Chapter 6
A totally unexpected character overlap had occurred.
I thought I was the only mysterious girl at this school...
âFutaba Misao. Thatâs my name.â
âWhy this kind of character overlap of all things!?
I was completely caught off guard and nearly peed myself in surprise. But the fact remainedâright in front of me was a real mysterious girl.
Apparently, she was the libraryâs resident mysterious type.
âI want to know your name.â
ââŠNn.â
What if mysteriousness became too common and lost its value�
âTsubasa. Recommendation.â
ââŠâ
And then, for some reason, this rival girl kept calling me by my first name and handed me book after book she recommended.
âŠWhy?
âI donât need these.â
I was about to say, âYou can only borrow three at a time,â but once again, I totally failed at expressing myself clearly.
I mean, seriously, what am I supposed to do with all these books? She piled several Dazai Osamu books into my arms, and my muscles were secretly trembling from the weight.
âYou do need them.â
But more than that, the girl in front of meâFutaba-sanâwas the strong-willed, expressionless type.
Probably a different breed of mysterious girl than me.
For that, I guess I should be at least a little grateful.
âŠStill, what is this situation?
âWhat is?â
While teetering on the edge of my limits, I tried to ask what this intense Dazai love was all aboutâand seriously, what was even going on right now?
Then, despite her expressionless face, her eyes sparkled.
âââDazai is omnipresent.â
Suddenly, she began to show the full extent of her library-type mysterious girl powers.
âOmniâŠpresent?â
âYes. Dazai is everywhere.â
Omnipresent Dazai⊠Wait, what? Thatâs terrifying.
I couldnât help but imagine what she meant.
âIn my head, I saw Dazai Osamu turned into a Cerberus.
His face split into three, attached to a dogâs body. I could almost hear him muttering, Kill me⊠kill me⊠or something.
âŠIs that why he tried to commit suicide so many times?
âTragic.â
I mumbled my impression of the pitiful Cerberus-Dazai, and Futaba-san gave a single nod.
âDazai clings to you whether you want him to or not.â
Overflowing with Dazai love, she began to talk passionately about his novels.
âWhen you read him, he takes root in your heart without even being called. Then he whispers, âI understand how you feel,â deep inside. Whether in joy⊠or in pain.â
Though her face stayed blank, her eyes sparkled, and she clenched her hands tightly as she spoke. Apparently, she could go on for quite a while about the things she loved.
âThatâs why Dazai is omnipresent. He just plants himself in the minds of those who read him.â
âŠShe might be a rival mysterious girl, but Iâm starting to feel a little closer to her.
Even though she was expressionless, Futaba-sanâs glowing eyes showed she was the type whose emotions were easy to read.
âââSo, Tsubasa.â
After all that, Futaba-san suddenly stepped in closer. Then, she grabbed my shoulders.
âIâve shared.â
She peered intently into my eyes from up close. Her golden eyes were practically saying, Come on, come onâŠ
âSo now, I want to hear your Dazai.â
With eyes that couldnât hide her excitement, she tried to get me to start talking about Dazai too.
...Kh, at this rate, Iâm going to get swallowed up by her mysterious aura and lose the Mysterious Domain Battle completely!
If that happens, Iâll end up as her loyal mysterious underling, forced to preach the gospel of Dazai as âCerberus Shirogane.â
Thereâs no way Iâm letting that happen!
...Alright, I need to give her a firm rejection so I donât get overpowered!
I have to stick to my own brand of mysteriousness!
ââŠYouâre being too familiar.â
Ugh!?
That came out way harsher than I expected.
I-I wonder if Futaba-san is okayâŠ
Worried, I glanced over at herâand for some reason, she was nodding in approval.
âI get it.â
She nodded with that expressionless face, somehow managing a smug look.
Wait, what? Is she invincible or something?
...This is bad.
Futaba-sanâs too much of a powerhouseâI canât even picture a way to win.
M-Maybe I should make a strategic retreat for now.
When I think about it, this is pretty much her home turf. Of course I was at a disadvantage!
A-Alright, time to make my escape!
Next time we battle for mysterious dominance, Iâll drag her up to the rooftop!
Iâll let you off for todayâbut donât think this means youâve won!!
âFutaba is leaving now.â
But⊠apparently my mouth isnât good at dramatic exits either, because it came out sounding like I didnât care about any of this.
Even though Iâm burning with competitive spirit inside!
I tried to shove the books she forced on me back into her arms and leave, butâŠ
She grabbed my sleeve again.
Like she was telling me, I wonât let you get away that easily.
âThatâs wrong. Itâs Misao. Tsubasa should call me that.â
Right to the very end, she was a high-pressure, mysterious, pushy girlâand a real tough opponent.
I-I feel like sheâs closing the distance between us way too fast.
Forcing me to call her by her first name out of nowhere⊠thatâs seriously indecent!
