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"And I tell you Yuta, it's not as simple as you think."
A big sigh was heard throughout the room as Minato let his head fall on the desk. Sipping his milk, Yuta rolled his eyes.
"How hard can it be to have a big sister?
I mean, Kanata can be a handful at times, but really, man, for the past two weeks, you have been talking about her as if she were the devil. Will you at least tell me WHAT she does that makes you so crazy?"
He finished his drink, took a quick aim and threw his milk carton into the trash can next to him like it was a basketball.
"And by the way, I saw this cute girl last weekend at the …" stopped mid-sentence when he spotted the slight blush on Minato's face.
Minato, who noticed the look of his friends, quickly turned his head away. His gaze landed directly on Mahiro, who was just walking through the classroom. Even worse for him, he was staring directly into Oyama's eyes. Mahiro froze in place, unsure why the red-faced boy was staring directly at her. The silence was abruptly broken by Satsuki, who jumped in front of Mahiro with an angry expression on her face.
"Stop looking at Mahiro like a piece of meat!" she said, taking the still frozen Mahiro's hand and leading her to the table with the other girls. Minato, shaking his head to get out of his state of shock, attempted to explain himself.
"Satsuki-chan that's a..." but he was cut off before he could finish.
"Boys are the worst!" Of course, she was going to say that he thought. But what could he do? He just stared into Oyama-san's eyes like a madman. Worse, he even turned red. How could he explain that this whole situation was just a big misunderstanding. Damn it, he could never tell them the reason why he was so upset. He could not tell them that the truth was that his best friend just reminded him of the time he cross-dressed for his big sister. Even if it hurt his reputation, it would be best to just take the blame. Otherwise, there would be no reputation left.
"I ..."
He swallowed.
"I'm sorry Oyama and Takada-san. This will not happen again."
Minato could feel the eyes of the entire class upon him.
"Mimpf," was the only reaction he got as Satsuki escorted Mahiro away. They both joined their friend on the other side of the classroom.
He could not hear what they said, but he saw Mahiro nervously put her hand behind her head. As usual, Asahi immediately took over talking, gesturing as if she was going to speak with her body instead of talking. But something wasn't quite right. Minato felt a piercing gaze, strong enough to hit him directly in the guts. Hozuki Momiji looked directly into his eyes, neither her body nor her face moved an inch. His bones began to tremble as a cold shower washed over his body.
This was bad. This was really bad.
"Akarin takes the Shinkansen from Tokyo station at 05:56 and gets off the same train in Kobe at 08:36. The distance between the two cities is 524 km. Answer the following questions:
- A) What is the average speed of the train if we ignore the time lost due to stops?
- B) Using the average speed of the train, calculate what time the stop in Nagoya should be. The distance between the two cities is 350 km".
There were many sighs in the classroom as Mari-sensei finished writing the questions on the board.
"You have until the end of the class, so about..."
She looked at the clock on the wall.
"About 20 minutes. Those who finish before the time is up, please remain silent. So please do your best. If you have any questions, please ask now. “
The room made no further response to her offer. Some of the students just gave up, pretending to understand the task. Then there were people like Mahiro, who quickly grabbed her pen and started writing down all the variables they needed to solve this problem. Some of the students just gave up, acting as if they understood the assignment. Then there were those like Mahiro, who quickly reached for their pen and wrote down all the variables they needed to solve this problem.
And then there was Nemu, who slept on her desk with a smile on her lips, not worrying about anything in her life. Just normal, Momiji thought. Still, she could not concentrate on herself to work through the questions. Something else was on her mind. She had an uneasy feeling in her chest after Minto had looked at Mahiro in that particular manner. The moment she thought about it, she clenched her right hand into a fist.
What is he thinking?
And then he gets all red in the face like that? Like he had a crush on, her, Mahiro-chan! The pain in her chest came back, this time even stronger. In order to regain her self-control, she tried to make her thoughts disappear as fast as possible.
