OreShura: Volume 4 Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Scheming an Ending is Mayhem

"We've got to do it in one shot."

Masuzu said from within the bathroom.

"Do it in one shot—what does that mean?"

I responded from outside.

After dinner I had been resting in my room when I received a message from Masuzu: ｢I have something secret to discuss｣, so I went ｢next to the bathroom window outside the building｣ as she described—but it turned out Masuzu was actually taking a bath.

I supposed she intended to talk through the bathroom window.

Since Chiwa and them were all watching with their eyes and ears indoors, this was indeed a suitable place to whisper quietly. However, if anyone discovered us, wouldn't they run to the police right away? After all, I was apparently peeping.

"After talking with Fuyuumi-san, I've become sure of one thing: since we've been suspected to this point, our only choice is to place decisive evidence in front of them!"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Masuzu's voice was completely masked by the sound of the shower, so I could barely hear her.

"Decisive - Evidence!"

"You say evidence, but what evidence?"

"Evidence that we're dating."

Even if you suddenly say so, there's nothing I can do about it, right?

For example, what is there?

"Do you mean stuff like getting pictures at sticker-photo booths or giving each other souvenirs?"

"Although those aren't bad ideas, but those things just seem fabricated. Even if Harusaki-san and Akishino-san are convinced, Fuyuumi-san and your aunt most likely won't believe it."

"……So troublesome."

"Furthermore, we've never done that kind of thing before, right?"

"Ah, right."

Actually, when we just started our ｢fake｣ relationship, I went to the arcade thinking, ｢let's take a picture at the photo-stick booth to use as evidence｣. But just when we walked in front of the machine, we turned back because I couldn't bear the ｢Lovestruck Atmosphere｣. On the way back, Masuzu muttered continuously, ｢Go die and rot, go die and rot, go die and rot, go die and rot｣ as she kicked the fence along the road. It really was mayhem between my girlfriend and the national transportation department.

"Then what then? We can't just fabricate gifts out of thin air."

"So material objects are no good."

The sound of the shower running stopped, and I heard water overflow from the bathtub.

"They must see it before they believe it. ｢Something｣ intense."

"Intense, is it?"

As our dialogue broke to a pause, the sound of waves could be heard from the beach.

I looked up at the sky, which was filled entirely with stars because it was a moonless night. The constellations of summer nights unfolded themselves freely.

Aah, it was really nice by the beach!

……But, it felt very sad that we were currently talking about how to fake ourselves.

"How about something like this?"

"Please explain."

"How about we enthusiastically talk about arranging dates right in front of them? Things like, the restaurant over here tastes really good, or the scenery over there is really beautiful"

"In order to sound like we're together, we'd have to carefully plan in advance. Furthermore, the ability to act very earnestly is necessary. I'm confident in my own acting skills, but—Eita, do you believe in yourself?"

"......No."

"Then we can't do it."

I couldn't help but look back in the direction of the window:

"What are you doing anyways? From the beginning, you've just been opposing—"

Halfway through my sentence, my voice vanished.

Because on the other side of the frosted glass, Masuzu's impressive naked body emerged.

The exquisite lines from her shoulder to her back, and from her back to her waist were emphasized by how her hair stuck to her body.

Her plumb rounded butt was incomparable to what I imagined when she wore her skirt.

Through the firm silhouette, I could see how delicate and her pert her chest was.

"......"

I just watched, fascinated.

I couldn't even let out the weird noises gal-game heroes made when they ran into these kinds of ｢go-die｣ situations.

As someone who couldn't cell-shade paintings, I never understood why I chose nude subjects for fine arts… but this scene was so intense I suddenly felt as if I could understand.

"—It's not like I don't have ideas."

Masuzu's voice drew me back to reality.

I quickly pulled my gaze away from the window.

"T-T-Then, why don't you s-say it?"

"Wind slash."

"............Ah?"

"You forget the words you wrote yourself? It's that kiss."

What?—it was that that thing from the Chuuni notebook……

"K-kiss!?"

"Right in front Harusaki Chiwa, Akishino Himeka, and Fuyuumi Ai's eyes."

"......W-wait a minute."

"It's better if it has a natural feeling. Like, if you kiss me ｢just as a greeting｣."

Masuzu's tone was very flat.

It wasn't her usual poisonous tongue tone, at least in reaction to my excited feelings.

The serious tone she carried was actually frightening.

"W-Why do did you say it so seriously?"

"Oh, do you need to be so surprised? We've done it so many times already?"

True.

Masuzu and I have already kissed several times.

But those were really more of Masuzu's attacks.

Also, we've never done it in front of Chiwa and them all, nor did we let them know.

