Omae o Otaku ni Shiteyaru kara, Ore o Riajuu ni Shitekure! Volume 4 Chapter 1-6 + afterword

Volume 4

 

Chapter 1

 

The summer vacation is over, and the second semester started. After the lessons, I’m going to return a book I took on vacations. I noticed Hasegawa is taking some book at the counter.

“A, Hasegawa!”

“Kashiwada-kun.”

I met Hasegawa on the first day of the semester. I guess, is started from a good day.

“Are you taking a book, too?”

“No, I’m returning…”

“Eh… What is it?” – Hasegawa surprised seeing the book I bring to return. It was a light novel that I took during the summer vacation. At first, I thought I’m in trouble, Hasegawa understood I’m an otaku, but then I showed the book to Hasegawa.

“I didn’t tell about this, but I like these things.”

It was a big stake. That light novel has an otaku-ish cover, so you can immediately understand that I’m an otaku looking at the cover. Before the first semester, I tried to evade the fact I’m an otaku from revealing. However, right now I have a doubt regarding Hasegawa, – could it be that she is an otaku, like me?

On the day of the Fireworks Festival, Hasegawa uttered a character’s name looking at the pizza box with the picture of it on. That anime was a deep-night anime for the otaku, and Hasegawa knew it. I thought about this, but in the end, I reached the conclusion that Hasegawa is not an otaku. Therefore, I decided to make a coming-out, and now it a good time for this.

I’m trying to look at her face. Even if I decided to do this, my fear won’t vanish. What if she is not an otaku, and she would understand who I am… But my heart was reassured in the moment I saw her face. She kindly smiled looking at me.

“Kashiwada-kun, so we are comrades! I hid it too, but I like manga, light novels, and anime. I’m an otaku, too.”

I was happy hearing that! I don’t have to hide it anymore! I can show myself as is because the person I’m in love shares my interests.

“Kashiwada-kun, you’ve surprised me, I would never think you are an otaku. You had been concealing it well.” I become happier hearing these words. Yet, she had been hiding it even skilfully.

“I can say it to you too, I never noticed you’re an otaku.”

“I’m happy we are sharing the same interest, Kashiwada-kun.”

“Eh? Really? Me too! I wanted to befriend with you ever since!” – I said too much because I was emotional. Hasegawa looks at me with a strange look.

“Because… I… I love you, Hasegawa!” – my voice trembled, and my fingers made a fist. I looked down because I was afraid to look at her. But the moment later, my fist relaxed, as if it was covered with something soft and warm.

“Thank you, I like you too, Kashiwada-kun.” – Hasegawa kindly grasped my hand and looks at my face with a kind smile.

“Thank you, thank you! I’m sure we will be a nice couple! We already have a common interest!”

“Yes, I agree. Let’s talk about it from now on!”

Hasegawa smiled hearing my excited phrase. I can’t believe we are a couple of otakus… Ah, I’m the happiest man in the world…

 

“Naoki?! You can’t just sleep so much, even it’s a vacation now! It’s afternoon already!”

I heard that familiar voice, and noticed that I’m in my bed. A thin bed sheet that covered me, was instantly removed.

“Eh?”

I got up in the bed and saw my little sister Akari pulling the bed sheet and stares and me.

“Just a… dream…”

That is why I saw such a convenience progression from the middle. It was a great dream, but now I’m depressed.

“What?! Did you saw a wet dream?!” – Akari leaned towards me.

“Eh? No!”

“The vacation ends soon, so you should get used to waking up earlier!” – Akari left my room with resent in her voice. Why would she enter my room such easily, to begin with?

Only four days of the summer vacation left after the Fireworks Festival. I had been immersed in my thoughts at home and at work all the time. Of course, I had been thinking about strange things happened on the festival. First, drunk Koigasaki told me that Sakurai-san likes me. Second, on the way to the station we saw Suzuki with a girl in yukata. And the third, and the most important, Hasegawa reacted to the character on the pizza box.

Why did she know the character from a deep-night anime? Was it a coincidence that she knew her name? Or she is a hidden otaku? Those two possibilities are the most realistic. I hope the second is true, because Hasegawa would be the same type of a human in that case. There is no happier to me to be able to speak about the same interests. I had been thinking about that so such I had that dream.

I should find out as quick as possible, is she an otaku or not. If I would get to know she is, I will make a coming-out, like I did in my dream in order to get closer to her. I bet things won’t go that easy as they were in the dream, but my chances would increase for sure.

