My name is Ishi Wataru. I’m in my final year of junior high at Isako Junior High School. My hobbies include anime, video games, flipping skirts, (R18 hobbies redacted).
I have a friend, best friend really. His name is Tagami Tarou. He has a girlfriend who he says is like a little sister to him, and she will come at you with a kitchen knife if you push her buttons wrong.
Okay. I know what you’re thinking. Why the re-introductions? Well, I’ll explain. I’ll need to, to have some context to the events unfolding in front of my eyes right now.
After school today, contrary to usual, I went my separate way from the the aforementioned couple who seem to be all over each other 24/7, and was taking a detour to a video game store where they’d be releasing this new game I wanted to buy (a galge, barely avoiding the 18+ rating).
It was when I was in a secluded alleyway, that I began to hear voices. Curious, I speed walked in the new direction and took a peek from behind the corner. Lo and behold, there was a girl from the same grade, Shiba Minako, being hit on by a guy with bleached blond hair (you could tell he was a delinquent just looking). The delinquent, DQN, as they’re called, was being very persistent, trying to get Shiba’s attention with a sloppy grin on his face. Shiba’s annoyance, as judged by the state of her furrowed brows, only kept getting worse.
What to do, what to do. If I ignored this and went on my way, I’d quickly get my hands on the game I so desired. But there, in front of me, a girl was in trouble and as a gentleman (though in my case, people usually prefix that with ‘hentai’, making me a ‘hentai gentleman’), I simply must intervene.
“Oi, fuckface, yeah you bleach head. Get away from the girl before I shove your head up your ass, you sonuvabitch.” I came out of hiding and threw him a line filled to the brim with every insult I could imagine at the moment.
“Aaa!? ‘Fuck you say to me, bitch!” the DQN got triggered as expected, and stomped up to me with a face red like an octopus. “Little bitches like you des…! Gak!”
I punched him in the face while he was talking.
“Muthe… fu… oofff!”
And since he wasn’t fully recovered, I took the chance to deliver a strong kick to the shin.
“Guhh…! Urrrggh…”
Blondie slowly fell to the ground, defeated. And with that, my job is done.
“Man, what a dumbass. Did he really think I came here just to trash talk?” I said in a low voice as I left. Well, tried to.
“H-hey you!” Hm? I felt a pull on my school uniform. “… Wait.”
It was Shiba. Geez, I’d really like to get going. But then again, it’s not every day that a girl talks to me like that. So I took my leg that was mid stride and did an about face.
“Uh… er, I mean,” Shiba mumbled, her face in a deep blush. Looking at her up close like this made her seem awfully cute I must say. I’m raising her hotness rank from A to AA. So while I was making mental notes, Shiba seems to have worked up enough grit to say what she wants to say. She looked like she didn’t want to say it, but still wanted to express herself honestly.
“T-thank… you.” Her face went ever redder as she finished, upon which she made a mad dash to elsewhere.
A tsundere, I see. Personally, they’re my favorite archetype.
And her panties were also the infamous blue and white stripes. Magnificent. What? You’re curious about when I saw them? It was just now, when Shiba ran away. I took the chance to flip it. I haven’t been flipping skirts for 5 years just for show. This is how a pro does things. My technique has been honed to the point where they don’t even notice. Panties, they are waiting for me to peek, if I do say so myself.
I was lucky enough to get the last copy of the galge I wanted, and spent the rest of the day playing it. All the way until 5 in the morning.
“Dude, you look like a zombie.” Tagami said worriedly. It was morning, and I was on the way to school, trudging along like how he just described.
“You’re right,” Botan-chan said from beside him, “Wataru-san looks even worse than usual.”
My best friend and his girlfriend were of course holding hands as they came up to me. Tagami aside, it’s not right for me to have even Botan-chan worry. I had nothing to hide about my activities so I simply told them: “It’s fine, I pull all-nighters with galge all the time. It’s nothing new.”
“Holy crap, Dude!?” Tagami overreacted. “Are you telling us that after you bought your game yesterday, you spent every hour after that, except dinner, all the way until you left home this morning, on your computer!?”
“Yes, I did. What of it?” I simply told him the facts, he didn’t need to get so worked up. This is the natural course of action for a gamer after all. Not so much for casuals.
“Fue~, that’s actually kind of impressive, Wataru-san. You must be a pro at games…”
“Uh, just no, Botan. You don’t need to be impressed. Especially by him.”
Hmf, I might have heard Tagami dis me just now, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. I can’t argue against what I actually did after all. On a side note, Botan-chan seems to have a surprisingly charming speech quirk like going ’Hau~’ or ’Hoe~?’ which, to the untrained ear, may seem like she’s only acting, but I’ve recently realized that this was how she was in her natural state. She is a loli, honest to a fault, and makes great food. Truly the holy trinity of good waifu material. I’m so proud of her. I’m also proud of her choice of panties today. They were rabbit themed.
Hm? You ask why I would peek at my friend’s girlfriend’s panties? Just think of it as a habit of mine. I’m merely giving my brand of greeting to a lady’s skirt, if you will. I don’t think it’s too hard to understand.
The three of us reached school without the lovey-dovey couple ever noticing my sleight of hand. I got some sleep during calculated moments of class time, and answered within 3 seconds when the teacher called. I also performed my daily survey of every girl’s panties in between classes.
The everyday, ordinary school life sure is fun and fulfilling. And as they say, time flies when you're having fun, and so it was now the middle of the day. In other words, lunch time.
“Oi, Wataru. Stop sleeping and help me move these desks. Look, Botan’s already here, hurry the fuck up dude.” Tagami was being obnoxious again.
