Bizarre Love Triangle - Chapter 2.6
Then, after a few moments of her gasping,
[……….Ah, we switched.]
Her liveliness quickly returned to her face.
Haruka, who had just switched from Akiha, looked around and puffed out her cheeks.
[Mou–, Akiha once again switched in front of Yano-kun like usual. Even though I said that I don’t like it… Ah, so, how was it?]
She changed her grumpy expression and looked at me with a curious look.
[Did you make any progress?]
[Progress, you say……]
[Yeah?]
[…….I think I just missed it.]
[…….what?]
*
The lecture lasted until about just before her personality would change again.
It continued on for about two hours.
I was considerably worried about her, who was in a very carefree mode preparing sweets and juice as if she was having a casual girl’s talk with her friends but after two hours, I saw something unexpected.
[I prefer trios and quartets for jazz rather than large groups. I also like albums recorded in the 60’s and 70’s rather than any modern songs. The famous names in that era include Bill Evans and John Coltrane.]
We had decided to review everything we had learnt today.
Haruka was currently reciting as much knowledge as she could recall from today’s lesson.
——–She absorbed all the knowledge much faster than I had actually expected from her.
It seems that she has already memorized most of what she was taught today. She can easily recite what Akiha likes from the top of her head.
[——–In movies, she likes old ones and her favourite story is ‘Tokyo’s story’. She likes the storyline, but she also likes to look at the scenery most of the time. She also likes ‘The Man Who Stole the Sun,’ so maybe she likes extreme stories too.]
….maybe
I think I might have underestimated her a little..
She wasn’t making any blunders just because she was not good at them… but there were many other factors that prevented her from reaching her full potential.
[For novels, I prefer ennui novels from the early Showa era, especially the one where the feelings of young girl—–]
[——-Wa-Wait a Minute, Haruka.]
I decided to cut through the seemingly endless recitation and ask her.
[…I’m changing the subject real quick.]
[Okay……..]
[So Akiha took the entrance test when you transferred to our school, right? Did Haruka also take that test?]
[Um, that’s right. I also took the test…]
[Was it really hard? Did you have to study a lot?]
[No, I went to school as much as I could and studied on my own at the hospital, so it wasn’t too hard. . I even studied for the test briefly… I more or less studied for it as much as I could.]
….Didn’t you have a hard time with it?
Miyamae High school, the school we attend, is one of the top preparatory high schools in this area.
I’ve heard that the entrance exam is harder than the regular entrance exam, so it can’t be that easy.
What’s more is that, since their memories aren’t shared, they only have an average of about twelve hours a day to properly spend. The time they spend studying must be much shorter than any other student.
…I didn’t understand it very well, since it’s not been that long since they’ve transferred schools.
But it seems like Haruka isn’t a slow learner.
Rather, isn’t she actually pretty smart?
[………..then, is there something you are good at in physical education?]
I’ve been watching her during class to follow her quietly, but I can’t do the same during the boy’s and girl’s PE. Using purely her image alone, it doesn’t seem like she is very good at any sports but I wonder how it actually is in reality?
[Um… I’m not very good at it. When I’m in gym class, it’s really depressing.]
So far, it’s as I had expected.
[I see, what are you bad at then?]
[Ball games… I guess. I play volleyball with others but it’s hard not to get run down by the others…]
[I see… .by the way, have you ever timed a 50-meter dash before?]
[Ah, yes. It was measured in the first gym class]
[What was your time?]
[Um, well. I guess it was around 7 Seconds…]
[Really…?]
I couldn’t help but laugh at that unexpected timing.
Seven seconds. My time was also just about 7 seconds as well.
The average time for the 50-meter run is quite different between men and women, so it should be quite fast for women.
…with this, I felt one possible theory pop into my head.
[I see…]
[What’s wrong? What do you mean by that question?]
Haruka peeked at me curiously next to the bed I’m sitting on.
[No, I was just wondering if the reason Haruka makes so many blunders is because she doesn’t have confidence in herself.]
[…confidence?]
[Yes. You make mistakes not because you lack the ability to do so, but due to your feelings when doing so. But well, when you think about it, that’s natural. Akiha is obviously good at both studies and sports, right? Since Haruka shares the same body with her, it’s not surprising that she can also do the same.]
[…Ah, that’s right. That might be so.]
[In fact, you’ve been able to get good results in competitions where the body’s natural specs can be easily displayed, like the 50-meter dash. Besides, it was easy for you to remember what Akiha taught you today, wasn’t it?]
[…isn’t that something everyone can do?]
[No, it’s not like that. At the very least, I can’t do that.]
I’m not a bad student either.
It’s not like I’m any worse at memorizing something than anyone else.
That means the memorization power of Haruka is by far some of the best that one can have.
[But when you’re not confident, you can’t show off your abilities well, right? In fact, it seems that Haruka is quite worried about her own mistakes… so maybe that’s why you can’t do well?.]
[Oh, I see. That might be so…]
[Well at best, that’s just a hypothesis that I thought of. There’s also the possibility that the effects of your dual personality restricts you from what you can actually do?]
I’m not an expert in that area, so I can’t say that for sure.
As a case of multiple personalities, there are also psychological effects that limit what the main personality can do. I have heard that there are cases where a person can do things that his main personality cannot do. It’s possible that such restrictions are put on Haruka this time too.
But at the very least—–there isn’t doubt that Haruka can also work dexterously.
[I see, you’re right…]
Haruka nodded whilst looking down at the rug.
[You’re right. It’s strange that Akiha can do so much, but I can’t even though we have the same body, isn’t it?]
[So, if you want to unite your personalities, maybe you should set a goal to become more confident…]
As I said that——-I noticed that I was feeling a little uncomfortable.
I said the words ‘Unite your personality’ as if it were a matter of course.
