Encountering Ohori-senpai today was truly not within my expectations. Even more so when she appeared livelier than the last time that I saw her.
Back then she looked both heartbroken and relieved. But then again, it's almost a week already. She said she's going to talk to that cuck of a boyfriend one last time before deciding whether to leave him or not.
And since she asked me not to tell Aoi the story she shared to me, my girl was a little clueless about what exactly happened. All Aoi knew was that I managed to bring some sense to Ohori-senpai's mind.
For the past few days, the updates I was hearing from Aoi regarding this older friend of hers was at least positive. However, there's no indication that she already broke up with that cuck.
Anyway, before the girl could reach my location, I made a casual sweep of my surroundings, just to be sure that the cuck wasn't around.
Luckily enough, apart from the usual curious and mesmerized glances thrown at me, everyone continued on their way to their school.
A few moments later, Ohori-senpai stopped in front of me, bent over and gasping for breath. Once her breathing stabilized, she lifted her head as her lips stretched from both sides before greeting me 'good morning'.
I didn't return that greeting right away and simply stared at her, wondering what exactly happened to her this past week. I mean, she broke down into tears inside the love hotel and when I dropped her off her house, she also looked conflicted enough that she's close to breaking down again.
If I have to take a wild guess then… she probably finally cut that cuck off. But is it that easy? I don't know.
"I get that you're surprised but Onoda-kun, can you at least not stare at me like that? I'll be embarrassed." Ohori-senpai eventually straightened her back and covered her face with her hand.
"Sorry. I'm wondering if you're the real Ohori-senpai. You don't look gloomy at all." I replied a little sarcastically.
"Rude! Am I all that to you? Gloomy? Uh… I can't blame you though. I showed you that side of me." By the end of her sentence, her smile switched to a deprecating one as she looked down, her familiar gloominess rising from her back.
This girl, she also used to call me gloomy with my haircut back then but now, she's acting averse from it. But then again, she probably made an effort to appear brighter than normal. For me to point that out must've really made a dent on her self-esteem.
That aside, since she's going to school, this was the first time I saw her in her uniform. While it's not that different from Yae, Aika, Mizuki and Otoha's uniform, I noticed that her hairstyle reverted back to normal – a bob cut with one side of it left longer and braided. Moreover, like how she was from my old memory of her, her hair was decorated by hair clips instead of the stylish hairband weeks ago.
If that was a sign that she already moved on from the cuck, I had no idea. At least, I could say that the old Ohori-senpai, the one as playful and unruly as Aoi, had yet to make her return.
"Alright. Don't be gloomy just because I pointed that out. Is there a reason why you stopped me, senpai?" After weighing in my choices as well as estimating the time I could spend freely, I decided to just move our conversation quickly.
I mean, meeting her wasn't within my plan today, after all. It would always be better off spending my time with my girls before I continue to school.
"Geez. I should've expected that you'll be like this. What a wasted effort to appear lively to you... Anyway, I actually don't have any reason. I spotted you so… I thought to greet you and say hi."
Surprisingly, I could say that what she just said was the most honest she'd been in front of me.
"I see. I'm honored to earn the grace of the great Ohori-senpai."
"Stop that, you idiot. Come here." To prevent herself from being embarrassed again, the girl grabbed my wrist and started dragging me to the alley that I was about to enter, leaving the crowded main street straight to her school.
I allowed myself to be pulled since if she didn't do it, I would be the one doing that – without her though.
Once she deemed us already out of the meddlesome eyes of the other students from their school, Ohori-senpai let go of my wrist and turned around to face me again. This time, she stared at me with a complicated expression, the same expression that I saw from her last week.
The girl then took a deep breath as though she's trying to stabilize her emotion and when she finished that, she exhaled as she met my gaze directly.
The gloom was casted off yet she also didn't appear as lively as earlier. In fact, Ohori-senpai looked rather serious. It's like she's going to tell me something serious.
Understanding that, I waited for her to air that out and simply match her gaze.
Thankfully, she didn't let me wait for long. As soon as she gathered the courage and determination she possibly pooled from inside her, she started, "Onoda-kun… if I tell you that I still haven't broken up with him, what will be your opinion?"
This… What's with that hypothetical question? No. Saying 'if' was unnecessary there. It's probably the truth. But well, let me hear her reasoning first. Like I said before, I already did my job, if this is what she chooses to do then so be it. She's just as hopeless as that cuck.
"If I am going to be honest, I'll say nothing. What good is my opinion if you already decided to stick with him after everything that happened?"
Upon hearing that, Ohori-senpai bit her lips but not in an erotic sense, she looked like she had just taken a bitter pill. Nonetheless, she also recovered quickly as she replied, "You're right. If I'm foolish enough to stay in that relationship, there's no opinion that can change my mind…"
She paused for a moment there before stepping forward and closing our distance. Moments later, she reached for the hem of my shirt before pushing her forehead against my chest. With this, it's now impossible for me to check and get a read of her expression. In exchange for that, by being this close to me as well as the physical contact she made, it gave me the ability to sense her emotion or her internal reaction that was harder to pick up with just using my eyes.
As of this moment, Ohori-senpai's hands were shaking, perhaps an indication of her feelings of uncertainty.
A few more seconds passed before she continued, providing details to her current state.
"Onoda-kun. I have yet to break up with him. I told you I will talk to him one last time to decide but… he's hopeless. I can't talk to him anymore. Every time, he'll act like nothing happened. And whenever I get a window of opportunity to be alone with him, he'll show his true nature of being a cuckold. He has his own version of what happened between us in that love hotel. He'll keep raving on for me to do it again with you and take a photo or a video for him to see or watch. Honestly, I already lost my hope in trying to fix our relationship. He's disgusting."
I see… So while it's true that she had yet to step out of that relationship, that disgusting cuck was proving himself retarded in front of this girl.
From what she said, I could infer what's going on in his mind… It's probably like this… Since his secret was already out, he convinced himself that Ohori-senpai was already on the same page as him and he's already reveling at the feeling of being cucked by her.
Furthermore, from the heaviness of Ohori-senpai's words, she probably omitted some details about her attempts. For example, that guy probably even showed her how turned on he is from imagining Ohori-senpai being embraced by me…
Really, what a disgusting sicko. Should I give him another beating? No… If it didn't even change his mind back then, I doubt it would be as effective. But l guess I won't mind beating him up again just to make him miserable.
Unfortunately, that's not a solution to this girl's problem.
"I see. It must've been hard for you, senpai. So, I'm right to think that you're trying to put on a façade that you're completely fine. That bright smile earlier was also an act."
"Yes. I mean, no… I think I'm truly enlivened to see you today. I know I shouldn't trouble you again after everything you did to help me but… I can't confide about this to anyone other than you. Aoi will just worry about me…"
Ah. So, she's sparing her friend on that. And given that I'm the only one she confided in, she probably found me as something like a pole she could lean on. At least, to tide through her current situation.
As I checked on her current state, she appeared really small and weak. If I pushed her away at this moment, she'd probably break down into tears again…
Haa… Alright. What should I do with this girl? No. The real question should be… Will I be able to help her?