Chapter 3
"Thank you for teaching me."
Mahiru’s birthday and the day after that, she’d taken a day off from her shift, and since they hadn’t been going to work quite at the same time, it ended up being later than the day they’d planned, but Amane, who’d arrived at the workplace first, bowed his head to Miyamoto, who was getting ready.
I’d learned a lot from Mahiru, but thankfully, my predecessor, Miyamoto, had also been watching my studies in my spare time. She’d taught me a different way of looking at things from Mahil’s perspective, and she’d been so strict with me that the contents of my studies were often etched into my mind.
“Oh, good work. It was a test run, wasn't it? How was it?”
“I got good grades without incident.”
“I'm glad it came to fruition even a little. To be honest, Fujimiya is quick to understand, so I don't think I had to teach her.”
“That's not true. It's all thanks to you, Miyamoto-san."
It was thanks to their cooperation that I was able to maintain my grades, so I couldn't hold a candle to them. Even though there was no return on Miyamoto, she was still hanging out with me like this, so much so that I almost doubted she had any ulterior motive for taking care of me.
In reality, it was something like, "If you do make-up exams or something, it’ll mess up my schedule, and I've been cleaning up Rina’s mess up until now, so teaching her isn’t particularly painful, so if d be faster to take the time to do it first.”
Souji had told her that although she could see a little bit of his embarrassment, pointing that out would put her in a bad mood, so Amane silently accepted her kindness and hoped that he could repay her someday.
“Is your girlfriend really smart?"
A grin appeared on Miyamoto’s fece, as if she’d guessed just from the phrase "thanks," but in response, Amane simply smiled and replied, 'That’s enough."
“That smile must be really nice. You two look like an honor student couple.”
"An honor student., or at least, I think he's on the good side. He's been preparing for his entrance exams since first year”
'Yeah, Fujimiya doesn't seem to be joking around at school either. She's completely different from me."
"Miyamoto-san doesn't seem like the type to joke around, though."
Miyamoto told him to make fun of her himself, but from the periphery ofthings, he didn’t seem like the type to make a fool of himself at school.
It’s true that he’s light on the outside, a breezy modern-day type, and his tone is aloof, but the person in question is more ofa heavy-duty type, so I'm calmed down by his reputation as a serious p erson with a caring side.
“Well, I was smart, but I was an idiot. No, I'm still stupid. I didn’t run off to delinquents or get yelled at by teachers, but that was a j oke.”
"Yeah.."
"It pisses me off that you're agreeing to that”
“I'm sorry. I wasn't making fun of you. It's just that you seemed to be good at drawing the line, so you enjoyed your youth without having to worry about your future."
As I watched Miyamoto, I had a vague idea that she would have been able to play in moderation while living a normal life within the school, to the extent that it didn't affect her inner monologue, but Amane had no idea what was actually going on.
The only people who knew Miyamoto in high school were her own self and, according to her, Ohashi, who was inseparable.
“Well, spring didn't come to Daichi."
Amane shuddered a little, feeling like a fissure had opened in Miyamoto’s expression because Ohashi had popped out from behind the scenes and laughed “nishishi" teasingly.
It must have been my imagination that I heard the words “Whose fault is that?”
“I don't want to hear that from you, Haru.”
“A sore loser?"
“I'll do my best”
“I'm so scared.”
Whether she sensed Miyamoto’s pressure or had gotten used to it and ignored it, Ohashi trembled theatrically with the same charming smile as always, and she let out a grand sigh.
I can't say “My condolences” to the person in question, so I remain silent and try not to provoke her any further. Amane tightens his apron as quietly as possible.
“Come to think of it, I checked the shift schedule, but Fujimiya doesn't have shifts around Christmas after all, right?”
As the customers left and closed up shop, Miyamoto suddenly remembered something and called out to them.
As fellow part-timers, it didn’t feel like a good idea not to shift during Christmas, the busy season of restaurants, Amane immediately thought, and apologized with an “I'm sorry." On the other hand, Miyamoto’s face showed an apologetic look that said, “No, that’s notit."
“No, I'm not blaming you. I mean, I can't just ignore you when you have a girlfriend. It's a good thing you two seem to get along. Well, it seems like Kayano's going in."
“Huh?"
