[Vol 2] The Secret Life Of An Honor Student Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Yu………………………………………san

 

"Phew… I’m home, my dear house. I’m exhausted again today… Ah, Yu-chan, make yourself comfortable too."

"Then I’ll take you up on that. Excuse me for intruding."

Prompted by Aka-nee as she arched her back and stretched, Mamiya Yu stepped into the entrance of the Aisaka household. Behind her, I furrowed my brow and turned my thoughts over, wondering what I should do.

I’d run into Aka-nee at the apartment entrance, and maybe because she got curious about the existence of someone called Mamiya who was staying with me—someone who harbored a distrust of women—she invited her with a, "If you’d like, how about having dinner together?"

I was sure Mamiya would decline, but contrary to my expectations, she accepted. And now, somehow, Mamiya was inside my house—an utterly baffling situation.

It was only a matter of time before Mamiya came over, but having Aka-nee here too was a completely different story.

"Aki? What’s wrong?"

"…It’s nothing."

When Aka-nee asked me while I was lost in thought, I gave her a curt reply. For some reason, she broke into a smug grin, leaned in close to my ear, and whispered,

"You’re feeling awkward because your secret girlfriend got found out, huh?"

"That’s not it."

I firmly shot down that completely off-the-mark guess, took off my shoes, and headed into the living room.

Mamiya wasn’t my girlfriend. She was a friend—someone I shared secrets with, a dubious relationship that neither of us could ever tell anyone about.

"Also, I’m the one making dinner."

"Don’t worry about the little details. Just think of it as getting the chance to treat that girl to a home-cooked meal… okay?"

Okay? No, not okay.

Would Mamiya even be happy with my cooking? Honestly, her cooking skills were probably better than mine. I’d never eaten her food, but still.

"Um… if you’d like, I could help too."

Mamiya, who had been timidly listening to the conversation, raised her hand a little as she spoke.

"No, no, it’s fine. Instead, why don’t you chat with me? I want to hear about Aki at school. My little brother isn’t very honest, so he doesn’t like talking much."

"You didn’t need to add that I’m not honest."

"See? That’s exactly what I mean. And I can’t put our guest to work either."

When I nodded, Mamiya hesitated for a moment, then replied with an apologetic smile, "Then… I’ll take you up on that."

Still, even after saying those things at school, why was there no trace of tension in Mamiya’s expression? She was probably hiding it behind her usual honor-student mask… but that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious.

With Aka-nee around, there was no way I could ask her directly here.

After washing our hands in the order we came in, I changed into casual clothes and stood in the kitchen.

Mamiya gave me a small bow, then followed Aka-nee’s lead and sat beside her on the sofa, where Aka-nee was already holding a beer can in one hand. I couldn’t say I felt no guilt about leaving her to deal with such a troublesome person, but I trusted that Mamiya would be fine.

"…Well, honestly, if Mamiya insisted on helping and stood next to me, I probably wouldn’t be able to relax anyway. Cooking for two or three people doesn’t make that much difference."

More importantly, I could already picture Aka-nee teasing me nonstop if that happened.

I checked the ingredients I’d stocked up in the fridge and, while washing the rice, thought about today’s menu. With what I had… ginger pork sounded just right. Add some shredded cabbage and miso soup, and the balance would be fine.

After switching on the rice cooker, I called out,

"I’m thinking of making ginger pork today. Is that okay?"

"──So, so, what kind of relationship do you have with our Aki?"

When I peeked out from the kitchen, I saw Mamiya being bombarded with questions by Aka-nee, who was growing more talkative with the alcohol in her system. Maybe she wasn’t used to dealing with someone like this, because while she looked a bit flustered, Mamiya still replied with a smile, "We’re friends."

I couldn’t say that didn’t stir something inside me, but I pushed that awkward feeling down and spoke up,

"Don’t corner her too much, Aka-nee. And Mamiya, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to."

When I called out from a distance, the two of them noticed and turned toward me almost at the same time.

"Thank you for your concern, Aisaka-kun. But I’m having a lot of fun listening to your sister talk."

"See? I know where to draw the line, so you don’t have to worry. Or what—are you scared I’ll steal away your one-and-only cute girlfriend?"

"No. And she’s not my girlfriend. Don’t make me say it twice. She’s a friend."

"A friend you walk home with together?"

"…A friend."

When I said it more forcefully, I heard, "I’ll just take that as the official story," in a tone that clearly didn’t sound convinced. Worried that arguing back would only give her more ammunition, I shut my mouth.

