ANIMT - Episodes 8-10

ANIMT - Chapter 8. This Shitty Delinquent

----After he appeared, the mood was upturned, as if a typhoon had passed through, destroying all obstacles in its path.

Though I didn’t know if Futaki-kun was another delinquent who had arrived after curfew and found himself locked out, it was clear that he had chosen to sleep in a nearby tree. From the moment he appeared, he was in a bad mood.

“Futaki… ?”

And judging from how upset the seniors looked, he seemed to be a person to watch out for among the upperclassmen. Even so, there was no way that the delinquents wouldn’t be offended by a junior suddenly calling them jerks. In particular, Delinquent A, whom I had bloodied, seized the initiative and hit Futaki-kun.

Futaki-kun effortlessly blocked it and kicked him in his solar plexus. It was a merciless blow.

Delinquent A’s lips formed curses, but he did not, or could not, let out even a squeak. Delinquent B, watching from the sidelines, could only tremble pitifully.

Futaki-kun told them to get lost; Delinquent B scurried forward to collect his compatriot and ran away like a rabbit.

The area was left completely silent: just Futaki-kun and I remained. Slumped over in exhaustion from the ordeal, I could no longer bear the awkwardness and spoke towards his back in a faint voice.

“Futaki-kun, that… ”

His face dully turned to me.

I really, really can’t explain it, but since he saved me in the end, I had to at least express my gratitude to him.

“Well, thank you for saving me from a dangerous situation… ”

“Hey.”

A low growly interrupted me, and I jerked my shoulders out of reflex.

----In retrospect, I hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but I was sure he must have looked at me as though I was less than human. Again.

“W-What… ?”

“Don’t think I did this to save you or anything freaky like that.”

“Sure… ”

“You’re always freaking out. You’re so annoying. Do you know that? I find women like you to be the most annoying. Get out of my sight. Don’t ever show your face to me again, you dumb bitch.”

He spat these insults and his demand at me as he tried to walk past me.

The figure of him leaving.

The violent remarks he made.

The pupils that will never reflect me, a person with no value at all.

----This scene overlapped with what I experienced on the day I died.

My hand moved before I was able to think.

Shit…

“… ah?”

I manipulated a tree branch that lay on the ground close by and fired it at the back of his head. The collision made a faint sound, but it hit him squarely. It must have hurt a fair bit too. The proof? He stopped moving to look back at me, and a vein bulged on his forehead.

Blood continued to trickle from the scrape on my knee, and it felt… hot? I stood up gingerly, no longer feeling the slightest bit of pain in my ankle, probably from the adrenaline coursing through my body. My hands and lips were still trembling, but it wasn’t because I was scared or deflated.

Confronting him, I shouted with everything I could muster.

“You… You… Shitty delinquent!”

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The shout reverberated through the trees.

I could see his golden eyes widen, but only faintly, at my sudden change in attitude.

I can no longer pretend to be something I’m not anymore.

I don’t care if my knees are dripping with blood or if my face is caked in dirt.

The frustration, emptiness, resentment, anger, and all the other messed up emotions from events that I had bottled up on that fateful day burst forth. I was no longer able to bottle them up, nor could I stop the collapse of the dam that had been keeping them at bay until now.

I didn’t want to re-experience those miserable feelings I was consumed by on the day I died.

I sucked in my breath and let my jumbled thoughts flow forth all at once.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You’re always picking on me! You’ve been paired up with me for three months now! You should at least remember my name! And don’t skip class duties; at least do the day shift! Don’t you dare skip class or the mock battles ever again! I was the one who suffered because of that. And what do you mean, an eyesore? Who do you think you are? And sorry for being scared of you, but it was your fault for making me feel scared in the first place. Your face is really scary, and you’re completely unapproachable. We may have become a pair against our will, but we need to make the best of it! You should at least put some effort into compromising with me. I’ve tried to work with you: I’ve given you space and taken more than my share of the work, but all you do is make my life harder! And the last thing… ”

I thrust my finger at Futaki-kun, breathing hard.

“My name is Nobana Mitsuba! Don’t ever call me a dumb bitch again!”

“That’s all!”

