Chapter - 2

The next morning. You walk to school with Kurumi and make your way through the elevator to the shoe closet.

She let go of my hand wistfully and walked into her third period classroom.

I look at my back and sigh.

She never comes into my room to wake me up in the morning, but every time I put on my shoes and walk out the front door, as if she's timing it, Kurumi comes out from next door and grabs my hand, smiling and saying, "You're so lucky."

She interlaces her fingers in a smooth motion without any hesitation, as if she takes it for granted.

My heart leaps at the feel of her soft skin, but inside my school uniform, I break out in a cold sweat because the carnivorous flowers are dripping mucus.

Walking to school hand in hand was a concession. Kurumi wanted to put her arm around me, and I refused.

If I could, I would have said, "Holding hands is a bit...".

If I could, I would have said, "I don't want to hold hands with you. With a slightly regretful look on her face, while letting the flowers run wild.

I didn't want to see that, so I drew the line and complied with her childlike demands.

It's not that I don't like Kurumi.

It makes me happy to see her holding my hand and smiling.

I'm just hesitant to go overboard because it seems unnecessary.

If I wasn't aware of her metaphorical heart, I might have had a smooth relationship.

...It's hard to tell if it's happy or not, as long as you're looking at the big-mouthed flower of this type.

With a bitter smile, I put my shoes in the closet and headed to my classroom.

When I got to high school, we were in the same class for the first year, but when we got to the second year, there was a change and we were split into different classes.

It was quite a shock for Kurumi, and it seems that her club activities were greatly disrupted at one point.

She was comforted by a friend who told her, "We're still neighbors," and now, two months later, she's recovered.

I wonder if he was worried about being separated from his classmates and having feelings for other girls.

Since entering the school, I sometimes see chains and our metaphors of bondage on Kurumi, and it makes me nervous.

That's why I used to make up excuses to refuse when asked to go up to my room.

Now that she can't see them anymore, it's too soon to rest easy.

The classroom is different, and I don't know if she has any special connections, but she definitely feels bad on the way home if I talk to her or help her with her work.

When I'm alone with a strange girl in a place where no one else is looking, she'll come over and look like she overheard something.

She always knows where I am, as if she's wearing a detector.

His swiftness is strange.

From the time we met in elementary school, her specialty was finding lost things, and no matter how much she looked, she would find what she couldn't find in an instant, and in junior high school, she immediately realized the whereabouts of the erotic book I had hidden in my wisdom and forced me to throw it away with a smile on her face.

It's cruel to make someone throw away their belongings, but there was no way I could resist the sight of a red flower writhing in jealousy over the naked body in the photo.

That's why I still feel nervous sitting in a classroom without Kurumi.

It's not that I have anything against the girls in the class, but I don't feel comfortable talking to them when their behavior is so secretive.

Naturally, I only talk to men.

However, since they believe that I'm dating Ayase from the third class, they don't suspect anything, so they boo me.

It's like a needle in a haystack. The metaphor is really a mountain of needles or a mountain of swords.

I don't want to be sapped of energy.

Because of this, I was losing the energy to respond properly when she approached me during the break, and I wanted to keep the conversation to a minimum, especially since she was a woman.

"Senior, can I borrow your English dictionary──?"

It was an underclassman.

He came in so casually that I didn't notice him until he tapped me on the shoulder.

Normally, I would have been nervous about visiting an upperclassman's classroom, but he didn't show any signs of fear.

I can't decide whether to be amazed or impressed.

However, if you talk too long, Kurumi will hear you.

It's not like we don't know each other, so I naturally say, "Okay, give it back by fifth period," and lend her my dictionary...

...I was thinking of doing that, but it wasn't allowed.

"Hey, Yohei, who is this girl? Is she your lover?"

"Are you sure?"

"I thought I was dating Ayase from the third class, but I can't believe you're touching a first grader!"

"He's dead...! If he's not dead, I'll kill him!"

The class started chattering for one reason.

It was simply because the kid was adorable.

I'm not sure if she's half or quarter Japanese, but she's a petite girl with gently wavy blonde hair and blue eyes.

She looks more like a sixth grader than a first grader.

When she walks into a classroom of high school sophomores, she stands out.

"Lol, that's ...!"

"You know, Toden!"

"That young-looking girl is definitely Maya Araki from the fifth class of first grade!"

"Araki Maya! Is that the rumored "Rampaging Rory"!"

To summarize Toden's story in narrative mode below, she was initially responding politely to the first-year boys' stares at Hogi, but then she got angry with one word, "Araki is small," and beat up the three boys on the other side of the room, two of whom had the M attribute implanted in them, "I can't believe how good it feels to be kicked by a blonde Rory."

