章節 4: Chapter 03 - Alternate Paths

"Alright, I'm out."

Takayuki stopped in the middle of gripping his pants as Chitose and Mika also looked at me in surprise.

"What do you mean, you're out?" Takayuki asked, dumbfounded.

I stared back in surprise and then pointed at his pants. "Dude, you're about to take off your pants. Why the fuck would I want to see what's in there?"

Takayuki gaped at me and Mika, too, seemed surprised by the turn of events. I couldn't honestly wrap my head around why, though – did they really think this sort of behavior was normal?

"You do understand that stripping in front of others," I said, motioning to Chitose and I, "in the middle of a school, no less, isn't normal, right? I mean, we're friends, I guess, but that's still fucking weird."

I mean, I had my doubts about the Takayuki's intelligence in general – he always struck me as more of a caveman type of person. But Mika had always seemed level-headed enough. Yet, here she was, suggesting something like this? Had they both lost their minds?

"It's…it's just a fun experiment, Hori," Mika said weakly.

"Maybe for you, but I'm not really in the mood to see another man's dick," I told her flatly as I gathered my things. "Look – I don't really care what you guys do, live and let live and all that, but if things are going to go down this road, I'm out."

"Dude, stop being a buzzkill!" Takayuki exclaimed. "Look, Mika'll flash you her tits in exchange! That's something you want to see, right?"

I stared at him. Was he being serious? "…did you seriously just use your sister as a bribe to get an excuse to lose your pants?" I asked.

"I…I don't mind," Mika said, regaining her coolness rather quickly for my taste.

Something was going on here. Something that was making me feel uneasy. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but Takayuki and Mika were acting weird and being really insistent on this nudity thing.

"Pass," I said flatly. Too many red flags were popping up for my taste. I glanced over at Chitose. "Look, if you want to stay, stay. But I'm going home."

I honestly don't know how I even got those words out. For the longest time, Chitose had been the beautiful flower of my life – a distant, yet physically close-by crush that I had pined for forever. Someone whose very presence and or allusion could get me tongue tied and made into a blushing mess. And yet, perhaps it was the weirdness of the situation or just shocked I was at the siblings' behavior, but I was most definitely tapping into some unknown reserves of confidence I didn't know I had.

"I, uh…" she replied uneasily, glancing over at Mika and Takayuki, who looked back at her with an expression that was clearly pleading.

And that's perhaps when it finally hit me. Earlier, before we'd come back, Takayuki had asked me about Chitose. Expressed interest in Chitose. He'd even alluded to pursuing her after I gave a noncommittal response as to whether I liked her or not. In that context, I could understand why he was eager to strip down – his intelligence was nothing to write home about, so he was probably going to try to wow Chitose with the size of his penis and his overall physique.

Unsurprising for a modern caveman.

However, Mika was the deciding factor here. She had reacted to the condoms Takayuki had bought far too comfortably. She'd even urged her brother to strip down.

She was in on this.

Somehow, that just annoyed me. Sure, I had a crush on Chitose, but this kind of devious, roundabout way of getting Takayuki into her pants was plain irritating. If he liked her, he could've just said so instead of staging this idiotic pantomime.

"Alright," I said after giving Chitose a moment to think about it and receiving no definitive answer. "Like I said, I'm out. See you guys tomorrow."

"Hori…!"

I stopped at the doorway, the door handle in hand, and turned to look at the trio. "And, by the way? Mika? Takayuki?" I said with a smirk. "Coercion and pressuring are still rape. Remember that."

I chuckled as I closed the door behind me and walked away, the calculus of what had just gone down running through my head. Mika and Takayuki had clearly planned something out involving Chitose and I that was going to go down today. The sheer convenience of Takayuki's line of questioning, his impromptu decision to buy condoms, and then his sister's inappropriate behavior all seemed to point to a plan to somehow lure Chitose and I into some kind of sexual event.

Tempting, but no. I'd read enough porn to know that arrangements like that were way too good to be true.

This turn of events, however, did give me the opportunity to verify something, however. For as long as I could remember, Chitose had been a very nice, very upright girl – it was actually part of what made me like her so much. However, the absolute passivity she'd shown towards the idea of Takayuki stripping down had thrown me for a loop. Her talk with Mika about the condoms showed she really was interested, to some extent, in sex, and while that wasn't wrong by any means, I couldn't really ignore the fact that she'd made no protest at seeing Takayuki's penis.