He was making an annoying racket joining his desk with mine. Botan-chan was joining us for lunch as usual, and she sat on an empty chair with 2 people’s worth (herself and Tagami’s) of bento lunches in hand. She looked happy and was waiting for us to get the tables done in all smiles.
It’s been like this ever since that incident. In simple terms, Botan-chan and Tagami got a lot closer after that. Tagami was able to gladly accept Botan-chan’s feelings for him, and the girl in question had no cause to hold back her love any longer. One could say they were the ideal couple. Though getting there cost me getting stabbed in the stomach… well, I’ll let bygones be bygones. No reason to damper the mood because of personal gripes.
“Here, onii-chan, say ah~” Botan-chan said, lifting a chopstick of food up to Tagami.
“Uh, wait, Botan. I know we do this outside, but, th-there’s other people watching here. Can we like, not? It’s really embarrassing.”
“Ah~” She insisted.
“... Okay, okay, I get it. Ah~” Tagami took the proffered bite, “... wait, Wataru, quit staring, dumbass!”
Just for the record, I was not staring at them, but had my attention focused solely on Botan-chan’s chest. This girl, despite her loli figure, boasted a chest size that clearly exceeded the norm for her age. And from my observations, I can conclude that after that incident, she’s been growing. She was well ahead of any junior high girl. And I was performing my analysis while making sure that she wouldn’t notice. Please keep in mind that I was not watching them, but my target.
Sophistry aside, looking at the two of them being the cute couple they are, (Hey, didn’t you just say you weren’t doing that? I mentally self retorted.) I took out my own handmade bento, (My mother would usually do it, but she slept in today. 3 onigiri wrapped in a peal of bamboo, with salmon, salted kombu, and umeboshi fillings, for your information.) and placed it on the table.
“Dude… bamboo wrapped rice balls, are you kidding me? You’re not a vagrant samurai, you know that right…?”
“Fue, it’s like in period dramas…”
Tagami and Botan-chan put a stop to their flirting once they saw my bento, both expressing surprise.
“You can get bamboo peels at the supermarket you know? Why not try it yourself, next time?” I informed them.
“Uh, yeah, no thanks… just no.”
“Mmm, I mean if onii-chan wants bamboo wrapped lunches I’m sure I can do it.”
Looks like they’re getting along splendidly, I mused to myself while taking a bite out of my salted kombu onigiri. Which is when,
“H-hey, is there someone called Ishi Wataru in this class!?” said a female voice, one I think I’ve heard. It was a voice that left a pretty strong impression, so I think this is… “Ah! There you are! How come you didn’t say something, come on!”
The girl found me and was coming closer. Oh, now I remember. She’s got the same sharp eyes, silky hair and willful voice I saw only yesterday. The girl I had spontaneously saved yesterday, Shiba Minako. So this girl really did come to see me. I mean, I’ve seen this scenario countless times in digital form and it’s gotten quite stale if I’m being honest, but this is real life… this feeling is amazing. No wonder they do it in all those games.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me!?”
It, seems that in my excessive fantasizing, I left Shiba hanging. And for me, that is a huge faux pas.
“I’m terribly sorry. I was lost in thought.” I apologized to Shiba without thinking too much about it.
“Geez… you need to listen when someone’s talking to you, alright!”
“You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”
“W-well, it’s fine if you get it…”
“By the way, sorry if I’m being blunt, but you needed something of me, correct?” I asked, and after a moment, Shiba bashfully produced a small paper bag from behind and placed it on my desk.
“It’s t-thanks for yesterday…! Just take it, and don’t complain!”
“Sure, thank you. May I open it?”
Shiba gave me a small nod of confirmation and so I did. Unwrapping the paper bag, I was met with a sweet tingle in my nose. Inside, I found a number of chocolate chip cookies (rock cookies to be exact.) I had no reason to assume that I had to get further permission to actually eat them, (in the first place, receiving something like this already put me on cloud nine,) so I quickly popped one into my mouth. Shiba was staring at me nervously the whole time.
“... Meh, 38 points. … not bad for an amateur.” The moment I said that, the world froze. The many spectators in class who’d been gossiping about the current scene stopped talking all at once. Tagami and Botan-chan smiled awkwardly, and as for Shiba, she just looked at me, with her jaw dropped.
“are you kidding me…” Shiba started to say, but I quickly intercepted her, “I have 3 things to say.” No way am I having her crying/raging at me right here and now.
“First of all, you didn’t sift the flour for these did you?” And I was right. Shiba could only silently nod at that. “Sifting your flour is an important step in baking. If you don’t sift, you run the risk of introducing impurities in your dough and if gives your cookies a dry, floury taste. That is my first point of contention.”
“Secondly, too much sugar.” Shiba said nothing, just stared at me. I continued: “Look, I know you think cookies have to be sweet, but this is just going overboard. And when you use too much, it clashes with the taste of the chocolate and makes it unsavory.”
I continued further: “Third, and I can’t stress this enough...”
“I.. et it...”
“Hm?”
“I said, I get it already!” Shiba yelled as I was about to go to my third point. Her face was red, and her voice cracked like she was about to cry. I stopped as she had requested of me, and after glaring at me with tears building in the corners of her eyes, Shiba turned to leave the classroom.
“Stop, I haven’t finished.”
“!?” Shiba was startled, as I quickly left my seat and grabbed her hand. I couldn’t let her leave, not like that. All eyes were once again on us.
“Third, I want to thank you.” Shiba stopped when I said that, and since she did, I let go of her hand. “The cookies are just bad, I can’t tell it otherwise. But Shiba, you made them for me, and I could feel your heartfelt gratitude as I was eating that one. For that earnestness, I thank you.”
