Chapter 2: Ever-changing Daily Lives
Episode 40: Strategy Meeting
*Shiori POV*
I failed!
It’s five against one! I even gave him a weapon! I used Christina!
He screwed us all over.
I asked Sawai to strip Christina and use the video as a shield to keep her from talking.
I thought it would work, no matter how much I wanted it to.
Don’t tell me I’ve been exposed…?
No, even if it was, it wouldn’t affect me.
I was going to help Sasaki and the others, you know?
But those guys were pathetic themselves, so it can’t be helped.
It’s an important time from now on. I have to move a little more carefully. (T/N: Stop it, get some help)
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
It was Saturday, five days later.
I mercilessly slammed the voice recorder into the teacher, and the six of us were suspended from school and placed under protective supervision.
To put it another way, it was almost entirely handled by the school.
There were more than two reasons why the teachers did not make a big deal out of it.
The first was that the victim was almost completely undamaged. If I or Cheena had been irreparably damaged, they would have been expelled and sent to an institution.
The other reason was to hide the fact that I had overdone it.
I heard that the line for over-defense is quite strict if you are learning martial arts.
If the six of them were expelled or sent to an institution, I would have had to mention the problem of my overdoing it, and at worst I might have been suspended.
I heard that Tachibana-sensei made a lot of effort in that area. Thank you very much.
And although I’m not sure, I can think of a few more things.
Well, let’s talk about that in the next story:… What’s the next story?
Incidentally, I did not submit the recording Soji took. This might have aroused some suspicion with Shiori if I had taken it out, and that’s not what I want.
I can’t let Shiori find out about this trump card now.
And now I’m at Soji’s house with Cheena.
Soji doesn’t live alone, but today it seems like there’s no one but him.
As soon as Akimoto arrives, we’ll have an important meeting.
Until then, the three of us passed the time by playing video games in Soji’s room.
“Hey Iori, don’t throw the bananas on the street. Don’t waste food.”
“That’s what the game is about! You’re the one throwing turtle shells! You’ll get the animal rights group mad!”
“Yori! I’m on the way!”
“Cheena is good (at this game)?”
We’re having fun playing a racing game.
By the way, I’m not very good at games, so I’m basically beaten to a pulp.
Or maybe they’re just too good.
As we were spending our time like this, the door of the room opened with a bang.
It seemed that Akimoto had arrived. Her usual cheerful face peeked out from the door.
She came in without permission?
“Yahoo Soji-kun, I’ve brought this here.”
“Oh, Akimoto, my bad.”
You casually call him by his name?!
Entering his house without permission + calling him by his name – I’m sure this is how these guys get along!
I think there was another person like that.… or it’s just my imagination. (T/N: It’s Cheena, Cheena xD)
“Yahoo Iori and Cheena-chan!”
“You guys look happy.”
Then, following Akimoto, Miyamoto and Hosoi came in.
Hmm? I thought Akimoto was the only one who invited them, I didn’t hear that you two were coming…
『I asked Yuki to invite them.』
As I was wondering, Cheena answered me.
『Why did you do that?』
『They’re both friends of Yori’s, I should know that.』
Friends… right, friends. Yes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tell them.
“Well, have a seat, everyone.”
“I’ll go make some tea.”
Soji prepared a cushion while Akimoto went to prepare tea.
This is…
Well, okay.
After a little chatting around the table, the six of us finally got down to business.
With everyone’s attention focused on me, I quietly opened my mouth.
“This is totally my family’s problem… It’s just my personal feelings to get revenge on Shiori and my mother.”
Everyone is listening to me very seriously.
“But I want to tell you something, because you’re my… friends. And after listening to me, if you… would like to help me, I would be very grateful and happy.”
Then I look around at everyone but Soji.
The air was tense, and I made a declaration.
“I’m going to lose custody of my mother.”
Akimoto and Cheena looked surprised when they heard this.
Miyamoto and Hosoi had question marks on their faces.
Soji didn’t know.
“Does losing custody mean cutting off the parent-child relationship?”
