Chapter 28: Radio Waves Are Probably About Love
End
We promised to support each other and live together.
So, what happened to us after that...?
âTsubasa-chan, can you cut the onions?â
âMm.â
âWhen you're done, mix it with the meat and knead it, okay?â
âMm!â
We just went ahead and started living together in the same room.
We ended up coming back to that roomâthe one that could only be locked and unlocked from the outside.
But Rio-chan said it was my room.
And she promised not to lock the door anymore!
âAll done.â
âThanks. Iâll start cooking, so can you handle the rice bowls?â
âMm.â
After that, we started sharing the housework.
It seemed like she was planning to take care of everything herself, but we talked about helping each other out, remember?
Thatâs why I insisted on helpingâclumsily told her, âPlease teach me how to do house stuff,â and this is what it led to.
Rio-chan has been teaching me properly.
I got my feelings across!
âWeâre done! S-So, Tsubasa-chan, do you want dinner? A bath? Or maybe...â
âDinner.â
â...Right.â
âKissâafter brushing teeth.â
âY-Yeah!â
Also, about Rio-chan...
Sheâs gotten kind of obsessed with kissing lately.
She says it makes her feel safe.
Even though my heart races every single time, Rio-chan just stays calmâitâs totally unfair, right?
Itâs always on my cheek or hand or places like that.
We havenât kissed on the lips yet.
Honestly, itâs starting to feel like some weird kind of fetish. Kinda lewd, donât you think?
But maybe because of that, Iâm getting even more self-conscious, and kissing on the lips just keeps feeling more and more impossible.
...Will I ever get to kiss Rio-chan before I die?
If I go through this life still a virgin and without ever kissing someone on the lips, I might reincarnate out of sheer regret.
Thatâd be a reincarnation driven by 100% pure, twisted sexual frustration, right?
Itâs so bad Iâd probably get reborn as an orc.
And if that happens, Iâll just have to become roast pork.
âThis is so good, Tsubasa-chan!â
â...Mm.â
But with Rio-chan smiling so innocently like that, thereâs just no way I could say something like, âHand over your lipsâitâs your duty!â
I want Rio-chan to keep being modest and maintain that healthy sense of distance!
By the way, todayâs kiss was on my belly button.
...Thatâs seriously twisted. I have no idea why, either.
âAh, Tsubasa.â
â...Misao.â
âItâs been a while.â
âMm.â
A few days later, I ran into Misao-chan at the bookstore.
She was still browsing through Dazaiâs books, as usual.
I feel like sheâs probably already read everything heâs written by now, though.
Oh, that reminds me!
âMisao, the book really helped. Thank you.â
Before Summer Vacation, I Was Troubled by a Ridiculous Book Like a Pickling Stone, but It Turned Out to Be Really Helpful
When I expressed my gratitude, Misao-chan gave a light nod.
âWere you saved by Dazai?â
âMm, it was hard.â
âIt depends. Thereâs also soft Dazai, you know.â
I nodded along with Misao-chanâs words. If itâs Dazai, it would make sense for him to bend the laws of physics, becoming both hard and soft at will.
...For a brief moment, I had a terrible thoughtâcould it be something about a guy?âbut I quickly shook my head to clear it.
Even Dazai, no matter how much of an enigma he was, surely wouldnât go as far as to repeatedly stiffen and deflate in a book.
âWhich Dazai do you like, Tsubasa?â
â...The stories?â
âYeah, the stories. What else would it be?â
â...Hardness?â
âThe hardness or softness of the content, including the stories.â
Misao-chan didnât seem to be talking about Dazaiâs weapon performance, but rather the intrigue of his stories.
Well, of course that was the correct thing to talk about.
But still, I couldnât help but wonder why Misao-chanâs homemade Dazai commentary book was so stiff. It helped me escape, but I couldnât understand why sheâd made it so rigid.
âSo, which one is it?â
Misao-chan leaned in, and I, inwardly chuckling, pulled out a book. It was a paperback that Misao-chan had bought for me the time we went out together.
âMy favorite Dazai work? The Schoolgirl.â
âI get it, Tsubasa. You really understand. Sheâs blunt, ordinary, and yet so delicate. Her subtlety is really cute.â
Misao-chan, speaking faster than usual, looked just as she always did, and somehow, it felt reassuring.
