Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Novel 1

by Torako

  “Then good friends.”

  Oh… I’m so embarrassed I can’t confirm or deny her on that. It’s not like I can deny that, so I guess we’ll have to be friends.

  We were a bit silent, but I was able to hear Rikka say something in a low voice,

  “….I’m a bit….envious…..”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Isn’t it time for you to be returning home?”

  “That just makes me worry, but yeah, it’s time for me to go. I definitely imposed on your company today. Come over to my house and play with Yumeha sometime.”

  She nodded with a smile on her lonely face.

  “Then, see you tomorrow. Bye bye!”

  As soon as she said her partings in an uneasy voice, Rikka turned around and walked back to her apartment.

  “Oh, OH! See you tomorrow!”

  Though I wasn’t thinking straight, I had to say my goodbyes as she left. I get the feeling her mood changed during these events. What’s going on….?

  “Onii-chan! Onii-chan! Look! Look!”

  As I changed my vision from Rikka’s back to my sister, my worries stopped immediately. So too did my breathing. Yumeha had found a matching eyepatch and put it over the same eye. Before I knew it, her right eye was sealed.

  “Alright! Then, Serious Another Type start! Hey, hey! Are my eyes gold? Are they?”

  Oh boy….how am I going to answer this one? I can’t help but roar at Rikka for what she did. I don’t want to make my sister mad, but I don’t have many options. I’ll start with something evasive and then gently let her down.

  “It’s… not quite there yet. Looks like you need more training. They’re both still black. Why don’t you study what Rikka gave you…”

  “I have more to do before it awakens! Yeah! I’ll study like Rikka did and destroy aliens!”

  While the final portion was cute, I don’t think it overtook some of what I did when I was her age.

  Back to the real problem at hand…

  “Yumeha, mom will want to know what you’re wearing… Why don’t you take it off when you get home.”

  “Nopes! It’s sealed! Like Rikka said, if it’s not sealed, Another Type won’t awaken!”

  …….So that’s how it is.

  After hearing her make up something like that without any mistakes, I couldn’t say anything. I breathed a deep sigh and started to think of excuses as Yumeha and I went home.

  Chapter 8: Class Trip!

  We had the kind of weather you wanted on any trip on the Monday our class went on ours: nice and sunny. I looked around and saw a variety of colors from my classmates who were split into their social groups. Since today was a trip, no one was wearing their uniform. It’s worth going on one of these just so you can see your classmates in a new light.

  As for me, my attention was on Kannagi-san. You’d almost have to take notice of the girl who got second place in our class rankings. She looks awfully cute and somewhat sensual today.

  But there was another person I kept an eye on: Rikka. Rikka was dressed in her dark girl attire, like yesterday. Since we’re nearing summer, I’m sure that has to be hot to wear. As for accessories, you shouldn’t have to ask: she comes equipped with eyepatch and bandages already assembled.

  “Ooh, our girls out of their uniforms are surely a sight for sore eyes.”

  The guy who thought the same as me is giving off that “I love girls!” aura. Isshiki was breathing heavily as if he couldn’t control himself. He walked next to me and began speaking.

  “The class trip is one of the events where love is born. The girls in normal clothing can’t help but captivate a guy when he sees their innocent smiles. Yep, without this event, love can’t form in a class.”

  “You really love girls, don’t you? Why don’t you sit beside some of them on the bus? I can get someone to sit next to me.”

  Today we were taking a bus. There were many classes that wanted to use one, but Nana-chan won the right to use one via lottery. Thus our travel was already taken care of. Isshiki and I were together in the middle of the bus. We were free to sit wherever we wanted, but as you can guess, friends wanted to sit next to each other and chat on the way.

  Our conversation went on as we gathered at the platform. “Oh, that’s a difficult question: do I go with friendship or do I go for love?”

  “Allll right! We’re about to leave, so listen up! Does anyone get motion sickness easily? If you do, we have some seats near the front of the bus, alright? Anyone?”

