Chapter 2.9
Hello PolterGlast hereI've been quite busy these daysMaybe I can't post any chapter for the next weekbut, I'll post double the usual (4 chapters) for the next one (next, after next week)and, Thank you StonksCoffee for your coffee
***
Nozomu's POV
"Now! Why now! Don't screw with me !!!"
"Lisa!"
I can't say anything to that word.
There is hatred on her face, and she is slamming me with a cursing gaze.
She turns on her heel and leaves the store. Ken hurriedly chases after her, but my legs can't move and I just sit still.
"Lisa …………"
I knew it. What she thinks about me. I've been struck by her since I was dumped.
…………….. It's hard. It's hard to understand.
I have always liked her. I fell in love at first sight when I was little, I keep thinking for a long time. I thought I could finally reach her………….
The atmosphere inside the store, which seemed to be fun until earlier, has calmed down and is dominated by the awkward air. That's how much her threatening attitude was.
"A, ano. Nozomu-san …………"
Before I knew it, Ena was by the table. She had a slip in her hand
and she probably came to take the order.
"... I'm sorry, Ena-chan. I made a ruckus."
"A, ano. That's fine, but ......... Is it okay to not chase?"
She stares between the door where Lisa rushed out and me alternately.
"………………………………"
I shake my head.
Unlike Ken, I couldn't chase after Lisa.
I couldn't step into her threatening attitude too much.
I already knew she would hit me with her hatred. She used that gaze towards me every time I accidentally met her.
It was still good if it was just that. I was the only one who was hurt.
But this time it was a little different.
When Lisa's cry echoed and she turned on her heels. I caught in her eyes and saw her spilling tears.
When I saw the tears, I couldn't move.
I knew that not chasing her here was my "escape", but when I was pointed out that my existence was driving her to that point, my legs just couldn't move. ..
In the end, I drove her to the wall and couldn't do anything.
"......... I'm going home today. I'll leave the money here."
"A, Nozomu-san !?"
I put the money on the table and went out of the store. It sounded like Ena was saying something behind me, but I didn't notice her as tears flickering in my eyes.
"Haa haa haa haa haa ..."
I didn't look back and just ran through the night in the city.
The emotions are swirling in my heart.
The emotions are so crazy that if I don't hit something, it will easily overflow. In order to manipulate it, I had no choice but to keep running without thinking about the destination.
I wondered how long I ran. I stopped running when I came to the field on the outer periphery of the city.
Breathing roughly, legs quivering, shoulders up and down violently.
"Haahaaha~aha~a…………
The strength on my legs is no longer there, tears flow endlessly and my waist crumbles by the pain. There are no people around. Maybe because I was relieved that no one would ask me, tears overflowed.
"Gusugusu………… fu ~e…… hick ……"
***
Lisa's POV
I remembered the time when I was betrayed.
A year ago, I was dating him, but at that time there was a rumor that he was having an affair.
Of course, I didn't believe that.
When it came out, it was said that it was in fact groundless rumor.
But a friend told me that he saw him walking with a woman he didn't know.
Although I thought that was not the case, I went out to the city at night to check it, and as my friend said, I saw him walking with his arms crossed with an unknown woman.
Nozomu and a stranger woman were walking cheerfully and happily.
Eventually, the faces of the two gradually approached each other, and when they overlapped, I couldn't see them anymore and turned my back on them and started running.
"Fu~ue…… gusu… ue ~e~e……."
"... Lisa"
A figure appeared from behind me who was crying. Looking back, it was Ken.
He was chasing me all the way.
"... Ken"
"Are you alright?"
Ken snuggles up to me and speaks to me. The kindness made my chest warm, but the tears shed from my eyes didn't seem to stop.
"Gusugusu………… I, I'm sorry Ken. I'm crying ... I'm sorry for the date ... But I ... I couldn't stand it when I hear
"Lisa, it's okay. It's alright."
Ken hugged me, whose face was crumpled by tears.