The first to open her mouth was Miyamoto, who struggled to stretch her obviously low seated height and tilted her head.
“It doesn’t legally sever the parent-child relationship, but it’s something like that.”
“But isn’t that a form of revenge against Shiori?”
“No, not really.”
I continued to explain to Miyamoto, who was asking me about it with her mouth full.
“Custody is not something that happens to each child. It’s something that happens to each parent. So if you lose custody of me, you lose custody of Shiori at the same time. If that happens, you won’t be able to live with her, and she’ll have a replacement guardian. Almost everything a parent can do for a child is lost.”
“In other words,” I continued, “in a sense, Shiori and my mother will no longer be mother and daughter.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Oh, my contacts fell off,” Miyamo-san said.
She left the room with a satisfied look on her face.
Where is she going?
I waited for Miyamoto, who had put her contacts back on, to come back and we resumed our conversation.
“But, is it really that easy to lose custody?”
“It’s not that easy, especially when only one of the twins is suing the parent, that’s the rarest of cases.”
Hosoi’s question is reasonable, so I’ll answer it a little more carefully here.
“There are no clear borders, and the conditions for loss of parental rights are vague. And since this is not a case that will be handled in court, the details of past cases will not be made public. So we want to be as thorough as possible.”
“So you want us to help you?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded to Akimoto, who was surprisingly quick-witted.
“At the forest school the other day, I was able to confirm that Shiori was aware of what my mother had done to me. I’ve collected some records of my mother’s abuse while I was at home. In order to prove that probability, I want you all to collect the true rags of what Shiori had leaked about me.”
(T/N: ‘Rag’ is a slang term when you criticized/scold someone to an extent. In easy words, it’s like making a newly bought shirt a completely ugly ‘ragged’ clothing. I hope that helps.)
After I had said this much, I looked everyone in the eye except Soji and asked him.
“Please, I need your help.”
My heart was racing. I had never talked about this with my friends before.
I wondered how everyone would respond to my completely selfish request.
As I waited nervously, Cheena opened her mouth first.
『I’m already involved, so why bother? If you want, I’m a victim, too. I won’t be left out.』
『Well, thanks for that… Cheena.』(E/N: the h***s with this, did the translator just make the iori x Cheena conversations look so special?)
I was expecting Cheena to say that, but to be honest, I was relieved.
I looked into Cheena’s eyes and nodded quietly.
“I’ll cooperate with you. I want to prove that Iori-kun is right.”
The one who called me Iori-kun without hesitation was Akimoto. Stop, it stings the heart of someone like me who is naïve.
“I’ll do it too, if that’s what you mean. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”
This is Hosoi. He said he’d help me too. Thank goodness.
“I’m…”
“You can’t refuse.”
Soji, who was already a part of this, is forced to participate. A lot of things were going to fall apart without you in the first place.
And finally, there’s Miyamoto. As everyone’s gaze gathered, she began to speak slowly.
“I…”
Miyamoto is nervous.
Her face became strangely red, as she squeezed her hands on the table.
Then, she opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“I’ll help you, too! Because I like you, Iori!”
「「「「「Eh?」」」」」
Ehhhh?
This is… what is this?
“A… Akari?
I’m not sure why Cheena’s face turned pale as she asked. What’s with her scary aura?
By the way, Akesato Akari was Miyamoto’s name but that’s not what’s important now!
“I’m not saying that I want to go out with Iorin or anything! It’s just the… normal like! You know! I’m sure he already has the best partner!”
Miyamoto waved her hands in panic.
So that’s what this is about, huh? I was so surprised. I mean, who is my partner?
That’s right, it’s not like Miyamoto loves me or anything.
I calmed my rapidly rising heart and drank a cup of barley tea to calm myself down.
Miyamoto, on the other hand, looked awkwardly at Cheena with a bright red face. She must have been very upset that she had caused a misunderstanding.
Cheena also looked relieved. Yes, yes, I’m glad. I’m glad that the misunderstanding has been cleared up.
Anyway, this is a big step forward, since everyone is willing to help.
“Thank you, everyone. Thank you all, and I look forward to working with you.”
