Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!

Chapter 2: Rainbow Maiden

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I underestimated how much time it would take to translate the chapter and how much time it would take to TLC… Future chapters will take 1-3 months.

A certain Magical Demon d.u.c.h.ess is going to appear in 2 chapters.

Chapter 2: Rainbow Maiden

Back then, I didn"t recognise who she was since the situation was so abrupt, but now I finally remember. I knew who the girl before my eyes, Prostrate-senpai, was.

Although I say I know her, it"s probably more accurate to say "I know of her", since it"s one-sided. She"s so famous that almost n.o.body in the school didn"t know who she was. There isn"t anybody who doesn"t know who she is - actually, it might be more accurate to say that there"s no one who wouldn"t turn their head in her presence.

Her full name is Amaniji Hideri.

An uppercla.s.sman who"s a year above us.

A distinct existence.

There"s a reason why Prostrate-senpai - I mean, Amaniji Hideri-senpai - is so famous.

Her nickname - the rainbow-haired maiden.

While her hairstyle visibly changes every day, that"s not the reason why she"s called the rainbow-haired maiden; it"s because her hair is literally dyed seven different colours.

However, even though there were seven basic colours, her hair wasn"t colour-coded like a rainbow. The tips of her bangs were pale yellow. Moving up the bangs, the pale yellow gradually shifted into a light orange, and then a soft red. In turn the soft red slowly turned into pink and violet. The long ends of her hair were beautiful shades of light blue and green.

As a result, it feels like her hair"s radiating a sense of prominence.

Her uniform was, of course, adorned with rainbow-coloured accessories. Wearing a rainbow slinky (the thing that you drop down stairs to play with) on her arm, I"m sure that anyone who saw her would think that she"s a gaudy person. In addition, her skirt, similar to Rikka"s, looked like it had been remodelled. The skirt, by the way, also looked gaudy. Seriously, the design and the colours were way too different.

Since her hair and uniform were so striking it"s hard to notice, but her face was also well-balanced. Her skin looked much lighter than it was because of her bright hair. Furthermore, her large eyes were oddly beautiful. Her glistening eyes seems to have the effect of drawing people"s attention in a way that"s different from how Rikka"s Devilish Truth Stare charms people.

It was the first time I"ve looked at her closely, but her face, in my opinion, is first-cla.s.s. On top of that, while she isn"t that tall, her chest was still large enough to arouse the l.u.s.t of a high school boy. In spite of her slim figure, her looks were still top-tier.

But due to her flashiness and prominence, no one talked to her - there seems to be no rumours about anyone who got charmed by her. I don"t know about the exact details though; this information is from my close friend, Isshiki Makoto.

While it"s a bit off-topic, there"s also a rumour that she never gets called on to answer questions in cla.s.s. Apparently, all she does in cla.s.s is stare at the teacher - she doesn"t even take any notes. Despite that, she still hasn"t been called upon to answer any questions.

Well, when it"s full of eccentric stories like that, it feels like the rumours have begun take a life of its own. There were even rumours (according to Isshiki) about her not being human. As a result, Amaniji-senpai became quite a celebrity within the school.

So why is such a famous person kneeling before me?

Naturally, I didn"t have a relationship with Amaniji-senpai. I only knew who she was thanks to the rumours and the information from Isshiki. I"m sure that Amaniji-senpai doesn"t even know my name.

Since that"s the case, she"s must be one of Rikka"s acquaintances…

I"m very sorry since you"re in the middle of kneeling, but I really need to talk to Rikka about this. Whispering, I asked:

"Hey, Rikka. She"s your acquaintance, right? Could you deal with her?"

"Eh…? But I don"t know who this person is…"

"You"re not acquainted!?"

You were having a proper conversation with her in public, so I a.s.sumed that you two were acquainted, but it looks like I was wrong.

Then again, the conservation did feel like it was dialogue from a play.

"…Then, why did you say, "did you come"?"

"The mood."

"The mood!?"

Weren"t you in high spirits, Rikka-san!

