A Troublesome Neighbor
"Hellooo~"
"Excuse meee~"
...
"It's time to go home, you know~"
Ah...
Did I doze off?
My eyes snapped open.
"Class...!"
"Eek!"
I had to pay attention in my other classes, just like I did in Ms. Ishihara's.
That was the advice she had personally given me.
"Ow, ow, ow... What class? It's already overrr..."
I should have gone to class... but I fell asleep.
Out of nowhere, Kaede was sitting on her butt right in front of me.
"Why are you here?"
"Hmph! Is that any way to talk to the person who came all this way to wake you up?!"
"Well, I mean..."
To be fair, if Kaede hadn't come, I probably would have slept a lot longer.
I had tossed and turned last night out of excitement, and after arriving at the academy early and actually paying attention in class for once, I was exhausted.
Still, sleeping out in the open on the rooftop like this and having absolutely no one look for me... isn't that a bit much?
I know I'm a lost cause, but the teachers are really dropping the ball here.
"Let's go home already!"
"Sigh... But how did you even know I was here?"
"There's a rumor going around! First Ms. Ishihara disappeared in the morning, and then you vanished in the afternoon!"
"What?"
"People are saying you two eloped or something~ Pfft, hahaha!"
Okay, that is seriously crossing the line.
More importantly, did Ms. Ishihara skip her afternoon classes too?
Or maybe she just didn't have any scheduled.
Regardless, I should have asked her earlier if she was feeling okay...
"So I came straight to the rooftop to check it out!"
...
"Ah."
Come to think of it, Kaede and Ms. Ishihara might have run into each other earlier.
It was barely ten seconds after Kaede left that Ms. Ishihara tried to open the door.
They must have passed each other on the stairs—Kaede going down, and Ms. Ishihara coming up.
"...It's nothing like that."
"I know! I came to check on you every recess, and you were sleeping like a baby!"
"What? Sigh... Why didn't you wake me up then?"
"Hehe... I was taught never to poke a sleeping lion."
More like she just found it amusing to watch me like a lion at the zoo.
"Right. Thanks anyway."
Still, I should be grateful she woke me up, even if it was after school ended.
I pushed myself up.
Surprisingly, despite sleeping uncomfortably on the hard concrete rooftop, my body didn't ache at all.
It was absurd how resilient this body was, but hey, a superior physique is a superior physique. I'll take it as a win.
"Hehe... Walking home with a scary upperclassman and his fragile, cute underclassman!"
"Get away from me."
"Hmph."
Was she proud of being so casual with a 'scary upperclassman'?
Or was this just her natural boundary?
She was completely unpredictable, which was very typical of Kaede.
"Where are we going now?"
"Home."
"Aw, come on~"
Did she actually expect us to go somewhere together?
"Oh! If that's what you meant, I think it's way too early to invite me to your house!"
Even when I gave her the cold shoulder, Kaede didn't care at all and kept teasing me.
"Ah...! Wait for me!!"
Realizing words wouldn't work, I quickened my pace to put some distance between us.
Since my bag was practically empty anyway, I decided to leave it in the classroom and head straight for the school gates.
It seemed she failed to keep up, as Kaede was nowhere to be seen.
Her stamina is seriously pathetic...
She was probably panting somewhere behind me.
But I couldn't let myself go soft like yesterday.
Or rather, even if I couldn't control my feelings, I shouldn't act on them.
Steeling my resolve, I headed toward the gates.
Even as I crossed the wide-open schoolyard, Kaede was nowhere in sight.
It looked like she had actually given up.
Just as I was about to step through the gates, feeling relieved—
"Boo!"
"..."
"Aw. You didn't even flinch."
Actually, I did.
I was just too startled to react.
"How did you..."
"How does a senior know less about the academy's layout than a freshman?!"
"Was there a shortcut?"
"No way! You're unbelievable. You took the longest route possible. You're such a scrub, a total scrub!"
...
Well, yesterday was my first time actually setting foot in this academy, so of course I wouldn't know.
No wonder the walk felt a bit long.
"Scruuub."
"Caught the runaway senior red-handed~"
Once we passed the gates, Kaede began teasing me relentlessly.
I could have easily outrun her again with my physical stats... but I had lost the will to fight.
It wasn't like she was going to follow me all the way inside my house, so I decided to just ignore her.
"Scrub. Se. nior~"
...
"Oh! Don't tell me you're pretending not to care because you're embarrassed, but you actually wanted to walk with me?!"
...
