Volume 1 - CH 2

After I reluctantly agreed to become Kurumi’s ally, we both went our separate ways because she said “School is going to close soon, so let’s discuss our plan another day.” And thankfully so, because I needed to get my thoughts under control. We exchanged contact information, and then I headed home by myself. I joined the mass of students heading home from their clubs and then made my way to the train station.

After waiting there for around thirty minutes, the local train arrived, albeit a few minutes late. This being the rush hour home, I found no place to sit and instead had to keep standing for the next fifteen minutes as I got shaken left and right. I then switched trains at the terminal and then continued my ride for another forty minutes. Finally, I pedaled another twenty minutes until I could come home to my beloved oasis.

The buildings were lit up by the streetlights, as the path brought me to a single one-family home shrouded in darkness. On the nameplate, it said “Natsume”, signaling that this was my (or rather, my father’s) house. I stored my bike in an open space at a nearby parking space and headed to the entrance, opening the door with my key. Once the door opened, I was greeted by darkness and silence. I pressed the light switch next to the entrance, which turned the lights on, but all I could see was a white wall and a wooden floor. Nothing had changed at all. I took out my shoes and threw them aside without much care, turning on the light in the hallway, as I silently made my way to the living room.

“…”

The reason I didn’t say something cliché like “I’m home” is because I knew I wouldn’t be receiving back an answer. My parents were always fighting for as long as I could remember. Arguments were part of my daily routine, insulting each other at every turn, and Mom would often stay out for days. Worst of all, my Dad would then bring in random women to cheat. Unable to bear with this life, they finally got divorced eight years ago. I don’t know how they even reached a common ground, but it was decided that I would be staying with my father. I do have a sister who is four years older than me, but she went with my mother instead. Thanks to that, the family we were once ended up scattered. And with Dad being always busy with work, he rarely comes home. That makes it pretty much me being the only person living here. And as expected, he was out yet again today, which was obvious from the darkness that greeted me.

“Again…huh?”

Entering the living room, I saw three 10,000 yen bills scattered on the kitchen table. This must be his way of paying for my food. And as this was a regular occurrence, he stopped adding a note to it long ago. But, this being something I grew accustomed to, I didn’t feel lonely or hurt by any means. I don’t know if my existence is somehow related to them being on such bad terms, but they were always rather distant towards me. They would give me everything I needed to survive but left me to my own accord. They never participated in student-teacher meetings or came to watch me at sports festivals. They never showed any interest in my grades or school life.

The only time my father spoke to me about my life so far is when I started taking high school entrance exams. But that was the exception. Other than that, I was left alone under a laissez-faire idea…And because I was raised this way, I’m scared. What kind of face would my father make when he found out I was smoking cigarettes? What would he think about me planning to get revenge on my school? I don’t know…and that’s what scares me.

The possibilities scare me. He usually keeps a stern face without any emotion to be guessed, and maybe he wouldn’t care much if he knew about all this, but that would annoy me all the same. Finding out that he really feels just terrifies me. And it makes me think…Maybe I really hate how the teachers treat us students because of what I had to witness between my parents. I wanted to live a proper life without committing any mistakes. And I think this strong sense of responsibility is because my parents left me alone for most of my life.

It’s weird. Even though they left me alone for most of my life, my own values are still being controlled by my absent parents. And it makes sense, considering the only adults I’ve ever dealt with are my parents and those teachers from school. Then again, pondering about that won’t change a damn thing. But after everything that happened today, I don’t feel like going out. I’m just gonna order some food. I took out my smartphone to get that over with when it gave off a faint jingle. My phone was telling me that I had gotten a message, and the sender’s name was displayed, too—Kurumi.

‘Senpai! Please come to the room the furthest in the abandoned clubroom building! That’s where we’ll do our strategy meeting!’

I opened up the app and responded with a random message.

‘Yes. As you wish, Kurumi-sama.’

‘Just Kurumi is fine! Or what, are you getting addicted to addressing your junior like I was nobility?’

She sent back a stamp depicting a cat staring at me, so I ignored her. I guess worrying about my Dad’s response to all of this doesn’t matter. For as long as she’s dangling that proof of me smoking above my head, I can’t go against Kurumi. I just hope things don’t take a turn for the worse. After all, a happy end usually isn’t what waits after revenge…Man, the soup stock of cup ramen is so delish.

*

“…The astronomy club, huh?”

Classes ended for the day, so I made my way to the abandoned club building, and the room the furthest down the hallway, when I spotted a door plate that read these words. Well, most clubs aren’t even in this building, so it’s pointless to look at the plates. What concerned me more was that I came to a random club’s room simply by following the instructions I was given.

…Maybe this isn’t the place? I turned around to check out the hallway, but there was no other path to take from there. The abandoned club building only has one floor, so there’s no other room that would fit the description that Kurumi threw at me. This must be the place where we’re supposed to meet. But…is this really where she wants to open up our strategy meeting? This just looks like a regular club room to me. Am I really allowed to just waltz inside?

I mean, I can’t just walk in there without announcing my arrival, but what if it was just Kurumi waiting for me inside? It’d be hella embarrassing…Hm? I’m thinking about this too much? Well, duh, that’s who I am. But at the very least, randomly standing in the hallway was even worse, so I should at least knock. I reached for the door in hopes of doing so, when—

“Oh, I was wondering if I hadn’t heard something. So you’ve come, Senpai.”

With those words, a pair of cat ears appeared in front of me. The small kitty that jumped out of the room—was actually Kurumi wearing a newsboy cap with cat ears attached to it. And with that on, she politely greeted me.

“Hello, hello, Senpai. You’re here quicker than I expected.”

“You scared the ever-loving hell out of me. I didn’t know who you were because of that cap.”

“Ah, this? Hee hee, it’s cute, right?” She fixed her cap and showed me a confident smirk.

Well, I don’t think this is my subjective perception speaking if I dare say that she’s cute. It looks like she has cat ears growing from her black and ashen hair, making me think I ran into a mackerel tabby cat.

“Why are you wearing a cap indoors? You’re not gonna take it off?”

“Oh, you’ve done well asking me that, my liege,” she let out an arrogant snort. “The thing is, I’ve decided to wear this cap whenever we work on our revenge in order to represent the minority. See, it would allow me to focus whenever necessary.

I see. In order words, while wearing this cap, she’d be Hoshimiya Kurumi (Revenge Mode). She really is the type of person to put things into shape. And I don’t have a problem with that, it does look good on her.

“Whenever I wear this cap, I tend to think about mischievous acts. Because I’m being a bad girl. So you better remember that, Senpai.”

“Yeah, gotcha. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good response! But most importantly, it would be bad if someone saw us here, so come inside.”

She opened the door fully and allowed me to head inside. The inside was unexpectedly barren. It had a size of around 13 square meters with a single long table in the center and two chairs at its side. There was also a shelf in the corner, but you couldn’t find any personalization or personal goods anywhere. This being the astronomy club, I figured they would keep globes or telescopes here, but nothing of that was in sight. Rather, it was more like an empty room that could soon be turned into storage. Not a room that allowed fruitful club activities.

“No problem, just sit down anywhere.”

“Ah, right. Thanks.”

I did as Kurumi told me and sat down on a chair, which greeted me with a creaking sound. And the scent of dust was everywhere. It really emphasized the age of this building. I left my bag on the ground and then asked what was on my mind.

“Hey, Kurumi. It said that this is the astronomy club, but are there no other members?”

“Nope, no more members. Not a single one.” She pulled on the other open chair and sat down facing me.

Her expression looked somewhat gloomy.

“We’ve got several ghost members, but if you don’t count them, then we’re back to zero. No advisor comes here, either. And only I am left as the founder.”

Hm, I see…Wait, hold on.

“You started this club?”

“That’s right. I did it right after enrolling, so it’s been around two months since.”

Huh…Makes sense I never heard about this club. And since it was always in danger of being abolished, I get nobody would bother decorating this room with anything.

“I was actually thinking of taking this club seriously, but everyone ended up busy and not having finished their homework, so nobody came by here anymore.”

I could tell the tone of her voice had dropped drastically. That brings up the question…How do I respond to that? I thought about it for a few seconds and then said what first came to my mind.

“Well, put that up to the school. I think this would have happened sooner or later.”

“…Most likely. Well, I don’t really care. Thanks to all the other club members having quit, I can now hold this secret meeting with you.”

It was obvious that she clearly cared about this, but it was also a fact that she sounded more energetic than before. I very much appreciated that, because if we’re going to go on with our revenge, we don’t have time to worry about the club members’ current situation. Then again, what happens to this club is none of her concern, considering she’s gonna drop out soon enough.

“So, let’s start today’s meeting.”

Since Kurumi fixed her posture, I opted to sit up straight myself. We’re talking about revenge on a whole school. Just what kind of plan is she going to throw at me? Sure, I’m being somewhat threatened to be here, but my goal is to step on the brakes and halt her plans. For example, if she planned to shed blood in any way, I would do everything I could in order to stop her. Because if I let that slide, the police won’t care much later. I’ll be deemed an accomplice and arrested. Let alone being sent to a medical reformatory, they’ll contact my parents, and things will get even worse than just my smoking habit being found out. So for starters, I have to find out what direction she’s planning her revenge to go. With my heart full of anxiety and restlessness, I waited for her next words.

“Tada! I’m thinking of using this for our strategy meeting!”

With a voice completely betraying all tension in the room, she took out a yellow notebook from her bag.

“…Wazzat? Some notebook for class?”

“Well met! Feast your eyes on this…’Revenge Note’!”

Revenge…Note. Somehow, I feel like I’ve had this similar thought before, but I get it. It’s a place on review notes for school and revenge. And despite Saigou High being a preparatory school, that just shows the cynical thinking against the school. What a nasty choice that is.

“Yesterday, I said I hadn’t decided on an actual plan, but I have written down several ideas.”

“And they are inside that notebook?”

“Yes, I’ve organized all my ideas and possible paths to revenge. I thought of using this as the basis of our future activities…Just wait a moment, I’ll show you what I mean,” Kurumi said and flipped through the pages.

