Chapter 22: 1.2

When I almost finished drinking my iced tea, Shiina arrived.

 

The girl had long hair and a cute face, cute enough that everyone who passed by her on the streets would inadvertently stare at her. But, her timid nature completely ruined her atmosphere.

 

She was wearing a white one piece.

 

An outfit that would never fit her previous life as a witch, but it completely suited her current appearance.

 

“H-Hello…”

 

Shiina, who was acting meek like a cat because Hina was here, greeted us in a low voice.

 

“Woah! You’re looking cute today too, Mai-chan! I love you!”

 

After saying that, Hina immediately hugged Shiina.

 

The girl being hugged flailed her hands around and turned her gaze toward me.

 

“Mmm! I knew it, Mai-chan smells nice~”

“Stop it. You’re bothering her.”

“Hehe, what, are you jealous? Only fellow girls are allowed to s*xually harrass a cute girl like Mai-chan, you know?”

“A crime is still a crime, you know?”

 

I got up from my seat because if I were to leave them by themselves, they wouldn’t be stopping any time soon.

 

“Oi, let’s quickly finish what we’re here for.”

“Fine~”

 

Hina reluctantly moved away from Shiina.

 

In the meantime, I paid for our drinks. Seeing that, Hina widened her eyes in surprise.

 

“You’re paying for mine too? That is unusually thoughtful of you.”

“Unusual? You just never asked me to. I have plenty of money from my part-time jobs, you know?”

“Thank you then~”

 

Hina saluted me before dashing out of the store, leaving Shiina and I behind.

 

As I was about to tell her to not go on her own, Shiina suddenly started to speak.

 

“Did I get in your way or something?…”

 

I furrowed my brows for a moment, not understanding what she was talking about.

 

Did she think Hina and I were dating or what?

 

“Don’t think too much of it. Hina and I are just childhood friends, nothing more.”

 

Besides, we were the one who dragged her here. She didn’t have to feel bad about anything.

 

“I-I see… That’s a relief…”

 

For some reason, she looked happy.

 

What was she relieved about? The fact that she didn’t get in our way? It was probably that, right?

 

“We’ll lose sight of Kirishima-san, we should go after her quickly.”

 

Shiina grabbed the hem of my shirt and dragged me.

 

There was a soft smile on her face.

 

Lately, this girl has been smiling a lot.

 

Her smiles were really cute too… Wait, calm down, I shouldn’t let my thoughts wander like that!

 

I mean, I didn’t think of her that way. It was just the sight of her, who’d usually quarrel with me, smiling happily like this caught me off guard. There was nothing more to it.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Shiina tilted her head. For some reason, when I replied to her, my voice was a tone higher than usual.

 

“N-Nothing. L-Let’s go.”

 

I tried to keep myself calm, but there had been something that was bothering me.

 

She was too close to me!

 

I wanted to tell her about that, but seeing her humming happily next to me made me shut my mouth inadvertently. This wasn’t a new problem either. Ever since we became friends, she always kept an unusually close distance to me.

 

It felt troubling to me because, until recently, we were enemies.

 

In our previous life, we were a hero and a witch respectively. We always tried to kill each other everytime we met.

 

I always thought that, even though we became friends, there was no way that we’d become closer in a short period of time.

 

But Shiina seemed to be thinking differently.

 

Then again, she never had a friend before, so it was inevitable that she didn’t know that friends weren’t supposed to be this close.

 

Because of that, she seemed to be completely trusting me, her very first friend.

 

That was why she kept an unusually close distance to me. So close that I felt unusually nervous.

 

“Why are there so many people here?”

“It’s summer vacation. No one wants to stay outside in that kind of heat, I guess.”

 

Sometimes, our arms touched each other.

 

A sweet and soft scent tickled my nostrils.

 

Like Hina said, Shiina smelled nice.

 

This made me wonder if this girl realized that I was a man?

 

I won’t point it out though, since that’d make me sound like I’m conscious of her.

 

“Um… Do you think… I look weird?”

 

I wondered what she was talking about when she asked that question, then I realized that she was talking about her outfit.

 

Well, it was the kind of outfit she’d never used in her previous life.

 

She looked good in it though.

 

“Don’t worry, you don’t look weird at all.”

“Really? Shindou-san picked it for me the other day and I think it looks cute. I’ve been worried that it wouldn’t suit me, but since you said so, I don’t need to be worried then.”

 

What was the logic behind that? If I said it didn’t look weird then it didn’t look weird? What?

 

She patted her chest in relief.

 

In any case, it seemed like she had been getting along well with Yuuka and Hina.

 

“Oi! You two are too slow!”

 

Hina, who went on ahead, turned around and called to us. I walked toward her faster in response.

 

A few minutes later, we arrived at the swimsuit shop. There were a lot of people here, probably because it was summer. Though, the place itself was spacious, so their existence didn’t bother me that much.