But I just kept crying and apologized to Ken.
Only the spring bugs were staring at us as we snuggled up in an empty field.
***
Nozomu was walking around the city at night. The footsteps were uncertain, and Nozomu was about to fall over and over again.
Lisa's facial expression kept spinning around Nozomu's head.
(In the end, I .........)
Lisa seemed desperate to hold it in, but she was clearly crying. He should be chasing after her. However, Nozomu was not chasing her. It was pointed out that he continued to torment Lisa because he kept running away, and it was a heavy burden in his mind.
"... it is suitable for those who keep running away ..."
The voice of self-deprecation leaks. He was able to face his escape, but in the end, it hurt Lisa and continue to hurt himself.
His head is messed up and Nozomu doesn't know what to do anymore.
However, there is no place for him beside her. That was what Nozomu was able to reconfirm.
"No ~~ zo ~~ mu ~~ ku ~~ n"
As Nozomu sank into the sea of thought, he was suddenly called out and hugged from behind.
"Uwa! A, Anri-sensei ?! What are you doing suddenly!"
"What ~~~. I'm getting a piggyback ride ~~~"
"Gu, smell, sake ..."
It was Anri, the teacher, who hugged him.
Her breath smelled of sake, and her face flushed, indicating that she was drinking a significant amount of liquor.
"Are you drinking? Sensei ..."
"That's~~right. Because I'm an adult~~. I can drink until night~~."
With that said, when Anri puts a lot of effort into her arm around Nozomu's body, her abundant breasts are pressed against Nozomu.
"Adults don't suddenly hug their students from behind ..."
He carries a beautiful woman on his back and is pressed against her breasts, which is a "dying to get" situation for a man, but now Nozomu doesn't even have the energy to enjoy it.
"Boo ~~~. Why does Nozomu treat his teacher as a child ~~~~"
She swells her cheeks and protests like a child, a big child.
(This person really doesn't change …………)
He thinks of his relationship with Lisa, which has changed completely, that kind of impression comes to his mind. But Anri's current "never-changing" made Nozomu happy, and Nozomu's face smiled slightly.
"…………….Un! Did you feel a little better?"
"……e?"
"Somehow~~, Nozomu-kun was walking while being downhearted, so I thought I'll cheer you up ~~~!"
"…………Did you understand?"
"Un!"
After all, she seems to have noticed that Nozomu's appearance was strange. Well, it would have been strange to see him walking around like earlier. Only the person himself who does not know.
"... Anri-sensei, I am ........."
"Un."
"……………………. No, it's nothing ……"
He tries to talk about it, but Nozomu's chest feels stuffy.
"…………Is that so!"
But she doesn't seem to want to listen to anything.
Nozomu felt a little doubtful about the situation. Previously, after the fight with Shino, She had asked so many questions that he was afraid ...
"………………. Are you not going to ask anything?"
"U~~n. I want to hear about it~~~ Nozomu, aren't you suffering now?"
"... Ee"
"I think it's easier to talk, but ... Nozomu-kun, don't you think you can't talk yet?"
"…………Yes"
As she said, it was unlikely that Nozomu would be able to tell what happened with Lisa earlier.
In fact, it takes a tremendous amount of willpower for a person to expose his or her heart to others. Especially if what is in the heart is big.
It also requires a great deal of willpower to face one's past. This is especially true of unpleasant memories for the person, such as past sins and shame.
Nozomu decided to "face the reality that he escaped" means to face what he had unconsciously avoided.
In other words, it means facing mental distress that causes him to escape unconsciously.
The current Nozomu was forced to bear an extremely heavy mental burden due to the overlap of these two events.
"So you don't have to overdo it now. The previous time, I didn't know that Nozomu was still having a hard time, so I asked you a lot ...,that, is, why, if you want to talk, just talk! "
"…………Okay"
That's why Nozomu is pleased with her because she is caring and behaving as usual.
