A Bombshell Senior Lives Next Door – Japan's Shockingly Chill on Hikikomori
"Ishikawa, I'm pissed off about as much as one burger and a can of cola right now."
"What kinda unit is that?!?"
I vented on Ishikawa, my one and only real friend. His bewildered shout echoed through the quiet school store.
"Haa..."
Ishikawa was the same as ever. I knew I shouldn't nitpick, but damn, he was straight out of the original story.
It sucked feeling like a canon-fodder original fanboy, but even so, I dredged up what I remembered from the source material.
Think, Suo Mitsurugi. Suo.
Thinking... nothing? Suo Mitsurugi? Who the hell was that? No mention anywhere.
Pick a lane already – reality or rupko.
And the fact that she was supposedly prettier than your average heroine? Yeah, that stuck out. A girl like that living next door, and I'd never run into her? Come on, seriously?
It's not like she popped up out of nowhere... How did I not know?
Sure, I was a shut-in who barely left the house, but this was weird. Was I in a brain-in-a-jar scenario? Did the scientist managing my brain just drop in a new character called Suo for my sake? Some sudden avatar addition to keep me from envying Ishikawa forever...?
"Gah, no way!"
"What's wrong with you...? Anyway, just one cola?"
Why dump this on me when even all the second-years got turned away? Just 'cause she lives next door, they shove it on a first-year newbie?
Aha!
Got it! They passed the buck to a fellow buck-pass-ee. Damn, was buck-passing an ancient tradition in Japan too, just like Korea?
Times like this, I had to heal with Ishikawa's wallet.
"Make it a burger too."
"A burger's on you...!"
Ishikawa owed me cola for life. I'd bailed him out big-time with his college entrance drama. Because of that, he stuck to me like glue and started pondering seriously.
"Anyway, Senior Suo... Kinda rings a bell."
"Finally, the day you become useful arrives?"
"Why phrase it like 'the day doom arrives'!"
Still, Ishikawa was seriously brainstorming for me now. His aura of deep thought was a murky gray.
I cracked open a vending machine cola and chugged it. I had zero leads, but Ishikawa suddenly smacked his fist into his palm like something clicked.
"Suo Mitsurugi! Senior Suo!! She's super famous!!"
Whoa, that big a reaction? Had my otaku degeneracy really nuked my social awareness?
I eyed Ishikawa with suspicion. "I got no clue. Explain it so I can understand."
"Ahem! Actually, that was bullshit. I don't know her well either."
"I'm the idiot fucking moron who trusted you."
"Sorry! But we're newbies too."
Forgot about that. Both of us were fresh-faced first-years, just starting the semester. Clean-cut types who'd never touched smokes, booze, or hung with delinquents.
Yeah, I was like hunting for watermelons at a fish market.
"But there was this rumor about a weird second-year senior."
"You wanna get hit for real?"
His rupko-style tease-first-get-to-the-point bullshit nearly made my head explode, but I listened.
If he was stringing me along again, Ishikawa was in for a world of hurt.
"Rumor was, this super pretty senior who loves skydiving and stuff."
"...Huh. Kinda sounds familiar."
"You know, our school's got that one Extreme Sports Club."
Extreme Sports Club... Oh, right.
"The one crawling with gloomy dudes?"
Club activities were practically mandatory in Japanese schools. Slackers got lumped into the "Go-Home Club." Basically, everyone was in a club.
For the record, I was Go-Home Gaming Club. Go home and game.
"Yeah, rumor was it turned all guys 'cause of one super pretty senior."
"That her?"
"Heard only a few diehards stuck around waiting for her return after she vanished. Timing lines up... ish?"
Extreme Sports Club. Yeah, the promo guys had dead-fish eyes and zero energy. For a high-octane sport, you'd expect energetic popular kids at the core.
Did Senior Suo bail and tank the vibe?
Interesting intel.
But.
"All just hearsay in the end. Okay, now I'm pissed enough for three burgers, Ishikawa."
"Why!!?"
I tossed one last jab at him, but honestly, I was still clueless. Those vague words made Senior Suo even more of a mystery.
Still gotta go, though...
Teacher's direct order. No dodging that. Sigh, can't ignore teacher-level buck-passing.
They'd overlooked my desk-under gaming sessions. No way I wanted my phone confiscated as capital punishment. So I waited out the school day.
Today's sky felt oppressively overcast for some reason. Not like anything would go down there, but why the anxiety?
"I hate this world."
My house was a classic Japanese single-family home. No AC in summer, just fans, and my room was wallpapered in cyber tech posters.
But this place? Totally different from the outside in.
Of course – it was a fucking luxury apartment.
And─
"Communal entrance with a door lock? This is bullshit."
High-end entry barrier. No entry for you.
Door-lock guardian was ironclad, so how the hell was I getting in?
Damn! 0000, 1234 – all blocked? Fort Knox over here.
Should've asked when my homeroom teacher got buck-passed the second-year issue.
─ "Look, there's no first-year with a better personality than you. Please!"
What was great about my personality? Thanks to this teacher's weird judgment, things were off to a rocky start.
Okay, Plan B.
I cheerfully switched gears. No teeth? Get implants.
"Senior Suo~? Senior? Guess you're not home."
Operation: Ditch morals for gaming time. Go "find" Senior Suo, report back she's out. Done.
"Looks like no one's home, so I guess I gotta head back."
Muttering to myself like this? Blame Ishikawa's contamination.
Rupko protag trait: Constant soliloquies. And my ball-and-chain buddy was a rupko protag.
Clomp, clomp. All thanks to top-tier rupko student Ishikawa, so tomorrow I'd squeeze three burgers out of him...
"I'm Suo. Who're you?"
"...?"
