I Thought It Was a World Where Chastity Norms Were Reversed, But It Turns Out I Was Just Surrounded by the Overly Intense Girls in My Class

Chapter 11: Side Kagurazaka Kana

I—Kagurazaka Kana—used to be a total loner.

A real-deal loner. The kind with thick glasses.

Back in middle school, I hid in the library every single day after class.

The world inside books was the only place I belonged. I didn’t have a single friend.

Sometimes people tried talking to me, but I was way too shy.

I could never answer properly, so they’d give me that awkward smile and treat me like I was fragile.

I hated it so much that I spent all three years without talking to anyone.

Even on graduation day, I went home alone without taking a single picture.

Of course nobody invited me to the after-party. I didn’t have anything else to do, so technically I could’ve gone home right after the morning ceremony.

But going home early felt weird and uncomfortable.

So I killed time in a bookstore until it got dark, then finally headed back.

When I walked in, Mom asked, “Want some dinner?”

I blurted out “No thanks” without thinking, even though I was starving.

It just felt so pathetic. So frustrating.

That night, after my bath, Mom came to my room holding rice balls. “In case you get hungry later,” she said.

The second I saw her face… yeah, I started crying. The tears wouldn’t stop.

After she left the room, I cried even harder. Like, ugly-crying harder than the day I was born, probably.

When it finally stopped, I made up my mind.

—I was going to reinvent myself in high school. I was going to change for real.

I never wanted to live that miserable life again.

I wanted a sparkly high school life I could brag to Mom about. That’s what lit a fire under me.

So I decided to become a gal.

I bought gal magazines at the bookstore I always went to, practiced facial expressions in front of the mirror, studied the perfect angle for smiling, the right tone of voice, the whole vibe. Then I dyed my hair at a salon.

I worked my butt off.

Changing my looks wasn’t even that hard. I could feel myself getting cuter day by day, and surprisingly, I actually liked picking outfits and doing fashion.

In middle school I always wore glasses and never cared about my appearance at all, but what girl hates becoming cute?

I got totally hooked. Hooked on the flashy look.

In the end, I think I managed to pull off the gal look pretty well.

High school debut: success?

The very first day, on entrance ceremony day, I made friends, and guys even started hitting on me. Everything was a first for me—I was seriously freaking out—but back then I was just happy my hard work paid off.

But being a gal is actually kinda tough.

Unlike natural gals, I’m super shy. My social skills are basically zero.

I have no clue how close I’m supposed to stand to guys.

So when some dude confessed and I got cocky and brutally shot him down on impulse… yeah, that backfired big time.

I guess I hurt his pride?

Anyway, he held a grudge and sicced a couple of yankees on me. Two of them.

A mohawk guy and a sunglasses guy—total lame combo. I only rejected one of them, but they teamed up and started harassing me together.

They’d corner me in the classroom or wait for me after school.

Honestly, I knew I’d screwed up. I’d gotten carried away because my debut seemed to be going so well.

And then one day, they followed me all the way home.

I bolted the second I noticed, but somehow I ended up trapped in a back alley.

I seriously thought my life was over.

I was going to get assaulted by these creeps and that would be it. The sparkly high school life I could brag to Mom about? Gone forever.

I gave up on everything and just closed my eyes, praying—

That’s when it happened.

“Um, excuse me? Can I butt in for a sec?”

That’s when he showed up.

—Baba Tatsuya.

In class he’s basically air.

Always spacing out, never seen talking to anyone. The kind of person who reminded me of middle-school me.

“I’m Baba Tatsuya from class 1-1. At the dojo I hold fourth dan.”

And yet, for some reason, he gave this random self-introduction—then flashed a smile and declared,

“After all, I came here today to challenge the dojo!”

I genuinely had zero idea what he was talking about.

But two things were crystal clear: he was dead serious, and he was genuinely excited about this “dojo challenging” thing.

The way he carried himself was obviously not normal.

“You think you’re tough or somethin’?”

“Who knows. Back in the day I used to beat up random old dudes around town all the time.”

At first the yankees were looking down on him, but they quickly sensed something was off.

They started eyeing him like he was some unknown monster and asked cautiously,

“You really think you can take both of us?”

“Ha, no way, right? Right?”

“I don’t know how strong you two are, but at the dojo we sometimes do three-on-one sparring. Handling two at once is totally doable.”

But yeah, the guy was straight-up abnormal.

“No way in hell a shrimp like you can fight multiple people.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re totally lying. Right?”

“Well, that was a long time ago anyway. By the way, my record back then was ten at once. My brain almost exploded that time. Even I couldn’t keep up with all the processing.”

““—Huh?””

The mood started shifting little by little.

At first the yankees were the ones pressing, but before I knew it, he had completely taken control.

And the craziest part? He didn’t even seem to notice. He just kept casually cornering them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I was so shocked I couldn’t even speak.

But the situation was definitely turning around. The darkness in my vision started lifting bit by bit.

“Why the hell are you smiling?”

“What even are you, man?!”

The yankees were openly scared now.

They’d been so aggressive toward me, but in front of him they turned into scared little kittens.

So lame.

On the other hand, he—no, Baba-chi—didn’t flinch even once.

“I have a feeling we’re gonna get along great.”

““Eek—!””

He actually stepped closer and said that with total confidence.

“As a token of friendship, how about a quick match? Oh, there’s a dojo right nearby. Or hey, wanna come dojo-breaking with me instead?”

His mental strength was insane. Like, how is anyone that tough?

I was so terrified I couldn’t move an inch, yet Baba-chi chased them off with a smile on his face.

Then for just a second he looked at me with worry and asked,

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah, totally! Thanks to you.”

“Cool. Glad to hear it.”

He smiled in relief, looking genuinely happy.

—Oh no. This is bad. This is really bad.

There’s no way I wouldn’t fall for that.

My heart went thud so hard it hurt. My whole body got hot, and I couldn’t even meet his eyes anymore.

—Oh crap. I think I actually like him.

I’d never been in love before, never even thought about romance. But this? No chance of resisting.

Getting saved in a pinch and then smiled at like that… of course I’d fall. It’s straight out of a manga—super annoying, but still.

But I already fell, so nothing I can do. Seriously nothing.

He looks so gentle, yet he’s probably fourth dan in judo and crazy strong. Not just in fights—his heart is strong too.

Baba-chi’s gap moe is brutal, isn’t it?

Gentle but strong and cool? That combo is unbeatable. No girl could resist. Seriously impossible.

Ugh, calm down, me. I’m gonna fall way too deep at this rate.

While my brain was total chaos, Baba-chi suddenly held out his hand…

And with the brightest smile said,

“If you feel like it—wanna spar with me?”

…Huh? Wait, what? The timing!

I thought my heart was literally going to stop. For real? For real for real?

—That’s so unfair.

“…That’s unfair.”

Because it really is unfair.

Do you even know what that means right now?

Of course you don’t.

Baba-chi feels kinda airheaded.

“You’re shaking my maiden heart way too much.”

But that part of him is cute too. So cute.

Oh no, if I keep looking at his face I’m done for.

My head felt like it was boiling over, so I clutched my chest.

Then I forced the words out.

“Give me a second to prepare myself mentally.”

And I ran.

The reason was simple.

I didn’t want him to see my face bright red.

Because if he saw that, it’d be way too embarrassing. I was sweating buckets, I’d bitten my lip so hard my tinted gloss was probably all over my teeth.

I didn’t want him to see me like that.

Because I want Baba-chi to see the cutest possible version of me.

That’s how I got saved by Baba-chi—and fell in love.