Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl

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Chapter 51: Wild Card

Yayoi Akagi was starving for a fight.

A battle junkie like her could never be satisfied just stepping away from the stage.

I wetted my dry lips.

Wiped my sweaty palms against my slacks, blood pounding in my ears like a drum, forcing my aching head to keep turning.

Failure wasn’t an option.

Even if Yayoi had shown me some affection before—

If I made a selfish demand and it blew up in my face, not even she would forgive me.

One chance.

That was all I had.

I’d already played the card of Yayoi Akagi’s hunger.

Only one card remained in my hand.

If this one missed too, then Minato and Mikoto’s head-on collision would be unavoidable.

No wonder my nerves were shot.

Still, I forced a grin onto my face and locked my eyes on Yayoi.

“So, Takuma Takamure… what’s your other card!?”

She sat on the sofa, yet her presence loomed larger than life.

The sheer weight of her aura made her seem enormous.

The old me—the me before coming to this world, before meeting any of these delinquents—would’ve crumbled.

I wouldn’t have been able to say a single word.

But now? Things were different.

After everything I’d been through, I had grown stronger.

Not in fists, not in fighting—

But stronger in spirit.

Strong enough to face forward without flinching, even in a moment like this.

“What I can offer you, Yayoi… is this—”

My memories spun.

All the things that had piled up.

All the coincidences that had brought us to this point.

“—Uta Tanigawa’s existence.”

“…Hoh?”

Yayoi’s eyes lit with interest.

She gave a short snort through her nose, then jerked her chin as if to say, go on.

“Tanigawa-san… she feels inferior to you. That goes back to middle school. Back then, there was this absolute existence called Yayoi Akagi in the same school. And when she inherited the boss seat after you, people called her nothing more than your shadow—just a hanger-on.”

That was something I’d only learned when I first met Tanigawa.

When she demanded I abandon the Myougi faction and join hers.

Honestly, revealing her complex to Yayoi herself felt dirty… but it was the only card I had to move Yayoi Akagi.

And if Yayoi really was her big-sis figure, there was no way she’d leave Tanigawa stuck in that kind of situation.

If Yayoi joined me, then at some point she’d clash seriously with Tanigawa.

And when that happened, everyone would see it clearly: Uta Tanigawa isn’t just Yayoi Akagi’s tag-along.

That was the persuasion I laid out.

Of course, once all this was over, I was ready to take a punch from Tanigawa.

But just for now—I hoped she’d forgive me for pulling this stunt.

“…”

Yayoi went completely silent.

Silent—and with her eyes shut.

Arms still crossed, she let the silence stretch.

The only sound in the room was the clock on the wall.

Its second hand circled more than once before Yayoi finally spoke.

“…That true?”

Her voice was calm.

Or maybe she was forcing it to be calm.

Her finger tapped against her arm like a metronome, as if to keep herself steady.

“It’s true. I heard it from her directly.”

“…I see.”

Yayoi leaned all the way back into the sofa.

Her lips pressed tight.

Her eyes stayed closed.

But eventually, both eased, and she let out a long sigh.

“…Alright. Takuma, I’ll play along with your little scheme.”

She brushed her hair back.

A faint scent drifted over, and with all the tension that had been building up, it nearly knocked the strength right out of me in relief.

“Phew… thought I was gonna die.”

“What the hell do you take me for?”

“The terrifying don of Shibakata High who you should never piss off.”

“Geez, nooo~ totally wrong~”

“Kyarrurururun~,” she cooed, striking a cutesy pose.

Let me state this clearly: it did not suit her. At all.

If this had been back when I barely knew Yayoi Akagi, maybe I could’ve bought it.

But after spending this much time with her, building this kind of relationship—

It just felt plain wrong.

Like a kangaroo in a pouch.

Or a penguin’s open beak.

That same “this ain’t right” vibe hit me full force as she wiggled her hips.

“…”

“…What is it, Takuma? Got something you wanna say?”

“I mean… it’s been bugging me since the beginning.”

My eyes drifted aimlessly up toward the ceiling.

“That act—or maybe I should say, that whole childish routine of yours… is that your hobby or something, Yayoi?”

“It’s not an act!!”

Her expression screamed don’t ask.

No—more like it flat-out threatened me.

I silently raised both hands. White flag.

While that was going on, Asama—who’d been practically invisible through the whole negotiation—finally stepped forward.

“Good work,” she said, handing me a drink.

My throat felt like sandpaper.

I accepted with a smile, didn’t even bother checking the label, cracked the tab, and chugged it like a desert traveler stumbling across an oasis.

“—Gghhh!! Ughhh!!”

I spat it out instantly.

Staring at the can in disbelief, my eyes landed on a very familiar name.

One tied to way too many bad memories, all flashing through my head at once.

“…Asama-san.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“This is underage drinking.”

“That’s correct.”

“‘That’s correct’ isn’t the right answer here…!”

What I held in my hand was beer.

Not some watered-down, non-alcoholic version—no, those didn’t even exist in this era.

As the stench of alcohol burned through my nose, I glared at Asama and asked:

“I was planning on not drinking until I at least turned legal, you know.”

“But you already smoked as a minor, didn’t you?”

“…”

Well… yeah.

Hard to argue with that one.

I clammed up instantly, but she kept right on going.

