Chapter 16 - Stage One

I am a man, so of course I would hate losing in a compet.i.tion.
That is, when I admit it is a compet.i.tion myself.

What I mean specifically, is that I think that any place other than first during the tests is bulls.h.i.t, but I don"t care if I don"t get pa.s.ses during PE. A human being cannot win in everything at the same time. Besides, one of the important parts of victory is not getting involved with a lost battle.

Even so…

The frustration from not being able to stop Iidzuka"s shoot right before the goal during yesterday"s trip.
Tachibana"s cheerful voice "Go for iiit!" reaching me from the side.
And the mysterious urge for my whole body rising from the depths of my chest.

Unusually, it lingered till the next day.

Most of my worries go away after a night"s sleep, so it is really unusual. Even during grade school when I returned home almost crying from bullying, it would be all gone in one night.

Yesterday"s events don"t go out of my head. Intense pent-up feeling spread inside my chest with no signs of disappearing. This is an emergency.
Still, strangely enough, I can see this worry as trivial too. Well, there is still the question if it can be trivial when I am obviously worried. However, thinking about it with a calm head, there is only so much important stuff in my worry.

Is it something to care about?
That was simply a game after a meal. It wasn"t a compet.i.tion or anything, but why…?
If it is really unimportant, then I should throw it out of my head from now on. Do you hear me, Ichijou-kun? Tests are coming soon. You cannot afford to worry about such things.

And because of that, I asked for advice from a nearby adult.
Hey, hey, hasn"t a certain Skywalker-kun had an interview with a Jedi big-shot right after seeing a slightly weird dream? There"s nothing better than nipping a calamity in the bud.

After my explanations, our Master Arika"s round eyegla.s.ses shined for a moment.

– Love. That is certainly love, Jun-kun!

It was breakfast time on Sat.u.r.day. There are magnificent articles on the dining table, just as always.
It seems that state of her latest ma.n.u.script is very good, so today she is in high spirits. Today, she looks very excited again.

Well, I"ve been thinking when idea about the nearby adult came up.
I do think that she is a good person, but I believe it is more or less a matter of course that we would turn into saddening children when there are no other adults around apart from this very eccentric person.

Though, what did she say? Love?
I couldn"t digest that one point, so I asked with an uninterested voice.

– Well… Now this is weird. Love, is it…

– Exactly. That person is surely in love.

That person.
Naturally, I wouldn"t come asking for advice telling it was for myself.
After all, I said that it was about my friend, so I ended up being that person. However, as I have no friends in the first place, this chat over the dining table was covered in downright lies.

– Even so… At that level, he is still at Stage One.

– You"re describing it as if it was an illness.

– The real fun starts at Stage Two. It doesn"t end at taking a light interest in that girl. Having noticed her, he can"t take his eyes off her. But, overconfidence can be very dangerous. You have to pay special attention when it gets to Stage Three as he can"t stop thinking about that girl and even starts writing poems! Seeking too much of her attention can make her hate you.

– Haa… Then I will tell this to my friend. With and early diagnosis, it can be cured.

– Oh, it absolutely should not be cured. It is a necessary illness.

Aunt"s eyes were bloodshot.
It seems she is very interested in my consultation, so she started to talk rapidly.

– Of course you would want to show something good in front of a girl you like! Do you get it? Boys and girls and all of the humanity are protagonists of a romcom. To each person his own personality, bu-u-ut, you can"t change what is unchangeable.

Anything you ask from this person, you will get a reply connected to love.
I was a fool, expecting a decent answer.

Still… Love, huh? I, and that frank girl?

It"s not funny at all. At least for me, it is impossible.
For argument"s sake, if by any chance it is true, according to my aunt"s words, I"m still at Stage 1. It can still be called early diagnosis. It has to be cut off, even if I have to rip my internal organs out. Well, this one is really impossible though.

– Besides, Jun-kun, why are you asking that kind of questions now? Even if it is you, there is something of a boy left in you, so you have at least some experience, right? Right? Right?

– N-, no… I… do not.

– Come on, you have to change it. Right, fall in love, even if you have to force yourself to! Second year of high school is a privilege. If you stay pa.s.sive it will disappear just like that! Humph!

My breakfast cannot continue like this. It was a mistake to ask for advice.
Also… A morning conversation like this is a template of how to make my little sister sitting on the side to look at you with the coldest of gazes.

– I have something to ask.

Keyaki was grinning and giving me a cold look.
Looking into her eyes, I understood everything. Sensing my useless lie, she is one of those who will draw the truth out of you by asking leading questions. Seriously dangerous little sister. I immediately started doing my war preparations.

– Your friend, that is to say, isn"t that obviously about yourself? I feel like everything connects with how you were covered all over with sand, don"t you think so?

Ouf.
What leading questions, this is a d.a.m.n straight punch. This is a d.a.m.n straight fireball.

– You… I just fell down a bit grandly, that is all! Didn"t I say so…

– Haa…

– What"s with that s.h.i.tty intentional sigh! It was really not like that.

– A girlfriend for my brother, huh? I"m now all alone, huh? Ah, so lonely.

– Stop that monotone speech. Am I not implicitly telling you that even if I wanted, there is no way I could get a girlfriend?

– Nhihi. What, so you do understand, lol

Hah, ain"t she a rascal.
However, after our conversation, aunt Arika put her hand to her chin seemingly thinking of something. Glancing at me she said,

– Jun-kun… The other day, it was a date after all, wasn"t it?

– That is not true.

I don"t know anything more. Sorry for asking strange things. I"ll think of it by myself from now on.
Ignoring them, I started stuffing my mouth with food.
I have to eat faster and go to the second floor, otherwise this interrogation will not stop.

Ah, by the way, after returning home from the previous pseudo-date, I quietly went straight to my own room, so n.o.body has seen the newly bought clothes. I ended up spending both the absurd amount I was given and my personal savings, so I can declare that I made no mistakes in my stealth mission.

– So I went to Jun-kun"s room to take his clothes for the laundry… and found some unfamiliar clothes, aha♪

– Argh…!

Quickly gulping down the water, I pushed the food stuck in my throat down into stomach.
I failed… I mixed them with usual clothes. I was so tired that day that I only roughly hid them, it"s a disaster.

– Fufu… They looked quite fashionable. Just who has chosen them? No, what kind of girl is she!?

– Huh… What is the meaning of this, brother?

– I use the right to keep silent! Yeah, our conversation ends here! Thank you for the meal!

After all… that day, I deceived my aforementioned pent-up feelings by studying.
They will disappear sooner or later anyway, it was too early to rely on doctor (lol). I think I will observe how it progresses a little more.

Also… that.
I have two weights on my legs called "loner" and "bookworm", so I have to follow both of their rules.
As a loner, if there is a chance for love I could do whatever I want with it, but in the world of bookworms there is a love ban, the same as in the worlds of Jedi and idols. Like in sports world, result is everything, so one should be careful not to play too much. It would be too late if my test marks get worse. One should be careful to not fall to the dark side.

Fufu, I will later teach this to Tachibana. b.i.t.c.h and bookworm cannot coexist.

So to speak, I am a Jedi knight, protector of the world of the bookworms.
s.h.i.tty diligent fellows of the world, may the Force be with you…