【High School Days 2/4】

"Tokiwa-shi! Tokiwa-shiiii!"

One morning, after finally arriving at school while having my stamina significantly drained by the sweltering heat.

As soon as I stepped into the classroom of Year 2 Class 3, before I could even take my seat, Takeshi clung to me with a pathetic, tearful voice. Having Takeshi, who had a naturally sweaty—or rather, "high metabolism"—constitution, stick to me while my own sweat hadn't even dried yet created a high discomfort index for both me and everyone around us.

Ideally, I wanted to peel him off immediately, but since Takeshi wore an expression filled with profound sorrow, I endured it and responded as cheerfully as possible.

"Good morning, Takeshi. ...Did your 'Oshi' mess up again?"

"Ohh! As expected of my bosom friend, Tokiwa-shi! What insight! Truly a great detective!"

"No, forget great detective, when you're at that energy level, the topic is 100% about that."

This was like looking at a cloudy sky, saying "It looks like rain," and being flattered with "Amazing! You could be a weather forecaster!" It didn't make me happy at all.

As I headed to my seat, Takeshi stuck to me perfectly, then sat backwards in the chair in front of mine. What is this? Is it intense pressure, or just suffocating heat...?

"Please listen, Tokiwa-shi. Kagupyon is... My Kagupyon is...!"

"Kagupyon? Ah, the VTuber who mainly does game streams?"

"Nay! She is the hottest angelic multi-talented VTuber of the moment who can handle both game streams and singing!"

"Corrections from a stan are too annoying."

I was fed up with the usual Takeshi-isms. However, Takeshi immediately slumped.

From that behavior, I guessed various things.

"Ah... so this time, that Oshi VTuber messed something up."

"It is so... Ah, how gruesome..."

"Uh, was a romantic relationship discovered? Ah, or maybe she got cancelled for abusive language—"

As I listed the standard reasons for internet flaming, the deeply dejected Takeshi murmured the truth.

"She was an organ broker behind the scenes."

"That is way too gruesome."

"That is exactly what yours truly (shosei) said as well!"

(T/N: Takeshi uses the first-person pronoun 'shosei,' an archaic and humble term often adopted by otaku characters to sound more intellectual or sophisticated than he actually is. The best i could localize it to ‘yours truly’)

Takeshi looked despondent. W-Well, if your Oshi ceased activities for that reason, anyone would be depressed... but it seemed Takeshi's worries ran even deeper.

"More than the fact that I can no longer watch her streams, when I think about what my Super Chats were used for behind the scenes...!"

"Y-You shouldn't think about that, Takeshi. In a sense, you're a victim too."

"Ugh... It is painful, but I must renew all my SNS icons again. Gugii."

"That's why I told you so many times not to blindly set your Oshi as your icon..."

"You say that, Tokiwa-shi. But is there any icon that speaks of oneself more than one's 'Oshi'?"

"Yourself, maybe."

" Scales have fallen from my eyes!"

"Is that so."

"H-However, Tokiwa-shi! Even so, yours truly... yours truly wants to speak of himself through his 'Oshi' with his chest held high, always and proudlyyy!"

Takeshi began to wail like a beast right there in the morning classroom. Honestly, the surrounding people were totally creeped out, and I wanted to be spared too, but given the circumstances, I couldn't treat him coldly. He really did look pitiful.

I placed a hand on Takeshi's shoulder, comforted him silently for a while, and then spoke again to change the subject.

"No, but... Takeshi, 'that thing' of yours is as potent as ever."

"Indeed. It is truly regrettable, but yours truly's ability named by Tokiwa-shi, the 'Stan-Bane,' is in top form."

My friend let out a deep, deep sigh. ...I named it myself, but it really is pathetic.

Stan-Bane (Oshi-Botsu)—as the name implies, it refers to Takeshi's disposition where the target of his fandom inevitably falls into ruin.

Takeshi's fan emotion and the degree of ruin are perfectly inversely proportional; when Takeshi's "love" crosses a certain line, the Oshi tends to disappear from the public stage, like this time.

An idol causing a scandal is a piece of cake. In terrible times, the very day Takeshi sent a Super Chat to a beautiful girl VTuber, a equipment malfunction caused the reflection of the middle-aged man inside to appear on screen, forcing a temporary suspension of activities.

