Chapter 19

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TL: Single TL Translations

Chapter 19

We finished talking about Aoi’s love story and then threw away all of the host’s business cards. Aoi looked relieved for some reason. But still, the fact that Aoi has someone she likes, I do hope it works out for her, but I am a little sad and my heart is a little gloomy.

“Yuki, do you have… any plans for today?”

Aoi asked me while I was searching for a drink in the refrigerator. I don’t have anything to do today. I usually make plans on the day before, so I’m usually free on my days off.

“Uhh, not really. Ah, do you want to go home soon? I’ll walk you home.”

“…I don’t want to go home yet.”

Aoi thought she was being selfish and had a gloomy expression, but I didn’t think so, so I answered cheerfully.

“Alright. Then do you want to play a game? I borrowed it from my friend the other day and it’s pretty intense.”

“…Yeah, I’ll play!”

I took a drink at random and returned to the table. I replied ‘okay’, took the game controller and started the game up.

Aoi happily nestled up right next to me. This is the usual position.

“You see, this is a game with zombies, but the zombies are so strong they don’t die. It’ll really freak you out.”

“Huh? Zombies? Is it a scary game?”

The surprised voice reminded me that Aoi had previously said she doesn’t play games because she’s not good at fighting games.

“Ah, it’s fine. It’s not that scary and I’ll teach you too. Besides, it’s easy since all you have to do is shoot them with a gun.”

“Really? But I’ve never done it before.”

The game starts. It’s an action game where you fight zombies, but the controls aren’t difficult, so it should be fine. I explained the game to her while moving around my character.

“It’s okay. First, you move your viewpoint with this, and then shoot with this. Then you move with this and reload.”

Aoi nodded her head as I showed her how to play. I handed her the controller and let her try it. Aoi did what I taught her and seemed to be doing all right.

“Yeah, you seem to be doing well. Well then, go forward! Go to the right from here and walk along the road, there’ll be zombies there, so defeat them all! Do you best.”

“Okay. I’m kind of scared, so be sure to tell me how to get out, okay?”

“There’s nothing scary at the beginning, so it’s okay.”

Aoi was moving her character, continuing forward, while scared. Then immediately a zombie came running out making strange noises, and at the same time Aoi screamed out loud as well.

“Waah!! What? It’s so fast! So scary!!”

She was shooting at various places and didn’t manage to hit the zombies at all. I wonder if Aoi’s okay. Aoi was so flustered and scared that I thought it was funny. I told her she was going to die, but she was too scared of the zombies to care.

“Aoi, this place isn’t scary, plus if you continue forward, you’ll…”

“Kyaaa! I’m scared! Yuki!”

Aoi let go of her controller with a shout and hugged me from the side. And she’s hiding her face.

Her character was attacked by a zombie and that zombie was up on the screen. Aoi was so scared by the sound of being attacked that she grabbed my clothes tightly. The sight of her is so cute that you can smile. I felt like I did something bad in the first few minutes when the game started, but she’s probably scared just because she’s not used to it. The controller Aoi let go of was shaking, so I operated it for her.

“Aoi, are you okay? Here, I killed the zombie for you. You’re too scared.”

“D-Did you really kill it? I’m scared.”

Aoi, who is still hiding her face, is scared again by the strange sound of the zombie I defeated. I didn’t know she was this easily scared. I stopped the game and gently patted her on the shoulder.

“I told you it’s fine. We’ve only just started, you know?”

“But it scared and startled me! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Aoi protested a little angrily while looking up, but still kept her grip on my clothes. She’s cute even while angry, so I stroked her head with enough strength to appease her.

“I told you earlier. I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be that scared. Then, I’ll do it so watch me, okay?”

“… I mean it looked so real. …I’ll watch you play, Yuki.”

“Yes, yes.”

Aoi is hugging my arm tightly while slightly hiding her face with it. If you’re that scared, I can stop, but I guess it’s fine. I was a little anxious but still started. Soon the zombies came out again to fight

“Uwah, what is that? …So scary!”

She’s hiding her face again, scared by the strange sound the zombie made when I killed it. I wonder if she’s really okay.

“…Should I stop? I have other games too; do you want to try those?”

She was so frightened that I couldn’t bear to look at her, so I suggested playing something else, but she shook her head and denied it, obviously trying to be tough.

“I’ll play this! I’ll be watching you, so just continue forward, will you?”

“Eh? Ahh… okay. I got it, but if you don’t like it, tell me right away, okay?”

“I’m fine.”

For some reason, Aoi, who’s trying to be tough, hugged my arm tightly in her arms again. I was suspicious of her strange behavior, since she’s not fine at all. I don’t really understand Aoi sometimes, but for the time being, I continued the game. Aoi was always frightened, shaking her shoulders and sometimes hiding her face, which surprised me even more. While playing the game, I asked her several times if she wanted me to quit, but she always threateningly responded ‘it’s fine’, so I couldn’t stop either. I continued the game while being surprised by Aoi’s frightened voice and beat the boss. I then forcibly turned off the console in the name of taking a break.

