NTR Kousuke

Chapter 160

Chapter 160: The Letter's Warning

"...So... what did you want to talk about...?"

Airi-senpai steals glances at me, looking up shyly.

She's so cute. She's so cute it actually gives me chills...!

Airi-senpai's eyes are sparkling and moist, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment as she toys with her hair by her ear with her right hand.

...This isn't good, the longer this drags on, the worse it'll be for me.

I need to explain quickly! Like, "I got a letter like this! If anything happens to you, Airi-senpai, please be careful!"

Just as I'm about to speak—no, Airi-senpai beats me to it!

"...Me too, you know? I have my university entrance exams this year... and, well, can we keep this a secret from everyone? ...Um... yeah. Uh, you know?"

Nope, I have no idea what she means.

Senpai is muttering to herself, blushing and squirming—she's super cute, but...

Um, if you mess with your hair too much, it'll turn into ringlets, you know?

The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I hold back—what should I do?

Pretend I don't know.

More importantly! The letter!

→Tell her honestly.

...Airi-senpai has always helped me, and I really respect her.

She's someone important to me. So I'll just apologize for being blunt.

"...I mean, I'm the older one, right? ...Are you really okay with that?"

Airi-senpai is still kind of out of it...

"...Senpai, I'm sorry. I think the way I said it made it sound like I was calling you out for some romantic comedy thing. Sorry. ...Could you take a look at this?"

Airi-senpai blushes even deeper,

"...A letter? You're telling me in a letter?!"

Saying that, she takes the letter, and after one second, she stares at me in shock.

"What is this?"

Reading the letter, Airi-senpai's mood drops, but even with those heavy, humid eyes, she's still cute.

"...It was in my shoe box on the day of the face-to-face event... I've been watching until today, but there's no one I suspect or anything strange... I was just worried something might happen to you, Airi-senpai, so I wanted you to see the letter yourself."

Once again, Airi-senpai looks down at the letter,

"Be careful with Tendou Airi."

That's all it says.

Airi-senpai, looking a bit dejected,

"I figured... Yeah, I knew it would end like this... but, you know? Just maybe? I couldn't give up on the possibility..."

With the vibe of a culprit in a suspense drama, Senpai gives me a glum look and says,

"So you thought something might happen to me? Kousuke-kun?"

I nod,

"...Yeah, I just didn't get the intention... It doesn't seem malicious, but... isn't it kind of like, 'Hey, look out for Airi-senpai'?"

"Yeah... The only thing this letter accomplishes is maybe making you worry about me, Kousuke-kun...? But it wasn't me! Really! Trust me!"

I reassure Airi-senpai, who's flapping her hands frantically—I get it.

But still, if something does happen, please be careful, Senpai. That's what I tell her.

"I usually get picked up and dropped off...? Yeah, I'll be careful."

Right, she gets picked up and dropped off every day at her house. I always see that cool older lady picking her up.

If anything, it would probably be at school, right? Like if Sahori-senpai shows up again?

...But if Sahori-senpai were going to send a letter, he'd just say it to her face.

Airi-senpai seemed a little shocked that the letter was about her, but now that she's calmed down, she's regained her composure.

"What the heck! If you were going to call me out for that, make it more serious! I thought something huge had happened!"

The way I said it? Yeah, I know I messed up.

I apologize.

"Geez! Kousuke-kun! That's exactly what I mean!"

She scolds me gently, but with a bit of bite.

She's getting a little too harsh, so

"...But if something happened to you, Airi-senpai, I'd be worried, you know? Maybe I didn't say it right, but I was just concerned about you."

When I say that, Airi-senpai blushes again,

"Kousuke-kun, are you used to hitting on girls or something? It doesn't work on me since I'm the older one, but that's what I mean! If you're worried, then keep an eye on me, okay?"

The beautiful older girl who was just a little pouty is now smiling and nodding happily, and before I know it, she's dragging me to the parking space in the school without giving me a choice, saying, "Wait with me until my ride comes!"

"Want me to take you to the terminal station?"

"...I'm going home with Tanaka-kun."

"I see. Well, see you tomorrow♪"

"...See you tomorrow."

I return the chauffeur's bow from the car with a nod, and the car quietly drives off.

I head toward the school gate, where I'm supposed to meet Tanaka-kun...!

Huh?! Tanaka-kun?! He's right behind me?

"...Youth... that's the light you saw...!"

"..."

Tanaka-kun looks me in the eyes and continues,

"The hope I saw..."

Tanaka-kun... how long have you been watching?

"Youth, that's the heart that connects us!"

Oh, I get it—that's from the incense commercial...!

Sho would've jumped in with a retort here.

"..."

When I stay silent,

"Kousuke-kun, if you didn't have a fear of girls, you'd be a total flirt. I was shocked—when I was behind you on the way to the back of the gymnasium, it was like a page out of a youth drama started all of a sudden!"

Like that would ever happen.

Anyway, I told Airi-senpai about the letter.

So what will the person who sent the letter do now?

From the way she reacted, I really don't think Airi-senpai was the one who sent it.

Thinking that, I felt a bit relieved.

Tanaka-kun said he'd stop by the restroom before heading home and left for a bit.

As I stand alone, gazing up at the evening sky,

Osada: "Saito-kun? Heading home now?"

"...Yeah, you too, Osada-san?"

Osada: "I'm waiting for Ryo."

"...So you're just showing off, huh."

"No, I'm not!"

She laughs softly with a gentle expression.

It's strange how this girl turns into such a cute girl whenever it comes to Ryo.

Still, her single-mindedness is really charming.

It's rare to see her alone, and after exchanging a few words, I spot Tanaka-kun coming back, so I say, "See you tomorrow," and leave the spot... when suddenly, someone calls out to me from behind.

She laughs a bit and says, "Guess that's payback for teasing me too much!" in a teasing tone,

"...The morning before last, when I got to school early, there was a girl putting something in Saito-kun's shoe box... Did you get confessed to or something?"

That was some unexpected info from Osada-san...!