Chapter 17

 

 

 

 

 

TL: Chaos

 

ED: Mateo

 

 

 

 

 

When Erika-chan and I headed for the aquarium’s souvenir shop, we found Mana and her friends. They were laughing hysterically, waving their stuffed spotted garden eels around.

 

 

 

“Hey! Stop making noise!”

 

 

 

I warned the three yankee girls as soon as I arrived.

 

 

 

When they heard my voice, the stuffed garden eels immediately stopped moving.

 

 

 

And then they all approached Erika-chan and me at once.

 

 

 

“Ahh!”

 

 

 

Mana, Runa-chan and Arisa-chan exclaimed in unison.

 

 

 

“Shut up. Also, don’t point at people with spotted garden eels.”

 

 

 

I let go of Erika-chan’s hand and retrieved the three pitiful spotted garden eels that had been swung around by the yankee girls. Then I gently returned them to the nearby spotted garden eel corner.

 

 

 

While I was doing that, Mana and the others surrounded Erika-chan.

 

 

 

“Oho~? Did you perhaps finally get the OK? Did Erika confess again?”

 

 

 

When Mana asked Erika-chan, Erika-chan shook her head and bashfully said, “No.”

 

 

 

“Onii-san asked me, ‘Will you go out with me?’…”

 

 

 

“Eeeeeeeh!?”

 

 

 

The yankee girls exclaimed loudly. Everyone in the souvenir shop turned to look at us to see what was going on.

 

 

 

——Every last one of them… Why do the people around me never discern about the right time, place and occasion…

 

 

 

My university friends, my sister, and her friends are somehow all extremely lacking in modesty.

 

 

 

I was embarrassed to be associated with them, so I picked up a ballpoint pen from a nearby counter. I tried to pretend to be a customer who just happened to be in the nearby area and had nothing to do with the yankee girls.

 

 

 

But the yankee girls who can’t read the mood, pointed at me and clamoured.

 

 

 

“And then!? What else did you say to her, Tsukacchi!?”

 

 

 

Runa-chan snapped at me.

 

 

 

“That’s… a secret.”

 

 

 

Erika-chan said shyly.

 

 

 

“Uwaa~ Erika is completely in maiden mode!!”

 

 

 

Arisa-chan writhed in agony.

 

 

 

“Good grief, my Aniki is such an indecisive fool~. I’m really sorry for making you wait, you know?”

 

 

 

Mana apologized for some reason.

 

 

 

“Why are you apologizing, Mana?”

 

 

 

I couldn’t ignore it, so I asked Mana.

 

 

 

Then Mana let out a big, obvious sigh.

 

 

 

“That’s obvious. You thought about it a lot, but there was no actual reason to not go out with her, was there? You’re too slow to decide. You’re too slow to respond. If it was someone other than Erika, you’d definitely get dumped on the spot. Thankfully, Erika is completely devoted to Aniki.”

 

 

 

“That’s… That’s true. I think it’s just as you say.”

 

 

 

If Erika-chan had given up on me when I first turned her down, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now. Even if my romantic feelings for Erika-chan had sprouted then, it would’ve already been too late.

 

 

 

I’m glad I made it in time.

 

 

 

As I was relieved, Arisa-chan puffed out her chest and boasted.

 

 

 

“We were kindly watching over indecisive Mana’s Nii-san too. Shouldn’t you be grateful to us as well?”

 

 

 

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Arisa-chan’s excessively brazen words.

 

 

 

“That’s right, isn’t it… I’m grateful.”

 

 

 

I turned towards Mana, Runa-chan and Arisa-chan, and thanked them.

 

 

 

Then suddenly, as if to say, ‘I’ve been waiting for those words,’ Mana raised her hand. Then, she called out to her three yankee companions.

 

 

 

“Well guys! As a token of his appreciation, Aniki is buying each of us a souvenir, so feel free to choose one!”

 

 

 

“Ha!? Why would Mana be the one deciding that!?”

 

 

 

No one listened to my protests.

 

 

 

Runa-chan and Arisa-chan immediately ran off while shouting, “Yaay~!” Then, Mana took Erika-chan’s hand and started chasing behind them.

 

 

 

“Hey! Erika too, let’s go!”

