When I Told the Most Beautiful Girl in the School That My Confession Had Failed, She Suddenly Started Coming at Me With Unbearably Heavy Feelings - Chapter 21-22

Chapter 21: Exposure and Relief

“…A stepsister?”

After school ended, I visited the family restaurant and confessed my relationship with Amane Shinomiya to Rinne Kisaragi.

Rinne seemed to be mulling over the story in her mind, furrowing her brows in a complicated manner.

“…Really?”

“Do you think I’d lie at this point?”

“Well, the distance between you two doesn’t feel like that of siblings…”

(Well, sure, even as stepsiblings, this distance is pretty weird…)

Seeing Amane Shinomiya clinging to my arm and resting her head on it, I gave a wry smile.

“The reason I kept it hidden was because we didn’t want to reveal our family matters to outsiders. …Amane Shinomiya was bullied in the past. Amano River Academy has high deviation values, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who poke at weaknesses for fun.”

“So, keep it under wraps, okay?”

“It’s fine. I think I understand that part. …Thank you for telling me something that’s hard to talk about. …And now, the thing I’m most curious about.”

Rinne glared at Amane Shinomiya with a smile while she clung to my arm and sipped her melon soda through a straw.

A battle between women that a man like me couldn’t perceive, under the surface. I could feel the air tingling and numbing from the clash of their wills.

“…Amane Shinomiya, do you like Renji Hinate?”

“I do. I love him a lot. 𝑩𝑰𝑮 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬＿＿＿＿＿. …But I have no intention of condemning your relationship with the senpai.”

“Huh? Don’t you think that’s pretty contradictory of you?”

“My love isn’t sibling love or love directed toward the opposite sex. It’s love as accomplices.”

“＿＿＿＿＿Accomplices?”

“Yes. The senpai and I will live on while eternally licking each other’s wounds. I want the senpai to be happy, and the senpai wishes for my happiness.”

The “accomplices” that Amane Shinomiya mentioned stemmed from the emotional wounds that we both carried.

I, who had lost my mother, and Amane Shinomiya, who had lost her father. To escape from the past, we had accepted each other as new siblings.

We filled the love that had fallen out of our hearts with each other and escaped from the painful past, if only for a moment. That was the pact that Amane Shinomiya and I had made.

“So, no matter who the senpai dates, I have no right to condemn it. …However, if I realize it’s not suitable for the senpai, I’ll crush it right away. Protecting family is a natural right, after all.”

“…I see. So, you’ll acknowledge me, right?”

“I think you’re better than the other females. Your understanding of the senpai is pretty good, though.”

Amane Shinomiya smiled back at Rinne.

Amane Shinomiya basically didn’t trust people easily. Even on the surface, she was cheerful, but her mind was the type that wove thoughts to probe into others’ intentions.

That was why I was a little surprised. That Amane Shinomiya had made a statement that seemed to acknowledge someone, even if it was a lie.

“If you make the senpai even a little unhappy, I’ll go crush you right away. Be prepared.”

“Yes. I’m prepared.”

From there, the staring contest between Amane Shinomiya and Rinne lasted for a dozen seconds or so.

The exchange between women that didn’t show on the surface ended the moment the words “jumbo parfait,” which didn’t fit the air, echoed.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, here’s your jumbo parfait!”

“Wow~ It looks delicious! Let’s eat~!”

The serious atmosphere from moments ago was gone. Amane Shinomiya started eating the parfait with a melted expression.

Seeing that, I felt the tension leave my shoulders. Rinne also let out a relieved breath.

“…Good. At least you’re not an enemy.”

“Enemy…”

“For now, I’ll make sure that woman Hoshiumi never gets close to the senpai again~”

It sounded like a joke, but since it was Amane Shinomiya, she was probably serious. I decided to ignore the shadow on her profile that I glimpsed sideways.

And it was scary that I couldn’t say for sure I could do that. My stepsister was terrifying.

“Sorry about this, Rinne. She’s the type who doesn’t open her heart easily…”

“It’s okay. If it’s to be happy with Renji Hinate, I’ll overcome any wall.”

“You’ve got quite the glib tongue.”

“My love isn’t something cheap that sways with a little bit. Rest assured. I’ll fend off any women who come after Renji Hinate.”

“…Hmm.”

Amane Shinomiya muttered in a bored tone and stuffed her mouth full of cream again. Was her relaxed expression beaten out by the violence of sugar, or was it something else?

I gently placed my hand on Amane Shinomiya’s head. Just as Mom had once done for me, I stroked Amane Shinomiya’s head.

“Nn? What’s up, senpai?”

“Thanks for protecting me.”

“Ehehe, when the senpai strokes me, my lower body starts tingling…♡”

“…Renji Hinate?”

