Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 03

1. REDIRECT Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 3 Illustrations

The Silent Phone

The third day of summer break.

"Hey, you guys. Why didn't any of you come yesterday?"

I, who had just arrived in the clubroom around 3 o'clock, asked my fellow club members.

By the way, today both Yozora and Sena got here earlier than me.

"Kodaka-senpai, were you lonely because you weren't able to meet Rika?"

Said the girl wearing a white robe over her school uniform with a little smile on her face for some reason.

Rika Shiguma, Freshman.

She's apparently a genius, though you'd never guess it by how crazy she is about ero doujinshi... especially how she acts like an insane person when it comes to mecha x mecha stuff.

She's one of the members of the Neighbors Club.

Yukimura was also in the room.

Kobato was being a hikkikomori as usual, and Maria wasn't here.

"I wasn't really lonely or anything, just wondering..."

"Hmph, I had things to do yesterday."

Said Yozora unconcernedly.

"Stuff to do huh... Guess there's no helping that..."

Next was Sena (whose eyes were bloodshot for some reason) who said something.

"I was really busy yesterday too."

"Busy?"

"I figured I'd reach the ending soon and then go to the clubroom, but it ended up taking four more hours than I thought it would. It was a really moving ending though, so it evens out. That scene where Mikan scores a goal was just so..."

Her eyes started to water up, and she sniffled her nose a bit.

I'm not really sure, but I guess she got so involved in her game she didn't come here.

"I'll lend it to you sometime, so you better play it Kodaka. You'll be wasting your life if you don't."

"...Sure, if I feel like it."

Now that I think about it, I got the Masaru (the protagonist's guy friend) end in that "Tokimemo" game she lent me (made me take home) and never played it again.

"Also, the theme song is super good. We should make it our national anthem! When you start the game again after finishing once you can totally feel how it connects to the last scene, and-"

"B-by the way!"

I quickly tried to change the subject, since if I don't stop her now who knows how long I'll have to put up with her going on and on about her galge.

"What."

Sena made an annoyed look on her face.

"Hn?"

Yozora looked over here too (as she put on a face that looked like she thought Sena's ramblings were annoying as all hell, and quietly reached out for her fly swatter).

Rika and Yukimura both looked over at me too.

"To make sure nobody ends up coming here and killing time when nobody else is going to show up, I think we should come up with a way for us to know when everyone else is coming."

"...Hmph. You may be right."

Yozora gave her approval of what I suggested.

"Not a bad idea considering it's you, Kodaka." said Sena.

"So, what specifically should we do?"

"Eh? Hmm, I'm not sure..."

I didn't really think it out farther than that.

"What about using a BBS on the web? We can get one for free, right?"

I threw out the first thing that came to mind.

"Rejected." "No way."

Yozora and Sena said at the same time.

"You hardly even thought about it!! Why can't we use one!?"

Yozora and Sena both made faces that showed a deep disgust from the bottom of their hearts.

"...It's my personal rule to not use the internet for anything other than researching things and shopping."

"It is?"

That was kind of unexpected, but at the same time maybe it wasn't.

"That's how I do it now...... I'll never do that again."

Yozora said, with a sad little look on her face.

"...I won't bother asking what exactly it was that you did."

"...Thank you."

Yozora gave me an honest thanks.

She must really regret whatever it is that she did.

"I've had bad experiences with them before too."

Sena said.

"...Ahh... Just remembering it pisses me off! Those guys... that damn 'Yasuo' and 'Parko' and 'rikiya' and 'Mai-tan(*´Д`*)HaaHaa'...! I hate that damn moderator who banned me from that one fansite because he thought I was a troll too! Those assholes can all go die!"

"...Did you get into a fight with them on some BBS or something?"

"I had to, those damn morons called my lovely Natsumi a dumbass muscle-brain! Like hell I'd let them get away with that! You know, Natsumi might seem like that, but she's actually really delicate!"

Sena was getting louder and louder.

I don't have a clue what you mean if all you tell me is "she might seem like that".

The one thing I can say for sure is that it's some character from a galge.

"Well, people are going to have their own likes and dislikes. Not much you can do about it..."

"Haa? That's fine if you keep it to yourself, but if you're gonna make fun of Natsumi in front of a fan of hers like me, that's the same as a declaration of war! If someone does that, then all I can do is get them to shut up and admit how stupid they were, or die trying!"

It's not like I don't get where she's coming from, but she gets angry way too easily.

"...My battle still isn't over with those damn morons... If I ever meet them in real life I'll kick the crap out of them!"

"A-anyway, BBS's are a no go, right!?"

I interrupted Sena who was quickly reaching critical levels.

"Then how about that thing... nixi. We can send messages to each other without any worries that way, right?"

nixi is a social networking service, and you can use it to write stuff that other people can read and comment on... At least, that's what I think it's like anyway.

Since you can keep the things you write limited to certain people, it'd be a good choice for us all to use to communicate with each other... I think.

"Eh, Kodaka you're on nixi? Then give me an invite." said Sena.

nixi runs on an invite-only system, and thus you can only join if an existing member invites you.

"No, I'm not, but..."

"Hmph, like hell I'd ever join that site."

Yozora looked me in the eyes and gave a reply that was full of pride for some reason.

"Rika isn't on that site either~"

"Neither am I."

Rika and Yukimura both said.

That makes sense, nixi is based on the assumption you have friends to invite you after all...

"So we can't even join nixi..."

A heavy atmosphere filled the room.

"But, you know, nixi isn't the only SNS out there! We just have to pick one that doesn't need an invite!"

I said, but then Rika stopped me.

"Hold on Senpai. If Rika asks her acquaintances in the game industry, I think we can get an invite to nixi."

"Really? Then let's do that..."

"That's fine with me, but..."

Rika said, with her head tilted in confusion,

"But why can't we just use our cells to talk to each other rather than going out of our way to use something else?"

Yozora, Sena and I all stood shocked.

"Cells... Are you talking about cell phones?"

I asked, still stunned.

"Huh? Well, yeah."

The wild idea that a cell phone could be used for anything other than calling home hadn't come within a mile of my thought process.

"...I see, cell phones... Rika... You really are a genius... That's an amazing idea."

"Yeah... I never even considered doing that... So cell phones aren't just for looking up karaoke shops... Rika Shiguma... it would seem I have no choice but to recognize your genius..."

"...It's nice to hear you all think my idea is so good."

Yozora and I showered Rika with praise, calling her a genius and stuff, but Rika looked like she was a little creeped out by it.

"Anyway, why don't we exchange addresses for now?"

Rika took out a cell phone from her lab coat's pocket.

I followed her lead and opened my bag, taking out the cell phone buried within its depths.

I bought it when I got into high school. It's a folding type that doesn't have any particularly amazing functions to it.

By the way, both Kobato and I have had cell phones since we were in grade school, and I'm currently on my 3rd one (I bought my 2nd in middle school).

I gave a quick look at my call log, and every call and text I got was from "Home" and every one that I sent was to "Little Sister".

"Here, I took mine out too."

Yozora hesitantly showed her phone to me.

There wasn't a single ornament or strap on it; it was just your run of the mill black cell phone.

