Chapter 8 – The Next Day’s Classroom

Heading off to school on a typical morning, Shinta wore a somewhat gloomy expression. The incident at the karaoke place yesterday just wouldn’t leave the corner of his mind, leaving him sleep-deprived after barely getting any rest.

(To think I’d drag this out all night. Was I unexpectedly delicate?)

Asking himself that, he couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly at his pathetic look, especially for the Fierce God who once made countless delinquents tremble. His rampage from yesterday was probably already known throughout the class and would likely spread to the whole school. Considering the rumors of his past were already somewhat widespread, it was an easily imaginable future.

“Fierce God, huh… I wonder what kind of power a nickname like that even holds.”

No matter how much brawn he had, it lacked the power to connect him with people. His hands were only good for eliminating the worthless trash that attacked him. Stained with the blood of others, those hands were completely unsuited for a peaceful, everyday life. People couldn’t change so easily, meaning he would likely end up tasting the same lonely youth as last year.

Just as he was about to give up like that, the figure that strangely popped into his head was Ichizu.

“I feel bad for her, but I’d better tell her not to come near me anymore.”

It would be best to sever ties with the girl he had interacted with over the break. Unlike him, she had already opened up and blended into the new class. Having a god of plague like him by her side while she successfully built relationships might cause her to suffer unwarranted misunderstandings.

“People can’t change that easily… huh…”

Muttering that as if to wrap things up, he passed through the school gates and headed for his classroom. Having no particularly close friends, Shinta avoided everyone’s eyes as he opened the classroom door and stepped inside. He fully expected to be greeted by fearful gazes from those who heard the rumors of yesterday’s incident…

“Ah, good morning, Kamiji-kun!”

Instead, Ichizu greeted him with a beaming smile that hadn’t changed at all since yesterday. She wasn’t the only one either.

“Mornin’, Kamiji-kun. Man, you went home early yesterday, so I totally missed the chance to say thanks.”

The one who said that with a friendly smile was Miina.

“Why…”

The word unintentionally spilled from his lips. He could understand Ichizu talking to him after their recent interactions, but Miina proactively greeting him was completely unexpected. He was so sure they would be terrified and avoid him that he was left entirely speechless. While he stood frozen in bewilderment, Ichizu and Miina closed the distance.

“Is something wrong, Kamiji-kun?”

“Heeey, why are you spacing out?”

“No, why are you guys doing this? After something like that happened, there’s no point in getting involved with me, right? You must have had a pretty awful time yesterday because of me.”

He ended up voicing his doubts even though they went out of their way to greet him without hesitation. Miina tilted her head and looked genuinely puzzled at Shinta’s words.

“No, no, yesterday wasn’t your fault at all, Kamiji-kun. If anything, I wanted to say thank you for protecting us back there. Seriously, thanks a bunch~”

“But still, I’m the guy who totally ruined the mood, you know?”

“That wasn’t your fault, Kamiji-kun. It’s those people’s fault for picking a fight with us.”

Ichizu puffed out her cheeks and directed her anger at the thugs from yesterday instead of him. The other girls who had been at the karaoke place also came over to express their gratitude.

“Um, about yesterday… t-thank you very much.”

“Um, I’m sorry about everything up until now. I think I might have misunderstood you a bit…”

“No, seriously, why…”

As he stood there at a loss for how to handle this completely unimaginable situation, Miina spoke up.

“I’m just guessing here, but Kamiji-kun, you thought we’d all be terrified of you after yesterday, didn’t you?”

Although he didn’t say it out loud, Shinta nodded internally. He fully believed that no one would come near him after showing them that kind of violent behavior. Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Miina laughed it off with a cackle.

“Well, sure, I thought it was scary at first. But, Kamiji-kun, you only did that to protect us, right? It’s not like you were using violence against us for no reason, so there’s no need for us to be overly terrified. Besides, Arai-san was desperately trying to clear up the misunderstanding for you, too.”

“Of course I did. Because Kamiji-kun didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You know, you shouldn’t go out of your way to make choices that could destroy your own peace.”

“Ehehe, but I hated the idea of you being misunderstood, Kamiji-kun.”

He was exasperated by Ichizu committing the foolish act of protecting a delinquent like him while risking her own isolation. Despite laughing with a troubled expression, there wasn’t a single trace of regret on her face.

“Seriously, you really don’t think about your own losses, do you?”

“That goes for you too, Kamiji-kun. You were probably thinking something like, ‘It’s better if she doesn’t get involved with me anymore’ anyway, right?”

When did she acquire telepathy? She hit the nail right on the head and left him completely unable to retort. Seriously, hadn’t her personality changed quite a bit since she dieted?

He felt a little pathetic that the once-feared Fierce God was getting completely wrapped around the finger of a single girl. At the same time, this present moment felt far more comfortable than those days spent doing nothing but fighting.

(Wait… just for a second there…)

It was truly only for a fraction of a second, but Ichizu definitely witnessed the moment when the always-scowling boy broke into a smile fitting for his age…

(Shinta-kun smiling just like a normal boy his age… it’s just too precious, I wuv him…♡)

Shinta’s smile caused Ichizu to momentarily break down as her deep affection leaked onto her face. Happening to witness this right next to her, Miina called out in concern.

“A-Are you okay, Arai-san? I might just be seeing things, but it looked like you were making a really intense face just now…”

“Uweh!? I-I’m totally fine, whatever do you mean!?”

“I see… yeah… I must be seeing things. Although there’s some drool dripping from the corner of your mouth…”