Since there was no point in me staring at her during all that, I just rested my head on one palm and looked into the distance. The Revenge Note…huh. Taking notes like that in our modern era sure feels weird. But rather than relying on digital proof that can easily be deleted, I can always steal that book from her and hand it over…No, this isn’t good. My thoughts are being tainted. And after a few moments passed, she finally stopped her hand.

“This sounds good. I called it the ‘All-Student Abuse Distribution Campaign’, in fact!”

“…Can’t guess much from the name. I demand details.”

“Very well. Then, let me do the honors.” She cleared her throat once and then began explaining like she was reading a text out loud in class. “Senpai, you know that the people who get bad grades during the smaller tests and exams get a line of abuse written on their papers with a red pen, right?”

“Of course. It’s when the teachers write ‘Trash’ or ‘Moron’ or ‘Take this seriously’ under your tests, right?”

“That’s right,” Kurumi nodded. “I believe that showering people with bad grades with abuse like that is one of the driving factors that create this horrible environment set in place at this school. That’s why I suggest this campaign to throw a stone into the gears.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“We will write insults and other abuse on the sheets of the students with good grades!”

“…Hmmm.”

Writing insults on any high-ranking students’ sheets, huh? She acted like this was an obvious plan to follow, but I couldn’t have ever come up with that. That being said, I really despise all those high-ranking students who live an easy life because of this school’s messed-up morals. Using a hammer to crush and destroy their emotional support and sense of superiority, gathering up the dust and throwing it in the burnable trash, would feel good. However, our revenge against the school is supposed to change this system. And venting out our anger on the high-ranking students shouldn’t be part of our goal…or, that’s what I see happening here. But what would Kurumi be thinking? I’ll wait for her comment, so I raised my hand.

“Kurumi, can I?”

“Yes, of course. Please, go ahead.”

“What is the goal of this operation? Rather than changing the school, this just sounds like we’re bullying the people with good grades. How is this going to make any progress for our revenge?”

The moment I asked that question, I could see Kurumi’s lips lifting up to form a smile. She waited for me to ask that question…Gah, she pisses me off. But, fine. Tell me. Disprove my logic and show me this plan’s worth.

“You’re too naive, Senpai. This operation brings two separate goals with it.”

“Yeah, yeah, then fill me in.”

Kurumi showed a mischievous smile as she raised her index finger.

“Our first goal is to make this messed up situation better known. We’ll make even the students with good grades displeased with the school by adding abuse to their exam sheets.”

“Better known…Ah, I see?”

“Right now, the two of us are the only chivalrous bandits. So, I think it would be better to gather more allies who wish to change this situation. Not servants, but people who share our mindset.”

Hm…I don’t want to admit it, but I get where she’s coming from. If we make it so that even the high-ranking students start to show distrust and disgruntlement against the teachers, we could even change the air of the whole school…Or at the very least, we can make all students aware of how messed up this place is. In that sense, it might not be too bad of a start.

“Gotcha. So, what’s the other goal?”

“The second one might be a bit hard to explain…But, I want the teachers to start feeling uneasy.”

“Feeling uneasy?”

“Hmm…Wait, I am feeling that way right now, so let me put it into words.” Kurumi pouted and then pressed her fingers on her temple.

That’s…actually a bit cute. And after she groaned for a while, she clapped her hands together.

“…Okay, I managed to put it into words. Quick, ask me. I don’t want to forget.”

“Then out with it.”

“As I just explained, the words and insults we will write on the exam sheets of the good students will be the same words that the teacher has used before as abuse.”

So, it’ll be stuff like “Trash” or “Stop fooling around,” huh?

“And why would that make them feel uneasy?”

“Think about it. The teachers will find out about our crimes. They realize that someone went around writing random insults on the wrong exam sheets. How would they feel?”

“They’d be pissed beyond belief.”

“Right? But even if they are met with such a major issue, they won’t be able to say anything about there being someone ‘Who writes doodles of abuse on the exam sheets’.”

…What’s she hinting at? I thought about it for a few seconds, only to piece together the parts.

“I see. Since we’re writing the exact same words they used, they can’t call it abuse, right?”

“Exactly.”

I see…No matter how twisted, they are still teachers. They should understand that what they’re doing is bad. And if we limit our doodles on the exam sheets to the exact words of abuse the teachers are using…then even once they find our work, they can only call it “random doodles.” Because they call it insults and abuse, it’ll come back to hit them in the face like a boomerang. They would admit that they are abusing their students. And even assuming they would take the extra step and call it what it was, they definitely can’t go so far as to contact other parents. The bigger this problem was to blow up, the bigger the risk that their regular actions turn into a massive issue.

And Kurumi put all those conflicting feelings into words by calling it “restless.” So, listening that far, it even made sense. It allows us to possibly find more allies while making the teachers cognisant of what they are doing is wrong. It’s a bit roundabout of a method, but it even acts as a message of “Don’t write insults on exam sheets.” This…might actually not be so bad. It’s a logical step, even if we’re simply working based on logic.

“I get the gist. And in the grand scheme of things, it could definitely help change this school. Though it still only boils down to spiteful behavior against the school.”

“Hee hee, and that’s perfectly fine. That was my plan from the very start,” Kurumi puffed out her chest, showing me a confident smirk.

I dun really geddit. But, I understand what she’s been plotting. I replayed the details of the crime in my head once more and then nodded.

“Alright, I don’t mind helping you with that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t go against my word. It’s do or die.”

“Sure, sure, but I thought you’d be, like, going above and beyond from the get-go, and I was worried.”

“Above and beyond?” She tilted her head for a moment, but then put her hands together. “You mean spreading the evil deeds of the school online and making it blow up? No, no, no. With that, we’ll just hand this problem over to the adults and call it a day. We need to show them our resentment first and foremost.”

I mean, what I was thinking of was bloody murder, but…Well, from the sounds of it, she’s not gonna cause some terrorism that’ll land us in court, so that’s a relief. The strength left my shoulders when Kurumi stood up with the Revenge Note.

“And with our meeting having reached this far, I believe we should head out to go shopping, Senpai.”

“Shopping? For what? We’ve got the red pens on hand, don’t we?”

“Today’s operation won’t require any pens. We’re going with something a lot more efficient.” Kurumi seemed confident in her word, putting one hand on her hip. “We’re going to use new erasers to make an eraser stamp.”

“…A what now?”

*

Right after our meeting was paused, Kurumi and I recovered our shoes without any teacher itching us, slipping out from the back gate to leave the school grounds. We made our way through the residential district, met with the main street, and then walked down to the train station like we were doing nothing inconspicuously. We took the train and headed a few stations south and got off at the terminal I would usually change trains. Our goal was the large shopping mall in the area. And more accurately, the stationer inside there. The stationer there was on a completely different level from a regular bookstore, and much more big play.

Upon entering, we walked around to buy ten erasers, as well as two gravers, one stamp pad in red, as well as tracing paper. Once we were done shopping, we left the store behind us like nothing was out of the ordinary. During the evening, the mall was filled with students spending a few hours of fun or families coming here to eat dinner. Meanwhile, Kurumi and I stayed on the corner of the street and walked away from the crowd. And while we walked, Kurumi finally began explaining the reason for our shopping trip.

“Even if they are smaller tests, they are still seen as exams, so the teachers will be extra careful at guarding their desks. So on the day of the operation, we have to attract the eyes of the teachers inside the staff office while we quickly take care of our work. And today’s operation is a necessary step towards that.”

“And we’re going to create an eraser stamp with this?”

“That’s right. I was thinking of how to make our work more efficient…But if we simply copy the teacher’s marks and writing, then an eraser stamp is the best possible option we have available. I call it…’Teacher Autograph! Abuse Stamp’.”

…I guess there’s no way to fix her messed-up naming sense. Oh well, leaving that side.

“So we’re going to copy the marks and writing of the teachers by using an eraser stamp? Can we even do that?”

“Naturally. I’m skilled when it comes to this type of craft.” She struck a pose like a T-rex, wiggling with her fingers.

What beautiful and slender fingers. For some reason, I thought that this beauty was wasted on something so grotesque as revenge.

“…What’s wrong? Why are you staring at my fingers? Do you want me to tickle you?”

“How would you even jump to that conclusion? There’s no person in this world who likes getting tickled.”

“Hey, hey, there are people with all sorts of fetishes in this world.” She said and reached for my sides. “Maybe you’re one of those people who have a tickling fetish? Tickle tickle tickle!”

I immediately slapped my wrist down on her hand, but Kurumi just grinned and said, “Haha, it’s working!” I swear…What’s so funny about any of this? Even though we’ve known each other for a bit longer now, she still is a mysterious girl…different from what I first thought of her. Carrying the plastic bag and my school bag, I started walking again. We should get back to the topic at hand before she determines I have some tickling fetish.

“I get the idea of making an eraser stamp. But what about after that?”

“Weeell…In order to copy the abuse written on the exam sheets, we have to head to the convenience store.”

“Is there any need to copy them? Can’t you just copy the previous examples on the eraser by engraving it?”

“I thought about that, too, but to make the size fit, we need the scaling. And for that, we need to copy it at least once.”

That’s how that works? Well, I don’t really understand much about this handmade stuff, so I’ll leave that to Kurumi.

“Then, do you have an original with you that we can copy? We’re gonna use actual abuse and insults they used, right?”

“Of course. I have it with me right here…Look!” She took out a single sheet of paper from the bag hanging down her shoulder.

It’s a small test some teachers do before class starts, this time for physics. Looking at the points at the top, she scored a whopping 2/100. Next to her name saying Hoshimiya Kurumi, it reads “Just quit school.” This is a prime example of the abuse the lower-ranking students suffer from.

“And you’re gonna use this as a template for the eraser stamp?”

“Hm? Would you prefer other examples? I’ve got plenty. I collected all of them just for today.”

Like a certain cat robot, she went through the bag at her stomach and took out a bundle of paper. “Moron,” “Absolutely false,” “The hell?”, “Why not quit school?”, “Stop fooling around,” “Study properly.” Damn, that’s some selection. It makes me want to throw up just reading through it. After she searched through her beg, she put the papers together into a fan and smiled.

