Chapter 4: 4

Chapter 4 - Palms, Cherry Blossoms

It seems that the idea of escaping from the fact that I might be able to handle it after this vacation turned out to be a naive thing.

    "I will try to live a life without my idol aura."

The battle to turn Kasumi back into a normal girl has begun, but we're still isolated.

    "Seriously, it's time to do something about this situation."

    "Mou───. I think I've been doing my best not to wink these days. My signing habits have also been better. So, praise me for all my efforts! It seems that this happened because of you, who put in less effort."

    "Then try harder not to show it!!"

    "I can't. Because Miru thinks it's cute."

    "Damn... cute is the most annoying thing!"

Miru giggled as she tilted her head in an odd way.

The few people who caught a glimpse of her were shocked by her beauty and threw themselves on their tables.

Seriously, can't she do something about this situation?

By the way, Kotono was one of them. If this continues, the time will soon come when she will be exposed as a hardcore idol fan. Hold on, you otaku-idol.

But lately, whenever Kasumi made a mistake, I would give her a reprimand so that she would not get carried away like before. Thanks to Kasumi's normal notebook and honest attitude (or perhaps her cute attitude), her classmates are beginning to accept her, albeit slowly.

However, because she had so much trouble with them before, she still kept her distance from Maina and her group, but no problems arose between them. Maina has an outspoken personality, but she is actually a good person.

By the way, I didn't hear "don't be stupid" and other bad words in the corridor as much as I used to. Hooray!

So, my classmates have gradually been able to talk to me about important things, but the biggest problem right now is that Kasumi excessively attacks them every time they approach me.

    "Okay, as I have told you over and over again. Don't tell people you like them right away. It'll kill them."

    "I tried my best to hold it in, you know? But you're not even embarrassed, Ren-kun. How come?"

    "Yes, I can face you because I have tolerance in that regard, even though I am really tormented in my heart. So if you can, I really want you to stop it, even if it's with me."

    "Fufu. Hmm, the words "I like you very much" from me are slowly becoming famous like a weapon, huh..."

    "Don't say that proudly."

At this rate, she was far from being a normal girl. So she had to start by getting rid of her ingrained idol habit.

While we were having a strategy meeting in this corner of the classroom, which had become our daily place of interaction, one of my classmates, a man, came here.

    "Umm, Kashiwagi-kun and Kasumi-san. I'm picking up a notebook from a math table we did for an assignment... I'm going to bring it to Sensei, so can you give it to me?"

    "Really!? Thank you! I like you!"

    "............!?"

    "I told you to stop that... wait, he didn't take a breath!? Please take him to the infirmary!!"

    "Ah, uh, I'm sorry!"

Another precious soul was sacrificed.

On the other hand, Kasumi looks remorseful, but somewhat resigned to the fact that she has no other choice.

    "...Kasumi!"

    "I have to do this to get him interested in me. So far, I've only gotten to know Ren-kun..."

    "I told you, this isn't a handshake session. Normally, we wouldn't talk like this here. Do you understand? What Kasumi is doing now is not looking for friends, but for fans."

    "...Okay."

Then Kasumi's face turned gloomy.

Kotono's look from afar was painful to me as well.

I'm not sure if my words hurt her too much, but I'm already a bit overwhelmed myself.

    "Oh my God! I don't blame you for saying you like someone. It's just that sometimes it's wrong to say it between friends. I just want to say that you need to be more careful about how you use those words."

    "I understand. But it's...~~nothing."

It would be easier if I could say, "It's definitely nothing," but I don't think it's appropriate to interfere in a situation where the person is trying to change.

The main point is that Kasumi didn't really mean to make trouble here.

    "But by the way, he's a good person. I can't believe he went out of his way to make a notebook for us."

    "Well, that is indeed the work of the Math Subject Committee."

    "I see. But we don't have a job, do we?"

    "That's because we are the committee of festival. We have a festival in June, so it's time to discuss the details at the class meeting later."

The original plan was for the festival to be held in the fall, but they decided to hold it in June so that the juniors in the culture club could retire early and focus on their final exams.

    "I see. Well, with Ren-kun there, everything will go smoothly, right?"

    "What do you say, we'll do it together. Both of us."

