Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 31: The Boss Is Gone, and the Warring States Begin

Chapter 31: The Boss Is Gone, and the Warring States Begin

The fight was over.

Now we were just lounging on a bench, killing time and talking about nothing.

Minato slumped all the way back against the seat, her limbs loose as noodles, and let out a long, dramatic sigh.

“Haaaaaaaah… I’m beat.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“It wore me out mentally, okay?”

Chiaki’s dry jab didn’t even earn a glance.

To anyone passing by, Minato really did look like she’d just finished running a marathon.

We kept idly chatting for a while—until Hinata suddenly tilted her head back, staring at the sky like a thought had just struck her.

“Hey, you guys know Uta Tanigawa?”

“Tanigawa?”

“You’ve brought her up before.”

Minato’s face screamed “never heard of her,” while Chiaki seemed to vaguely recall the name.

Me? I knew her all too well.

I’d literally pulled that girl out of a trash heap.

…Yeah, not exactly the kind of thing I could casually bring up, so I kept my mouth shut.

“She’s one of Akagi-san’s juniors, apparently. And, as usual, she’s gunning for the top spot at Shibakata High.”

“Even though this school already has me—the one and only, unbeatable leader…”

“Say that again when you’re not dreaming.”

“The hell’d you just say?”

Minato puffed herself up as usual, Chiaki poked her as usual, and Hinata—also as usual—ignored them entirely and continued on.

“Doesn’t sound like she’s just all talk, either. Word is, her crew’s already massive.”

“Oh yeah? How massive?”

“About… a third of the entire school.”

“HUH!?”

A third of Shibakata High.

If you counted the rest as neutral, that meant she basically commanded half the school’s total fighting power.

Meanwhile, Minato’s so-called faction…

“How many people actually follow you again?”

“…”

“What?”

“Enough to count on both hands, okay?! You got a problem with that?!”

“Pretty sure calling yourself the boss with those numbers is gonna get you laughed at from every direction.”

Minato’s roar of defiance was met with Chiaki’s frosty jab.

“Honestly, Minato… you’re kinda lacking as a boss, don’t you think?”

“Hinata… truth isn’t always justice, y’know?”

“So what, you’re both against me now?!”

Minato wailed.

She whined. She bawled. She cried her little heart out.

In other words—absolutely pathetic.

She even dropped to her knees, pounding the ground like a toddler mid-tantrum.

“No one’s insulting you. Think about it, Minato—if someone weaker than us was sitting at the top, how would you feel?”

“…Hinata…”

“It’d piss you off, right? Make you wanna knock ‘em down and prove you’re stronger?”

“Y-Yeah… you’re right.”

“Then quit clinging to the boss’s seat as you are. We’re not saying give up—hell, we’d hate that even more.”

With a sly grin, Hinata rested a hand on Minato’s shoulder.

“Step down from the spot Akagi-san handed you—then claw your way back up on your own. That way, nobody can throw ‘daddy’s girl perks’ in your face. You’ll be the one and only, no-questions-asked boss.”

“Ohhh… Hinata, you’re a genius!?”

“Heh, don’t butter me up too much.”

Hinata rubbed under her nose, acting bashful despite the smug praise.

Even with Minato gazing at her like she was some kind of divine savior, she just waved a hand like, “Aw, knock it off.”

…But I had my doubts.

Did she really mean every word she’d just said?

Sure, part of it rang true—but not all of it.

Couldn’t put my finger on how much was honest, but… there was definitely a lie hiding in there somewhere.

Apparently, Chiaki picked up on it too.

She gave a little shrug and smirked.

“(Takuma-kun. Lemme whisper something.)”

“(Yeah?)”

“(Haven’t you noticed? Hinata’s totally head over heels for Akagi-san.)”

“(Yeah.)”

“(Right now—no Akagi faction, no Myougi faction, none of that messy drama? For her, this is the perfect setup.)”

“(That’s… true.)”

I nodded without hesitation.

“(But there’s one thing that’s completely different from before. You know what it is?)”

“(Uh… hmm……… oh.)”

“(Got it, huh?)”

“(Yayoi’s not the boss anymore.)”

“(Bingo.)”

Chiaki snapped her fingers high and proud, grinning like she’d just cracked the case wide open.

“(For Hinata, the only real ‘ideal boss’ is Akagi-san. That’s why she’s scheming and sweet-talking to drag Minato down.)”

“(…So she can shove Yayoi into that empty chair?)”

“(Look at you, actually using your brain.)”

The moment Chiaki said it, a memory clicked.

There’d been a similar twist in Fist, that delinquent manga.

I wasn’t a die-hard fan, so the details were fuzzy—but if I remembered right, what came next was—

◇

“I refuse.”

“Ehh!?”

Without a shred of hesitation, Yayoi dropped the bomb.

Hinata’s jaw practically unhinged—mouth so wide she could’ve fit an apple in there.

Watching it unfold exactly like I’d pictured, I couldn’t help smirking, half amused, half exasperated.

Minato, completely taken in by Hinata’s smooth talk, had proudly declared, “I’m stepping down as Shibakata High’s boss!”

Two boss changes in rapid succession—and now the throne was just sitting there, empty.

Naturally, Shibakata High plunged straight into chaos. Pure anarchy.

Hinata, of course, went running straight to Yayoi, pitching her the idea of reclaiming the seat.

I’d expected this, so I was already in my usual spot, watching.

Hinata, smug as ever, laid out her offer.

And Yayoi—

“I’m not interested in being ‘boss’ anymore.”

“W-What?! Why?!”

“Because I’ve already lost once. For a delinquent, there’s nothing more humiliating.”

—Me, the top again? Not happening. No way. No how.

Yayoi shot it down with a bratty little whine, arms crossed like a stubborn kid.