I concluded and turned my back on him. Then, forgetting that I was injured, I kicked against the ground with all my might and fled.

I wiped away the tears that had appeared in response to my overly emotional state and ran, the scenery flickering by me. My skirt flapped in the wind, and sweat ran down my forehead. Each bead of perspiration turned into a grain of light as they scattered in the air.

My body felt heavy, but my heart was at ease. I once again kicked the ground, hard enough that it made me remember the pain in my legs, but continued running nonetheless.

In the last glimpse I stole of Futaki-kun, all I could see was the most incredulous face I’ve ever seen, and in his eyes was a tangible reflection of my rugged figure.

----

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ANIMT - Chapter 9. Although I Was in Tatters

I kept sprinting, wiping away the liquid that was either sweat or tears (or maybe a combination?); either way, I could no longer tell. Eventually, I ran out of energy long before I reached the school building entrance.

A few minutes later, I slumped down in the shade of a tree.

Konoha-san approached me while I continued to wheeze heavily. She seemed to think I was severely injured and couldn’t move, and with tears streaming down her face, she cast a healing spell on me after placing her hands gingerly on me.

It seems that this woman uses a room in the training building in the mornings and spends her time there practicing magic and reading her favorite books. She had already gotten pre-clearance to use magic on a week-by-week basis, and all she had to do was pass her student ID card through the magic tool that was in the training building (which functioned as a barcode reader). Doing so would grant her permission for an hour.

----This meant that she had rushed to the training building to help me and had come back with the ability to cast magic.

If she had returned a little sooner, Delinquent A probably would have been blown up by Konoha again. Thinking about it, it was perhaps a good thing that Futaki-kun beat him up. For his sake, that is.

“I’m sorry,” “Thank you,” she repeated these words incessantly. The healing magic she cast was terrific, and the pain in my knees and ankles receded in no time. I was impressed that she could use healing magic, as it required an advanced level of magic and had a high prerequisite of knowledge to use it to such an extent, but I guess that’s a prodigy for you.

By the time she had finished her treatment, two doctors had come to escort me to the infirmary just in case. Even though Konoha-san healed my injuries, my fatigue remained, so I took advantage of the opportunity to occupy a bed without hesitation. I never thought I would see the infirmary’s white ceiling twice in such a short period.

Mr. Tsuchida, the health teacher, wore a pretty shocked face seeing me on a bed caked in dirt, but I continued to sleep like a dead man.

When I finally woke up, it was lunchtime.

I missed all of my morning classes.

Umetaro-san, who knew what was going on, delivered the bag that I had left in the dorm supervisor’s office to me while I was sleeping in the infirmary, so I returned to the classroom fully equipped with what I needed for the day.

I had no friends here who would worry after me and call out to see if I was okay. Since I appeared so late, I quickly took my seat.

“Oh, it’s Nobana-san!”

The only people who would call out to me… would be the three dango sisters at most. And only for ulterior motives, of course.

“What’s wrong? You came to school so late. Well, I guess you overslept or something.”

“If you’ve been asleep all day, you must be fine, right? Actually, we’re on day duty today.”

“We don’t have as much time as Nobana-san. Can you take ourday shift?”

Have you practiced this type of coercion? They pushed me to do their work, as usual, with such a brilliant display of coordination that I felt like I had no option other than resigned acceptance. Their confidence that I wouldn’t refuse was all too clear, and I could not help but feel like sighing.

Usually, I would have agreed with a vague smile out of fear of offending them.

But as I had been confronting the vicious delinquents (including Futaki-kun) just a moment ago, I no longer felt there was a need to be scared of them anymore.

I’m not sure if it was the dango with honey glazed hair or the tri-colored dango, but just as I was about to open my mouth to refuse them…

“… You’re not going to help them, are you, Nobana-san?”

“Huh?”

A rather brisk voice interrupted us. Before I knew it, Yamadori-kun, the class rep, was standing beside my seat with a smirk on his face.

“Nobana-san has been in the infirmary. She has been sick since this morning and must have been resting since.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So it’s not like she overslept, she’s rather sick, right?”

I can only nod my head as he asked me to agree with him.

