Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]
Disclaimer: I don't own Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san or any of its characters...
Several days have passed, and Masachika Kuze didn't find himself getting anywhere near his goal to earn Alya's forgiveness.
Part of it was because of Alya herself. The girl seemed like she was dead-set on avoiding any kind of interaction with him, even when they're doing the same task together.
But like his sister, Masachika can be stubborn when he wants to, and he had no intention of giving up.
For now though, it's time for him to focus on his current task and be productive!
Today, he was walking with Taniyama and Miyamae through the forest in search of sticks, branches, and other things that they can use to start a fire or keep it alive.
Although they had an electric stove that didn't require any gasoline to be used, the group unanimously decided that they should limit their usage of electricity as much as possible.
It's why they've been cooking their meals over a campfire outside of the house for the past month and so far, they had no problems with that arrangement.
After reaching a new area located northeast of their lodge, the three got to work. The two girls collected sticks and other small pieces from trees off the ground, while Masachika worked on obtaining low-hanging branches from several trees.
"Why do you continue to tolerate Kujou-san's behavior, Kuze-san?" Taniyama asked out of nowhere.
Masachika wiped the sweat from his face as he set down the axe he was using to chop some large branches — a very useful tool that they found within the house's pantry after the typhoon — before turning towards her.
"Tolerating?"
"You know what I'm referring to, Kuze-san. It has been days since your episode with Kujou-san," she continued, dumping another batch of sticks into the large garbage bag that they brought with them.
"And your point is?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"I noticed that you have been trying to approach Kujou-san for the past few days. But every time you try to get close to her, she either glares at you or tells you to leave her alone."
"Is that supposed to mean anything?"
Sayaka pushed up her glasses coolly. "Kuze-san, I don't think Kujou-san has any intention of listening to you at all."
"Is that all?" he drawled, picking up the axe so he could get back to work.
"I am simply saying that you don't deserve to be berated and chastised by Kujou-san. She may be the leader of the student council, but it does not give her the power to look down on others for not sharing her point of view."
That made him turn around and face her again, this time with a frown on his features.
"Taniyama-san, allow me to stop you right there. She's not looking down on anyone. Alya is just having a hard time like the rest of us."
"And as I told Kujou-san, she is not the only one who feels the same way. Everyone else does, but the rest of us can put aside our personal feelings for the sake of our goal," she explained. "Do you think that it's easy to tell myself everyday that things will be fine, Kuze-san?"
"People cope with situations differently, Taniyama-san. You and Alya feel the same as everyone, but you're different in that you can hide your feelings a lot better. Seriously, I have never seen another expression on your face except for that serious look you have all the time. I actually thought for a while that you have no idea what it's like to smile."
Sayaka returned his frown with one of her own, and silence erupted between the two for a few moments… until a loud laugh cut through the tension like it was a knife.
"Bwahahahahaha! He got you right there, Sayacchi!" Nonoa laughed.
Sayaka simply sent her a look that showed she was already used to this kind of behavior from her childhood friend, before facing the young man again.
"Kuze-san, I would like to point out that that wasn't my concern. I was only curious as to why you are still defending Kujou-san's behavior until now."
"I told you, Alya is just overwhelmed by a lot of things."
"But for how long? How long will Kujou-san continue to act like this? And will you continue to defend her until then?"
Unable to come up with a plausible answer to that question, Masachika decided to subtly shift the conversation elsewhere.
"Why are you making it seem like Alya is the villain in this situation, Taniyama-san?"
"Oh dear, oh dear, no need to be so defensive, Kuzecchi… Sayaka just wants everyone to get along, that's all. But Kujou-san is kind of making that difficult for all of us involved," Nonoa commented on behalf of her friend. "Be right back for a moment, 'kay?"
As Nonoa walked off, leaving Masachika and Sayaka alone for the moment, her friend continued on with her verbal crusade.
"Nonoa-san is right. Fighting and spreading conflict amongst ourselves will not bring us back to Japan. We can't allow ourselves to be distracted by petty feelings and other trivial matters like meaningless arguments."
