Chapter 20: Volume 1 - CH 2.8

—A few hours later.

After a war-like experience at the amusement park, where we kept pushing each other to do the attractions the other dreaded, we finally made a truce in late afternoon and decided to ride the Ferris wheel, which neither of us liked.

“…That was tiring.”

“…Yup.”

We were sitting opposite each other in a sealed room with no one watching—a sweet and sour youthful situation—but there was no sexual tension between us; only a tremendous sense of exhaustion and lethargy.

“Say, Yuzu. There’s one thing I’ve noticed.”

“…What?” Yuzu leaned back and replied in a languid manner.

So I proceeded to tell her about the shocking revelations I had from our experience throughout the day,

“We’re not very good at dating, are we?”

“…Indeed. Or I should say, we’re not very good at all the actions that couples do.”

After all this time, we had just realised the ridiculously crucial part. There was also the issue of our awkward combination of a Riaju and a gloomy person or the thing that we originally didn’t have any prior interaction so it was unnatural for us to be together; but, before any of that, we were just so bad at being a couple.

Maybe we’re just not cut out for love after all.

“Hey, Yuzu.”

“What is it?”

I looked at her and called her name again, and this time she answered with a little more poise than before.

“Are you sure you wanted to spend the whole day with me? If you only wanted to take photos of us, we could have finished our business in the morning and you could have gone out with your friends in the afternoon.”

“What’s the matter so suddenly?”

Yuzu looked a little puzzled by the topic I had broached. But this was what had been on my mind all day.

“Urm, we’re not a real couple to begin with, and it’s not like you really want to be with me. To make matters worse, with a boyfriend with a bad reputation, your value… I mean, it lowers others’ evaluation on you, so I think you better cherish your existing friendships.”

“…Hm.”

Yuzu looked me in the eye as if she was trying to guess my words. Furthermore, when I began to feel uncomfortable and looked away, she gave a small nod, as if she had reached a realization.

“What, Yamato-kun? Did someone say something to you about you dating me?”

“No, it’s not like that… I don’t have anyone to make small talk to anyway.”

“So you’ve heard other people talking behind our backs. Like me and Yamato-kun are not good enough for each other.”

I was overwhelmed by Yuzu’s communication skills to reach the truth with only a brief conversation we just had, and I fell silent.

And then, as if the silence was an answer to her question, Yuzu looked convinced and laughed teasingly for some reason.

“What a cute boy you are, Yamato-kun, to take such gossip so seriously. You’re so pure.”

“Shut up.”

Embarrassed, I turned my head to look out of the window.

“Don’t be so shy. I’m sorry you’ve been through so much. Come here, this big sister will pat you on the head.”

“We’re classmates.”

I glared at Yuzu who jokingly beckoned to me. Argh, so annoying.

And then Yuzu felt like weighing herself down, so she lowered the tone a little bit and spoke her mind.

“Do you know what friendship is made of, Yamato-kun?”

“Beats me. It’s been a while since I last had anything like that.”

If I’d known that, I’d have done better in my relationships. Whether I would have enjoyed it or not was another matter.

“Listen, Yamato-kun. You know what friendship is? It’s based on a feeling of complicity and shared values.”

I was a little surprised to get a rather dark answer from her. I couldn’t help but stare at Yuzu’s face, but she didn’t appear to be making a joke as she continued,

“People trust each other when they expose their ugly sides to one another. Both of them will think something like ‘If someone is willing to show me so much of their dirt, I’m sure they won’t betray me nor could they afford to since I got their weakness’—from there, a relationship of trust is established.”

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“…”

Yuzu’s words were something I hadn’t thought about before, but they were strangely compelling.

“The same goes with talking behind the others’ backs. There, they share a common value in that they both dislike the same person. It’s to show the other party that they’re on the same side in hating the same person.”

Her words carried a heavy weight because she was usually a cheerful and caring person with many friends.

“Therefore, Yamato-kun, you were used as a subject to criticize for them to achieve the same thing. But I’m sure there are some people out there who really hate Yamato-kun, though.”

She told me jokingly, and then smiled kindly to comfort me before she continued,

“The people who agree with you are just nodding as a means of communication. Well, it’s a scary thing because sometimes you start to think you really don’t like that something as you talk about it. But anyway, it’s not worth taking it so seriously.”

Yuzu’s statement was a heavy, dark, knotty, ugly fact─but strangely, it lightened my heart.

“…You’re an odd one, you understand that, yet you’re desperate to maintain your relationships.”

When I told her in a slightly more cheerful tone than before, Yuzu puffed out her chest as usual.

“Well, you know. The key to a successful relationship is not to expect perfection from your partner. There are very few people in the world who are as perfect as I am. If you’re upset with someone because you see their imperfections, there’s no end to it.”

“You’re a real big guy, you know that?”

When I honestly showed how I was impressed by her, Yuzu was stuck up and she became even further pleased.