I lightly lowered my head to Shiba and ended with this: “I can’t wait for your next batch.”
I raised my head, and found that Shiba was still red faced. But I was sure that the reason for her deep blush was not quite the same one as before.
“H-h-hmph! I-I’ll make more, if I feel like it! But don’t go expecting too much, you hear!” Shiba said, and once she was done, she left the classroom like lightning. Mhm, that reaction was much cuter than I imagined. Though, this was just a case of my honest opinion lucking out. Which reminds me, “So her panties are red on white polkadots today… lovely…”
“Dude… you managed to get a peek during all that... dick move…”
I was voicing my victory for the day in a small voice, but Tagami, as expected, broke out of his stupor and once again delivered a well timed retort. But Tagami, I’d like to correct you. It was certainly not a dick move, for I am a hentai gentleman. I’d appreciate it if you don’t forg “Nope!” … Tagami’s elbow scored a direct hit on my shoulder, causing me to stumble forward.
“Kinda felt like you needed one.” He said. It appears that Tagami’s skill in the art of timely retorts has also been evolving. As expected of him. I thought as I verified the panties of the random girl I almost stumbled into.
―After School―
“Tagami, it’s after school.” I began. “And you know what that means: Let’s get those Ganbariders!”
“Ugh, again…?” My best friend sounded exasperated sure, but I still remember how thrilled her was after getting his first Legend Rare.
Oh me? I happen to have LRs for Power, Speed, and Technique, 4 of each, making it a total of 12 LR cards. You don’t want to mess with me.
“Ah, are you two going to the arcade again? Can I come?” Botan-chan wants to join us it seems. Little known secret, but Botan-chan is actually really good at claw machines. She can easily get a bunch of cutesy toys, and sometimes she even gets Tagami and I some sweet premiums. She knows she’s good and is proud of it.
“Sure Botan, you can come with us anytime.” Tagami gave her the OK with a big smile.
“Thanks so much, onii-chan ♪” Botan-chan grabbed Tagami’s hand with lots of love.
“So, how many matches do you want to do today?” Tagami asked me. The three of us were currently on our way to the arcade.
“6. And the one who loses round 1 pays for the other 5.”
“Come on, again? …Seriously, I can barely win against you 30% of the time.”
“Hey, don’t worry so much, bro.”
“Oh piss off, you’re not the one paying a thousand yen everytime.”
The two of us bantered, Botan-chan made some comments here and there, it was the usual.
“Oi, you! Yeah, I’m talking to you!” I suddenly heard this gruff, fowl-sounding voice. What’s more annoying is that he seemed to be addressing me. So I turned to the voice, reluctantly. “Heh heh heh, miss me, bitch.”
… Not a sight I wanted to see. So that DQN I beat up, he was there. He had a metal bad and was grinning disgustingly at me. Behind him, I could see that he brought along friends (also DQNs by the looks of them.) who were weaponized with beer bottles, iron pipes and a monkey wrench among other things. Their grins were just as disgusting, and their predatory eyes for Botan-chan made me sick to my stomach.
Sigh, I regret having wasted precious calories turning to look at trash like them. Tagami, having noticed their lewd gazed toward his girlfriend, quickly stepped in front of her. Yup, he’s a good guy.
Right, so obviously, they’re not here for chit-chat. In other words, it’s a fight between all of them and 2 of us. I counted 10 of them in front of us, but who knows if they told others to circle us from the other side. Which means, Tagami and I may have to fight them separately. It’d help if I know exactly how many they had, but it won’t be that easy…
“Heh! What’s the matter! Ain’t so tough, now that it’s 10 versus 2 eh! See this bat here? I’m gonna fucking kill you with it!” Blondie yelled, brainlessly revealing the answer to my unasked question.
“On my signal.” I whispered to Tagami, “You take 5, I take 5.”
“Sure man, can do. They might hurt Botan so I’ll do my part.”
“Alright, ready, 1, 2 “After we sent your asses to the afterlife, we’ll be sure to fuck that chick’s brains out, and stream it online for the world to see!”
“... … … … …”
“... … … … …”
Tagami’s expression went through a complete transformation once Blondie mentioned Botan-chan.
“Oi, Wataru. No more 50-50 split. I’ll take 8 of them. You make sure to give the other 2 hell.”
“...Yes, sir.”
“Now, let’s break some skulls, boys!” Blondie was even kind enough to tell us where he’s going to attack. He ran up to me and brought down his metal bat. “Guh!?” But of course, his strike didn’t land at all. Mainly because,
“You’re dead, trash.”
“Gh, Haaah...”
Mainly because, the bottom of Tagami’s shoe had now definitively crushed his nose.
“... Wh- why you!”
“Muhfuckers!”
Not understanding how their leader was just knocked out, the gang of DQN were at a loss. But among them, Beer Bottle and Monkey Wrench got back to their senses and rushed at Tagami. Not on my watch. I set my sights on Monkey Wrench and slugged him in the jaw.
“Gyah!!”
“Fuck, Kenji, are you, gurhh!!” grunted the beer bottle guy as I rode my punch into a roundhouse kick on his neck. To finish off Monkey Wrench, I elbowed him sharply on the spine.
“Gh...oof…” “Guhha…” the pair of DQNs collapsed.
“Phew...” I exhaled as I slapped the dust off my uniform. Glancing ahead of me,
“Brghhh!” “Bitch I’ll, geehh!” “You think you can, oaaghh!” Tagami used a wall to perform a triangle kick, knocking out 3 more.
“Fuuuuuckhh!! You think you can beat us, the Bläkk Draegonz!”
