Chapter 124: Takeo Matsuzaka Is in Love
“Really!?” Miyagawa Keisuke stared at Saiki Kusuo in tremendous excitement, scarcely able to believe his ears. “You mean Aoki Tsukasa—no, Boss Aoki—is really willing to help me? Then I’ll message those delinquents right away and tell them to stop bothering me!”
Saiki Kusuo gave a bitter smile and nodded. “Yeah. He said that from now on, all you have to do is pay him five yen for protection.”
“Five yen?”
Miyagawa Keisuke’s face lit up with joy, but it soon turned sorrowful, and finally filled with guilt. “Kusuo... thank you.”
Saiki Kusuo merely nodded in silence, his expression somewhat forlorn. “Don’t thank me. Go thank Aoki.”
“Kusuo... you’ve already helped me so much.” Miyagawa Keisuke seemed to understand what his best friend was thinking, but all he could do was pat him on the shoulder, unsure how to comfort him.
Only after a long while did Saiki Kusuo raise his head. His expression held a trace of longing as he murmured, “I wish I could become someone like Aoki.”
“What’s wrong? Did you have that dream again?” Miyagawa Keisuke seemed to think of something. He looked at Saiki Kusuo with a teasing smile. “The dream where you became a psychic superhero?”
Feeling embarrassed, Saiki Kusuo punched him in his soft, fleshy stomach. “Enough already! I shouldn’t have told you.”
“Come to think of it, if you turned that dream into a novel—or made it into an anime—it would probably be pretty interesting, right? ‘The Psychic Kusuo Saiki.’ It even sounds kind of catchy.”
Miyagawa Keisuke threw an arm around Saiki Kusuo’s neck, his face radiant with delight.
“Enough! Dream-me even had pink hair. It was unbelievably girly.” With a bitter smile, Saiki Kusuo allowed himself to be led away with Miyagawa’s arm still hooked around his neck.
“All right, all right. To thank you, I’ll buy you a coffee pudding. How does that sound?”
Saiki Kusuo’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go!”
Looking at Miyagawa Keisuke’s happy face, Saiki Kusuo buried the melancholy in his heart deep within himself.
He often had a strange dream. In it, he was an all-powerful psychic, yet his overwhelming abilities left him troubled every day. Just when he had begun to find life boring, a man claiming to be a god appeared and granted his wish, turning him into an ordinary person.
And then he woke up.
Whenever Saiki Kusuo thought about it, he felt a touch of helplessness. How could anyone possibly resent having such powerful psychic abilities? Sure enough, the version of himself in the dream was different from the one in reality.
If only he really had psychic powers. That would be wonderful. Unlike now...
Sigh.
Still, Aoki, I’ll repay what I owe you. I swear.
Saiki Kusuo quietly clenched his fists, engraving Aoki Tsukasa’s kindness toward him firmly in his heart.
* * *
On the rooftop, Aoki Tsukasa still looked half-dead. He lay lazily across the sofa, reading a medical textbook.
Ever since Maeda Torato had given the rooftop a thorough makeover, coming here every day at noon to eat his lunch and take a short nap had been indescribably comfortable.
“Boss!”
The rooftop door was pushed open by Maeda Torato with his usual carefree force. He placed the canned coffee in his hand on the coffee table in front of Aoki Tsukasa, then dropped heavily into the small sofa. Hugging his own can of coffee, he took leisurely sips while playing on his phone.
Aoki Tsukasa thanked him, opened his coffee, and took a sip. Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he asked, “Why haven’t I seen Fujiwara Miao and the others today?”
“Huh?” Maeda Torato lifted his head from his phone. He raised his eyebrows at Aoki Tsukasa and gave him a leering grin. “They’ll be here in a moment.”
What was with that sleazy smile? Aoki Tsukasa shot him a glance.
Speak of the devil, and he appears. The moment Aoki Tsukasa finished asking, Fujiwara Miao came into view, looking extremely excited, while Matsusaka Daibu clamped a hand tightly over his mouth. The two of them stumbled through the rooftop entrance, tussling all the way.
Watching them whisper and mutter to each other, Aoki Tsukasa asked in confusion, “What’s gotten into you two?”
The pair walked in with their arms around each other’s shoulders, talking in low voices and snickering strangely. They did indeed look rather suspicious.
When Matsusaka Daibu heard Aoki Tsukasa’s question, he nudged Fujiwara Miao’s shoulder awkwardly, indicating that he should explain.
Fujiwara Miao grinned lecherously. “Boss, Daibu’s in love.”