That’s the goal Haruka was aiming for.
If you think about it carefully——-what exactly is that supposed to mean?
So far, I’ve unconsciously thought of it as a ‘good thing’.
We’ve innocently believed that it was our main goal.
However, I wonder if it actually is that simple.
I wondered if it would be enough to just say, “Good for you”.
[I see, confidence…]
When I looked up to express my doubts, Haruka folded her arms and pondered.
[Indeed that wasn’t the case up until now…]
She wrinkled her brow and slumped down.
With that expression and posture, Haruka looks like a splitting image of Akiha.
Rather, she looks just like Akiha on the surface.
Soon, I noticed that the pace of my pulse began to accelerate.
I know the one in front of me is Haruka. And yet, my heart rate felt a little higher than usual.
…….Wait a minute.
Up until now, I had been able to properly differentiate between Akiha and Haruka.
I only have these unrequited feelings for Akiha.
I should only have a feeling of being friends towards Haruka..
But yet, why is it that now I suddenly feel like I’m merging the two together…?
I hurriedly cover my emotions from these guilty feelings.
Holding such feelings when she’s Haruka is a betrayal to both Akiha and Haruka.
But… once you are aware of that fact, it isn’t easy to suppress your raging emotions.
The sweet scent in the room, the warmth of her body over my shoulder. It’s really hard to stay calm in this situation.
Then—–
[…..!]
I noticed.
Next to her, from this angle I’m seated on, I could see a little of her cleavage through the loose collar of her dress.
She looked slender, but her bulge stood out unexpectedly. Her skin was as white as soap, with no scars or blemishes sewn upon it.
Even though I knew it was wrong, even though I felt such terrible self-loathing, I just couldn’t take my eyes off her.
[…Hm? What’s wrong?]
My eyes met with Haruka who had looked up at me.
I can’t gloss it over or make an excuse anymore.
[N-No, it’s nothing……]
Although I said it’s nothing, I could clearly feel my cheeks getting even hotter.
Gradually sweat began to gush out of my forehead.
Haruka looked at me. And perhaps noticing the meaning she…
[…..Huh? Ah, well, that…… Ahaha…]
After her eyes fluttered here and there for a while, Haruka held her chest, laughing at me.
[Sorry, sorry. I’m not Akiha. She will be out soon, so just wait for a bit.]
[No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I am sorry for looking at you with strange eyes. I was a bit confused somehow….]
<<<PART 7>>>
[No, no, I don’t think it could be helped. If I were in the same situation, I’m sure I‘d be confused too…]
[I-I see……]
Her words cut off and an awkward silence fell over the room.
I felt a little uncomfortable at the atmosphere that was present before.
[An-Anyways, I think that confidence will be the key here onwards.]
I forced myself to continue the conversation we just had.
[That’s why, I think you might need to ask Akiha on how to act with confidence, or maybe you can find your own method on how to be confident.]
It wasn’t meant to be a very meaningful remark.
I just wanted to change the atmosphere so I just said something we could both agree upon.
And yet,
[Yes, to that girl…….]
Haruka says that and looks down at her feet.
Then,
[……Does Akiha look like that from Yano-kun’s view?]
[……What?]
[Does she look that confident to you?]
The heat on my cheeks immediately subsided at that unexpected question.
So far, all I’ve paid attention to is the way that she naturally carries herself forward.
Akiha, who doesn’t get carried away by her surroundings, doesn’t go along with the flow and keeps her true feelings to herself.
I thought that it was a sign of her self-confidence.
[Ah, of course, she has a lot more confidence compared to me though!]
Haruka waved her hands in panic as if to correct what she just said.
[Or more precisely, it’s funny comparing her to me, who’s someone who has no confidence at all… but…]
Then she smiled affectionately.
That smile was just like how Akiha smiles when she talks about Haruka,
[I think that there are a lot of things that she wants to say but she just can’t.]
[Things that she wants to say but can’t?]
[Yes. It’s because she isn’t very good at showing her weaknesses, that she couldn’t ask for help…
Haruka reached over and picked up the record on the chest.
It was an old, austere record with a design that seemed out of place for a high school girl to own.
She caress it lovingly and said,
[I think that might be the reason I was born…]
———That is the reason why Haruka was born.
Certainly, something like that must exist in Akiha.
If so, then it’s just like what she just said.
It’s not that Akiha is strong or has a lot of self confidence.
Rather… .she may have developed such a personality in order to protect herself from something else. It was made in order to defend herself from something we don’t know about.
Just as I was thinking more about it, Haruka said——
[———–It’s about time.]
Haruka confirmed the time on her smartphone.
[Oh, is it time already…?]
When she said so, I looked at the watch to confirm, and saw that it was 5:21 pm.
Around 126 minutes have elapsed since Akiha has switched before..
There’s still some time left from the 131 minutes that I had heard before but… just as she said before, the timing changes slightly from day to day.
[Sorry, but can you turn your back around for a moment… it’s embarrassing to be seen like this…]
[O-Okay.]
As I was told, I turned away from her, changing the angle I was currently sitting on.
Then, after a vexing few seconds or so,
[It’s okay now.]
Akiha was already there when I turned around at her voice.
———I wonder why she has that cold face on her right now.
It was only a little but I could feel the loneliness stemming from it.
[…Well, that’s it for today]
But before I could say anything else.
Akiha stood up without resuming the conversation we had before Haruka took over.
[Thank you for taking care of that girl. I’ll take you to the station]
[…Yeah, thank you too.]
I couldn’t say the rest of that line to her.
*
April 15th (Sunday), Akiha
Today, Yano-kun came over to our house.
I was glad that he enthusiastically noted what I had said and understood it very well.
I was glad that the lecture to Haruka went well.
I’m really glad.