Volume 4 Chapter 4 – Yamanoi Shrine 4 – No, It’s a Date

| Mamiya Haruka

Ever since yesterday, I’ve been in a gloomy mood that just won’t lift. I don’t even feel like going on this date. But I have to go.

My mother calls out, asking about lunch.

I have no appetite…

“Haruu, what about lunch?”

“I don’t need it… I’m just heading out for a bit…”

“You didn’t eat anything last night either… Be back before it gets dark!”

“Yes… I’m going… see you later…”

Yesterday was just… too much. I mean, I… I got cheated on! Sniffle, sniffle.

Kyosuke-san…

Following my usual routine, I head to the convenience store near Kyosuke-san’s house. From the parking lot, I can see the front door of his house through binoculars. This is our usual “meeting spot.”

I was barely holding myself together with anger yesterday. Today, I’m going to tell him how I feel!

◆

Yesterday, as usual, I was waiting for Kyosuke-san at the nearest station for another typical after-school uniform date.

But what awaited me was a harsh reality.

Because there he was, in casual clothes, walking out of the ticket gate with Naruse Aika by his side. And it was Phase 1 Kyosuke-san.

…He’d made plans with me and then stood me up in casual clothes, cheating on me… How could he…?

Naruse Aika. A detested seductress among us witches. She’s always trying to get Kyosuke-san’s attention, though he usually just gives her a strained smile and brushes her off. It’s hilarious.

Wait, but hold on. Did they just come from his house? In casual clothes… so he didn’t even go to school?

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… Why…?

Snapping back to my senses, I jumped on the train and tailed the two of them.

Watching them flirt so openly, I found myself gripping my camera so tightly my hands bled.

…And I found myself thinking back to how I first met Kyosuke-san.

I met Kyosuke-san in the sixth grade. It was during summer break at the library, where he picked up the black cat pin badge I had dropped. That was the start of our fated meeting.

I was too shy to ask anyone nearby for help, so I searched for it alone, tears welling up as I grew more and more frustrated. When he noticed me struggling, he came over and asked with a smile, “Is something wrong?”

Seeing how panicked I was, he kindly told me to take my time and stood beside me, waiting without saying a word.

Maybe he thought that saying, “I’ll wait” would just make me more nervous…

Thanks to Kyosuke-san’s gentle presence and thoughtful gaze, I managed to slowly describe the details of my pin badge.

When he understood, even with my tiny voice, I was overjoyed. And within a few minutes, he found it for me. He said, “This is cute,” and gently patted my head.

(“Cute, cute, cute…”)

That was the moment when trumpets blared in my head, and the world seemed to celebrate us.

And yet…

After seeing them getting all lovey-dovey in the café I had trailed them to, I was devastated. I reached out to Umi Otome, the witch Otono Umi, for help.

“Umi-umi~ Kyosuke-san cheated on me again~”

“Uh-huh, sure. So what is it this time? Did his hand brush against the convenience store clerk’s? Did he chat with the lady at the bakery? Maybe he ordered from a waitress at a family restaurant? Which one is it this time?”

“…sniff… Naruse Aika.”

“…Ah? …You have photos, don’t you? Send them over.”

“…I wouldn’t. sniff”

“…And why not?”

“Because you’d go wild, Umi-umi… like a storm. And I’d get caught in it… sniff I don’t want that.”

“Just hurry up and send them.”

And so, intimidation awaited me.

◆

I’d been to this shrine several times before in my attempts to learn more about Kyosuke-san’s past. I knew the layout well, and this was the best spot to capture them from a flattering angle.

Oh, it’s her again! …Well, I’ll let it slide today.

“Oh, Kinukinu!”

“…Haruharu. Yo.”

I ran into an acquaintance—a high schooler, two years my senior—Shutou Kinuko-san. She’s one of the original roundtable members and a rival for Kyosuke-san. In the roundtable, Kinukinu is the loner. A slightly gloomy, cute stalker girl with fluffy, light brown short hair… Well, in two more years, I’ll have that kind of allure too. I’m fine for now.

She wears rubber-soled shoes to avoid making any noise—standard stalker gear. …And at least I win in the chest department. I won’t lose to a middle schooler. Serves her right.

I met Kinukinu back in elementary school. Unlike me, she was already a stalker of Kyosuke-san back then. Our first meeting was when I caught her lurking while I was searching for something precious to Kyosuke-san.

Since then, this weirdo has always been waiting ahead of me wherever I go. We often end up in the same spots… Sigh.

She was wearing her usual oversized clover pin on her hat. Hmph. The black cat one’s cuter anyway.

“Kinukinu, here on official duty?”

“Nope. It’s a date.”

Sigh… The power of delusion is scary. I’ve given up on arguing since it’s the same every time.

“What about you, Haruharu? Spying?”

“No, it’s a date.”

What kind of accusation is that?! Don’t treat me like some pervert! You’re the one who always interferes with my time with Kyosuke-san… and even follows him right up to his house without being his girlfriend!

“…”

“…”

“Date.”

“It’s a date.”

“…Well, fine.”

“Ah… Then, as usual, a double date, if you will…”

I deflated. I must be really down if I’m even making self-deprecating jokes about double dates.

…Should I leak this info to her too? The roundtable’s loyalty has always been a pain. If I light a fire under Kinukinu, would it spread? Yeah, let’s set her ablaze. She’s flammable. Let’s do it.

“To be honest, I wish I hadn’t seen it, I wish I could delete it, I wish I could erase it from memory…”

Even now, my hands tremble…

I’ll show Kinukinu the photo I took on my camera. Oh! And I’ll throw in the smartphone version too, just to really set things ablaze.

“I haven’t shown this to anyone else yet, not even in the Witch’s Forest. It’d cause chaos. What do you think?”

Kinukinu’s reaction was priceless, mirroring my own feelings. Ha! Serves her right.

Ah… the same feelings, huh… The witches are too intense for someone as genuinely pure as me. I never thought I’d empathize with a roundtable original like her. Sigh.

“…Cheating.”

“Kinukinu, you’re not even dating him…”

We’re not dating… Are you kidding me? I’m the one who’s dating him. What’s she talking about, being a roundtable member and all?

“When was this?”

“Yesterday after school… He cheated at the café I was supposed to meet him at… I was so shocked I left without saying a word!”

Yesterday after school was genuinely shocking. He cheated at the café where we’d arranged to meet… sniff sniff

“Haruharu, you didn’t arrange anything, and you’re not dating him.”

Sigh… Who does this manufactured copy think she is? She should just go back to the factory if she’s defective. From any angle, it was pure love!

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!”

Startled, I ended up clinging to the gloomy roundtable member.

Kyosuke-san’s too close! It’s too soon for this, Kyosuke-san! I think it’s still too soon for us…

Being indecent is wrong, you know!