Tomorrow, I Will Die. You Will Revive Vol 1 Chapter 3

[BOKUSHINU V1] CUT 3 – TODAY, s.e.xY DREAM FOUGHT. YOU BECAME A HERO.

I had a dream.

It’s a dream of my childhood, when I was still at elementary school.

I’m sure it was summer. Yeah, summer.

It was a campsite for families. Everyone was barbecuing at the riverside.

Besides us, there were other families with other children around.

Not long later, all the children naturally gathered together, playing together like friends who played together for years.

There was a river, so us children naturally thought of playing in the river.

But there were always children who were alone

They either could not swim, or they were abnormally afraid of the water.

On the other side of the shallow river was a timid girl who was crying.

She could have crossed the river if someone helped her.

The timid girl’s eyes were filled with tears, fidgeting and hesitating.

The water surface reflected the dazzling dress her on a dress, clearing unbefitting of a camp trip.

The girl had long, silky hair, holding a panda doll in both hands, clearly looking very pitiful.

I could only recall such a fuzzy image, and all I could remember was that she was a very cute girl.

And that there were other lonely children.

Some of them were acting cool, some of them were idiots fooling around.

And there was me, being an idiot.

“Polaris Princess! Wait right there, I’m coming to save you! I promise this in the name of In the name of Autumn Moon!”

I imitated the transformation poses used in anime and yelled those lines proudly.

Polaris Princess was the heroine of the Anime I was addicted to.

As for Autumn Moon, well, Autumn Moon (TN: a direct translation of Akitsuki’s name, 秋月)… yeah, that’s the setting

Let’s put this topic aside.

No matter the motive, Autumn moon is a hard-working hero that helps anyone in trouble.

However, I made a fool of myself.

I slipped, and got dragged by the water current without putting up a fight, I was drowning.

Even now, the sight of the girl with the panda watching me get washed away is still a fresh memory my mind.

I’m going to die.

That was what my young self thought.

And then, a girl came out from nowhere, and rushed to the riverside.

When the other children were looking stunned, she jumped in aggressively.

She leaped right into the river, grabbing my hand tightly, and pulled me to the sh.o.r.e.

She had a pair of beautiful eyes, short hair reflecting the sunlight and a stunning white Alice band.

Her smile was so fascinating and unforgettable.

And she stole my heart instantly with her actions, which included what she said next,

“I’m the hero who saved your life! From today onwards, you’re my servant!”

She continued, “It’s a promise! Let’s do a pinky promise!” reaching her pinky finger out. I then reached my out in a subconscious manner too. Her finger was extremely warm.

I replied.

I will repay this debt. When you’re in danger, I’ll definitely save you, it’s a promise.

I can never forget the lonely feeling I had when our fingers parted.

It has been 10 years since then…

“Arrghhhhhhh!!”

I woke up and screamed on a weekend.

d.a.m.n it! I got made fun of!

“Autumn moon (LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL)”

This was written on the notebook, and there was a letter placed next to it.

“Ah s.h.i.t….this is bad…. I forgot to hide it….!”

With a bitter look, I proceeded to read the diary.

“I checked underneath the bed and found such an incredible treasure! Sakamoto, you’re actually exchanging letters with a girl. How cute~~~~~”

“That was a long time ago! Don’t be such a busybody!”

I picked up the letter and grumbled.

This letter was from the girl I met at the BBQ.

From the girl with the short haircut and the Alice headband who saved me from drowning back then.

She and I are get on with each other well, so we spent time together at the BBQ playing with each other the entire time. I do realize that exchanging letters is not exactly trendy nowadays, but we used this method of joys and sorrows to keep in contact.

I too felt that Hikari Yumesaki will definitely laugh at me if she finds it, so I kept the letters in a cardboard box, and hid the box in the ceiling. However, it looks like I took it out once and forgot to place it back. d.a.m.n it… by the way, why did you look under my bed? though I can guess the reason though.

“Since it’s so rare, I copied the whole text for you.

–h.e.l.lo Akitsuki. How have you been?

Summer’s coming soon. Whenever it arrives, I’m sure to think of you.

That memory is still fresh within you. You wanted to be a hero, but you failed.

The you back then was really cool. Hero Autumn Moon!

I can still remember the promise back then. I won’t forget it, please remember
to reply—

Hah, Autumn moon (LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL)

Not bad, Hero (LOL), and you even failed. As expected from you, Sakamoto (LOLOLOLOLOLOL)

So, please reply. (Peeks from behind wall)”

Don’t laugh at other’s past! Everyone had such a time!

“Ah- d.a.m.n… that b.i.t.c.h found such a useless thing…”

I sighed as I opened the letter. Man, barging into someone else’s memories like that.

I looked at the last, cheerful line on the notebook.

“Ohoho, Autumn Moon Autumn Moon ♪ Got myself a good story☆”

Well, whatever. She should get sick of it after a while.

“… It has been a while since her last letter.”

As time pa.s.sed, the interval between each letter increased, and I’ve forgotten when was the last time we exchanged letters.

“… Is she doing fine now?”

Stoking up past memories within me, I was struck by loneliness.

I can’t even recall how she looks like now, that girl who shone like the sun.

This fuzzy memory’s buried in the corner of my memories. It’ll be be a lie if I say I don’t feel nostalgic at all.

But let’s forget about it; it’s all in the past now.

I cover the box of memories and stuff it into the deepest part of my desk’s drawer.
Hikari Yumesaki didn’t mention anything about the letters afterwards.

