OreShura: Volume 5 Chapter 0

#0: Prelude

【Mayhem】　ㄒㄧㄡ　ㄡㄉㄨㄛˊ　ㄔㄤˇ

1. The scene of a fierce bloody battle or war. ｢To survive—｣

2. A class of folk art in Ningyō jōruri or kabuki theatre, in which the scene of a fierce battle or war is performed.

(Source: Daijisen Electronic Dictionary)

I remember something that probably took place during elementary school.

When I cut out a healthy piece of fried pork chops for lunch and shared it with my childhood friend, Harusaki Chiwa, her response reverberated through the entire room:

「Ei-kun, I love you～♪」

Not only did the entire class laugh at me, but my homeroom teacher also even teased us and said, ｢she's going to be Kidou-kun's wife in the future!｣. It was honestly way too embarrassing. I only gave that portion to Chiwa because I was already full and couldn't eat anymore.

On the way home from school, I let a rain-drenched Chiwa duck under my umbrella and heard her say:

｢Ei-kun's so considerate! I love you!｣

No, in this kind of situation, anyone would do that kind of thing, right?

We were just going home together and I had an umbrella while Chiwa was drenched. Where did that insult come from? What kind of TV drama had this kind of development?

In short, Chiwa's ｢I love you｣ was her way of expressing ｢thank you｣.

Though, after we moved onto middle school, she very rarely said that in front of others. But when we were alone, Chiwa would continue to say ｢I love you｣ like always. I'm also completely used to it, so I would always reply disinterestedly with an ｢Oh｣ or ｢I see｣.

After all, growing up, she was a childhood friend basically like a sister to me.

Basically like family.

Even if there was love, it wasn't a ｢romantic｣ kind of love. It was a ｢familial｣ love.

In the past, I always thought this way.

Until now, when Chiwa kissed me.

♦

"......"

I opened my mouth to ask why, but nothing came out.

Every time I moved my lips, I could clearly feel the aftertaste of the kiss.

The building that we used for summer training camp wasn't very far off from the sea, so as we stood there silently alone in the living room, the sound of the rising and falling waves could be heard in the distance.

All of my senses were in front of me—

This wasn't a dream.

"—You didn't notice because I was always by your side, right?"

Chiwa's voice was a little hoarse.

Even as tears dripped down, she still wore a smile and looked up at me.

"You didn't notice, right? I even said it so many times. Hey, this time, will you listen carefully?"

Chiwa did not wipe away the tears on the cheeks, and she continued.

"Ei-kun, I love you."

At the same time, the sound of the door opening seemed to overlap.

By reflex, I looked back—only to discover the person standing there was my ｢girlfriend｣.

"If my love for you could solve everything, there wouldn't be a need for the police, right?"

Natsukawa Masuzu also smiled.

"This seems like quite a happy moment. Miss Childhood Friend, may I join in?"

But her voice was extremely cold.

Masuzu lifted her ice-like hair without letting her gaze off Chiwa.

Across from her, Chiwa also smiled slightly.

Even though her tone was like making a joke, she stared straight at Masuzu and spoke resolutely:

"Can't you see the atmosphere? Girlfriend, can you come back in nine years?"

Even if she didn't say it, nine years was the amount of time Chiwa and I had spent together.

This was undoubtedly a provocation.

Her implication was—

You aren't standing on the same stage as me.

This was simultaneously her declaration of war.

"Waiting nine years is impossible for me."

Masuzu maintained her smile, and unhesitantly asserted.

"If all that means is to continuously accumulate meaningless time, yet be unable to step across boundaries together, I certainly don't want to become that kind of person.

The violent blow made the smile disappear from Chiwa's face.

On the contrary, the smile on Masuzu's face deepened:

"Is time the only thing you're proud of—don't you think that's lamentable? It's like saying, ｢I just want to live a long life｣.

In an ordinary situation, Chiwa probably would have started crying now.

If it was an argument, there was no way Chiwa could match up to to Masuzu. Take me for example. When I confront that venomous girl, I'm tortured to death. There was no way Chiwa could match her.

But today, Chiwa was different.

"...that's true, Natsukawa's absolutely right."

She conceded it very openly.

That straightforwardness made Matsuzu and me dumbstruck.

"I feel like I've been too naive to rely on the amount of time I've spent together with Ei-kun in the past. I can't forgive Natsukawa, because that position as Ei-kun's girlfriend is a spot where… a spot where I've always wanted to be, but I just couldn't land there—yet Natsukawa managed to take it so easily. I used to think Natsukawa was so crafty and sly, because even though I've liked Ei-kun for so long, how did she manage to become Ei-kun's girlfriend after knowing him for only two months?"

