2. Look at This Bastard?
"Hey, Nishino."
An annoying voice came from beside me. I stared holes through the blackboard and mindlessly clicked the tip of my pen against my notebook.
Ignore him. Ignore him. Is there a dog barking somewhere? Now that I'd seen the status window, I needed to avoid getting involved with that guy as much as possible. Just knowing that bastard was trying to make me fall for him had already made the status window useful. At least now I could prepare for it.
"You're listening, you know. You're cute from the side."
Fuck. I almost threw up. He rested his chin on his desk and muttered that shamelessly. There was no need to respond to every lame pickup line he threw at me. Sure, he was a delinquent, but he was still a snot-nosed kid. If I kept ignoring him, he'd give up and back off.
"Hey, yoo-hoo~"
But he was persistent. Instead of paying attention to the blackboard or the teacher, he kept staring at my face as if studying it. Hey, if you're a student, how about doing some studying? Though, I'm one to talk. I spend half my time sleeping in class.
"I'm being ignored? That hurts."
The sound of his pen going click, click as he rested his chin on his hand and spun it for no reason grated on my nerves.
Maybe the kids sitting in front of us had sensed the subtle tension between us, because I could feel them glancing back now and then to sneak a look.
'Ugh, this is so annoying. Of all the seats in the entire classroom, why did he have to sit next to me?'
There were plenty of seats up front, weren't there? Like next to the class rep at the very front, or next to the otaku guy in the right-hand corner. It wasn't like he looked the sort to pay attention in class, so why stick him by the back window and let him coast?
Could the status window have rigged this, too? I was imagining plucking out the last few hairs on our bald homeroom teacher's head for assigning the seats when I tried to turn my gaze toward the window.
"Let's share your textbook. I'm a transfer student, so I don't have one."
God, seriously. He casually scooted his chair right up beside me. The unpleasant warmth of his body made every hair on my skin stand on end.
Fuck! Without a word, I shoved the textbook toward him, then lifted my chair a little and moved it a few inches in the opposite direction.
"Cold."
He just smirked and didn't try to press any closer. He only kept watching me quietly, as if observing me. His eyes made it seem like he'd found prey that was going to be quite the challenge. That blatant stare had cold sweat running down my back throughout the entire first period.
I'm so fucked. He's got his eye on me, doesn't he?
At last, the bell rang to mark the end of the first period, which had felt like an eternity. I let out a deep sigh, stood up, and tried to slip out of the classroom.
But just before I reached the back door, Michiru and Reika came up to me as if they'd been waiting for this moment.
"Yuka-chan! So, how's the transfer student? Did you get to talk to him? It must've been hard to focus with someone sitting next to you for the first time in ages."
Michiru came up behind me, rested her chin on my shoulder, and whispered. Reika glanced at the Golden-Tanned Delinquent with a hint of wariness, then spoke in a low voice.
"But... isn't it hard for you to focus even when no one's sitting beside you?"
"You bitch."
But I couldn't think of anything to say in response. Well, I did tend to doze off in class.
"I peeked earlier, and he kept talking to Yuka."
"Eek, he's making a move on her."
"Ugh, I don't know. He keeps talking to me, and it's driving me crazy. Maybe if I ignore him for a while, he'll go flirt with someone else?"
I kicked the trash can beside me and gave a half-hearted reply. Yeah, indifference is the best medicine for an attention seeker. No matter how much of a Golden-Tanned Delinquent he is in some adult game, how's he supposed to make me fall for him in a hundred days if I don't react at all? That makes no sense. Unless he suddenly uses hypnosis on me or something.
Just then, a chair scraped with a clatter as the Golden-Tanned Delinquent got to his feet. With both hands shoved into his pockets, he sauntered over, his shadow stretching long thanks to his height. I lifted my head and glanced up at him.
"So your name's Yuka? Pretty name."
"..."
...Bastard, he really is tall.
I was talking about his height, of course.
I was tall for a girl, too, but this guy looked well over 180 centimeters. He seemed even taller than I'd been in my previous life. I guess kids these days eat well and grow well. They sure do develop fast.
"You talk just fine, huh? You didn't say a word to me, though."
"..."
Oh, what the hell is this guy's problem? I surreptitiously looked away, and Michiru's eyes went round as a rabbit's in surprise. Reika frowned slightly and glanced up at him.
After the silence stretched on, the Golden-Tanned Delinquent shrugged, then turned his gaze toward Michiru and Reika.