“It was a little scary, wasn’t it? Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

The Aoi who didn’t look at all fine had a somewhat tired expression, I’m also somewhat tired too. Now that I know once again that she’s bad at action horror games, or rather scary games, I’ll be careful next time. I felt bad about Aoi who was currently leaning on my arm and so, for the time being, I talked about a different topic.

“Ahh, Aoi, how’s your work been lately?”

“Work? Hmm, I was in a drama the other day, so I’ve been getting more interviews because of it, I guess?”

“I see, that’s good, that’s good. I watched it. I was surprised because Aoi was like a completely different person. But it felt strange since it looked like Aoi had a one-sided crush on your ex-boyfriend.”

I’m sorry but watching the drama after seeing Aoi’s ex-boyfriend courting her like that made it difficult for me to be invested in the drama. Aoi said as though she remembered.

“Ahh, that’s right. It was really difficult back then; I was wondering if he misunderstood me because of that incident. But thanks to Yuki, I don’t have to worry about him trying to court me anymore, so I’m fine now.”

“That’s great, I’m glad to hear that. It looks like you gained a lot of popularity because of the drama, but is your health okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. I get tired sometimes, but I’m fine. You don’t need to worry so much.”

The laughing Aoi seemed okay, but she’s celebrity and there’s probably a lot going on because of that. Since I’m a worrier, I can’t completely wipe away my worries, but I still nodded.

“If something happens, tell me, okay? If you’re okay with me, I’ll help you.”

“…Okay.”

Aoi paused unnaturally and seemed to be thinking about something. She lowered her gaze a little; I wonder what happened. Is something troubling her? I hadn’t talked to Aoi for a month, it wouldn’t be strange for something to have happened. Aoi tends to pause when she’s having trouble saying or thinking of something, so I turned my body towards Aoi, looked at her to make it easier for her to talk, and gave her a small smile.

“Did something happen? It’s fine if nothing did, but I was just wondering if there was something wrong.”

“Y-Yeah. …Um…”

I gently squeezed Aoi’s hand, who seemed uncertain of what she wanted to say. To convey to her that it’s okay.

“Uh-huh what is it?”

When I softly spoke to her, she held my hand back and spoke hesitantly.

“Um…Right, right now, um…I’m being… stalked… and…”

“What? Stalked?”

I was extremely surprised at her shocking statement. A stalker is someone who like follows you home, right? I guess she really is a celebrity, and probably has enthusiastic fans, but I don’t know what people like that do nowadays. Since they’re dangerous, should I punch them when I meet them? I was unsettled and started thinking various things.

“T-That’s not okay at all! Why didn’t you tell me right away?”

“Eh, that’s, it was something hard to say or rather I thought I would worry you… I’m sorry.”

I was surprised after asking her a little strongly and startled when Aoi became dejected and apologized. What am I doing scaring her?

“Sorry, I was flustered, I’m not mad. How long has that been going on?”

“Um, it hasn’t been two months, but around that amount of time. I felt like I was being watched at first, but recently… he’s sent pictures of me to my house and… there were also some weird letters. It’s scary, I feel like I’m being followed when I walk alone, I’m anxious and even when I’m at home I’m scared, I don’t know… what I should do.”

Aoi with her frightened voice seems truly anxious as she lowers her gaze more and more. I regretted the fact that I didn’t realize it sooner. She couldn’t tell me because of what happened between us; I shouldn’t have done that.

“Didn’t you tell your office or manager or something?”

“Yeah, I did. They called the police and they increased patrols; my manager is also doing her best to travel together me as much as possible. I’ve also been told to take a taxi and such, but I still feel scared, and disgusted. I feel anxious when I’m alone and I can’t… sleep much.”

Aoi held my hand tightly while she spoke feebly. I held her hand back and patted her on the back as if to reassure her. I don’t know what they’re going to do to her, and since they know where she lives, she’s probably been very scared. I shouldn’t have left Aoi alone like this for so long. I regret doing so but it’s already too late.

“Then I’ll be with Aoi as much as possible. If you can’t sleep, I’ll call you or stay over, and if you have to be alone, then call me, okay? If I can I’ll be with you. And if you’re approached by the stalker or anything, immediately run away and call me! Okay?”

“Uh-huh. Okay. Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice. But still, to think they know where you live… did they do anything to you or something?”

“…They sometimes press the intercom… but when I check, nobody’s there. They send pictures and letters everyday lately… it’s scary and disturbing.”

Aoi said shakily, put her head on my shoulder, and grabbed the sleeve of my clothes. I gently stroked her head. He’s a disturbing guy anyway, I won’t forgive him for scaring Aoi this much. I want to do something about it, but I don’t know what I should do. It’s dangerous to approach them. Plus, the stalker probably won’t appear if Aoi isn’t there. I gently hugged Aoi until she calmed down, and then gave her a stun gun I had bought for self-defense a long time ago. I taught her how to use it and instructed her to keep it as close to her as possible so that she could use it if something happens.

Then, I checked both Aoi’s schedule and mine, and tried to stay over as much as possible on my days off. I urged her to stay at my place because I was worried about her, but she said she didn’t want anything to happen to me, so I decided to stay at Aoi’s place. I would have preferred doing the opposite, but Aoi insisted too strongly, though worst case I could at least be a shield. I’m not exercising or anything, but it’s better than nothing.

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