Ugh, that gang name is so cringe my head hurts. And while I was suffering that mental damage, another beer bottle guy (his was broken off at the end) also rushed at Tagami, who not only predicted the attack trajectory and dodged it, but also buried his fist into the guy’s solar plexus. The cringey DQN was thus, also dealt with.
“Dammit! Surround that guy!” “Got it!” “Time to die!” Said the remaining three, trying to corner Tagami from 3 sides. They might’ve thought he’d charge at one of them, but what they didn’t expect was Tagami slowly raising both hands.
“You’re making it easy.” Tagami said as he caught 2 of his attackers on their heads. “Eh!?” “Huh!?” And bashed them into the concrete.
“... … …!!” The two tried to scream, but they couldn’t utter a sound before passing out. The last remaining DQN stared at that dumbfounded.
“Oi, ugly.” Tagami said menacingly.
“Hiii!?” Last Guy winced back in fear, dropping the wrench in his hand.
“Still wanna fight me (us)?” I said together with Tagami for added effect.
“Ah, Aaaaaahhhh!!” Last Guy screamed and ran away like a little bitch, with not a care toward his defeated friends.
“Dammit Wataru, you ruined my line.” Tagami said somewhat irritably after the guy was gone.
“Come on, it’s fine. Both of us saying it gives it that extra badassery, no?”
“U-uh, I guess it does, now that I think about it.”
While Tagami and I were going into our usual banter, Botan-chan, who’d been hiding so as not to get in the way, timidly came out. “O-onii-chan… are you, alright…?”
“Yeah, we took care of it, Botan.” Tagami smiled kindly at the girl, but Botan-chan vigorously shook her head to show that he’d misunderstood what she meant.
“N-no!?” She cried, “... I… I was worried about you… you’re not hurt anywhere, are you onii-chan?”
“B-Botan…” he was stunted by her words, and feigned rubbing his face to hide the blush. Which is when he happened to see his palm, and let out a small “Oh.”
“What’s up, Tagami?” I asked.
“No, well, I thought I evaded everything but looks like they got one on me.” Tagami points at his cheek, and there I could see a line of red slowly dropping. And once Botan-chan saw that, she got highly alarmed,
“O-onii-chan you’re hurt! Onii-chan! Bend down a little, I’ll apply first aid right away!”
“O-okay.” Tagami slouched down, unable to go against Botan-chan’s desperate plea. Confirming the cut, Botan-chan then took out a handkerchief and some antiseptic from her bag.
“This’ll sting a bit, hang in there, Onii-chan!” She warned before applying the solution on the cloth and gently dabbing her boyfriend’s cheek. Once she was done, she put a bandaid over the wound for good measure. “There, all done ♪”
“Pfft!” I snorted as I saw Tagami’s face again. The new addition to his face being a cutesy anime band-aid was completely at odds with the rest of him, and it was hilarious to say the least.
“Wataru, you, did you just laugh…?” Tagami said, clearly not finding it funny.
“Not at all, my friend, I was simply breathing is all.” (monotone)
Honestly, I wanted to literally start rolling on the floor laughing, but seeing that,
JoJo-esque menacing aura behind him, I could only, desperately, hold it in.
Some time later, we managed to get to the arcade. Tagami and I hit the Ganbaride consoles while Botan-chan headed for the claw games. Hm? How did our matches go? I won, 5 - 1, obviously.
“Fuck… how do you keep doing chain combo perfect victories every time…”
“Don’t be so down about it. Look, I’ll give you this card as a consolation.” I gave him a card (just a Normal Decade) from my deck.
“... Wait, don’t you have like 6 of these Decades? Yeah, I know you do. I’ve seen you mutter ‘trash’ when you get them anymore…”
“Welp, cat’s out of the bag. GG, my man.”
“Asshole!” Tamaki made a playful jab at me, and I playfully dodged.
Which is when I saw her. And when I did, I left my seat in a flash.
“Whoa! Dude, I almost fell!” Tagami yelled as he lost his balance when I got up from the seat. I tried to calm him down by raising one hand and grabbed my stuff with the other. Then I headed straight toward her.
“Hey there.” I greeted her from behind while she was on a claw machine. She went “Hyaa!!” in surprise, flailing her arms as she hopped to an elevation of 2 to 3 cm to turn around at, what I almost mistook as, the speed of sound.
In a deep blush, she, Shiba Minako yelled, “Y-y-you’re, Ishi Wataru! What are you doing here!?”
“Same thing as yourself, hanging out at the arcade after school. I came with friends.” I replied frankly, and Shiba, perhaps not understanding me, cocked her head to the side,
“Eh, friend? … Ah, you mean that Tagami guy.” she seemed to finally remember.
“Yes, Tagami, his name is Tagami Tarou, by the way.”
“Yeah, I mean he’s pretty normal looking, not too ugly or too handsome I guess. He sort of feels like, average…?” And while Shiba was giving her opinion,
“Wtru-saaan, look at this! Just look at how big and cute this thing is~” Botan-chan came running while holding a huge stuffed animal, a rabbit (in suit and tie?) by the looks of it. She was coming toward me with that thing that was almost her size.
“Uh… what…?” Shiba seemed to feel threatened by the creature and took a few steps back, a drop of cold sweat flowing down her cheek.
“Ehehe~, I got in on my second try… oof!”
“Careful.”
“Ah… Oh, thanks, Wataru-san.”
She lost her balance and fell forward, so I caught the rabbit to break her fall.
“W-wait, this girl, she’s not… your...” Seeing Botan-chan and I in such close proximity, Shiba’s expression looked a bit cramped.
“Ah, you’re mistaken. This girl’s partner is…” I explained to Shiba while pointing a finger toward the distinctive sound of footsteps currently coming in our direction.
