CH 6

“Do you want to have lunch together tomorrow?”

It was last night when Urushibara san sent this message to my phone.

Today, the next day, it was lunch time and I went to the specified spot in front of the delivery entrance at the back of the gymnasium.

“Seita kun !”

Urushibara san, who was sitting on the delivery entrance stairs, stood up and waved her hand while jumping. There was no other popular person in this place far from the school building.

“Sit next to me.”

I did as she asked and sat down.

“A-aren’t you too close?”

“……Is this no good?”

She asked anxiously.

She’s bold, yet easily frightened. Is she still recovering from the wounds of her broken heart and sensitive to being disliked? Or is she just like this to begin with?

“It’s….not like that, but it’s embarrassing.”

“That means you’re conscious of me.”

Urushibara san smiled mischievously just like Rinna’s face. My heart beats even faster.

—No, no, she just looked like Rinna. Don’t get too excited, me.

According to my ridiculous request, the buttons on her chest are securely fastened, and the skirt is knee-length. But if you look closely, you can see that she wears transparent earrings in her earlobes, and her words and actions are just like one of those gyarus. Inside, she’s totally Urushibara san.

In the first place, it’s extremely rude to see a girl who likes me as if she were a video game character. Urushibara san is Urushibara san after all.

Urushibara san said with a suspicious look.

“Before you eat, why don’t you satisfy your other desire?”

“Stop making dirty jokes before eating…!”

“Hm-? What are you imagining? What I was trying to say was your desire to sleep, you know? I was talking about giving you a pillow thigh.”

“You…..!”

I knew that I would be on the defensive because I allowed her to be my “girlfriend,” even so, I was at a disadvantage. The difference in experience is too huge. If I play decently, I might get beaten up. 

“More importantly, I didn’t come prepared with anything, as you said.”

If that’s the case, it’s best to look the other way. Urushibara san looked bored for a moment, but then shrugged her shoulders.

“Here, I made it for you.”

She took a package out of her bag she had left by her side and unfolded it. There was a navy blue lunch box. When she opened the lid, I found that it was filled with fried chicken, fried eggs, kinpira gobo (fried burdock root), and tawara onigiri (rice balls).

The contents and execution looked like a sample bento.

“You made this, Urushibara san?”

“You looked surprised.”

And a little taken aback. I was right on the mark. The bento is a typical “homemade” bento, but I just can’t imagine Urushibara san who made it. 

“N-no, I didn’t mean it that way……”

“I’m kidding. I tried my best to make Seita kun happy.”

She struck a gut-pose. When I saw her small fist, I noticed.

“Come to think of it, did you cut your nails too?”

Before, her nails would have been long and sprinkled with glitter and lamé.

Urushibara san looked puzzled.

“No, that’s just a nail tip.”

“……O-oh～ nail tip, huh. Yes, yes…..uh, in other words, fake nails, right?”

Urushibara san pouted and nodded.

“Seita kun, you don’t know much about girls, do you?”

“How disgraceful of me…..”

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

A long breath hits my ears, and my body tingling. Despite being younger than me, what’s with Urushibara san’s strange charm?

I remembered Makabe’s words, [Younger gyarus are kind of erotic, aren’t they?] I agree with that. But I wanted to tell him.

[A gyaru who looks innocent on the outside but a gyaru on the inside is more dangerous.]

I put the lunch box on my lap. Just when I thought I wanted to wipe my hands before eating, she said,

“Here you go.”

Urushibara san gave me a wet tissue. I thanked her and wiped my hands.

“Itadakimasu.”

I took a piece of fried chicken into my mouth. It was cold, but juicy. It was well seasoned, and the rice seemed to be going down well.

Urushibara san, who was staring at me, said, 

“You are so bold to suddenly took the fried one.”

—Is that so?

First, I taste what I like, and then I finish with what I like as well. This is my usual way of eating.

Urushibara san looked into my face.

“You can be that bold with me too, you know?”

“Gohoo !?”

I tried to swallow it, but the fried chicken got into my trachea. I was choking profusely and Urushibara san offered me a cup from her water bottle.

“Here you go.”

I gratefully accepted it and gulped down the barley tea.

“Fwua. Thank God.”

Whether it’s wet tissue or barley tea, she was very considerate and thoughtful. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she cared too much. After all, she only cared about me and didn’t even touch her food.

“You’re not going to eat?”

“Eh? Ah, I’m going to eat now.”

I asked her timidly.

“More importantly, how is it …..? It’s not bad…….?”

“No, it’s good. I was surprised.”

