Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 4Volume 1 .2 - Trying to Unravel...?

Trying to Unravel…? 2

Leaving the school, Sakuto headed straight to the arcade in front of the station.

His purpose wasn’t to play games but to meet Usami, hoping to convince her to stop frequenting the arcade.

Even if that was impossible, he thought he should at least tell her about the strange rumors circulating and how they might be causing her trouble.

He searched from the first to the second floor but couldn’t find Usami.

Just as he reached the entrance———

“Boo───!”

Suddenly, a loud voice came from right behind him.

Turning around, there was Usami, dressed casually just like the other day.

“Hey, did I surprise you… no, did I startle you?”

“Well, a little…”

In fact, Sakuto had been aware of someone approaching from behind him.

Rather, it’s natural to be on guard when someone stands right behind you.

“So, what did you want to do…?”

As he asked her in dismay, Usami giggled with a ‘tehehe.’

“I wanted to surprise you. Actually, I spotted Takayashiki-kun earlier and hid.”

“Ah, I see…”

“But it didn’t work, did it? Takayashiki-kun, you really don’t get flustered, do you?”

“It’s not like that. I was a little surprised.”

Usami put her right index finger to her lips and looked up.

“Hmm… kind but also able to feign kindness? Seemingly indecisive but actually the type to control others?”

“Control…? What do you mean?”

Usami smiled and started explaining with her index finger raised.

“Because, just now, you only made a surprised face reflexively, right? You weren’t really surprised, but you pretended to be, thinking it would be rude not to show a reaction to the person who tried to surprise you… Am I wrong?”

Sakuto felt a chill.

She was smart, and her intuition was very sharp, he thought.

──But the situation was slightly different.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Sakuto’s reaction is not about being polite; it’s about him choosing the most appropriate or expected response as a normal person would in that situation.

He had learned it as a technique for what constitutes a normal response.

Effectively, it was ‘pretending to be surprised’ as she said──.

“…You’re not wrong, but not exactly correct either.”

“You make it sound so difficult…”

Usami said this with a hint of dejection but soon smiled again.

“I mean, isn’t that kind of thing tiring?”

“Tiring?”

“Adapting to others and being considerate in communication…I think the concept of being equal to everyone is difficult… Ideal, but very challenging? I think Takayashiki-kun is an earnest person. But I find having such relationships constraining and not really my thing.”

He felt a chill again.

This time, it felt like a sharp blade was carved into his heart.

She was using a lot of words between the lines, but he understood what she was trying to say.

Rather, her words were not general opinions or her own views but something directed solely at Sakuto alone.

She was frighteningly sharp. He wondered how much she could see him.

These weren’t the kind of psychologically suggestive words that a fortune teller might use, applicable to anyone; they were words that seemed to have seen through Sakuto’s past to his present.

Could she also see his future?

Thinking this, what lay behind her smile suddenly became terrifying.

“Usami-san, you’re thinking about difficult things, aren’t you? I don’t see it that way.”

“Why is that?”

“People aren’t like mirrors facing each other. For me, they’re more like jigsaw puzzles, with some degree of misalignments… and maybe it’s fun because of the effort to try to fit those misalignments together?”

Usami puffed up her cheeks, seemingly unamused.

“I feel like I’ve been lectured… you’re like a school teacher…”

“It’s just an exchange of opinions.”

“Hmm… Takayashiki-kun, are you a realist?”

“And you, surprisingly, are a romanticist?”

At that, both burst out laughing simultaneously.

Then, Usami took Sakuto’s right hand with a smile. His hand was guided to her left cheek.

Feeling his warmth, she smiled happily.

“I like this hand…”

” ….. “

“Jigsaw puzzles… it’s like this, right? This hand feels like it was always meant to fit here…”

Sakuto felt his heart jump inside.

This was somewhat not good.

“Um… I had decided that I would never touch you again…”

‘Had she forgotten their previous interaction about that time in the school corridor when he almost touched her left ear like this?’

But Usami tightened her grip on his hand. She didn’t seem likely to let go.

“That’s sad…”

Her expression changed from one of coquetry to one of sadness.

Sakuto felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly.

“You don’t have to be afraid.”

“What…?”

“It’s scary not to understand, right? Change and confrontation are painful, aren’t they? Loneliness, fear, suffering… they’re all overwhelming, but if we touch each other like this, it will ease the pain…”

He felt on the verge of being frightened.

It’s as if he’s being seen through and through, as if he’s being told that it’s okay to expose what’s inside his heart.

Really, how much can she see?

No, it’s not just that.

Those words just now, they seemed to be directed somewhat at Usami herself.

Maybe she feels lonely, scared, and suffers.

Perhaps she’s trying to alleviate her pain through the warmth of physical contact with others.

Like a small bird seeking a perch, she seems to be searching for a place of solace.

Then, Usami suddenly brightened up.

“Okay, that’s enough of the heavy talk! Let’s go?”

“Yes? Where to?”

“To the arcade again! I’m out for revenge this time!”

“Ah… wait a minute!”

Sakuto finally remembered the reason he came here.

“…? What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?”

“There’s something I want to tell Usami-san first──”

***