  Nana-chan in non-teacher attire looks just like one of the students. Just looking at her, you wouldn’t guess she’s in charge, but she turned back into a teacher when we all met. I guess we have a rule for those with motion sickness to go to the front of the bus. If someone gets sick easily, you don’t want them on top of one of the tires. Thus if you move them to the front, they won’t move around as much. Oh well, doesn’t apply to me.

  We were about to head onto the bus after Nana-chan’s announcement since no one raised their hand, but then one person lifted theirs.

  “Alright, anyone else besides Takanashi-san? Alright, then you’ll move to the front of the bus!”

  It was Rikka. I was a bit surprised she gets intoxicated easily. Guess that’s the weak point of the Devilish Truth Stare. She looked anxious as she turned her head and looked at me.

  Huh? What? You want me to come too? After I pointed at myself, Rikka nodded her head ‘yes.” Since she doesn’t have telepathy, I suppose this is just me being able to read her after spending time together. According to her, it’s probably the contracting forces from the Devilish Truth Stare.

  Oh well, I shrugged my shoulders and raised my hand. Rikka’s face lit up. Guess that was the right decision.

  “Oh, you get sick too Togashi-kun? Well, guess you’ll be sitting up front too! Anyone else? Any seats left over? Anyone want to sit near me?”

  Everyone was already ignoring Nana-chan at this time. Isshiki grabbed my shoulder. Painfully. His face is scary…and close.

  “O, Oi! You chose love over friendship?! Are you trying to make some romantic memories?”

  “No, I’m not trying to create anything like that, it’s just me worrying about Rikka. Sorry Isshiki. I’m not trying to have love bloom in front of you! It’s just how this worked out!”

  “Idiot! Don’t you dare try to re-create our seating arrangement! This is our long-awaited freedom trip and you’re about to leave me hanging in the middle of the bus. Or wait… you probably had this planned beforehand to sit with her! Isn’t that right?!”

  “Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea…”

  In the end, it was just Rikka and myself in the front as our class headed towards “Cycle SportsCenter.”

  “Ohh…I want to die….”

  Although we had just barely left, Rikka was already sick. As soon as the bus had started, she lost all color in her face. That’s fast, really fast. Just the odor of the bus started her motion sickness. There was a time when I was young and got sick, so I knew what she was feeling, but this was faster than anything I experienced.

  “Are you alright?”

  “I’m all right…..maybe…..” Rikka was unusually timid. When she looked towards me, her face didn’t look normal. Her body didn’t feel right either. This could be dangerous…..

  “Did you take any medicine? Maybe the teacher has some that you could take?”

  “….The Devilish Truth Stare is the best…. That would decrease the effectiveness of my powers…..”

  I know she wasn’t feeling alright since I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. That doesn’t mean you have to tough it out….Poor thing. I patted her back to tell her to hang in there.

  Of course, the rest of the bus wasn’t paying any attention to Rikka. There was a huge karaoke event in the middle. Though it looked fun and I was a bit envious of them, I was next to Rikka. I couldn’t let her see that side of me.

  ◆◆◆

  So after abo
ut one hour of trouble (for Rikka) we had finally arrived at our destination, “Cycle SportsCenter.” We had told them beforehand that our class would be attending, so everyone was able to head in without any difficulties. After walking inside, we reached a plaza where you could see all the attractions around. There were various rides, places to ride bikes, and even some roller coasters. It was just like a small amusement park. I don’t know where to go first.

  It was a weekday, so the atmosphere was really laid-back. Somewhat miraculously, there weren’t many people around. If you loved bikes, this was a great day to come here.

  Seems like there were a lot of people who didn’t know what to expect since it would be their first time here. I heard things like “This is amazing!” or “That looks fun!” all around me. Well, it was my first time here too, so of course everything looks fun but…Rikka, who was beside me, still hadn’t regained color in her face yet.

  “Alright then, you have until noon to do whatever you wish! At noon, we’ll meet back here and have a barbecue! Remember, meet back at this plaza!”