“I’m glad you liked it…… By the way, what kind of side dishes do you like?”

“I don’t really have anything I don’t like. Well, maybe meat.”

“You sure are a boy. understood. Maybe next time I’ll try to make meatballs.”

Urushibara san seemed relieved and finally put her hand on her own lunch box.

She puts herself second and me first. I may have never seen such a selfless person before.

–Even if she didn’t go this far, I’m happy enough just to eat with her…

The look on Urushibara san chewing her kinpira gobo (burdock root) with satisfaction. I asked her what I was wondering.

“Is there anything you want me to do for you, Urushibara san?”

She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.

“What do I want Seita kun to do?”

“Because you’ve been talking about me all the time.”

“But I’m happy to make you happy, Seita kun.”

“And I’m kind of sorry about it. Anything is fine. –Ah, but I can’t cook.”

Urushibara san mumbled, [What I want you to do…..] and let her gaze drift in the air. But she couldn’t come up with anything, so she put her hand on her chin, made a difficult face, and began to moan quietly. Still, it didn’t seem to work, and in the end she curled up and covered her face with both hands.

“I can’t think of anything…..”

“Don’t think too seriously.”

Even so, I wonder if it’s something that she can’t come up with at all.

I looked at the bento box again. I was so impressed with Urushibara san’s ability to make such delicious lunches for others, but when it came to herself, she suddenly became useless. Her dedication seems very noble, but I feel that it is too unbalanced.

[She’s usually got cheated on and dumped. It seems she’s being played for convenience.]

I recalled the information I heard from Makabe. At the same time, I feel anger toward the man who preyed on such a good girl.

–I think Urushibara san deserves to be happier. ……

“Anything is fine. For example, I could be Urushibara san’s baggage handler–“

“Ah.”

Urushibara san let out a short voice.

“Did you come up with something?”

“Eh !? N-no, I mean……”

She puts her face down.

“It’s, nothing…..”

“Don’t be shy.”

“N-no I’m not ! It’s really not that……. It’s bad to ask you to do this…….”

–I don’t know what kind of bad thing she came up with. ……

I quickly regret saying “Anything is finer” so early on. But Introvert can’t go back on his words. If I lose my credibility even though I am just a gloomy person, I will become a scum. I don’t want to be socially debuffed any further.

“Anything is fine.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah.”

After a long hesitation, she finally made up her mind and looked at me, but then she turned her head the other way and started fidgeting again.

I was afraid that if she took too much time, my resolve would be shaken.

“Look, one thought at a time !”

Urushibara san clenched her fists and finally said her request.

“I ! …..I want you to call me by my first name, perhaps…….”

Then she looked down apologetically and closed her eyes.

–…Excuse me?

“By your first name?”

Urushibara san nodded so faintly that I couldn’t tell whether she nodded or shivered.

That’s it? You hesitated so much just because of that?

How modest are you? If she showed me this kind of attitude, the tension of calling a girl by her first name would seem trivial.

I cleared my throat and said her name.

“Yua.”

“～～!?”

When I called her name, Urushibara san sounded like a spoiled puppy.

“The bento was delicious. Thank you.”

Urushibara san, who had been shrinking down, suddenly hugged me as if she had been hit by what I said.

“H-hey !?”

“I thought we hadn’t hugged yet today !”

“T-that’s too sudden……”

Urushibara san buried her face in my chest. Her ears are bright red.

Could it be, she was embarrassed? And she’s trying to hide her face?　

“Haha.”

I became strangely fond of her. I realized that my hand was reaching for Urushibara san’s head.

–Oops.

I stopped my hand. It seems that I unconsciously tried to stroke her head.

That skinship is excessive. The act of patting her head is not only a physical touch, but also a mental contact.

I patted Urushibara san on the shoulder.

“Look, someone might see us.”

“….Yeah.”

She reluctantly moved away.

Are you that happy just to be called by your first name? What a great deal to reduce cost.

“Can you continue to call me Yua?”

“Eh? Not just now?”

“Well, only when it’s just the two of us. You know, ‘Urushibara san’ has a lot of letters, doesn’t it? I almost bute my tongue sometimes.”

Urushibara san–Yua looked at me with an upturned look.

“Can I ask you that much to do that for me?”

–How much?

Yua’s reaction was as big as if she had been given a trip to Las Vegas.

“I-I’ll work even harder for you too, Seita kun !”

She clenched her fists in front of her chest.

“Do it in moderation.”

I smiled bitterly and put the fried egg in my mouth. It was sweet. I prefer salty, but sometimes it’s good to have something like this, I thought.