    "I said that not because I wanted to make fun of you, but because I trusted you so much~~"

    "That's, umm..."

    "Fufu. Miru likes it when Ren-kun gets embarrassed."

    "I hate it."

    "I know, okay~~."

Kasumi smiled mischievously when she said that. I wish she would smile like that all the time instead of putting on that annoying idol smile, but I don't think it's an easy task to seal her ingrained idol attitude perfectly.

Kasumi is a serious person regardless of her appearance.

Her idol life is very busy, but she still does her schoolwork and never forgets it. Even now, when there are days when she lacks sleep, she is never late and comes to school every day.

So maybe, as she said, she has really worked hard to get out of her idol habit. Perhaps.

On the contrary, it is amazing that she has worked so hard to be liked by others that she unconsciously does things that are not in her nature.

I suddenly wondered if it was right to deny it out of hand.

    "What the hell. Are you fascinated by Miru, huh?"

    "No, I'm thinking about dinner tonight."

    "I want omurice tonight!"

    "No, why are we having dinner together? If we eat out, we will soon be discovered and the restaurant will be in serious trouble."

    "Eh, so Ren-kun will make it himself."

    "I won't!!"

Don't assume that we will be together tonight.

    "Yeah, I'm just kidding. There is no one at Miru's house, so if Ren-kun comes, there will be trouble."

    "That's why I said no in the first place."

Even if you are dealing with me, you should still have enough sense of vigilance.

    "Ah──, mouu..."

In such a short time, my daily life has been attacked by Miru Kasumi.

──────I'm really in trouble.

 

***

 

    "Well, we're going to decide what we're going to do at the festival later, so if any of you have any ideas, please raise your hand."

    "Yup, let's do it!"

Finally, our work as festival committee members began.

A few years ago, I was happy to be a member of the festival committee, but as a sophomore at that time, I already knew that the school festival was not so easy.

I didn't expect my classmates to be so enthusiastic about it, but thanks to Kasumi-sama standing here with me, they became so enthusiastic.

I thank Kasumi-sama for this opportunity.

    "Coincidentally, I heard that starting this year, there will be prizes for the best classes chosen by students and visitors, so I want us all to do our best."

Of course, it's important to tell them first.

Now, let's start by deciding on the theme ────.

    "Maid Cafe!"

    "Instagram photo gallery!"

And they are all idiots who just want to see Kasumi in costume.

It seems like they're just trying to get close to us at times like this...

Well, it doesn't suck, and it's much better than not cooperating.

    "We have a fixed budget, so give me the best idea that fits in."

When I say that.

    "Can't you increase our budget?"

Or,

    "If we are willing to pay for it, what are the chances?"

I have heard these questions from these idiots. But I'll ignore them for now.

    "If we have an event related to food and drink, like opening a cafe, everyone has to get involved and work a lot of shifts."

    "Eh── you have to do something about that."

    "Of course. There will also be announcements about club activities."

    "But isn't a cafe always the center of attention at a school festival?"

    "Miru agrees because it seems fun."

Kasumi, don't just smile and think about the fun there.

Why do you think I gave negative opinions before?

If it is finally decided that our class will open a cafe and you will be one of the waiters, I will be the one who will be busy managing the crowd on that day! I want you to understand this possibility!

    "Then how about opening a takoyaki stand?"

    "Eh───. What about the ghost house?"

    "Oh yeah, by the way, be careful, because if we have the same theme as other classes, it will turn into a presentation battle, and the losing class will have to work hard to show everything to catch up."

    "Kashiwagi, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

    "Then why don't we just make an exhibition?"

One after another, opinions were expressed. Kasumi silently wrote everything down on the back.

If I had made up the theme directly, people wouldn't have expressed their opinions. So here, I am taking on the role of considering every opinion expressed, based on the role Kasumi might play later. Since my handwriting is bad and I can't put things into words, this is probably the best solution for me.

    "Could it be that we could also do a play?"

    "It looks exciting. What play, huh?"

    "Romeo and Juliet."

    "Ugh, that's risky. You know, the other day..."

I'm sure you all had a lot of ideas you wanted to express.

But because there were too many ideas, the conversation in this class meeting started to get out of control.