"Calm down Momiji, calm down. This is not the first time the boys have tried to approach Mahiro. You can handle this," she mumbled quietly to herself.
"Maybe I should just concentrate on the work that Sensei gave us."
But a glance at the board was just the beginning of a distraction. She could not figure out what she was supposed to do. To make matters worse, all of the kanji, hiragana, and numbers on the board began to fly around the room. She felt her eyes and head start to spin, almost losing touch with reality. Then, out of nowhere, a family voice broke through.
"Pssst, Momiji-chan. Momiji-chan, are you listening?"
An angelic figure appeared in front of her eyes. But when she regained consciousness, she saw: It was Mahiro!
"Here you go. I know you have a problem with math. I have the answers writing on this."
Mahiro threw a small, folded paper onto Momiji's desk.
"There's even the calculations on it, in case Mari-Sensei asks you how you came up with what you're answer."
Mahiro smiled at Momiji and winked at her with one eye before turning back to her seat. Momiji could swear that her heart was pounding like a jackhammer, almost tearing her chest into pieces. She had already talked to her big sister about it. Momiji still could remember how Kaede just grinned when she clumsily explained her situation. A thought flashed through her head.
"Onee-san was right."
She knew what to do as she focused on her next target.
"Senkawa Minato, I think we need to talk!"
"So, do you also remember that girl from the Star Café last weekend?"
Miyako said, holding a small mirror in her hand to fix her hair. Mai watched as pink hair was moved to the left, then to the right, only to end up in the same position as it started.
"You mean that cute one who got all of Yuta's attention?" She asked her pink haired friend, who nodded to her, still focused on her mirror. Mai let herself fall back into her seat and put her hands behind her head.
"Mhhh, I don't know what Yuta was telling her the whole time, but she looked so nervous that I'm sure she was scared of him.
Why are you asking?"
Miyako snapped her mirror together, almost smashing it against her desk.
"Because I think Yuta was trying to hit on her!"
A smug smile spread across her face.
"Do you know her? Cause I haven't, and I remember all the pretty girls I've ever seen. "
With a wave of her hand, she signaled for Mai to come closer. Mia, who already knew what was coming next, rolled her eyes slightly, but then did as she was asked.Something was whispered, followed by a giggle. Minato, who could hear the conversation, banged his head against the table. Heat crawled up from his body into his face, strong enough to make it glow like a hot stove. At least the school bell was ringing at that very moment, distracting all of Minato's classmates from looking at him.
How could he ever forgive Onee-san for that? They saw him in a girl's clothing. And Yuta is crushing on him?! He had the wish that he could just fall into his desk and end up in an all-consuming void.
"I'm done!" he mumbled into his arms, covering his face.
This would be his social death, he thought.
"No! No one knows! I will never do it again. No one saw me do it and..."
He had the feeling that someone had a hand on his shoulder.
Minato swallowed and slowly turned his head, turning red again.
Behind him was Hozuki Momiji who looked at him with cold eyes.
"No one saw you do what ... Senkawa?"
This is bad, this is so bad. What is happening? The last minutes were like a fever dream. From Momiji speaking to him after school to that picnic table somewhere in the park. Minato checked his smartphone once more. Yes, school was not even 10 minutes over and he was sitting at a table, sweating like a pig, with Hozuki Momiji on the other side. Dead certain that she had not blinked since they arrived here.
And all the time - silence!
He raised his eyes. Still she did not move an centimeter. The air felt gooey as it slowly descended into his lungs.And then Momiji began to speak.
"Senkawa-san, do you like girls?"
He jumped up a little.
Could he really believe his ears?
His mind went into overdrive. As he thought, seconds started to feel like minutes.
Then - time stopped.
It could only mean one thing!
And then - time started again.
"Senkawa-san, do you think girls are cute?"
That was it; he was done.
His upper body collapsed until his head rested on the table.
His whole face, no, his whole body, began to heat up until his face looked more like a tomato than a human being.
