OtaPon 51-55 (Patreon)

Chapter 51

RAW

　Osamu was cleaning his room with Nana.
　When Nana came, the first thing she did was not cut his hair, but clean his room.
　About 30 minutes had already passed, Nana looked at the now clean room, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

“Geez, even though you said you've found someone you like, there’s no way you can invite them to your room if it's this dirty, right? You should keep your room clean, don’t you know that one of the reasons couples break up is because of these kinds of differences in their private lives?”
“...We're not a couple. Or rather, we haven't even determined if we like each other yet.”
“Shut up. Being interested in her is the same as liking her. So, if you have even the slightest interest in her, you need to actively appeal to her, you know.”

　Osamu tilted his head as Nana presented her love theory.

“...Is that how it is? Or rather, what does it feel like to love someone?”
“At least, it is for me. If someone tells me they love me, I'll feel happy. Just imagine that person whispering to you that they love you every day, okay? It isn’t a bad feeling, right?”
“...Well, I guess so.”

　Osamu imagined a situation where Saki says “Good morning and good night” every day, and feels happy.
　After a delay, heat gradually enveloped his cheeks.

“If you do, then I think you're more than in love with that person, you know? Really, you're a romance novelist after all, you should be a little more sensitive.”
“Even if you said that. There’s no way I can analyze myself so calmly, right?”
“Well, I guess I agree with that. By the way, do you have any photos of that girl?”

　Nana approached Osamu with a happy look on her face. Osamu quickly shook his head.

“...No, I don’t.”
“Geez. If you take a picture, show it to me next time, okay? Well then, let's get to getting you a haircut. Let’s go to the bathroom.”
“Ah, yeah.”

　Nana took out a scissor case from her bag, grabbed one of the chairs from the room, and headed to the bathroom.
　Osamu followed behind her.

　When they got to the bathroom, Nana placed the chair in front of the mirror.
　Osamu sat down there.

“Take off your clothes.”
“...Yes yes.”

　Normally, a cloth would be wrapped around his neck, but they always do this when she cuts Osamu's hair because it's too much of a hassle.
　With Osamu in his underwear, Nana took out a pair of scissors and cut Osamu's hair.

“This time I can cut your bangs too, right?”
“...I’ll leave it to you.”

　Osamu, who usually didn't want to make eye contact with other people, basically grew his bangs until they covered his eyes.
　But this time, he decided to leave everything to Nana.
　As soon as he closed his eyes, his hair was cut. His fallen hair stuck to his skin, tickling him.
　In the bathroom where the only sound was the sound of hair being cut, Nana's voice echoed.

“Isn’t this the first time Osamu has fallen in love with someone?”
“...I guess.”
“What kind of girl is she?”
“Even if you ask me, I guess she's a serious and gentle girl. She's also very expressive and a bit pretentious.”

　He naturally let out words of praise for Saki.

“Huh, I see. Beautiful type? Cute type?”
“...When she’s silent, she’s beautiful. But, when she opens her mouth... she feels cute, I guess. That’s why... I think it’s probably utterly impossible for me. Still, I don't want to give up──”

　When Osamu let out a sigh, she slapped him on the back as hard as she could.

“O-ouch... what the hell are you doing!”

　His back was slowly heating up, and when he opened my eyes, Nana was glaring at him through the mirror.

“Don't make such a pathetic face. Who would fall in love with someone who lacks self-confidence? Both in love and job hunting, the outcome is determined by how good your self-appeal is, you know?”
“...Self-appeal, huh.”
“That's right. Your features are quite good-looking. If you're a child of father and mother, you'd understand, right? Look, I'm also cute, right?”
“...That’s, right.”

　She slapped his back two more times.

────

Chapter 52

RAW

“Don't suddenly distance yourself from her, okay? You have that blood too after all.”
“But there was also the suspicion that I was picked up in the river, right? if I'm not wrong.”
“There’s no way that’s true. Come on, have some confidence! If someone said, [Our product is insanely bad, but please buy it], would you buy it?”
“...I guess I won’t.”
“Right? First you should have some confidence in yourself. But don't be so overconfident that you get called a narcissist, because it's just gross. You should be confident enough that even if you think you are, you shouldn't say it out loud or show it in your attitude.”
“...I got it.”

　Like that, she restarted cutting Osamu's hair again.
　He closed his eyes and made sure no hair got in his eyes. The sound of scissors gently caressed his ears.