I turned, and holy shit!
Brain.exe crashed at the sight of the otherworldly beauty before me.
Casual clothes, but those short shorts showed off her killer legs. Senior Suo, matching the homeroom teacher's photo perfectly.
Get it together – just a celeb-level stunner, that's all.
My class had Ruri and other hotties too.
...But damn, those eyes were on another level.
"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me."
"Ooh, polite greeting. Please take care of me~. So, who are you?"
"Jun Yamada, first-year at Jeria High School."
"Hmm, underclassman, huh? Uniform checks out. So... why're you here?"
Senior Suo cocked her head, hand on hip. White plastic bag in hand – convenience store run, probably.
Whatever. Self-intro bought me time to snap out of it.
"Well, Senior, I heard you're refusing to go to school."
"...Oh, that?"
"Yeah. They dumped this unfair task on me just 'cause I live next door."
"Pfft, you talk funny? 'Unfair task.' Hilarious."
Looked like Ishikawa's info was half-right. Senior Suo was a total social butterfly. Not the thug type, but the chill, listens-well kind.
Would've been awkward if she was a delinquent. Dodged a bullet.
I mentally bowed thanks to the heavens, then got to the point.
"Anyway, could you sign this? It's the attendance document."
"Hmm, sign? Dunno. I don't have a pen."
"I do."
"Ehh, you're prepared. *Cough*... Why colors?"
Red, blue, black, green – just in case. Always prepared, had to get that signature. Even if a bike hit me, one'd survive.
"I lose 'em a lot, so I carry extras."
"Wouldn't you just carry four blacks...?"
"Pen's a pen – color matters? Anyway, please sign."
Limited-time event drops after 4 PM. Rupko world or not, gotta grind rice.
But Senior Suo's eyes twitched. Not bad – more like... blank to pre-rage? Forced smile.
No, uneasy vibe. Dull aura leaked from her.
I tensed naturally.
"Ah! Can't do it here. Just bought ice cream and it's melting..."
"Signing takes under a minute."
"Anyway! My place has a desk and fridge. Come in, problem solved~?"
Inviting me in? A stranger first-year? With that murky aura?
"No, that's a bit..."
"...Whoa."
Aura felt ominous. If my power wasn't glitching, she was suspecting me.
But suspicion or not, barging into a senior's place on first meet...
Screw rupko tropes – this is straight-up rude AF.
I shot back at her instead. "Inviting a strange guy in isn't smart."
"...Heh."
"If that was code for 'don't wanna sign,' I can fake it and go."
Be direct. No telling what drama in her place, and missing game event sucked.
No way this leads to some epic bond anyway...
My brutally realistic brain pissed me off today. Couldn't I fantasize once about her heart-fluttering over me?
"Anyway, I'll head out."
I bowed politely to Senior Suo and turned.
Offline efforts done – time for online.
"Wait."
Wha...?
"Wait a sec."
After cutting it that clear, Senior Suo blocked my path. Swapped ominous smirk for intrigued grin.
"Come in. I'll sign."
"...No, seriously. What I just said─"
"Sorry for wasting your time. Least have some ice cream. Yeah?"
Why the mood flip? Bright green aura flowed from her now.
Something I don't know?
Bright green usually meant interest.
"Yeah? Don't wanna? Hate it? Yaa~ Euung~?"
But this senior, seriously. I wasn't some pushover mark.
After all that, thinking I'd cave and come in? Big miscalculation...
"Yeah? Underclassman? Yeahhh?"
"Uh..."
Damn, she smiles pretty.
No way, Jang Ka-seol-yoon in the flesh? Live, not photo? With aegyo?
Still, guy pride said refuse─
"Screw it, why not?"
'Got urgent plans today.'
Wait, shit! No, that's not─
My true feelings slipped out.
"Yay! Decided!! C'mon, in we go."
This ain't right. Don't push my back...!
That wasn't me talking. My spine said it. Speech bubble glitched!!
"Yay~ Don't hold back~"
"Ah."
Thus, I recalled a wise man's words.
Know thyself.
I was still a hormone-riddled first-year. Couldn't refuse the Suo senior before me.
Suo Mitsurugi. A dangerous teen girl obsessed with extreme sports.
Danger meaning real risks she loved chasing.
Of course, healthy thrills like "sports," not drugs or crime.
Skydiving, bungee jumping – she'd conquered them all. But one issue.
Why are guys like that?
Chasing dopamine highs, she hated men. Her thrill-seeking life overflowed with sleazy pigs nursing dirty fantasies.
Not all guys, just those types.
But the world was full of 'em.
Were there no guys for genuine fun bromances? No girls shared her hobbies either.
Why did "let's hang" always turn to confessions? No one ever met her eyes for real.
Even in high school, boredom set in. Life felt stale.
Heading home from the conbini loaded with spicy ramen.
School? Nah. Another low-rent dopamine chase? Pathetic.
Then, underclassman Jun appeared.
Attendance doc... Huh, he's been staring at my eyes?
Unlike others fixated on boobs or hips. Scanned her whole at first, sure.
But after? Eyes only. Expressionless, but different.
Made her wanna test him.
Ehh, probably same as the rest.
Invites always showed their excitement. Not boyfriend vibes, just friends – why get horny?
Made her feel cheap as a girl.
For Suo, seeking real friends, it stung.
But.
─ "No, that's a bit."
...This guy's different?
First normal person she'd met. Super polite first-year, too.
If he'd barged in, she'd have signed anywhere.
Witty talker, good personality.
Jun's name etched in Suo Mitsurugi's mind.
Different from other guys─
So she invited him in.
No other reason. Just sorry for her arbitrary test.
Genuinely wanted to treat him to ice cream.