“Dammit Wataru, don’t just leave me hanging… wait, woah! Botan, that thing’s huge! Give it here, I’ll carry it for you.”
“... This guy right here.”
“Uh? What about me?” Tagami asked after relieving Botan-chan from the oversized toy, not getting what I meant. Shiba watched all this even more confused.
“Thank you~ onii-chan ♪ ”
“Hey, that’s what I’m here for.”
“Eh, but onii-chan, you shouldn’t push yourself…”
Shiba still stared slack jawed while pointing at both Tagami and Botan-chan. Taking the hint, I said to her, “In other words, Botan-chan is Tagami’s,”
“Cousin, little sister, and finally, girlfriend!” Botan-chan herself finished the line, wrapping her arm around Tagami’s. Shiba held her head like she had a headache, then pointing at us one by one,
“Uh, let me get this straight. You and Tagami are dating… and you’re just friends with Ishi… do I have this right?”
“That’s right ♪”
“Uh…? Sure, it’s pretty much like that.”
“A perfectly valid interpretation.”
Botan-chan, Tagami and I having affirmed her conjecture, Shiba’s tension seemed to deflate. Now with an expression of relief, “Phew, so she’s not his g-girlfriend…” perhaps a bit too relieved, she revealed her thoughts. And then she noticed that I still had my attention on her.
“I-it’s not like that!” Shiba cried, face red and finger pointed straight at me. “If you think I’m relieved or something, you’re dead wrong! I just felt sorry that you still don’t have a girlfriend when even Tagami does!”
“Yes, I’m aware of that, Shiba. Painfully aware, to be frank. But I haven’t seem to have met the right person as of yet, you see.”
“Hehem, that’s what I thought. You’re so hopeless, Ishi Wataru.” Shiba spoke while puffing out her chest in a gleeful expression. This side of her is pretty cute too, is the thought I shelved away as I wanted to get back on topic.
“So, Shiba. Which of the prizes are you trying to get?”
“H-hwa?” She uttered in confusion, then answered, “T-that one over there, those black and white cats.”
I peered inside the claw machine she was playing before I came up to her, and soon found the item. It was a pair of cats (the white one seemed to be female and the black, male.) sitting shoulder to shoulder in the very middle of the machine.
“I’ve been going at it for a while already. Took me 1,200 yen just to get it where it is from the back corner, can you believe it?”
“Oh, if you don’t mind, I can get it for you?” Botan-chan cheerfully volunteered when she learned that a claw game was involved. However, I stopped her.
“Feh? Wataru-san?”
“Sorry, Botan-chan. Please leave this one to me.”
“... Ahh, so that’s what’s going on. Then, good luck, Wataru-san.” Botan-chan seemed to be convinced, so she stepped back and locked arms with Tagami again. Mhm, now that’s a girl who can take a hint.
“Wait, what do you think you’re doing!?”
“Fret not, just leave it to me.”
Shiba tried to get me to stop, but I simply ignored her and put a coin in the slot. Soon after,
“There we go, easy.” The arm on on this machine is surprisingly strong and I managed to catch the paired dolls at the center. I got it in one go.
“W-wow. You’re really good at this, huh…” I handed it over to Shiba who seemed to be very impressed, and with my job done, I attempted to go away when,
“W-wait…” Shiba once again pulled at me from behind. Turning, I found that she had separated the cats (they’re stuck with velcro apparently) and gave me the black one.
“Y-you can have that one… You better not be misunderstanding anything! This is just me thanking you for getting it!”
“Ah, thank you. I promise to take good care of it.” I took her gift and gently placed it in my bag, ending my conversation with Shiba with a hope. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s treats.”
“Sh-shut up… I already said don’t expect too much… how could you give me 38 points like that…” Shiba said, hugging her shoulders in embarrassment.
Seeing her like that, Botan-chan came up to her and started whispering something in her ear. And as the smaller girl kept talking, Shiba’s expression gradually brightened up.
“W-will you… really!?” Shiba said, after a time.
“If you’re up for it, sure ♪” Botan-chan agreed.
“T-thank you… um… Botan.”
“Don’t mention it, you’re in capable hands.” Botan-chan finished with a hint of pride in her voice. She then looked back at Tagami, and with a sorry expression, “I’m sorry, onii-chan, but I kind of need to go with Shibsan right now. Can you please take my rabbit back to my house…?” Please, she pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
“Sure, absolutely, I can do it, just leave it to me.” Tagami rapid fired, blushing down to his neck. He took my arm and practically dragged me out of the arcade.
“Oi, Tagami, I can walk by myself, if you don’t mind.” I complained.
“See you girls later! And good luck!” and he completely ignored me and kept pulling. Botan-chan waved us adieu while Shiba just saw us off awkwardly.
“And, what do have to say about the tear on my sleeve?”
“Sorry man… seeing Botan’s face like that I just, man she’s just so cute… like damn.”
“I, will accept that excuse…”
Tagami had pulled me away from the arcade, and went on walking for a while before finally calming down enough to let me go. But during this infringement of my freedom, my shirt was torn at the shoulder, making me partially look like the shrine maiden who protects the border, the one with the exposed armpits. I’d kept telling him to let go, but he hadn’t been listening at all.
“Got to admit,” Tagami said, “I’m a bit curious as to what Botan wants to do with Shiba all of a sudden.”
I almost fell over at his sheer denseness.
“Really? You really can’t tell? Geez man…”
“Well fuck you too… just tell me already.” Tagami seemed to be genuinely in the dark about what was happening back there. And here I thought he’d mend his ways after spending some time with a girlfriend… Seems I misjudged his potential for obliviousness.
