V1ch16: Black Recollections

Translator: Soafp

TL: I made an annoucement if you want to read it: Link

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I met her in the summer of my second year of junior high school.

　I was attending Tobu Junior High School, where students from several elementary schools in the neighborhood gathered. Kuromine and I were originally from different elementary schools.

We were in different classes and clubs and had no contact with each other.

　At that time, I was mentally weak.

　Because of the stalker accusation, I was treated like a tumor by everyone around me. My relationship with Aoyama had broken up, and I had kept my distance from Renji. There was no fun in my daily life anymore.　

　I had no place in the classroom, so I started heading elsewhere after finishing school lunch.

　The place I used most was the library.

　Although the library was rarely used, there was always someone there before me. It was Tsukiya Kuromine, a plain girl who always read books with her head down.

　There was no conversation between us. We were aware of each other’s existence, but it was not like we were talking to each other. I spent my days in the library just reading my favorite novels.

　One day, Kuromine approached me.

“……Are you all right?”

　My first contact was from that side.

　I had a dead fish eyes, my mentality broken by the stabbing feeling of inferiority and the malicious rumors circulating in my chest. I heard that Kuromine had not been able to bear to see me drooping down without energy, so he spoke to me.

“I’m fine. I’m just going through some things.”

“I see.”

　Kuromine cut off her words and shifted her gaze to the novel.

“…… Come to think of it, I see you here all the time.”

“Perhaps.”

“Do you like books?”

“More or less.”

　We found ourselves conversing with each other.

　The conversation was not so much clerical as it was obligatory, just a greeting. However, as we spent more time together each day, our conversations gradually grew in content.

　Apparently, Kuromine was not comfortable in class and was living a life where she did not talk to anyone. I felt a sense of closeness with Kuromine because she was living a similar life to me at that time.

　One day, our conversation rapidly deepened our relationship.

“Hello, Mukawa-kun.”

“Hi.”

“Are you reading Lanugo today, too?”

“Eh, uhm, yes,”

“Can I ask what kind of book that …… is if you don’t mind?”

　Kuromine sat down next to me.

　I had never seen Kuromine this aggressive, and I felt uncomfortable.

“Please stop. I don’t like to talk to women too much.”

“…… about the rumors?”

“You knew?”

“Yes, actually, I wanted to have a little chat with you about that.”

　Apparently, she had heard the rumors and dared to talk to me.

　It is not known at school that me and Akazawa are childhood friends. It is said that Renji is the only childhood friend of Akazawa’s, but Kuromine, who has no friends, has heard the rumor in bits and pieces. Therefore, she recognized me as “a person who confessed his love to his childhood friend, lost his heart, and then couldn’t give up and was acting like a stalker.

　I didn’t dare correct her, because it was like I actually had my heart broken.

“Uhm, ……. I also lost my heart to a childhood friend.”

“Kuromine too?”

“Yes. He didn’t look at me at all.”

　Kuromine had a childhood friend who was her first love.

　That love was an unrequited love. The other person already had a girlfriend, and she lost her first love without a second thought.

　Yes, I had the same wound of having my first childhood friend break my heart.

　And to make matters worse, although we had both been heartbroken, we had nothing in common in that we had not even confessed our feelings. We were both miserable losers who couldn’t even put up a fight.

“……, you’re one of us.”

“……, I’m one of you heh.”

　After that, there was a strange feeling of being on the same page.

　We enjoyed talking in the library during lunch break, healing each other’s wounds.

　Kuromine was quite friendly when I talked to her. At first I had an image of her as shy and reserved, but she was surprisingly chatty. It took me a while to get to know her, but once we got to know each other, I realized that she was the type of person I could talk to in a normal way.

“The truth is, he has a pretty intense personality, you know?”

“I can’t imagine that from the outside.”

“In my family, we call him ‘Tsukiyo, the shy one. By the way, I have a habit of throwing things when I get really angry. I once threw a box of tissues at my mother in a fight with her. She hit me with a ladle in return.”

“You say that like you’re bragging, but it’s a painful episode.”

　We made small talk, but most of the content was about our mutual childhood friends.

“He was always so cute, He was an angel.”

“He was always handsome. He was a prince.”

“He used to be so nice to me.”

“He’s still kind to me.”

　It is only black history now that we had a mysterious first love bragging match about how much she liked him.

　Even I didn’t know what I was feeling at the time. I guess I couldn’t forget my first love, even though I thought I already had no interest in Akazawa. Maybe I wanted to boast that I was childhood friends with the school idol.

“Eh, your childhood friend, Mukawa-kun, that Akazawa-san?”

“I guess so”

“…… I see.”

　That was all it took to get the message across.

　Akazawa was famous. She was well known as the school’s idol.

　Her partner was Renji Inuyama, a perfectly handsome man who was also known as the prince of the school. No matter how hard I tried, there was no way I could win.

“What about Kuromine?”

“He’s in high school.”

” …… He is years older than you?”

“Yeah. He’s my older brother who lives nearby, and he’s been playing with me since I was a kid. He’s kind and very cool.”

　The person Kuromine had feelings for was a high school student living in the neighborhood at the time, three years older than both of us.

“He has a girlfriend.”

“You mentioned he had a girlfriend once.”

“Yes. My sister”

“…… that’s a tough one.”

　It was someone I couldn’t even tell to plunder.

　The childhood friend she loves as an older brother and Kuromine’s older sister were also childhood friends as a matter of course, and it seems that they were each other’s first love and tied the knot when they were in junior high school. They were first in love and got together when they were in junior high school.

“It was painful to see them kissing right in front of me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Muuu, that’s kind of a throwback.”