Not sure if it’s related to this, but recently, she started a game without my acknowledgement.

A game of her playing hero.

“Why did I wake up with sore muscles?”

“You can only blame the you yesterday.”

“The me yesterday wasn’t behaving, it seems.”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing, hand me a wet cloth.”

“I’ll apply it on you, remove your top.”

“Don’t say that while placing your hand on my belt!”

The calendar states that today is the Tuesday after Golden Week. There is still time until Sat.u.r.day, and I felt really depressed.

Speaking of May, the first thing that comes to mind is that abnormally dazzling sunlight. Was May always so hot? It’s like my brain gets reset every year.

I’m currently in the infirmary, which I recently got familiar with.

Hikari Yumesaki used my body as and when she wanted, at her own whims, and I’m now troubled by chronic muscle pain.

“I finally obtained a delinquent’s body I always wanted! I now fear nothing!”

This is what she wrote on the notebook a few days ago.

What did she do? She even registered a gym membership card without me knowing; there were also two new wounds on my face. Please, don’t cause me anymore trouble. Also, your technique in applying the band-aid is bad, please consider the angle before you apply it.

“But you were so awesome yesterday. I was shocked.”

“Hmph, what did I do yesterday?”

Higumo’s words troubled me

“Your lower body could move so rapidly, as expected from Yankee-kun.”

“Huh? Lower body?!”

“The girl on the bed was shocked.”

“Bed—?!”

Wait, this—

“You ran home so quickly, I could even see you from here, were you in a hurry?”

“Eh. Ah, well…”

So that’s how it was. She really scared me.

Hikari Yumesaki’s actions were as before, and has become more ridiculous each day. Living together sure is a pain.

When I woke up two days ago, there were pamphlets about pets all over the room, “If you don’t let me raise one, I’ll take a video of you wearing cat ears and post it on NicoNico!” and there were nonsensical threats written on the notebook .

That said, not everything she did was bad. My sister started calling me “big brother☆”, there’s a point card for a maid café in my wallet, and by the way, my screensaver became a photo of me and a maid. I deleted it right away, the memory of it is still fresh in my mind. With Hikari Yumesaki squandering money everywhere, my room begins to overload with all kind of stuff, which is the source of my troubles. For example, the shelf is neatly filled with blue ray discs of moe anime and doujins. If I have to mention other examples, it’ll be regarding a white puzzle left in a corner of the room, an original puzzle where words and pictures can be drawn on the white puzzle.

At first, she attempted to complete it by a little day by day, but after a while, she started to ignore it, and so I finished it for her over the next few days. It was hard at first, but I got addicted by how interesting it is later on, and when I finished it, I felt joy, my childhood excitement awakening within me, I was happy. The next day…

“Don’t complete it on your own!”

Yumesaki Hikari got angry. You’re the one who didn’t a.s.semble it yourself.

By the way, no matter how much money she squanders, I would never need to worry about money. They are still money from what my sister spared me.

Hm? Why does Yukiko have so much money?

Let me tell you something shocking! My sister, Yukiko Sakamoto, is only a middle-schooler, but she’s contracted with a publisher as a light novelist!

She didn’t tell me what she’s writing, but I’m not exactly very familiar with it, but it seems to be selling well. There’s a lot of money sent to her every month in lump sums, but she doesn’t have a bank account, so she’s been using mine all this time. (For some reason, my sister doesn’t want our parents to know that she’s a novelist, so I have to pretend to be an adult nd accompany her when she signed the contract with the publisher. Anyway, it’s a lot of trouble; we will talk about the details some other time…)

To thank me, my sister let me spend her prize money from a certain award-winning novel she wrote. I rejected, of course. But my sister said,

“It’s thanks to your hard work in the novel that I could do my best and win this prize. This is my way of thanking you; you don’t have to worry!”

It seemed weird, but since I got myself money to spend, why not? Also, helping her to get ideas for her novel isn’t so bad. Hmph? Getting ideas? All I do is change into clothes she picks for me, pose as she wants me to and take photos of me at designated places. If you are wondering what she does with those photos, it is probably related to her novel.

“Lessons are starting soon, I’ll head back. Bye.”

“Alright. ah, Akitsuki.”

“I’m not tr.i.m.m.i.n.g my hair.”

“Tch.”

What a bothersome person.

“By the way, did you change your shampoo?”

“….. Bye.”

The me tomorrow is troublesome after all.

Because of a certain someone, my notes are a mess. I’ve been sighing at my notes for about 10 minutes.

The bell indicating the end of cla.s.s chimed, and my cla.s.smates begin to leave their seats, blooming into random chatter with their friends. Of course, I am left deserted, and it’s a barren land aroud me. It’ll be great if everyone can just chat with me unhindered. I’m willing to do anything as long as you talk to me. Give you money? Friend fees? Eh…. Huh, my tears aren’t stopping. What’s going on?

“It seems like he’s been visiting the gym often.”

“The gym? Why?”

“I heard that he is going to face some gang…”

“Speaking of which, he has band-aid on, no.”

“Scary…”

I p.r.i.c.ked my sensitive ears to eavesdrop on the girls who moved slightly away from their seats. Gangs?

“Hey, wait! It seems like he took some white powder too, right?!”

“Wah, d-dangerous!”

That’s just stomach medicine. It’s all that girl’s fault that I’m suffering. I hope that she doesn’t eat cup ramen at night anymore. She never finishes it, leaving the room reeking of it. Also, she guzzles down an entire carton of Koala’s March every day.

