OreShura: Volume 8 Chapter 5

#5: Anti Valentine's Mayhem

It was the beginning of the year, the end of winter break, and before I knew it the third semester of school had rolled around.

It had only been a little over ten days of living with my mother again, but truth be told it was a big help not needing to do housework anymore. I was able to spend that time studying instead, so I had nearly completed the book that Mogami had given to me.

There was a small happening at the opening ceremony, though. At the start of the third term, the disciplinary committee elects a new chairman…and it actually ended up being A-chan somehow.

For a first year to be chosen is pretty strange.

A-chan was introduced by the ‘ahoge festival’ Ishige Matsuri on stage and gave this as her greeting:

“Our school has a tradition of being very free, but that freedom is thanks to the order that is kept. To the students who mistake ‘freedom’ as meaning ‘I can do whatever I want’, please keep in mind that the disciplinary committee will deal with you unsparingly.”

It was quite the stiff greeting, but now that I think about it that's how Fuyuumi Ai was from the start of things.

It was only after joining ‘Jien-Otsu’ that her behavior changed.

The A-chan to say ‘Love is shameless’ may be the real A-chan. At least, that's what the rest of the school thinks.

But I know.

I know her love-struck, fragile, and weak self.

“I need to do something…”

But what exactly should I do.

What should I, the boy who hates love, do to help these girls that can’t be helped without it.

♦

On the other hand, Natsukawa Masuzu didn’t change at all after the new year.

VALENTINE'S DAY IS PROHIBITED! (EXCLUDING SOME AREAS)

It was after school in the club-room.

After seeing what Masuzu-san had written on the whiteboard, me, Chiwa, and Hime all stared with a dumbfounded look. First the suspension of Christmas, and now this? As someone who was anti-love, I was pretty happy myself.

“What do you mean by prohibited?”

Hime gave her hand a break from drawing in her sketchbook and tilted her head to the side.

“The truth is, Japan has changed their laws surrounding this. Criminal law clause 296...uh...it made it prohibited. If you break the law...uh… something bad will happen.”

She gave a pretty choppy explanation. Is it too much work to figure it out beforehand?

“Poor candy shops…”

Aaand Hime just believes her without question. That girl needs to learn to doubt people a little more.

“What is the ‘excluding some areas’ part about?”

Chiwa inquired as she ate her choco cornet at the perfect time.

“If we’re being specific, then its houses number 11 and 12 in Hananenoyama city Fujishima neighborhood on the third street.”

Chiwa and my house.

Its scary that she even knew down to our house numbers.

“Furthermore, there's a supplement to the clause that says ‘two sixteen year olds that are boy and girl and have known each other for elementary, middle, and high school must give each other chocolate’.”

“That's pretty specific, huh.”

I’m pretty worried over the legal circles of this country, but anyway.

So basically this whole thing is just saying ‘you’re not allowed to get chocolate from anyone but Chiwa’. That's Masuzu’s plan.

“So Akishino-san, you’re not allowowed to give Eita-kun any chocolate. It’s forbibidden.”

And now she’s coining these strange words. Maybe this strange flair of hers is because she comes from Northern Europe. My view of people from there is just getting more and more distorted.

“President won’t give any to Eita?”

“Obviously. There’s no need to give anything to an ex-boyfriend! There’s not even the slightest bit of obligation!”

Masuzu struck a JoJo pose. Today she seems to be in a strange mood. It was the same way when we talked earlier on the phone.

I wonder if she’s just in high spirits because of the new year.

“So with that being said, make sure to get a valentine Harusaki-san!”

“Nnn~. This year will probably be the same as always.”

Chiwa spoke as she wiped the chocolate off of her hands with a wet tissue. She’s not gonna lick it off this time? She’s really grown up, huh.

“My mom loves to make sweets, so every year I make them with her and give them away to friends.”

Chiwa’s mom has always been very devoted to that. No matter how busy work gets, she never missed doing something with her daughter.

“So do you make a special one for Eita?”

“Never have~. Ei-kun doesn’t really like chocolate, right?”

“Not really”

Every now and then I’ll feel like eating it, but I never bother to buy any for myself.

“Valentine’s day only happens once a year, so how about getting a little more excited?”

“Excited, huh?”

I gently closed my reference book and stood up.

While everyone was staring at me with a weird look, I stood by the window and stared outside.

“Would you like to hear my Valentine’s story?”

“No, not really.”

“I see. It was my first year of middle school...”

I began talking as I ran my finger over the cold glass.

◇

It was the February of my first winter as a first year.

It was a certain day after-school after several days had passed since valentine’s day.

The number one lady-killer from my class, Morita-kun from the basketball club, gathered all the guys and said this:

“I want to think of a way for all of us to repay the girls who gave us chocolate.”

