Volume 7 - CH 5

“Eeeek…?!”

“It-It’s fine! There, there, all good…”

Around the time I was getting used to the shame of wearing the doggie costume, we reached the haunted house directed by the third-year students. Even my fluffiness and cuteness seemingly aren’t good enough to dispel the fear and terror Ichinose-san experienced. At this point in time, both her and Sasaki-san were clinging to my back like pets. Woof! A board drenched with blood suddenly swung down, which had Ichinose-san scream and clung to Sasaki-san. She herself was shivering in terror all the same and still tried to console Ichinoe-san’s small body. All right! Now it’s my turn!

“Um…”

“Guah?!”

I heard a voice whisper right into my ear which had me jump, as I let out a voice like a frog was being stepped on. That was close…I almost jumped into Sasaki-san’s loving arms myself. I turned around, only to be met by a girl with eyes that could torture you.

“Huuuh? Why are you looking at me like you’re begging for your life? Don’t annoy me.”

“O-Oh…it’s just you, Yuki-chan? I thought an actual ghost appeared…”

“Shouldn’t you be begging for your life?”

“I wanna live, woof!”

This haunted house was located in the multipurpose hall on the second floor. Normally, the room itself was well-lit thanks to all the windows, but cover them up and do a bit of redesigning and you can easily use it as a haunted house like this. With the theme being the future, they stopped relying on human-made scares, instead focussing on sensors, traps, and other gimmicks which makes it pretty enjoyable. It’s a shame that I can hear the background sounds from time to time which ruin my immersion, but for something made by student hands, this was quite formidable.

As a result of helping with the executive committee, I knew about this haunted house beforehand, so I went in here going like “Heh, no problemo,” but this is the result. I can’t believe the third-years got Yuki-chan to participate in their haunted house.

“Onii-chan doesn’t seem to be close by…”

“How can you even…Y’know, never mind.”

Yuki-chan let out a complaint…Complaint? Anyway, she gazed at her phone while commenting so. How could I know if he’s close by or not…

“Yuki-chan, are you not scared of haunted houses?”

“I’m very scared. Because Onii-chan isn’t around. Look how much my legs are quivering.”

Hello?! Anybody?! Can anybody please play as her Onii-chan?! This brocon is more terrifying than this entire god dang haunted house! Honestly, I pay good cash to have some random boy come in here and say “I’m your Onii-chan, you know?” That would probably terrify the hell out of this brocon. Actually, being a brocon or not has nothing to do with it. That’d be terrifying even when you’re walking down a random street during the afternoon. Yuki-chan would probably say “Is that so” as she puts handcuffs on him to prepare for the incoming torture.

Also, it’s just foul play to take out your smartphone in a haunted house. Does she have no respect for her seniors? Plus, you’re gonna get kicked out if you take pictures. This definitely is crossing the line.

“Stop looking at your phone and let’s at least enjoy the ri—Hm?”

I was just about to warn her about her phone when something near the deformed rock that was sitting in the path behind Yuki-chan slowly stood up. It looked like one of those stage assistants all dressed in black, but wearing blue tights…Wait, blue tights? The floor is covered in blue sheets so I kinda get it, but…they’re not even hidden anymore. And not scary at all.

The stage assistant put their index finger in front of their lips, telling me to keep quiet. Following that, they approached Yuki-chan’s back hair with a spray can in hand. Wait, that’s…Air Salonpass…! The stage assistant turned the nozzle and prepared to shoot. And worst of all, it’ll shoot out cool air only on the affected part! Since this isn’t a compress, you can’t pull it off and it doesn’t lose its effect! That’s the Air Salonpass! Go on! Do iiit!

“A-And also, I just want to—Gyaaah?!”

“Bugh?!”

“S-Sajou-senpai…?!”

I heard a faint spraying sound which had Yuki-chan catapult forward, slamming her head right up my jaw.

“A-Are you okay?”

“Ugh…”

Is it gone…? Is my jaw gone…? I panicked and touched my own face to check if I still had my precious jaw. Thankfully, I could immediately feel it and confirm that I had a proper sensation in it. Guess I didn’t dislocate my jaw. Thank god.