“….Tch.”

I subconsciously let out a grumble, scaring the girls who left their seats

I then look over at them instinctively, and they begin to shiver. What do I do know?

I let out a little cough to vent a little of my sadness, and took out my notebook.

According to the report from the me yesterday, there wasn’t anything major going on,

“Ahahaha. You’re enjoying it right? Moe!”

After such a random opening, it’s probably her thoughts about a TV Drama. Since the content doesn’t seem important, I simply browsed through it.

Suddenly, my gaze stopped at the last sentence.

“Hey, why aren’t you making friends?”

“Why indeed?”

I reckon that Hikari Yumesaki has never faced problems in socializing. That’s why she asked such a question.

By the way, this isn’t not her first time asking this question, but the sixth.

The first time,

“Why aren’t you making friends?” But I ignored her, and she probably got mad at me.

“Why aren’t you making friends?” and she continued,

“Don’t ignore me! Make friends!” and then it was an order

“Wait? Instead of making friends, you prefer to make babies? You pervert!” and then it was this,

“Pervert pervert pervert pervert! It is still too early for you to make babies! Go make friends!”

And last of all was this line that’s beyond her usual rampage. I can tell that she’s livid from this sentence. This girl probably only uses the word “hey” when she is in a foul mood. Even if it is just words, you can tell what she’s thinking.

I simply think that this question is rather hard to answer, not because there’s any interesting reason.

Honestly, even I feel bad having to live with this awkward atmosphere every day. All I want is a friend to talk to, let alone a close friend, but reality is always cruel.

“If there’s an opportunity…”

A pa.s.sive person like me wouldn’t succeed anyway. I can’t get myself into it.

I avert my gaze away from the sun while it seems to be staring at me, and closed my notebook without writing anything.

“……….”

What shall I do? That girl would definitely pull some kind of stunt again.

Once cla.s.s ended, I left school in a hurry, tottering back to home with trepidation.

But today’s different from usual.

There’s someone tailing me.

Eh, wait, wait. What’s going on?

If you’re looking for trouble, please spare me already. Even though I look vicious, I’m actually a coward, and I’m naturally bad at fights. There was once when I was taking my bath, and my sister came in and gave me a right straight which almost made me faint. “Tell me if you’re bathing!” My sister said in a huff as she left, but I’m still racking my head over it. That girl probably said something weird to her.

Back on topic, there’s someone stalking me right after I left school.

That person panicked once I stopped. Every time I make a crossroad, I can hear footsteps
catching up to me. That person definitely lacks experience in stalking.

I can just run away if I want to, but that doesn’t satisfy me.

Is it time for me to turn back.

It’s fine, right?

If things turn out bad, I’ll just show my ferocious face and scare that person off. My face is scary after all. Haha, I don’t have a choice.

After comforting myself with such a pitiful reason, I turn around, stand still, and ready myself

As expected, this rookie stalker who picked me as the target starts to chase afterme. Now, take a deep breath.

And wait for the right moment—

“Who’re you!! Do you want to get beaten up!!?”

“Kyah—?!”

I reveal my usual ferocious expression and the scariest voice I can muster to intimidate the stalker.

The stalker shrieked shrilly like a swallow sneezing and got knocked backwards. The stalker’s bag fell on the floor as well, several orange candy b.a.l.l.s starting rolling out from the stalker’s bag.

Then, I saw the most critical thing. The ident.i.ty of the stalker is….

“A girl?”

The stalker’s a pet.i.te girl.

And she seems familiar.

That braided girl is my cla.s.smate.

She’s so pet.i.te that if not for the high school uniform she’s wearing, she can disguise herself as an elementary school student. The girl fell on the floor, her braids tied at both sides of her hair swaying messily. Her pupils are rather big compared to her small face, and her eyes are teary, her milky white skin somewhat reddened. To a pa.s.ser-by, such a scene will be seen as a delinquent b.u.mping into an elementary schooler. The best proof would the glares of the old lady that pa.s.sed by. Shall I run? Is escaping my best option?

“Ah, are you alright?”

“Ah!”

I was startled by her shriek.

Alright, let’s run. The old hag’s already making a phone call. This is bad.

Alright, first I’ll help her get up, stuff the bag into her arms. Having done all these, I turn around, intending to leave–

“Eh?”

But I immediately stop.

I felt a weak resistance from my clothes, and when I turn around to look at it, I see a small, white hand grabbing the hem of my shirt and saw a fair, small hand grabbing my shirt.

I look down the arm, and see the girl looking up at me, shivering,

“…….”

She’s not speaking up, what does she want?

I can’t escape even though I want tobecause she’s grabbing my clothes. Left with no choice, I can only take out my handkerchief to wipe the tears off the braids girl. Speaking of handkerchiefs, I recall Hikari Yumesaki’s.

“A delinquent that brings a handkerchief with him gives off vibes of a prince☆”

This criticism is way off point. See? Isn’t it working now? The girl with braids show a bit of a smile, her shoulders shivering–huh? Is she holding in her laughter? Did I just do something stupid?

“Erm, what do you want with me?”

I cautiously ask her. Besides, this girl just stalked me and burst into tears in the first place. It’s not my fault.

And at that moment, the girl, withstanding her laughter, looks extremely tense again.

“Ah, well, erm, how do I…put this…”

“…”

“Well, ye-yesterday…

Yesterday?

“T-Thank you very buch!”

Ouch! She bit her tongue badly! Speak properly, please!

