It’s Too Early to be Having Newlywed Syndrome! ~Childhood Friends Who Rekindled their Love for Each Other ~ - 4 - 9 - Muda na Mukuchi, Fuyu, and Zakkubaran
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- It’s Too Early to be Having Newlywed Syndrome! ~Childhood Friends Who Rekindled their Love for Each Other ~
- 4 - 9 - Muda na Mukuchi, Fuyu, and Zakkubaran
Muda na Mukuchi, Fuyu, and Zakkubaran
“Tachibana-san, how many messages on your graduation yearbook do you remember?”
Naoto was really curious that Haruka fully remembered his essay.
“I only remember Morita-kun’s. The others don’t really stand out. In the first place, it was because I was looking forward the most to passing my yearbook first to Morita-kun. So much so I cried in secret.”
Naoto became more and more confused with Haruka’s words.
“Huh—–? What’s with that puzzling expectation?
I don’t really know if it’s okay to say this, but I don’t have any idea what you’re thinking at all, Tachibana-san. That’s why when you rejected me, I ended up thinking ‘Perhaps, this really is the kind of person that she is.’”
“Aren’t you kinda sharp-tongued today, Morita-kun?!”
“Ah, sorry. Is it that bad?”
“No, it’s kind of refreshing though.”
“Eh, did you say it’s refreshing?”
“Well, it did put me in a good sort of a mood. It’s like, when a small boy calls me ‘you bastard’, it doesn’t really scare me, but if a middle-age man told me that, I get really scared, that sort of thing.”
“For some reason, I kinda get you.”
“I know that Morita-kun is really devoted to Natsuki-san, so I’m really at ease.”
“Why do you know I’m devoted to her?”
Naoto was gently rubbing the back of the still sniffling Natsuki.
“Even among people who have girlfriends, there are people who have ulterior motives and people that haven’t, so I know that there are irresponsible ones who are onto something like planning on two-timing. And Morita-kun and Iida-kun aren’t the type of guys that’ll go two-timing.”
“You can tell that much?”
“Not really, rather, in Morita-kun’s case, you probably can’t. You did write on your essay ‘I would swear that I would never betray her again’ after all.”
“That essay, I only wrote it based on my mood that day, so it’s a pretty unreliable basis to use.”
“And I’m saying since earlier that there are lots of people who spent their whole lives not having the mood you had that day. Your true personality was really showing on that essay.”
“Ah— is that so. However, somehow, you’ve only been saying good things about me, so it feels like I’m not really showing my true nature or something.”
The moment he said that, Naoto recalled Haruka’s appearance when she was running while wearing a uniform that looked like a track and field club’s training wear.
“——Speaking of, are you in the track and field club of your high school, Tachibana-san?”
“Yup”
“Does your track and field club pass by the front of the station whenever you’re having a running exercise?”
“We do pass by the front of the station. Guys always look at us saying ‘What was that about?’, so it feels a bit embarrassing.”
Haruka said with an unpleasant expression.
“During fall of last year, while I’m on my way to take an English Proficiency Test, it’s just a probability, but I might have seen Tachibana-san running by chance. You’re the only one shining in your group, I was quite surprised. From when we graduated in middle school until the fall of last year, I’ve considered you as the most beautiful person I’ve seen in that time period.
When I saw that appearance of yours, I was moved. After that, one thing after another happened, and I was able to muster up my courage to reach out to Natsuki.
That’s why, if Tachibana-san manages to normally fall in love once again, you would surely be able to fall head over heels with that person. How should I put it, I can’t word it that well, so I just want to say don’t worry about it too much.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. Thank you.”
Haruka’s face reddened.
So that Haruka won’t be too nervous, Makoto started speaking.
“Morita-kun, you said that ‘The essay was only showing my good parts’, but isn’t the way you’re speaking right now very smooth? You even told me that I’m cute.”
Makoto blushed a bit.