Rinne immediately moved from the opposite seat to my side.

Sandwiched between Amane Shinomiya rubbing against me like a cat and Rinne glaring at her with eyes distorted by jealousy, I endured a hellish few minutes.

—

Chapter 22: Collapse and Guilt

≪Nonoka Hoshiumi side≫

In the space filled with dim lighting, Nonoka Hoshiumi regretted it.

Mistakes could be fixed somehow.

That naive thought had been thoroughly shattered by Renji Hinate and Rinne Kisaragi, and she realized she had committed an irreparable blunder just a few days ago.

Several days had passed since then. Nonoka Hoshiumi drifted on the brink of despair.

Why had she done such a thing? If she had refused the confession without prioritizing herself that day at that moment, would the outcome have been different?

While repeating such regrets in circles, Nonoka Hoshiumi sank into waves of pleasure.

No matter her mood, the pleasure distracted her from despair.

She sank deeper and deeper into dependency on the pleasure that filled the desolate heart brought by despair.

Now, all that remained in her heart was regret and self-blame. The only thing supporting her unstable, wavering spirit was the waves of pleasure.

What remained after the act was not warmth, but only a sense of emptiness.

The pleasure that gradually faded filled Nonoka Hoshiumi’s heart only temporarily. Soon, her heart would be shaken by regret again.

“…Did you do this to yourself?”

Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki, lying beside her, traced the single-line wound on Nonoka Hoshiumi’s arm. The countless wounds represented her unstable state of mind.

“…So what if I did?”

“…No, nothing.”

Sensing something troublesome, Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki did not mention it further.

Now, what supported Nonoka Hoshiumi was only her physical relationship with Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki.

Being sought by him alone gave her a reason to live. On days without contact from him, an immense sense of emptiness and loss assaulted her.

In her fading emotions, she never missed contacting him so as not to lose her relationship with Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki.

However, that too ended today.

“…Hey, let’s call it quits already?”

“…Eh?”

At those words, Nonoka Hoshiumi’s expression clouded over.

Suddenly, the anxiety that assaulted her made her hands start to tremble.

“Wh…why? Did I do something wrong?”

“I’m bored of you already. You’ve had your fun too. Go find some other guy already.”

“No! Like that, I with Ryoutarou…”

“…I hate clingy people, you know.”

Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki pushed her away coldly.

What Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki sought was solely the pleasure obtained from intercourse. He did not seek romance or affection in it.

For Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki, Nonoka Hoshiumi’s body had been the best.

The compatibility was good, and he never felt bored no matter how many times they did it. In fact, among the women he had embraced so far, she ranked at the top in terms of compatibility.

However, the problem was Nonoka Hoshiumi’s attitude toward him.

Even though he had said they were just friends with benefits, Nonoka Hoshiumi treated Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki like a boyfriend. That was extremely inconvenient for him.

If burdensome emotions were harbored and she became stubbornly attached, she would never let go no matter what. For Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki, who preferred to move on to the next when bored and repeat the cycle, nothing could be more troublesome.

“…N-no, I don’t want to, I don’t want to, I don’t want to!”

“What’s with you? Why don’t you cling to that Renji Hinate guy you mentioned before?”

Confronted with Renji’s name, Nonoka Hoshiumi’s expression twisted in sorrow.

If she lost this relationship, nothing would remain for her. Even though she had used even her friends, to end up with loneliness as the result—Nonoka Hoshiumi could not endure that.

Tears fell in drops from Nonoka Hoshiumi’s eyes.

Imagining the worst outcome that awaited after having toyed with everyone around her so much, Nonoka Hoshiumi twisted her expression uglily.

“I don’t want… I don’t wanna… I’ll fix my personality… I’ll do it every day just like Ryoutarou says… Don’t throw me away…”

“Sigh… That’s exactly the kind of thing.”

Her desperate persuasion fell on deaf ears, and Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki began preparing to leave the room hurriedly.

Nonoka Hoshiumi clung to Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki while crying, but that hand was lightly shaken off.

“I’ll leave the money. …Don’t get involved with me anymore.”

“Wait, Ryouta—”

Bang, the door closed roughly.

It was an outcome she could see coming.

Ryoutarou Kamitsubaki’s womanizing habits were obvious from the rumors. Still, she had deluded herself into thinking she could be his special one because, deep down, she had unwaveringly believed she was the most important.

Left alone on the bed, Nonoka Hoshiumi lay naked, covered in sweat and love juices. As if chasing after her now truly solitary self, a sense of loss and emptiness assaulted her.

“…What am I doing?”

A deranged gear would not return to normal. After all, the gear could not change its movement of its own will.