My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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There isn't a huge number of Kawabata Kogure in the world.

Unfortunately—no one can replace him.

...If only I could do it all over again...

If I could go back to my middle school days and start over...

Will things be different now?

Now, am I no longer required to hurt anyone?

Volume Twelve, There's Only One Man, Chapter Two: The Hell of Youth, A Hellish Ritual

Kawanami Kogure◆The Painted World

"...Kogure? Even though it's summer, you'll catch a cold sleeping like that."

My mother's voice woke me up. The drowsiness that had taken root deep in my head, and the nausea that had accumulated deep in my chest, made me groan as I slowly got up.

I collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep without covering myself with a blanket… Wait, asleep? No. Memories of the previous moment vaguely surfaced; I had passed out. Knowing that Makoto had been in my room led to…

"...Ugh..."

A feeling of nausea rose in my throat again, and a thin layer of hives appeared on my arm.

My troublesome allergies have been flaring up less lately. However, today it seems to have produced the biggest reaction I've ever seen.

Makoto Koyama was one of my closest friends during junior high school.

Although she was the only girl among us boys, you couldn't call her a tomboy; she just couldn't fit into the girls' circle, which is why she hung out with us. My version of events is that since elementary school, she preferred playing video games with boys to playing with dolls. Actually, girls like that are quite common; you can find them in any era and any school.

So, even though she's a girl... I've never considered her a romantic partner.

After entering high school, she did become more womanly—even Nan's few hot female friends said she was pretty. But even so, Makoto was still just a friend to me, and it was impossible for her to become someone else, and I thought she felt the same way.

Why did she come to my room...?

Should I ask her directly?

Today happens to be the official class reunion, so there are plenty of opportunities.

But what if Makoto approaches me with those kinds of thoughts—can I handle it?

Just knowing that guy has been in my room is enough to make me faint. What if...

My instinct for self-preservation tells me that it's best to stay home and rest today, and avoid any class reunions. Besides, Nan will be there too; something can't be completely safe. But—

Just as my mind was racing, my mother's voice came from outside the door:

"Kogure—? You mentioned you were going to a middle school reunion today, right—? Hurry up and get ready to leave or you'll be late—"

Should I thank my mom for being home today?

Urged on by this statement, I decided to go to the class reunion as planned.

Little did I know that a hell awaited me.

Hey, are you okay?

As I walked toward the meeting place, I checked my phone and found that Irito had sent me a message last night.

Maybe it was because I hung up too abruptly, or maybe she could tell from my voice that I wasn't feeling well... Even if I wasn't worried about those things, Irito still knew someone had broken into my bedroom. I never expected that guy would actually worry about me; his attitude has really changed a lot... Anyway, I'll reply to the message first.

Irito has already deduced that Makoto was in my room; he's done enough... I'll have to deal with the rest myself.

They agreed to meet in front of the gate of their old junior high school.

In front of the school gate, a place I cherish fondly remember, gathered familiar faces, equally memorable. Before I could even say anything, several people had already noticed me.

"Oh! Isn't this Kawanami? Long time no see!"

"You seem to have become even more of a thug than before?"

After catching my breath, I answered my old friends:

"That would be best! I'm a student at the prestigious Luo Lou University, you know!"

"I still can't believe it! You actually got into Luo Lou..."

"He's clearly just a last-minute cramming guy—how much money did he bribe?"

Well, it's understandable that I'd be suspected like that. My grades in middle school weren't bad, but my conduct was far from exemplary. And after entering Rakuten, my grades were almost always at the bottom. If it weren't for Irito, I would have failed every single exam.

I greeted a few people like that, and then I finally ran into that guy.

"Ah, Kogure. We just met yesterday—"

Makoto Koyama easily raised her hand and greeted him with a beaming smile.

In junior high, she had a slightly wavy short hairstyle that gave off a somewhat androgynous vibe. But like the two hot girls complimented her yesterday, her hair has grown longer now, and she looks much more feminine. Her loose, slightly wavy hair is a little past her shoulders; she could probably tie it into a ponytail with a hair tie.

In fact, Makoto was in the track and field club in junior high school, and when her hair grew long, she would often tie it into a ponytail because she thought it would get in the way... Yesterday morning, what I saw when I woke up must have been her hair.

"...Yeah, we met again today."

I hid my true thoughts and tried my best to act as if nothing was wrong.

—Did you come to my room yesterday morning?

I don't have the guts to ask her that question directly right now...

"That's strange, you're wearing long sleeves today?"

Makoto noticed my attire and tilted her head slightly.

"Aren't you hot wearing that?"

"Ah... don't worry about it, I just forgot to shave."

"Wow, you even have hair on your arms? That's so manly!"

Makoto started making a fuss by saying some nonsensical things, and at the same time, she lightly patted my shoulder.

“…………!”

She touched my body...!

