16 You Can't Take This Seriously, After All

A/N: This is really, really, really bad. My head's a mess right now.

***

"Don't move so much..." I complained.

Ai groaned. "I'm just trying to find a comfortable position— on that note, Hirosha-kun, are you really okay with this? You aren't feeling pressured?"

"I feel that very much, so get off."

"That's harsh!"

"You asked me a question, and I answered it truthfully."

Ai pushed her butt against my lap, propping her back on my chest. "I don't wanna get up."

"Don't ask that question then." I sighed. 

Ai had a smaller stature than me. It was small enough for me to comfortably see the laptop screen from above her head.

Ai chose a horror movie to watch. I personally liked it. That said—

"Wh-What're you doing?" Ai raised her voice in a flustered tone.

"What? I'm just resting my chin on your head. This much should be fine."

"How so?!"

"You sit on me, have me as your backrest, and you complain when I only use your head as a chin rest? How ungrateful can you be?"

"No, no, no, this isn't how it's supposed to happen...!"

"...And what do you mean by that?"

"W-W-W-W-Whaa—?!"

"You're way too surprised..."

—yes, Ai was too embarrassed to do what she herself proposed. I had to take a chair from the guest room in the end.

Ai seems like a vulnerable maiden, which may be somewhat true. However, her acting skills could deceive her adversaries at any moment. I personally had a hard time knowing whether it was real or fake. Guess that's what you could expect from the profession, huh?

Well, I have no intention of exploiting her for negative purposes. I wasn't raised to be a scoundrel. Except for teasing her like just now, I have no intention of taking our relationship to an intimate level so soon. Ai didn't seem ready for that either.

"You know, you seem different now," Ai remarked from out of nowhere. There was a pillow between her thighs and chest. She was evidently afraid of watching the movie, though I'm not the one to talk since I had one for myself.

I sipped my coffee. "What's that difference?"

She giggled. "Let's see, I had the impression that you were a calm, polite person, with a proactive nature in speech or action back when we first met. Although they still exist, you come off as blunt and rude lately, Hirosha-kun— also awkward."

I wasn't bothered by her words. "Do you want me to act the way we first met?"

"I didn't say that. To be honest, I prefer the way you are now."

I chuckled. "But if I acted like this back then, or when we weren't close yet, you'd probably hate me, wouldn't you?"

Ai giggled. "I think so."

***

Ai Hoshino's Diary

Monday, March 11, 2024

- I decided to spend the night with Hirosha-kun. I'll prove to them that he's not like other guys! Not that I was experienced with guys... Anyway, for that, I have to discuss it first with Ichigo-san or Miyako-san.

- I know I said something about Hirosha-kun not being like most men, where he'll take advantage of my social knowledge, but still...! It's annoying for him to be barely affected by me all the time. Worse than that, I bet he was teasing me while watching a horror movie back then! Why am I the one who got hit here?!

- I tried to return his teasing before we went to bed— and yep, I failed. To make matters worse, I couldn't reply his response to my teasing. Ugh, I want to dig a hole and hide inside forever!

***

Tomorrow morning, I arrived early at the school. (Hirosha's POV)

I didn't walk together with Miharu because she still hadn't gotten ready.

When I went into the classroom, I found only one person in the classroom, Komi Shouko.

[...She still has that same odd presence as the original, huh?] I recalled her introduction yesterday for an instant.

Perhaps because I already knew why she did the exact same thing she did in her universe, I regarded the similar reactions in this class as odd. If I didn't know anything about her, I would have seen it less as strange, frankly. The aura, look, and performance she brings when she does those things seem so natural to the audience. I honestly had thought that she might have some sort of supernatural power in order to do that.

"Good morning, Komi-san," I greeted her in a casual manner.

She turned her head to me. She has a calm and dignified charm. If I were a normal person, I would probably just be frozen in the presence of that stare.

I sat next to her.

"How was your day yesterday, Komi-san?" I tried to build a conversation as I sat down.

As you might have guessed, she didn't answer. She just gave me that silent look.

Komi-san opened her mouth after a while. Then came a rumbling of "G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-" causing me to jump slightly in surprise. [Well, damn, the experience was truly fresh after having experienced it myself.]

The girl in front of me trembled erratically, like a person having a seizure. I think a sane person would at least be startled to witness that all of a sudden.

"W-What's wrong, Komi-san? Is something bothering your tongue?" I asked in a worried tone.

I didn't have any wondrous intentions by talking to her. I simply wanted to be friends with her.

The girl stopped quivering, and she looked glum instantly after. [Wait, how can I tell?] She barely changed her expression.

"...If you have trouble speaking, why not use a whiteboard— no, why not use a book to convey it? If it's very important, of course."

Komi-san did not react. 

I heard something coming into the classroom. When I checked what it was, I saw a cat.

"Oh..." I stopped myself from grinning and clicked my tongue at it. "What's a cat doing here...?"

"Do you..."

"Huh?"

I eyed my seatmate in surprise. As I waited for her to continue, there was no response. 

"You don't sound like you're having trouble speaking," I broke the silence. As I did, the cat made its way towards us. "If that wasn't the problem, is it from your psychic state, perhaps? Like socialization difficulties, for example."

"!"

I envisioned cat ears popping up on Komi's head for a moment. [Seriously, why?]

"If so, that explains your actions yesterday," I smiled faintly. "If you don't mind, you can use the same method on me. I wanted to know you better."

"..."

Komi reached into her bag and retrieved a thin book, and the stationery case on the desk. I patiently waited for her.

The orange cat that entered the classroom rubbed its body against my leg. I took it into my lap.

After a while, Komi finished her writing and showed it to me.

{Do you like cats?}

I was a little amused to see that that was what she wanted to ask me, of all things. Nonetheless, I truthfully answered. "Yes, I like them." I gently stroked the head of the cat atop my lap. It was acting very docile.

I recalled a memory from my childhood. In my village, cats were hard to even touch. Once, I pushed a sleeping cat into a high-banked pond out of that spite. [...I wouldn't make excuses.]

Well, it was still coming out alive, which annoyed me at the time.

"Do you like them, Komi-san?" I asked back.

She immediately nodded.

"I see... You want to pet it?"

She nodded again, extending her right hand to the cat's head. Komi smiled slightly as she did.

"—eh?"

"Hm?"

"?"

We both turned to the door simultaneously. Ichinose was beside the door, seemingly surprised, for whatever reason.