Episode 299: Uesaka-san, Fine Play

Yuji POV

Well, well. It looks like things have taken quite an interesting turn. If I put it that way, Natsumi-san will probably get mad at me again.

But looking at them from the side like this, I think things are going better than what I heard from Hayato.

He was being self-deprecating, saying his evaluation might be even lower than Kazunari’s. But looking at Todo-san’s behavior, it doesn’t seem like he needs to be that pessimistic.

Since I go to a different school, I haven’t interacted with Todo-san that much personally. But we talk normally in the Group RAIN, and just from our interactions so far, I can tell she’s a very likeable, good-natured girl.

As for anything beyond that, I’ve mostly just heard stories from Tachikawa-san. As a member of the group, I’d like to get to know her a bit better.

Though, out of respect for Natsumi-san and Hayato, I won’t make any blatant contact.

Well, I’ll just leave that to Hayato’s hard work.

Right now, I have to think about our own situation first.

According to Natsumi-san, she’d prepared a separate bento for me today. But at least for now, I don’t see anything like that.

It’s obvious that Natsumi-san is conscious of me, but she also looks subtly panicked. I wonder what’s going on inside her.

Even Natsumi-san, who’s usually a big-sister type and cheerful, turns into a maiden when it comes to romance. Well, I guess that’s one of her cute points… wait, that makes me the same as Kazunari.

I might be getting influenced by him.

Anyway, there’s the bento to consider, so it might be better if I make a move myself…

For some reason, Natsumi-senpai called out to Yuji while radiating a sense of desperation.

Her face looked like it was turning red, and since she was acting so unusual, she naturally drew everyone’s attention.

Which meant, of course, that the people who didn’t know the situation gave the biggest reactions.

「Y-Yes!?」

Yuji also looked surprised to have his name called so suddenly.

「U-Um, well… h-h-here, this.」

Natsumi-senpai rummaged around in her Boston bag. I felt like I’d seen a similar scene earlier. She quickly grabbed something and pulled it out.

It was in a drawstring bag and looked like some kind of box.

Ah, I see. That’s what’s going on.

「Natsumi-san, what is this?」

「Uuu, y-you know even if I don’t say it, right!?」

Faced with Yuji’s slightly deliberate reaction, Natsumi-senpai’s face finally turned bright red.

Man, that’s cute. She’s a total maiden.

The gap between her usual self and this is so huge that I almost want to call her「calculating.」

But she doesn’t mean to be, so that’d just be an unfair accusation.

「…Thank you very much.」

「U-Um. I… worked hard on it…」

Yuji seemed to be acting as calm as ever… but I could tell.

That’s the face of someone desperately trying to suppress a smirk. His lips are twitching, so there’s no doubt.

Seriously. If you’re happy, you should just be happy.

「…Yu, Yuji…? Natsu…mi-san?」

Ah… this might be bad.

Whether she sensed something unsettling from their exchange or not, Nishikawa-san’s expression started to take on a dark tint.

「…She finally moved. Honestly, Natsumi’s bad habit is getting timid when it comes to her own life.」

「…Sara-san?」

「Fufu… shall we watch over those two for a bit?」

「…Understood.」

It felt a bit meaningful, but I guess Sara-san is concerned about Natsumi-senpai in her own way.

Personally, I’m more worried about Nishikawa-san than those two.

With this development, Yuji and Natsumi-senpai have no choice but to report their relationship. I wonder what’ll happen to Nishikawa-san when she finds out.

Will she be okay?

In more ways than one…

「Oh, Yuzuki-senpai made a bento for Tachibana-kun. It’s for the same reason as Marina… wait? But Tachibana-kun goes to a different school…」

「…Natsumi… you… could it be?」

Uesaka-san seemed to react quickly to the change in Natsumi-senpai and cut straight to the heart of the matter.

He showed a bit of a smile and spoke while staring into Natsumi-senpai’s eyes, as if confirming something.

And Natsumi-senpai gave Uesaka-san a slightly embarrassed smile and a small nod.

「I see… you finally beat me to it. But congratulations, Natsumi.」

「Yeah… thanks, Daichi.」

I felt like there was a unique, gentle atmosphere flowing between those two.

It was too heavy to be just a friendship, but it felt different from romance… a sort of「weight,」I guess.

But that was probably a bond between childhood friends that we don’t know about.

Childhood friends, huh.

「Um… well, you see, Eririn, actually…」

Natsumi-senpai hesitated a bit, looking quite embarrassed.