 

Then, it came to me. How did I end up in this situation, having to pick up swimsuits for these two girls?

 

I didn’t mind if it was only Hina because we were childhood friends, but Shiina was a different story.

 

The first thing I saw in the shop was a mannequin wearing a revealing bikini.

 

I wonder if Shiina or the other girls would wear this? …A-Ahem.

 

“I won’t wear something like that.”

 

When I coughed, I could hear Hina’s cold voice in my ears.

 

I looked in her direction and saw both Hina and Shiina looking at me with disgusted gazes.

 

Shiina’s face was red though.

 

Did she realize that this was the kind of thing she’d wear in her previous life?

 

“I don’t know what you are even talking about. I’m going to buy my swimsuit first, see ya.”

 

I ran away to the men’s swimsuit section and took a simple looking swimsuit. It was a gray-colored one with a single line pattern on it. Well, this should do.

 

Honestly, men’s swimsuits all looked the same. I should be fine picking a safe looking one.

 

The only thing I needed to concern myself with was the size, but it looked like it’d fit me even if I didn’t try it on.

 

“You’re going to take that? That doesn’t look bad.”

 

Said Hina.

 

She was holding three or four swimsuits in her hands.

 

“What about you? You’re going to keep one of those?”

“Mhm. I’m going to try them out first, so help me pick one.”

 

She said with a big smile. Despite her light tone, doing it for her felt too stimulating for a healthy high school boy like me.

 

Despite what I felt inside, I nodded with a calm face. Calm yourself down, my evil desires!

 

On another hand, Shiina was still struggling to pick up a swimsuit of her own.

 

“T-This one is too flashy for my taste…”

“What are you on about? This is exactly the thing you’d use in your previous life.”

“T-That world and this world are different! B-Besides, this swimsuit is more revealing than the clothes I wore back then!”

 

Pleaded Shiina with a red face. At least, she was self-aware that her outfits in the previous life were outrageous…

 

“Unlike in my previous life… I’m not confident about how I look…”

“So it was because you were confident about how you looked that you flaunted your body around like that?”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

 

An instant denial, but it didn’t sound convincing.

 

Just when I was thinking that I was going to treat her like a pervert from now on, Hina popped out from behind the curtain, followed by the sound of it being opened.

 

The first thing that caught my attention was her large chest that was held together by a white cloth. From there, I turned my gaze downward to her slim waist and the mini-skirt-like swimsuit. Whoops, I stared at her for too long.

 

“It looks good, doesn’t it? What do you think?”

 

Asked Hina, in which I replied,

 

“Not bad.”

 

Her thighs looked thick, probably because she worked out a lot as a member of the track team.

 

“…You look like you have something in mind, Godou.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

It had been a while since I heard Shiina’s cold tone. It made me both afraid and somewhat relieved.

 

“What do you think, Shiina?”

“I think she looks pretty.”

“Is that so? I’m glad you two think so! Well, since I brought the other swimsuits with me, might as well try them on too.”

 

After she said that, Hina closed the curtain again.

 

Almost immediately, Shiina dropped all pretense and glared at me.

 

“Your gaze was disgusting.”

“You misunderstood! Well, misunderstanding or not, it can’t be helped, okay? I’m a healthy high school boy!”

“Hah… Well, that means you have that kind of emotion at least. I’m relieved…”

“Do you think I’m an emotionless doll or what?”

 

As we were quarreling in a low voice like that, the curtain opened again.

 

Hina appeared with a pink swimsuit.

 

“Do you think this looks a little childish?”

“You still look good in it, nevertheless.”

 

Shiina said so, but it was true that she looked a little childish.

 

Normally, the clothes she wore would emphasize her beauty instead of her cute side like this. Though, the gap between the pretty and cute Hina emphasized her cute side even more.

 

“This looks like the one I used to wear, doesn’t it?”

 

Hina asked me.

 

“Ah, right, back in grade school, huh?”

“Mhm! Back when we were little, whenever we went to the pool together, I used to wear something like this, right?”

“Honestly, I barely even remember what you wore back then.”

“Hahaha, I knew you wouldn’t remember it. Well, to be fair, it was years ago…”

 

Hina laughed.

 

Honestly, I tend to forget my childhood memories.

 

Thanks to the memories of my previous life.

 

“…You two are childhood friends, huh?”

“I hate to admit it, but yes. We’ve known each other since pre-school, right?”

“Yeah.”

 

I’ve lived in Gunma all my life, so it wasn’t uncommon for me to have friends that I knew for a long time, but Hina was the only friend that I had since pre-school. At this point, I couldn’t imagine a life without her.

 

“Having to deal with this guy since pre-school… My condolences…”

“Finally, someone understands my pain! This guy is such a pain in the ass! He’s stubborn and the only thing he’s good at is moving his body around!”