“I'll at least give you some advice. Even like this, I'm more or less a woman after all, I can help you at least a little, right?”
“...That's certainly true.”
“What, you should at least deny the ‘more or less’ part.”
“No, I just thought ‘she’s more or less one I guess’.”
“What a cheeky little brother.”

　After she continued cutting his hair for a while, Nana spoke up again.

“Still, what a waste. Even though you found someone you like so much, you've never had a romantic relationship before, right?”
“...I guess so. But what's the waste of that?”
“Because, you're going to confront your true love without practice, aren't you? That's a big part of why they said that first love doesn't come true.”
“...Is that so?”
“Isn't that obvious? If someone who has never had any love experience attacks someone who has, it won't go very well, right? There aren't many people who can do a successful job in their first year of work, right? It's the same thing. Experience is really important, you know.”

　Osamu ended up being convinced by Nana's words.

“Experience, huh? That's certainly true...”
“It's important to be devoted, but having lots of relationships with people of the opposite sex will be useful for that, right? Because If you have lots of romantic relationships, you'll be able to put it to use for the sake of the person you really fall in love with.”
“...That's one way to think about it.”

　Nana's opinion that one should improve themself for their future partner they would surely meet someday was exceedingly respectable.
　After about an hour, she slapped Osamu on the back.

“Don’t slap my back every single time, Nee-san.”
“Look, I’m done. Yeah, it’s perfect if I say so myself.”

　Osamu stared into the mirror, but he only knew that he knew nothing at all.
　He felt a little embarrassed because his real face was pushed to the front.

“...Is this perfect?”
“What? You have a complaint?”
“No, I don't know what young people like these days. Is this hairstyle okay?”
“No, you're a young person too, you know... Well, it is perfect. You probably can't do much maintenance anyway, so I gave you a hairstyle that doesn't need that much maintenance.”

　Nana put away the scissors. Osamu watched her while collecting his fallen hair from the floor into a plastic bag.

“Thank you, Nee-san.”
“I'll accept your thanks if you give me a picture of her.”

　Nana smiled teasingly and then straightened her back.

“You're going to take a shower after this, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“I'll be heading back home soon.”
“What, you aren't going to stay the night tonight?”
“I have something to do until tomorrow, you see. I'm a little busy.”

　She smiled tiredly and shrugged her shoulders.
　Osamu felt apologetic when he heard Nana's words.

“...And you come all the way here even with that?”
“That's right. So, you should reward me for my effort by making that girl fall, okay?”

　Nana pointed her finger at Osamu. And he nodded his head.

“I'll try.”
“Good. Then, I'll go back now. Wash your hair thoroughly.”
“...Roger.”

　After he thanked Nana, the bathroom door closed.
　Osamu gathered up all the hair scattered around the bathroom and began washing his hair.

────

Chapter 53

RAW

　Saki dashed to her room as if to escape, her heart palpitations still haven’t subsided.

(...They’re so close, and Shimazaki-san seems like he's having fun. It's the first time I've seen her... She's, his girlfriend, right? Did they get to know each other after we met?... They were so close that they already seemed like family.)

　She sat down on the sofa in the living room and looked up at the ceiling in a daze.
　And before she knew it, tears were dripping from the corners of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. At the same time, she was attacked by a pain that felt like her chest was tightening.

　Up to that point, she had denied it a lot.

──It's not that I love him.
──It's because he’s comfortable and kind.

　Whenever she was asked why he was with Osamu, she always responded with such words.

　But──when the image from earlier flashed through her mind, she was forced to realize it whether she liked it or not.
　The reason for the tightening pain in her chest, she spilled it from her mouth.

“...So, I loved him that much, I see.”

　After she said it, her feelings overflowed.
　She couldn't deny it.

　And a number of emotions are rising up now when it is too late.

　She wants to be next to him, and she doesn't want other people walking next to him.
　She wants to make his smile hers. She wants everything about him to be hers.

　Multitudes of emotions that can be considered arrogance.
　Desperately trying to suppress the numerous emotions rising up inside her, Saki bit her lip.

　Unable to carry it all by herself, Saki took out her smartphone.
　The person she called was Mayumi. After a few rings, Mayumi answered the phone.

[Yes, yes, hello.]
“...It’s the end.”
[Eh! ? A sudden declaration of the end!? Or rather, your voice is ridiculously low though, what happened? Did your cold come back!?]