The other one was originally M, so I guess it's a no-count.

"They say she hates men and doesn't want to get involved because of all the bad things that happened to her, and she's been rejecting advances from all classes and all grades, but I can't believe there's a two-legged one this close to her..."

"Two-legged." I never thought I'd be called that just for borrowing a dictionary.

"Ah-...He, Araki. Never mind. Just let it go."

The behavior of my classmates who try to make up stories about other people's love affairs is incomprehensible and offensive.

I urged them to leave with my eyes.

I'm not as close to Araki as they say they are.

The only contact I have with Araki is because she's a book committee member, so we've exchanged words a few times, or we've said two or three words together in the hallway.

He is blunt and blunt, as I had heard from other book committee members that he "hates men," and even when I take out a book from a high place and hand it to him, he turns away bluntly and says "..." to thank me, and he snorts when I do something rushed.

Certainly, her appearance aside, she comes across as an underclassman who is difficult to deal with and not cute.

Her metaphor is the shell-like armor that protects her body.

Is she worried about her small body that doesn't match her age, or is she willing to make herself look bigger so that others don't underestimate her?

It's a very pathetic attitude.

Even if the face is expressionless and cold, there's a sense of desperation underneath the armor, like a kitten with its tail twitching and threatening.

As long as he knew it was a bluff, he couldn't be angered by Araki's behavior.

He hadn't intended to be anything but friendly, but there had been times when he'd cared too much, perhaps out of loneliness, not having a girlfriend besides Kurumi he could talk to casually.

So every time we met, she hardened, and her armor grew thicker.

Well, it was enough that I wasn't ignored, since seeing the metaphor meant that my feelings were headed in this direction.

However, no matter how you look at it, Araki and I don't seem to be getting along, and everyone around us is impressed with her, saying things like, "You're the only one who can talk to her without getting too close," or "Is this the power of a dunce," or "Has the time finally come to show her unprecedented affection...."

I think you're the ones who are afraid of such a smiling child.

She's small but majestic, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

It's not like I don't know how men feel when they're overwhelmed and excited at the same time.

The intimidating charm of her unconventional Japanese hair and small stature ignites a desire to get to know her.

You can't help but want to care or be cared for.

But there is no room to care and no room to be cared for.

I can feel the simmering jealousy of the guys talking in the distance, jealous of me for being in contact with her.

There's even a guy who uses the metaphor of a stake that looks like it could kill a vampire, let alone a needle.

Perhaps because of his relationship with Kurumi, his anger is doubled.

It's dangerous to continue this conversation with Araki.

It's to your advantage to send her away quickly and clear up any misunderstandings.

The thought of the disturbance spreading and reaching Kurumi... sends a shiver down her spine.

He's already aware of Araki's presence, and there's a part of him that's wary.

The moment I casually brought up the subject of Araki's existence, "A junior named ...," the carnivorous flower started to rampage even though his face was expressionless.

I tried to calm her down and said, "Oh, no, she's really cute...," but it didn't calm her down.

He's already lost his judgment.

I don't know what will happen if I provoke him any further.

But Araki stood tall, ignoring my icon taps and the chatter around him.

His cheeks are slightly flushed, and his lips are trembling slightly.

What's wrong with him? I question, my gaze falling on Araki's uneven body.

The metaphor I see is armor. A Western-style armor with graceful curves covers Araki from the neck down, symbolizing her stubborn emotions.

It's the same as when they first met. The same hard steel I saw then.

But it's strange. It's always been polished to a deep shine, rejecting any interference, but now it's cracked and pockmarked, creaking all over.

A rush of emotions, as if it would shatter in a second and something would spill out from inside──

An ominous premonition flashes through my mind.

Why did this guy come all the way to the upperclassmen's class to borrow an English dictionary in the first place?

He hates men, but he has a friend of the same sex.

He could just go to another class and borrow it and be done with it.

I don't know. But it's definitely not normal, that's all I can say.

"...Araki, stop ...!"

Jeji's voice was late.

"I like it──Senpai."

"Let's go out, please."

After a moment of silence, the armor shattered with an exhaling sound.

Exposed──the hidden plants.

Long, slender vines and leaves stained red.

Ivy. It clings tightly to the back of my armor, swimming through the air, demanding a new home, entangling itself with me.

My breathing stops. Entangled, even my fingers freeze.

No. The metaphor is only a metaphor... entangled and yet able to move.

It is because of my terror that I cannot move.

Alas... this thing, what has it done.... I looked up in a dazed state.

Araki's cheeks were flushed red, and she was smiling like I'd never seen her smile before.