Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo - Chapter 4 Part 4

Chapter 4 Part 4

 

More time passed and the time for the Hyakka Festival drew near. One more week until D-Day.

 

Honestly, my current situation was really bad. No matter how much I tried to avoid the romcom cliches, Asunaro always had a way to misunderstand my situation because I had a lot of opportunities to be with the three girls.

 

And there was nothing I could do to stop her from writing down every single little thing that she found.

 

At this rate, she’d publish that article on the festival and my life would be ruined again.

 

I had managed to prevent myself from getting completely isolated in class, but time was running out. I needed a way to clear my name…

 

“So, I’ll be in your care again today, Joro!”

 

Asunaro came over to my seat. Her ponytail swung around as she walked.

 

This girl had been sticking even closer to me lately.

 

Aside from lunch break, she always followed me around everywhere.

 

She didn’t do it just to keep an eye on me, though.

 

“Asunaro. You really need to be more careful. Joro is—”

“Don’t worry! I’ve been with him all the time lately and he hasn’t done anything to me!”

 

Asunaro said that with a smile as a response to the girl who was always unnecessarily hostile to me, Girl A.

 

She had been protecting me from the girl clique’s assault by staying with me at all times.

 

After that incident when they openly attacked me, Asunaro came to me and said, ‘Since it was my fault that the article got leaked, I’ll protect you so you won’t get harassed by anyone!’ And she did just that.

 

However, in the end, if I was unable to clear up her misunderstanding, I would be screwed either way. That was why, if you were to ask me whether her actions benefited me or not, well, it did, but the drawback was slightly bigger…

 

In any case, it was thanks to her that I didn’t get isolated from the rest of the class for the time being.

 

Gotta say though, despite all the troubles she brought me, she was a good girl.

 

I didn’t mind her presence and if we could clear up her misunderstandings before the festival could begin, I wouldn’t hold a grudge on her.

 

Though the problem remained. How exactly could I do that?

 

*   *   *

 

Lunch break. I left Asunaro behind and went to the library like usual, where the usual gang was already waiting for me.

 

At one point, Himawari, Cosmos and Sun-chan started hanging out in the library during the lunch break.

 

Before I knew it, this turned into a new routine for all of us. Even when we hadn’t planned on doing anything, they still stopped by to hang out.

 

Inside the reading area. I was in the middle seat, Sun-chan sat on my left and Pansy on my right. Himawari and Cosmos sat in front of us. That was our usual sitting position and we took on the same position again today.

 

“Heya, Joro-kun. You’re late. Did something happen?”

“I just managed to throw off Asunaro.”

“I see. So, um… Are you okay? I heard a lot of bad rumors going on about you…”

“Well, not really… But, I’ll manage somehow, so don’t worry…”

“…I see”

 

Ah, I guess my answer didn’t ease her worry. She started writing on her note again.

 

“…U-Um… A-Ah, Pansy-chan! What sweets did you make today?”

“Well, Hinata-san, I made something interesting today… This…”

 

Those two… I guess they realized the atmosphere became heavy, so they changed the subject.

 

I felt a little guilty for that.

 

“Um… Are those waffles? And fried chickens?”

“Yes. I also put maple syrup on top of them.”

“Huh? Huuh?!”

“T-That’s… Something interesting alright…”

 

Himawari and Cosmos looked surprised seeing the amount of maple syrup Pansy poured onto that thing.

 

I understood their feelings. That was my exact reaction after seeing this abomination too.

 

Like, what was she thinking? Waffles, fried chickens and maple syrups? Could you even eat those three together?

 

“D-Does it taste good?”

“Of course. Right, Joro-kun?”

“Yeah. Just try it, Himawari. You too, Prez, don’t be shy.”

“T-Then, I’ll eat some…”

“M-Me too…”

 

Both of them took a bite of that waffle fried chicken thing. It was a slow, modest bite. But then…

 

“Woah, amazing!”

“This is?! I can’t believe it! It tastes so good!”

“I can’t really make a good fried chicken, so I bought them instead. If you were the one who made them instead, Akino-senpai, I bet it would taste even tastier.”

“Then, next time I’ll make some for you! Just leave it to me!”

 

The five of us grew even closer than before.