“From the hints,” I began, “one can easily surmise that Botan-chan told Shiba something like this: If you want, I can teach you how to make treats. How about it?”
“Ohh, yeah I can see that happening. Shiba said not to expect anything, but I was sure she’d make something new by tomorrow.”
“So you can read between the lines after all, and here I thought I had you figured out…”
“And you read too much.”
“Can’t deny that.”
The two of us exchanged small talk while walking home, we parted midway and I arrived home. Once I was in my room, I set out to find a spot where I would keep the plush toy I received from Shiba. I finally decided on placing it on top of my bookshelf, in between my Yagami Hayate and Kamen Rider Stronger figs.
Lunch time, the next day.
“Go ahead, have one. I promise you they’re in a completely different league from yesterday’s batch.” Shiba said to me, positively brimming with confidence as she opened a chilled box containing a custard pudding, deliciously dripping in sauce.
“Alright. Here goes.” I had already finished my lunch so I first wiped my mouth with a paper napkin before receiving the spoon from her. I brought my hands together, still holding the spoon, and said my itadakimasu before scooping out a chunk of the pudding and carrying it into my mouth.
… Completely different league indeed. The pudding practically melted away inside my mouth, leaving a rich, lasting flavor on my tongue.
“Hm… I’ll give this 96 points…”
“Ah…” The room fell pindrop silent again as Shiba uttered that one syllable. And then,
“Y-you did it! You did it Shibsan!” Botan-chan leapt in joy. “See? Just like I told you! He found it absolutely delicious!”
“O-oh come on, I only followed your instructions… s-so of course it’s the best…” Shiba didn’t show as much cheer, but she was trying hard to keep her composure, as evidenced by the higher pitch of her voice, and dampness of her eyes.
“I’m m-making you more, tomorrow!” Shiba, steaming red, pointed at me. “Just think of it as you being the guinea pig for my new creations! Nothing more, so don’t misunderstand, got it!?”
She then bolted out of the classroom, to which I had one thing to say: “A bold black… fantastic...!”
Which is when my face met desk due to Tagami’s roundhouse kick.
“Way to ruin it dude…” Tagami said it like he was exasperated with me, but that matters not in the least. For if there is a skirt, a gentleman must follow his instincts and check its contents.
The next few days went by without incident. Everyday, Shiba would make me new baked treats, and she improved every time. Botan-chan seemed to get influenced by her, and started making daily desserts for Tagami too. Thus, it became known that after lunch, Tagami and I would indulge in our respective desserts.
At some point, Shiba even began walking home with us. She hadn’t mixed very well at first, only talking with Botan-chan, but these days, she’s been talking to me and Tagami too, often retorting at our bantering.
And through this and that, I ended up inviting Shiba to my house. Mom and Dad were absolutely ecstatic which made Shiba more nervous than she needed to be, but she managed to talk to them courteously.
Things started happening right around after that.
I began feeling eyes on me on the route to school.
When I texted Shiba, she would send back 120 or more replies within the next 30 minutes.
Things I own began going missing the moment I lost sight of them. The only thing I got back was my recorder and it was covered in drool.
Then came the final nail in the coffin, to which I could only respond with silence.
“... … …”
“Hm? Something the matter, Ishi?”
“No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Shiba.”
Shiba’s treats began having a taste similar to Botan-chan’s food before she became Tagami’s girlfriend.
It might’ve been just my imagination. But the thought still lingered. So I did what I had to do.
One day, after I was done finishing Shiba’s chiffon cake, I casually asked her, “Shiba. Can I visit your house, say tomorrow?”
“Eh! … W-why this all of a sudden!” Shiba’s reaction was just as expected. And since it was, I will move to step 2.
“Ah, let me explain. I think you’ve gotten really good at baking lately, and so, naturally, I wanted to have one of your desserts fresh from the oven.”
“B-but, I’m…” She is clearly troubled now. Now’s about time I deliver the finisher. I slowly lower my shoulders, and for the first time, move my gaze the slightest bit away from Shiba.
“Oh… alright. If you’re not okay with it, then nevermind…” And right as I said that, Shiba went into panic mode, consenting right away.
“Ah… I mean, sure, whatever, you can come! Tomorrow! Just for tomorrow!”
“Thanks… I will…” I give her my best ‘relieved’ face.
(Going as planned, so far…)
Hoping she doesn’t notice the whisper in my heart.
That night, I was in my room, readying the things I’d need for my visit to Shiba’s home. I first went into my closet, found my best clothes and neatly folded them over my chair. Then, after a bit of thinking, I began modifying the briefcase I plan to take with me.
I picked up some of the styrofoam packaging that came with the Godzilla fig that arrived a week ago. I took a utility cutter and dug a slot into its side. I reached into my briefcase, removed the bottom support board and placed the styrofoam inside to see how it fit.
I went to my cabinet, opening a drawer that contained a butterfly knife. I put the knife in the styrofoam sheath, placed the styrofoam on the bottom of my briefcase and placed the bottom support on top of that. Hidden weapon prepared.
“Seriously hoping I don’t have to use it though…” I said to no one in particular. I recalled that night, the night when I barely managed to hold my own against Botan-chan to save Tagami.
I remembered how insanely strong she was. How I was able to parry away her knife with my wooden sword the first and second times, but not the third. I couldn’t even see her third strike. I had suddenly found myself with a knife sticking out from my stomach.
It was so unbelievable. Botan-chan, who was smaller and weaker than even the girls in her grade versus me, not meaning to brag, but I am a 4th dan in kendo, and have a decent amount of experience in street fights. I could one punch knock out your average delinquent easily. And yet, Botan-chan completely beat me.