Chapter 2: Ever-changing Daily Lives
Episode 40: Strategy Meeting
*Shiori POV*
I failed!
It’s five against one! I even gave him a weapon! I used Christina!
He screwed us all over.
I asked Sawai to strip Christina and use the video as a shield to keep her from talking.
I thought it would work, no matter how much I wanted it to.
Don’t tell me I’ve been exposed…?
No, even if it was, it wouldn’t affect me.
I was going to help Sasaki and the others, you know?
But those guys were pathetic themselves, so it can’t be helped.
It’s an important time from now on. I have to move a little more carefully. (T/N: Stop it, get some help)
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
It was Saturday, five days later.
I mercilessly slammed the voice recorder into the teacher, and the six of us were suspended from school and placed under protective supervision.
To put it another way, it was almost entirely handled by the school.
There were more than two reasons why the teachers did not make a big deal out of it.
The first was that the victim was almost completely undamaged. If I or Cheena had been irreparably damaged, they would have been expelled and sent to an institution.
The other reason was to hide the fact that I had overdone it.
I heard that the line for over-defense is quite strict if you are learning martial arts.
If the six of them were expelled or sent to an institution, I would have had to mention the problem of my overdoing it, and at worst I might have been suspended.
I heard that Tachibana-sensei made a lot of effort in that area. Thank you very much.
And although I’m not sure, I can think of a few more things.
Well, let’s talk about that in the next story:… What’s the next story?
Incidentally, I did not submit the recording Soji took. This might have aroused some suspicion with Shiori if I had taken it out, and that’s not what I want.
I can’t let Shiori find out about this trump card now.
And now I’m at Soji’s house with Cheena.
Soji doesn’t live alone, but today it seems like there’s no one but him.
As soon as Akimoto arrives, we’ll have an important meeting.
Until then, the three of us passed the time by playing video games in Soji’s room.
“Hey Iori, don’t throw the bananas on the street. Don’t waste food.”
“That’s what the game is about! You’re the one throwing turtle shells! You’ll get the animal rights group mad!”
“Yori! I’m on the way!”
“Cheena is good (at this game)?”
We’re having fun playing a racing game.
By the way, I’m not very good at games, so I’m basically beaten to a pulp.
Or maybe they’re just too good.
As we were spending our time like this, the door of the room opened with a bang.
It seemed that Akimoto had arrived. Her usual cheerful face peeked out from the door.
She came in without permission?
“Yahoo Soji-kun, I’ve brought this here.”
“Oh, Akimoto, my bad.”
You casually call him by his name?!
Entering his house without permission + calling him by his name – I’m sure this is how these guys get along!
I think there was another person like that.… or it’s just my imagination. (T/N: It’s Cheena, Cheena xD)
“Yahoo Iori and Cheena-chan!”
“You guys look happy.”
Then, following Akimoto, Miyamoto and Hosoi came in.
Hmm? I thought Akimoto was the only one who invited them, I didn’t hear that you two were coming…
『I asked Yuki to invite them.』
As I was wondering, Cheena answered me.
『Why did you do that?』
『They’re both friends of Yori’s, I should know that.』
Friends… right, friends. Yes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tell them.
“Well, have a seat, everyone.”
“I’ll go make some tea.”
Soji prepared a cushion while Akimoto went to prepare tea.
This is…
Well, okay.
After a little chatting around the table, the six of us finally got down to business.
With everyone’s attention focused on me, I quietly opened my mouth.
“This is totally my family’s problem… It’s just my personal feelings to get revenge on Shiori and my mother.”
Everyone is listening to me very seriously.
“But I want to tell you something, because you’re my… friends. And after listening to me, if you… would like to help me, I would be very grateful and happy.”
Then I look around at everyone but Soji.
The air was tense, and I made a declaration.
“I’m going to lose custody of my mother.”
Akimoto and Cheena looked surprised when they heard this.
Miyamoto and Hosoi had question marks on their faces.
Soji didn’t know.
“Does losing custody mean cutting off the parent-child relationship?”
