Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Love

Saori Sakaki felt a pain in her chest.

「…I feel disgusting.」

After parting ways with Ochiba at the station and riding the train for a while, Saori returned home and immediately took a shower to release the heat built up in her body.

「…Haa」

Reflected in the large mirror was nothing different from her usual self. Long black hair. White skin. Large breasts. And eyes that looked as though they’d given up on something.

She hadn’t changed at all. …She was the same as ever. Yet she had done something unthinkable for her past self.

「Why…why did I do something like that? Suddenly…kissing him out of nowhere…」

Saori turned off the shower and placed a finger on her lips. …It had been her first kiss in her entire life. A kiss that was just a brief touch. It felt like a dream, but she was sure their lips had met. …Just remembering it made her chest feel like it was about to burst.

She felt happy, embarrassed, anxious, sorry—and yet still so happy… It hurt so badly she could hardly bear it.

「I’m truly the worst.」

Whatever the reason, she’d stolen a kiss without his consent. Ochiba was kind enough not to blame her, but normally anyone would have had the right to be much angrier. If she—if anyone other than Ochiba had done that to her, she would have been far more upset…and hurt by now.

「In the end, I just relied on his kindness again…」

It wasn’t that she thought, because of her looks, any boy would be happy if she kissed him. …She understood very well that once again, she’d done something terrible, taking advantage of Ochiba’s kindness.

「Even so, I just couldn’t watch any longer…」

It wasn’t by chance that Saori passed by that empty classroom. She had been called there by Miwa.

「I’ll show you Sakashima Ochiba’s true nature.」

On her way home, she had received such a message from Miwa, telling her to come to that place. So Saori had rushed to the empty classroom.

…Miwa was not the one who stole Ochiba’s phone. However, as he himself claimed, he was connected to many people, among them fans of Saori who harbored hostility toward Ochiba. Sensing something was off about those fans, Miwa skillfully led them on and talked to them. Learning they were the ones who stole Ochiba’s phone, he thought:

Sooner or later, this will get traced back to them.

That was why Miwa decided to use them in the end. By making use of their hostility toward Ochiba, he aimed to provoke Ochiba’s anger. If he were alone, anything he said would likely be brushed off, but if they all insulted Ochiba in a group, using the phone incident as leverage, it was sure to push Ochiba to his limit. Then, if Saori witnessed Ochiba giving in to his emotions, her feelings for him would cool down at least a little—or so Miwa believed.

But Saori had taken an action completely beyond Miwa’s expectations. She had…kissed Ochiba. Far more seriously in love than he had assumed, Saori had fallen for Ochiba.

Of course, Saori didn’t know all those details. She had simply gone to that empty classroom as Miwa had asked, and there…she saw Ochiba grabbing Miwa by the collar.

「…I never want to see that expression again.」

He looked more sad than angry, as if he’d given up on something. Because Saori herself knew she’d done plenty of awful things in the past, she couldn’t bear seeing Ochiba like that. So, in the end, she had kissed him—and before she knew it, she had even confessed her feelings.

If she hadn’t done that, Miwa and those fans wouldn’t have believed what she said—

「No, that’s just an excuse.」

Saori turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathroom. Drying herself off with a towel she had prepared, her thoughts drifted to him.

She had kissed him. Told him she liked him. There was no going back now. She was prepared to accept whatever he might say, and she was ready to do anything he wanted if that’s what he wished.

「…Why do I feel this way, I wonder?」

Not long ago, she had cried so much, been hurt so deeply, and regretted so many things, yet now she felt strangely positive. She knew that kiss was selfish—only for her own satisfaction. Even so, that moment of contact had filled the hole in her chest.

「No matter what anyone says, I’ll never let him have that look again.」

Up until now, Ochiba had been protecting her. So from now on, she’d protect him. Even if he never returned her feelings, at least she’d do her best to repay him for all the trouble she’d caused. She wanted to be someone who could help him.

「…Then again, that’s probably just another excuse. In the end, I’m just trying to find a reason to stay by his side…」

She murmured softly, placing her finger on her lips again.

「His lips were so soft…」

Starting tomorrow, how was she supposed to face Ochiba? Just imagining him seated next to her in class would probably make her fidget so much she wouldn’t be able to focus. She’d stare at him all over again and end up looking like some weirdo in his eyes.

「I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight.」

Saori sighed. Even so, the girl in the mirror…was smiling. Her black hair, white skin, large breasts, and those cool eyes that always looked indifferent—though none of that had changed, for some reason she wore a blissful smile.

「Ah, I see.」

And then Saori realized. She had told him she liked him, kissed him, and just thinking of him made her heart pound. She had known this feeling as a concept, but it was the first time she’d truly understood it. It might sound cheap if she just called it love, but there was no other word that could describe it.

For the last time, Saori placed her finger on her lips.

「I really want to see him soon…」

──Saori Sakaki was in love.

◇

「Ahh, I’m so sleepy.」

The day after the fight with Miwa-kun and his group, I was waiting for Koga-san in front of the station after school.

That morning, I’d gotten a message from Koga-san. She hadn’t told me the details yet, but apparently one of the members of the so-called Ojou-sama Four at Mikagami Girls’ Academy—a blonde girl—wanted to meet me.

Honestly, I had no clue why she’d want something like that, but I had no plans today and no reason to refuse. So there I was, waiting for Koga-san and that Ojou-sama girl in front of the station…

「…Fwaa.」

I let out a big, unseemly yawn. Yesterday had been quite eventful, so I hadn’t gotten much sleep.

