Chapter 6
While I was away using the bathroom, a commotion was breaking out in the classroom.
“Hey, Miura.”
My friend was leering at Tetsuya's drawing.
What was that bastard's name again? I'd heard it last time, but...
“Huh...? What is it, Watanabe?”
Hearing Tetsuya's answer, I remembered immediately.
It was Takashi Watanabe.
“What anime character are you drawing, anyway?”
“Ah, this isn't an anime character...”
“Whatever. You can strip this character, right?”
“Huh...?”
“I'll come back after the next class, so draw it for me by then. Got it?”
A request in wording, but an order in tone.
Miyuki was glaring at Takashi, who was pestering Tetsuya with a swagger, her eyes simmering with anger.
Before she could step in, I hurried into the classroom and
Whack-!
smacked Takashi on the head with my palm.
“Urk! Which fucking bastard...”
Clutching the back of his head, Takashi turned around.
The moment he spotted me, his face crumpled.
“Ken...! You did that last time too. Why are you picking on me?”
“Why? You little— ahem... You bastard, you're sitting in my seat without permission. Move.”
“You fucking asshole...”
Takashi grumbled in earnest and stood up.
As if to get revenge for being hit, he even kicked the chair away so I couldn't sit down.
I grabbed the hair of the guy who was trying to return to his classroom.
“Aaaaaagh!! Ken!! Ken!!”
Takashi's head jerked back, and he screamed.
This guy's reactions were still ridiculously exaggerated.
The sensation felt good.
“Put the chair back.”
“You fucking...! You're really gonna die...! Let go, will you?”
“Put it back.”
“I will...! I said I would, didn't I, you fuc... Just let go first... Aaaaaagh! It hurts! I said it hurts!!”
When I tightened my grip on his thick hair, Takashi screamed at the top of his lungs and stretched out his arm.
Barely managing to grab the back of the chair, he grunted as he dragged it back in front of my desk.
Only then did I loosen my grip and speak.
“Go fool around in your own classroom. Don't cause trouble here.”
Takashi, who had been vigorously massaging his head, raised his middle finger at me.
If it had been me, I'd have attacked immediately just to protect my pride. What a pathetic bastard...
I tossed him a snack from the desk drawer, and his expression immediately softened.
He really was simple-minded. Almost to the point of seeming stupid.
After confirming that Takashi had left the classroom with a silly grin, I glanced at Miura.
I gestured toward the notebook with my chin and remarked casually as I passed by.
“You draw well.”
“Ah, thanks... But I'd rather you didn't take it away.”
Why did this bastard grovel before guys like Takashi, yet talk back to me so readily?
Was he unusually at ease with me?
Or was he provoking me because he was preparing to pick a fight with me?
If not, was he instinctively sensing that I was after Miyuki?
I wanted to punch him, but I held myself back.
To win Miyuki over, building a favorable relationship with the people around her was the most basic of basics.
I didn't like that Tetsuya was one of those people, but if I had to endure this much to atone for the karma I'd accumulated until now, I could handle it.
Smacking my gum, I looked up at Miyuki, who had once again placed herself between the two of us, and complained irritably.
“You here to nag me again?”
“Why are you so negative, Matsuda-kun?”
“About what?”
“Whenever I come over, you act like you've seen something you shouldn't have.”
“Isn't it because you come nag me every day? Go play mother to Miura over there. What are you looking at?”
I scowled at the chubby classmate looking back, and he flinched before quickly turning his head forward.
Then Miyuki called me as usual.
“Matsuda-kun.”
Whenever I heard that low, subdued voice, I felt like I was the one being reformed.
It was supposed to be the other way around... This was bad.
Looking fed up, like an adolescent worn out by his parents' nagging, I spoke.
“I said I get it. Isn't it enough if I stay put?”
Miyuki gave me a satisfied smile, then began chatting with Tetsuya.
The atmosphere was warm and friendly.
The temperature was completely different from when she talked to me.
I was jealous. Should I just change my attitude entirely?
No. I'd stick to the plan. It had been working incredibly well so far.
But, Miyuki... I hadn't uttered a single swear word since earlier. Couldn't you praise me?
Didn't you notice how hard I was trying?
It was so unfair... So unfair.
**
“I've been hearing some strange rumors lately.”
The school nurse said this while leaning over to change my bandage.
I craned my neck to peer down her cleavage and asked in return.
“What is it?”
“They're saying you clean the bathroom well and pay attention in class. I even heard you came in on the weekend?”
“Is that a strange rumor?”
“It isn't exactly normal.”
When am I ever going to shed this delinquent image?
“There. Be careful not to get it wet.”
“Yes.”
“Look somewhere else.”
So she'd noticed I was staring at her cleavage.
But what was I supposed to do when it was right there?
Could anyone really keep from looking at those tits?
I was certain there couldn't be anyone.
Besides, she knew exactly how attractive she was and wore clothes that flaunted her breasts... What a hypocrite.
Maybe I should pursue her as a sub-heroine.
“You said you told the professor?”
“Yes. How am I supposed to exercise in this state? I mustn't get it sweaty.”
“Then rest here for a while before you go.”
“Understood. But, ma'am, do you have a boyfriend? Or are you married?”
“I don't think that's any of your business.”
Knock, knock.
While we were talking, a knock echoed through the infirmary.
When the school nurse told them to come in, the door slid open with a rattle, and Miyuki appeared in her gym clothes.
Her breasts couldn't be hidden even by the loose-fitting gym uniform, and her snow-white shins showed below her shorts...