By the way, it seemed like Yozora's phone was at the bottom of her bag too, so it took her a while to take it out.

"Okay, send your infra-red rays this way please."

Rika said, and started casually hitting buttons on her phone.

"Eh- I-infra-red rays???"

Yozora confusedly stared at her phone's LCD, as did I.

What's she talking about?

Is she really trying to say these little phones can shoot out infra-red rays?

"...I do feel like I've heard people talk about how more recent phones are able to exchange data via infra-red rays... So that was all true... Hrmm... W-which is it?"

Said Yozora as she furled her brow while hitting buttons on her phone.

"You're kidding me... When did phones get that advanced..."

Rika looked at me and my astonishment as though I were some kind of Neanderthal.

"Here you are."

The one who said that and turned their phone towards Rika was... Yukimura.

"Yukimura...!?"

"Ah, thanks Yukimura."

Rika and Yukimura pointed their phones at each other for about 2 seconds and pulled them back soon after.

"Yes! Yukimura address get!"

"I have confirmed yours as well."

Said Rika and Yukimura.

An utterly shocked expression rose on Yozora's face.

"I-it can't be, you're done already...? That quickly...?"

"Oh man... Kids these days are something else... I can barely keep up..."

"Ahh... So this is the virtual generation of this digital world we live in... I hear everything is like a game to them..."

"...This must be what people mean by children who don't know the meaning of hard work..."

"That's quite a lot to say considering you're only a year older than us, Senpai..."

Rika made a pitiful face at the three of us shaking in awe...

"People like Aniki who only rely on their own strength don't pay heed to things such as cell phones, do they?" Yukimura said.

...Actually, high-tech girl Rika aside, the fact that even Yukimura can easily use infra-red rays was simply shocking.

I figured he was the type to be bad with technology.

Though, now that I think about it, he didn't seem to be confused at all when we were all playing that "Romancing Saga" game...

"Arghh.... I don't get it! Besides, it's weird for people to know how to use this machine when they don't have any friends! Kodaka! I'll just have to do it normally so tell me your address."

Yozora finally gave up on the infra-red rays.

"Okay. I'm pretty sure that'll be faster for me too."

Uhh, my address is............ about 30 seconds later, I managed to pull up my phone number and e-mail address on my phone's screen.

"Here." I said as I showed it to Yozora.

"Hm.........Ah, went too far. Mu..."

Yozora clumsily fished her way around her phone's buttons, trying to enter my address.

"...Hrmm... This is a pretty complex address you've got here..."

"Yeah, it's because I never changed it since I bought my first phone..."

"......Hm... where are the special characters..."

..................

............

After a full two minutes, Yozora finished entering my e-mail address and phone number.

"Phew..."

Yozora wiped her forehead, and let out a sigh as though she'd just completed some insanely difficult task.

"O-okay... I'll send you something now Kodaka. An e-mail. An e-mail using my cell phone."

"O-okay...!"

Yozora nervously pushed a few buttons, and then hit send.

About a second later, the words "Receiving Mail" popped up on my screen.

Then, 2 seconds later it went "Ding di~ng" as the default ringtone played.

"I got it!"

"You got it!?"

Yelled Yozora in a happy voice.

The e-mail was titled "E-Mail" and "E-Mail" was written in the message itself as well.

Uhh, I guess this is Yozora's e-mail address.

[email protected]

I went and added "Yozora Mikadzuki" to my contacts list.

"Ohhh... My first address from someone other than my family...!"

This is almost like, some kind of momentous occasion or something!

Yozora made a surprised face after hearing what I just said.

"I am? What about the addresses of the people from the schools you were at before...?"

"...I never put them in. At the farewell party there were some guys who said "Gimme your address later," but I never did end up exchanging addresses with any of them..."

"........."

Yozora had a look of sympathy in her eyes, and then murmured,

"Oh, I see... so I'm your first non-family address..."

A tender smile rose to her face for a single moment.

And then she said, triumphantly for some reason,

"By the way, I've never even added my own family's addresses before. You're the very first ever, Kodaka."

...I don't know what you want me to say to that, Yozora.

"Muu~. I wouldn't have minded teaching you how to use the infra-red rays, but when Rika sees you two having so much fun it feels like we're the ones who lost here..."

Rika said with an unsatisfied look on her face. Then, all of a sudden,

"Hmph, it's just a stupid cell phone."

Said Sena, who had been unusually quiet up until now, as though she were spitting the words out.

"...? What are you mad about?"

"I'm not mad!"

Said Sena, who seemed to be in a bad mood.

"If you say so... Anyway, come on, give me your address too."

I said, which only made Sena look even more angry.

"...ave a..."

She mumbled with her lips pursed.

"Eh?"

"I don't have a cell phone!"

Sena yelled at the top of her lungs, which startled Rika and Yukimura.

"O-oh, you don't have one..."

Sena glared at me and said,

"Just so you know, I'm not jealous of you or anything!! It's not like not having one is a problem for me, and even if I did have one it wouldn't do me any good! Cell phones are what those annoying retard girls in my class use! A noble like me doesn't have any use for one!"

"...Uh-huh... O-okay. Yeah, there's plenty of people who say they don't need a cell phone, right?"

"Exactly! Forget a cell phone, I don't even need a normal phone. No matter where they are or what they're doing, lowly commoners should be able to gratefully accept the angelic voice of a goddess like me!"

"Uh, that's a little bit..."

as I started talking,

Ring ring ring... all of a sudden the phone in my hand started ringing.

"Eh!?"

I fumbled the phone around and saw a number I didn't know on the screen.

I figured I might as well answer it.

"...Hello?"

" 'It's me.' "

I heard a voice from the phone and from behind me.

I turned around and saw that the one who called my phone was Yozora.

" 'Enter my phone number into your contacts.' "

"Ah, yeah okay."

Talking on the phone with somebody right in front of you is so weird.

Yozora kept on talking to me over the phone like that for some reason.

" 'Since we just got it all set up, let's talk over the phone for a while.' "

"Eh... Sure, I guess."

" 'Good. Then let's talk about dinner last night. What did you eat, Kodaka?' "

"Uhh, what did I eat..."

As I was thinking I happened to look over at Sena again, who looked even more pissed off than she was before to the point I could almost see her veins popping out.

"Y-you two! Who gives a damn about what you ate yesterday!? Why do you have to go out of your way to talk about that over the phone now!?"

" 'Shut it, Meat. Can you not even shut yourself up while people are trying to talk on the phone?' "

Said Yozora, waving her hand at Sena telling her to go away.

"Khhhhh!"

" 'Still, these cell phones are quite handy. We can even talk when we're not together.' "

"Then use them when you're not together!!"

Yozora completely ignored Sena and continued,

" 'We can let everyone know when we're coming to club with them. Also, let's talk about all of our plans via e-mail from now on.' "

"S-sure..."

"Ghhhhh..."

Sena was about to burst into tears.

Yozora still kept on talking too, although this time it was with a much quieter voice that you could barely hear.

" 'By the way, about my dinner last night, I had meat. Specifically, it was curry with chicken meat, and the meat was incredibly tender and tasted so good.' "

She carefully made sure to only say the word "meat" at a normal volume.

