The Neighboring Aarya-san who Sometimes Acts Affectionate and Murmuring in Russian - Volume 4 - Chapter 2.1

CHAPTER 2

Otaku are so annoying.

The jaunty jingles playing from the attractions meshed with the roaring echoes of the roller coasters sliding across the rails as the three students, in somewhat high spirits for a change, walked through the amusement park. None of them really had much experience with amusement parks, especially Yuki, whose idea it was to come here today, so her sparkling eyes were darting in each and every direction.

“It feels like forever since we last came to an amusement park together. I think the last time we were here was during sixth-grade summer vacation, right?”

“Yeah, it was when we were staying at Grandpa and Grandma’s house and they took us.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember us being so excited and getting soaked by the huge splash from that log-flume ride.” Yuki repeatedly nodded, grinning as though to say, “We were so young back then.”

“You seem to be misremembering things, so let me refresh your memory. You got a little too excited, and you alone decided to jump into the splash,” Masachika pointed out while rolling his eyes, and Yuki’s smile froze. He wasn’t going to let her try to rewrite history and get away with it. The log-flume ride at the amusement park in their memories was made so you could stand on a small bridge, which hung over the attraction’s landing pool, and get splashed head-on by the impact when the wood log crashed into said pool. Of course, the center of the bridge had a clear dome-like shield to keep people from getting wet, but Yuki, for some unknown reason, had leaped out into the open the moment the log hit the water. It was such a powerful splash that Masachika was overcome with panic and thought, Yuki’s going to get hurt, before immediately jumping out to protect her. That was what really happened.

“Even my underwear and socks got soaked thanks to you.”

“…”

“And Grandpa and Grandma were worried we’d catch a cold, so we had to leave early even though it was still barely past noon and—”

“Shut yer mouth, or I’m gonna kiss ya,” Yuki threatened with a thuggish tone, lowering her sunglasses and knitting her brow.

“…?!”

Masachika reflexively grabbed the back of his neck after being reminded about the pain he’d suffered this morning.

“Why the hell are ya covering yer neck?”

“Place a hand on your heart and ask yourself why.”

“A hand on my heart…? Oops. I forgot to wear a bra.”

“What is wrong with you?!”

“Ha-ha. I’m kidding. Look.”

Yuki leaned forward, pulling down the collar of her shirt to show him her bra.

“Don’t show me!”

After he waved his hands in a disgusted manner while looking away, Yuki pouted, shrugging, then adjusted her sunglasses and looked to the nearby building to collect herself.

“Oh, is that the haunted house?”

“Sure looks that way. At least, I hope it is with all that blood.”

Splattered blood decorated the outer walls of the run-down shack. The atmosphere was perfect for a haunted house…but there was one thing that Yuki didn’t seem to care for.

“It looks like something you’d see in some cheap free horror game online.”

“How can it be cheap if it’s free?”

“…I’ll be damned. You’re a genius, bro.”

“There’s nothing ‘genius’ about that.”

He glared back at his sister, who seemed to be bursting with admiration. Ayano was air. Yuki seemed to lose interest in the haunted house after that and turned her attention toward the dome-shaped building in the opposite direction.

“Hey, look. An arcade.”

“Oh, cool. I had no idea they had an arcade like this inside the amusement park.”

“I’ve actually never even been to one.”

Intriguing, cheerful electronic noises spilled out, and Yuki’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Masachika then began to stroke his chin like a scholar.

“An arcade, huh… I haven’t been to one in a while, either, now that I think about it.”

“What? Did you used to go a lot or something?”

“I did when I was living with Grandpa. But, well…I ended up getting banned from most of the ones in the area, so I stopped going.”

“The hell did you do?”

She looked up at him sternly, and his eyes wandered as he retraced his memories.

“Uh… Well, I played all the games that show the high scores at the end until my name was the only name displayed on the screens…”

“The owners obviously thought you were cheating.”

“And I used whatever method necessary to snatch every last prize in the claw machines.”