***
"Good evening, Nozomu-kun. I'm sorry, Anri seems to have caused you trouble "again"."
"What do you mean by "again" ~~~~! That's not tru~~~e"
After a while, Norn-sensei came. Apparently, she was drinking with her best friend today.
"Yes, She hasn't bothered me. She just talked a little."
Nozomu said with a smile. His expression is still a little awkward, but it's much better than before.
"…….. Fufu, that's right."
"Yes, that's right."
Norn smiles at Nozomu's smile and they stare at each other. What makes it unattractive is that it happened when there was an adult-child on Nozomu's back. No, is it a child-adult?
"Bu ~~~~~~~~"
The figure that swelled her cheeks looked like a child, but to be honest, she was pretty cute.
Nozomu and Norn began to giggle at that appearance, but Anri began to rampage on Nozomu's back, perhaps because it wasn't interesting for her. But such a gesture was childish and only made Nozomu and Norn laugh.
"Mo ~~~! Two people laughing at me ~~~~!"
"I, I'm sorry ... pfft"
"Kusukusu, I'm sorry Anri. You're so cute ......... Fufu"
"Mo mo mo !! Both of you are terrible ~~~~~~"
While repeating such a story, three people return to the city at night.
"By the way, Anri. Why don't you get off Nozomu's back and walk on your own?"
"E~~~~~~"
(Oh, right, I'm still carrying her)
Talking to Anri made Nozomu feel a little better, so he once again recognized his current condition.
(Um, this is bad. Anri-sensei's chest is ...)
Now he noticed Anri's chest pressed against his back, and Nozomu's face turned red in a blink of an eye.
While Nozomu was frustrated by the feel of his back, the conversation between Anri and Norn continued. Norn, who persuades her, Anri, who refuses to get off, may have liked Nozomu's back so much.
Anri made a dissatisfied voice, but was persuaded by Norn and reluctantly got off from Nozomu's back.
The soft-touch on his back disappears, and Nozomu is a little disappointed ...
"Oya, did Nozomu-kun still want to carry Anri?"
"N, no. Th, That's not true."
It was completely detected by Norn-sensei. Nozomu answers Norns's mean questions while hesitating. Norn, who tries to play with him while looking at Nozomu with a grinning face, is honestly quite a devil.
"???"
However, it seems that Anri is still doesn't know what the two are doing.
"Now then, I enjoyed playing with Nozomu-kun, but is it too late today to go home?"
"That's right ~. There will be school tomorrow, and I wonder if it's about time to open ~~~. Then Nozomu-kun, at school tomorrow ~~~"
"Then have a nice sleep. Be careful and go home."
"Ha~~~. Have a nice sleep."
Nozomu parted ways from the two and headed to the dormitory. His gait, which was heavy and staggered until earlier, is considerably lighter.
***
The next day, Nozomu swung his sword in the dormitory yard early in the morning.
This is not training, it is just a confirmation act that keeps him talking inside himself.
It is necessary for Nozomu. Swinging his sword and burying him in his own world, organizing them while remembering about yesterday and the past.
What he learned yesterday is that he is still hurting Lisa. In the end, the underlying reason was unknown, and Nozomu's heart was rather painful.
He thought that knowing the reason for being dumped was to "face the reality that he kept running away."
But that action itself was hurting Lisa.
He can't take any further steps and keep running away.
Even if he faces the reality that he is running away, nothing changed.
"And there are still other problems"
A chain wrapped around him that he can see when he concentrated on his consciousness. The power of a giant dragon lurking within himself. And the tragedy and unpredictable future it may cause.
Honestly, it is a problem that exceeds the processing capacity that a person can solve. Not a problem that can be solved by Nozomu alone.
However, he can't even talk to people if he imagines what they could cause. In the first place, Nozomu only has very few friends.
Also, since Nozomu himself has been rejected, the thought of "what to do if rejected again", prevented Nozomu from exposing himself.
In the end, no matter how much he swung his sword, no answer was given, and only time passed ...