Chapter 122: Nagase and Tanaka [side Mishima Satsuki]
I nervously approached Kousuke to try and thank him...
"..."
Kousuke heads for the shoe lockers without paying any attention to me.
He doesn't even act like he saved someone, just quietly tries to go home?
I follow after him, trying to call out to Kousuke as he changes his shoes,
"Kou-s" Don't you get it...?"
Just as I was about to call out, Nagase Aya pushes me aside from the side and wedges herself between me and Kousuke.
Kousuke doesn't notice me at all.
She said the same line to me again...!
Nagase: "Don't you get it, Kousuke-kun and a slut don't match anymore."
With a bit of a laugh, Nagase Aya says to me.
...Ironically, it's a lot like the words I once said to Kousuke...
*See Chapter 1 opening
And her eyes aren't smiling.
Nagase: "Because that's how it is, right? You don't even have a reason to be close to Kousuke-kun anymore."
...Even if that's true, this is between me and Kousuke. I don't need you telling me that.
Nagase: "I won't let you hurt Kousuke-kun anymore. Weird girls shouldn't get close to Kousuke-kun."
Tanaka: "Exactly! Weird girls are unnecessary for Kousuke-kun!"
Tanaka steps between Nagase and Kousuke and glares intimidatingly at Nagase.
Nagase: "Looks like I need to settle this with you...!"
Tanaka: "Want to make it a final exam showdown? Tenth place Nagase-san?"
Apparently, Tanaka was third in the finals...?
For our old middle school ties? Be on my side, okay? Just take down that annoying girl!
As I excitedly watch Tanaka vs. Nagase,
She glares sharply at me!
Tanaka: "Mishima-san... Seriously, don't get close to Kousuke-kun, okay? I don't want you embarrassing Kousuke-kun, you know? I haven't told our Shinkawa Middle classmates, but I actually know all about the crap you pulled and your trashy girl moves. I've recorded everything—your grades on the verge of failing, the Pig Motor mess, your interactions with Akino-san and the top clique when they were falling. All of it."
Huh? Wasn't Tanaka the bullied, timid, nerdy boy...?
He's staring at me with a completely different expression from the Tanaka I knew, his eyes wild, even letting out a bit of murderous intent...?
And? He's got recordings of some of my worst moments? No way...
Yukari: "...Tanaka-kun, I'm sorry. ...I swear Satsuki will never get close to Kousuke-kun."
Yukari suddenly bursts out from behind and bows her head to Tanaka.
Huh? Yukari? There's no need to do that for someone like him...?
Tanaka, getting all riled up,
Tanaka: "After all the time Kousuke-kun spent with you and helped you... Sure, it's romance, so feelings change, I get that... But what you did was just cruel! Tomonaga-san too, and Mishima-san! You—" Nagase: "Just what color is your blood, you two?!"
Did Nagase just steal the last word?
Tanaka looks bitter. Not being able to finish your sentence feels gross... I just had Nagase do that to me, too.
Nagase: "...Bye-bye, slut."
Nagase waves her hand, gesturing for us to go.
Tanaka: "Bye-bye-bye, slut."
Tanaka also gestures for Nagase to go, including her this time.
Nagase: "..."
Nagase deliberately bumps into Tanaka and chases after Kousuke.
Tanaka bumps hard into the shoe lockers.
...Physically, it looks like Nagase is way above him.
Yukari comes over to my side with a sigh.
Why?
Yukari: "...Kousuke-kun has his own world. ...People like me and Satsuki, who betrayed him, shouldn't get close."
"...Is it really that big a deal?"
Yukari: "...It is."
Yukari says it with such a serious face that I can't say any more.
...Is Kousuke really that highly regarded?
Yukari: "...Now's not the time for this. ...Let's go home and study."
"Oh, right! Tomorrow is the subject Yukari's bad at...!"
For now, I tuck all this away in my heart.
However things go with Kousuke, it only matters if I can move up a grade.
...If I do make it to second-year, I'll have to take a better look at Kousuke again.
The fact that Kousuke didn't even glance at me is bothering me more than I expected.
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Yuta: "Sis, how'd you do on the finals?"
When I get home, my little brother Yuta cheerfully comes up to talk to me.
Yuta is in his second year of middle school.
Handsome, good grades, great at sports—my pride and joy of a little brother.
"I guess I did okay?"
Yuta: "High school seems really tough. Good luck!"
I ruffle Yuta's hair.
He's such a sweet brother who cares about his sister.
Yuta's eyes sparkle,
Yuta: "I want to go to Hokusho with you, Sis."
I make a slightly bitter face,
"...I wouldn't recommend it that much."
Yuta: "...I want to commute to school with you again, Sis."
"Hokusho's soccer club isn't very strong, and it's pretty free, but that just means you have to be disciplined yourself or it gets tough."
Yuta: "...Is that so..."
If Yuta ends up coming to the same high school... My grades and what happened with Masaki that I'd been covering up at home...
From my fall from the top clique to being a loner in class now, my little brother who looks up to me would find out...
I feel this vague sense of unease.
...If I might repeat a year, that's an even bigger problem.
More than anything, what I just said—
"If you can't be disciplined, it's gonna be rough."
—Those words, as if someone else used my mouth to say them, send a chill down my spine.
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Yesterday's Aru.
The day before yesterday, I accidentally uploaded the NTR Kousuke story to the main series, Aru.
Yesterday at 19:00.
"...I am so dumb...! I'll be careful today!"
I finished work, went home, it was cold... so I curled up in my futon for a bit... the latest... wa...
Next thing I know, it's 7:00 in the morning.
"I slept for twelve hours?!"
That's why I ended up skipping yesterday.
Sorry!