"You're Nishino's friends, right? Pretty girls hanging out together. I'm Kurosawa Ren. Nice to meet you. What are your names?"
Ugh, gross...
He flashed a grin and greeted them with his usual smooth, easygoing attitude. The other girls nearby started sneaking glances at us, too.
Maybe because Michiru was the quintessential Gyaru type, but she seemed a little curious about his quintessential Golden-Tanned Delinquent looks and his distinctive vibe.
"Yeah~ I'm Hondo Michiru, and this here is Tachibana Reika. You said your name was Kurosawa-kun? You look like the type who gets around. What school were you at before? It wasn't around here, was it?"
"Just Tokyo. Had some stuff going on, so I moved down here. Anyway, Hondo, your nail art's got style. And you've got a great sense of fashion. I thought all the girls around here were kind of plain."
"Huh? Really? You noticed! Yuka-chan, Reika-chan, did you hear that? He's got a good eye. It took me two whole hours to finish this nail art! I learned it at a salon before..."
Michiru nudged Reika in the side and beamed as she rattled off a stream of words. Reika kept her mouth shut and her guard up, but as he skillfully brought up Gyaru fashion trends, makeup techniques, and popular brands, the conversation gradually started to flow.
...Look at this bastard.
I crossed my arms and quietly watched the whole thing. I put up a wall, so now he'd switched directions and started approaching my friends instead?
I didn't know a single thing they were talking about, and I was a girl myself. So, Michiru, Reika... You were holding back for my sake all this time. I couldn't follow the conversation at all.
Anyway, that guy. He looked like a muscle-brained delinquent, but he was incredibly good at handling people. How the hell did he know all that? Did he have to put in that much effort to pick up girls? I had to admire him, in the worst possible way.
His technique for subtly lowering their guard and closing the distance was the work of a real pro. Michiru was one thing, but even Reika... Yep. This guy was definitely a Golden-Tanned Delinquent. I knew I wasn't wrong.
"Oh, right. There's a new dessert café that just opened by the school. If you're free, want to go together after school? My treat."
Holy shit. He casually tried to get physical, twirling a strand of Michiru's hair around his finger. What the hell are you doing? Push him away already, Michiru!
"Huh? A café? You're really treating us? I heard that franchise is super famous for its tarts, so there's always a line!"
"Well, if you're paying."
A hint of color rose in Michiru's cheeks, and she looked distinctly tempted. Even Reika, who'd been frowning the whole time, looked at him without seeming particularly opposed.
That crazy bastard.
I felt my insides start to boil.
They'd been following me around and looking out for me since we were little. I'd always thought of Michiru and Reika as little sisters and friends.
To my grown-up eyes, those two were just a couple of immature high schoolers, so I'd developed a kind of protective instinct without even realizing it.
And now I was supposed to just sit there and watch my adorable little sisters become prey for some slick-talking Golden-Tanned Delinquent with no pedigree to speak of?
Reika even had a boyfriend. Just like you'd expect from a trashy, blonde, tanned delinquent, he was trying to pull an NTR on his very first day.
So, since you couldn't get anywhere with me, you were going to start by recruiting my friends and building up your forces?
And besides...
[ Target: Main Character 'Kurosawa Ren' has appeared. ]
[ Time remaining until submission in 100 days: D-100 ]
If this status window was real, then what? If he started worming his way into my daily life and relationships with the people around me, then I'd end up completely falling for him a hundred days from now.
I couldn't let him have his way. And more than anything else...
...Status window or not, I absolutely couldn't let some shady delinquent invade my territory. What the hell did he think he was doing, pulling tricks in my peaceful school life?
"Hey, Kurosawa."
I called his name sharply.
The Golden-Tanned Delinquent, who'd been pretending to be absorbed in the conversation, turned around with a grin, as if he'd been waiting for me. His expression was full of curiosity and an unpleasantly smug sense of ease. He looked like he was saying, 'Finally reacting, huh?'
This bastard. He'd been doing it on purpose after all. He'd flirted with Michiru and Reika just to get a reaction out of me. He put on a shameless smile and opened his mouth.
"What is it, Nishino? You want to come to the dessert café, too?"
"...Come with me for a second."
As if I cared about some stupid dessert café. I turned on my heel and headed through the back door into the hallway without hesitation.
I could hear Michiru calling, "Huh? Yuka-chan, what's wrong? Where are you going all of a sudden?" and feel Reika's puzzled gaze, but I ignored them and kept walking.
First, I needed to teach that obnoxious brat some proper manners.