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[TSSIM] Chapter 340: Deep Trauma
🕑 Added 2024-02-01 21:18:50 +0000 UTC"If Rin's fans ever find out about those brats... heh, let's just say those brats are gonna end up with more than a few bruises." Homura said with a sneer.
It was supposed to be a serious topic, but why was it so hard to hold back their laughter when they heard his words?
As a result, they tried hard to suppress the image of Rin's bullies beaten black and blue, as described by Homura.
"Now that you mention it... I've never really seen Rin wearing a casual skirt." Maki spoke thoughtfully.
"Rin-chan, don't worry about stuff like that!" Nozomi said with a cheerful smile. "Just ask anyone here—who doesn't think you're cute?"
"But… Rin's hair is so short..." Rin muttered, her expression tinged with sadness.
"What's wrong with short hair?" Nozomi said matter-of-factly. "You know, there are so many girls with short hair these days, and they are all super cute! Even brides can rock short hair!"
"No, that's not it… Rin means girly clothes don't suit me." Rin said, lowering her head.
"Let's set school uniforms aside for a moment, but on stage, you wear skirts just like everyone else, right?" Maki pointed out.
"That's only because it's like the school uniforms—everyone's wearing them, so Rin just follows along..." Rin murmured.
"Ahh... this is serious..." Nozomi sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
"Um... I didn't expect it to be such a deep trauma..." Eri muttered, her expression turning grave. "We never really thought about it before, and Rin never acted out of the ordinary, so we didn't notice."
"But now that we know, we've got to fix this." Nico said with a firm nod.
Seeing the downcast Rin, Homura finally spoke up.
"Rin, can I ask you a question?"
Hearing this, Rin looked puzzled but nodded.
"Do you still remember the names or faces of the brats who said you didn't look good in skirts and laughed at you?"
Homura's question made everyone frown.
What was this about?
Was he planning to go pick a fight with Rin's bullies?
"Rin... can't remember..." Rin shook her head.
"I see... so, in other words, those people don't matter to you at all, right?" Homura asked, his lips curled into a faint smile.
"Um..." Rin nodded lightly.
"In that case, look over here now..." Homura extended his hand, guiding Rin's gaze toward Hanayo and the others. "See these girls... these are the bonds that tie you now—they're the ones who are truly important to you, aren't they?"
Upon hearing this, Rin's expression became serious, and she nodded heavily.
"Um!"
"So... if some completely unimportant people say something, and the people who mean the most to you say something else, which one do you think you should believe?"
At this question, Rin lowered her head, standing frozen in place.
Nozomi couldn't help but sigh as she saw this scene.
"A~ah, that's Homura-kun for you. Anytime someone has a problem, he always seems to know how to guide them."
"Yeah, I admit he's impressive. His words always go straight to the point." Eli nodded spontaneously.
"I remember… Eli-chi got convinced by Homura-kun the same way, didn't you?" Nozomi grinned mischievously. "At first, you were so against the whole school idol and manga thing."
"Nozomi... you..." Eli's face fell into an exasperated look. "Do you have that much fun teasing me?"
"Well, if Homura-kun hadn't been around, things probably would've ended up like in the manga." Nozomi continued, her grin turning into a genuine smile. "Sure, Eli-chi would've joined eventually, but it would've taken a lot longer..."
Eli furrowed her brows slightly before relaxing again.
Although she didn't want to admit it, she had to acknowledge that the possibility seemed quite high.
Finally, after standing in silence for so long, Rin began to show a reaction.
"...Do I really need to say it?!" Rin looked up fiercely, tears instantly filling her eyes. "Of course, everyone here is the most important to Rin!"
Hanayo, also with tears in the corners of her eyes, quickly walked up to Rin and hugged her.
"Rin-chan… you're the most important person to me and everyone! No one will force you to do anything! If you don't want to wear a skirt, then don't! But... those people's words... you can't let them affect your life! Absolutely not!"
'As I thought, Hanayo is the best when it comes to Rin.' Homura nodded, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Beside them, Maki, who had been watching Hanayo and Rin with relief, accidentally caught a glimpse of Homura's expression and rolled her eyes hard.
"I know, I should trust everyone..." Rin murmured, resting her head on Hanayo's shoulder. "But... whenever I think of being called a boy... or something like not being suitable to wear skirts, those words just keep echoing in my head... and they keep popping up..."
Evidently, the thorn in Rin's heart hadn't been completely pulled out.
As the girls listened to her murmur, they felt deep sympathy.
Needless to say, she was now dealing with emotional wounds, but unlike physical wounds, emotional wounds were the hardest to heal.
For a moment, the girls felt somewhat helpless and didn't know what they should do.
Homura, on the other hand, stroked his chin and began to ponder.
"Homura-kun... How can Rin get out of this state?"
Seeing Homura being silent, seemingly lost in thought, Umi couldn't help but ask.
"It's a bit difficult... but it can be solved." Homura replied while nodding slightly.
"Oh, so even Homura-kun thinks it's difficult..."
Umi looked disappointed upon hearing the first part of Homura's words but then froze at the second part.
"Wait... can be solved?!"
Umi's yell was loud enough that even pedestrians in the distance started to point and gossip.
Seeing this, Homura's expression changed.
"Hurry, let's go."
Realizing what happened, the girls quickly followed, running and talking at the same time.
"What's up, Umi-chan? Why were you yelling?" Honoka asked, looking confused.
"Homura-kun says it can be solved!" Umi said excitedly.
"Solved? Solving what?" Kotori asked, also looking confused.
"What else? It's about getting Rin out of her trauma!"
""Really?!""
Except for Rin, all the girls exclaimed in unison.
"Seriously, when all eight of you spoke together, the volume surpassed even Umi's yell alone."
Homura remarked with a deadpan expression, making the girls realize they had caused trouble.
They immediately covered their mouths, quickened their pace, and hurriedly left the area.
===
Arriving outside the shrine where Muse often practiced, everyone finally stopped to catch their breath.
Homura decided to deal with Rin's issue first, so he walked toward the shrine, and the girls silently followed without saying anything.
"By the way, why are we running?" Yukiho couldn't help but ask.
"Probably to avoid causing a scene?" Maki guessed. "Tonight, School Idols Muse and Mangaka Minamiya-sensei meet, with Rin and Hanayo both crying... Just thinking about it, you can already imagine a scandalous news full of misunderstandings."
Upon hearing this, Homura smirked, not bothering to refute her.
He was also trying to avoid any problems. While he could easily handle it himself, it was better not to deal with unnecessary problems.
Meanwhile, Hanayo and Rin looked embarrassed.
"So, can you tell us now what exactly you're going to do, Homura-kun?" Nozomi shook her head and asked.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier if you already had a solution, Homura-kun?" Umi asked exasperatedly. "I thought you didn't have any solution, so I asked just to give it a try."
"First, I didn't have a chance to explain, and second, I was still thinking about which solution was the best one." Homura explained while shrugging his shoulders.
"Which solution?" Maki said with an exasperated look. "Seriously, there are so many of us, and we can't figure it out, and you've already thought of multiple solutions?"
"Why not use all of them?" Honoka blurted out without thinking as if it were the most obvious solution.
Everyone: "..."