And this pretty, adorable girl who bit her tongue lowers her face, blushing.

But I’m more concerned now about her mentioning ‘yesterday’.

Unfortunately however, I don’t know what happened yesterday.

It’s definitely not something good. That girl probably did something.

“Er-erm, s.e.xy Dream, was it?”

“Huh?”

What’s that?

“This name’s beautiful, like lightning.”

“Li-lightning?”

“I-It’s really cool…dream…”

“Huh?”

This is getting ridiculous? Can someone please explain to me what this means exactly? What exactly is Dream?

“Th-thi-this is a gift for you…is ① okay?”

“①?”

“Well, if it’s ② and ③, I’m still a high school student…I’m not…prepared physically and mentally.”

It looks like she’s talking about how she’s going to thank me.

Though I don’t really know what’s ① and ②are about.

“Anyway, what’s ①…”

“Yes, may I?”

This is ridiculous.

Just when I thought this.

*Kiss*

“—————————————-”

“B-bye bye.”

The girl tiptoed as best as she could, kissed me on the lips, and dashed off.

She ran off…

Running…

…

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!?”

Anyway, let’s scream.

Anyway, let’s scream out loud.

Reeking of faltering and confusion, I ran off towards my own house.

Th-this is bad. Wait, eh, no, huh, what!?

Wh-wh-what just happened!?

Ah, what’s with that warm breath that approached my face?

The fragrance of a girl.

An intoxicating breath and grazed past my face.

The soft touch.

The orange sweetness seeping in.

And the moist warmth trickling in–

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Anyway, I howled as I dashed through the streets, running straight for home.

Using this momentum, I did some push-ups at high speed, continuing to howl ‘Nameko Nameko Nameko Nameko Nameko Nameko Nameko’, followed by a German Suplex on my bolster, doing all sorts of crazy destructive things for more than 10 minutes.

I then muttered to myself as I opened the notebook.

“What did the me yesterday do!?”

Normally, I would write my words neatly within the lines of the notebook, but this is the one day I didn’t care that much as I pick up the color markers beside me, scribbling all over it.

“You got to be kidding me, that idiot! That’s ridiculous!!”

Anyway, that Hikari Yumesaki will definitely leave behind a sudden message, “I’m trying to prove the chances of a delinquent b.u.mping into a pretty girl and getting kissed.”

The message left by the me yesterday gave me the worst headache.

It begins with a mysterious opening I didn’t understand at all.

“Guhahahaha. You’re enjoying yourself, right? Overcome by moe, right?”

Moe

…

Like h.e.l.l it is!!

“That bird-brain!”

And at night, the incident about the orange candies during the day continue to run rampant in my mind. Thanks to that, I’m all mentally tortured, and so worn out I end up sleeping early.

When I woke up, it’s Thursday. As usual, I missed a day.

I slowly open the notebook with both hands, and glance through the message that girl left behind,

“She got hara.s.sed by a delinquent, so I saved her! I told her, ‘you can thank me using one of the options’

① A kiss

② A French kiss

③ Ehh!? The lips down there!?

It looks like she chose ① after all, didn’t she? Isn’t that moe? Don’t you find it cute, Mr Virgin? You do find ③ better after all, right? But sorry about that! ‘One of the Yumesakis’ house rules is that that thing can only be done after 18 years old!’ I can’t break it!”

That was it.

And she even left behind a color pen doodle of the braids girl and a delinquent beside her, giving the pose of an inchworm, leering while he drooled.

“Haaa…seriously?”

With the red pen in hand, I scribble hard on the notebook, ostensibly trying to scar it.

“Tell me this important thing beforehand!”

And so, I added a new rule,

“Rule number 21: Kissing is forbidden. Don’t bring the ero-game choice thing into real life!”

The rules…just keep increasing in number.

And so, it’s the following Monday. I don’t want to go to school.

Why, you ask? It all started with Sat.u.r.day.

Once I woke up, I began my habit of checking the notebook, and written on it was,

“I told Kasumi ‘why didn’t you choose ②? Normally, anyone hoping to thank will choose ②, right? Do you know how much I was looking forward to enjoying it? Don’t you think this ignites my imagination as a virgin? I’ll wait for you in the morning next week, ‘kay?’ Anyway, that’s pretty much next Monday, right? Write me a piece of reflection (42 words by 34 lines composition paper, write 80 to 130 papers of them).”

And so on. What words of hopeless idiocy she wrote there. Is she asking me to write a light novel?

I look for a girl called Kazumi in the cla.s.s register, and found the name ‘Kasumi Sanada’. Ahh, yes, I do remember this name. But leaving that aside, it feels like that Hikari Yumesaki is hoping that I get expelled or something.

“This brat’s definitely bullied when she’s younger…”

And written below it is,

“Anyway, this girl is soo cute!! Large b.r.e.a.s.t.s too!! It’s alright falling into the trap, right?”

I wince as I look at this line, and sluggishly prepare to g out.

The weather’s fine, and the clouds are fair.

It’s too late for me to walk slowly as I have no time, so I have no choice but to run towards the campus. It’s not that I’m about to be late, but I just have the feeling that she never did any revision or homework, and I’ll definitely regret it if I don’t hurry.

Holding my breathe, I rush up the stairs, but I sure wonder if it’s G.o.d’s prank on me that I just have to meet Kasumi as she walks down the stairs. Ah, this is awkward.

“Ah, morning…”

“Ah, erm, good mopping…”

She bit her tongue again. I guess she has difficulty p.r.o.nouncing.

