Ao Haru Ride - [Chapter 08]

Translator - Bikkuri

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Futaba meets Yuuri the next morning, and Futaba says she's sorry she didn't reply to her text. She "fell asleep the minute she got home", so she didn't see it. Yuuri's relieved, since she was afraid she'd made her angry or that maybe Futaba liked Kou as well. (Predictably) Futaba goes all, NO WAY, and though she immediately regrets it, Yuuri looks so relieved that she can't take it back.

Futaba tries to convince herself that she only thought she liked Kou because he was a little nice to her, while he's usually so cold. There are lots of even nicer fish in the sea! (This is page 8, where she points at Kou all, THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOU.) Yuuri tells Kou good morning, which seems to be a big deal to her. Futaba tells her she's way obvious, and then thinks that Yuuri seems to sincerely like him, and that Yuuri in love is adorable. (I guess so. She reminds me of Ninako. BUT I STILL DON'T APPROVE SO LIKE SOMEONE ELSE GRR.)

They eat lunch with Murao, and Yuuri tells her the big news as well. This obvious friendship-to-be is nice. Yuuri asks Futaba what Kou was like in middle school, and Futaba starts listing all the things she used to like about him, and then goes on to say (just as Kou appears behind her) that he's TOTALLY different now, acting all cool and never exerting himself. Kou retaliates by head-locking her and suggesting he begin exerting himself right now. Haha.

Yuuri says it looks like they're having fun. Futaba says no way. It totally hurt. Not fun at all. Yeah. Keep saying that. We believe you.

Kou says that's why he would never do something like that to a GIRL. "Got that? Never to GIRL." And then he smirks. Ha. Kominato sees a chance to look like the better man in front of Murao, saying HE would absolutely never do such a mean thing, but Kou rains on his parade by bringing up the pr0n mags he brought to the camp, AHAHA. Kominato panics (loudly) about Kou saying that in front of MURAO, who cuts in to let him know she doesn't see it as any of her business. Kou is amused. Kominato starts yelling about how "I EVEN LET YOU LOOK AT THEM!" Hahaha.

After school, Futaba and Kou has to stay back to write a report about the camp, and Kou says he'll stay even when Futaba offers to do it alone. Kominato does a bit of wink wink, nudge nudge, saying he probably just want to spend some time alone with the female species. Kou wonders where the female is. Kou. You're silly.

Kominato pats Kou on the back, says, "Good luck then, grumpy pervert!" and Murao sort of laughs. Haha! Then everyone but Futaba and Kou leaves, and they kiss.

J/KAAAY, but really, they're the most intimate non-couple I've ever seen in a non-smut shoujo ever, seriously! Sorry, just a side note, pay me no attention. They don't kiss. I lied. Sorry. You did a double-take though, right. You totally did. I'm a bit over-excited. Sorry.

Kou suggests they hurry up and just do it "tekito", which is the word he always uses about himself and how he does things and how Futaba should do things to avoid all her worrying. Basically means to do it only adequately, "whatever works", "good enough". He really uses it A LOT.

Though Futaba agrees, she can't really focus (of course you can't). Her musings:

I'm... kind of nervous. Until yesterday, I never got nervous. I'm suddenly noticing things... how his handwriting is kind of pretty... how angular his hand is... his shoulders... glimpses of his eyes between the gaps in his fringe... one... by one... This is bad. Yuuri likes him...

Kou looks up, and snaps at her to start writing already. Tanaka-sensei comes strolling by, telling them to come by with the report once they finish. He glances back as he leaves, and comments that, "Kou isn't really all that grumpy, is he?"

Turns out Kominato stuck a note saying "GRUMPY<3" on his back earlier, haha. Kou leans over the desk so Futaba can take it off him, and she obsesses over how cute the nape of his neck is again. XD What sort of fetish is this.

Kou looks up a bit and tells her not to start sniffing him. OH GOD LOL. "You're always sniffing me. What's up with that?"
"What?! I'm not ALWAYS doing it!" (So... you admit you do it SOMETIMES?)

Kou starts listing the times she's committed the offence in question, like when he piggybacked her, and when she laid her face against the back of his head, and also that time when they played cops and robbers.

Futaba freaks out on the inside, thinking repeatedly, he knew, he knew, he knew. Kou changes the topic (that's nice of him), offering to write her part of the report for her. She's pretty flustered, so she lets him, and he comments that she'd probably be sitting until tomorrow if he hadn't been there. No, Kou. She wouldn't. You're distracting her.

Futaba worries about what she's going to do. Every time Kou makes her heart skip a beat, Yuuri's face appears in her mind. So when they're on their way to turn in the report, Futaba says she'll take care of it, so Kou can go home before her (last part is implied). She's afraid that if she spends any more time alone with him, there'll be no turning back anymore. She remembers how it felt holding Yuuri's hand during the camp, when they promised to look out for each other. How small and soft and warm it was.

So when she gets to the shoe lockers and see Kou waiting for her, she's not as happy as I am. Kou didn't really get the implied "please leave me alone now" of the earlier conversation, and says it would be kinda unnatural for him to go ahead when they're going the same way and all.

FUTABA PONDERS:

When you do things like this, I'll definitely fall in love. But then what about Yuuri? What are you supposed to do when you and your friend fall for the same person? If I'm going to feel this bad about it, I don't want to fall for Kou... But even so, I want to be in love with him...

They reach the train station, and Futaba has an idea. Just as Kou steps into the train, she says she forgot something, so she's not getting on. Kou grumbles, as Futaba thinks, "if he doesn't get off, I'll stop liking him. If he gets off, I'll keep liking him." She closes her eyes when the doors start closing, thinking desperately, "GET OFF!"

"So? Did you forget something at school? Let's go back, then."

AHHH SAKISAKA, MY HEART.
Er, so let me just do the rest in novel form since this is a book and all:

"Yoshioka?"
I'm a liar.
"Sorry, I didn't forget anything after all."
"What?! You haven't gone senile, have you?"
Pretending to worry about what to do next, when what I wanted was already obvious. I wished he'd get off. And I knew, since it's him, that he probably would. So there's my answer.
"Yoshioka? Are you feeling okay?"
I'm sorry, Yuuri. I'm also... in love with Kou.

END OF NOVEL VERSION.

Translator's Notes - Ah, this chapter! Was so full of that Strobe Edge feeling of awesome! I'm sorry, you agree that there's a lot of stuff in this chapter, right? Leaving something out felt sad, so I couldn't do it, you understand right?! XD It'll take you forever to read. I'm sorry. I'm a fangirl, what can I say.