Nishikawa-san seemed to be taking it more calmly than expected. But her expression felt a little stiff, maybe?

「E-E-Eeeeh!? Does that mean Tachibana-kun and Yuzuki-senpai are dating!?」

「U-Um, yeah…」

Natsumi-senpai nodded, her face clearly turning red. Yuji was staring intently at her. When their eyes met, Natsumi-senpai looked down.

She’s a maiden. Natsumi-senpai is way too maiden-like.

「Whoaaaa! That’s amazing!! Congratulations!! I mean, since when!?」

「I’d like to hear that too. It’s a bit cold of you not to tell such a big secret to a friend you’ve been stuck with since kindergarten, don’t you think?」

「Right!? I mean, Takanashi-kun and the others aren’t surprised, and Marina has zero reaction, so did you all know!?」

「Ah, sorry. I asked them not to say anything. It was important, so I wanted to say it myself.」

Natsumi-senpai explained the truth before we could offer any backup.

But… I’m surely not the only one thinking「you were just embarrassed, right?」

「I see. Sorry, Marina.」

「No, I felt bad that you were left out… sorry, Yoko.」

「Honestly… because Natsumi took so long to say anything, our junior ended up feeling awkward.」

「I-I’m sorry. But I can’t be as open as you are!!」

「There is no need to hold back just to be on good terms with the person you treasure, is there?」

「You need to care more about what people think! And hold back a little!!」

At Natsumi-senpai’s quip, everyone looked at me and nodded in unison.

Well, I’m aware I’ve done plenty of things, so I guess it can’t be helped… no, even if that’s true, I won’t change and I don’t plan to.

The reason? Because it makes me happy, obviously. And besides…

「You say the strangest things. Why should I have to hold back when I’m getting along with Kazunari-san? Besides, forget what people think, you should just be proud.」

Well, I completely agree with Sara-san’s perfectly predictable opinion.

But I feel like everyone’s gaze is saying「these two are hopeless.」

「Well, ignoring the idiot couple for now… anyway, I’m counting on you again.」

「We look forward to it.」

The two of them bowed together, and everyone… including me… gave them a round of celebratory applause.

Sara-san clapped with a wry smile as if saying「good grief,」and Natsumi-senpai, still looking embarrassed, kept her head down a bit.

But… I was personally worried about Nishikawa-san.

She didn’t seem particularly flustered and looked normal. Too normal, which actually felt weird.

…Wait, come to think of it, was Nishikawa-san even clapping?

Actually, she hasn’t said a word for a while, has she?

「N-Now, that’s enough of that!! Let’s get back to the bentos!」

「You’re right. Now, Kazunari-san, let’s eat.」

「I still have some of my bento left, so time for more ‘ahhh.’」

「Todo-san, I’ll take you up on that again.」

「U-Um, go ahead!」

「Natsumi-san, if I said I wanted an ‘ahhh’…」

「Not happening!! Don’t get ahead of yourself!!」

But everyone else was acting all friendly and didn’t seem to notice anything wrong with Nishikawa-san.

Wait, did Uesaka-san notice?

When I looked past Nishikawa-san, Uesaka-san signaled back with his eyes, looking confused.

「Um, Nishikawa-san, are you okay?」

「Ni-Nishikawa-san?」

Even when I spoke to her, and then Uesaka-san spoke to her, Nishikawa-san didn’t respond.

This is a bit much.

「S-Sara-san, Nishikawa-san is…」

「…Eri, what’s wrong?」

Even when Sara-san, noticing the anomaly after my point, spoke to her, there was no reaction from Nishikawa-san. But her eyes were open… and come to think of it, her expression hadn’t changed at all, had it?

「He-Hey, Eririn? Helloooo, Eririiin!?」

「Nishikawa-san!!」

「Are you okay!?」

Everyone who’d been watching us finally noticed the anomaly and started calling out to Nishikawa-san.

But she was completely unresponsive.

Wait a second… could it be…

「Eririiin!?」

When Natsumi-senpai waved her hand in front of Nishikawa-san’s eyes and then shook her shoulders in a panic…

Thump.

Her head just… dropped.

「ERIRIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!????」

Natsumi-senpai’s scream was in vain. She looked like a character who’d burned out after a fight.

I mean… did she just faint?

I see. No wonder she didn’t react to such shocking news.

That makes total sen… wait, that’s not right!?