And so that pedestal had begun to crack.

By leaving the three alone, however, I could put that pedestal to the test. If she was the kind of girl I hoped she was, she would probably leave soon after I did. If, however, she was the kind to get led by the nose because of an overwhelming interest in sex, however, then she wasn't the person I thought she was.

Either way, I'd win.

I mean, sure, it would hurt if it was the latter case, but at least I'd know for sure.

Obviously, I didn't wait around to see what the result was. Whether Chitose stayed or left was none of my business and, to be honest, it wasn't like she was cunning enough to hide her reaction if I casually asked about it the next day.

In fact, whatever did happen after I left made her tense up substantially as I walked into the classroom. A few seats behind her, Mika shot me a curious glance. I ignored both of them as I sat in my assigned seat.

After a moment of seeing Chitose sitting ramrod straight in her seat, I admit I felt a little pity for her.

"Hah…" I suddenly fake-sighed, prompting a small jump from my childhood friend. "Good morning, Chitose!"

"G-Good morning, Hori," she greeted me softly while avoiding eye contact. "I…you came in a little later today."

"Yup," I said with a tired smile as I leaned back into my seat and stretched. "I figured I could catch a few extra minutes of sleep. Stayed up all night studying, after all."

"T-That's good…"

Those were the last words she spoke to me for the rest of the class, but as soon as the bell rang for break, she was unable to get a word in as Mika practically materialized out of thin air beside my desk and stared down at me inscrutably.

"Hori, could I speak to you in private for a moment?"

I looked up at her, then at Chitose, before I nodded. "Sure, but can it wait?" I asked. "I wanted to eat my snack, first."

Mika's stare continued to drill a hole in me, but I continued acting unaffected. "At Art Club, then?" she suggested.

I made a split decision then. If things had apparently gone down as I expected, it really was the only choice.

"About that," I said, prompting Chitose's head to snap up from staring at her desk. "I think I'll be dropping Art Club."

Mika's eyes widened fractionally while Chitose's hands went to her mouth in shock.

"I see," Mika replied neutrally. "May I ask why?"

I could tell Chitose was pretending really hard not to be listening, but I really wasn't feeling up to giving my whole spiel in the middle of a crowded classroom, so I shook my head. "Now's really not the time for this kind of talk," I said reasonably. "Maybe later?"

It clearly pained Mika to have to concede the point, but she nodded nonetheless, prompting a look of desperation from Chitose as she watched her walk off out of the classroom – undoubtedly to talk to her brother. Chitose then snapped her attention back to me, though I pretended not to notice and just ate my sandwich.

Ham and cheese. Simple, yet tasty.

"W-Why are you dropping the club, Hori?" she asked softly.

"Like I said, not the time for this kind of talk," I answered simply.

That clearly wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but she recognized she would get nothing more out of me. Instead, she turned to her desk and stared down at it quietly while I munched on my sandwich. Mika returned before the bell rang, of course, though I noticed she looked more than a little irritated. Mentally, I made a note to make a pitstop right before going home, just to tie a few loose ends.

The rest of the day passed more or less the same – except that I managed to avoid Takayuki, Chitose, and Mika quite deftly during the lunch period, if I may say so myself. Considering my old habits, I figured they'd be waiting for me at the cafeteria or on the way there, so I naturally absconded to the rooftop to eat in peace and gather my thoughts.

As expected, something had gone down after I left. Chitose had likely given in and, if I read the situation correctly, had likely had sex with Takayuki.

I won't lie – that realization hurt. It hurt quite a bit. Even after having reasoned that it could be a probability, part of me had hoped it wouldn't happen and that Chitose would remain true to this idealized version of her that I had in mind.

But she'd fallen. The pedestal was broken.

I paused in between bites to clear the tears from my cheeks and blow my nose – the cool and collected image I'd projected before wouldn't do me much good if I reappeared looking like a mess. Then, once I'd collected myself, I headed back down, making a pitstop at the bathroom for a quick whizz, making small talk with the other guys and even trading friendly chitchat with other girls, before making my way back to the classroom.

As expected, neither Chitose nor Mika were there. Likely still looking for me.