"Uu~... What are you talking about...!?"

" 'Something that has nothing to do with you Meat. The store I went to didn't have just chicken meat, but also had pig meat, cow meat, and a bunch of other stuff that was so cheap I think we should all meet up there sometime. I'm sure you'll all love the meat they have th-' "

"Gaaaahh! Shut up, stop saying meat!!!!"

Sena roared all of a sudden, and took my phone away.

"Hey!!"

Sena brought my phone to her mouth and then yelled at the top of her lungs,

"Idiot! Jerk! Retard!!!"

"Kh!?"

Yozora cringed and pulled the phone away from her ear.

Sena shoved my phone back into my hands, and told Yozora "Go die!" before running out of the clubroom.

"...God damn, stupid piece of meat..."

Yozora ended the call while holding one hand to her ear.

"You really know exactly what to do to piss Sena off, don't you..."

I have to admit, I was a little impressed by it.

☺

On the bus and train ride home, and even after I got home, I kept opening my cell phone and looking at my contact list.

After Sena ran out, I exchanged addresses with Rika and Yukimura (I even learned how to use the infra-red rays).

Up until now I've only ever had home, Kobato's cell, and Dad's work phone in there, so my contact list easily doubled today.

Crap... I can't stop smirking...

That night, I went to sleep in a good mood,

but...

Ring ring ring...

The phone ringing woke me up.

The phone that was ringing wasn't my cell, but rather our home phone.

I checked the time using my cell I left near my bed, and saw that it was just past 2 in the morning.

"...Who the hell is calling at this time of day..."

I thought about ignoring it, but I figured it might've been one of dad's overseas contacts so I got out of bed to answer it.

I headed downstairs while rubbing my sleepy eyes and picked up the phone.

"...Hello, this is Hasegawa speaking."

It felt like I was being a little quieter than usual.

"H-HEWOO!!"

A voice that sounded like the person talking held the receiver right next to their mouth and yelled as loud as they possibly could rang through my ears.

I reflexively pulled the phone away from my ear and cringed.

W-what the hell...!?

As I thought that,

Ca-lick!

.....They hung up.

"...What the hell, a prank call...?"

Still pissed off at the annoying person who'd make a prank call in the middle of the night, I went back to bed. However, right as I was about to fall asleep again, the phone rang again.

I'm ignoring it.

I told myself that and closed my eyes, but the phone didn't stop ringing even after 20 seconds had passed.

Oh yeah, I never set the answering machine...

Annoyed, I got up again and went downstairs to pick up the phone.

"...Hello."

Even I could tell how pissed off I sounded.

"Eek!?"

I heard a shriek from the receiver.

Huh, where have I heard that voice before...

"...Hello?"

I asked again, and then heard someone gulp and say,

"U-umm! T-this is Sena Kashiwazaki, i-i-i-i-is Kodaka, I mean, Mr. Kodaka available!?"

She was obviously nervous, talking as fast as she could.

"...Eh, Sena?" I asked.

"H-huh? Is this Kodaka?"

"Yep."

I could hear Sena breathe a sigh of relief over the phone.

"You idiot! Geez, don't scare me like that you idiot! Your voice is scary idiot!"

Not holding back on the insults are we?

...This doesn't even make any sense.

"Do you have any idea what time it is right now...?"

"H-hey, more importantly, Kodaka!"

Sena rambled on, perfectly ignoring my complaints.

"What kind of cell did you get?"

"...What kind? It's just a normal one..."

I answered, unsure of what she was asking.

"That. Is. Not. What. I. Meant! It's gotta have the name of the company or a serial number on it somewhere!"

"Eh... The company is ∀Ｕ. I don't know what kind it is."

"Then find out."

"Huhh?"

"Just do it!"

"...Fine, wait."

I put down the receiver and went back up to my room and flipped on the lights.

I took my cell in my hands, and found something that looked like a model number.

"Uhh, it's a M61b, I guess."

"An M61b by ∀Ｕ?"

"Yeah." I could hear her writing something down.

"Okay, I got it. See you later."

Ca-lick!

Announcing the end of her business she quickly hung up.

Just what in the world...

☺

The next day.

Just before noon I got an untitled message from Yozora that said nothing other than "2 o'clock." so I sent a mail to Yozora, Rika, and Yukimura, my own mail titled "Today", that said "I'll be there around 2 o'clock too."

After I finished lunch, I left home so I'd get there around two.

While I was on the bus, I got a mail from Rika titled "Waiting Naked" which said "I'll be waiting for you naked, Kodaka-senpai♥ Ah, you just imagined Rika naked didn't you? Senpai you pervert♥"

"...Is she retarded?"

I gave her a quick reply of "retard".

A few minutes later yet another mail from Rika came.

The title was "Ass"... pushing the line with that one.

It read: "By the way, Yozora-senpai is totally naked too (*丿丿)kya~ As proof, I've attached an image of Yozora's cute little butt for you."

"Wha!?"

I let my voice slip in surprise, but after taking a good look at it I could see it was just a picture of her elbow.

...How old is she? 12?

Right after that, I got a mail from Yozora that said "That was Rika's arm just now." in the title field and nothing in the actual body. She must've been flustered when she wrote it. I also got another weird mail from Rika that came at nearly the same time as Yozora's with the title "Iyan♥" that said "Yozora-senpai hit Rika's butt with her fly swatter, Rika can't take it anymore s-stop itttt~~♥"

I sent Yozora a mail that said "I know." and ignored Rika.

I then got another mail, this time from Rika's laptop, with the title "The Truth" that read "Eh? Yozora-senpai, why are you taking Rika's panties off? Ahn~ I can't stand it, this is too embarrassing! Ahh, Don't lick me down thereee! I can't stop twitching each time I feel it! Yozora-senpai then whispered into the moaning Rika's ear, 'Here? Do you want it here? You dirty little girl.' She then gently blew on Rika's ears which caused Rika to lose all the strength in her body and (etc.)" I was reading her stupid mail, but the bus reached the school so I got off without finishing it.

Today was as hot as ever.

I entered the clubroom, where Yozora and Rika (who were obviously not naked) and Yukimura were waiting.

Yozora looked exhausted as she lay on the sofa.

Yozora pointed at Rika, and turned only her face to me as she said,

"Watch out Kodaka... she's, a freak..."

She barely managed to get even that out.

"Yeah, well... I already know that." I said.

As for the freak in question, she was currently typing away on her laptop.

It looked like she was writing a novel.

"Ah, Kodaka-senpai! Rika just recently discovered that yuri might not be all that bad! Rika thinks she might be okay with anything as long as it's erotic!"

"You're sure full of energy..."

I sat on the sofa, pitying Rika who seemed like she was about to launch herself into space.

"I have prepared tea."

Yukimura handed me a glass of barley tea.

"Thanks!"

I thanked Yukimura and happily took the drink from him.

Glug glug... I gulped the whole thing down at once.

...It wasn't hot or cold, just lukewarm tea.

"Would you like another?"

"Eh? Yeah, sure."

I took another glass of tea from Yukimura.

