Tomorrow, I Will Die. You Will Revive Vol 2 Chapter 3

[BOKUs.h.i.+NU V2] CUT 3 – TODAY I WENT ON A VACATION, BUT YOU THREW A TANTRUM

Translated by: Bored AF Translator.

Edited by: 恋愛_ing

 

It happened suddenly.

“Huh?”

When I woke up, I saw that I was in my dimly-lit room, sitting in front of my computer.

My right hand’s holding the mouse, a tissue in my left hand, and a smiling, pretty 2D girl was displayed on the computer screen right in front of me. A soothing BGM could be heard from the earbuds I’m wearing. Sigh, I get it, it’s happening again.

It looks like Hikari Yumesaki’s using the summer break to pull all-nighters to conquer a galgame. The color of the sky outside and the sudden sluggish feeling that surged in me explained the situation. While she was immersed in her game, 4:59 AM arrived, and I took over.

I glanced at the tissue in my left hand, and realized that there’s snot and tear dripping down my face, so I gathered that she was probably playing a tragic galge. Seriously though, I clearly wrote a rule to go to sleep at 4:59 AM. Every time that idiot gets really into something, she starts making really stupid decisions.

I wiped off my snot, grabbed my cellphone to turn off the alarm, and was about to sleep for a bit when—

…….Huh?

“4…54?”

I stared at the screen…No, no, no, it can’t be.

“…….How……?”

On that day in early August, 4:54 AM.

An unexpected problem has intruded into our chaotic mutual life.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

This cruel reality dawned along with the five minutes reduction of Hikari Yumesaki’s time.

 

“Hmm? My time is decreased by five minutes? Really~? Are you sure? Oh you~ This is probably just one of your hasty conclusions, Sakamoto☆ You’re still going to have that terrifying look on your face today anyways!”

Two days later, I opened the notebook, saw the entry, and bit my lip.

“What’s going on?”

Two days before, a mysterious phenomenon suddenly appeared.

The time I switched over with Hikari Yumesaki changed from 4:59am to 4:54am, five minutes earlier. I thought it was weird, so I immediately gave Kazes.h.i.+ro a call, informing him of the situation. Kazes.h.i.+ro was Hikari Yumesaki’s friend when she was still alive, and the only one who knew about our personality swap. He’s a relatively calm and rational handsome guy, but he’s also an idiot who fell in love with Hikari Yumesaki.

Last morning, I woke up thanks to the alarm I set at 4:30, and while I was feeling terrified, I remained on the phone with Kazes.h.i.+ro as I waited for the switch to occur. The result was—

But I’ll leave that aside for now. Kazes.h.i.+ro and I discussed this inexplicable occurrence for a while, and we agreed on a plan that on the next morning, I’ll call Kazes.h.i.+ro while waiting for 4:54 to arrive. If the time Hikari Yumesaki switched with me was in fact earlier than 4:59, then it just meant that the time when we switch over was simply brought forward. However, if the time when Hikari Yumesaki switches with me didn’t changed……

Last morning, I woke up thanks to the alarm I set at 4:30. Carrying dread, I stayed on the phone with Kazes.h.i.+ro as I waited for that moment when the switch occurred. And the result was—

“The switching time is still 4:59. Are you sure you weren’t just tired and mistaken, Sakamoto?”

“So it didn’t…change.”

The time when Hikari Yumesaki switches with me remains at 4:59am.

Even though Hikari Yumesaki’s entry looked optimistic, this wasn’t really the case, especially since this meant that—

“Kazes.h.i.+ro, what do you think?”

I held my cellphone in one hand, and gave Kazes.h.i.+ro a call. I asked him tentatively, and the response was—

“……Although I don’t want to think too much about this, it looks like Hikari’s time has been shortened.”

So it was true.

The conclusion Kazes.h.i.+ro and I arrived upon was, a.s.suming it wasn’t a simple matter of us getting the times wrong, that we were dealing with a serious problem. That is, Hikari Yumesaki’s time has been decreased by five minutes, and in turn my time has been increased by five minutes.

“Sakamoto, how shall we explain it to Hikari?”

“There’s nothing really to hide, so let me talk to her first. If the me tomorrow gives you a call, then you can clarify it for her.”

“Ok. However, it could just be what Hikari said, that we simply messed up the time. Anyways, we should call each other every day before 5 o’clock for this week. That way we can investigate it further.”

“Alright, sorry about that.”

As expected of the guy who was willing to give up his life for Hikari Yumesaki; I couldn’t decide whether if it was his self-sacrificing spirit or if it was his activeness at work here. He really likes Hikari Yumesaki, and it’s really admirable.

I ended the call, and put my elbows onto the table as I let out a deep sigh.

Dammit, didn’t that black-robed b.a.s.t.a.r.d clearly said it was half of my life? What’s going on now?

 

“Really? Did Hikari really lose five minutes? You’re joking right~ You knew Hikari’s been wasting her time lying in bed, so now you’re just purposely trying to push her around! Well I won’t fall for it! Hmph!”

“Sigh…….”

Two days later, this reply was written in the notebook.

