The one word I absolutely can’t say is Pumpkin.
“Hey, Domoto, got a minute?”
During lunchtime on the weekend, on my way back from the restroom, I was stopped by my world history teacher. Wondering what was up, I turned to him, and he explained that he needed to head to the faculty room right away and asked if I could return a book to the Reference Room. The faculty room on the first floor and the Reference Room on the third floor were pretty much on opposite sides, and if he was in a hurry, it would be faster for me to go.
“Sure, I don’t mind. Consider it a favor.”
“Haha, I know. I’ll treat you to some juice next time.”
With that, the teacher turned his back to me.
Saying it was a favor was just a joke. That teacher is very kind and popular with the students, so if he said that, I’m sure he’d treat me to juice at some point.
“Guess I’ll head to the Reference Room ASAP.”
Carrying the book I received from the teacher, I headed to the third floor and entered the Reference Room.
I’ll be right out, so I’ll leave the door open. This book is probably in the back. Without turning on the lights, I headed to the back and returned the book to where it probably belonged.
“Alright, that should do it—”
Just as I thought about heading back, it happened.
I heard the sound of the entrance door closing with a click, and it sounded like it was locked.
“Huh!?”
No way, am I locked in…? But there’s no need to worry.
Even if it’s locked from the outside, I can open it from the inside. So, there’s nothing to be surprised about. But I was a little startled because it was a dark space. It’s too quiet when I’m alone, and it’s a little eerie… I should get out of here quickly.
“Seriously, who closed it—”
“It was MEEEEEEEEEE!!”
“Whoaaaaaaah!?!?!?”
I couldn’t help but shout in surprise at the voice that echoed from behind. Wondering what was happening, I turned around to see Aina-san standing there. She had a smile on her face, as if she was happy that her prank was successful, and I let out a big sigh.
“Oh, it’s just Aina-san…”
“Just? That’s mean, Hayato-kun!”
The appearance of Aina-san, one of the school’s beautiful sisters, made me feel more like, “Give me a break,” than excited. It’s not that I’m intimidated by her, but I just thought my heart was going to stop from the surprise.
“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I saw Hayato-kun walking with so many books. I was curious, so I followed you.”
“I see… If that’s the case, you could have just called out to me instead of doing this.”
“Well, that’s true, but we haven’t really interacted before, right? I thought it might bother Hayato-kun if we suddenly started talking so familiarly.”
…Ah, I see, she’s worried about rumors or something. It’s probably because she’s thinking of me, but even Aina-san probably wouldn’t want any rumors about her and me to spread. I’m grateful for her consideration, even though she followed me without me noticing.
“But, I kinda want to talk to Hayato-kun too, you know? We’re calling each other by our first names now, but when we make eye contact, I just wink or something.”
“Well… that’s true.”
After what happened the other day, Aina-san started waving or winking at me when she saw me. I would discreetly wave back, but basically, the guys around me would misunderstand and get excited, which is a pretty standard reaction.
“There’s still lunchtime left, wanna talk?”
“I don’t mind at all.”
“Yay!” Aina-san said, taking my hand and leading me to a nearby chair. We sat down on the two chairs that were conveniently lined up, and Aina-san spoke first.
“Halloween is coming up soon, do you have any plans, Hayato-kun?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m planning to get together with some friends, enjoy some light cosplay, and have dinner.”
“Oh, cosplay… sounds fun. What kind of cosplay are you doing?”
What kind of cosplay, I almost blurted out that I was going to wear a Pumpkin Head, but I managed to swallow the words. I felt bad for lying, but I told her that I was cosplaying as a character from a certain anime.
“I see. I’d love to see it.”
“Please forgive me, it’s embarrassing…”
“Hehe, I don’t want to embarrass you too much, so I’ll let you off the hook, though it’s a shame.”
Seriously, I’m glad she’s so understanding.
But I never thought I’d be talking to Aina-san like this again, like that time. I thought that encounter was a one-time thing. After that, the conversation flowed quite a bit, and we started talking about whether there was anything I wanted, and I simply answered that there was a game coming out soon.
“What I want… Hmm, I don’t want to say it’s a thing, but I’ll dare to say it now. There is something I want, but it overlaps with what my sister wants.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. But it’s a precious thing that only exists once. I love my sister, and I want to share it with her.”
“Oh… you guys are really close.”
Having a good relationship with your siblings is a blessing.
“Well,” Aina-san continued.
“I think my sister will notice soon, but until then, I’ll monopolize it a little.”
“Won’t that cause a fight?”
“I don’t think so. I think she’ll just laugh and say I’m a troublesome girl.”
The more I hear, the closer these sisters are.
“You guys are really close… whoa.”
Just as I was about to continue with “You guys are really close,” a spider was descending from the ceiling on a thread right in front of me. I couldn’t help but make a noise, but Aina-san, who was in front of me, wasn’t very surprised and instead reached out her hand as if she was enjoying it.
“Are you afraid of spiders, Hayato-kun?”
“Maybe… I might be.”
I’m not so bothered by small spiders, but I’m definitely not a fan of big spiders. The length of those legs moving quickly is frankly disgusting.
“I don’t dislike spiders. I might even like them.”
“That’s rare for a girl.”
Aina-san chuckled at my words and continued while holding the small spider in her hand.
“Spiders are smart, aren’t they? They create their own territory with their webs, and they never let the prey that enters escape. They wait until it weakens and then eat it as their own food.”
Spiders are definitely like that. But it’s a very strange sight. Seeing Aina-san talking about spiders like this.
“They lure in what they want with sweet temptations, create a web of encirclement, and entangle their prey… Yeah, doesn’t that sound cool?”
“…Does it?”
“Muu, is it just me?”
Perhaps because my reaction wasn’t good, she puffed out her cheeks.
“I might have messed up this conversation. Mmm.”
Perhaps because she pulled her body back a little, Aina-san bumped her back against the shelf behind her. With a small scream, the shelf shook a little, and the files placed on top were about to fall.
“Look out!”
“Kya!?”
I reached out and pulled Aina-san’s body towards me. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the file that had fallen to where Aina-san had been, making a dull sound. It’s just a file, but it would hurt quite a bit if it hit your head. Well, I’m glad Aina-san wasn’t hurt.
“I’m glad.”
I couldn’t help but let the words slip out.
“…I knew it. I’m sure of it.”
“Aina-san?”
“This feeling in my hands is unmistakable… Aha… Ahahahahaha!”
“…Are you okay?”
Please don’t suddenly start laughing, it’s startling.
“Sorry. I just laughed because I was so happy that Hayato-kun, who saved me, was so cool.”
I’m not very happy to be called cool when you suddenly start laughing… but if I keep doing this, lunchtime will be over soon!?
“Aina-san, you have to go back soon, or you’ll be late for class!”
“Oh, that’s right, we have to go back quickly!”
It seems like we talked more than I thought.
We immediately left the Reference Room and returned to our respective classrooms. Fortunately, there were no other students around because class was near, and Aina-san and I returned to our classrooms without being seen by anyone.
“…Haa, wonderful… If I’m stared at and touched from such a close distance, I’m done for…”
The woman whispered as she watched the boy’s back as he left.
While aware of her flushed cheeks, her hand naturally went to her stomach.
“I want to get pregnant… I really want to get pregnant.”
The woman, with an eerily smile, reluctantly took her eyes off him and returned to her classroom.
[Afterword]
Older Sister: Absolute Subservience Wish Type Girl
Little Sister: Absolute Wants to Get Pregnant Type Girl
Mother: ???
I wonder what the mother is…
Well, I don’t intend to make it too quirky.