“I know right? Not to mention he’s self-righteous, bossy and delusional.”

“Uh… I’m still here, you know? …Also, do you two really think of me like that?”

 

After I said that, both of them looked at me and laughed.

 

Oh well, as long as they were happy.

 

The routine of Hina trying out the swimsuit and me being scorned by both girls continued.

 

Then, Hina said, a little frustrated,

 

“Hm… I think I’ll take the first one. It’s a shame for the other ones… Well, whatever.”

 

Then, she closed the curtain after complaining that it was getting a little troublesome to change again.

 

Well, the first one fit her the most anyway.

 

“What about you? Have you decided which one you want?”

 

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When I asked Shiina that question, she nodded and showed me a swimsuit.

 

It was a red bikini with frills on it and it looked quite flashy. I imagined her wearing this swimsuit… Nice. Yes.

 

“W-What do you think?”

“It doesn’t look bad. Gotta see you wearing it first to be sure though.”

“You want to see?…”

 

Asked Shiina with a smug look. I quickly shook my head in denial.

 

“Not really…”

“Is that so?…”

 

She muttered, looking slightly dejected. I don’t understand, what’s the right answer here?!

 

“It’s fine. I know that you don’t want to look at my unattractive body…”

 

Shiina showed me a dark smile.

 

Her complex about her current appearance was deeper than I thought.

 

‘You only realize the importance of someone when they are gone’, was that it?

 

Shiina sighed before saying,

 

“I guess I really shouldn’t go… I can’t swim anyway…”

“You can’t swim?”

 

When I asked that, she nodded while pouting. Well, I kinda expected that.

 

“I-I didn’t need to swim back in our previous life, okay?!”

“Yeah, but there is this thing called swimming class in this world, you know?”

“…I skipped them because I got scared.”

 

The famed Witch of Calamity was afraid of swimming pools?

 

“D-Don’t laugh at me!”

“I haven’t even started laughing yet.”

“You were about to!”

 

Scold me after I do the deed at least, please.

 

“I don’t care if I can’t swim or not! Besides, I’m just a normal high school girl now!”

“‘Normal high school girl’ normally should know how to swim, you know?”

 

When I said that, she slapped my back.

 

Well, I knew that she wasn’t athletic in the first place.

 

“If you can’t swim, why did you agree to go in the first place?”

 

If I were her, I wouldn’t even consider going to the vicinity of a swimming pool.

 

“…I mean, everyone went out their way to invite me. I didn’t want to turn them down.”

“You can always refuse, though, no one would complain.”

“I don’t wanna!”

“You don’t want to?!”

 

What a childish woman.

 

Why can’t she just be honest and say that she can’t swim instead of pushing herself like this?

 

“…I don’t want to be left out, okay? I want to play with everyone too!”

 

…Understandable.

 

I didn’t expect that answer though. Now, I didn’t know what to say to her.

 

I couldn’t see her expression from her because she hid her face, but I could see her ears reddening.

 

“I-I see…”

 

Suddenly acting meek like this, I didn’t know what to respond to her!

 

The air around us turned awkward and we fell into an uncomfortable silence that felt like it’d last forever.

 

Just as I was thinking about how to get away from here, Hina came out of the fitting room.

 

“What’s wrong, you two?”

“N-Nothing.”

 

Replying to the confused Hina, I pushed Shiina, who was still hiding her face.

 

“C’mon, you’re going to try on that swimsuit, right? Do it quickly.”

 

Shiina raised her face, nodded her head and stepped inside the fitting room with a determined look on her face.

 

…This kind of exchange wasn’t so bad. But, her recent meek responses made me kinda miss the old Shiina. I missed the days when she used to treat me coldly.

 

“…You two are getting along well lately.”

 

Whispered Hina. Her voice felt a little tense.

 

“Is that how it looks to you?”

 

Actually, I wasn’t so sure about her remarks. Ever since Shiina and I became friends, I had a lot of trouble adjusting to her sense of distance.

 

It was easier to communicate with her back when we were still enemies.

 

“Mai-chan looks really attached to you, you know?”

“Attached?…”

 

I tried to deny her words, but when I thought about it for a second, her words actually made sense.

 

Shiina probably had forgiven me for what I had done to her. I was just the one who was confused about this whole thing.

 

“Just a while ago, you two kept getting into arguments, but even then, you two looked like you were getting along well already. Right now, she acts meekly around you and you two seem to get even closer. So, what did you do to her?”

“Your question made it sound like I did something wrong to her…”

“Hehe, I was kidding~”

“…Well, if you’re wondering what happened, it’s just we finally became friends now.”

 

That was all there was to it.

 

I dragged her out of her comfort zone.

 

I became her friend and promised to her that I’d ease her suffering and make her happy.

 

After that, her attitude toward me softened.

 

“…Is it really all there is to it?”

