Chapter 585: Indeed, it’s been a long time
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
"Please, raise your head, Ooike-san," Seiji spoke after he recovered from his astonishment.
Kazufuru slowly straightened himself.
Seiji could tell that Kazufuru's expression lacked energy and luster.
"Just an ordinary high school student…" Indeed, that was the case for Kazufuru. He was kidnapped by a vicious villain, almost died, and then obtained a mysterious alternate personality with unknown origins. This would be nothing more than a terrible experience for an ordinary student.
Kazufuru had already mentally collapsed once when he received a cursed item. And now, a mysterious existence had taken over half of his life. The fact that he could remain calm right now was already impressive.
He had accepted Kazuko's existence. Yet, she was still an unknown to him, so he probably still felt some resistance somewhere deep inside him.
He wanted to return to a normal life, but felt that he didn't have the means to do so as he was only an ordinary person. Even though the mystical existence within him would assist him, he still felt doubtful that it could be accomplished. That was why Kazufuru sought out reliable companions.
"I'd like to confirm first, when you say companions, you mean companions who will mutually assist each other, right? If I need assistance, you and Kazuko-san will assist me as well, is that correct?"
"Yeah." Kazufuru nodded. "Although I don't really have any powers…"
"In that case, you don't need to lower your head to me at all. You'd be greatly helping me out," Seiji told him sincerely. "Kazuko-san's powers are quite amazing. I would greatly benefit if she became my ally. And, Ooike-san, since you share a body and soul with her, I believe that you should have incredible potential as well. In fact, I'm the one who can't promise anything about being able to successfully separate the two of you. I can only promise to do my best with anything that I may be of help with. When comparing this, I'm the one who obviously benefits more. It's not that fair if we become teammates like this. That's why I promise that if I can't help you achieve your goal after a long period of time, I shall pay you an appropriate amount suitable to how much you helped me in this time. Will that be alright?"
A fair cooperative relationship where both sides would help each other.
'It's just like Kazuko said,' Kazufuru thought to himself.
"If you think that just the two of us aren't enough, then ask for Harano-kun's assistance and become his companion. My powers are useful to him, so he'll definitely agree. He'll surely offer us a fair equal-standing agreement. The only obstacle in asking for his assistance is your pride… or your way of being reserved, Kazufuru. When thinking about the rest of your life, you should decide what to do about your way of being reserved, and whether to give it up."
Those were Kazuko's exact words.
Kazuko was a new personality who had formed from combining with his own soul… Kazufuru held complex feelings towards her.
He felt that continuing like this was no good. No matter how good of a mutual understanding they had, sharing a body with her meant that it would be impossible for him to have a normal life!
He wanted to find a way to separate, but it would be far too difficult just by himself. That was why he asked for help.
Apart from asking Seigo Harano, another option would have been for him to ask Natsuya Yoruhana. However, Kazuko had refused to accept that.
"I know about your past feelings for President Yoruhana. Precisely because of this, I don't wish to have anything to do with her."
Although Kazufuru considered this option, he truly didn't want to ask Natsuya for assistance, either. He felt that this would be even more lacking in self-respect compared to lowering his head to his classmate Seigo… the fact that Kazuko rejected this idea beforehand made him feel as if she understood his way of thinking. Should he say that it was to be expected of an alternate personality formed from himself?
In the end, just as Kazuko said, it was a problem of how reserved he was.
Kazufuru came to a decision after some hesitation.
He also felt somewhat assuaged after hearing Seigo say he had potential, even though he knew that Seigo was only being polite. As for the promise, there wasn't much to say about it.
"That sounds quite reasonable… Thank you, Harano-san."
"No need to be so polite. I'm delighted to reach an accord with you." Seiji smiled as he reached out his hand. "Please take good care of me in the future, Ooike-kun."
Seigo's way of addressing him had changed from -san to the more familiar -kun!
Kazufuru felt an indescribable subtle sensation when he noticed the change of honorifics.
Looking at the hand that Seigo proffered, Kazufuru also reached out and shook his hand.
Seigo's hand was large, thick, warm, and strong.
"…Please take good care of me in the future, Harano-kun."
Kazufuru almost wanted to avert his gaze as he shook Seigo's large hand and said such words. However, he managed to reflexively restrain himself.
He wasn't sure why he had such an impulse, nor did he understand what his subtle sensation was… but if girls with certain interests had witnessed this scene, they would surely be excited to the point of screaming.
Seiji never expected that he managed to recruit an individual with special powers so easily. He could only inwardly exclaim to himself as he retracted his hand.
Agreeing to help Kazufuru and Kazuko separate was a task deemed "impossible" by Natsuya. It was indeed impossible for him to promise success. That was why he never even considered using this as a way to invite them into his team. Yet, Kazufuru brought it up himself.
And so, Seiji naturally agreed to work together and become companions. This was an unexpected lucky occurrence for him!
"How about eating lunch together with us?" Seiji naturally invited Kazufuru.
"Lunch… together with Uehara-san and Wakaba-san?"
"Yeah."
"Sure," Kazufuru agreed.
"It's been such a long time." Seiji smiled as he thought back to his first meeting with Kazufuru.
Kazufuru also recalled their first meeting.
Not that long had actually passed, but it felt as if a year had passed already… Fine, technically, a new year had indeed arrived!
"Indeed, it's been a long time." Kazufuru smiled as well.
Seiji told Mika and Chiaki that Kazufuru ended up Awakening to special powers due to a certain incident, and that he helped out Kazufuru in this incident.
Seiji didn't mention the specifics, as Kazufuru didn't want people to know.
After all, being kidnapped, having a strange experiment being performed on him, and gaining a new strange personality that was capable of transforming him into an actual girl was something quite difficult to tell others about.
Mika and Chiaki were both rather curious, but were also polite enough not to pry.
The four of them ate and chatted together and had fun eating lunch.
"I feel that Ooike-san has changed quite a lot," Chiaki commented after lunch. "I like this you much better than before."
"Should I interpret this as praise?" Kazufuru adjusted his eyeglasses.
"It's up to you." Chiaki smiled. "I'm simply voicing my own opinion."
"You're the same as always, Wakaba-san."
"Thank you for your praise, Secretary-sama." Chiaki bowed formally.
Kazufuru looked at her. "N… no, I think you did change after all." He changed what he just said. "Compared to before… compared to before Harano-kun arrived, I think that you're even more open and free-spirited."
Chiaki blinked upon hearing this. She then chuckled as she looked towards Seiji. "You've said something quite nice, Ooike-san. I like you."
Kazufuru wasn't foolish enough to interpret this as Chiaki liking him romantically.
Previously, he had tried so hard to become friends with Chiaki Wakaba, but had always received rejection. He never expected that saying such a sentence would obtain her recognition!
Was it because he had become Seigo's teammate?
No, it was because he had changed.
He didn't know exactly how to explain what had changed about himself. But, he would no longer be like how he had been in the past.
"What do you think about Mika, then? Has she changed after Seigo's arrival?" Chiaki asked such a question.
"Uehara-san…" Kazufuru turned to look at the twintailed girl. "I think… that she's become more mature."
"That's another nice assessment. What do you think, Mika?"
"It's fine." Mika was actually quite happy inside as she looked towards Seiji.
Seiji responded with a smile.
There was nobody who would never change. For young people in particular, they would mature quite swiftly as time passed and they experienced various things.
Normal experiences were experiences, while dangerous experiences were also experiences. The important part was to constantly progress forward.
The prime of youth was simply beautiful.