I'd like to take a majority vote here, but there are only a few viable ideas among all the ideas that have been proposed.

Just as I was wondering if I should keep asking for opinions, a hand came to my rescue.

    "Umm, how about we make an original movie? That way fewer people will have to stay in class for their shifts."

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With a straight face and an authoritative voice. Yes, it's Kotono.

    "Oh, that sounds interesting. Yeah, it's really interesting. I just got a good camera, so we can use my camera to make the movie."

I got it, or rather it was delivered to me. Even though I said I didn't want it anymore, Fuyu-nee insisted that she would keep her promise and send it to me.

    "Why not? Then we can work on it together and get to know each other."

    "Let's have a karaoke party after the show. I've always wanted to do that."

    "I know what you mean~! It would be great if we could work less during the day. Some of us have to be busy with club activities, too."

    "But what about the script?"

    "Oh, can I write it for you? I always wanted to try it."

    "Really! The committee leader can really do anything, right? Thank you!!"

    "Nee-nee, wouldn't it be nice if the story later included school life and secrets? For example, everyone in the class participates. Then we can wear uniforms, so we don't have to prepare extra costumes!"

Starting with Kotono's opinion, the classroom, which until a while ago had only the most prominent boys voicing their opinions, is now filled with diverse opinions.

I looked in Kotono's direction and got a pat on the back and a wink, which was poorly done from a position where I was so used to seeing Kasumi's wink.

Apparently, she had seen me in trouble before and decided to help me.

As expected from a committee leader with five years of experience, she is indeed different.

    "Then those of you who want to show the original movie, please raise your hand!"

A majority of the votes supported the proposal, if you look at the calculations again.

It seems that our class will show the original movie later.

I'm glad the decision was made so quickly. Last year we couldn't agree at all, but when another member of the festival committee made the same proposal at the last minute, it was somehow accepted, and we ended up selling chocolate bananas by fighting each other.

This way, we were able to reduce the cost of materials and avoid the riot that might have occurred if Kasumi had appeared on the day of the festival. Besides, acting is a special skill for Kasumi, who has even appeared in dramas. This might be a good opportunity for her to fit in better in class.

I looked at Kasumi with a sigh of relief, and then────.

    "As I thought, I won't be performing."

Kasumi said this with her bright and shiny smile.

    "It's not that I don't want to be in the show, okay? You know, I'm a top star, and if I perform, people will come and make trouble."

The classroom, momentarily confused by her joking remarks, soon filled up again.

    "Ah── yes, that's right. In that case, you can't help it."

    "On the other hand, if Mirufy performs, we will definitely win, right? Ah───. I thought we would easily win the grand prize."

    "Fufufu... Actually, my appearance fee is expensive, you know..."

    "Well, that's obvious, right?"

    "Eh!?"

Yo! What a natural teaser. However, she is cute and outgoing, and her classmates like her, so I think it will not be long before she can really fit in.

I pulled Kasumi back, who was starting to get carried away, and then started to summarize the situation.

    "I will be responsible for the shooting, the committee leader will be responsible for the script, and the rest will be the prop maker and the editor of the movie. So that's the kind of proposal our class will make later."

A wave of applause went up. Today's class meeting session ended peacefully.

Now all that remains is for me and Kasumi to finish the proposal and go to the teacher's office to hand it in.

 

After school. We stayed in the classroom together to work on the proposal.

    "Hey, you know. Are you okay with that?"

    "...Huh?"

    "You're not going to be in the movie later, are you? Although you're very excited about the festival."

    "Being behind the scenes is a great job too. Oh no. This is discrimination against those who work behind the scenes. Ren-kun, you are so bad!"

    "That's not what I meant."

Perharps, it was not the kind of relationship she wanted. But I still want to go in.

She is very shy even though she was born to be an idol, and she was a lonely person whose distance bothered me when we started to get to know each other.

We were actually alone together, but I could vaguely feel that she was worried about something.

    "Man, it's okay. If Miru does it, it will be ruined later."

The mile-feuille layer of her began to crumble.

I noticed that her big, starry, sparkling eyes trembled for a moment, as if she was holding back tears.

She's a very popular girl, but she has no more friends than I do, and she's afraid that if she doesn't say "I like you" to anyone but herself, they'll hate her, and she lives her life rigidly, armed with her 'idol' aura.

