Kei's Pov
Kiyotaka is stranger than usual today.
"Hey Kei, I'm going home. What are you going to doing?"
"You know, Kiyotaka..."
"What's wrong?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with me."
I turned around to find myself being stared at by a group of girls with scary eyes.
There were not many of them.
I'd say there were a few.
Horikita-san, Ichinose-san, Sakayanagi-san, Shiina-san, Sakura-san, Hasebe-san, Kushida-san, first-year students Amasawa-san and Nanase-san, and a few other girls from first-year to third-year that I didn't know. There were so many of them, and they were all so dense.
All of these girls were looking at me as I walked next to Kiyotaka.
"What's the matter, kei? Is there something back there?"
"What do you mean there's something behind you... You can't see them"
"What do you mean by them? There's nothing there."
"..."
Right.
Now, Kiyotaka can't see the girls behind him. It's not that they are dead and have become ghosts. It's just that they are no longer recognized by Kiyotaka.
I don't think you know what I'm talking about, so I'll jump back to just yesterday.
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"Hey! Ayanokoji-kun!"
"..."
I, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, had finished my after-school classes and was heading home, sighing.
To be honest, school classes are boring.
In terms of level, it's all the same stuff I learned when I was eight years old in the white room, and if I doze off, I might lose class points for attitude, so I have to be careful."
"Hey, Ayanokoji-kun!"
"I'm really sleepy. Kei called me at such a late hour yesterday..."
That's right. Lately, I've been calling my girlfriend, Karuizawa Kei, at night a lot. I've heard that this is a normal thing for lovers to do.I didn't want to make Kei unhappy, so I stayed up all night yesterday listening to her talk, and it was really morning.
"Ayanokoji-kun!"
"..."
I'm thirsty, let's buy some juice....
"Hello, can you hear me?"
"Let's buy a Coke."
I bought a Coke and sat down on the bench. It's good. I think soda is really great when you're thirsty.
"Oh, you like Coke, Ayanokoji-kun? I like Fanta, can I sit with you?"
"I wish kei would refrain from using the night light more."
"Hmm, night light? Ayanokoji-kun, don't stay up too late, okay?"
"..."
I gulped down the Coke in one gulp.
The coke goes down my throat, and the sweetness spreads across my tongue. After I finish this, I still have an appointment with Kei to call her again today. I need to think of something to talk about.
"Hello, can you hear me? I know you can hear me."
"..."
"Wait, are you ignoring me for a second, Ayanokoji-kun?"
"..."
"Hey, hey, did I do something to upset Ayanokoji-kun? If so, please tell me and I'll apologize."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Please say something. Don't just ignore me."
"Huh."
There's no point in staying here for now. I'm hungry, so I'm going to stop by the Mall on my way home.
"Where are you going?"
"What should we have for dinner tonight?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I must have done something wrong, right? I don't know, but I'm sorry! Please don't ignore me..."
"..."
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I won't do anything to harass you anymore."
"..."
"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! Ugh!"
I'm sleepy.
Let's go home early.
"Oh, it's you, Ichinose. What are you crying about?"
"Heee...! Sakayanagi-san...!"
"Ayanokoji-kun, hello. The two of you happened to be together. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who is crying."
"..."
"Sorry, please! I'm sorry, Ayanokoji-kun...!"
"Ayankoji-kun, Ichinose has apologized so much, and I don't know what happened, but you shouldn't ignore her, okay?"
"..."
"Ayanokouji-kun?"
"..."
By the way, Sudo's asked me if I wanted to play basketball next time. Let's invite Yosuke, Ike, Keisei and Akito and play together.
I'm starting to look forward to it a little bit.
"What is it? Are you ignoring me too?"
"..."
"I'm not going to cry like Ichinose just because Ayanokoji-kun ignored me."
"I'm not crying...!"
"..."
"I'm not crying! If you ignore me."
"..."
"I have no choice. I didn't want to do it, but... ..."
What? Why did I just move my left hand?
"...Huh?"
"..."
"Ayanokoji-kun, you're taking me. What?"
"What?"
"...Oh, no! Ayanokoji-kun hit me...!"
"..."