“That’s, well, just like my essay, not only did I say what’s exactly on my mind, I overstate it as well. Actually, even though I told Nagatomo-san that ‘Nagatomo-san is just as cute as Tachibana-san’, right now I just said ‘Tachibana-san was the most beautiful’. That’s already a contradiction, right?”
“Uwa, that’s true, Morita-kun, so you’re just flattering me! Return my happy feelings.”
Makoto laughed.
“Well, to add to what I said, at the time I saw Tachibana-san again, a long time has passed since we last saw each other, so my appreciation of her was different. It felt like she was especially beautiful that day, back when we were in middle school and seeing her every day, she was never that dazzling. The thing about me finding Nagatomo-san cute back at middle school, that’s true you know.”
“Then, I forgive you! So that’s not just flattery, right?”
“Well, you’re right.”
“Being told that even just once is already a big mood changer, you know. In my school, the boys decided to have us do maid café at during our school festival, and they didn’t call us cute even once. Including me, the girls all lost confidence in ourselves.”
“Aside from Natsuki, I can’t really just up and tell someone they’re very cute though. It’s just yesterday and today that I acted peculiar. What should I do if Natsuki gets mad at me later?”
Natsuki, who’s almost finished crying a bit earlier, held hands with Naoto.
“I’ll forgive you in consideration of your essay.”
Natsuki said with a smile.
“Hey, hey. If Natsuki’s calmed down now, I want you to come with me outside for a bit, Morita-kun.”
Aki called out to Naoto.
“Somehow, saying that at this timing, furthermore having to talk about something outside, I only have a bad feeling about this. Will I get scolded over something?”
“I won’t scold you. Just a talk about how there’s someone who might be feeling unexpectedly happy about all this.”
“I have no choice but to go then.”
Naoto, after gently stroking Natsuki’s head, stood up.
“Natsuki, make sure to rehydrate yourself properly, okay?”
When Naoto said that, Natsuki nodded with a smile.
While walking after Aki, Naoto was in deep thought on who this ‘someone who might be feeling unexpectedly happy about all this’ was.
When she stepped outside the store, Aki waved to her friends inside while smiling.
After she stopped waving her hands,
“Morita-kun, you’re writing novels under the pen name ‘Muda na Mukuchi’, aren’t you?”
She said to Naoto.
Naoto, was not that surprised.
“How did you find out?”
“I have a bit of a bad habit. In relation to that I happened to see it.
Before, When I called on my father in our house, maybe it’s because he forgot to mute his smartphone, or maybe it’s a mistake while operating the phone, but something like a voice from an ecchi game can be heard from it.”
“That would’ve been awkward.”
“He did apologize for it, and I thought that’s just a normal thing, so I didn’t really mind. But I don’t want to experience something like that again with someone else.
That’s why whenever I see a guy using their smartphone, I formed a habit where I would take a little peek at their screen from behind them, afterwards I would call out to them. Before, when Morita-kun was sitting on a bench eating takoyaki, before I spoke to you, I ended up seeing you writing a novel on your smartphone.
I’m really sorry I haven’t told you about it until now, I’ll accept it if you end our friendship because of it.”
“No, it’s my fault for writing it outdoors. It’s not something that I would end a friendship for.”
“Thank you.
So then, it’s about my habit though. I fairly see interesting movies and such in an aggregator site. Even though I see some interesting ones there, I haven’t really done something such as expressly having them to watch for later even once. I immediately forget about them.
However, during that time with Morita-kun, I thought that I should forget about the novel, so on order to do so, I intentionally decided to speak a lot with you there, but even so I couldn’t forget about the novel. Because of that, I couldn’t help myself and decided to look it up. If Morita-kun’s novel didn’t pique my interest, I wouldn’t have ended up wanting to read it that extent, you know.
That’s why, I understand Tachibana-san very much when she said she memorized that essay of yours.”
“But that essay, it really was just all whitewashing, you know.