 

 

 

“Ah, yeah!”

 

 

 

The yankee girls scattered around the souvenir shop in the blink of an eye. This level of footwork is worthy of respect.

 

 

 

“Good grief… How much is the total cost going to be…”

 

 

 

…Even as I said that, I had a smile on my face.

 

 

 

I looked over at Erika-chan, who was looking very happy as she looked around at the souvenirs. From time to time, she would say something to Mana and the others and laugh. I watched her with a fond smile.

 

 

 

Just looking at the smiling face of the person I love warms my heart. I whispered in my head over and over again, “I’m so, so glad.”

 

 

 

——It’s a rare day. Maybe I should buy something too…

 

 

 

Satisfied after looking at Erika-chan for a while, I wandered around the store to see if I could find anything interesting.

 

 

 

Stationery. Stuffed animals. Sweets. T-shirts. Hats. Handkerchiefs.

 

 

 

There was nothing in particular that I had to buy here, but what would be a good souvenir to buy to commemorate my visit? I was quite perplexed.

 

 

 

After wandering around, I reached the book section. Then I spotted Erika-chan holding a stuffed penguin. Apparently, she chose the same stuffed penguin that she bought last time.

 

 

 

“…For number 2, you want the same one?”

 

 

 

When I called out to her, Erika-chan turned around.

 

 

 

“Ah… yeah. I’ve seen all of them, but this stuffed penguin is my favourite.”

 

 

 

“I see. I’m glad it’s the same one.”

 

 

 

“But, this one has a different face compared to the last one. The one before… was more similar to Onii-san.”

 

 

 

“Eh? You chose a stuffed animal that looked like me?”

 

 

 

When I said that, Erika-chan’s face turned red.

 

 

 

I stared at the stuffed penguin that Erika was holding. I have no idea how the heck it resembles me.

 

 

 

While I was in a staring contest with the stuffed penguin, Erika-chan restlessly flipped through a penguin picture book.

 

 

 

I then started talking to Erika-chan.

 

 

 

“Say. What type of penguin is this?”

 

 

 

“Eh? Type… um… which one is it?”

 

 

 

What Erika-chan was looking at seemed to be a list of penguins. I peeked over her side to get a better look at the picture book.

 

 

 

“Can I see it too?”

 

 

 

“Yeah… so?”

 

 

 

“Isn’t it this one? Emperor penguin.”

 

 

 

“Ah, you’re right! Emperor… I feel like I’ve heard of the word before.”

 

 

 

“It means emperor.” [TLN: the first time they said it, it was in english, ‘Emperor,’ when he explained the meaning, he said it in Japanese, ‘皇帝’.]

 

 

 

“Fufufu. It sounds kinda strong.”

 

 

 

Just as I was comparing the picture book and the stuffed penguin over and over again, something soft poked and prodded me on the back.

 

 

 

“Nn?”

 

 

 

Erika-chan and I both turned our heads almost simultaneously.

 

 

 

The first things that appeared in my view were three stuffed penguins. Erika-chan beamed when she saw them.

 

 

 

“Ah! Are you all getting penguins too?”

 

 

 

The people standing behind us were Mana and her friends, each holding a stuffed penguin. So the soft thing that poked me was the beak of a stuffed penguin.

 

 

 

“Oh! I’ve seen all of them in the picture book.”

 

 

 

It was interesting to see how all three of them had different kinds of penguins, and I was excited to compare their stuffed animals with the illustrated book.

 

 

 

“Mana’s one is known as Adelie penguin. Runa-chan’s one is a Rockhopper. And Arisa-chan’s one is a Humboldt.”

 

 

 

As I said the names, Arisa-chan made a face of disgust.

 

 

 

“Humboldt? That doesn’t sound very cute at all.”

 

 

 

Hearing this, Erika-chan followed up energetically.

 

 

 

“That’s not true! Humboldt penguins are cute too! And anyhow, Arisa can just call them whatever she wants, right?”

 

 

 

“Hmm,” Arisa-chan pondered.

 

 

 

“Then… Nii-san.”

 

 

 

“Eh?”

 

 

 

Arisa-chan decided on what she wanted to call it. It was the same way as she usually calls me though… I wonder if it’s on purpose.

