Please tell me... 11
I blew up the arcade.
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I don't know how a single grenade managed to demolish half the building, but it exploded anyway.
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And now, I'm being,
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Dragged.
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Why am I always being dragged around?
I have two legs that can move on my own will.
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"Haaah..."
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Twitch.
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The president, dragging me along, sighed.
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"Well, I won't say anything since it seems you know what you did wrong, Nito."
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"I-"
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"You're not going to say you didn't do anything wrong, are you?"
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"Ugh..."
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When I blew up the arcade, the president appeared out of nowhere and took me straight out of Millennium.
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It seems she's taking me home.
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At least I managed to protect the doll I won in the chaos.
Anyway, it was that stupid arcade's fault for rigging the claw machine.
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"Well, that arcade was a bit suspicious, and I was investigating it anyway."
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"Huh...?"
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Investigating because they put erasers in the dolls...?
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"Ahem! Well, we're getting close to your house, so I'll be going now. And..."
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And?
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"Please check your Momotalk messages on time."
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?!
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"Well then, take care!"
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President disappeared from sight, but I couldn't move from that spot for a while.
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Cough-
Cough-
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"Ugh..."
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I caught a cold.
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It seems I'm being punished for wandering around outside in my pajamas all the time.
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So, now I'm lying in bed under the covers.
The cat doll I won the other day is beside me.
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At least it's something.
No matter what happened, I still got it.
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I'm still mad about getting ripped off, but whatever, I already vented my anger, so it doesn't matter.
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Cough-!
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"Ahhh..."
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This is so hard.
It's a weekday...
How am I going to attend classes...?
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No, no, when I think about it, why should I go to class?
I should rest because I'm sick.
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I sent a Momotalk message to the president saying I caught a cold and will be resting at home today.
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Isn't this the first time I've sent a message first?
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Buzz-!
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-Okay. I'll let Sensei know, so get some rest today.
10:40 AM
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Ugh... This is too much.
I feel like I'm dying...
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I hugged the cat doll beside me.
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How did it come to this?
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Right, Momotalk.
That was the root cause and starting point of all this trouble.
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If I had just checked Momotalk every time I got a new message, it wouldn't have gotten this bad.
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When I was a beginner, I ran the schedule and got a bunch of Momotalk messages all at once because the students' affection levels went up.
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I looked at a few at first, then decided to check them later, and left them alone, and now it's turned into this mess...
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Maybe I'm getting emotional because I'm sick.
I should be thinking logically and rationally like a scientist, but I can't.
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Haha...
Looking at it this way, my situation doesn't seem much different from the doll next to me.
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In the end, nothing went my way.
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I...
What...
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What should I do?
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-Sensei! Today is the day we do that request from the other day! Or so I'd like to say, but unfortunately...
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"Oh? What happened?"
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-The client contacted us. The student who was supposed to come today is sick with a cold, so it won't be possible today...
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"Where is she?"
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-Huh?
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"Please give me that student's home address."
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-I knew it would come to this! I understand!
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Leaving a sick student alone at home is failing as a teacher and as an adult.
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I started getting ready to go out.
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"Arona, did you get the address?"
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-Yes! So...
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As soon as I heard the address Arona gave me, I thanked her and rushed out of the office.
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Following the address, I arrived at a villa.
It was a pretty nice place.
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I climbed the stairs and found the student's apartment number, then rang the doorbell.
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Ding-dong-!
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But there was no answer from inside.
I was about to leave, grabbing the doorknob and wondering,
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Clunk-!
Creak-
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Surprisingly, there was no door lock, and the door opened.
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Why isn't there a door lock?
I don't know.
First, I need to go in and check if the student is okay.
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As I stepped inside, my body froze.
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"Haaah... Uh..."
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Lifeless blue hair.
A face flushed red, contrasting with her pale arms.
Trembling eyebrows.
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The student groaning in pain was Aoi Nito.
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Nito was the student?
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I was momentarily surprised, but this wasn't the time for that.
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She doesn't look good.
I should put a cold towel on her forehead.
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"Haaah... Ah..."
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Her groans subsided a little.
She seems to be doing a bit better than before.
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That's a relief.
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"Phew..."
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Cough-
Cough-
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"..."
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It seems I'll have to stay here and take care of Nito today.
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I thought as I re-cooled the lukewarm towel.
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Come to think of it, I'm in a girl's house who lives alone, aren't I?
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Without even asking permission?
If someone reported this, I'd really get in trouble.
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Now that my mind is a bit lighter, I'm having all sorts of silly thoughts.
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Nito is hugging a doll.
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A cat...?
Does she like cats?
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It seems so, since I don't see any other dolls around.
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Looking at her like this, she's really, really cute...
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But her first impression was so strong, I can't forget it.
That day was the biggest crisis of my life.
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But now that I think about now, it seems like a memory I can laugh about.
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"Ugh..."
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Nito groaned again.
The moment I reached out to change the wet towel,
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Grab-
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?!
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"Haaah... Help... me... What... should I do... now...?"
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Nito grabbed my wrist and struggled to speak.
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It seems she's not talking to me specifically, just feeling anxious.
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What should she do...
That's a question even adults can't answer properly.
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But I think I can answer this one thing.
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Just try something.
Do what you want to do.
Then, won't you naturally find out what you should do?
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That's what I'd say.
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