　Hearing Mayumi's panicked voice, Saki, while sobbing, spoke up.

“I-it was already too late─! I’ve lost─...!”
“N-now it’s Sakicchi’s mystery declaration? Or rather, what happened? You're being even more ponkotsu than usual, calm down─?”

　Hearing Mayumi's comforting voice, Saki took several deep breaths before finally wiping the tears from her eyes.

“...Today, Shimazaki-san was with a woman in his apartment, they seemed to be getting along well.”
[With a woman? Eh? Ah─, I see. So then you declared the end and your defeat... then? Is that person his girlfriend? Did you ask him?]
“Th-there's no doubt about it! They seemed ridiculously close! If that wasn't a couple, I don't know what to call it! It was as if they were living together! B-besides, she was helping clean up the garbage in Shimazaki-san's room...!”
[...And she isn’t a family or anything?]
“Th-there's no way that someone so beautiful and young could be his mother! That's already his girlfriend!”
[Geez, if you rush, your perspective will become really narrow, you know... Look, what about his younger sister or older sister? Shimazaki-kun doesn't seem to be used to playing around with women too, and he seems like a serious person to begin with, so I think he'd clearly say it if he started dating.]
“...Younger sister, older sister... that possibility had completely slipped my mind!”

　Saki was absolutely amazed by Mayumi's genius thinking.
　When Saki froze in shock,

[Aah... so that’s how it is. Then, how about you ask him? In the end, you won't know anything unless you ask the person himself, right?]
“If, if I ask him and it turns out she was his girlfriend, what do I do?”
[Look for, new love?]
“...I-it’s impossible... I'll be bedridden for a year.”
[I kinda want to see if you'll really be bedridden with that. If Sakicchi doesn't want to hear it that much, then should I call him now and ask?]
“...Please wait.”
[Eh?]

　Lowering her tone, Saki recalled Mayumi's face and puffed out her cheeks.

“Why do you have his contact information?”

────

Chapter 54

RAW

[We exchanged it yesterday. I thought it would be a good idea to be able to contact him in case something happened.]
“...Hmm, so that’s how it is.”
[Is this the time to be jealous of me now? We have a more serious problem, don't we?]

　It was just as Mayumi said.

“Y-yes, that’s true... naturally, I'm going to ask him myself. After this, I'll go see him in person...”
[Y-you're going directly? You’re a bundle of proactivity, aren’t you?]
“...Yes. So that I can go binge eating after that.”
[...Aah, I see. Call me when you decide on the place. I'll go too.]
“...Thank you very much.”

　Saki tightened her fist, hung up the phone, and headed to the entrance.
　Still in uniform, she headed to Osamu's apartment and rang the chime for his room.

[...Yes, wait, Hino!? What’s wrong?]

　Osamu's surprised voice made Saki imagine something unpleasant.
　That he might still be with the woman even now. She shook her head, trying to shake off such thoughts.

“...I'm sorry, for coming here suddenly. There's something I wanted to ask you.”
[Aah, got it. I'm coming out now.]

　There, Saki took a deep breath and then raised her face.
　Saki had come this far with such vigor, but she hadn't thought about how she would ask questions from there.

　Saki turned her prized brain to full speed and thought about how to ask the question.
　At the same time she derived the answer, the front door opened.

“Sorry, I made you wait.”

　Saying that, he came out of the front door wearing simple clothes and,

“...Eh?”

　Saki saw his face and was surprised. She was fascinated by his well-formed face and trimmed hair.

“...Ah─, um. I cut my hair... I-is it weird?”
“I-it looks very good on you...”

　Saki said while still watching him in fascination. After a delay, she realized what she had said and averted her gaze out of embarrassment.
　Saki repeatedly glanced at Osamu with just her eyes, and he smiled in happiness.

“I see, that's good to hear. So what was it you wanted to ask?”
“...Um, I heard from Mayumi earlier that... um, Shimazaki-san was with a woman in front of your apartment looking like you were getting along well, and um, I thought you might be dating her, so this might inconvenience you, and I might need to apologize, but...”

　She decided to insist that Mayumi was the one who saw it.
　Osamu mumbled, “Aah...” while looking off into the distance.

“That person is my older sister. She goes to beauty school and I had her... cut my hair.”
“...S-so she was your older sister, wasn't she? I see, I thought that was the case.”

