Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10 Page 16

  “You two... I understand how you feel, but control your rage. Your hatred for Kouki is causing him nightmares.”

  Tio shooed Shea and Yue away, acting like a reliable older sister for once. Reluctantly, Shea stowed her hammer and Yue dispelled the mini lightning dragon she’d summoned. The two of them were still mad that Kouki had dared to attack Hajime. They also hated how he’d used their names without honorifics, but the biggest thing was that he’d been serious about killing Hajime. Kouki groaned painfully in his sleep as the two girls directed their hatred at him. His brow furrowed, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Chances were he was dreaming of being attacked by the vampire and bunny girl duo. Shaking his head, Hajime smiled at the two of them. While he was glad they were angry on his behalf, if Kouki’s nightmares destroyed his psyche any further it would defeat the purpose of keeping him alive.

  “Tio’s right. I went through all the trouble of not killing him, so don’t ruin it.”

  “Mrr... Fine, if you say so, Hajime.”

  “You lucked out, you damn hero.”

  Shea spat at Kouki’s feet. Were you always this aggressive? Hajime thought as he turned to her in surprise. In an attempt to placate Shea, Hajime used his free hand to pat her bunny ears. In seconds, Shea went from gangster Shea back to her normal, mellow self. Yue scooted over a little to make room for Shea, and the bunny girl gladly settled into Hajime’s arms. Yue rubbed her head in Hajime’s stomach while Shea leaned against his chest. Shea closed her eyes and wrapped her bunny ears around Hajime’s neck. Her tail bobbed happily back and forth.

  Yue and Shea’s fight had ended with the two of them growing closer, but it had also made them more clingy when it came to Hajime. I guess something pretty big happened during their trials. Hajime smiled gently and wrapped his arms around both of them. Things had been bad enough when it was just Yue and Hajime flirting, but now that Shea had been added to the mix their flirting was even more diabetes-inducing. Feeling a little left out, Tio sidled over to Hajime as well. After a few seconds of silence, Tio said, “Master, I have a confession to make.”

  “Hm? What?”

  “The truth is, I was using you all this time to get my revenge against the gods!”

  Suzu and Ryutarou turned to her in shock. You’re actually gonna tell him that!?

  “Huh? I knew that already though?”

  Suzu and Ryutarou turned to Hajime in shock. You already knew that!? Hajime and Tio silently looked into each other’s eyes. After about ten seconds Tio asked, “What’s my punishment?”

  “Nothing.”

  Tio fell to her knees in despair. Suzu and Ryutarou also fell to their knees, but for a different reason. This really isn’t the time for that... they thought. Suzu decided it was up to her to ask the right questions and turned to Hajime.

  “H-Hey, Nagumo-kun. Did you really know that was what Tio-san was thinking?”

  “Huh? Course I did.”

  Hajime went on to explain that Tio had already told him a good amount of her past. There was also the fact that she’d left her village to investigate the heroes who’d been summoned. And when she’d discovered Hajime was stronger than the hero, she’d decided to stick with him instead. Putting the puzzle pieces together had hardly been difficult for Hajime. More than anything though— “Besides, I’d like to think I have an idea of what kind of person Tio is.”

  After all, Tio Klarus was one of Hajime’s precious companions. It was only natural that he’d pay attention to her. He knew just how badly she thirsted for revenge, as well as the fact that she was a trustworthy ally who wouldn’t hesitate to give her life for her friends.

  “That’s part of the reason why I asked you to come during my fight with Noint, you know?”

  Hajime’s fight with Noint had happened eight thousand meters in the air. If his only goal had been to get Aiko to safety, he could have asked Yue to come up using a teleportation portal. Of course Tio had been free at the time since she was on lookout duty, and Yue’s strength was necessary to protect Liliana and the others at the palace, but part of the reason Hajime had chosen Tio was also because he wanted to give her a chance to get back at the church that had ruined her life.

  “Master...”

  For once, Tio seemed at a loss for words. Her heart welled up with emotion, but she couldn’t figure out how to express it. Tio looked so cute that even Suzu blushed, while Ryutarou slapped himself to keep his head clear. He wouldn’t be tricked into falling for this pervert a second time.

  “Master, may I rest in your arms as well?”