“Hmmm, of course! If I’m not, I wouldn’t be able to be the girlfriend of a gloomy, dullard like Yamato-kun. Your score for today’s date was still 10 out of 100, right? You should regret it since you lost 10 points for every time we entered the haunted house.”

“What, there are still 10 points left? I’m going to go to the haunted house one last time to make sure I get zero points.”

“Yes, you’ve just made a clean zero with that statement! Therefore, you don’t have to enter again! We’re finished!”

We exchanged a sparking glare at each other and then, feeling ridiculous, we both burst into laughter at the same time.

“Ha-ha! This is the worst date I’ve ever been on! Yamato-kun is so bad at escorting a lady!”

“Urgh… Haha! It must have been triggered by someone getting excited on the rollercoaster! God, I never thought taking photos would be so difficult.”

When I answered that way, Yuzu clapped her hands as if she remembered something and took out her phone from her bag.

“Oh, by the way, we’ll have to take a picture while on the Ferris wheel.”

“Oh, I forgot.”

Well, it certainly was better to take a picture of the Ferris wheel from inside, because that would be more natural. Yuzu stood up and moved next to me, being careful of the slightly swaying foothold. She then held up her phone so that the two of us would fit in the screen to take a selfie.

“Here we go.”

“Alright!”

My arm and her arm naturally entwined. At first we were very nervous, but over the course of the day we got used to each other and there was no awkwardness left.

I smiled at the phone as it clicked, feeling as if we were a real couple for a brief moment.

The next day, Monday. In the corridor on the way back from the mobile class, I came across Kotani and Yuzu looking at their phones together.

“Wow… I didn’t know there was such an attraction. Oh, isn’t Yuzu looking a bit teary-eyed in this picture?”

“Well, that’s after the haunted house.”

I watched from a distance as they lazily walked behind the crowds of students returning to their classrooms.

“And you know what? I still have some tickets left over, so I thought I’d give them to Aki. I’m sure you’ll have fun if you go with Sota.”

“Ha, huh? Why so suddenly?”

Kotani is visibly rattled. However, Yuzu pushed hard and forced her friend to hold the ticket in her hand.

“It’s all right! Be brave! We’ve always hung out together with everyone, so there’s no problem even with just the two of you!”

“Err…B-but,”

Kotani was fidgeting. It felt so fresh and cute.

“You have to be brave because there are only a few days when Sota is off from club activities! Right?”

Yuzu’s gentle words made her determined somewhat; Kotani blushed, but gave a small nod.

“I-I get it. I’ll try my best. Thanks, Yuzu.”

“Okay, better hurry up! You gotta go to Sota’s as soon as possible!”

“Um, yeah.”

When Yuzu pushed her back, Kotani grabbed her ticket and ran to the classroom.

“Phew, somehow we managed to pass it to her. But will it work?” Then Yuzu turned around and talked to me. I thought I had been quiet, but she had noticed my presence.

“Well, it’ll be fine.” When I expressed my optimistic opinion, Yuzu tilted her head curiously.

“Oh, what makes you think that?”

“Because Kotani was pretty cute earlier. She’s naturally good-looking and with such a gap with her shy personality, most men will fall for her.”

As soon as I nodded my head approvingly, Yuzu sharply stared at me

“…Huh, does that also include you, Yamato-kun?”

“Maybe. Sakuraba indeed is a lucky man.”

“Whoo!”

I honestly admitted it and the next thing I knew, Yuzu was pinching me on the sensitive spot on my side.

“Whoa! What, all of a sudden!”

For some reason, Yuzu puffed up her cheeks and glared at me, who was still surprised by her mysterious surprise attack.

“It’s not ‘What, all of a sudden?’! What are you doing singing praises about another girl’s charms when talking to your own girlfriend! When I say ‘Huh, does that also include you too, Yamato-kun?’, it also says ‘Deny this sentence and reassure me!’, you know! It’s a sub-voice! You have to properly read between the lines!”

Ehhh… Yuzu looked anxious about the situation, so I only said that 100% purely out of good intentions. Well, I had forgotten my promise to keep up appearances in public, so I can’t deny that it was my fault for letting out my true feelings.

But, then again…

“Isn’t a girl’s heart too difficult to understand…?”

“This is only the beginner’s level! Yes, well, let’s redo it anyway!”

When I harrumphed, Yuzu looked at me fifty percent more piercingly than before.

“…Huh, does that also include you too, Yamato-kun?”

Ah, she really meant it when she said to redo it.

“I have the prettiest girlfriend in the world, so I have no interest in other girls.” I monotonously gave out the model answer.

Satisfied nonetheless, Yuzu nodded his head as if in a good mood.

“Yes, you passed! Mind you, there won’t be any make-up tests next time!”

“…Yes, sir.”

For some reason, the sudden start of a lecture on the girls’ minds baffled me, but I went back to the classroom with Yuzu.

chocolala: Yuzu and Yamato-kun got into such a deep conversation there… and they finally managed to get a couple-y photo! But Yamato-kun can never unravel the mystery of a girl’s mind…