Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Novel 1

by Torako

  Rikka had returned back to her usual expressionless mode a few moments ago. She began to respond to our teacher in that same mode.

  “The Devilish Truth Stare is my characteristic power. I fear our teacher is not able to understand that. Naturally, you can see that this is no mere contact lens. This is proof of the difference between the human world and the demon world.”

  Can you see now Nana-chan? Doesn’t that just strengthen my argument? I can’t give up now. If what I just heard is true, then Rikka-san would have to be a demon.

  “Ah, Ah, well, umm… Takanashi-san, perhaps you’re just a bit tired from what happened earlier…” As you could guess from how she was speaking, Nana-chan had not regained her composure. “Yuuta, would you please tell me about Rikka?”

  “Ye-s! I’ll explain, teacher.”

  Damn this contract’s compulsion is strong. Even she called us both by our first names.

  “What’s going on with Rikka?”

  “Ah… she… It’s like this.”

  This is definitely testing my endurance. But yet somehow I’m surprisingly stubborn, or rather inconsequential. From how Nana-chan’s face looks, we’ve already left her behind. What should we do about that expression?

  Looks like we need a change in plans.

  “Ah, that’s right. What’s happening in class Teacher? Are we still in first period?”

  “Oh, um, don’t worry about it. After I finished returning tests, I did a brief explanation of questions and then we had a self-study period so everyone could match the answers.”

  As she answered, Nana-chan re-gained her usual composure. Looks like this change of topics worked out.

  For at least one moment that is.

  “Now about Rikka.”

  “You’re asking again?!”

  Damn! She’s certainly a persistent person, isn’t she? What kind of expression must I be making? It can’t look that well! I’ve been completely worn down.

  And so I replied,

  “Rikka is…”

  “What?”

  “Already better, see!”

  Let’s go with the idiotic response then. Perhaps she’ll be befuddled.

  “Ahaha, Very, very entertaining indeed. You two make quite the pair!”

  “We’re not a pair. He’s under a contract. Though I am grateful you found it entertaining.”

  Rikka-san was glad to be called entertaining?! What a twist! Though she didn’t have a happy look on her face, I got the feeling she was feeling quite proud of herself. Maybe that’s what she had in mind all along.

  On the other side, Nana-chan was still smiling. You could tell she was trying to hold back her laughter. Well, it looks like she’s still got a wrong impression.

  “Err, teacher, it’s not like that. Can’t you see we’re not a two-man stand-up group?”

  “I got you. It’s alright, it’s alright. I can see you’re not a group!”

  She definitely got the wrong impression of us. Get your laughs ready! Here comes the current chuunibyou and the past chuunibyou couple comedy routine!

  No! That tag line is not what I should be thinking about at this moment!

  “Ahaha, my stomach is hurting! Oh right, before I forget, here’s your extra questions. These are the ones for the re-test. Do your best, okay?”

  While she was still smiling, our teacher reached into her bag and pulled out three pieces of paper. She handed them to Rikka, who looked like she knew the end was near. Well, to be fair, she didn’t have any expression, it was just a feeling you got from her.

  Her hand began to shake.

  “Teacher?”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Are these a requirement?”

  “Yes they are. After all, Rikka-san… you did get a 0 on the test.”

  A ZERO?! I wasn’t even sure you could get that grade on a test. Even if you write something down, you should get higher than that! Well, it is math, but I don’t remember it being that hard of a test for me. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t solve on it. Memorize the formulas and use them to make calculations. It should be easy, even for the girl in front of me.

  “Um… don’t you think that’s a bit challenging Teacher?”

  “Oh, sorry, sorry. …Ahaha! How about this? Why don’t you help her out Yuuta-kun? I wonder if you can help Rikka-chan study better.”

  “Eh? Me? Isn’t that a lot on my plate?”

  That’s seriously a lot to drop on someone so suddenly without letting them think about it.