“This is what I got. Is that satisfactory for you, Senpai?”

“How would I be satisfied at reading garbage like that?”

“Haha! What a coincidence, I agree…Hee hee, we’re the same, Senpai,” Kurumi giggled and suddenly moved closer to me, which made me reflexively take a step back.

What’s this? Don’t scare me like that. Your sense of distance is all messed up. I tried to remain calm and cleared my throat, connecting to the previous conversation.

“Not like we have to limit ourselves to just one. Just go with the ones that are easier. I doubt it’ll cost so much to copy the sheets.”

“That’s also true,” Kurumi nodded and began folding her test sheets. “Then let’s leave out any that would be difficult to copy. Especially longer ones. Like this “Absolutely false”, here. Surely, they would want us to copy their work properly.”

“No…”

I doubt the teachers would assume someone would copy their comments using an eraser, but I refrained from saying that. Instead, I responded with a brief “You’re right” while giggling to myself. This entire conversation is just so weird, and yet we’re acting like this was serious business. It just throws me off every time.

“What? What’s so funny, Senpai?”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s nothing.”

“Huuuh? Weirdo…Ah, I’m sorry. You’ve always been weird.”

That last part was not necessary. But as a mature senior, I’m not picking a fight.

“Anyway, let’s copy some of these exams and then split up for the day. We’ll meet again tomorrow in the club room and start our stamp creation. Does that sound good to you??”

“Yeah, no worries.”

“Great! Then let’s get to copying!”

Kurumi stuffed her test sheets away again and pushed out her right hand. I’m glad to see she’s so motivated…even though what we’re doing is evil. Still, those smaller tests, huh? It’s not something to get nostalgic over, but it’s been a while since I “read” this kind of abuse. Before I went to complain to the teachers about all these insults and abuse, I also received these comments on my test sheets. And since even Kurumi is going through the same procedure, it must be a tradition at our school. Passing it on year after year…Some rotten tradition like that should just disappear. Bad grades don’t make it okay to insult another person. Thinking that far, a thought popped up in my mind. I called out to Kurumi, who walked three steps ahead of me.

“Hey, Krumi. Do we have to choose the insults for the stamps from the stuff you just showed me?”

Kurumi turned around and tilted her head, seemingly confused.

“Not entirely? What about it?”

“…If we’re going to make eraser stamps, I think we should use examples from Furukawa, the teacher doing math for the 2nd-years.”

“And why is that?”

“The pen they’re using is thicker than the ones from the other teachers, making the letters thicker in return. Their words and letters are probably easiest to carve.”

“Oh…I see.” Kurumi seemed to be thinking about something as she put one hand on her jaw, raising her gaze.

A few seconds later, she went back to looking at me, flashing another mischievous smile.

“Good. Very good. I didn’t even think about that. Ain’t ya an evil one, lad.”

“Nay, I cannot hope to compare against my lord.”

“That’s governor to you! Hahaha!”

What a delightful retort. Seeing her laugh like that makes me smile all the same.

“Ah, hilarious…So, Senpai? I’m assuming you have some sheets of Furukawa-sensei’s writing on it?”

“Yeah. Don’t know how many, but I should still have them in my bag.”

“Good. Then let’s use their examples for our eraser stamps,” she said and happily narrowed her eyes. “Hee hee, I guess choosing Senpai as my partner was the right choice.”

Now hold on, I’m not helping with this revenge because I chose to. I just have no other option because I’m being threatened. That’s why I’m only doing what I’m asked to…or so it should have been. But, now that I stand here…Being praised by Kurumi like that sure didn’t feel bad by any means.

*

The next day arrived. Swiftly after we met up at the astronomy club room, we began working on the eraser stamp. As you would expect, it was fairly simple. First, we had to adjust the size of the eraser with the design. Then, we placed the tracing paper on that, allowing us to see through it, and we could write the words we preferred (In this case it was “Moron”) on the eraser. Next, we used graphite to run along the words, moving the eraser left, right, up, and down. All that was left was to chisel away the unnecessary parts. And with all that, we finished the eraser stamp that even an elementary school student could pull off……

“Hey, Senpai. That’s too rough. You have to be detailed when you’re chiseling away the unnecessary bits.”

“I am. This is the best I can do.”

“No way! You’re clearly just doing this randomly because you can’t be bothered. If we don’t copy everything one to one, we’ll regret it later! I told you, right?!”

“D-Don’t get angry at me, I’m trying my best here…”

As I said, it’s easy enough for an elementary student to pull it off…But I’m a different story. The difference between mine and Kurumi’s work crossed the boundary of a difference between heaven and earth, and more like the stratosphere and the mantle. My work just sucked so bad that Kurumi looked at my finished work and mumbled “…What a waste of eraser” while sighing. And then she started carving the same words on the back of the eraser. Wow…This is the birth of a reversible abuse stamp. The front won’t be usable, though. Roughly an hour had passed since we started this work, and I was forced to accept the reality unfolding in front of me—Not even effort can change the fact that I’m utterly worthless when it comes to handicraft work like this. I still didn’t give up and continued, but eventually…

“Okay, that’s enough. I’ll do it. You can just clean up the eraser stubs instead, Senpai.”

“I’m sorry, I shall do that.”

Met with Kurumi’s stern gaze, I had to admit my defeat. Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll go clean up the mess we’ve created…

“I’m not going to use that paper again, so feel free to throw that away, too. And the same goes for the chisel.”

“Okay, gotcha.”

“How many erasers do we have left? We still have some lines of abuse left to use, right?”

“We still have three unused erasers, yes. And two papers of unused abuse.”

“Phew…I’m a bit tired. Senpai, would you mind giving me a massage?”

“As you wish, my lady.”

“Make sure to do it properly…Ah…Oh…Right there…Ah, it feels so good…”

Could you stop moaning like that? But either way, another two hours passed being used as her slave.

“…This should do it. I think we’re done.”

Without approximately zero input on my end, the ‘Teacher Autograph! Abuse Stamp’ goods were done. Lying on the table were four erasers completely prepared solely by Kuruim. We haven’t done a test on them yet, but the quality just from looking speaks for itself. It’s like it was made by a machine. Truly, what a sight. I could tell from the whole work process already that Kurumi is extremely skilled at this handicraft work.

“Okaaay…We’ve got four ready and go. Not half bad.” Kurumi looked at the abuse stamps she had finished and grabbed one to inspect it more closely.

“What? No, that’s more than enough. With your speed, this result is insane.”

“…We could have gotten more if you weren’t so clumsy, Senpai.”

“I said I’m sorry. I’ll massage your shoulders some more, so forgive me?”

“Ah…No…Senpai…I didn’t ask for…Ah, that’s great…”

Giving her shoulders another thorough massage, Kurumi looked at me with reddened cheeks, saying “G-Geez, you’re so helpless…” as she was breathing for air.

“…Heh, Senpai…you’re not half-bad. But more importantly, I think we should put these to the test.”

“Sounds good. Would help in finding any faulty ones that need a bit more work.”

“Hey now, I hardly doubt I could have produced such clumsy work.”

I wonder about that. I returned to my own seat and took out a stamp pad from the vinyl bag. I turned around one of the test sheet copies to reveal a blank white page. All that’s left is to press the eraser on the stamp pad, and then on the paper…But as our first attempt, I think it should be Kurumi doing the honors.

“Please, go ahead,” I signaled with my hand, and Kurumi answered with “Thanks.” She pressed the eraser stamp onto the stamp pad twice and then looked at me.

“Are you ready? I’m gonna do it.”

“Y-Yeah…”

She pressed her left hand on the copy paper and slammed the eraser on it. She then pulled it away, revealing the word “Moron” written in red on the paper…Yeah, it looks just like the original. Some of the ink is a bit stronger at parts, but it’s exactly as Furukawa-sensei would write it.

“Looks good to me?”

“One more try,” Kurumi grabbed a different stamp.

The second attempt read “Idiot.” The third attempt read “Stop fooling around.” The fourth one read “Quit school.” Each time she moved her hand, like a printer printing words on paper, more of Furukawa-sensei’s abusive language appeared on the paper. Idiot, idiot, stop fooling around, quit school, and so on. This…is somewhat surreal.

“Heh…S-Senpai, this is a lot more fun than I thought…Hehe.”

“True. It’s a sight to behold.” Kurumi worked hard to control her laughter.

PAP, “Moron.” PAP, “Stop fooling around.” PAP “Quit school.” All these horrible insults that heavily weigh on a student’s psyche, they’re now being used like they were some goods you can buy to prank people.

“Kurumi, let me try that, too.”

“Of course. Be surprised at the quality it has.”

Even when I used the eraser stamp, the words that appeared looked exactly like Furukawa-sensei’s writing. It was a weird feeling seeing all these insults appear on my hand. The hatred and distrust of a person were now in my hands. I was in control. It felt like my chest grew lighter. Was I storing that much hatred inside of me? What utterly foolishness.

“Hey, hey, Senpai. I just thought of something. How about we deliver these to the teachers? This way, they can skip out on writing all their regular abuse.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what irony is that? But, I’d love to see the faces of the teachers once they witness this.”

“Right! Haha, so stupid!”

Kurumi and I laughed as we kept on pressing the eraser stamps on the paper. Soon enough, the white A4 paper was full of Furukawa-sensei’s insults. I then rolled it up, crunched it together, and threw it away. Even that act was like a rush. The same feeling of relief and pleasure as when I was smoking ran up my back. What a disgusting thing to feel pleasure over. The monster known as my instincts gulped down on this pleasure until nothing was left. I’m getting drunk on pleasure. At this rate, I’ll just keep playing around forever.

“…Okay, that should be enough.”

The second sheet of paper we added ended up drenched in red when I heard that voice. Kurumi had stopped her hand, so I followed her example.

“Are you done testing them?”

“Yes. The quality is exactly as I was hoping, so we can leave the fun for the day of our operation. If we were satisfied with just this, I’d feel nothing on the actual day.”