I asked again if ginger pork was fine, and when both of them said it was, I returned to the kitchen and got straight to cooking.

I adjusted the seasoning with soy sauce as the base, adding tube ginger, sugar, cooking sake, and mirin, then massaged it into the pork belly I’d taken out of the pack. Normally you’d use pork loin, but pork belly worked just fine. Since it was thin and absorbed flavor easily, it was quicker to cook.

While waiting for the flavor to soak in, I prepared the miso soup. I boiled water in a pot, then cut tofu, fried tofu, and onions into bite-sized pieces and tossed them in.

Around then, the meat was probably ready, so I heated oil in a frying pan and started cooking the onions I’d set aside earlier. Before they softened completely, I added the pork belly and cooked them together, the savory aroma quickly filling the kitchen.

"Oh, you’re cooking, you’re cooking. Still gonna take a bit?"

"A little longer. You coming for another beer?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Hearing about Yu-chan just makes the drinks go down more easier."

"…Take it easy, okay? I don’t want you getting Mamiya in trouble with your drunk antics."

"I know, I know."

Did she really? I hoped she had at least some sense of moderation. Aka-nee grabbed another beer can from the fridge and headed back to the living room. Praying she wouldn’t say anything unnecessary, I started shredding the cabbage to go with the ginger pork.

To keep it crisp, I soaked the shredded cabbage in a bowl of water while making sure not to burn the meat in the pan. Once everything looked just right, I turned off the heat and plated the pork together with the drained cabbage.

"It’s ready."

When I carried the plates into the living room, the two of them looked over at me together. Then Mamiya, who had been keeping Aka-nee company, stood up from the sofa.

"Please let me help carry them."

"That’d help."

"Honestly, are you really going to make your guest work?"

"Then you help out, Aka-nee."

"But I’m tired from work, you know~?"

Mamiya and I were tired from school too.

Even though Aka-nee kept spouting nonsense, in the end she was probably lured in by the smell, because she came over to help. One after another, we lined the finished dishes up on the table.

Then the three of us sat around the table.

"“““Itadakimasu.”””"

Thus began a dinner time that I couldn’t let my guard down during.

"…So, while I was gone, you didn’t put any weird ideas into her head, right?"

"‘Put ideas into her head’ is a pretty rude way to say it. I was just talking about what you’re like at home, Aki."

"That’s right. In return, I was talking about Aisaka-kun at school."

As I moved my chopsticks, I listened to the two of them with suspicion. Setting Aka-nee aside, I knew from experience that Mamiya wasn’t someone you could deal with easily. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the damage I’d suffer depended entirely on what they talked about. I wanted to believe they’d at least protect my honor and dignity… but considering their usual behavior, I couldn’t trust them so easily.

Aka-nee, a lazy, booze-loving person, and Mamiya, who was sharp and had a hidden side.

I didn’t want to grind down my nerves over something like this, but it was better to be cautious than not.

"Still… it really is delicious."

After swallowing her food, Mamiya said that with a polite, outward-facing smile.

Come to think of it, this was only the second time I’d served Mamiya my cooking. The first time was unforgettable—when she caught a fever and asked me to make dinner because it was too hard for her… or rather, when I got dragged over.

Being told your food is good honestly makes you happy. Still, having it said directly to your face comes with a kind of embarrassment you never quite get used to.

It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Mamiya saying it. Probably.

"Huh? Yu-chan, have you eaten Aki’s cooking somewhere before?"

Of course, Aka-nee didn’t miss that.

When I saw her raise the corners of her mouth in a grin and go on the offensive, my cheek twitched.

I shot a sideways glance at Mamiya, and she tilted her head innocently and smiled at me.

She definitely knew what she was doing.

"Yes. When I got sick before, I said it was hard for me to cook, and when I asked him to cook, he gladly agreed."

"Ohhh… Now that you mention it, there was a day you came home late. Was that the one? Nice going."

"She asked me."

With things like this, it’s faster and easier to just admit it than to make half-hearted excuses.

It wasn’t like Mamiya and I had done anything shady, and there was nothing there that would hurt if it got poked at. I did need to protect our secret with everything I had, but I was sure Mamiya wouldn’t let that slip either.

After all, it would strangle both of us just the same.

"You really are a capable little brother, you know? You can cook, do laundry, clean—basically all the housework."

"That’s because I grew up watching a sloppy older sister."

"If only we could do something about that twisted personality of yours. You used to be much more honest. I miss the days when you’d follow me around calling ‘Anee-cha～n.’"