I wanted to rush over and lick her right then and there.
“Hello, ma'am.”
The school nurse welcomed Miyuki's polite greeting with a smile.
“Hanazawa, right? What brings you here?”
“Ah, we have PE... Matsuda-kun wasn't there, so I went looking for him. I thought he might be here, and he was.”
The school nurse tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Wasn't Matsuda-kun supposed to be resting here? He was told he could skip PE.”
“Huh...? Really?”
“Yes. Ask him yourself.”
I hadn't expected Miyuki to come looking for me... This was an unexpected event.
Had she started worrying about me now?
Did she think I could be rehabilitated?
Miyuki strode over to me with her long legs and asked,
“Did you tell the professor?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“I told him right after the previous class ended, during the break. He said he understood.”
“R-really...? I didn't know...”
“Did you come drag me back because you thought I was going to cut class?”
“Not to drag you back... It would be more accurate to say I came to escort you...”
She looked so beautiful as she awkwardly scratched her head.
I rubbed the tip of my nose with a finger, then waved her away.
“My conscience is clear, so just go now.”
“No... I mean, I was going to leave... But I can't believe you actually told the professor yourself...?”
“If you think I'm lying, call and check.”
“No... I'll believe you. And, Matsuda-kun.”
“What?”
“You seem to be changing a lot lately.”
That was what I'd wanted to hear.
I felt good. But not enough to send me over the moon.
Maybe it was because I'd just compared the distance between Tetsuya and me again.
But I shouldn't worry. Judging from the situation itself, everything was going very smoothly.
“Changing? Me?”
“Yes. You haven't been swearing lately, and you're thorough with the work you're given. The boys like that the bathroom is clean. But...”
“But?”
“I'd like you to cut back on the violence... Earlier too, the way you grabbed Watanabe Takashi by the hair and... It wasn't nice to see. I'll make an exception for the molester incident... It was excessive, but I'm really grateful.”
Miyuki's request that I stop using violence could be of enormous help to me later.
I spent time with delinquent students, the kind of students called yankees in Japan.
And they were playing at being yakuza within the Academy.
You know the type. They'd form a club, call its members family, and...
Whenever they got into a dispute with students from another Academy, they frequently got into gang fights. And if someone tried to leave the club, they used every means available to stop them.
I wasn't the boss of that club, but I was in a position to receive a fair amount of respect from its members.
This was an excellent weapon I could use later.
If I gradually distanced myself from the guys I'd been close with and started hanging out with model students, they'd eventually vent their displeasure at me.
When I faced that displeasure head-on and they asked why I no longer spent time with them, I'd tell them that playing delinquent wasn't fun anymore...
And when their anger drove them to beat me mercilessly, I wouldn't even fight back...
Then, as I lay bleeding on the rooftop, Miyuki would hear the rumors and come to me.
She'd see the state I was in and ask why I'd just stood there and taken it.
Then I'd look at Miyuki with wistful eyes and answer her like this.
‘Because you told me not to fight.’
After that, I'd groan my way up and limp off the rooftop...
That would be a massive affection boost, you know?
‘Am I fantasizing too much?’
Of course, there was no guarantee things would go the way I wanted.
I didn't know how the guys in that club would react to me, either.
So for now, I should focus solely on increasing Miyuki's affection for me.
If something similar to what I'd just imagined ever happened, I'd use it carefully then.
I shrugged and argued against Miyuki's words.
“Wouldn't it be normal for you to praise me? I thought you hated Takashi.”
“Yes. I hate him a lot. But he's your close friend. I was giving you objective advice.”
“If I hadn't chased him off, Miura would have kept getting bullied, wouldn't he?”
“No, absolutely not. I was going to step in and stop it.”
“Takashi sexually harasses you whenever you talk to him. Do you really think you could've stopped him?”
“Maybe not, but... I could've called a professor...”
I worried about how our sheltered Miyuki planned to survive in this harsh world with such a gentle personality.
“It was obvious what would've happened while you went to call a professor. You know what Takashi's like too.”
“... I suppose you're right.”
“See? Honestly, you thought it served him right then, didn't you?”
“Do you hang out with Watanabe Takashi because you like him, Matsuda-kun?”
She was changing the subject.
She must have felt pleased seeing Takashi get what he deserved.
Her feelings were written all over her face.
“I use him because he's stupid.”
“Like you use me?”
.....
Miyuki sometimes came at me out of nowhere.
That was proof she had grown more comfortable around me, but it still caught me off guard.
After giggling at my dumbfounded expression, Miyuki continued.
“Just kidding. Thanks for helping Tetsuya-kun today. From now on, don't bully him, and I want the two of you to get along.”
I had no intention of doing that.
No—if getting along with Tetsuya also brought me closer to you... I might be able to pretend.
“Do we really have to?”
“Yes. Since you've bullied him until now, if you approach him with a sincere apology, Tetsuya-kun will forgive you. He's kind.”
“Don't want to.”
“I believe the Matsuda-kun who's changing will do that. Class is about to start, so I'll go. Get plenty of rest, and don't skip your next class.”
Having announced it as if the matter were already decided, Miyuki left the infirmary with quick, light steps.
I grumbled inwardly, lay down on the bed, and pulled the curtain halfway shut.
Then I spoke to the school nurse.
“Ma'am, I'm thirsty.”
“Get some water from the dispenser yourself.”
I want some of that milk-flavored medicine from your treatment pouch.
I swallowed the rest of the sentence and closed my eyes.