CH 106

Chapter 106 – Protective Instincts

“Sorry, Ma-chan. Your onii-chans have something to do. So it’s bye-bye for now.” (Bouchi)

“Onii-chan… Ii-chan too?” (Mahina)

“That’s right. We have somewhere we need to go together. Sorry.” (Bouchi)

“…..Will I get to see Birdie-san again?” (Mahina)

In fact, I was having Sol stay hidden right now. If she was here, Mahina would have been all over her.

“Yeah, next time.” (Bouchi)

I patted Mahina on the head, and she reluctantly let go of our hands, clinging onto Totoki’s leg.

“Bouchi-kun…..” (Koine)

“Come on now, you should get in the car.” (Bouchi)

“………” (Koine)

She looked like she wanted to say something, but her shoulders drooped, and she turned around and started heading towards the car.

This is how it should be. I didn’t know what kind of fate or karmic tie there was going on between us, but every time we cut things off, it felt as if we had some strange connection that brought us back together.

But at that moment, Totoki suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Then, she whirled around and shouted.

“In the end, I just can’t let things stay like this!”

As she said that, she began to run towards me again.

“Bouchi-kun!” (Koine)

“U-Uh-huh.” (Bouchi)

Caught off guard by Totoki’s indescribable vigor, I found myself letting out a half-hearted reply.

“I know you dislike me, Bouchi-kun! It’s only natural, and I deserve it! But… I know that!” (Koine)

“…..!” (Bouchi)

“But! But… I don’t want things to keep going on like this! It’s troublesome for you, and I know I’m being selfish! But… from now on, won’t you look my way every once in a while? Even just a bit…” (Koine)

“Totoki, you…” (Bouchi)

To be honest, I was surprised. I never thought that she was the kind of person who would make such a request.

While we were still in the same classroom, she was always cowering in Ohsaka’s shadow. Even after we met again, she was still such a frail person, crushed by her own guilt.

That’s why I didn’t think she would say something so proactive.

“I want to change. I don’t want to be weak like I was back then. Being swept up by everything around me and unable to live by what I thought was right… I don’t want to live like that anymore. I don’t want to regret anything anymore!” (Koine)

At that moment, it felt as if the beliefs my father had passed onto me aligned with her words.

“I know you don’t want to acknowledge me, Bouchi-kun. After all, I was the one who hadn’t moved forward since then. That’s why I made up my mind. Someday, I’ll be the kind of girl who is worthy of your acknowledgement!” (Koine)

“…..Why would you go that far? I was just a former classmate of yours.” (Bouchi)

“No, that’s not true. Not just… a former classmate.” (Koine)

“…?” (Bouchi)

“You were the boy who was stronger than anyone else that I knew.” (Koine)

“…?!” (Bouchi)

This wasn’t the person she had been when we were still in the same class. Nor was this the person she had been when we had met again.

Back then, she would always avoid my gaze, without any confidence in herself. She was just an inconsequential person who happened to feel guilty about me.

But now, her eyes were brimming with determination. At the very least, it was a look she definitely couldn’t have shown when she was still scared.

Totoki and I looked at each other for a while, and then…

“Bouchi, may I have a word?” (Yofel)

Suddenly, Yofel cut in. I asked her what the matter was.

“She took good care of Ior. I feel like it would be impolite to leave without doing something for her. Besides, I don’t think Ior would want to be separated so soon from that child that he’s so fond of.” (Yofel)

….Sigh. It seems she read the atmosphere in a weird way…

“…Totoki, just a bit.” (Bouchi)

“Huh?” (Koine)

“I’ll go with you, just for a bit.” (Bouchi)

“Yeah! Then let me take you to our house! Onee-chan, you’re okay with that too, right?” (Koine)

“….I guess it can’t be helped.” (Aika)

Totoki’s older sister seemed a bit unhappy, but she still agreed.

Their car was too small for everyone to fit in, so I took out the [Jet Book].

Naturally, Totoki asked me what it was.

“It can fly in the sky with it,” I answered in a disgruntled tone. She had seen us come from the sky anyway, so that should explain it.

She said they wanted to ride on it too, but I told her that it would be over capacity. She went back to the car with a disappointed look on her face.

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Then, the car set off, and we followed them on the [Jet Book].

“…Sorry for being selfish, Bouchi,” Yofel said apologetically while we were flying.

“If you feel that way, I hope you’ll refrain from doing so in the future.” (Bouchi)

“Sorry. But… I couldn’t bear to see my benefactor so sad. I don’t know what happened between you two, but I really acted selfishly.” (Yofel)

“….Well, you’re my ally now. If that ally wants to thank their benefactor, I’m willing to go along with it.” (Bouchi)

“…Thank you. Ior is happy, too.” (Yofel)

“T-Thank you…” (Ior)

Ior expressed his thanks despite still being shy, so I told him to not worry about it.

—

In the car, I was in a good mood.

Even though I was in a dangerous life or death situation not long ago, I was glad that I was able to express my feelings to Bouchi.

He might not have forgiven me or started to trust me yet, but it was a big step forward for me.

“…You look pretty happy there, Koine.” (Aika)

“Yeah! After all, I could finally… find the courage.” (Koine)

“…I see.” (Aika)

There was something in the tone of her voice that felt a bit dark.