“You knocked over the pedestals holding the prizes, didn’t you?”

“And once I got all the prizes, I tried to grab some of those glittering stones at the bottom as well.”

“Who wastes their time doing that?”

“And before I knew it, I was banned from every single arcade.”

“Reasonable.”

Masachika shrugged at his sister’s disgusted glare. After all, he’d been somewhat of a delinquent back when he was in elementary school, so being banned from the arcades was par for the course. He would sometimes get into fights, he’d left his asthmatic sister as if she was a nuisance while he moved in with his paternal grandparents, and he’d been depressed. That was why he wasted his days away at the arcade and mastered games he didn’t even like. It was around this time that he put his more passive self behind and began to do things that went against what his mother and her father taught him just to spite them.

I only started to settle down once I met that girl.

Suddenly, Yuki grabbed him by the hand and pointed ahead.

“Let’s ride that! You can show us your arcade skills later!”

Just ahead stood a roller coaster with its rails violently curving in every direction and a sign with the words Biggest Drop in Japan! in bold.

“Don’t you think we should work our way up to that? I mean, that roller coaster’s apparently the most intense attraction they’ve got here.”

“Brooo, don’t tell me you’re scared?”

“I’ve never been on a roller coaster, so I don’t even know what they’re like.”

“Don’t worry. Neither have I.”

“I sometimes wonder where that courage of yours comes from… What about you, Ayano?”

“Lady Yuki’s wishes are my own. Wherever she goes, I go.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that…”

Resigned, he shrugged and prepared himself for the worst as Yuki guided them to the queue for the roller coaster.

“Oh? Yuki, check it out. It says you have to be a hundred forty centimeters tall to ride. Looks like you’re out of luck.”

“I’m not that small!”

“Hmm? Hey now, stop stretching your back to make yourself look taller.”

“I’m not! Look! It’s not even debatable! I’m more than tall enough!”

She rushed over to the human-shaped cardboard cutout that said You must be this tall to ride, then stood in front of it in a desperate attempt to show she was tall enough. She ended up, in fact, being around a fist taller than the cutout. And yet…

“Yuki, stop standing on your toes,” he reprimanded gently.

“I’m not!”

“Ha-ha-ha! Wearing platform shoes with soles that thick is dangerous, you know?”

“They’re sneakers!”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, come on. Let’s go.”

“You better walk. You’re lucky I didn’t smack you.”

With a forced smile, Yuki chased after her brother, who had walked on ahead with a soft smile while a couple and their child nearby watched the siblings warmly. They apparently thought that Masachika was Yuki’s much older brother. Little did they know that they were actually in the same grade at school and were less than one year apart in age. Incidentally, the couple didn’t even notice Ayano…despite the fact that she was standing right behind Yuki. What incredible air she was.

“May I have your attention! Please place your belongings inside the locker here,” a female ride operator announced after they’d moved farther along the line. Hanging above the lockers was a list of illustrations displaying what couldn’t be brought onto the roller coaster.

“Makes sense. They’d have to shut down the entire ride if you dropped something, after all.”

“Hmm… Phone, wallet…”

“Don’t forget your hat and sunglasses.”

“Oh, right.”

After placing their bags and the items they had in their pockets into the lockers, they pulled the locker keys, which had wristbands attached to them, out of the keyholes and put them on.

“Oh, excuse me? Do you think you could undo your ponytail so you can lean your head firmly against your seat?”

“…?!”

Ayano’s shoulders jumped the moment the ride operator spoke to her. She looked at the woman with her eyes so wide that they almost fell out.

“No, Ayano. She doesn’t have a sixth sense, so stop looking at her like, ‘Y-you can see me?!’ You’re not a ghost, you know?” Masachika sighed while Ayano untied her ponytail.

Well, there goes most of her disguise… Not like it matters, though.

He thought that as he waited until it was their turn to get on.

“Wow. The very front…”

“Looks like we’re starting at the climax. Heh.”