After everything that happened, I’d checked over the phone that had been returned to me. At first glance, the battery was dead, but the contents seemed fine. Still, just in case, I decided to initialize it once and use the newly purchased phone for a while.

「Since I went to the trouble of buying it, might as well use it.」

I assumed I’d get about half my money back if I sold it, but I’d just bought it together with Koga-san, so selling it right away felt wrong. Thus, I decided to keep using the new phone for a while, but I couldn’t fall asleep after that.

All I could think about was Sakaki-san. Yesterday, she said she liked me. From the way she acted, it didn’t seem like a lie, but what could have changed in her that she’d go from calling me a “convenient backup” to actually liking me?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out, and the question kept nagging at me all night.

「…Yeah, I really don’t get how girls think.」

In the end, I mulled over the same thought all night, and before I knew it, it was morning. Naturally, I couldn’t focus in class, and I was keenly aware of Sakaki-san sitting beside me. She didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t start any conversation with her either.

…Well, there were times when our eyes met, and both of us looked like we wanted to say something but couldn’t, so we’d just look away. That happened more than once.

By the way, those fans didn’t bother me again, and Miwa-kun was absent today, probably shaken by yesterday’s incident. …Well, that’s not surprising. From his point of view, the childhood friend he’d been pining after all this time had basically been snatched away by some weird blonde guy.

Of course, it’s his own fault, and I don’t pity him. In fact, if he shows up again, I’ll have no mercy next time.

「Alright, time to pull myself together.」

It’s nearly evening already, so it’s a bit late to say that, but I held back another yawn and stretched wide.

Then, a refined and resonant voice called out from behind me.

「It seems I’ve kept you waiting, haven’t I?」

I turned to face the owner of that distinctive way of speaking, thinking I still wasn’t used to that particular way of speaking. Sure enough, standing there was a girl with naturally beautiful blonde hair, so different from mine.

「We’ve met before…but let me introduce myself properly. I am one of the Ojou-sama Four at Mikagami Girls’ Academy, Miwa Amane. O-hohoho!」

The girl—Miwa-san—covered her mouth with her hand and let out a classic high-society laugh. The gesture was a bit odd, yet somehow it suited her so well that it didn’t feel out of place at all. I guess if you’re confident enough, no one questions the strangeness of your quirks.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I opened my mouth to speak.

「Hey, hello. I’m Ochiba Sakashima. You were with Koga-san, right? …Wait, where is Koga-san?」

I’d assumed she’d come with Koga-san, but I only saw Miwa-san, with her blonde hair, standing there alone. There was no sign of Koga-san anywhere.

「Oh? You haven’t read your messages yet? Apparently, Koga-san got roped into some errand by a teacher, so she’ll be a little late.」

「Huh? Really? …Oh, you’re right. There’s a message. I didn’t notice…」

I’d been spacing out and missed her text. I quickly tapped it as read and sent a reply. Miwa-san tossed her hair with a graceful motion.

「Well, I doubt she’ll be very long. Why don’t the two of us go on ahead to a cafe?」

「…Sure. I’ll message Koga-san to let her know we’re inside, then.」

「Please do. Now, shall we?」

And so, the two of us entered a nearby cafe. By coincidence, it was the same one where Miwa-kun had summoned me the other day, but it was probably just that—a coincidence.

Miwa-san elegantly sipped her tea once it was served and said,

「First of all, thank you for taking the time to meet me today. I’ll take care of the bill here, so please order anything you like.」

「…Nah, I didn’t really go out of my way or anything, so you don’t have to be so formal with me. It’s fine, really.」

After adding some sugar to my coffee, I answered her.

「Fufu. Just as Koga-san said, you’re a kind person.」

「I don’t know about that. It’s not like I’m trying to be nice or anything…」

「You don’t need to be modest. I’ve heard quite a bit from Koga-san. …Showing proper respect where it’s due—it’s easy to say, but not many can really do it. I don’t dislike gentlemen who understand courtesy.」

「…Thanks, I guess.」

I wasn’t sure why she seemed to be rating me so highly. …Maybe it’s just that Koga-san has been giving her an inflated impression of me, so to Miwa-san, I appear better than I really am.

I took a small sip of coffee, then looked over at Miwa-san.

「So, Miwa-san, I heard from Koga-san that you wanted to ask me something…」

「Amane.」

「Huh?」

「I dislike being addressed by my surname, so could you call me ‘Amane’ if you don’t mind?」

「Sure, I don’t mind…」

I’d never called a girl by her given name before, but calling her ‘Miwa-san’ reminded me too much of that other guy, so using her first name might make things less confusing.

「Alright then…Amane-san. What did you want with me?」

When I looked at Miwa-san—no, Amane-san—she set her teacup down onto its saucer and spoke slowly.

「There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you, but first… I have a request. And as luck would have it, she’s not here right now.」

「A request…?」

「I know you’re dating Koga-san, so I can tell you’re someone trustworthy. In that case, there’s something very important I’d like to ask of you…a rather significant request.」

「No, I’m actually──」

I tried to explain that I wasn’t really Koga-san’s boyfriend, but Amane-san spoke before I could.

「Ochiba Sakashima. I’m sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but would you go out with me?」

「…Huh?」

For a moment, I couldn’t grasp what she was saying at all.

TL: New heroine! Raws have her name as Amane-ko(天音子), but I decided to translate it as Amane. Hopefully it doesn’t matter in the future. It’s not really a name you’d find in real life japan