I spent the rest of the vacations with uneasy feelings before entering the second semester.

 

＊

 

September has come, and the long-awaited second semester started. I decided to motivate myself and woke up earlier, and then I went to fix up my hair.

“Oh, the school again… I’m feeling heavy…” – Akari is taking breakfast with a bed hair.

“Akari, you should take an example from your brother.”

“Naoki, you’re earlier than usual, aren’t you?” – I heard her lazy voice from behind while standing in front of the washstand mirror.

“The new semester begins today! You have to encourage yourself!”  – I completed working on my hair and smiled to Akari.

“Your morning mood make me feel sick. You would always say you don’t want to go to school again when a vacation is over. Did you eat something strange?” – Akari looked at me with suspicious.

“Aren’t you anticipating meeting with a girlfriend in the school?” – she said like provoking me.

“A girlfriend?!” – I asked Akari’s words.

“Didn’t you go to a date with a girl on the vacation?”

”Well, I did, but she’s not my girlfriend…”

It’s the time to leave from home, so I took my bag.

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

“I wish you the jovial boy trapped into a ditch.”

I heard a refreshing phrase from Akari but decided not to bother myself and closed the door, heading to the entrance. Why she is so unhappy when I’m in good mood? Why she wishes a bad luck to her brother?..

 

It has been a month since I had used this overflowing train, but I don’t feel stuffy now. I went to the school in high spirit.

I want to meet Hasegawa already.

I want to check whether she is an otaku. On the road to the school, I noticed a familiar figure. I hesitated for a moment, but today I feel different.

“Hi, Koigasaki!”

I would think about surrounding eyes and don’t speak to her, but I managed to do it today.

“…?!”

The second later, my good mood vanished.

“What is happened to your face?”

Koigasaki has her makeup and hairstyle as always, but the shadows under her eyes she couldn’t hide completely, and her face color is terrible. Is she going to die?..

“Don’t scream in the morning. It buzzes in my head.”

“Did you have no sleep?”

This is rare to see Koigasaki so depressed. She has deadly face from the beginning of the semester!

“How could I sleep?..” – mumbled Koigasaki.

 

I finally grasped the reason why Koigasaki is depressed.

“Could it be this is because of Suzuki?”

“…”

Until now, I completely forgot about one simple fact.

“Ah, that girl… I see…”

Koigasaki and I surely saw the Koigasaki’s bellowed person Suzuki along with a girl in yukata, and they were friendly. I was surprised back then, but more important for me thing (Hasegawa may be an otaku) made me forget that.

“Could it be that you didn’t sleep because of that?”

“Of course…” – Koigasaki is walking unsteadily. Well, I guess, if I saw Hasegawa with her boyfriend, I would hang myself that very day.

However, one thought has been wandering in my head since the festival.

“I think she is Suzuki’s older sister.”

“Eh?” – Koigasaki looks at me with round eyes.

“Sister?..”

We reached to the school, and continued our conversation at the shoe rack.

“Yes, Suzuki has the older sister. I don’t know her age or anything, but it’s hard to imagine Suzuki has a girlfriend, so that girl must be his sister.”

“But why would somebody go to a festival with a sister?” – she stares at me. She must be thinking I just said it for no reason. Of course, one can go to a festival with his brother or sister only if they are on good terms.

“Okay, then, what about this one?”

“Eh?”

Koigasaki put her phone in front of me. There was a “photo club” photograph fullscreen. In the photo I can recognize Suzuki, and… a cute girl. The fact Suzuki is taking a picture with a girl is strange itself, but there was another more suspicious thing in the photo.

“This is… The girl we saw at the festival… was a different girl?..”

I saw her for a moment, but she had a bright brown hair with two bulbs, and nice accessories, also her yukata and hairstyle were in a good match. I was surprised Suzuki was with a 3D-girl, but also I was surprised that she was very beautiful. However, this girl on the photo is not the girl we saw at the festival. She has a short bob cut and black hair, she wears glasses with black frame and sailor suit. A smart beauty style. If my assumption is right, Suzuki visited the Firework Festival with his sister. Who is this girl, then?

We came to the class, and talked at the door.

“Where did you get it?”

“I looked for girls among Suzuki’s friends, and found this picture there…”

I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I took her phone to see closer. They are doing “peace” sign, and I found “buddies” below. This handsome man on the left… is he really Suzuki? Well, it must be some photo club effect making his eyes look bigger, but this is Suzuki for sure. I remember these clothes, and there is his given name “Sou-chan” below.

