Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo - Chapter 4 Part 3

Chapter 4 Part 3

 

When I decided to do something, I would immediately do it. That was my motto. 

 

Conveniently, there was a P.E. class in the afternoon. The girls were playing volleyball, meanwhile the boys were playing basketball.

 

It was self-practice time for now.

 

Sun-chan was trying for a three-pointer. He was dribbling the ball, trying to look for a good position.

 

I approached him and called out to him.

 

“Mitchi— No, I mean, Sun-chan.” (T/N: Slam Dunk reference. Mitchi is the nickname of Shokoku’s shooter, Hisashi Mitsui.)

“Hm? What’s up, Joro?”

 

While talking to me, he took a shot. He didn’t even take a glance at me.

 

“So, is there anyone that you like, Sun-chan?”

“W-Whoa! W-What are you saying out of the blue?!”

 

My question made him panic and he missed the shot. Was that question too inappropriate?

 

Or that question was just too abrupt, that was why he reacted that way.

 

Also, there was no point in beating around the bush when it came to dealing with someone like Sun-chan.

 

Just get to the point, that was the best way to go.

 

You could tell by his reaction that he was an honest guy.

 

He looked flustered and his face was red. That meant he really did have someone in mind.

 

“That reaction… So you do have someone you like…”

“You could tell just by that?… You’re as amazing as always…”

“So, who is it?”

“You don’t beat around the bush at all…”

“Are you keeping it a secret from your best friend? I see how it is.”

“No, I’m not! I-I just didn’t have the chance to talk about it to anyone! S-Since you’re my best friend, I guess it’s fine for me to tell you… No, I mean, I’ll tell you!”

“Thank you. I’m happy to hear that.”

 

As expected, he hadn’t told Cosmos and Himawari about this.

 

Which was good because those two were doing their best. If he were to do it, they’d feel like their efforts were wasted.

 

Well, if the person that he liked was among the two of them, there was a huge possibility that this secret would be leaked, but honestly, that didn’t really matter. Rather, it would be good if it was one of them.

 

“We barely spoke to each other…”

 

So that meant Himawari was out of the picture.

 

After all, they talked with each other every day.

 

What about Cosmos then?

 

“Is she a senpai or a kouhai?”

“N-Neither! We’re in the same grade!”

 

Cosmos was out of the picture!

 

She was a senpai after all. Oh well, thanks for your hard work, you two.

 

Both of them went down together. That was the real world for you. Harsh.

 

If the girl that he liked was better than those two (personality-wise), then honestly, I think that might be the best outcome for him.

 

“So, who is it?”

“I can’t tell you here! Come with me!”

“Got it.”

 

Sun-chan stopped his practice and brought me outside.

 

“Alright, that place should be good! There’s no one there!”

 

We went to a bench a short distance away from the gym. It was located under a large tree.

 

Sun-chan sat down.

 

…Wait a second.

 

Bench?!

 

At that moment, my life flashed before my eyes. A certain memory resurfaced from the bottom of my mind.

 

No good. The memory was related to three girls.

 

All three of them had names that were related to flowers.

 

Could it be? The person that Sun-chan liked was… No way that would be the case, right?

 

“Um… Do you mind sitting next to me first?

“S-Sure…”

 

I followed his instructions and sat down next to him.

 

However, he didn’t continue his words.

 

Okay, time out! 

 

Sun-chan fiddled with his hair as his eyes wandered around. It was a gesture that totally didn’t fit his 180cm height.

 

“Um… Uu…”

 

He tried to open his mouth a few times, but he always ended up closing it back.

 

I beg you, don’t say anything, please. Let’s just end this here.

 

“I-In truth… Um… T-There is someone that I like…”

 

I knew what you were going to say. You were in love with me, right?

That would bring balance to the equation. You had two people gunning over you and I had two people gunning over me.

 

“When I think about that person, my chest feels tight. Just being able to see them every day makes me happy. I know this is selfish of me, but I always force myself to make an excuse to see them…”

 

What are you on about, Sun-chan? We met and talked to each other every day. 