The first to open her mouth was Miyamoto, who struggled to stretch her obviously low seated height and tilted her head.
“It doesn’t legally sever the parent-child relationship, but it’s something like that.”
“But isn’t that a form of revenge against Shiori?”
“No, not really.”
I continued to explain to Miyamoto, who was asking me about it with her mouth full.
“Custody is not something that happens to each child. It’s something that happens to each parent. So if you lose custody of me, you lose custody of Shiori at the same time. If that happens, you won’t be able to live with her, and she’ll have a replacement guardian. Almost everything a parent can do for a child is lost.”
“In other words,” I continued, “in a sense, Shiori and my mother will no longer be mother and daughter.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Oh, my contacts fell off,” Miyamo-san said.
She left the room with a satisfied look on her face.
Where is she going?
I waited for Miyamoto, who had put her contacts back on, to come back and we resumed our conversation.
“But, is it really that easy to lose custody?”
“It’s not that easy, especially when only one of the twins is suing the parent, that’s the rarest of cases.”
Hosoi’s question is reasonable, so I’ll answer it a little more carefully here.
“There are no clear borders, and the conditions for loss of parental rights are vague. And since this is not a case that will be handled in court, the details of past cases will not be made public. So we want to be as thorough as possible.”
“So you want us to help you?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded to Akimoto, who was surprisingly quick-witted.
“At the forest school the other day, I was able to confirm that Shiori was aware of what my mother had done to me. I’ve collected some records of my mother’s abuse while I was at home. In order to prove that probability, I want you all to collect the true rags of what Shiori had leaked about me.”
(T/N: ‘Rag’ is a slang term when you criticized/scold someone to an extent. In easy words, it’s like making a newly bought shirt a completely ugly ‘ragged’ clothing. I hope that helps.)
After I had said this much, I looked everyone in the eye except Soji and asked him.
“Please, I need your help.”
My heart was racing. I had never talked about this with my friends before.
I wondered how everyone would respond to my completely selfish request.
As I waited nervously, Cheena opened her mouth first.
『I’m already involved, so why bother? If you want, I’m a victim, too. I won’t be left out.』
『Well, thanks for that… Cheena.』(E/N: the h***s with this, did the translator just make the iori x Cheena conversations look so special?)
I was expecting Cheena to say that, but to be honest, I was relieved.
I looked into Cheena’s eyes and nodded quietly.
“I’ll cooperate with you. I want to prove that Iori-kun is right.”
The one who called me Iori-kun without hesitation was Akimoto. Stop, it stings the heart of someone like me who is naïve.
“I’ll do it too, if that’s what you mean. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”
This is Hosoi. He said he’d help me too. Thank goodness.
“I’m…”
“You can’t refuse.”
Soji, who was already a part of this, is forced to participate. A lot of things were going to fall apart without you in the first place.
And finally, there’s Miyamoto. As everyone’s gaze gathered, she began to speak slowly.
“I…”
Miyamoto is nervous.
Her face became strangely red, as she squeezed her hands on the table.
Then, she opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“I’ll help you, too! Because I like you, Iori!”
「「「「「Eh?」」」」」
Ehhhh?
This is… what is this?
“A… Akari?
I’m not sure why Cheena’s face turned pale as she asked. What’s with her scary aura?
By the way, Akesato Akari was Miyamoto’s name but that’s not what’s important now!
“I’m not saying that I want to go out with Iorin or anything! It’s just the… normal like! You know! I’m sure he already has the best partner!”
Miyamoto waved her hands in panic.
So that’s what this is about, huh? I was so surprised. I mean, who is my partner?
That’s right, it’s not like Miyamoto loves me or anything.
I calmed my rapidly rising heart and drank a cup of barley tea to calm myself down.
Miyamoto, on the other hand, looked awkwardly at Cheena with a bright red face. She must have been very upset that she had caused a misunderstanding.
Cheena also looked relieved. Yes, yes, I’m glad. I’m glad that the misunderstanding has been cleared up.
Anyway, this is a big step forward, since everyone is willing to help.
“Thank you, everyone. Thank you all, and I look forward to working with you.”
