CH 6

As I said that while taking off my shoes at the marble entrance, Mitsumine burst into laughter.

“You're so upright. I'm the only one here, so you don't have to worry about it.”

No no no no. No matter how I look at it, I definitely have to worry about it.

No matter how you put it, I’ll be nervous because there’s no one besides you here, but why do you not realize that?

What the heck do you think of me, did you really think I could keep my composure after being invited to the home of a girl, who is not only the most beautiful girl in school, but also the most beautiful girl in the entire prefecture!?!? Do you really think that??

There ain’t no saint like this in the world!!

“Ahh, then just sit in a proper place. I’ll go bring some drinks.”

“Ah, yes!”

I replied with a jump to Mitsumine’s voice, and not knowing where to sit in the sweet smelling room, I began wandering about restlessly.

To those of you who are currently thinking, ‘No, isn't this weird, what’s with this development?’ I was the first one to think of that too. Please help me. I’m so nervous that I’m talking to imaginary people.

Yeah, that's right. It all started with a conversation I had on my way home yesterday.

“Recently, aren’t the math tests getting difficult? I don’t care about X anymore…” 

“A-kun, are you bad at math?”

“I am. To put it simply, it ranks right after tomatoes.”

“Can you not just weirdly say information about yourself during your conversations? I didn’t know that A-kun hates tomatoes. There’s no way I would get it… Hmm, but even so you’ll have to do your best then. There’s a test next week right?” 

“…A test next week??”

Ehh, really. It’s my first time hearing something like that.

“They said it during today’s assembly. The humanities students will enter a period of math improvement, so there will be a quiz for our overall results.”

“…I-I don’t think we really need that…”

“We definitely do. I heard that if your score is less than half of the average, you can get a failing grade and you’ll have to do supplementary exams.”

I'll be honest with you. I was asleep, thinking that it would be another unimportant story anyway. I was sound asleep.

“It’s all over for me, I’ll have no choice but to go take the supplementary exam.”

“You’re giving up too early. You still have a week to prepare so don’t give up now.”

"But who's going to help me when I'm so weak in numbers…………”

“That, um, you can ask someone who is good at math to help you. You can also ask someone who’s caring and has a sense of responsibility.”

“There aren't many people like tha———Haa!”

Isn’t this all about Mitsumine from top to bottom?

“…………What, why are you looking at me so expectantly? I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Mitsumine-paisen! Let’s have a study group, a study group!!”

“Ahhh, I knew that this was definitely going to happen…”

Mitsumine paused and let out a sigh, looking as if she had swallowed something bitter. But maybe this is a chance for us to meet tomorrow, when there is no school.

“Um, you know? Even I have my own stuff———”

“So do you have plans tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow!? O-of course… but.” 

“Like what?”

“You know, like, um…” 

Sorry but that sounds like a no??

Alrighty, I can’t let this golden chance pass by. I started frantically begging Mitsumine, who was looking around fidgeting while muttering, “L-like shopping?”

“That’s something you can do in the morning though!! Hey, can’t you just go shopping in the afternoon!?”

“…………”

“Ahhh, I’ll treat you to lunch. I know a restaurant that serves some delicious omurice!!” [TLN: omurice is omelette fried rice.]

Mitsumine turned away from me, who began acting like a small fry. But after a bit of pestering, she turned around and muttered in a small voice.”

“………….eady”

“Eh?”

“…………I told you already, I’ve agreed with it since a while ago!”

Apparently, she’s fine with it. She really is an amazingly soft-hearted person, isn’t she?

“How about 10:00?”

“That's fine. Where do you want to meet?”

“We'll meet at the usual station. There's a family restaurant nearby where we can stay longer.”

“Roger that. Then, bring your textbooks and notebooks, ok?”

“Yes, Mitsumine-paisen!”

So we met at the station at 10:00 with great enthusiasm. The nearby family restaurant was so crowded that we couldn't get in, we were warned for being noisy at the library, and the café we had relied on as insurance was temporarily closed.