 

You know what, just let it out. I’ll accept whatever preference you had, Sun-chan. It was because you were you.

 

“I-I…”

 

Slowly, but surely, he brought his face closer to mine.

 

He had the face of a man in love. Oh no~ My heart started to race~

 

When our faces were close enough to the point that we could feel each other’s breaths, he closed her eyes.

 

Sun-chan… If you really wanted to go that far, then I…

 

“I’m in love with a girl called Sanshokuin Sumireko-san!”

 

…Ding. I could hear the sound of a bell.

 

A Buddhist bell. It echoed in my head.

 

Why? How?

 

What did I do wrong? I knew that I was a bad person deep inside, but not everyone knew that. They only knew me as a good-natured person.

 

I mean, just look at what I did after hearing those two girls’ confessions. Did I scorn them on the outside? No. I helped them with their love life, for free. 

 

Yet, I still had to suffer like this.

 

Seriously, what did I do wrong? I swear I’ll never do anything bad in my life ever again.

 

…But, well, actually… When I think about it, this development looks interesting.

 

Yes, he fell in love with another girl instead of those two, but I could try to make him fall in love with any of those two. This wasn’t something that I could do often.

 

Alright, now I’m pumped up!

Oi, Cosmos, Himawari! This is where the real work begins!

I’ll come up with something, so you two have to take this opportunity and firmly grasp it, okay?

 

…Alright, now that’s out of the way, I have something to inform you all, dear readers.

 

Unfortunately because of various circumstances, I have to cut the story short here.

 

I wish I could continue on with the story, but I couldn’t even if I wanted to!

 

Please forgive me. Though, I still have one last thing to say to all of you, dear readers. 

 

I hope I can see you all again in a better circumstance!

 

The End

 

AS IF! DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT THE STORY WOULD END THAT WAY?!

 

“It started last year, when the baseball club went to the finals at the regionals!”

 

It started from there too in your case?! Well, I had a feeling that it would be the case, but still…

 

Seriously, you need to increase your repertoire, Author! We did this setting thrice already!

 

“That time, I was cheering on the other members who were crestfallen after losing the match. Though, honestly at that time, I was the one who felt the most disappointment. We lost because my pitch was a little off… If only back then I used the rosin bag properly!” (T/N: It’s a bag with rosin powder inside. In baseball, they usually let the pitcher carry it to the match and use the powder so that they could have a better grip on the ball.)

 

Sun-chan told me while staring at the distance.

 

By the way, the rosin bag he was talking about was the bag they placed by the pitcher’s feet.

 

It wasn’t an old man’s bag. (T/N: A pun. Rosin and 老人/Rojin/Old man sounds similar.

 

“Yeah, I could tell back then too…”

Still, it was thanks to him that our school’s baseball team managed to reach the finals in the first place.

 

This was just him downplaying his own achievements for a single failure.

 

That said, it felt odd.

 

Based on what I knew, the Azure Dragon (Cosmos) and the White Tiger (Himawari) were staring at him from the east and west exit respectively. (T/N: The Four Auspicious Beasts. Azure Dragon, the guardian of the east and the White Tiger, the guardian of the west.)

 

So, why didn’t he meet those two?

“After that, I left the room. Because I couldn’t take it anymore, I cried right there. But, I didn’t want to let anyone see how pathetic I looked, so I left from the south exit.”

 

Dor*emon! Bring out the time machine! (T/N: Doraemon reference. They got a time machine in the show.)

 

I’ll go back in time and make him go to the west or east entrance! Just bring out the time machine!

“Then, on my way back home, I happened to meet Sanshokuin-san…”

 

The Vermillion Bird (Pansy) of the south descended! Seriously, what the hell was she doing there?! (T/N: Another member of The Four Auspicious Beasts, Vermillion Bird, the guardian of the south.)

