Osananajimi ga Zettai ni Makenai Love Comedy - Chapter 4 Part 4

TL: AJ

ED: Pascal’s Wager

 

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“…You studied harder than I thought you would, Haru.”

The hellish study session came to an end when Kuroha announced that she had finished grading the five subjects.

They also had just finished building the stage, so they decided to have a rehearsal. Kuroha and Maria were excellent as expected, but Shirokusa was definitely getting better. After an hour of rehearsal, they had reached a satisfactory level of coordination, and they finished with high hopes for tomorrow.

Afterwards, we all got ready for dinner.

Moreover, this was the last night and we would hold a barbecue on the terrace.

The boys took out a drum stove from the storage room, set up solid fuel and charcoal, and started the fire. The boys were also responsible for setting up the chairs and tables.

As for the girls, Kuroha and Midori were in charge of cutting vegetables. Kuroha had an alien tongue, but her vegetable cutting skills were on par with the rest of us, so we could trust her.

Aoi and Akane were in charge of putting the food on the plates and carrying it, Shirokusa was in charge of checking the inventory and bringing out various items such as meat, seasonings, and so forth. Reina and Maria were in charge of bringing drinks and refilling the cooler boxes.  Eri-san, who was playing the role of supervisor, tried to sneak some drinks out of the room, but Maria got mad at her.

“””Itadakimasu!”””

Before I knew it, the sky was filled with stars.

It had been a crazy two days. We made a lot of noise, had a lot of fun, and studied hard. When I returned home, the glare of the days I spent here in Okinawa was so bright that my mind might not be able to come back to my daily life.

As I was leaning against the railing and feeling sentimental, Midori came up beside me.

“Sueharu, are you eating?”

“I’m eating. Are you enjoying yourself? Are you making up with Momo?”

“Not with her.”

“What’s going on? I mean, you answered too quickly! You need to be a little worried!”

“No, I just can’t.”

“What’s going on?”

“…………”

“Don’t shut up! You’re scaring me!”

“…………”

“O-Okay, I won’t ask again!”

Midori’s usual behavior was to be annoying, so if I shut her up, she’d go crazy.

I changed the subject.

“So, Midori, why are you studying so hard? You’re going to high school on a tennis recommendation, right?”

Midori was studying far more intently than she had expected. But if it was a sports recommendation, it would make more sense to use the study time for muscle training. She didn’t understand why she had to work so hard.

“Oh, about that…”

Midori scratched her cheek with an air of mystery on her face.

“I’ve decided not to go to high school on a recommendation.”

“Eh!? What happened to you!?”

I believe Midori was aiming for a strong tennis school, and one of the requirements for admission was to participate in the national tournament. I heard that she had successfully achieved this in the summer and had been recommended for admission.

“…I guess, now that I’ve made it to the national tournament, I know what I’m capable of.”

“What do you mean?”

“My opponent in the first round of the national tournament was a freshman. He was a first year player, but he was no match for me in terms of size and skill… To be honest, he was the worst loser ever. But only a kid like that can probably become a pro. You can’t win in the world. I grew up a little bit faster than my classmates, and I was just blessed with a good body. I’ve come to understand that.”

“…I see.”

Did you give it your all? You can say that. I don’t think that’s wrong to say either.

But just by listening a little, you can see how difficult it is to become a professional in sports.

Tennis, in particular, is a global sport. Even if you are one of the best players in the country, it is difficult to make it as a professional…

“But it’s not that I’m desperate or anything. I’d like to study sports science.”

“Isn’t that the kind of science that analyzes sports and studies how to get better at them?”

“Something like that. I want to go to a university where I can study such things. I decided to keep tennis as a hobby and study hard to go to an advanced school.”

“I see, that’s great…”

That’s a great way of thinking for a middle school student.

I haven’t found my future goal yet, but Midori had already decided on hers.

“So…”

Midori kneaded her fingers in front of her chest.

“If I told you I wanted to go to the same school as Kuro-nee and you…would you laugh at me?”

Hozomino Private High School was a pretty advanced school. If I recalled correctly, Midori had an average level of academic achievement, so she would have to work very hard to get here.

But still─

“That’s great! Come on! I’ll be waiting!”

“T-That’s right! I thought you were going to laugh at me!”

“I’m not going to laugh at you! You’ve got a great goal. You can do it!”

“Yeah, I know!”

“I’m rooting for you.”

She must have overheard us.

Shirokusa approached me with a paper cup filled with orange juice.

“I’m confident in humanities subjects. I’ll teach you some tips.”

“Eh!? I-Is it really okay!?”

