Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 45 & 46: Conflict | The Bunny Boy Returns

Chapter 45: Conflict

What the hell am I supposed to do?

Lately, that question never left my head.

“…Haaah.”

Light seeped through a gap in the curtains. Morning already, huh.

My body felt like it was filled with lead as I dragged myself out of bed and sighed.

I hadn’t been sleeping well at all these days.

Mikoto Shirane aiming to become Shibakata High’s boss—

I couldn’t help but think it was my fault.

My very existence, an outsider in this world, was messing with Fist’s story.

And honestly… I was probably right.

But after hearing her talk about her dream, I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.

If it had just been a misunderstanding about Minato, that would’ve been easy to fix.

But this wasn’t about Minato—it was Mikoto’s own will, her own wish.

And who was I to tell her to give that up?

I slipped into my uniform and left the house.

My eyes barely felt open, my steps unsteady.

The sound of cars on the street felt far away, like I was hearing it through layers of thin filters.

At school, I couldn’t focus on class.

Chiaki kept throwing me these meaningful looks, but she never said a word.

Maybe she’d figured something out, maybe not.

Either way, as far as appearances went, I’d “betrayed” the Myougi faction by joining Shirane’s side—so I hadn’t been talking with them lately.

When the final bell rang, I slung my bag—empty except for a pencil case—over my shoulder and headed for the back door of the classroom.

That’s when my eyes met Minato’s.

She let out a tiny “Hyah,” then quickly turned her face away.

“………………”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

I was the traitor here.

Sure, maybe if I spoke up, she’d still answer me… but with nothing solved yet, I didn’t have the right to do that.

So I shut my eyes tight and walked out of the classroom.

Shibakata High sat at the foot of a mountain.

At its peak stood a massive Buddha statue, so the locals called it Mihotoke Mountain.

Traffic was light around here, so it had basically become a playground for the rowdier kids.

That’s where I was now—not for any particular reason.

Just… if I was stuck in doubt, maybe turning to gods or Buddhas wasn’t the worst idea.

I looked up at the statue.

To even see its face, I had to crane my neck back as far as it would go.

My bones protested, so I gave up with a sigh and slumped down onto a bench.

“…Nothing’s changed.”

It’s not like I was religious to begin with.

Trying to ask for help only when it suited me… there was no way they’d feel like lending me strength.

Maybe this was a waste of time.

I stood, grabbed my bag from beside the bench—

And that’s when I heard it.

The low rumble of a motorcycle engine in the distance.

Pretty common around here.

Like I said, Mihotoke Mountain was the hangout spot for wild kids.

At night, street racers swarmed the place.

Even in the daytime, half-gang types and wannabe punks loitered around.

The fact that Shibakata High sat right at the base of the mountain definitely didn’t help.

Even at school, the sound of bikes was a daily occurrence.

But for some reason, today I felt drawn to it.

Couldn’t even explain why.

Like a moth to a flame, my legs carried me toward the sound.

“Damn it!”

“…So what now? Kou-kun’s bike?”

“Cops nabbed it. Guess we gotta give up.”

“But come on, he just bought that thing!”

By the vending machine, three boys lounged on a bench, two bikes parked out front.

Judging by their looks, they were probably middle schoolers.

Of course, they were riding underage. No licenses, no nothing.

Not that I had any right to lecture them—I knew plenty of people who rode without one too.

I was zoning out, watching them, when they finally noticed me.

They clicked their tongues and swaggered over.

“The hell you lookin’ at?”

“Got a problem, punk?”

“You even know who we are, huh?”

Back in my old world, you’d call these types junior biker gang wannabes.

Compared to people like Yayoi, though, they were just kids trying way too hard.

Still, they strutted up, fake bravado closing the distance.

“Sorry if I ticked you off. My bad.”

“‘Sorry’ don’t cut it, idiot! If apologies fixed everything, we wouldn’t need cops!”

“Yeah, no kidding! Especially since the cops just snatched his bike, hahahaha!!”

“…You didn’t need to bring that up.”

One of them muttered with a weak grin.

“—Wait. That uniform.”

“Don’t tell me you’re from Shibakata High?”

“Yeah, I am.”

The moment I answered, their eyes went wide.

Like maybe… they actually looked up to it.

“No way, you’re actually a guy!?”

“And you’re in that nest of girls—your lower half’s still intact!?”

“With that blond hair, you give off, like… total night-butterfly vibes, y’know?”

“…What kinda image do you even have of me?”

Well, okay, I could sorta see where they were coming from.

“Truth is, we’re aiming for Shibakata High.”

“It’s not like we can’t study, y’know!”

“Yeah right, you’re dead last in the grade every year.”

“Shut up, you’re not much better!!”

The three of them broke into bickering right in front of me.

For someone as weighed down as I’d been lately, their energy shone almost painfully bright.

Before I knew it, I was laughing out loud.

They froze, staring at me in confusion.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. But watching you guys… it kinda cheered me up. I’m not laughing at you, really.”

“…So you’re like him, then.”

One of the boys jabbed a finger at his buddy.

“This guy had his bike taken by the cops.”

“Quit using me as the punchline, dammit!”

The boy swatted his friend’s hand away, looking thoroughly fed up.

Something about their story rang familiar, and the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Huh… funny thing. The same kinda thing happened to me too.”

“…What?”

“You had your bike seized by the cops too?”

“Not mine. A friend’s.”

“So what happened after that?”

The boy who’d lost his bike tried to hide his desperation as he asked.

“We just strolled into the police station and handled it, you know. Real quick.”

“Ehhhhh!?”

“Wooooah, that’s insane!!”