...It was warmer than before, but I still gulped it down pretty quickly.

"Here you are, Aniki."

"Thanks. Ah! That's hot..."

The third cup of tea was very hot, and not something I could just gulp down.

I looked at Yukimura, who was looking at me as though expecting something.

He was probably trying to imitate how Mitsunari Ishida gave Hideyoshi Toyotomi a cup of warm tea, then a slightly hot cup, and then a relaxing hot cup of tea to drink.

"...Umm... Mitsunari was a pretty thoughtful guy."

"It is an honor to receive your praise, Aniki."

I praised Yukimura, and he smiled bashfully.

"...But I still think cold barley tea is best. I won't let that one go."

"Is that so..."

Yukimura got a little depressed.

While relaxing and slowly drinking the hot tea from Yukimura, the door to the clubroom flew open all of a sudden.

"Heh heh, so you're all here, lowly commoners! Your goddess has come to you!"

It was Sena who opened the door.

"Ahh, hey." I said while sipping my tea.

Yukimura was stone faced, as usual.

Even Yozora, who'd usually make fun of her, only gave her a little glance as if to say she couldn't care less.

"You're letting the cold air out, can you close the door now?"

Rika coolly said, while still typing on her keyboard and not even looking over at Sena, to which Sena replied "Ah, sorry..." and quietly closed the door.

"I'm gonna get some sleep."

Yozora crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"Uuu... W-why are you all so lifeless!?"

Sena ground her teeth, annoyed, and then said,

"I wonder, will you be able to stay like that after you see this!? Here, look at it Yozora!"

Sena quickly walked over to Yozora and held out a cell phone as though it were Mito Koumon's seal case.

"Heh, what do you think now? I asked Papa yesterday and he bought it for me!"

Sena said with the face of a delighted child.

"Hmph..."

Yozora opened her eyes a little, and then closed them again, uninterested.

"Huh, isn't that the same as mine?"

Sena's model matched the one I had. It was even the same gold color as mine.

"O-ohh... it is? W-what a coincidence!"

Sena's face turned a little red.

"Uh, no, not really..."

You called me in the middle of the damn night and asked me about it... before I could say that,

"...the same as Kodaka's?"

Yozora angrily said, and glared at Sena's cell phone.

"Hehe." Sena chuckled as though she'd just won some battle.

"Anyway, come on let's exchange addresses! Come on, hurry!"

"Eh? Okay..."

I took out my cell phone.

Yozora groaned as she looked at and compared our phones.

I got ready to use the infra-red rays I learned about yesterday.

"By the way, do you know how to do it this way?"

"Of course!" Sena said triumphantly and pointed her cell at me.

We quickly exchange addresses.

Sena had a big grin spread across her face as she stared at her phone's LCD.

"Haha... Here Yozora, I'll even do it with you."

"I have no need for your address."

Sena got caught off guard by Yozora's refusal.

"Hey! I went and bought one so just tell me your address!"

"...Do you want my address that much?"

"I-it's not like I want it or anything! I don't want to know it at all, but I figured I'd let you exchange with me since we're in the same club! You should be grateful!"

"I see, thank you. I'll make do with your feelings alone."

"I can't call you using my feelings alone!"

Yozora looked at Sena with her eyes full of disgust.

"...Hmph, making such a greedy face... look at this bitch. If you want it so badly then prove it to me."

"Prove it...? Ah, I'm not going to lick your feet, got it~? Uuu~ Fine, forget it, stupid Yozora!"

Sena ran out of the room with a few tears in her eyes.

"...She gives up so quick..."

Whispered Yozora, who looked just a little bit sad.

After Sena left, Yozora and I began reading like we always do.

About 15 minutes later, I got a message on my phone.

...it was from Sena.

"I'm gonna send that idiot Yozora a bunch of spam mail so tell me her address (^_^)"

"...So this is the first mail you send me...?"

And on top of that, Yozora, who was sitting next to me, peeked at it.

"...That stupid Meat..."

A smile found its way to Yozora's face for some reason.

"...Kodaka, let me see Meat's address. I might as well just tell her what mine is personally..."

...It was roughly 30 minutes later when Sena came running back into the clubroom, half in tears, to talk to us about a bunch of mails from an unknown address she kept getting that simply said either "Death" or "Curse".

Sealing Technique, Release!

One day at the end of July, we were still in the midst of a big heat wave, and the air conditioner for our living room broke.

The hot-water heater just broke the other day too, but I guess time was up for the AC too.

And so, today I didn't go to club and instead went on my way to pick out a new air conditioner.

I don't really know what makes an air conditioner good or bad, but I doubt I can pick one worse than the several decades old one we had.

When I went to the shop I had the salesman show me a few of the choices they had, and then made my choice based mostly on how much power it'd use up and how much it'd cost.

However, I guess it takes 3 days at best for them to come and install it for us.

Three days huh...

Well, I do have an air conditioner in my room so it's not like I can't put up with it, but the living room is where the TV is.

I don't really watch much TV myself, but my little sister Kobato has spent every day of her summer break thus far sitting in the living room watching TV or reading her manga.

When I got home after going to the electronics store and buying groceries on the way back, I found Kobato in the living room watching TV.

"I'm back."

"A-An-chan!"

Kobato lit up upon seeing my return.

"The AC! Did you buy us a new AC!?"

"Yeah, I bought one, but it'll take 3 days to get here."

Kobato's face turned to stone after hearing the news.

"T-three days...... Kukuku... Damn useless humans... But, this is interesting... I suppose I shall entertain myself with this purgatorial feast for a short while, kukuku... I am Leysis Vi Felicity Sumeragi... even if my body were to be placed in a 20,000,000 degree heat, a Queen of the Exalted Night such as myself would have no problems with it..."

Her usual exaggerated ramblings.

"...Why don't you change into some lighter clothes?"

A suggestion I've made more times than I can count.

Which Kobato refused, as usual.

"Kukuku... This dress is not normal clothing, it is the material form of my power of darkness... it is not something that can be easily changed..."

"Yeah yeah."

I sighed and walked into the kitchen, and put the food I bought into the fridge.

I then took out a cup of cold barley tea and drank it.

Ahh man, this is the stuff.

"Kobato~ want some barley tea?"

I peeked into the living room holding the barley tea and a cup in my hands.

There was a girl on the TV wearing a red dress that looked like a somewhat simplified version of Kobato's, and a girl in a frilly white outfit that screamed "magical girl" (I'm guessing she's the protagonist) who were fighting each other with magic in the sky.

It had a fast feel to it with magic and explosions everywhere, which made it interesting even if you didn't know the story.

Kobato was entranced by their battle scene.

The fight looked like it was at the climax, and the girl in the red dress got hit by the protagonist's magic and fell to the ground.

It looked like that was the end, but the girl in the red dress emerged from the cloud of smoke.

She looked up at the protagonist girl in the sky, and showed her a smirk full of confidence.

"Kukuku... Not bad for you to push me this far. As a sign of my respect for your valiant efforts, I'll show you my true form...!"

A red light enveloped the girl as she yelled,

"Sealing Technique, release!"