This morning was full of tension (I might have caused half of it), so I guess there probably was that kind of mood there. Regardless, it seems like Rikka"s changing. While it"s common for her to act like that in response to the mood, usually she wouldn"t be able to have a conversation like that with a stranger.

Of course, this change was good. But, if she"s not Rikka"s acquaintance, then the question of "what the heck does she want from us" remains. And, since it seemed like she"d continue to prostrate before me unless I did something, I gently called out to her.

"Umm, I"ll listen to what you have to say, so for the time being could you please stand normally for me."

"Oh. Well, fine. Looks like it can"t be helped… it"s hard to talk in while prostrating!"

Hopping up as she said that, she nimbly rose. However, she was completely indifferent to request; she stood in an eccentric way. Her left aim pointed to the sky, while her right arm pointed to the ground - to be honest, it looked like the Universal Demon Stance[1].

I couldn"t help but stare at it closely.

"…Err, did you understand my request at all!? Can you not stand normally!?"

"Nope, not at all. Even if you ask me, I can"t do it normally. Sorry."

"…"

Is that so…

Since I didn"t have any experience talking to someone in such a stance (but I find people like that unpleasant), I"m sure I had a puzzled look on my face. As she turned towards me, I got the feeling that Amaniji-senpai was about to burst into laughter looking at my face.

Just like the rumours said, it seems that she has a strange personality.

"I haven"t introduced myself, have I? I"m an uppercla.s.sman that"s a year level above you, Amaniji Hideri. I"m pleased to make your acquaintance. From now on, please treat me well!"

"Ha… I sort of already knew who you are, but… Uhh, I"m Togashi Yuuta, and I"ll be in your care too."

Since she gave me her self-introduction, it was only fair that I did the same.

After I introduced myself, Rikka -

"I"m Takanashi Rikka."

- responded normally.

Oh? It"s rare for Rikka to introduce herself normally. It might be since she"s talking to an uppercla.s.sman.

"But my true name is "Wielder of the strongest Devilish Truth Stare, Yuuta"s contracted jet black fallen angel - Takanashi Rikka". Pleased to meet you."

However, shortly afterwards, she added that part of her usual self-introduction as well, and then gave a brief bow.

d.a.m.n it, return to me the feeling that it was unusual!

"Okay, wielder of the strongest Devilish Truth Stare, Yuuta"s contracted jet black fallen angel - Takanashi Rikka-chan."

"You"re going to call her that every time!?"

That retort was mine. Still, it made me think. My plain full name is quite easy for people to get wrong.

"Hmm, I thought it would be alright since your full name"s super cool, but I"m sure it"s too normal to call you by your full name. Well… how about I abbreviate it to Devilish Truth Rikka-chan, or DevTru Rikka-chan?"

"…Guess it can"t be helped, but I don"t mind."

…It can"t be helped, huh. You don"t mind, huh.

Perhaps it"s a little cool through. Rikka looked really satisfied.

"Great! That"s decided then! Oh, about my nickname, feel free to call me Rainbow Hideri-san!"

"…Urk… disagreeable…"

"Eh, disagreeable…? Uh…? Ah, what about Arc-san…?"

"It"s pointlessly cool!?"

The retort came from me again.

Opps, it"s my usual habit again… I"m sorry for interrupting in the middle of the conversation. Hmm, looks like I can"t escape from the sad fate of the straight man.

"Heh heh, that"s right, that"s right. My name could be translated as Arc-en-Ciel Hideri. To not have seen a pattern as obvious as that until now, there must have been something wrong with my eyes! It"s a reliable nickname. Pleased to meet you, DevTru Rikka-chan!"

After saying that, Amaniji-senpai finally stood normally, and then bowed her head. Although her personality"s a bit strange, it seems like introductions are still done properly.

Well then, now that our self-introductions are more or less done, it"s time to talk about main subject.

"Um, Amaniji-senpai -"

"Hey-hey-hey-hey! Amaniji-senpai is not a normal person! Normal"s no good!"

