Chapter 274. [The More We Fight, The Closer We Get]

《Hey, Ogu, how was breakfast this morning? Was it good?》

《Hmph! munch munch》

《Um…》

Ogu wouldn’t respond, so I sighed, thinking, “This isn’t good.”.

It’s been like this since last night.

Yesterday, things got crazy with that incident at high school.

Honestly, today might be even more of a hassle.

《Hey, Ogu. It’s my fault, you know…》

《Hmph!》

She wouldn’t even look at me properly as I awkwardly tried to apologize.

Normally, she’d be the one initiating conversations without me saying anything.

《I really messed up…》

I remembered the scolding Ogu gave me yesterday.

When I got home, she was either angry or crying… It was really tough.

-“Why have you been attacked twice already since coming to America for just a few months!?”

-“You’re too defenseless! Be aware that you stand out!”

And finally,

“You always mess with my heart. I’ve had enough of you!”

And then, she just wouldn’t listen to me anymore.

At that moment, I thought, “She’ll probably be fine in the morning.”.

《I can’t believe she’s still mad even after a whole night.》

This argument(?) with Ogu is a first for me. I have no idea how to handle it.

But there’s something odd about this argument.

《Even though she won’t talk, isn’t she closer to me than usual?》

《Ugh, stop it!》

Oh, Ogu finally reacted.

She was sitting so close to me that our bodies were almost touching, eating breakfast.

It’s hard to eat like this.

And we slept in the same bed yesterday. I don’t get it. Is this how girls fight?

《Ogu, can you please cheer up soon? How can I make it up to you?》

《Hmph. Figure it out yourself.》

《Even if you say that. Hmm?》

Those Secret Service folks are really something.

They should’ve just kept quiet. Now they’re making unnecessary comments.

Ogu muttered, shifting the blame.

“It’s all Iroha’s fault.”

《I don’t want to keep worrying and crying when something happens to you, Iroha. I’m tired of the cycle of worrying, crying, and then finding out you’re safe and crying again.》

《I’m really sorry about that…》

I glanced at Ogu’s profile, noticing traces of tears still in her eyes.

I know I did something wrong.

《But we have Secret Service protection, so you don’t need to worry that much.》

《That’s completely separate! Just because of that, doesn’t mean I won’t worry!》

《Ugh, you’re right.》

《Last time, after the convenience store robbery, I told you not to do anything dangerous anymore!》

《Huh? You did?》

《I did! That’s the kind of person I am! That’s why… I don’t want to know anything about Iroha anymore! Hmph!》

Despite saying that, she won’t leave me alone.

I guess this is also one of those “completely separate” things.

《Hey, Ogu. Don’t say that.》

It was when I was trying to calm Ogu down.

Bing, a notification popped up on my smartphone, and I couldn’t help but react.

《Huh!? ‘HakoTsuku’ gacha has a new character implemented!? Yes, yes, yes!》

《Iroha~? You really haven’t reflected at all, have you?》

《W-wait! What was that just now!?》

Because of yesterday’s incident, I learned the hard way to check messages properly.

So, I’ve been consciously checking them immediately. Talk about bad timing.

《You’re such a big idiot, Iroha~~~!》

***

《…I messed up.》

《Oh, maybe we did something bad. But if that unlikely event were to happen. I think it’d be a bigger shock if we weren’t informed about anything.》

《I understand.》

I exchanged words with the Secret Service woman in the car.

As we arrived at the school bus stop, the car stopped.

《What should we do? After what happened, should we start directly driving you to school from now on?》

《Thank you. But I think I’ll continue taking the bus.》

《I see. Alright then. It seems like you’ve made some good friends too.》

《Well, it’s not exactly like that. But, I should repay the favor for helping me.》

《Hehehe, let’s go with that. Well then, take care》

I was seeing off and then got on the school bus.

No delinquents were waiting for me today. No, there won’t be anymore.

《Yay! Iroha-chan, we’ve been waiting for you!》

《We heard about yesterday’s incident! You beat those guys up, right? That’s awesome!》

《Wow!?》

I was welcomed with cheers.

The incident from yesterday seemed to be well-known already, as the topic dominated the conversation inside the bus.

《With this, peace has returned to this bus!》

《Yeah, I’m glad everyone’s safe! Oh, Iroha-chan, over here!》

I was directed to my usual seat. But the usual girls didn’t sit next to me.

Instead, the one who brought me over was.

《Hey. Yesterday was tough for both of us, huh?》

《…Wait, who are you?》

《It’s me, it’s me! Shitenno! Well, not exactly Shitenno!?》

《Oh! You scared me. I thought you were a mummy.》

《Isn’t that treatment a bit harsh!? I’ll cry!? Moooooommmmyyyyy!》

Standing there was Shitenno, covered in bandages from head to toe.