I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!? - Chapter 22: Creeping Closer

Chapter 22: Creeping Closer

“Yamamura, got a moment?”

“Yes? What’s up?”

I finished student council work and hurried to the clubroom to join practice, but the coach called out to me. Our kendo club has this person as the coach for both boys and girls. The coach has great leadership and is a trustworthy person with strong character.

“I believe I asked Kuroki to do the shopping today, right?”

“Yes. I gave him the money this morning.”

“But Kuroki didn’t show up to practice today.”

“…What?”

An hour had already passed since practice started. The shopping was just for items available at a nearby drugstore. Even if it took a while, he should have returned within thirty minutes or so.

“I’ll go look for him right away…!”

I asked Kuroki to handle it in my place. If something happened to him, it was my responsibility.

I started to rush out to find him, but the coach stopped me.

“Wait, wait. I don’t think it’s your fault, Yamamura. As for Kuroki, his attitude may be rough, but he trained seriously without skipping for the past two months.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“So, I don’t think this is your problem, so don’t apologize. But if he keeps missing practice with the club funds, we’ll have to take appropriate action. I just wanted to let you know in advance. Well, it would be best if Kuroki showed up tomorrow with a casual face.”

With that, the coach left, saying, “Switch to practice and do it properly, or you’ll get hurt!”

Suddenly, Nishino’s words flashed through my mind.

“That guy is a despicable person.”

…No, even if his personality was questionable, as the coach said, his training attitude was very serious. That’s why I asked him to do the shopping.

I hoped nothing was wrong…

“Hey, Ryu. Morning.”

“Morning, Shinya.”

On a usual morning, I greeted Shinya, who arrived at the classroom first, and took my seat.

“…Hey, did something happen between you and Nishino?”

“Something did happen, I guess…”

At Shinya’s words, I looked at Nishino, but she glared at me with a terrifying expression. It was too awkward, so I looked away.

“I thought Nishino was a refreshing, handsome guy at first, but I guess appearances can deceive.”

“Maybe so…?”

Even Shinya seemed put off by that face.

It was impressive that the girls around him still hadn’t noticed his true nature.

The topic shifted from Nishino to casual chatter when my phone suddenly vibrated.

Who would message me at this time? Makoto and Kanade are in the classroom, and Sakuya is probably at morning practice… I opened my phone and saw the message was from Yuna, surprisingly.

Yamamura Yuna: Ryu, you free now?

ryu: What’s up?

Yamamura Yuna: Is Kuroki in the classroom?

Kuroki-kun? I scanned the classroom, but he wasn’t there.

ryu: Doesn’t seem like he’s here yet…

Yamamura Yuna: Got it. Thanks.

ryu: Should I let you know when he arrives?

Yamamura Yuna: Yeah, that’d help. Thanks.

…What’s this about? Wasn’t Kuroki-kun asked by Yuna to do the shopping yesterday?

Maybe it was related to that.

…There it was again.

An indescribable discomfort.

The same feeling from before hit me.

Maybe I should ask Yuna about it during lunch.

Or so I thought.

“Minase-kun, perfect timing.”

“Kuroki-senpai? What’s wrong?”

During break, on my way back from the restroom, the baseball team manager, Kuroki-senpai, stopped me.

“Sorry for the short notice, but can you come to the clubroom during lunch? There’s an emergency meeting.”

“Emergency? Is there trouble?”

“Seems like it. I haven’t heard details yet, but a second-year outfielder got injured…”

“Ouch, that’s…”

Our baseball team has a decent bench for fielders, but the outfield is the exception, with a second-year senpai as the starter.

A meeting because of a second-year’s injury probably meant discussing how to fill that outfield gap.

Bad timing…

No choice, I’ll message Yuna later…

I’ll talk to her after school instead.

After parting with Kuroki-senpai, I returned to the classroom, where Kanade and Makoto were chatting at my desk.

“Ah, Ryu-kun, you’re late.”

“I was talking to the manager senpai.”

“…Third wife candidate?”

“What!? I won’t allow that while my eyes are still dark!”

“No, that senpai has a boyfriend.”

“Oh, darn.”

“I thought I could pull the ‘I won’t let my boyfriend be taken!’ move. Too bad.”

“He’s not a wife, he’s a husband. Oh, right. I have a meeting at lunch, so go eat with Yuna, you three.”

“Got it! Something up?”

“A player got injured, so they’re discussing what to do, according to senpai.”

“The tournament’s close, right?”

“Yeah, it might be bad.”

“Worst case, I’ll play instead. I’ll start practicing now.”

“I appreciate the spirit, but I’ll pass, Kanade.”

Hmm. Since Kanade and Makoto are going together, maybe they can ask about Yuna, too.

It’s not like they’re unrelated to yesterday’s events.