  Before Hajime could say anything, Yue and Shea scooted to either side, making space for Tio. Realizing that Tio must have had quite a difficult trial as well, Hajime just shrugged his shoulders and allowed it. Beaming, Tio nestled into Hajime’s arms, in between Yue and Shea. Now there were four people flirting instead of three. The scene was so sickeningly sweet that Ryutarou couldn’t bear to look at it. A short distance away, Kaori watched Tio and the others enviously.

  “Awww, I missed my chance. Well... I guess this is good enough for Kouki-kun. Hajime-kuuuuuun!”

  “Huh? Hey, Kaori! Weren’t you the one who said we should heal...”

  Kaori fired one last half-assed burst of healing magic at Kouki and then left him to go run into Hajime’s arms. She had at least made sure his life wasn’t in danger, but that was about it. Kouki twitched a little as Kaori’s final bits of healing magic washed over him. Even though Kaori was the one who said healing damaged souls was a delicate business, she hadn’t been all too delicate at the end. Shizuku looked worriedly from Kouki to Kaori.

  Kaori tried to wedge herself into the group hug as well, but was stymied by Yue. As she ran forward, Yue fired a small pebble at her forehead. This time, however, Kaori would not be deterred. She dodged the missile and squeezed her way in next to Yue. Naturally, this meant that Kaori was in between Yue and Hajime’s arm. Yue smiled threateningly at Kaori, who smiled back. As usual, the two girls summoned their illusory stands and glared daggers at each other. Ryutarou and Suzu watched in amazement as the two girls silently warred with each other while also flirting with Hajime. Realizing everyone had forgotten Kouki, Shizuku walked over to make sure his pulse and breathing were normal. Once she confirmed that he was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Ryutarou. Could you carry Kouki?”

  “Sure... I guess Kouki was the only one who didn’t succeed. He’s gonna be depressed when he wakes up.”

  Ryutarou’s expression clouded over as he hoisted Kouki onto his back. Suzu looked at him, her expression also troubled.

  “Yeah... Though we don’t know for sure if we succeeded either... Besides, as long as he’s alive, he can try again!”

  Suzu smiled cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. Ryutarou shook his head to clear it of negative thoughts and smiled back at her.

  “Good point. He fucked up big time, but at least he’s alive for us to beat some sense into him. And if he wants to try again, we can just help him out. Like we always have.”

  “Yep!”

  Shizuku smiled as she watched over her two friends. Noticing she was looking at them, Ryutarou and Suzu both thought, It’s because you act like that that everyone calls you the class mom! Shizuku’s smile quickly turned into a glare, as if she’d read their thoughts, and they quickly started thinking about something else. Sighing, Shizuku glanced over at Hajime and the others and shifted gears. Her trial had already taught her to stop prioritizing others and suppressing her own desires. She’d decided to live for herself now.

  Naturally, this meant she no longer felt any shame about staring longingly at Hajime. Tio was the first to notice Shizuku’s gaze. Cocking her head quizzically, the dragonman turned toward her. Yue and Kaori were too busy fighting to notice, while Shea was busy trying to calm them down.

  Shizuku brought a hand up to her chest, reminding herself of what she’d learned from her trial. She curled her fingers into a fist, and Tio easily guessed what she’d resolv
ed to do.

  “Now this is quite interesting... Fufu. Good luck, young lady.”

  “Huh? Did you say something?”

  “Oh, I was simply wishing a troubled young maiden luck in her endeavors.”

  Hajime was momentarily confused by Tio’s response, but then he followed Tio’s gaze and saw Shizuku psyching herself up. He realized what was going on right away. It was hard not to, since he’d already heard Shizuku’s confession earlier.

  “Man, you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

  Hajime’s gaze met Shizuku’s. The moment it did, Shizuku blushed. A second later, her expression became determined, and she walked over. Unaware of her true intentions, Ryutarou and Suzu followed after her. Shizuku stopped beside Hajime, on the opposite side of where Kaori and Yue were still glaring at each other. She was awfully close to him. In fact, she was practically glued to Hajime’s left arm, which was currently holding Shea.

  It was then that Yue and the others noticed her presence as well. Yue turned around with a questioning look while Shea blinked in surprise. Shizuku locked eyes with Kaori. They shared a look, and Kaori figured everything out. Her eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t surprised by Shizuku’s feelings, but rather by the fact that she wasn’t hiding them anymore.

