Younger Girls Clinging to Me, Their Feelings for Me Completely Obvious - Chapter 13
- Home
- All
- Younger Girls Clinging to Me, Their Feelings for Me Completely Obvious
- Chapter 13 - No matter how long you try to avoid it, it just won’t work.
Chapter 13: No matter how long you try to avoid it, it just won’t work.
After parting ways with Sazanka Tsubaki, Eleanor immediately sent a chat message.
Daikichi Sakoda guessed that perhaps a sudden meeting or work emergency had come up and that she wanted him to pick up Sachiko—and when he checked the message, his guess was spot on.
Apparently there was a meeting, so instead of going straight home, Daikichi decided to go pick up Sachiko.
When Daikichi peered through the window of the after-school care center, he saw Sachiko playing The Game of Life with a girl friend.
It was probably a game recommended by the staff at the center—one that not only got the kids moving their hands but also helped them build communication skills by making eye contact.
However, thinking that the staff likely changes the activities based on the season and the children’s development—sometimes even letting them play with blocks—Daikichi couldn’t help but notice the hard work those staff members had to put in.
Anyway, one of the staff, noticing that Daikichi looked like a suspicious character from the outside, informed Sachiko that he had come to pick her up.
Sachiko arrived, yawning, with her bag slung over her shoulder.
“Today it’s Daikichi again, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Lately, there’s been a lot of Daikichi-like stuff happening~”
“Eleanor-san is having a hard time too, you know.”
“Mom’s no better. Well, I don’t really have any complaints even if it’s Daikichi.”
“Thanks for always saying that.”
“No need to thank me. Look, whenever I mess up, Mom scolds me harshly, but Daikichi always teaches me gently.”
“I guess Eleanor-san’s strictness comes from the fact that, as a single parent, she really wants to raise us right.”
“I already know that without you having to spell it out.”
“Is that so? Sachiko, you’re really smart.”
When Daikichi joked like that, Sachiko got into it—crossing her arms and puffing herself up.
“Stop with the compliments! Even though I say I get it, Mom still scares me, and I just don’t understand her.”
For all her age, Sachiko was surprisingly perceptive—and Daikichi felt that this wasn’t so much natural as it was the result of her environment.
Since single-parent Eleanor was too busy to be there all the time, spending time with someone like Daikichi seemed to be making Sachiko grow up faster than most kids.
Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Daikichi couldn’t tell.
He also figured that since everyone’s background and life are different, comparing them was pointless—and as long as she didn’t turn into the kind of kid who’d do wrong without a second thought, that was just fine.
Daikichi’s way of thinking was admirable and exemplary.
Yet, on the other hand, he sometimes used that very idea—“everyone’s different and that’s what makes them all good, so I don’t need to change”—to cover up his own shortcomings.
But there’s only so long you can fool yourself.
Daikichi had a vague sense of that himself, but he just didn’t know how to fix things—and so he kept putting the problem off.
“Achoo!”
Sachiko sneezed and began to have a runny nose. Daikichi gently wiped it away and took off his school jacket for her to wear.
“Ah, it’s cold.”
“Autumn nights are chilly, though they’re still better than winter.”
“Daikichi’s uniform… it feels warm.”
“Well, it’s winter clothes after all. And the material’s good, too. Now, let’s head home. It had been raining until a little while ago, so there should be puddles. They can be hard to see in the dark, so be careful.”
“Aiyah… yuck!”
Just as Daikichi had warned, with a SPLASH, Sachiko carelessly stepped into a puddle.
“I told you so!”
“You were… y-you were too late… you stepped in it!”
“Not too late. I told you before you splashed, didn’t I?”
“Damn it… and, geez, it’s gotten super cold now!”
The force of it had soaked her shoes right through, and with her body temperature dropping, Sachiko began shivering.
“P-please do something, Daikichi!”
“It can’t be helped,” Daikichi turned his back to Sachiko and crouched down.
“Come on, hop on.”
“Y-y-you’ll get wet too, Daikichi!”
“It’s fine.”
“You’re such a good guy! Now, no holding back…”
Sachiko, without any hesitation—and thinking that since Daikichi said it was fine, it must be okay—immediately leapt onto his back and hugged him.
The chill of Sachiko’s cool body spread over him; at first, Daikichi shivered a little, but as they walked, his body warmed up and he hardly noticed it.
It had been a while since Daikichi stopped approaching Sakurazaki, but after Sakurazaki began coming to check on him, one afternoon after school in late October arrived.
Daikichi found himself facing a troublesome situation, pressing his fingers into the furrow of his brow as he grumbled.
The problem was that the school had asked him to conduct an oral “attitude survey” for the special scholarship students—those who had been enrolled for half a year. A whole grade of special scholars… In other words, he was forced to come into contact with Sakurazaki, whom he had been deliberately avoiding.
How to schedule Sakurazaki’s survey—Daikichi wracked his brain. However, he concluded that the later it went, the more tedious it would become, so to get it over with quickly, he decided to interview Sakurazaki first.
But that decision proved to be a mistake. Sakurazaki didn’t merely answer Daikichi’s questions—she declared that she’d help with the survey.
—It’s a survey! An attitude survey! Is school comfortable?
—Huh? Hanakumori-san? Why would you ask that… Well, it’s fine, though. No boy would refuse to answer when asked by Hanakumori-san. Hehe. I, for one, don’t really have any problems. Though, compared to the so-called upper-class students who make up about eighty percent of the student body, there are times when I notice a difference in values…”
—Mm-hmm. There definitely is, huh? At times.
—But, since I was a special scholarship student in the arts and spent a lot of time on extracurricular activities—meaning I wasn’t at school much—I’ve come to see, for better or worse, that such differences in values do exist. By the way…
—What?
—The male student sitting over there… judging by the color of his collar trim, I’m guessing he’s probably a second-year senior… Who might you be?
—That’s Daichan-senpai.
—Ah… I see… So you’re the rumored Daichan-senpai… I never thought you actually existed… Haha… I was half-expecting you to use this ‘attitude survey’ as a pretext to talk to me, but it doesn’t seem that way…”
—?
Daikichi had indeed considered that possibility. However, knowing that Sakurazaki wasn’t a bad person at all, he had hoped she might be understanding.
In a sense, it was a gamble—and, unfortunately, Daikichi lost. Sakurazaki clung to him more persistently than he’d expected, eventually roping him in by saying, “Two is faster than one! I know the faces of the other special scholars, so I’ll be of help.”
It goes without saying, but since Daikichi had taken on these errands from the school for Sakurazaki’s sake, this turn of events was utterly counterproductive. Daikichi felt rather conflicted. Nonetheless, despite his inner turmoil, the survey proceeded smoothly—as Sakurazaki’s cheerful nature and familiarity with many of her classmates ensured everything went according to her plan.
“Next special scholar is… oh, that just made Yoshida-kun the last one. Daichan-senpai, you’re done! Here, take this!”
Daikichi didn’t immediately accept the tablet Sakurazaki offered him. Instead, he simply stared at her hand holding the tablet, unsure of what to say.
“……”
“Where’s your thank-you?”
“……”
“Are you blushing? I knew you’d be such a crybaby—”
“—I appreciate it. Thank you. Alright, that settles the thank-you talk.”
Not finding the teasing amusing, Daikichi reflexively mumbled a half-hearted thanks and snatched the tablet back from Sakurazaki.
“Ah… geez, you’re never straightforward.”
Brushing off Sakurazaki’s complaints, Daikichi inspected the tablet. Every single entry was filled out without a mistake, and the meticulousness with which she worked—completing everything flawlessly in such limited time—was exactly what you’d expect from a special scholar.