“Also, Yuna seemed worried about Kuroki-kun this morning. Could you subtly check on it?”

“Kuroki-kun? Did something happen?”

“If nothing’s wrong, that’s best, especially after Nishino’s thing. Oh, you don’t have to hide that I’m curious. I’ll ask her directly tonight anyway.”

“Got it. Leave it to us.”

That should settle things with Yuna for now.

“Yuna~! Over here!”

“Sorry, kept you waiting.”

“No worries, right on time.”

Ryu’s at a baseball meeting today, so it’s our first lunch in a while, just the three of us.

“Huh, no bento today, Yuna?”

“Yeah… I was a bit busy. Didn’t have time to make one.”

“Busy… with Kuroki-kun?”

“…Ryu told you?”

“Yeah, he’s worried too.”

“I see… I made him worry.”

“Can we hear what happened?”

“Well… don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Yuna’s story was quite shocking.

Kuroki-kun went missing with the club funds.

…I thought, but I realized I didn’t know Kuroki-kun’s character well enough to be that surprised.

Still, this seemed like a big problem.

I hoped it wouldn’t cause Yuna any trouble.

“Is there anything we can do?”

Makoto asked Yuna with concern.

I’m bad at this kind of thing, so Makoto always helps me out.

“I’m okay for now. I mean, I haven’t done anything myself… it all depends on Kuroki showing up at school…”

“Then we’ll let you know as soon as Kuroki-kun comes to school.”

“Kanade… thanks. That helps.”

Helping a struggling friend is natural. Plus, Yuna’s our comrade.

“Ryu might call tonight. He said he’d ask directly.”

“I see. Ryu’s in an important time too…”

“So are you, Yuna.”

“I heard the tournament’s close.”

“I didn’t train to let something like this throw me off. The coaches are looking out for me, too.”

“That’s thanks to your usual behavior, Yuna!”

“Yeah, they trust Yuna because it’s you.”

“…Thanks, both of you.”

Yuna gave a faint smile, but she seemed down through the end of lunch.

I’m not Ryu, but I feel uneasy too.

We should keep an eye on Yuna.

I glanced at Kanade, and she nodded slightly, thinking the same.

The next day, walking to the classroom with Ryu and Kanade, it was noisy inside.

I peeked through the door and saw everyone focused on the front.

Following their gazes,

“Kuroki-kun’s at school.”

“But… is he injured?”

“True.”

He had a large bandage on his cheek.

With his appearance and that injury, people were probably gossiping, causing the commotion.

It might be related to yesterday, but asking carelessly wasn’t a good idea.

“Ryu…?”

But Ryu, standing next to me, walked up to Kuroki-kun and spoke to him.

I was too far to hear clearly, but I think he said, “Let’s talk.”

Ryu gets proactive when protecting something important.

We’ve been protected by that side of him, and we love that about him.

To support him and protect our dear friend, we should do what we can.

I called Kuroki-kun out and stopped in a spot away from the classroom where no one could overhear.

“What’s this about?”

“About Yuna, a bit.”

“Yuna… you’re her friend, huh?”

“Friend… well, yeah. Kuroki-kun, you’re Yuna’s junior disciple, right?”

What, Yuna’s called “Big Sis” by her disciples?

That’s teasing material, but not now.

“…It’s not that big a deal. We barely overlapped at the dojo.”

“Yet you call her Big Sis.”

“Most dojo folks do. We’ve all been helped by Big Sis, one way or another.”

“…That injury, what happened?”

“…I fell on my way home. Got a problem?”

“Not like that. I was just curious.”

“Why do I have to talk to you? What do you want to know? Be clear.”

“Then I’ll get to the point. Did you return the club funds to Yuna?”

“Why do you know about that…?”

“I haven’t told anyone else, and I’m not trying to threaten you. I just want to make sure Yuna’s not in trouble.”

“…I returned it this morning.”

“Did you apologize properly?”

“…Yeah, I did! Satisfied!?”

“You apologized, so you know you caused trouble for Big Sis this time?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said. Take responsibility for your actions.”

“…That’s obvious.”

“If you get it, fine. …If you need help, I’ll do what I can. Just ask.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“If you’re Yuna’s junior disciple, you’re not a stranger. If something happens to you, Yuna will be sad.”

“…Tch. Annoying bunch.”

With that, he went back to the classroom.

That injury didn’t look like something from a fall.

The club funds were safely returned to Yuna, so this should be settled.

But why wouldn’t this strange discomfort go away…?

Talking to him, I realized he’s not a bad guy at heart.

Rather, he seemed like the type to care about boundaries.

Even if Kuroki-kun was a bad person, living at that dojo would correct him. Those who can’t handle it leave naturally. That’s how that place is.

Yet.

Why did seeing Kuroki-kun make this discomfort grow…?

I returned to the classroom, confused.