The actual day…Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Our goal for today was just to prepare the eraser stamps. The real crime will happen at a later date. And the moment I realized that my boiling blood had begun to cool down. My body grew cold, my blood froze, as I could finally use my head again. It was a painful sensation. The chill I felt all over my body quickly changed into anxiety.

“…Hey, Kurumi? You called this the ‘All-Student Abuse Distribution Campaign,’ right? Are we really doing this?”

“Of course. Making these eraser stamps is the same as punching the person you hate, except only in your mind. Unless we get into a fight in real life, I won’t be satisfied,” Kurumi said while flashing another mischievous smile.

“…I see.”

This is bad. I should have known, but there’s no way I could change anything. But what forced Kurumi to go this far? I don’t know why this system here is such a big deal to Kurumi. What did the teachers say to her? What did they do to her? Maybe it was something immensely more cruel than anything I could ever imagine? Maybe she’s much more sensitive than I am? I don’t know the last thing about Kurumi…But even so—

“You really are amazing, Kurumi.”

“What? Did I say something special? All I’m doing is getting my revenge that is based on personal grudges and twisted justice. There’s nothing here that would deserve praise.”

So she said, but her ability to act, as well as her determination, are both something to admire her for. Being able to devote herself like that is something I’m genuinely jealous of. Because I’m still feeling hesitant when it comes to such an excessive act like terrorism against the whole school.

“But leaving that aside, let’s get moving on with another strategy meeting regarding the day of our operation.”

And even so, I’m being threatened, so I have no other choice but to abide. Of course, I’ve known that from the start. I just have to do as I’m told, right?

*

After a few days passed of us researching and investigating certain aspects, we finally decided on the details of the crime. Our target was Furukawa-sensei, who is responsible for teaching math to second-year students. We’re going to stamp the abuse and insults on the exam sheets of the higher-ranking classes. Honestly, anybody would have been fine with this, but Kurumi suggested “We’re using his work for our agenda, so we might as well pay him back.” She really is as nasty as can be. And as for the time of our terrorism, we chose the afternoon on Wednesday.

The reason for that was equally simple. Furukawa-sensei had the high-ranking class first period on Thursday. We’ll then do our crime in the afternoon of the prior day, and expect him to return it on the following day. We wouldn’t want him to figure out what was going on and refuse to hand back the tests, after all. So, we chose the time that had the smallest gap between our work and him returning it. We will act out our revenge on Wednesday afternoon. That’s the best course of action. And today was the promised day.

“Are you ready? We’re starting our terrorism in ten minutes. 1700 is when Furukawa leaves his desk because of the club he’s advising, so you have to quickly get in and do as we planned.”

Afternoon arrived, and just like all the prior days, Kurumi and I met up in the astronomy club room. We were looking down at our schedule and plan, going through a final check.

“After you infiltrate the staff office, you head to Furukawa-sensei’s desk, taking care of the tests with the abuse stamps. And to ensure that he doesn’t realize we opened it, you have to close the envelope tightly. Once you’re done, you return it to its usual place and remove all traces. Is that clear enough?” Kurumi asked me with a serious gaze, so I nodded.

“So I have to enact the crime, huh?”

“Regarding that…I’m truly sorry. I would stand out way too much if I entered the staff office related to the second-year classes. That’s why I can only ask this of you, Senpai…”

Well, she’s absolutely right. With Saigou High being a private high school, even the student years have different staff office rooms corresponding to them. If a first-year student like Kurumi showed up in the staff office for the second-year teachers, she would stand out incredibly. So rather than her having to act the part, it’s better if a true second-year student like me enacted the plan. Looking at the way she talks and acts, I don’t think she’s sending me out as a sacrificial pawn…or so I hope, at least. And since she handled most of the work for the stamps, I’ll have to carry my own weight and take care of the real deal. And she’s still got me in her grasp because of the picture she took when I was smoking. Fighting against her now is pointless.

But it’s fine. I know the layout of the staff office. And I found out where he’s keeping the tests. As long as I follow the procedure and do as we planned, I won’t fail. Plus, I am putting up a disguise, too. Even if I happen to get seen at the crime scene, I can run away and throw away my disguise so that no attention will fall on me. So for starters, I have to take a few deep breaths. I took a deep breath and forcefully sucked up air.

“Senpai, are you nervous?”

In my view, I could see strains of black and ashen hair. Kurumi was looking up at me.

“Of course I am? Once we start this thing, there’s no turning back. As you said, today is the day I’m actually punching the villain that I’ve been fighting in my head so far. How could I not be nervous?”

“What a chicken you are. Even if we get found out, they’ll just insult and abuse us like always.”

“You might be right, but even so…”

“Oh geez, what a troublesome Senpai you are…” Kurumi sighed as she gently touched my hand that I kept on the table. “There, there. It’s okay. If push comes to shove, we’ll both get yelled at.” She said, warmly caressing the back of my hand.

“…!”

A mixture of relief at being recognized as a human being, as well as embarrassment that a girl younger than me was cheering me up, filled me. But eventually, the former became strong enough that I could forget the rest. I moved my hand to take Kurumi’s. She waited a moment, but then returned the grip with a stronger force than I had done prior.

“Mm…And? Have you calmed down?”

“…Yeah, somewhat.”

Kurumi let go of my hand and smiled warmly.

“That’s good.” She then raised the corners of her mouth, smiling. “Then, Senpai…let’s begin our fun and entertaining terrorism.”

*

Sent off by Kurumi, I headed to the staff office for the second year. The hallways were crowded, but I tried my best to find my way through. Some students were turning in their corrected tests with half-dead eyes, whereas the high-ranking class students were grinning with pride and joy. Making it through this messy sight, I reached the staff office. And at Saigou High, the staff office is always treated as a relatively open place.

Of course, you can’t just waltz inside and call it a day without knocking, but it’s close to that. After all, a lot of students stop by to hand in unfinished homework or assignments on the daily. The door also happened to be open, so I could look inside. There were two rows of desks, making this an average staff office. Scattered were a few teachers here and there, but just as the information we figured out told us, Furakawa-sensei was absent. The number of students was about what we anticipated, too. Nothing irregular that could get in the way of my work. Looking at the clock on the wall, it was quickly moving towards 5 pm. This meant that it was time to execute our plan.

I took a deep breath and tried to get my racing heart under control. It’s fine. Even if my mission gets interrupted, I made the preparations to run away at any moment. So first, my disguise. I prepared a set of fake glasses and a mask. From afar, nobody would be able to tell it’s me. As long as they don’t lock me down from running away, nobody should figure out that it’s me.

Next, my tools. I’m planning on getting access to the room by pretending I came to hand in some overdue homework. This is an excuse in case Furukawa or any of the other teachers question me. And to solidify my alibi, I even brought said finished homework with me. And I’ve got a small memo book and pen with me. This will be my excuse for staying at Furasawa’s desk for so long. I’m just writing a memo for the teacher who is absent. And with all these preparations done and out of the way, nothing should go wrong here…so I want to believe. But man, it sure takes a long time for me to reassure myself. I’m gonna do it now. No more turning back.

“…Phew.”

I breathed out once and then knocked on the open door.

“Excuse me, I came to hand in my homework.”

I said and took a step inside. Four other teachers were present at the time. The teachers didn’t even bother responding, let alone looking at me. They were all busy with their own tasks. Since so many students usually stopped by here, they stopped giving them any attention. Maybe they’re ignoring us students because they don’t see us as fellow human beings, and that’s why they ignore us. Either way, it just makes things easier for me. I quickly headed over to the table the furthest in the back. Luckily, no other teacher sat around Furukawa-sensei’s desk. This should be doable. I pretended to look around to search for Furakawa-sensei and then looked back at the desk again. A few glances here and there and I found the goods in question.

Various writing tools and documents were scattered around the desk, but I found what I was looking for. The bundle of tests was stocked away to the right. Looking over it, I saw the name—Class 2-1. At our school, classes 1-3 are treated as high-ranking classes, so there’s no mistaking it. These are the tests I have to play with.

“…Good.”

I carefully reached for the bundle while making sure nobody was looking. And that’s when I realized that my hands were shaking.

“…”

I see. Once I set this act of terrorism into motion, there’s no turning back. It’s a bit of an old-fashioned idea, but this must be where the branch splits up. What should I do? I can still turn back now. I might get yelled at by Kurumi, but I could preserve my choices. My chest hurts. Just breathing became harder for me…What am I even doing? I shouldn’t be doing something so wrong. The hesitation made me pull back from the desk, but then…

“…Ah.”

Below Furukawa-sensei’s desk, I found an object placed near the chair, and I froze up. It was a plastic, black box. But, I knew what it was…An electronic shredder.

“…”

Ah, I remember now. I tried to suppress that memory, but it’s all coming back now. My heartbeat was pulsating strongly. The center of my body began to cool down drastically, but the blood in my head began to boil like I was a kettle. It was a horrible feeling. I didn’t want to be reminded of this, but the shame I had to endure a long time ago now played back in my head.

It happened shortly after I enrolled at Saigou High. Because of my results at the entrance exam, I was sent to the low-ranking classes. The situation a year ago wasn’t much different from now. If you didn’t hand in your homework on time, you’d get to hear the teacher say “Do you wanna get slaughtered?” If you couldn’t answer a question in class, it’d be “You dumbass.” Fumble through an exam? “Quit school already.” My days went on and on as I slowly began to go crazy from the teacher’s abuse and the ridiculing of the high-ranking classes. A month after enrolling, I learned that people in my classes and around the same range had no human rights. And with how sensitive I was, I couldn’t keep living that way.

Wanting to be praised, wanting to be treated kindly, that wasn’t even part of it all. I just wanted to live a peaceful life. I wanted to move through my days without anybody dragging me down. That’s why…I decided to study. I wanted to get out of the lower-ranking classes. I wanted to obtain academic knowledge so that nobody could complain again. All so that I could spend my days in peace. And after I devoted my whole being to studying, the results showed. Around half a year after enrolling, there was a test to adjust the classes. I managed to score well in that and was allowed into the high-ranking classes. I was genuinely relieved. Now I could finally escape being treated like cattle…So I thought. But of course, that didn’t happen.

