Niou Masaharu DN - Ever

Now for a Niou DN. I'll be honest and say that I have a lot of DNs for him piled up, but some of them seem OOC or too sappily romantic for my taste, so most of the time I skip them. I have plans on working on a long DN series for him soon. Probably a couple of VS ones as well.

Below the cut, you'll be able to read the translation without the original Japanese.
To read the story with the original Japanese text (the translation is translated in between lines/paragraphs), please refer to the link to the Evernote entry below the cut.

<<Neocities: Niou - ever>>

[In-Line Translation] [Source]

Love is a game.

Simply a way of killing time.

There's no need to take it seriously.

【ever】

My cheek felt searing pain after being slapped and called the worst.

There was no way for me to have even liked this woman in the first place.

She was pretty much full of herself to begin with. Somehow she ended up forcing me into her own caprices.

And the result is this.

"Shouldn't it be about time for you to look for some girl you'll truly fall in love with?"

Handing me a wet towel, Shimohara forced a smile.

I wiped my cheek with the towel. The coolness eased the stinging pain a little bit.

"I don't need something like that."

For me to be serious would never happen in my wildest dreams. In the first place, it's such a hassle.

"But, you can't go on doing things like this all the time, you know?"

"Yes, yes, Shimohara-sensei."

"Niou..."

"You're loud. Just leave me be."

"...I can't."

Seeing her troubled expression made me feel a little bit guilty.

We only got to know each other when we got to sit together in class. We ended up becoming friends, but even though she's a girl, there was nothing romantic between us.

Because we're comfortable with each other, that's why we get along. Or so I thought.

"I can never tell what your going to do when I take my eyes of you."

"But it was her misunderstanding. Asking if you liked me or whatever."

"You can't even ignore a trivial matter like that. You should know better!"

"I am very sorry."

Shimohara smiled, and I smiled back.

Times like this, I couldn't help enjoying.

If I fell in love with Shimohara, I wonder of this kind of moments would go on.

Every day would be fun, doing stupid things like this...If I fell in lo...

No, wait.

I don't want to destroy this current balance.

That thought lingered in my mind.

At the same time, I remembered what I told that girl earlier.

What is Shimohara-san to you?

I told her outright Shimohara was an important person.

But, that didn't mean I had feelings for her.

I didn't feel like clearing that up, though.

Not only did I not want to spend needless effort on that woman I was merely killing time with, it was useless discussing Shimohara with her.

"Does the towel need more cold water?"

But still, I wanted to protect it.

These times I spent with Shimohara.

"No, it's alright."

Removing the towel from my cheek, Shimohara observed my face keenly.

She made a face I couldn't decipher.

"It looks a bit better now."

"I told you it's already fine."

"Niou..."

Suddenly, I grasped her right hand with an unsettled look.

I tilted my head and looked at her, waiting for her to go on. 

She sighingly whispered in a remorseful tone.

"You should take better care of yourself..."

She looked at me seriously in the eye.

So she was really worried about me.

That made me happy.

"Thanks, Nagi-chan."

"Niou..."

"I won't slip up next time."

"I wasn't talking about thaat."

I know, I know.

It's about how I had to stop playing games where both parties end up getting hurt, right?

But if I did that, this person wouldn't be so worried about me.

I enjoy her worrying about me.

She's always been spoiling me.

Because she's always nice.

"..."

"Are you mad?"

"...I'm shocked."

She sighed deeply.

"Let's go."

"Aah, by the way, didn't you say you were meeting that person today?"

"Aa, yeah. I declined."

"Why?"

I think that was a wrong thing for me to ask.

I already know the answer.

It's her, after all.

"I couldn't leave you alone."

If Shimohara and I start dating like I did with that woman, we probably won't be able to spend time like this anymore.

Given her personality, that probably won't ever happen, but what if she tells me to stay away?

I really would stay away, and she'd feel hurt.

"My head hurts."

"What's up with you?"

"It's your fault."

I don't want this love she's been working for to go to waste. *

As I've thought, there's only one solution to this, huh?

"Shimohara."

"What?"

"Do you want to go out with me?"

"Yes?"

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"No! Stop saying thoughtless things."

"What do you mean thoughtless? I've decided on it."

"Niou. We'll be friends. No matter what."

She said it as if she could see right through me.

Shimohara really is...

"...believe me, Nagi."

"Are you sure you're not lying to me?"

"Aa, I know."

Shimohara smiled, and I smiled back.

It was like love, a strong link between a man and a woman.

When I'll have the courage to take a step forward...

...it doesn't have to be on the right track, as long as we're together.

That's the first time I thought about it.

End