Chapter 124: Disgrace
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124: Disgrace
Despite the heavy bag on her back, Miyuki shot out at an incredible speed and wedged herself between us. She looked up not at Tetsuya, but at me, and spread her arms out to her sides.
“What do you think you’re doing! Why are you hitting him!? Don’t you know I hate this kind of thing? Do you, or do you not?”
“I didn’t hit him, I just grabbed him. And that bastard crossed the line first. Hey, Miura. Why don’t you tell her what you just said right here, right now.”
As I pointed a finger at Tetsuya with a rather heated reaction, Miyuki placed a hand on my chest to hold me back.
“I was just joking around…” Tetsuya mumbled, his confidence completely deflated.
He even had the nerve to hold his hands out in front of him in a gesture that screamed, ‘I’m the most wronged person in the world.’
I let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.
“Is that so? Then just think of this as me joking around a bit, too.”
Did she sense the situation was about to get serious?
Miyuki raised her index finger in front of my face, as if trying to calm a ferocious dog that had just caused trouble.
“Matsuda-kun…! Calm down!”
“How am I supposed to calm down when…”
“That’s enough! I’ll get really mad, you hear?”
“……”
Miyuki’s expression turned serious as she spoke with finality.
Though my face was full of dissatisfaction, I clamped my mouth shut, forcing myself to hold back for her sake.
Seeing this, she let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Tetsuya and pointed toward the main gate.
“Tetsuya-kun, you go on ahead. I’ll hear the details later.”
“Miyuki, I…”
“I said I’ll hear the reason later. Just go…!”
Miyuki’s voice rose considerably.
Startled, Tetsuya backed away and nodded his head.
“Ah, okay.”
Tetsuya retreated, then quickly walked out of the academy.
Miyuki watched him go, her eyes following him as he repeatedly glanced back. Once he was completely out of sight, she pressed a hand to her forehead.
Then, she took me to the security office and began to persuade the guard in a sweet, gentle voice.
“Um… Mister. You saw that, right?”
“Hmm… I saw it. Though I don’t know what it was about.”
“Could you please let it slide just this once? You know how boys are. They’re close friends, just messing around with some immature jokes, and one of them loses his temper for a second and grabs the other by the collar…”
“Who’s a close friend?”
At my sullen interruption, Miyuki shook her head as if I were pathetic and said.
“See? So incredibly childish.”
The security guard burst out laughing.
“Alright. I won’t report it upstairs.”
If it had been any other students fighting, the guard would have contacted the administrative department without hesitation.
But he was letting it go with just a hearty laugh?
It meant that the time I’d spent getting friendly with the guard during my volunteer work had paid off.
“Thank you so much… Matsuda-kun, you should thank him, too.”
Miyuki urged, pulling on my arm.
Pretending to be reluctant, I gave the guard a slight bow with a very grumpy expression.
“Thanks, mister.”
“You’re welcome. But you two have to make up properly, you hear?”
“I can’t promise that… Oof… I understand.”
I was about to add a snide remark, but Miyuki pinched my side so hard that I hastily changed my words.
That was a nasty pinch. It hurt like hell.
After successfully silencing the guard, Miyuki grabbed my wrist and led me toward the gym.
As dusk settled, casting an eerie mood over the place, Miyuki stood with her arms crossed tightly and glared at me.
“Matsuda-kun, you’re a child who lets his fists fly whenever he gets angry. But…”
“Don’t say such hurtful things.”
“Listen. But lately, you haven’t been acting like a mindless thug. A person who didn’t even get annoyed and just let it go when he got into a minor collision that was entirely the other person’s fault… for that person to resort to violence, there must have been a reason… Am I right?”
“How did you know I didn’t get annoyed? I don’t remember telling you.”
“The Vice Principal came to the student council room and asked if you were in any club activities. I found out when I asked him what was going on.”
Ahh… the sweet reward of good karma… My nostrils flared on their own.
The feeling was orgasmic. I felt like I could even cum without getting hard.
So this is why good people accumulate merit.
“Anyway, try explaining it to me. What was the reason you were angry enough to hit Tetsuya-kun?”
Miyuki’s words snapped me back to reality, and I smacked my lips, looking embarrassed.
“Well… do I really have to say it…? It feels like I’m tattling…”
“This isn’t the time for that. Tell me everything, without adding or leaving anything out.”
The way she glared at me with those sharp eyes was surprisingly sexy.
“Well, it’s just…”
I scratched the back of my head and explained what had happened earlier.
From how Tetsuya brought up the word ‘force’ when we were talking about ice cream, to how he’d said he was just joking when I asked if he was trying to blackmail me using Miyuki’s weakness.
I didn’t embellish the story with all sorts of flowery language.
I just tried to state the facts simply, from a third-person perspective.
“....Did Tetsuya-kun really say that?” she asked as soon as I finished, her eyes wide.
I let out a frustrated sigh that came from deep within my chest and lightly kicked a pebble lying on the ground.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Who said I don’t believe you? I do, I believe you.”
“Then why did you ask again?”
“Well… it’s just that I couldn’t believe those words came from the Tetsuya-kun I know. Hmm…”
Miyuki began to stroke her chin with her index finger, as if she had something to think about.
Miyuki lost in thought… so beautiful.
Could we maybe go into the gym right now and have a round?
After a long moment of silence, her full lips parted as she looked up at me.
“Okay. I understand why you were angry, Matsuda-kun.”
“You do?”
“Yes. But I still think violence was going too far. Of course, from your perspective, you were angry because Tetsuya-kun was the one who did something wrong first, but…”
Only an amateur would get hung up on that point here.