The day before I would transfer into the high-ranking classes, I was called over to the student guidance office by the head of the year and Furakawa-sensei. There, I received some truly grateful words for all the hard work I had done.

“Natsume, don’t think about getting excited just because you made it into the high-ranking classes, okay?”

“You were simply chosen because you happened to have the best grades out of all the losers. And I still consider you plenty of garbage, too.”

“Be aware that you’re still the lowest in the ranks even when you move up. You’re still a monkey pretending to be a human.”

“If your grades slip even the smallest bit, you’ll be going back. So if you don’t like that, keep up the work. An idiot like you needs to make up with effort, after all.”

I don’t know who they think I am, but I most definitely am a human being. When the head of the year and Furakawa were insulting me, I was furious beyond belief. I was so pissed off. I sacrificed sleep and rest so that I could study, so why am I still getting insulted? Of course, I didn’t care that I wasn’t being praised. I never expected to begin with. But, I wished to be treated like a human being, so I put in the effort necessary, yet I got insulted like nothing changed. Is this really what you should say to someone who put this much effort into their studies? I thought I would be free, but the same hell as yesterday is continuing. To be perfectly honest, I blew a fuse. I decided to give them a peace of mind. And I think this was my very first attempt at rebelling against this shit school and shit system.

“…I studied hard to get into the higher classes and this is what you tell me? Is this the only reason you called me here today?”

Hearing my grumbling, they both sighed and then began to insult me ten times worse than before. Apparently, they were kind enough to make some time for me, and my response was off-limit. And that’s why I’m an idiot. That’s why I’m in the lower-ranking classes. That’s why I’m talentless—Etc, etc.

After all that, I was forced to write a written apology for my actions. None of that made any sense, so I just wrote “I’m sorry for acting like I was worth more than a monkey. From now on, I will be working with the other monkeys to improve,” but I just got insulted again and forced to hand it in again. Thanks to that, I began hating everyone and everything. They’re not even treating me like a human being. I’d rather spend my days in stress than any more of this crap. So when I wrote what they wanted, namely “I’m sorry for acting in such a rebellious way, going against the love and care of my teachers,” it was accepted. Though, it’s more accurate to say they were willing to accept it.

Accepting my written apology, teacher Furukawa read through it in a matter of seconds and nodded. He then put the apology into the shredder—The shredder right in front of me. The emotions I felt back at the time, I still don’t fully understand now. I think it was something resembling rage, but also a sensation of… nothingness. Maybe I was filled with resentment, and it could be a sense of resignation. But whatever it was, it most definitely is not something other people should have to witness. Dark and filthy, like they had escaped from the muddy depths of my soul. What did I feel when I saw him throwing my written apology in the shredder? Putting it into words, it would be something very simple along the lines of—”Go rot in hell, you shitty teacher.”

My mind returned to the present and the current world. For some reason, the view in front of me looked much more colorful and bright. Yet, the sound all around me was dulled, almost like I was in a different time and space. When I ended up lost at one point, this is how I felt. The anxiety and uneasiness probably are making my body more sensitive. This world doesn’t quite feel real.

“…”

Ever since I wrote that written apology that contained zero of my honest feelings, I strayed from the right path. Treated like some annoying nagger, I gave up on studying and started smoking. It all started with that. I’ve buried my hatred and arrived today…Aha, I finally realized. Surely, there must be other teachers using the same thick pen as Furukawa…And yet, why did I suggest it to him first-thing? It’s because I’m still holding a grudge. It might just be my own twisted resentment, but I wanted to get payback against that bastard. I wanted revenge…no matter the kind.

However, my current way of living halted me from doing so. I told myself it was my responsibility to hold back. I can’t commit any mistakes. These feelings got in the way. And that’s why I asked Kurumi…because the Hoshimiya Kurumi I admire might be able to do something about that.

That’s it. That’s absolutely it. Putting it into words, it’s actually pretty easy. I used being threatened by Kurumi as an excuse to get my revenge on Furukawa. “Nay, I cannot hope to compare against my lord,” my ass. I’ve been an accomplice from the very start, and I was always as motivated as she was. I could feel the spring inside my body leaping up. Like a meter, I was reaching my limit. The machinery inside me broke, as the parts blew off somewhere. Oh, whatever. Even if an act of terrorism like this is wrong…Rather than my previous way of living, and my attempt to take responsibility, I want to prioritize this feeling right now.

The ones who are wrong…are those shitty teachers who keep the laws of this school in place. Way beyond my conscious feelings, deep down in my heart—I always wished to get revenge. And now that I’ve realized that, it’s too late. Consciously and subconsciously, I’m sliding down this path. I’ll be able to stay as myself…I’ll become my true self.

“…!”

For a moment, the entire world went white, as all sound disappeared. When I regained my senses, I had taken out the stamp bad, placing the stamp on it. I went through page after page of the tests, careful to not make a sound, as I implanted my means of rebellion on it. I did it as I practiced in my mind. It’s perfect. My movement shows no waste. I realized then that my lungs demanded air, so I quickly took a breath…I should start running. Any more than that, and I’ll get caught in the act. I pushed up my body from the desk and quickly headed for the door. On the way, I looked at the teachers, praying I wasn’t found out.

“I’m taking my leave.” I said and stepped out of the staff office.

Once I made it to a place in the hallway with no people around, I undid my disguise and then headed to the astronomy club room where Kurumi was waiting. What filled my heart wasn’t the anxiety a single person couldn’t hope to carry. I entered the room when Kurumi placed the book she was reading down and came running toward me.

“You’re back. Did everything work out?”

“…I placed the abuse on around ten sheets.”

“Did anybody follow you?”

“No. I wasn’t even seen during the act.”

Hearing those words, Kurumi showed yet another devious smile.

“Is that so, is that so? Hehe…Well done, Senpai.” She said and stood on her toes to rub my head.

My heart was beating even faster. My brain was filled with a sense of perversion. Sparks of what was similar to chills ran down my spine. All tension left my body at once, as I fell to my knees. It’s all over now. This pleasure is a thousand times bigger than just smoking.

*

After everything was said and done, the world began reacting the exact way we’d assumed. Teacher Furukawa didn’t realize what had happened to his exam sheets and returned them the day after. Spotting these stamps of abuse, the students began complaining with “I made one mistake and I’m being told to quit school?” and “Also, if you’re too lazy to write them, then don’t use stamps,” and so on. It barely took a day until that story reached even the lower-ranking classes, making it quite a big topic. Once Teacher Furukawa heard about all that, it caused an even bigger issue.

He stated that “Someone was putting weird stamps on my exam sheets,” which left the high-ranking classes in disarray. Namely, people began talking about the reasons for that. “Why would someone copy a teacher’s writing?” or “Do they plan on rebelling against the school?” and “Who did this?” were all questions asked shortly after. And with our terrorism making the rounds, signs of change were on the horizon.

Two days have passed since we enacted our terrorism of revenge, making this Friday lunch break.

“Hey, did you hear? They think that the person who caused the stamp incident is from class 2.”

“Seriously? Why would someone do that? Maybe they’re just jealous?”

“Where did you even get that information from? I was told that Furukawa is trying to put all this on the students.”

I was eating my nutrient food in the corner of the classroom as I listened to my classmates. The second-year students had been talking about nothing but the stamping incident. And it spread like wildfire. The sheer oddness of erasers being used for that crime must have helped in that. It’s like we were making fun of all the abuse and insults. What a lucky miscalculation that was. The more rumors spread, the further they ended away from the truth. And that means the leads to me are vanishing. So please, keep on talking.

“…”

While watching my classmates discuss the rumors, I looked at the bigger picture. It’s still unclear if this operation has brought about a significant change in the school system. But at the very least, the high-ranking students were displeased at this treatment. And it showed that some people were willing to fight against the system. Surely, you could call this a success. And as I was satisfied with that, I stopped listening to my classmates and focused back on my food. Looking into the void, I chewed on my food. One final chomp, one final gulp, and I was done. I stood up from my chair to throw away the trash, when—

“Hey, Natsume-kun?”

A soprano soft voice called out to me, which made my heart skip a beat. Someone…just called my name, right? I wouldn’t be mishearing that, right? Since I once tried to argue with our teacher, which led to them not using any more abusive language against me, my classmates have been avoiding me since. Nobody here should be willing to talk to me. At least not until yesterday. The boys ignored me, and the girls avoided me. Why would someone talk to me? Right now, right after I committed that crime? There’s only one possible conclusion to that. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t even want to consider it. Maybe we have a detective here…in this class?

“Natsume-kun?”

I wanted to just ignore it and run, but that would make me even more suspicious. So, seeing no other choice, I slowly turned around. The voice that had called out to me belonged to a girl with semi-long, brown hair. She had white skin with a face resembling a bisque doll. She had transcended the idea of cuteness to reach a type of mature beauty. Her height was about average, but her long legs aided to the mature vibe she gave off. So, she’s the one who called out to me? I do remember a bit about her. We sit next to each other in class. I think her name was—Tanaka Yumi.

“Yeah, what’s up, Tanaka-san?”

Her eyes opened ever so slightly, as she muttered “You remembered my name?” Following that, she faintly breathed in.

“Sorry, it’s nothing important. I was just wondering…you heard about that stamp incident, right?”

“…Yeah. Hard to miss it.”

I tried to keep a calm face as I responded. This is bad. So she’s really gonna talk about that? Damn it, I was thinking I was good. Did she find some proof that I did it? And if she hasn’t, then I need to make my way through this without raising any suspicion. An alibi and an excuse…Can I do that? Anyway, it depends on the move she makes. I have to stay calm. I waited for her next words, but when they eventually came, they weren’t what I had expected.

“It’s pretty scary, right?”

“I-I guess so.”

“…”

“…”

And from there on, Tanaka-san didn’t say another word, just sitting at her desk. And just like she said, she did look a bit scared. But…wait, that’s it? I looked at Tanaka-san to figure out what her intention was, but she just tilted her head. It didn’t seem like she was trying to hide anything, either. She seemed bewildered at my distrust. What…is she plotting? Did she want someone to agree with her? Or was this just on a whim? I don’t know…and no matter how much I thought about it, I could not figure out the motive behind her actions.