The girl walked over to where he was and grabbed several branches from the pile he had collected so far, before placing them into their plastic bag.
"You were also right, Kuze-san. Our priority should be our safety and ensuring that nothing happens to us while we are here. However, Kujou-san seems to think otherwise."
"Okay, I can't really argue with that…" he sighed, fully-aware that Alisa cared more about getting home as soon as possible.
"I would like to know why Kujou-san is like this, because it might put some things into light. Now, you're the one who has spent the most time with her, Kuze-kun. You must know something," she pointed out.
Masachika shook his head and stopped in his work for a moment. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't know what to say. Even I'm dumbfounded by this whole shift in her attitude."
Sayaka pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, disappointed at his lack of an answer though she couldn't really blame him for it.
"I see. If that is the case, then perhaps it would be for the best if Kujou-san stays inside the house at all times for the foreseeable future."
"What the hell does that mean? You want her to just stay in the house?"
"Precisely."
He raised an eyebrow again. "Why? It's not like Alya's been slacking off in her work."
"I am not saying that Kujou-san is incompetent. I am only suggesting that the gravity of our situation may have taken a huge toll on her psyche. If so, it would be better for her and everyone else if she limits her contact with other people."
"Hold on, are you actually suggesting that we should leave Alya alone?"
Sayaka didn't answer right away; she opened her mouth, but nothing came out of it yet. She thought about what she should say for a moment — making a mental note to be careful with her words — before finally responding.
"...Kujou-san's current demeanor will not be suitable for working with other people. I believe it would lead to trouble down the road if she is left unchecked."
Unfortunately, it brought about the exact reaction she was hoping to avoid from him.
Masachika nearly threw the axe to the ground out of anger before he glared at her.
"All right, that's enough out of you. I know you've never been Alya's biggest supporter and that you'd much rather have Yuki as the winner during the last election, but this is ridiculous. I thought you said we shouldn't get distracted by petty feelings?"
"I do not have petty feelings towards Kujou-san. I am only talking about working towards our goal without complications," she answered back.
While the two were about to have a verbal spat with each other, Nonoa returned to them with a smile on her face… only to lose it when she noticed that both Kuze and Taniyama looked angry with each other for some reason…
She immediately inserted herself between them and kept them apart before something bad could happen.
"Woah, woah, I leave for a moment to have a bathroom break, and now you two are at each other's throats? Chill, both of you."
However, Masachika didn't seem to care and continued to glare at Sayaka as if she said something taboo.
"You think Alya is a complication, Taniyama-san?"
"I don't think of Kujou-san that way. But it is clear to me that you would rather focus on helping one individual than work with everyone else to make it back home."
"I'm doing what I can to help everyone! If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be here, would I?"
"What will you do after we are done here? Are you going to help Suou-san next? Will you help Maria-senpai? What about Sarashina-senpai? And Kimishima-san? Or will you continue to focus on Kujou-san instead?"
"I don't think you get it, Taniyama-san. It was my fault that Alya's like this. I'm responsible for it, so I have to fix it."
"Is it truly your fault, Kuze-san? Or did you only convince yourself that it is because of Kujou-san's actions?"
Seeing that they weren't going to listen to reason, Nonoa resorted to action instead. She grabbed Sayaka's hand and began to drag her away from there.
"Okaaaaay, that's enough! We should be heading back to the house with all these branches we found. Gotta keep the fire burning there, right? Come on, Sayacchi… let's let Kuze-kun carry the branches…"
Deciding to relent for now, Sayaka followed after her friend but before she left, she turned back one last time to impart Masachika some final words.
"Sooner or later, you will have to make a choice, Kuze-san. Will you choose to pamper and hold Kujou-san's hand, or will you focus on the bigger picture and help everyone else instead?"
Masachika watched as she walked away, still angry at her blatant words about Alya but his subconscious mind couldn't help but think about that last question she gave him.
Would he really have to make a choice like that eventually?
MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*
-Lance