At first, this nature of Takeshi's was simply amusing as a joke about his bad luck, and I had named it "Stan-Bane" on the spur of the moment... but now, I actually regret it quite a bit. Because it's genuinely serious. Just as you can call each other "idiot lol" over a mistake in a board game but can't say "idiot lol" to a friend who failed a test, Takeshi's condition had one foot in a territory where casual teasing was no longer acceptable.

Therefore, as I was racking my brain over the right balance of teasing for this incident, Takeshi began to look into the distance with an unnecessarily ennui-filled expression.

"Perhaps yours truly... should not love any one person anymore."

"The process leading to a Harem King mindset is too unique. Also, in your case, Takeshi, isn't it not really about whether it's one person or not? Look, even that idol unit you 'box-pushed' (supported the whole group)..."

"Ah, the day after yours truly participated in a handshake event for the first time, it was discovered that all of them had participated in an underground business gig, and their deep connections with the underworld were exposed one after another, causing the entire agency to vanish."

Saying this, Takeshi operated his smartphone again to show me the scene of the handshake event. It showed Takeshi, his expression stiff from nervousness toward his Oshi, and the idols with their practiced business smiles.

...I wonder why, but looking at this knowing these idols would fall from grace the very next day makes it a mildly terrifying photo. Combined with Takeshi's intense scowl, the negative aura is savage.

"My love can do nothing but hurt people..."

"In this Reiwa era, your worries are those of Edward Scissorhands."

It was a bit too pitiful. I placed a hand on the dejected Takeshi's shoulder and offered words of comfort that were, as always, very irresponsible—but honest and without falsehood.

"Ah... this might sound irresponsible, but I still think you should do your 'Oshi-katsu' (fan activities) however you like, Takeshi. After all, organ brokers and underground gigs are ultimately the problems of the people involved, right? Takeshi, you haven't done anything wrong, so there's no need for you to reflect or show self-restraint. Just like at the open game meet where we first met."

"Tokiwa-shi..."

"Besides, more than anything..."

I paused for a beat, then stated my conclusion with a heartfelt smile.

"I think suppressing 'love' out of excessive concern is boorish."

For some reason, an image of these words stabbing deeply into the chest of my future self suddenly crossed my mind, but I wonder why. Strange. Anyway, I continued.

"Also, Takeshi. Regarding this specific incident, can't you think of it this way?"

"? What is it?"

"Thanks to your 'Stan-Bane'—another heinous criminal has been apprehended."

"I-I see. In other words, yours truly is...!"

"Yes, one could imply that you might have indirectly achieved a great justice, maybe!"

"Tokiwa-shiiii!"

"You're amazing, Takeshi! Good job, Takeshi!"

I forced myself to comfort my friend relying solely on high energy. W-Well, I wasn't lying. The arrest of an organ broker is socially very meaningful. Rather, long live the Stan-Bane. ...Except for the fact that Takeshi isn't rewarded at all.

"Then, then, Tokiwa-shi! Even if yours truly continues to support that board game intro VTuber who got exposed as an old guy the other day..."

"I'll allow it!"

"Hahaa, I am gratefuuuul~"

Just as Takeshi and I were showing a hollow excitement that deserved to be in the dictionary under "False Cheer."

"No, an otaku who prioritizes their own likes without caring about the trouble they cause others is the lowest form of pest, right?"

Words so sharp they deserved to be in the dictionary under "Throwing cold water on something" were hurled at us.

Takeshi and I instantly went straight-faced and looked toward the voice. Standing there was a female student with skin so healthy and tanned it made people of our species feel uncomfortable.

Akari Hankui, the track and field club president and a bundle of popularity who now even served as the class representative for the neighboring class, stood there arrogantly with her arms crossed, looking down on us exaggeratedly.

"...You don't have to say it like that, Hankui."

I retorted while glaring back at her. This girl, after coming to school with Takeshi, apparently dropped her bags in her own classroom and came straight here. I have to admire her unchanging love for Takeshi.

Against my rebellious gaze, Hankui bared explicit hostility and continued her sarcasm.