Sasaki-san and Ichinose-san, who had walked ahead of us, frantically turned around and came back. I borrowed their hands to get up, looking for the stage assistant who had already vanished. God damn professional…I bet he’s crawling along the floor at some dead angle from here.

“What about Yuki-chan? Are your bangs okay? Can you keep them in a straight line?”

“A-Ack…A ghost…Onii-chan…!”

“Huh? Ghost?”

She didn’t quite humor me with the reaction I expected. She had her hands and legs on the floor, reaching out her arm towards her invisible Onii-chan, pleading for help. Now hold on…did she finally lose her composure now? I thought she was the type to fight back an incoming zombie attack while insulting us with a comment like “A haunted house? Aren’t you too old to be scared by that?” but I guess I was wrong.

“Yuki-chan…are you actually scared?”

“…”

Sasaki-san’s question had even Ichinose-san chime in, who nodded along like she totally understood how Yuki-chan felt. Following that, the two looked at me. I see…Yuki-chan is a human, too. Heh, I guess she can be pretty cute. If only she’d show this kind of weakness in front of Sasaki, I’d bet he would spoil her even more. However, as he’s not around, I have to take the initiative to cheer her up.

“Yuki-chan, let’s get out of this haunted house and look for Sasaki, yeah?”

“Don’t touch me.”

PAP, she pushed away my hand I offered her and stood up like nothing happened. Haha, ain’t she full of energy…

“Fwooo…”

“Sajou-senpai, well…”

“…?!”

The secret kung fu techniques slumbering inside of me were reawakened because of the fury filling my body. Right as I was prepared to cast aside my dog-ity and enter the battlefield awaiting me, I spotted Ichinose-san who was panicking. She looked like a young girl trying desperately to train a dog two times the size of her. And Sasaki-san had an apologetic expression on her face, too…Come on, I can’t get angry now.

“Right…Trying to cheer her up is useless meddling, huh?”

We’ve got the ultra brocon Yuki-chan and the kuudere Yuki-chan. With two sides of the same coin, she’s gotta have a secret. Having a side to you that you don’t want others to see is best seen in how much you care about your reputation. Sasaki isn’t everything for her. And that weakness she just showed is what she sees as a failure. And I’m not strong enough that she can actually rely on me. Then again, that’s just what you’d expect from Yuki-chan.

“I’d love for her to get reunited with her Onii-chan as quickly as possible.”

“If you say so…then I guess we’ll prioritize that.”

Originally, the entire plan for today was to show Sasaki-san around the school, but I guess we have to worry about Yuki-chan first. I don’t think I’ll be able to cheer her up either, so that’s probably our best cause of action.

*

“Maybe we should check out the courtyard next. They’ve got a lot of stalls there, so we can eat lunch, too.”

“I’m getting some fries. They have a lot of different flavors, I think.”

We stood in a corner of the hallway and looked through the pamphlet while discussing our next plan of action. Since neither Sasaki-san nor Ichinose-san had their own copies, they stood to the left and right of me, checking out the map that way which made my heart beat a bit faster. Ichinose-san spotted a stall selling taiyaki, and wrapped both her hands around my arm. Stop it, all right? You’re gonna make me fall for you.

At the same time, a bit away from us, Yuki-chan her arms crossed, gently tapping on them as if she was trying to tell us to rush things. Don’t get more emotional the longer it takes…Are you some smoker who hasn’t had a puff in a few hours? What if you and Sasaki start living apart, are you gonna be okay?

“Sasaki might be there, you know? Since he’s with his soccer buds, there’s a good chance they can’t walk around inside the school as such a big group.

“Hmph…!”

Plus, the attractions of the cultural festival are mostly aimed at the visitors, not something the majority of the students would find much interest in. We guys would probably get people together to hang out than walk around the school. I wouldn’t be surprised to find him sitting somewhere with his friends.

When I finished my explanation, Yuki-chan’s face lit up with a bright smile, like she had encountered a convenience store in the middle of nowhere, screaming “Finally! I can buy cigarettes!” She really doesn’t look like a middle school student. And since she’s got the same blood as Sasaki, she’s even taller than Natsukawa.