It was amusing, then, when I saw them both rush into the classroom just before the bell rang and, seeing me sitting in my seat, looked stunned and in disbelief. As class was about to start, however, they didn't exactly have a chance to bring up whatever they wanted to say, so I was left pretty much alone as class began.

I knew, however, that there would be a point where the inevitable would occur – and that moment would be when school ended. At that point, there would be no hiding, no escaping, nothing. Chitose knew where I lived and given the dynamics between her and Mika and Takayuki, I imagine she'd blab if push came to shove. Thus, I decided to collect myself and face the music like a man.

Of course, I was going to make them work for it.

Thus, the moment the bell rang and it was socially acceptable to leave, I grabbed my stuff and left without a word to either girl, who were much less quick on the uptake.

However, instead of leading them on a wild goose chase, I simply waited for them at the school entrance, opting to take a seat on the stairs.

"There you are!"

That would be Mika. Still, I didn't get up and watched her, then Chitose, and finally Takayuki walk past me then take up positions in front of me – like some kind of human barrier between me and the school gates. Honestly, if anyone was paying attention, they'd think I was being bullied.

"Not here," I cut them off from whatever they were about to say. Like I said, I'd make them work for it. "Roof."

That led to a couple of glares, but they nonetheless acquiesced and followed me up to the roof in silence – well, kind of. I could hear them whispering behind my back. Once on the rooftop, however, I walked over to the railing, dumped my bag on the ground, turned around, and leaned back on it.

"Alright, what's up?" I asked.

Takayuki clearly didn't like the blasé attitude as he took a threatening step forward to shout at me, most likely, before Mika basically elbowed him in the side, causing him to yelp in pain as Chitose got flustered.

"Why are you quitting the club?" Mika demanded. "And why are you avoiding us?"

I stared at her. "I quit the club because I damn well felt like it," I told her flatly. "And I'm avoiding you three because you're not exactly the kind of people I want to associate with."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Takayuki yelled as he raised a threatening fist.

I sighed. "Look, man, no offense – but you three are fucked in the head," I explained. I pointed at Takayuki, then Mika. "You two actually cooked up a messed-up plan to get into Chitose's pants, and you," I pointed then at Chitose, who flinched, "actually went along with it."

I spread my arms helplessly. "Now, look, it ain't my place to judge people for their preferences," I said tiredly. "But I'd appreciate it if you kept me out of your weird sex fantasies. If you wanted to fuck Chitose, just fucking say it, man. Don't play mind games."

I then stared at Mika. "And you: stop playing with people," I told her. "You act prim and proper, but I'll bet every yen in my wallet right now that you actually came up with the plan. You didn't even stop your brother from offering you to me in exchange for letting him flash Chitose."

Mika just stared back at me in silence, indicating I was on the right track.

"Let me guess: the plan was for him to fuck Chitose and I'd get to fuck you?" I asked.

"A fair deal, no?" Mika asked neutrally.

"Sure, if I had no self-respect," I replied.

"Watch your damn mouth, Hori," Takayuki growled. "That's my sister!"

"Indignation after offering her up as a bribe comes off as a little hypocritical, Takayuki," I pointed out before grabbing my bag and hefting it onto my shoulder. "But anyway, that's my reason for leaving the club and avoiding you all. I'm not going to be the fourth in whatever messed-up fantasy you were planning."

Takayuki clearly wanted to lash out at me, but Mika quickly put a hand on his chest to stop him from advancing. Chitose, meanwhile, kept staring at me wide-eyed, like she was seeing me for the first time. None of them said anything as I walked past them, except for Mika.

"You might've enjoyed it."

I paused. "And I would've hated myself if I did," I replied simply before glancing back at Chitose's trembling back. "Chitose."

She flinched.

"No offense, but you're not who I thought you were. I don't think we should walk together to school anymore or even hang out, but I do hope that whatever…this is, it makes you happy. Tell your mom I'll be switching hair stylists, though."

As I left them on the roof, I admit I considered the possibility that I'd made a mistake. Had I gone along with their plan, I might've had a chance to lose my virginity to a rather attractive girl – Mika was undeniably incredibly attractive. However, my own words came back to haunt me – if I had chosen to play along and have sex with her, while at the same time still pinning for Chitose, I would've been less of a man. I would've proven that my interest in girls was purely carnal and not, as I'd convinced myself, based on what they were like.

