Chapter 11: The Real Me [side Mishima Satsuki]
※Note: There are sexual expressions midway! Please be cautious.
Two months since starting high school, huh.
How should I put it... the world has changed, right?
As cleaning nears its end, I start thinking.
About the "change" I had in mind.
Kousuke says it's fine as it is, that the current me is better, but still?
Isn't it humiliating to be plain and looked down on?
Take Ise-san, a classmate from middle school, for example! She's a gal, with big breasts and an open neckline, but she doesn't pander to boys. If she's not pandering, why not just keep it closed?
I don't think it's bad to appeal to boys.
Being sexy is a charm, and numbers work in your favor.
I cut my hair from long black to about Rena Kashii's length? A bit below the shoulders, made it fluffy, and dyed it a bright brown. Makeup a bit more noticeable too!
Just with this, my appearance brightens up a lot.
From the quiet, literary girl I used to be,
To a bright, sexy, and flashy girl who seems to be at the center of the class!
I felt confident in my transformation.
Wanting to be praised by my boyfriend Kousuke, I went to show him,
"...Isn't it a bit flashy? With your neckline open and skirt so short, is that necessary? ...I... I don't want guys staring at you, Satsuki..."
Shiver!
That Kousuke... the mature and cool Kousuke!
You like me, don't you? So? You don't want others looking at me, huh?
I felt a sense of superiority. And just as much dissatisfaction.
If your girlfriend becomes prettier, just praise her, right? Quietly!
Being looked at... well, I'm showing it off!
Flashy? I was too plain before! It's like saying flashy doesn't suit me!
Well, my high school debut is already a done deal, so?
I wasn't listening.
The entrance ceremony at Hokusho High School.
Dissatisfaction, or rather? I had doubts about Kousuke, but I still liked him, so?
We held hands on the way to the entrance ceremony.
Kousuke and I were in different classes. Well, there are so many classes.
Without Kousuke, I felt a bit anxious... but it can't be helped, right?
After the entrance ceremony, we did self-introductions in class.
Everyone was making moves to make friends.
As for me...
I got more of a response than I expected!
Quite a few flashy girls and cool boys came to talk to me!
The reaction is clearly different from middle school! I'm glad I mustered the courage to change!
When they invited me, saying, "Let's go to karaoke together?"
"I said, "To get along with the class, I'll hang out with everyone, okay?""
And sent a message on LINE.
Even though we just met today, somehow everyone's so close, with frequent physical contact, like couples might form...
I'm not quite ready for that...?
The next day, and the day after, since it's half-days for things like facility tours and physical measurements, I hung out with everyone after school and went home.
Stopping by places like Round One or dart bars, just hanging out with boys and girls.
Everyone loves games like King's Game, though I refused things like kissing.
I mean, come on... right?
I'll toy with Kousuke! Make him head over heels with my charm and show him I'm on top! That's how I felt back at the start of enrollment.
A bit of a sadistic streak? Let's mess with him, what kind of reaction will he have to this?
He's always lecturing me from above!
At this point, my feelings for Kousuke were half love, half irritation because he denied me.
Well, I wasn't thinking of breaking up.
We've been together for a long time, so there was affection, and he'd helped me out.
But, at the end of April, Masaki Yamamoto from the class next door started joining our gatherings, and Yamamoto started hitting on me hard.
That gave me a sense of superiority and tickled my pride.
Yamamoto never denies me! He's always on my side!
That made me happy!
Not getting praised by my boyfriend? Smelly lectures? What's that! lol
That's hilarious! A boyfriend like that exists?
(...Really...?)
"Satsuki-chan, he doesn't understand your charm! There's no need to compare yourself to other girls! No, you're more attractive than other girls! I don't know how great that top girl from middle school was, but still?"
(I can't become like Kashii, and I don't need to... it sounds like support, but... is he looking down on me?)
"If it were me... I wouldn't make a girl like Satsuki-chan feel that way, you know?"