The girl's red dress burned up, and she was naked while being surrounded by the red light.

"Magical powers, unleash!"

A new flame rose up from the girl's naked body, and turned into clothes.

When the light stopped flashing all over the screen, the girl appeared again wearing a completely different outfit than before.

She was in a weird looking leotard with two little openings in the back and in the middle of her chest, and an excessively short skirt. All in all it was a very revealing set of clothing.

"Kukuku... this is my true form...!"

The girl proclaimed, while wearing a bold smile.

The only thing that changed was her clothes, her face didn't even change or anything, but the protagonist magical girl said, "So this is... your true form..." with a look of astonishment on her face.

After that line the ending credits started to play.

Looks like they're going to leave the battle with the true form for next time, I guess. After the ending and preview of the next episode ended, Kobato turned off the TV.

Then, she stood up all of a sudden and ran over to the stairs.

"Ah, Kobato, barley tea..."

She's not listening...

I could hear Kobato's "thump thump" as she went up the stairs and into her room.

...Whatever.

Anyway, I put the tea back in the fridge, and went to the kitchen to get started on dinner.

But, I heard another loud set of thumps and Kobato reappeared on the first floor.

"An-chan!"

Kobato had a skirt and some other clothes in her hands for some reason.

It wasn't her goth loli stuff either. If I remember right it was the sleeveless T-shirt and mini skirt she used to wear back when she was in grade school.

Kobato brought the clothes she was holding in the kitchen and put them down on a chair.

"...?"

As I was wondering what it was she was trying to do, Kobato yelled,

"Sealing Tek, Tek... Sealing Te...chnique, release!"

Right as she finished saying that, she got to wildly taking off her clothes.

...?

Well whatever, I'll get back to my dinner prepa-

"A-An-chan! You have to watch!"

Kobato said to me, who had already turned around.

I turned back around to appease her, and she then took off her headband and ribbon, as well as her big frilly dress and drawers.

She then moved to taking off her knee socks, but they were sweaty and stuck to her legs, which made taking them off pretty difficult.

"Hyah!"

Ah, she fell.

While sitting on her butt, Kobato continued to take her knee socks off.

"Kobato, make sure you put that all in the laundry basket."

"Ah, okay."

The stark naked Kobato picked up the clothes she just took off, and carried them to the laundry room.

She came back with a new pair of panties in hand.

"Magical powers, unleash!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs, put on the panties she brought with her, and put on the T-shirt and skirt she left on the chair earlier.

"Ha!"

Kobato finished changing and let out a little breath.

Kobato, who had now changed out of her goth loli outfit and into lighter clothes, said the following to me along with her standard chuckle:

"Kukuku... This is my true form..."

"...So, you're a copy-cat now?"

"I-I am not a copy-cat!"

Kobato's face went bright red upon having me point out the obvious.

If I had to guess what she was trying to do... Basically, she probably thought of a good excuse to change clothes without breaking her character after seeing that anime.

"Kukuku... To think I would release my true powers like this... This hellish season is not to be trifled with I suppose..."

"...Well, it's fine with me."

Since I don't have to do as much laundry this way and all.

I then realized,

"Hey, Kobato. Those are your clothes from grade school, right? Or am I wrong...?"

"Fueh? Yeah."

Kobato nodded, and I carefully continued talking,

"...If you can still wear your grade school clothes, even now that you're in 8th grade... does that mean you've stopped growing?"

"Fuehh!?"

Kobato let out an utterly shocked yell.

She then slowly went and patted her chest, checked the waist of her skirt, the sleeves of her shirt, and then looked at me with a face that looked like she was about to cry.

"...Whado I do, An-chan... Am I not gonna get any bigger?

"........."

I silently averted my eyes.

It's too painful to look at her...

There are kids who grow up quick and look pretty old when they're still in grade school, but I guess Kobato is the opposite of them huh...

"uu~..."

Kobato's face was petrified from the shock she just received, but she quickly went back to being Leysis and chuckled, "Kukuku..."

"...Kukuku... Now that I think about it, I am a Noble of the Night who possesses eternal life... My body will never wither away into a dekepit husk... It's only normal for me to be this way, yeah..."

"I-I see... good to hear you won't wither away and become dekepit."

By the way, it's not "dekepit", it's "decrepit", Kobato.

"Yeah... Me too..."

Kobato smiled, still seemingly on the verge of tears...

The summer day our air conditioner broke.

Kobato swapped out her goth loli clothes for lighter ones, and started to drink milk instead of tomato juice.

Ghost Stories

After we all ate and took a bath, Kobato and Maria both fell fast asleep after playing so much down at the beach.

Yozora, Sena, Rika, Yukimura and I were gathered in the living room.

Yozora was reading a book, Sena was playing her PS she brought all the way out here, Rika was doing something on her computer, and Yukimura was spacing out.

Basically, we were all doing what we normally do in the clubroom without any change at all.

I played "Mon Hunt" for a while, but quickly got sleepy and went to bed.

I was pretty tired, and I slept like a log until morning.

For breakfast the next morning, we had more of that huge batch of curry I made.

Personally I think that curry you let sit overnight in the fridge is the best.

After we ate, I went down to the beach with Kobato and Maria.

Sena and Yukimura decided to come too, but Yozora and Rika stayed behind at the villa.

Sena was finally able to fulfill her dream of swimming with Kobato, but couldn't keep up with her in the least. Kobato can swim as good as any fish, and so Sena ended up collapsing on the sand.

"... Haa... Haa... K-Kobato-chan, you swim really fa-... ugueh..."

"She's an even better swimmer than I am. You just learned how to swim a little while ago, you don't have a chance of keeping up with her."

I said with a wry smile.

After lunch (I made yakisoba) Kobato, Maria, and Sena all fell asleep after using up all their energy down at the beach.

I took my chance to go to buy stuff in town while the two kids were asleep. It took me about 40 minutes round trip using the electric bike in the garage.

It was an easygoing small port town, and it was nice to be able to buy so much fresh fish at such a low price.

I put the fish I bought to good use later that night, and made us paella for dinner.

Since I had to make enough for seven people and all, I made things a little more extravagant than usual too.

Making a big meal like this once in a while is actually pretty fun.

There were a few parts that got a little too burnt, but everyone said they liked it despite that.

That's how things went for the evening, and then night came.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, but we were all just killing time the way we usually do.

"...We're going home tomorrow, but we still haven't done anything very training-camp-like, have we?"

I said to nobody in particular.

"What do you mean by training-camp-like?" Sena raised her head from her PSP and asked.

"I dunno, but we're all here so I was just thinking it'd be fun to do something together."

"We all went to the sea and did that yelling out 'The seaaaaa!' didn't we?" said Yozora.

"...That doesn't really count."

Then, Rika jumped in to comment.

"Everyone just doing their own thing isn't anything unusual, but it is true that we rarely all gather up like this. It does kinda feel like a waste to not do anything while we have the chance."

"Right?"

"Yes, and, of course, a group of young men and women together at night means we should have an org- fgah!?"

Smack!

Yozora hit Rika over the head with her fly swatter before she could finish her sentence.

...Did she really bring that all the way out here?