Chiwa clenched her fingers into fists, and her voice became forceful.

"But after I saw what happened on the stage yesterday, I understood. Because I'm still fighting, I can't win against Natsukawa."

This was probably the first time I've ever since Chiwa speak so seriously.

"I haven't been honest. Although I wanted to be Ei-kun's girlfriend, someplace in my heart felt that ｢keeping this relationship we have already isn't bad at all｣. But I'm wrong, because it never existed in the first place. I should realized it earlier, but I simply didn't get it. The only reason I noticed it now is thanks to Natsukawa, so—thank you."

"Thank you?"

Natsukawa opened her eyes eyes, and her voice distorted.

"Are… you saying this sincerely?"

"Sincerely and seriously, I really want to thank you… though from Natsukawa's perspective, it probably looks like I'm shooting myself in the foot."

Chiwa smiled slightly.

—What kind of situations was this?

Before I even noticed, the exchange of blows already happened.

"Knowing that Eita-kun is my boyfriend, you still want to get in our way?"

Masuzu's voice shuddered slightly.

"That has nothing to do with this!"

Chiwa's retorted with a threatening tone.

"I won't keep fighting, so I won't hold back anymore. I love Ei-kun! Love! The most love! Love of the love! I don't want to repress my feelings anymore! I'm not going to lie anymore!"

"There's no common sense in this."

The venomous Masuzu, ordinarily capable of pulling preposterous arguments out of subspace, had yet to appear today.

Normally other people would say Masuzu was the one who made no common sense.

"He clearly has a girlfriend already?! He has a lover! Not pursuing these kinds of people is one of the rules of love, right? Hey, Eita-kun is mine. We're already destined for each other. Why won't you give up?"

"That's obviously because I love Ei-kun!"

"That's simply not a reason! Why don't you get it?!"

"Why don't you get it?"

Chiwa's words were filled with passion.

"Because I love him, I have no way out! This has nothing to do with girlfriends or childhood friends! It's because I can't resist my feelings! If we're talking about real love, then you should understand too, Natsukawa!"

Natsukawa's body trembled substantially.

Her legs were completely unsteady, and her silver hair fluttered helplessly.

"｢Real Love｣?"

Her voice was hoarse and furthermore quiet, so I was the only one who heard it, because I was standing right next to her.

"Is real-ness such a mighty great thing? Is it that beautiful? If someone like me, who needs to depend on the fake to keep on living, what am I supposed to do?"

｢Natsukawa…?｣

Chiwa was about to draw closer, but Masuzu immediately lifted her head with a severe look.

"No matter what you say to me, I absolutely won't give him to you. Since you can't have him, you might as well go look for someone else—but Kidou Eita is the only one for me."

An angry fire ignited in Chiwa's eyes.

She glared at Masuzu, who was an entire head taller than her.

"This kind of thing isn't something you can decide! Because for me, Ei-kun is the only one!"

…Hey.

Did it really devolve to this unmanageable mess?

The two of them had already closed in within range of each other's hands.

If I didn't come up with something to control the scene quickly, there's probably going to be a dispute between the girls. No, it's entirely possible that it'd develop into a physical fight.

...But, how should I stop them?

Whenever there's an arc like this in TV dramas or manga, I always retort, ｢Why don't you just pick a side｣!

But in my situation, I've already declared myself as ｢Masuzu's boyfriend｣.

And since Chiwa insisted she ｢wasn't giving up｣, this approach was useless.

Though, I really needed to come up with a plan.

It was fine if I couldn't reconcile them. I just needed to get them to stop them from fighting temporarily.

I didn't want to see my girlfriend and childhood friend fight. It was enough that mayhem or whatever was fiction until now!

"Stop it, you two."

I spoke from my depths of my lungs, and took a step forward.

"Don't leave me to the side and act on your own! This isn't something that you two can resolve by simply fighting on your own!"

But Masuzu and Chiwa continued to stare at each othere.

"Shut up. Your blabbing with make the situation even worse."

"That's right, because this is a problem between me and Matsuzawa."

They didn't even glance at me.

So it like this… —then I can't back down then.

I vigorously stamped on the ground with a ｢bang!｣ and said:

"Enough! Just look at me now!"

Maybe because I managed to express my anger, this time the two of them looked back at me.

"I already said don't make my decisions without me. That really bothers me the most. Don't you understand, Chiwa?"

Chiwa momentarily gave a confused ｢Huh?｣, but she quickly sensed what I was trying to say.

"Sorry, I didn't consider your feelings."