“I did hesitate about giving you alcohol, Takuma-san. But you looked so worn out, I was worried. I wanted to hand you something to drink… but the only thing in this room was beer.”

“…Thanks for the thought. But maybe from now on, could you also stock some water?”

A place where the only drinks available were alcohol… yeah, my liver wouldn’t last long in here.

With a twitch tugging at the corner of my lips, I stared at the half-empty can of beer.

Not like I could just hand it back to someone else.

So I steeled myself—

And downed the rest.

“………………”

Beer, for the first time since my previous life, was just as bitter as I remembered.

Bitter enough to make me grimace without even meaning to.

Chapter 52: Ah, How Beautiful This Foolish Quarrel Is

The battle for control of Shibakata High—the alliance of the Myougi and Tanigawa factions versus the Shirane faction—had already begun, quietly.

Day by day, more fights broke out across the school.

Even during class, the tense atmosphere pricked at my skin like needles.

But all I could do was rest my chin on my hand and bide my time, waiting for the right moment to move.

After school, the hallways swelled with noise.

Chiaki sat beside me, but despite being within arm’s reach, we hadn’t exchanged a single word.

Faction politics, no doubt.

I had openly declared war, and she was part of the Myougi faction. Acting friendly wouldn’t exactly add up.

I stood up quietly, ready to head home—when I noticed a shadow walking toward me.

“…Minato.”

“Yo, Takuma-kun. Got a minute?”

Minato spoke with calm ease as she gestured toward the hallway.

No way she’d drag me off just to say, “you declared war, so now we’re gonna jump you.”

At least, I hoped not.

I followed her without a word.

From behind, Chiaki trailed along as well—leaving me stuck right in the middle.

Strategically speaking, I was screwed.

But practically speaking… it should be fine.

…Right?

Still, I couldn’t shake the thought: maybe I’d pissed them off in ways I didn’t even realize.

A chill crept up my spine.

My lips tugged into a stiff smile as cold sweat began to bead across my forehead.

“I’m not planning on eating you alive, y’know?”

“…I see. Good to hear.”

“Figured you looked like you had the wrong idea.”

Minato shrugged.

So it really did show on my face, huh.

Heat rushed to my cheeks—

Guess I wasn’t as good at keeping a poker face as I thought.

She stopped in front of an empty classroom and turned back.

“Let’s talk in here.”

I hesitated for a moment—then made up my mind.

Hesitating itself would’ve been rude to them.

I drew in a breath, straightened my back, and stepped inside.

The lights were off, leaving the room dim.

School classrooms usually had curtains, but no one ever bothered with them in daily life.

Drawn tight like this, the place felt almost like a different world altogether.

Minato pushed aside a pile of stacked chairs and perched herself on a desk.

“Takuma-kun, I’ve been thinking.”

“…About what?”

“Why you betrayed us.”

Betrayal.

That hadn’t been my intention at all.

But looking at it from the outside… yeah, that’s exactly how it must’ve seemed.

I bit down on my lip.

“Well, knowing your personality, I get it. You probably did it for our sake. But since you’re such a playboy, that ‘our’ must’ve included Mikoto Shirane too, huh.”

“Playboy, seriously…?”

“Can you deny it?”

When you hear the word playboy, the first image that comes to mind is someone who hops from one partner to the next, fooling around with the opposite sex.

In that sense, I could say with absolute certainty I wasn’t a playboy.

After all, in both this life—and my previous one—I’d never even had a girlfriend.

But that wasn’t what Minato meant.

I couldn’t argue back, so all I could do was shrug.

“Knowing you, Takuma-kun, you probably just felt sorry for Mikoto Shirane. Or maybe you ended up getting close to both me and her… and couldn’t decide which one to support.”

“…”

Could she read my mind?

I shifted uncomfortably, half-considering wrapping my head in aluminum foil.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought Minato was capable of this level of sharpness.

Anyone who knew her usual behavior at school would’ve said the same.

I was no exception.

Having my messy little feelings exposed—by Minato herself, no less—was a roller coaster of embarrassment.

So much so, I wanted to vanish on the spot.

Maybe just smash through the window and sprint off into the sky.

As those ridiculous escape fantasies filled my head, I felt a hand settle on my shoulder.

Chiaki, standing behind me, leaned in close and whispered into my ear.

“Anyway, after all that roundabout talk, the short version is this: ‘Don’t mind me, go ahead and do what you want.’ She’s just embarrassed to say it straight.”

“Chiaki! She can hear you, you know!!”

“I want her to hear me.”

“That makes it even worse!!”

Minato’s face went bright red as she stomped over.

I couldn’t even move—just flicked my gaze toward Chiaki.

She still had her hand on my shoulder, grinning ear to ear.

“You’re always like this! Sneaking in casual little touches with Takuma-kun, racking up favor points behind my back—you sly fox!”

“Oooh, so the real feelings come out. Acting all cool, but deep down you were just lonely ‘cause you couldn’t get close to Takuma-kun, huh?”

“Haaaaaah!? Who the hell’s lonely!? You—come outside! Right now!!”

“You seriously think you can beat me, Minato!? Time you learned the truth—you’re not Myougi faction, you’re Haruna faction!!”

Ah… nostalgic.

It felt like watching an old comedy skit unfold right in front of me.