"We don't need any obscene remarks from you, pervert."

"Oh, what's this? I think immediately deciding that what I was about to say was obscene just based on hearing 'org' means you're quite the pervert yourself Yozora-senpai. I could've been about to say 'organized competition' or been about to say we should have an 'organized discussion' about something."

"T-that's..."

Yozora's face went deep red after having Rika point that out.

"Of course, it's true that I was about to say that we should have an orgy party."

This time I took the chance to silently whack Rika on the head.

"It doesn't hurt! Please hit me harder Senpai!"

"Ehh!?"

That unexpected reaction of hers creeped me out.

"Hey hey~ what kind of party is an orgy party!? I want to try having one!"

Maria asked, eyes sparkling.

After she did, a suspicious gleam rose in Rika's eyes as she went and did something on her laptop. Then, while she was showing the screen to Maria, Rika whispered in her ears.

"An orgy party is where you murmur murmur whisper whisper murmur murmur..."

"Uwahhhhh!! Orgy parties are scaryyyyyy~~!"

Maria clung to me and started shaking in fear.

"What're you teaching her now..."

I rubbed my temple out of annoyance.

"Well, I suppose I don't want you to think I'm a total pervert freak who can only spit out dirty jokes, so as a serious reply to you Senpai, why don't we try something fitting a summer night like ghost stories or a test of courage? Rika actually has quite a few scary stories to tell."

Rika casually said.

"You're way too late if you don't want me to think that you're a pervert freak who can only spit out dirty jokes, but ghost stories or a test of courage, huh... That's not a bad idea. See, you can do it if you try. Why don't you act like this more often!?"

"...Getting yelled at even though I gave you a good idea seems a bit unfair."

Rika started sulking a bit and pursed her lips.

"Still, I didn't see this coming. Never thought a science girl like you would be into that stuff."

"Senpai, all girls love supernatural stuff like this. Rika is still a girl before she's a scientist. Even if I'm a perverted freak girl."

"Don't admit it..."

Talking with her always wears me out.

"Ghost stories and a test of courage, huh... I couldn't care less about ghost stories, but I wanna try doing a test of courage since they did one in 'TokiMemo'," said Sena.

"Hmph, well it's not like we have anything else to do..."

Yozora agreed and then said,

"But we don't have anything ready for a test of courage, so how about we tell some scary stories first and then go out into the forest?"

"Sure, why not? I think it's already pretty scary just walking through there in the dark as is."

I agreed with Yozora's idea.

"I shall do whatever Aniki wishes."

Yukimura meekly said.

"Kukuku... the darkness of the night is my companion... I will not feel a single drop of fear..."

"I-I'm not scared of monsters either! If a monster does come out, I'll beat him with my holy power!"

Maria energetically announced in response to Kobato.

☺

We set a few candles on a table in the living room, and then all gathered around it with the lights off.

We turned off the A.C. and opened the windows instead, but it was still really hot.

The flame of the candles flickered to the point it looked like they'd go out any minute, and brought a faint light to everyone's face.

"Wow... this has a good scary feel to it."

I said in admiration.

"Kodaka's and Yozora's faces look even scarier than usual like this..."

"With it this dark you'd never know who it was that groped you I bet."

"This is like a birthday party!"

Sena, Rika, and Maria all said, destroying the atmosphere.

"...Let's get started. Who's first?"

Yozora asked, and Rika volunteered.

"Rika will go first, since she thought of it. Hehe, I'm setting the bar pretty high with this one."

"Hmph, then show us what you've got."

"Very well!!"

Everyone focused on Rika as she began talking.

"This is something that really happened to Rika... I can clearly remember the fear I felt even now... I can't forget it even if I wanted to... Let's see, it happened... one summer day when I was a freshman in middle school..."

She lowered the tone of her voice, giving it an eerie feel.

This might be a seriously scary story...

I heard someone go 'gulp' as they swallowed their spit.

"Back then Rika wasn't much of a hikikomori, and was seeking out a Freedom Gamudan x Destiny Gamudan as she stepped foot into a boy's love specialty shop named 'Tora no Anal'..."

...Huh?

"The store sold many kinds of BL doujinshi, but the one I was after was already few in number, and there was only one left when I arrived... It would not be a mistake to call me finding that last copy destiny... Rika returned home as she trembled with joy, and immediately began reading the doujinshi... But a terrible thing occurred... The cover was a picture of Destiny Gamudan being penetrated from behind by Freedom Gamudan's beam saber that looked like a Free x Des doujin no matter how you looked at it, but it was actually a Des x Free doujin... Eeeek...!!"

............

......

...........?

"...What about the rest?"

We all waited, expecting her to continue, but all Rika did was make a confused face and said,

"Eh? That was the end."

"That's the end!?"

We all fell down in shock.

"That was a terrifying experience... I can handle a reverse pairing now, but to Rika who was still a pure maiden back in those days, Freedom had to be the top and Destiny the bottom. A Destiny x Freedom doujin was out of the question. You might say it was Rika's fault for not researching it enough beforehand, but I simply got too excited the second I saw that cover on the net..."

Who cares...

"...So yeah, next~."

Yozora said, brushing Rika aside.

"Very well, I shall take my turn next."

Yukimura was the one who volunteered this time.

"Oh, this is a surprise."

Yukimura began to tell his story.

"...Now then, I shall tell you the tale of... 'The Terrifying Shuumai'."

"""That's not a ghost story!"""

Yozora, Sena and I all yelled in unison.

Yukimura tilted his head in confusion.

"But this is a truly terrifying story. I myself never expected the shuumai to be stuck to the lid of the box..."

"You even gave away the punch line!"

He's hopeless.

"...Don't you have any other stories?" Yozora asked.

"In that case, while they do not compare to 'The Terrifying Shuumai', I do have several other stories I am familiar with."

...So he said, and went on to tell us "The Haunted Canal", "The Demon Cat of Nabeshima", "The Mansion of Plates", and "Hoichi the Earless" instead.

I'd heard the stories themselves plenty of times before, but the fact that they've lasted this long as horror stories is really more of a testament to their quality, and they were plenty scary when combined with Yukimura's quiet monotone voice.

"O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-Onii-chan..."

"Hyauuu... An-chaaan..."

Kobato and Maria were both shaking and half in tears as they clung to my arms.

"I-i-it's fine, there's nothing to be scared of. Yeah, nothing at all...!"

I said, while myself also shaking a little.

"Geez... Why didn't you react like that to my story... Rika thinks her story was just as scary as his."

Rika said, pouting about the difference in our reactions.

"H-hey, Yozora, did that actually scare you? M-maybe I should be nice and let you h-hold my hand."

Sena said with the tips of her mouth quavering.

"Hmph, it's funny how obviously scared you are when you shake like that, Meat."

Yozora said, showing no particular signs of being afraid.

"Kh..."

Sena let out a frustrated grumble.

"I-in that case, I'll go next and have you so scared you'll pee yourself!"

Said Sena, who then began to tell us her ghost story, full of confidence...

............

......

...and then she finished.

"...So?"

Yozora said in a voice that clearly showed she wasn't scared in the least.

