Who The Hell Are You
"You all know this already, right? Classes are shortened today. There's a faculty meeting this afternoon. When we're done, I don't want anyone wandering off somewhere they shouldn't. Head straight home."
"Aww yeah!!!"
"Yamada. Quiet."
"Yes, sir."
Morning homeroom. At Yukio-sensei's announcement, bright smiles bloomed across every face in the room. I, on the other hand, clicked my tongue quietly as a wave of disappointment rolled in.
Afternoon National Language class...
The Tosa Diary I'd previewed during self-study had been far more compelling than I'd expected. I'd been quietly looking forward to hearing how Yukio-sensei would unpack the work. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until next time.
Shame. Maybe I should just throw myself into National Language anyway? With shortened classes, I'd have time to spare. Going all-in on the subject for the rest of the day wouldn't be such a bad—
—Bzzzt.
My phone hummed softly against the desk. Wondering what it could be, I glanced at the screen. A message had come in on Lane.
It was Alice, sitting several seats away.
The whole exchange left me with a faintly strange feeling. Until now, nearly every message I'd ever sent or received had been for the sake of passing along information. Trading texts just to chatter about nothing — this was, if I was being honest, a first.
The messages came in like a machine gun. I couldn't help sticking my tongue out at the screen. I still wasn't fully used to typing in Japanese; there was no way I could match that speed.
More to the point — she wanted me to make time?
Every time Alice had ever needed something from me, it had been to pry out my study secrets. I asked carefully, wondering what it would be this time.
A simple reason. And an aggressively adorable emoticon. A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
I glanced toward Alice. She had her phone lowered beneath the desk, grinning to herself. Judging by that look, she really had sent it out of nothing but boredom.
I decided to mess with her.
The instant it sent, Alice's face crumpled. Honestly. Every feeling she had played out on her face like a subtitle.
They were only messages, and yet I could almost hear the whining in my ears. I did not smile. Smiling would have gotten me caught by the teacher, and I had no interest in being embarrassed in front of the whole class.
Something I wanted to buy... I did, actually. Workbooks. The ones I'd hemmed and hawed over every time, then given up on because I always told myself I needed to save.
I was pinching pennies down to the cost of meals. I didn't have the kind of breathing room that let you go shopping for fun. I wanted to try it, sure. But I sent the refusal anyway.
For a while, no reply came. Wondering if something had happened, I turned my head toward Alice. She looked like she was thinking hard about something. Her fingers flew, then stopped, then flew again — writing a message, deleting it, writing it over.
Before long, a reply arrived.
I didn't much like borrowing money from people. In my previous life, the ones who called themselves my parents had borrowed themselves into a hole, and I'd been the one left to crawl out of it. I'd sworn after that — no matter how small the amount — I would neither borrow from anyone nor lend to anyone.
And yet, as if that resolution had never existed, I sent back a cheerful yes. It was a small amount, for one thing. And watching a friend look upset over it would have been worse...
...Can I even call Alice a friend?
It had been so long since I'd last made one that the word itself felt blurry around the edges. We'd only been on speaking terms for a few weeks. What if I went and thought of her as a friend, and she didn't think of me that way at all? What if it bothered her?
A flurry of giddy messages poured in. I snuck a look across the room. Alice was beaming, her eyes shining.
"Alice."
"Y-Yes!?"
"What're you looking at that's so entertaining?"
Ah. Yukio-sensei had caught her dead to rights.
"You can have it back after school."
"Yes, sir..."
Phone confiscated, Alice slumped in her seat with her lips pushed out in a full pout. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes met mine. She blinked a few times, broke into a crooked little grin, and mouthed the words.
Don't forget. It's a promise.
A promise. Going out with someone just to have fun — that would be a first for me, even after growing up. I'd always been too busy working, and I'd never had friends to go out with in the first place.
I gave a small nod, then turned to the window. How long had it been since I'd felt this kind of anticipation over something that wasn't studying? As if it were answering for me, the sky outside was an endless, cloudless blue.
A blue sky. Bright sunlight. Perfect weather for going out.
Or rather — it had been perfect weather.
—Shhhhhhh......
"...It's raining."
"......"
In front of the shoe lockers, the two of us stared blankly up at the sky as the rain came down in sheets.
"Nnghhh... I didn't bring an umbrella."
Alice muttered it with a tremble in both eyes. I watched her for a moment, then pulled a folding umbrella from my bag.
"Oh, you brought one, Ryuzaki-kun. Thank goodness."
"Carrying one around is just a habit at this point."
A habit worn into me since my previous life. Forget an umbrella and you ended up buying an overpriced disposable one at the convenience store. My body had been weak back then — a little rain and I was guaranteed a cold, and a cold meant I couldn't work properly. An umbrella hadn't been optional. It had been essential.