That girl’s fidgeting, her cheeks red as she takes a deep breath–

“Can we d-d-do it now–?”

“Eh? N-now!? Here!?”

“Y-yes.

Wait, number ②? It’s number ②?

So early in the morning, and at such a place?

“E-erm, that thing before that…”

“No! That was a lie, a joke! I’m not serious there!”

I’ll definitely regret it in the future…I thought, and this good-for-nothing me quickly said,

Because it’s this place.

“Eh? A lie? Eh…eh?”

“No, well, that ②…”

“②?”

“Eh? Huh? It’s not ②?”

“Wh-what’s that?”

Kasumi’s completely baffled at my utter bewilderment.

s.h.i.t, I’ve been had. That girl lied to me.

Kasumi’s face reddens further as she shyly lowered her head. She probably recalled what ② meant, and muttered blankly, “That’s perverted…” That’s moe!

“Erm, I did my best already, but this is all I can go…anyway, here!”

And so, she handed me a photo.

It’s a normal, somewhat crude looking photo, and looks like it’s taken with a cellphone and printed with a home printer.

It’s a self-shot, and the girl covers half her face with her hand.

The semi-long black hair is moist, and gives the impression that she just had a bath.

The photo looks like it’s looking down, and the way the uncovered right eye is looking up makes it look alluring.

But what I’m not sure is–

“Pajamas?”

The pet.i.te girl was wearing orange pajamas.

And several of the b.u.t.tons were unhooked, so I can see the white, ample chest from the loose pajamas, the amount shown almost at the limit–

“Ah, please don’t look at it. It’s embarra.s.sing…”

“Eh!? This is you!?”

I panick, my shoulders stiffening, the photo nearly falling out of my hand.

The hairstyle’s changed, and her face is half covered, causing me to be unable to recognize her face. If I look closely however, it’s definitely her. There’s no mistake about the size of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

“Eh, but you said ‘I want the photo of your biggest limit, Kasumi’…”

“Ah, well, that’s.”

THAT IDIOT!

“L-let me say this beforehand. I normally will never do such a thing. It-it’s because you saved me that I’m willing to do this, Sakamoto. Please don’t show this to anyone else…”

Leaving aside the fact that you’re saying this, even if it’s normally, don’t ever agree to such requests, okay!?

“But I thought it’s fine to oblige to a single request. To do such a thing, and, to be seen like this…”

And then her voice got teeny-weeny soft

All I can tell here is that that girl has been bullying this poor girl.

This isn’t a good thing after all, right?

It’s unbecoming to make her take such a lewd photo after saving her. This photo is really outrageous, outrageous.

“Uu…erm, please keep it quickly…”

“Ha! So-sorry!”

This is bad. I just looked down at the photo instinctively.

I hastily stuff the photo into my bag. I’ll just go back and think about this alluring photo later. Think about it slowly.

“Ah, yes. I have the photo of ‘s.e.xy Dream’ you gave me as my cellphone screen saver, Sakamoto. Wh-what do you think?”

“s.e.xy Dream?”

I do vaguely remember hearing of such a term recently, and while I’m racking my head over it, she shyly shows me the cellphone screen.

Shown on the cellphone screen is are the basic applications at the top of the screen, and shown in the background is a pervert dressed in a s.p.u.n.ky tightsuit and a b.u.t.terfly mask. That guy’s giving a radiant smile with mysterious poses, looking silly all over.

Argh, is that idiot doing all these just to annoy me?

“You’re unexpectedly like a kid there, Sakamoto, saving me in such a get-up…and I find it cute for some reason.”

Kasumi’s holding back her laughter as she looks back and forth between her cellphone and my face.

“Ah, sorry. You were s.e.xy Dream when you’re dressed up like that, not Sakamoto.”

Just call me Sakamoto. It’s Sakamoto no matter how I look at it! What did you do there, Sakamoto!?

My hands are on my knees, and Kasumi’s looking at me while I’m feeling troubled. The instant her eyes widens, the bell chimes,

“Ah, got to return back to cla.s.s. I-I”ll be heading off first. Bye bye.”

She waves her small hand at me and runs off at high speed just when I was about to call out to her, “Ahh…”, and I follow her slowly.

What was that all about?

If I don’t hurry and do something, something’s going to happen.

With a lethargic face plastered on me, I head off the to cla.s.sroom, the remaining students on the corridor making a way for me.

And immediately afterwards, I’m filled with regret.

The incident happened during lunch break.

“COME OUT NOWWW!!”

A beast-like howl echoed through the cla.s.sroom, and my cla.s.smates, chit-chatting away, look up in surprise (while I’m sprawled on the table like usual, pretending to sleep to run away from reality.

“It’s usual to hide now, s.e.xy Dream!”

Barging into the cla.s.sroom and causing a ruckus are a trio of delinquents, and speaking out is a grim looking mohawk head, glaring at everyone in the cla.s.sroom.

Wahh~looks like trouble’s coming looking for me. I do know very well how the appearance of a delinquent is a burden to everyone. Aha.

Speaking of which, what did that guy just say?

“Wh-what’re you doing here, you guys?”

The short-haired girl shorted near the door rushes towards that mohawk head, venting her disgust.

And the delinquent glares back after hearing her eyes, continuing,

“There’s been a s.e.xy Dream guy looking for a fight with us, and he’s in this cla.s.s! Get out here!”

“Se-s.e.xy Dream?”