"When did that ever happen?"

"Back in kindergarten?"

"Anyone’s personality would change given that much time."

A high schooler who grew up with the mindset of a preschooler? That’d just be plain creepy. And really, you didn’t need to bring up stories from back then. What if Mamiya got unnecessary ideas from it?

"That’s true. This might sound rude, but even at school, he’s very polite, and he seems to notice the small details."

"If only he could be a bit more proactive about interacting with people."

"That’s none of your business."

"But that’s part of what makes him a cute little brother."

Aka-nee laughed as she continued drinking her beer, using the ginger pork as a snack. Maybe because Mamiya was here and the conversation was livelier than usual, her drinking pace was faster too.

"You two really get along well."

"This counts as getting along…?"

"No matter what, he’s kind enough that he can’t even hate a hopeless sister like me."

"If you know you’re hopeless, try fixing it."

"Isn’t being hopeless what makes me hopeless?"

…She might have a point.

If you asked whether Aka-nee was really a hopeless person, I couldn’t quite say yes either. She’d graduated from a proper university and worked as a nurse, and she’d listened to me seriously when I’d gone to her with my issues about distrusting women. Even inviting Mamiya to dinner tonight probably had to do with wanting to judge the character of the person I was with, knowing my situation.

About thirty percent of Aka-nee’s actions were for my sake. The rest were probably just her curiosity.

Seeing how happily the three of us were chatting now, Aka-nee had likely decided that Mamiya was “safe.” Knowing Mamiya’s circumstances myself, I thought that assessment was reasonable—but given that she’d threatened me before, I didn’t really want to admit it.

"Aki and I get along, sure, but you’re close with Yu-chan too, right? It’s rare enough that Aki calls someone a friend, but for that friend to be such a cute girl—what kind of wind is blowing?"

"Before I knew it, that’s just how it turned out."

"Aisaka-kun says that, but he’s always very kind to me."

"He’s my pride and joy, after all. I’d be happy if good kids like you kept getting along with him."

"I’d like to ask that of you as well. Right, Aisaka-kun?"

Please don’t pass the conversation to me so smoothly.

Knowing what lurked behind Mamiya’s smile, I couldn’t relax at all, and Aka-nee was liable to make a fatal misunderstanding. …Though it was probably already too late for that. It wasn’t a relationship I could completely deny, and since I’d introduced Mamiya as a friend, I decided to just nod honestly here.

If it weren’t for the ura-aka account, Mamiya would be easy to get along with and wouldn’t require much consideration. That single point dragged everything into the negatives, but for the sake of my mental health, I chose not to think about it.

"But really, that’s youth, isn’t it? Walking home together with a cute girl from your class."

"I see. So this is what youth is."

"Isn’t it basically like a uniform date?"

"If you go home together from school, it just turns out that way naturally. And Mamiya and I are friends. Dates are something lovers do."

I emphasized over and over that we were friends, but Aka-nee just replied with an exasperated, dismissive "Yeah, yeah." Meanwhile, Mamiya said, "Dates are for lovers, aren’t they?" with a knowing smile, and my stomach started to hurt.

After all, I knew that Mamiya liked me romantically. And in response, I kept firmly insisting that we were just friends. It wouldn’t be strange if Mamiya felt angry inside because of that.

Or rather, maybe “there’s nothing I can do about it” was more accurate.

I didn’t like Mamiya in that way—I recognized her as a friend. On top of that, my distrust of women hadn’t healed, and she was someone I shared a secret with that I couldn’t tell anyone else. There was no room for romantic feelings.

"Then if you two became lovers, that would solve everything."

"Don’t say impossible things. You tell her too, Mamiya."

"…If Aisaka-kun insists that strongly, I wouldn’t say I won’t consider it."

"See, Aki? Not being firmly rejected means there’s hope."

Caught off guard by their sudden teamwork, I had no words to respond with. Wearing a sour expression, I chose to escape into my ginger pork.

 

We finished dinner while the topic bounced all over the place, and while Aka-nee continued to cling annoyingly to Mamiya, I washed the dishes we’d used. Running into Aka-nee on my way home and ending up having dinner together with Mamiya had been completely unexpected, but judging from how she’d been while eating, she seemed to be enjoying herself, which was a relief.

I’d wondered how well Mamiya and Aka-nee would get along, but apparently not badly at all. Thanks to that, the two of them worked together a bit too well, leaving me struggling to respond.