Masachika tensed when the ride operator guided them to the four seats at the front of the roller coaster. Although Yuki was trying to act excited to hide her nervousness, her rigid facial expression told a different story.

“Enjoy the ride,” the ride operator wished cheerfully before the roller coaster began to move. The cart rattled as it slowly turned, then climbed up the track.

“Oh, neat… What a beautiful sky…”

“Masachika, look. ♪ The swing carousel looks so tiny from up here. ♪”

“…”

They chatted idly, letting their mouths say whatever randomly came to mind whether they meant what they said or not…until the roller coaster finally reached the top, and the head cart stopped right as it was hanging over the slope down.

“What? Don’t stop here—”

The roller coaster instantaneously shot down the steep slope before Masachika could even finish his sentence.

“Whoaaaaaa?!”

“Ahhhhhh?!”

“…”

The siblings’ screams were filled with fear and astonishment before they were swept away by the wind. After the nonstop drop to the bottom, the roller coaster then suddenly made a sharp turn.

“Gaaaaaah?!”

“Eeeeeek?!”

“…”

It felt as though their organs were rapidly bouncing around in their bodies, and a lateral gust of wind abruptly smacked their cheeks. But it wasn’t long before the siblings’ screams gradually transformed into squeals of joy.

“Yaaahoooooo!”

“Yaaaaaay!”

“…”

The two siblings firmly grasped the bar holding their bodies in place, then leaned as far forward as they could to joyfully shout. They were now thoroughly enjoying every bit of this ride. But the excitement didn’t last forever. The roller coaster eventually began to slow with a rattle and return to the boarding platform. The siblings looked at each other, excitedly sputtering their thoughts.

“Wow, I had no idea roller coasters were that fun!”

“Right?! I got such an adrenaline rush from that thing! I definitely wouldn’t mind doing that again!”

“Same here! But I really doubt we’re going to get to ride at the very front again…”

After gushing about it with Yuki, he turned to check in with Ayano.

“What about you, Aya…no…?”

But she continued to face forward with a blank expression without even acknowledging Masachika until…a single tear ran down her right cheek.

“She’s crying like a celebrity actress?!”

“I’m so sorry, Ayano! Were you scared?!”

Tears flowed down her cheeks while her expression remained still as a portrait, making the siblings panic. They tried getting her attention, but she just continued to face forward without moving even an inch. It wasn’t long before the roller coaster returned to the platform and the safety bars automatically rose.

“…”

But Ayano didn’t stand. Although they didn’t notice a moment ago because the roller coaster was still rocking, Ayano was actually trembling. Furthermore, it’d apparently been scary to the point where she couldn’t stop shaking, so Masachika ended up essentially carrying her out of her seat. The siblings then each took a shoulder and walked her toward the exit.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes, I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“I had no idea it would be that terrifying for you. I’m really sorry for making you do that.”

“You do not have to apologize for my spinelessness.”

“I don’t think this has anything to do with your spine…”

Masachika sighed at Ayano’s overly serious judgment. Once he saw the lockers up ahead, he let her hand go. But when they reached out to grab their belongings…

“Ah.”

…a familiar voice could be heard nearby, so Masachika and Yuki reflexively turned around and found, of all people, Nonoa—dressed casually (she had her hair in half-up pigtails) and looking unmotivated, as usual.

“Nonoa? What’s wro—?”

And standing next to her…was Sayaka, who was also dressed casually. When she noticed Masachika and Yuki there, she looked stunned. Unfortunately, Yuki’s disguise, which had been prepared for a moment just like this, was still stuffed inside her locker.

“Huh…? Yuki and Masachika? Hey…?”

“H-hey.”

“Hello… What a coincidence running into you here, Sayaka.”

They greeted her back despite feeling shaken by the unexpected encounter. Sayaka may have not said anything to Ayano, but that was perhaps due to her being solely focused on the siblings…or perhaps it was because Ayano had become air again.