"Alice."
"Hm?"
"With the weather like this, how about we put off hanging out until another day?"
"No way!"
She cut the suggestion down without a second's thought.
"If we don't go today with the shortened classes, who knows when we'll get another chance. I never have time normally because of tutoring."
She really, truly wanted to go out. Well — the rain itself didn't bother me much. I'd only suggested postponing out of consideration for her. I held the umbrella out.
"Then take this and run to the convenience store. Just buy yourself one."
Alice looked down at it for a moment, then quietly took it from my hand. She popped it open — and grabbed my arm, pulling me straight under it with her.
The chill in the air receded. Alice's warmth seeped into my arm.
"Why? We can just go together."
She said it with a smile. Her face was right there, close enough to touch, and some sensation I didn't have a name for unfurled through my chest. A faint, tingling pulse. I had never felt anything like it in my life.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"......"
"Did your heart skip a beat?"
"Who knows."
"Not denying it, huh?"
"You're free to imagine whatever you want."
"Boo. That's no fun."
I matched my stride to hers as she started walking. The shoulder left outside the umbrella was soaked through in seconds. I glanced over — hers was getting just as wet. Without a word, I tipped the umbrella a little toward her. She paused, then tipped it right back toward me.
"You'll get soaked like that."
"You'll get soaked too, Ryuzaki-kun."
"Unlike some people, I'm sturdy. I'll be fine."
"No. I'd rather we both get wet."
As we walked on, the eyes around us drifted our way as if pulled by gravity. Of course they did. The genius girl everyone adored, and the delinquent everyone feared, sharing a single umbrella side by side. It would have been stranger if people hadn't stared.
Alice, for her part, didn't seem to notice those looks at all. She just kept chatting away with a wide, easy smile.
"After we get the umbrella, let's go eat lunch!"
"Sounds good. What do you want? Pasta, steak, something like that?"
"I love that stuff. How'd you know?"
"You mentioned before that you like Western food."
Alice's feet stopped. A moment later she started walking again, as if nothing had happened, and said quietly,
"...You remembered."
A small smile lingered on her face. Then she added,
"But today's fine. You said you don't really like Western food, Ryuzaki-kun."
"Not quite. I said I'd get sick of it if that was all I ate. Having it once or twice is fine by me."
"Then it's settled. I know a place that does amazing pasta."
We walked on, half in the rain. The old me would have been thoroughly miserable in a situation like this. Strangely, though, I didn't mind it at all.
Without warning, Alice gave the umbrella a shake. Raindrops flicked across my face.
"......"
"Pfft."
"What was that for."
"Mm, no reason?"
"Are you in elementary school?"
"Do I look that young?"
"You're insane."
Walking side by side with someone. Talking about nothing, without a single worry in the world. It wasn't studying — but this kind of time wasn't half bad either. Studying was still a little better, of course.
And then.
"Ryuzaki, you...!"
Someone stepped into our path. My first thought was that it was some delinquent with a grudge. But he looked far too ordinary for that. Average build. Average face. And a pair of eyes burning with a will so fierce it was almost unnatural.
I knew that face. I had not seen it once since being reborn in this world — and I could not have failed to recognize it anyway.
"...Hirose?"
Hirose Yuto. The protagonist of this world, standing in my way.
At this point in time, Hirose and Ryuzaki would already be acquainted. Barely a week after enrollment, Ryuzaki had gone after Hirose's childhood friend. I knew that, which was exactly why I'd been going out of my way to avoid him and the girl in question. It wasn't anything I'd done — but running into them and kicking up trouble would have been a headache I didn't need.
I just hadn't expected him to come looking for me like this.
"You. Cut it out. Right now."
"Cut what out?"
"Yuuka wasn't enough for you, so now you're going after Alice too?"
Hirose's jaw clenched.
"You really are... completely hopeless."
"......"
"It's obvious. You found some dirt on Alice and you're blackmailing her into hanging out with you. Am I wrong?"
"Yeah, you're wrong. Pretty spectacularly, actually."
I had a pretty clear picture of what was going on. He'd cooked up a magnificent misunderstanding all by himself. The annoying part was that I could see where he was coming from. If I'd watched a delinquent who'd been tormenting my childhood friend until recently suddenly start walking around with the most popular girl in school, I probably would have jumped to something similar.
Suspecting it was one thing. Blocking someone in the middle of the street over it was another. Guess not just anyone could be a rom-com protagonist.
That was when it happened.
"...Hah."
Alice let out a small sigh.
"Alice, don't worry. This guy—"
"Hey."
She cut Hirose off, and her voice when she spoke was ice.
Silence settled over the street.
"What's with the familiar act."
It was a voice I had never heard from her before. Cold enough to freeze the rain.