Haruma-4

Those were some horribly blunt words from the normally oh-so-polite Chigusa. I could even sense that she was livid, which left me mystified.

Being sc.u.m is a matter of pride. There was a part of me that couldn’t accept that anyone would call me sc.u.m in the first place.

It’s good to call a part of yourself kuzu, the word for sc.u.m. In fact, I’m pretty d.a.m.n cool for being able to acknowledge my ownkuzu side. The Kuzu Ryu Sen is a pretty cool kind of kuzu, and then there’s the romantic kind of kuzu like Hoshikuzu Loneliness (1).

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

I didn’t get how she scratched Kuriu-sensei off her list of suspects, nor how she stubbornly treated Suzaku Reiji as the culprit, nor all that business with the loan shark which I could not even begin to fathom, nor her insistence on treating others like p.a.w.ns, nor her words and actions that defied common sense. There was nothing I understood about Chigusa Yuu the person, not a single thing.

What I did understand was what I could see on the surface: her good looks. That was all.

Chigusa seemed startled by my words. She blinked a couple of times, and then her shoulders slumped. “You still don’t understand after all I said to you? I see how it is.” She sighed with disgust. “In other words, you want me to define sc.u.m for you? Would you like me to provide proof that you are sc.u.m, Haruma-san?”

Chigusa’s tone was venomous, quivering with more emotion than usual.

“Hm? Hmm, well if that’s what you wanna do, be my guest.”

This sort of p.r.i.c.kly atmosphere came up with Amane-chan from time to time. On those occasions, I would try listening to her for the bare minimum of time necessary and make sympathetic noises. There was honestly no real need for me to understand what was going on. All I had to do was pretend I was listening. I mean, there’s no way of seeing into another person’s heart. When people keep their emotions close to their chests, a bit of leeway with the truth goes a long way. There’s another way of looking at it too. ‘A bit’ also means something small, which definitely applies to Chigusa’s chest!

As all of this was going through my head, Chigusa coughed as if to say ahem. “For instance, you don’t have a single friend whom you confide with.”

“Mhmm.”

“You’re always secretly looking down on everything in the world!”

“Totally.”

“You never understand the other person’s point of view. You only see things your way!”

“That sucks, huh?”

“When you’re giving an answer, you only say what you want to say. It’s such flawed communication!”

Chigusa went on and on with the definition of sc.u.m. It was like something from a light novel. If so, then her last response would end up being something like, “Whoever thinks you’re sc.u.m is sc.u.m,” and she’d have no choice but to calm down at that conclusion.

At length, my vocabulary of generic phrases to appease whining girls eventually ran dry, which was around the same time Chigusa ran out of fuel on her end, it seemed. She was panting ever so slightly.

“Why won’t you understand?! Sensei’s sincerity clearly has nothing in common with the loan shark’s image as a human waste disposal unit. If you cannot understand that, Haruma-san, then you are a psychopath! What else can you call someone like that but sc.u.m?!”

“Indeed, quite. It’s just as you say,” I uttered feebly, without any heart.

Eheheheh. I feigned an easy-going smile. All this sc.u.m talk was wearing me out. As a matter of fact, I don’t have a very thick skin, being sc.u.m and all. Even so, I tried my best to weather the storm as much as physically possible. Forcing a smile was causing my cheek muscles to ache.

My patience must have paid off, because I could see Chigusa calming down now that she had finished saying what she had wanted to say. She let out a small, quiet sigh and then smiled in my direction.

“It seems like you finally understand now, Haruma-san. I look forward to building a satisfactory partnership with you in future. The good thing about sc.u.m is that there is very little harm done when they are expended, so you are valuable to me, Haruma-san. Indeed,” she said as she clamped her hand on my shoulder. Her smile held a note of achievement and satisfaction.

—which meant that, if I was ever going to say it, now was the time.

“You’re the sc.u.m here.”

Thwack. Harshly yet firmly, I shook off the hand that touched me. Even then, my stiff features remained locked in an unflinching smile.

Get with the f.u.c.king program, you psycho loan shark b.i.t.c.h.

The fine balance between my patience and Chigusa’s satisfaction was broken. With a no holds barred insurance run scored off the walk-off home run, the game was decided.

“…”

Her mouth agape, Chigusa looked at my face and then at her hand, slowly and deliberately.

Good. Nothing I could say would get through her thick skull anyway. There was no point railing at someone who refused to engage in dialogue, just as there was no point pointing out their errors or giving them advice. Giving someone a piece of your mind isn’t mere b.i.t.c.hing; it’s. .h.i.tting them where it hurts. It’s more effective that way.

Gaining someone’s trust and then tearing it down is the true face of the sc.u.m of this earth. It’s what they live for.

I’ll give you a front row seat, Chigusa. This is what it means to be sc.u.m.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

(1) The Kuzu Ryu Sen is a sword move from Rurouni Kenshin, while Hoshikuzu Loneliness (trans. ‘Stardust loneliness’) is a line from the Touch OP.