PNB Chapter 121. The Ritual
Chapter 121. The Ritual
"You're awake, Hoshino-kun."
Everything before my eyes was shrouded in darkness.
It felt like being trapped in a bottomless abyss, the oppressive feeling permeating every part of my body. I lost control of my body, and only my consciousness floated in the air.
Forget about thinking, even raising a finger or making a sound is extremely difficult.
Confusion and fear kept flooding into my mind. As my body regained some sensation, I could feel the movement of air, the cold touch on my forehead, and the blurry face in front of me.
Kaoru struggled to open her eyes, and the scene that greeted her was—
"Hoshino-kun."
A gentle voice drifted into my mind.
Although I could only vaguely make out the general shape of the face, I instinctively felt a strange sense of familiarity when I got close to that face.
Unconsciously, I raised my right hand and touched that face.
The scene before my eyes, which was initially blurry, became clear.
"It's Mizukami-kun... By the way... am I dead now?"
"No, Hoshino-kun is still alive."
The woman, who had the appearance of a young lady, placed her palm on his forehead, and her eyes, which were glowing with a faint purple light, were filled with a gentle light that she had never seen before.
"It must hurt a lot, Hoshino-kun."
Feeling the cold touch of his palm, Kaoru's thoughts froze.
He instinctively tried to move his body, but suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Using all her might to lift her upper body, Kaoru noticed that her feet were wrapped in gauze. The white gauze was stained a light red from the blood, indicating that she was injured.
"Hoshino stepped on a shard of glass on the road and ran around like an idiot, risking excessive blood loss. The scene of cleaning it up was truly horrific. I really thought Hoshino was going to die like that. It's such a shame. Hoshino, with her tenacious life force like an earthworm, will not die from something like that."
"Right now, I sincerely hope that Hoshino-san would just die like this."
Mizukami spoke with a sigh of relief.
Was it just my imagination? I felt that the way she touched her forehead had become gentler, and her eyes showed heartache and reluctance. Yet she said something surprising. No matter how you look at it, it's just too strange.
and--
Feeling the soft touch on his knees, this body was shamelessly enjoying the young lady's lap pillow, and such gentle gestures and movements had never appeared in his memory before.
With her mind filled with a jumble of complex thoughts, Kaoru was at a loss for words.
"Hey, Hoshino-kun, tell me, you know perfectly well that what you did would make me really unhappy, you know that better than anyone. If you think you can get away with angering me without any consequences, you're sorely mistaken. I'm the kind of person who's extremely vengeful. If something makes me unhappy, I'll retaliate cruelly, leaving no room for compromise, and make the person who made the mistake regret it in my own way. That's how I treat you, you know. I really hate you, I absolutely hate you, to the point that I wish you were dead right now..."
It was like manipulating an emotionless doll; the cold palm touched the cheek downwards, and the thumb seemed to be rubbing something against the skin.
In the slightly reddened vision, the young lady's face revealed an expression of regret for the first time.
"Hoshino-kun is so cunning. Even though she knows I hate you, she always shamelessly clings to me, and it's so annoying how I can't push her away. She never cares about anyone else, not what others think, what their expectations of her are, or how much pain she suffers because of you. She only cares about herself. Even though she's such a pathetic and despicable person in my eyes... she always bullies me, taking advantage of my tolerance to do things I hate. In the end, I can't do anything to hurt her as easily as she can. She always takes my concern for her for granted... such a despicable tactic..."
A drop of water slapped against my forehead, then slid down my cheek to the corner of my mouth, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
"I hate you the most..."
The young lady, who had suddenly become incredibly disheveled, cried out in a way that was truly moving.
The student on the water is crying.
The incredibly heart-wrenching cries seemed to be an attempt to recount all the grievances and injustices suffered so far.
She, who never showed her vulnerable side in front of others, had completely abandoned the rules she had previously followed, as if she had cast everything aside. You could clearly feel this in her.
"Tell me... Hoshino-san... why did you do this...?"
The tears that kept dripping down her cheeks gathered together.
Even though she was the one crying, my heart felt a sharp, agonizing pain as if I were experiencing the same pain.
The young lady tried her best to stop her tears from falling, but her sobs came intermittently.
Why are you crying, Minakami-kun?
Xun was too exhausted to think accurately.
Right now, there's only one thing on my mind that I need to do.
"Because... I like Minakami-san, and also... I like Rin, I like Captain Yanagi-no-Shita, I even like Kobayashi-san, and I even have feelings for Shoko-sensei. I can't refuse any of you. I know it's selfish to do this, but even so, I still can't give up on any of you. I can understand how Minakami-san feels. I'm a terrible person. I can't even control my own feelings. I only think about myself all the time. I'm a very annoying person."
