’m using now and give them to Ko-chan! With those, the reproduction of Ko-chan’s voice is pretty decent (Well, it absolutely can’t compare to the real thing, though)!
Fufufu. I’m so smart! I’ll have to have Ko-chan pat my head in my dreams again (Anything more than head pats is also acceptable)!
And then, we’ll use one side of those earphones each together! Something like, ‘This music is wonderful, Ko-chan,’ ‘You’re more wonderful’ (heart throb)! And then we’ll stare at each other, and our lips—’
I silently closed the notebook.
The past memory that flowed into my head.
That alone was the single path to survival left to me.
“I! Saw what was inside your notebook, Ayano!”
When I yelled that in a loud voice, I saw Ayano’s shoulders twitch.
Immediately after, text was added to the countdown number.
[1 -STOP-]
…Did it… stop?
Ayano froze in front of me, not moving a single muscle.
The countdown displayed on the heart-shaped object remained at [1 -STOP-] and showed no signs of moving again.
As a bicycle passed by on the road in front of the house with a ring-ring, Ayano, dripping with sweat and absolutely refusing to meet my eyes, said in a high-pitched voice.
“…You saw it?”
“…Sorry. …Um, when I dropped the notebook, it accidentally opened and………… just a little bit…”
“…Which page did you see?”
“……………………………………………………………………..The one about the earphones.”
Ayano clutched her head with both hands and screamed like a demon being exorcised, “Gyaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“I told you not to lookkkkkkk! I told you not to lookkkkkkk! “M-My delusion diary with Ko-chan that I’ve been writing in for years! And! Episode 1983! That one has pretty hardcore content, just having it seen is a level of social death!” “
So that really was a delusion diary…
I blurted out that I had seen the notebook to distract Ayano on the spur of the moment, but… I feel bad for doing that.
Ayano was rolling around on the floor, occasionally bending backward like a shrimp, clutching her head, and letting out roars of agony.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! I’ve been seeeeen! I can’t go on living anymoreeeee!”
I couldn’t even make any joking retorts like, “Do you want to be reincarnated as an earphone?” or “You were recording my voice?”. If I said something like that, I felt Ayano would definitely jump out that window right now and never return to this house again.
Trying my best not to upset Ayano any further, I chose my words carefully, like walking on eggshells.
“…A-Ayano… um………… cheer up.”
“It’s so half-hearted! Your words of encouragement are so half-heartedddddddd!”
I’m truly sorry…
My life is on the line here too… forgive me.
Above the head of Ayano, who had gotten on all fours and started sobbing, a change occurred in that heart-shaped object.
[CLEAR]
Clear?
The next moment, the floating heart-shaped object was accompanied by a hissing sound like air deflating, gradually shrank, and completely disappeared without a trace.
It disappeared! Which means, Ayano, who was panicking over her notebook being seen, is no longer in any condition to confess.
Thank goodness… Anyway, I’ve managed to avoid dying right here, right now…
…Even so.
“Kill me………… just………… kill me…………”
What am I supposed to do about this.
Ayano was twitching and convulsing, various liquids streaming down her face as she lay there limply.
I was saved this time thanks to the notebook, but it’d be bad to just leave this situation as it is.
Right now she lost her mind and tried to confess to me because of Mizuki, but once she calms down, she should lose that urge again soon.
However, if Ayano is fully aware that I know she has feelings for me because I saw the notebook, there’s a high chance she’ll eventually just snap and think, ‘Since he already knows, I might as well just confess.’
For the sake of the future, I need to nip that in the bud right now.
“Ayano…”
Ayano’s shoulders, as she lay rolling on the floor shedding tears, twitched in reaction.
“…………”
“Hey, Ayano… I’m really sorry. I never intended to look at your notebook. It was just a coincidence.”
“…………“Even if you say that… you already found out. You found out that I love Ko-chan… You found out that I’m a pervert who furiously scribbles my delusions about Ko-chan every day.” “
“…Are you mad?”
“…………“Ahhh. Jeez. How did things end up like this… I was just about to confess to Ko-chan… so why…” “
“…I guess you would be. Because I ended up seeing, um… the notebook of novel ideas that you treasure so much, Ayano.”
“…………“Novel ideas?” “
Ayano abruptly sat up and tilted her head, waiting for my next words.
“I don’t really get it, but I’ve heard that novelists hate having people see that kind of stuff… Even though I knew you didn’t want anyone to see your notebook… I’m really sorry.”
“…………“Oh my? Could it be that Ko-chan hasn’t realized it’s my delusion diary? Does he think I wrote all of that as material for my novels? Is that even possible? …But, if it’s that dense Ko-chan… Because, even though I secretly recorded two terabytes of Ko-chan’s voice, he never found out once.” “
Two terabytes?! Two terabytes of audio files?! It hasn’t even been a month since we reunited?!
…C-Calm down. It’s fine. I’m guiding her perfectly. If I just make her think I mistook that delusion diary for a notebook of novel ideas, Ayano will believe her feelings haven’t reached me, and she shouldn’t do anything reckless like confessing out of desperation… Besides, it’s probably better for Ayano’s mental health this way too…
“…Hey, Kota. Earlier, when I tried to talk to you, why did you come running all the way up here?”
She wants to know if I realized she was trying to confess? If that’s the case—
“U-Um, you know, we used to play tag a lot back in the day, right? So, I felt a little nostalgic, and I just…”
“Hmm… I see. “Why would he suddenly do that… But, as I thought, Ko-chan didn’t realize I was trying to confess either!” “
Ayano roughly wiped away the tears welling in her eyes, returned to her usual cool expression, and stood up swiftly.
“By the way, I have a question. Saionji-kun came over earlier and told me. That Amamiya-sensei picked up my notebook yesterday, and you got it back for me, Kota. Is that true?”
It’s probably better to honestly admit it here rather than tell a lie to deny Mizuki’s testimony.
“…Yeah, my bad. I figured you’d be worried, so I kept quiet about it… I thought you’d be more relieved if I told you it was sitting in your desk.”
“I see… “So that means Sensei might have seen it… That’s definitely a depressing thought, but it’s much better than another student picking it up. Even if Sensei saw what was inside, she probably wouldn’t go around spreading it recklessly.” “
Ayano gripped the notebook as if it were incredibly precious.
“Then, I have to say it again.”
“Say? Say what?”
Averting her eyes shyly, Ayano said,
“Thank you. For getting my notebook back.”
It was a little blunt for an expression of gratitude, but her feelings definitely came through.
“You’re welcome.”
