Author’s notes: I’m sorry that I couldn’t update a new chapter yesterday. Basically, I update on Saturdays at around 21:00, but I may have to update on Sundays from next week onwards… I’ll notify you when I do. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.
Do you remember? The promise I made to Koma in September. A special punishment game was prepared for me because I speak ill of myself.
I encountered a group of pick-ups at the beach shore during the summer holidays, and I responded in a very poor way…. I made Koma worry and be anxious a lot.
And because of it, that night… ‘Nee-sama is a little too humble’, she pointed out, and Koma pleaded with me to ‘I want you to take better care of yourself’ and ‘I want you to change your mindset’—-
‘Please hold back from making self-deprecating statements in the future as much as possible. If Nee-sama makes such a statement in front of me… Then as a punishment I’ll take your lips mercilessly♡’
I made that kind of promise to her.
I have tried to avoid such comments as much as possible since the established punishment game is also a reward in a different meaning. Well, at home I let my guard down (I didn’t do it on purpose to kiss Koma, okay? Really, you know?) and sometimes I’d make a mistake in front of Koma, and I’d get punished, but… But outside, I think I rarely say anything in front of Koma that would anger her anymore.
Because I got scolded by Koma, Aunty and the editor that excessive humility would anger and hurt others, and above all, it was quite shocking knowing that I had unwittingly hurt my little sis who I love the most…
But…
“….. Mako-nee-sama.”
“Eh? What, Kom—”
“Punishment game”
“Bmhg!?”
… I think I was at my wit’s ends because so many things happened yesterday and today that were so fast-paced. Because of this, I didn’t pay attention to the punishment game, so I accidentally uttered the NG word in front of Koma at lunchtime today, and for the first time in school, I was punished for it.
Now. As you are already aware of, even today I’m in the spotlight in a not-so-good way. This morning’s event, as well as the rumors circulating by the newspaper club that I’m two-timing Koma and Kanakana, had contributed to everyone starting to think that ‘maybe those two and that hopeless sister are seriously dating’.
And in that perfect moment, as if to prove that the rumors were true, I had a passionate kiss with Koma in front of everyone’s eyes… What’s going to happen, I wonder?
‘’’Tachibana, I’ll kill you’’’
… Well, that’ll happen. They’ve been avoiding directly talking about it until lunch, but after witnessing me kissing Koma, they’ve completely lost their patience. Scissors, cutters, compasses, carving knives, saws, bamboo swords, wooden knives, iron pipes (?), etc.— my classmates show them off and verbalise their heart-filled(harsh) thoughts clearly so that I can hear them.
No, it’s not just my classmates. The lunchtime incident quickly spread throughout the school… At lunchbreak, people who like Koma and Kanakana gather outside the classrooms, looking angry, regardless of grade or gender.
Apparently, they are waiting for me to come out of the classroom, and like my classmates, they are holding something dangerous in their hands, and mumbling “”‘I’ll kill you ……!!!!'” which is scary, scary on a not a laughing level. I can’t even go to the bathroom peacefully like this.
“— Dear me. I know I’m the one who caused this, but… I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.”
“… Yeah.”
It seems that I can count on one hand the number of people on my side in this school at the moment. One of my allies, my best friend Kanakana, smiles bitterly as she defends me from the piercing stares of most of my classmates and the entire school.
“Well, we were doing that in front of everyone so it was inevitable this would happen. Mako is really popular, aren’t you. The whole school, including me, are giving you passionate glances.”
“… Leaving aside Kanakana and Koma’s passionate glances, I’m fine without the passionate glances of the others…”
I reply with an exhausted voice to Kanakana who is teasing me sarcastically. And I think it’s not me who’s popular but rather you, Kanakana.
… See, look at it. The extraordinary murderous intent sent to me by the first year students who adore Kanakana.
“… So, it’s true, isn’t it? The rumor that Kanae-senpai kissed that person is…”
“… Un. On top of confessing to her… I asked my senpai directly…”
“It’s a lie, right… Kanae-senpai, why did you…? Kanae-senpai, why did you…. Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why…”
It seems the uproar of Koma kissing me has convinced those girls that Kanakana has kissed me too.
… In reality, Kanakana kissed me just yesterday so I can’t even make a bad excuse… If Kanakana wasn’t guarding me then those girls probably would…
“Ehm… Kanakana…”
“Hm? What is it, Mako?”
“That… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Sorry? You’re sorry for… What are you on about, Mako?”
“Just… I got you involved in this and now I have you protecting me… I feel a bit guilty due to it… I’m really sorry, Kanakana. Thank you too…”
“… Aah, so it’s about that.”
I sincerely thank and apologize to Kanakana for protecting me. Fortunately, even those who are half-mad and trying to kill me still seem to have enough reason to be mature and calm about the possibility of getting Koma or Kanakana involved in danger if they are with me.