Tears formed in the corners of Sena's eyes as we all stared at her apathetically.

"Uuu~ Why are none of you scared...!?"

I could barely believe how not scary her story was.

The main point of the story was that a beautiful girl who suddenly came to visit the main character was actually the ghost of a girl he killed, which is set up like a proper ghost story, but the way Sena told it ruined the whole thing.

She told the whole thing in an energetic voice, and every now and then would throw in a "Ahaha, isn't this guy a total idiot?" or some other comment.

In the final scene where the guy is killed by the ghost, she said "Ahaha! That's what you get, iiiiidiot!" as part of her narration...

"Well, I think the story itself was made well-enough."

I tried to cheer her up, but that just seemed to make her more annoyed.

"What's with that condescending attitude... Do you have any good ghost stories then? Huh?"

...Looks like my turn is finally here.

I'm not really that knowledgeable about ghost stories, but I did think up my own original one not too long ago.

Honestly, I'm pretty confident that I can scare everyone good with it.

"...Alright, I'll let you guys hear my ghost story then. It's called: 'The Terrifying Miso Soup'."

Thwack!

Yozora hit me on the head with her flyswatter without saying a word.

Sena was giving me a cold stare too.

"D-don't think it's a funny story just because of the title! This is a bona fide ghost story!"

Thus, I began telling "The Terrifying Miso Soup (my version, ghost story edition)" to everyone...

"Fuahyahyahya, I-I can't breathe, w-w-why was Augus- why was Augustine, pfffft- Hyahhyahyafuahya! W-w-w-why did the mom put that in there!? Why did the mom put Augustine's head in there!? Ahyahyahyahya! Where did she even get it from!? Ahyahahaha, haha, c-can't breathe, ue, huehiehya!"

Maria was holding her sides exploding with laughter when I finished my story.

"W-why are you laughing...?"

I was taken aback when Maria made the exact same reaction she made when I told her "The Terrifying Miso Soup (joke version)", and when I looked around at the others, all I found were pitiful stares.

"Kodaka... why are you so hopeless?"

"I'm sorry Senpai. Rika doesn't know what face to make at a time like this... should I laugh?"

Even Yukimura said, "I did not understand Aniki's story at all. I still have much to learn..." with a sad expression on his face.

"An-chan... that was so embarrassing..."

Kobato hung her head down, her face completely red.

"C-come on, wouldn't that be scary? Seeing St. Augustine's head in your miso soup would be ridiculously scary, wouldn't it!?"

I said, utterly confused, to which Sena replied with a reproachful look in her eyes,

"Haa... Your stories don't work because the punch line is always too surreal, idiot."

"I see, so basically they're too high level?"

""Like hell they are!!""

Sena and Yozora both yelled at the same time.

Hrm... You guys have the weirdest taste in stories...

"...Anyway, is there anyone else who has a story?"

Yozora asked with an exhausted look on her face.

The only ones who haven't told a story other than Yozora are Maria and Kobato, but it doesn't look like they have one anyway.

"Hmph... then after I finish my story we'll go on our test of courage."

"Fine. Hurry up and tell your story then Yozora, not that I'm expecting much from you."

Sena said, and Yozora began telling her story.

"This is just a story my friend told me, but..."

"Since when do you have friends?"

"Shut it, Meat."

Yozora glared at Sena for interrupting her.

"...This story's protagonist is, well let's call her A-ko... She went to a certain public middle school... She also had a friend whose name was... let's just go with Y-ko. A-ko and Y-ko just happened to get seated next to each other in class, and ever since then they were friends who did everything together..."

Yozora told her story in a deep and somewhat gloomy voice.

It was basically how she usually talked, but it was perfect for telling a ghost story.

"...By the way, there was a certain urban legend that was popular at their school... It was a story called 'Yamiko' about a young girl's ghost..."

We all gulped, and continued listening to Yozora's story.

Yozora's voice already had a certain scariness to it, and as she went on it only got more and more ominous sounding.

According to the story, Yamiko was a girl who had committed suicide after being bullied, and it was her friend who bullied her enough to drive her to do it.

Thus it was said, that Yamiko would possess anyone betraying a friend and kill them...

A-ko and Y-ko got along, but one day they began fighting over a boy, which led to a crack forming in their friendship. A-ko was outgoing and had plenty of other friends besides Y-ko, and eventually began bullying Y-ko, who was a very timid girl.

The bullying got worse and worse each day, and eventually Y-ko killed herself in a toilet stall in the old school building after being constantly bullied by A-ko and her friends.

At first A-ko regretted what she'd done, but as time passed on she slowly began to forget about Y-ko.

However, ever since then weird things began happening around A-ko.

At first, A-ko thought it was merely somebody's prank, but as the things happening got more and more serious, it was clear someone held a grudge against A-ko.

A-ko didn't suspect it being somebody else at that point, for she knew it was the spirit of Yamiko who had cursed her.

A-ko begged for forgiveness, but Yamiko ignored her and continued to harass A-ko, eventually cornering her within the same toilet stall Y-ko had killed herself in.

A-ko locked the toilet's door, and happened to look up, where she saw Y-ko's dead body, hanging by the neck, glaring down at her...

"...Nobody ever saw A-ko again after that... Many more people went missing at that school, and the school was eventually torn down. The ruins of that school currently lie beneath a forest... And the forest they lie below... is none other than the one behind this very villa..."

The second Yozora finished her story the candles in the room all went out, and the room turned pitch black.

"Gyaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

The screams of the Neighbors Club echoed throughout the room.

☺

"...So, ready to go have our test of courage?"

Yozora coolly said after turning the lights on.

However, not a single one of us began to stand up.

Maria and Kobato were both shaking while clinging to my arms, and it took even me a while to open my mouth.

"H-hey, Yozora... why don't we call it quits? It's not safe going out when it's so dark..."

"Y-y-y-yeah, you never know what might happen!"

I said, to which Sena agreed, and Rika and Yukimura both quickly shook their heads up and down.

"...What, are you guys scared?"

"A-as if I'd be scared of a stupid story like yours! B-besides, I've never heard of there ever being a school here, and if I think about it there are lots of other strange parts too!"

"That's because it's a story passed down by hearsay... It's understandable that there might be a few spots that are wrong here and there... I suppose I can't stop you if you want to think it was all a lie..."

"I-I told you, that made-up story isn't scary at all!"

Yozora was completely calm, but Sena was still yelling.

"Hmph..."

Yozora sighed with a look of pity in her eyes.

"Then we won't go on a test of courage? I never really cared either way, so it doesn't matter to me," Yozora asked all of us.

...Obviously, not a single person said we should still go.

☺

After the ghost stories, we all took a bath and went to sleep in our rooms.

I turned off the lights, got in my futon, and closed my eyes.

Soon after, I could hear Yukimura's peaceful sleeping breath.

However, I on the other hand couldn't sleep even if I closed my eyes.

I should've been tired, but I couldn't get that story about Yamiko out of my head.

I don't actually believe in ghosts, and the story wasn't so scary that I couldn't sleep really, either.

But it seems like the combination of the story and Yozora's perfect scary voice left quite an impression on me.