He had short, clean, chestnut-colored hair and gentle green eyes. He may not have the most glamorous face, but his friendly smile and caring personality made him immensely popular in our class.

I’ve also had him help me out in class a few times. However, he has never interfered with the three dango sisters as he was doing now.

Besides, leaving aside the sick person thing, how did he know that I was in the infirmary?

“I’m not so sure about asking a sick person to do your work. Besides, I think you should do the day shift yourself, no matter how busy you are.”

Against Yamadori-kun, who had an overwhelming support in class, even the three dango sisters had no other choice but to retreat.

“Well, if that’s the case…”

“Well, we can’t help it, can we?”

“Uh-huh. Let’s go!”

And with that, they hurriedly retreated. The fact that the trio didn’t forget to glare at me as they fled cemented their image as bullies.

“Hahaha, they’re in trouble too, aren’t they? Right, Nobana-san?”

“Ah, yeah. But, why did you… ”

“Oh, because I happened to see you help out Konoha-san.”

‘Eh?!’

I was surprised by these unexpected words.

“I was in the training building for the club’s morning practice. As I walked with some members on the second floor, I saw Konoha-san getting caught up with some delinquents out the window. While we were deciding whether to call the teacher, you came in to help. After that, I hurriedly grabbed a couple of teachers and told them what happened…”

Okay, so that’s why the teachers came. Their quick follow-up made sense now.

Yamadori-kun was part of the Magic Sports Research Club. It was a lively club that tried to find new sports by fusing magic and physical activity. I was also in a sports club in junior high school, and I could remember this magical version of it after checking it out shortly after entering this school. However, when our glasses-wearing demon said, “How could you be in a club with grades like yours?” I decided not to join the club after all.

It’s a big club, and several other classmates joined. I felt a few pairs of eyes on me earlier, probably the other people who saw Konoha-san and me from the window with Yamadori-kun.

“But I have to admit, that was a surprise.”

“… What?”

“I didn’t know that Nobana-san was such a brave person. That was so cool! I was watching… and I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything more to help.”

Yamadori-kun lowered his back and apologized. I shook my head vigorously, feeling that he was also apologizing for other things that he had done.

I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been painful to be left out, but I know that it wasn’t anyone’s fault.

I really wanted to… get even with him one day, though.

But I’m sure there’s no need for him to apologize to me.

“Um, Nobana, here…”

One of the people who had been looking at us the whole time, Morido-san, whose charm point was his red glasses, gently approached us and offered me something.

There was a light touch on my hand.

“… An adhesive bandage?”

“Your right cheek, it’s injured…”

When I touched the spot where he pointed, I felt a tingling pain. My hair hid it, so Konoha-san must have missed it.

I expressed my gratitude and took the offered bandage. Morido-san gently put his face to my ear and whispered to me.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything for you… And for everything that’s happened. I, well, I unconsciously looked down on you because you couldn’t use magic. I thought you were a dropout who was just doing whatever Mizumura-san and her friends were telling you to do, a weak person. But I was wrong. The real Nobana-san is much stronger and more amazing than that, isn’t she?”

After bowing their heads, Morido-san and Yamadori-kun returned to their seats. The other people, who I figured to be members of the same club, also looked at me a little awkwardly, but they firmly bowed back as well.

The adhesive bandage I had on my palm had an image of a white cat printed on it. For some reason it made me imagine Shirotama saying “Good for you, Mitsuba” while swinging his tail, and it made me smile.

* * * *

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I leaped onto my bed with great force, and my body sank deep into it.

My room in the dormitory was not as comfortable as my parents’ house, but it is still a place where I could feel at home. I’ve been unusually fortunate in this high school to have a single room, so I don’t have to worry about sharing it with anyone else. Usually, I would have had a roommate, but I was placed in an empty room by myself because of my sudden arrival.

I lazily enjoyed my free time, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. It was about six o’clock in the evening. The dormitory room was larger than my room at home, with a shower room and a kitchen, so I didn’t need to leave my room again for the day.

Looking up at the ceiling, I pondered over the events of the day.