Thinking back on dinner as I finished the dishes and returned to the living room, I found the two of them still chatting cheerfully.

"Yu-chan, you don’t call Aki by his name?"

"I’ve gotten used to calling him Aisaka-kun…"

"Since we’re at it, why not just use his name? It’ll make it easier to tell the difference from me, and Aki would be happy too, right?"

"Not really."

"That’s what he says. What’ll you do?"

When Aka-nee passed the baton to Mamiya, she looked at my face, thought for a moment with a deliberately cute "Hmm…"

"…Then, when the two of you are together, I’ll call you by your name."

"Mm-hm, let’s do that. Which means, Aki, you’ve gotta call Yu-chan by her name too."

"That’s right. It feels kind of lonely if I’m the only one being called by my last name."

Following Aka-nee’s lead, Mamiya asked me to call her by her name as well.

…Give me a break.

There was only one Mamiya, so there was no need to distinguish her from anyone else, and changing how I addressed her now felt awkward. Besides, she was probably saying this expecting me to be troubled, and letting her have her way wasn’t very fun.

Still, if I stubbornly stuck to last-name-only, Aka-nee might start making weird guesses like, "Oh? Are you conscious of her~?" So I needed to accept it calmly.

It was fine. All I had to do was call her by her name.

That wasn’t strange between friends.

If anything, it was my nervousness that was strange.

"…Fine. Just for now. Yu………………-san."

"…………Why did you add ‘-san’?"

"Well, you know… calling you by your name suddenly made it feel like the distance between us shrank too much, and I couldn’t handle it."

When I honestly explained, Mamiya and Aka-nee exchanged a brief glance.

"That’s such an Aki reason. That part of you is cute."

"Isn’t it a good thing for the distance between people to shrink?"

"Don’t expect advanced communication skills from me."

"…I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll endure it for now."

Dissatisfaction was plainly written all over Mamiya’s face, but it seemed she’d lower her weapon for the moment. Firmly deciding that I wouldn’t thank her for that, I tried calling her Yu-san a few times in my head. Maybe because I was used to calling her Mamiya, it felt strangely itchy and uncomfortable, and just wouldn’t settle right.

"Personally, I wouldn’t mind if you called me by my name at school too."

"Spare me that. I can already see myself getting dragged into unnecessary trouble."

"Yu-chan seems popular, after all. If Aki’s interested, he should hurry."

"Shut up. You’re one to talk, Aka-nee—"

"Alcohol is my lover, so it’s fine."

She said something that could only make her sound like a hopeless person, tilting the glass filled with lemon squash. Maybe because Mamiya was here, she seemed to be drinking more than usual today. I couldn’t stop her from drinking, but I wished she’d take better care of her health.

With all that going on, when I glanced at the clock, it was already getting close to eight. Thinking that this was what happened when you took your time eating, I figured it was about time to send Mamiya home.

"Mamiya, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you head back? I’ll walk you over."

"Weren’t you going to call me by my name?"

When I suggested she head home, what came back was an unmistakably commanding smile.

This was my fault for deciding to call her by her name and then using her last name anyway, so I accepted it and cleared my throat to hide the awkwardness.

"…Yu-san. Is this fine?"

"Yes. It is indeed getting late, so I suppose I should take my leave. You’ll walk me back, right, Akito-kun?"

"Just for safety, that’s all."

"You don’t need to worry, Yu-chan. Aki may be like this, but he’s still pure, so he won’t turn into a ‘sending wolf.’"

"Hey… is that really something to say in front of her?"

"Were you planning to?"

"No way."

I shook my head, denying it as my cheek twitched. Even if I didn’t distrust women, I couldn’t imagine pulling something as bold as being a ‘sending wolf,’ nor did I want to. All I was thinking was that even if she lived in the same apartment building, sending a girl home alone this late could be dangerous.

"Akito-kun wouldn’t do something like that, right?"

"He doesn’t even have the guts to make a move."

"Am I really so unattractive that you don’t even feel like reaching out?"

"That and this are completely different issues, aren’t they? I never said you weren’t attractive—"

"Ahh, honestly, you two are totally flirting already. Just go out with each other."

"We’re not flirting, so be quiet."

Even as I sighed in exasperation, I watched Mamiya gather his things and slip on his coat.

"If you’re ready, shall we go?"

"Please."

We moved to the entrance and put on our shoes. Just before heading out, Mamiya properly turned toward Aka-nee and bowed his head.

"Akaha-san, thank you very much for today."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. If you’d like, I’d love to have tea together sometime."

