Shiinamachi-senpai no Anzenbi Volume 2 Chapter 2 Part9

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist      Editor: Weasalopes

【Episode 2: Heart and Heart, Part 9】

「Pft, haha, hahahahahahahahaha! M-Monjiro-san, I, I can't! Th-That's just too rich, Hahahahahaha!」

「HUEH?!」

Suddenly, Yugao-chan burst in the laugher so hard that she had to clench her hands around her sides. I don't know if anything that I said just now was all that funny, but if it made her laugh then it's good… I guess?

「I get it now. So Yugao was so determined that she was ready to get naked in front of you?! Honestly, she's bolder then I gave her credit for! We'll not that I can blame her, with all that shoujo manga she's been reading, but… fufu, fuahahahahaha!」

Huh? Why was Yugao-chan suddenly talking in third person? Eh? No, could it be that… no way, no f*cking way…!

「I-IS THAT YOU, ASAGAO?!」

「Ahahaha, yeah, it's me, Monjiro-san, sorry for deceiving you. And sorry for what Yugao did to you back there. I guess she remembered all the wrong things from all that manga and anime she was indulging herself with and got the wrong idea about how these things are supposed to play out.」

「Oh, y-you don't have to apologize, even though what she did was kinda extreme. As I was saying, I…」

「But you know, as her older sister, I feel kind of offended. I mean seriously, a gorgeous, half-naked girl was coming onto you and you didn't even touch her? Are you sure everything is okay with your little buddy down there? Or is it malfunctioning at such a young age?」

!!!!!CRITICAL HIT!!!!!

That was another devastating blow to my manly pride. Why am I suffering from so much of those lately?

「B-But if I did anything to her then I would've just hurt her…!」

「Listen here you dreadnaught-level blockhead and listen well. If it's from a guy they like, girls don't mind getting hurt like that. Got it memorized?」

「But I still have my relations.h.i.+p with s.h.i.+namachi-senpai to think about. And also s.h.i.+ki, so…」

「Your relations.h.i.+ps with those two have nothing to do with it! Right now, Yugao couldn't care less about other girls around you! The only thing that matters for her is that you're the one who's making her heart race and feel like there are b.u.t.terflies in her stomach! My G.o.d, are you really so dumb that you can't even understand something so obvious?!」

I honestly had no idea that a woman's heart can be so complicated. Or maybe that was the result of her reading too much shoujo manga?

「I'm sorry, but I think that hurdle is too high for me.」

My only option was to answer as such. I know that it might not be an answer befitting of a man, but you know what's even more unbefitting of a man? Taking advantage of a girl whose heart is being swept up by emotions. I am aware that my words would hurt her if she heard them, but in time I'm sure she'd be able to understand that it was the right thing to do. And as for me…

No man can ever hope to understand the vast labyrinth that is a girl's mind. Not today, not tomorrow, not in a million years.

Senpai, s.h.i.+ki, everyone, I'm greatly sorry for causing you so much trouble with my lack of common sense.

「You realize that excuse is as lame as it sounds?」

「I realize that, and I'm deeply ashamed of myself.」

「No no, you don't have to be. It's good that you're self-reflecting like that.」

She said that to me like a mother comforting her child.

「It's all right, Monjiro-san. There's no need for you to understand complicated matters like that. That's what makes you so cute after all.」

That endless brightness of hers truly contrasted with the appearance of her timid younger sister. As expected of Asagao.

But no, wait a minute. She says she's Asagao, but until she said so, I thought she was Yugao-chan, so what if the person in front of me really is Yugao-chan trying to pose as Asagao?! Argh, my head hurts just thinking about it!
「You really are Asagao, right?」

I had to ask for confirmation no matter what.

「Eh? Of course I am. See?」

And she reached with her hand to untie the ribbons holding her hair as she styled them back into a ponytail. On a quick side note, she looked pretty nice with her hair let down.

「Tdah!」

「Don't you 「Tdah!」 me! How can you expect me to be convinced with something like that?!」

「Really? Then what do you expect me to do to prove it?」

She asked as she styled her hair back into the twintails. Now that was the question that I had to ponder about for a good while with my hand on my chin. Something that would prove that she was indeed Asagao…

Oh, I know just the thing!

「Un?」

I move closer to her…

「Heave-ho!」

And lift her up in my arms!

「Hawawawawawawa?! W-W-W-What the h.e.l.l are you doing, Monjiro-san? H-Have you lost your mind?!」

「Hmm, this weight and softness… no doubt about it, you really are Asagao.」

It doesn't matter if they are identical twins, there are no identical human beings in this world, there will always be differences between them, even if only the ever so subtle ones. Thankfully I carried Asagao once already, so I had a good idea of her overall body weight and remembered the feeling, and now it was exactly the same as before, therefore I was absolutely certain.