“Of course. I like kids who are trying their best. It makes me want to cheer for them.”

“Wow, to be taught by a professional novelist is too extravagant!”

Midori’s reaction was met with a smile from Shirokusa.

“Can you give me your contact information?”

Shirokusa placed the paper cup on the wooden railing and reached into her pocket for her cell phone.

But then─

“Ugh─”

Shirokusa frowned and dropped the phone.

Considering her reaction, it was her right ankle that was in pain.

“Shiro, are you okay…?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m a little uncomfortable, but not so much that I can’t dance.”

…When I thought about it, Shirokusa had been practicing all day yesterday and today. It’s not like she’s working out on a regular basis, but if she practices that much, she’s bound to get sore.

“─Shirokusa-san, can I take a look at it?”

“Y-Yeah…”

With Shirokusa sitting there, Midori observed her ankle. She looked at it from various angles, sometimes touched it, and checked Shirokusa’s reaction.

“Please just sit there for a moment.”

Midori told her and ran off, returning with tape.

“I’m taping it. If it’s this bad, you’ll be fine tomorrow. It’s just a little hot, so you’d better cool it down. I didn’t bring any poultices. Do you have any?”

“I’m sure there’s some in the medicine cabinet.”

“Well, let’s go get a poultice. I’ll put it on and then we’ll do some taping.”

I see. Midori was a national level athlete. And she said she wanted to study sports science, so she could do the taping.

I felt like I had seen an unexpected side of Midori.

Traveling was an interesting thing. You get to see the unexpected side of people you never expected to see.

As I watched them move off into the villa, I was approached by a voice.

“Sueharu-Oniichan~! Come here, please~! The scary senior is bullying me~!”

“Momo-san…is that me…?”

“There are no other scary seniors, though?”

“This girl is really…Oh, Haru, the meat is cooked, do you want some?”

When Kuroha spoke to me, I was taken aback.

I had been fighting with her, but honestly, my anger almost fizzled out when I saw the test Kuroha had made.

It was the “I love you” attack that I was on the lookout for just now.

That psychic attack was amazing. Physically speaking, it was like being hit on the head with a blunt object.

So, I kept my distance from Kuroha and offered her only a paper plate.

“…Hmm.”

I’m not sure what she was thinking when she saw my half-hearted and half-decent attitude, but Kuroha narrowed her eyes.

“…Fuuun~, you’re still trying to resist.”

What do you mean by I’m still trying to resist?! Are you trying to make me give in to you completely?!

“I guess ‘I love you‘ and that attitude of yours too…”

She walked up to me and whispered.

Aaah! There it is, again! The voice in my ear shook my brain, causing dizziness and vertigo.

The way she said “I love you” was completely different from the way she just said it randomly, it was sweet and entangled and stuck deep in my ear and wouldn’t leave. Sometimes her breath would splash on me a little, and it would make me shiver all over.

Kuroha’s provocative, prying eyes were so strong and sexy that I couldn’t help but flinch.

Kuroha put down her tongs and leaned in closer to me.

“Hey, Haru… It’s no use resisting now─”

“─Ah, I’m sorry, I slipped.”

The cup Maria was holding hit Kuroha… which soaked her arms in water.

It’s not a problem that Kuroha was wet because she was only wearing a hoodie over her swimsuit.

The problem was─

“You know what, Momo-san? Why did you spray water on me after you said you slipped?”

…Yeah, Maria said it before she completely spilled the paper cup. If there was a problem, it was this.

“Are you sure it wasn’t an auditory hallucination?”

“Wow, you’re not even flinching at all.”

The fact that she can say it was an auditory hallucination without the slightest bit of remorse is scary!

“Ah, fuuun~… Then why was the paper cup filled with water instead of juice?”

“It’s just a coincidence. Momo’s an actress, so she’s trying to avoid drinks with calories.”

“Weren’t you drinking oolong tea just now?”

“I did, so I switched to water. Is that weird?”

Wow, these two are so smart, I can’t see the end of this exchange…

“Phew~, beer for barbecue~! This is the best~!”

Eri-san, the leader of the group, who was supposed to be the one to intercede, was completely wasted…

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness of replacing the drinks with water, though. Isn’t that a little too insidious?”

“Don’t you think it’s more insidious to think it’s insidious?”

“Haa!?”

“Isn’t that right, Shirokusa-san?”

Maria spoke to Shirokusa who came back with Midori.

Shirokusa’s ankle was taped. Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow.

“…That’s right, although I hate to agree with Momosaka-san, but even from my point of view, Shida-san seems to be insidious.”