 

Everyone was enjoying themselves, every day we ate Pansy’s snacks and Cosmos’ food. Himawari and Sun-chan would livened up the atmosphere and we were all having fun.

 

We went through a lot, but if the result of our hardships was this, then all was well for me.

 

I started to feel that even if I couldn’t clear up Asunaro’s misunderstandings and that article ended up getting published, as long as I could stay together with those guys, I would still be content with my life.

 

Regarding the practice for the Kabuten, things had been going well and everyone had improved considerably. As long as we could continue with our practice, the Kabuten would eventually be a big success for us.

 

The only thing that concerned me was that Sun-chan was still a little awkward around Pansy. He was the only one who had never touched her sweets. But, I believe in him. He’ll figure this out soon enough.

 

After we finished eating, we continued to talk.

 

“So, Joro! Recently, I’ve been practicing to do more forkballs! I’ve always thought that making my straight balls better is the way to go, but I’m starting to think that I should add more curve balls as well!”

“Really? How is it going for you?”

“It isn’t as good as I want it to be yet, but with more practice, I should be able to nail it!”

 

He had been practicing hard, huh? I guess he wanted to make up for last year’s loss. In that game, he had only thrown straight balls throughout the match.

 

“Do you have a good book that you recommend, Pansy-chan? I want a fun and thrilling book to read!”
“In fact, I do. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The story is quite long, but if it’s the thrill that you want, this is the book for you. We have it in our library actually. Do you want to borrow it?”

“Yes, I do! Thank you, Pansy!”

 

Himawari… You couldn’t even last for thirty minutes whenever you read a normal book. You sure you wanted to read that one…?

 

…Whatever, that wasn’t my business. Anyway, there was one thing that I wanted to tell those guys. It had something to do with our dance practice.

 

Gotta tell Cosmos about it first, though.

 

“Prez, later when we practice, why don’t we go all the way through the full dance? We pretty much nailed the basic already, it was time for us to practice for the real—”

“Ah, regarding that, I have a proposal to make.”

 

Huh? For some reason, she cut my words off.

 

“What is it?”

“I want us to stop practicing together for the time being.”

“Huh?!”

 

I stood up in surprise. What the hell was wrong with her? Why would she propose something like that?!

 

“Sorry, Joro. You see, I think I have to agree with her…”

“Me too. Sorry, Joro…”

“O-Oi, wait a minute! What is this all about?!”

 

Himawari and Sun-chan agreed to her proposal?!

 

But, if we didn’t practice, we would have less time together!

 

Also, it would affect our performance during the show…

 

“I’ll explain everything properly Joro-kun, so calm down.”

“…Fine.”

“Laely, I’ve been only focusing on practicing for the Kabuten. Thanks to that my work on the student council started piling up. Our dancing has become more stable, so we shouldn’t have any problems during the real performance, that’s why I think it’s time for me to focus on my work. Of course, I’ll still be practicing in my free time. I just want us to stop practicing together after school, that’s all.”

 

Okay, I get it. She was busy and she couldn’t attend our practice anymore.

 

But, why did she feel the need to make the whole group stop practicing together?

 

Even if she couldn’t attend, Himawari and Sun-chan—

 

“As for me, I have to help the tennis club for their exhibition at the festival. I already told Cosmos-san about this…”

“Me too, gotta help the folks at the baseball club. I can’t just leave them alone, you know? I’ve told Cosmos-san too.”

 

That meant Cosmos’ decision to stop our practice was unanimously agreed on by everyone but me?

 

But still, they should know that there was only a week left before the Kabuten! Why couldn’t they prioritize it first?

 

…Well, whatever complaints that I had, it was too late to say it.

 

“…That’s all. Also, I won’t be coming to the library starting tomorrow. That meant, I won’t be here on lunch break either.”

“What?!”

When it rains, it pours. After stopping the practice, now she said she won’t be coming here anymore?

 

Then, that meant this was the last day that the five of us would be hanging out here together?

 

“But why—”

“Asunaro-san.”

 

Asunaro?

 

Well, yeah she was a problem. I still needed to clear up her misunderstandings, but I’ll make sure she wouldn’t bother us during lunch breaks!

 

“You’ve been eating your lunch here to run away from her, haven’t you? Lately, you look so worn out lately. She’s probably the reason why.”