"Yes, by all means."

Feeling a shiver of dread at how they’d already secured another promise to meet, I opened the door. Cold air filled with the sharp chill of a winter night greeted us. I stepped outside with Mamiya as Aka-nee saw us off, and the door closed behind us.

Only then did the tension finally ease, and a sigh slipped out naturally.

"What’s wrong? That sigh sounded like the depths of misery."

"I’m tired because of someone."

"You mean me?"

"Half of it."

"I thought I was being a good girl, though."

"Only on the surface."

In truth, I understood that the Mamiya who played the role of an honor student was, by society’s standards, a good kid. If that were all I knew, I would’ve nodded without question. But I also knew what lay underneath… what Mamiya was really like.

Well, it’s not as if her true self is bad, either.

"More importantly, you’re walking me home, right?"

"Yeah. If you don’t want that, I’ll go back."

"No, please. I want someone to talk to, too—"

Tap. Slender fingertips brushed against the back of my hand.

"It’s cold at this hour. …Is it okay?"

A request so modest it was hard to imagine coming from Mamiya. Her cheeks were faintly flushed as she asked in a whisper. It felt strangely adorable—and yet I questioned whether it was really okay to take her hand. After a moment of hesitation, I gently wrapped my hand around the one she had offered.

Mamiya looked up at me, clearly surprised.

"…It’s cold, after all."

Don’t ask anything more—that was what she seemed to be saying.

Even if I was the one she reached out to, returning her grip took a certain amount of courage for someone like me, burdened with an extreme distrust of women. I understood that the reason I could do it at all was because of the photo that guaranteed the trust between us—and because of that, I didn’t want to admit it honestly.

"…Actually, I might be kind of hot right now."

We’d held hands because it was cold, yet now Mamiya was saying the opposite. Indeed, the hand I was holding was warmer than mine, carrying a gentle heat.

"Then let go."

"No. Not until we get home."

She didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go, so I decided that was fine and we kept walking hand in hand.

I’d expected her to bring up some topic, but surprisingly, Mamiya stayed silent, simply gazing at the nighttime scenery spreading beyond the hallway as we walked. She occasionally glanced my way, but it was a restrained look, as if she were carefully gauging my mood. We took the elevator down, then walked along another corridor.

"………………Hey."

"Hm?"

"You know… I had fun. Eating together and talking with you, Akito-kun, and Akaha-san. There’s no one but me at home."

As she spoke with a softened expression, I remembered that Mamiya lived alone.

No one waiting to greet her when she returned home, meals always eaten alone. I usually had at least one family member around, so I’d never really felt lonely—but now I realized that wasn’t something to be taken for granted.

"…Knowing Aka-nee, I think she’d be happy if you came over again."

"Does that mean it’s okay for me to visit again?"

"…Let’s just say I wouldn’t be opposed."

"I see. Yeah. If I get really lonely, maybe I’ll drop by."

Saying that, Mamiya gave a faint smile, then quickly recovered with a, "That aside," and continued.

"Why do you still call me Mamiya? My name would be fine. Right now… it’s just the two of us, after all."

"…I’ll never call you that at school."

"I know. It’s a little disappointing, though. Looks like we’ve added another secret."

"You mean another weakness?"

"Isn’t it a waste not to be happy about being called by name by such a cute girl?"

That was… a reason I really didn’t want to admit.

And then, at last, we arrived in front of the room with Mamiya’s nameplate.

Thinking this was as far as we’d go, I let go of her hand. Mamiya looked at me like she wanted to say something, but instead, as if nothing were amiss, she unlocked the door.

"Well then, Akito-kun. See you tomorrow."

"…Yeah. See you, Yu."

I called her by name only, trying to mask my embarrassment. Mamiya looked surprised, then left me with a smile.

"Mm. See you."

Her voice lifted happily as she closed the door.

…Yeah, calling her by name alone is still pretty hard for me.

"………………Seriously, that’s what gets me."

So this is what it means to have no guard up at all. When she shows such pure goodwill, it’s impossible not to feel something in return.

When I touched my face, it was surprisingly hot. My heart was pounding fast, making it obvious how tense I was. I released the heat I’d been holding in with a deep breath, letting it spill out.

"…Maybe I’ll take a walk before heading back."

That thought came from not wanting Aka-nee to see my face like this. Though, in its own way, getting home late might invite misunderstandings too… still, unless I sorted out my emotions, it was true that I wouldn’t know how to face Mamiya tomorrow.