It had been a checkered and tattered day. But when I think about it, my life had always been rather ragged, and the roughest waves had already come when I died, so maybe this kind of turbulent day was no longer a big deal.

----And it wasn’t all bad, either.

As I thought about such thoughts, while I idly traced the bandage on my cheek, I snapped out of my reverie at the sound of chimes.

“… Who is it?”

Sadly, there aren’t a large number of people who would come to visit my room. I sat up in curiosity, and dragged my heavy body towards the door.

“Good evening.”

When I slowly opened the door, I saw Konoha-san there, wearing a cute pink dress with lots of frills.

----

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ANIMT - Chapter 10. Have I Made a Friend?

I immediately showed Konoha-san into the room and offered her a spot on my small sofa, just big enough for two. I made us each a cup of tea, placed them on the mini-table, and pulled over a chair for me to sit on.

She thanked me and sipped from her cup, looking like an exotic princess in her frilly pink dress. Given that we were outside of school hours, this must be her casual attire. If I wasn’t so excited to have someone over, I would have laughed. The three-dollar barley tea that my parents’ sent looked like royal tea in her hands.

“Um, I’m sorry to barge in on you like this. I just wanted to say thank you again. Oh, they might not be the best because I made them in a hurry, but if you’d like them… ”

I looked into the paper bag she handed to me, immediately noticing that it was packed full of beautiful cookies that looked like they belonged in a storefront.

… I wonder how immense her girl power is. These cookies were undoubtedly far beyond the level of what I could make, seeing as the only snack I had made was bread shaped like elf-ears topped with sugar.

“Well, thank you. But you don’t have to be so considerate, okay? I never even got a chance to thank you for anything. You healed my injuries and said so much in the morning.”

“Oh, well, of course, I have you to thank for that. I really wanted to talk to you again… ”

“With me?”

“Yes. With you, I can, uh… my… that is… ”

She mumbled in agitation. From the way she was talking and the words she was about to say, I had a little bit of hope.

I wondered if this bumbling cutie would be my first girl-friend at this school.

“Hey, if it’s too hard to say, we can do it later!”

“I’m sorry. Then, um, if you don’t mind, could I tell you my story? I’d… I’d like you to hear it.”

Konoha-san’s eyes looked very serious, so I nodded vigorously.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. As you can see, I’m a shy person, and I haven’t had many friends for a long time. But there is one girl I’ve known since kindergarten, and she’s the only one who’s always played with me.”

“… She was probably your best friend, right?”

Konoha-san nodded her head, and my face naturally calmed as I remembered my own best friend. I felt terribly nostalgic and unconsciously fiddled with the pin she had given me.

“She was a wonderful girl, very cheerful and friendly… She had always been fascinated with magic and never doubted that she would have magical aptitude. She always told me how wonderful magic was. I always looked forward to the day when she could use magic. But… ”

Konoha-san’s long eyelashes drooped.

“When we… In middle school, I was the only one whose magical aptitude manifested. It didn’t happen to her in any way, shape, or form.”

“But, she could still be a late bloomer, right? I only realized my power in the third grade… ”

“No, I heard that an agency thoroughly tested her. I don’t remember the institution’s name, but it was a private one that specialized in researching magic. Apparently, there’s tests that can determine whether or not you have latent magical power, even before you manifest any magical aptitude.”

I was genuinely impressed that such a useful institution existed. If the technology possessed by that agency were more widespread, it might prevent tragedies like mine.

“When she got her results… I’ll never forget the look on her face at that moment. By that time, my talent for magic had blossomed, and I was told that I might even skip a grade. When I received that news, her face twisted in sadness for a moment… before turning into a glare of hatred.”

Konoha-san hugged her arms tightly, her petite body trembling as the feeling of that moment came back to her.

To receive someone’s naked malice, their hostility, an overwhelming sense of hatred is much more painful than anyone can imagine. And if that person was their only friend, their best friend, it was no wonder that she was left traumatized.

“I was afraid that she would look at me that way again… I ended up entering this high school without getting another chance to talk to her again. I also thought about trying new things at this school, but you’re all older than me, and more importantly, no one approached me because they said I was a ‘magical genius’ or something. I lost my… only best friend. I didn’t fit in at school, and I don’t have anything left except my magic.”