Amaniji-senpai suddenly interrupted me. Only her last phrase, "normal"s no good", was said in a strong tone - at least, it felt like it was. Somehow, her facial expression was openly giving off a feeling of discouragement. However, since her facial expression had only changed slightly, the feeling of discouragement felt a bit of out of place.

Speaking about the mood, it seemed to resemble the mood that occurred a short while ago, where being "normal" wasn"t acceptable. But since I wasn"t able to change the mood, I went along with it.

"We-well, how about something like Hideri-senpai-san?"

"Hmm… you"re kind of normal. But since the name"s a bit unique, I"ll give you 40 points for it. It"s fine, but you should call me something that gives the impression of "the seven lights of the blazing sun"."

"While such a nickname suits you, please think about how I"d feel calling someone with a nickname like that…!"

"…Seven Twinkle Sun, how cool."

Rikka was so enamoured by the name to the extent that she forgot about Amaniji-senpai"s presence. For Amaniji-senpai to not notice the state she"s in, it looks like Rikka"s guard was still up.

"Do you not like it? Well, how about something like "Iapnes-ijinima"?"

"You respond to being called nonsense like that!?"

"Jeez. You"re pretty selfish. I got it, I got it. Since you"re normal, it"s fine if you call me Amaniji-senpai - it seems that you really are as normal as you appear."

"It"s changed!"

I"m being treated too crudely.

"Now, ordinary people don"t interest me at all. Hah, guess it can"t be helped. This uppercla.s.sman will make an exception and call you "Normal-chan". Oh, calling you "Normal-chan" for the first time feels somewhat special. What do you think, DevTru Rikka-chan?"

"…It"s acceptable."

"……"

Rikka"s choice of words felt a bit th.o.r.n.y…

Perhaps she"s having mixed feelings because of her position in this conversation. If that"s the case, I"m happy.

"I got permission from DevTru Rikka-chan as well! Then Normal-chan it is! Oh, as for my nickname, while it"s not my first preference, I"m fine with you addressing me as Amaniji-senpai."

And, in the end.

Our nicknames for each other was decided against my wishes by Amaniji-senpai, who was visibly displeased with being named that. Her facial expression seemed to say "it"s not a problem if you want to address me with a strange nickname".

Well then.

Let"s return to the main subject. If we don"t return to the main subject soon, the school"s opening ceremony will start before the conversation"s over.

"So, Amaniji-senpai. Are you now happy to talk about what you wanted from us?"

"Err, I"d like to just talk with DevTru Rikka-chan…"

Since it felt like she was pleading with me, I"ll let Amaniji-senpai meet her beloved Rikka.

…She was to my immediate left just moments ago, but after I took a step back, before I knew it Rikka was hidden right behind me again.

Hah. Looks like this conversation is going nowhere. Guess I"ll need to step in to facilitate the conversation.

"Hmm? Is DevTru Rikka-chan bashful?"

"…Something like that."

"Hmm, I guess I"ll also tell Normal-chan. In that case, let me go over today"s request once again. Normal-chan"s lover - that is, Takanashi Rikka-chan - please give her to me," said Amaniji-senpai for literally the third time - this time with a polite bow.

I couldn"t tell from just from her posture and her tone of voice, but it didn"t feel like a joke - it felt like a sincere, heartfelt desire. However, I couldn"t understand the true meaning of her words. I was completely ignorant as to what her request was.

"Uh… what exactly does that mean? If you don"t elaborate, I"m unable to comprehend the what your request is…"

"Eh? But it"s exactly like I said. I like her. Therefore, I want you to give her to me."

"What?"

"There"s no hidden meaning, but from your expression it seems that you"re rather confused. Shouldn"t this be pleasant? Hmm, but guess I am a bit abnormal."

"Pleasant!? Wait, but I didn"t want you to announce that you were abnormal!?