I wrote a comprehensive explanation on the situation two days ago. I was wondering what her response would be once I suddenly dropped this matter on her. Looking at how it stands, although she was startled, she doesn’t seem to have fully grasped the seriousness of this incident. There’s even a cute ill.u.s.tration of an angry Hikari Yumesaki on the diary.

“Even if it’s true, it’s just a ‘bug’, right? Don’t think too hard about it. No problem, no problem☆”

“Sigh…”

Maybe it really was as Hikari Yumesaki said. This whole occurrence could never be explained scientifically in the first place, so maybe what was happening right now was like an error. Even though I rea.s.sured myself with those words, I switched with Hikari Yumesaki at 4:54am.

“Maybe there really is no problem.”

Feeling unsettled, I was at my wits’ end. This day quickly went by.

 

“……We switched at 54 again. Doesn’t this look really bad?”

“……It does look pretty bad.”

Two days later, I opened the notebook, and mumbled to myself upon seeing those words. This situation isn’t exactly bad for myself since my time was increased. However, Hikari Yumesaki’s time was decreased. This was quite a problem. While her time’s reduced by five minutes for now, what if the time is reduced by ten minutes, or even fifteen minutes—

“This is bad… I’m scared that I might just die. I’m sorry Sakamoto, I couldn’t help but to give in to my impulses and recklessly buy so much anime merchandise… and bolsters…”

“Spending to ward off your anxieties…”

With the words in the journal conveying such obvious unease, Hikari Yumesaki had no way of concealing her anxiety. Kazes.h.i.+ro’s email from yesterday were as such.

“It’s alright. It’s only five minutes.”

“I’ll find a way.”

All of his emails were encouraging. Hikari Yumesaki was feeling so down, Kazes.h.i.+ro could not help but send her these kinds of emails to a.s.sure her.

“What should I do…”

 

“………(I don’t wanna get out of bed, I just wanna sleep).”

“It’s no use. She’s really feeling down now…”

Two days later, this was all that Hikari Yumesaki wrote in the journal. The page even included a small sketch of Hikari Yumesaki lying gloomily in bed. Dammit. Even though I can’t tell if she’s seriously depressed or just joking around, she’s probably trying to express her lack of motivation in her own way. It’s really hard to understand her true feelings.

“Kazes.h.i.+ro, how are things on your end?”

“Not good. Honestly, I can’t find anything.”

A numb, feeble voice came out from the phone speaker.

Kazes.h.i.+ro and I were currently searching for solutions, but we didn’t have a clue as to how to investigate this unbelievable incident. We looked up all kinds of urban legends on the internet and went around town to find that black-robed stranger. But in the end it was all fruitless. No wonder Kazes.h.i.+ro is all worn-out.

“Guess I’ll try searching in the library today. That way, I can leaf through every book to see if there’s a clue. Give me a week, and I can probably go through every book in the library.”

“Sure, can you do it?”

Wouldn’t you need an entire year?

“What are you saying? Hikari is in serious danger right now. Nothing is impossible for me.”

Amazing. As expected from the guy who’s willing give everything for Hikari Yumesaki. Unrequited love is seriously amazing.

I ended the call, and prepared to head out. I intended to look for that black-robed guy once again.

But once again, I couldn’t find a clue.

Two days later, Hikari Yumesaki finally fell apart.

 

“Yaaaaaaaahoooooooooooo! Delicious————! Spicy food is the best!”

“Kazes.h.i.+ro! The me yesterday went crazy again!”

She’s s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around during this serious situation!

In contrast to my unsettled self, a weeping voice came out of the phone.

“Sakamoto… Hikari said she can’t handle it anymore…Sob…”

“What happened yesterday!?”

“She suddenly called and yelled ‘I don’t want to live anymore, I just wanna die already——!’ She’s already lost herself… Sob sob, so pitiful…”

Kazes.h.i.+ro why didn’t you retort her with “But you are already dead”?

“Basically, she was just yelling out some random things all the time, and I didn’t really understand most of it. Like ‘But this season has way too many anime!’, ‘But all the new works I’m looking forward to are going to be on sale!’, ‘I really want to make out with cute little kids~~~~Dammit!’ and stuff like that.”

Sigh, no matter what happens, that girl will always be that comical, although I think she’s actually taking this quite seriously.

“Is there anything else?”

“I don’t know. After she ended the call, I tried my best to call her again. Sometimes she would pick up, but sometimes she would not… Once when she picked up, I heard her shout, ‘Singing karaoke by myself is the best——!’, and then she started enthusiastically singing some really old, heart-wrenching songs. She’s already given up on herself… Dammit… Can’t I do anything for her…”

Not good, Kazes.h.i.+ro has reached his limit.

“Kazes.h.i.+ro, I’ll call you back, you should wipe off your tears first.”

Sigh, I’ve had enough. I have absolutely no idea what should I do about this.

“Adam Adam Adam Adam Adam! I wanna see Adam! I really wanna pet his soft, cuddly body!”

It looks like she has gone crazy.

Hikari Yumesaki told me before that Adam was the cat she was raising at home. It seems that moron really loves her cat, and Adam’s name would show up in the notebook infrequently. Although I really wish she would tell me why she would choose this name.

“She’s really throwing a tantrum now.”

Written back in the journal was this incredibly short explanation.