Now, obviously, I couldn't avoid Chitose or Mika forever – they were still in the same classroom, after all, and we still had a full two years to go before graduation. However, as a small mercy, both of them were transferred out at the end of the year to the other classroom, allowing me some peace and quiet as I redoubled my focus on my studies and rebuilding my social life – which, up until the incident, had more or less revolved around those two and Takayuki.

Though difficult at first, I found that, once I had overcome my pinning for Chitose and my weird relationship with the siblings, I could actually get along with most people, be they boy or girl.

"No, look man, the best movie in the trilogy was undeniably the second one," my new best friend, Takao, insisted during one such break period. "I mean, sure, the third one had all the best effects, but the second one had the best plot, the best acting–"

"Oh, will you just shut up about those movies?" complained Sena, my new and closest female friend. "We get it, the second one's the best! We've only heard you say it a dozen times!"

"It merits repetition!"

I laughed at the byplay and then nodded in thanks as Mari, the fourth member of our quartet, passed me a peeled slice of apple with a smile. With a mischievous grin, I leaned in and gave her a peck on the mouth, prompting her to blush scarlet.

"Hori!" she exclaimed softly.

"Oh, seriously?" Takao complained with an exaggerated grimaced. "I don't need to see that!"

"Well, at least he's romantic!" Sena sniped at him.

"I'm romantic!"

"You're about as romantic as a rusty nail," Sena shot back acidly. "I mean, when was the last time you took me on a date that didn't involve a movie theatre!"

"You like the movie theatre!"

"In moderation, Takao! Not every weekend!"

I shot Mari a wink, prompting a giggle from my girlfriend. In many ways, Mari was sort of the anti-Chitose. Rather than being a drop-dead bombshell, Mari was more classically beautiful, with soft features, black hair kept in a common bobcut, and a body that spoke volumes of her fitness and stamina as a swimming athlete.

And how would I know, you ask?

Well…a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, as they say.

"You want to go to the park this weekend?" I asked her softly, prompting a smile. "They say there's going to be an open-air concert by that band you like."

"I'd love to!" she said with a larger grin now.

"Again with the lovebird routine!" Takao complained. "Seriously, get a room."

"We're in school. Don't get a room," Sena countered flatly, prompting a laugh all around.

"Hey, that reminds me," Mari spoke up. "I heard a weird rumor the other day. Apparently, a couple of students were caught having sex in one of the club rooms."

I froze in my seat, convincing myself I was probably wrong.

Takao whistled. "Dude, that's just stupid. Why'd you ever have sex in a school like this one? It's like begging to get caught!"

Sena glowered at him. "And you'd know how?"

And just like that, the tension got defused as Takao was forced to explain himself to his irate girlfriend to my and Mari's amusement. We all knew Sena and Takao's bickering was essentially for show, as my friends had never given me any reason to believe they'd ever stray from one another.

I glanced at Mari. Nor had she.

She smiled as she caught me staring. "What?" she asked with a blush.

"I'm just lucky to have you in my life," I told her honestly.

She blushed scarlet and punched me lightly in the arm while ducking her head, but I knew I heard her say "Me, too."

That gave me a warm feeling that carried me through the rest of the day. Even as classes ended and Mari excused herself briefly to go to the bathroom, I happily waited for her at the school entrance so we could at least walk back home together – well, halfway back home. She actually lived a couple streets away.

"Hori?"

I froze. The voice was unmistakable and, somehow, capable of completely wiping out my good cheer. Slowly looking over, my fears were realized as I saw Chitose, Mika, and Takayuki standing there, staring back at me.

"Oh, hey!" I greeted them with fake cheer. "Long time no see!"

That seemed to surprise them, as they glanced at each other uncertainly.

"Y-Yeah," Takayuki replied lamely.

"You guys headed home?" I asked.

Again, an awkward pause before Chitose nodded shyly, Mika kept staring at me, and Takayuki anxiously shifted from foot to foot.

"Cool, me too," I said with a smile that actually grew more genuine as I saw a group of people coming towards us from behind them. "Hey, over here!"

The trio turned in surprise to see my friends and girlfriend walk past them towards me and I could've honestly paid someone to paint the look on all three of their faces when Mari planted a peck on my cheek. It was like pure art.

"Hey, man!" Takao said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Sorry we were late, we just had…oh, sorry, were we interrupting?" he asked awkwardly as he finally noticed the trio.