"Kissing doesn't mean anything to us ｢Anti-Love｣ people. But to ｢lovestruck｣ people, it's extremely intense, right? I can't think of any reason not to take advantage of this point."

"But won't Chiwa and rest get angry? No, it won't just be described by anger."

"Yes, it'll become mayhem."

"You say it like it has nothing to do with you! There's three of them!"

"......True, it's just like you say."

Masuzu's voice echoed.

"So, regarding this matter, I'll give you a ｢choice｣. "

"Choice?"

"Meaning, I won't use your the secret of your notebook as a shield to force you."

Masuzu declared something even more miserable than revealing that dark past.

—To kiss or not to kiss? That's for you to decide, Kidou Eita.

♦

About ten o'clock at night.

After eating and taking a bath, I normally study—but at this time during training camp, we weren't finished yet.

We were gathered in the living room playing cards. After playing Five-card stud (Masuzu won by a landslide) and Sevens (Masuzu also won by a landslide), we were now playing Concentration

"Ah...... my fault."

I cleared remembered there was a three of hearts here, but after turning it over, it turned out to be a seven of spades.

This was already my fifth consecutive mistake, and I hadn't even gotten a singlele pair yet.

The next turn was Chiwa's, who sniggered and said:

"Ei-kun's pretty bad! The three of hearts is here—!"

She easily took the cards that I had originally set as my goal.

Surprised, Fuyuumi asked:

"Is your memory not that good? How did you study Japanese history then?"

"Well that's not really true, hahaha......"

I could only laugh.

Ever since earlier, I hadn't been able to remember the cards since I was completely unable to concentrate.

When my soul was suddenly pulled back, I found myself staring at Masuzu's lips, who was sitting across from me.

"Eita, do you not fell well?"

Next to me, Hime had a worried look her face as she watched me.

"I-It's nothing—! I'll make a comeback soon!"

Although I tried to raise my spirits, honestly this wasn't the time to feel sick.

My heart wouldn't stop thumping, and I was sweating abnormally. It was almost as if I was concentrating too much.

In contrast, Masuzu was very calm, and she didn't look tense at all. It was almost as if she actually enjoyed the game of Concentration. But she was unwilling to meet my eyes, which made me a little concerned.

—Later.

Whenever I was ready, I was supposed to say, ｢I'm tired. I'm going to bed｣, and get ready to leave. But at Masuzu's reply, ｢Goodnight, dear｣, that was the signal. I was supposed to whisper softly into her ear, ｢Ah, goodnight honey｣, and then conveniently kiss her right afterwards!

Even thinking about it made me feel uncomfortable!

Where did this American couple come from? This girl wasn't Japanese at all!

"You're clutching your head madly. Are you okay?"

Chiwa asked with a voice of surprise.

"Could you be sleepy already?"

"O-O-Of course not! Look, I still have so much energy!"

I bent my right arm to show my biceps. Although I didn't think Concentration had anything to do with arm strength, I couldn't think of anything else on the spot to demonstrate my liveliness.

"Really? Well then that's good."

Chiwa said this, but she was still rocking restlessly, as if she couldn't calm herself.

Hime and Fuyuumi had started giving each other glances, but whenever they nearly met my gaze, they averted their eyes. It was as if they couldn't keep calm.

What is it? Is there something bothersome?

In either case, now was not the time to worry about that.

I had to finish my act before Chiwa and the rest said ｢goodnight｣.

What should I do?

I was now faced with the ｢selection｣ that Saeko-san had mentioned before.

Harem route?

Or mayhem?

At the time I answered, ｢I don't want either｣."

After all, for an anti-love person, a harem route and mayhem were both the same.

Love was supposed to be a thing to be avoided.

But now, I had to choose between these two.

If I kissed Masuzu, this was head straight to the mayhem route.

If I didn't kiss—I would be ｢approaching｣ the settings for a harem route. Without provoking Chiwa, Hime, or Fuyuumi, I would still maintain a distance from Masuzu.

However, the fake relationship would collapse.

Should I let it collapse in front of me—or should I pick mayhem?

Since that's the case.

Rather than putting this off, I should act decisively now.

I glanced at my watch, and the time was 10:27:50 PM. Chiwa normally went to bed before eleven o'clock, so this was almost at dangerous waters.

I'll make my move at 10:28:00 PM.

Countdown:

Three.

Two.

One.

"I-I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

I spoke the code word for the signal.

Now Masuzu was supposed to say, ｢Goodnight, dear｣.

"Then I guess that's all for today."

But Chiwa was the first one to speak.

"Huh? But you don't have to stop just because of me?"

"Don't worry. I'm already tired of playing. More importantly, there's some things we want to give you today."

Chiwa took two white paper bags from her tote bag.

"This is for Natsukawa, and this is for Ei-kun."