The short-haired girl was really terrified of that mohawk head b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but even she can’t help but ask such a question.

Well, that’s a normal reaction. “You’re kidding!? s.e.xy Dream’s in this cla.s.s?” if she’s to act as if that guy’s really famous or something, I’ll probably be troubled by that thought. It doesn’t look like I’m that famous though.

“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s been interfering with our attempts to woo girls every single time! If you have the guts, get out here and not ask others for help.”

I see. So that’s the reason why she’s been gyming recently. The increasing number of wounds on me are due to this reason, I think.

And as I think about this, I feel a piercing stare, and so I look over at that side, seeing Kasumi looking very suspicious, staring intently. Don’t look at me now! If this usually quiet delinquent’s to suddenly stand up and say, “Ahh, looks like I got exposed. No choice but to admit it! I’m s.e.xy Dream!”, surely everyone’s going to be perturbed right? Try imagining such a scene. Or maybe not.

“W-wait. Do you have proof that s.e.xy…exists in this cla.s.s?”

Disturbed by that ridiculous sounding name, the ponytail girl opposite the short with short hair protested with a serious look.

And in response, that mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d hissed,

“s.e.xy Dream himself said, ‘I’m from Cla.s.s 2-2 of Sakurahime High School! If you want revenge, come look for me tomorrow, three days later or five days later!’ got any words about that?”

No no no.

Are you sly? Or way too honest here? Either way, you guys are really punctual.

I can only imagine the delinquents circling the dates on the calendar and plotting their revenge, and in contrast to me, the cla.s.s’ atmosphere got worse at the moment.

That mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d is completely infuriated as he stamped at the floor with his toes, but n.o.body stood up to give themselves in. Well, that’s to be expected.

What do I do now? Do I turn myself in?

To me personally, this really is too troublesome and too embarra.s.sing, so I intend to continue playing dumb. However, that mohawk head doesn’t intend to give up.

Ah, goodness, guess I got no choice but to say my name out–

“Get out here, s.e.xy Dream! I know that you s.n.a.t.c.hed that girl and petted her all you wanted!!”

……

That idiot…

“Wow, that guy’s terrible. Isn’t he just a pervert.”

“That s.e.xy Dream’s really disgusting…”

“That guy definitely doesn’t have any friends, right?”

“I don’t want to get involved with that guy. He might as well die.”

“If that guy’s in our cla.s.s, I’m breaking all ties with him.”

…

Yeah, I lost the chance to give myself in.

“s.h.i.t, hurry up and get out–hm?”

The mohawk head looks around the cla.s.sroom, and his stare lands at a certain place.

“Aren’t you the chick who was with s.e.xy Dream?”

“A, ah, ahh…”

He was looking at none other than Kasumi.

I thought she’ll be a brave girl, since she dared to talk to me willingly. However, she’s still terrified of a delinquent after all, and at this point, her body’s all shrunk, her eyes not daring to meet the delinquent’s.

“Do you know what s.e.xy Dream did? Fess up! Or I’m going to take a two-shot with you!”

After giving such a ridiculous threat, that mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d closed in on Kasumi.

The surrounding girls tried to prevent him from approaching, “HUH!?” but after an intimidating bellow by him, they backed down.

“Hey! Answer me now! What did s.e.xy Dream–”

The mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d reached his hand out as he threatened, and the moment he was about to place his hand on her shoulder,

“–Don’t touch me!!”

Kasumi yelled as she hugged her shoulders.

That voice’s filled with anger.

The entire cla.s.s is silenced, and everyone’s looking at her.

And in the midst of this tense atmosphere, the teary Kasumi said, her lips shaking,

“Th-the only one who can touch me is…s.e.xy Dream himself!!”

AHHH! That was really dangerous!

Eh, what, what happened…ehhh?

“W-Wh-WHHAAA?”

And Kasumi, seemingly trying to shake off the fl.u.s.tered mohawk head (and me), continue to rattle,

“B-because, s.e.xy Dream saved me, and embraced me tightly, and let me go after I chose ①, and, and…”

The cla.s.sroom was filled with a tense atmosphere.

And?

“An-and he said, that I’m cute…”

…Ah, this bad.

That won’t do.

Her face is basically a maiden in love.

That idiot girl…toying with such a pure girl.

“U, uuu…that s.e.xy Dream….!”

In response, the mohawk head in front of Kasumi can only groan regretfully. ANyway, there’s no tension in his words, and I guess everything’s all over, no?

There’s an awkward atmosphere, silence filling the s.p.a.ce.

And the one breaking this tense atmosphere is an unexpected character.

“Hey Moris.h.i.ta. Is this kid s.e.xy Dream’s girl?”

The one babbling is a delinquent standing behind the mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

“In that case, the girl’s phone probably has s.e.xy Dream’s number, right?”

“Oh, I see. So there’s still this way?”

The mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d sneers, brings his face towards Kasumi, and yells,

“Hey, hand over your phone! I’m going to call s.e.xy Dream right now!”

“Eh, ah, no-no way!”

“Shut up and hand over now!”

The mohawk head ignored the teary Kasumi as the latter shook her head, grabbing her bag.

Kasumi tries to resist, but the difference in arm strength is too vast. He easily s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag away.

Eh. Well, this is a bad thing, right?

“H-hey, stop it! Didn’t Kasumi say not to do it!?”

“Return it right now!”

The fl.u.s.tered girls try to stop the mohawk head, but of course, the delinquents don’t care about that.

He opened the bag immediately, and browsed through the contents.