“Important newsflas.h.!.+ With nothing to lose, Hikari has decided to cast off her image as a pure and innocent heroine!”

“Pure and innocent, you?”

A pure and innocent heroine who uses vulgar words like “virgin” and slang would be a fraud right?

“What should I do… Dammit…”

Having just woken up, I’m getting all kinds of weird thoughts, I just want to vent out all of my frustration and anxiety. Why am I feeling down right now? Not good!

“I should go wash my face first.”

I decided to set this issue aside, and closed the notebook to keep my emotions in check.

However, as I said before, I was merely delaying the issue for the time being.

I would later to realize that I had to deal with it properly.

 

“Huh?”

This morning, my cellphone suddenly received a message. I shot a glance, and saw that it was—

“Kinos.h.i.+ta…”

That boy’s so beautiful I thought he was born the wrong s.e.x. His message made me swallow my drool with disgust. Dammit, it’s all Yukiko’s fault for carelessly telling him my phone number and email address, and he’s been constantly calling me and texting me often. But I have to pick up. If I don’t answer, I’ll be subjected to a flurry of calls throughout the entire day.

“Sigh… h.e.l.lo…?”

“Ah, good morning, b-bro.”

From the other side of the phone came a cute voice that no one would ever expect came from a middle school boy. Had he been a girl, then I would have definitely been giddy with joy. Now then, why did he call this time?

“I-Is it convenient now?”

“Yeah, now’s fine. What’s up?”

“I saw the email bro sent yesterday… and I was really happy.”

Huh? Email?

“Bro finally has that same kind of feeling towards me, and that makes me so happy. It’s alright, after a few more simulations at you, you’ll definitely be able to satisfy me.”

“Eh? Ah? Huh?”

Simulation?

“Bro… Hehe~…I’m looking forward to it…Hehe…”

“!!? Hey wait, what…”

Just when I was about to ask, “What are you talking about?”

“Ah”

Another phone call came. The caller was—Kasumi?

 

“Ah, sorry, Kinos.h.i.+ta, please hold for a second. Something suddenly came up; I’ll talk to you later.”

“S-Something? Something you have to do huh… hehe.”

What the, how did it come to this!?

Kinos.h.i.+ta’s voice is giving off an ominous vibe that’s leaving me chilled with gooseb.u.mps, so I hurriedly ended the call and answered Kasumi. What happened, why’s she calling so early?

“h.e.l.lo?”

“Sakamoto, is now an okay time? You’re not busy are you? Well?”

“Ah, now’s fine. No problem. What’s up?”

I felt that she’s being a little bit more a.s.sertive than before.

“I want to ask about that email you sent last night.”

“Email?”

Now that I think about it, Kinos.h.i.+ta also mentioned something like that.

“You did send it to me last night, right?”

“H-Hold on! Give me a second!”

I quickly opened up my email on my cellphone. Ok, so just what did I do yesterday huh?

I opened up my sent mail folder with dread. It’s probably another one of those weird…

 

“Right now, my heart yearns only for you. I want to hold you tightly in my arms, and let our pa.s.sions run wild.”

 

“…………HIKARI YUMESAKI YOU’VE DONE IT NOW!”

Another troublesome email! In fact, this email was sent not only to Kinos.h.i.+ta and Kasumi, but also to more than 30 girls, including all of the girls in my cla.s.s! Even Yukiko got one!

“h.e.l.lo?”

“Oh, sorry about that. About that, uh, email…”

How should I go about this?

“Sakamoto, I’m really happy. I never knew you felt this way about me. If you want to hold me in your arms…that means you want to do those kind of things right?”

“No, that’s…”

“And you even feel so pa.s.sionate about it. It looks like you really are an M, hehehe~…”

What with that profoundly meaningful giggle…?

“However, Sakamoto, did you know?”

“Huh? What?”

“If you send an email to multiple people on your phone, then the people receiving it can also see who else you sent the email to, you know.”

Oh, so the email addresses will be included, so—

“So then, Sakamoto, when I saw the email that Sakamoto sent—”

Oh…

“—I also saw a list of all of the other email addresses that were included. You’re amazing, Sakamoto, to send such an erotic email to 30 girls at once.”

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhh———————!!”

Oh sh—!

“Don’t worry, I’m not mad at all, nope, nope, not at all.”

No, if you talk to me with that cold voice…

“Although I haven’t investigated it, the girl you like is on this list. If I’m to look through them…one by one, then maybe…”

WAIT, WAIT! STOP! STOP! CAN YOU CALM DOWN FOR A SECOND!?

While I was having this thought, another phone call came…Oh, it’s my cla.s.smates… Not only that, but there was a knock on the door, which was accompanied by Yukiko’s lonely voice asking, “Brother, are you awake? Yukiko can’t sleep, she doesn’t feel so well…”

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

“SPARE ME ALREADY……!!”

I glance at the notebook lying opened on the table, and saw the words at the bottom:

“Before I die, I’m going to establish my own harem kingdom!”

The sound of the phone ringing, Kasumi’s constant “h.e.l.lo? h.e.l.lo?”, and my little sister’s lonely “I’m prepared now…” entrapped me from all sides. I helplessly raise my head towards the ceiling, and thought to my heart:

Sigh, maybe I should just hang myself…

 

“Thank you for the food!”

