Chapter 4 – The Second Victim

The day after, I decided to prove Ayane-san’s innocence.

Just when the school gates were almost in sight, my arm was suddenly grabbed, and I was pulled into a side street.

Depending on who saw it, it might have looked like I was being kidnapped. But since no one ever looks at me, nobody made a fuss.

And yet, the person who placed a hand over my mouth and told me, “Don’t make a fuss,” was…

Watase-san.

“Good morning, Akasaka-kun. It’s beautiful weather today, isn’t it?”

Who are you to say that?

I don’t think that’s something you say while holding someone in a full nelson. And since my mouth is covered, I can’t even reply.

“Nn~~”

I could break free if I tried, but for now, I’ll just let her do as she pleases.

Because the two soft mounds pressing against my back actually feel kind of good. I might be disgusting for thinking such a thing, though.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You can’t answer like this, can you? There, you’re good.”

“Pah… Good morning, Watase-san. Setting aside whether the weather is beautiful or not, what’s with the sudden ambush?”

“I came up with a brilliant idea for our counterattack against that woman. I’ve been waiting for you because I wanted to tell you as soon as possible. For a long time.”

“A long time?”

“Yes, since I didn’t know when you’d arrive, I’ve been waiting for two hours.”

Is she out of her mind? Two hours ago was 5:30 AM. People are still sleeping at that time.

“You’re an early riser.”

“It’s not that I woke up early. I haven’t slept at all.”

Looking closely, the bags under her eyes are terrible. And yep, she’s definitely crazy.

“Th-That’s amazing. So, what’s this brilliant idea?”

“We have some slightly bad guys attacking that woman. Then, you swoop in and save her, she falls for you, and you reject her. How’s that? Perfect, right?”

That’s way too cliché. And full of holes. More importantly, if she actually fell for me from that, I’d definitely just end up dating her. But I won’t say that out loud. I don’t want to ruin her mood and get locked in a room alone with Wano-sensei.

“That certainly is a great idea. So, where are we getting these bad guys?”

“Your friends, Akasaka-kun.”

“I don’t have any friends.”

“What a coincidence. Neither do I.”

“…………”

“…………We’re rejecting this idea.”

Right. I figured as much.

“In that case… brilliant idea part two.”

She actually had another one, as expected of someone who didn’t sleep. It’s probably going to be another terrible idea, though.

“I want you to disguise yourself as my boyfriend, Akasaka-kun, and say unspeakably obscene things to that woman.”

See, terrible as expected. Even if you say disguise, right? It’s not like cosplay — obviously, it’s impossible to make yourself look perfectly like another living person. Plus, saying obscene things is a bit much.

“How am I supposed to disguise myself? I don’t even know what your boyfriend looks like, Watase-san.”

“It’s fine. I have his uniform.”

“…………You have it?”

What on earth is she talking about?

“I bought the same one Leo-kyun wears.”

“…………Leo-kyun?”

This is bad. My head is starting to hurt. She’s the kind of person you shouldn’t get involved with. Why did I have to be saved by someone like her? Actually, it might have been better if I’d just let Wano-sensei deliciously devour me back there.

“Yes, Leo Shidora. My boyfriend. He even said ‘G’mornin’ to me today. And for our 100-day anniversary, he gave me 30 pieces of candy. Thanks to that, even when my stamina ran out, I was able to keep flirting with Leo-kyun forever.”

“Candy!?”

Oops, my bad. I was so surprised it just slipped out.

But you can’t blame me, right? Candy for an anniversary? He’s not some weird uncle handing out hard candy at New Year’s.

It’s totally obvious now. Watase-san is being played. You should dump a guy like that.

More importantly, right? What kind of titanium mentality does it take to get NTR’d, have an embarrassing photo taken, and still casually say “G’mornin”? I actually respect him.

Also, his name is way too cool.

“So just leave the disguise to me. All we need to do is get a wig.”

“A wig?”

“That’s right. Because Leo-kyun is blonde.”

That clinches it. Honestly, wouldn’t it be better for Watase-san’s sake if I didn’t help her? Besides, if he’s the type to play around like that, isn’t he probably pretty well-known?

“By the way, about this Reo-kun—”

“Leo-kyun.”

“…Ahem! What high school does this Leo-kyun go to?”

“Private Ainooto Academy.”

Never heard of it. Is it a long-distance relationship? But he still comes to give her candy, right?

Ah, I get it. It must be a fake name. She gave a fake school name because she didn’t want him to find out.

It’s not like I’d do anything even if I knew, though. Well, whatever.

Also, from now on, I am never saying Watase-san’s boyfriend’s name again. Absolutely never.

“I see. Well then, shouldn’t we head to school soon? We’ll be late, you know?”

“Now that you mention it, yes. Then we’ll discuss the details later.”

Just because we talked for a bit didn’t mean we were walking to school together. I watched Watase-san briskly walk ahead alone while I followed at my own pace. I told her we’d be late, but that was a lie. We still had plenty of time.

Yeah, we were supposed to have plenty of time…

“You’re the one who stole my Leo-kyun! I was supposed to sleep with Leo-kyun that day… but he slept with you… I won’t forgive you!”

Until I saw a girl screaming that at Ayane-san in front of the school gates.