Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 3Volume 1 . - The Nail That Sticks Out Too Much Does Not Get Hammered Down......?

The Nail That Sticks Out ‘Too Much’ Does Not Get Hammered Down……?  3

Sakuto’s plan now was to leave the scene with Usami after this.

He would suggest to Tachibana that they should settle things peacefully, and then hopefully, Usami would agree to fix her ponytail if he sincerely asked her.

Unfortunately, there was one major miscalculation here——

“Wait a minute…!”

An abrupt stop.

Surprised, Sakuto looked over to see Usami, her face flushed red and her eyes glaring sharply.

“Tachibana Sensei! What are you doing to Takayashiki-kun!?”

“…I was just trying to fix his tie?”

“That’s unfair… No, I mean, only married or cohabiting couples should do that! Or only to men who have romantic feelings for you!”

‘Is that so?’ Sakuto was stunned. So that was how it was.

And even now, she was still bringing up the ‘couple theory.’

He wondered if she would soon say that a kiss would mean they were engaged.

“What are you talking about? I was only trying to fix Takayashiki’s tie!”

Sakuto hoped that was indeed the case.

“Usami, according to your logic, it would mean I have feelings for Takayashiki!?”

“Is that wrong!?”

“No, of course not!”

And with that, the situation somehow became even more chaotic.

Moreover, Sakuto couldn’t move because Tachibana was pulling his tie. This was a tricky situation.

As Sakuto was stunned——

“I’ll do it instead!”

Before he could ask why, Usami also started pulling on his tie.

“No! I should do it, it’s my responsibility! It’s student guidance, after all!”

“No! I should do it, since we go to the same cram school! And…and… we’re classmates!”

They started bringing up irrelevant reasons.

The situation is getting completely out of control.

Furthermore, Sakuto’s neck was getting squeezed tighter every time the two argued.

They seemed oblivious to this fact.

Things were getting dire——for him.

“St… stop, stop…! Both of you, let go…!”

” “Aaah————!?””

Finally realizing what they were doing, the two let go after seeing Sakuto’s face had turned pale.

For now, he was glad that he at least managed to stop their argument.

However, Sakuto learned that sticking your nose into others’ business could literally end up choking you.

***

After school that day, Sakuto received a very polite apology from Tachibana in the staff room.

He assured her it was okay and left the room.

As he reached the entrance, Usami was there, holding her bag in both hands, leaning against the wall with a downcast face as if she was being scolded.

“Usami-san?”

“Ah… Takayashiki-kun…”

Seeing Sakuto’s face, Usami shrank even smaller.

She must be reflecting on the incident from lunchtime.

Her hair, which had been in a ponytail, was back to its usual style, tied to the left.

This somehow felt more comfortable for him.

“Um, about what happened during lunch break… I’m really sorry…”

“Oh, it’s okay-it’s okay. It was my fault for suddenly intruding the two of you… But, did you wait here just for me?”

“Yes…”

Sakuto was unsure how to respond to her remorseful state, but he managed to give her a smile for the time being.

“Why did you confront Tachibana Sensei?”

“…Because it didn’t make sense. There’s no strict regulation on how to tie hair in the school rules, so I wanted to clarify the reason for the guidance.”

It didn’t seem like something someone who stops by the arcade after school would say.

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He thought that she must have her own principles and rules, and she would obediently follow them as long as they made sense.

“Still, there must have been a smarter way to handle it. Like saying you’d fix it or just complying without arguing… Arguing like that in such a place only makes you stand out, right?”

“I see, so that’s how it is…”

Usami seemed to understand something.

“What do you mean?”

“The midterm test results… You didn’t want to stand out because you have reasons, so you deliberately didn’t do your best… Is that it?”

Sakuto was flustered and fell silent.

Seeing his face, Usami looked apologetic again.

“I’m sorry. I’m being too blunt again… You don’t like this kind of thing, do you?”

“…It’s a little different.”

He shook his head, but Sakuto’s feelings were complicated.

Being interested and being interfered with are different things.

For now, he didn’t want her to probe too deeply.

He also didn’t quite understand why she wanted to know so much about him.

However, this was a good opportunity.

He had been curious about something for a while and decided to ask her now.

“…What do you think about standing out, Usami-san? You know, since your grades are always at the top… and being an external student makes you stand out even more, right? In fact, it seems that there are rumors about you…”

He had chosen his words carefully but regretted it. It sounded like he was saying the rumors were bad.

Moreover, it’s awkward to admit that it’s about himself.

Then Usami gave a faint smile.

“For me…I think standing out isn’t necessarily bad, but sometimes it’s scary. You know, I do worry about how people perceive me.”

Sakuto’s smile abruptly faded.

“…then why not try not to stand out from the beginning? No matter how hard you try, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down…”

His words, tinged with resignation, slipped out.

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Why?”

“I just hate to lose. Maybe it’s also because I once heard that ‘the nail that sticks out too much does not get hammered down’?”

That choice means a hard way to live in society.

Even if one sticks out too much, there will always be those who try to hammer them down.

There probably is no end to it.

Despite this awareness and her fear, Usami is deliberately choosing to move forward, describing it as ‘hate to lose’.

‘But is that really the only reason?’

He thought it didn’t seem to be the sole secret to her strength.

“That’s… you have quite a difficult personality trait, huh?”

“Yes. But, this is who I am.”

Usami said mockingly to herself.

“I’ve always been clumsy and not very cute… really, it’s hopeless, isn’t it?”

“No, that’s not true… Usami-san, is your determination to work hard just because of your competitive nature?”

“Well, that’s part of my inherent personality but——”

She said this and started stroking the ribbon tied in her hair.

“——Right now, there is someone who really needs to see my efforts.”

Just as Sakuto was about to ask ‘who?’, he found himself unable to look away from her.

It was as if he was being drawn deep into her eyes.

He hurriedly turned his whole body away from her.

Feeling as if he was the focus of Usami’s intense gaze, Sakuto felt embarrassed by such delusion.

He scolded himself for interpreting things too conveniently.

“Hey, about before… uh, never mind…”

“…? What’s wrong?”

When Tachibana was fixing his tie, why did Usami offer to take her place?

According to Usami’s theory, the act of tying a man’s tie is reserved for couples.

Yet, why did she…

He hesitated to put it into words.

It might be interpreting things too conveniently.

But if she’s someone who sticks to her principles, then there could be a reason behind her actions.

As Sakuto fumbled for words, Usami spoke up.

“…anyway, why did you intervene earlier?”

“Oh, that was… just somehow.”

“Somehow, huh…”

Usami looked disappointed as she lowered her gaze——

“Somehow, I couldn’t leave Usami-san alone.”

His voice trailed off, but Sakuto spoke without pretense.

He tried to be honest, but wondered if he had repulsed her away.

He thought that maybe showing courage is not the wisest thing to do sometimes.

As he looked at her anxiously, her ears turned bright red.

“About what I just said——”

“T-thank you…! For now, I have something to do, so I’ll go first!”

She quickly changed her shoes and hurried home.

Perhaps she was put off after all. Sakuto felt a bit dejected at that thought.

However, he decided not to be ashamed of taking a step to honestly express his true feelings.

Even if it was a big mistake now, he chose to believe it was a significant step towards something better next time.