“No, that’s not it, you don’t need to worry about that…”

“No, I can’t just not worry about that, Joro-kun. Your situation is far worse than I imagined. At first, I thought that even if that article is published right now, as long as we could explain the truth to everyone, they’ll accept it without any problem. But, I’ve tried it. I tried to clear up all the rumors about you, but it just didn’t work out. No one believed me. And I’m partly to blame for this. If only I took your problem seriously in the beginning instead of downplaying it like what I did, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen… Sorry…”

“I-It’s fine! Seriously, you don’t need to worry about me! As long as we are together—”

“No. If we are together and that article ends up getting published, your situation will turn even worse than last time… I already caused you so much pain once and I don’t want to do the same thing twice.”

 

After hearing Cosmos saying those words, Himawari and Sun-chan’s expressions turned dark.

 

Oh, c’mon! That matter was done! There was no need to bring it up again!

Besides, as long as I was with you all, I didn’t care if the other students in the school ended up hating me!

“That’s why we should limit our contact with each other. Let’s do the thing that you first brought up. We should stop interacting with each other and make the rumor stop once and for all.”

 

Indeed I was the one who brought that up. I said to only interact with each other when it was necessary.

 

That would be the quickest way to clear up the misunderstanding.

 

They rejected the idea back then and now Cosmos said that she was going to accept it.

 

Logically speaking, this was the correct action to take. It was the easiest way to make Asunaro rethink publishing her article, by proving to her that we didn’t have any kind of special relationship whatsoever.

 

That was why this should be pleasant news for me, but… I couldn’t feel any kind of happiness from hearing this…

 

“I’ll try to put up with it for a while! Don’t worry, I won’t come here during the lunch break too! I won’t try to talk with you, Joro!”

“Me too. Well, I don’t know if this will work or not, but I want to clear things up with the folks over at the baseball club at least!”

 

Even Himawari and Cosmos decided to stop coming to the library for lunch…

 

To stop talking with them… That meant we were going to go back to the time when we hadn’t made up with each other…

 

After all the things we had been through! Now we went back to square one?!

 

“That’s everything I have to say. I know it’s a little early to leave, but I still have work to do, so I’ll be leaving first.”

“Me too! I have to help the tennis club!”

“Same here with the folks at the baseball club.”

 

Ignoring my stunned state, the three of them left the library.

 

Just like that? So you guys didn’t have anything else to say to me?

 

And here I thought that we were friends… F**k you guys…

 

In the end those three left without me being able to say anything to them.

 

“So, what are you going to do, Joro-kun?”

 

After those three left, it was only Pansy and I inside the library.

 

How could this girl be so calm about this whole thing?

 

Honestly, it was shocking… Maybe she just didn’t care? That was the extent of her relationship with those three, I guess.

 

“Given what Akino-senpai said, it should be better for you if you don’t come here for a while, Joro-kun. There’s the matter of our promise, but don’t worry, I won’t make a fuss about it. Clearing up the misunderstanding takes priority, right?”

 

…Heh, I guess that would spare me the trouble of interacting with you.

 

That was convenient for me then. Honestly, I only came here because there was always a slight chance to see her true appearance, but since it was only a slight chance, then, there was really no reason for me to come here anymore.

 

And since she’d never lie to me. Since she said that she wouldn’t get angry, then she really wouldn’t get angry.

 

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve always been spending my time alone, so this just means I’ll be back to my usual routine. That’s why, think what’s the best for you, Joro-kun. Akino-senpai said so, didn’t she? This is only temporary.”

“Right… I guess you have a point…”

 

But, I could tell… From her words… She felt lonely and… Sad…

 

It was amazing that she could say all those words indifferently despite that.

 

“…So, what are you going to do, Joro-kun?”

“I won’t do anything special. I’ll come here like usual.”

“I see. You started to understand me a little then. I’m happy.”

 

That was why you shoulda told me what you wanted from the start. Seriously, you were a major pain in the a*s, you know that?

 

*   *   *

 

After school. Himawari and Sun-chan left the classroom to go to their clubs. Already wearing my P.E uniform, I stood up from my seat, preparing to practice again.