Ah, my retort gauge seems to be decreasing considerably…

Hmm, I wonder if I"ve ever retorted as much to a stranger as I have today… no, I don"t think I have. I"m confident that my weariness is showing on my face.

"No way - you really are normal, aren"t you? Normally isn"t it better to be abnormal? I mean, I like girls, so it"s a bit different, but isn"t everything I said just now true -"

"It"s true…!?" is what I thought, but since my retort gauge was too low I couldn"t vocalise my thoughts. My retort gauge"s still recharging.

"- and so, I"ve come to ask of you: just a little while, could you please lend me DevTru Rikka-chan"s abilities?"

"For a little while? Abilities?"

I tilted my head. Sigh. What her intentions were became even more confusing. Since she asked me to give her Rikka, I thought it might have been a declaration of war for Rikka"s heart, but it seems like that"s not the case.

"…Phrasing it like that, what exactly is it that you want Rikka to do?", I asked frankly.

After I asked that, Amaniji-senpai stared at me motionlessly. After she carefully stared at me for around five seconds, she closed her eyes and vigorously nodded. Her exaggerated movements gave away that she was regretful about it from the bottom of her heart.

"Yeah, about that. I actually wanted to talk to DevTru Rikka-chan about this a lot earlier, but DevTru Rikka-chan"s ability was too high for me to approach her."

"Err… what does that mean?"

"To tell you the truth, during the summer holidays I"ve tried to approach her several times about my request, but every time I got close to her she would say stuff to herself like "Mm… someone from the Organisation!?", causing me to hide myself."

"Ah…"

I can definitely see that happening. That"s just like Rikka.

"Even if I ambushed her, it was no good. I also didn"t know where she lived, so I couldn"t contact her directly either… I mean, it was sort of like playing detective, so it was still pretty fun! Today, however, DevTru Rikka-chan seemed kind of careless. Heh heh, maybe it"s because you"re with your boyfriend?", Amaniji-senpai answered with a smile.

I see, what she said makes a lot of sense. If I remember correctly, Rikka"s perception was so sharp that it did seem like a sixth sense. I personally call it "Rikka Sense"[2].

Oh. But I guess Rikka would say that it"s one of the Devilish Truth Stare"s abilities.

As a result of her sharp perception, she may have sensed some danger (Amaniji-senpai did give off a dangerous aura), so Rikka may have been trying to avoid Amaniji-senpai.

Still, I don"t know why Amaniji-senpai wants to meet up with Rikka.

"I now understand why you"ve come here to meet up with Rikka, but what exactly is it that you wanted her do for you?"

"I was wondering if you would let her become my bride? Hm?"

"…No way."

My disgust was probably showing in my eyes as I replied. Meanwhile, you could see Amaniji-senpai bursting into laugher. Incidentally, Rikka, who was behind me, whispered "absolutely no way". It was super-cute.

"Like I said, Normal-chan really is too normal. I mean, you were so normal that I couldn"t help but laugh!"

"No, anyone who suddenly hears stuff like that would have reacted in the same way!"

"If that"s what Normal-chan"s thinks, does that mean you"re the straight man among your friends?" Even if it"s normal to be the straight man, isn"t it pointless?"

"Uggh…!"

No way, I"m out of retorts! That damaged me quite a bit…!

"Oh my. Saying strange things seems to wear down on my opponent health, meaning that he"s unable to speak normally for a long time. You should practice giving retorts more."

"You should seriously be relieved that I seem unwell!"

Looks like my retort gauge has been recovering. Although it was an ordinary retort, at least the retorts are coming!

But, ha… what happened just then makes me worry. Nevertheless, I can"t get disheartened. If I can"t end this conversation soon, the opening ceremony will start.

"…So, what exactly is your request?"

Due to our previous back and forth, I let out a small sigh when I asked her again. Upon hearing my question, Amaniji-senpai"s happy expression tightened into a serious face. It seems this time she"ll actually tell us what she really wanted.

"Well, what I said previously was the truth, but there"s a slight detail I didn"t tell you. I"m part of the "Eccentric Drama Club", and there"s a cultural festival soon, right?"

