Chapter 308: All I Care About is Nanami!
Chapter 308: All I Care About is Nanami!
Hikari had ruined the medicine. Scolding myself or getting angry wouldn’t change a thing now.
He only hoped Nanami would feel better after a good sleep.
With that thought, Himekoji fell into a deep sleep.
However, the next morning, that hope was dashed.
Nanami’s condition hadn’t improved at all.
The girl got out of bed unsteadily, her face pale beyond pale, her eyelids swollen even worse than before.
Damn it!
Seeing Nanami like this, Himekoji couldn’t help blaming himself. He clenched his fists in frustration.
He could have changed how things turned out.
He should have acted more decisively yesterday. Or perhaps he should have stopped Nanami from pushing her body too hard earlier. Even the argument and cold war last month… looking back now, it was entirely his fault to begin with…
“Aoyama, go back to your room.”
Himekoji stepped forward, reaching out to steady Nanami before she could stumble and fall.
“Why…?”
Nanami’s voice cracked in her throat, sounding terribly hoarse.
She seemed even worse than yesterday, with noticeable congestion in her voice now.
“Because you have a fever, so high you can’t even understand why you should go back to your room. What you need now is good rest, not stubbornness.”
Even though Himekoji’s words were blunt, Nanami wouldn’t accept them. She stubbornly kept her head held high, looking forward, towards the Genkan, the front door, and towards the unseen Midterm Performance Showcase.
She had to look forward, only forward.
Because if she didn’t, her body would slump from losing all strength.
No one knew her own body better than Nanami. If there wasn’t something she absolutely had to do, she would have chosen to rest.
But today, she had to go!
So that all her daily hard work would pay off! So that she wouldn’t betray her sweat and dreams!
“Enough. Go back to your room and sleep!”
Himekoji’s voice was unusually stern.
“I don’t want to.”
But Nanami’s voice was weaker than ever.
It was easy to tell who was strong and who was weak, who held the upper hand—
“I understand.”
It was Himekoji who gave in.
Saying that, he turned around, crouched down, and offered his back to Nanami.
Nanami stared at him, bewildered.
She had expected another fierce argument and quarrel to follow, but things were going differently than she imagined.
“Get on.”
Himekoji patted his not-so-broad back, urging her.
“Wh… Why? Weren’t you here to stop me?”
“Stop what? Stop Nanami from becoming a Seiyuu?” Himekoji looked back at her from his crouched position, his gaze shifting from her feet up to her face. “Why would I stop you? What right do I have to stop you? No one can stop you.”
Himekoji paused, then smiled at Nanami. “Because… I know Nanami will definitely become a Seiyuu!”
“Definitely?”
The girl’s body shivered violently. Maybe it was the fever, or maybe not.
It was hard to describe the feeling in that moment. Perhaps her brain was really fried by the fever. The Himekoji crouched before her now, looking at her so gently and determinedly, offering his back… it was just like when she first saw him a year ago—
Like the sun being blocked by a hand, yet warm rays still shone through the gaps between the fingers. Warm, not blinding, calming the girl’s frantic heart in an instant.
“Mhm.”
Strength seemed to well up continuously from deep inside her heart. Nanami nodded and climbed onto Himekoji’s back without hesitation.
“Onii-chan, the car’s here!”
Akiko called out loudly from outside the door.
“We’ll be right out.”
…
They arrived early.
The Midterm Performance Showcase was held in a tall, five-sided building.
Himekoji bought Nanami some porridge, and the girl ate it in small bites.
Even though her face was pale from her condition, a determined light still shone brightly deep within Nanami’s eyes.
She had endured so much for so long; how could she possibly collapse just before the finish line?
Going to a strange place all alone against her parents’ wishes, working part-time to pay for cram school fees and living expenses, going hungry one-third of her days every month… it had been incredibly hard.
Sometimes, she was so tired she felt like giving up every second, so exhausted she felt like crying every minute. But she had persevered through it all.
She wouldn’t give up. She wouldn’t cry.
She had to be strong. If she wasn’t strong, what about all the sweat she had shed before?
She had to keep trying hard. If she didn’t, what about the dream she’d held since she was little?
Nanami’s dream was to become a Seiyuu!
“Nanami will definitely become a Seiyuu!”
Even Himekoji had said so today.
Even if the person who said it was an absolute Pervert…
Nanami still wanted to believe him.
She really wanted to believe!
…
“I’m going in.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Mhm. The rest… I can handle it alone.”
She said that, but Nanami leaning unsteadily against the wall didn’t look “alright” at all.
Unfortunately, Himekoji couldn’t help her with what came next.
The one attending the Midterm Performance Showcase was Nanami, not Himekoji.
Himekoji and Akiko could only stand quietly by the door, watching Nanami enter.
Himekoji couldn’t even manage to give Nanami a proper cheer, because the words were stuck in his throat.
If possible, he didn’t want her to “do her best” at all. He wanted her to think more about her health and get proper rest.
“How long will the showcase last?”
Akiko asked softly.
That day, even Imouto, who was usually so lively, spoke very little.
“She mentioned regular classes are three hours, but I’m not sure about today. It might be shorter, or maybe longer.”
“I see.”
It felt like she hadn’t really said anything at all.
The brother and sister sat silently waiting in the outer hall. Worried about Nanami, neither felt like talking.
…
They waited like this for about two hours.
People started coming out of the Midterm Performance Showcase venue, in twos and threes. There were over thirty in total.
Himekoji kept peering inside. Finally, at the very end of the crowd, he spotted Nanami.
He quickly moved forward to meet her.