Until Mitsumine suggested, “My parents are out on a business trip, so we can go to my house.”

At first, I was going to Mitsumine's house with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but every time she said something like, “We're almost there,” I got more and more nervous, and when we arrived at her place, which was obviously a high-class high rise condominium, I didn't know what to do.

And then, when I eventually entered her room. A vaguely sweet smell, and just the two of us alone——

“Huh, you’re still standing there.”

“Hii!?”

“Ahaha, what’s with that voice? I brought you some tea, so you can sit on this cushion here.”

“O-okay. Thank you very much.”

“Then, take out your textbooks. Just so you know, I'm going to be very strict, okay?”

Ahh, this is not good. Even my breathing is becoming constrained, how am I supposed to focus on studying? There’s no way! No way! Literally no way!

———was what I was thinking to myself but.

“No, A-kun, this X disappears here so…” 

“Why!?”

“What do you mean why!? That’s just how it is!!”

“Haa!? Have you ever thought about how X feels when he gets erased here? Say, even you want to change the impossible to possible right!? Is this only half of what you’ve planned?”

“If you have time to think about X's feelings, I want you to also think about my feelings as I teach math to A-kun while he says some incomprehensible things you know!?”

“But X is…”

“Will you shut up already! Math is not something you can solve with the strength of your feelings!!”

Nope, I’m already all out of concentration. I tried too hard to concentrate. Math is too incomprehensible.

I don't know if I can call this a blessing in disguise, I don't want to call it that at all, but it had been two hours since I had been thinking about X.

To be honest, at first I was just using the study group as an excuse, but when I saw Mitsumine earnestly teaching me, I felt more and more that I should do my best too.

I want to be the reason for Mitsumine to not commit suicide.

In order to do that, I have to make an effort to be able to stand next to Mitsumine.

I can’t suddenly declare a fictional dream of getting first in the whole grade for the next test, but the least I can do is get above the average grade for the math test next week.

This was the first time I thought of such a thing since I started school, when I started comparing myself with others and started giving up everything little by little.

Just as I started to change little by little, I also hope Mitsumine is able to change after meeting me, even if it’s just a little.

“…What?”

As I was thinking about this while staring at Mitsumine's profile as she solved the equations, Mitsumine suddenly turned to me.

“………….”

Because of this, suddenly, our eyes met. I had been so focused on my studies that I hadn't noticed how close we were, and the heat rushed up to my ears. Mitsumine tilted her head and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. The pupils in her big cat-like eyes narrowed vertically for a moment, like a real cat.

Scary. I’m scared she’ll see through all my feelings, even the ones I have yet to realize for myself. And I’m scared because if that happens, we might not be able to stay in this relationship anymore.

Desperately trying to hide these thoughts, I smiled back and then Mitsumine——

“Ahhh. I see. A-kun, you’re hungry, right?”

“Eh”

She smiled impishly, and started grinning with her chin on her hand. As I stared at her figure vacantly, Mitsumine, as if she understood something from my stupid expression, got up and asked, “I’ll go make lunch, are you okay with omurice?”

Eh, eh, eehh??

“Ehhh!? Handmade!? By Mitsumine!?”

“We’re already in my house, and the omurice restaurant that A-kun mentioned is pretty far from here. Going that far is a pain, so I’ll just make it myself.”

?? Surely not? Is it okay for something this wonderful to exist in this world? God??

“Ah, if you don’t want to——”

“No it’s not like that. I really want to eat it. I’ll eat it even if it costs me my life.”

“I see. Then fine.”

Mitsumine said, looking exasperated at my vigour, but yet her expression felt like she wasn’t dissatisfied at all. Then she told me to wait and left the room.

“Wait, I'll help you!!”

“Ehh, to run away from math?”

“No, Mitsumine has been helping me a lot, so I thought I'd return the favor. I'll work as your hands and feet! Let me be of use!”

“…Ahahaha. What’s with that? Then I guess I’ll just have to work you hard~~”

Then we put on our aprons and start making the omurice.

