Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 38.1: Me And Sato

“Ah! Good morning, Takahashi-san.”

“…Good morning.”

The classroom was quiet, with only a few students around in the early morning. I returned the greeting from one of the boys.  

By the way, my last name, ‘Takahashi’ was the third most common surname in Japan! Tanaka ranked fourth! I won!  

I came to school much earlier than usual today because, if I had stayed home, I would’ve just wasted time playing games. My goal was to finish some homework.  

What on earth was happening? Even I thought that this was uncharacteristic of me!  

“Hey, are you gonna talk to her?”  

“Should I, though…?”  

Somehow, I felt like someone was watching me—or rather, I’d been feeling this way recently. The stares had gotten noticeably stronger.  

“Go for it!”  

“Now’s your chance!”  

I could hear playful voices from the sideline.  

If this had been the old me, I might have gotten excited, thinking that springtime had arrived.  

But let me be honest.  

I hated most of the boys in this class—ever since the start of second year.  

“! Huh? Isn’t that way too early?”

But… there were two exceptions to that.  

One of them was the adorably famous Kanata Azuma.  

And the other one was…  

“Good morning, Takahashi.”  

“Wait. Why is Sato here this early?”  

Sora Sato.  

[Hey, Takahashi, you play ‘Street Gear’ too? Wanna have a match sometime?]

We often went to the arcade together. The first time, I’d underestimated him because he was a guy playing a fighting game—I thought it’d be an easy win. However, he totally destroyed me in the first round.

Now, though, we were rivals, always sharpening each other’s skills. Lately, I’d been winning more often.  

He was an oddball, but I considered him a true friend. It was fun hanging out with him.  

“I’m thinking about doing my homework here. What about you?”  

“Same!!”  

“Nice—let’s team up and tackle it together.”  

As usual, he naturally took the seat in front of me. For the record, that was Tanaka’s seat, but it was fine.  

But—  

“Tch…”

“Ugh, why does he even bother coming over here?”

Those barely audible mutterings.  

That was why I hated the boys in this class.  

Those whispered insults—directed at Sato—were impossible to ignore.  

“Hey, Sato, don’t you have any guy friends in other classes?”  

I asked him since it was just the two of us now. I had always wondered—was it the same in other classes as it was here?  

“Nope.”  

And with that, he gave his answer. 

“…Oh. I see.”  

“I’m not very popular, you know.”  

“It’s not your fault. They’re the ones that decided to hate you.”  

“Thanks, Takahashi. But nah—it’s partly on me too.”  

“Why? Did you do something to them?”  

“Not really. But don’t worry about it, okay?”  

He spoke with a detached air, like someone who had already come to terms with life’s injustices.  

That resilience… even as a girl, I thought it was impressive.  

“Sato, you really don’t seem like a ‘guy’.”  

“I’m a delicate otome…”  

“Excuse me??”  

“Excuse me?”  

“Yeah, no. That’s just not convincing.”  

“You’re just weaker than me.”  

“Say what!? Come here, you—!”  

“Weak.”  

“Urgh…!”

The most pathetic fighting pose I’d ever seen.  

Come to think of it, Sato was pretty well-built. He was not bulky, but his muscles seemed firm—not soft at all.  

Would I lose in a fight?  

If it came down to it, he might end up pinning me down… and then…  

Gulp

“Huh? Takahashi, you’re strong in fighting games though.”  

“E-eh? That’s because you always spam low attacks, so they’re easy to counter!”  

“Really? Guess I’ll need to work on that.”  

“Ah! No, forget I said that!!”  

“Oh, good tip. Prepare yourself next time.”  

“Wait—no, take it back!!”  

“You know, there’s no ‘undo’ button for mis-inputs, Takahashi—”

“—Hey!”

“!?”  

“Huh?”  

We’d been engrossed in our arcade game talk.  

So, we didn’t notice him approaching from the corner of the room.  

“Sato-kun, you’re being too loud!”  

Said one of the guys who’d been muttering earlier—he had actually walked over to complain now.  

…Why didn’t he say it to me too?  

“Sa—”  

“Ah, sorry about that. I’ll keep it down.”  

But Sato responded calmly, politely. So mature.  

It wasn’t even homeroom yet. It wasn’t during class or study time, so he wasn’t doing anything wrong.  

And those guys were the ones being noisy earlier anyway!  

“…Tch.”  

The boy bit his lip, seemingly frustrated. He’d probably been expecting Sato to snap back and escalate the situation.  

That was when another boy stepped in to back him up.  

“Takahashi-san, aren’t you trying to study? Don’t you feel like he’s bothering you?”  

“What? That’s not—”  

“Yeah, my bad. I was being insensitive. I’ll focus now—sorry about that.”  

“…Tch!”  

I didn’t feel that way at all.  

The accusation was absurd and baseless—a blatant attempt to rile him up.  

But instead of taking the bait, Sato took the blame and apologized, diffusing the situation entirely.  

“Let’s go.”  

“Yeah… whatever.”  

And just like that, they had no choice but to retreat.  

“Sato… do you even have the ability to get angry?”  

“I’m not a robot.”  

“That’s not what I’m saying!”  

“Haha, of course I was mad. I just held it in.” 

“…What?”  

“Isn’t that obvious? You just deal with it.”  

His calm expression didn’t reveal even a hint of frustration.  

“I’m used to it—dealing with… ‘complainers’.”  

That composed, resolute side of him—it was practically mesmerizing.  

“…”

Unconsciously, I found myself staring.  

His hair was a mess, and he obviously wasn’t wearing any makeup.  

And yet, he looked more “beautiful” than anyone else in this classroom.  

“Is there something on my face?” 

“N-no! Nothing at all!”  

This guy… really was different.  

There was something about him that no other boy had.  

Not “cuteness”.

Not a trace of “calculated charm”, either.  

But there was something undeniably captivating about him.  

“By the way, your cheap tricks in ‘Street Gear’ are way worse than anything I do.”  

“How is that even a compliment?!”  

“Half compliment, half insult. Oh hey—morning, Tanaka. Good morning, rep.”  

“Sato, you’re here early today! Rare sight!”  

“Impressive—you’re normally just barely on time.”  

“I didn’t finish my homework, so I’m doing it now.”  

“Called it.” Thud

“…Why did I ever respect you even slightly?”  

Our corner of the classroom quickly filled with noise and laughter again.  

But.  

No one else noticed.  

Of this, I was certain.  

Only I.  

Only I could see what made Sato so incredible.  

“…’Sato and I’ have homework to do now!”

“Eh, what’s with you two? I already gave up on it.”

“Seriously. The word ‘homework’ literally means ‘topics to do at home’—”