After an entire morning of incoming calls, I finally managed to appease all of the girls that were interrogating, and I was fatigued as lunchtime approached.

As mom was out, I had no choice but to put on the ap.r.o.n, and prepare lunch for Yukiko and me.

However, there was something that bothered me…

“Brother, what’s wrong? Hurry up and eat.”

“Oh, okay.”

Yukiko was sitting beside me. In front of me was a table that could seat four, and normally, she would be sitting opposite me.

You’re probably thinking that this doesn’t matter. But then how do you explain this? There’s only two of us eating lunch, but we’re not sitting face to face; instead we’re eating side by side. Don’t you find it strange? Am I thinking too much into this? Also,

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing.”

“……(glances)”

It was clear that Yukiko was stealing some glances at me. What do you want now?

After lunch, Yukiko continued to act suspiciously. Basically, she sat beside me, glancing at me with a solemn look from time to time. When I moved to the sofa, she proceeded to sit beside me, and her sidelong face showed signs of excitement. Whenever I moved, she would basically cling to me. Seeing as how she was quietly looking at me, it’s obvious that she had something to say. However, I couldn’t read her thoughts at all. During dinner, she even stuck a piece of rice on her face, and it was really uncomfortable since no matter how I looked at it, it was definitely on purpose.

And then, when it was almost time to go to sleep.

“Big brother, I want you to clean my ears for me!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Don’t ask why, just do it!”

Yukiko forcefully put an ear swab into my hand. Why do I have to clean her ear?

I’m sitting on the sofa, and Yukiko’s lying down on her side, resting her head on my lap. She’s wearing a cute, summer-style pajamas, and the moist hair let off a nice, sweet scent. Of course, since she wanted me to clean her ears, she’s tilting her face towards me the entire time. Why are you doing this?

“Does it itch anywhere?”

“……Yes.”

“Where?”

“……My cheek.”

……You can scratch that place by yourself.

That’s not what I mean. I’m talking if it itches inside your ear

“Alright, Yukiko, time for the other ear.”

Yukiko turned around, and now she had positioned herself with her face facing my stomach. Then she turned her cheek towards me again. What’s wrong? Do you really want to show me the side of your face that badly?

However, not knowing what I was supposed to do, I simply continued my task of cleaning out her ears. I end it off by blowing into her ears lightly, and my job was done. Erm, this is enough right?

“………Grr”

Well, she seems annoyed here.

Yukiko’s blus.h.i.+ng furiously, and a scornful look very similar to mine slowly appeared on her face.

“Uh, so… Yukiko, why don’t you help me by cleaning out my ears—”

“You can clean it yourself! Yukiko is such an idiot for expecting anything from you!”

Slam—!

With those words, she ran back to her room and locked herself in. What happened this time?

Left in a daze, I suddenly remembered, “Oh right, there might be something updated on the blog.”, and so I quickly returned to my own room, switched on the computer, and entered the website. And then—

“Stupid big brother, yesterday he was saying, ‘If I can’t have Adam, then I’ll just have to eat up Yukiko! Let’s go with rubbing Yukiko’s cheeks!’ and then he even touched my cheeks. But he didn’t notice Yukirin today… So lonely, so sad. It looks like yukirin will need to take the initiative… No, I can’t…”

“That idiot…”

So this is what you meant by casting off your appearance of a “pure and innocent” heroine.

“Although, big brother’s cold demeanor was also really cool☆”

Upon seeing that line, I immediately closed the blog without a second thought. Then I opened the notebook, and groaned. Sigh, enough already, she’s drumming up more trouble than I can handle.

“In any case, I need to wait for her to cool down.”

If this continues, I don’t even want to think about the kind of misfortunes that will happen to me. However, how much of my rea.s.surance will she listen to? Ugh, what will tomorrow’s me be doing when I wake up again?

 

“Sigh…”

Two days later, I let out a sigh as I stared at the notebook.

“Hmph, you got a problem? Hikari’s precious life time is five minutes shorter! Why don’t you just let Hikari do what she wants! Hikari is just a pitiful child!”

Two days ago, I wrote, “I understand that you’re upset, but calm down a bit. Right now, Kazes.h.i.+ro and I are looking for a method to resolve this”, but that was her reply. She also wrote, “Since I’m stuck in this mess, surely you can understand if I let loose a little right~? If you’re still hung up about this, Sakamoto, then the n.o.ble image of you in my heart will be shred to pieces you know~”.

It looks like Hikari Yumesaki was not only capitalizing on the trouble she made, but also using the fact that her time was cut short by five minutes to do whatever she wanted. She really doesn’t feel uneasy at all, does she?

“Changing the subject, Hikari wants to learn how to swim before she dies! To play in the water with cute girls and hot guys!”

She continues on. Ah, that’s fine, that isn’t a bad idea. Considering Hikari Yumesaki’s level of idiocy, this is still acceptable. However, the problem came next,.

“That’s why, I used Yukiko’s vacation tickets and booked a three days, two nights tour for sea bathing! If you cancel the reservation now, you’ll have to pay the full cancellation fee, so you have to go! It said up to three people can go, so you better start inviting some people now!”

