Chapter 0 – Prologue: The Former Delinquent and the Heartbroken Girl’s Revenge

Hey, hey… I can’t believe I stumbled upon a scene like this…

That was what I, Kamiji Shinta, was thinking while gazing at the scenery from the rooftop water tank.

Having finished my first year of high school today, I came up to this roof after the closing ceremony. For a certain reason, I don’t really have anyone I could call a friend in my class—or rather, in the whole school—so I was lost in thought all by myself. Just then, a woman’s loud voice echoed from below the water tank.

“W-Why are you suddenly saying you want to break up?!”

I peeked over to check the source of that sorrowful voice, and down below, a guy and a girl were arguing about something.

Looking closely, the girl in the argument was Arai Ichizu, a student in my class this year.

Judging from the fragments I could hear, it was your typical relationship trouble. Normally, I wouldn’t care less, but the girl’s voice was so heartbreakingly desperate that I unconsciously found myself listening in on their fight. And the contents were pretty damn nauseating.

“We’ve been dating since middle school! It’s so cruel to just suddenly break up with me!”

“Shut up. There’s only one reason to break up, isn’t there? It’s because you’re a fatty.”

Saying that, the guy pointed at Ichizu, glaring at her as if he were looking at a piece of trash.

I don’t make a habit of insulting people’s looks, but admittedly, even to my eyes, she was a bit on the chubby side. Of course, I don’t think that determines a person’s worth. But apparently, that guy felt differently.

“I-I know I’m overweight, I’m aware of it. B-But why are you attacking me for that now? You’ve never once pointed it out before. And you always told me! Even after entering high school, you said you’d still love me no matter how fat I was!!”

“Up until now, I only dated you because you occasionally paid the ‘girlfriend fee.’ But lately, you quit your after-school part-time job, saying you were too busy nursing your old hag of an obaa-chan, right? You’ve gone completely broke. There’s absolutely zero point in continuing to date a fat chick with no money.”

“Wait, what girlfriend fee? The only reason I lent you my paycheck was because you were too busy with your club to work, right? You said my money was going toward shoes, balls for independent practice, and things you needed for the club.”

“Pfft, haha, you really are an idiot. Obviously, I blew the cash you gave me hanging out with my buddies and going on dates with other girls.”

From the sound of it, that guy had been making up excuses to extort money out of Ichizu. She seemed to have genuinely wanted to support her boyfriend and lent him the cash, but to him, she was nothing more than a convenient wallet. And now that her money had dried up, he was throwing her away.

Even as an outsider, it made my stomach turn. Needless to say, the shock was too much for Ichizu. Tears were streaming down her face from the overwhelming sadness and frustration.

“That’s terrible. You kept saying, ‘As your childhood friend, I’ll be the only one who stays by your side.’ And from what you just said, does that mean you were cheating on me, too?”

“They say when the money runs out, the relationship runs out. So see ya, little piggy. Don’t come bothering me acting like my girlfriend or childhood friend once were second-years, alright? It’s a pain in the ass. Later~”

Spitting out those insults without a shred of remorse, the guy turned and left the rooftop.

The only ones left were the brutally dumped Ichizu and me, holding my breath.

“Hic. T-That’s too cruel.”

Watching Ichizu collapse to her knees, I felt a surge of irritation.

Honestly, maybe I shouldn’t poke my nose into other people’s love lives. After all, I’m just a complete stranger who happened to overhear.

But as a fellow guy, that bastard’s attitude of treating a woman like nothing more than a wallet rubbed me the wrong way.

I’m definitely a piece of trash myself, but I can’t stand a guy who’s sunk that low.

Before I knew it, I had jumped down from the water tank and called out to Ichizu, who was still crouching on the ground.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Ah, Kamiji-kun.”

Never expecting someone else to be there, Ichizu’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red from embarrassment.

Having been seen in such a pathetic state—dumped by her childhood friend and boyfriend—her misery only accelerated, and she started crying even harder.

“I-I’m sorry for making you see something so awful.”

“It’s whatever.”

Even as I gave that blunt reply, I found it refreshing to actually be having a conversation with a classmate, despite the circumstances.

Truth is, up until middle school, I was what you’d call a delinquent. I spent my days getting into fights with bad kids from other schools, and even now, attending Senpen High School, the true-or-false legends of my middle school days are still spreading.

Because of my overwhelming strength in brawls, delinquents from other schools gave me the nickname “Fierce God.” But for a certain reason, I graduated from being a delinquent the moment I entered high school. Still, thanks to the legends I’d built up and my naturally intimidating face, I was feared within the class and treated as a nuisance up to this very day.

The classmate in front of me, Ichizu, used to be so scared of me she wouldn’t even look me in the eye, but right now, the tragedy that just befell her probably left her with no room to fear my aura, allowing her to talk to me normally.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I happened to be here. I heard the whole thing, or rather, every single word.”

“I see.”

When I said that, she offered a dry smile and started talking about things I hadn’t even asked.

Apparently, that guy was a childhood friend she’d known forever. His name was Ogawa Keisotsu. They’d been dating since middle school, right up until high school, but as I’d just witnessed, she was brutally dumped.

“Ahaha. You saw something embarrassing. Well, it’s no wonder I got dumped, right?”

“Huh?”

“It was a hundred years too early for a fatty like me to have a boyfriend, I’m sure. I feel like an idiot for being so easily fooled by his kind words. I guess I thought because he was my childhood friend, he’d never betray me.”

Watching Ichizu start to deprecate herself like that, I clicked my tongue in displeasure and spoke up.

“Are you really okay accepting that? Yeah, you’re overweight, but that doesn’t give that scumbag the right to use you like that.”

Saying that, I stepped closer to her, bluntly pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it over.

“I have no intention of getting tangled up in other people’s romances, but it pisses me off seeing a piece of shit like that get cocky.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Spring break starts exactly tomorrow. Hey, Arai-san. I want to make a bastard like that eat dirt. If you’re up for it, cooperate with me. Don’t you want to pull a fast one on him and get your revenge?”

Ichizu was dumbfounded at the sudden mention of revenge, but what quickly welled up inside her was anger.

True, she might have a chubby, ugly appearance. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel devastated being betrayed by someone she genuinely loved. She didn’t want to drag these miserable feelings out for the rest of her high school life.

Even I didn’t know why I was trying to help her. Just killing time? Or was it anger toward a guy who would make a woman cry? The reason wasn’t clear, but I couldn’t just leave her there crying.

At that moment, my late grandmother’s words resurfaced in my mind.

“Listen here, Shinta. You should always lend a hand to those in trouble.”

Those were the words my late grandmother had told me over and over. The very last words she said to me right before she died.

(Yeah. I know, Obaa-chan.)

Before I knew it, Ichizu had wiped her tears with the handkerchief I gave her and was looking back at me with eyes full of determination.

“I’ll do it. I’ll work as hard as it takes to make him regret this.”

“Alright, then I’ll help you make that trash regret everything when we get back from break. We’ll make him realize what a massive catch he let get away when he dumped you.”

And so, with my help, over the course of spring break, the “fat girl” harboring deep regrets would be reborn into an “incomparably beautiful girl.”

Furthermore, my encounter with her would bring about a massive change in my own high school life.