I freeze up at the unexpected information,
It wasn’t like my shifts overlapped with Souji's every time, nor did I go out of my way to talk about Christmas. I hadn’t talked about that sort of thing at school with Ayaka either, but Amane had calmed down to the expectation that I'd naturally spend time with her.
That couldn't be it. She's going to work.
It might not be a problem for Souji, who had a rather indifferent disposition, but Ayaka wondered if that was a good idea.. Even though it was someone else, she thought it was meddling, but the words Miyamoto continued made her lose focus.
"Apparently, the person in charge of customer service wears Santa-style clothes for Christmas that day. They're coming to see that.”
"Ah.. Well, I don't think I can see your muscles."
I understood why she wanted to see her boyfriend in his costume, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was fer from Ayaka's taste buds. I knewthat Santa outfits weren't meant to assert muscle, so I couldn’t imagine how he felt at all.
"Ah, so your girlfriend has a muscle fetish, huh? I've seen that habit a few times."
“I don't think you can judge people by their appearance, though."
“You're right. Even though Daichi and the others look ridiculous, their contents aren't as flashy as I thought."
"Are you trying to pick a fight?"
“Calm down, calm down, I think you're praising me.”
It was a headache for Amane to step in to mediate, wondering why this person was the type to add fuel to the fire one by one, but both Ohashi and Miyamoto seemed to be the type who threw themselves into their bodies without restraint, and they often fought in places where customers couldn't hear them.
Honestly, he thought there was a problem with the Ohashi side, who generally made insensitive remarks first, but since this seemed to be the distance between them, Amane couldn't say anything else.
As I soothe the sparks that tend to fly and put out the fire, I remember Souji, who isn't here today, and put Santa's clothes on in my brain...but I don't know where Ayaka would be happy about that, so I tilt my head.
Deciding that each person had their own preferences, Amane sent a wry smile at Miyamoto, who still had a slightly dangerous air about him.
“Well, cosplaying as your boyfriend., is probably something you want to see. My girlfriend likes to see it too.”
“Could it be that Fujimiya's girlfriend has a fetish too?”
“No., probably not. Probably not”
There shouldn't be any so fer.
No, it seems like she's been influenced by Ayaka a little, but I don't think we've reached the point where it's a habit yet
Hopefully, he wanted Mahiru to stay the way she was, but on the other hand, he was happy to have more things he could say he liked, so Amane couldn’t say anything.
“Well, right now, if I had to say, I’m a fetishist..?”
This was probably the closest one.
Since he already loved the very existence of Amane, Amane’s perception was that he didn’t like any ofthe details the most at the moment, but rather that he liked them because they were Amane.
Mahiru certainly liked Amane’s muscles, but she didn’t seem the least bit interested in other people's bodies, so it was probably just because she liked Amane himselfthat she liked each and every one of those elements.
“Wow, you sure are loved, Fujimiya-chan."
“You should love her wholeheartedly too.”
“How long have I been on the move? It’s just that I’m easy to heat up and cool down.”
“Isn’t that a problem too?"
"Now, now. People have their own ideas. It’s fine as long as they end their relationship so that they don’t rot away, right?”
Ohashi was apparently so easy to fell in love with that he called himself a woman with a lot of love, but it seemed that simultaneous progression was neither ethical nor sensible, so that was the one part o f me that was grateful and kind to my stomach.
That aside, theblowto Miyamoto, who didn’t hate Ohashi, was so bad that it made my stomach ache in a different way, but the only ones who didn’t notice were the people in question.
“I don’t know if I should call it that, but when I see this guy’s irresponsible side, I feel like most guys are saying he’s different from what I thought he was."
“How rude! That’s just a few people!"
"There was, wasn't there?"
“I don't intend to hide it in the first place. It's always natural.”
Oohashi puffs out her chest and doesn’t hide her confident fece. To put it mildly, she’s extremely beautiful, cheerful, and lively. She’s a personable woman and definitely the type to be popular.
It’s just that the deeper they go, the more likely a different phenomenon will occur from what he expected, Amane thought from where he’d taken a step back.
If Miyamoto didn’t care about him, there were somethings he’d get off with pretty easily, and there were a fewthings he hadn’t, and ifthe person he was dating recognized Ohashi as a solid person, they'd definitely turn the image upside down.
"Well, there aren’t many people as open-minded as you.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Now, now. It’s just two sides ofthe same coin.”