I'm not sure why I just moved my left hand sideways for real. It's a bit of a mystery. Anyway, let's go home as soon as possible. Kei will be worried if we come home too late.
"Why? Why? Why? Ayanokoji?"
"..."
"Ayanokoji-kun hit me...! Ayanokoji-kun hit me!"
"Ayanokoji-kun, don't ignore me! Ayanokoji-kun, don't ignore me!"
"..."
Oh, by the way, I heard that Keisei was into organic food lately. I've been wondering about it myself, so I'm going to go ask him about it.
It was about 10 minutes after that when I headed to the dormitory.
"I'm sorry, please. I'm sorry!"
"..."
"I won't be troubling Ayanokoji-kun anymore! I won't act like a big shot! I won't hug you without permission... ...please forgive me..."
"..."
"Ayanokoji-kun..."
"Ayanokoji-kun! Ayanokoji-kun!"
The eyes of the people around me started to hurt. They're all first-year students, but they're looking at me as if I'm a piece of shit. It is true that I got a perfect score in math, and I was the only one on the desert island to get a high ranking, but what is there to stare at?
"Hey, Ayanokoji."
"Ayanokoji..."
"Hmm? Kamuro?"
"What?"
"What do you want from me?"
As I was walking towards the dormitory, a female student from the 2nd year A class, Masumi Kamuro, walked in front of me and was talking to me.
We don't usually get to chat like this, but it's rare.
"Eeeeeeeeee! I knew you were angry with me...! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Hey, Ichinose. Ichinose, please calm down. You're eyes are swollen, are you okay?"
"Hmm? What are you doing here Kamuro?"
"What are you doing? A girl I know is crying. Isn't that too much?"
"What?"
"I've been watching you for a while, but why are you ignoring the two behind you? Both Sakayanagi and Ichinose are crying a lot."
"Sakayanagi? Ichinose? What are you talking about?"
"I thought you'd be a little better than that. I don't know what happened, but isn't it a little harsh to ignore two women crying and apologizing so much together?"
"Women? two ? What are you talking about? You and I are the only two people here."
"What?"
"Huh?"
What are you talking about, Kamuro?
You make it sound like I'm making Ichinose and Sakayanagi cry, but the truth is, there are only two of us here, me and Kamuro.
"You've been talking like Sakayanagi and Ichinose are there for a while now, are you okay? Are you tired from being used by Sakayanagi so much?"
"...."
"Hey, don't be silly. The two are right here..."
"Oh, oh, oh. Oh, I see. I see."
"Well, Sakayanagi?"
"I'm sure this is it. I'm dead and I'm the only one who doesn't know it. It was in a scary movie I saw the other day."
"Hey, Sakayanagi, keep your sanity!"
"Well, I guess I'll be leaving for heaven. Goodbye, Ayanokoji-kun. I loved you so much. Hahaha... It's funny, isn't it? that you can't be honest until you're dead. I wanted to tell you while I was still alive."
"Come on, Sakayanagi, pull yourself together! You are alive! You have a pulse and your breathing is normal!"
"Hey, Kamuro. You really should go to the hospital. No, I'm coming with you right now. Don't worry, it's just fatigue, you'll be fine soon."
I forcefully pull Kamuro's arm and take her towards the hospital.
"Nyaaah! Don't leave me here! Ayanokoji-kun!"
"Ichinose, your face...! I'm so scared of your face...!"
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Then I arrived at the hospital and tried to take Kamuro to the psychiatrist, but they made me get a diagnosis. Huh? Why am I getting a diagnosis?
"Doctor, why am I being diagnosed? Is Kamuro all right?"
"I was told that Kamuro-san was the patient first. No matter how you look at it, you're the one who needs to be examined.
"That's right, Doctor. Look, Ayanokoji, there's something wrong with you."
"What?"
Both the Kamuro and the psychiatrist said I was crazy, and I wondered.
"I think the girl behind you is crazy than you,though."
"Ayanokoji-kun... I apologize."
"Don't ignore me... Ayanokoji-kun..."
Not only the Kamuro, but also the hospital doctor acts as if Ichinose and Sakayanagi are behind me. I'm not sure if you're really kidding or not.