  Once she’d gotten over her shock, she beamed. Her smile was gentle and kind, filled with understanding and acceptance. It encapsulated everything she felt about Shizuku in one expression. She quietly mouthed, “Good luck” at Shizuku, showing her support. Shizuku nodded and smiled back. She held in the tears of joy that threatened to spill forth and looked hesitantly up at Hajime.

  “Nagumo-kun, thank you for saving Kouki.”

  “All I did was beat him up.”

  Hajime’s tone was curt. It was precisely because he knew Shizuku’s feelings that he didn’t really want to deal with her. Unfortunately for him, she wouldn’t be deterred. Smiling nervously, she added, “But you didn’t kill him. You kept him alive for Kaori’s sake, and a little bit for my sake, right? What was it you said before, twenty percent for my sake?”

  “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  Hajime wasn’t going to take back his words. But he still seemed unhappy admitting that. His grumpiness helped alleviate Shizuku’s nervousness, and she giggled. Yue grumbled to herself as she watched the two of them talk while Shea muttered, “Ah, so it’s finally happening.”

  “I guess you really did protect me like you promised.”

  “I’ve got my limits though. I’m not protecting you from everything.”

  “I know. But thanks to you, we didn’t lose our friend. I know he’s a huge troublemaker, and a moron, but... he’s still like family to me.”

  Shizuku looked up at Hajime with a mixture of gratitude and sadness, and he shrugged noncommittally. In truth, Hajime had wanted to kill Kouki and be done with it, to prevent him from being a potential threat in the future. But after seeing Kaori and Shizuku’s expressions, he’d come to realize sparing Kouki had been the right choice.

  At the very least, it would be a lot less hassle dealing with whatever trouble Kouki caused than dealing with two traumatized girls who’d just seen the man they love kill one of their friends.

  At the same time, Hajime was both impressed and nonplussed that Shizuku had continued trying to help Kouki even after seeing the radical transformation he’d gone through. She really is like everyone’s mom. While Ryutarou and the others were disillusioned with Kouki, Shizuku was just sad that things had come to this. Which showed just how much she cared about him. Had any of the people who idolized Kouki, such as his other classmates or the noble ladies in the castle, seen his actions here, they would likely have wanted nothing to do with him ever again. But Suzu, Kaori, Shizuku, and Ryutarou shared a bond with Kouki that went deeper than that. Like Shizuku had said, he was like family. Not just to her, but to all of them.

  So if Yaegashi’s the mom, does that make Amanogawa the rebellious son? Normally Shizuku would have glared at Hajime for thinking such rude things, but she was too focused on her own concerns at the moment. She took two deep breaths, then looked passionately up at Hajime.

  “Thank you for carrying me after my trial as well. It was the first time anyone’s ever done that for me, but it felt surprisingly comfortable.”

  “Says the girl who threatened me into doing it.”

  “Uh, well... I suppose I did, but that was the only way you were going to hold me, wasn’t it?”

  Shizuku blushed to the tips of her ears. Her heart pounded in her chest. It was amazing how different she looked from her usual, aloof self. She gently laid a hand on Hajime’s left arm. In truth, she wanted to grab it, but she was too embarrassed to do more than rest her hand on it. She could feel everyone’s gazes on her, but she nevertheless gathered her resolve and said in a shaky voice, “A-Anyway, I’m really grateful to you. So here’s your reward. A-Also, it’s proof that I w-wasn’t joking about what I said before!”

  Shizuku went on tiptoes and grabbed Hajime’s arm to hold him in place. Then, using No Tempo to keep Hajime from reading her movements, she quickly leaned over and kissed Hajime on the cheek. He felt the soft sensation of her lips press against him. They were hot, and just a little wet, and they warmed him to the soul. The kiss lasted only a second, but it was long enough to convey her feelings to Hajime.

  A second later, there was a loud thud behind Shizuku. Ryutarou had been so shocked by her actions that he’d dropped Kouki. In fact, he was so shocked he hadn’t even realized that he’d dropped his friend.

  Shizuku quickly stepped back, her face burning red. She looked down, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze. But then she slapped her cheeks and rallied herself.