Hozuki-chan knows my secret!?
No way!
That cannot be!
I will just lie to her about it.
Yes, yes. That was not me. That, that was my sister...!?
Yes, I will just tell her that and she will just leave me alone!
He lifted himself up, only to collapse back into himself when he saw her dead eyes again.
"You got me...", he whispered.
Now, it was Momiji's time to collapse like a house of cards. Even worse, she melted onto the bench and from there her body started to drip under the table like some kind of spineless blob. Minato, frozen in place, could hardly believe what had happened. First Momiji found out that he was cross-dressing and now she was so disgusted with him that she collapsed? He stared motionlessly at the now empty bench, weighing his options, before Momiji appeared from the floor and pounded her fists on the table.
"I can't accept this! Who made you think you could do this?! This should not and cannot be!"
Minato swallowed.
"Well... my sister told me to."
Momiji dropped her jaw. His sister!?
"There's this game she plays. And... and all this was supposed to help her. Somehow."
A sea of flames ignited Momiji's body, illuminating her like hell fire.
His sister made him hit on MY Mahiro?
Just to get MY Mahiro's help?
In the very same game that I am playing with MY MAHIRO!?
Bright flaming eyes burned into his flesh, and Minato could feel it. Somehow, it looked like Momiji's body was getting bigger and bigger, towering over him like a demigod. Instinctively, he tried to back away from her. Forgetting that there was nothing but air behind him, he fell to the ground. She was right above him, spitting out flames with every word.
"You boys are the worst. Playin' with girls like it was some kind of game. Do you know what you are doing? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?!"
There he was, lying in the dirt, being scolded like a little child, every word she said echoing through his head. He had to do something, he had to be honest.
"Hozuki-san, you are right. I should never have done this. I can assure you: I never meant to do this!
It was never my intention to cross-dress. But you see, my sister's gaming circle is..."
A sudden change of mood broke his attention and made him stop.Momiji's face was blank, her eyes hollow and small like two dots on a paper.
She seemed to be frozen. Slowly, he crawled up from the ground and then waved his hand in front of her face.
"Hozuki-san... are you okay?"
He waved again before his hands were caught by her and put down.
"Senkawa-san...
You said you cross-dress? Cross dressing, like dressing as a girl?"
Her face softened into a gentle smile as he got caught in panic.
"I... I thought you knew.
I thought you wanted to talk to me about it?"
He was panicking even more.
"I... I mean, that's why you were mad... right?
RIGHT?!"
Grabbing one of his hands, Momiji started to laugh.
"Now it all makes sense!"
He shivered when she grabbed his other hand as well.
"I'm so relieved."
She laughed with the happiest face Minato had ever seen.
"You looked at her because you know she likes games!
And...
You think she can help you with cosplaying girl characters. Maybe you even had a surprise planned for your sister. I don't care. As long as it's just that."
Minato's eyes turned into a spiral and only Momiji's hands prevented him from falling off the bench.
"Minato-chan, I am so sorry for judging you.I am really happy that you have something you like doing. "
Her smile exploded as she realized that (as she thought) she had one less person to worry about.
"But I guess no one else knows, right? Can boys really be the worst when someone does that or? But don't worry, I won't tell them until you're ready. Oh, and if you need help finding cute clothes or want makeup tips, I could put you in touch with my Onee-chan. She's a professional!"
She let her hands go from his, ignoring the fact that Minato had fallen for the second time that day.
"I promise you: Your secret is safe! But I have to leave you now. See you around!"
She picked up her schoolbag from the table and left the scene with small jumps in her stride. Feeling like a waste, Minato looked from the floor to the sky. Putting his arms behind his head, he took a deep breath. As he watched the clouds disappear from his view, he thought about what had just happened:
"Maybe it's better to let her think I'm into girls' stuff. I have no interest in finding out what was really the source of her anger to begin with.
Girls can be really scary!"
End