Chapter 175: Confession [side Nozomi Tachibana]
Scum: "This person! She attacked first! ...Thighs! ...Weapon! Look at her butt!"
Scum was surrounded by the boys, while the girls gathered around protectively.
Girl: "What are you even saying to such a cute middle school girl?"
Girl 2: "Her thighs are a weapon, huh? (laughs)"
Girl 3: "No way! But her legs are beautiful!"
Boy: "Saying 'look at her butt'... That's so advanced pervert stuff...!"
The older girls surrounded , getting all excited, giving sweets and patting my head...
While I nibbled on the sweets and watched,
When Sarara shouted "Molester here!" and all the seniors gathered,
What they saw was Scum grabbing a depressed middle school girl.
Since all they saw was walking around looking downcast, the story beca that Scum grabbed a middle school girl.
Well, I did get my arm grabbed and totally hit him with that Scum Ryusen move...
So, what should I do?
→ Tell the truth
Stay silent.
...No, no.
Tell the truth
Stay silent.
→ Play the victim
"...I an, I'm okay, but... a high school guy suddenly grabbed ... It was scary..."
I just couldn't get my spirits up, so I comnted with my head down.
...Honestly, using the Scum Ryusen move was a bad idea.
"Yeah, it was scary, wasn't it?"
"Why would you do sothing like this?!"
Scum was led away, the tennis club coach got called and ca running, and I was asked what happened.
I explained everything, like how on the way to the indoor practice court he started hitting on and grabbed my arm, so I shook him off and ran, but on the way back he found and grabbed again.
Sarara: "He said stuff like 'her butt!' and 'her thighs are a weapon!' That pervert! Isn't it better to quit this school already?"
Sarara was also giving her testimony while looking at .
Geez, so noisy. I like it here.
The coach apologized for the trouble, told the boy would get a suitable penalty, and promised to co apologize again later and drive ho.
...Maybe I'll take her up on that offer?
My mood was in the dumps and everything felt like a hassle—I just wanted to go ho...
Sarara: "...Tachibana, let's et again, okay?"
"...Yeah."
Sarara seed like she wanted to talk more, but I'd lost this ti.
The loser doesn't get a say. I said bye to Sarara and got a ride ho in the coach's personal car.
While apologizing for the trouble, the coach talked about today's practice, the training policy, and the future of Hokusho. She must be in her late twenties? A beautiful adult woman, passionate about tennis.
I nodded along as she dropped off in front of Shinkawa Middle School.
While apologizing again for the trouble, the coach said,
Coach: "...No matter how it happens, I'd be happy if you ca to our school, Tachibana."
(There's no way I could unless I got in as a scholarship student.)
Thinking that, I thanked her for the ride and bowed my head.
Holiday afternoon... there was no one at the middle school.
On the way ho, I felt the weight of my bag in a way I hadn't on the way there...
I got a ssage from Kousuke-kun on LINE: "Are you done with practice yet?"
"The coach gave a ride to the middle school. I'm in front of your house right now, Kousuke-kun!"
*By the way, Kousuke's house is right in front of Shinkawa Middle School.*
After I sent that,
Kousuke: "Is this Mary-san or what! Good work. Take it easy, okay?"
That was his reply.
Normally, we'd go back and forth a lot on LINE, but today I left it at that one exchange.
☆ ☆ ☆
I got ho, told my grandparents I was back, and returned to my room.
Hii-chan welcod ho.
Hii: "Sis! Welco back! ...What's wrong? Did you run into a jerk?"
Smiling, my little brother Hii-chan hugged , looked at my face, and hugged again.
I hugged Hii-chan back,
"The jerk is your big sister."
Hii: "That's not true! Sis, you're kind, energetic, and care about us—a great big sis!"
Hii-chan... I hugged Hii-chan tight and lay down on the futon.
Usually Hii-chan complains, "It's hot! I can't breathe!" but tonight he just let do whatever...
Chu-chu! Chu-chu-chu!
I kissed Hii-chan all over, like a woodpecker.
With a deadpan face, Hii-chan just accepted my woodpecker kisses.
By the way, big brother wasn't ho—he had work.