“Right?”

“You guys…”

Ah, Kuroha was completely on fire now…

“Hey, Sueharu! They’re all too scary! You have to stop them!”

Midori poked me with her elbow.

“No, it’s impossible. I can’t!”

“What do you mean you can’t?! You’re the only one who can stop them!”

“Midori, do you really think I can stop these three…?”

“…………”

Midori looked around at all the faces and nodded.

“Well, it’s certainly impossible, except for Shirokusa-san. They’re like animals, maybe even raging beasts.”

“Mi~do~ri? Did Onee-chan hear some strange words?”

“Ugh…”

In response to Kuroha’s intimidation, Midori stepped back.

But Maria was waiting for her when she stepped back.

“Midori-chan, Momo-neesan is sad when you call her a raging beast, you know?”

“Who are you calling Momo-neesan!? You evil being!”

Midori had no qualms about lashing out at Kuroha, who she knew very well to be terrifying, and she didn’t back down from Maria either.

“I won’t call you Momo-neesan! From now on, I’ll have to put ‘self-proclaimed’ at the top of your name!”

“…Fuuuun~. I’m going to have a talk with Midori-chan about this (for discipline)…”

“I don’t want to! It’s kind of scary!”

In the meantime, there was a clash between Kuroha and Shirokusa.

“Kachi, what do you mean when you say I’m insidious…?”

“What do I mean by that, I mean it as is, okay? Where is the room for doubt?”

“Don’t you think it’s hard to convince people to look at themselves?”

“Does that mean I’m insidious, too?”

“That’s wrong, okay? You’re insidious, but I’m not, okay?”

“What’s with the self-analysis? I think you need to see an ophthalmologist for that eye socket.”

“Haaaaa?! What are you talking about?! That’s right, Haru!”

I was confused by the sudden turn of events.

“No, leave me out of this. Don’t talk to me!”

“Tell her, Sue-chan. Tell her that she should go quiver in the corner of the closet.”

“Your venomous tongue is too strong!” (TLN: venomous tongue refers to spiteful comments.)

No, I can’t take part in this conversation.

“Why don’t you tell this Ojou-sama, Haru? That she’s insidious enough to come up with that kind of tongue.”

“W-W-Wait, that’s not the case here─”

“Haru… which one is it?”

“You mean that I’m fine and Shida-san has a problem, right?”

“Haaaa?!”

As I was trembling in fear, the twin duo of Aoi and Akane, who had gone for a walk on the beach, came back.

Aoi must have heard me, because she smiled wryly at me. I casually asked for help with my eyes, but Aoi shook her head from side to side as if to say, “It’s impossible.”

Akane, on the other hand, simply asked.

“What’s the matter, Haru-nii? You don’t look so good… Did something happen to you?”

Maybe she doesn’t understand what’s going on around her…

This was the problem with Akane, and it was also the cute part of her.

“Oh, look at that!”

I replied, unsure of how to put it.

Akane then nodded with a very serious expression.

“I see. The way of the Golan…as expected from Haru-nii. I can’t believe that you’d put the tragedy of the Golan Heights in the Middle East War into the current situation…”

“Aaaahhhh, it’s not the same thing at all, so why does it make sense?”

So the last night of the shooting trip was even more lively than last night due to the increase in the number of people.

We made a lot of noise and laughed. We got angry and held our heads up.

I don’t know how many times in my life I’ll be able to have such a great time in such a great place with such great friends.

It was such a great party that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

………………

…………

……

Tomorrow was the day of the PV shoot. Since the group that had been here since yesterday had a record of staying up until morning making noise, Kuroha decided to go to bed at around eleven o’clock.

I was so exhausted from my first night in bed that I fell asleep before I knew it.

But the excitement was still there, and I woke up.

“Ah…”

 

I looked at the clock and saw that it was the middle of the night and that Tetsuhiko was sound asleep.

I quietly left the room so as not to wake him and headed for the bathroom.

I felt tired, but somehow I didn’t feel like sleeping.

I went upstairs and took out a sports drink from the refrigerator before drinking it down.

The living room, which had been so noisy, was now empty and quiet. The moonlight in the living room was different from the atmosphere during the day, and it made me nervous.

The moon was so beautiful that I went out to the terrace.

The sea breeze was soothing. Even though I was in Okinawa, it was still October. It felt a little chilly.

“♪~~~~”

“Hmm…?”

I heard music coming from somewhere, blending in with the sound of the waves. I wondered…if it was Paradise SOS.

I looked from the terrace in the direction of the stage─ and there it was.

Someone was playing music and practicing a dance.