But his steps froze mid-stride. Himekoji’s face visibly darkened.
Nanami was talking to someone else.
No, to be precise, she was being scolded by a girl around her own age.
A fellow seiyuu trainee also participating in this Midterm Performance Showcase.
The girl’s voice was sweet and distinctive. She had long eyelashes and a small, doll-like face, exquisitely cute.
The kind of person who normally lit up a room just by standing there. Yet, the aura she radiated now was the total opposite: sharp, piercing like a spear, with no trace of cuteness.
“You know you almost ruined my whole performance! I don’t care if you’re sick or you have a cold! If you can’t do it, get out and stop bothering other people! Are you just here for a joke? Someone so poor they can’t even pay tuition, training to be a seiyuu? And of all people, I got stuck paired with you for the showcase! I must be cursed! If your garbage performance costs me a place, could you even afford to make it up to me?”
“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”
Nanami just kept apologizing. Still running a fever, forced to endure this blunt scolding. Perhaps she genuinely felt she’d held the other girl back. Her guilt was so deep she couldn’t even lift her head.
Seeing this twisted something inside Himekoji. He couldn’t stand it. He strode forward and grabbed Nanami’s hand.
“Aoyama, let’s go home.”
The girl had been venting her fury, fiercely shouting at Nanami, spewing her anger. She hadn’t expected to be interrupted. Now, she glared sideways at Himekoji, clearly displeased.
Meanwhile, hearing Himekoji’s voice, Nanami flinched, her head dipping even lower.
Of all people… she least wanted Himekoji to see her humiliated like this…
“What’s this? Are you Nanami’s boyfriend?”
“I’m just here to pick up Aoyama. I’m not her boyfriend.”
“Hah,” the arrogant girl sneered, shifting her mockery back to Nanami. “Too poor to pay tuition on time, yet someone comes to fetch you? Aren’t you fancy?”
“Excuse us, but we’re leaving,” Himekoji said, fighting to keep his anger in check. “If you have more to say, could it be next time? Aoyama isn’t feeling well today.”
Looking at the situation, he could already guess the result of the showcase.
Nanami had likely failed…
So, right now, when Nanami was at her lowest, her most upset, her weakest… this girl kept jabbering without a shred of awareness? Wasn’t she done?
No, maybe it wasn’t a lack of awareness. Maybe she wanted to rub salt in Nanami’s wound.
Himekoji really wanted to teach her a lesson.
But he thought: he could walk away scot-free after giving her what for, but Nanami would still have to train alongside her. Things might get much worse for Nanami afterwards. So, he held back.
Getting angry here, acting out now… it would only satisfy him. Nanami would bear the consequences.
“Next time? Some things don’t get a next time, do they?”
“I’m sorry… I truly am sorry, Momoko. It was my fault this time… can’t we just let it go…?”
Nanami was apologizing. Apologizing when she shouldn’t have to.
Himekoji didn’t even notice his own fist clenching tightly.
“What? It is Nanami’s fault! Why should we just ‘let it go’? Do you think saying sorry fixes it?” The girl, Momoko, shook her high ponytail, glaring at Nanami stubbornly, showing no sign of stopping.
“That’s enough!”
Himekoji finally snapped.
He was a pervert. He could calmly endure insults, scolding, and slander directed at himself without changing his expression. But he couldn’t endure this: Nanami, who was blameless, being forced to bow her head and apologize over and over right in front of him.
“Enough? It’s nowhere near enough! I’ve had enough of Nanami! Always has been! Poor as a church mouse, yet putting on this act of working so hard! I hear she’s always doing part-time jobs outside. Oh, you said you’re not her boyfriend? Then that must mean…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Himekoji clamped his hand over her hateful mouth and slammed her against the wall.
Himekoji rarely got angry. As a pervert, he knew well the danger of losing control.
But right now, he didn’t want to understand. He just wanted to get angry for Nanami.
Like a normal, ordinary boy… letting hot blood rush to his head over a girl he cared about. What was the point in holding back?
“Himekoji! No, don’t! Let go! It really was my fault this time! It’s not Momoko! My awful performance nearly cost Momoko her place! My fault! My fault! I’m sorry, Momoko… Himekoji, I’m sorry, security’s coming! Please let go, let’s go home… It’s my fault, sorry, truly just my fault…”
Nanami apologized. Kept apologizing. Again and again.
Her tears fell drop by drop, landing on the back of Himekoji’s hand.
Momoko, pinned roughly against the wall by Himekoji, heard the apologies and shot them a triumphant look. It clearly said —
“Hear that? It’s all Nanami’s fault! I’m right!”
She saw the uncle who was her manager running towards them with security guards. She looked at the two in front of her with utter contempt.
If this idiot didn’t let go soon, security would sort him out!
She was arrogant. But no one thought her arrogance was misplaced.
Because, of all trainees in this cohort, she had the most talent, the most skill, the brightest future. She already had a manager even before her debut. Nanami, who had nothing but hard work, couldn’t compare at all.
“Himekoji! Let go! I messed up first! It’s on me! You shouldn’t do this for someone like…”
Seeing guards only steps away, Nanami pleaded even more desperately.
“Nanami’s wrong? Nanami’s fault? Putting aside the fact that that isn’t true for a moment… just say it was…”
Himekoji’s voice suddenly rose, sharp with fury —
“What do I care who’s right or wrong?! I only care about Nanami!”
Even if Nanami was wrong, he’d stand by her without hesitation!
He didn’t care about being right.
As a pervert, Himekoji had never been friends with “right”.
He didn’t care about right or wrong.
He cared about Nanami.