"I'm sure you're not suffering from a disease of the eyes or ears, since you and I are able to talk to each other, right? If that's the case, what's wrong with you?"
"Are you sure Ichinose and Sakayanagi are there or Are you joking."
"I'm here! here, Ayanokoji-kun! Look at me! Just look at me!"
"What are you saying in the middle of nowhere, Ichinose! Ayanokouji-kun! Ayanokouji-kun! Your precious Sakayanagi Arisu is here!"
"..."
"...You really can't see or hear me..."
Kamuro is saying something, but are Sakayanagi and Ichinose really behind me? I still can't believe.
"Ayanokouji-kun! Ayanokouji-kun!"
"Ayanokoji-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, Ayanokoji-kun!
"Yes, I want you to be quiet in the hospital. ...Anyway, it's most likely a new type of disease. I've set aside some time for an examination, so you can get your diagnosis there."
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On the recommendation of the psychiatrist, I underwent a special test and was waiting for the results. While I was waiting for the results of the test, Kamuro said that Ichinose and Sakayanagi were crying and being noisy even though we were in a hospital, which made me a little angry.
I can't see or hear them, so I don't know what to do about it.
"I got the results of your checkup."
"How did it go?"
"...This is an extremely rare case, but there are some similar symptoms overseas. It's a variant of prosopagnosia."
"What is prosopagnosia?
Profile apraxia is a kind of apraxia in brain disorders, a kind of disorder called "aphakia". In short, it is the inability to recognize the face or voice of a specific person. A variant of this is....
"The reason why you can see me and Kamuro, but not the two people behind you... . I think they have some kind of affection for you?
"What?"
"Doc,what are you talking about?"
"I'm so embarrassed."
"You've been unaware of women's feelings until now, but now you've strengthened to the point where you can't even recognize the existence of women who like you?Anyway, that's what happened."
"That's crazy."
"I told you it was a very rare case."
Let's say the psychiatrist is right and Ichinose and Sakayanagi are having romantic feelings for me. Does that mean they are no longer recognized by me?
Does that mean that I can recognize Kamuro and the doctor because they don't have romantic feelings for me?
"It's a mess, but it's the result of an experiment."
"Experiment?"
"After hearing from Ichinose and Sakayanagi, I invited some women who might have feelings for you and left them alone with you."
"When did you do that?"
It seems that without my knowledge, people other than Ichinose and Sakayanagi had met me.
"What? Shiina? Horikita and Sakura too. You guys look like dead fish.!"
"As a result, none of the women who had feelings for Ayanokoji-kun were ever taken seriously by him."
I knew that Airi was the one, but Hiyori and Horikita too?
I felt somewhat sorry for myself, but at the same time, the fact that there were that many girls in this room gave me the creeps.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
"Horikita... Kiyo... Ayanokoji?"
"Karuizawa?"
"What?"
"Huh? There's a pretty big group of people here."
Just as I was thinking that,Kei walked into the diagnostic room, where there were only the three of us, me, Kamuro and the doctor, with an unconcerned look on her face.
"I'm sure Horikita-san called me here, but why is everyone here too?"
"Ayanokoji-kun can you hear and see Karuizawa-san?"
"I can see and hear you."
"So Karuizawa-san doesn't have any particular romantic interest in Ayanokoji-kun?"
"What?"
Kei, who was listening to the conversation between me and the doctor, glared at me in a very unhappy manner.
"Can you explain the situation to me? Ayanokoji-kun."
Oh...
She seemed to be in a very bad mood and asked me if she didn't have any romantic feelings for me.
I think Kei has romantic feelings for me, no doubt about it. But it's a little strange to see her like that.
If this psychiatrist's theory is correct, then anyone who has romantic feelings for me will not be recognized by me. Then what is the meaning of kei's presence here?
"Can everyone except Karuizawa-san and Ayanokoji-kun please leave for now?"
"No, thank you."
"Sir, what are they saying?"
"They're all happy to leave. Kamuro-san, please take everyone with you."
"Okay, okay. Come on, you guys. I know you don't agree with me, but let's get out of here."
When Kamuro opened the door, it opened by itself for a few seconds. It was like an invisible person walking out of the door, which was a little strange.