In other words, it’s very important, I thought solemnly as I glanced at the shift schedule posted on the inside ofthe counter and realized that, like Amane, Ohoashi had no plans to go to work for Christmas.
"Oh, Oohashi-san doesn’t have a Christmas shift”
"Yeah, I got a boyfriend."
“..I see."
I didn't know what to say to our relationship so soon, so I couldn't help but let my gaze slide to Miyamoto, but he didn’t seem the least bit shaken, perhaps because he was used to it. In fact, he let out a single deep sigh, as if to say again.
I'm sure it's not a mistake to feel like she's staring off into the distance.
“Well, this guy's got a good face."
"What else? It’s as if you're telling me not to.”
"At the very least, your head wasn't good enough, and you're looking at men. You're an idiot who only looks at the surface."
"It’s rude in every direction!”
“I only have one eyelash to breakup with before Christmas.”
“Even if it’s a bet, isn't that way too low? What's the value of Daichi's eyelashes in the first place?”
“You're so transparent that you can't even find any value in betting you idiot”
“That's terrible! What do you think, Fujimiya-chan?”
“I don't know about Oohashi-san's relationships or lifestyle, so I have no comment"
Since they do not want to start a fire, it is good luck to leave for a reasonable reason.
“I can't make a bet”
"We don't even have to bet on it in the first place. It'll last until Christmas.”
"Remember what Fujimiya and Rino said. They'll probably come crying to you. That's what happened last year.”
“I'm no longer the same person I was back then."
“I don't knowi'
“..You two are so close.”
I wasn’t sure if it was okay to describe this as friendly, but there was a certain kind of synchrony, so I decided not to dig too deep and spoke lightly, then quickly moved away from the two of them so as not to get in their way on the grounds that I was washing the cloth.
"Miyamoto-san, you'll probably get rejected if you don’t soften up a little more. If you talk in a strong tone, Ohashi-san’s personality will say that no matter how right you are, you will get angry with her."
“..I know.”
Ohashi was b eing so overbearing that, as exp ected, when I saw an opening for Ohaishi to pull away and told Miyamoto in secret, she nodded in a low voice at my sour fece.
“Just so you know, Mahiru, you’re not interested in my Santa outfit."
“Huh?”
After dinner after returning home, Mahiru looked at the cover of a magazine with a special Christmas feature on it, which she’d probably brought with her on the low table, and suddenly remembered to ask a question.
As she’d applied ahead of time, she had no plans to go to work for Christmas, so Amane wouldn't be wearing Santa clothes, but as a woman like Ayaka, he asked ifthere was any demand for his boyfriend's Santa outfit.but Mahiru gave him a more likeable look than he’d expected, or rather, a glint in her eyes that would normally be hard to imagine.
I was painfully aware that there was no telling what fit my tastes.
“Why are you looking at me with such interest?”
"No, I like any form you take, so I’d love to see it.”
"I have no intention of wearing it."
'Yes..”
Seeing Mahiru’s shoulders slump so visibly makes me want to do something for her, but I don't have any plans to buy or wear a costume in particular, so I'd like her to put up with this.
In exchange for not wearing Santa clothes, I’m going to do at least one Santa-like thing.
"Don’t be so dejected. It seems like the person in charge of customer service will be wearing Santa clothes fortwo days at work. It looks like Kido’s goingto see Kayano for that purpose."
“..You have a part-time job on Christmas, don’t you, Kayano?”
“Didn’t Kido say anything?"
"I haven’t heard anything in particular. She didn't seem disappointed."
“Well, as long as you two are satisfied, I think it's fine."
"Come to think ofit, on the other hand, Kido-san was smiling."
"Ah.. She must be looking forward to seeing Kayano work."
Souji had no resistance to the costume, or rather, it seemed like he wouldn’t choose to go to work ifthere was any resistance, so they’d probably both decided that was fine.
Ayaka didn’t get angry when she had a part-time j ob on Christmas, and if anything, she seemed to have quite a lot of trust in Souji when she went to look forward to it. There was a theory that Ayaka had asked her to wear a Santa costume when she heard about it from Fumika, but the truth was in the dark.
Whatever the case, good friends are good things, Amane nodded, but noticing Mahiru’s lack of reaction, he focused his field of vision on her and belatedly realized she was looking up at him as if she wanted to say something.
“What’s wrong?”