「Uhm, a question, if I may. You do this to every girl around you who has a similar-looking sister?」

「No, but that was the best way to be certain, since I already carried you once before. I'm glad to announce that you are as light now as you were then.」

「Comments about my weight aside, can you put me down already? It's embarra.s.sing, even if there's no one looking!」

Feeling a little sorry for what I did, I let Asagao down on the floor.

「Now that we have that out of the way, there is still something that I don't quite understand.」

「And what that might be?」

「Was the one using the dolls you, or Yugao-chan?」

「Ah, that. That was me in the bathroom, since I'm the one possessing the skills of a Puppet Master. But the one who killed you was indeed Yugao, since we both agreed on it. But, looking at it right now, maybe it would've been better if I was the one to do it, since her 「I want to make some memories with him before I kill him」 plan seemed to have backfired against us.」

That was kinda disappointing to hear, even without a heart and with my emotions fading.

「Oh, but don't take this the wrong way, Monjiro-san! I would've been completely fine with you being Yugao's first love and partner, if only for the purpose of observing how interesting things might've gotten.」

You don't say? You called me a man wh.o.r.e before, and now you're all positive about me? Girls are really incomprehensible beings.

「Hey, Asagao. Yugao-chan was really prepared to kill me, despite how tormented she looked when she was actually doing it?」

「Yes, that's correct. Even though it brought her so much pain, she was still dead-set on doing it, because she has always been surrounded by darkness. And eve though I am her sister, I wasn't able to do anything to help her. Anything at all. All I could do for her was to stand quietly on the side and look after her while supporting her in everything she was doing. That's she decided to kill you herself, even if she knew it'll bring her nothing but suffering and pain.」

No wander she was crying when she pierced me with that knife. No child should ever be forced to something as despicable as this.

This world is a truly sh*tty place sometimes.

「But, as you can see, not everything went exactly according to Yugao's plan. Talk about a fortunate misfortune, huh?」

She tells that with a slightly awkward voice. I could tell she was not okay with things being like that, and that she only wanted her little sister to be happy but was unable to grant her that happiness with her own hands. And that was truly sad.

「No matter what happens, Yugao will stop at nothing to obtain immortality and the eternal life it grants. Nothing, you hear me. Even if it means hurting or killing s.h.i.+namachi-sama, she'll do it all the same, consequences be d.a.m.ned. That is how prepared she is.」

「She'd really go to such lengths?」

「And beyond, as long as it's for the Yahata clan. No matter how many times, or how many years it would take. But thankfully there was one thing she and the clan didn't account for: that even the best plan of a master criminal can be thwarted by a mere random happening.」

After the incident in which I was killed alongside senpai, I did some research on the subject myself, mainly by reading many mystery novels in which the protagonist was the perpetrator. And indeed, in most cases, even if the criminal crafted the most masterful plan for the 「Perfect Crime」, it would always fail due to sheer coincidence of something unrelated on a surface level happening. I always thought that relying on luck when trying to solve a case was utterly unprofessional, but maybe I was wrong for thinking that?

「And this time, I want to be that random element that voids her plans. I want to save her before she gets completely swallowed by the darkness within her and there'll be no coming back for her. To that end, I don't care if I'll have to sacrifice myself. As long as it's for my precious Yugao's sake, I'm also willing to do anything, no matter how much she might end up hating me for it.」

「Asagao, you…」

「Yes, Monjiro-san? I?」

She put her index finger against my lips to prevent me from speaking any further. Due to the height difference, she had to stand on her toes to do so. And when she did, I could see a strong will radiating from her eyes.

「I think that now I managed to understand a lot of things. About myself. About Yugao. About us. But I'm afraid that she still doesn't know a thing. She's been surrounded by darkness ever since she was little, but now I think it's high time for me to drag her out of it, even if I'll have to use force, and you helped me understand it, Monjiro-san.」

She then pressed the second finger against my lips, and in a second did the same to her own.

And after she completed that indirect kiss, she smiled at me with a smile filled with serenity.

「Will you help me, Monjiro-san? Will you show my precious little sister a bright world filled with love and kindness that will free her from the shackles she's been bound with four years ago? I'll understand if you say no, but if by any chance you'll be willing to lend me a hand…」

And just like that she gently hugged me.

「…The two of us will forever be in your debt.」

That single hug contained all of the emotions she was struggling with right now. Hope for helping her sister, and the despair of being unable to do so. Shame of having to ask outsiders for help… and a sense of trust and antic.i.p.ation.

「All right, I understand. I'll help you save your sister.」

「Yes, and I'll be counting on you.」

Once again she was speaking with her usual, cheerful tone.

Her resolve has been renewed, and her heart won't falter anymore until she achieves her goal. That is what I felt at the moment we were embracing each other