 

“Back then, she praised me, ‘That was a good match. It made me excited.’ But back then, I was too frustrated and angry to take her kindly. So I lashed out at her and said, ‘There’s no point if we ended up losing anyway!’ After that…”

 

Why did he approach the cursed princess when the sky and the earth were right there?! Did he do it because the sea wasn’t there?! (T/N: Again, The Four Auspicious Beasts. The dragon of the east symbolized the sky/heaven, the tiger of the west symbolized the earth. The sea he is talking about is the symbol of the guardian of the north, Black Tortoise, which is missing in this situation since there was no one standing by the north exit.)

 

“She told me, ‘The fact that you’re angry and shedding your tears is proof that you haven’t given up yet. You’re a kind person. I can tell from the way you hide your frustration and put up an act in front of everyone. With that kindness and strong will, I believe that you’ll win the next time around. So, you don’t need to worry.’ She looked so dazzling when she said that…”

 

What the hell was that girl doing?

 

Was this the same girl I knew? What was with those kind words? Where did her sharp tongue go?

No good. If she were to say those kind words to him in that kind of situation, there was no doubt that he’d fall for her. Seriously, why did she go out of her way to do something unnecessary like that?!

“I know that this is so pathetic of me, but I’ve already said this much, so I might as well go all the way! Joro, can you help me get together with Sanshokuin-san?”

 

He begged me with a desperate look.

 

Just looking at his expression made me understand that he was serious about this.

 

“I-Is that a no?”

 

With moist eyes, he looked up at me.

 

Looking at his expression made my heart weak.

 

“Sorry, I can’t.”

 

Regrettably, I had to refuse him.

 

“Don’t be like that~ Please? If it’s you, Joro, I know you can do it!”

“No, I can’t.”

 

Seeing his pleading look, for a moment there, I thought I could just cooperate with him and create a situation where he would be able to confess his feelings to her. But, I refused anyway.

 

I was still cooperating with Cosmos and Himawari. I couldn’t risk it.

 

Eventually, they’d find out about it and those natural disasters wouldn’t hesitate to attack me mercilessly.

 

If that were to happen, I’d be finished. Mentally, physically and socially.

 

“I see… You can’t, huh?… Then, can I ask you something else?…”

“What is it?”

 

If the question was something related to his love life, I didn’t want to answer it. Well, let’s decide whether to answer or not after hearing it.

 

“Um… Assuming I’m in an important baseball game, when the opposing team’s fourth batter comes out, what do you think I should do? Should I let him walk?” (T/N: In baseball, the fourth batter is usually the best batter in the team. Letting him walk means that as the pitcher, he intentionally misses the strike zone (ball) four times so that the batter will be allowed to walk to first base. The purpose of doing this is to prevent said best batter from pulling something like a homerun or a strong hit that will make him get a score or run for multiple bases at once. I hope this explanation makes sense.)

 

Was he talking about last year’s final? Eh, whatever.

 

If this was his question, I guess I could answer it.

 

“Hmm… Well, if it was me, I’d give him the walk… But you are different from me, aren’t you, Sun-chan?”

 

There was a reason why I admired him and wished to support him with all my heart.

 

All I needed to do was to tell him that.

 

“You trust in yourself and your friends. Never run away no matter how tough the situation gets. That’s the Sun-chan I know.”

“Right… I guess so, huh? Thank you, Joro! I’m happy to hear that coming from you!”

 

Satisfied with my words, Sun-chan took my hands and waved them up and down.

 

While letting him do whatever he liked, I was thinking about something else entirely.

 

Seriously, every time something happened, the situation would just turn worse and worse…

 

*   *   *

 

Alright, originally, I wanted to slack off a little, but it wasn’t like I could just do that.

 

I’ll just forget about the shocking confession during P.E. and continue doing my thing.

 

I stood in front of the student council room. When I knocked on the door, a voice saying “Come in,” could be heard from inside.

 

From her elated tone, Cosmos seemed to be aware that it was me who knocked on the door.

 

As soon as I entered the room, Cosmos opened her note and started talking to me.

 

“I think we need to fix the mess I left yesterday!”

