Chapter 45
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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 45: A Cross-Dressing Boy Learns The Secret Of The Handsome Girl’s Origins
After that, the morning classes ended without incident—then came the afternoon acting class.
As with the previous day, Kyoichiro took Akane and me out to the field and had us run laps.
“Hey, Tsukishiro! You’re falling behind again! Are you okay with constantly losing to Kisaragi?!”
“Haa, haa… You’re so annoying!! I can beat that girl anytime I want!! Take thisssss!!!!!!”
Spurred on by Kyoichiro, Akane suddenly started sprinting at full speed and caught up alongside me.
She flashed a defiant grin and spoke to me from the side.
“Kaede Kisaragi! Ever since I met you, I’ve been losing to you non-stop! Seriously, what’s your deal?! You’re driving me crazy!!”
“Tsukishiro-san…?”
“I… I know what a real genius is like. I’ve worked tirelessly, shedding blood, sweat, and tears to be able to run alongside that genius and stand at the top of the entertainment world with him. That’s why…!!”
Akane glared at me with sharp eyes, as if ready to bite, revealing her fangs as she roared.
“I will not lose to you!! I’m Fuuma Yanagisawa’s rival!! I have to give a performance that will captivate him so that genius can soar once more!! That’s why I can’t lose to an amateur like you!! This is a challenge, Kaede Kisaragi!!”
“Huh? A challenge?”
“We’ll see who can give a performance that shakes the audience’s hearts in the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ play two weeks from now! The judge will be Mr. Yanagisawa!! The loser will acknowledge the other as superior!! What do you say?!”
“I already consider you a far superior actress to myself, Tsukishiro-san…”
“Enough!! Just shut up and accept my challenge, Kaede Kisaragi!!”
Good grief. She’s so overbearing and selfish.
But… why is it? When I look into her burning purple eyes, I can’t help but feel my heart stir.
It’s as if those purple eyes are urging me to run again, to stand up again.
Seeing Akane in her fighting spirit… I couldn’t help but smile.
“I had thought that it would be nice if we could get along and perform ‘Romeo and Juliet’ together, but… a challenge, huh. I see, that might be good too. Competing with each other, battling it out while practicing our performances… perhaps that’s the kind of relationship we should have.”
“Surprising. I thought you were the serious, straight-laced committee chairperson type.”
“I hate losing, actually. And… just so you know, I’m not some goody-two-shoes. If you underestimate me with that kind of naive thinking, you’ll be in for a surprise, Tsukishiro-san.”
I said that with a smile, then looked forward and picked up my pace.
“If you can keep up, then by all means, try.”
“Huh? Wa—wait…!!!”
I dashed across the field at full speed, a speed I had never shown anyone at this school.
My feet felt light. The wind against my cheeks felt pleasant.
I could hear Akane’s astonished voice behind me, as well as Kyoichiro’s surprised shout as he watched from afar.
Then, from the direction of the school building, I heard louder and more excited cheers from the other students than the previous day.
To pour all your energy into something with all your might feels so good.
If I could give my all in acting again, just like I did when I was a child, that would be wonderful.
I want to face off against Akane on stage with all my might again.
That feeling began to sprout in my heart.
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――――――After school. I was hiding behind the shoe lockers, watching over the first-year acting class’s lockers like I did this morning, when someone spoke to me from behind.
“Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting, Kisaragi-san.”
I turned toward the voice and saw the handsome high school girl, Ginjou Haruki.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, approached me, and flashed a refreshing smile.
“So… how is it? Have you found the ringleader who was bullying your friend?”
“No. I left class early and have been waiting here by the lockers, but I haven’t seen anyone suspicious. So far, I’ve only seen students happily heading home.”
“I see… This seems like it will be a tougher case than I thought. This morning, your friend… Akane Tsukishiro’s desk had been vandalized, right? What a terrible thing.”
“You knew about that?”
“Yes. Even though I’m this school’s top student and ‘Onee-sama’ advisor, I still hear the rumors from the underclassmen quickly.”
“I see. So the rumors about Tsukishiro-san being bullied have already spread quite a bit among the students…”
Knowing her, she probably wouldn’t care if rumors of her being bullied spread throughout the school… The real concern is the fact that she declared war on the bully.