This may be rude to Tagami, but I honestly feel that Botan-chan somehow gained an inhuman level of strength just for that time.
I haven’t a clue as to why, but what I do know is that Shiba has been giving off that same feeling.
“So this is just, insurance, yeah, only for the worst case scenario… I didn’t want to resort to this, but here I am.” I muttered in the silent room only to convince myself. I got in bed and turned off the lights. The dark felts increasingly ominous tonight, like it was slowly constricting my neck.
“Shiba, it’s me. Could I bother you to let me in?” I called from outside Shiba’s house while lightly rapping on the door. It was the following day, I’d come right on time and I’d brought along my briefcase with the hidden knife. Some time passed, and there were footsteps on the other side of the door. The footsteps stopped and the door was opened slightly.
“Y-you’re here… kind of early…” Shiba muttered, timidly poking her face out of the gap in the entrance. (Her at-home clothes were super cute, naturally.)
“I, you see, am not fond of making people wait, especially so when it comes to ladies such as yourself.”
“H-Hmph! That’s a good habit.” She said, coming out further, perhaps not so timid anymore. Her cheeks had a faint blush.
“Shiba, I risk of sounding rude, but may I please come in? Now rather than soon would be preferable…” I may have forgotten to mention, but it’s currently winter, mid winter I should add (even more specifically, it was snowing all day today), and if I stayed outside any longer, I’d freeze.
“Ah! … I’m, I’m so sorry! C-come on inside!” Shiba quickly understood my plea, fully opened the door and guided me in.
“Hmm, very interesting…” I took a look around.
“Hey… don’t keep staring so much…” Shiba said while blushing.
“How could I not? Any and every boy my age would be fascinated by the prospect of seeing a girl’s home, you know?” I declared to Shiba, whilst continuing my observation of her house. One thing I quickly learned… was that Shiba’s father is apparently a doctor.
“So your father’s a man of medicine. I’d love to meet him…” I looked at Shiba with a slightly demanding tone.
“Oh, Dad’s not home today. And Mom too. They won a local lottery and went on a little vacation.”
To that, I uttered a disappointed “I see…”
Yet Shiba didn’t seem to be bothered by that at all, au contraire, she kept taking shy glances at me.
“L-look! I mean, enough looking around… uh… y-you should just focus all your attention on my fresh baked treats… ah! No, you’re my guinea pig, right! N-nothing else, nothing else!”
“Indeed I am, but I still feel blessed that you make them for me.” I gave Shiba a gentle smile, causing her to go red all the way up to her ears. She swiftly grabbed the apron she’d left on the dining table and ran into the kitchen to commence baking at mach speed.
To think a girl like her got so strange, I sighed, but quickly covered my mouth so as to not let her suspect anything. I seated myself at the table, waiting for her to finish.
A while later,
“H-here they are…” Shiba nervously brought a tray of, something similar to a roll cake I suppose, to the table. The cake was coated with an ample volume of cream, and decorated with marbled chocolate.
With slightly uncertain fingers, she cut a piece and placed it on a small plate, and silently (full blush) served me the plate of dessert along with a fork.
I forked off a bite sized chunk of my serving and brought it to my mouth… Of course, this is no roll cake, no roll cake indeed. She seems to have used milk biscuits as a main ingredient for this biscuit cake, as it is correctly called. And the taste… I’m impressed that Shiba has managed to come so far. In other words, it’s delectable… though, the old Botan-chan type taste still remains. I tried to not let it show that the fact bothered me while I sampled the cuisine.
“Hm… this deserves a 98.”
“Y-yes… high score…!” Shiba got so excited she, stood up and did a fist pump in celebration. Then, she realized what she’d done and tried to play it off, “H-hmph! O-of course it’s good! I-I made that, me!”
She puffed up her chest with pride.
“You’re indeed extraordinary, Shiba. By the way, I’d very much like to have a hot drink right now, perchance do you have any Uva?”
“Fe? Uba?” Shiba, not getting my meaning, tilted her head, producing a question mark on top. Good god, she’s cute. But I forced myself to admire that posture of hers for a mere 2 seconds so that I could begin explaining.
“Uva, you see is a black tea from Sri Lanka. Uva together with Darjeeling and Keemun, are said to be the three great black teas of the world…” I explained, then feigning regret, “and by your expression, it seems you don’t have any…” switch to gloom, “oh, what I wouldn’t give for a hot cup of Uva milk tea right now…”
Shiba sat on her chair for another 4 to 5 seconds, thinking, deliberating, then finally, unable to stand the silence anymore, she got up,
“O-oh, alright, I get it, okay! If you want this Uva thing so badly, I’ll go buy some! T-this is not me showing sympathy for you, not at all! N-nope, no special… f-f-f-f-feelings at all…!” Shiba spilled all at once, even closing her eyes in the middle of it and steaming like a kettle. She got changed lightning fast, and bolted out of the house as if possessed.
“Careful not to slip in the snow.” I casually warned her from a window I opened to see her off.
“Y-you don’t need to tell me! I’ll be back right away, so you sit down and wait!” delivering the line with a sidelong glance, Shiba deftly ran off.
“About time, I start…”
I began putting my plan to action only after I couldn’t see Shiba in the distance anymore. I took the wire that I bought at the hardware store out of my briefcase and put it in my pocket. I carried the briefcase with me as I began walking.
I believe it should be obvious by now, but my reason to visit Shiba’s home because I wanted to eat her freshly baked treats, is but a front. My real motive is investigating Shiba, as I believe that the unusual events happening around me as of late may be her doing. I can’t be sure if she’s the culprit as I have no real evidence, but I strongly feel than I’m missing a crucial something. Frankly, my curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn’t help but attempt to uncover this something.
