Summer Vacation Arc: 83 Stubborn and Coward

Summer Vacation Arc
83 Stubborn and Coward

Meru and Fuuga headed toward the riverbank where the other three were likely to be.
When it came into sight, Meru tugged on the hem of Fuuga’s yukata.

“Sorry, I’m going to go to the bathroom, so you go ahead first.”
“Eh, I’ll wait for you.”
“It’s just over there, so I won’t get lost. Go on ahead since everyone is probably waiting.”

When Meru suggested that, Fuuga agreed and separated from her there.

Having finished up in the bathroom, Meru took a step in the direction where the others were.
There, she caught a glimpse of a girl who looked like Kouri being surrounded by a group of girls and taken into the slightly dark forest.

It was highly unlikely that it was Kouri. However, Yuuri had said that Kouri was planning to come later. Meru couldn’t completely eliminate the possibility that it was her. But even if it was, she would probably get mad at Meru if she went over, calling her a busybody.
Meru wanted to avoid any more awkwardness with Kouri. She fretted over whether or not to go.

Thinking up to that point, Meru let out an “Ah.” If it were her before, she wouldn’t have such irresolute thoughts. She didn’t think about being liked by others. It was no wonder she’d been feeling so gloomy lately. She understood.

Meru realized she’d been trying to change even things that didn’t need changing.

Since Kouri already wasn’t fond of her, she should just go and take a look if she was worried.

Returning to her usual self, Meru kept those thoughts and changed her direction away from the riverbank toward the forest.

The girls continued deep into the forest. Meru was okay with the darkness of the outdoors, but even so, the darkness inside the forest was ominous and just a little scary.

Even if the girl led away wasn’t Kouri, they couldn’t see the fireworks from this kind of place. It certainly wasn’t behavior bearing any good intentions, even Meru could tell.

After walking for a while, the characteristically high voices of girls reached Meru’s ears.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to bring money?”
“At least do that much since you’re rich.”

It wasn’t an amicable conversation after all.
Meru, seeing extortion happening for the first time, was so shocked that she couldn’t help saying, “It really happens,” in thoughtless astonishment.

Then, upon seeing the face of the girl with the disproportionately neat and clean aura in contrast to the gaudy girls surrounding her, Meru was at a loss for words.

Although she was kind of expecting it, seeing it in reality gave Meru an even greater shock than just before.

“Aidou-san, don’t get carried away just because a few boys call you cute, seriously.”
“We all know how awful a person you are, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah. We told you that if you don’t want us to tell others, you should bring money.”

The girls drew closer to Kouri, backing her against a tree trunk. On the other hand, Kouri had a very unpleasant expression and glared back at the girls.

“Isn’t it fine if you tell? You don’t actually know anything, right?”

Kouri said with an annoyed expression. Meru was dumbfounded. Normally, one wouldn’t be so self-assured at a time like this. She frankly felt that Kouri was amazing.

However, contrary to Meru who purely thought carefreely, the girls who thought Kouri was picking a fight with them revealed their irritation.

“Haa!? How impertinent!”
“You really won’t get it without being taught a lesson, huh?”

When one girl said that, the surrounding atmosphere changed a little. As soon as Meru thought things were getting bad, she was already off running.

Meru flicked away the hand the girl was swinging down toward Kouri with her own arm.
The girls there, as well as Kouri, all widened their eyes in surprise at Meru’s sudden appearance.

“Kusu…hara…san.”

Kouri was so surprised she couldn’t get her words out well.
Meru replied to Kouri’s awkward call with “It’s a little dangerous, so step back,” and picked up a slightly thicker tree branch that happened to be by her feet.

“Wh-What do you intend to do…”

The girls drew back. Kouri also stared worriedly, not knowing what Meru planned to do.

“Ei!”

Meru swung the branch like a bat and hit the tree trunk with a thud.
As she did…

Bzz bzz bzzzzzzz…flap flap.

Cicadas made a horrific sound, flying toward the girls.
Just as Meru expected, the girls who looked as though they’d be scared of bugs let out terrifically strange sounds as they ran away.

“It’s surprising that this tree had three cicadas.”

Meru murmured while watching the fleeing girls.
Kouri was looking at Meru who said such a thing so casually with a puzzled expression.

“Why would you…”

Kouri asked Meru in her shameful state. Meru twirled the branch like a baton and laughed.

“Normally, it’s unpleasant to be chased by bugs, right? That’s why.”
“That’s not what I…!”

I wasn’t asking why you hit the tree trunk. I was asking why you helped me, Kouri said in a slightly stubborn tone.

“Then should I have turned a blind eye?”
“That’s…”
“I’m joking. Just think of it normally as me being a busybody.”

Meru said and went to leave, but Kouri stopped her.
She stared at Kouri’s gloomy face expressionlessly.

“Shouldn’t you be laughing?”
“At what?”
“I complained about you, but aren’t I the one being bullied…”
“Is that something to laugh at? If that’s the case, I’m sorry. My sense of humor is different, so I can’t laugh.”

Meru said with a straight face.
Her face was giving off a slightly different aura than her usually lazy expression.

“Are you feeling sorry for me?”

Kouri bit her lip in irritation. Even in front of her like that, Meru was still calm and nodded at Kouri’s question.

“That could be. I might be pitying you.”
“Wh…!”

Kouri couldn’t continue speaking. She didn’t think that Meru would agree. That she would definitely deny it. Even though she was prepared to call it lip service, those words became a breath and disappeared into the air.

“I mean, I’ve also experienced that kind of thing before.”
“That’s a lie…”
“It’s not. Though I don’t really intend to go into detail.”

