wallflower1

Living Room
Kaede

Muneuji-kun, has Ushio-kun made any progress on his work yet?

1

Muneuji

He wouldn’t tell me.

Kaede

Got it. I’ll try to ask him then.

Muneuji

I’m not sure if it’ll go well. Uu-chan⁠— I mean, Ushio is…

Ushio

My stomach hurts, so I’m napping right now. It hurts so much that I can’t give you a progress report.

Kaede

(H-He’s pretending to be asleep…)

Ushio

…It’s too loud here, so I’m gonna move somewhere else. ‘Scuse me.

Kaede

……

Muneuji

Ushio is an extreme contrarian, so he often refuses to do the things he’s told to do.

I assume he feels the same about his work here. I know that, but that’s why I find it hard to do anything about it.

Kaede

I see… I understand how he feels.

When I was his age, I didn’t really like listening to my parents or my teachers either.

Muneuji

Ah, Uu-chan’s parents are⁠—

No, never mind.

Kaede

Hm?

Muneuji

I apologize. I almost said something I shouldn’t have.

Please, forget about it… In return, I can tell you how to defeat Uu-chan.

His weakness is “ReiOu.” ReiOu is everything to him.

Kaede

Rei…Ou? I’ve never heard of that. What is it?

Muneuji

I’m not very sure, but he’s told me that he’s quite the “stan”2 of it.

Kaede

Ohh…

(Stan… As in, a person’s name? It’s an English one, so maybe it has something to do with foreigners.)

(Ushio-kun doesn’t really seem like the type to make friends with foreigners though…)

I should look it up.

What…?! I’m not getting anything.

Muneuji

That’s strange. Maybe there’s something preventing it from being searched.

Kaede

(ReiOu… I feel like the curiosity’s gonna keep me up at night.)

Beach
Lovebird Man

Woooow, you made a bento just for me?! The sandwiches look so good!

Lovebird Woman

I thought it’d be perfect for a date on the beach. *giggle* Go ahead and enjoy. I brought tea too.

Lovebird Man

They’re sooooo yummy! You’re the best, honey! I wuv you!

Lovebird Woman

I wuv you more, sweetie!

2

Ushio

That “I wuv you” stuff is pissing me off. I’m trying to make a decision here. I’m jealous that people can be so carefree like that.

(I brought the egg here, since I thought it’d be good to throw it into the ocean, but there are a bunch of dumb couples… Guess this won’t work out.)

Whatever. I just gotta throw it⁠—

*tapping*

Ushio

(…What was that sound…?)

*tapping*

Ushio

(Is it…tapping the inside of the shell?)

This thing is so gross and weird… And I hate that it feels like it’s gonna explode if I take it outta the bag…

I guess I could just throw it without taking it out…

Lovebird Man

No, I wuv you more!

Lovebird Woman

No way! I wuv you for infinity!

Ushio

Tch…

(There’s too many people here, and this bag belongs to Muneuji’s little sister. I can’t just throw it away.)

…So what now?

Lovebird Man

Ahahaha! I’m the happiest man in the world!

Ushio

……

Lovebird Woman

Aw, I was gonna say that first! Hahaha!

Ushio

The world would be better off without these stupid lovey-dovey fuckers. Are their brains nothing but giant lumps of pink cotton candy?

Lovebirds

Ahahahaha!

???

Ahahahaha!

Flashback Start

Classmates

*locker slamming*

Ushio

(Ahh…)

(I’m falling.)

ASU HIGH GANG

today was CRAZY speak of the devil fr

ur talking about that goody two shoes right? bro he freaked me out when he showed up right after i talked shit

Who started calling him goody two shoes?? That’s funny asf

me lol bc bro thinks hes so great all the time LMAOOOO

hes got his head so far up his ass lol nobody fucking likes you bro

like dude dont butt into the convo when nobody wants you there

I don’t even wanna breathe the same air as him. Hope he fucks up and gets expelled

Ushio

(I’m seriously falling.)

Timeskip

Classroom

Classmate A

Yeah, so that guy⁠—

Classmate B

Huh? Who?

Classmate A

Goody-Two-Shoes.

Classmate B

Ah, yeah.

Ushio

(I really don’t wanna fall.)

Classmate A

I’m surprised he can walk around smiling like that after his family all died.

He’s fucking insane, dude.

Classmate B

Yeah, I’d never smile again if that happened to me.

Ushio

(Ahh…)

Flashback End

Beach

Ushio

……

I fell.

Otomari Chuzaemon - Entrance
Kaede

Thanks for helping me with the shopping, Sakujiro-san!

3

Sakujiro

It is my pleasure. Let us bring everything inside.

Kaede

Alright! Hup…

……

Uh, did you see the forecast for festival day, Sakujiro-san?

Sakujiro

Yes, I did check the weather forecast.

Kaede

What should we do?

Sakujiro

Things such as this tend to occur when one is working on something important.

Rest assured, I will always be watching over you and the students.

Kaede

Yeah…

Ushio

……

Kaede

Ah! You scared me! Ushio-kun, I thought you were sleeping in your…room…

Ushio

*walking*

Kaede

(He seems tense. Is he angry?)


Footnotes

  1. A reference to The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

  2. The word used in the original Japanese is 強火 (tsuyobi). It’s otaku slang for someone who’s extraordinarily enthusiastic about their hobby/interest, often on a higher level than the average otaku. Outside of the slang meaning, the word usually means “strong heat” or “fire,” so Kaede, who doesn’t know the otaku meaning, thinks about campfires, and goes on to incorrectly surmise that Ushio enjoys camping, because he is a 強火.