CH 95

“Uh, could it be Hojo senpai?”

His blond hair was waxed to the side, and his muscular legs were visible through his sloppy half pants.

He had cat-like pointy eyes, slightly upturned corners of his mouth, and upturned eyes that seemed to express his confidence with his entire body.

“Uh, Takasaki kun, is it ……?”

“Oh, you remembered! Oh, you remembered me! well, I’m a bit of a stand-out, aren’t I?”

The obvious difference in temperature has me and  senpai puzzled, but Takasaki didn’t seem to notice it at all.

If he had noticed, he would have had a mentality of steel.

“Are you alone, senpai?”

“N-no ……. I’m not alone.”

“Ah, by the way, I’m here with a friend. I’m here with a friend, by the way. I think that person went somewhere else.”

Saying something like, “No, I ain’t listening,” won’t work with this race.

I guess those skills are cultivated to talk to anyone, yes, probably. By the way, if someone waves at me, I’ll take a look and see if it’s directed at me or not!

That would be too shady of me, for what it’s worth.

Takasaki steadily closes the distance to senpai, showing his white teeth.

“I’ve got some time, so why don’t you come with me? Come on.”

“No, I told you I’m not alone. ……”

“Come on, it’s just for a minute.”

“Wai–“

Seeing Takasaki trying to forcefully pull senpai’s hand away, I come to my senses and understand the current situation.

Then, without thinking, I grabbed Takasaki’s hand.

“—-Aaa?”

“Hey, can you leave it at that…?”

The strong figure, a foot taller than me, was looking down at me.

I tried to hold back the urge to sit up and say something to him so that he could hear me again.

“I told you that senpai has something to do today. Stop it.”

“Huh? Who the hell are you? What right do you have to talk to me like that?”

But my classmate, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, apparently didn’t remember me.

I guess this guy doesn’t care about the shady guy at the end of the class. There was no reason for him to remember me.

“Ah? Y-You…”

But Takasaki stared at my face as if he was somewhat caught in the moment.

He seemed to have come to a conclusion after checking the parts of my face one by one, as if he was scanning them.

“You’re not the Nagishiro from high school, are you? What are you doing here?”

“I told you, I’m here with my friend.”

At that point, Senpai, who had been flustered by the sudden events until now, seemed to have finally regained his breath and said to Takasaki.

But he snickers at those words, too.

“No way! Someone who is even Hojo senpai is hanging out with such a mung bean?”

Sorry about the sprouts. I mean, that snide remark is quite annoying. Of course, I can’t say it back.

Takasaki looks at me and senpai repeatedly in turn, then answers with a nod of her head.

“This guy is not good enough to be next to senpai. so, senpai, come with me? Leave this piece of shit behind.”

Takasaki interrupts to cover up between me and Senpai and takes her hand once again.

“Hey, hey, if you have someone like that, you’ll lose your dignity as a senpai. I’ll lead you properly, so please don’t worry.” 

Then he smiled sickeningly and tried to pull Senpai along with him.

I tried to grab Takasaki’s back again, thinking that senpai would be in danger if I didn’t, but my fears were unfounded.

—Poshin (SFX)

“—–Hee?”

A dry sound rang out in the middle of the mall, causing a commotion around the area.

After a quiet silence, a crowd of people gathered around.

People gathered to see what was going on, people who were curious to see what was going on, and I was in that mass of people.

I open my mouth with a pop and look at senpai’s face.

“Okay, will you please stop that, Takasaki kun?”

“Eh, What, ……?”

Takasaki touched his own blushing cheeks and still looked at Senpai with an expression that said he didn’t know what had happened.

“I wonder who you are, talking so freely and openly about whatever you want.”

And I, like Takasaki, was stunned by the actions and words of senpai I had never seen before.

“First of all, you don’t get to decide who’s better or worse than who. You don’t even know …… Nagi kun well.”

“H-Haa? I’m not a good person to decide who is better or worse than him. It’s pretty obvious who’s better than him !!”

“Shut up.”

In the words of senpai who does not say whether yes or not. As expected, Takasaki flinched.

Indeed, I had never seen such an angry senpai in my high school years.

“…… I don’t even feel like talking to you. If you have time to look down on others, I suggest you improve yourself.”

“Nah!?”

“Let’s go, Nagi kun”

“Wait, Senpai”

“Come on, quickly.”

I hurriedly followed behind senpai, who was quickly wading through the crowd.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

But this time, he grabbed my arm.

I jerked up and turned around to see an angry-looking Takasaki there.

“I don’t like it.”

“—Ha?”

I lost track of what he said for a moment and tried to ask him again, and the next thing I knew, he had a fist in my face.

“—Bufu!?”

“Nagi kun?!”

I heard Senpai’s voice in the distance. Then there was a shaking sensation in my brain, and then a rush of pain.

“You little fish, don’t get cocky!”

Only Takasaki’s roar is oddly audible.

Did I get hit, did I? Senpai, is she all right? Senpai?　Oh, yeah. Aah she’s okay

Reality catches up with my brain one step later, and then relief.

–then the sense of crisis came rushing in.

I have to protect Senpai.

“You see? You know which way is up, don’t you?　Senpai?”

“D-Don’t come here, ……!”

“I’m not going to take you and eat you, you know. Well, I might eat “

“Hii……!”

I see a frightened Senpai and involuntarily reach for Takasaki’s leg.

“Don’t ……! Don’t …… touch senpai……!!!”

“Ah? I can’t hear you!”

“Ahh!”

My stomach was gouged out so hard that I could taste iron in my mouth.

There was numbness at the tips of my hands, and his vision became blurred.

“Sen….Pai….”

“Enough already! Nagi kun, you don’t have to do this!

“Senpai…… senpai….”

“It’s not about me, I don’t care!”

Oh, it’s about time. …… After all, I’m just miserable and dying, huh…….

And it’s bad enough that I only feel satisfied by myself.

“Kakakakaka! This is a real blast!”

My consciousness snapped at the end of Takasaki’s sneer.

“–what are you doing here?”