Erm…… that line, ‘I always wished I could return to that day’, was it? It’s not like I was always worried about Natsuki like that. Most of those were pretty much lies.”
“Even so, someone who’s normally shy couldn’t easily write something like that. At the very least, I haven’t written an essay like that. I ended up reading all of Morita-kun’s novels.”
“Reading all of them, that’s amazing.”
“She still doesn’t know that Morita-kun wrote all of them, but Hatsumi’s a fan of yours, you know.”
“Sasahara-san is?”
“Hatsumi is ‘Zakkubaran’, you know. When she asked me for recommendations, I showed her Morita-kun’s novel, and now she’s hooked on your novels more than I am.”
“Eh—–?! That’s the person who comments their impressions of my novels the most.”
“And I’m ‘Fuyu’.”
“Speaking of, what’s with ‘Fuyu’?”
“My name’s Aki, so I made ‘Fuyu’ my username.”
(TL note: Fuyu means winter. Aki’s name (亜紀) is read the same as aki (秋) which means fall/autumn)
“Ain’t that too sloppy?”
“Morita-kun’s basis on naming your novels’ characters are sloppy as well. Haruka-san is Haru (spring), so Haru-san, Natsuki is Natsu (summer), so Natsu-san, and I’m Aki, so Aki-san, right?”
“Ah—–, so our way of thinking is close, huh.”
“That’s right.”
Aki laughed.
“This morning, you wrote a story about Aki-san, right? When you wrote Aki-san as a very kind person, I was so happy I cried. Because of that, I’m a bit weird today. That’s how much I like Morita-kun’s novels. Probably, Hatsumi likes them more than I do.”
“Uwa—-, I’m somewhat embarrassed.”
“So, because of that, I thought if this person made Aki-san into a kind person to this extent, then he would surely excuse me for reading his novels. I wanted to apologize as soon as possible, so I’ve been looking for opportunities to do so since this morning, but you were occupied with the thing about Haruka-san. So now that the thing with Haruka-san’s settled, I though now would be the right time.”
“Un, thank you for telling me about it.”
“And then, I also want to consult you about quickly revealing about it before we part with Haruka-san today. If we have Haruka-san read your novel, I think she would be delighted.”
“Making someone with fear of men read a novel that’s easily a guy’s desire fulfillment piece? Won’t she be disgusted with it that she throws up?”
“That’s, well, we’ll just choose a piece that doesn’t reflect that.”
“Then, we should start by reading them over again, shouldn’t we?”
“That’s right.”
“But, would she even read a novel I wrote?”
“It’ll be fine. She did say that your essay was so interesting that it inspired her to try writing lyrics.”
“Well, it’s no matter. When I think about it well, there’s no need to expressly tell her that I want her to read it. Just her expressing her gratitude by telling me that by her knowing I’m writing novels got her encouraged would be enough for me. Because of that, if she still asks me to tell them about it, then I wouldn’t be responsible anymore for any parts of the novel that she will be reading.
In case Tachibana-san got put off by it, to relieve stress I’ll have the Aki-san in the novel be pushed down.”
“Stop that, that would surely be sexual harassment.”
Aki, while laughing at Naoto’s declaration, expressed her opposition to it.
“It’s not like I’m forcing Ninomiya-san to read it. Wouldn’t be okay if you don’t read it?”
“If you write about it, it would make me want to read it!”
“That’s not my problem!”
“No, that’s a bit too cowardly, I think.”
“I’m looking forward to it, I really like being able to legally sexually harass——— ouch, that hurts!”
Without waiting for Naoto to finish his sentence, Aki hit Naoto on the shoulder while laughing.
Sakurako, who saw that from inside the restaurant,
“It looks like Aki’s really laughing her heart out to whatever Morita-kun just said. Whenever I tried to make her laugh, all I get was a chuckle at best. It’s a bit vexing.”
She enviously said.