บท 37: I want to be a turtle.
"Hmm? Where did Alya go?"
After managing to cool off his head and whatnot in the ocean, Masachika returned to the
beach, where he noticed that only the second-year students were there. He looked back and
saw Yuki and Ayano walking out of the ocean with a large floatie, but Alisa was nowhere
to be found.
"If you're looking for Little Kujou, I just lent her a fishing rod, so she should be over
by the rocks right about now."
"A fishing rod? Huh… By the way, was I supposed to comment on this little art project
you're working on?"
Touya, who'd solved the mystery of the missing girl for Masachika, was being diligently
buried by Chisaki. He was lying on his back while sand was continuously poured over him.
Maria was even scribbling some sort of patternsin the sand around him forsome godforsaken
reason.
…What kind of ritual was this?
"…I'd appreciate it if you'd just act like you didn't see anything."
"…All right."
Masachika could tell that whatever they were doing, he didn't want to know,so he replied
with a curt nod. When Yuki eventually made her way over, however, she stopped before the
strange sight and pondered to herself for a few seconds before her face was overcome with
astonishment. She leaned in toward her brother and whispered so that only he could hear:
"Wait. Is that where the tentacles are going to come from?"
"No, he's not going to turn into Cthulhu like that."
"Interesting. So you're saying we have to sacrifice him to summon it, huh?"
"I'm not going to let you kill Touya."
"That looks like so much fun. Do you mind if I join you all?"
"Oh my. ♪ We would love for you to join us."
After smoothly ignoring his pleas, Yuki mirthfully began to draw (?) with Maria.
"What about you, Aya…no…?"
He turned around to see what his goofball sister's maid was going to do, only to discover
that she wasn't there, so he looked around until he found her carrying Yuki's float back to
the cottage. What a model servant.
"…"
With nothing to do, Masachika briefly considered his options and decided to head toward
the rocky terrain where Alisa supposedly was. After sliding his flip-flops on under the beach
umbrella, he walked along the sand toward the rocks, but the instant he tried to climb up
them, his foot slipped, and he staggered.
"Whoa! The rocks are pretty slippery."
Not only were the rocks relatively fragile, but they were also covered in damp seaweed,
making them as slick as ice. His rubber sandal soles offering almost zero grip weren't doing
him any favors, either, so he needed to pay close attention to where he was going or risk
falling.
He walked ever so carefully…until he eventually made it to the top of the rocky area,
where it was flatter, and found Alisa at last.
"Oh! There she is. Hey! You catch anything yet?" he called out, approaching her…but
one look at her scowl as she faced the sea said all he needed to know.
"…What?" Alisa asked.
"I just came to see how you were doing. That's all."
She didn't even glance in his direction, so he stopped, not wanting to ruin her
concentration, and scratched his head while considering his options. He eventually decided
to stay and watch the surface of the water with her to see if she'd get any bites, but the bobber
stayed completely still for the following minute, and he slowly lost interest. His eyes began
to idly wander until they randomly stopped on Alisa.
Huh. Yuki was right. You really can see her ribs a little.
He thought back to what his sister had said when he noticed Alisa's ribs faintly poking
out from underneath her bikini. He then lowered his gaze a little more…and realized exactly
why Yuki was surprised. Her waist was so thin that he could probably almost wrap his hands
all the way around if he tried.
"What are you looking at?"
Alisa glared up at him with a chilling tone and icy stare. Despite having nothing but
innocent admiration, he still felt guilty when his integrity was challenged. Thus is the life
of a man.
"I was just thinking about how slim your waist was. That's all."
"Right."
By admitting he'd been staring at her waist, he was indirectly suggesting that he wasn't
staring at her butt or even being a creep, but her reaction was still cold.
"Wouldn't you have figured that out already, since we danced together last year?"
"Last year…? Oh, at the school festival, right?"
He thought back to when they'd performed a folk dance (?) together on the night of the
school festival, and merely remembering having his arms around her waist made him blush.
He hadn't really thought much of it then, since it had been really dark, and he'd been busy
trying to keep up with Alisa's dance moves. Now that he realized he'd had his hands around
those hips, though, he recognized how bold his actions truly were.
