CH 19

Fujibayashi was squatting in the woods a short distance away.

And I sat down next to her.

“What?”

“No, my feet hurt, so I took a break.”

“I see”

“…………”

“…………”

The air was heavy.

“Should we go down the mountain and have some fun?”

“No, you would normally be suspended from school if you did something like that.”

Fujibayashi warned me…..

“I’m kidding.”

“Really?~”

“Really, really. I never lie.”

“Most people who say that are liars.”

“…………”

For the time being, she seems to be able to converse normally with me.

There is no awkwardness now.

“So. What are you doing here? Did you go out of your way to chase after me because you were worried about me?”

Fujibayashi looked into my face, grinning like before.

I had let my guard down before, but not today.

“Unwillingly”

“Muu.”

Fujibayashi’s mouth twitched, as if the answer was different from what she had expected.

“Did you despise me?”

“…… you mean, that Asagiri said you were playing with me?”

“Yes. She said I’m changing men.”

“I heard that there are rumors about that.”

“……”

“But I don’t despise you.”

“……Eh?”

Fujibayashi rolled her eyes, as if my words had come as a surprise.

“Because you’re exactly what you look like.”

“……”

This time she stared at me.

“I told you before. I told you before that I would normally stay away from you because of your flashy looks. First impressions are the most important thing. If I thought you looked like you were playing around, I wouldn’t have anything against you or anything like that.”

“…… I see.”

Fujibayashi turned her head down.

“It’s just that the first time I talked to you, I thought it was just a rumor,”

“..”

That’s my honest opinion. She acts like a gal, but she didn’t seem to be playing with guys as much as they say she does.

The first time I saw her in the future, she also seemed depressed about being picked on by the students at East High. It’s possible that she wasn’t in the mood, but at the time she was clearly disgusted.

And when I saw her, she generally kept others away. Could such a person really be who they say she is? I didn’t think so.

Well, maybe it was just my lack of experience with women, but let’s leave that aside.

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me whether Fujibayashi is having fun or not. Live your life the way you want to. I’m doing the same.”

Yes, that’s right. That’s a lesson. For me, it’s just a small thing. I don’t care what other people think.

“……Arase is good at talking, Aren’t you? Don’t they usually have something more witty to say?”

“I’m not very good at it. You know what I mean.”

“……Pft. Yeah”

That was rude

I hope you are feeling a little better.

However, the problem still remains.

The question is whether or not the situation will repeat itself if I bring Fujibayashi back. Unless she does something about her attitude, there is a high possibility that she will repeat the situation.

Before that, I don’t even know if Fujibayashi will go back to the others.

“Aaah, It’s a pain in the ass.”

I was getting sick of even thinking about it. But that’s what happens when you bring Fujibayashi here and do nothing.

“What’s wrong? You look funny.”

“It’s from the source, leave it alone.”

Fujibayashi is teasing me with such a headache. I hope she stays in this mood if possible. ……

“Okay, I’ve decided.”

“What do you mean you’ve decided?”

“I’m going to reveal something here. Actually, Kirihara-sensei asked me to see to it that Fujibayashi doesn’t slack off.”

“…… What’s that?”

The measure I took was to pretend that the teacher’s request had never been made in the first place. The look in Fujibayashi’s eyes became sharper again.

“I’m sorry. I was threatened, too. But it’s getting annoying, so I’m going to stop.”

“……Eh?”

“No, I didn’t want to do it from the beginning. I’m not a fan of surveillance and I’m not a gangster. And what do you call a girl-on-girl Shuraba like the one you just had? I felt like there was nothing I could do if it turned out like that.”

“…………”

If she gets angry, that’s the time to do it. It might be better for Fujibayashi to be alone than to have the air become worse with Fujibayashi strangely accompanying me.

“What are you going to do, Arase……? Are you going to go to the checkpoint alone with me?”

“Yes, if Fujibayashi wants to be alone with me.”

“….!”

Fujibayashi, who was probably trying to make fun of me again, froze for a moment and then turned red in the cheeks when I launched a counter attack.

It was a retaliation for her earlier attack. It is certainly fun to make fun of someone like that, isn’t it? But I suppose that’s one way to do it.

“If you like being alone with me so much, why don’t we have a good time here and then go?”

“Eh, wai!?”

Fujibayashi loosed the zipper of her jersey and approached me with a bewitching expression. Suddenly, I was in a panic and made a strange noise.

“Haaha! I was joking. You’re a virgin after all!”

“….This guy..”

I still can’t win, it seems.

“…………. let’s go back to the place we were at earlier. I feel sorry for you that your friend said something about you because of me.”

“I see. I’ll ask you to do better this time.”

“I’ll think about it.”

In the end, I took Fujibayashi with me and went back to the group.

I didn’t want to go back and make things awkward again, so it would have been fine if it had been just the two of us, but for the time being I was satisfied with the outcome.

◆

I, Fujibayashi Sana, had a strange feeling.

What that woman Asagiri said to me. I am usually used to being told things like that, but for some reason, only today, I was upset.

Somehow, I didn’t want Arase to know about it.

I didn’t want Arase, who didn’t look at me with a jaundiced eye, to see me that way.

But Arase told me honestly that I looked like I was playing around.

Arase said that I looked like I was playing with him. When I heard that, I was disappointed that he was also like that.

But I was wrong.

I was happy when Arase told me that he thought I was different from the rumors, but even more impressive was when he told me that I should live my life the way I wanted to.

At first I thought it was a clumsy consolation, but later I thought Arase was telling me so.

Then Arase revealed that the teacher had told him to keep an eye on me.

Hearing this, I felt disbelief again. But when he told me that he was going to stop watching me, I was caught off guard.

From there, it was just like before. I knew it was fun to make fun of Arase

It was a strange feeling.

My feelings for Arase come and go. I say strange things to him, but for some reason, I feel comfortable with that. I would get annoyed for a moment when he would say something strange to me, but the annoyance would soon disappear.

It’s like a roller coaster ride.

There is something different about Arase from other people.

I want to know more about them, I thought as I saw him walking in front of me.

◆

On the way home, Fujibayashi seemed to be rather quiet, but she seemed to be thinking about something.

I decided not to worry about it, since it would have been troublesome if she had been making a lot of noise.

I succeeded in bringing her back safely, and all I had to do was pray that she wouldn’t get into trouble, but here was a further challenge for me.

“……Eh, Kurase isn’t here?”

I returned with Fujibayashi in tow, and that’s what I heard from Sosuke.