Genocide Online ~Playtime Diary of an Evil Young Girl
252 Mai Hagiwara’s Anger
A/N: Well, this is something I wrote after a reader told me that it was time to get some fluff. I’m sure many of you have guessed from the title, but sugar alert!
“Haa… In the end, it’s the usual Rena-san~”
“Haha, that’s right.”
After school, when all the classes were over, I muttered to myself as I stretched my arms high in the air, and Yuu, who was walking next to me, agreed with a wry smile.
Rena-san, who was supposed to be in the same ‘Ichi no Ren’ class with me, was called by the teacher on the way to the school. So, it was just the two of us now.
…For some reason, my heartbeat is thumping loudly.
“—T, then…”
“What is it?”
As soon as I became aware of my own rapid heartbeat, I felt embarrassed.
When I was attacked by the Red Crow, Yuu rushed to my aid, before winning the battle while brazenly holding me… Said image of Yuu suddenly popped into my head and wouldn’t go away.
Even if I desperately tried to think of something else, I could only think of the guy who stood beside me.
“…Hey, Mai?”
“…Yes?”
Come to think of it, he also came to my rescue during the second official event when I was kidnapped by a strange child.
Although, halfway through, I got intimidated by Blossom and fled. I didn’t get to see the end, but wasn’t he there for me, as well?
…At that time, even though we had been arguing, he still came for me.
While it may be inside a game, I have to admit that he’s a bit cool…
“…”
“…Uh, so…”
…Moreover, I was fully aware of how disagreeable my usual demeanor was. Yet, he stayed with me nonetheless. Instead of complaining, he’d just show me a wry smile.
Hence, unaware that Red Crow was going after me, I felt a little sad because Yuu didn’t play with me at all—
“—Dance!”
“Ahyuu—!?”
Suddenly, Yuu grabbed my shoulders with all his might. As a result, I jumped in shock.
“W, what are you doing all of a sudden!?”
“Eeh… Nothing. It’s just, Mai went quiet all of the sudden.”
“T, that’s because—more importantly! You aren’t supposed to touch a girl’s body without permission!”
“I, I’m sorry…”
…No, I’m the one at fault. So why is Yuu apologizing? Isn’t this the same as usual?
“…Wrong.”
“Eh? S, sorry?”
“Ah, no, it isn’t like that…”
Upon seeing Yuu apologizing once again, a sharp pain ran through my chest.
…He’s like this because of my usual attitude.
To hide my embarrassment, I’d act somewhat arrogantly. As a result, Yuu had to bear with my unreasonableness…
…Even though a tsundere and violent heroine isn’t popular.
“I, I’m the one who should be apologizing. S, sorry, I was daydreaming…”
“O, okay…”
T, this is my fault—!
Because I used to be rude to him, he even apologized when I apologized—!
I have to reflect on my mistakes—!
Looking at Yuu, who was so shaken that he was checking his surroundings, I gritted my teeth.
Considering my usual behavior, which was to rely on Yuu when anything happened, I realized that I had mostly been unkind to him.
…No, that might be a fact.
“W, what I’m trying to say is—! I, I feel bad… for how I usually act…”
“…”
Ugh, what the hell am I doing!?
Why am I muttering a bunch of nonsenses on the way from school!?
Then, let’s act like usual—no, like I said, that’s no good—!
“…Hey, Mai-san?”
“…W, hwwat?”
I accidentally bit my tongue…!
“…Could it be, are you upset about what happened last time?”
“…? What are you talking about…?”
What is he saying? Did I do something to Yuu?
Hmm, there were so many things I could think of, to the point that I couldn’t determine which was which. It was akin to buying something at the cake shop in front of the station, really.
…I really didn’t know what Yuu was concerned about.
“After all, I did adamantly refuse to play with you back then.”
“O, oh… so, it’s about that…”
Apparently, he was concerned about the time when the Red Crow went berserk… As a result, when he saw me behaving unusually, he thought that I might be upset…
…Haa, it isn’t like that at all.
I understood that he did it to keep me safe.
“I don’t care about that.”
“…Then, why did you refuse to look at me?”
“…!”
For some reason, when Yuu appealed with a slightly sad tone, my chest constricted. I had thought of changing my attitude just now, but this might be my limit.
I didn’t know why, but I just couldn’t stare at Yuu’s face. Whenever I attempted to do so, I found myself averting my gaze.
Every time Yuu moved, I’d shift my face in the opposite direction—
—and as always, I still hurt him.
“Hey, look at me.”
“W, what do you want? Besides, you have to pay attention to the road.”
“…But aren’t you the one looking towards the opposite direction?”
“…!”
Because Yuu stood in my way, I couldn’t walk forward.
“It’s dangerous if you don’t walk while facing forward, right?”
“W, well, that’s right, but…”
“Then, if you don’t face forward, it’s no good, right?”
W-why!?
Why is Yuu so mean today!? Just what did I do to him!?
“D, don’t be mean to me…”
“…Isn’t Mai the one who’s being mean to me? Why are you avoiding me? As I thought, is it due to the past allegations?”
“N, no…!”
That wasn’t true at all. In fact, I was truly grateful towards him. Then, as if I was driven by own thoughts, I faced forward—
“—Look into my eyes.”
My childhood friend held both my cheeks and peered into my eyes.
…My crush was staring straight at me. To be stared at by those mysterious eyes, I couldn’t stand it at all. As I began to get flustered, my body lost all of its strength.
When I was little, I hurt him by saying, “I hate your eyes, so don’t look at me!” Those eyes, which I hadn’t seen much since then, calmly looked into me.
“S, stop it…”
“…”
For me, the experience of being forcibly held by my taller childhood friend as he stared into my eyes was too intense—soon, tears began to overflow from the corners of my eyes.
Trying to conceal my embarrassment, all I could do was to cover my mouth with the back of my hand.
Due to not having any strength in my body, I couldn’t hide my embarrassed expression. For some reason, I couldn’t act haughtily, either. In the end, I found myself staring back at him.
“I, I’m sorry… Come to think of it, you didn’t like my eyes…”
“…I, it’s isn’t like that at all, you idiot—!”
“Ah—”
When he came back to his sense, Yuu let go of me and apologized. But instead of hiding my embarrassment, I shouted—
—I don’t know what to do anymore…!
Thus, I left him behind and ran away.
“I, I’m such an idiot…!”
It’d be easy to catch me, who was short and wasn’t very good at sports, but Yuu didn’t come after me.