“Sigh, enough already…you want to go on a trip using this body…”

I remember I had obtained a ticket for a three days, two nights tour from Yukiko, and it looks like the me yesterday made her reservation. But since this body would switch personalities every day, it would’ve been best to avoid traveling with other people.

“Sigh, am I out of ideas?”

I can bring two other people along. One of them is definitely going to be Kazes.h.i.+ro, but as for the other one, maybe Yukiko? Though for now, I need to check the dates first. Which day are we heading out? Today was Monday so—

“You can check in on Monday at 2pm!”

…………..

“Isn’t that todaaayyyyy!?”

Idiot! Dumba.s.s! r.e.t.a.r.d! Tell me beforehand if you’re going to book a reservation! And now you’re telling me ‘here’s a three days, two nights trip right now☆’!? That’s too stupid of you!

“Dammit, guess I’ll start by getting Kazes.h.i.+ro on board…”

And then I’ll ask Yukiko too—Oh wait, I can’t. She said she is doing an interview for her light novel, and was out since yesterday. Sigh, great…I have few friends to begin with.

“Guess I have no choice.”

I reluctantly took out my cellphone and made a call.

“h.e.l.lo?”

“Ah, h.e.l.lo, is this Kasumi?”

The one I called was Kasumi. Although I felt that taking a maiden along with two guys on a trip was a little inappropriate, I really couldn’t think of anyone else to bring, so I had no choice but to call up Kasumi. Furthermore, since it was an overnight stay, even though it’s my body, I wouldn’t be comfortable with having Hikari Yumesaki sleep next to some other random guy.

“I need to ask you something, is that okay?”

“O-Ok. What is it?”

“Um, I’m real sorry about this but…”

“Mhm?”

 

“Can you go on a three days, two nights stay at a beach resort with me right now?”

“Eh——————————”

 

…Uh, h.e.l.lo? Why wasn’t she responding?

“…Together with Sakamoto…overnight stay…at a beach resort…”

“Yeah. I guess a request like this was impossible for you. I’m so—”

“I’ll go.”

“—sorry for, wait, you’ll go!?”

Her birsk response made me unconsciously raise my voice. Are you serious?

“What should I bring?”

“Oh, let me think (she’s pumped up…). Since it’s the beach, a swimsuit probably? And especially…”

“A swimsuit? Got it. I’ll prepare a sure-kill swimsuit, so don’t worry about it.”

KILL!?

“Now then, just send me an email on the time and meeting place. Oh, and also—”

“Hm?”

“Leave the night preparations to me. I’ll bring everything along. Okay, I’m going to prepare now.”

N-night preparations…?

What does she mean when she says “night preparations”? Oh, poker cards and stuff?

“Then I’ll leave that to you. Sorry, for dropping this on you so suddenly.”

I ended the call, and heaved a sigh of relief. Everything’s going well. Erm, all that’s left is Kazes.h.i.+ro. He shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, like me, he doesn’t have a lot of friends in the first place.

I sent him an email saying, “Hikari Yumesaki wants to go sightseeing, get over here right now.” Then, I hurriedly began my own preparations for the trip. Seriously though, if we leave now, then it’ll be sunset by the time we get there. She really loves to give me a trouble.

Because of all that pestering she caused, I got ready and met up with Kasumi and Kazes.h.i.+ro at the train station. We went west on the s.h.i.+nkansen, and then transferred to a local train, before we finally spotted a beautiful seaside and arrived at the resort. It was evening; there was no way we could head to the beach, so we split into genders and soaked in the outdoor hot springs. After dinner, we leisurely wandered around until now. Ah, I’m so tired. This sudden vacation really was exhausting.

On a side note, even though Kazes.h.i.+ro said, “This is so like Hikari”, and had a face of resignation as he accepted the abrupt invitation, Kasumi was looking really, really peeved.

As soon as she saw both Kazes.h.i.+ro and me at the meeting place, the smile on her face immediately fell off, and she began to continuously grumble under her breath. She could talk with Kazes.h.i.+ro naturally, but why couldn’t she even say at least a few words to me? I also thought that she had prepared some poker cards, but it turns out that she didn’t, so we just sat side by side watching TV, chatting away. I guess it doesn’t matter, since I liked lazing around anyways.

Later that night, something happened.

“Guess it’s time to go to sleep.”

Suggested Kazes.h.i.+ro—and he was right, it was pretty late—and so we began to gather our things in one of the two rooms we had reserved. Afterwards, I was going to follow Kazes.h.i.+ro into the room next door when—

“Well then, I’m going to the other room. Good night, Sakamoto, Sanada.”

“……Waitwaitwaitwait!”

What are you saying!?

“Kazes.h.i.+ro!? Hey, wait a sec! Wait a sec!”

“What is it, Sakamoto?”

“Why am I sharing a room with Kasumi! Logically speaking, I should be with you!”

Kazes.h.i.+ro had his hand on the door k.n.o.b, but I grabbed his shoulder and protested. I mean, look at Kasumi and how panicked she is…wait, she’s not? W-Why is she clenching her fist and giving a victory pose? Why is she giving Kazes.h.i.+ro a thumbs up? Huh? Why?

“Sakamoto, calm down and think for a moment.”