"Oh my, did I say something wrong?"

"No. But right now, you look like someone preaching traffic laws to a child playing happily on a country path."

"In that scenario, the person giving the warning isn't wrong at all, are they?"

"Ah, sure. I was just talking about someone being a 'buzzkill,' Hankui."

"Aha, truly the childish logic of the side disrupting order, Tokiwa. How cute."

Sparks flew between Hankui and me as our gazes clashed.

Then, as always, Takeshi stepped in to mediate.

"N-Now, now, both of you. Please do not quarrel over yours truly."

"A-Ah, sorry, Takeshi."

Accepting Takeshi's concern, I apologized immediately. I tend to snap reflexively at words that deny my friend's "likes," but it's no good if that troubles Takeshi.

I reflected deeply on my own inadequacy—but apparently, Hankui wasn't the same.

This time, she focused on her "target," Takeshi, and began to snap at him as usual.

"Oh my, Takeshi, in just these few months, your stomach has gotten flabby again. How sloppy."

Saying that, Hankui poked the flesh of Takeshi's belly with her fingertip. Takeshi wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking troubled. ...Knowing that Takeshi recently had a complex about his physique regarding Hankui, I voiced a slightly stronger protest.

"He's not as fat as you say. Besides, is teasing someone like that even sane in this day and age, Hankui?"

"Is that right? Well, if Takeshi seriously claims he's a victim, I'll apologize honestly, you know?"

Saying that, Hankui poked Takeshi's belly even more provocatively. And since Hankui herself, due to her club activities, always had a terrifically toned body, the sarcasm hit even harder. As Takeshi's friend, it was incredibly irritating.

However, Takeshi himself didn't seem fazed by Hankui's teasing at all, wearing a loose smile. And then, he delivered a line that brilliantly—and effectively—sapped Hankui's momentum.

"No, it is truly shameful—Hankui-shi."

At that phrasing, which seemed gentle but clearly created distance, Hankui was visibly shocked.

"Tch! You... why are you calling me by my last name like that instead of 'Shuri' like before—"

"Was it not Hankui-shi who first sought a change in our relationship?"

Takeshi spoke with a slightly uncharacteristic thorniness. Hankui flinched.

"Tch! ...Fine then. You're the kind of person who graduates from promises on your own anyway, Takeshi."

Rubbing her right wrist, Hankui showed disappointment as if she was disillusioned from the bottom of her heart, and moved away from Takeshi. ............ ...I certainly don't like her, but seeing such an unrequited scene makes me sympathize just a little.

Besides, when Takeshi takes that attitude, the one who earns the hate is—

"Tokiwa."

—See, here it comes. Hankui attacked me, Takeshi's "bad friend," seizing the opportunity.

"Stop clinging to Takeshi already."

"I return those words right back to you."

"Listen, Tokiwa. He isn't someone who should be playing board games after school with you or that shady teacher. You understand that, right?"

"Ah, can I ask you to retract just the 'shady teacher' part for now?"

Setting myself aside, there's no reason for Hagiri-sensei, my benefactor, to be badmouthed.

I glared back severely, but Hankui didn't yield.

"No, I won't retract it. Because from my perspective, that teacher really is shady."

"Hankui, you..."

Why is she so good at pinpointing and striking other people's weak points and berserk buttons? In a sense, it's annoying that she'd probably be terrifyingly excellent as a board gamer.

Then, seeing Hankui and me getting argumentative again, Takeshi intervened.

"Now, now, now, now, both of you! Please, somehow! Somehow, forgive each other for the sake of yours truly's Oshi!"

"What part of an organ broker should we forgive?!"

In that instant, my retort overlapped perfectly with Hankui's.

As we exchanged sullen glances, Takeshi sent us a grinning, unpleasant look.

"From yours truly's perspective, I think you two would actually get along well."

"Where exactly—"

Feeling that our retorts were about to overlap perfectly again, Hankui and I instinctively fell silent.

"Fuhihi."

Receiving that scene, my best friend Takeshi displayed his usual laugh.

And then, he muttered a wish—one that surely would never come true in the future.

"If someday, the three of us could gather around a board game, that would be very fun indeed."