*

“Okaaay, Senpai. Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

Our plastic cups bumped together which created a depressing sound. Once classes ended, Kurumi and I met in the astronomy club room to have a small party. The desk in front of us was buried with chips, cookies, and other kinds of sweets, as well as a 1-liter pack of orange juice. Sure, it’s nothing grand as you’d expect from a genuine party, but it’s just us two here, so this is plenty. Kurumi gulped down her cup of juice and then sighed in relief like she was already drunk.

“I didn’t think everything would work out this smoothly, I have to say!”

“Yeah, that’s true. That went better than expected.”

“Great work, Senpai. You did it perfectly. Well done.”

“Hey now, I couldn’t have done anything on my own. It worked because you were there with me.”

I spoke from my heart when Kurumi started blushing, saying “Heh, I wonder about that…” as she fixed her cap. She seems to be in a great mood. But, understandably so. It’s fair to say that our first act of terrorism was a huge success. And she was the one who came up with everything, so she’s more than in the right to feel good about herself. I’m still a bit concerned regarding Tanaka-san’s actions…but I guess I don’t have to tell her. Not like she could do anything about that. She doesn’t seem to be doubting us, so it’s not that important to tell Kurumi.

“I hope that more students will begin to wish for a change in this school, just like we do.”

“Well, we can’t say for certain just yet.”

“But what if there happened to be another terrorist group being birthed like us? And what if they started fighting us? Then we’d have to reach a common ground and start an alliance, with Senpai Saying ‘Our real enemy is the school! Infighting like this will not bring us any further!’ right?”

“Why are you appointing me…Though, I doubt that’ll happen. This isn’t some anime.”

“Whaaa? But it sounds interesting! You’re such a realist, Senpai. Let’s dream a bit!”

Kurumi handed me a cookie, which I munched on. Is this what it means to live your dream? I don’t know. But, we just enjoyed a bit of snack time to celebrate. After we felt full, we both stopped eating, and Kurumi wiped her hands and mouth with a handkerchief. She then went through her bag, taking out a familiar yellow notebook.

“Now then, let’s start discussing our next operation.”

“We’re already planning for the future? That’s pretty quick.”

“Naturally? Since it worked out this well, we should continue with this momentum. Shape the iron while it’s hot, no?”

That’s…probably how that works? I’m just going to abide by whatever she tells me, so thinking about it is a waste of time. She then proceeded to check through her Revenge Note. I gulped on some more juice and indulged in this pleasant time. This being the second time, I still feel a bit worried and anxious whenever she whips out her Revenge Note, but I don’t quite dislike it. It’s like I’m waiting to open my presents on Christmas morning. Finding out that she wouldn’t go overboard and actually physically hurt people, I could relax a bit more. I could still be nervous, but not so much that it made me go crazy. After she went through a few pages, she stopped her hands.

“This might be good. I called it—The ‘Teacher Meme-ification Operation’.”

Well, her weird naming sense is something I probably can’t ever come to like. When I asked for the details, she drank some more juice and explained.

“Then…let me tell you the reason I came up with this. You know what the word ‘meme’ refers to, right? I believe it’s fairly famous overseas.”

“Yeah, I sure do. Meme is short for internet meme, right?”

Basically, it’s like jokes that are popular on the internet. Like a cat running through space with rainbow colors.

“Exactly. And my idea for the ‘Teacher Meme-ification Operation’ is that we basically do the same thing, making jokes and memes out of the teachers’ words, actions, gestures, you name it.”

Hm, so she’s trying to create the same phenomenon…

“So you want to copy the teachers’ unethical behavior and make students imitate it to make fun of them?”

“Imitate…That makes it sound a bit more lame than I expected, but it’s basically just that, yes.”

“Right. And what’s our concrete goal this time?”

“Let’s see…My main goal would be to generate a possible way of venting out your anger against those teachers and create a more cheerful atmosphere at the whole school. And the teacher who ends up the one getting imitated would probably be conscious of their own behavior and maybe change it? It would be another two birds with one stone idea.”

Ahhh, that makes sense. Spreading this kind of stuff to show those teachers might not be a bad idea at all. The students are simply trying to imitate the teachers they admire so much, so there’s no problem whatsoever—On paper, at least. In that way, this sarcasm would work. I think it’s a good idea, but there’s one thing that has me curious.

“The question is…how do we make this imitation blow up. Our viewpoint might be good and all, but do we have a way to bring it to the masses?”

“About that…I’m not too sure about that.”

“Then let’s think about it together.”

Using the sugar we filled ourselves with earlier, we now started thinking. To make an intimation like that popular, I just don’t see the vision that will lead to that. Kurumi seemed to be struggling herself, as she played with the pen between her fingertips.

“Hmmm? How do we make it so that the imitation goes viral?”

“If it was funny or interesting, I bet that would happen naturally.”

“Probably…Senpai, can’t you just make something like that?”

“If I could, I’d become a comedian in the future.”

“Huuuuh? …Well, anything is fine, so could you just try something?”

“What?! No way! Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Dawww, you won’t even try an imitation? Should you really be saying that? I might have to spread this picture of you smoking around. Come on, do it!” Kurumi showed a mischievous grin and showed me her phone.

…That being said, it’s not like I didn’t think of anything in these past few seconds. I actually thought about a certain person I could imitate. Fine, then. I’ll show you an example. It’s hella embarrassing, but it’s better than having that picture spread around school…Or is it? Maybe I should just give up and make my life easier. Well, I shouldn’t think about it too much. This is all for the sake of revenge.

“Got it. Then, I’m gonna copy the principal during a morning school gathering.”

“Oh, now that sounds interesting.”

“…Ahem. ‘Slow but steady wins the race may be my favorite proverb, but at our school, there are a lot of students who don’t understand its meaning. And what a sad reality this is.’”

“……”

Kurumi looked at me with an expectant expression for a few seconds, only to give me a look of disgust. The silence in the room was painful. Whelp…That was probably the biggest mistake I’ve ever committed since the day I was born. By the way, I’m at a solid 0-1 right now. I never had any chance to actually fool around with other people, so my experience is far too low.

“Senpai, that sucked. I’m just gonna leak your picture.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! That’s not what we agreed on, right?!” I leaned forward in shock, but Kurumi just laughed and stopped me with “I was just joking.”

“God, you scared the crap out of me…”

“I’m sowwy! But, I can’t lie that it was pretty bad.”

“That hurts me pretty bad. Kurumi, did you never hear the principal say that?”

“Actually, I did. But when it comes to making a funny imitation, it’s not about you sound exactly like the person, but more that you sound ‘somewhat similar’ to the person.”

“Somewhat similar? So it has to be exaggerated?”

“Maybe not that much, but it would be something along those lines.”

Hm…Well, I can somewhat understand. When I saw a comedian make fun of a politician on TV, I could laugh about it even though I didn’t know the context. So it doesn’t have to be a joke anybody knows. Interesting.

“That being the case, let’s forget about that and move on to the next joke.”

“You plan on making me suffer through this even more? You’re the devil.”

“Senpaaai! Pictureee!”

Kurumi put one elbow on the desk to smile at me like the devil himself and dangled her phone from her right hand. She’s not even aware of how she’s slowly changing into a real villain. She’s enjoying this. Truly, the worst. She’s definitely the devil.

“Okay, okay. I just have to do it, right?”

“Good boy, good boy. Cute Senpai…So, what’s the name of the joke this time?”

“Well…There’s teacher Shimizu who keeps trying to one-up other people by using proverbs.”

“Who is that?” Kurumi tilted her head.

Well, I don’t blame her for not knowing. Shimizu is another of the second-year teachers. I cleared my throat once and then spoke with a viscous voice.

“‘Incompetent and unaccomplished, idle and incompetent, uneducated and ignorant. And oooh, all of these fit you perfectly. It probably doesn’t bother you that much, right? Aaand, if you don’t even have the same knowledge, you can’t stand on equal ground with me. Thaaat’s why we are dimensions apart, mmm.’”

“Pffft…”

“Ah, you laughed?! You just laughed, didn’t you?!”

“W-What? What’s so bad even if I did?! This is embarrassing, so don’t look at me!” Kurumi turned her back toward me and used her hands to fan some fresh air on her face.

All right, I did it. This time, it’s my win, Kurumi. I feel superior for once.

“I’m happy that I made you laugh.”

“Don’t act like you’re some big shot…But, I have to admit, that just now was definitely a bit funny. I don’t know what the original is like, but the likeness I did feel.”

So that means…what’s most important is to replicate the air and behavior of the person. As well as to pull through without being embarrassed so that the other person will laugh and remember. Now this is a new revelation. And while thinking about that, I poured myself another cup of juice, gulped it down, and then realized why we were even here. Why am I trying to become a comedian?

“Hold on, Kurumi. I get that embarrassing me like this might be funny, but we should be thinking about how we make this imitation blow up. Like I said before, I’m not gonna be running around putting up an act in front of the whole school. That’s not the type of character I am.”

“You’re concerned with how you look in the eyes of others? Even though you’re a junior’s servant?”

“Shut up. Focus on the topic at hand. Isn’t there anything we can do?” I asked, but Kurumi put one finger on her lip and started groaning.

After eating some more snacks and drinking juice, she muttered “Character…Atmosphere…Mood…Ah!” until she clapped her hands together.

“Kurumi? Did you think of something?”

“Well, somewhat. I don’t know if it will work out, but I might have an idea.”

*

The operation this time around wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the previous one, so we quickly went to act after our first meeting. Namely, lunch break on the next day. I quickly finished my lunch in my classroom and then headed over to the second school building. The building was located to the west of the main campus, and it was mainly used by first-year students for their classrooms. I mixed in with the people getting back from the cafeteria, heading my way to the rendezvous point. Just as when we meet for our meetings, she should be the furthest back in the hallway…

Ah, found her. She was hiding her inner color, as she stood in the passage connecting the second school building and club building. And standing next to her was another male student. It’s exactly as I was told. They seem to be getting along. Looking at the time, I was right on the mark. It’s time to start this operation. I pretended like I was going for a stroll, approaching Kurumi and the boy with his shaven head.