“..I was just thinking about how nice you are, Kido-san."
“Okay?”
“Umm, I was wondering when you’d show me that you’re working."
"..P-Please wait a little longer.”
She wasn’t angry atme for making her wait after all, but she must have been feeling impatient and anxious. That's where we talked about Ayaka, which meant that the calming impulses had started moving inside Mahiru again.
Honestly, it was because Amane was on the verge of stopping Mahiru from doing what she
should do freely, so she was well aware that she couldn’t blame him for feeling dissatisfied “I'll wait until you get used to it, but I still can't wait, or rather, I've been entrusted with it.”
"I think I'll be used to it by next year. I'm calling for a time when there aren't many people." “Ifyou wait too long, 111 miss you.”
“I'm really sorry. Please wait until I'm a full-fledged member... even if it's impossible.’’
“I'm good at waiting, so it's fine, but can I give you a condition?”
“..Conditions."
“It's not that big of a deal. Umm, I wanted you to show me a picture of you working. I haven't seen you wearing your uniform, and I want to see you look wonderful too.”
Mahiru didn’t want to be held back for too long either, so she dropped one of her modest pleas on Amane.
I understood Mahiru’s idea that if going to see it wasn’t goodenough.it would be acceptable to cut out a moment when she was actually working, and it wasn't like Amane was used to it, so if he cut out one, it wouldn’t be a problem.
It raised the question of whether she really wanted to see it that badly, but I could understand why Mahiru would want to show it to her if she caught the information that, for example, she was wearing cute clothes just in front of Chitóse.
As such, if I agreed with her in two words, saying that it would make her less dissatisfied and frustrated, her expression brightened in an easy-to-understand way, so she seemed to want to see it a lot.
I can't deny that she's still wearing her uniform,but I wonder ifthat's okay. But Mahiru's in a good mood, so it's probably fine if Mahirou's satisfied.
Laughing a little at the mood mode oozing just in front of Amane, she gently took Mahiru's hand as she brought her head close to his upper arm and snuggled up to him.
“It’s fine, since you took off your Christmas shift without incident. But don't you hate having a shift until the day before that?"
I'm extremely sorry for interrupting her good mood, but I have to check.
In exchange for snatching away the Christmas holiday, I had a lot of shifts before Christmas, and I'd be working consecutively starting the day after Christmas. I'm going to work in the morning after Christmas, so I'll probably be going home in the evening, but even so, there’s no doubt that Mahiru would be left alone.
As her girlfriend, I asked her i f she was okay with that, but Mahiru showed no sign of agonizing over it and quickly shook her head.
“It’s your decision, Amane-kun, so I won’t object."
“That's not what I meant. I thought you might not like it. It's true that I'm making you feel lonely."
“I think you're looking down on me a little, Amane-kun.’’
“Mikku..”
As Amane was at a loss for words as outrageous words flew at him, Mahiru showed Amane her calm eyes and calm, quiet smile.
“It's true that it's lonely, and I've been wondering if you'll come back soon. I want you to stay by my side forever, and we want to spend more time together;’
“A part-time job, after all.”
“But I don't mind restricting you, Amane-kun. I understand why you want to prioritize me. I want to put you first too."
Our overlapping fingers gently caress the palm of Amane's hand.
“Shuu-kun, you see, I don't want to become a heavy stone.”
“Heavy stones? I don't think so."
“It's my understanding. Ifyou prioritize me too much, I won't be able to tolerate myself." “..Even if I say it's okay?"
“That would mean that Amane-kun has given up. I don't want to make him shave off his body for my sake, or make him endure what he wants to do. I want to be on equal footing with you, and I don’t think it's healthy for one of us to continue prioritizing the other;’
I shook my head gently, and the flaxen-colored river rippled as if it had gained momentum. From Mahiru’s eyes, she could see something like affection and a faint sense of disappointment—probably directed not at Amane, but at herself—floating in her mind for a moment before sinking deep into the depths.
“My feelings are my feelings. My feelings of loneliness are mine as well. It's true that I want you to stay by my side, but I don't want to force you to dispel them, and it would be disillusioning for me to prioritize you by interrupting what you want to do.”
“Mahiru...”
“You're working part-time because you clearly have something you want to do, right?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded without hesitation at Mahiru’s words.