“What do you mean?”

 

When I asked her that question, she just shook her head. What was she even thinking about?

 

“…Don’t mind it. I’ll keep it a secret from you, Godou.”

 

What the hell? Why can’t you just tell me?

 

I almost spit those words out, but I decided not to.

 

Because at the moment, Hina had an empty stare and her tone was unusually serious.

 

“U-Um… I’ve finished changing…”

 

Shiina peeked through a gap behind the curtain.

 

At that moment, Hina’s eyes sparkled.

 

“Let me see! Let me see!”

“N-No! I-I mean… W-Wait! W-Wait, please!”

 

Hina forcefully opened the curtain despite Shiina’s plea.

 

…Hina had her beaten completely in the chest area, but there was still plenty of meat there. Her body curved in the right places too. Meanwhile, her legs looked slender and smooth.

 

The deep red bikini covering the important parts of her body looked rather seductive on her.

 

She was hiding those important parts with her hands from my gaze.

 

Her gesture looked so cute, but it made me inadvertently turn my gaze away.

 

My guilty conscience couldn’t bear to look at her.

 

“D-Don’t look at me!”

 

Too late, I already looked toward the other side.

 

Still, if she didn’t want me to look at her, why did she even do this in the first place?

 

“Don’t be shy, Mai-chan! You’re cute!”

 

Hina snickered like an old man.

 

I couldn’t see what she was doing, but from their voices, I understood what was happening.

 

“Let’s see~ Your weak point is here!~”

“Ah! S-Stop touching me at weird places!”

 

Wait, what the hell were they doing?

 

We were still in a public place!

 

While I was struggling to decide whether I should jump in to stop their folly or not, Hina already stopped.

 

In any case, the swimsuit fitted Shiina perfectly.

 

“You sure you don’t want to look at her, Godou?”

“She said not to.”

“She’s just being shy! C’mon, take a look at this cutie~”

 

Hina grabbed me by the shoulders and forcefully turned my body around.

 

Suddenly, my eyes met with Shiina’s. She froze in place before panicking for a second, but she eventually settled down and placed both her hands on her back.

 

Her face was as red as tomato and she turned it away as if not to meet my gaze. Despite that, she showed me her swimsuit.

 

This uncharacteristic appearance of her made it hard for me to avert my gaze from her.

 

“…Say something.”

“…I-I think you’re cute.”

“…I-I see. I-I’m going to change back.”

 

She immediately closed the curtain again. My heart was beating loudly. What was going on?

 

I felt the urge to run away and go back home but, at the same time, I wanted to stay here.

 

 

…I should calm myself down.

 

I let out a deep breath and regained my composure immediately.

 

On the battlefield, keeping your emotions in check was a necessity.

 

Thanks to my training, I could regain my composure with a single deep breath.

 

My heartbeat started to slow down as well.

 

…Now that the adrenaline had subsided, a wave of embarrassment came rushing to me.

 

What the hell are we doing in this kind of place?

 

It was a good thing that there were no other people in our vicinity. If there were, it would be really embarrassing. Calling Shiina ‘cute’ was bad enough already, I didn’t need any more hits to my dignity…

 

I let out a sigh and turned my gaze to the side… Only to see Hina staring at me.

 

“W-What?”

“Nothing~”

 

Said Hina as she turned around.

 

After that, she just walked away from me. Since she was bringing her swimsuit around, she probably went to pay for it.

 

Not long after, Shiina came out of the fitting room and said that she’d be buying the red swimsuit after all.

 

I couldn’t bring myself to look at her, so I just nodded my head.

 

“What about you? Are you not going to try on yours?”

“No, it should be fine in my case.”

 

Unlike with women’s swimsuits where you’d need to consider the chest and waist size, men’s swimsuits were practically just shorts.

 

“It’s not fair, I want to see yours too…”

 

Muttered Shiina.

 

“I mean, you’ll see me wearing it tomorrow anyway…”

“Right… Now that I think about it, a lot of people will see me wearing that swimsuit…”

“…If you hate it, you don’t need to go, you know?”

 

Honestly, I didn’t want people to stare at her that much.

 

“It’s fine. Besides, I got to let you see it before anyone else…”

 

We had such a conversation as we stood in line and headed to the cash register.

 

…I wanted to ask what she meant by saying that, but I was too afraid to.

 

Lately, it was hard for me to say what was in my mind.

 

Talking to friends wasn’t supposed to be this hard, right?

 

While I was thinking of that, the cashier had finished counting everything.

 

“Hey~ Over here~”

 

Hina, who went ahead of us, waved at us.

 

“Look what I got~”

 

Even though we had finished what we came here for, it seemed like we’d still be staying for a while longer.

 

After that, Shiina was used as Hina’s dress-up doll for the rest of the day.

 

We only broke up after Shiina was exhausted.

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