âMm, like Rio, cute.â
However, it seemed that Misao-chan had caught my whisper, as she suddenly froze, both her movements and mouth coming to a halt.
Then, with an awkward motion, she stared at my face, carefully examining me.
â...Do you need to go to the eye doctor?â
She hit me with a rather harsh remark, straight on.
Donât worry, my eyes are perfectly fine.
I donât need glasses, and Iâve always had 1.0+ vision with no issues!
âRio is cute.â
I repeated it again, and Misao-chan blinked rapidly a few times.
â...Well, to each their own.â
She commented on my strange tastes and quickly looked away.
It was the same as always. She could be so harsh toward Rio-chan.
Thinking about it, Rio-chan and Misao-chan have never gotten along.
I guess you could call it a compatibility issue.
Both are kind-hearted people, but sometimes, I wonder why they canât get along.
âWhy are you and Rio not getting along?â
I let the question slip from my mouth without thinking.
It wasnât that I wanted them to reconcile, just pure curiosity.
Misao-chan, glancing at me from the corner of her eye before turning her gaze away, replied.
â...Kishine is too sloppy, and I hate that. I canât stand feeling constricted. Kishine is earnest, and Iâm rough around the edges. Water and oil, Dazai and Mishimaâconflicting, itâs inevitable.â
I nodded quietly, reflecting on what she said.
Now that I thought about it, there really had been some tension like that.
Itâs just compatibility, and thereâs no way to force people to get along.
But it was still a little lonely.
For me, they were some of the few people I got along with.
â...I donât dislike her, even if Iâm bad at getting along.â
Misao-chan added that with a kind smile, showing just how thoughtful she really was. I probably had been able to sense something even without showing much expression.
âI like both of you.â
Because they were like that, I thought we could become friends. When I realized that, the words naturally spilled from my mouth.
Misao-chan blinked a few times before speaking.
ââŠTsubasa, youâve gotten more honest. It looks like things are going well. Iâm glad.â
She showed me that move sheâd done beforeâpinching her own cheek and making a smile. From the bottom of her heart, she was truly happy for me.
So, in return, I lifted her cheek with my finger and mimicked Misao-chanâs gesture.
I wanted to say thank you, too.
We both spent a few seconds pretending to laugh together.
ââŠDazai wrote, âI simply love you. Isnât that enough? Pure love is just that simple.ââ
Still smiling the pseudo-smile, Misao-chan tilted her head slightly.
âIs that what you mean?â
I lowered my finger and responded.
âThatâs exactly it.â
With a genuine smile, I answered Misao-chan.
Yeah, it makes me happy.
When youâre happy, a smile just comes out, doesnât it?
ââŠAfter all, Tsubasa, youâre cute. I knew it from the start.â
Since then, I lightly consulted Misao-chan.
It had been a while since we had a good chat, and I was happy that when I asked for advice, she gave it to me. Misao-chan is always a reliable friend.
Once school starts again, letâs catch up properly!
âRight nowâŠâ
âWelcome back, Tsubasa-chanâhuh?â
In the end, at the bookstore, I bought a paperback of Roman Lanterns that Misao-chan recommended (and of course, it was another Dazai work), and immediately came back home.
When I arrived, Rio-chan greeted me, sniffing a few times.
ââYou smell like Futaba.â
She looked at me with a serious face, instantly figuring out that Iâd met Misao-chan. Was Rio-chan a police dog in her past life or something?
âI was at the bookstore.â
âShould I spray some Febreze?â
Without a word, she started spraying the air with it.
Misao-chan had said she didnât like Rio-chan, but Rio-chan seemed to dislike Misao-chan too. Kind of sad, huh?
âDid she do anything to you? Are you okay?â
ââŠShe said I was cute.â
âWell, thatâs something every human knows.â
Iâm pretty sure thatâs not true at all.
But Rio-chan, for some reason, seems to really like it when I get praised.
Even though it was Misao-chan who said it, Rio-chan didnât seem to care at all. She took it as naturally as if I were just stating that my hair is white.
âŠWell, it still made me a little shy.
âIf nothing happened, then I guess itâs fine. Tsubasa-chan, do you want a snackâ?â
âRio.â
But thanks to that, I was able to distract myself from the embarrassment and do something bold.
I grabbed Rio-chanâs sleeve and stopped her in her tracks.