We ate dinner, talked a little about Hokusho at the table, and suddenly it was night.
I took a bath, watched TV, and lazed around in my room... lazed around.
Hii-chan fell asleep in Dad's arms.
It was a bit early, but I got into bed at 9... but I couldn't sleep...
Around 10, big brother ca ho.
In the shared room, without turning on the light, big brother ca in.
"...Welco back."
Sho: "Whoa! I thought you were asleep! You were tired, so you went to bed, right? Did I wake you? Sorry."
In the darkness, I heard big brother's gentle voice.
Sho: "Want so curry? I'm gonna take a bath."
I wasn't hungry at all... but... the sll of curry...!
Even though I'd decided to go to bed, I got up sluggishly, went to the kitchen to heat up so curry, and ate.
As I took my ti warming up and eating the curry, big brother finished his bath and ca out in his tracksuit.
By the way, big brother's tracksuit is also adiós.
He sat down across from as I slowly ate my curry,
Sho: "If you eat this late, you'll gain weight, you know?"
Huh? You're the one who told to eat, big brother!
I threw the hand towel that was next to at him!
Laughing, big brother said,
Sho: "The temptation of curry is impossible to resist."
"So true."
Since big brother prompted , I slowly started talking about joining Hokusho High School's practice today.
I told him I dove right into practice, there was a girl who moved really well, lunch was delicious, and in the afternoon matches I had one win and one loss.
...And that the coach drove to Shinkawa Middle School.
Sho: "...I see."
By the ti I finished talking, I'd finished my curry, and big brother listened with his chin in his hands, nodding along.
The two of us brushed our teeth together, then went back to our room.
We said goodnight, turned off the lights, and got into bed... but...
There was still sothing I hadn't said...
In the darkness, I heard big brother's voice from the other bed.
Sho: "So? Sothing happened, right? What's got you making that hard-to-say face?"
"...You can tell?"
Sho: "I can tell just by looking at your face, and Kousuke ssaged on LINE to say Nozomi wasn't looking so good, so could I talk to her when I got ho."
Kousuke-kun? He could tell from that short LINE ssage? I was a little surprised, but I was also frustrated (and kind of glad) that my brother and Kousuke both saw right through .
I got up, walked across the dark room, and slipped into older brother's futon.
Sho: "...It's cramped."
"...I'm sleeping here tonight. Okay, older brother?"
I started to talk about the things that happened today that I hadn't told him earlier.
About how Scum called out to , and when I ignored him, he grabbed my arm.
He grabbed Nozomi's arm? Older brother was furious. He's such a siscon, honestly.
...And that I hit him with "Scum Ryusen," and also smacked my own butt pretty hard.
Sho: "...I have no idea what you're talking about."
Older brother looked exasperated.
Apparently, that guy was in the boys' tennis club, so during practice when he was nearby, I pretended everything was fine by putting on a 120% fake smile, stuffed in so chest pads, and disguised myself.
Then... I just kept going through the afternoon practice match like that... At the critical mont, I took out the chest pads and dropped the act... but I lost.
I made a vow on the racket older brother bought for ... but I...
"...I'm sorry, older brother... I got overconfident, gave myself a handicap and lost... caused trouble, hit soone... Just like you said, I'm still a wild beast and a brat..."
Even though I made that vow that day...
Older brother quietly listened to .
"To always, always face tennis head-on! That's what I promised on that day... but..."
I admitted to older brother that I'd let my guard down and grown conceited.
Older brother listened in silence... and then, at the end—
Sho: "You rember the things you swear to yourself best. I had a conversation like that with a friend before. You never want to do things you'd be ashad of, right?"
Older brother started ruffling my hair all over again.
His hand was so big and gentle that I just felt completely at ease.
Sho: "But you know? Why did you even bring the slapper today in the first place? Why'd you swing that thing? Hey! Nozomi? Are you listening? ...Really, what am I going to do with you."
Even though he was starting to lecture as he patted my head, I couldn't help it—being stroked by those big hands made start to drift off...
Maybe I'd just finally relaxed? Maybe I'd just been tense all day?
In the end, I totally fell asleep in older brother's bed.
Sorry, big brother.
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