"That was, uh… You know? …Anyway, actually seeing your waist really puts it into
perspective," he awkwardly sputtered while trying not to make eye contact.
"…! Stop acting so weird. All we did was dance, right?"
Alisa leaned back as if she was a bit flustered as well.
"Yeah, uh… Ahem…! It was a rather original dance, to put it lightly. You know, thanks
to someone getting a little too…competitive on their feet."
"That's because…you're the one who provoked me…"
She looked slightly awkward until she suddenly glared at Masachika and blushed for
some reason.
"Just in case there was any doubt, I only let you touch me then because we were dancing.
Try to touch me again, and you're dead. Got it?"
"I wouldn't even think of it. I don't just go around randomly molesting people, you
know?"
He raised his hands into the air in an attempt to prove he wasn't looking at her like that,
but Alisa skeptically snorted, then quickly faced forward once more.
"I don't know what to believe…after seeing how long your eyes were glued on Masha's
chest," she snapped with a prickly tone.
"Huh? No, uh… That's… That's just instinct. Men can't help it…"
"Touya didn't stare."
"I was surprised about that, too. He really is a gentleman," he replied with a straight face
before realizing what he was saying and panicking once more.
"Oh, uh… Ahem. He is a gentleman, of course, but his girlfriend, Chisaki, was standing
right next to him, so he couldn't let his eyes wander. Honestly, though, being compared with
that is kind of unfair…"
The more he spoke, the worse things got, so he lowered his gaze a bit…when Alisa
suddenly muttered softly in Russian:
"<We're partners, too.>"
A different kind of partner. So it would be great if she didn't confuse partners in the
election with romantic partners.
"<So keep your eyes on me and only me.>"
…Is she giving me permission to stare? At those incredible breasts? he instinctively
thought before almost instantly knocking some sense into himself. Alisa's Russian wasn't
something one should take too seriously. She'd just glared cooly and said, "What are you
looking at?" only a few moments ago. Probably only half— maybe one-third—of her
Russian whispers were worth believing. "If you want to leer at someone like my sister, then
you might as well just stare at me instead"—that was what she probably meant. She just
loved her sister and was trying to protect her. Yep…
Her sister did just wrap her arms around me in a bathing suit only a few moments ago,
though…
The conversation consequentially reminded him of his good luck (?) from earlier, so he
shook his head and looked back toward the water.
"So…enjoying our beach vacation?"
He was trying to change the subject, but even he immediately couldn't believe the
garbage that was coming out of his mouth. Although he'd said the first thing that came to
mind, Alisa didn't seem to be weirded out by the question and nodded.
"I am… This is the first time I've ever gone anywhere like this with my friends before,
so I'm having a lot of fun."
"Really? By 'friends,' do you mean Yuki and Ayano?"
"…? Of course." She gave another curious nod asif that much should have been obvious,
but at the very least, it touched Masachika to hear that. His classmate, known as the solitary
princess at school, had finally found two people she could confidently call friends, despite
their eccentric nature. Alisa finally found someone whom she didn't even hesitate to call a
friend.
She doesn't hate people. She just keeps her distance from others so that she doesn't hurt
anyone, but in actuality, she's an extremely kind, compassionate person.
And it made Masachika surprisingly happy thatshe hadn'tshown that kindnessto anyone
but him. He unconsciously nodded to himself a few times while digesting that fact.
"Yeah… She is, huh? Heh…"
"What?"
"Nothing…"
He evaded her skeptical gaze, avoiding elaboration as well, then softly cleared his throat
and announced:
"I have something I want to talk with you about, but it's kind of serious. Is that okay?"
"…Sure."
"It's about the student council election. I put a lot of thought into it, and I considered
that maybe we need to make some time to improve your social skills. I figured it'd be hard
to get elected when even your supporters think you're cold."
"…"
In short, he was telling her indirectly that she was a rather unsociable person, and she
fell silent. Perhaps having it pointed out to her was painful, especially since she already
recognized this herself.
"But after thinking about it some more, I changed my mind. You don't need to improve
your social skills."
His voice was like a warm flame within the dark sadness of Alisa's silence. She looked
back up at him doubtfully, and he held her gaze.
