OreShura: Volume 5 Chapter 0

【Mayhem】　【修羅場】 しゅらばˇ

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)

#0: Prelude

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 classroom....

「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 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 is so sweet! 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 weird play is this?

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

As expected, 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 ｢oh｣ or ｢yeah｣.

After all, we grew up as childhood friend and she was like a younger sister to me.

Basically like family.

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

That's, what I always thought.

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 at the distance.

All of my senses were in front of me—

This wasn't a dream.

"—Because I was always next to you; you didn't notice it, 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｣.

"Of "I love 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, why don't 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 and him don't have the same relationship that I have.

This was simultaneously her declaration of war.

"Waiting nine years, it would be impossible for me."

Masuzu maintained her smile, and unhesitatingly asserted.

"If all of that means is to continuously accumulate a meaningless day to day, yet be unable to step across boundaries together, I certainly wouldn'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:

"If that type of 9 years is what you are so proud of—————— don't you think that's lamentable? It's like saying, ｢I just want to live a long life｣ with pride.

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 isn't the usual.

"... yeah, it might be as Natsukawa says."

She conceded it very openly.

That straightforwardness made Masuzu and me dumbstruck.

"I realize now, up until now I have been too naive. Solely to rely on the amount of time I've spent together with Ei-kun in the past. That's why I can't forgive Natsukawa, because that position of Ei-kun's girlfriend, that place where… that where I've always wanted to be, but I just couldn't land there————— yet it came so naturally to Natsukawa. "That's too unfair", I used to think; because even though I've always liked Ei-kun and for so long, how did she manage to become Ei-kun's girlfriend after knowing him since high school, 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. It's because I think like that, that I can't win against Natsukawa Masuzu."

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

"I haven't been honest. Although I always wanted to be Ei-kun's girlfriend, someplace in my heart felt that ｢but keeping things like this isn't bad｣. But that's wrong, because that won't last forever. 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 became distorted.

"Are… you saying that for real?"

"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.

"Eita-kun is my boyfriend, you now? So you shouldn't interfere with that....?"

Masuzu's voice shuddered slightly.

"That isn't important!"

Chiwa's retorted with a threatening tone.

"I won't be jealous anyome, I won't hold back anymore! I like Ei-kun! Love! I love him greatly! Love of the love! I don't want to repress my feelings anymore! I'm not going to lie about it anymore!"

"There's no common sense to this."

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

Normally is someone else who would say Masuzu was the one who had 'no common sense'.

"That's why, he has a girlfriend already? A partner? Not throwing the glove to someone who has someone, is one the rules of love, right? Hey, Eita-kun is mine. That's already settled in stone. Why won't you give up?"

"It's because I love Ei-kun, that's obvious!"

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

"Then why don't you understand?"

Chiwa's words were filled with passion.

"Because I love him, it can't be helped! This has nothing to do with girlfriends or childhood friends! This feeling can't possibly be stopped! This is what people call true love, Natsukawa surely understand this!"

Natsukawa's body trembled substantially.

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

"｢True Love｣ is it?"

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

"What's so great about that True thing? Just what's so beautiful about it? Someone like me who has to cling to the fake one like if my life depended on it, then what happens with me?"

｢Natsukawa…?｣

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

"Even if you say stuff like that, I absolutely won't give him up. Since you can't have him, you might as well go look for someone else——— because 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!"

………… Oi.

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 scene of mayhem 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 to be ｢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. The mayhem or whatever should just stay in the fictional world!

"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.

"You just stay quiet. Your blabbing with make the situation even worse."

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

Thus, 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 already! You two just look at me now!"

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

"Don't just completely ignore me, while you two keep arguing without holding back. That's what I find the most vexing in the whole world. You should have heard of it, didn't you, Chiwa?"

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

"Sorry, I didn't consider Ei-kun's feelings."

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

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

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

"To say it straight, there aren't any. After their split up; each of them found themselves a new parter, and parted towards a new life, leaving their third-grade kid casted aside."

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

Although I never want to bring this issue about my parents, this isn't the time to worrying about that.

"At that time, they made me suffer a lot. My parents kept blaming each other for adultery and fought, it was cargnage. Their child, me- was completely ignored 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. I guess that was people call an scene from Hell."

Masuzu awkwardly lowered her head.

"Of course, I'm not accusing you two of being like that, because it's partially my fault that it has become like this. I have no right to throw 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 don't posses any appeal 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 fret about it, especially since you didn't knew about this before."

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

"Huh?"

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

"Because, now I know more about you."

Gyu!

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

"Why are you taking advantage of the confusion!?"

Of course Chiwa wasn't going to accept this quietly, so she grabbed my right arm.

"What's with you two!? Did you understand what I just said?"

"Yes, I surely won't neglect you anymore. I'll always keep you at my side, so——— let's go to my room?"

"Hah!?"

"I'm not going to neglect Ei-kun either! We're totally going to continue living on good terms with each other!"

"HAaahh—!?"

What's with these girls? I can't understand at all!

While I hopelessly lay there, they strongly pulled my arms simultaneously.

I-It hurts! It hurts!

"Let go of that hand, sorry Chihuahua!"

"You let go of that hand, you stupid girlfriend whose only good thing is the face!"

"No, both of you should let go!"

As if it was just a dream, my voice didn't reach the ears of these two girls who had completely forgotten about me.

"—What are you guys doing?"

I turned my head in the direction of the voice, and found Akishino Himeka at the door with her head tilted incomprehensibly.

The presence of the great hero of my ｢ex-girlfriend｣ couldn't have come at a more reliable time!

"Hime, you came at the perfect time! Please rescue me!"

"...assignment understood."

Hime wore a serious and taut expression, and trotted over.

Did she intend to use her body to directly knock away Chiwa and Masuzu? —that's what I thought, but to my surprise, she lightly jumped up and held onto my torso.

"Only with these two is too crafty. Give me some hugs as well."

"This isn't saving meeee!!!"

Normally, if someone hugged me from the front, my posture would unsteadily fall over. However, since Hime was so light and I was being pulled on the left and right, by some miracle I remained stable. But I didn't want to remain stable like this!

At this moment, I heard the sounds of someone's steps in the hallway:

"Hey, hey! Ta-kun! I just thought of something. Do you want to get married at the shrine? Ai-chan wants to have an epic victory in front of the shrine ♪"

The person who barged in with her arms spinning in circles was Fuyuumi Ai. Like usual, she wasn't paying attention to the atmosphere. No, it's not enough to say that she can't read it... She is a person who has this mood kinda like if she lives in a separate dimension from the rest of the world.

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, A-chan! Why don't you give a U turn 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 you there, Natsukawa-san too! Stop it already, can't you notice that he is bothered!?"

Yesssss! It's been such a while since A-chan said such a sensible thing!

"Even Hime-chan, what are you doing?! If you're always like this, you'll never cultivate your womanly ability."

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.

"Erm, Fuyuumi?"

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

"Even though you say that, Why are you positioning yourself at 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!"

Anyone…

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

It doesn't matter who, anyone please save meeeeee!

♦

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 the first 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 perhaps stone curse?"

"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 say this is someone's else matter."

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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