「Wait, Nishikawa-san!?」

「Eri, stop joking… wait, is she actually unconscious!?」

Even the usually calm Sara-san started calling out in a panic, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. But Nishikawa-san still didn’t react at all!?

Hey, this is actually bad…

「Haa… I guess I have to.」

But Hanako-san, the only one who stayed calm, stood up with a sigh. Then for some reason, she went behind Nishikawa-san, pulled her arms back, and took some kind of stance?

I feel like I’ve seen this in an anime or manga…?

Hanako-san then gave Nishikawa-san’s back a vigorous shock along with a cute shout of「Ei!」

「Ha!?」

And Nishikawa-san’s head snapped up, her eyes wide open!?

「「「EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?」」」

Wait, does stuff like that actually happen outside of manga!?

You’re kidding… you have to be kidding.

That’s one of those things they tell kids not to try at home because it’s fiction, right!?

Hanako-san really is a mystery…

「Oh, what on earth happened to me…」

「A-Are you okay, Eririn!?」

「Nishikawa-san!?」

Muttering a cliché that almost made me want to quip「is this a gag manga!」, Nishikawa-san looked around to confirm the situation.

「Eri, are you alright?」

「Sara? Y-Yes, I don’t really know, but it felt like I was having a dream.」

「A dream… was it?」

「I had a dream that Natsumi started dating Tachibana-san. Fufu, what a wild dream… yes… a dream… a dream… a dream… it’s a dream…」

I have a really bad feeling about this.

Nishikawa-san kept repeating「dream」with her head down, and her body started shaking in a mysterious way. Then she suddenly snapped her eyes wide open and looked at Natsumi-senpai!

Th-That’s terrifying!?

「「 Hieeeeeee!!! 」」

Todo-san and Tachikawa-san’s screams sounded like something out of a horror movie!!

If her head starts spinning next, it’ll be just like The Exorcist…

By the way, Hanako-san had already evacuated and was casually sitting right next to me.

「Wait, wait, E-Eririn, ca-calm down!! You’re scaring me, that face is scary!!」

「Natsumi, answer me… did you start dating Tachibana-san?」

「U-Um, yeah, I did… but anyway, just calm dooooown!?」

Natsumi-senpai let out a scream that was a mix of terror and a roar. Just how much fear was floating in that space?

Is this actually a horror movie?

「I see… so it’s true… congratulations, Natsumi. I bless you from the bottom of my heart.」

「Eririn?」

「The feeling that it’s a happy occasion isn’t a lie, you know? It’s a wonderful thing for a best friend to meet a great partner and be with them. But you see…」

「E-Eririn… wait…」

「But you see… that is that, and this is this… you know?」

Nishikawa-san continued speaking bluntly with an expressionless face. And around her… around… her?

No, no, that’s an illusion. There’s no way something like that could actually happen.

And yet… and yet.

I feel like I can see it. No, I am seeing it. I’m sure of it.

Something massive and black is erupting from Nishikawa-san, enveloping her. Something is!?

「Wha…」

「Wha?」

「WHY IS IT ALWAYS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!」

「ERIRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!???」

Then, Nishikawa-san’s scream and Natsumi-senpai’s scream echoed all the way to the sky. It felt like even the clear weather started being enveloped by the darkness of night… or did it?

…Maybe I’m just half-asleep?

「Anyway… anyway, someone like me… just like this… an arranged marriage… eventually, some guy will just… approach me…」

I honestly didn’t know what to say to a Nishikawa-san who was currently in her full-blown dark mode.

I felt like she’d said something meaningful the other day too. Maybe something happened again, probably involving men or a marriage meeting.

「Eririn, you’ve just had bad luck so far. You’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.」

「She’s right! A wonderful woman like you, Nishikawa-san, people won’t just leave you alone! I mean, if you’re saying that, what am I supposed to do?」

The girls were trying to back her up, but she showed no signs of recovery.

Though, regardless of Tachikawa-san, I felt like Natsumi-senpai’s voice might actually be having the opposite effect right now.

And Sara-san seemed to realize that, as she just watched Nishikawa-san with a worried look without saying anything.

「…Haa… now Kazunari-san cannot eat his meal…」

「…Wife, I understand how you feel, but you said that out loud.」

Um… she’s worried, right?

「Um, may I say something?」

A sudden voice rang out, and everyone’s gaze gathered on one spot. It was Uesaka-san, the former Student Council President and our special guest.

He’d just been going with the flow until now, so what happened all of a sudden?