"You've shown that you're perfectly capable of making friendsin your own way without
my help…and it's really relieving to see. It honestly warms my heart." He smiled bashfully.
Alisa's eyes shot away, and she quickly replied:
"…Yuki and Ayano are good people. That's why."
"So are you," he replied without missing a beat. Alisa was once again at a loss for words.
Her mouth opened a bit to almost reflexively deny it, but before she could even utter a word,
Masachika added:
"And everyone in the student council has already realized that as well… Sayaka and
Nonoa, too."
"…"
"Just in case this wasn't clear, I meant what I said at the closing ceremony. So many
people would support you and cheer you on if they got to know you. That's why…I think
you'd really benefit from initiating the conversation and being more outgoing. You're far
more likable than you think."
"…Uh-huh."
She gave a small nod in response, but it was just followed by silence. Only the sounds
of the waves could be heard as they faced forward together, gazing at the sea.
"<You too.>"
"Hmm?"
"…Nothing."
As he watched her curiously, she shook her head softly and grew quiet once more. A
melancholic air filled the void between them. Maybe that wasn't something I should have
brought up during our vacation, Masachika wondered.
"Anyway, it doesn't look like you're getting any bites. What are you using?" he asked,
his voice a bit louder as he stretched in an exaggerated manner and eyed the bobber floating
in the ocean.
"…What do you mean?" questioned Alisa, slightly raising an eyebrow and looking back
up at him.
"For bait."
"…Nothing."
"Wait! You're using a lure, then?! Isn't that a little difficult for beginners? …Hold on.
You are a beginner, right?"
"…Yes," Alisa replied, a bit displeased.
"Uh… You can't just wait for a bite if you're using a fishing lure. You need to move it
around a bit to make it look alive to trick the fish," Masachika suggested, using only
knowledge he'd gained from manga since he, too, was a beginner when it came to fishing.
"…Like this?"
"You have to move it a little more than that."
"Why don't you give it a try, then?"
With a slight pout, she held out the fishing rod, which he reluctantly grabbed while
whispering, "I'm a beginner, too…" He then thought back to when he saw famous people
fish on TV and tried to mimic what they were doing. A good twenty seconds or so went
by, when…
"Oh, I think I got a bite."
"…?!"
Masachika gave the fishing rod a small tug as the line faintly vibrated. He immediately
felt something pulling back, so he started rotating the handle to the reel right away. After a
few seconds of struggling, a small horse mackerel suddenly shot out from the sea.
"…!"
"That's one down! Heh! I'm afraid of my own talents sometimes." He narcissistically
smirked at Alisa's wide eyes, but the instant he flipped the fish into the air and it was hanging
over the rocky terrain…his smile suddenly froze.
"So, uh… What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Huh? J-just let it go."
"But how?"
"'But how?' Just take the hook out of its mouth."
"Yeah, and how am I supposed to do that?!"
His smile faltered, and he leaned away from the fish, which was wildly flopping around
while dangling in the air on the line. After realizing he couldn't do this without the use of
both hands, he placed the fish along with the rod down onto the ground…where the fish
continued to flop around. They edged back. It was one of those rare cases where both people
were the sort who couldn't touch fish that were alive.
"H-hurry up and save it already."
"Huh? But…what if it bites me?"
"It isn't going to bite you!"
"Really? Wait. Where am I even supposed to grab it?"
"Don't look at me."
They were helpless. But the fish was slowly approaching death, so Masachika softly
stepped on its body to hold it down, apologizing in his mind the whole time. He then twisted
the hook out of its mouth and scoop-launched it back into the sea.
"…I feel really bad now."
"…"
The overwhelming guilt naturally spilled out of his mouth while he watched the fish
descend. Alisa, clearly uncomfortable, apparently felt the same way as well as she gazed at
the sea.
"…Want to go back?"
"…Yes."
She seemed to have lost all interest in fishing any longer, despite still not having caught
one herself. After making sure Masachika picked up the rod, she started to walk down the
rocky terrain back to the beach. He promptly followed after her, but when they reached the
slope, he warned:
"The rocks here are really slippery, so make sure to be careful when you—"
"Ah!"
"Alya?!"
The instant she started walking down, her sandal squeaked as her leg slipped forward,
throwing her off-balance.
