Chapter 4: A Day of Disaster and Girl Troubles. A Devil Smile like an Angel

"Today I'll be making you cooperate with me, Ayanokouji!!!".

"...what is it first thing in the morning...you're quite lively, Yamauchi...".

Having been woken from the chime to my room being rung, I sighed upon seeing the visitor, Yamauchi. 

"I'll be disturbing you!".

He's being quite lively. It's a blessing that Ike and Sudou aren't together with him too but what exactly does he want from me?

"What, were you sleeping? You're being pretty laidback even though summer vacation will be over in a few days" Yamauchi said.

I'm being laidback precisely because there's not many days left though. 

"I've decided that today is going to be a special day for me, and with that please let me come in".

Although not quite following the story and still sleepy, I welcomed Yamauchi in from the entrance. Then I prepared a cup of barley tea for him. 

"So...do I have something to do with what you're doing on this special day?".

"I won't let you say you've forgotten, Ayanokouji. That I have the right to know Sakura's contact number!".

He cries that out strongly towards me. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and reflected his seriousness. 

"I see.....".

In regards to that matter, since I was at fault for all of it, I cannot simply refuse to listen just because it happens to be inconvenient for me. A while back, on the condition that I would tell him Sakura's contact number, I had Yamauchi act out a role not dissimilar to that of a clown. As a result of that influence, Yamauchi's evaluation from Horikita in particular had gone down. Of course it would only be right for me to tell him Sakura's contact number, however, since it was something I had done without her consent, I prioritized protecting her and even until now, I have yet to tell Yamauchi of Sakura's contact number. 

I certainly need to repay that favor. 

"I think it'll be pretty difficult if you've come to hear her contact number...?".

"That's not it. I've given up on that".

Saying that, Yamauchi brought out a white letter he must have been holding in his hands. 

"I've put down all my feelings for Sakura in this one sheet!" he said.

"Put down.....you mean this is a love letter?".

"That's right! Inside here I've written about how much I love Sakura! Try reading it!".

Then saying that, he took that letter from before, closed with a seal, and showed it to me. 

"Dear Sakura Airi-sama. I have been interested in you since a long time ago, please go out with me".

"It's a rather simple love letter that's too formal from the beginning...".

Towards me who pointed that out, Yamauchi had a prideful expression on his face. 

"Just writing long sentences by itself isn't good, I'm telling you".

That might be the case, but with just this much there would be little to no context to the writing, would there? I can also see the person receiving it being troubled. Even more so if the person receiving it is Sakura. 

"Why is it in print instead of being handwritten?".

"Yeah, I'm not really proud of this but my handwriting sucks. I used print to make it easier to read. I was sort of worried she might misread the sentence?".

He then scratches the bottom of his nose with his index finger with a proud expression, but I don't think it's that important. 

"And also, these days don't they even use print for your resume?".

"If you really want to convey your feelings to the other person I think a handwritten letter is better. And why did you use such a horror-like font for your text?".

A strange demon exists! It feels like that font that looks like it could be used for a headline is going to be used to curse someone.

"How do I put it, doesn't it have impact? Like an 'I'll be thinking of you forever' kind of feeling".

"I suppose I'll give in unwillingly for now...the problem is the last part here".

A part written for him to show his appeal.

"If you would go out with me, I'm prepared to hand over all my points to you every month. As a tribute!". 

"This is too much, no matter what". 

"What do you mean? They say cute girls like to be paid tribute to, you know? And besides, I want to date Sakura even if I have to give her all my points, that I like her this much, I think that passion will be conveyed to her" Yamauchi said.

I can't deny that this too is an expression of love, but the way this is it can be taken to mean he's asking her to date him for money. 

"This is just fine. I don't care even if she's only after my money I just want to date her.....is it that bad?" Yamauchi asked. 

As I nodded in response, Yamauchi, while showing an expression as though he could not comprehend it, did seem to show a slight bit of understanding. 

"...I just want to confirm one thing but are you seriously intending on confessing?".

"Yeah. Starting from the second semester I'm going to start my dreamlike school life, I'll be betting it all on this. I've already negotiated with Kikyo-chan to call Sakura out".

In his eyes there was nothing that could be made fun of, and only the figure of Yamauchi who had firmed his resolve remained. After having witnessed something like that, I could not even slight him. 

If I have any feelings of respect towards Sakura I should be stopping him, but his method is honest. I should honestly be lending him a hand. 

"So.....what should I do? Should I just be checking the contents of the letter?".

"There's that but there's one more important role for you. That is basically, I'd like you to deliver the letter to Sakura".

"What? What did you just say?".

For a moment I thought I had misheard and so asked again. 

"Like I said, I want you to deliver the letter in my place. I've been feeling nervous since the morning, the last time I felt this nervous was when I was competing in the final game at the National Sumo Stadium and won. That's why I don't have the confidence to hand it over properly and talk with her".

I wanted to ask exactly what final game at the National Sumo Stadium he had been competing in, the details of his usual lie but that was a weak statement uncharacteristic of the Yamauchi who's always straightforward in regards to love as he seems to be in high tension. 

"If you say the contents of the letter are a problem, I'll properly rewrite them. That's why---please!".

Bringing together both his hands, Yamauchi lowered his head and requested that of me. 

"And also, I'll let bygones be bygones. No, even if Ayanokouji gets into trouble I'll cooperate with you!".

"...if you're insisting then I don't mind accepting it".

"Really?".

"But no one knows whether it'll be a success or a failure. It all depends on Sakura's feelings. Do you understand that?".

"Yeah. I'm not an idiot too. I know my chances aren't high".

Perhaps he's carrying a large anxiety in him, but he seems to understand that his chances of success aren't even 50%.

In fact, there's a part of Sakura that actively withdraws from men. Considering that, his chances can almost said to be despair-inducing. But even so this man came with a fighting determination right now to this place.

"...I understand. I'll convey your feelings. Is that fine?".

If that's the case, there's no fair or unfair. 

"Ayanokouji.....! You've saved me!".

Grasping my outstretched hand, Yamauchi lowered his head almost as if he were worshipping a god. 

If that's decided, then first I'll need to review the contents of the letter. If the person receiving it is to be Sakura, first it needs to be gentler, and written in a way that properly conveys feelings, if not it won't have an effect on her. 

Yamauchi prepares his resolve. But really, if it's true this is still too premature. For those two who have not even exchanged their contact numbers, a confession is just a risk. If he wishes to raise his chances of success, he first needs to firmly attack her. But, Yamauchi's methods too, should not be wrong. Romance is always something that starts spontaneously, and there have been many cases in the world of a romance starting from zero. 

"First the start---".

Like Yamauchi, my romance experience is also zero but at least let me consider a statement befitting it. 

"Oh, that's right. Please just let me add on one order. The answer to my confession, I want it to be answered behind the school building".

"Behind the school building? Towards the second gym?".

"Yeah, yeah. There's a rumor you know. If you confess there, things will go well".

It's probably similar to the legendary under-the-tree confession. Rumors seem to waft in from everywhere. 

"I see. So it's part of the stage, huh?".

"Naturally it's not just rumors. If it's a student confession, it has to be behind a school building. They call this a rule".

I could not find a connection between a confession and behind a school building but, I can imagine what kind of situation he's thinking of.