I could only see that Kamuro had left the room, but from Kei and the doctor's point of view, it must mean that all the girls in the room had left.
"Let me ask you something straightforward. What is the relationship between you two?"
"Well, we're just classmates..."
"We're dating."
"Wait, Kiyotaka!"
"You don't have to hide it from the doctor. I just want to know why Kei is the exception."
"I see. I knew it was a good idea to get them out of this room."
"Ah..."
Indeed, the psychiatrist may have played a fine game. If it had been discovered that kei and I had been dating each other in their presence, it would have inevitably led to a terrible situation.
"I'm just guessing, but the reason why only Karuizawa-san is visible is probably because she is the one with the strongest presence in Ayanokoji-kun."
"What?"
"Huh?"
When the doctor said that, Kei next to him turned red at once.
"In other words, Ayanokoji-kun is now in a state of 'you're the only one I can see' with Karuizawa Kei."
"Kiyotaka, you can't be that close to me...ugh..."
Kei's cheeks became redder and redder. ...If your guess is right, I'm the one who should be embarrassed.
It sounds as if I like Kei to death.
"Anyway, Karuizawa-san, do you have any romantic feelings for Ayanokoji-kun?"
"Of course I do. Because I love him."
"Aren't you embarrassed to be saying that?"
"Of course I'm embarrassed, you idiot."
"I'm having an important conversation, so could you please stop flirting?"
"I'm sorry..."
I was just giving Kei a run for her money, but she thought I was flirting with her. I'm really glad that I was able to recognize Kei as an exception.
What do you mean, you're glad?
Why did I just think that?
"He only sees me..."
Does this mean that I've really love Kei Karuizawa without knowing it?
I was going to use you as a pawn, but I fell in love with her... is that what I am saying?
"Kei..."
"Kiyotaka ..."
We look at each other.
I'm really embarrassed to admit it. Kei's expression looks like she wants something.
"Do you like me, Kiyotaka?"
"Yeah, I like you, kei."
"I love you, too."
"Kei..."
"Kiyotaka..."
Kei's face was coming closer to mine.
Kei's lips come close to mine.
I feel embarrassed to be doing this here.
"Oh, really?"
"What?"
"You completely ignored me and went into your own world, didn't you? Can you please stop flirting because I'm talking about something important?"
"I'm sorry..."
The psychiatrist in front of me coughed deliberately and pulled Kei and me back to the real world.
"In the meantime, if Ayanokoji can't even see a girl at this point, it will affect his future special exams. I want you to keep him under observation for a while. I'll let the school know."
"I understand."
From Kei and Kamuro's reactions, it seems that I really can't see Ichinose, Sakayanagi and the others. It's true that not being able to see them may affect my future exams. I'll have to fix this as soon as possible.
"There is a way to deal with this. Can you give me at least three days?"
"I understand. I'm counting on you."
"Please take care of Kiyotaka."
"Yes, of course. Karuizawa-san, please take care of the girls outside with you and Kamuro-san."
"Yes..."
Kei's face looked a little complicated when he said that. Supporting them was like helping a romantic rival.
"Kiyotaka. I'll definitely support you.
"Oh, I'm sorry for always relying on you."
"No, no. No. I'm happy that Kiyotaka is relying on me, and so am I."
I see.
Kei and I walked out of the examination room side by side.
Outside, the Kamuro was saying comforting words to an empty bench. ...No, I don't recognize it, but there's probably someone sitting there.
It's just plain scary and creepy.
"Oh, Ayanokoji."
"I'm sorry, Kamuro. I'm sorry to trouble you as well."
"No, that's fine, but.... I don't care about that, but these kids are worse than that."
"Wow, their eyes are scary."
Kamuro and kei looked around them with fear in their eyes.
"Ayanokoji."
"What's up, Kamuro?"
Shiina says, "I want to see what happens if I touch Ayanokoji-kun."
"No, let's not do that. I think he probably slapped Sakayanagi when she touched him earlier. It was probably a defensive act. If Hiyori had touched him, he might have hurt you. Wait until he see you guys."
"...."
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Let's add more girls in the next chapter.
To be continued...