"Even so, despite how terrible I am, Minami-san still falls for me relentlessly. When it comes to allocating my feelings, I can't make the right choice, but if I can get Minami-san to forgive me a little bit by doing my best, I think it's not a bad thing. After all... from the moment you met me, you should know that Hoshino Kaoru is the kind of guy who likes to play with women's feelings."
The water, which was making a crying sound, raised its fist, its right hand hovering in mid-air. After a brief hesitation, it slammed into Kaoru's shoulder.
The force transmitted to her shoulder was not great, or perhaps her body had already lost sensation, so Kaoru could not feel any pain at all, and could only feel the weight of that hand on her shoulder.
Then, as if she could no longer control her emotions, Mizukami said cute things like "I hate Hoshino-kun the most" while rubbing the tears that kept seeping from her eyes with her hands. Finally, she cried until she had no strength left and her tears had completely dried up. Her shoulders trembled slightly and she kept sniffling.
The young lady in front of me was in a terrible state.
------------
Although the fireworks display had ended, the festival activities inside the shrine were still ongoing, and everyone wore a smile under the red glow of the lanterns on both sides.
After regaining feeling in her legs, every step she took was painful, but Kaoru still forced herself to walk, her eyes occasionally lingering on the young lady in the purple yukata beside her.
Because of the festival, the young lady wore a yukata, which was unusual for her. Her hair was not loose on her shoulders as usual, but tied up with a hair tie, revealing her smooth nape.
Because she had been crying, tear stains remained on her face, which were clearly visible upon close inspection.
"It must hurt a lot, Hoshino-kun."
Noticing Kaoru's furrowed brows, she seemed to enjoy the disheveled reaction on her face, glancing at the profile of the person beside her from time to time.
"Ah...of course, if Mizukami-kun is willing to carry me—"
"Don't even think about that. I would much rather throw Hoshino into the sea than do that."
"Don't make this kind of thing a catchphrase..."
During their conversation, Xun's stomach rumbled, and just then there was a vendor selling grilled squid by the roadside, so he stopped.
"Want some?"
Kaoru pointed to a whole squid placed on the grill.
"don't want."
"But I heard a rumbling sound coming from Mizukami-san's stomach."
"This is so annoying, it's clearly Hoshino's stomach that's been growling."
"Haha, because I'm hungry."
Xun had never eaten a whole grilled squid like the one in front of her before. After ordering one, she asked the vendor selling fried noodles next to her for a bowl of fried noodles, and then sat down in the makeshift shed that had been set up to wait.
There were quite a few visitors to the festival. Even after the fireworks faded, many people chose to stay and enjoy themselves. In the simple shed with chairs and tables, the other seats were already occupied. The young lady, who was not used to sitting close to strangers, chose to stand on the side, looking somewhat reserved.
"Hey, come closer."
Xun pushed the two chairs together, creating enough space for the two of them to squeeze together. Although it felt stuffy with their shoulders pressed together, it was still better than standing.
"I'm not sitting, and I don't want to eat anything. It was Hoshino-san who suggested coming to the festival. It's so boring."
"Don't say that. I ordered yours too, and the grilled squid as well. Anyway, sit down and eat something. Don't make that gloomy face, it's scary."
The young lady, who was being lectured, reluctantly sat down next to Kaoru, glaring at the two middle school students sitting opposite her. Sensing the tension in the air, they stood up, said "Excuse me" to the two of them, and then quickened their pace and left.
Although there were extra seats available, the young lady had no intention of moving; she was clearly still angry.
Well—after she's had some delicious food, she should be able to recover a little.
With that thought in mind, Kaoru soon received her stir-fried noodles and grilled squid.
The grilled squid was cut into small pieces beforehand, coated with sauce, and grilled until very flavorful. Xun, caught off guard, put the squid into her mouth with disposable chopsticks, and the next second she was burned and tears streamed down her face.
Even though he was burning up, he didn't intend to spit it out. Instead, he chewed faster, swallowed the squid, and then picked up the fried noodles covered in rich sauce and put them in his mouth together.
Can this stuff really taste good?
Seeing his exaggerated eating habits, Mizukami, who was holding his chin, frowned.
"Let's give it a try," she thought, picking up a piece of squid, blowing on it to cool it down, and then putting it in her mouth.
After a few chews, Mizukami's furrowed brows became even more exaggerated. Kaoru thought the grilled squid wasn't to her liking and was about to advise her not to force herself if she didn't want it when the young lady looked at him with pleading eyes and casually said, "This is so spicy."
"Spicy... Ah, wait a minute."
