Episode 37: Counter
–Monday.
Before the chime signaling the start of homeroom, when there was still some time to spare, most students had finished preparing for the first period, stifling yawns as they waited for the teacher to arrive.
“Well, good morning.”
Into the classroom where Kamijou Yuuto and Ichinose Ayano were spending their morning chatting, Mikado Kouki arrived with a refreshing smile.
The classmates of Class 1-C, as if by agreement, began to move en masse towards the back of the classroom.
“Oh…? What’s this all about?”
“I’ve already explained the situation to everyone.”
Yuuto, still seated next to Ayano, who remained in her seat, faced him.
“You can still pretend this never happened, you know?”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
Kouki walked up to Ayano, glanced at Yuuto, and put on his most gentle face.
“Ichinose-san, I love you. We’ve had some misunderstandings, but I’m serious. Will you be my girlfriend?”
Like a man who snatches the bride away from the altar just before the kiss.
Like a knight swearing eternity to a princess.
He whispered love.
To an ignorant bystander, it would look like a love triangle drama.
–But,
“I refuse.”
Ayano stood up and answered instantly, standing next to Yuuto.
There was no hesitation or fear in Ichinose Ayano’s expression.
It was a clear rejection.
“Do you understand now?! Don’t you dare approach Ayano-san again!”
From the back of the classroom, Mizuhara Kaori and the other students raised their voices in unison.
“…I see, so that’s how it is.”
Kouki chuckled softly.
His expression twisted as if he were disappointed, hateful, and yet somehow amused.
“Well then, you two, you better get along as best you can–if you can. You chose this yourself, so you’re prepared, right?”
“Are you going to cry to your older brother?”
To Yuuto’s question, Kouki scoffed.
“You’ll be the ones crying.”
“…I don’t think so. It’s about time–“
As Yuuto shrugged, a woman’s voice came from outside the classroom, “Oh, the first-year classrooms are so nostalgic~,” followed by,
“Excuse me~… See, because you were dawdling, it’s already started.”
Kamijou Yuuto’s older sister, Kamijou Yuna, nonchalantly opened the classroom door.
Seeing the male student who reluctantly entered at her beckoning, Kouki couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Brother…?”
Casting a glance at his younger brother, the older brother, Mikado Kazuki, shifted his gaze to the two of them.
“Kamijou Yuuto-kun and Ichinose Ayano-san, was it? I apologize for the trouble. I’m also responsible for not being able to stop my brother’s reckless behavior.”
He lowered his head and said,
“The SNS Account in question and the images sent by my brother have all been deleted. After deleting the data on my brother’s Smartphone, it will all be over.”
“…Wh-what–?”
Kouki trembled with anger and howled.
“Are you betraying me?! Me!”
“You were the one who betrayed me first. You falsely accused me, your own brother, of Shoplifting. Well, I don’t intend to blame you now, since I was the one who gave in to you and those around you. But you should stop showing any more of this disgraceful behavior.”
The classroom buzzed with chatter.
It was something that none of them had been told.
–What the heck, he framed his own brother?
–That was during middle school, right?
–His brother was terrible, but he was the victim.
–That’s the worst.
–He’s a real scumbag.
The classmates’ condemnation grew louder.
“Haha…hahaha!!”
Kouki laughed hysterically, as if his restraints had been broken.
“It’s over! This is really the end for me! Is that what you wanted?! –But you’re all coming with me!”
With bloodshot eyes, he held up his Smartphone for all to see.
“Look, you incompetent fools! Even with your empty heads, you can understand this, right?! That girl isn’t virtuous at all, she’s a Bitch! And she’s pathetically padding her non-existent chest to seduce men, a hopeless, lewd woman!”
The one photo that Mikado Kouki had taken last Saturday, ‘Ichinose Ayano in her natural style holding a condom.’ His trump card.
Contrary to Kouki’s triumphant laughter, everyone in the class awkwardly averted their eyes, fidgeting uncomfortably.
“—-Huh?…”
Kouki felt a sense of unease at the unexpected reaction from those around him.
He searched for the reason in the corner of his mind–and found it.
“Hey…what’s that?”
Ayano’s chest.
The voluptuous bulge, equivalent to an E cup, was strangely small.
As he stared blankly,
“I told you, I already explained everything to everyone.”
Yuuto announced.
“Everyone already knows about Ayano and that video from back then.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Kouki took a half-step back.
For Ichinose Ayano, the secret of her chest should have been a taboo she had guarded throughout middle school.
For Ichinose Ayano, being talented, beautiful, and virtuous should have been the most important thing.
The value of Ichinose Ayano as a person should have been in those qualities.
But,
“In the first place, is ‘wanting to have sex with your lover’ something that should be criticized so much?”
Ayano asked casually.