And it seems that she can't live without it.

    "...What do you mean? You ruined what?"

    "I'm going to destroy everything. I can't read the atmosphere. I don't even know what a normal thing is. If you realize that, I will always drive people away."

    "I know that, but..."

In other words, I think Kasumi is trying to say that she probably created the same situation as during the parade at Disneyland the other day.

It was just a parade for fun.

Maybe in her daily life as an idol, she has created that situation many times without realizing it, and the people around her have distanced themselves from her.

"But that's why you have me."

I'm a person who can't be passionate about anything, so much so that I wonder if the internal functions of my body that can excite me are already broken compared to Kasumi.

At first, I did it so that I could change and discover what excites me. But now I really want to help Kasumi.

She's clumsier than she looks, she's strong but fragile.

    "Maybe you are disappointed? Or maybe you regret accepting me to cooperate."

    "This is my responsibility."

    "But it might happen later, I'll mess it up again! In fact, ever since Ren-kun cooperated with me, more and more people are willing to talk to me."

Kasumi's words didn't stop.

    "Then I'll stay away from the word normal, left alone, make mistakes, I'm sure I'll end up like that again."

Ah, so that's it.

    "Are you afraid that I will hate you?"

    "No, of course not."

    "So you are afraid of being left alone because you failed?"

    "............!!"

My question seems to hit the nail on the head.

    "It's very weak, even for a person like Kasumi-san. Even after you say it, you won't get it unless you get hurt."

    "Why the hell are you using honorifics, it sucks! Yes, it's true, but if you give up from the beginning, you won't be able to get it either. You must understand that very well, right, Ren-kun?"

I looked at her and her big eyes met mine.

Yes, I understand how painful it is. That's how I lived my whole life.

But what will she do when I tell her this?

    "I don't know. I've decided to change. Because of Kasumi."

Hearing my words, Kasumi, who had lowered her head, opened her mouth with a small voice.

    "Miru can't change you."

    "No way, because I really have changed. That's the proof."

    "...Well, then I won't give up."

    "I've already arranged a good position for you in the movie."

When I replied with a grin, Kasumi looked at me and said her unspoken voice.

    "... Mou! I can't give up acting in movies because of you, Ren-kun!"

I won!

I opened my mouth and tensed my facial muscles to contain my happiness.

    "Well, I'll make you a promise instead. As long as you insist on taking me with you, I will never leave you alone."

    "I didn't say I was lonely or alone."

    "You're right."

    "I've made a lot of mistakes."

    "Of course."

Then there was a slight pause.

    "Here, comfort me."

Kasumi said in her poisonous little voice and held out her palm.

    "Draw some kind of mark here."

    "Why?"

    "Just do it!"

I did as she asked and drew a heart symbol with a red pen and she nodded in satisfaction.

    "Yosh. In that case, let's believe with this proof!"

    "...What is it for?"

    "It's a sign of "like, like Miru-chan". As long as I have this, I can bully Ren-kun and say whatever I want."

    "What the hell is that."

    "Because you don't hate Miru, right?"

She smiled at me mockingly and seemed to have returned to her normal demeanor, but to me, who was used to seeing her smile, it looked a bit distracted and different than usual.

    "...I have no choice, so it's as you wish."

I'm sure I won't be able to hate Kasumi now that I know what's on her mind.

Kasumi looked happily at her palm with a big smile on her face.

    "Yosh. Well, draw it again when it's gone, this cherry blossom mark."

    "It's supposed to be a picture of a heart."

    "Eh, I thought they were cherry blossom petals. I thought you loved Miru too much and chose a mark according to my hair color."

    "Ah, just think of it that way."

    "Again and again. I like that part of you very much~"

    "Yes, you're so cute."

    "I know."

If you know, don't say it. Ugh. One day I will die, and this is no joke.

    "Well, let's talk to the committee leader now. I will ask them to give Kasumi a good role."

    "Can you stop talking like you are my producer? Kuon-chan will be surprised."

    "No, I think she'll be very happy."

This light-hearted and casual conversation and the suggestions we are about to make.

I feel like we're getting closer than we were yesterday.

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