Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 5: Do You Like Kyouko Hachiya? 2

Chapter 5: Do You Like Kyouko Hachiya? 2

The girl had bright brown hair that reached her waist, with the ends uneven and untamed.

To an onlooker, she might seem like a wild child, but her appearance was strikingly beautiful. When she bared her canines in a grin, she exuded a childlike cuteness that contrasted with her wild demeanor.

She embodied the natural beauty of both ferocity and charm in a single form.

Perhaps due to her unpretentious nature, she was highly popular among the boys at school.

At Akaishi’s high school, it was customary for students to clean the school in assigned groups after classes, and Akaishi was called out during this cleaning duty.

“Uh… who?”

“Huh? You don’t even know the name of someone in your class and cleaning group? That’s pathetic…”

Hachiya’s expression showed genuine disappointment at Akaishi’s response.

Akaishi felt a bitter pang at her blatant disappointment.

He couldn’t help but think, I wish you’d say the same to Sakurai.

“I’m Kyouko Hachiya. ‘Hachi’ for eight, ‘ya’ for valley, ‘Kyou’ for respect, and ‘ko’ for child. Remember it.”

“I’ll try.”

Hachiya placed her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest as she declared her name.

Akaishi gave her a strange look, as if observing something peculiar, at her unfiltered display of both disappointment and confidence.

“So, what’s up?”

“What? The teacher told us to take out the trash. There’s a lot, so you’re coming with me.”

“Why me…?”

“Shut—up!”

As Akaishi tried to protest, Hachiya immediately cut him off.

“The other guys keep looking at me with creepy eyes. You seem like you don’t care at all, so you’re coming.”

“Huh?”

Hachiya openly declared that other boys were conscious of her.

She was either extremely confident or simply conceited, but it was true. Even so, few girls would say such things aloud.

Hachiya was indeed popular among the boys at school, but Akaishi couldn’t understand it.

What was so great about a girl like her? Calling the boys who admired her “creepy” for their gazes, even if she thought it, wasn’t something to say out loud.

That might be why boys were drawn to her, but Akaishi couldn’t genuinely comprehend why she was so popular with them.

Still, refusing to help with the trash and risking resentment from other boys was something he wanted to avoid, so he obediently followed her.

※

Trash Dump—

“Thanks, you. Good work. Let’s head back.”

After finishing the trash duty, Hachiya tossed a haughty thank-you at Akaishi.

“Whoa, it’s Kyouko-chan, she’s intense!”

“I want those legs to step on me… Ahhh…”

“I want that mouth to insult me… Who’s that guy near her? So jealous.”

“Nah, probably just a classmate.”

“““Guess so.”””

Around Akaishi and Hachiya, boys were praising and fawning over her.

“God… Boys are so gross.”

Hachiya didn’t hold back, hurling words of contempt.

“Only Sousuke’s… decent…”

In a barely audible whisper, she added her admiration for Sakurai.

“Well, you don’t seem to look at me with weird eyes, so let’s hurry back.”

Hachiya slapped Akaishi’s back and turned on her heel.

Akaishi questioned Hachiya’s character for so easily insulting others.

To put it kindly, she was honest; to put it harshly, she was inconsiderate. Akaishi wasn’t sure which she was, but the interaction was enough to make him feel uneasy around her.

More than that, he felt a chilling fear that her mocking attitude might enrage someone unstable enough to harm her.

With her striking beauty, cute canines when she smiled, and an appearance that would surely garner a dedicated following if she stayed quiet, it was entirely possible one of her admirers could turn dangerous.

While such things were unlikely in the current environment, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen in the future.

Akaishi lagged behind, following Hachiya, and spoke up.

“The character ‘ko’ is made of ‘ichi’ and ‘ryo’ combined.”

“…? What’s that out of nowhere?”

Hachiya was slightly surprised by Akaishi’s sudden comment.

“It means ‘ko’ represents from ‘ichi’ to ‘ryo’—from birth to death.” (T/N: Notes below.)

“Huh? What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“You might want to think a bit more about the feelings your parents put into naming you.”

“Huh!?”

Hachiya visibly scowled and raised her voice at Akaishi’s unexpected advice.

“W-What’s that supposed to mean, you! Hey… Hey!”

Akaishi left Hachiya behind, hurrying back to his cleaning area.

※

“Hey, isn’t that Akaishi-kun?”

“My, you’re right.”

Takanashi and Mizushiro, on their way to take out classroom trash, saw Hachiya chasing after Akaishi.

“Are they close or something…?”

“Hehe, maybe…”

Takanashi responded to Mizushiro’s question with a soft chuckle.

TL Note:
The name Kyouko (恭子) is made of two kanji:

• • • • 恭 (kyō) — “respectful,” “courteous,” “modest in bearing”

• • • • 子 (ko) — a common feminine suffix, but also carries the nuance of consistency, as in “from beginning to end” or “birth to death”, or a child.

So 恭子 can be read with the nuance of “a consistently courteous, well-mannered girl.”

This is why Akaishi’s comment hits so hard.
Kyouko is loud, impulsive, combative, and quick to use force to hide embarrassment. Her behavior is about as far from 恭 (courteous modesty) as it gets.

When Akaishi tells her, “You might want to think a bit more about the feelings your parents put into naming you,” Kyouko takes it as an indirect criticism — basically, “Act more like your name. Be modest and polite.”

It’s not what he literally said, but culturally, pointing out someone’s name’s meaning can imply failure to live up to it, which is why she reacts so explosively.