“Suzuki-kun is popular, however, it’s not strange if he has a few female friends.” – mumbled Koigasaki and took her phone back. Two female-buddies for that women-hater Suzuki? That’s strange enough!

“But I don’t think he would go to a festival or take a photo with a friend. Things are different with a girlfriend, though. I don’t understand it!”

Which means, Suzuki has two girlfriends? No, that’s impossible even more. Suzuki is a sort of that guys.

“That’s enough! I don’t get a thing!” – Koigasaki snapped.

“Calm down, to start with…”

I’m confused too, but Koigasaki is nothing near with me. I can understand that, but…

“Hey, you. We agreed to help each other, so go confirm it from Suzuki-kun!”

“Eh?” – Koigasaki threw these words in me.

“It’s unfair I’m the only one who makes advice for you recently!”

“Huh?”

Well, that’s true she was helping me with Hasegawa, and I want to help her too, but… She glares at me severely. I understand she is in bad mood, but I think it’s not an attitude of the asking person.     

“Oh, okay.”

I don’t like her attitude, but I want to make it clear for me too. How on the earth could he have two girlfriends? Where is the truth?

“But don’t tell him that because I’m worried or something, okay?”

“If I would!”

Koigasaki left me and entered the class in a bad mood.     

I honestly thought Suzuki has no girlfriend.

I left my bag in the class and went to Suzuki’s class, B class. I thought to ask somebody about Suzuki, and my eyes met with some plain boy beside the front desk.

“Oh, Suzuki is here?”

“Suzuki, it’s for you!” – the boy called Suzuki. Suzuki noticed me and came to me.

“Long time to see, Kasshi! How are you?”

“Okay, I guess…”

Suzuki smiles as usual, with his carefree smile. I think, it would be difficult to ask…

“Say, did you get a girlfriend during the summer vacation?” – I asked directly.

“Eh?” – he hesitated for a while, but then…

“Oh, yes! I got one!” – he answered with a smile.

“Eh?” – I was going to panic. So he really visited the festival with his girlfriend?..

“I spend most of the vacation playing “photograph girlfriend” on my PSP!”

“Huh?” – he told me the name of the new game sold on this vacation.

“No, I’m not about that…”

“No? Ah, you meant the anime? Yeah, this season was full of cuties!”

“Hey, Suzuki… That’s a miss again. I meant a real 3D girlfriend.”

“3D? There is no way I could.” – he replied with a face, like, why am I asking something natural?

“Okay, but…”

I took out my phone and opened Mixi, clicked “friends overview” from his page, and found the photo that Koigasaki showed me recently – it was a somebody’s avatar. I went to that person’s page and opened the photo full-size.

“What is it, then?” – I demonstrated the photo of the black-haired bob cut cute girl with Suzuki.

“Euw… Where did you get from?.. Oh, Mixi?”

Suzuki wasn’t surprised, I would say he was rather disgusted.

“I found this photo in your friendslist.”

“Really? The sister set this as her avatar? Is she crazy?” – said Suzuki with displeased face.

The sister. He called her the sister.

“So this girl is your sister?”

“Yeah… The worst sister, I’ve been telling you about her all the time.”

“But she is a pretty girl! Besides, you guys are very close, you’re taking photos together!”

“Oh, please stop it! She used intimidation to force me to do this! She has received strange messages from men trying to pick up her, so I think she set this photo to stop that. It’s annoying me.”

I relaxed a little upon hearing that she is his sister. Okay, the next question.

“By the way, did you visited the fireworks festival?”

There is another one girlfriend-seeker girl, from the festival.

“What festival?”

“Oh, how was that…” – I forgot where it been.

“Edogawa! Did you visit that festival?”

“No, I didn’t.” – said Suzuki, and I completely relaxed.

“I see… Well, I figured that much…” – I clapped his shoulder.

I had to return because the next lesson is the opening ceremony in the gym.  

“Thank you!” – I said and parted with Suzuki, and then returned to my class. He stood dazed, but I was relaxed. That man was somebody else, not Suzuki. Suzuki can’t have a girlfriend.

 

“Huh? Are you stupid? There is no way I could mistake Suzuki-kun for somebody else!”

After the opening ceremony, I called Koigasaki to stairs and told her everything I heard: the girl on the photo is the Suzuki’s sister, Suzuki said he can’t make a girlfriend, hence Koigasaki mistook Suzuki for somebody else. And this is what she replied to me.