 

Of course, I had to deal with Asunaro today too. Honestly, I was sick of this already…

 

“Alright, I’ll be in your care today too, Jo—”

“Excuse me, is Asunaro-san here?”

 

Suddenly, a dignified voice echoed through the classroom.

 

“Huh? President…?”

 

Cosmos’ sudden visit surprised not only Asunaro, but the other classmates remained in class too. Guess they never expected that the student council president herself would suddenly appear in our class.

 

“Can I have your time for a minute?”

 

However, Cosmos disregarded all the stares directed at her and came straight to Asunaro.

 

Her usual note was in her hand and her eyes looked serious, thus creating a tense atmosphere through the classroom.

 

“Sure, but… I have to keep an eye on Joro, so…”

“I see. Then, I’ll make it quick. From now on, I’ll be busy with student council work. Himawari and Sun-chan will be busy with their clubs too, so there will be no more practice for the Kabuten. I just thought that I should let you know about that.”

 

She said those words to Asunaro without even taking a glance at me.

 

It seemed like she really intended to keep her words…

 

“I see! But, why are you telling me, though?”

 

Cosmos probably wanted to convey that, ‘Since there won’t be any more practice, you don’t need to keep an eye on him anymore.’ Asunaro should have gotten the message already, but she was playing the fool for some reason.

 

“Oh my, that’s surprising. I thought you would understand the reason why without me needing to spell it out for you.”

“Sorry, it seems like you have to spell it out for me.”

“I’m just helping you so you won’t accidentally publish the wrong article again.”

“I won’t be making that kind of mistake ever again, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

 

Amazing. Those two were smiling, but their eyes weren’t.

 

I swear I could see some sparks flying between their eyes.

 

Cosmos was doing this so that Asunaro could stay away from me.

 

Meanwhile Asunaro was doing this so that Cosmos would slip up and call out my name.

 

“Is that all? If that’s the case, I’ll be collecting materials for an article for the Hyakka Festival with Joro—”

“Oh, the Hyakka Festival? That’s a good topic to cover. I heard that the newspaper club will be publishing a special article for it, right? Since there will be no more practice for the Kabuten, why don’t you look for your materials elsewhere?”

“You don’t need to worry about that! The other club members have already compiled the necessary materials for the special articles. That’s why I’m free to collect the materials I need for my own special article!”

 

The battle heated up. Neither side was giving up.

 

I always thought that Asunaro was a brave girl for her size, but I never woulda expected that she dared to take on Cosmos as well…

 

“But you—”

“By the way, Prez. Is there a reason why you’re acting like this? I think it’ll make a good topic for my article if you care to share what’s in your mind.”

“Ugh.”

 

But Asunaro’s words made Cosmos stop in her tracks. 

 

The reason why Cosmos confronted Asunaro directly like this was because she wanted to make her stay away from me.

 

However, just by doing that, Cosmos had already earned suspicion from her.

 

She was one of her targets. No matter how subtle her attempt to make Asunaro leave me alone was, she’d be bound to misunderstand the situation somehow.

 

“…I guess you’re right.”

 

No way. Cosmos lost. To Asunaro.

 

This girl just made the famed student council president herself backed down.

 

“However, let me tell you one thing. Earlier today, when I was checking the progress of each club regarding their activity for the Hyakka Festival, I saw reports of some clubs working on their projects overtime without any authorization from the council.”

“I don’t think the newspaper club has a problem like that. As far as I know at least…”

 

By stating her schedule, Cosmos implied to Asunaro that we hadn’t been hanging out together today. 

 

“That’s all. Sorry for taking your time.”

 

After saying that, Cosmos turned around and left our class.

 

She didn’t call out to me, or even make eye contact with me.

 

“…Alright, why don’t we go now?”

“You know what, Joro? I guess I can’t go with you today!”

 

I urged Asunaro to go out because I didn’t want to stay in the classroom anymore, but unexpected words came out of her mouth.

 

She wouldn’t go with me today. So, did she change her mind? Had her misunderstandings already been cleared up?

 

“Since the President is checking on each club’s progress for the festival, that means I have to explain to her about other articles that I’m working on! Oh, I’ll still be following tomorrow, so I’ll still be in your care!”

 

What the hell, what a killjoy…

 

So she was only letting me go for today and she’ll be sticking with me again tomorrow?