「I think I have a general idea of the situation. I want to tell Nishikawa-san what I felt today.」

「…Uesaka-san?」

Nishikawa-san actually seemed interested in that, and the aura of her dark mode pulled back a little.

I was also very curious about what Uesaka-san had to say.

「This is probably something only I noticed, because unlike everyone else here, I didn’t have a clear connection with Nishikawa-san. During our time together today, my image of you changed in a good way, Nishikawa-san.」

「Your image… of me?」

「Yeah. My image of you was that you seemed friendly at first glance, but there was something unapproachable about you… like there was a wall, in a different sense than with Satsukawa-san.」

Um… I didn’t really get what Uesaka-san was saying.

In fact, I’d never felt that way at all. My basic image of Nishikawa-san was a clumsy… or rather, a social, friendly, and reliable older sister. I’d never felt a wall.

「…It seems like none of you have felt that way. I’m jealous in a way… no, it’s nothing. Anyway, that was my impression. But after seeing so many sides of you today, that image has changed completely. How should I put it, you’ve become much more approachable.」

「………」

Nishikawa-san listened in silence, looking a bit surprised. Whether it was because she’d been told something she wasn’t conscious of, or because he’d hit the mark… or maybe…

「I’m sorry. I haven’t really organized what I want to say yet. It’s just… to me, Nishikawa-san is a noble, very reliable, and respect-worthy… very attractive person. And yet you were a bit unapproachable. I wanted to get to know you, but I didn’t know how. But the current Nishikawa-san is very friendly. I feel like you’re much more human than you were back then… but I’m sure you always showed this friendly side to people close to you, right?」

「…Um, I’ve never been conscious of that myself.」

This is just a theory based on the assumption that Uesaka-san’s words are true.

If we were accepted by Nishikawa-san so easily because we met her through her best friends, Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai, then it’s a simple but convincing reason. Just a theory, though.

Regardless, I think Uesaka-san’s words about feeling more friendly toward Nishikawa-san are definitely true.

Why? Because his way of speaking changed.

Uesaka-san had for some reason been using polite speech with Nishikawa-san. But now, he was talking to her the same way he talked to us.

That change was probably proof that his image of Nishikawa-san had changed.

「I think it was unconscious. That’s why I find you more attractive now than ever before. Even the parts that seem a bit clumsy, I think they’re actually cute.」

「C-C-Cute!? Do you really think so?」

An expression of clear「embarrassment」appeared on Nishikawa-san’s face, which had been like a mask until then. And that black aura seemed to fade… no, that’s just how it looked to me.

By the way, Natsumi-senpai was looking at Uesaka-san with a massive smirk… please stop that while things are going so well.

「Basically, what I’m trying to say is that your charm, Nishikawa-san, becomes even more apparent after spending a certain amount of time with you…」

「Wait, Uesaka-san?」

「At the very least, I think you are a very attractive woman. I wanted to tell you that so you wouldn’t be so pessimistic…」

「I-I understand, I understand already! Please leave it at that…」

「Eh? …Ah!?」

Uesaka-san finally stopped talking at Nishikawa-san’s embarrassed words. His face said「I overdid it.」

「Man… Daichi… that was quite a speech, wasn’t it?」

「N-N-No, it wasn’t. I just…」

「Come on, that was more passionate than your Student Council speeches. Right, Eririn?」

「L-Listen, Natsumi, leave it at that. Uesaka-san was just being considerate of me. Also, thank you, Uesaka-san. I haven’t really been told things like that before, so I was happy.」

I don’t know how Nishikawa-san truly took it, but she didn’t seem to mind… maybe?

At least the dark mode seemed to have vanished.

But catching her words, maybe she didn’t take it literally, or maybe she was just covering up her embarrassment. I wonder.

「Um… well, same here, I just got carried away…」

「Fufu… I didn’t have that kind of image of you, Uesaka-san, so I was a bit surprised. But thank you, really. It made me happy. And Natsumi, I’m sorry too. Congratulations again.」

Whatever the case, thanks to Uesaka-san, Nishikawa-san seemed to have regained her usual self. And the atmosphere in the area felt brighter too, so it was a big help.

「Now then, let’s get back to the bentos. Uesaka-san, please have some of mine too, okay?」

「Y-Yeah. I’ll gladly take some.」

And I felt like Nishikawa-san’s behavior toward Uesaka-san had changed just a little, like she had softened up.

I can’t tell for sure yet, though.