…! If she falls on the rocks dressed like that…!
A little scratch on the hand or knee would be fine. She just wouldn't be able to go in the
ocean anymore. But if she fell in her current wear, with absolutely no cushioning, she could
really injure herself on a sharp rock.
"…!!"
Sensing danger, Masachika immediately reached out with his left hand and wrapped it
around Alisa's stomach as he tried to grab on to her from behind. Although she'd just told
him a few minutes ago not to touch her, this was no time to be worrying about that.
But there were a few errors in his judgment. The first thing he didn't realize was that
since they were both wearing nothing but bathing suits, his left hand had nothing to grab on
to after he wrapped it around her side. The second was that their bodies were a lot slipperier
now since they were covered in dried salt from the ocean and sand. The third…was that the
rocky terrain under Alisa instantly collapsed when she slipped. Even though it was only the
top layer of rock that shattered, it was still more than enough to knock Alisa completely offbalance.
"Ah!"
She began to fall at an extremely steep angle, but there was nothing she could use to
catch herself, and the reduction of friction due to the salt and sand allowed her stomach to
begin smoothly slipping out of Masachika's embrace.
"…?!"
Driven by the unparalleled sense of danger, Masachika threw the fishing rod from his
right hand and wrapped his right arm around her stomach as well, putting his weight into his
heels while simultaneously looking for something to grab with his left hand.
…! Her armpit!
He immediately lifted his left arm straight up to stuff his hand in Alisa's armpit as he
looked back to check the ground behind him.
No sharp looking rocks here… Okay! This'll work!
…Putting his hands under Alisa's armpits probably would be the optimal solution if
his goal was to merely pick her up…but this was where he made his final blunder. He had
forgotten that his hand would run into two large—very large—"obstacles" if his hand was
sliding up the body of a woman.
Hmm?
The moment he lifted up his left hand, his thumb was absorbed into a soft substance
before getting caught on something. And that something was easily lifted up in accordance
with the momentum of his moving hand and her body, quickly guiding his hand over a soft
mound of flesh as his finger got stuck under some string.
Mmm?!
Incidentally, he was still not completely sure what was happening, for he was
overwhelmed by the unexpected sensation and was panicking because his left hand still
hadn't reached her armpit. Although he was alarmed that his finger was stuck, he looked
back once more to check for safety, then tightly grabbed on to whatever was in his left hand
to make sure Alisa would be safe.
"Ouch!"
Alisa immediately yelped, but Masachika was in no position to concern himself over it
as he clenched his teeth, falling backward along with Alisa.
"Oof!"
It was the result of pulling his weight back without considering all the consequences:
His rear slammed right into the rocky terrain. Although he was prepared for some pain, his
thin swimming trunks might as well have had no cushioning, because the sharp pang shot
up through his tailbone all the way to his head, causing him to see stars. It didn't help that
another human then fell into his lap, crushing his legs.
"Ouch! Mmm… You okay, Alya?"
He groaned through the unbelievable agony while lowering his gaze down at Alisa in
his arms…when he finally realized exactly what was happening. His right arm was firmly
wrapped around her waist. So far, so good. Her rear and thighs were in his lap as well. This
much was fine, too. Although her squishy, bare skin was tightly pressed against his, it was
still not that big of a deal. The real problem was…
"…?!"
"Wh-what…?!"
…his left hand was firmly gripping Alisa's right breast. Bare skin was sticking to his
palm as her chest yielded around his fingers and something poked the center of his palm.
"Sorry…!"
"Ah…!"
Masachika swiftly pulled his hand away the instant he realized what he was doing,
shaking his thumb and index finger, which had been caught under her bikini and the string.
"…?!"
"…!!"
There was nothing left to the imagination anymore. It was only logical this would
happen, since his hand had been hiding her chest in place of her bikini, which he'd
accidentally pulled up earlier. Alisa screamed wordlessly and covered herself with both arms,
thrashing about and staggering to her feet.
"Die, die, die!"
She then proceeded to kick the life out of Masachika's legs as she turned red with anger
and embarrassment.
"Ouch! I'm sorry! Ack! I said I'm sorry!"
