CH 4
I Was a Good Person, and Then a Lot of Things Betrayed Me
That day I went home with Shiraki, I was in my room grinning.
No, well? It had been my first time with a girlfriend, right?
Isnât it okay to be a little bit excited?
At that time
Knock-knock!
Thereâs a knock at my door.
Is it my mother?
Thinking so, I open the door.
âMay I have a word?â
There she was, my sister.
Mifuyu Shinzaki, my biological older sister, is a beautiful woman that even I, her younger brother, would consider a beauty.
She is a senior in high school and goes to the same school as me.
âWhatâs wrong?â
She looked a little uncomfortable.
âHave you been seeing anyone lately?â
I wondered how she knew.
âN-no? Why would you ask me that?â
âTell me the truth.â
I felt a sense of intimidation from my sister that I donât usually feel.
Among male and female siblings, I think my sister and I are pretty close.
Weâve never been in a bad mood, and neither of us has ever done anything that would make us that way.
But I had a feeling that this question could be very serious depending on the answer.
I pondered.
âS-She confessed her feelings to me.â
I decided to be honest.
âWho?â
Why did she ask me so many questions?
âI-Isnât that enough?
âWho?â
She kept asking me the same question over and over again.
I gave up and told her.
âA classmate of mine named Shiraki.â
That was a mistake.
âHa? Didnât you go out with Himari?â
Immediately, my sisterâs face became stern.
âHimari? What has Himari do with this?â
I wonder why Himariâs name came up.
âHaa, Iâm so tired of you.â
She said that with a sigh.
Pish!
There was a sound of something cracking.
But I shook my head, thinking it was just my imagination, and asked her.
âWhy?â
She let out another sigh.
âIâm really stunned that you canât even understand that.â
Pish-pish.
With that, she walked away from in front of my room.
What was it, that feeling of something simmering?
I had never experienced such a feeling before.
It must have been a feeling of anxiety that things might turn sour because I had been getting along so well with others.
That must be it.
Otherwise, I would not have felt depressed about her.
The next morning, I washed my face at the washbasin and sat down at the table to have breakfast, just as my sister came down from the second floor.
My house is a two-story building, and my sister and I have our own rooms upstairs.
âGood morning, sis.â
I said cheerfully.
ââ¦â¦.â
But she didnât reply.
â¦..What is her problem?
I finished breakfast and left the house before my sister.
It was uncomfortable for me to stay at home.
Without taking any detours, I walked the shortest distance to school.
When I arrived at the school, I found that for some reason everyone was glancing at me.
They may have been trying not to notice me, but I am very sensitive to peopleâs movements.
There was no way I could have missed it.
I wondered if there was something wrong with me.
âShinzaki-kun, will you have lunch with me again today?â
I was paying attention to my surroundings when Shiraki called out to me.
âY-yesâ
As soon as Shiraki and I started talking, everyone started whispering.
â¦..If you have something to say, say it.
No, something similar to the feelings I had for my sister is rising up in me.
I forcefully suppress it.
âThen, Iâll see you on the rooftop.â
After saying that, Shiraki went back to her seat.
I feel uncomfortableâ¦
After fourth period, I felt uncomfortable in the classroom and headed for the rooftop to escape.
Shiraki was already there waiting for me.
I felt my heart lighten up.
Maybe I love Shiraki more than I thought.
âSorry to keep you waiting.â
âNo, I havenât been waiting much at all.â
Shiraki smiled at me.
Aah, sheâs really cute.
After school, as I was getting ready to leave, some of my classmates, a group of three girls to be exact, came over to talk to me.
â Hey, do you have a minute?â
I donât have plans to go home with Shiraki-san today.
âI do, but⦠what do you want?â
âWell, come here for a minute.â
âYeah, just a minute.â
One of the three turned her back to me and started walking away.
All I could do was to follow her back.
When I got there, I found myself in the back of the school building.
This is where Shiraki confessed her feelings to me.
I was thinking about that as I walked.
When I thought that the group of three had stopped, I saw Himari there.
âHimari?â
Himari was silent.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âYu-Yusei.â
Himari opened her mouth.
âWhat is it?â
âB-break up with Shiraki.â
Crack!
There was a sound as if something was broken.
