Vol 6 Chapter 4 (2/2)

“I love you, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan, I always loved you, so I wanted to be with you again…!”

Along with her words, Minami grasped my hand and said like back then.

“s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan, I became stronger. I won’t cry like I did in the past. I can properly support you now. So let me stay at your side like in the past. Pet my head. Look at me more. Make me… your bride.”

Wet eyes. A warm hand. Wholehearted words.

…Just like back then.

I was happy. I was really happy. That she continued to feel for me made me really happy.

Back then, I thought that my weak self shouldn’t stay with Sakura-chan. I gave up, let go off her hand and strived to forget her. I thought that Sakura-chan should forget about someone like me as well.

But, Minami didn’t forget me. She always stayed in love with me.

…Minami might have been the same as me.

She must have been unable to forgive her weak self. To get rid of her weak self, she changed how she addressed herself, cut her pretty, long hair and tried to become stronger. She continued to work hard alone.

Even though she should have just forgotten about me, who hurt her, she gave it her all and became stronger.

Not for just anyone, but for me.

—Right now, if I squeezed back this hand, I could seize again the dream that I had in my childhood, but let go off. When I closed my eyes, a scenery floated in my head.

With myself smiling innocent. With my precious childhood friend by my side. Just a moment of bliss, without any enduring of hard training.

If I squeezed her hand, I could certainly seize that.

But, even while I knew that, I sadly already had an answer.

Slowly opening my eyes, I softly let go of the warm hand and squeezed my words out.

“…Sorry, I can’t respond to your feelings.”

Meeting Luna on that day, I saw a feasible dream.

Right now, that dream was more important than anything to me. I continued to chase after that dream. My powerless hand couldn’t seize everything.

Therefore— I once again, unhanded something precious.

“I have someone I want to protect. I’m still weak and have no confidence that I can protect her. But, when I become strong enough to protect her, I plan to tell her my feelings. So.. I’m sorry.”

“I see. That’s, how it is. Ahaha, well, nothing I can do then.”

While tears dwelled up in her eyes, Minami forced herself to smile and continued.

“Good luck, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan. I won’t cry like in the past because you dumped me. I won’t tell anyone about Gogyou-san either. I’ll try to get along with Gogyou-san, so…can we… stay as friends from now on?”

“Of… course. You’re, my…precious childhood friend…”

Minami’s voiced trembled greatly as she forced herself to smile.

Her appearance reminded me of her past crying self.

Unable to hold back, I once again petted Minami’s head.

But while still smiling sadly, Minami got away from my hand.

“Geez, Nanjou-kun, you can’t treat someone you just dumped so kindly. I’m fine already, so hurry up to Gogyou-san.”

I swallowed down the words of apology that were about to come out of my mouth.

“…Okay.”

Just giving a short respond, I took away my hand from Minami.

Minami looked down with her shoulders trembling. Actually, I wanted to pet her head numerous times like I had in the past. But, I didn’t have the right to that now. I bit down on my lips and left the room wordless.

In that moment, a faint weeping voice started beyond the door.

A prying pain in my chest. The back of my eyes got hot and tears seeped out of my eyes.

Still, this was something I decided on my own.

“…Sorry, Sakura-chan.”

Pressing on my chest plucking, I mumbled and once more bit down on my lips. When I headed back to my own room to be alone for a while, I spotted Kaorun at the corner of the hallway.

When Koarun, leaning against the wall, noticed me, she nodded slightly.

“…You came to check up on things?”

“Yes. When I obtained the information that you were heading to that girl’s room, I waited here, but…by the looks of it, it did not go well, I take.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I can tell by looking at your face, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama. Because you are making a painful expression.”

Along with her words, Kaorun stretched herself and started to gently pet my head.

“s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama, please cheer up. If necessarily, I can also give you a hug?”

“Don’t worry. Everything’s fine with her. She said she wouldn’t tell anyone about Hijiri. And that she would try to get along with Hijiri.”

Unable to properly reply to her joke, I just told her the truth, whereupon Kaorun widened her eyes surprised.

“I am glad to hear that, but… why are you making such a face, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama?”

“…Stuff happened. Sorry, but could you leave me alone for a while? You go tell Hijiri about it.”

“I understand. Please call for me if there is anything. I will listen to your grumbling or whatever it might be.”