  “Well, you did have the best grade in the class. If you can’t do it, then no one can!”

  “Number one?”

  Rikka and I were both in shock. Hey! Even when I’m studying hard, I’m cool! Finally, the honor of being best in the class has come to me! Even without being called “Bespectacled Boy”, I got his status!

  While I was swooning over in absolute joy, I didn’t notice Rikka was already planning something in secret.

  “Yuuta, the second part of our contract is this.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You have been elected to teach me to study.”

  “When was I elected?”

  “From before you were born.”

  “You mean I only existed until now so that I could teach you to study?”

  “Yes. That and to call me Rikka.”

  That huh… Isn’t she just adding things to it as she goes along? Will she ever fail to think of something? This is going beyond just calling you Rikka and it’s starting to become a habit. How many times are we going to do this?

  Well, I don’t really have a problem showing someone how to study if they don’t know how. My problem is if I have to instruct this evil eye chuunibyou patient. But now it looks like she thinks I was created as a hero solely to instruct her how to study. Oh, and to call her by her first name too.

  I’m growing more and more nervous now that she’s pushing the boundaries of that contract to study together. But even though I don’t want to, I know I can’t neglect her wishes.

  And so, against my concerns, it looks like I’ll look after this evil eye chuunibyou patient. Maybe being similar or contracted was my fate in this life.

  I think Nana-chan is counting on me too. Though I have no idea what made her think of having me spend time with this chuunibyou patient, maybe having some after school study time with the very cute Rikka isn’t…that bad.

  “…Guess I can’t complain. I’ll help her study.”

  “As expected Yuuta. You have been the human selected for this task.”

  Somehow I see a small smile on that expressionless character. Is this a privilege of being contracted? Oh well, I’ll definitely pitch in for that smile.

  “Then, go study. I will begin restoration here.”

  I take back what I said.

  Chapter 3: After School Study Time Starts

  The bell sounded to signal the end of first period after Nana-chan and I left the nurse’s office. We parted and I made my way back to the fourth floor to re-join my classmates. Unlike my middle school, there were quite a few students who would be in the hallways during the break. As I passed by the landing where Rikka collapsed, I began to wonder how the class was reacting to the earlier events.

  When I arrived to the classroom, I noticed it was noisier than usual due to more people staying in. Usually, most people leave the room and it’s quite barren, but today it looks like we have a full house. With that going around on my mind, I rejoined the class.

  “What’s going on? Did something happen to shut everyone up?”

  Everyone was at their desks studying. There was a note traveling around for people to write on, but as soon as I said something, I saw it get shoved into a desk.

  “Wel… Welcome back! Looks like you triggered the first flag man. Her signs went up and you acted just like any lead would do.”

  “Not really. If someone was hurting as bad as she was in front of you, you wouldn’t sit by and do nothing. Don’t read too much into it.”


  Actually, I can’t say she’s truly suffering from chuunibyou or my earlier outburst similar to someone with it. Since I can’t talk about either of those, I definitely can’t mention that she’s re-cooperating (really playing hooky) in the nurse’s office.

  “Read too much? There’s nothing else to read man. You went through step one on how to win a girl over. I’d bet my life on it. Well, I just hope she’s not suffering from chuunibyou like we talked about.”

  “Huh!?”

  I couldn’t help raising my voice when I heard that word. Rikka obviously suffers from it, and while I know that she’s the genuine article, it wouldn’t be right for me to disclose that information to everyone. I really doubt they’d think kindly of her if I said that.

  “Yeah, didn’t you hear about the hot topic? You didn’t see everyone chatting away about her? Man, it looks like those rumors about Takanashi-san might be true.”

  “Rumors? Didn’t you say yesterday that she had just changed since her second year in middle school?”

  “Well, there’s more to it than that. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? We were wondering if it was true that she wore a mask and said ‘This world is the afterlife!’ to a teacher.”