âW-Why are you saying that?â
When I said that, one of the three girls who had remained silent until a moment ago replied
âHaa? You really donât get it, do you?â
She was saying the same thing as my sister.
Is this my fault?
âI-Iâm sorry, but I really donât get it.â
The trio turns their eyes at me, as if to say, â Stupidâ.
So what is going on?
âDo you really not understand?â
Himari asked.
You too?
âI-Iâm sorry.â
Himari looked down.
âThatâs enough. Letâs go, Himariâ
âOh, wait.â
Himari was pulled back by the 3 girls and went home.
Whatâs really going on?
Then a few days passed.
Since that day, when I talked to her, but she ignored me.
Did I do something?
I feel like she is irritated, which is out of character.
âShinzaki-kun, can you come to the back of the school building today?â
It was Shiraki who asked me that.
It has been a week since I started going out with Shiraki.
âYes, itâs okay, but whatâs wrong?â
âThatâs a secret.â
I was so happy to hear Shiraki say that, but her face seemed to be somewhat gloomy.
After school, I came to the back of the school building as Shiraki told me.
Shiraki was already there, and when she saw me, she straightened her posture.
âThereâs something I need to tell you, Shinzaki-kun,â
Shiraki-kun said.
âWhat is it?â
To be honest, I love Shiraki.
Even though my relationship with everyone has been a little bad lately, I donât mind because of Shirakiâs presence.
Thatâs how important Shiraki has become to me.
âThe truth isâ
I waited for her to continue.
âIt was all a lie.â
Two figures came out from behind Shiraki.
They were Kinoshita and Kawashima, with whom Shiraki was always talking.
They were both grinning together.
Paki-paki-paki! (cracking sound)
âEh, ha? A lie.â
âYes, a false confession.â
What is this person talking about?
âW-Why would you do that?â
âWhy huhâ
Oh, God.
âI lied to you because I thought itâd be fun.â
Thatâs enough.
Crack crack, crack crack, crack.
I heard something completely broken.
âWell, donât give me that look, it was just a joke.â
A joke, huh?
Selfish.
âHey, say something.â
âAah, shut up will youâ
âEh?â
Shiraki looks puzzled.
I often look at people.
Itâs because I wanted to have a good relationship with them.
But I donât feel the need to do that at all anymore.
I just do what makes me happy.
What about the opposite?
I know what I donât like to have done to me, and it goes hand in hand.
I reached into my pocket and operated my phone.
âDid you lie to me because you think itâs funny?â
âT-thatâs right. Is is wrong?â
Beyond disgust, I almost let out a derisive laugh.
âYou canât be serious, huh?â
I know that even I have changed my tone of voice.
But for some reason, I donât feel any different.
It was as if this me was the real me.
âShiraki, Kinoshita, and Kawashima, what you are doing is trampling on peopleâs feelings, donât you know that?â
I told the three of them.
I told them that, making sure to mention their names.
âIt doesnât matter, if itâs fun. â
As long as itâs fun, it doesnât matter what you do huh.
I see.
âWell, Iâm glad to know you guys are scum.â
I left the place after saying that.
At that time, I didnât notice that Shirakiâs eyes were a little wet.
The next day I arrived at school a little early.
Strangely enough, I was not depressed at all, even though Shiraki had dumped me yesterday.
But I was a little pissed off.
With a wry smile on my face, I headed for a certain place.
After walking for a few minutes, I arrived at my destination.
The broadcast room.
I enter the place marked âBroadcast Room.â
About three minutes before the bell rings, I made my move.
I pressed the switch on the schoolâs public address system and played the audio I had recorded on my phone yesterday.
It was played loudly throughout the school.
After I finished playing everything, I went back to my classroom.
It was a terrible scene.
âShiraki-san, she is terrible, isnât she?â
âSeriously, sheâs a scumbag.â
âI never thought she was that kind of person.â
âI was aiming for her for a while, but this is too much.â
Each one of them is saying words as he or she thinks.
In the end, people break up relationships easily.
It means that what I was doing until now was pointless.
Well, there is no point in noticing such things now.
Shiraki and her friends are sobbing uncomfortably.
What a good feeling.
I felt like my rough heart was healed a little.
Ah, that was refreshing.
I smiled wickedly again.
The boy doesnât know that Himari is looking at him with a sad face at that moment.