Nodding, Kaorun petted my head once more, then she turned her back to me and left.

According to Kaorun’s words, I was making a face that worried others.

I was going to meet with Luna and the others in the noon. If I were to play with them with such a face, I was sure that they also would end up worried.

…I should somehow recollected myself until I meet up with them.

Mumbling so in my head, I returned to my room with heavy feelings.

Like promised yesterday, I met up with Luna and the others at the beach. There we played together for a while, then I returned to under the parasol. From there I absent-minded watched over the others happily playing beach volleyball on the sandy beach.

Upon that, Luna left the others, approached me and sat down besides me.

“Taking a break too?”

“Yes.”

Nodding with a smile, Luna started to watch over the other together with me.

But suddenly she faced me and lowered the end of her eyebrows somewhat worried.

“s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san, did something happen?”

“…Mh? Why do you ask?”

“No, well, it kind of looks like you are forcing yourself, so I was a bit concerned.”

“I see…”

Apparently Luna had noticed it.

I straightened up my upper body and lightly scratched my head.

“Actually… I hurt my precious childhood friend again…and made her cry. …I’m just no good. In the end, I haven’t change from how I was in my childhood. I’m still weak. Really… still weak….”

Inadvertently I grumbled. As pathetic as it was, I clenched my fists and shut my mouth. Upon that, Luna slowly extended her hand. She pulled me to her chest, put her arm around my back and said with a gentle voice.

“Whatever happens, I will always take your side, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san…”

Feeling Luna’s heartbeat and warmth, my eyes inadvertently got wet and the surrounding scenery became slightly blurred.

—Say, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan, if I were to become as bright as Nazuna-chan, stop crying and become a strong and s.e.xy girl like you said before…would you take me as your bride?

The girl, who said that, became stronger. She didn’t cry in front of me. She became stronger for me. Yet… I unhanded a precious thing once again.

I forcefully stopped my tears, which were going to flow out unmeant, along with biting on my lips.

I wasn’t allowed to cry. I had to go on. If I had the time to cry, I should become even stronger instead… After all, I was still weak.

I didn’t shed any tears, but I tightly clung onto Luan spoiled, drowned in her gentle warmth and once again thought.

—This was the right thing to do.

Now that I thought back, I might have abandoned various things until I met Luna again.

My ordinary high school life. While my cla.s.smates played around, I trained my body alone and put wounds on it. I continued to do so without halt.

My happily chatting cla.s.smates in the cla.s.sroom. Watching over them, I had felt envious. I also imagined that I could be part of it if I hadn’t attended my grandfather’s dojo.

But, in the past and even now, I had some more precious than that. I had made a promise. I promised Luna to protect her from now on.

Therefore, I had no intention to stop now.

“…Hey Luna, coming back here— to the human world, how is it? Is it fun?”

On this question, Luna nodded with a smile without hesitation.

“It is fun. Because I can be by your side, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san.”

“I see…”

Then, I would become even stronger. To keep the promise I made in my childhood. To let her stay my by side from now on as well.

…I was still weak. I couldn’t seize a lot of things with these hands. I could only hold on a few things with both my hands.

When I thought of Minami, my chest certainly hurt. I would be lying if I said I had no regrets. But, Luna was besides me. That alone was enough.

Slowly getting away from Luna, I looked up, whereupon the clear blue sky extended in my blurry vision.

In the bus on the way home in the sunset, I talked with Hijiri, who sat besides me, about trivial stuff. Hijiri seemed still depressed, so I had called out to her to cheer her up a bit.

At that time, Minami approached us and opened her mouth a bit hesitant.

“Nanjou-kun, if you don’t mind, could we switch seats?”

“…Yeah, sure.”

I could see nervousness in Minami’s expression. I knew right away why she wanted to sit next to Hijiri.

I quietly got up from my seat and gentle put my hand on Minami’s shoulder, then I moved the front-row seats.

Minami’s seat was right next to Hiiragi-sensei, so I called out to her.

“Hiiragi-sensei, I’ll sit next to you.”

“Hmpf.”

On my words, Hiiragi-sensei faced sideways like a kid and replied.

“Nanjou-kun, please call me ‘Hiiragi-san’, since we’re strangers now. Also, why don’t you go sit in the foldaway seat?”

