OtaPon 6-10 (Patreon)

Chapter 6

RAW

　After taking a shower, Osamu returned to the living room.
 There, Saki was eating potato chips deliciously. Even though she had thoroughly eaten cup noodles for breakfast, it seems her appetite is still going strong.

　As Osamu absent-mindedly watched Saki put chips one by one into her mouth with a big smile on her face, his eyes happened to meet hers.
 Saki, who had her mouth wide open, closed her mouth in embarrassment and took a modest bite.
 Then she tipped the bag of potato chips toward him.

“Shi-Shimazaki-san, would you like some?”
“...Aah, thank you.”

　He took a bite of the light-salty flavor. The refreshing taste spreads into his mouth.

“Can I drink this barley tea?”

　There were bottled barley tea on the table. One in front of Saki and one in front of Osamu.

“Yes, please feel free to drink them.”
“Thanks.”

　Osamu sat down on the opposite side of the sofa while drinking the bottle of barley tea that had been prepared for him, and then he took a sip.
 Osamu appeased his thirst, wiped his mouth and once again, looked at Saki.

“You said you had something you wanted to ask, but what is it?”

　Saki lowered her gaze moderately, and then tilted her head.

“...Shimazaki-san, did you ever take a career choice survey?”
“Ah, now that I think about it, I did when I moved up to second year.”
“I know, right... there’s something I wanted to ask you about that.”
“About dreams for the future or something?”
“Yes, Shimazaki-san, do you have any dreams for the future?”
“...”

　When Saki asked that question, her expression was dark.
 When Osamu was lost on whether to tell her or not, Saki continued with that same expression on her face.

“Yes. We had to do a career choice survey when we were second year high school students, right? I was told a lot of things by my teacher, but I couldn't think of anything very good... I thought Shimazaki-san might know something since you’re also a second year high school student.”
“...I see.”

　When she said ‘dream for the future’, Osamu smiled wryly.
 Because Osamu had already decided on one dream.

“What do you think? Does Shimazaki-san have any?”

　When Osamu was asked the question again, he nodded strongly.
 Although he was embarrassed, he still had a dream that he would like to be able to declare to someone.

“Of course... As a novelist, I want to make someone happy.”

　After clearly telling her this, Osamu let out a small breath.
 Osamu was a little conflicted about telling this to someone he had just met yesterday, but he still boldly said it.

“...So, that’s how it is. A novelist, is it?... That's amazing. I've never had that kind of dream.”
“I see. Even though I said that, I'm not a successful writer right now... I want more people to see my work someday.”
“Y-you are already active!?”

　Saki raised his voice in surprise.
 Osamu was embarrassed by that reaction, but he scratched his cheek and nodded.

────

Chapter 7

RAW

“...Well, let’s see, I got picked up while I was active on the internet. It's not selling very well though.”

　Osamu denied it, embarrassed to be looked at with respect. However, Saki's smile continued.

“...Th-that's still amazing, isn’t it. Aren’t you making your dreams come true right now?”
“I still have a long way to go... There are many people who are better than me after all.”

　Osamu’s initial goal was to make his work into a book. But now he wanted more people to see it.
 Recently, he started to think that human desires are endless.

　Osamu met Saki's eyes as he said that.

“Wh-what’s wrong!?”

　When he tilted his head at Saki who was staring blankly at him, she averted her gaze in a panic.

"N-no... I just thought it was amazing. To have a precise dream and aiming straight for it... I thought it was cool...”
“...I-I see?”
“So, um... why did you want to become a writer?”
“That was──”

　Osamu paused there.
 It was because his reasons for pursuing his dreams were too specific, childish, and embarrassing.
 However, if he wanted to help Saki, who was seriously pondering it, and since he thought they would never see each other again, Osamu said it bluntly.

“...I was bullied when I was in elementary school. I... I was quite shy, you see.”
“...But now you can talk normally, right? I'm also rather shy, but I can't see Shimazaki-san being like that.”
“That’s, well... because I can talk to someone who was even a little bit involved with me. So, it's okay right now.”

　Osamu had an older sister, who often took him around to play.
 Because of his sister's relationship, he had become involved with her female friends, and little by little he got used to them.
 That said, there were times where he was bullied in elementary school for only hanging out with girls.