Yamiko, who curses and then kills those who betray their friends.

10 years ago, I left town without saying a word to my best friend.

I wonder if he thinks I betrayed him...

*shiver*!!

"...!"

I closed my eyes, trying to ignore my body's shaking.

No matter how long I waited though, I still couldn't sleep.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard a tiny sound that went crrreeeeeaaaakk.

Startled, I opened my eyes, and saw that my door was slowly being opened.

My body was covered in goose bumps.

I-it can't be, Y-Yamiko...?

The door opened, and a single person's shadow entered into our room.

The shadow slowly made its way over to my futon.

I was terrified, and tightly shut my eyes closed.

I can't see it...!

If I can't see it, it doesn't exist...!

But... it came and shook my futon anyway.

Eeeeeek...!!

"...Kodaka. Hey, Kodaka."

...Huh?

I know that voice.

"...Sena?"

I opened my eyes and called out her name.

Standing near my futon was Sena in her pajamas.

"...What's wrong?"

"C-come with me for a little bit..."

Sena said, seemingly embarrassed, and while I thought it was odd, I got up and left the room without making a sound.

"So, what's wrong?"

I asked again in the hallway, and Sena eventually replied after fidgeting while blushing,

"...I-I want you to come to the bathroom with me."

"Bathroom...?"

"I-it's not like I'm scared or anything, okay? But, you know, better safe than sorry."

It looks like I'm not the only one scared by Yozora's story.

The bathroom. The place Y-ko killed herself, and the place A-ko was taken away by Yamiko at...

"...Why didn't you just get Yozora to go with you..."

I said, and Sena shot me a nasty glare.

"Because if I ask her she'd just make fun of me!"

"Yeah, you've got a point."

"S-so let's go! I can't... hold it in... much longer..."

"O-okay."

Sena and I walked down to the bathroom.

Sena went in, and I stood outside waiting for her.

"You're still there, right Kodaka?"

I could hear Sena's voice, along with other miscellaneous sounds, from inside the bathroom.

"Yeah, I'm here."

I replied, realizing how awkward this was.

I heard the sound of running water when Sena asked again.

"Kodaka, are you there?"

"I said I'm here two seconds ago."

"K-Kodaka! You're there, right!?"

Sena asked again in a voice that sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

I guess she couldn't hear me over the water.

"I said I'm here!"

"Answer me faster, idiot!"

...I lost count of how many times Sena asked to make sure I was still there before she came out again.

When we got back to her room, Sena glared at me with a beet red face.

"Y-you better not tell Yozora about this, okay? If you tell her I'll kill you, got it!?"

"Yeah yeah..."

I gave a reply mixed with a sigh, and went back to my room.

Maybe it was because of having to deal with Sena, but I wasn't scared at all anymore, and was ready to go to sleep.

Good, now I can get a good night's sleep...

...However, that relief lasted but a moment.

The door to our room opened again, and somebody came in.

"An-chaaan..."

The person next to me who looked to be on the verge of tears was Kobato.

"...What's wrong, Kobato?"

"Come with me to the bathroom..."

"............"

Kobato asked, fidgeting like Sena did, so I sighed and got up again.

I took Kobato to the bathroom, and flopped back into my futon ready to go to bed for real.

But, I felt wide awake, and couldn't seem to fall asleep.

Even so, I kept my eyes shut, and just as I was starting to feel sleepy again,

Crrrreeeaaakkkk...

You gotta be kidding me...

This time it was Maria.

"...Want me to go to the bathroom with you?"

I quickly got up and asked, which made Maria's eyes go wide in surprise.

"Ohh!? How did you know? Onii-chan you're so awesome!"

...And so, I took Maria to the bathroom.

"Onii-chan, are you there!?"

"Yeah~... I'm here~..."

Maria asked me that more times than I could count, and each time I answered while stifling my yawn.

...By the way, Maria didn't have to just pee, but do the other one too.

"Onii-chan are you there!?"

"Zzzz..."

"Ueh!? Onii-chan! Onii-chan!?"

"Hwah!? Ah, I-I'm here! Just calm down and take your dump!"

...After this and that, I took Maria back to her room, went back to mine, and closed my eyes ready to go to sleep, this time for sure.

But, yet again somebody came into our room.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Come on, let's go to the bathroom."

"Huh? Bathroom? Rika simply came here for some late night sex."

"Leave!"

I grabbed Rika by the collar and threw her out.

Thanks to Rika acting like an idiot I was wide awake again.

But, at least now there shouldn't be anyone else who'll come wake me up.

Relieved, I closed my eyes, and after a short while, finally got sleepy.

............Geh.

...As soon as I got sleepy, I had to go pee too. I wish I would've gone to the bathroom when I was taking the rest of them...

Regretting my actions, I slowly opened the door to our room.

"Kya!?"

"Owah!?"

For some reason Yozora was standing right outside our room, and we both yelled in surprise. She just said "Kya!"... that isn't like her at all...

"O-oh it's just you, Kodaka. What is it?" Yozora said, blushing.

"I'm going to the bathroom, you?"

"I-I'm doing the same."

"Eh? But..."

There was something off about her reply just now.

If Yozora were going to the bathroom, she should've reached it before making it down to our room.

"S-since we're here we might as well go together, Kodaka."

Yozora seemed to be pretty flustered, so I asked to confirm my suspicions.

"...You're not so scared of that Yamiko story that you can't go to the bathroom alone are y-"

"O-o-o-o-of course I'm not!!"

Seems like I hit the bullseye.

"...Why are you scared of that Yamiko story too... You're the one who came up with it."

"How can you scare other people with a ghost story you don't think is scary yourself!? I had to perfectly imagine the whole story in my head as I was telling it! If anything I should be more scared than you guys who only had to listen!"

Yozora yelled back at my criticism.

Just then, Yozora's body shook and she started trembling.

"A-a-a-anyway, let's go already, Kodaka."

Thus, Yozora, who was squirming as we walked, and I, went to the bathroom.

I let Yozora go first since she seemed to be at her limit, which left me on standby in the hallway again.

"K-Kodaka, you're there right!?"

"I'm here!"

I could hear a rummaging sound from inside the bathroom.

"Kodaka."

"I'm here~ Can you hurry it up? I've gotta go too."

"O-okay."

Yozora came out a short while later, and I went inside.

I could hear Yozora's voice from the other side of the door.

"I'll wait here until you're done too, Kodaka."

"I'm fine, you don't have to bother."

"Mu... does that story not scare you, Kodaka?"

"Nope, I'm totally fine."

To be precise, I was scared of it, but now I couldn't care less.

"I see... so you weren't scared..."

Yozora said in a sulky voice to my reply.

By the time I finished and got back to my room, the sky was starting to lighten up.

And so, the second day of the Neighbors Club's training camp ended.

We're going home on the third day after we eat breakfast, so this is pretty much the end of the trip.

The things we all did together were limited to eating, yelling "The seaaaaa!", telling ghost stories, and cancelling a test of courage.

While looking back and thinking it was a very Neighbors Club-like training camp, I went to sleep at long last.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 3 Summer Festival Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 3 Epilogue: Reunion Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 3 Afterword