…Mh? Was she still angry about the fact that I didn’t take part in the recreation?

To be honest, I considered her to be troublesome, but I opened my mouth to cheer up her mood anyway.

“Hiiragi-san, you’re pretty today as well.”

“…Really? Don’t you actually think of me as ‘baby face’, ‘kid’ or ‘shorty’ like the others?”

“How did you know— I mean, I think of you as a mature woman. You’re wonderful. You have a mature charm.”

“I- Is that so? I can’t really tell myself, but thanks, Nanjou-kun. I like you a lot better now. Please friendly call me ‘Akane-sensei’ from now on <>

---A flag for Hiiragi-sensei’s route has been raised! Is what I felt a voice from the sky saying, but I humbly declined that route and took a snack from Hiiragi-sensei, whose mood had been fixed.

After that, I gave Machina, who was soundly sleeping in a nearby seat from her exhaustion, a side-glance for a suitable time, then turned around and checked upon Minami and Hijiri.

Minami was talking to Hijiri somewhat awkwardly, but that awkwardness gradually dissolve over time and gave way for a smile.

…She really, had become stronger.

Realizing once again the importance of what I had let go, a faint pain ran through my chest.

But from then on I didn’t turn around anymore and just looked forward… I continued to eat the snacks that Hiiragi-sensei offered me.

When the bus reached the school, the clock had turned to eight in the afternoon. I should quickly head over to the middle school and return home with Nazuna--- is what I considered to do, but when I got off the bus, Machina was surrounded by the girls from cla.s.s and wouldn’t get away from them.

Should I start to call out to her, since Nazuna was waiting? Or should I wait until Hiiragi-sensei dismissed us all?

While I pondered what to do, Minami approached me and clung onto my arm with a smile while saying “Nanjou-kun”.

“…Eh? Wh- What’s up, out of the blue?”

“Just some physical contact between friends. Don’t worry about it, Nanjou-kun.”

“…Well, girls do that a lot amongst themselves, but I think that works for a girl and boy.”

“Then it’s physical contact between two people, who are more than friends, but less than lovers.”

Minami replied so while still smiling, then with the prologue of “There’s something I wanted to tell you before you went home” and continued.

“After all, I can’t give up on you, Nanjou-kun. I want to be by your side and get along better. So if you ever change your mind, tell me right away. Then…I’ll give you some service.”

Smiling impish, Minami pressed her big b.r.e.a.s.t.s even stronger against my arm.

“It might be, that I seek physical contact with you like this from now on to get you to change your mind, but turn a blind eye on it with a smile.”

“…No, I’m a guy after all, so please spare me of that.”

“Fufu, make sure to take responsibility if anything happens, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan.”

Saying so and getting away from me, Minami sent me a s.e.xy blown kiss and left.

…From now on I didn’t just had to train my body, but also my reasoning too.

When such thoughts crossed my mind, now Hijiri separated from the cla.s.s group and approached me. There I called out to her softly.

“Yo, what were you talking about with Sakura— I mean, with Minami?”

“I’m afraid that I can’t tell you that.”

Hijiri replied to my question with a small smile.

I was a bit interested in the content of their talk, but as far as I could tell, she reconciled with Minami.

Infected by Hijiri, I also smiled and opened my mouth.

“Hey, Hijiri, on a different note, can I come over to your house next time?”

“…Eh? It certainly welcome you, but it’s troublesome so suddenly. I still have to mentally prepare myself…”

She seemed to have a subtle misunderstanding. I continued right away to add.

“I also want to learn from Sougo-san what you learned, Hijiri. I’ll come on a day when Sougo-san has time.”

When I told her that I wanted to learn exorcist spells in a roundabout way because we were in public, Hijiri seemed to understand it. For some reason she dropped her shoulders and nodded.

“…Then I’ll mail you when my father is at home. My father seems busy lately, so it might not be right away, is that fine?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind. Thanks.”

“Yeah, I think my father will be pleased too.”

“I see. Then I’ll bring along Elni to make him even more pleased.”

“…Uhm, it seems my father is on bad terms with Elni, so I think you better don’t do that.”

While I talked like that with Hijiri, Machina came back. Then we went to pick up Nazuna….closing the curtain on the seaside school.

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