Chapter 22: Grin
For some reason, Mao was cutting and gluing some craft work together.
She cut a piece of paper, put glue in it and attached it to a stick.
“Is that for homework?”
Kyouya tried asking her.
Mao looked like she was doing a homework a.s.signment from elementary school arts cla.s.s.
“It’s none of your business.”
Instead of a reply, he got a used up scotch tape roll flying towards him.
It hit Kyouya straight in the head. He didn’t remember actually saying she looked like an elementary schooler, so why?
Kyouya picked up the tape roll and took it to the trash bin.
“What’s that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s a speech balloon.”
Mao held a thick magic marker in her hand. She added the final touches while making squeaking sound with it.
She wrote 4 large characters on the piece.
It was no doubt a speech balloon like the ones you usually see in manga, round with the lines in them.
The characters she’d written were “GRIN”.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“This? Well, you know…”
“The tea is ready!”
And so Megumi showed up carrying a tea set on a tray. She placed cups in front of Mao and and Kyouya. From the smell of it, it was Earl Gray. Kyouya had become more knowledgeable of tea recently.
“Sis and s.h.i.+nomiya-kun always get along so well.”
Megumi said with a bright smile.
At that instant, Mao did an abrupt leap.
With the speech balloon in hands, she jumped behind Megumi.
“It makes me kind of jealous. Hu hu hu.”
-GRIN.
Kyouya froze in his seat. When Megumi’s smile and the speech balloon Mao pointed at her entered his field of vision at the same time, somehow Megumi looked like another person for a moment.
“Huh? What’s wrong, s.h.i.+nomiya-kun? You look kind of pale.”
-GRIN.
Kyouya froze again. The “GRIN” speech balloon added a horribly wicked meaning to the angel’s smile.
“Ku ku ku. Now you know Megu’s true colors.”
“Please stop that, president!”
“Is something wrong?”
Megumi turned around. Mao swiftly hid the speech balloon behind her back.
Megumi looked back at Kyouya, giggling.
“What’s this? I get the feeling you guys are hiding something from me.”
-GRIN.
Megumi sported the same smile as always.
He couldn’t help but see it as a malicious smile.
“Please, just stop already!”
“Shut up. Everybody is always on Megu’s side, always going on about the Amatsuka angel(1). Only I know how merciless of a girl she is. You hear me? She’s a demon! She’ll pull you away from your bed! Beneath this smile she’s a girl with a demon’s heart!”
“Eh? But if I don’t do that you won’t wake up, will you?”
-GRIN.
“Please, just stop already! Don’t corrupt my Megumi-chan!”
“Hold on, when did Megu become yours?”
“Ah, no…that was just a poor choice of words.”
“Eh? No way. That’s what this is? If that’s the case, you’re going to need my consent as her older sister. First try spinning around over there three times and saying woof.”
Mao placed the speech balloon on the table and approached him while snapping her fingers.
“Come… on! I told you that’s not it already, didn’t I?”
Kyouya said while escaping away from his chair.
“Now, now, I’ll consider your case depending on your att.i.tude. For the moment, how about you try and go get hit by a dump truck, get thrown 50 meters away and flip in the air exactly seven and a half times?”
“I’d die!”
Megumi noticed the speech balloon on the table. She took it in her hands, gave it a good look and tilted her head.
“Sis, s.h.i.+nomiya-kun, look, poor Mr. Tea is losing its aroma. You better drink it quick.”
-GRIN.
Megumi said with the speech balloon in her hands.
Kyouya and Mao s.h.i.+vered.
“GRIN
“You know, Megu, your eyebrows are really thick.”
“Eh? But it hurts to pluck them off.”
“Then shave them.”
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
(1) Megumi’s and Mao’s surname, Amatsuka, is written with the same characters as angel, only p.r.o.nounced differently.
