Chapter 1 – Naoya Ookusu
Volume 1
“Again??” , I thought.
The sun was setting at 6:00 pm. I walked out of the school building and on my way to the main gate, I saw a female student lit up by the setting sun.
She was standing by the gate, looking at the screen of her phone. When she noticed me, she looked up and gave a small wave.
“Finally!”
I let out a sigh, trying not to be noticed.
“Why are you here, ……?”
“Don’t worry about the details. Let’s go home.”
She doesn’t pay attention to my words. Just started walking.
She carried her bag behind her back and her brown hair was shaking. I walked out of the main gate and to the left, heading down the hill. I see the orange sun approaching the horizon.
“You’re in the science club, right? What are you guys doing this late? Experiments?”
She was walking in front of me and suddenly turned to look at me. I shook my head.
“I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“But you’re working in Lab 1, aren’t you?”
“─ Well, ……. Yes, we do use the first lab.”
I don’t want to say it too loudly, but most of these club activities are just playing games, and there are even some fierce players who bring their computers and play gal games.
“Hmmm. Maybe I’ll take a look at the science club next time.”
“Don’t do that!”
She laughed at me when I shouted out in panic.
“You’re so desperate. Your face is all red.”
“Just don’t come to the science club!”
And when she and I talk, it’s always like this: she’s teasing me, she’s playing with me, she’s treating me like a child.
…… Her name is Risa Enami. She is my classmate.
Originally Enami was known as a delinquent. She sleeps in class, doesn’t participate in school events, and her test scores are not good. Whenever someone tried to talk to her, she gave them a cold shoulder. I hardly ever saw her smile.
And Enami-san was quite beautiful.
It wasn’t just that she was a delinquent that made her famous at school. Even with a cold expression on her face, her face is so beautiful that you can’t help but admire it. She was tall, about six feet tall. To be honest, she also has large breasts. Even with a cardigan, you can see the big bulge.
That’s why I don’t understand.
Why does Enami-san always want to go home with me?
As I was thinking about this, I was approached by Enami-san, who had gone several steps ahead of me.
“What are you doing? Hurry up .”
I nodded and ran up the hill.
…… I didn’t expect it to be like this a month ago.
＊ ＊ ＊
“The first choice is Tohashi University ……?”
The sound of clicks and clacks echoed in the small office room. Other than that, there were only a few other sounds. It was a quiet space.
I leaned my back against the sofa and exhaled.
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?
The clicking sound that I had been hearing disappeared. It was probably because the person in front of me had stopped tapping her forehead with a ballpoint pen. There was a piece of white paper on the table.
At the top of the white paper, the words “Career Survey Form” were written in large letters.
The top of the white piece of paper read, in large letters, “Career Exploration Form. ……
“Tohashi… it will be difficult, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. I think it would be safer to take the escalator up, but it would be a shame not to test your academic abilities.”
he crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. Then I said.
“Shiroyama-sensei.”
“Hmm?”
Shiroyama-sensei tilted his head.
“I’ve heard that there are many students from this school who went to Tohashi University. You can indeed go up the escalator to Keimei University. However, I think that national universities are cheaper and have better educational facilities. I want to go to the top university anyway, so I’d like to decline the recommendation.”
“Oh, yes. You’re thinking things through without me having to tell you every little thing, aren’t you?”
He scratched his hair with the head of his ballpoint pen. You don’t want to criticize the choice, do you?
“It’s just that the only university you’ll be applying to is Tohashi?”
I knew it. On the application form, you can enter your first, second, and third choices. However, I wrote the name of Tohashi University as my first choice and left the rest blank. This must have been the reason why Shiroyama-sensei was puzzled over it earlier.
“I’m not saying you won’t get in, it’s just that you never know what’s going to happen on the actual exam. You might make a marking mistake in the center exam, suddenly not be able to solve a problem in the second exam, or not be in good shape due to poor health. There have been cases like that in the past.
“I understand. But I’m only going to apply to take the exam at Tohashi University.”
“Hmmm…”
Even Shiroyama sensei would not be able to simply say, “Yes, I see.”.
“You are the best student in this grade, and you always get the best grades. You’re well-behaved, and you were and still are class president in your first year. You have a lot of friends. That’s why I want you to go to a good university.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you only want to go to Tohashi?”
I nodded silently. I stared straight into their eyes, and they sighed heavily as if they could feel how serious I was.
“Well, it’s okay for now. The exams are next year. We’ll have to do the same kind of survey next year. I’ll let you know what I think then.”
“Understood,” I replied.
“That’s the end of the interview for today. If there is nothing else you want to talk about, you may leave the room.”
“I have nothing in particular to say, so I’ll leave.”
“Ah. Thank you for today.”
I got up and put my bag on my shoulder. I said excuse me and walked out the door.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was already about 5 pm. There was no point in going to club activities now. I decided to just go home.
“I’m home.”
At the front door of the house, a pair of white loafers that I thought belonged to my sister had been thrown away.
I took off my shoes and stood on the wooden frame to collect the loafers and put them together.
No matter how many times I tell her, she won’t listen. I climb the stairs to the second floor, where a door with a plaque saying “Sayaka” appears in front of me.
I knocked again and again.
But there was no answer.
I stopped waiting and opened the door.