“…Very well, I shall respect your opinion, Sajou-san.”

“Guess we should check it out.”

“Taiyaku…”

Lessgo, woof.

*

As I mentioned before, this cultural festival’s main focus is the future. That being said, not every stall can play along with this theme. Their appearance might have an alien theme to them, but they’re still selling fries or out-of-season shaved ice, anything that’s light on the stomach and easy to carry. Can’t help it, the image of stalls we have is the same as the ones we visit during the first shrine visit of the year.

“Is it good, Ichinose-san?”

“Delishus…”

Man, she cute tho. She’s so genuine when it comes to her emotions. Even joy, like this. Whenever she’s got something in front of her, she can only focus on that, just like when she’s reading her books. Really, what is this emotion…Law, physics, biology…all of these rules and parameters, and they won’t even allow me to become her father. Shit…shit…!

“The crepe is delicious, too!”

“Isn’t that a bit too much dough, though?”

“I like it when it’s fluffy and spongy!”

Sasaki-san tried to copy Ichinose-san, failing miserably as she stuck out her tongue. She’s just as adorbs. And even Yuki-chan was munching away at her crepe despite not sounding that way. If she actually disliked it, she’d probably be a lot more strict about it. Well, this is just amateurs doing their best work at making crepes, so you gotta respect that. From what I’ve heard, it was pretty tough just getting permission for it, too…I think it’s crazy they even put everything together like this.

Suddenly, Yuki-chan’s eyes shot wide open. If I had to guess, her Search Eye just activated. In the event of Sasaki entering a 50-meter radius, she can use this eye to highlight him among the masses. I don’t know why…but I feel like I shouldn’t have wasted my time learning about whatever that was in Shinomiya-senpai’s family dojo and instead became her pupil. That power seems a lot more useful.

“Over there, huh?”

I might not be on her level, but whenever the soccer club as a group is moving together, it becomes fairly easy to guess Sasaki’s actions. When they headed out to eat lunch together on normal school days, they’d always head to the courtyard no doubt.

“Whoa…!” Sasaki-san raised a voice of admiration.

Must have been because of the crowded and lively courtyard that she didn’t get to see during her last visit. We’ve got a much larger number of benches put down everywhere, and even made sure to properly cut all the grass to make it look as appealing and inviting as possible for the visitors so that they could even sit on the ground. It’s like Central Park…Meh, that’s a bit much. But it’s definitely like a university campus here. And apparently, they did it with that exact intent in mind.

Since Ichinose-san can’t deal with situations where there are too many people, she couldn’t hide her discontent as we got here. Though if this was Central Park, I could definitely see her finding an isolated bench to spend her time reading a book. Wait, is it rude for me to think that? I mean, I don’t mind if she slapped me for that.

“Hgghhhh…Hm?”

“Oh, that group over there.”

“Is that your brother, Yuki-chan?”

“……?”

In the distance, I spotted a group of folks from the soccer club. I think they’re giving off a pretty obvious soccer club vibe, so that other people than me would be able to figure that out. They’re the easiest to make out after the baseball club. The ones with a shaved head and sunburn belong to the baseball club, the ones with a shaved head and snow white skin in the kendo club, and the slender folks with sunburn are in the tennis club. If you’ve got a group of handsome idiots and a demon at the top, you’ve reached the student council.

“…Wah, it’s a doggie!”

“A dog is walking around…”

As we walked down the path of the courtyard, we were interrupted by a young girl pointing at me with a big smile. When I waved back, the girl then turned toward her mother with a grin. He he he…Seems like I’m Mr. Popular right about now, huh? Sorry, Ichinose-san, but if a star like me stays close to you, it’ll only give you unwanted attention. Well, just think of this as taking a walk with a superstar. I’ll make sure to lead you along just fine.

As I was feeling a sense of superiority for once in my life, induced by all the attention I was gathering, I approached the soccer club folks thinking I could brag to Sasaki. However, that’s when I caught on to something being off.

“Who the…Oh, aren’t you Sajou? Why are you looking like that? Are you doing some weird costume parade?”

“Ah, Sudou.”