“You don’t want to tell them. There’s nothing wrong with Kuromine’s sister and your brother dating, and they both like each other.”

“…….Right. I have no choice but to congratulate them.”

　Kuromine was secretly damaged while congratulating them.

　If Akazawa and Renji had been dating, I would have been heartbroken too while congratulating them.

“It’s hard on both of us.”

“I agree.”

　We have the same scars.

　We both had first loves that never came true. We are not childhood friends, not best friends. In other words, we were friends and comrades-in-arms. On top of that, we were both bozos with no friends.

　In the end, we were nothing more than friends. ……

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　As fall approached, there were changes in the quiet library.

　A senior male student began to approach the usually empty library. He was a handsome guy, a former member of the soccer team with a good name.

　I was not interested in him, so I continued to read as usual. He didn’t make a fuss or try to pick a fight with me. He was there for one thing.

　He was after Kuromine.

　I felt uneasy.

　After getting to know Kuromine, she told me why he always spent time in the library. The girl had some traumas in her past.

“Do you know that senior student?”

“Not at all. He started talking to me recently. The way he looks at me is a little weird.”

“If you’re in trouble, should I warn him?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for worrying about me.”

　Kuromine acted stoutly like that, but her face was clearly clouded when that man spoke to her.

　I was lost at that time. Although that man was aiming at Kuromine, he was not coming at her by force. He just came to the library and talked to Kuromine. He knew when to back off. He left without disturbing the users.

　Was this a groundless fear?

　One day, when I was thinking this, my fears were realized.

　A few days later at lunchtime. I went to the library as usual and found Kuromine entangled with that man. The library was empty except for the two of them. He probably took advantage of the fact that no one was in the library.

“If you’re free after school, do you want to hang out?”

“…..I don’t want to play”

“I’m retired from club activities and have some time on my hands. Let’s go somewhere.”

“Get away from me!”

　Although plain, Kuromine’s face was well-defined. And she was well developed. I could see the man’s eyes were on her chest.

　I was the only one who knew her weakness.

　Kuromine had been growing fast since elementary school, and she had been traumatized by a drunken relative who touched her breasts when he was drinking. Since then, she has had a hard time with men. Even if that wasn’t the case, that girl, who had been bullied in the past, was not good at building relationships.

　When I entered the library, my eyes met Kuromine’s.

　I was about to go in to help when I received an SOS from a fellow student.

“Hey alright—-“

“Please stop!”

　The moment the man forcefully grabbed her arm, Kuromine went wild, blue in the face.

“Whoa!”

“Kya!”

　With the impact of the rampage, the man hit his back against a bookshelf. As a reaction to her shaking him off, Kuromine tumbled to the ground.

　Immediately afterward, several books flew out from the impacted bookshelf.

“—-Watch out!”

　It was quick.

　I jumped to protect Kuromine from the rain of books pouring down on her. Kuromine fell on her back and I covered her up. Several books hit my back and head, causing pain.

“Are you all right?”

“……”

　I called out to Kuromine, but she did not respond. Apparently, she had hit her head when she rolled on the ground and fainted.

　I thought about taking her to the infirmary.

“What’s going on?!”

　Hearing the sound of falling books and loud voices, several students and teachers gathered around. They were all bewildered by the scattered books and the situation at the scene.

　One female student, who was among those who rushed to the scene, opened her mouth.

“Wait, that stalker is attacking Tsukiyo-chan!”

　My mind went blank. I think I was shocked to learn in a big way what people thought of me.

　I don’t really remember what happened after …….

　The next day, I went to school and what awaited me was a cold stare and a call from a teacher.

　I had been accused of attempted rape.

　It seems that the woman at that time mentioned that the culprit who pushed Kuromine down was Shota Mukawa. Of course, I made desperate excuses to prove my innocence.

However, the testimony of a female student who witnessed the scene was strong. The man who was trying to mess with Kuromine vowed with the female student’s story, perhaps to protect his own skin. The opinion of a popular, good-looking man put me in an increasingly unfavorable position.

　The rumors that had originally been spreading quickly turned me into a criminal.

　The important thing was that Kuromine was shocked and absent for a while.

　Since there was no evidence of this incident and it was an attempt, it was treated as an accident. The school probably didn’t want to make an issue of it.

　The only person who believed in my innocence was my best friend Renji. But I didn’t want to involve him, so I suggested that we keep our distance and I was left alone.

　It was the worst possible turn of events, but I had room in my heart somewhere.

　If Kuromine would testify, there would be no problem. That girl would understand. If she explained the situation, the rumor would disappear.

　But a few days later.

　When Kuromine came to school, she didn’t say anything. As if the matter was already over, she did not dispel the atmosphere that I was the bad guy. In addition, the woman who treated me like a criminal had become her friend before I knew it.

　Her attitude was the decisive factor.

　A new rumor started to circulate that Shota Mukawa was a scumbag who stalked and even tried to attack a quiet female student.

　After that, it was already hell.

　What awaited me, mentally wrecked as I was, was an attack from Aoyama. I hit my head and was sent to the hospital. I couldn’t go to school anymore because I had serious mental and physical scars.

　After the incident in which I fell down the stairs, I did not tell the school that I had been pushed down.

　I was not protecting Aoyama. It was because I thought that no matter what I told anyone about the incident with Kuromine, they would not believe me. I have no proof of this incident either.

　……I started going to school in the infirmary.

　I don’t know what happened after that.

　The man who was trying to make a pass at Kuromine was not punished in any way, but I saw him enjoying himself. And I also saw the woman who spread the rumor smiling with Kuromine.

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