“What?”
Aoki Tsukasa’s eyes widened.
What the hell? In love?
With a smack, Aoki Tsukasa set his book aside, sat bolt upright, and slapped the sofa with an expression of envy. “What happened? The two of you had better tell me everything.”
Matsusaka Daibu sat on the edge of the sofa and lowered his head bashfully, like a little girl. “Well, I, uh... I gave Matsuko from the class next door a love letter. She didn’t accept it, but she didn’t reject me outright either. We decided to start out as friends...”
Matsuko? Which one was that?
Aoki Tsukasa searched his memory. He did not know many people to begin with, and most of them avoided him, so he genuinely could not remember who Matsuko was.
“Matsuko’s in the kendo club too. Don’t you know her, Boss?” Fujiwara Miao seemed somewhat dissatisfied. He patted Matsusaka Daibu on the shoulder and said enviously, “She isn’t exactly beautiful, but she’s above average, and she’s got a pretty good figure.”
Matsusaka Daibu grinned foolishly, clutching his phone as though it were some priceless treasure.
She was in the kendo club?
Aoki Tsukasa thought carefully. There were indeed three or four girls in the kendo club, but most of them had joined because they admired Saeko Busujima. Their skills were dreadful.
They all looked reasonably decent, but he had no idea which one Matsusaka Daibu was talking about.
“Boss, I... I have a favor to ask!”
Matsusaka Daibu placed both hands seriously on his knees, then suddenly bent deeply at the waist toward Aoki Tsukasa.
“Get up, get up.” Aoki Tsukasa could not stand having his friend treat him with such reverence. He pretended to kick him with his leg, frightening Matsusaka Daibu into straightening at once and scratching his head sheepishly.
“What is it? Say it.”
Aoki Tsukasa’s expression was calm, but a little demon was roaring inside his heart: If this guy asks me to help him woo a girl, I’m sabotaging it for him!
Yes, Aoki Tsukasa was indeed a little jealous. Across two lifetimes, he had been a lifelong bachelor, and he was practically past his expiration date. Yet these youngsters had not the slightest bit of tact. First Fujiwara Miao with his Salted Fish-chan, and now this Matsuko girl. Were they showing off? Huh!?
Matsusaka Daibu’s eyes darted away. “I, uh... I wanted to ask you to speak to your senior, Busujima, and help me join the kendo club too. Normally, clubs rarely accept new members after the beginning of the school year, especially a famous club like the kendo club... Boss, please help me!”
As Matsusaka Daibu earnestly explained how popular Matsuko was and how difficult it had been to summon the courage to secretly hand her a love letter, Aoki Tsukasa snorted through his nose. Even so, he decided to help him a little.
“All right. I’ll go talk to Busujima this afternoon. But if she refuses, there’s nothing I can do.”
The thought of seeing Busujima again left Aoki Tsukasa feeling complicated. He was a little excited, yet also somewhat awkward. Ever since what had happened last time, he had not returned to the kendo club.
Would Busujima hate him because of that? Probably not. She was such a gentle, generous, and courteous person...
Matsusaka Daibu hurriedly nodded, overjoyed. “Thank you, Boss! There’s no way you’ll fail. I heard that you and Busujima have a very good relationship. If you’re the one asking, Senior Busujima definitely won’t mind.”
“Probably...” Aoki Tsukasa forced a bitter smile and said no more.
Should he apologize to his senior?
He already addressed Kokomi Teruhashi by her given name. Looking back on it now, perhaps there was nothing wrong with addressing Busujima that way either.
Thinking carefully, Aoki Tsukasa felt that the reason he was so sensitive about how he addressed Saeko Busujima was that he admired her and had feelings for her that went beyond friendship. Perhaps Busujima herself had never intended anything by it.
The thought that he might have been imagining things and caused Busujima to lose face made Aoki Tsukasa feel rather guilty.
Perhaps he could use this opportunity to test her feelings. If she did not mind, they could get along like friends from then on.
* * *
P.S. Has someone been plagiarizing my novel? I’m dying. They didn’t even change the plot—they just altered a few names and copied the whole thing over. The funniest part is that their writing isn’t even as good as mine.
Though, come to think of it, doesn’t that mean I’ve achieved at least a little success?
But plagiarism is illegal, just so everyone knows. Serious face.
You started copying without even saying a word. Do you really think I wouldn’t be angry? At the very least, you could give me some money. Please. Poverty-stricken bitter smile.
The author weakly reaches out for votes. Please offer some comfort.