I don’t like I did so much for her, but she called me stupid.

“Don’t call me stupid. Suzuki told he didn’t visit the festival!”

“That’s lie! It can’t be true. It was definitely Suzuki-kun, I’m sure!” – she said with a gloomy face and refuses to accept the reality.

“How could I, who loves Suzuki-kun more than anybody else, mistake him for another man?”

Koigasaki, I’m begging you, don’t say that words about love so loud, somebody might hear you.

“You can be self-confident or whatever, but you were drunk!”

“Even drunk, I couldn’t mistake Suzuki-kun! Also, you saw him too, right?”

“I saw… I could think I saw Suzuki only because you told me that, and I didn’t see him clearly.”

Even hearing that, Koigasaki still don’t believe it. Why is she so stubborn?

“Anyway, I have checked things with Suzuki, so please convince yourself. More important, I have a talk…”

I remembered other things for which I asked Koigasaki to talk with her alone. This is about Hasegawa might be an otaku, and that Koigasaki had told me Sakurai-san likes me. Koigasaki doesn’t know yet that Hasegawa might be an otaku, and I wanted to talk about a way to check it. Also, I wanted Koigasaki to clarify she said that Sakurai-san likes me.

“More important, you say?!”

However, seeing this reaction I understood that it’s wrong time for such questions. Koigasaki frowns at me again.

“Didn’t you deceive me about Suzuki just because you want my help?”

“Eh?”

Koigasaki hit me with these words.

“Do you doubt I fairly checked the things with Suzuki for your sake?”

“But I did see Suzuki-kun! It’s not my mistake! Good for you, you met Hasegawa twice during the vacation, you had the date with her, and you met her at the festival! Compare that with me, I saw Suzuki-kun only once, for a few seconds, and on the top of that I saw him with another woman!” – said Koigasaki with anger.

“I’m helping you with your relationship so much! Why your relationship is progressing, and mine is struggling? It’s unfair!”

“Wha..? I believe I’m helping you too!”

I tagged with her to the cosplay party and to the summer Comiket, aiming to Koigasaki and Suzuki befriended. I believe I did what I could, so why is she unhappy?

“Why I’m not getting closer to Suzuki? Also, we got to know he has a girlfriend…” – she said with aggrieved voice and glaring at me again. She is blaming a wrong guy! I have something to reply to you, Koigasaki, I’m angry too!

However, at that moment…

“Oh, Momo-chan! And Ka…Kashiwada-kun!” – Sakurai-san passed by us.

“S-Sakurai-san?!”  – I remembered what Koigasaki had told me about Sakurai-san’s feeling and I couldn’t hold myself. I have been trying to convince myself that it’s not a fact by any means, but I just can’t stop anticipating.

“Hello…” – I tried to greet her naturally, but what I did is the contrary. I’m concerning too much…

“Why are you talking here?”

“Oh, we… well…”

She must be feeling strange seeing us here. It seems she didn’t hear our conversation, so I can relax. However, it’s the worst time for her to come. If Koigasaki is annoyed this much…

“Long time no see, Azuki-chan~!”

“…?”

However, Koigasaki changed her attitude instantly and hugged Sakurai-san. I couldn’t believe own eyes. Is she the same Koigasaki who scorned me a moment earlier?

“Yes, we met at the pool last time.~”

They are hugging as if they didn’t meet for ages. But hey, the pool was only two weeks ago, okay?

“Azuki-chan, let’s talk inside the class, okay?”

“Eh? But Kashiwada-kun…”

Koigasaki took Sakurai-san’s hand and they disappeared in a classroom. I left standing there. What is with this sudden change from me to Sakurai-san? Does she think I’m okay with this attitude? Sakurai-san noticed me, but Koigasaki just doesn’t matter at all. Can I take it as an insult?

I did nothing she could possibly blame me for, so this is entirely she snapped her anger on me. Why is she so childish even here? Ah, I don’t care anymore. I have no intent to help her anymore.

I returned to the class and sit on my seat, when Kiritani spoke to me.

“Oh, Kashiwada, you’re tanned!”

“Oh? Ah…”

Probably, I got tanned at the Summer Comiket, but I can’t say it.

“Kiritani, you’re tanned badly!” – I changed the topic to evade answering where I tanned. Kiritani has dark skin since I met him, but I feel his skin is darker now.

“Well, yeah~! I went to a pool with my girlfriend, to the sea with my girlfriend, to a trip with my girlfriend.”