While she may have been wearing soft flip-flops, being kicked in the bare leg still hurt,
especially with how much force she was putting into it. But he was completely at fault here,
so all he could do was apologize. It may have not been a big deal if he had touched her
over her clothes, but he'd slipped his hand under her bathing suit and groped her, albeit
accidentally. The police would usually be called under normal circumstances. "This man
right here, officer," they'd say.
"You idiot! Pervert! I said 'ouch'! Y-you squeezed as hard as you could, didn't you?!"
"I'm sorry! Ouch! I didn't— Ouch!"
It was as if saying it aloud herself made her even angrier and more embarrassed as she
kicked his legs and stepped on them with tears welling in her eyes.
Oink, oink! Yes, mistress! I deserve punishment!
Absurd thoughts popped into his mind like he was becoming a masochist under the
relentless weight of her thighs, but Masachika was unfortunately not cultured enough to
actually find joy in any of this. Instead, he was more eager for her to put her top back on than
anything. While he did want her to get her rage out of hersystem, he was having an extremely
hard time finding a place to look, since she was only covering her chest with her hands…and
they weren't as hidden as she thought they were if you peeked up at them from below.
"Hff…! Hff… Hff…"
It was hard to tell if she was sobbing or growling as she looked down at him with tears
in her eyes.
"Hey, uh… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
After he humbly apologized, Alisa swiftly turned on her heel, walked a few steps away
from him, and crouched with her back turned to him.
"Hey, that… I didn't do it on pur—… No. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry…"
He stopped himself from making any pathetic excuses and apologized a few more times
instead, but he didn't know what else to do after that as his eyes slowly wandered.
"…Masachika."
"Y-yes, ma'am?!"
"Turn around. I need to fix my swimsuit."
"Oh, okay…"
The hushed voice following the few seconds of uncomfortable silence filled him with
unbelievable guilt as he did as he'd been told, sitting on his knees on the rocky terrain. But
what exactly made this so painful for Masachika? Of course, the fact that he'd touched Alisa
was depressing, but the most regrettable thing of all to him was the fact that he found himself
feeling more excited than guilty. Before he even realized it, he was trying to remember the
sensation, which only ended up making him feel disappointed in himself. It was his own lack
of principles that pained him.
Seriously, pull yourself together. Getting excited while wearing a pair of swimming
trunks is a death sentence.
He (believed he) could still feel her warmth on his left hand, though he hit his forehead
and desperately tried to clear his mind of these worldly desires. He put a halt to every impure
thought that popped into his mind…until devil Yuki appeared on hisshoulder. "You squeezed
them! You squeezed the unsqueezable E-cups! You swine!" she shouted until Masachika
crushed her in his hand.
"<Responsibility…>"
He heard a frightening word from behind him. A word that makes any man's heart skip
a beat whenever he hears a woman say it. The single scariest (profound) word she could have
said. Which she did in Russian. While whispering. And Masachika was no exception. His
heart skipped a beat. In the bad kind of way.
Responsibility for what? Touching her bare breasts? Do I have to be her boyfriend now?
Do I have to ask her out?!
Little-devil Yuki emerged through the inward shouts of despair. "Do her. Do her. Do
her," she urged. Masachika, annoyed with her, squished her again.
Hmm… Relax. It's gonna be okay. I don't even know what she's talking about, and
she might not be serious anyway. Am I serious whenever I say something nerdy? No. I just
like joking around with a straight face, and I'm sure Alya just mutters in Russian whatever
random thought that pops into her head, so—
"<You better take responsibility…and marry me.>"
…?! I said relax! Everyone here needs to relax!
The incomparable destructive force behind those words transformed Masachika's light
head taps to furious rubbing against his temples.
Mmm…! Calm down, Masachika. This just proves my hypothesis from a few seconds
ago. Alya of all people wouldn't say something like that unless it was a joke, right? She was
just joking in Russian like she—
"<I've never let anyone touch me there…>"
"I've never let anyone" + "touch me" + "there"—the three-hit combo pierced
Masachika's heart from each angle before the large boulder of responsibility came crashing
down and defeated him. Tiny imaginary chicks circled his head like stars while little-devil
Yuki chanted: "Second base! Second base! Masachika skipped first base and went straight
to second!" She wildly kicked her bowlegs with glee. She's really starting to piss me off. Is
there really no way to get rid of her? he thought.