Rumors tend to get exaggerated.
If Akane, who always spreads hostility, ends up being bad-mouthed by other students besides the bully, spreading lies about her, she’ll become even more isolated.
Girls often interact across different classes.
If that atmosphere takes hold, Akane might end up being targeted even more intensely.
“Do you mind, Kisaragi-san? I’ve been doing some thinking about this case.”
With that, Ginjou-senpai touched her chin and made a gesture as if she were deep in thought.
“Thinking? You mean like a deduction?”
“Yes. The culprit is targeting times when no one is around to harass Tsukishiro-san. So far, they’ve vandalized her locker and desk twice, yet no one has seen them. They must be quite meticulous, waiting until there’s absolutely no one around before acting.”
“That’s true… This morning, I came to school early and hid near the shoe lockers to wait, but… maybe the culprit noticed me. That’s probably why they didn’t vandalize the shoe lockers.”
“Just to be sure… Do you remember who was the first first-year acting student to arrive at school this morning?”
“I’m sorry, I haven’t memorized everyone’s names yet, so I can’t recall all the students who arrived early… But I did recognize one girl. She’s the one who recently approached me, saying she’s a fan… The girl with the side ponytail.”
“A fan… I see, that makes sense.”
Ginjou-senpai narrowed her eyes and smiled mysteriously.
“Could it be, Kisaragi-san, that the culprit refrained from acting in front of you this morning because they’re aware of you? Maybe because they’re your fan. They didn’t want you to see them bullying someone.”
“Well… I don’t know about that. I don’t have any solid proof that she’s the culprit, and honestly, she didn’t seem like a bad girl…”
“Fans can sometimes have their affection go too far. Haven’t you experienced that before?”
“No, not really… I’ve never had anyone show me that much affection…”
“That’s surprising. I would think someone as cute as you wouldn’t be ignored by the boys.”
“Ha, haha… I’ve never had a boy show me any affection…”
Well, that’s because I’m actually a guy.
After I gave a strained smile, Ginjou-senpai looked at me curiously, then took out her phone and started sending a message to someone.
“I hope she’s still at school… I have a friend who’s good with cameras. I’ll consult her.”
“Huh? A camera?”
“Yes. The culprit is very wary of people. You and I are quite noticeable at this school, so even if we hid and waited, they’d likely notice us immediately. So, we’ll rely on technology instead of people.”
With that, Ginjou-senpai winked playfully at me.
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“I’m glad you’re still at school, Hanako.”
“Huh…?”
Guided by Ginjou-senpai, I arrived at the school courtyard, where a girl with a bob haircut, Sato Hanako, was sitting on a bench with a stray cat on her lap.
After glaring at Ginjou-senpai, Hanako turned her gaze toward me and spoke in a monotone voice.
“I never would have guessed that the handsome lesbian and the one with the blue eyes were acquaintances… Even Lady Francesca is surprised. Kisaragi-san, is your hymen intact? Are you able to make any sound from your hymen? Hmm?”
“No, I don’t have a hymen—wait, that’s not right!! That could be misunderstood!! Please, forget I said that!!”
“What…?! Kisaragi-san has already done it?! Lady Francesca is shocked. Even though I work as a voice actress for Eroge, I’m pure, so I can’t help but blush. Po…”
“Kisaragi-san!? Have you… have you been with a man before?! That’s… unforgivable. Who was it? If it was someone who forced themselves on you, I won’t stand for it!”
While Hanako cupped her cheek and wriggled, murmuring “No way”, Ginjou-senpai was visibly more furious than I’d ever seen her.
After clearing my throat at the two of them, I turned to Ginjou-senpai and asked him the question I had been thinking about for a while.
“Um… What exactly is the relationship between you and Hanako-senpai?”
“Ah, yeah. Hanako and I grew up in the same orphanage. We’re like childhood friends, if you like.”
“Eh? An orphanage…? Ah, um, Ginjou-senpai, you’re Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s daughter, right? What do you mean, an orphanage…?”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you? Kyoichiro Yanagisawa is not my real father. We are related by blood, though.”
“Related by blood…?”
“I’m his niece.”
Saying that, Ginjou-senpai smiled brightly, showing her white teeth.