ââŠYouâre being too familiar.â
âYeah. Dazai is too familiar too.â
That comeback is too overpowered. Please, someone ban it already.
Also, Iâm not calling you by your first name. I donât even call Kishine-san that yet⊠Huh? Kishine⊠san?
âŠAh!?
Oh noâI completely forgot I left Kishine-san waiting this whole time!!
I-I have to hurry!
If Kishine-san ends up hating me, thatâd be the worst!!
âââShirogane-san.â
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠAh.
ââSo now, I want to hear your Dazai, Tsubasa.â
ââŠToo familiar.â
âI get it.â
âFutaba, Iâm leaving now.â
âNo, Misao. Tsubasa should call me that.â
ââŠToo familiar.â
âYeah, Dazai is too familiar.â
For some reason, Shirogane-san was chatting quite comfortably with a girl I didnât know.
Sheâd left me waiting all this time.
ââHuh?â
I couldnât help but let out a low voice. Please forgive meâI just couldnât hold it in.
I was glad she said âSee you tomorrow.â For the first time in a while, I waited for tomorrow in bed with a pounding heart.
I thought Shirogane-san only had me, that she only looked at me, so I wouldnât feel lonely.
I thought she could live alone without loneliness.
But she seemed a much cuter girl than I had imaginedâmaybe she didnât want to be alone after all.
Thatâs why, after seeing her yesterday, I thought I wanted to be number one for Shirogane-san.
Yet now, Shirogane-san was leaving me behind and talking to a girl I didnât know.
âTsubasa was being called by her first name, without honorifics.
By the time I noticed, I had already taken a step forward.
Iâd never interrupted a conversation before. But before I could think, impulse pushed my body.
ââShirogane-san.â
I cut into their conversation. I didnât care now.
â...Who?â
âKishine.â
Right now, I wanted to ask Shirogane-san why and what she was doing. So I glared at her as hard as I could.
But the moment she saw me, Shirogane-san hurried over to me. Expressionless, she stared straight up at my face.
...That alone almost made me forgive her, but I didnât want my feelings to seem cheap, so I forced myself to look away from those innocent eyes.
ââŠKishine.â
âIâve been waitingâalways.â
Looking away, I tried to show I was angry.
âDidnât you care about me at all, Shirogane-san?â
So my tone was as resentful as possible, like blaming her for my unhappiness.
...My chest stung a little, but Shirogane-san was the one who painted this haze of confusion inside me.
ââŠSorry, Kishine.â
With her voice came a gentle tug on my sleeve.
Her usual soft voice sounded somehow apologetic.
âWhy didnât you come sooner?â
â...A littleâŠâ
âA little isnât enough.â
I kept looking away, asking more. If I met her eyes, Iâd forgive her for sure. I wanted her to feel some of my frustration.
Then, suddenlyâŠ
âHey.â
The girl who called Shirogane-san âTsubasaâ spoke up again. Because of her, I probably hadnât made it to the rooftop.
âWhat is it?â
I answered coldly, curtly.
That girl then askedâŠ
âDo you like Dazai?â
For some reason, she suddenly asked a completely off-base, weird question.
âŠHuh? Dazai?
Dazai Osamu, the author of Run, Melos! and all that?
âShirogane-san, who is this person?â
âWeird.â
Without any detailed explanation, she summed that person up perfectly with a single word. I glanced at Shirogane-san, but she was staring right back at me, and our eyes met immediately.
Transparent, pure, like a mirror.
âŠEven though I was feeling all mixed up inside, I couldnât bring myself to get any angrier.
Itâs unfair, Shirogane-san.
âNot âweird,â Misao.â
âWeird Futaba.â
So her name is Futaba Misao.
Sheâs trying to get Shirogane-san to call her by her first name.
âŠAnd I still havenât gotten there yet.
âKishine?â
Without thinking, I grabbed Shirogane-sanâs hand.
A low, faintly warm hand.
Then, clearly and firmly to this girl Futaba, I said:
âShirogane-sanâs number one is me, and my number one is Shirogane-san.â
Ever since we promised to travel together.
Thatâs why I canât give her to anyone else.
Pouring all that willpower, I glared at Futaba.
I stuffed all my feelings into that glareâdonât meddle with Shirogane-san.
Futaba just tilted her head in confusion.
She looked up at the sky a little, then said one word:
ââLesbian?â
âHuh?â
Lesbian? Me?
I instinctively looked at Shirogane-san, who blinked more than usual and silently stared at me. Maybe she was a little surprised too.
Realizing that, I was suddenly overwhelmed by intense embarrassment, and couldnât help but shout out loud:
âNo way!!!â
Futaba might be Shirogane-sanâs friend.
Including that, I grew to really dislike this person.
Shirogane-san, please donât believe her.
Iâm only number one to Shirogane-sanâI swear, thereâs no ulterior motive!
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