Masuzu looked stunned as she received a bag.

I was also stunned.

"What's in the bag?"

Fuyuumi poked my waist:

"Well, just open and see. Right, Himecchi?"

After being mentioned, Hime blushed and lowered her head. It looked like this was something the three of them did together.

I did as she said and pulled out the object inside. It turned out to be a rather uniquely designed phone strap.

It looked like the English letter, ｢Z｣

"Let me say, first of all. That's not the letter ｢Z｣. It's actually the ｢乙｣ from ｢maiden｣."

Chiwa held back her smile as she took out an identical cell phone strap from her pocket.

"The five of us have the same one. By the way, they were designed by Himecchi."

"The person who suggested it was Chiwa, and the person who found the store to make it was me."

Fuyuumi and Hime also took out more identical phone straps and showed it to us.

Chiwa laughed and said:

"You see, sports clubs have uniforms or team bags, but why can the Maiden's Club have the same thing? After all this difficulty becoming an official club, I felt like we lacked something, so I discussed with the two of them something to replace it."

"We kept it a secret from Natsukawa-san, since you're the who worked so hard to start the club, right? Himecchi said that we should make it a gift for you, from the members."

Hime blushed slightly and nodded.

"But why did you keep it a secret even from me?"

"If we told Ei-kun, wouldn't you leak it to Natsukawa? You're absolutely terrible at lying!"

After Chiwa laughed, I realized she was absolutely right. I couldn't deny it.

"Since tomorrow is the beauty pageant, right? It's wouldn't be as nice to give it to you after the showdown, so we wanted to give it to you now."

"......"

What kind of expression was I supposed to make in this kind of situation?

It turns out, when Chiwa and them all were collaborating amongst each other before the trip, they weren't trying to ruin my relationship with Masuzu at all.

We kept trying to put together a performance of fake ｢romance｣.

Yet Chiwa and them returned to us pure ｢love｣.

The difference was too stark.

It was so different.

"…………I've lost."

Masuzu sighed and smiled.

"Thank you for your heartfelt gifts. I will always cherish this cell phone strap."

Masuzu looked at Chiwa, Hime, and Fuyuumi in sequence and thanked them. And it wasn't with her usual kind of sarcastic air. Rather, it was filled with gratitude that came from the bottom of her heart.

"I'm…… a little, sorry."

"Huh? Why apologize?"

Chiwa tilted her head slightly.

"No, not that…… not sorry, um, thank you."

I quickly corrected myself.

In this atmosphere, I couldn't kiss her at all.

♦

After ascertaining that everyone had returned to their own rooms, I went to Masuzu's room and knocked on her door.

"I'm sorry!"

In Dogeza form, I bowed my head to Masuzu, who was sitting on the bed in her pajamas.

"I-I ended up being unable to kiss you! The way things turned out were beyond my expectations. Under that kind of circumstances, it was a little awkward for a kiss and...... it's impossible for me! Sorry!"

"--- why are you apologizing?"

I looked up on hearing that gentle voice to a smiling Masuzu.

She appeared to be tired, and filled with sadness.

"If you forcibly kissed me in that situation --- I'll look on you with disdain."

"......"

"Unknowingly."

Masuzu shook her head.

Clasped in her hand was the "Otsu" strap.

"Unknowingly, I was a little taken aback. I ended up being moved. By their gift. At the same time, what an unsightly creature I am, I thought to myself. Once again, I realized how much of a devil I am."

"No, that's just an occasional thing......"

"It's not an occasional thing."

Looking at that swaying "Otsu", Masuzu said.

"It's not an occasional thing, Eita. Indeed, Harusaki-san and the rest look upon me as their enemy. But yet, at the same time, they are people who can gift me with this. They are people who can gift their adversary with such a thing...... They are too different from me."

A heavy silence followed.

This might be the first time I'm seeing Masuzu reprimanding herself so much.

"I guess you won't be able to win tomorrow's contest."

"...... probably."

In her current state, Masuzu probably couldn't outdo others in demonstrating her "Dere Appeal".

"Perhaps it's better to just withdraw."

"Yeah. Frankly, I was thinking about that but...... still, it's better to make an appearance and get judged. If I take into consideration of her feelings."

Masuzu stood up and took out my "Chuu-Ni Notebook" from her travel bag.

"Harusaki-san's chagrin and sadness at me taking away you from her ---. If I consider those feelings of hers, I can't just get defeated without a fight."

Flipping through the notebook, she showed the very last page.

The words written took up most of the two pages.

My heart stirred nostalgically.

I remembered the feelings at that time.

I'll become a doctor, and cure Chiwa's body!!

Masuzu then smiled quietly.

"Thanks for everything. After this training camp, you will be free."

---

Translator's Notes and References

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