All the guys agreed and were getting excited, and I was the only one who wasn’t sure what was going on.

I decided to listen in for a bit, and it turns out that on Valentine’s day, all the girls from the class baked a chocolate cake for the guys.

I wasn’t supposed to know.

On Valentine’s day I was stuck getting scolded in the staff room for bringing in my Wyvern slaying sword.

Not a single girl had noticed my absence.

“Kukuku...This is quite the clever imitation, huh...kukuku…”

As I tried my best to hide my agitation, Morita-kun smiled at me and said this,

“Eita-kun, you’ll help out too, right?”

It’s not like I could have said it.

That I didn’t eat any so I’ll just pass.

I didn’t want them to know that, and I especially didn’t want them to think I was just being cheap.

“Fu...I refuse...Is what I want to say, but to put a damper on things would be uncool. Fine. You may use my dark powers to your heart's content.”

“That’ll be 1200 yen, then.”

“?!”

...Thus.

After-school on White Day, all of the guys took the money (mine included) and invited the girls out to a big karaoke get together.

Furthermore, I was left out yet again.

I was busy getting scolded in the teachers room yet again, this time for wearing my black cloak to school.

◇

I finished my story and let out a long sigh.

“No matter how big the world may be, I think I’m the only warrior who has given a return gift without ever receiving chocolate.”

Hime, Masuzu, and even Chiwa didn’t meet my eyes.

Masuzu timidly opened her mouth.

“B-but that was just your first year of middle school, right? What about the other years?”

“Nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared out the window at the school grounds where a fierce freezing wind blew.

“No good memories. No bad memories. Nothing whatsoever. For me, Valentine’s day is nothing more than just one day out of 365.”

Hime suddenly stood up, causing her seat to echo throughout the room.

“President. I want to give Eita chocolate after all.”

“But, the law...but…”

Masuzu was firm on her stance just a bit ago, but now she seemed to be indecisive.

“Ei-kun, this year I’ll make you something big and special!”

Even Chiwa had been driven to tears.

It looks like I had elicited quite a bit of sympathy, but my heart was already empty. A love-struck festival-like day wouldn’t be able to move me.

I have already been enlightened.

Maybe after my mother returned, my anti-loveness increased to the next level.

“By the way, Fuyuumi isn’t coming?”

I nonchalantly changed the topic.

I hadn’t had a proper conversation with A-chan since that night. Whenever I met her at the prep school, she would just turn around and run away.

Maybe she’s fallen out of love with me.

...No.

I know best that A-chan isn’t that kind of person.

“What if she’s just busy with disciplinary committee work? It would be hard to come by as frequently as before now that she’s the chairman, right.”

Masuzu's expression made it seem like she she expected this to happen.

I’m sure the way things are right now are going along with her plan.

The whole getting Chiwa and I together thing being wonderful and all that.

However Chiwa seemed to have a different opinion on the matter.

“But if Ai stops coming, then we will be back down to four members and won’t be a real club. We were finally getting a good reputation too.”

“A good reputation?”

This is the first time I had heard of this. What could people find good about this ‘for-show’ club that does everything on a whim?

“We got first place in the popularity contest at the school festival, remember? Since then, friends of mine have been asking me all sorts of questions. What kinds of club activities do you do and stuff. Is it true that there’s advice about love and stuff.”

“Our honest club activities have begun to bear fruit, it seems.”

Masuzu had a smile of satisfaction on her face, but she should really look up ‘honest’ in the dictionary.

“But if we want to aim higher, we will need master’s help.”

Hime had made a tight fist. Where even is ‘higher’? Becoming acting pros?

“Fuyuumi-san’s help is not needed. She clearly just joined the club because of Eita-kun. If Eita-kun and Harusaki-san get together, don’t you think she would leave right away?

“But that…”

Hime had begun a rebuttal, but fell silent without saying anything further.

“I think she joined because of Ei-kun too, but…”

Chiwa began to speak from the back.

“I don’t think Ai has given up yet. As it is, I’m still rejected by Ei-kun.”

“And that's exactly why it's important for you to use Valentines day to get closer!”

The conversation went right back to how it was at the start.

“Listen up Eita-kun. Make sure you don’t get chocolate from any other girl. If someone tries to give you any, throw it on the ground and say, ‘I won't eat this good-for-nothing chocolate’ or ‘What is chocolate? Is it chocolate just because there is cocoa in it? Is it chocolate just because it’s brown?’ and just force them to answer a bunch of Zen questions.”

This is making me into more of a chocolate critic than someone who's anti-love.

“Even if you worry over it, it's not like anyone beside you guys would ever give me chocolate in the first place!”

I wasn’t sure if they would listen, but it's the truth.

Valentine’s day.

Popular or not, it gives me a headache either way.

Translator's Notes

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