"<I've never…shown anyone before…!>"
The already-stunned mental image of Masachika was grabbed and thrown on his head,
instantly killing him. All he could do after hearing her strained voice tremble in Russian was
clutch his head and squat while curling forward into a ball. In the meantime, the little-devil
Yuki was clutching her stomach and cackling in his mind, but he didn't even have the mental
capacity to care anymore. I am a turtle. I am nothing but a sea turtle who made the mistake
of leaving the ocean, so now I must go back.
"Sigh… Masa— Masachika?!"
When Alisa eventually stood back up, she turned in Masachika's direction to discover
him curled up in a ball and slowly rolling toward the edge of the rocky terrain. Her eyes
opened wide.
"…?! What are you doing?"
"…I figured I'd purify myself. A good old-fashioned ablution."
"You what? Sigh… Just stop and stand up. I'm getting secondhand embarrassment."
Secondhand embarrassment. It was overkill—like kicking a dead body just for the hell
of it. He stood sluggishly, clearly despairing, which made Alisa's brow furrow with both
rage and bewilderment. Her eyes wandered for a few seconds before she spoke up as if to
cast aside any doubts she had:
"Ugh! I'm only telling you this because I don't want things to be awkward, so…first, I
want to thank you for saving me. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"Oh, uh… I'm fine."
"…Good. Also, I want to apologize for kicking you, too. But it's only natural you were
punished for touching my ch-chest, right? I know you didn't do it on purpose, though."
"Yeah… I'm really sorry about that…"
"Good… Give me your left hand."
"…? Here."
Masachika obediently extended his left arm as she glared at him with red cheeks. After
holding his left hand in hers, she used her right to mercilessly pinch the back of his hand.
"…! Ow, ow, ow, ow?!"
"And this is your punishment…! For looking at my you-know-whats!" Alisa shouted,
putting even more force in the twist before letting go. "There! It's over! What just happened
doesn't matter anymore! Got it?"
"Yes…"
"Good. Now, come on. Let's go back," she softly said as she began to walk away,
avoiding eye contact. This time, she made sure to carefully descend the rocky terrain and
head to the sand. Masachika picked up the fishing rod and followed after her dejectedly with
his head hanging. After making their way to the sandy part of the beach, they continued to
walk for a while until Alisa looked diagonally back at Masachika, who was still trudging
along with a dark rain cloud over his head, and she pouted.
"<It's nothing to be that depressed about.>"
With a jolt, Masachika lifted his head up slightly at the sound of the unexpected Russian
whisper. That was when he noticed she had a hand on her chest and was seemingly in a bad
mood for some reason as she glanced in his direction.
"<What's your problem? Was there something weird…about my breasts?>"
There was absolutely nothing weird. Thank you for the wonderful, valuable experience.
You have enough boob to fit in one hand and then some. Incredible. I wish I were dead.
Even now, his mind continued to wildly wander in the vilest directions, reinforcing that
wish. The chivalry imbedded in his mind when he lived at the Suou residence as a kid was
wrestling with his consciousness.
"…! I can't take this any longer!"
Alisa turned around in irritation and glared at Masachika, whose arms were crossed and
head still hung.
"I said what happened back there doesn't matter anymore! So don't you think it's rude
to me to still be moping around like that?!"
"…?! Oh. Right."
To Masachika, hearing the words rude to me was like waking up in a panic after dozing
off.
"Stand up straight!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
His spine immediately straightened at the sharp sound of her voice. After he nodded
back at her stern gaze, Alisa stood next to him and slapped his back.
"Come on. Get moving."
"Ow! …You got it."
She glared at him as he unconsciously smiled at her "masculine behavior," and he began
to explain himself in a fluster once more.
"Oh, no. This is… I was just thinking about how open-minded you were…"
"…Hmph."
With a pout, Alisa looked away from his forced smile. She then began fidgeting with
her hair and whispered:
"<You're still going to have to take responsibility…>"
What does that even mean?
The life in Masachika's eyes died as he stared up into the vast summer sky, puzzled by
her quick change from masculine to innocent young girl.
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