Once he had finished talking, Kazes.h.i.+ro beckoned me towards him with a dumbfounded look, and took me out into the corridor.

“Listen closely Sakamoto. At 4:59, you’re going to switch with Hikari. That’s fine until this point.”

“Mhm.”

“So what I’m saying is, if I’m going to be sleeping with you in the same room, when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be seeing Hikari’s sleeping face.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Sakamoto…”

Hm?

“Once I see Hikari’s sleeping face, I might be overwhelmed with the desire to attack her.”

“……”

 

——Huh?

“It’s probably going to happen. It may be your body, but it’s still Hikari inside. With her sleeping face next to me, I probably won’t hold back into this.”

“…Kazes.h.i.+ro, think about this carefully. N-No matter what, this body is still male.”

“I don’t mind.”

Well I do!

What is this guy saying with such a serious look on his face… Just how much do you love Hikari Yumesaki?

“But, Kazes.h.i.+ro, wouldn’t this make Kasumi feel awkward?”

“Sanada? She and Hikari are both girls, so she should be fine even if she sees Hikari’s sleeping face.”

“No she wouldn’t! She doesn’t know that Hikari Yumesaki shares this body with me! Spending the night together with me will probably cause all sorts of problems right!?”

Huh…Kazes.h.i.+ro held his chin, and pondered for a moment.

“You sure are a picky person, Sakamoto. Why don’t you just sleep by yourself then?”

“Wouldn’t that mean you and Kasumi would have to sleep together…?”

“I don’t have any sentiments for a girl other than Hikari.”

D-d.a.m.n. You’ve got some guts to be able to say that. Even after seeing Kasumi wearing her bathrobe so loosely after a bath, you can still proclaim such words in the face of her seductive appearance…

In the end, after some more discussion, we still ended up with me sleeping with Kazes.h.i.+ro.

“We clearly aren’t even engaged, and yet we caused Hikari to do such a reckless thing. I guess I’ll go for a walk at 4:30.” Kazes.h.i.+ro was blus.h.i.+ng to his ears as he softly whispered to himself——Are you really unable to help yourself? I silently let out a retort as I laid down, and just in case, I pulled my futon away from Kazes.h.i.+ro’s as far as I could…

However, for the entire night I was too scared to fall asleep, and it was only at dawn, when I realized that Kazes.h.i.+ro had gone out for a walk, that I was finally able to relax as I waited until it was 4:59.

Was that guy serious when he said that…?

 

“Sakamoto…it’s really comfortable here. Come on, slowly come over here…”

“H-Hold on. I need to prepare myself.”

Gulp

Kasumi stared at my naked body, and swallowed her drool.

She had let down her usual braid, and her beautiful long hair was so wet that it clung to her snow-white skin. The water droplets clung onto her skin, which showed just how soft and delicate it was.

“Yo-your body looks really good, Sakamoto.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, is that so?”

“Mhm… Usually, you’re wearing clothes, and I couldn’t see… so I didn’t know…”

“W-Well similarly, Kasumi is also…”

Even though I knew your skin looked really amazing, seeing it exposed made it appear very tantalizing…

“Hehehe, anyways, we should start now. Sakamoto…”

“Okay, I’m starting now.”

And with those words, I began to slowly work my way towards her.

She was a little bit shy and had her head down, her face completely red.

What kind of expectations did she have for what we were about to do, to show that kind of expression——

“Sakamoto, don’t be scared. Don’t worry, you can do it.”

“Ok, then—”

I went towards her——and felt something slimy.

Wait, slimy?

“AAAAAaaahhhhhhhhhhh!? WHAT IS THIS!?”

“What’s wrong!? Oh, Sakamoto, that’s a jellyfish—”

Splash.

Having felt something so unexpected, I reflexively moved my feet away, and fell into the deep waters where Kasumi was. Ugh, so salty. I accidentally drank some seawater.

“S-Sakamoto, are you okay? Here, grab my hand!”

“Oh, thanks.”

Two days later, on the third day of our stay, the three of us went to the beach.

Under the dazzling summer sun, I held onto Kasumi’s small hand, the heat from her palm causing my heart to race.

“Is everything okay Sakamoto? Since you can’t swim, make sure you don’t play around like yesterday. If you feel like you’re drowning, then just grab onto me. I-It’s okay for you to touch any part of my body that you want…”

“Got it…”

I couldn’t help but blush uncontrollably after hearing those alluring words. On a side note, I already know how to swim, but the reason Kasumi believed otherwise was because yesterday, Hikari Yumesaki acted like a fish out of water in the sea. As a result, Kasumi was easily convinced that I didn’t know how to swim, which is why she would let me hold onto her hand. Call it cheap tactics if you want, since I was clearly taking advantage of it.

“What’s wrong Sakamoto?”

“N-Nothing…”

Kasumi used her hands to fix her messy, but still beautiful hair, and I stood facing her, not knowing where to focus my gaze upon.

I-I mean, even if I disregarded the lush tone of her skin, the pure silky whiteness of it was enough to raise my heartbeat. Just the sight of her thin waist and her slender shoulders was bewitching, and her exposed armpit and her jiggling orange bikini that looked ready to burst open is alluring enough, a truly gorgeous view. It’s no use, I can’t hold myself back for much longer!