“They say, Curiosity Killed the Cat, but well… I can only pray it doesn’t happen to me.” I spoke to the air while scrutinizing Shiba’s home.
A few minutes passed. I had found Shiba’s room. It was, unsurprisingly, locked shut.
“No choice then… I’m sorry, Shiba…” I listened for any sign of Shiba coming home, and bearing my pangs of guilt, I started the lockpicking process with my wire. Right, I have enough practice with padlocks that I could unlock them in under 3 minutes… but there’s no telling how long this one will take.
clink
clink clink
clink clink clink
click!
… Door lock status: unlocked. That took me around 10 minutes… Maybe I should consider myself lucky it wasn’t a more complex lock.
“No going back at this point. If my hunch turns up wrong after all, I will put my heart and soul into the apology dogeza for Shiba.”
I listened again for signs of her arrival, and slowly, slowly, opened the door to her personal room.
“Wha… … … …!”
Everywhere. Photos of me, photos taken without my knowledge or awareness were plastered all over the interior of Shiba’s room. On the walls, on the ceiling, on her desk, on her cabinet, and even spread over the majority of the floor were photos of me.
And, that wasn’t even everything. Looking closer, I found that many of my personal effects, my underwear, my toothbrush, a pen, a handkerchief, things that had gone missing or things that I considered stolen were all there, displayed within a glass showcase in the corner of the room, as if they were pieces of art.
“.... Haah,” I quickly exhaled, “so it wasn’t my imagination after all. Very regretful.”
This is looking very bad. Shiba clearly has the same condition as pre-girlfriend Botan-chan. No, her symptoms may have gotten worse. I need to formulate a plan to deal with this, and fast. thoughts passed in quick succession as I made a swift retreat from this…
“So. You entered my room without permission. That isn’t very nice…”
“... …!!??” The severely sudden chill along my spine was due to none other than the fact that I knew that it was Shiba behind me. Then, I received a numbing blow to the head. No… why… why here… She’s… just like…
“Aww, he found out. Oh well, I’ll just have to expedite my plan to compensate…” I heard Shiba say as I received a second blow to the head, this one sending me into a dark place.
“Ng…” I groaned, “… W-where am I…”
I opened my eyes to cold, moldy concrete. I blinked hard a few times, then looked around. I was in a room, likely a basement, with concrete walls and floor. At a corner of the room, I could see a storage chest, and at the opposite corner, there was a dilapidated red door.
“Ugh...uh…” Not long after I started looking around, a severe pain assailed my head. I was about to reach for my aching head with a hand, when I heard a dull clank.
“!?” Alarmed, I realized that I could only move my hand slightly before it caught. Hastily looking down, I saw that my wrists were tightly bound. Further down, I saw that my legs as well were bound with the sort of thick chains you see on large dogs. Try as I might, I could only jostle my limbs within their restraints.
“Wh… …” In my fear, I couldn’t form words. Which is when, with a loud click of a door being unlocked, the cold, red door at the corner slowly opened to reveal Shiba.
“Y-you’re awake.” She said, eyeing me like a prime cut of steak. I sensed an intense, lewdness in her eyes, but I can ignore that. I feigned calmness and talked to her.
“Shiba. I have 3 questions. Could you please answer them?”
Shiba nodded, the sloppy grin still covering her face.
“Thank you. Right, so 1. Where am I?, 2. What is the current date? and 3. Why did you do this, and do you plan on releasing me? That is all. I hope you can answer me honestly.”
Shiba lightly chuckled at that. “You know… that was 4 questions, not 3… well, fine. First, about where we are. This is the basement of a hospital where my dad used to work. Ah, this place was closed down a while back though. It took us around an hour? Yes, and hour, to get here by car. I called in a friend to help carry you here.”
An hour by car, meaning that it’s at least 50 km away from her house.
“And, as for the day, it’s the 7th of February, 2008. You’ve been unconscious for 2 days or so. So, about that question 3…”
The air around Shiba underwent an instant transformation. Her eyes looked at me like those of a carnivore eyeing its prey. Her pitch black, almost palpable desire was concentrated on my existence.
“Do you… Wataru, do you like me?” Shiba walked up to me and gently stroked the left side of my face. “I, love you, Wataru. I wanted to be with you ever since we met for the 2nd time in your classroom. I just couldn’t stop thinking about you after you saved me. But well, I didn’t have the courage to come out and say it back then. I’m always so shy, I keep deflecting, it’s really no good. I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I started taking your things. With things, I could be with you all the time without feeling embarrassed. But now, I’m done doing that. I’ve stopped being a coward. I can say it to your face, that I love you, Wataru. So, um, do you love me?”
“I… yes, I love you too, Shiba.”
“Is that, as a friend? Or as a girl?” Shiba gave me something like an ultimatum, to which I responded immediately, and with utmost honesty and heart.
“Both. I love you as a friend and as a girl.”
Once I said as much, the violent intensity emanating from Shiba settled down. She put on a much gentler smile. “That’s perfect. I’ll now answer your 3rd question. I am doing this because I love you. Because I want to make a world with only me and you. And to have that, naturally,”
I can’t let you leave, Wataru.
I’ll bring you dinner a bit later, Shiba said from the red door, and then left.
I suppose now’s a good time as any to figure out a way out of here.
Oof, that was a slog. I guess I'm picking this up. Releases are irregular (which is the case for all my series at this point). This is the only two parter in the series by the way. And this series has a lot of author hiatus. (chapter 15 came out a month ago after a year and a half of wait).Looking for an editor/proofreader for this. If you're interested and think you can get the wording better, find me on discord (link below).
Here's to hoping this small series can get some love!