Well, if I leave their side for a moment or show the slightest hint of an opening, then it’ll be the last moment—
“Hey, Tachibana. Come have fun and play baseball with us!…. You are the ball!” ←- Baseball club member swinging a nail bat
“Tachibana-senpai, let’s play archery together♪ …. Senpai please take the target role!” ←- Archery club members with set-up bows
“Yo, Tachibana-kun. Won’t you do boxing with us? …. Aah, we’ll have Tachibana-kun be the punching bag!” ←- Boxing club members wearing brass knuckle equipment
They are sharpening their tools, looking for an opening, where I will be surrounded and captured in no time, and my life will be fleeting and a very short one.
I don’t know if they took pity on my current position where everyone is my enemy, but Kanakana and Koma volunteered to be my bodyguards. Thanks to Kanakana’s promise to stay with me when I am in this classroom and during moving classes, and Koma’s promise to stay with me during lunch breaks and on the way to and from school… I can manage to pass my days without getting a single injury.
“It’s not really a big deal for me. I’m just staying near Mako. In the first place, we are the cause of why everyone is looking at Mako with hostility, right? In a way, we’re responsible too, and there’s nothing for Mako to worry about.”
“Hearing you say that makes me happy…”
Thank you so much my guardian angels, Koma and Kanakana… I can’t thank you enough for this…
“Also you know, Mako. It’s me who should thank you. As for me, I’m honestly grateful to be Mako’s bodyguard.”
“Yeah? You’re a great help… Why? It’s not like Kanakana has anything to gain from protecting me…”
“I do have something. Because… I got the chance to increase Mako’s likability towards me. What do I do except be grateful for it?”
Likability…?
“… Did you forget about it? I said it to Mako this morning. ‘I will now actively pursue Mako so that she will turn her face to me.’”
“Aah, un… You did say it.”
“Being Mako’s bodyguard means I get the chance to show her all the best things about me as much as I want. That’s why… I’ll increase your likability of me without holding back.”
Then Kanakana winks with one eye and says this cool thing while showing a nice smile.
“I’ll deal with them no matter who they are. So please be relieved, Mako. I will definitely protect you, my dear Mako.”
‘’’…. Tachibana, I’ll kill you…’’’
Next moment, I heard ominous curse-like words emanating from the mouths of the people gathered around. Uhm… Kanakana? You’re free to increase my likability, and I’m happy that you say I can rely on you, and I’m very grateful to you for protecting me, however… I think it would be better if you didn’t stimulate the people around us much.
Because, if they’re provoked clumsily… If they throw out even the very small amount of reasoning they have left, they’re going to attack me regardless of whether Koma and Kanakana are near me or not…
“More importantly, Mako. I just wanted to ask you a few questions, but… What was that all about?”
“Huh…? That, what do you mean?”
“You’re doing it again. Mako you’re dodging it. I mean, that, that. What Mako and Koma-chan did at lunch… It’s the kiss.”
“… Uggh…”
I’m on guard of the people around me, who have increased their murderous intent, and suddenly Kanakana asks me such a question. Now that I remember Kanakana had seen me and Koma kissing at lunch…
“I, to tell you the truth, I don’t know Koma that well, but… From listening to Mako talk about her, I know well.”
“You know… What?”
“Koma-chan is just like I heard from you… That she’s not the kind of shameless girl who’s going to suddenly kiss you in school for no reason. So I deduced that there must have been a reason, and that’s why Koma kissed Mako… How about it? Am I wrong?”
“… You deduced it well, Kanakana.”
I’m a bit impressed by the keen insight of my best friend. I’m even more impressed because the others don’t care why we kissed, and only think of stupid things like ‘It’s just a matter of ending Tachibana’… No, is this because there’s only crazy people around me?
“Mako’s reaction… As I thought, there’s some reason for it. So? I wonder, why were you and Koma-chan kissing?”
“… Eettoo”
… Now, what do I say? If I explained that ‘I kissed her as a punishment’ would she really believe me? Even if she believes me, there’s a good chance she’ll think I’m crazy for kissing my own sister as a punishment, so I’m not sure if it’s better to deceive her…?
No, but even if I tried to cover it up, I was kissing Koma clearly, so I don’t think I’d get through her with a poor excuse… Above all, I don’t want her to think that Koma is a compulsive kisser…
“Etto, Kanakana… That is, that… It’s kind of a punishment game I promised to Koma…”
“Hnmn…? Punishment game?”
~After Mako’s explanation~
I honestly told Kanakana what was going on after I had been struggling with the situation.