Kasumi must have noticed my excited-adolescent stare, but even though she was a little bit shy, she didn’t try to cover herself, and even tugged at the strap on her bikini, showing off her charm.

“S-Sakamoto, what do you think about my swimsuit? …Although I already showed it to you yesterday, I did buy this for you. Don’t you think this strap looks good, Sakamoto?”

What kind of situation is this?

“Lo-look, don’t you think the pattern on the bikini top looks cute?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Kasumi purposely drew my attention to her body. Even though what you’re doing is pleasing me, don’t you feel embarra.s.sed at all…?

“Compared with this, Sakamoto’s swimsuit is also quite daring…”

“Oh, sorry. There’s actually a lot of reasons for this.”

Allow me to describe my attire for today: on the lower half of my body I was wearing a pair of The☆boomerang trunks that was bordering on s.e.xual hara.s.sment. No matter how you looked at it, it clearly looked American. When put together with my savage look, even if the beach was crowded with people, I could still freely swim at my leisure. As for why I would wear this in the first place, it’s because when I was searching through my bag this morning, I discovered that the swimsuit I had originally brought had been switched with this one. It’s probably a prank pulled by yesterday’s me. d.a.m.n it.

“I do like… that bold kind of swimsuit…”

“Huh, what?”

“N-Nothing!”

Although I had faintly heard what she said, I decided to carry on pretending like I didn’t hear anything. My youth was slowly falling apart.

“L-Let’s get started with our swimming lesson. Here, hold onto my hand. We’ll begin with learning how to kick your feet in the water, okay?”

“Alright, please do.”

I grabbed both of Kasumi’s hands, and used my feet to kick in the water. Ugh, this was embarra.s.sing. Why would any dignified high school student do this kind of exercise? Moreover, just now, my hands almost touched Kasumi’s bikini, making me fl.u.s.tered. However, Kasumi? Why are you bringing my hands closer to your b.r.e.a.s.t.s while occasionally mumbling things like, “What’s done can’t be undone…”? There’s a reason for this right?

Oh, on a separate note, I don’t know if it’s because he either hates salt water or because he doesn’t even know how to swim, but Kazes.h.i.+ro didn’t get in the water. He was currently reading a book under the shade of the umbrella, probably feeling like someone decent here…

And so, I continued practicing with Kasumi for about an hour.

It would be much too embarra.s.sing if I still didn’t learn after practicing so much, so I slowly pretended to get the hang of it. Eventually, Kasumi allowed me to swim by myself, and in my joy, I freestyled across the water in one breath.

“Gasp”

I abruptly brought my head above the surface. The sky was painted in an alluring blue, the brilliant color scorching my sight.

“Amazing! Just amazing! You can already swim so well!”

“Mhm, and it’s all thanks to your lessons.”

I waved towards Kasumi as she noisily swam over. Of course I could swim well, since I already knew how to swim in the first place.

“You’re so fast at learning new things, Sakamoto. During P.E. cla.s.s, everyone keeps on telling me how amazing you are.”

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always been good at physical activities.”

I remember once Hikari Yumesaki told me, “Sakamoto’s body is so easy to move in.” However, I really don’t like to exercise. Especially since I hate competing with other people.

“How enviable, Sakamoto is just too amazing. Really amazing…”

“Not really, I also have some things that I can’t do.”

If it weren’t for Hikari Yumesaki, I would have never made a friend, experienced love, or be recognized as an upright person. The things that everyone else can easily do, are impossible for me. Like right now, that idiot was stuck in a hopeless situation, and yet I don’t even know what to do to help her.

“………..”

I lifted my body, and floated on the surface, my head cus.h.i.+oned against the water. The sound and the ice cold temperature of the water helped free me from my worries. =

“Hey, Sakamoto.”

“Hm?”

Kasumi suddenly asked me,

“Are you… worried about something?”

“Huh——?”

“I-I think it’s… strange. Suddenly wanting to going on a trip, and all those other suspicious things…”

The anxiousness in her voice penetrated into my dense head.

“Perhaps you are… struggling with something. Probably something to do with the girl you like… right?”

“……That’s”

Unable of coming up with a lie at this moment, I was extremely unhappy with myself.

I knew that this kind of response would only hurt Kasumi.

“…Kasumi, I’m sorry. I’m always causing you to worry about me.”

I couldn’t even tell her that she was right, and just awkwardly told her those pathetic words. However, she is a sharp girl, and it seems like she had managed to guess what was going on in my mind.

“I-It’s fine. Because…I’m really happy. Just to be together with Sakamoto…”

She looked a bit lonely as she continued to talk.

“I hope that you will be able to tell me about it later. No problem…I’m fine with that…”

Her act of courage deeply moved me. Man, I’m so glad that I met her.

“Yeah, it does have something to do with the girl I like.”

And so, I also gathered up my courage to say what was on my mind. I didn’t look at Kasumi’s expression, closed my eyes and slowly continued.