The argument suddenly lost its momentum, and Masuzu looked like she had been attacked off-guard.

"I haven't told this to Masuzu before, right? About my parents."

"Yeah… All I know is that your parents aren't around."

"To be accurate, they're missing. After they broke up, they separated and vanished off the earth, leaving their third-grade kid behind, me."

I've only told this to Chiwa and Kaoru before. Masuzu was the third person.

Although I didn't really want to reveal this scandal about my parents, but I couldn't handle it these days.

"At that time, they made me suffer a lot. My parents kept blaming each other for adultery and fought, and they gave me a bitter taste of mayhem. They ignored me, their child, as they rained curses at each other. ｢Get out of the house!｣ ｢You get out!｣ Things like that… how should I put it? It was extremely unbearable. Hell was probably just like that."

Masuzu awkwardly lowered her head.

"Of course, I'm not accusing you two of doing the same, because it's partially my fault that it's become like this. I have no right to blame you guys. But—what's the point of arguing like this? Is this what you call an outstanding maiden? Will it make you popular and cute? Cursing, blaming, and criticizing each other—this kind of person isn't attractive at all!"

Chiwa and Masuzu sank completely into silence.

Although I was flaunting my own misfortunes and guilty conscience, it seemed like I successfully persuaded them to stop.

...Ahh, great!

To be honest, I was really was terrified a few moments ago. I actually thought I'd be stabbed to death in a sandwich if I wasn't careful.

"I'm sorry, I didn't consider your feelings."

Masuzu lowered her head and softly apologized to me.

"Don't mind it, especially since I've never told you about this before."

"...But, I'm really happy."

"Huh?"

Masuzu raised her head, and exposed a rather embarrassed smile:

"Because, I understand you a little better now."

Hug!

Masuzu fell onto me and wrapped herself around my left arm.

"Why are you taking a head start?!"

When she noticed the devastation in the living room, she blankly tilted her head:

"That's strange… what are you guys doing?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, Ai-chan! Why don't you turn around and go outside for a run?!"

How did I manage to make the situation this complicated?!

However, Fuyuumi was apparently prompted by her instincts as a disciplinary committee member, and she she extended her finger in that familiar, strict pose.

"Chiwa, and Natsukawa-san too! Stop it already, you're making him very disturbed!?"

Yesssss! It's been such a while since Ai-chan said such an honorable thing!

"Even Himecchi, what are you doing?! If you're always like this, you'll never cultivate your womanly maturity."

Hime lifted her head from my chest, and waved at her own love master.

"Master, master."

"...what?"

"Eita's back is empty."

"!?"

Fuyuumi suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared.

"Hey, Fuyuumi?"

"Really, why is this club filled with girls have have no shame? The only decent one is me."

"Why are you saying that while you're positioning yourself behind my back?!"

Also, this girl is way too fast! Those agile steps!

A soft weight leaned against my back, and a pair of slim, lily-white arms extended from her short sleeves and wrapped around my neck.

"Wahh ♪ So broad! This is the best! So warm ~ warrm!"

Who's going…

"This amazing back will be mine in a couple years… hehehe ♪"

Who's going… who's going to save meeeeeeee?!

♦

In the very end—

After the pulling competition between the four girls who surrounded me ended with no clear result, Hime, then Masuzu collapsed after exhausting all of their energy. Chiwa and Fuyuumi, who were left at the end, were evenly matched. However, I was completely drained and collapsed into the pile beside these two.

By the time we were finally able to move, it was ten minutes before the train was supposed to leave. The five of us collected our luggage in a hurry, and charged to the train station.

During the return trip on the train we barely managed to catch, Masuzu and Chiwa barely spoken a word.

Their gazes never left the window, and they silently kept their mouths closed, emitting an aura that made it difficult for anyone to talk to them.

"President and Chihuahua have a weird status effect. Paralysis? Or is it petralysis?"

"Hey, did something happen with the two of you? Did you get in a fight?"

Even if Hime and Fuyuumi asked, I didn't have the energy to explain. I guess I could only vaguely cover up the truth.

These two girls who were arguing franticly not long ago were now silent without a word. It absolutely shocked me.

Because these two went through all that earlier, they were still maintaining a subtle equilibrium in their relationship. Perhaps this summer was going to be a turning point for them.

"...I can't stay out of this."

I whispered quietly to prevent anyone else from hearing.

It wasn't just Chiwa or Masuzu. I also had no choice but to change.

Will I accept my childhood friend who took that step forward? Or will I continue my fake relationship with my ｢girlfriend｣?

As expected, it's hard to choose.

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