 

Mhm, that was the correct decision to make. Himawari should learn a thing or two from her. Sun-chan wasn’t angry anymore, but Cosmos didn’t know that. Even if that was the case, she should be trying to fix her mess regardless.

 

Correct, Cosmos. Fixing your mess was important. Indeed. Fix—

 

“Therefore, I would like to ask you to open up an opportunity so he and I could have lunch together! Please accept my plea!”

 

Stop talking politely like that, it’d just make you sound like a weirdo. (T/N: Cosmos talked in an overly polite way in the raw and her words sounded out of place, hence his reaction.)

 

Firstly, you should write ‘how to reconcile with someone’ in your note instead of relying on me.

 

You even said ‘Please accept my plea’ when asking me, what was up with that? 

 

It seemed like she was hellbent on trying to make me invite him instead of doing it herself.

 

“What about trying to ask him yourself?”

“That’s impossible!”

That’s foolish.

 

“But…”

“Joro-kun, please! I’m begging you! I even wrote it down here!”

 

She opened her note and showed it to me.

 

‘Joro-kun will invite Sun-chan’ was written on it.

 

If I were to do as she said, I wouldn’t suddenly die of a heart attack, right? I would be fine, right? (T/N: Death Note reference. If you write someone’s name on the death note and you don’t specify the cause of their death, they’d just die of heart attack.)

 

“…Fine, I’ll see what I can do…”

“Thank you, Joro-kun! Yay~ Now I can have lunch with Sun-chan!”

 

Well, you should thank Joro-san if you ended up having lunch together with him.

 

*   *   *

 

When we were on our way to the school gate, we noticed that Sun-chan was already there, waiting for us. He noticed us and waved at us. So, we quickened our walking pace a little.

 

“Good work, Sun-chan.”

“My bad, Joro!”

 

Sun-chan was here to ‘dispel the strict image that President Cosmos has.’

 

Even though he was busy with his club activities, he still spared his time for this, what a nice guy.

 

Meanwhile, Cosmos hid half of her body behind me. I already told her that Sun-chan wasn’t angry with her, but it seemed like that didn’t dispel her worries completely.

 

“Sorry, Cosmos-san. Because of me, you have to stay to wait for me until this late!”

“I-It’s fine! I-I could just study in the meantime!”

 

Okay, I knew that you were nervous but, stop sending me morse code by using my back.

 

“So, what are we going to do for today?”

 

‘Hurry up and do something!’ was the code that she sent me this time.

 

It felt ticklish.

 

“Right. Well, I have something to say about that. In the meantime, let’s start walking first, we’ll talk while walking.”

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Okay, what do you think about having lunch together with her every day? Like she said yesterday, Prez will make some lunch for you.”

 

Cosmos sent me another message. ‘The plan is a success!’

 

It was too early to tell.

 

“E-Eh? Is that really okay? I-I’m a big eater, you know? Won’t it trouble you, Cosmos-san?”

“Of course not! R-Rather, I’m afraid that I’ll be the one who‘s troubling you instead. W-Well, if you have someone else you’d rather have lunch with, I’m…”

 

Her voice sounded feeble. It was clear that she was nervous. Her forehead even bumped into my back because of it.

 

“Ah, don’t worry, I don’t have anyone like that!”

“Alright, it’s decided then. Starting from tomorrow onwards, you two will have your lunch together. That will help in getting rid of the strict image that Prez has.”

“Got it!”
“I-I’ll do my best!”

“Alright, Cosmos-san, I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow!”

“I may not meet up your expectations, but I’ll do my best!”

 

‘Bravo bravo bravo!’ She sent me that message this time.

 

It hurts.

 

Seriously, don’t use your head to send me morse code.

 

Well, I understood her feelings. It felt nice to finally have a smooth conversation like this.

 

I didn’t even have to say the line I prepared in case Sun-chan tried to reject my proposal.

 

Well, I still had to deal with backache after this, but at least everything progressed smoothly.

 

My plan for the two girls succeeded for the most part, but in exchange, I had to deal with a big problem in the future.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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