Chapter – 05
Punishment Game
Lunch break.
I left the classroom to avoid people’s gazes and found myself at the bike shed behind the school building, where it seemed relatively empty. I sat down on a step with just the right height and took out the rice balls and bread I’d brought from my bag.
I just wanted some quiet time right now. Yeah, I’d listen to the sound of the wind, the faint noise of youthful hustle and bustle drifting from the school buildingâ
“Man, I’ve been thinking about this all the time lately.”
“…What do you want?”
“Hey, did you know? The average age for a first time in France is 14 for girls and 13 for boys.”
“What’s your point?”
“What I’m saying isâmaybe this is the difference between us and the West!”
“…Huh?”
I have no idea what she’s trying to say.
Still, Nowagawa continued with a look as if she’d grasped some great truth.
“So what I’m saying is, we, we… should be doing more sexual activities!!!”
“What am I supposed to do with that information?”
“I’m too embarrassed to tell anyone but Rintarou about this!!”
“You’re always shouting about this stuff in the classroom, though.”
“I’m a girl too, you know? Talking openly about sexual activities… how indecent.”
“You’re the one who brought it up!”
Sigh. I was trying to have a peaceful moment, but Nowagawa ruined it.
I should have shaken her off, but for some reason she’d been clinging to me ever since I left the classroom, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Honestly though, this isn’t so bad in its own way.
“So, I want a full report on your progress with Koyatori-chan!! How far have you gone?! Did you kiss?! Did you grab her boobs?!”
“I didn’t grab them. Besides, you already knowâKoyatori and I are fake lovers. And it’s only been a week.”
“French people do it at 13!! Hurry up!!!”
“I’m Japanese!”
Is Nowagawa really looking to the world when it comes to sex?
If so, she should start by contributing herself. She turned down a confession the other day, and it seems she has no intention of actually getting a boyfriendâshe just talks.
“So, is it going well? This fake relationship thing?”
“I guess it’s going fine? Honestly, I expected way more trouble, but surprisingly it’s not that bad. Even if we’re ‘dating,’ it’s just for show.”
“Even if it’s just for show, you might end up falling for her while you’re involved, right~? If that happens, you’d be in trouble~”
“It’ll be fine. Besides, my type is the gentle, well-mannered girl type. Koyatori is about as far from gentle as you can get, right? She’s barbaric, or combative, or…”
“Quite the bold thing to say, isn’t it, Fuyunose-kun?”
A chill shot down my spine.
The atmosphere changed as if a blizzard had suddenly arrived, and when I turned around with a creaking sound, there stood Koyatori, planted like a guardian statue.
Her forehead was bulging with visible veinsâshe was clearly angry.
“Badmouthing your girlfriend to another girl alone. Nice position you’ve got there.”
“W-wait, Koyatori. This is, well, you see…”
Damn it, I can’t think of any excuse.
Nowagawa, sitting next to me, had an abnormal amount of sweat on her face and looked at me awkwardly.
“(D-do something too!)”
“(I can’t do anything! Y-you’re her boyfriend, so handle it yourself!)”
“(Don’t push the responsibility on me! F-first, apologize. Grovel and beg for your life…)”
“(No way, I’m running!)”
“(Huh?!)”
Nowagawa stood up abruptly, clenched her fists, and faced Koyatori directly.
“W-well, I’m just getting in the way now, right? I-I’ll leave the rest to you two young lovebirds and make my escape! Just don’t go too wild! That’s a promise!!!!”
“Nowagawa?!”
With that, she took off and disappeared in an instant. Her back was gone before I knew it, leaving me alone with Koyatori.
“She’s quite a cute one, isn’t she.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Oh? You’re agreeing with that in front of her?”
“She’s my fake girlfriend, right?”
“So you agree, in front of your fake girlfriend.”
“That wasn’t me asking for a correction.”
Even after correcting her, somehow it feels like I’m being made out as a cheater.
Lately, Koyatori has been playing the girlfriend card and teasing me like this, even though we’re supposed to be just fake lovers. She’s really twisted, or maybe just mean-spirited.
“I think Fuyunose-kun needs a punishment.”
“Punishment? Why?”
“For badmouthing your girlfriend to another girl.”
“W-well…”
Looking at it on paper, what I did does seem pretty bad, but she’s a fake girlfriend, and it’s true that Koyatori is barbaric.
“Keep your schedule open after school today.”
“Huh? But I have plansâ”
“Keep it open. That’s all.”
“H-hey, Koyatori?”
Without even glancing back at me, she walked off.
Left alone in front of the bike shed, I finally felt the gentle breeze.
But my heart was anything but calm.
â â â
After school.
We’re technically lovers, but we don’t usually go home together. I have club activities after school, and Koyatori heads straight home.
But today, Koyatori was waiting in front of my classroom, and I was forcibly escorted.
“I’ll tell the seniors I’m skipping club today!! Have a good time, Rintarouuu!”
Even Nowagawa saw me off with a smile, and I followed Koyatori as she walked ahead.
“Where are we going?”
“Just follow me quietly.”
“Ugh…”
We left school like that and walked toward the station area, which has lots of shops, for about ten minutes.
At one corner of the restaurant floor on the top floor of a commercial building, Koyatori finally stopped.
“S-Sweets Paradise?”
“That’s right. Today, you’re keeping me company.”
With a huff, she strutted into the shop.
“I have a reservation for two under Koyatori.”
“Right this way.”
Led by the staff, we entered a shop that seemed to scream “men not allowed.”
For a moment, I thought I saw Koyatoriâusually so pricklyârelax her cheeks. She was even clearly looking around with sparkling eyes.
So she has a side like a normal girl her age, I thought as I watched her, but then she suddenly turned around and glared at me.
“Would you stop staring at my face? It’s creepy.”
“I’m technically your boyfriend, you know…”
With Koyatori back to her usual grumpy expression, I dropped my shoulders in defeat.