  Hajime was at a loss for what to do. He knew what he needed to say. Hell, he hadn’t even accepted Kaori yet. There was no way he could accept Shizuku’s feelings. That being said, he needed to choose his words carefully. Had Kaori looked worried he would have rejected Shizuku outright, but to his surprise, she was smiling. If he dismissed Shizuku’s feelings outright, it’d just cause more trouble down the line.

  Though Shizuku had no way of guessing Hajime’s feelings, she saw him wavering and decided this was her chance. She steeled herself and said, “Yue, Shea, Tio... Kaori. I learned a lot from this trial. It taught me what bad habits I need to fix, and what my true feelings are. I know Nagumo-kun already has Yue and Shea, and I know you love him too, Kaori. I realize this makes me a horrible person. But even so...”

  Shizuku trailed off, hesitating, but Kaori smiled and gave her the push she needed.

  “It’s fine, Shizuku-chan. No one thinks you’re a horrible person. Besides, it’s not like you can control who you fall in love with. If anything, I’m happy you’re finally putting your own desires before other people’s, Shizuku-chan.”

  “Kaori...”

  Shizuku had been worried that confessing her feelings would make Kaori upset, so seeing Kaori support her wholeheartedly took a large weight off her shoulders. Yue shrugged her shoulders, then smiled fearlessly. No matter how many new rivals popped up, Yue would fight them all fair and square, like she’d told Kaori. Shea on the other hand just shook her head in resignation, while Tio winked at Shizuku. Shizuku smiled, relieved that she could proceed without stepping on any toes. Holding her head high, she said, “I’m in love with you, Nagumo-kun. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make you mine.”

  Shizuku’s smile was like the clear blue sky that came after a storm. Free of worry and utterly captivating. It had the same dazzling radiance as the morning dew on a bright, clear dawn.

  “Shizuku-chan, you look super cute right now! Alright, it’s finally time to take down the Yue-Shea pair combo by creating our own childhood friend combo!”

  “What? Kaori, I’ve barely even... Heh. Well, I suppose that might not be a bad idea. We’ll make Nagumo-kun ours and ours alone.”

  “I knew this would happen eventually, Shizuku... I’ll bury you and Kaori both.”

  “You can’
t do that, Yue-san! Oh, but we can’t let them have Hajime-san all to themselves! We’ll take you head-on, Shizuku-san!”

  Yue, Shea, Kaori, and Shizuku all started jostling over Hajime, who was looking forlornly off into the distance. Shizuku hadn’t even bothered waiting for his reply. When he’d tried to say something Kaori had interrupted him and said, “Prepare yourself, Hajime-kun!” Worse, even Shea had added, “You’re going to say no, right? We already know so just stay quiet for once, Hajime-san.”

  So now he was sulking by himself. In the end, he knew he wasn’t going to shut down Shizuku so hard she actually gave up, so he decided to just leave it be.

  “Hey, Master. I feel as though I’ve been left out of everyone’s conversation. What should I do now that the others have all paired up?”

  “Why not start panting over being ignored like you always do?”

  Tio started panting. Hajime looked down at the girls in his arms and thought to himself, I really wish they’d stop arguing over who likes me more. Ryutarou sighed, half in exasperation half in amazement, as he watched the fight for the Hajimebowl begin.

  “I can’t believe even Shizuku fell for him. What’s so good about Nagumo, anyway?”

  “Wow, he even won Shizushizu’s heart. Nagumo-kun’s a real Casanova! What if I end up falling for him too? W-Will I spend my nights doing all sorts of naughty things with Onee-sama...? That actually sounds pretty hot.”

  “Oi, come back to your senses, Suzu. Don’t leave me alone in this den of insanity.”

  Suzu brought a hand to her chin and considered the prospect while Ryutarou sighed yet again. It was then that he finally realized he’d dropped Kouki, and hurriedly picked him back up. He looked from his best friend to Hajime, and muttered quietly, “Hey, Kouki. I kinda get how you feel. I can’t really blame you for getting jealous.”

  Of course, Ryutarou knew Kouki wouldn’t be able to hear him. The question was, how would he act once he woke up? If he ended up going on a rampage again, Ryutarou decided he’d be the one to knock some sense into his best friend.