"...Tsubasa-chan?"
"âRio, letâs go for a walk?"
Before I came back, I had consulted with Misao-chan.
It was about wanting to kiss Rio-chan on the lips.
Today, I was feeling quite bold.
We left the apartment and walked together.
Strolling through the streets, our footsteps echoing in the scorching sunlight.
âItâs so hot.â
âMm, itâs hot.â
Today was especially hot, and even a light hand-holding made us sweaty in no time.
Even so, we kept walking, hand in hand. In that condition, there was not even a hint of discomfort.
â...Tsubasa-chan, this placeâŠâ
âMm, itâs a shrine.â
We kept walking until we arrived at the shrine that Rio-chan had brought me to on our previous date.
Even though it was still day, the shrine was closed for the day, again.
It was likely that the shrineâs management was in some trouble.
âLooks like we wonât be able to buy charms today.â
âWeâll come back when itâs open next time.â
But that was actually convenient for me right now.
Because, with no one else around, this was the perfect place for what I wanted to do.
â...Cold.â
âMm.â
We washed our hands at the purification fountain, and I shared a little water with Rio-chan. Technically, we werenât here to pray, so we probably shouldnât have, but I liked this place.
âThe place where I wanted to kiss Rio-chan.
Misao-chan had given me the advice that if I could create the right atmosphere, I could take her to a place that held memories. Thatâs why I brought Rio-chan here.
With all my intentions laid bare, I stood by the gods' side.
âRio, this way.â
With hands that were slightly cooled from the sweat, I took Rio-chanâs hand.
We moved into the shade of the trees in the shrine.
All the way to the tallest tree on the grounds.
âThe cicadas are so loud.â
â...Summer.â
âYeah, itâs summer.â
The shrill chorus of the cicadas.
The sound that makes you feel summer to the point of being overwhelmed.
Even in the shade, the heat was so intense, it made the air shimmer.
âThen, a gust of wind blew by, like a gentle caress.
The leaves fluttered in the breeze.
Some of the cicadas, feeling the call, took off into the air.
The cicadasâ song began to fade into the distance.
ââŠYou know, RioâŠâ
âMm?â
Even with our hands still clasped together, I gathered up all the courage I could muster.
I couldnât shake the awkwardness. No matter how many times Iâd done it, simply changing the location to my lips made me incredibly nervous.
...Because itâs Rio-chanâs special place.
"Um... well..."
"...Yeah."
Even so, because Rio-chan is holding my hand and watching over me without rushing.
"ââI want to kiss you on the lips."
Somehow, I managed to muster the courage and speak.
Rio-chan, next to me, softly smiled, her lips gently curving.
"ââOkay."
Her cheeks faintly flushed as she acknowledged my desire.
My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest.
"...Should I do it, then?"
"I'll stand on tiptoe."
In response to her suggestion, which considered our height difference, I stubbornly refused.
Rio-chan just smiled and accepted it.
She released my hand, then gently stood on tiptoe.
I closed my eyes and, standing on my toes as well, brought my face closer to hers.
"Mm..."
The world seemed to fall silent.
There was only the faintest sound of a kiss, a soft "chup."
It became a memory of a summer day, a moment to last a lifetime.
We exchanged a kiss, side by side with the gods.
As if to show off, we pecked each other's lips.
God, please bless us, just like how couples stand before witnesses at their wedding.
This is a shrine, but there is no bell.
Instead, the only sound is the thumping of our hearts.
And within that, I could feel itâthe beat of Rio-chanâs heart.
Her heartbeat, just as fast and excited as mine.
Realizing this made me feel so sweet and warm inside.
My heart was pounding, and in place of blood, cocoa seemed to flow through my body.
A happy, drowning kind of time.
I realized that girls are made of sugar, spice, and something wonderful.
I gave all of myselfâbody and heartâto Rio-chan. Our hearts and bodies, connected, could understand each other.
"You're okay now, right?" someone whispered in the silent world.
I had no idea whose voice it was.
But there was one thing I knew for sure.
Iâm no longer alone; I have someone precious who understands me. And through touch, that meaning became real.
It was an overwhelmingly happy feeling.
And it came through, and I sent it back.
ââI love you, I love you so much, I love you.
Without a sound, only through the act itself.
Without hesitation, with certainty.
Iâm sure, right now, we are the happiest people in the world.
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