Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 23: Traitor

“What’s this? You actually showed up.”

After school.

I was standing at the designated meeting spot, in front of the station.

And then she arrived—Kanau.

Her smiling face. It was hard to believe she was about to lead me into a lynching.

“…Just take me there already.”

“Oh? Can’t even use polite language with your elders?”

“…”

“Man, you really hate me now, huh?”

Her voice dripped with that same slimy tone she’d used when she’d first approached me, but now, it only made my skin crawl.

“W-Where to?”

“I’ll guide you.”

“Understood…”

We hailed a taxi and started moving to some unknown place.

Sweat, cold and clammy, seeped into my palms.

“So, how far have you gone with that guy?”

“…I told you, it’s not like that—”

“Haha! No need to lie. Your face says it all.”

“Shut up.”

“So? A-B-C? How far? Haven’t even kissed yet?”

“…!”

I turned my face toward the window to avoid giving anything away. Kanau’s reflection in the glass grinned hideously.

“Well, he’s hot, right? Totally sexy!”

“…”

“What kind of face would he make if someone broke him? All tough on the outside but secretly submissive?”

“…Shut your mouth.”

“Oh, come on. All those girls at Aimei are starving for guys. And here you are with a boyfriend—must feel amazing to rub it in their faces, huh?”

“Shut the hell up!”

“Eek!”

“Oh look, now you’ve scared the driver.”

“…Sorry.”

Kanau snickered maliciously as if I were just a toy in her hands.

“This’ll do,” she said suddenly.

“That’ll be 1,000 yen,” the driver informed us.

“Hey trash, pay up.”

“Tch…”

“Hurry it up.”

Forced to pay for a taxi ride meant to lead me to my own beating—it was a surreal moment if there ever was one.

As the door slammed shut behind us, we stepped out.

“Why don’t you ride a moped or something?” I asked bitterly.

“Huh? Not interested in kiddie stuff like that. The only things I care about are money and men.”

“You…”

“Connections are everything, you know. Cigarettes and mopeds rake in cash like crazy. Gangs? Just dangle something shiny in front of those wannabe delinquents and they’ll eat it up. Easy money.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Oh, I love fights too! Watching them or crushing weaklings—it’s great stress relief.”

The place we arrived at was an abandoned building. Kanau opened the door and gestured for me to enter.

The air inside was icy cold—like stepping into hell itself. It was just Kanau and me for now; her gang wasn’t here yet.

“So? Should I take care of you right here and now?” I challenged her.

“Go ahead if you think you can. Not that it’ll work. And even if by some miracle you manage it, I’ll just make him suffer instead.”

“You bitch!”

“Haha! You’re so easy to read. What’s the big deal? Is he really that important to you?”

“He has nothing to do with this—gah!”

A kick slammed into my stomach like a knife twisting into flesh.

“You or him—which one will it be? The fact that you even have to choose means you’re already under my thumb.”

“If I take my punishment, we’re done here—right?!”

“And then what? You’ll go crawling back to him with your tail between your legs? Pathetic.”

“…Shut up.”

“No place for you at school. No place for you at home. Remember how desperate you looked when you came crying to me for help?”

“…”

Kanau sneered down at me with a twisted grin.

I was such an idiot back then—to trust someone like her.

“And after joining us, when things got inconvenient for you, you ran off to that guy instead! What do you have to say for yourself?”

“What’s your point?”

“You’re just scared of being alone. That’s all this is about. You ditched us because he made a better crutch than we did—isn’t that right?”

“That’s…!”

I couldn’t argue. She wasn’t wrong.

My mother died.

My hair color stood out too much.

My classmates treated me like an outsider.

Using those excuses, I kept running away from everything.

It’s hopeless anyway.

They’ll just avoid me again.

And then—

[Hey there! Why the long face?]

Kanau had appeared out of nowhere and I’d begun clinging to her.

[Smoking in broad daylight? Aren’t you underage?]

Then he’d showed up too—and l’d latched onto him as well.

“I…”

Yes. It was all my fault.

Ending up in this mess. Letting Kanau find out about Sato. Everything was because I kept running away from reality—

But no more.

“I’m done running.”

From my parents. From my hair color. From my circumstances.

Once this was over, I’d face everything head-on—the me who kept running away from life itself.

“Hah! What a joke,” Kanau spat dismissively, her eyes filled with disdain like she was looking at garbage.

But soon enough, her expression twisted into a grin again.

“Well… Too bad it’s already too late.”

“What?”

“If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for being trash,” she said cryptically.

“What do you mean—”

Before I could finish asking, the sound of footsteps interrupted us as the door creaked open behind me.

“Yo.”

A group entered—her gang members.

“Leader?”

“What happened to her?”

“Oh yeah,” Kanau said nonchalantly. “Forgot to tell y’all—she’s leaving the gang.”

“What?!”

“Really cruel, huh? That’s why I thought I’d make sure she understands before we decide who the strongest first-years are.”

“Wait… what does making sure mean?”

The first-years looked at each other, confusion evident on their faces.

They clearly hadn’t been informed about any of this.

“We’re going to beat her senseless. All of you, together.”

“Wait… what?”

“She’s a traitor. She’s probably planning on spilling all our secrets to other gangs.”

“Wait… what?”

“!?”

“I—I wasn’t planning on that at all—”

I tried to protest, but the words were lost as my clothes were grabbed by the collar.

“Quiet.”

“Ugh!?”

“This is perfect timing. This is how we show what happens to traitors in this gang… this is how it ends!”

“Ugh…!”

Her kick sent me sprawling to the ground, and then came another stomp, relentless and humiliating.

“Ugh… I just thought this place wasn’t a good fit for me. I don’t hate you… I swear I don’t—”

I struggled to speak, but she kept pulling me, her grip strong at my collar.

“What did you just say?”

“I-I just want to be ‘normal’, okay? Just… normal—ugh!”

“Don’t be stupid. You’re gonna be a loser forever. Even if you keep running, you’ll just fail.”

She laughed coldly and kicked me again, laughing at my suffering.

“Looks like having a man in your life has made you dumber, huh? Poor thing.”

“D-Don’t drag him into this!!”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. By the way… it’s about time now.”

Click

The sound of a door unlocking.

“Ah-ha-ha… Finally showed up, huh?”

Her face twisted in a cruel smile as her eyes glinted ominously.

“What’s happening now is that you’re going to experience both things at once.”

It was a lie.

“Aaah, so pitiful. Truly pitiful!”

Why?

“Can you repeat those cheesy, pathetic lines again? I wonder if you can!”

Why was he here?

“…Sato…!”