Chapter 15: Kawaii Yui-chan
[Is the rain okay?]
When I started up the app, I saw a message from Yui.
For now, I put my phone on the table and wolfed down the rest of the omelette in one go.
[I’m okay.]
I picked up my phone instead of the spoon and types that in.
And within a few minutes, I received an immediate reply.
[T/N: Yuuki doesn’t know what immediate means]
[I didn’t thank you before. I’m sorry.]
Was that a thank you or an apology?
I was about to go into that, but Yui’s strangely reserved attitude on the way home suddenly crossed my mind and I changed the wording.
[Are you okay?]
[What?]
[You seemed down]
We were exchanging messages at a good tempo, but after sending that, Yui’s reply was cut off.
I was watching the news with the TV on next to Mizuna as she began to eat her bento, when my phone vibrated a moment later.
[I said some strange things before.]
[I didn’t think it was weird.]
There’s another pause.
By the way, Yuuki’s reply was fast every time.
The reason is because Mizuna had trained him by telling him he couldn’t become a man who could work unless he replied immediately.
[But I’m glad. I’m glad you said it’s okay to not care.]
[You’re awfully honest.]
Again, silence.
Mizuna finished her lunch and I wondered if that was it. Then, I got a reply.
[Yes. She’s so sweet and tender. She’s so pure and strong. Who am I kidding?]
Hmm? I unintentionally look twice at her message.
[What?] As I was about to send it, I received a message from Yui in rapid succession.
[I was caught. This was all a game, too! Are? Could it be that you’ve fallen in love with the cute Yui-chan?]
I’m not sure what that meant for a moment, but it seems that the strange manner on the way back was also an act.
It’s very hard to see it that way, but Yuuki wonders how twisted it is.
[You got me.]
[That’s a hell of a stick figure.]
As I was flipping through the TV, Mizuna looked at my phone.
“What have you been doing, Yuuki-kun?”
“I’m on LINE.”
“With who?”
“That’s a secret.”
“You can’t keep it a secret!”
“Just a friend.”
As if in rejection of the word “friend”, Mizuna didn’t ask any more questions, instead she brought her phone out.
“LINE with Mizuna too!”
As soon as she said that, my phone immediately announces the arrival of a message with a buzzing sound.
I don’t know where she learned it, but Mizuna is extremely fast at typing as she uses both hands dexterously to flick in and out.
[You first, Yuuki-kun, ri!]
[What?]
[It’s shiritori.] [T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiritori]
There was something strange about texting with someone right next to you. Or rather, a waste of radio waves.
I also got a message from Yui.
[I’ll return the umbrella tomorrow. And I’ll thank you in some way.]
When I was told she would think me, what first came to mind was the bento.
If possible, I would like to let Mizuna eat it too.
But I didn’t think it was polite to mention such a thing.
[No, no. It’s okay.]
[Hm? You don’t have to be shy about it.]
While hitting [Let’s have lunch if you like,] Mizuna urges me to [hurry up] on her mobile phone.
I had no choice but to play Mizuna first.
[Ringo.]
[Gorengai!]
[Ikasumi.]
{Midorenjai!]
{Itaria] [T/N: Italy]
[Akarenjai!]
{What was it again?]
[Hai, Yuuki-kun’s loss.]
[T/N: I left this in romaji since it would make even less sense in English.]
If you plunge into it, you lose.
It was my own fault for making an exquisite pass, but of course it wasn’t intentional.
[Next, the ingredients for oden! Yuuki-kun starts.]
[T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oden]
And it’s starting again, and it’s not going to end.
[Daikon. (Radish)]
[Recover cancer!]
[What a nasty mistake.]
While I was doing this, I got a message from Yui.
[Have you been busy? Sorry it took so long.]
I’m a little confused because I’ve never been in this situation before.
However, if I don’t reply quickly, Mizuna will be picky, so I hastily type a message and send it to her.
[Chikuwabu.]
[What?]
[Oh, it’s nothing. Never mind.]
I accidentally sent it to the wrong person.
—
At about the same time.
Yui was lying on her bed in her room, looking at her phone and grinning as she looked back and forth at the exchange of messages.
She was too preoccupied to notice her sister, who had invaded the room before she knew it.
“What are you smirking at? It’s so creepy!”
At the sound of her voice, Yui flipped over like a heroine in a horror movie, and sits up.
“Hey! You didn’t even knock!”
“So, how did it go? The bento.”
“Oh, it was good.”
“Hmph”, breathed Yui with a snort.
Maki looked a bit bored, as if her expectations were a little off.
“Hmmm, and then?”
“After that… oh yeah, it was raining and he lent me his umbrella.”
“What’s that? Isn’t that a little weak-minded…?”
“Fuu~, you don’t understand.”
Yui shook her head.
Maki, too, smiled wryly, losing it.
“I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Wait, no! It’s not like that. I’m just teasing him because it’s kind of funny.”
“Does that mean you’re too embarrassed to make the approach, so you’re going to be that way for now, and then hopefully one day he’ll like you and confess his feelings for you?”
“No, no, no, no, no! What do you mean by that?! Don’t make up your weird delusions!”
“…What’s with the weird tone of voice? But this is too troublesome… you’re just going to wait until he confesses to you and be ok with it?”
“What? …Well, well, then I can think about it a little bit…”
“You’ll be doing this forever.”
Maki pats Yui on the head.
Yui shook off her hand and looked up at her.
“I don’t feel like being told that, because I was told it was cute.”
“Isn’t that like saying I’m a bitch?”
“‘Do you want to trade LINE IDs?’ When I said that, he said he wanted to trade with me.”
“Yui, ask him out yourself. It’s a pretty normal process.”
“I called him by his first name and now he’s calling me by my first name.”
“Is that it?”
“I mean, if you look at the reply speed and all that, it’s coming quickly. The bento is really working.”
Yui looked proud of her victory.
Then Maki said, “I see, I’m glad to hear that,” and started smiling and taking a gentle tone.
She felt like she was being made fun of, so Yui thought of kicking her out, but there was something bothering her, so she asked her sister about it.
“Hey, hey, sis. What’s the meaning of chikuwabu?”
“What?”
“What is it? Like a flowery word?”
“…I don’t get what you’re saying.”
She gave Yui a dumbfounded look.
“Just hurry up and take a bath,” Maki said, and left the room with a sigh.