Amane desperately wanted to fulfill the promise and goal he had imposed on himself, and he started working part-time for that purpose. This wasn't for Mahiru's sake, it was for his own sake. Even if he made a mistake, he couldn't make excuses like that because he was doing it for her.
It was an action she had started because she wanted to do this, and there was no regret or shame in her motives. Mahiru understood Amane's intentions and was watching over him.
“It's impossible for me to interrupt your actions because of those feelings.”
Mahiru spoke clearly, as if cutting offthe apology for Mahilu that Amane held for her, and suddenly let out a small smile as i f she was letting her guard down.
“It would be one thing ifyou were to make light of me, but Amane-kun respects me and cherishes me, so he spends a portion of his time with me. I've never been dissatisfied with that, and I don't think I should devote all my time to him. In feet, I'm glad that he wants to do it so badly.”
Amane-kun’s brows drooped as he said, 'You tend to look down on yourself because you value me too much.” His expression tinged with slight exasperation and joy, as if he was saying, ‘Oh well, I guess I have no choice;
“I may be more selfish than you think, Amane-kun, but I have no intention of neglecting your feelings. You and I are different people. No matter howmuch we love each other, ourthoughts are different. It would be impossible for us to have all our actions, values, and everything else together.”
“Yeah.”
“On top of that, it's important for us to be able to spend time together, so there's no way I'm going to tell you to give in. ..I want to live at the same pace as you, Amane-kun."
With that concluded, Mahiru sighed, tickling the palm of Amane’s hand with her fingertips. “In the first place, I think you'll die of self-loathing the day you coerce me to prioritize you. It's up to you to think you want it, but ifyou push it on me, when did you become such a selfish, narrow-minded person who wants to control people and move them however you want? I won't be able to forgive you.”
That didn’t feel bad because she felt loved in its own way, but from Mahiru’s point ofview, it seemed out ofthe question, and she shuddered as if imagining it
It was certainly unthinkable from Mahiru’s stance, but considering that Mahilu had been able to push her own will forward enough to say such selfish things, Amane didn’t think it was something to be cut off from
Maybe it was because he’d seen Mahiru until now that Amane was the only one for her that he felt that way.
She had endured too much of everything.
“So you don't have to worry about it. Seeing you work so hard for something makes me think you're cool and wonderful."
“..It's pathetic of me to make you say this much.”
"Why are you getting depressed there? Geez."
She said she was good at waiting, but Amane, who knew the past, understood better than anyone why she had gotten used to doing that, so he bit down on his lip. However, he knew that denying Mahiru's choice to be like her would make him look down on her, so Amane simply accepted her outstretched hand.
I don't know which of us is trying to reassure her, but I'm sure the answer is mutual.
Her slender arms yearn for Amane's body. Amane gladly accepts them, and then envelops the slender limbs that came rolling in, seeking them themselves.
"Instead, when we're together like this, I do my best to be selfish and spoiled. Is that okay?” “There's noway I can't ..If anything, you can rely on me more, and you can beg me. I want to hearmore of Mahiru's pleas."
“You're right. ..You can warm me up a little more, you know?”
Mahiru, in my arms, looked up at me with a mischievous smile.
“As you wish.”
Mahiru gulped and rubbed her cheeks against Amane’s chest in a good mood, then leaned in close to Amane as if fawning over him for the first time and mixed in the warmth.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t think ab out the softness of touching his body and easily changing its shape, but more importantly, his affection for Mahiru, who was leaning against him and getting as much enerev from the circumference as he could, and his smile were stronger.
Mahiru swallowed ticklishly as Amane gently scratched at her frail yet powerful limbs, trying to give her as much warmth as he could, to share with her.
"Hehe, it's warm. ...It’s so full of you, Amane-kun."
"Is it enough?"
"Don’t worry.. I’ll charge a lot while I still can."
"I’ll make sure you can charge it frequently."
"Please keep it within reasonable limits. ..I’m sure Amane-kun needs to recharge, too."
Mahiru, who was fawning over him in the present progressive tense, said firmly this time, "If you get tired, you'll have to rely on him properly." I couldn't stand that chigugusa for some reason, so I shook my back from the laughter, and Mahirou laughed funny, as if he'd gotten caught up in it too.
"Oh, there’s something I’d like to ask of you, Miyamoto-san."
It went without saying that Mahiru had fulfilled her promise properly during the next shift to fill one of her lonelinesss.
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