“You’re a total badass…”

Their eyes lit up as they leaned in closer.

Since the actual method I’d used wasn’t exactly something I could explain, I just forced a strained smile.

After some back-and-forth chatter, the three finally seemed to make up their minds.

A bad feeling hit me like a bucket of cold water as they turned my way, eyes blazing with determination.

“Um…”

“If possible—we want you to get his bike back!!”

“Please!!”

“…Ah, uh, well…”

I scratched my cheek.

“…I can’t promise anything, but…”

“Thank you so much!!”

“Yesss!!”

“This’ll fix everything!!”

Inside, all I could do was clutch my head and groan.

Chapter 46: The Bunny Boy Returns

Mihotoke Mountain Gang.

That’s what they called themselves.

“But ever since his bike got taken, our gang’s lost all its edge, y’know?”

“Yeah… that’s rough.”

On the way to the police station, I chatted with the boys.

The one who’d lost his bike was Yuuta.

The one who kept teasing him was Masato.

And the loudest, most aggressive of the bunch was Yutaka.

“So, Takuma-san, how’d you even get a bike back from the cops before?”

“…Well, that’s kinda a trade secret.”

“Ehhhhh!? Stingy!!”

Masato flailed with ridiculous exaggeration.

“Figures. A true delinquent always has secrets he can’t spill.”

Yutaka nodded knowingly.

The other two looked just as convinced, while I could only give a wry smile, knowing the real story.

We reached the police station and crouched behind the bushes out front.

The Mihotoke Mountain Gang watched me nervously.

“S-Seriously, is this gonna work…?”

“Going up against the cops… I mean, stealing it back sounds insane.”

“But you guys really need that bike, right?”

“…Well… yeah…”

Their eyes sparkled at me, like they were staring at some legendary charisma of evil.

Honestly, it was uncomfortable as hell.

“Anyway, I’ve got my own role. In a few minutes, you guys charge the storage yard.”

“So you’ll distract the guards for us, right?”

“Yeah.”

I peeked out from the shadows, just my eyes showing.

The guard lady on duty—I recognized her.

Same policewoman from the last time I came here to snatch a bike back.

And just like before, she was standing there with her nose buried in a magazine—yeah, that kind of magazine you’d expect.

Once I saw the boys circle around to the other side, I set my bag down.

I’d borrowed it earlier from Akira before coming here.

She’d just grinned and gone, “So Takuma’s finally awakened, huh~?”

“…Haaah.”

Inside the bag—was the bunny suit.

That cursed outfit.

The glossy polyester shimmered under the light.

As I slipped my legs in, the cold fabric sent goosebumps racing up my skin.

Not that I needed the reminder—just wearing this ridiculous Bunny Boy costume again was enough to make my whole body cringe.

And seriously—

This was my second time trying to distract that same guard.

No way this trick would work twice, right?

The Mihotoke Mountain Gang’s desperate faces had fired me up, but now my brain was cooling fast.

Wasn’t I just using them as an excuse?

Distracting myself from being torn between Minato and Mikoto, pretending this was all for someone else’s sake?

But the die was already cast.

I was standing right there in front of the guard.

Her eyes lifted slowly from the magazine, locking onto me.

Then—with a soft thud—the magazine slipped from her hands.

“So you’ve appeared again… Bunny-kun.”

“…Huh?”

“That time, I skipped my patrol to help unzip your costume. Because of that, I got chewed out by the chief. ‘What’s this nonsense about a Bunny Boy? Docked pay, that’s what you get.’”

She gave me a crooked, nihilistic smile.

“And you know what I thought? If I was gonna get docked anyway, I should’ve gone a little further—something even riskier.”

“Ahaha… uh, sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. I regret nothing.”

“…I really think you should regret at least a little.”

But her eyes—those eyes—shone with pure light.

Completely at odds with her words, they were untainted, almost childlike.

Innocent eyes on a face spouting lines that belonged in a filthy gutter.

“So, showing yourself before me again must mean something was taken from you, hm? And you’ve come to take it back?”

“…”

“Well, I don’t expect you to answer. That’s fine—I already knew.”

She bent down, picked up her magazine, and flipped it open.

“Bunny Boy-kun. Do this pose for me—the one on this page.”

“…That guy’s practically naked.”

“Practically. Not fully. And that difference is important.”

Apparently, she had her own… standards.

From my side, though, it was a standard I wished she’d toss out immediately.

“I’ve always wanted to see it with my own eyes, just once—this almost-naked pose. If I actually got to witness it, I’d be so moved I wouldn’t be able to keep watch anymore.”

“…So this is like alchemy, huh? Trading away dignity just to fulfill your desire?”

“Equivalent exchange.”

…Yeah, but was it really?

Pretty sure the damage I was taking here was way heavier than whatever she was giving up.

Still, I had no other way of dealing with her.

So I gave up and struck the pose.

At first glance, she didn’t react.

But if you looked closer—her eyes were darting around like a chameleon, bloodshot and trembling, laser-locked onto me.

My skin prickled with goosebumps so bad I felt like I could actually take off and fly.

“…Okay, this isn’t the best place to be seen. Let’s move over there.”

“Yeah, let’s go over there—and go all the way.”

“As a police officer, that’s a pretty messed-up choice of words.”

“A fine statement, don’t you think?”

“…Shut up already.”

We stepped into the shade of the trees—just in time to see the Mihotoke Mountain Gang, faces set with determination, sneaking into the storage yard.

Perfect timing.

At least that meant nobody else had to witness my disgrace.

“…Haaaaaah.”

It felt like I’d lost something important.

As the guard lady leaned in way too close for comfort, I held her back and let out a long, heavy sigh.