“Aah, certainly, I might understand that a little bit. I'm also shy, but once there is a person I get used to, I can proactively talk to them.”
“Same with me. ...So, going back to the topic... when I was being bullied, the only thing I was able to do was read books in the library. ...Well, that cheered me up. That’s why, I also wanted to cheer someone up. And what I read back then was a novel.”
“...So that’s how it is... That's a wonderful dream. As for me, I can't think of anything at all...”

　Saki slumped her shoulders.
 Trying to cheer her up, Osamu asked.

“Isn’t it fine to not say big things like dreams for the future? What you want to do, what you want to try to do, what you want to do for someone... If there's any one thing that applies to you, then that's fine, right?”
“...What applies to me, is it?”
“Yeah, why did you study?”
“......You won’t laugh?”
“Of course.”

　Saki didn't even laugh at Osamu's story.

“Fo-for pocket money, so that I’ll be able to get a lot of pocket money...”

　She looked embarrassed as she said that and took a quick glance at Osamu.
 Osamu's eyes widened in surprise, and then he burst into laughter.

“I-I told you not to laugh!”
“M-my bad... I-I didn’t think you had such a childish reason...”
“Ch-childish!?”
“...S-sorry.”

　Saki puffed out her cheeks and glared at Osamu, her face bright red.
 Osamu seemed to be scolding himself, and fixed his expression.
 Saki was still sulking, and Osamu lowered his head once more.

“I’m sorry...”
“...No, it's fine. I'm aware that it's a childish reason... But that's my reason. That's why I couldn't think of any dreams for the future.”

　Saki shook her head dejectedly, and Osamu, as if to admonish her, said.

“But there's no need to rush, right? You can decide even after entering university. Right now, why don't you just do your best in your studies so that your future prospects don't get narrowed down?”
“...I suppose so.”

　Fuu, Saki let out a light breath and nodded in agreement.
 Then, Saki stared intently at Osamu.

“You said you are active on the internet, but do you post novels and such on the internet?”
“...Eh? Ah, yeah.”
“If you’re fine with it, can you show me?”
“...Well, I guess it’s fine.”

　Although Osamu was a little hesitant, he eventually told her the name of the novel since she seemed really interested.

────

Chapter 8

RAW

　When Osamu told Saki the name of the novel, she immediately looked it up.
 Saki clicked on the title displayed at the top of the novel submission site and muttered.

“...So this is Shimazaki-san's novel.”

　Saki's eyes lit up when she saw the novel she had looked up.
 She touched the part that says Chapter 1 and turned her gaze to it.
 Each of her movements made Osamu feel nervous.

“...Amazing, it's a proper novel... And it looks interesting...!”

　Saki tried to continue reading. But when Osamu was feeling relieved, Saki raised her face in surprise.
 Then, she closed her smartphone screen and bowed her head slightly.

“I’m sorry... I'll be reading it more carefully at a later time.”
“Well, you don’t have to force yourself to read it, okay?”

　Osamu was embarrassed because he had never met readers face-to-face in real life. However, Saki shook her head and answered.

“No, I'll definitely read it... Also, thank you very much for giving me advice about various things.”
“...No, I didn't really do anything big. Well, if it takes the pressure off your chest, then that's good.”
“...Yes. Thank you very much.”

　Saki bowed her head politely and then smiled.
 Her cute smile made Osamu feel dizzy, but he returned the same smile.
 ’Speaking of which’, Osamu asked a question that came to his mind.

“Yesterday, at the family restaurant... um, you ate a lot, didn’t you?”
“I-I don't think... it's that many...”
“Then, did you just happen to be binge eating or something? Maybe it has something to do with the question you asked earlier...”

　When she was asked about her career choice at school, she was unable to answer and had to be told something by her teacher, parent, or friend.
 Osamu thought of such an easy-to-imagine scene, but Saki blushed and raised her voice.

“...I-I wasn’t binge eating! Th-that was...”

　Saki put her hand on her chin as if thinking, then peered into him.

“As, as you expected, maybe... I have a good appetite?”
“Well, isn't that the case? At least for me, I think I would finally manage to eat that much when I was extremely hungry...”
“Th-that’s true...”

　Saki dropped her shoulders in disappointment. Osamu didn't mean to hurt her.
 Thinking there was nothing bad about women who eat a lot, Osamu hurriedly denied it.