“Oh, you must be tired. The reals annoy me.”

So he wanted to boast when he started talking about his tan.

“Well, okay, I spent the summer vacation like one of the reals, but there is a guy who is far more to the reals than me.”

Ew, he just said he is of the reals…

“Well, I guess there are plenty of boys who are closer than you.”

“Hosokawa, there.”

Kiritani looked at a close to the front seat at the wall, on the guy called Hosokawa. Our seats are rear seats at the window, so we are quite far from him. All I know about that Hosokawa is that he’s a member of the soccer club, has a good appearance, and he is our enemy.

“They say he did a lot of girls from our school and from other schools during the vacation.

“Eh?”

I looked at his face again. He looks like a sports club member, and he is nice to the girls from our class.

“He doesn’t look that way, though.”

“He must be popular, so girls are going closer to him.”

“Oh, I get it. But it’s not what you would call the reals, I think.”

Our trivial talk was ended by chimes, and our teacher came in.

 

The homeroom is over, and the lessons successfully completed today. I noticed that I spoke with different guys, but I never spoke to Hasegawa. How about to invite her to come from the school together? And check whether she is an otaku then.

Hasegawa has been writing something in a class diary. I moved to her.

“Ah, Kashiwada-kun.” – Hasegawa noticed me and spoke to me first. I don’t think she would react this way when I was nearby in the first semester. I’m happy now. I can see her since the day of the festival a week ago. Even after the summer, she doesn’t seem to be tanned, her skin is light as usual in contrast with her black hair.

“You’re dug into the representative duties from the very start of the semester.”

I didn’t know how properly talk with her, so I started with her duties.

“Not at all, it’s not that hard.” – said Hasegawa with the same face, but she looks at me now.

“Do you have another work after this?”

“No, I’ll take it to the teacher’s office and that’s all.”

I wanted to help her if there some work left, though…

“I see… Well, then… If…”

“…?”

“If you don’t mind, can we return from the school together?” – I could say that because the classroom was almost empty.

“Eh?” – Hasegawa surprised.

“I don’t mind, of course.”

I don’t know what she thinks about, but she agreed, and that’s good. We then gathered all things, took the diary to the teacher’s room and we left the school. I asked her about a homework intending to lead the conversation to an otaku topic but failed due panic. I thought I have to do this until we reach the station.

“Say, did you watch TV during the summer vacation?” – I changed the topic to TV. I intended to hear about whether she watched anime.

“A TV? I wouldn’t say I watched it too much. Morning news and other shows a couple times a week. In the deep night.”

“In a deep night?!” – I asked too loud, and Hasegawa surprised.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

You know, if somebody tells he watches TV in deep night, it’s a deep night anime, right?

“Yeah, I had been going to sleep later than I would during the school, and I sometimes watch TV…”

“I see! Could it be you watched a…” – I was going to say “anime”, but…

“Yes, Ame Talk! Kashiwada-kun, so you watched it too?”

…

“Ah, yes, I’m watching it from time to time!”

Crap, it was dangerous! So she meant that one!

“Ah, but you said you watched TV few times a week, had you been watching something else?”

Ame Talk goes only one time in a week. The other shows are ani…

“Yes, the other are…” – and Hasegawa told me three comedy shows. Well, I know that she likes comedies since when I visited video rental service, but it’s more serious than I expected.

“I see… Anything else?”

“Else… Well, a variety show I liked is ended recently, so that’s all I watching regularly.”

“I meant, do you watch something apart from comedy shows?”

“Let me think… Only morning news, I guess. I have the mother and the little sister, so I may watch something with them.”

“Oh, I see.”

In other words, she doesn’t watch anime at all. It’s bad, but I think I can’t show her I’m sad.

“You’re loving comedies so much.” – I replied with a smile.

“It was unexpected, that you love them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why did you start watching it, was there any special reason?”

“I often heard other girls speaking about comedies…”

“Eh? Really?”

I was so happy I couldn’t ignore that.

“Was that the girls in our class?”

“No, in my junior high. Girls nearby were very joyful talking about comedy shows, so it happened I took an interest in the shows.”

“I see…~”

“Today I think I just wanted to speak with them.”

“Oh, I got it.”

After that I wanted to ask could Hasegawa talk to that girls or not, but I her sad face led me to the certain conclusion, and I stopped.

“The girls in our class talk about comedy shows from time to time, so I watch them for studying purpose. Of course, one of the reasons is that I like those shows.”