Sena and Mari, on the other hand, seemed to realise something was up, or perhaps they knew of the three already, because they each grabbed either me or Takao somewhat possessively and shot what I could recognize as fake smiles at Chitose, Takayuki, and Mika.

"Nice to meet you!" Sena said with such fake cheer I would've honestly been amazed if even Takayuki had fallen for it. "You guys know Hori, right? I'm Arizawa Sena, his friend, and this is my boyfriend, Taiga Takao!"

"I'm Hosokawa Mari," Mari introduced herself next, tightening her grip on my arm quite a bit, if I'm being honest. It kinda hurt. While at the same time it was also kinda amusing. "I'm Hori's girlfriend."

"Pleasure," Mika replied calmly, though I could tell something nasty was probably going through her head just from the slight twitch in her eyes.

Chitose and Takayuki, meanwhile, were far more awkward at introducing themselves, and I noticed that it took Chitose some effort to actually mention that she was now dating the modern caveman.

"You…uh…you guys want to hang out sometime?" Takayuki then asked suddenly – or so it seemed, though I saw Mika subtly step on his foot just before he asked.

"Sorry, but I don't think that'll be possible," Sena cut in quickly before either I or Takao could reply. "We've got a bunch of plans coming up. In fact, we're late to one right now. Mari?"

At the prompt, Mari nodded firmly and proceeded to all but drag me away, allowing me to only throw my former acquaintances and friends a lame wave goodbye. Once we were out of the school grounds and out of sight of the trio, however, Takao rounded on Sena with understandable irritation.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "You two were being super rude!"

Sena glowered at him. "Do you know who that was?" she asked.

I blinked. That implied so much. "That's just the Hayashi siblings and Chitose, right?"

Mari looked at me. "You know them?"

"I used to be in their art club, but I dropped out. I knew Chitose from childhood, though. We don't talk anymore," I assured her quickly as I saw something pass through her gaze.

"Dude," Sena stared at me. "Didn't you know? The Hayashi siblings have a rep, man. And that Art Club, too."

"A rep?" I asked with a frown.

"Wait, you mean…those are those Hayashi's?" Takao asked with wide eyes, prompting a nod from Mari and Sena. He grimaced. "Oh, ew!"

"What's going on?" I asked irritably.

"Man, those two are super weird!" Takao told me. "There's a bunch of stories about how they use the Art Club to draw in people they wanna, y'know, get down with. I heard the first time they did that was when the sister was 15!"

"They're manipulative and deceitful," Mari then added. "A friend of ours," she nodded at Sena, who nodded back, "once found out her boyfriend was seduced by the sister. And the brother's the worst!"

"Fucking pervert," Sena said with a shiver. "He's always ogling the other girls."

"Well, he's dating Chitose now," I supplied. "So maybe they've changed?"

Sena scoffed. "More like he's got a favorite toy now," she corrected me before looking at Mari. "And you saw how the sister was looking at Hori."

Mari nodded before staring at me. "Did she try to seduce you?" she asked me bluntly, prompting me to look at her in shock.

"What?"

"Did she try to seduce you?" Mari repeated.

"No!" I protested. "Well…no! I mean, she was probably going to try now that you mention it, but I walked out of there before whatever plan they had happened!"

Mari sighed in relief as Sena nodded at her sympathetically.

"You got lucky, man," Takao told me seriously. "That girl's dangerous. She's wicked smart, so they say she gets into your head and convinces you to sleep with her even if you love someone else."

"Among the girls, we call her the black widow," Sena supplied. "Because once she's got her fix, she dumps her prey."

"That is…messed up," I said, wide-eyed.

"Exactly," Mari agreed before planting a kiss on my lips that took me off guard. "And that's why I'm so happy you got out when you did," she told me softly as she broke it off.

I smiled and blushed, unable to properly answer her. Instead, I just linked her hands in mine and glanced at the road ahead. "Let's go home, yeah?" I asked.

Mari smiled back. "Yeah. Let's go home."

I looked over at Takao and Sena. "We'll see you guys tomorrow, ok?"

Takao grinned while Sena smiled knowingly. "I'm sure," she said.

And, as Mari and I walked off to spend a wonderful evening together, I couldn't help but be thankful that, despite the hurt it had temporarily brought me, I had managed to walk away from Takayuki and Mika…

…and my childhood friend, Chitose.

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