Chapter 28 – Yandere Encirclement

“Just what do you think you’re doinggggg!!!”

Shinta watched in shock as Ichizu let out a scream, forcefully peeling Kaoru off him just as she planted the kiss. Driven by sheer anger and astonishment, the usually delicate girl exhibited enough horsepower to shove aside the kendo-trained club captain. However, no one present seemed to care the slightest bit about such a display of hysterical strength.

“W-What’s the big idea, senpai!?”

Having a kiss suddenly planted on him, Shinta questioned her true intentions even while his cheeks burned with embarrassment. In response, Kaoru fired back with a look that suggested her actions were completely natural.

“I apologize for surprising you. But I, too, refuse to hand over the one I desire without a fight. Therefore, I decided to use physical force to snatch you away from them.”

Saying that, she licked her lips, flaunting a triumphant smile at both Ichizu and Miina. Faced with Kaoru’s aggressive and completely unforeseen preemptive strike, Ichizu gnashed her teeth in pure frustration.

Shinta could practically see the gears turning in Ichizu’s head as she glared at the older girl, her posture screaming that she regretted ever trying to keep their senpai in check. She looked like her heart was already in complete turmoil, but she was about to experience an even greater shock.

“Even so, for an ex-delinquent, you’re quite innocent, Kamiji-kun. Even though it’s your second kiss, you have a cute side, blushing so furiously like that♪”

“H-Haaaaah!? What do you mean ‘second time,’ Shinta-kun!?”

“No, you’ve got it wrong! It’s true we kissed, but that was an accident…!?”

“So you’re saying the kiss actually happened!? Give me an explanation I can accept!!”

At Kaoru’s unexpected exposure, Shinta’s thoughts completely froze. Fueled by this massive drop of conversational kerosene, Ichizu began to press him with the terrifying visage of a demon. Pushed back by a ghastly pressure that retained not even a shred of her usual pure image, Shinta’s legs dragged backward against his will. Right as he struggled to somehow explain the situation from the beginning, Miina—who had been silent until now—suddenly appeared directly behind him.

“M-Miina?”

Having his back taken without a sound, Shinta turned around timidly. The Miina standing there wore an expression like a Noh mask, and her emotions were utterly unreadable as she struck him with a heavy question.

“Hey, Shintaaa. There are a lot of things I want to interrogate you about, but answer just this right now. Tell me, Shinta… are you dating Nakamura-senpai?”

The question Miina launched halted not only Shinta, but also Kaoru with her triumphant smile and Ichizu with her furious expression. A heavy silence flowed by before Shinta, catching a glimpse of Kaoru out of the corner of his eye, answered without any lies or falsehoods.

“No, senpai and I aren’t dating. Actually, I haven’t even fully grasped the situation yet mysel— Mmph!?”

The exact moment she extracted the pledge that they weren’t dating from his mouth, Miina moved into action. Like a bizarre sense of deja vu from moments prior, she stole Shinta’s lips without any warning. Paying no mind to her two speechless rivals, she lingered for several seconds before pulling away and declaring her intent with a feverish gaze.

“Truth is, I love you too, Shinta. Not as a friend, of course, but as a man♡”

“W-What are you saying now…”

“Just so you know, I’m dead serious. Completely, absolutely serious.”

Flustered by the unexpected succession of kissing confessions, Shinta was entirely shaken, but he clearly wasn’t the only one.

“W-What are you doing, Miina-san!”

“Sorry, Ichizu. But you see, it seems Nakamura-senpai is serious, so I can’t afford to fall behind, right? I figured if I didn’t convey my true feelings right here and now, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. So, what are you going to do, Ichizu? Just stand there and watch it end?”

Miina’s face as she declared this was dead serious, seemingly testing her friend’s resolve. Shinta could tell that if Ichizu showed any hesitation here, he would be fought over entirely between Miina and Kaoru. Apparently understanding this unvoiced declaration the moment she looked into Miina’s eyes, Ichizu unconsciously leaped forward.

“I-I love Shinta-kun so, so, so much toooo! I’ll show you proof of it as well!!”

Raising a voice of resolve, Ichizu dove straight for Shinta’s midsection. She firmly gripped his cheeks with both hands and forcefully offered up her own first kiss. Having his lips stolen in such rapid succession, Shinta was now incapable of doing anything but rolling his eyes in dizzy confusion.

“I’ll absolutely, absolutely never hand Shinta-kun over! I fell in love with him before anyone else did!!”

Straddling the collapsed Shinta, Ichizu barked her claim. However, a roar of that level wouldn’t make her rivals flinch. Rather than backing down, their aggressiveness only increased.

“You talk big, Ichizu. But like I said before, I’m serious too.”

Saying that, Miina grabbed the collapsed Shinta’s arm, trying to shake Ichizu off and pull him toward herself. Refusing to let her have her way, Kaoru grabbed his opposite arm just as he was trying to get up and pulled him back.

“I’d appreciate it if you two didn’t get carried away all on your own.”

“Muu, please let go of that hand!!”

“You’re the one taking advantage of the confusion to pull him, Ichizu!!”

Before he knew it, a tug-of-war for Shinta had begun from three different directions. Caught in the center of the vortex, he muttered in a voice that sounded like it was about to fade away completely.

“Somebody… please save me…”

The desperate plea of the Demon God who had sunk so many delinquents reached no one’s ears. Instead, the three girls fighting over his exhausted self simultaneously hurled the exact same line at him.

“Now, exactly who are you going to choose!!!”

“No, like I said, calm down for a sec…”

“There’s no way you wouldn’t choose me, right!?”

Faced with the glares of three girls whose eyes were completely devoid of light, Shinta could do nothing but offer up a feeble, helpless smile.