“Come to think of it, onee-chan. Why did you say that earlier?” (Koine)

“…Say what?” (Aika)

“When I talked to you about Bouchi in the past, you said that you would cheer me on so that I might be able to talk to him again one day. But despite that…” (Koine)

When I was talking to Bouchi earlier, onee-chan warned me not to trouble him, perhaps about protecting us or something along those lines.

Well, it was the normal thing to do and the right way to handle that situation, but… as someone who knew how I felt, I wanted her to cheer me on and support me if possible. At the least, she could have put in a word or something, like ‘that’s what my little sister wants, so…’ to make him more likely to agree.

“…..” (Aika)

“Onee-chan?” (Koine)

I called out worriedly to my older sister, who suddenly went quiet.

Then, she finally opened her mouth.

“…I don’t think you should get too close to him.” (Aika)

“……Eh?” (Koine)

…Did I hear her wrong just now…?

“Err… onee-chan? What did you say?” (Koine)

“I said, it would be better if you kept your distance from him.” (Aika)

So I didn’t mishear.

“W-Why? Why are you saying that now?! You were so supportive of me before!” (Koine)

“Sorry. But… he’s dangerous.” (Aika)

“Dangerous… That’s not true! He saved Mahina before, didn’t he? And this time, too!” (Koine)

“Yeah, that’s right. But… he said that he killed someone.” (Aika)

I suddenly found my words stuck in my throat.

That’s right. He did say that he killed someone—Ohsaka.

I was also shocked at the time, but I was so tied up with the fact that I could see him again and talk to him that it didn’t really register to me.

“B-But… There were pressing circumstances… Besides, Bouchi-kun was always being bullied by Ohsaka-kun.” (Koine)

“I know that. He made an enemy of the entire school, didn’t he? And you were standing on the side against him.” (Aika)

“That’s… right.” (Koine)

“I’m sure that the days Bouchi spent during that time were horrible. If I were in his position, I don’t know if I would have been able to live through that.” (Aika)

Exactly. I… surely wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

“But he took revenge on the one who bullied him. He took a life.” (Aika)

“….Yes, but…” (Koine)

“I understand what you want to say. Naturally, this Ohsaka boy might have deserved it. I heard that there were people who committed suicide because of him, didn’t they?” (Aika)

“…Yeah.” (Koine)

“So as far as I can tell, there are no further extenuating circumstances.” (Aika)

“Then…!” (Koine)

“But he’s also the kind of person who can say that he killed someone with a completely straight face.” (Aika)

“…?!” (Koine)

“You saw, didn’t you? The look on his face when he said that he killed someone. His face was completely normal, as if he didn’t feel any remorse about it whatsoever. No, well, from an outsider’s perspective, I can’t necessarily say there’s anything wrong with that. If I were the one who had been bullied all that time, I might have also killed Ohsaka there if I had the power to do so.” (Aika)

I’ve never wanted to kill anyone, and I’ve never been under the circumstances that would have made me feel compelled enough to do so.

“But no matter the reason, he was the one who stepped over the line. On top of that, he has the power to easily take down those monsters that even the police struggle with. He… already lives in a different world from us.” (Aika)

I see. Onee-chan must have felt scared of Bouchi.

I had been involved with him, knew him in the past, and knew him even now. I also knew that deep down, he was a kind person at heart. That was why I felt that his roots wouldn’t have changed even if he killed someone.

It was also evident in the fact that Mahina was so attached to him. And I knew from looking at his slightly troubled gaze when he dealt with her that there was kindness in his eyes.

But onee-chan only knew about Bouchi through talking to me.

He had killed someone, and he killed the monsters right before our eyes. Plus, he had a cold attitude.

After examining all of these things, onee-chan must have been afraid that she couldn’t get a good grasp of Bouchi’s true nature.

She must have felt this way because she wanted to protect us. As the eldest daughter, it was her protective instinct to secure safety for her younger sisters.

I was really glad. I was grateful. It was a blessing for us to have an elder sister like her.

But that was also why I didn’t want her to misunderstand the Bouchi that I knew. No, she didn’t have to understand him now. I just wanted her to get to know him from now on.

“….Onee-chan, I know you’re worried.” (Koine)

“…! What do you mean?” (Aika)

“It’s alright. Bouchi-kun is a very kind person. Right, Mahina?” (Koine)

“Onii-chan? Yeah! He’s suuuper kind and strong~! Ma-chan looooves onii-chan!” (Mahina)

“Mahina…..Sigh. My goodness, you two are too pure.” (Aika)

“Sorry. But I really don’t think Bouchi-kun is a dangerous person.” (Koine)

“I get it. From now on, I’ll find that out for myself.” (Aika)

“Yeah, that would be for the best. I’m sure that you’ll find out right away that he’s actually a good person.” (Koine)

I wanted onee-chan to understand him as well. And I too wanted to know more and more about Bouchi.

I was especially interested in that flying book and his ability to easily defeat monsters.

I wonder how long he’s been able to do such things…?

I looked out the window as I thought about the boy flying above me, trying to hold down my desire to get home as soon as possible.