"T-The rumors were true...! You really can seduce a girl just by talking to her...!"
"Stop it."
I couldn't listen to this anymore, and we were drawing too many stares.
I was one thing, but Kaede was so stylish that passersby looked at us like we were some delinquent couple.
"Hey. Go home now."
"Huh?"
Fortunately, we quickly arrived at the hair salon run by Kaede's mother.
If I could just leave her here and run like last time...
"I don't have to help out today!"
"...Sigh."
"Hehehe, scrub. Your ultimate plan failed, didn't it~?"
"Where on earth did you learn that weird way of talking?"
"I saw it in a manga my... friend was reading in class today!"
I could picture the scene perfectly without even being there.
Someone in her class who occupied the same position as Oku Nobuhiko.
She probably didn't even know his name and just called him 'friend' while borrowing his manga.
And in the process, that guy had undoubtedly fallen in love with Kaede.
Friendly gyarus who are nice to otaku definitely exist.
But to them, it's just basic public etiquette for dealing with strangers.
Anyway, having given up entirely, I continued walking home.
"Scruuub. Scruuub. Pffthahaha."
Now she was giggling to herself, finding her own teasing hilarious.
More importantly, how far was she planning to follow me?
"Oho~"
I didn't ask, knowing it would only make her more annoying.
"I thought so yesterday too, but we walk in the same direction, don't we~?"
...
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
She stepped closer.
"Oh!"
Kaede reacted as if she couldn't believe we were still heading the same way.
My house was only a three-minute walk away. Surely not...
"Oho?"
No way.
"You live right next door!"
"..."
"Wow, look at your face! I'm seriously hurt~! I was just kidding, you know?"
She was dragging me back and forth between heaven and hell with every single word.
I shouldn't let myself get dragged along like this, but there was nothing I could do.
It wasn't like I could just snap at a girl who was being so friendly.
At least she didn't live right next door. Thank goodness.
"I live two doors down!!"
"..."
Unable to believe my ears, I stopped in front of my gate and stared at her.
Kaede stopped right in front of the house two doors down, waved at me, and actually went inside.
...
I stood there frozen for a long time, completely dumbfounded.
This had to be a prank.
She was probably hiding just inside the door, waiting to jump out.
But even after nearly five minutes, she didn't reappear.
"Sigh..."
It seemed she really did live two doors down.
"Senior~~~"
"Wow. Holy shit."
I had tried my absolute best to hold it in, but I couldn't stop the curse from slipping out.
Tachibana Kaede was waving at me from the second-floor window of the house two doors down.
How was this even possible?
The next morning.
I woke up around the same time as yesterday and busied myself preparing for the academy.
But this time, I hadn't lost any sleep, and I knew exactly when school started.
Even so, the reason I was leaving so early was because I now knew Kaede lived two doors down.
By the same token, Kaede also knew I lived two doors down from her.
Which meant there was a very high probability she would show up in front of my house this morning.
Someone might call me self-absorbed.
But I wasn't being self-absorbed; I was preparing for a potential disaster.
I had already gotten closer to Tachibana Kaede than necessary.
This couldn't continue.
Kaede trying to stay close was one thing, but me slowly opening up to her was also a problem.
My devotion to Ms. Ishihara Eri remained unchanged, but love wasn't the only kind of relationship.
In Kaede's case, it was friendship.
And familiarity is a dangerous thing.
Beep-beep-beep!
Click.
...
Perhaps because I had left so early, she wasn't waiting outside my door.
Arriving at the academy at such an early hour, I went straight to the classroom.
I slid into my seat.
I immediately face-planted onto my desk and tried to sleep.
Originally, I had planned to study to make a good impression on Ms. Ishihara.
Paying attention in class was great, but nothing was more effective than getting good grades on exams.
She would definitely praise me again, and she would smile happily.
But I didn't have any textbooks.
They weren't at home, nor were they in my desk drawer.
There was nothing in my locker either.
They simply didn't exist.
So, to better focus during class later, I had no choice but to try and sleep now, even though I wasn't particularly tired.
Making myself so awake that I couldn't sleep even if the lectures were boring was the best strategy right now.
...
*Poke. Poke.*
...
*Poke.*
"Good morning~"
...
"Hehe... You get here much earlier than I thought~"
I desperately pretended to be asleep, but...
"I know you're awake~"
Even so, she wouldn't be able to force me up.
"Hmm... See you at lunchtime~"
*Slide.*
In the end, Kaede opened the door and left.
...
She's fucking terrifying, seriously.