“Well, it's not a bad thing to have a good appetite. It's more reassuring to see someone who eats than someone who doesn't eat much!”
“Is, is that so?”
“Yeah... ah, but, I think you should eat a little more vegetables.”

　It seemed that those words were a bit too much, Saki raised her voice and spoke with seriousness.

“Th-the tomatoes in the tomato pasta! The spinach that came with the ramen! The carrots that came with the hamburger steak! green onions that came with the donburi, I ate all of them!”

　The ratio of carbohydrates was clearly wrong. Still, Saki said that with a bold look on her face, so Osamu couldn't help but smile wryly.

“I can’t really speak too strongly since I also only eat instant foods, but wouldn’t it be better to eat vegetables once in a while?”
“...I-I'll be careful. Huh, does that mean Shimazaki-san also lives alone?”
“Yeah. It's not as fancy as this one though. It's an apartment just around the corner. Probably around there.”

　Osamu approached the veranda and pointed to an area on the ground. Saki looked at where he was pointing and smiled.

────

Chapter 9

RAW

“Now that I think about it, there is an apartment I see on the way home. I believe it was renovated just a few years ago.”
“Aah, I think there's no doubt it’s that.”
“How nice, I long for a private room apartment like that because it gives me the feeling of living alone.”
“In that case, shouldn’t Hino also live there?”

　When Osamu threw in an interjection, Saki shook her head.

“My parents worry a lot. They told me I might drop the keys, or that I'd forget to lock the door... and things like that, you know? That's why they decided on this apartment, which has automatic lock and even if the worst happens I can contact the manager right away. That’s terrible don't you think? I wish they’d trust their child more.”
“...”
“What's with those eyes!”
“N-no...”

　Her parents must also understand Saki's scatterbrain personality.
 Seeing the sulking Saki, Osamu hurriedly said.

“But that means they think of you that much, right?”
“That's true. And I'm grateful for that.”

　Saki smiled in a way that could be said to be from her heart.
 After that they talked for a while longer. They talked and laughed while eating sweets, and before they knew it, it was already evening.

“...Huh? It’s this late already?” (Osamu)
“...That's true. A lot of time had passed before I realized it, didn't it? I’m sorry, I talked too much...”
“No, I had fun too, so it’s fine──”

　Osamu can’t help but be fascinated by the beautiful sunset coming in through the window.
 As he was looking outside, he opened his mouth.

“Amazing, what a nice view.”
“That's true. When it snows, it's really beautiful too.”
“...So that’s how it is.”

　Osamu wanted to see that view at least once, but he didn’t think that their relationship would continue.
 Osamu stood up and picked up his bag.

“Are you about to go home?”

　Seeing Saki's somewhat lonely expression, Osamu let out a small breath so as not to misunderstand.

“...Yeah, I’ve been in your care in many ways since yesterday. As expected, I should go home soon. You helped me in many ways, thank you.”
“You’ve helped me too, so we’re even. ...I'll take you outside the apartment.”
“Ah─, I got it.”

　Osamu initially tried to refuse, but he felt uneasy about walking around this luxurious apartment alone, so he accepted Saki's offer.
 Osamu glanced at the garbage bags that had accumulated as they headed outside.

“...Shall I help you take out the trash?”
“It's okay! O-or rather, it was just a coincidence today! It’s usually cleaner, okay?!”
“...N-no, I didn't say that much.”
“Y-your eyes said it...”

　Saki stared at him intently, but Osamu didn't say anything and just gave her a wry smile. However, since that was such an easy-to-understand reply, Saki sulked.

　After that, he and Saki left the room and got on the elevator.
 When he went through the automatic door and was about to go outside, Saki stopped him.

“I'm sorry, Shimazaki-san. This is only if you’re okay with it, but... C-can we exchange contact information?”

　Saki said as she took out her smartphone, looking a little embarrassed.

“...Eh?”
“I-It’s okay if you don't want to, but... um, I was wondering if we could talk slowly like this again... I-I also want to share my impressions of the novel if possible...!”
“Ah─, aah. I see. I don't particularly dislike it, so... shall we exchange it?”

　Osamu took out his smartphone while suppressing his pounding heart.
 After all, he had never exchanged contact information with a woman outside of his family. There was his older sister and her friends he used to hang out with, so he was used to being around women, but that was about it.