“Konoha-san… ”

“I’ve been alone for so long, and I’ve been sad and lonely. So when… you came in to help me, I was happy from the bottom of my heart.”

I could see my reflection clearly in Konoha-san’s purple, crystal-like eyes.

I couldn’t help but be upset with myself with no idea of what to do. I could finally talk to someone, but this was not the kind of conversation I wanted, and I couldn’t do anything for Konoha-san.

“Well, I must have been quite the disappointing hero, huh?”

“No way! That was a big deal. At least, it was to me. For the first time in this school, someone recognized me, and you even took my hand and led me to safety. I was very, very happy, and it felt like someone had saved me. It’s… so, um, I wanted to ask if you would, be, my, um… ”

“Wait.”

I stopped her as she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth.

What she was going to say, what she wanted to say, was probably the same thing I wanted to ask her. Even though we come from different backgrounds, I think Konoha-san and I are kindred spirits who have been bottling up our loneliness at this school.

If that’s the case, there’s only one thing to say.

“I think you and I are thinking the same thing. Let’s say it at the same time, shall we?”

“Ehh… Wow, okay.”

“Okay. Here we go.”

Three, two one… !

“… I want you to be my friend!”

“… I want you to be my big sister (onee-sama)!”

Huh?

“Um, what did you just say, Konoha-san?”

“Oh, um, from now on, I want you to call me Kokomi… Mitsuba-oneesama.”

I didn’t hear incorrectly!

Onee-sama? That’s not what I was expecting!

“Um, then… Kokomi-san, by onee-sama, do you mean… ?”

“I’d like you to call me that! But… without the -san.”

Her cheeks were rosy and flushed, and she pulled out a book from the bag that contained the cookies. It was Konoha-san’s most precious possession, the book which I had rescued from the hands of the delinquents. I almost laughed at the absurdity of hiding a book in a small bag of cookies. Her use of magic here was a strange display of power, and I had totally failed to see through it.

“This is a book that instantly captivated me after I started reading it to drown my loneliness. The main character in this novel is a little like me… It’s a story about a girl who is lonely at school because of her powers, but she meets a wonderful onee-sama, who is also a loner! And once they meet, the two of them rise through the ranks together!”

“Heh, heh… ”

I opened the book that Konoha-san forcefully pushed onto me.

‘~The Story of Ascendance in the Pure All-Girls School~ (The Golden Maiden and Peach Maiden Meet)’

“Wow, that’s an amazing title. What can I say? It’s so… unusual… ”

“Yes! And that’s a premium copy that I got signed by the author at a handshake session I went to after I left school! You should read it, onee-sama!”

Perhaps some kind of limiter had been released, but Konoha-san suddenly became rather animated. The sofa bounced along with her excited body.

Where was the dignified and tense atmosphere from earlier?

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“The onee-sama in this book, Cloverne, is extremely nice and… She helps the main character and vows to live in the school strongly with her. I’ve always dreamed of having a sister like her in my life… Mitsuba-oneesama is my ideal big sister, who, like Cloverne-oneesama, has the strength, nobility, and kindness to defy all adversity!”

“Uh-huh. I think I understand what’s going on… But, you know, aside from being your onee-sama, would you be willing to be a regular friend with me?”

“And you’ll be my friend, too? I’d be happy to!”

The small girl before me was so excited that I was caught off guard when Konoha-san, no… Kokomi, took my hand and shook it like a jackhammer.

I should be happy to have a girl-friend now, but some complicated emotions got in the way, and I simply can’t bring myself to be genuinely happy. If anything, I’m slightly worried that I might be opening the door to a forbidden world that I didn’t know existed.

“It’s my pleasure! Please take care of me, Mitsuba-oneesama!”

“Ah… Yeah, nice to meet you.”

----My life expectancy is 179 days. I’ve finally obtained my first female friend at this school.

----

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TL Note: Mald Frogs Club tries to capture the intent of the author when translating these chapters. This is not a literal translation and we can not guarantee the accuracy of it. We re-structure sentences to improve the flow and if we spot what appears to be an obvious error, we fix it as we go.