GJ Bu - Volume 1 - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Grooming Time

In the clubroom, as always.

Megumi was brushing Mao’s hair.

Her hands followed the long hair that covered Mao’s small back. Despite the monotony of it, she carefully repeated the movement over and over again.

While sitting straight, facing sideways on the chair, Mao had her back facing Megumi. She was so docile that it looked as if she was another girl.

This was not uncommon in the GJ clubroom.

You could see it every day.

“Mao’s hair tangles up so easily, after all.”

The fact that Kyouya had been staring at them probably prompted Megumi to say that.

Kyouya nodded understandingly.

Girls sure had it rough. Then again, he wasn’t a girl, so he couldn’t really know what it was like; he could only imagine.

The brush moved up and down.

It brushed Mao’s bright, chestnut colored hair.

Mao, Megumi, and Kyouya were the only ones in the clubroom.

Having finished the novel he’d brought along with him and having nothing else to do, Kyouya just sat there, watching Megumi brush Mao’s hair..

“Hm, Hmm…”

Mao sounded like she was clearing her throat and fidgeted repeatedly on her chair. For some reason, she wouldn’t settle down.

He continued to watch them, before-

“Want to do it?”

Megumi said something unexpectedly.

“Eh?”

“Well, Shinomiya-kun, it looks like you want to.”

“No, not at all, I didn’t mean to…”

“Want to do it?”

Cutting through his excuse that he was just lazing around and had nothing to do, Megumi offered the brush to him.

She could be a scary girl.

Kyouya sincerely thought that. Megumi was the kind of girl who would say something blunt with that bright, angelic smile.

Mao straightened her back and quietly sat in the chair.

Her back wasn’t really telling him not to.

Mao was the kind of person who would say “no” clearly if she didn’t want it, he thought.

It should be ok then.

She wouldn’t bite.

That’s how he interpreted Mao’s reaction of turning her back to him without saying anything.

Kyouya pulled up a chair next to Mao.

“Here you go.”

He took the brush from Megumi.

Kyouya was honestly interested in this.

As a matter of fact, he was very interested. He had been curious about Mao’s hair for a long time.

His pulse quickened a bit as he slid the brush through her fluffy hair.

“If the brush get’s stuck, go back and start again. Don’t try to force it. If you do, you’ll pull out her hair and make split ends.”

Megumi stood besides him, giving him guidance.

Mao’s hair was very stubborn. It was fine, but also voluminous.

He could not do it quite as smoothly as Megumi.

“If it’s too tangled up, it might be better to brush it with your hands first.”

The realization that he could touch it with his hands surprised him.

Somehow, a twig emerged as he started to untangle the worst spots.

Just where have you been playing around, president?

Kyouya thought silently, as he continued brushing.

Mao let her hair in his care, silently as well.

Megumi left to go make some tea.

Mao fidgeted in her chair, changing her posture without saying a single word. She didn’t bite either.

Kyouya kept working with Mao’s hair until the tea was ready.

By the time he was nearly finished, Mao, who had kept her back straight the entire time, was already starting to slouch. She had left her hair and her back at the care of Kyouya.

“The tea is ready!”

Megumi called with a bright smile.

Unfortunately, the announcement signaled the end of hair-brushing time.

“He actually wasn’t half bad…“

CHARACTER PROFILE:

Shinomiya Kyouya – Part 2

Philosophy: Pacifist Defeatism

Motto: “The safe and peaceful way is to lose from the very start.”