“—-Huh?”
Kouki was taken aback for a few seconds, and then a dry laugh escaped his throat.
In order to bring Yuuto and Ayano down in any way possible,
“Y-you’re still the same! You just want to be held by a man, looking at those things so greedily! You’re a filthy woman!”
Ayano sighed wearily at the insult.
“Have you been watching too much AV?”
The faces of mostly the boys twisted.
“I think there’s a big difference between sex just to satisfy lust and sex where you love each other, connect your hearts and bodies, and imagine the future together, don’t you think?”
“Wh-what are you trying to say…?”
“Sexual activity is one way to express love, but I don’t think you can really say you love each other if you don’t use contraception. You say ‘those things,’ but condoms are necessary.”
“So, what are you trying to say!”
Kouki shouted, unable to contain himself.
She smiled and said,
“I want to say that we are already engaged.”
Kouki was speechless.
Squeezing out the words,
“B-but, we’re still minors! Adults, society won’t allow such a thing!”
“I know. I’m not as selfish as you, so I understand.”
She answered confidently.
“We’ve decided together that we’ll deepen our love like students while we’re in school. When you took those pictures of me the other day, I was just checking the real thing because I felt it would be necessary in the future. Well, I’m not exactly virtuous since I’m always flirting with him–“
Then she smiled wryly.
“I can’t do anything irresponsibly without proper knowledge and preparation. Because I truly love him.”
Yuuto nodded at Ayano’s gaze.
“For the sake of our children.”
He stepped between Kouki and Ayano, protecting her.
“I’ve decided I won’t make her cry anymore.”
Amidst the cheers of the girls and the whistles of the boys, his eyes spoke.
–Don’t you dare lay a hand on my woman.
“S-so what! That woman still has–“
Kouki, not wanting to lose, operated his Smartphone and pointed it at everyone, but
“Stop it, Kouki.”
His brother stood in his way, stopping his younger brother.
“Your words have no power anymore. No one is looking at you.”
The attention of the entire class was focused on the two of them.
Kouki was struck by the feeling that he didn’t exist here.
He was always the main character at the center of everything…
(How did things turn out like this…?)
Kouki frowned.
But the story was extremely simple–.
From the beginning, no negotiation was possible.
Just as Mikado Kouki was willing to ruin himself if he couldn’t have Ichinose Ayano,
Even if it was revealed to those around her that Ichinose Ayano had been deceiving them about the size of her chest, the love between Kamijou Yuuto and Ichinose Ayano would not change.
Even if she bought a condom, if she declared in advance that she was already engaged to Yuuto, the reason would be ‘to do that with her fiancé.’
The moment a student like her hinted at sexual activity, her reputation among those around her would drop significantly from the current situation.
Until now, she had been a clean, virtuous honor student, so the backlash from the collapse of her image would be significant.
The Joker held by Mikado Kouki had enough power to kill that ‘Ichinose Ayano’ image.
But originally, that image was just something she had created to attract Yuuto’s attention.
Now that she was his girlfriend and fiancé–why should she care about what people thought?
There was nothing to be ashamed of.
If anything, it would be shameful if it ended with, “I did all this, but in the end, we broke up.”
But there was not even one in ten thousand, one in a hundred million chance of that happening.
–However, we can’t deny the possibility that we might do something “irresponsible”… but if that happens, we will definitely take responsibility.
“We will officially get married after graduation.”
“So, until then, we will deepen our love while being discreet.”
“Right now, there are strange rumors circulating, but they are all lies from Mikado Kouki.”
“I was showing off about my chest to get my childhood friend’s attention.”
“Also, be sure to follow the instructions when using condoms.”
“Sexual activity is based on mutual consent and personal responsibility. Be prepared and cherish your partner.”
–If they were to be told all of that directly from the people involved, even if Mikado Kouki showed “that photo,” it wouldn’t mean anything now.
“I… I lost everything because of you.”
The older brother snatched the Smartphone from his brother’s hand, who was frozen like a scarecrow.
“Now… it’s your turn.”
His voice was suppressing his emotions, but it was tinged with derision and joy.
“If you end it here, it seems they don’t intend to appeal directly to the school or their parents. The rest of your student life will end in solitude, but that will only last three years. It would be good for you to realize before you enter society that not everything goes your way.”
Kouki didn’t hear his brother’s words.
“Shut up.”
–I don’t care anymore.
From the beginning, if he was going to resist, he intended to do this.
“Shut up shut up shut up shut up — SHUT UP!!!!!”
Kouki scratched his head and took something out of his blazer pocket, waving it around.
“Kouki… Enough already–!?”
That touched his brother’s hand. A heat and discomfort like putting a finger in boiling water, and then, with a slimy feeling, he dropped the Smartphone.
–It was blood.