“…Ah! Natsume-senpai! Hello there!”

Before I got too close, Kurumi raised her voice. Good, she spotted me. I pretended like I had only just seen her, looking over at her.

“Hm? Oh, Kurumi. What’s up?”

“I was just talking with Aoki-kun. He was showing me some of his imitations.”

“Ah, h-hello. I’m Aoki.”

Introduced by Kurumi, the boy scratched the back of his head with a somewhat bashful smile. Sorry to make you go through this, but I already know about your name. The other boys keep saying how good he is at imitating others. And Kurumi told me all about that. And if it wasn’t obvious yet, he’s our ticket to starting our newest operation.

“Oh, I know! Why don’t you show Natsume-senpai some of your repertoire, Aoki-kun? You’re really good, so I bet it’s gonna knock his socks off!” Kurumi repeated the exact line we decided on earlier.

“Wah, Hoshimiya-san, you’re raising the bar like crazy!”

As expected, Aoki-kun wasn’t on board immediately. That being said, sorry kiddo. You’re not leaving here until I get to witness your skill. I’m a bit of a nasty senior, keh.

“What kind of impersonations can you do? I’d love to see some.”

“For real?! That’s hella embarrassing, though!”

“He’s already asking for it, so man up, Aoki-kun! It’s totally funny.”

“Eeeeerm…Well, but…”

He still seemed hesitant, but after a somewhat flirty “Please!” from Kurumi, he seemed to have been defeated and said “If you’re that adamant on it!”…For some reason, watching that exchange made me feel a bit uneasy, although I didn’t know why. Oh well, whatever. As long as he doesn’t show us some of his skills, we can’t continue with our operation of using him as our pawn, so I’ll let that one side. He cleared his throat once and then spoke up.

“Okay, then I’m doing one. This is ‘A certain actor with a distinct way of talking who stops a shoplifter.’”

As expected from everything I was told, he was pretty on the mark. It wasn’t just the manner of speaking. The tone of his voice, his expression, and even his gestures perfectly replicated the original. All he said basically boiled down to “Hey. Hey, don’t run now,” but I could keep watching forever. This must be the somewhat likeness that Kurumi was talking about. I really had to admire his skill. However, I still am not allowed to laugh at this.

“H-How was that, Senpai?” He looked at me with a worried expression.

I’m sorry for ruining your good performance like this, but we need to do this for our operation.

“Hm…I think it fits pretty well, but I just don’t know that actor so I don’t know the joke. I rarely watch any TV.”

“Huh?! For real?! Oh man, that’s my bad.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s my fault for not knowing the joke.”

Seeing him apologize made my heart hurt. I do know that actor, and I’m one of the few people who actually watches TV. And his imitation was actually hella fun…But I had to swallow these feelings of guilt to continue with this planned leading technique.

“Do you have any other stuff, Aoki-kun?”

“Other material? Well…If you’re not watching TV much, maybe I shouldn’t go with a celebrity…”

Aoki-kun began thinking. It’d be a huge help if he could naturally reach the imitation of a teacher here, but I doubt it.

“Ah, I know! How about ‘A clothes store employee constantly proclaiming that all their goods are on sale’ then?!”

That I definitely wanna see. Even Kurumi’s about to burst out laughing just from hearing the title. But, it’s too far from our goal, once again.

“Sorry, I rarely visit the mall, so I probably wouldn’t get it.”

“For real?! But then what should I do…”

“Say, Aoki-kun? Can’t you try imitating a teacher? Senpai should know them, right?”

“Ah, a teacher! That makes sense, yeah!”

Nice pass, Kurumi! Aoki-kun clapped his hands together like he realized something and then faced me.

“So, Senpai…Do you know Shimazaki? The head of the student year for the first-year students.”

“Yeah, sure do. He often gets angry during the school meetings, right?”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m going to do Shimazaki who gets angry during another assembly!” He said and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “‘Yer so noisy back there, shut up will ya? You gonna make me repeat my stick from zero or what? Morons’.”

The first one to start laughing from Aoki-kun’s act was Kurumi.

“Ahaha! It really is like him! Don’t you think so, too, Senpai?”

“It does! It’s like Shimazaki is getting angry at me!”

“Oh, for real?! That’s great! Thanks a bunch!”

Praised by the both of us, Aoki-kun happily scratched his head. And he was on point, too. He even replicated the filthy tone that Shimazaki has most of the time. This is some insane quality. Unbelievable. And to make his repertoire grow, I should ask for some other teachers.

“Hey, Aoki-kun, can you do other teachers, too? Like Takagi from English communication?”

“Oh, you know Takagi-sensei?! Well, in that case, I’ll do ‘Takagi-sensei three seconds before eruption because you didn’t hand in your homework,’ okay?!”

From there on, we asked Aoki-kun to try and imitate all sorts of teachers. Luckily, all of them were on-point and they definitely deserved all the praise we threw at him. Because that way, it didn’t make me feel like we were forcing him to assist in our terrorism. After two to three examples, we requested an encore for the especially good ones, and enjoyed our time. But after a while, the chime rang, telling us that the fifth period would begin soon.

“Ah, crap! I forgot to hand in my work! Sorry, Senpai, I gotta head off! My bad!”

“No worries. Sorry for keeping you here. It was a blast.”

“Thanks! And catch you later, Hoshimiya-san.”

“Bye-bye!”

Kurumi and I saw him off as he disappeared into the crowd. We waited a while until he vanished completely, and then I spoke to Kurumi.

“…Was this good enough?”

“I wonder. It depends on him now.”

“Gotcha. Anyway, good work.”

“Same to you, yes.”

With nobody looking at us, Kurumi and I put our fists together.

*

We had another reason for choosing Aoki-kun as the influencer to start this teacher imitation trend. Namely, because he’s part of the baseball club. At our school, that club is famous for being on good terms with each member, disregarding the year. If we hype up Aoki-kun, he might start his imitation with the second and third-year students. That was our original plan to make this spread. And our plan seemed to be working out well. A few days after we interacted with Aoki-kun, I heard this conversation in class.

“Oh yeah, there’s this junior at my club who’s gotten addicted to imitating people, and it’s so similar it’s hilarious.”

“Imitating people? Who’s he imitating?”

“Teachers like Shimazaki. We had him in class during our first year, right? When he slammed the workbook on the desk.”

And as we planned, all this imitation started spreading from within the baseball club. According to my research, someone would copy a certain trait or habit from one of the teachers. Usually two to three people from each class. It became an inside joke, spreading to other people. Well, I’ve only been seeing that in the hallway, so the accurate number I don’t know. After the teachers got furious at the students, the imitation boom, so to speak, cooled down a bit. Whether or not you could call this a success, we can’t say for sure. We did get some good results considering the low risk we had to deal with in return. But personally, I wasn’t too satisfied with this.

“I guess it’s hard to make things popular out of thin air…”

Classes ended for the day, and while I was watching the other classmates leave and head out for their clubs, I muttered these words to myself. They weren’t meant to be heard by anyone, but…

“Natsume-kun? What are you talking about?”

A familiar soprano voice tickled my back. Turning around, I was greeted by Tanaka-san. Her expression, looking worried, looked at me. Was she that close to me right now? I didn’t even feel her presence.

“Sorry for surprising you. I just heard you talking to yourself,” Tanaka-san said and smiled.

Seems like she actually heard me. Guess I can only try to talk my way out of this.

“Erm…I was just thinking of a popular song right now. Since I heard the boys talking earlier.”

“Oh, really? Do you listen to music much, Natsume-kun?”

“Somewhat, yeah. I’m at least up to date on the popular stuff.”

“Oh, I see. That’s nice. Lately, artists even upload their stuff online.”

“…”

“…”

Ah, the conversation ended already. I wonder, why is she even talking to me in the first place? Considering this, the previous time she started talking to me wasn’t just on a whim. Oh, well. No reason to think about it too much. It doesn’t look like she’s suspicious of me, so I’ll just head to the club room. I grabbed my bag and stood up, when…

“U-Um…”

Tanaka-san once again called out to me with a certain determination packed into her voice. I thought she’d cut to the chase now that I let down my guard, but she once again betrayed my expectations.

“I’ve been playing the piano since I was young…and I still like to listen to classical music.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Makes sense.”

“Yeah. So, well…” She awkwardly scratched her cheek. “Can we talk again? I’d be happy if you could tell me some of your favorite songs. Anything you’re listening to on your own is fine, so…” She smiled bashfully, her expression full of warmth.

In that single moment, I figured out everything. The reason she started talking to me is all too simple. It makes me feel stupid for even assuming she knew about our terrorism. She’s just…a kind person. She talked to me out of pure good-will. That final part about me listening to music on my own is proof of that enough. And I’m not dense enough to miss that. She’s basically saying that “If you don’t mind being alone, then that’s fine, but I’d be willing to talk to you if that’s not the case.” Granted, it did feel a bit condescending, but I didn’t mind it. It’s a fact that I’m the outsider in class, and it’s not like I prefer being by myself. I was happy when Tanaka-san started talking to me, so my answer had already been decided.

“Sure. I’ll tell you some other time.”

“…Okay, thanks.”

After a brief silence, she responded. And with this as the trigger, Tanaka-san and I started talking regularly when in the classroom.

*

That day, we didn’t hold a strategy meeting at the astronomy club, but more like an intelligence sharing session. Kurumi and I sat facing each other, reporting on the information we had gathered. The whole imitation had spread a lot more, and the teachers had shown their awareness. But still, it was hard to say if we could celebrate a success or not. And according to Kurumi, she felt a similar way. The fact that Aoki-kun couldn’t spread his imitation even amongst the first-years shows that it could have gone better.

“Well, well, well, it wouldn’t be fair to call this a failure, so I think we can let this stand. I’m sure this whole thing will eventually start working on the teachers like a well-placed body blow.” Kurumi talked on and on like she was trying to cheer me up.

“Yeah…I hope so.”