Saying that, he kissed me.
Not the clumsy kiss of Kousuke's where our teeth might bump, but a more mature one.
I reflexively pushed him away when he tried to slip his hand into my open neckline.
But Yamamoto had a composed expression.
"Think about it a little? Satsuki-chan, you want to get back at Kousuke-kun, right? That's what I thought from listening to you! Who does he think he is? Satsuki-chan, you're a girl worth that much, aren't you?"
Saying that, it ended there for the day.
I ended up kissing him.
Did I betray Kousuke?
My heart was in turmoil, yet it was a new world. A world that affirmed me felt comfortable, and I became a member of that popular crowd.
Even when Kousuke invited me, I made up some excuse to refuse, and my replies on LINE were half-hearted.
Then Kousuke's reactions started to change. How strange!
Come to think of it, Yamamoto's family is pretty wealthy, right?
He always treated us, and gave me various gifts.
What made me especially happy were small gold rings or bracelets? He casually gifted me pretty expensive stuff.
(Kousuke only gave cheap stuff... Just a silver accessory for enrollment celebration.)
Kousuke's family has the latest PCs and gaming consoles, lots of them, so they must be well-off, but park dates? lol
Even if we're keeping our relationship a secret, come on! lol
Once you start noticing, everything starts looking that way, right?
Everyone around me praises Yamamoto.
He's generous, big-hearted, kind, understands a woman's heart, and cool!
...Indeed.
Since we're all Hokusho students, academically everyone's pretty high level, so in other aspects... Kousuke doesn't fall short. But... Yamamoto is better, isn't he...?
Everyone says,
Shinkawa Middle School was so rural they didn't recognize Satsuki's worth!
If he's your boyfriend, why does he say things like lectures and not acknowledge your change?
I think so too!
A boyfriend like that exists?
No, isn't your boyfriend the one holding back Satsuki's growth?
Your middle school days were a dark era, weren't they?
Isn't it Kousuke's fault?
That was a conclusion I could accept within myself.
I thought everything was Kousuke's fault.
Because of that, I ended up as a third-tier plain girl, and had an unsatisfactory middle school life.
But, since that guy is head over heels for me lol, should I tease him?
Drag him along for a while, then mess him up completely?
Make it so he can never forget me for the rest of his life!
Keep him hooked periodically so he always has lingering feelings for me? That's my revenge!
For that purpose...?
My first time at a lodging facility.
I'm nervous...
Slowly, being undressed...
Of course, I've never shown this to Kousuke.
I was embarrassed to admit I'm a virgin, but Yamamoto seemed happy about it.
"Satsuki-chan, is this okay?"
I'm confident in my face and body... but why do I feel so anxious? This should be a path everyone goes through...
"...It's my first time... so be gentle, okay?"
After kissing a few times, he slowly covers me.
For a while, I'm touched and licked all over, and I can't help but let out sounds...
But when it happens, I somehow think of Kousuke...
I hurriedly push the thought away!
Kousuke, what kind of face would he make?
The next day, still feeling something inside, I decided to reveal everything to Kousuke as a gag.
...But on the surface, nothing changed.
However, that was a face of utter shock!
A chuckle escapes my throat.
But I don't want to be hated, so I'll return this junk... give back the presents and say a few kind words, okay?
Then, periodically mess with him, keep him hung up on me, and toy with him, right?
I'm no longer the second-string of the third-tier from back then!
Now! I can even compete with Rena Kashii!
This is the real me!
From now on, free from that preachy boyfriend, I'll live as the true me with someone who accepts and doesn't deny me!
While thinking about such things, the cleaning was already done.
As expected, a garbage bag might be rude... I hold some resentment, but I also feel a little gratitude for the exam studies. Should I switch the previous presents to a proper bag and return them?
Well, a lot has happened. With this, it's settled! Farewell, dark middle school era!
As they say, a bird doesn't foul the nest it leaves, right?