“Um…”

Obviously flustered, Sayaka swiftly shifted her gaze toward her surroundings. Maybe it was a gut feeling, but Masachika mysteriously knew she was looking for something—no, for someone, and the instant he came to that conclusion, he was overcome with a sense of dread and whispered to Yuki:

“Hey?! What are we going to do?!”

“RIP our amusement-park adventure.”

“This isn’t a joke!”

During their hushed exchange, Sayaka realized that a certain silver-haired maiden was nowhere in sight…and her expression became devoid of all emotion. As she lowered her gaze, a light suddenly reflected off her glasses, hiding her eyes from them while an ominous aura suddenly began to emit from her body. Neither Masachika nor Yuki could immediately move. Ayano was air, naturally.

“…I see,” Sayaka muttered, as if she had come to some sort of conclusion, before swiftly lifting her chin. There was a chilling light in her eyes…and it was evident that she was about to have a fit. Nonoa, who was watching out of her peripheral vision, took her lips off her drink’s straw.

“Uh-oh,” she commented blandly, as though it was not her problem.

The eye-catching group of five sat at one of the round white tables in the amusement park’s small food court. The person who stood out the most was the girl with curly bright-blond hair and sharply sculpted features that were uncommon in Japan: Nonoa. She wore a stylish and somewhat revealing outfit, exposing her milky-white skin to the summer sun. One could recognize her high-level beauty in a single glance. The other three women sitting at the table were also beautiful, with very refined features of their own. Well, if you ignored the fact that one of them looked like she was in elementary school, that is. Mixed in with this group of beautiful young women, however, was a single average-looking guy, and any outsider would have a hard time racking their brain to figure out how he fit in with the group.

“Hey, ladies. What’s…up…?”

A young man, who appeared to be a university student, approached the group—Nonoa specifically—but when he picked up on the overwhelming aura coming from Sayaka, he gulped. Sayaka had to have noticed he was there, but as though she couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge something so insignificant, she simply continued to glare at Masachika, her eyes filled with scorn and rage. This table alone felt as though it were in a dimension where the heat of summer could not reach. And the stranger’s once-friendly smile tensed at the world of chaos he had just walked into.

“…Did you need something?” asked Yuki, speaking on behalf of Nonoa, who completely ignored the guy.

“Huh? Oh, uh…”

Still sporting a tight smile, his eyes wandered until he happened to see Ayano’s churros and pointed at them.

“The, uh… Th-those churros sure look good! Ha-ha.”

“…They sell them over there. Cinnamon-flavored.”

“Oh, really? Thanks,” the stranger replied before promptly turning on his heel and rushing off to a group of five guys who seemed to be his friends.

“Oh god. Dude. Duuude.”

Masachika could faintly hear his voice in the distance.

Yeah, I know how you feel…, he thought while glaring back at Sayaka, who was sitting across the table from him. Of course, he hadn’t simply been having a staring contest with Sayaka this entire time. He was also communicating under the table with his sister, who was sitting to his left. They were using each other’s palms to write letters and discuss what they were going to do.

…Okay, let’s go with that. I’ll leave the talking to you.

No way. You do it.

Women get emotional when men say stuff like that in these situations, right? Everything will go more smoothly if you talk to her.

Leave it to the suspect to pull a selfish testimony out of his ass to save himself.

What are you even accusing me of?

All I know is that what you said sounded very misogynistic to me.

Hey, quit it.

They continued to bicker over who would talk to Sayaka. Who could blame them, though? It was terrifying, and their reliable maid had been focusing solely on her churros ever since that guy pointed them out. It was like watching a hamster stuff its cheeks full of sunflower seeds.

Should I be worried that she thinks someone’s going to steal her churros?

To make matters worse, Nonoa—the only person here who could calm Sayaka—was…

Seriously? Would it kill her to put her damn phone away for two seconds?

Their two lifelines were in their own little worlds. It was almost admirable that they were so focused on themselves that nothing could disturb them.