As long as Tetsuya was steeped in his inferiority complex, it was better for me to appear angry but barely holding it in.
Miyuki would definitely call Tetsuya over to cross-reference our stories.
He would score an own goal all by himself then, so there was no need for me to preach about why I had to use my fists.
I let my lips tremble as I sighed, then stared at Miyuki for a moment before nodding.
“I’ll apologize to Miura tomorrow when I give him a ride.”
At those words, Miyuki’s frosty expression softened considerably.
“Are you remorseful?”
“Not really.”
“Matsuda-kun.”
“Look… honestly, I don’t feel remorseful right now, so what can I do? But I admit that using violence was wrong, so I’ll sincerely apologize for that much.”
“And you’ll be remorseful, too, right?”
“....I’ll try.”
“Good. Let’s go home now.”
“You’re not mad? Then how about we pop into the gym for a second…”
“I am mad, and hearing that is making me even madder.”
“Got it. Sorry.”
I obediently shut my trap and left the academy with Miyuki.
@@
“You’re leaving as soon as you get back?”
Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen.
Miyuki, phone in hand, replied.
“I’m just going to meet Tetsuya-kun for a bit.”
“Oh? It feels like it’s been a while since you’ve seen him. Don’t be too late.”
“Okay.”
After putting on her sneakers and opening the front door, Miyuki headed to the small playground where she and Tetsuya often met.
As she sat on a swing waiting for him, thoughts of Matsuda began to drift into her mind.
She vaguely remembered seeing him a while ago… not long after he had saved her and started tutoring her. He had been sitting alone on a swing in this very playground.
Back then, Matsuda was trying to meet Watanabe Takashi, wasn’t he?
‘Haa…’
But that wasn’t what was important. Today’s incident was.
Matsuda had said it before. That Tetsuya was very sly.
Thinking back, it seemed like Matsuda had been uncomfortable with Tetsuya ever since then… Had he heard him say something similar before?
As Miyuki was lost in these thoughts,
“Haa… haa…”
She saw Tetsuya running into the playground, breathing heavily, and greeted him.
“You’re here.”
“Yeah… Sorry. I’m a little late.”
“I just got here, too. Want to sit?”
Tetsuya caught his breath and sat on the swing next to her.
Miyuki stared at him for a moment before asking.
“Why did Matsuda-kun hit you today?”
“Ah… what happened was…”
Tetsuya’s story was the same, just from a different point of view.
The topic of ice cream came up on the way to the main gate to meet her, and at the part where Nanase-senpai, himself, and Matsuda were going to eat together, Tetsuya had mentioned ‘force’ and ‘blackmail’ under the guise of a joke.
It wasn’t much different from Matsuda’s explanation.
The only difference, perhaps, was that unlike Matsuda, who had tried to explain things as objectively as possible, Tetsuya’s words carried a subtle tone of self-defense.
“....So that’s what happened… Did you hear from Matsuda, too?”
“Yes.”
“What did Matsuda say? Didn’t he only say things that were advantageous to him? Like twisting the facts or…”
Miyuki frowned slightly.
She didn’t like how Tetsuya was trying to tear Matsuda down the moment he finished his explanation.
“He didn’t do that at all.”
“Really…? That’s surprising. W-well, anyway, it was a joke.”
Looking at the situation now, it was clear that Tetsuya had been the one in the wrong first.
And yet, Matsuda had offered to apologize to Tetsuya first.
Of course, there was a sense that he was doing it reluctantly for her sake, but he had still taken a step back.
He had even offered to give Tetsuya a ride home as usual, right after they had fought.
But what was this reaction from Tetsuya?
This attitude of being so busy making excuses.
Even considering he’d been hit, he seemed a little… petty.
Since meeting her, Matsuda had become really… not nice, but calmer.
His swearing hadn’t been completely fixed, but because he knew how much she hated physical violence, he had never once raised his fists.
And yet he was angry enough to throw a punch he couldn’t hold back?
It seemed like there were other things that had been festering besides today’s incident.
Was it because Tetsuya kept slamming the car door?
No, that couldn’t be it.
He complained about it, but Matsuda wasn’t petty enough to lose his temper over something so trivial.
‘I’ll have to ask Matsuda-kun about this.’
Asking Tetsuya directly didn’t feel right, given the reaction he was showing now.
She trusted Tetsuya, but she had a feeling she would get a more accurate answer from Matsuda, who had tried to maintain an objective attitude today.
Matsuda would probably be reluctant to talk, saying it felt like gossiping…
But if she pestered him, he would eventually tell her.
Still, the usual Tetsuya wasn’t like this… Had something happened to him recently?
Miyuki, who had been listening while holding the swing chains and kicking the ground, spoke.
“Tetsuya-kun, do you have a lot on your mind these days?”
“On my mind…?”
“Yeah. Is something wrong?”
“No. If something was wrong, you’d be the first person I’d tell. You know me.”
“Right… that’s true. Then let’s go back. Why did you say that to Matsuda-kun? Didn’t you think it was harsh?”
“Well… you hate Matsuda, don’t you? That…”
Miyuki shook her head, cutting Tetsuya off.
“Not hate. Hated. It’s not like that at all now.”
“....Not at all?”
“Yeah. I like Matsuda-kun now. But what does me hating him have to do with you saying that to Matsuda-kun… Aah!?”
Miyuki let out a scream, covering her mouth.
Tetsuya, who had been gently swinging and listening to her, had suddenly fallen backward right off the swing.