“… I get it now. It’s a punishment game(kissing) to correct Mako’s low self-esteem, which started during the summer holidays……. (*Mumble*) The kiss at lunch was aimed at me… No, I think it’s payback for yesterday and declaration of war… I think she had such intentions…”
“Uhm… Kanakana?”
“(*Mumble*, *Mumble*) She got me… Even though I may look like this, I tried my best to be brave but… I didn’t think that she’d use that kind of method to kiss Mako regularly… As I thought, Koma-chan is a tough rival…”
Kanakana starts mumbling with a complicated look on her face when I do my best to explain the reason for the kiss… Muu, I wonder if I messed up. No matter if it’s Kanakana, she’d be drawn back hearing it.
“H-Hey… Is Kanakana by chance taken aback by it…? It’s not that, you know!? This is just having no other choice but Koma kissing me… It’s definitely not because Koma is a weird girl or a compulsive kisser! It’s me who is weird… That’s why…”
“…. Hm? Aah, don’t worry about it, Mako. I wouldn’t be taken aback by something like that.”
“R-Really…? Then it’s fine…”
“… Haa… Is that so? You get kissed if you misspeak… So you’ve been kissing her every three days since the summer…”
Kanakana says ‘I won’t be taken aback by it’. But, her expression is a bit stiff.
This means that she is worrying about me, but, Kanakana’s real emotions are she is taken aback from kissing my little sister on a regular basis—-
“…. In otherwords, yesterday’s kiss with me… it wasn’t Mako’s first kiss…”
“That’s what worries you!?”
I thought she had been taken aback, but apparently she wasn’t at all. Kanakana, who traces her lips in a supremely regretful manner, I can’t help but tsukkomi her.
No, it might be very important for Kanakana who confessed to me, but…
“… Well, fine. Although she got the first strike, it doesn’t change the fact that I kissed Mako. Also—”
“Also?”
“—-Also, my first kiss(first time)… I gave it to Mako.”
‘’’… Tachibana… I’ll seriously end you…’’’
After Kanakana’s shocking statement, with a slight pout on her cheeks, angry voices filled with several more levels of murderous intent than before echoes throughout the school. Kanakana-san!? I beg you, so please don’t stimulate them so much!?
“Oi… Did you hear that, everyone…! That girl… As we thought, it wasn’t just Koma’s but also Kanae-san’s first kiss…!”
“I’m just jealous from seeing Kanae-senpai protecting me—- I resent her and yet… She’s taken senpai’s first time, I hear…!?”
“I can’t endure it anymore…! Oi, archery club members! Let’s do it right now! Aim and shoot at her! It’s fine! Don’t worry since we’ll properly coordinate our stories ‘It was an accident’ so shoot!”
“Stop! Kanae-san will get hit if you’re unlucky! More importantly, everyone! Here , use this cursed straw doll, especially made by our occultist society! You don’t have to worry about Kanae-san getting involved, and most importantly, even if you use this to curse that hopeless sister to death, Japanese law treats it as an impossible crime and you won’t be charged with a crime! It also includes a long nail for the special price of 294(resentful) yen per doll now! It’s a good bargain!”
“””I’ll buy it for real!!!”””
Especially the first-year students who adore Kanakana and the boys who seem to have never been kissed before, who are all sorts of intense. I can see them even if I don’t want to, with strange noises and tears of blood, that they’re really trying to hunt for my life.
… This is seriously dangerous. If I leave Kanakana’s side for a moment… I’ll meet the end of the line…
“… Anyhow, Kanakana. I’m glad that you believed when I told you it’s a punishment game.”
“Hn? I wonder what you mean by believing?”
“Er… That is if I speak lowly of myself I’ll be kissed by my little sis as a punishment game… I don’t think people would normally believe such a strange story, and I was worried that you would definitely be taken aback…”
Basically, Kanakana is one of the most sensible people I know, and I definitely thought she’d tsukkomi to it, but… I was a bit surprised that she believed me so easily.
“I told you that I won’t be taken aback by it…. Instead, I think the punishment game is quite interesting.”
“Interesting…? You think so?”
“Yes. ‘Koma kissing you publicly as a punishment game’…. For Mako, who is a siscon and loves Koma more than anyone else, there’s no other punishment that is as effective as this one. Koma-chan did well thinking up this kind of punishment game.”
Rather than being taken aback, Kanakana is impressed by it. I’m not sure what she is impressed by, but Kanakana has approved of this punishment game, which was Koma’s idea, as being great… I think?
“(*Mumble*)… It’s a really good punishment game, Koma-chan… Mako’s low self-esteem is… also something I wanted to change…”
“….? Did you say something, Kanakana?”
“Nhn, nothing at all. Just… I was thinking that I’d like to try the punishment game too.”
“…. Eh?”
“Un. It’s a good idea, coming from me too…. Hey, Mako. May I help with the punishment game even if my help might not be much?”