  “I didn’t hear about that and I’m not sure if I want to hear about that!” Again, I ended up raising my voice. There’s not really another choice when I could smell danger coming to me. What the hell, man? Afterlife? We’re all dead? And even talking back to a teacher!

  “Well, let’s see. Would Rik, Takanashi really wear a mask and say that to a teacher?”

  Rikka’s contract (brainwashing) had gotten to me. I’ve already started to call her by her first name. Thankfully I was able to stop in time. If he had noticed I changed how I said her name, I’d never hear the end of “flags” or “steps to love.”

  “Oh, well after you guys went to the nurse’s office, a letter was passed around. That’s why we started chatting.”

  ……Letter? Well, I did think that piece of paper being spread around was a bit strange. I understood why people thought that masked girl was in our class now. But why would that be a topic for discussion? Apart from my recent outbursts, I can’t think of an event that would involve a masked girl. Could it have come from a rumor when Takanashi was in middle school that became slightly exaggerated? Nevertheless, wearing a mask…

  “Ah, I got that feeling from how the class was acting. But why do they think she wore a mask? Surely everyone noticed that her eye was hurting a while ago, didn’t they?”

  “They did. Knew you were sharp. I thought it was weird too at first but, back when I was collecting information, I heard something that shocked me. Apparently some masked person wrote ‘Takanashi.’”

  “Ah, I see why they thought so now. Since it’s a strange name… What kind of an idiot are you?! If that’s the case, then why wouldn’t you just ask her!?”

  That was certainly leading the idiot, wasn’t it? I couldn’t hold back my shocked feelings after all.

  “Well, I didn’t think it was right to meddle in her business for just a joke. From what I heard, the girl was short and was only masked on the left side. The right eye had an eyepatch over it. What’s more, both left and right arms were wrapped in bandages. Not to mention she wore a choker necklace and had tons of accessories on her. See, doesn’t that sound like Takanashi-san? Now you can see why I thought it could be her.”

  Shouldn’t masks cover the whole face? Maybe it’s just a preconceived notion, but I have heard about a person in an opera house that wore such a mask too. But masks, as well as bandages, hiding parts of a person makes them look quite suspicious.

  “So you’re saying that Takanashi would have been wearing all of these things…. Well, that’s certainly not the best rumor to be spreading around about her, is it?”

  Actually, she does. Certainly she’s wearing a lot of bandages now. I’d think pretty much everyone else but her would find those types of attire quite repulsive. If there were quite a lot of these chuunibyou patients acting around at a school, wouldn’t that school’s reputation drop? Then test scores to get in would drop and numbers of applications would fall as well. But really, that type of thing doesn’t affect us already here.

  Wait, it does affect me. I have to see her myself after school for tutoring. If she doesn’t do well, then it reflects poorly on me.

  “Oh, you two are studying now eh? Even if it’s her, you’re still moving up the steps of love man. But if these rumors are true… you’re in trouble buddy.”

  “Well, it’s not like that. Didn’t I say that I just couldn’t leave her alone? To tell you the truth, she reminds me of myself.”

  “Seriously?! You didn’t tell me about that. Spread the word!” And just like yesterday, his face brimmed with vitality. He pulled out his memo pad at mach speed 3.

  Will he look down on this, I wonder. “Well, it’s a private matter, so I can’t really talk about it. Sorry man.”

  “Ser…..seriously? Oh well, you gotta keep those things private.”

  And that energetic face he had up until now turned into one of immense disappointment. Sorry, but I don’t think I could talk about her grade or Evil Eye chuunibyou.

  I wasn’t getting out of that private matter so easily though. “You’re surprisingly determined about this. Either you’re pretty upright, or there’s a way you could benefit from it.”

  “It’s not determination. I know you want to know, but I can’t say it. You said upright, but wouldn’t anyone with the bare minimum of morals keep a secret? It’s called privacy for a reason; if anyone who wanted to know knew about it, it wouldn’t be private. I know I’m in a difficult position keeping it from you, but I can’t tell anyone. Sorry man, I’ll guard this for the rest of my life.”