Meru smiled a little sadly. It wasn’t something she had told others. It was because Kouri was someone who had really gone through a truly bitter experience that she immediately understood why Meru couldn’t talk about it carelessly. Even so, maybe because the person in question was Meru, the feeling that she couldn’t frankly accept that had settled inside her.

“Kusuhara-san, you are…different from me. There is no way you could understand my feelings.”

Kouri raised her voice. Meru didn’t say anything. She just stared as she waited for Kouri to speak.

“I really had friends before…”

Kouri thought back on it.
To the time after that incident.

Kouri was discharged from the hospital, and aside from the fact that she couldn’t swing a wooden sword anymore, she lived her daily life without change.
In order to allay her brother’s concerns as he felt responsible for the incident, she had just decided to continue living well. But an even sadder reality was thrust before her.

One day after school.
Having finished her cleaning duties, Kouri headed toward the classroom of her best friend who had been with her at the park that day, planning to go home with her like usual.

“Haru-chan, are you okay?”

She heard that voice from the classroom. “Haru” was the name of her best friend. Thinking something had happened, she took a step forward. However, she couldn’t go any further than that.

“You should stay away from Kouri-chan from now on.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re really pitiable, Haru-chan.”

Kouri was lost from the suddenness of that. She couldn’t understand who exactly they were talking about.

“But…that means Haru will look mean…”

Kouri couldn’t believe her ears because Haru was the one to say those words. She even began to wonder if the one there truly was the Haru she was good friends with.

“That’s not true! It’s Kouri-chan’s fault that the sixth graders have their eyes on even you.”
“Exactly!”
“Really? But Kouri is really serious.”
“Ahh, that’s also true.”
“Plus, Kouri misunderstood that Haru likes Yuuri onii-chan, so she does things like making me meet him.”

Kouri’s eyes widened.
Haru had always liked Yuuri. She said she wanted to be friends with Yuuri, so Kouri had helped her out despite worrying they might get in Yuuri’s way.

“Eh, what’s with that!”
“Because of that, Kouri took Haru to the park that day, too, and while we were waiting for Yuuri onii-chan, we got surrounded by the sixth graders…”
“She’s the worst!”
“Even if Kouri-chan got what she deserved, Haru is really pitiable.”
“I’m telling you, you should stay away from her. It’s dangerous.”
“If Kouri-chan says something to you, we’ll protect you!”
“Thanks, everyone.”

She didn’t get it.
Remaining lost and confused, Kouri ended up alone.

Even so, Kouri was desperate not to be found out by Yuuri. If she could find something to get completely absorbed in, she would be able to use that as a reason for why she was alone at school and wiggle out of it. And so she threw herself into the flower arrangement and tea ceremonies that her parents practiced.

After that, she became fearful of other people. The first time Yuuri brought the other executives along, she had her distrust fully on display, but they were on a whole different level from her and she quickly understood that they wouldn’t do anything to her as a result.

That’s why they weren’t scary.
However, Meru was different.

And then Yuuri opened his heart to Meru.
The first time she heard about Meru, Kouri immediately recalled Haru.

If she came to know Yuuri’s true self and got entangled with him, there would come a day when she turned her back on him.

Yuuri would be the one to get hurt again.
And if he got involved with Meru, Kouri herself might also get mixed up in it again.

“She’s the worst.”

She didn’t want to hear those words again.

Various thoughts gushed out, and Kouri bit her lip. She was frustrated just remembering it all.

“I always…without knowing why, I become the bad guy… Isn’t that kind of thing weird…?”

Kouri’s voice was quiet and very frail.

“Even if I do something for someone else, if I get off the right track even a little, they say everything is my fault…that kind of thing.”

Meru gently touched Kouri’s head as Kouri spoke those words with difficulty.
Kouri stared in surprise. Meru, returning her gaze, had a gentle expression.
Even though she had just vented her thoughts on Meru absurdly unreasonably, Meru didn’t have any sign of displeasure on her face.

“I’m sorry. I made you talk about something unpleasant.”
“…”
“It might really be something different from sympathy. I didn’t have friends even long ago.”

Kouri couldn’t say anything anymore.
The warmth of that hand told her that Meru’s words were not a lie.

“But I came to Reiryuu…and when I made my first friends, I understood something… It’s fun to be with your friends, and it’s scary to lose them.”
“—”
“That’s why even I know that the feelings you’re carrying now aren’t so simple that I can understand them.”

Meru thought that if Kouri asked her why she didn’t even understand that, this matter would come to an end. But Kouri didn’t say anything. Meru exhaled slightly and added, “That’s why I’m begging you.”

“If it’s you, you should be able to understand just how important the friends I was finally able to make are to me.”

If friends that the lonely Kouri could trust appeared in front of her now, she would definitely hold tight to them frantically so as not to lose them.
If Meru really had experienced isolation like Kouri, then that meant Meru was also serious now.

Actually, Kouri understood.
She knew that Yuuri also wasn’t someone who easily believed in others, and that Meru was probably different than she expected. In spite of that, she just didn’t want to approve. But she was obstinate, and she knew that she was just afraid of being left behind and alone.

“Uwahhhhh!”

Recognizing everything now, tears overflowed from Kouri’s eyes.
Kouri cried out in tears as if to wash away everything—her shame, her unsightliness, and her stubbornness.

Meru shouldn’t let her borrowed yukata get dirty, but she definitely couldn’t leave Kouri alone, so she just continued to caress Kouri’s head until she stopped crying.

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<TLN>

Man these chapters have been long lately.

2 chapters left in the summer vacation arc!

Ko-fi link here.
April bonus chapters funded: 0/3 ($15/$30 to the first chapter!)