　Even so, Osamu wanted to hear frank opinions from his readers, so he went on exchanging addresses.
 After the exchange was finished, Saki let out a breath as if relieved.

“Well then... um, I'll send you a message later.”
“I got it. Then, see you.”
“Yes... Truly, thank you very much for helping me.”
“No, you helped me too.”

　Osamu turned his back to the apartment and started walking towards his home.

(She's cute, and what's more, she's a good listener and a good talker... isn’t she too perfect? We exchanged contact information, but we probably won’t be involved with each other anymore...)

　Osamu let out a small breath, he decided to forget about the state of her room and her eating habits at this point.

────

Chapter 10

RAW

　As soon as Osamu woke up in the morning, he started writing the next volume of his novel.
 Slowly but surely, Osamu wrote.

He does it first thing in the morning because that was the best time to do it. After finishing school, his tired head wouldn’t be able to think much.

　Osamu stretched when he exceeded his word count goal and closed his laptop.

　The time is past 7 o'clock, he ate breakfast while watching the news and such on the TV.
 Soon it was time to leave the house, so Osamu left his room.
 The apartment is a two-story building and is over 30 years old. It had been renovated once, so the inside was nicer than the outside, but it was still understandable that it was called a rundown apartment when compared to the surrounding houses.

　In particular, the cause is the apartment building just around the corner. Because of the existence of the apartment where Saki lives, the apartment where Osamu lives stands out even more.

　On the way to school, Osamu took out his smartphone and read a novel.
 He has been intently reading novels for a variety of reasons, including to know what's trending at the moment and to learn writing.

　Time passed quickly and he arrived at the school classroom.
 He doesn't have any friends in particular. When Osamu entered the classroom, their eyes glanced at him for an instant.

“Oi, here comes the otaku.”
“...Aah, he really is gloomy anytime I see him.”
“For sure─”
“I wonder what's so fun about coming here all the time.”

　They looked at Osamu and laughed at him. Osamu didn't particularly care, because he understood that they were just using him as a talking point.
 A person’s flaws are easy to talk about. Osamu understood this well from the perspective of character development.
 That's why there are characters with small breasts in this world... what a thing Osamu is thinking. At the same time, he also believed that such negative attributes only exist due to the gap from normal life.

　However, if they become excessive, they can develop into bullying. Osamu's current position is that he is not hated, but he is not liked either, he is only occasionally used as a topic of conversation.

　As for Osamu, he wanted to focus on writing a novel rather than hanging out with friends right now, so this relationship wasn't bad.

　Osamu sat down and began compiling ideas for the novel he was going to write when he got home, and then he thoroughly examined them.
 He made notes on his smartphone and thought about the lines he wanted to write and the general outline of the next part to be written.

　There was still time until the deadline for the next manuscript. That said, he must not take it easy for that long. The faster he writes, the more time he has for polishing it.

　After Osamu has compiled some ideas for his novel, he listens to the conversations around him.
 What he does at this time is eavesdropping on his classmates.

“By the way, I was with my boyfriend yesterday─.”
“Eh, for real─!?”

　Osamu reacted to that voice. Conversations between couples who were dating were especially valuable.
 The conversations and actions of young couples, are not something Osamu could ever be a part of.

　Osamu is a writer who mainly writes about romance. That's why any conversation that he can use as reference is valuable.

　That was one of the reasons why Osamu has been frequenting family restaurants lately.
 Of course, another reason he was writing at family restaurants was because he couldn't write at home, but the main reason was to observe the occasional visits from couples of his fellow students.
 While Osamu was concentrating on the conversation, the school chime rang.

　Morning homeroom will soon start.
 At the sound of the chime, the students began to head to their seats. The students from other classes left in a hurry, while his classmates rushed into the classroom.
 The teacher entered the classroom and morning homeroom began. After a while, the classroom door was thrown open and a student entered.
 When he, who is easily carried away, exclaims, “Barely safe!”, the teacher's merciless voice echoes, “You're late!”

　While listening to these words, Osamu moved the pen in his hand.
 He scribbled down the words that were floating in his head in disarray into his notebook. As if to somehow give form to a novel that had yet to take shape.

────

(T/N: Next is Saki's point of view. I don't know if the protagonist is Saki or Osamu, because it was mostly Saki's point of view when they aren't together. Well, not point of view, since this series is 3rd pov, but you get the point.)

Previous | Next