Sigh… You owe me big for this one, bro.

All right. Thanks…even though I think you already owe me way more than I owe you.

Yuki closed her eyes, as if she figured they would only argue in circles, and let it slide, albeit with a last, resigned glance at her brother. She then undid her pigtails, softly shook her head, and smiled like a proper young lady at Sayaka.

“Sayaka, there appears to be a misunderstanding. The reason Masachika and I are spending time together today is because we wanted to make up after what happened at the closing ceremony. While we may be rivals in the election, we fought at the closing ceremony as if we weren’t truly friends, so we decided to spend the day together to clear the air. That’s all this is.”

“…”

Sayaka’s eyebrow twitched during the explanation, then she shifted her now less hostile gaze to Yuki. Nevertheless, her cold expression and the way she slowly adjusted her spectacles didn’t give any indication that she was planning on backing off.

“…That’s a lie.”

“…? Sayaka?”

“You’re lying,” she asserted in almost a whisper, and Yuki’s smile froze. She promptly began to speculate what evidence Sayaka could have to declare such a thing, but she almost immediately came to the conclusion that there was no such evidence, so she decided to play dumb instead.

“What do you mean, Sayaka? What part of that sounded like a lie to—?”

“Then why?!” Sayaka shouted. She jumped to her feet and slammed her hands on the table, leaning extremely close to Yuki. Even Yuki was kind of weirded out, so she almost revealed her true nature as Sayaka got too close for comfort.

“Uh…”

“Why can I smell the same shampoo on you both?”

“…?!”

“And it isn’t only you two. It’s coming from your friend, Ayano Kimishima, as well!”

Sayaka shot an accusatory glare at Ayano. Ayano’s shoulders jumped, and she suddenly began to eat her churros even more quickly.

“And that shirt!”

“…! Huh?”

Sayaka swiveled back to Yuki and resettled her glasses, staring at the anime merch T-shirt Yuki wore.

“That’s a limited-edition K-OFF T-shirt they were selling three years ago when the show was on air, isn’t it? And that is the Kanamin-ending version, which was the most popular one. Therefore, I find it hard to believe that you, someone who isn’t a nerd, somehow ended up buying that shirt by sheer coincidence, even though it wasn’t sold in any clothing stores or at any online auctions. Let’s imagine you did purchase it three years ago for argument’s sake. There is no way it would have fit you back then, and yet it appears to have been worn quite a bit!” she vehemently argued as if she didn’t need a moment to breathe. Sayaka then leaned back before simultaneously glaring at both Masachika and Yuki.

“That shirt used to be Masachika Kuze’s! And he gave it to you after he got too big to wear it himself!”

…What brilliant powers of deduction. Neither Masachika nor Yuki could immediately reply. They didn’t even have the fight in them to say, “How the hell do you know all that about K-OFF (Official Title: K-Off, Winter Won’t Come to the Music Club)?”

“And…?”

Sayaka dropped back down into her seat like a real Sherlock and quietly replied:

“You are wearing his old clothing, your hair smells just like his, and now you’re together at an amusement park?”

Contrary to only a few moments ago, her tone was now calm, and her expression was that of a member in the school’s disciplinary department.

“I would have expected to see Alisa Kujou with you as well if you really were simply trying to ‘make up.’ And yet here you three are, having so much fun without her. What is going on? You had me…help you, and this is what you do? Was the entire closing ceremony nothing more than a charade? And now I smell the same shampoo coming from you all. Perhaps an illicit sexual relationship? I bet the school newspaper club would love to sink their teeth into a scandal like this.”

Her accusation made Masachika pause. There was nothing special about Ayano and Yuki staying at his house to him, but it was clear not everyone shared that sentiment. It makes sense, he thought. Although they may all be childhood friends, having two rivals of the opposite sex stay at his house made it seem like he was secretly communicating with the enemy. If one was to maliciously interpret what was going on, they might see Masachika as some mastermind behind the scenes who was deceiving Alisa, Yuki, and Ayano in order to influence the election.