"Uhh, it"s in a week, right?"

"Yeah, and to tell you the truth, we don"t have enough actors. And so, I was eying DevTru Rikka-chan to join us. I was hoping that she could lend us her power."

As Amaniji-senpai finally told us about her request, she let out a short but deep sigh.

I now finally understand what Amaniji-senpai"s request was.

The cultural festival.

Right, the cultural festival"s happening soon. Today"s the beginning of the second semester, so there"s only a week until the cultural festival. Well, to be precise, including today there"s only nine days left.

As a result of our cla.s.s poll, it was decided that our cla.s.s was doing a dance for the cultural festival. As a matter of fact, I even went to school during the summer holidays to rehea.r.s.e for it. While it mainly centred around the Cla.s.s King Nibutani Shinka and the dance club, all the girls in our cla.s.s were taking part in the dance.

By the way, all the boys were part of the stage crew and were in charge of stuff like lighting, props and setting the stage. However, this arrangement was what all the boys wanted and carried all of our pa.s.sionate hopes.

After all, we only want to see cute girls dance!

Naturally, we were still diligently rehearsing for the cultural festival.

Still, I"ve never heard of the "Eccentric Drama Club" before. Well, that might be due to the fact that I"m not very interested in joining any clubs.

Even so, I was still confused as to why their club activities - which, I"m sorry to say, is still a mystery to me - would require Rikka. I wonder if it"s because Amaniji-senpai thought that Rikka had the talent to be an eccentric actress.

"Um, so why Rikka?"

"Hm? Oh, there were various reasons, but I guess it boils down to the fact that I was personally interested in her!", Amaniji-senpai replied with a grin, sticking her chest out with pride.

Seeing that, I couldn"t help but groan in my heart. After all, I had a reason to groan, right? Yeah, I definitely had reasons to groan. Amaniji-senpai"s appearance (including her uniform) belonged to a cla.s.s of its own, and you could say the same about her personality as well.

Even so, these reasons weren"t so important that it would cause me to groan.

While I was anguishing over this problem in my head, it seemed like Amaniji-senpai was continuing with her point.

"Furthermore, DevTru Rikka-chan"s golden eye is soooo attractive. It was love at first sight! The instant I saw it, I wanted to marry her! And, she also looks extremely lovely wearing an eyepatch! There"s also a role that"s perfect for her. And that"s why I want to performance a play together with her."

"…"

I"m certain of it now. Definitely, this girl definitely has a fetish for mismatched eye colours…!

But Rikka"s mismatched eyes are due to colour contacts.

I"m at a loss as to how to break the truth to her.

Well, it doesn"t seem like it"s going to be a huge issue, so let"s just ignore it and ask about the other problem.

"But, isn"t it the cultural festival in a week? Why would you only ask for help now? Although, even if you did ask for help earlier, I guess it"d still be quite tough…"

"Hmm… I am asking for a lot. Yeah, guess it"s a natural question to have."

Upon saying that, Amaniji-senpai frowned for the first time. And then, with a gloomy tone, she continued:

"I didn"t want to tell you this since I didn"t want any pity, but… ha, looks like I don"t have a choice. To tell you the truth - including me, our club only has two members. …and, umm, since we didn"t get any new members this year, I was thinking about disbanding the club after this year"s cultural festival."

Amaniji-senpai chose her words carefully as she slowly continued.

"To conclude - although I decided to stick with the club until the very end, the number of members was still a problem… I believe that was just before summer vacation began. Then I discovered Takanashi Rikka-chan. I was running out of time, and I had to ask you about it, but… "

"… I see," I gently acknowledged.

That story certainly was a bit depressing.

"Since it"s going to be our last play, I was willing to do anything to make it happen - that"s why I asked you abruptly like that without caring for appearances. I"m really sorry about that. So, DevTru Rikka-chan, how about it?"

"…?"

When I turned towards Rikka, I saw that she was looking up at me with watery eyes, unsure of how she should respond.