He’s a fellow soccer club member and a first-year student. To me, he’s like the friend of a friend, and I talked to him a few times whenever Sasaki was also around. That being said, I think he knew that was chasing around Natsukawa at one point.

“Where’s Sasaki? I figured he’d be with all of you.”

“He’s…Tsk.”

“Shit…”

“Huh? What…?” I blinked in confusion.

When I brought up Sasaki’s name, Sudou suddenly sighed in annoyance. The others had a similar reaction…Erm, what? Did he die? Did he fight the absolute evil but died a futile death in the process?

“He got taken away by some girl from his class.”

“What…?”

“…?!”

One of the guys in the group, who didn’t seem to hold that big of a grudge, explained with a casual tone. I let out a voice like I was a character from a shonen manga, being met with the villain’s special attack. But at the same time, hatred started to fill my fist. It seems as if I’ve fallen to the dark side myself. Grk, I’m so damn jealous…!

“…Sajou, are you popular with the girls?”

“Huh?”

“I knew you got rejected by class C’s Natsukawa-san…but I always see you talking with a girl.” Sudou’s gaze wandered towards the girls next to me. To my left stood Sasaki-san, with Ichinose-san hiding behind my back. I mean, it might look that way, but I’m just trying to show around Sasaki-san, so I’m not particularly popular or anything.

“Maaan…Maybe I should cosplay myself.”

“Don’t call it cosplay. It’s just a costume.”

I’m not wearing this because I want to. I’m just here to advertise our class, that’s all. Though I can’t blame it, I was enjoying it for a moment.

“…Also, you sure about talking with us here?”

“Hm…?”

The same guy who just told me what happened to Sasaki now appeared from behind Sudou and asked me that.

“What do you mean?”

“One of the girls with you is gone, you know?”

“Wha…?”

I turned around, realizing that Yuki-chan had vanished. And instead, a half-eaten crap was lying on the ground, pointing its sharp end at me. It felt like I’d get shot at the smallest movement.

“Huh?! Where did Yuki-chan go?!”

“Sh-She’s gone…!”

“…!”

The three of us looked around, but since more people arrived in the courtyard, we couldn’t see too far. We searched for a moment, but to no avail.

‘He got taken away by some girl from his class.’

“Crap!”

Since Yuki-chan was aware of being a brocon, I thought she wouldn’t cross any lines and was actually joking around here and there, but seeing that crepe dropped to the ground, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s looking for him right now. Damn it…Now I can’t even predict what she’s gonna do! That’s why I never brought up Natsukawa during my regular reports of Sasaki’s school life!

“Let’s search for Yuki-chan!”

“Y-Yes!”

“…!”

*

Taking Sasaki-san and Ichinose-san with me to search for Yuki-chan was impossible, after all. Ichinose-san doesn’t have the necessary stamina to keep on running endlessly, and when Sasaki-san was dashing along the path, she looked at least ten years older. I saw it three times up to this point, I would know, okay?

Hence, I decided to split up from the two and ran through the school building all by myself. Since I should be showing Sasaki-san around, I couldn’t help but feel bad for all of this. However, with this major problem on the horizon, I had to act first and prioritize that.

Knowing Yuki-chan, she should easily make it to where Sasaki is—that’s what I thought. Hence, I chose to search for Sasaki instead. However, he’s got a girl with him, so they might walk around places more fit for couples. With that thought in mind, I went past the piloti in the courtyard, up the stairs passing the student council office, and stormed inside the southern building with its home economics room. If I remember correctly, that one should have the ‘Drawing & Cooking’ event. You draw something on a piece of paper, which then gets read by some special machinery and turned into a cookie shape. I think you can even decide on patterns and shapes.

The scent of fresh cookies drifted in the air, guiding me to the room in question. Man, this does smell really nice…Maybe I should just forget about Sasaki. As a dog, I require food for now. If Natsukawa told me to sit, I might just actually do it.

“—Ah.”

That’s the only sound I heard. I directed my eyes away from the window of the home economics room and moved them towards the source of that sound, when I spotted a beauty with an open mouth, about to chew on a cookie in the shape of a cat. Lord, please let me become that cookie.