By the way, Mitsumine’s appearance in an apron was err, you know, um, yeah, ‘so nice’ that my vocabulary wasn’t enough.

Aah, I wondered if I could take just one picture of it.

“A-kun, break and stir the eggs!”

“Yes, my Lord!” [TLN: he said it in Engrish]

Yes. I'm working, I’m working okay.

I did the chores, while Mitsumine skillfully proceeded with the cooking. The division of labor was good, and in a few minutes, two very nice omurice were completed. Of course, we didn't forget to draw ketchup art on the top.

“So this is Mitsumine's, and this is mine!”

“…What is this ‘TMA’?”

“ ‘Thank you, Mitsumine, Aishiteru’ “ [TLN: Aishiteru = I love you]

“By the way, what's that extraterrestrial-looking thing at the end?”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s definitely a cat though??”

“…………Haa.”

“Hey, wait, stop sighing seriously like that.”

I got a four in art in junior high school, for crying out loud. I've never gotten a five though.

I hurriedly stopped Mitsumine, who had given up on my desperate excuses and started to eat her omurice.

“Dear customer, it’s still not over.”

“It's not over yet!?”

“The magic is yet to come, you know?”

“No but I was the one who made it though!?”

“Yes, I'll cast a spell! With a lot of love——! Become delicious~! You too, Mitsumine!” [TLN: the moe moe kyun thing, but without moe moe kyun and just the first part. Kill me]

“Ahhh, geez! Become, delicious~!”

“And now it has become delicious~~. Itadakimasu.”

“…………Itadakimasu.”

I watched as Mitsumine awkwardly put the omurice in her mouth.

“Ehh, delicious!”

It's delicious. To be honest, it's probably better than the omurice restaurant I was planning to go to today. I didn’t expect Mitsumine’s perfection to even reach her cooking.

“Mitsumine can cook rather well, huh?”

“…Rather than ‘well’, if I couldn’t cook or do household chores, the two of them couldn’t just leave me at home alone without worrying, could they?”

“What do you mean by ‘The two of them’?”

"My parents. My parents work very hard so they’re often very busy. They are often away on business trips like today, so I have to make sure that I can survive on my own at least.”

After saying that, Mitsumine took a big mouthful of omurice and began chewing on it. Looking at her state, I couldn't be the only one who’d think that she’s just putting on a brave front.

“Mitsumine, you're an honor student at home too.”

“…What, are you making fun of me?”

‘No, I respect that and I think it’s a fine quality. I mean, you’re only doing it because you love your parents and are worried for them, right?”

“~~~S-shut up!”

I think her reaction said it all, but as if she was trying to hide her embarrassment, Mitsumine began eating her omurice faster.

Oi, are you okay? You look like a squirrel, though it’s absolutely adorable. 

“You don’t really have to be such a good girl all the time, you know. If you get tired, your parents will end up worrying about you.”

“…………But even my parents like me better that way. If I say selfish things, they might start hating me. I have to be able to do everything on my own.”

“Is that so? Well, that's your choice.”

It's your choice, but then it's also my choice for me to meddle in your messy affairs like this.

“Isn’t it fine to say that you’re lonely when you are? After all, didn’t you agree to my study group suggestion because you would be lonely today?”

“~~~HA!? It’s nothing like that! It’s none of your business!”

Mitsumine then took the last bite of her food, yelled “Thank you for the meal” and walked towards the kitchen. Then, as if she had completely turned into a robot, she began emotionlessly washing the dishes.

I absentmindedly stared at her figure while chewing on my omurice.

A perfect girl who can do housework, cook, and study. It's easy to put it into words, but when I piece together what Mitsumine said, it's not easy at all.

(If so, then I shouldn’t be giving up just because of a math test either, huh…)

“Righty!”

I'll do my best as long as Mitsumine is willing to study with me.

“Mitsumine, I’ll help you clean up!”

I finished the last bite of my meal, got up from my seat and headed towards Mitsumine.

I hope to ease her burdens, bit by bit, even if it’s just a little.

If only, I could get just a bit closer to that pain of hers.