 

Whatever, let’s just— Huh, a text? From Cosmos?

 

[Sorry. I wanted to make her stop following you around somehow, but I only added fuel to the fire, didn’t I?]

[It’s okay. Thank you for your efforts.]

 

Well, it was thanks to her that Asunaro wouldn’t be following me around today.

 

Thank you, Cosmos. Your efforts didn’t go to waste.

 

*   *   *

 

When I entered the library, Pansy was already there, reading a book alone at the reception desk.

 

She was as expressionless as ever, but I could tell that she was in a better mood than usual.

 

It was kinda obvious from the way she fiddled with her braids after she saw me.

 

But, I didn’t talk to her. Instead, I walked to the back of the library and turned on the radio cassette that Cosmos placed there and started practicing alone.

 

Then, Pansy came over and sat down in a nearby chair.

 

Yo. Ho. Haah! …Hm… I couldn’t tell if my movements were getting better or not.

 

I’ve always had someone to practice with, so when I had to dance by myself like this, I couldn’t really tell… Ah, right.

 

“Pansy.”

“Yes?”

 

Mhm. She’d probably reject me, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

 

“Are you free right now?”

“Well, I’m not exactly busy.”

 

She closed the book she was reading and stared at me expectantly.

 

It seemed like she already knew what I wanted to say.

 

Honesty, it felt a little frustrating, but whatever.

 

“If that’s the case, do you mind helping me practice?”

“…Why?”

 

I could hear a slight change in her tone as she asked that.

 

That meant she already knew the answer to her question… I swear, this girl…

 

“You have to pair up with someone in the Kabuten Dance. That’s why it won’t be a practice unless I’m with someone else.”

She didn’t seem to be the most athletic girl around, but it was better than nothing.

 

“I’m not that good at moving my body around. I’ve never danced in my whole life.”

“I never expected you to be good at it either. Don’t worry about it, I’ll teach you all the basics that you need to know.”

“…”

 

For the next ten seconds or so, she fiddled with her braids without saying anything. I’ve been hanging out with her a lot lately. From the way she was staring at me, I already knew what she wanted from me.

 

To put it shortly, she wanted me to convince her more.

 

Seriously, what a pain! I just wanted a partner to practice with, why the hell did I need to put up with this kind of thing?!

 

Fine, if that was what you wanted, fine!

 

“…Also, I want to dance together with you.”

“It can’t be helped then. I’ll help you.”

 

After saying that, she stood up and grabbed my hands.

 

Oh, my poor mental health… You didn’t deserve to go through all that…

 

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

“I’ll do my best.”

 

I’d really rather dance with either Himawari or Cosmos.

 

Why was I stuck dancing with this not pretty girl?

 

Well, I knew that she was actually really pretty, but you know…

 

“This is hard.”

 

We already established that she wasn’t the most athletic girl around, but she was even worse than I expected.

 

She kept her calm demeanor, but her movements were even more shaky than me back when I first started.

 

“You suck.”

“You should actually try to teach me before complaining.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you, but unless you give me more specific instructions, I won’t get better.”

 

I could feel the softness of her body whenever our bodies came into contact from time to time, along with the sweet scent that emanated from her.

 

Now, if only she could do something about her appearance…

 

Should I just close my eyes and use my imagination instead? No, that was a bad idea.

 

If I were actually a good dancer, I could just do that, but I wasn’t. Pansy might get hurt if I were to do that.

 

Let’s just give up and practice seriously.

 

“What do you think of that, Joro-kun? I did well, didn’t I?”

 

Pansy was in a good mood. Probably because she managed to go through a set without stepping on my toes.

 

Seeing how happy she was over something as trivial as this, I guess she really was someone who was easy to please.

 

In contrast to her good mood, I had a bad mood.

 

My situation had turned into a mess. First the misunderstandings hadn’t been resolved and now the others wouldn’t come to practice ever again.

 

“If you can keep this up, you can be my dance partner for the practice in the meantime. At least until they come back to practice again.”

“Sure. And while we’re at it, let’s practice until we completely master the dance and give everyone a big surprise.”

 

And so, I spent my days practicing with Pansy until at some point everyone attended the dance practice again.

 

More time passed and finally, the long awaited Hyakka Festival had begun.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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