　Saki nodded her head, as if to scold herself for panicking up until then.
　Naturally, she was overflowing with smiles.

“Still, why did you cut your hair?”
“...Aah, no. Just a bit of a change of pace.”
“I see... it looks very good on you.”

　Saki put her heartfelt feelings into her words. Osamu smiled happily.

“...So, is that all you need, Hino?”
“Yes. I'm sorry for calling you at this hour.”
“...No, it's fine. That's right. If you haven't had dinner yet, do you want to go eat together?”
“Eh? Yes, it's fine. Let’s go. ...I want to change into my casual clothes before we go, so is it okay if I go back to my house first?”
“For now, I'm thinking of going to an all-you-can-eat dinner in front of the station. What do you think?”
“Yes...! Of course I don't mind...! All-you-can-eat is my favorite after all!”
“I’m glad, then, see you later.”
“Yes, let's meet in front of the apartment. I'll get ready right away.”

　After parting with Osamu, Saki skipped back to her apartment.

────

Chapter 55

RAW

　After making an appointment with Saki, who suddenly visited, Osamu returned to his room.
　Osamu changed into his casual clothes and stood once in front of the mirror.
　After confirming that there was nothing strange, Osamu left the room.
　The sky had become completely dark. The time was just past 19:30.

(...If I was going to invite her, I should have done it earlier in the day. Or rather, isn’t it kinda bad to invite a girl who was bedridden with a cold yesterday? I should have asked her about her health first...)

　Of course, he knew from the message he received in the morning that she had recovered, but there must have been many things he should have talked to her about and asked her directly.
　Although Osamu was depressed by his failure, he decided he couldn't drag it out forever.

　Osamu headed to her apartment and waited there for about ten minutes. Then Saki, who had changed into her casual clothes, came running down the stairs, breathing heavily and looking hurried.
　Osamu was momentarily taken aback by how cute she looked.

“Shimazaki-san?”

　The way she tilted his head was like an angel. Osamu came back to reality and quickly replied.

“Y-yeah... my bad. Well then, shall we go?”
“Yes.”

　Osamu and Saki started walking side by side. Osamu then took out his smartphone and,

“I'm thinking of going here, what do you think?”

　He briefly showed Saki the screen of his smartphone.
　Saki leaned closer and looked into his smartphone. Her elbow brushed against his, and Osamu was startled, but tried not to be too conscious of it.
　Saki, who was looking at his smartphone, turned to him. Her eyes were shining.

“This place, it is a store that recently opened. I've been meaning to go there, but I just haven't been able to go!”
“I see, then that’s great. I chose it in case we have a chance to go out next time.”
“So that’s how it was. Thank you for going out of your way to find it for me.”
“No, I found it by chance. I wanted to go there too.”

　Seeing Saki smiling happily, Osamu naturally smiled as well.

“Is that so? I'm looking forward to it.”

　Saki smiled. Just seeing her smile makes Osamu feel dizzy.

“...Come to think of it, you're okay with your cold now, right? Sorry for inviting you even though you were bedridden yesterday.”

　He did receive her message, but he asked her once again. Saki nodded with a smile as if she wasn't affected by the cold at all.

“No, please don't worry about it at all. As for my appetite, it has already fully recovered.”
“Fully recovered, huh?... That’s terrifying.”
“Saying it’s terrifying is rude. It's normal, you know, normal.”

　With a playful smile, she puffed out her cheeks, and Osamu's mouth loosened in the same way.
　The two of them walked toward the store.

“By the way, how old is your sister?”
“She’ll be 20 this year.”
“I see. And she’s aiming to become a beautician, isn’t she... she’s very good at it. I was surprised at how well it suits you, Shimazaki-san.”

　Saki's cheeks reddened. Osamu played with his bangs and smiled wryly.

“The person herself said there was still a long way to go.”
“...Amazing, it looks good on you, Shimazaki-san. That hairstyle... umm, if I may represent the general public, I think it's cool.”

　Saki said that while her cheeks turned red.
　Embarrassed by the praise, Osamu scratched his cheek and answered.

“Is, is that... so?”
“Y-yes... hair seems to change a person's impression quite a bit, isn’t it?”
“...So it seems.”

　Saki's reaction is not bad at all. It looks like his decision to cut his hair was not a mistake.

────

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