Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 03: So I’m the Damsel in Distress, Huh?

Chapter 03: So I’m the Damsel in Distress, Huh?

In the manga, Yayoi Akagi was built like a brick wall.

The Yayoi-chan in front of me right now… was a total loli.

Like night and day.

Like a paper lantern and a temple bell.

Like heaven and earth—separated by a thousand miles.

Call it whatever you want, the gap between them was just too huge.

I couldn’t even close my gaping mouth.

Yayoi tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“What is it, Takuma?”

“So this is what fraud looks like.”

“What’s that??”

Her head tilted even further.

“—Well, anyway, that one over there…”

“Piiiehh!”

Her face went completely blank as she pointed at Minato, still lying in a pathetic heap on the floor.

“You’ve got some guts, picking a fight with me.”

“N-no-no-no, I-I am terribly sorry! I-I had no idea that you were the great and esteemed Yayoi Akagi-senpai herself! My deepest apologies for such an unforgivable lapse in judgment!!”

Yayoi Akagi—the top boss of Shibakata High—was famous.

Even as a first-year who’d only been here for barely a month, I’d heard of her.

And Minato, who’d had the misfortune to challenge her, had gone completely pale.

She looked ready to keel over from shock, her speech pattern mutating into something straight out of a historical drama.

“So, the fact you threw a punch… means exactly what I think it does, yeah?”

“Ah—um—n-no, that’s not—”

Yayoi stepped forward until she was standing right in front of Minato.

“Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…”

“…Not that I hate idiots.”

“Ah… ah…?”

Then, she bent down.

Her hand gently brushed the tears from Minato’s cheek.

I could practically see the question marks spinning inside Minato’s head.

“It’s been a long time since someone’s actually swung at me.”

“s-sorryyyyy!!”

“I’ll forgive you. I’ve got a big heart.”

Yayoi smiled sweetly.

“…But, putting that aside—”

“Eh?”

Now her attention shifted to me.

The look in her eyes was that of a predator sizing up prey.

“I’m taking Takuma.”

“…Huh???”

“Losers lose everything. That’s the unspoken rule, right?”

She grinned—an icy smile that didn’t match her cute face.

“Let’s go, Takuma.”

“Wait—me?”

“Of course you!”

What do you think I came to this pain-in-the-ass school for?!

She waved her lollipop for emphasis.

“Yesterday, you came to the arcade wearing a Shibakata High uniform, right? You’re a rare, interesting guy I don’t usually see—so I decided I’d catch you.”

“…Catch me?”

“Yes. Catch you!”

Grab!

Her arms wrapped around mine.

She wasn’t squeezing hard, so it didn’t hurt… but still.

“Join my faction!”

I… did not have the right to say no.

◇

“I’m Shinobu Asama. Can’t really call it a grand title or anything, but I guess I’m technically the vice-boss. There’s nothing in particular you need to do—just try not to get on Yayoi’s bad side, and you can do whatever you want.”

She pushed her glasses up with a fingertip as she said it.

We were in a room on the very top floor of the club building—separate from the one with the classrooms.

Inside, there were four of us.

Shinobu Asama was the classic “smart glasses” type from Fist.

And just like everyone else here, she was now a girl.

“Uh… you’re Takuma Takamure, right? I’m Akira Narukami. It’s pretty rare for Yayoi-san to take a liking to someone. First time I’ve seen it, actually.”

Narukami’s face was almost completely hidden behind her bangs as she idly popped bubble wrap, sneaking glances my way.

Why she was even playing with bubble wrap in the first place—no idea.

As for me, I’d been dragged—no, escorted—straight into the boss’s hideout, and I was feeling completely out of place.

Lounging on the sofa, Yayoi bit down on her lollipop with a sharp crunch, flashing her little fang.

“See!? He’s an interesting guy, right?!”

“Well… I suppose you could call him interesting.”

“More like ‘rare’ than ‘interesting,’ if you ask me.”

The two nodded their heads in unison.

In the manga, there was supposed to be a whole month before the showdown with Yayoi Akagi.

During that time, Chiaki Haruna and the others gathered allies.

But in my case? We’d skipped all of that, and I was already the kidnapped princess.

Hilarious.

…Okay, no. Not hilarious.

Any second now, I could say something to tick Yayoi off and end up as a bloody, shredded sack of meat.

Yeah—terrifying didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Takuma!”

“…Yes, Yayoi-san?”

“Geez! Why are you talking so formally all of a sudden?!”

“Well, you are my senpai.”

“I permit it!”

She puffed out her cheeks.

“…Yayoi?”

“Mm! That’s better!”

I said it cautiously, but apparently, that was fine.

Yayoi looked very pleased with herself.

“Let’s go out and play!”

“Eh? Right now?”

“Yup!!”

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was just past noon—lunch break.

That didn’t mean we were allowed to leave school.

“We’ll get in trouble, you know.”

“Wait, are you seriously worried about the teachers getting mad?”

“Well, yeah. I’m still a student.”

“Cute! You really are a boy, huh!”

Oooh, good boy, good boy.

Her small hand ruffled my hair like I was some kind of pet dog.

I was the one in the right here—so why did it feel so wrong?

“Takuma-san.”

Asama’s voice came from behind me, her glasses catching the light with a sharp glint.

“No need to overthink it—everyone does this. When everyone’s doing it, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“…That’s the red-light theory.”

“Want a beer?”

“Why do you have that?!”

“It’s part of the delinquent lifestyle.”

Her face was cool and unreadable as she held out a can of beer to me.

Didn’t seem cold… not that I would’ve actually drunk it if it was.

Despite looking like the serious, straight-laced type—though, knowing Fist, I should’ve expected this—Asama cracked open the can and took a bold swig.

“You can’t handle alcohol, can you?”

Narukami leaned in to whisper, her eyes peeking out from under her bangs with a strangely happy glint.

“Truth is, I can’t either. Guess we’re in the same boat, huh?”

“…Ah. Yeah.”

I mean, it’s obviously illegal for us, right?

But that thought just got stuck in my throat and never made it out.