 

 

 

“Let’s get along then~! Nii-san! From today onwards, you’ll sleep with me right?”

 

 

 

Arisa-chan hugged the stuffed animal as if she were deliberately burying it in her cleavage. Because of the way she called it, I felt as if it was me who was being held in her chest.

 

 

 

While I was bewildered on how to react, Runa-chan said.

 

 

 

“Then, I’ll call mine Tsukacchi~”

 

 

 

“Then, I’ll call mine Aniki!”

 

 

 

Following Arisa-chan, Runa-chan and Mana seemed to be planning to call it the same way they called me.

 

 

 

Erika-chan became furious at the thought of that.

 

 

 

“Hold up! Why is everyone calling theirs the same way they call Onii-san! Onii-san is mine!”

 

 

 

Then Mana, Arisa-chan and Runa all giggled. Then, Mana said with a malicious expression.

 

 

 

“Isn’t it fine~? Aniki is like everyone’s older brother isn’t he~?”

 

 

 

“I-it’s not fine! Because, Onii-san is my boyfriend.”

 

 

 

Mana poked the flustered Erika-chan’s nose with her finger.

 

 

 

“He’s your boyfriend, right? If so, how long are you going to keep calling him ‘Onii-san’?”

 

 

 

Erika-chan’s big eyes fluttered.

 

 

 

Then, she said to me, with a sidelong glance and her cheeks dyed red.

 

 

 

“Tsukasa…”

 

 

 

The sight of her bashfulness seized my heart and I gasped for breath. I felt as if I could hear my heartbeat pounding through my entire body.

 

 

 

The sheer destructive power, just by being called by my name by my girlfriend… What kind of heart does everyone else in love have? You’d need a heart of steel to be fine after this.

 

 

 

But fortunately, I quickly regained my composure, thanks to the yankee girls who were cheering on with “Hyu~ Hyu~” [TLN: fake whistling noises]

 

 

 

This is no time to be soaking in the moment of ‘My girlfriend is adorable’… If we don’t start going home soon, the yankee girls’ excursion will never end.

 

 

 

——I can’t tell if they’re trying to cheer us on or trying to get in our way. Well… it’s probably a bit of both.

 

 

 

It was a fine play to get Erika-chan to change her way of calling me, but it’s hard to thank them honestly.

 

 

 

Many times, I think, if I go along with them too seriously, it’ll be a loss for me.

 

 

 

I let out a short breath and headed for the cash register, changing my mind.

 

 

 

“Alright, then I’ll be heading for the cashier. Whoever doesn’t follow me, will have to pay for themselves~”

 

 

 

“Ah, wait up Aniki! I want some snacks!”

 

 

 

“Tsukacchi! Let me buy some snacks!”

 

 

 

“Nii-san, let’s buy some spotted garden eels too~”

 

 

 

“Only one piece per person! I won’t pay for the people who don’t keep their promises!”

 

 

 

“Are you our mom~?” Mana and the others chimed in.

 

 

 

I completely disregarded the three of them. Then, I handed back Erika-chan’s stuffed penguin to her.

 

 

 

“I’ll buy it for you.”

 

 

 

“Ah, thanks! Tsukasa!”

 

 

 

Erika-chan bashfully called my name again.

 

 

 

She was fidgeting. Instead of the stuffed penguin, I wanted to tightly hug Erika-chan instead.

 

 

 

That kind of thing… I can’t do it here though.

 

 

 

If I became unrestrained, who would control everyone? I stood in line waiting at the counter, telling myself that I was the last frontier.

 

 

 

Then Erika-chan came running up to me. She hugged my arm tightly.

 

 

 

“Fufufu. From now on, I don’t have to hold back from doing these things anymore.”

 

 

 

With a happy face, she snuggled up to me.

 

 

 

I felt the softness of her chest against my arm. Her fingers gripped my clothes tightly. The heat cascaded from the place of contact and spread throughout my body.

 

 

 

——It’s been like this since the moment she became my girlfriend… Am I going to be fine from all this heart pounding excitement?

 

 

 

The electronic beeping sound coming from the cash register seemed to be ticking down the countdown until I reached my limit.