I mean, it"s not like I didn"t understand that feeling.

"…Well, Rikka"s busy with various stuff like our cla.s.s performance…what else can I say…"

When there"s a long period of silence, it seems that Rikka finds it painful to talk, so for a short while I"ll talk on her behalf. I mean, it"s true that Rikka was in fact busy with the dance.

"Yeah, that"s true. I"m well aware that if my request was impossible then I"d have to give up on it. Since it can"t be helped… yeah, I"ll figure something out in the time I have left."

"Um…"

Rikka opened her mouth.

"What if Yuuta took part…"

"MEEE!?", I yelled in falsetto in response to the sudden mysterious proposal.

That came out of nowhere! Even though I was the facilitator, in the context of this conversation I should have been an outsider!

"Ah, ack. No no Rikka. Amaniji-senpai is asking for your help, not mine…"

"Yeah… that"s right. I only need DevTru Rikka-chan"s help…Normal-chan"s normality… it"s a bit…"

Amaniji-senpai also let out her dissatisfaction with the idea.

While I was briefly happy about being called normal, as expected being called normal in a derogatory manner diminished that feeling. I mean, anyone would be unhappy being called normal in such a manner.

Oh, but since I"m just an ordinary person, I guess it was inevitable that I was called that…

As if to encourage me to lament in such sorrows, a gentle tone rang. The gentle tone, Chime-san - it was so cruel, as it signalled the start of the opening ceremony.

"Oh, it"s that time already? Please excuse me! The opening ceremony, it"s starting! Well then, see ya"

"Hu…huh?"

And, as we looked on blankly, Amaniji-senpai turned around and left. However, she didn"t head towards the entrance of the gymnasium - she went in the opposite direction.

Where"s she going? Maybe she"s skipping the opening ceremony… She did say that she detested being "normal", so maybe that"s why she"s reluctant to go to the opening ceremony.

That sort of thinking - but since I sort of get it, I"m not going to comment about it.

"Phew."

When Amaniji-senpai left, for some reason Rikka let out a sigh of relief. It was Rikka"s first time meeting her, so I guess she must have been nervous.

"Hm? What"s wrong? Were you nervous?"

"Yuuta, didn"t you notice?"

"Notice?"

"Arc-san… she was an terrifying person. Her aura was overwhelming. … I"m not sure if I can beat her."

…Seriously? It was overwhelming to the extent that it made Rikka, who boasts herself to be the strongest, say those words?

Well, to be fair it certainly did feel like she had a strange aura.

"But it"s fine. Since my Devilish Truth Stare is still developing, I still have a slight edge. I definitely won"t lose."

"…You truly are the strongest."

"Naturally. Its golden shine won"t lose to the colours of the rainbow."

The colours of the rainbow, huh.

Amaniji-senpai - a distinct existence. Prominence personified. While I have no idea about who it was that came up with these descriptions, they truly did hit the bull"s-eye. Just like Rikka said, she really did feel like a terrifying person.

Her terrifyingness - its more than just her abnormality.

"By the way, Yuuta, what are we going to do about opening ceremony? I think it"s already begin."

"Ah…"

d.a.m.n it, I completely forgot about that.

Even if we went now, we"d still be late. However, if we didn"t go, it"d seem like the two of us were playing truant, so the two of us had no choice but to go and be prepared to get scolded…

However.

I still couldn"t think of an excuse as to why we were late, and even contemplated about skipping the opening ceremony - while I was anguishing over my indecisiveness, Rikka tapped me on my shoulder.

Her smiling face was the very image of overflowing self-confidence.

"The Devilish Truth Stare has the ability to rewind time, so we"re fine!"

[1] A stance by Vearn, the main villain from "Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai".

[2] Pun the reading of sixth sense (第六感). Here, sixth sense, which is read as dairokykan (だいろくかん) is read here by Yuuta as dairikkan (だいりっかん), making it a pun on Rikka"s name (六花) since 六 can be read as both roku and ri.

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