“Help… Don’t tell me.”
“You guessed it. If Mako makes a self-deprecating remark in my presence… I’m going to kiss Mako, just like Koma did at lunch♪”
Why did it come to that…!?
“W-Why!? How did it become that Kanakana is going to kiss me too!?”
“Because… Even if you refrain from making self-deprecating remarks about yourself only in front of Koma-chan, it will be meaningless if Mako makes such remarks when Koma-chan is not around, right? You can’t say that you’re really correcting yourself.”
“That… That might be true, but…”
Kanakana is right since if I try not to say the NG words only in front of Koma, then if I do it elsewhere, there is no point in correcting me. Certainly, I’ve tried as hard as I can in places where Koma is near me, but when Koma is not around— I feel like I’m pretty much slipping out and speaking lowly of myself when I’m here in Class 2-A, for example, or when I’m with Kanakana…
B-But… No matter how much of a best friend she is… Making her go along with it is…
“You get it now? I, along with Koma-chan, wanted Mako’s excessively low self-esteem to be corrected. That’s why… Let me help you too, Mako. It’s fine, isn’t it?”
“But, but! Kanakana, you don’t want to kiss me in public, right!? Above all, there’s no need for you to go so much or me to owe you…”
“… Idiot, it’s no problem. Rather, it’d work out as I wished it would. This side is thinking I want to kiss Mako.”
‘’’ Tachibana… I’ll freakin kill you…’’’
Kanakana says pick-up lines to me. And right after that speech, Kanakana fans all over the school say another pick-up line with a different meaning. If you really try to kiss me here… Their voices were so serious that I am convinced that all these people are going to kill me for real.
“If you like, shall we kiss now as practice?”
“Er, practice…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine♪ Come… Mako. Don’t worry and just close your eyes.”
Saying so, Kanakana giggles and tries to recreate yesterday’s after-school event, completely oblivious to the blend of jealousy, vindictiveness and murderous intent in everyone’s eyes.
She pulls me closer, lifts my chin with her right hand and then places her lips and my lips—
“….! No! Don’t, Kanakana…!”
“Eh…”
I unintentionally pushed Kanakana who was coming towards me before she was about to place her tips with mine a few more centimeters.
…. H, uh….?
“Wait, Mako… What happened? That was a light joke just now.”
“Eh, ah… Uhhm… I’m sorry, Kanakana!? For pushing you away!? Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?”
Because I almost did it unconsciously, I pushed her as hard as I could without controlling my strength or anything, so I thought I might have injured Kanakana. I rush to Kanakana to check for injuries.
“I’m okay. I don’t train to be weak enough to be injured by someone like Mako.”
“I-I see… What a relief… I’m really sorry, Kanakana…”
“… Uun. It’s my bad for teasing you”
She was only lightly bending backwards, but doesn’t appear to be injured in any way. Even though I was relieved that Kanakana was safe… My head is confused over my actions which I did unconsciously.
… I, why did I just push Kanakana away…? Why did I think it was bad getting kissed…? Yesterday… I didn’t think at all that I dislike being kissed by Kanakana…?
… Maybe, I didn’t like Kanakana to be seen as a public criminal by everyone…? But when I kissed Koma earlier, I didn’t push her away, even though everyone else saw me kissing her like a spectacle…
“(What is… this…?)”
How do I put it… I feel terribly guilty…. Ah, no, wait a minute, me. Why am I feeling guilty? Why do I feel guilty and to whom do I feel guilty?
It’s not like I’m dating anyone in particular, now or in the past… There shouldn’t be any reason to feel guilty, so why…?
I don’t get it… It hurts… I feel sick and fuzzy both in my head and heart…
“… (*Mumble*) I knew it, it’s bad…”
“Eh…?”
She looks lonely for a moment next to me who is bewildered… It’s as if she’s given up on something… Kanakana makes such an expression while muttering something to herself. Now… What did Koma say…? It’s bad? What is?
“Ah, no… here, look. If I kissed Mako with the whole school trying to kill you, there would be even more rioting and trouble than there is now. That’s why Mako panicked and made me stop trying to kiss you, right?”
“Ah… that’s right! That’s definitely it! If you kiss me right now… Probably because there’s a chance that everyone who likes Kanakana will just obliterate me, no questions asked.”
I agree with Kanakana’s analysis. Aah… I get it. My defensive instincts kicked in because it would have been dangerous to provoke everyone further, so I subconsciously stopped Kanakana from kissing me?
“(…. But… Is that the, truth…?”)
… I feel a little bit uncomfortable, but I don’t have time to think about it now because I don’t know who might try to kill me at any moment. For now, I’ll go along with Kanakana’s analysis.
… I’ll have to think long and hard about what this sense of discomfort is when I get home.
Tintan 