“Running Mate Betrays Beautiful Transfer Student to Play All Night with Sexy Rivals.” Yep, that’d be the headline. I should have been more cautious. What was I thinking? Maybe wearing a disguise wasn’t that stupid of an idea, after all?

He regretted his carelessness as he pondered how he was going to dig his way out of this mess. He believed Sayaka wasn’t the kind of person who would blab about their affairs to strangers, but it was likely she’d tell Alisa about what she saw, since this seemed to be directly related to his running mate. And that…would be quite a headache to sort out later. Eliminating Sayaka’s doubts would most likely solve a lot of problems, regardless.

The question is…what should I do?

He could make excuses for each and every one of Sayaka’s accusations, but that surely wouldn’t clear her suspicions entirely. Furthermore, there was so much evidence stacked against him that it would only be natural for Sayaka to expect him to start coming out of the gate with every excuse he could think of to conceal the truth.

What should I do? What would be the optimal solution?

The gears in his head were spinning at full speed—though he maintained a poker face—when suddenly, Nonoa, whom he had completely forgotten about, spoke up while continuing to mess around on her phone.

“Saya, I totally don’t think it’s that important.”

“…?”

Sayaka slowly looked toward her childhood friend. Masachika and Yuki focused on what she was going to say next, believing she might help pull them out of this mess, but Nonoa casually commented:

“They’re siblings.”

It was like time froze in Masachika’s and Yuki’s world for a split second before their minds began to wildly speculate, as if their brains had been restarted.

How does she know that?! That’s—! No, that’s not what I should be worried about right now! What we need to do now is play dumb!

The siblings instantaneously came to that conclusion before promptly moving into action.

“Huh?”

“Um? Nonoa? What are you talking about?”

Masachika appeared skeptical, while Yuki tilted her head and looked bothered. Those were the most natural reactions they could make whenever something as outlandish as this was said. Nonoa, unfortunately, wasn’t even watching their outstanding performance, though.

“I’m guessing by that look on your face that I’m right.”

But Nonoa wasn’t looking at Masachika or Yuki.

Ayano?!

The moment they realized this, the siblings swiftly turned to Ayano, who was folding the paper cone the churros had come in while blinking in wonder. All thought ceased.

“Ha-ha! Now that’s the reaction I wanted to see. I knew it.”

The sound of Nonoa’s joyful voice tickled the siblings’ ears as they froze, instantly recognizing their blunder. The way they’d turned around to look at Ayano was clearly an overreaction.

“Huh? Siblings…? Huh? Brother and sister?!” Sayaka shouted in utter confusion.

“Like, isn’t it obvious? Just look at them. They look exactly alike,” Nonoa replied in her usual carefree manner. Nevertheless, Masachika was still desperately trying to think of a way out of this…when Nonoa put the final nail in the coffin and added:

“I legit hate to do this to you ’cause I can see you still trying to think of excuses, but we met before a long time ago, Masachika Suou.”

“…!”

Masachika’s eyes widened as she indifferently laid out the facts…and that was when he knew it was over. After sighing deeply and slumping, he glanced over at Yuki, who shrugged back at him.

“…Where did we meet?” he asked, facing Nonoa once more.

“At a piano recital. Wow. Did you seriously forget? I legit even gave you a bouquet of flowers once.”

“…Seriously?”

He scratched his head at the unexpected connection as he traced his memories, but he couldn’t remember a thing, since he’d sealed his memories of the Suou household. He vaguely remembered maybe meeting a blond, slightly Western-looking girl at a piano recital a long time ago…or maybe it was a false memory he just made up in his mind right now? …That was the extent of how much he remembered.

“Kuze, just in case you aren’t aware, almost every kid who took piano lessons in the neighborhood back then knew who you were.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Yooo. You were in second grade flawlessly playing Chopin. Of course you’re gonna stand out.”

“…Oh.”