It’s a room of about six tatami mats. The curtains were closed and it was dark. Only the computer screen was glowing, and a girl was kneeling on a swivel chair.
“Sayaka.”
I called out to her, but she must not have heard me because both her ears were covered with headphones. She kept her face close to the screen and kept clicking the mouse. Occasionally, she would make a weird laughing sound, like “hehe” or “hihi”.
I ripped the headphones off of her head. Her body shook with a jolt.
“Hyah!…… what?”
The screen of the computer displayed what appeared to be an otome game. A handsome man was showing his white teeth and had a sore neck.
“‘…… ah, you shitty brother. Can you stop taking the headphones off so suddenly?”
“If you don’t answer, I’ll have to do this.”
“And don’t come into my room without permission. If this were a war zone, you’d be dead.”
“….. You didn’t respond to my knock.”
This happens all the time. My sister is always in front of the computer with her headphones on, so she doesn’t notice anything I do. If I want to talk to my sister, I have to force my way in.
“What if I’m changing my clothes or something?”
“Yes, yes. By the way, have you been studying? Midterm exams are coming up soon, aren’t they?”
“You say it’s coming soon, but there’s still two weeks left.”
“You have to start preparing now to get a good score.”
“I don’t care. I just need to avoid red marks, then I can do it overnight.”
“What a waste… You’re always playing games”
The room is also dirty. The uniform was taken off and scattered on the floor. Plastic bottles and books were placed haphazardly on the floor as well. There was a bag of potato chips by the computer. It looked like it had been eaten, but it hadn’t been put in the trash.
She was dressed in a gray sweatshirt that looked like a nightgown. Her long black hair was tied up in a bun with an elastic band.
I picked up a plastic bag from the corner and started to collect the garbage. Even though I clean the place every day, there is still a mountain of garbage.
“Can you please stop messing with people’s stuff? If this place were a minefield, it would already be a pile of dust.”
“No matter how many times I clean it up for you, you still make a mess. Don’t put your uniform on this dirty floor. You’ll get dust everywhere.”
“Yes, yes. I am sorry.”
I wonder what she will do when she lives alone or gets married in the future. Will there be a man who will take her even if he sees her like this? her face is probably on the cute side, but there will be a big gap between her face and the rest.
“It’s normal to have a little trash on the floor. My brother is too serious. If I had to worry about it, there would be no end to my cleaning. I’m smarter and more energy-efficient than you.”
I chopped my sister on the head.
“Uh! What the hell ……?”
“If you keep making a mess, the cockroaches you hate so much will come out.”
“I’ll just call my shitty brother then, no problem.”
“Look here”
You’re relying on me after all, aren’t you? I want you to get a grip.
“I don’t know why you’ve become so cocky when you used to be so cute calling me ‘onii-chan’……”
“I’m going to ask you a question back. Isn’t it creepy how your sister still calls you “Nao-onii-chan” when you’re in high school?”
“It’s not creepy at all!”
“Wow, the very fact that you’re saying that is creepy. Well, as expected of an otaku.”
“You’re an otaku too!”
The handsome character was still smiling on the screen. I know that she spends most of her allowance on otome games.
While I was talking about this, I was still moving my hands and the bag was filled with garbage. I tied the mouth of the bag and shoved it into the trash can.
“I’m going to make dinner now, so don’t snack anymore.”
“Yes, yes. Make it a hamburger.”
“Shut up. It’s curry today. Don’t play games too much and study.”
After saying that, I left my sister’s room.
I left my bag in my room, changed my clothes, and went to the living room.
When I walked into the living room, I looked at the front wall. There was a Buddhist altar on top of a cabinet.
I walked up to the altar and called out to her.
“I’m home, Mom.”
On the photo frame, there was a picture of my dead mother from about four years ago. It was taken when I was just a junior high school student while climbing a mountain.
I rang the bell, put my hands together, and closed my eyes.
While I was cooking in the kitchen, my father came home.
“Oh, curry today?”
He was dressed roughly in a shirt and jeans. As his workplace had a relaxed dress code, he didn’t have to wear a suit.
“Welcome back. Do you mind the curry?”
“Of course it’s fine. I was just thinking about having a curry.”
Then he lights a cigarette. He lay down on the couch and exhaled the smoke.
“Can you please not smoke in the living room? You’ll get the smell all over the place. You can smoke alone on the balcony.”
“isn’t it fine a little? I don’t like the balcony because it’s cold.”
“No curry for dad then.”
“I’ll put it out! I’ll put it out right now!”
He rushed to put his cigarette in the ashtray.
Even though he was able to minimize the damage, he still smelled a little like a cigarette. The smell of curry also covered the room. I thought to myself that I’ll have to use Febreze later.
“ You’re a tough guy, you know that? Even when your mother was alive, she didn’t give me this much of a hard time.”
“I guess she had to put up with a lot. Common sense dictates that you don’t smoke in the living room.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just so relieved to be home.”
Then my father stood up. As he did so, I heard a loud noise. It must have been his flatulence.
“If I can’t smoke, I’m going to bed. Wake me up when the food is ready.”
“…… Yes.”
Then he went into the next room and closed the sliding door. Soon, I could hear him snoring. He’s a very good sleeper.
Why is everyone in my family so lazy? I felt like sighing a bit.
TN: New project.. seems fun… 😉
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