This is bad, this is bad. This is a bad development.

“Wa-wait, don’t! I haven’t entered his number!”

“Humph! I can tell that you’re lying right from the get-go! If you’re this anxious, there’s definitely something going on!”

The mohawk b.a.s.t.a.r.d then rummaged through the stuff in the bag.

This is bad, bad, bad! I don’t know she does have my number, but that girl has s.e.xy Dream on the screen saver! I’m revealed now, no?

“Hey, stop it, I said, don’t…!”

Kasumi’s breaking into tears as she says this.

Now this is getting really bad. If he sees me on the cellphone,

“Ah, found the cellphone!”

Ah…

“Stop…uu…”

Wa…

“Hm, erm, how do I use this thing again?”

….s.h.i.t…

“Moris.h.i.ta, you machine techbane. Just slide this to unlock.”

…Why am I.

“Ohh, is that so? I’ll just unlock–”

…Getting involved in such things?

“Got it. Now–”

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!!!!”

“””–!?”””

I suddenly let out a howl without thinking.

I howled.

The cla.s.smates in the room start to panic, more than when the delinquent trio entered.

This is amazing.

The most dangerous time-bomb of cla.s.s 2-2, which usually remains silent, suddenly exploded. However, I have no choice but to stand up. I can’t allow my ident.i.ty to be revealed.

“H-hey, you mohawk head b.a.s.t.a.r.d! S-she told you to stop already, so…erm, just stop already, you s.h.i.tty pigs! Don’t touch her…with your filthy hands, y-you idiots!”

“Huuuh? Wh-what’s with you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Scram–”

“You’re the ones who needs to scram, you sw-swine b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! I’m going to beat you guys up if you don’t leave!”

“Huh!? Y-you dare to shout back at me?

“Y-you wanna fight, HUH!? I-I-I’ll send your head flying!? Wanna try me!?”

I’m not used to saying such taunting words, and so I’m stammering all this while.

But just when I thought I messed things up, it seems I look rather furious in this volatile situation. This is super effective.

“…Sorry.”

The mohawk head, now the focal point of everyone’s attention, suddenly apologizes.

I actually made such a delinquent tremble. Am I that amazing? I guess it really is, in a bad way.

I’m having conflicted feelings right now, but having s.n.a.t.c.hed back the cellphone, I take a heave, and let out a final roar.

“Don’t you ever let me see you again! If you dare do anything to anyone in our cla.s.s, erm, well…I’ll mess you up real good!”

“Y-yesss!!!”

And so, those delinquents scamper out of the cla.s.sroom.

And the stares in the cla.s.s gather on me.

And then, there were my silent cla.s.smates.

And then, and then…

“…Now, am I going to die?”

Leaving these words behind, I dash out of the cla.s.sroom.

This is bad. This is bad.

There’s no salvaging this situation now, is there? The atmosphere in the cla.s.sroom is really awkward. I’m doomed! My life’s going to end! Hyaha! Ahh…!

Having given up on this s.h.i.tty me, I just put in the crazy words “Hyaho! Spinach!” that appeared in my weird mind inside the notebook, and in my euphoria, I start playing fighting games so furiously that I end up sleeping without realizing it.

Sorry, Hikari Yumesaki.

The armor of s.e.xy Dream is too heavy for me.

Two days later, the day arrived mercilessly.

The lousy BGM rang, and I open my eyes in melancholy, immediately grumbling,

“Don’t change the alarm on your own will like that…”

And at the same time, the memories two days ago awoke in me.

I chased away the delinquents who barged in so terrifyingly, and this chain of events shocked every one of my cla.s.smate.

Thinking about that alone causes me to blush. I’m really doomed now. Wahahaha.

I collapse on the bed, burying my face in the pillow, and climb out of the blanket like a lazy, wilted garlic chives. I then spotted that this.

“Dammit…”

The notebook’s standing upright on the desk.

And there’s a useless ribbon tied around it, even a flower added.

Just seeing this alone is enough for me to imagine the sight of that girl snickering away as she placed the book.

“Sakamoto wwwww Sakamoto wwwwwww Saakaamootoo wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”

“This b.i.t.c.h…!”

The moment I open the notebook, I see the words that made me anxious right from the beginning.

“I heard everything from Kasumi there, and posted on the internet ‘Ah, he came out~! Out comes the true nature of the delinquent who gets ostracized by his cla.s.smates!’ All that’s left is to wait for the responses!”

That b.i.t.c.h’s now showing how happy she is, and it’s all infuriating words at the back. Feeling completely enraged, I slam the book shut.

I switched on the computer, and found that she really posted such a thing, flaming and causing quite the intense discuss. Haha, “Where’s the OP?”, there was such a response. Just wait for it, she’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Spare me already. Is my life going to be such a mess every day…?”

I wonder what happened to the awkward atmosphere in cla.s.s the previous day?

Looking at how agitated she is, I’m definitely involved in some frustrating situation.

While on the way to school, I try to cheer myself up, thinking quietly, “Maybe n.o.body minds at all?” or “maybe everyone forgot about it after a day.” Once I reach school however,

“A living delinquent is just trash!”

I got the above conclusion, and trudge over to the cla.s.sroom unhappily. Well, whatever. I’ve been ostracized all this while anyway.

I feel that the cla.s.sroom door’s heavier than usual, probably because it’s my psychological state, and I lower my head as I barge into the cla.s.sroom.

And then, unexpected words ring at my ears,

“Ah, go-good morning, Sakamoto!”