“Come on, why are you so down in the dumps= It’ll be fine! Everyone thinks that imitating the teachers is fun, so this is where we start!”

That’s right. The reason to start this whole imitating thing was to plant the seeds of rebellion in this school and the students. There might come a time this whole thing surfaces again, so we have to keep watching. Our first terrorism just worked out too well, but it’s much harder to influence reality like this. I sighed and then stood up.

“Sorry, Kurumi, I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going? Are we done with our meeting already?”

“Nah, I’m just going for a smoke.”

Since I didn’t feel satisfied with this time’s terrorism, I was hoping to calm my feelings with a smoke.

“Huuuh? Just stop smoking already. I don’t like the scent of tobacco too much.” She said and showed me a disgruntled face.

“I’m not smoking it in front of you, you know?”

“But you’ll reek of tobacco once you get back. So just don’t!”

“Even if you say that…I wanna smoke one because this just doesn’t feel as refreshing.”

“I won’t allow it! Look for another method to release your stress~”

“Well…What do you have in mind?”

“That’s…Hm…I can’t think of anything right now…” Kurumi pouted and crossed her arms below her chest.

You talk big and ask me to change my habit, yet you can’t even think of anything? However, she suddenly went “Ah!” as her face turned red, and then looked me in the eyes…only to avert her gaze. Rinse and repeat.

“Um…S-Senpai, you said that by doing something mischievous, it makes you feel like you’re rebelling against this school…and that’ll help you relax, right? That’s why you were smoking your cigarettes…”

“Hm? Ah, yeah. It’s just a pretend rebellion, but it helps me clear up my mind a bit.”

“In other words, you don’t need the nicotine to relax, right?”

“Nicotine…Yeah, I guess so. I only keep the smoke in my mouth, anyway.”

“Hm…He…hehe, then I’ve got an even better method to relieve you from your stress. Without the need of having to rely on smoking.”

“Oh, for real? Hit me.”

Yet when I returned that question, Kurumi didn’t respond. She just stood up from her seat, moved over toward me, grabbed both my shoulders, and pushed me against the wall.

“Huh? Um, Kurumi, what are you…?”

“Shut up. Bend your knees a bit, Senpai.”

“L-Like this…?”

With my back pressed against the wall, I simply did as I was told. Thanks to that, the difference in height between us was erased, as now Kurumi looked down at me, creating a shadow on my face.

“Hee hee…That’s right…Just stay still now…”

Her expression scared me. She had the eyes of a predator about to leap at its prey. Yet, she held back, knowing victory was only a single step away…What is going on? Is this a reverse wall slam? Why? However, Kurumi’s next action answered all—well, most—of my questions. She wrapped her hands around the back of my head.

“Senpai, coming in.”

“Huh? What are you—Mguh?!”

My lips were sealed because of a soft sensation. And without beating around the bush, it was a kiss. And a genuine one, at that. Not one you could play off as a joke on greetings in America. It was most definitely mouth-to-mouth with the intention to be seen as a kiss.

“Pah…K-Kurumi…?!”

“Shut up. I’m not done yet…Mmm…”

I wanted to say something else, but Kurumi pressed her lips on my mouth once again. Our breathing intertwined as our noses rubbed against each other’s. The heat we emitted became one. Kurumi’s soft lips kept chasing after mine, as I had no room to escape. Since this was my first time, I had no idea if this was anything special or not, but the passion I felt from her side was…genuine. Like she put her all into it. The cap Kurumi wore tilted down until it bumped into my head, and fell to the ground. Even so, Kurumi didn’t bother much with that, as she continued to press her lips onto me.

“Mhm…Senpai…!”

My entire view was filled with Kurumi’s adorable face. I was filled with doubt and confusion. But because of all this happening out of nowhere, the embarrassment got the better of me. I just…didn’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. Running away wasn’t an option because Kurumi held my head, so I could only sit here and wait until she was done. I could only accept the fact she was playing with my lips. In the end, I spent the next minutes like this, as this experience was burned into my memory, colored my soul, making it unable to ever forget about this event.

“Phew…K-Kurumi, what are you doing out of the blue…?!”

“Huff…huff…A kiss, duh? Or, was this your first kiss? Oh, I’m sorry. It was my first one, too, so please accept that as compensation.”

“It may have been my first, but that’s not the issue. Why did you suddenly kiss me?”

By the way, that was a genuine question. I couldn’t grasp how she could reach this conclusion. I don’t know if that was properly conveyed or not, but Kurumi just flashed a sadistic smile.

“Relationships are prohibited at our school, right?”

“Huh…Well, yeah. The school regulations speak against it.”

“Right? Yet here we are, a boy and girl kissing in a club room. This is clearly like an illicit relationship, right? Uch worse than just any regular relationship.”

As I struggled to understand where she was coming from, she continued.

“We’re doing something we shouldn’t…hiding from everyone’s eyes. Isn’t that the same as smoking cigarettes by yourself?”

“…Is this the stress-relieving method you talked about?”

“Exactly. If you see smoking as a way of rebelling, then a steamy kiss like this is much more of a rebellion, no? Doesn’t this feeling of naughtiness get you excited? It sure does for me, hee hee.” Her face was much more red compared to before, so much so it made even my back shiver.

“You’re smoking because it makes you feel good, right? Then, you just have to exchange the smoking with kissing me. Both are bad things, so they should be interchangeable, no?”

“…”

I can’t argue against that. She definitely had a point there. I’m not addicted to smoking or nicotine, and I don’t particularly like the taste of cigarettes, either. I was just looking for a reason to reach rock bottom and become a delinquent. That’s why I was smoking cigarettes. And the longer I think about it, the more it makes sense that I could just quit smoking to go with this instead. But…that doesn’t mean I can just accept this. So, while praying that she couldn’t hear my racing heart, I asked Kurumi.

“Are you fine with this? Going this far just because you can’t stand the scent of smoke…If that’s your only reason for this kiss, then you don’t have to force yourself. I can just quit if I really want to.”

“I’m not forcing myself or anything.” Kurumi answered bluntly. “I just…figured it was fine. We’re partners in crime. We’re already being mischievous. A kiss or two won’t matter. Common sense doesn’t apply here.”

…Yeah, I guess so. We don’t need any reason as we’re already acting like terrorists in the shadows to change this school. Pureness of heart and logical thinking had already gotten swallowed up by this darkness. A kiss like that isn’t anything special to us. I have no reason to say no to her suggestion. Plus, my lips have no value to begin with. I didn’t care much about my first kiss having been stolen. I looked away from Kurumi’s lips and said with a somewhat exhausted tone.

“Got it. If you say so.”

“That sure sounds like you’re running from the problem, but I will let that slide for now.” Kurumi gave me a stare.

So she found out I’m embarrassed? So awful…

“Then it’s decided. From now on, whenever you feel like smoking, we’re gonna kiss. So, one more time. Senpai, stick out your tongue.”

“W-Wait, that’s a bit…”

Before I could try to argue about this, my lips were once again sealed. To be honest, I didn’t think she’d go full-tongue right away, but I was too naive. Her soft tongue forcefully pressed itself through my lips. Eventually, I was running low on air, forced to open my mouth a bit, and Kurumi used this chance to push her tongue inside. As a result of that, our tongues began intertwining inside of my mouth. Our saliva mixed, as we stimulated each other’s sensitive parts.

Everything feels hot. Only the wet sound of water and heavy breathing filled the room. Together with her tongue curling around mine, Kurumi tightly grasped the hair on the back of my head. Pulled along by that, I held onto the back of her shirt. Even though we were embracing each other, it was almost like we hurt the other person. The boundary between us disappeared. It melted away. It felt like we’d swallow each other whole if we continued. Our bodies glued to the other, swallowing the other, until we would become one. A feeling of euphoria and perversion remained in my heart. And finally, it was like we could live the way we wanted. We supplied each other with what we lacked and became perfect. All this was just my head playing tricks on me, and even though I knew that, I couldn’t get rid of it.

“Mmmhm…Senpai…How is it…Mhmn…”

How could I answer that question? Because I was running low on oxygen, all I could think about was this kiss. The movement of my tongue, the sensation of Kurumi’s back, and the color of her eyes, my mind was entering overdrive. I looked at Kurumi, and she looked back at me. It felt like we were able to communicate on a spiritual level, without having to rely on words or other means of communication. But even as I was trying to figure out how that worked, Kurumi violently moved her tongue inside my mouth. I responded, running my tongue along her lips, own tongue, and gums.

“Puah…Senpai…This is pretty…tough, huh?”

“Huff…Huff…You were the one who started this…”

We took a ten minute break. After our relentless kissing continued for minutes on no end, we both somewhat decided to stop. A long line of saliva still continued to bind us together, shining brightly because of the lights. It’s proof that Kurumi and I were connected until a few moments ago. It only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like it never ended. Kurumi fixed her hair and then looked down at me with a seductive gaze.

“Hehe…How was that, Senpai? The taste of your first kiss.”

What kind of question is that…How am I supposed to respond to that? They say that your first kiss tastes like strawberry, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to pay attention to that. If I had to say…

“Tasted like bitter chocolate.”

“Huh? But I didn’t eat any?”

“I mean…I was saying it in a philosophical way.”

Since Kurumi gave me a dubious look, I was forced to explain myself properly.

“What we were doing is something that usually happens between lovers, but all we care about is his revenge, rebellion, and other negative feelings. That’s why I thought it was sweet but bitter,” I looked away from Kurumi and spoke with a self-deprecating tone. “And a kiss for the sake of revenge and stress-relief reminded me of bitter chocolate.”

Kurumi looked at me like she’d burst out in laughter any second.

“That sounds so lame. Are you trying to make yourself sound mysterious? It’s not working out.”

“Oh, shut up. I said what I said.”

“Hee hee, so lame. Gross. So I’m going to make you shut up.”

She pushed her face toward me once again. And after that, we once again fought with each other using our kisses. And the effectiveness was just as Kurumi stated. I feel as relieved as when I was smoking the cigarette. It was a questionable type of pleasure. But for the next thirty minutes until the school closed, this happiness continued.