That was…Shirokusa.

(Shiro, even though you had a sore foot, you stayed up until this hour…)

I couldn’t imitate her. It was a tremendous effort.

I wanted to help, even if only a little, so I headed for the beach.

As I approached, the cell phone on the stage lit up.

Shirokusa stopped dancing and took the phone.

[Oh, Meiko? Yeah, it’s me. I’m sorry for having you contact me so late at night.]

The other party seemed to be her classmate and Shirokusa’s friend, Meiko.

It was hard to talk to her now.

I went down to the beach, but Shirokusa had her back to me, so I had nothing to hold on to and froze.

[…Yeah, that’s right. I’m the only one who isn’t good at it, so I had to practice……No, I’m not going to ask for Sue-chan’s help.]

“?!”

It’s hard to show my face when you say something like that.

I hurriedly hid behind the planting of the villa.

[…You see, I finally understood. I don’t have to stand next to Sue-chan. But that doesn’t mean I have to leave. I want to be the one who walks one step behind Sue-chan and supports him when something happens to him…I know that now.]

Ah─

(Shiro also felt the same way…)

When Shirokusa grabbed my hoodie and followed me, I felt a definite “bond” and “comfort”.

I’m sure that Shirokusa herself hadn’t felt comfortable with the relationship after the reunion. That was the first time I felt comfortable with her. I’m sure it did.

[…I’m going to be more honest, and I’m going to ask Sue-chan for advice and rely on him from now on. But I don’t think it’s right to be unconditionally indulgent. I think it’s rude not to do what you can do for yourself first. I don’t want to go back to those days of unconditional support. I’m sure there will be times when he’ll pull me along, but other than that, I’d rather do my best…]

After that, the conversation continued, but it was more like Shirokusa was talking and Meiko was listening intently.

Since Shirokusa was on the phone while walking in the middle of the conversation, I couldn’t hear everything, but I could tell from the fragments that the content was serious and pure.

─I want to show…that I can do it too…

─I want…to be happy. I want to return the favor.

─I want to tell him that I can laugh now because of…

She talked about these things, and I’m sure Meiko listened to her carefully. At the end, she thanked her and hung up the call.

“Now then, I have to do my best…”

Shirokusa then resumed her dance practice.

I just couldn’t get out of here after hearing that.

All I could do was just watch and wait.

“♪~~ ♪~~”

It’s getting better little by little. Her progress may be slow, but it was definitely getting better.

She could even put a smile on her face now. It was a far cry from the first time.

But─sometimes her face got distorted.

No matter how much taping Midori did, there was a limit.

Even so, Shirokusa continued to dance over and over again.

…Until about a month ago, Shirokusa had been like a shining star in the sky for me.

She was beautiful, cool, and a very popular high school novelist. She stood out from our classmates and was a different world away from the mundane me.

But in order to become one, she had fought, struggled, suffered, and worked hard.

I could see her in my mind’s eye.

“I have to learn more and more…! I can’t let you make fun of me anymore…!”

“I don’t want you to see me being clumsy…! I have to train for sports too…!”

“I want to be beautiful…! To do this, I need to find out how to take care of myself properly…!”

“Sue-chan… I’m… going to be… before I see you again…!”

Even though she was talented, Shirokusa was clumsy as hell and unable to show her abilities to the point where she even stopped going to school.

That clumsiness hadn’t changed.

However, she had been secretly working hard, building up her skills, and overcoming them one by one.

Looking at her now, I knew without being told.

“Shiro…”

There was a gap of six years between me and Shirokusa.

With me gone, Shirokusa had probably been striving alone, just like the scene that now unfolded in front of me.

 

Just thinking about that lonely battle─ I couldn’t stop myself from crying.

 

I wonder how Shirokusa was able to work so hard.

She just looked straight ahead to her goal and didn’t blink an inch.

I admired her. I would like to express my heartfelt respect for the girl named Shirokusa.

She was shining.

She was shining even when she was in heaven.

But─ the way she crawled on the ground was much more shining.

“You can do it, Shiro─”

I couldn’t help but feel my hands tense up.

I could only cheer her on from the shadows.

It was frustrating. But…it was no good.

If I respected Shirokusa’s past efforts and intentions, I shouldn’t have left.

My heart felt as if it would be crushed.

The pain I once felt was rampaging through my chest again.

 

First love is a poison─

 

It was supposed to be healed by a new love.

But…

Oh, yes.

I thought I was healed, but I was just imagining it─maybe I thought I was healed.

This unforgettable pain, this suffering.

I see─

 

─The poison of my first love was still consuming me, even now.