“…Huh?”

I blurt out a dumbfounded cry.

Wait, what was that just now?

I widen my mouth, like my lower jaw’s dislocated, and the chatting girls greet me tensely one after another.

“Good morning, Sakamoto.”

“Mo-morn, Sakamoto!”

“Good morning, Sakamoto, ehehe…”

“Eh? Ah, mo-morn…ing…”

I stammer in response.

I don’t know what’s going on, but the girls are smiling at me.

Th-this is?

The earth-shattering fact that there are people greeting me has filled up most of my brain’s internal memory, but I still barely manage to make my way to my seat. Anyway, let’s put the bag and sit down–

“Ah, Sakamoto. That’s not your seat.”

“Eh?”

A guy seated beside me said, and I notice on a closer look, this isn’t my table. Is there a change of seats?

“C-come here now, Sakamoto! There’s someone waiting for you”

Another girl at the other end hurriedly chime in, pointing at the middle of the cla.s.sroom.

Standing over there is–

“Go-good mourning.”

She bit her tongue again.

Kasumi lowers her head, and her already red face is flushed further.

The seat right beside that girl is undoubtedly mine.

No way.

“Come on, hurry up and have a seat. We swapped seats yesterday, and you’re sitting with Kasumi. Ufufu.”

There comes another a.s.sist, filled with some laughter, from the other end of the cla.s.sroom.

There’s snickering all over the cla.s.sroom, and Kasumi’s face so red I wonder if she has a fever.

“But you were really amazing yesterday, Sakamoto!”

“Yeah, you ran to the office, and yelled at the teacher in charge, ‘what are you guys thinking, letting a delinquent loose in school?’. That was so cool.”

“Though the teacher did retort back, ‘You’re the biggest delinquent here!’ Haha.”

“You’re really a nice guy, Sakamoto, aren’t you. S-sorry about being scared of you up till this point.”

“It was interesting when we’re swapping seats. You said something like ‘got to sit with Kasumi…’. Ahaha, since you’re hoping for it that much, we might as well give it to you!”

“Since you’ve declared your love interest that much, we can only give up on her, no~~”

And then, there’s all sorts of praises and teasings in the cla.s.sroom, aimed at me.

Erm…well.

“Sakamoto…?”

“Yeah, hm?”

Kasumi’s voice came from behind.

Everyone in cla.s.s is staring at us, and the atmosphere’s filled with tension and curiosity.

In this relatively awkward atmosphere, she stares at my face, and says,

“Th-thank you for what happened two days, a-ago…”

“Ah, no, I should be the one thanking you…”

I inadvertently lower my head, giving a bow.

“Ah, I-I’ll help take your bag…”

She takes my bag in a motion one can only describe as a young wife showing concern for a husband returning from work. Her feet aren’t stable however, probably because she’s so nervous. Ah, she’s stumbling…

“Ah!”

“Watch out!”

Hey! I said it’s dangerous already!

Kasumi trips over without any warning, moving like a b.u.mbling kid. And then, I inadvertently reach out and grab her body–

“Ah!”

“A-are you already?”

Cradling her.

And so, our eyes met.

“Ah.”

“Aaa…”

And, and–

“”””””Kyaaaaahhhhh–!!!””””””

The girls in the cla.s.s scream. d.a.m.n it! This is bad!

“Wow! Good job, Kasumi! Not bad at all!”

“What now, what now? Hey, Kasumi? Did you lean over? You leaned your b.r.e.a.s.t.s over at him, right?”

“Kasumi! Your objective yesterday is complete!”

And the surrounding onlookers let out a roar of hurrah. Ah, that’s enough already! Don’t do this to us!

“Th-that’s not it! I just grabbed her!”

“Th-th-th-th-th-that’s not it…! What are you saying, everyone! S-sorry,S- Sakamoto!”

The atmosphere in our cla.s.s is boiling over, and the two of us can only try our best to defend ourselves.

“Th-that’s enough already! It’s a misunderstanding! Just a coincidence! You’re mistaken!”

Kasumi, struggling out from my clutches, can only frantically explain to our cla.s.smates that it’s all a mistake, and I’m left showing a blank look. Because, well, there’s still the fragrance of a young girl left within my clutches, far more addictive than my imagination…

“So-so-sorry, Sakamoto! I-I was the one who messed it all up! Sorry!”

And both of us are seated side by side in the middle of the cla.s.sroom, with warm cheers from our cla.s.smates around us. Ugh, this is too embarra.s.sing…why did things end up like this…Kasumi’s definitely feeling troubled now, right? I continue to nag non-stop,

“…Everything’s going to plan…now…to play…dumb…”

“Hm, wh-what? What are you saying?”

“Hm? It-it-it’s nothing! Nothing at all! Don’t mind!”

And then, she continues to mutter some stuff for the entire day, trying to talk to me from time to time while biting her tongue. Whenever she talks to me, the atmosphere is the cla.s.sroom livens, but this situation really is weary to me.

Well, as long as it’s not be being hated, I guess.

Cla.s.s ended, and once I reached home, I opened the notebook, scanning it,

I did see it in the morning, but there’s a message written at the bottom of the notebook.

“You did it, hero.”

“…Goodness.”

I can only let slip such a warm voice.

Biting my lips to hold in my smile, I cough to no one in particular, and write on the notebook.

“I did it, hero.”

It’s Thursday tomorrow, and it’ll be Friday the next time I wake up.

For some reason, I’m looking forward to it.