...No, no, don't panic. She's always done these little things; it's normal. We've always hung out as friends; it has nothing to do with gender.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

To be honest, there's no real evidence that Makoto broke into my room. After all, I was half asleep and might have just imagined something. Maybe I mistook a dream for reality…

There has never been a gender distinction between Makoto and me; I treat her like any other male friend. I find it hard to believe that she would suddenly act like Minami towards me, meaning that while she's always treated me as a friend, she's actually had a crush on me all along? There's a limit to overthinking. I left my adolescent mindset behind back in middle school.

Just treat her like you normally would.

If we do this, everything should come to a satisfactory conclusion.

"(—I'm telling you, Kogure.)"

Makoto suddenly lowered her voice.

Then suddenly she put her hand on my shoulder and brought her mouth close to my ear.

"(Have you heard about what happened between Maehara and Ozaki? Actually, it happened during the graduation ceremony—)"

distance!

I feel a rash of hives breaking out on the inside of my long sleeves.

My blood started to rush backward, and my vision narrowed. A chill ran down my spine and my entire back, yet I was sweating profusely.

"...Hmm? Kogure? What's wrong?"

Makoto looked puzzled. I gently pulled her hand away from my shoulder and said, forcing a smile:

"I'll go...and say hello to the others."

"Okay."

I left in front of Makoto.

Just like that, I felt a little better. Luckily, I was wearing long sleeves; if I had been wearing short sleeves, she would have definitely noticed immediately that something was wrong with me.

There's no doubt about it anymore.

Those casual physical contacts, and the distance she maintained—all of it proved that Makoto wanted to date me. It must have been like this since middle school, pretending to be just friends while secretly waiting to win me over. It's been like this for years. In her eyes, I'm just a man!

Damn it! I was so wrong about her…! So from the beginning until now, seeing that I haven’t noticed anything amiss, she just touches my shoulder or breathes into my ear, taking advantage of me all the time! This embodiment of lust—!

"...Sigh, are you alright?"

Just as I was filled with fear and disappointment, and trembling with anger, I heard Nan's voice beside me.

“…Hmm!”

I immediately jumped aside. Nan Xiaoyue was right in front of me, looking at me with an expression that seemed to show how worried she was about me.

Damn it! I forgot she was going to the class reunion too. I can barely handle Makoto alone, if we have to do all those moves again...!

"Are you alright? You look terrible..."

"...N-nothing, I'm just a little hungry..."

"Oh...that's good."

"…………?"

Why does it seem like... she's become well-behaved?

He was so willful and reckless yesterday...

"Then I'll be leaving now."

While I was still confused, Nan had already walked away from me without a second thought.

What happened to her?

She's completely different from yesterday. The look in her eyes back then was like that of a beast, but today there seems to be a barrier between us.

Everything is completely different from yesterday.

It was as if the whole world had been repainted overnight.

Mizuto Irito: An outsider who's never idle

Sorry for hanging up suddenly. My stomach was hurting a little at the time, but I felt better afterwards.

...I always felt like he was making excuses.

As soon as I woke up, I checked the message in bed, and frowned after reading it.

Since he himself has said so, I won't keep nagging, but I really want him to come up with a more plausible excuse. Even an individualist like me would be uneasy about his response.

Well, judging from Kawabata's tone yesterday, he should know who broke into the room. If it was a stranger, of course he would call the police immediately, but if it was someone he knew, he would find a way to handle it himself.

My eyes glanced at the top left corner of my phone screen; the time showed 10:00 AM. For a holiday, I'm considered early, but my dad was already out of bed. He drank so late last night, how could he still get up…?

I slowly crawled out of bed, took off my pajamas, and changed into the clothes I had stuffed in my bag. Then I casually ran my fingers through my messy hair and headed to the living room.

"Oh, good morning."

Jie Nu stayed in the living room, sitting sideways on a cushion and scrolling through her phone.

I answered in a voice that sounded like I had just woken up:

"……Good morning……"

Breakfast is served in the dining room.

I nodded and walked towards the dining room. On the table were white rice wrapped in plastic wrap, grilled fish, and miso soup. As usual, such a lavish meal so early in the morning... I usually just have a piece of bread for breakfast, so eating three dishes right after waking up felt a bit overwhelming.

Okay, my stomach should start moving around after we start eating. I took the cooled miso soup to the microwave, and carried the white rice and grilled fish to the living room where Yui was.

Jie Nu turned her gaze from the phone screen back to me.

"Are you going to eat here?"

"Anyway, you're here."

As I placed the bowls and plates on the wooden table, I heard the microwave finish heating up from the dining room. I took the steaming hot miso soup out of the microwave and brought it over, placing it next to the rice and grilled fish… oh, I forgot the chopsticks. I went back to the dining room. I'll make some tea while I'm at it.

I sat down across from Jie and started eating breakfast. Then Jie turned her phone upside down and placed it on the table, watching me eat.

"There's a festival today, right?"

The woman said.