  As Nana-chan was yelling about, everyone started to scatter. Isshiki too came over to see me.

  “She doesn’t look that good…. Well, I trust you’ll nurse her back to good health man. Call me if you want to join us. Later!” And he went off with some other guys.

  After that, Nana-chan came over to see Rikka. “Are you alright?” She began stroking Rikka’s body. “Well, usually the teacher looks after her in situations like this, but is it alright if I leave her with you, Togashi-kun? You’ve helped her before, so you shouldn’t mind doing this as well….”

  “Ah, that’s alright. She’s a strong girl, so I think she’ll quickly bounce back.”

  “Sorry about this. Well, I’ll see you later!” And while saying that, she got on an unstylish bike and left the plaza.

  I went to sit on a bench next to the still recovering Rikka.

  “You alright? Well, not that I know you’re not alright, but just in case…”

  “I should’ve expected this reaction from my contractee…. But listen: You should tame that dragon vehicle over there so we can conquer the world….”

  Looks like she’s starting to feel better. She’s starting to say some interesting things again.

  “Well, that sounds fun but… do you want something to drink? Do you want me to get you anything?”

  “Yuuta’s life essence is alright….”

  “Now you’re starting to act like a vampire….”

  That response was probably due to the sun bearing down on us with no relief. No shadows, no escape. Just evaporation.

  “Well, is barley tea alright? I made some and brought it.”

  “…Well, if that’s all you have, it’s alright.”

  I pulled my PET bottle out of my bag and handed my homemade tea over to Rikka.

  “This is Yuuta’s life essence….”

  “You don’t really want to drink that, do you….?”

  “I’ve heard drinking blood is the fastest way to rehabilitate you.”

  “So that’s why you want to drink my blood! Let me say this before anything, I’m 100% human!”

  “Yuuta is the Dark Flame Master. He’s the Devil King who sucks young people’s blood.”

  What an excess back-story I have. She can’t get a grasp on my character. Besides, I’m a guy. There’s no time that I would try to suck another guy’s blood.

  “Listen, if you drink this, you’ll recover faster. We came out here on a trip; don’t you want to have some fun?”

  “Yuuta, I didn’t travel here for that purpose. This is a practical location. In addition, we shall tame that dragon and make it ours. Yes, we are strong at this location.”

  “Don’t count me in your plans like that! Why can’t we just play normally? I don’t know much about this place, but it looks like there’s some fun bikes around here.”

  “Aren’t you going to tame that dragon?”

  “Huh? That bike over there? You want me to get on it?”

  “Go ahead and tame it! That’s our Yuuta, Dark Flame Master, Devil King, and sucker of young guys’ and girls’ blood!”

  That’s not true! Not only is she trying to assign that to me, she keeps adding things to make that uselessly long name. It’s amazing, but horrible to try to write in a sentence.

  Hmm, looks like she wants me to “tame that dragon bike”. Perhaps she doesn’t want to get on it? I’ve already seen one of her weaknesses today, so it’s already been an interesting day.

  “Rikka, don’t you want to get on the bike?”

  Holding back my laughter, Rikka had finally realized how she left herself open and began waving her hand to smooth things over.

  “It’s…different! To tame a dragon, a specific power is needed. With Yuuta as my contractee due to the Devilish Truth Stare, I cannot tame that beast in my current condition. It is possible that I could tame that beast at any other time.”

  Yep, she’s healthy again. Her face was bright red, but she was the usual Rikka. Since we’ve been able to have this idiotic exchange from the time she’s been off the bus, I know she’s gotten better.

  “Yes, yes. I’ll teach you how to ride then. Since they have some weird bikes here, I wonder if they have a ladies bike.”

  “Instruct me how to tame a dragon! Let’s go now!”

  “Yes, yes.”

  And so we set out to find a normal bike in the park.

  “They only have strange bikes here…man!”

  “That cool dragon should have sufficed. How about that one? Is it alright?”