“I am really, really worried. Although I can’t explain it properly, it’s still really worrying. Even though she’s acting as if it’s nothing, and ignoring it, I know that she’s actually a fragile person. She must really want to cry right now, but I can’t do anything about it. She’s probably really depressed, and when I think about that, I feel really worried, and scared…”

I softly let out the vague feelings in my heart. Kasumi probably feels concerned about me after hearing those words. But the truth is, this was how I really felt, so there’s nothing I can do about it. As expected, Kasumi remained silent.

Unable to stand the silence, I floated on my back as I rested on the surface of the open ocean water, with my head raised up towards the blue sky.

The harsh sunlight scorching my skin, the intense heat, and the ice-cold water surrounding me felt really comfortable. I closed my eyes, shut out the noise around me, and my consciousness slowly drifted off into s.p.a.ce——

“Oh——”

I suddenly felt something that was far hotter than the heat from the scorching sun. A comfortable warmth embraced my head from behind.

“Sakamoto, you just mentioned something weird,situation.”

“Huh?”

“You always make my heart skip, treating me like a girl. Although there are times when you cause me pain… but even so, Sakamoto still holds a special place in my heart.”

………..

“That’s why, Sakamoto, please don’t lose hope. I don’t want to see you have that kind of expression.”

The arms that were strongly embracing me were tightened.

“It’ll be okay, I know that for sure. You can do anything that you put your mind to, Sakamoto. Even if you can’t do anything right now, when that girl is really stuck in serious trouble, you will definitely stand up for her. And so… watching her from the sidelines is enough for now. When she actually starts to cry, you can just be there to help wipe her tears. Sakamoto should be able to do that.”

There was sound coming from the waves and the ocean breeze, as life bustled in the surroundings and the ocean swayed.

But all the noise was swept aside, and I could only hear her soft whisper beside my ear.

Her arms, warmer than the scorching sun, were wrapped around my neck, causing my body to feel a burning sensation.

Wipe her tears huh.

“Will I be able to do that?”

“Of course.”

Kasumi’s warm and comforting words went straight to my heart.

Just this warmth was enough to heal my heartache.

After eating some yakisoba at the restaurant in the resort, we immediately headed to the hotel counter to check out. I dragged my tired body onto the rocking train. On the way home, Kasumi rested her head on my shoulder, probably because of heat exhaustion since her face was so red.

Upon arrival at the train station in the evening, I parted with Kazes.h.i.+ro, and took Kasumi to her house on my bicycle. The clanking sound of the bicycle created a solitary atmosphere. What was the problem with me? My heart was throbbing. The red, evening sky barely allowed us to see each other’s face. I don’t know why but, as the sun slowly set, I felt as if it would never rise again.

Sitting in the back, Kasumi didn’t let out any noise, and tightly held onto my back. Ah, so this was youth.

I had originally planned on dropping her off in front of her house, but she hesitantly refused.

“My older sister will see us…”

Her older sister must be a really scary person. Now I feel like meeting her.

“Sakamoto, do you have any plans later?”

“Hm?”

“If not then… I can…”

It’ll be night time soon you know?

She didn’t finish her words, but instead tenderly lifted her head towards me. Although she had a weak character, her feelings were strong.

“Sorry, I have to go home now.”

“Is there something you have to do?”

“……..No.”

“…Oh, I see.”

She let out a cheerful smile, and we waved goodbye to each other.

As the night grew darker, it took on a purple color. I thought that she was no longer looking this way, so I took a look back.

She was still watching me.

 

Two days later.

“Sigh…”

I opened the journal, and, after reading the entry, I let out a sigh.

After the trip, Hikari Yumesaki, who had thrown some huge tantrums, was finally satisfied.

“Sorry about causing you all sorts of trouble lately, Sakamoto. I tried calming down and thinking about it for a day, and realized that freaking out about it wasn’t going to fix anything. And so, I’m perfectly fine now! Although I’m a little bit worried, since it’s only five minutes, there’s plenty of time to act! Thanks for worrying about me! I’m very happy about it, partner☆”

Although she might have been showing off, at least now she’s finally calmed down. In fact, the time was longer reducing, and Kazes.h.i.+ro and I will continue to look for a clue to fix this situation. I should be able to relax for now.

“Moving on, since it’s my hard-earned summer, I can play all I want! Today, I went to one of my favorite places and ate parfait. I haven’t had moonleaf parfait in so long, it’s absolutely the best!”

“Looks like she’s having fun.”

I was racking my brains out trying to figure out what “moonleaf ice cream” was, but in the end I came up with nothing. Whatever, I can just be relieved that she seems fine now.

However, there was one thing that I took note of.

“More important, I need to come up with something.”

Hikari Yumesaki concluded her entry in the notebook with this sentence.

“What does this mean?”

Although I was curious about it, Hikari Yumesaki didn’t write anything else, probably because she didn’t want me to interfere. Whatever, I can only silently watch her from the sidelines anyway. I’ll watch, and watch, and when she starts to cry——

“Then I guess I’ll be there to help you wipe off your tears.”

I don’t know if I would be able to do that. No, if I think about, it’s definitely impossible.

However, Kasumi told me that I can do it. I’ll trust her for now. I said to myself in my heart. I closed the notebook, and decided to forget about those puzzling words.

…But,

Maybe I should think more on the meaning behind those words.

It was around this time that Hikari Yumesaki entered a relations.h.i.+p with another girl.