ALL NOVEL Chapter 44
“So even idiots catch colds, eh?”
“Want me to beat your ass up?”
Ryuichi replied to Makoto’s words with a glare in his eyes. It was the day after his cold, and he had completely recovered…well, actually, last evening, so he was thus able to come to school in healthy spirits.
The only time he’d ever missed school until now was to skip class, so Makoto probably found it unusual for him to actually miss a day of school due to a cold.
“I actually wanted him to rest another day just to be sure, but he insisted that he was A-OK.”
“I really am okay. You’re just worrying too much.”
Shizuna’s expression remained anxious, however. He was grateful that she was so worried about him, but he truly felt that his body was in tip-top shape, and no matter how hard he strained himself, he felt just fine.
He had considered the possibility of his fever flaring up again, but since that didn’t seem to be the case, she really shouldn’t have any reason to be concerned.
“The moment homeroom was over, Rindo went over to talk to the teacher about you. As soon as she heard you’d gone down with a cold, she immediately started packing her bags, y’know?”
“I mean, I couldn’t just sit still after hearing that, you know? C’mon, let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
“Yeah… Besides, I was really happy when you came, too.”
Those were his honest feelings. For a moment, she stared at him with a blank expression, but then she smiled happily; as for Makoto, he seemed as if he was about to tease her, but he instead smiled amusedly.
“What do you think, Fushimi-kun? Ryuichi-kun’s an honest boy, isn’t he?”
“Only because it’s you. Welp, I’mma head to the toilet.”
Makoto left the classroom as if to get away from the lovey-dovey couple. That left Ryuichi and Shizuna together; she then borrowed the seat next to Ryuichi’s and sat down next to him. The student sitting next to Ryuichi tended to arrive just before class started, so there wasn’t anything wrong with her borrowing their chair like this.
“Setting me aside, what about you? You didn’t come down with anything, did you?”
“I’m just fine, you know? Were you perhaps worried about me?”
“Obviously. I’m glad you nursed me yesterday, but I wouldn’t want you to catch my cold.”
When she heard his reply, Shizuna went “Hmm”, putting her hand on her chin, and fell into thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I was just wondering how you would treat me if I caught a cold.”
She seemed excited as she said that. Apparently, she was more than willing to take care of Ryuichi, but she also wanted to experience the opposite.
“You really think my lazy ass is gonna come to your house like you did for me?”
Well, I would go, though, he muttered in his heart. He hadn’t actually muttered those words out loud, yet Shizuna said this.
“I knew you’d come for me. After all, you’re a really kind person, Ryuichi-kun.”
“………”
Apparently, she completely understood his behavioral patterns. If there came a next time where their roles were reversed, then he would almost certainly go to nurse her, and even if she hadn’t done the same for him first, he would’ve still visited her.
“I can just tell from that expression of yours. ♪”
“…Really, now.”
He turned his gaze away from the smiling Shizuna and let out a small sigh. He was a little worried that he wore his heart on his sleeve too much, but it seemed that it was only because it was Shizuna that she could tell. In that respect, Chisa, Sakie, and Satsuki might’ve been able to tell, too.
“All right, Ryuichi-kun; I’ll be heading back to my seat now.”
“Okay.”
When Shizuna returned to her seat, the homeroom teacher also entered the classroom. The homeroom teacher looked at Ryuichi, but his expression did not change in particular, unlike the annoyed expression that he used to show in the past. It seemed that this, too, was caused by the change in Ryuichi’s atmosphere among other things.
…It’s not like I’ve become some sort of honor student, though.
He could gradually tell that the atmosphere about him had changed by watching the reactions of those around him. However, the part-time job he did was at a nightclub, and the fact that he continued to have relationships with many women, including Shizuna, hadn’t changed. If they knew that, they would probably look at him again like they did before, but he chuckled, thinking that there was no point worrying about that now.
“For today’s announcements—”
He half-mindedly listened to his homeroom teacher, and time passed. There was no particular change in the way he spent his classes and breaks, and when lunchtime arrived, Ryuichi and Shizuna headed for the courtyard.
“……?”
“That’s…”
On their way to the courtyard, they came across a certain student who was walking in front of them. This student was their upperclassman and could be said to be the face of the school, the student council president.
She was a woman who had respectable morals, was serious, and was all in all the personification of righteousness.
“It looks like she’s on her way back from the staff room.”
“Yup. Hard at work even during lunchtime.”
They were about to walk past her, but she glanced at them and stopped.
“Why, if it isn’t the rumored Shishido I’ve heard many things about.”
“………”
He wanted to ask what was wrong about that, but he could tell that this would be a massive pain in the ass, and his expression blatantly changed. Shizuna naturally noticed this as well, and tried to pull Ryuichi’s hand and walk away with him, not caring that she was the student council president.
“Can I have a quick word?”
“…With me?”
“Yes.”
She firmly placed her hand on his shoulder and stopped him. Now that it came to this, Shizuna had no choice but to stop as well. She stuck herself close to Ryuichi’s side and waited for the student council president to speak.
“You were a well-known delinquent in our school. Is there any reason why you’ve changed so much that even I can tell it clearly from your atmosphere?”
“Do I have to answer that?”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine. I was just curious.”
Her expression clearly showed her curiosity. However, Ryuichi had no real reason to be silent, so he decided to answer honestly—not knowing that it would make the girl who was currently in his arms very happy.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve found a precious woman to me.”
“Huh?”
“…Oh?”
Shizuna’s eyes were blinking rapidly, and the student council president’s cheeks flushed red even though he hadn’t been referring to her.
“Are you surprisingly unused to these kinds of things, prez?”
“…Well, I’m one of those people whose age equals the number of years I’ve gone without a boyfriend. Personally, I think I’m a pretty nice girl, though.”
“True, your looks definitely make you a beauty.”
“Right? Good grief, the boys in this school don’t have any eyes.”
She let her anger show with a pout. It was certainly as she’d said; she was a very beautiful girl, a little boyish-looking, but her body had the curves where it mattered.
“I’m sure you could’ve gone looking for boys on your own, though? You got those massive boobs and all.”
“M-My boobs?!”
She quickly covered her breasts with her arms and backed away. Apparently, she really had a low tolerance for this kind of thing, and her face was even redder than before.
“These things are just way too big and they get in the way. Plus, they draw a lot of unwanted stares.”
Well, that was the fate of women with large breasts. Whether they were to be judged as a hindrance or as an offensive weapon to attract the opposite sex was up to the individual, so Ryuichi couldn’t say anything.
“Well, try not to worry about it too much.”
Leaving things off with those words, Ryuichi and Shizuna walked away. Incidentally, she walked by his side in complete silence ever since that conversation.
“Hup!”
“………”
As soon as they sat down on the bench, Shizuna started rubbing her cheek against Ryuichi’s shoulder without saying anything in particular. Apparently, his “precious woman” remark earlier had made her happy, and she kept clinging on his shoulder and fawning on him, like a cat fawning on its owner.
“Hey, Shizuna. You remember when I asked you if you wanted to go on a trip somewhere?”
“Of course I do. Wait, could you be…”
“How about we go on that trip this week?”
“Sure, why not? Where are we going?”
Ryuichi briefly paused at her question. Then, slowly looking up at the sky, he said:
“I want to go on a sort of date with you…but there’s this place I want to stop by first.”
“A place you want to stop by?”
He nodded.
“I want to ask those two what kind of faces they’re looking at me with in the afterlife.”
With these words alone, she seemed to have understood his intentions. Thus, it was decided that Ryuichi and Shizuna would go on a slightly long trip on the weekend.
And, in a sense, that day—was also the day that fate moved for Ryuichi.