  “So profound…. Well, I guess that’s a good quality to have.” That was a delicate response, but I’m feeling a bit embarrassed over here. “So you’re saying that, even though you can know what’s going on, you can’t tell anyone.”

  You said it. B-I-N-G-O, Bingo.

  “So apart from you not wanting to leave her alone, what’s going on? I don’t think you have that much in common with Takanashi-san.”

  We just finished talking about that. Why repeat it?! The option of ignoring him came to mind. I’m not sure he hasn’t been playing catch-up this whole conversation.

  “Hmm, outside of not wanting to leave her alone huh? If I thought too long, we wouldn’t have much time left before class, so maybe… personality?”

  “Oh, I got it. Quite the interesting scoop. Takanashi-san and Togashi are quite similar in personality…? Got it.” I heard some kind of “uh huh” sounds as he nodded his head.

  “Um, what kind of thing are you writing from what I said?”

  “’Personality resembles Togashi. In short, looks like she does have some feminine charms.’”

  “What the hell?!”

  “Well man, you are pretty feminine. Though if you’re just acting that way, that’s too scary to imagine. I can just picture yourself as this white collar office worker now.”

  “AHHHHHH!” Backing off for now. Crap… Don’t go there man.

  “Hmm, it’s disappointing! Why weren’t you born as a girl?! Ah, but maybe you’ll do if we put you in female clothing…how about it?!”

  “Rejec-ted! I was born as a super wild boy!”

  He replied immediately. “I doubt it.” Do I really give off a feminine feeling? I am a Virgo after all. Damn you! I want a new birthday!

  “Phish, I doubt anything would have changed!!

  “You say that phish really nicely!”

  “Gross! Enough! Class is about to start.”

  “Ah, you cut off that conversation yesterday and now this one just like a girl would. Well, it’s all good. Togashi, you’re giving that feminine impression more and more.”

  Without giving any reckless remarks, I headed to my seat. With the earlier event in the nurse’s office and now this, I’m already tired and it’s not ev
en second period. Feels like sixth has just ended. Maybe I should go to the nurse’s office to get some rest. Then again, Rikka is already there. I should’ve known already; the seat in front of me is empty.

  She does remind me a little of how I used to be. Not just how she talks, but she acts like how I used to as well. I would play hooky in the nurse’s office if I had the chance.

  Besides, I’ve looked at her. I’ve been looking at her for a while. When you’ve got an interest in a girl, you tend to keep an eye on them. Thus, wouldn’t I know something about her? She’s constantly been on my mind.

  But who would talk with Rikka? Perhaps she’s lonely. That’s probably due to how she has chuunibyou. It’s not out of the ordinary that she’d try to talk to others like she did with me today. Those lines cause more stress than I’d want, but they’re still somewhat memorable. She was able to hear what I said from the rooftop after all.

  I’m sure her pain in her eye was just an act. With the timing of things, I wouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t go beyond a guess though.

  But, don’t I want to spend more time with Rikka together? Sooner or later, her chuunibyou will go away and I’ll be there as the one person who understands her. It doesn’t have to mean I’ll relapse into my old self. Well, sticking around her as her contracted might delay my complete recovery a bit, but I don’t mind. Yeah, I think I’ll stay friends with Rikka.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Even though my class was noisy when I was walking back, things quieted down and lessons were over before I knew it. It was soon after school.

  It was a gloomy after school time for me. I wouldn’t say I was melancholic, but it was close. Usually I head home after school! So while I was trying to get rid of that habitual feeling, I did my best to refuse leaving the grounds.

  I really like my house, so naturally I’d want to go there. Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I’m part of the “go home after school” club. In middle school I would go to my club for a little bit, but now that would take a miracle from me. So when everyone in class goes to their clubs, I feel emotionally moved, or should I say really impressed, by those who stay here.