  What Rikka was pointing at was a two-person bike. I doubt that we could get on it, but it’d be dangerous to ride that with the second person not knowing how.

  “Nah, we need to find the ultimate ladies bike.”

  “Ultimate ladies’ bike. Roger.”

  So thoughtless! But I see. If I mention that we’re looking for the ultimate, perhaps this might work out for the best.

  “Yuuta! Over there! That has the scent of the demon world!”

  “Huh?”

  What was making her so excited was something called the “Bike Mansion.” Letters that seemed to be cursed hung underneath the sign. It was quite the shady place. One look and you’d think it was a haunted house.

  “Bike Mansion” huh? From that name, you’d think it might be a place where you looked at bikes throughout history, but this really looked like a haunted house. I heard a scream come out. Must have been from someone in our class who entered it earlier.

  “Let’s go! I want to go inside!”

  “Eh… well, are you sure you want to go in that one? From the name, it looks like it might be a museum where you look at bikes throughout history. That doesn’t sound interesting, so let’s skip it.”

  “GO!”

  She’s too much. Really, I don’t want to go in there.

  “Yuuta, could it be that you’re scared?”

  “N-n, That’s not it! What are you talking about? How could a museum about bikes be scary? I just have no interest in that kind of thing, so I don’t want to go in there!”

  “You’re just a girl in mens clothing.”

  She hit my big weak spot. Damn it, I don’t really like to be called that!

  “Ah, let’s go! Scary? HAHA! What kind of museum is scary? Let’s see the scary history of bikes! What kind of bikey haunted house is this?! I’ll burn you with my flames of darkness!”

  The Devlish Truth Stare is starting to get to me. Agh, be still my scared, chuunibyou soul…. If I don’t pay attention, Rikka will really draw out my old self.

  I gathered my courage to go inside this haunted house otherwise named a bike mansion. I couldn’t see inside; it was pitch black. My heart began to beat rapidly as a roar sounded in that dark room. I was so worried I could feel my heart go “da-dum, da-dum” without feeling for a pulse.

  ….I’m really sorry! It’s scary! I was about to apologize to Rikka when I remembered her comment.
>
  “Are you alright, Yuuta?”

  “Huh? What’s wrong?”

  “You’re tugging on my clothing.”

  …….Without thinking, I had tugged on Rikka’s cuff. Ah, that isn’t cool!

  “Ah, sorry. I couldn’t see before, so I grabbed it….”

  That’s such a bad excuse, but I really wasn’t thinking straight.

  “Unlawful dumping of bikes is a crime!!!!! Parking your bikes on public roads without permission is annoying!!!!”

  “AHhhhhhhhhh!”

  A hair-raising voice came through the speaker. It was like a curse going around the room! But those phrases were a bit different than the usual fare for a haunted house; they were so realistic. Stop it! I won’t park my bike without permission ever again!

  And after that, we saw the bikey haunted house emphasize the haunted aspect. Unhappy episodes about bikes kept going through the speakers. First was the jingle of a bike’s bell ringing, followed by the sound of an exercise bike, and then there was a policeman on a bike telling someone to stop. I felt like I had just survived a disaster once this mysterious attraction was over.

  Of course, my partner, Rikka, had the biggest happy smile on her face.

  “I want to go in again!”

  She was really happy, but looking at me in my half-groggy state, she took pity and added “Maybe another time.” I was glad to hear that.

  “Alright, well, if we want to fit in special bike training, we need to find one. Before that, let’s rest a bit….”

  “Roger.”

  I had completely exhausted all strength I had prior to going into that “Bike Mansion.” Along the way in, I saw a place where we could get on ladies’ bikes. Good, we’ll head there after we rest.

  I found a vending machine and bought tea and apple juice. I can’t say that I’m alright, but my tea should help exorcise these demons.

  But when I arrived at the bench we were at a while ago, Rikka was nowhere to be found. Thinking she was a bit energetic and wanted to hide, I looked around the bench. I couldn’t find her. Hmm, where did she go? Did she head into the “Bike Manson” again?