When Xun walked out of the shed and came back, he was holding two glasses of juice.
"Drink up, it's orange juice."
"Thanks."
The grilled squid was indeed quite spicy for the young lady. She took the juice that Xun handed her, bit the straw, and kept sucking the sweet liquid into her mouth. The pain from the spiciness was finally relieved.
"Hoshino-kun, is the yakisoba spicy too?"
"No, it's not spicy at all."
So she tried making fried noodles too.
The spiciness was acceptable compared to the grilled squid, but it wasn't exactly "not spicy at all." Watching Kaoru swallow the grilled squid and fried noodles expressionlessly, Mizukami's face gradually showed an embarrassed expression.
Because she rarely ate spicy food growing up, she couldn't be as indifferent to spiciness as Hoshino-san.
However, the grilled squid was really delicious. Even though she was sweating profusely from the spiciness and her originally pale cheeks were now bright red, the young lady was still chewing with great effort. Such a scene seemed too incongruous to others.
Before she knew it, the grilled squid and fried noodles were all gone. When she came to her senses, even she was surprised by her own appetite. Could she really eat so much food? She couldn't help but wonder as she stroked her slightly protruding belly.
"It tastes great, doesn't it? So refreshing..."
Xun slurped up the rest of the juice, making a satisfied sound.
"The method looks strange, but the taste is surprisingly good."
For a notoriously demanding young lady, this is undoubtedly a high compliment.
After finishing their grilled squid and fried noodles, the two planned to walk along the sandao (a traditional pilgrimage route) to digest their food. However, upon seeing a vendor selling honey cakes by the roadside, the young lady's attention was clearly drawn to the cakes covered in honey.
Sensing her thoughts, Kaoru stopped and walked straight toward the vendor.
"Then let's give it a try."
"Wait a minute... Hoshino-kun, I can't eat anymore."
"It's okay, just try a bite."
"It's sweets...it will make you fat..."
The words were muttered very quietly by the water.
As a result, after she tentatively took a bite of the honey cake and tasted its unique sweetness, she immediately became even more unable to stop herself from enjoying it.
By the time Kaoru realized what was happening, she had finished the cake by herself, with golden honey still smeared around her lips, making her look nothing like a well-mannered young lady.
"Hey you, didn't you say you couldn't eat anymore? Why are you eating faster than me?"
"That kind of thing has nothing to do with Hoshino-kun."
"...Hey, it's okay for you to be honest sometimes, isn't it?"
Kaoru said this in a complaining tone, scratching her cheek.
After finishing the honey cake, the young lady's stomach seemed to have reached its limit. After walking a short distance, her expression suddenly turned strange as she sat down on the steps at the entrance of the shrine, burying her face in her knees, her body trembling slightly uncontrollably.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Xun leaned closer with a concerned look on her face.
"My body... feels so uncomfortable..."
"You really ate too much, didn't you? Why did you eat so much food at once? That's three times your usual amount! Such an unbalanced diet will make your body feel unwell... You're an adult, aren't you? Why do I have to remind you of something like this? I'm speechless."
"If Hoshino-kun thinks I'm a hassle... then just leave me alone. Besides, you were the one who ordered two dishes, and you were the one who suggested I eat the honey cake."
Mizukami, who was hugging her knees, lifted her face and spoke in a cute, slightly angry tone.
"Don't turn around and blame me... This is such a hassle."
Kaoru remembered a massage technique she had read about in a book that could aid digestion, so she reached out and touched the young lady's abdomen when she wasn't looking.
As a result, Mizukami, realizing what was happening, immediately pinched his arm hard, with considerable force, causing Kaoru's expression to contort in pain.
"What...what are you doing...?"
"Mizukami-kun mentioned having an upset stomach, right? I just wanted to give you a massage, you're really mean."
"Massage... I don't believe Hoshino-san could be such a naive person."
"Stop rambling! You've already said it's because of me, so I should take responsibility."
Risking being pinched again, Kaoru used her palm to find the young lady's abdomen. Indeed, she had eaten too much food, and the originally flat area was slightly bulging due to the food. She could clearly feel it with her fingertips.
The other person looked at him warily, their sharp gaze seeming to say, "[If Hoshino-kun dares to touch me, I'll kill you.]"
"Okay, stop staring at me like that, I'm going to get a massage now."
Kaoru gently massaged her stomach in a clockwise direction.
There was no pain, and the young lady's skin temperature began to rise. Out of his sight, she turned her slightly flushed cheeks to the other side of the water and clenched her yukata tightly without making a sound.
Just then, the chirping of cicadas drifted from afar.
The atmosphere of summer is becoming increasingly intense.