Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 59 & 60: The Target | The Encounter with Mikoto Shirane

Chapter 59: The Target

If we, with our smaller force, wanted to take down both the Myougi faction and the Shirane faction, there was no way we could fight them head-on at the same time.

Our options were simple:

Wait until both sides exhausted themselves and swoop in…

Or pick one faction, focus everything on them, and take them out.

It was one or the other.

“…So, Takuma—what’s your choice?”

Yayoi tilted her head up at me, eyes sharp, a candy rolling between her lips.

As usual, she carried herself with absolute confidence.

I thought it over for a while before answering.

“…We’ll pick a target.”

“Oh? And your reasoning?”

“Because banking on exhaustion’s too uncertain.”

Sure, the Myougi and Shirane factions were about the same size.

But was it guaranteed they’d wear each other out evenly in a clash?

Not really.

Worst case, they could even cooperate.

If that happened, we’d be crushed.

It was already tough as things stood—if the enemy got even stronger, there’d be no chance left for us.

So the smarter move was to choose whichever gave us the highest odds of victory and go all in.

…Probably.

Yayoi must’ve caught onto my unease, because she just shrugged.

“Well, if the boss says so, the underlings follow. Simple as that.”

“What about you, Yayoi? What would you do?”

“Me, huh…? Yeah, I’d make the same call as you.”

She pouted, twirling the candy stick between her fingers.

The fluorescent light caught on it, and for some reason, my eyes darted left and right—like a cat teased with a blade of grass.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter which side we pick. We’re challengers here. All we can do is pray the conditions tilt even a little in our favor. We don’t have the power to shift the whole battlefield ourselves.”

If the difference in numbers weren’t so huge, it’d be a different story.

Yayoi let out a weary sigh.

Normally she carried herself with the aura of a conqueror, but even she seemed worn down by how turbulent things had gotten lately.

If you looked closely, you could see the shadows under her eyes.

“The truth is, it’s all down to the tiniest margin. Whether we can actually pull off the scavenger’s prize… or whether the two factions hate each other too much to ever team up. It’s like a difference in religion.”

“Religion’s kinda a big difference, though…”

Akira’s mutter went completely ignored.

“…Anyway, the point is, Takuma and I decided to aim at one faction. That’s it.”

“Alright.”

I tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling.

It wasn’t exactly permission…

But knowing my choice lined up with hers did ease the heavy weight sitting in my chest.

“So… where are we headed?”

At Yayoi’s question, I just shrugged.

“To Minato.”

“…You’re seriously planning to storm the Myougi boss’s place?”

“I’d really, really like to avoid that, actually.”

I wasn’t exactly strong in fights—far from it.

So just the thought of barging into enemy territory alone was enough to make me shake in fear.

—Of course that’d be ridiculous.

Yayoi snorted, her look making it clear she’d only been joking earlier. 

“Then why?”

“…Call it a hunch. Feels like the tide of battle’s about to shift.”

“You mean the fight between the Myougi and Shirane factions is about to be decided?”

“Just a hunch, though.”

Lately, I’d been keeping my focus squarely on the flow of things.

And because of that, I was starting to sense which way the goddess of victory might lean.

If my instincts were right, the winner would be—

“…The Myougi faction?”

“…Sharp guess.”

“It’s written all over your face, Takuma.”

“For real? Guess I’d better go wash it off.”

“Too late. Those letters are etched so deep you’d need acid to scrub ’em out. Oh, and right next to it is, ‘What’ll I do if I run into Mikoto Shirane?’”

Was I really that obvious?

I let out a wry laugh.

Whether it was Yayoi being sharp, or me just being an open book, didn’t matter—the result was the same.

She could see right through me.

Embarrassment bubbled up from my gut, heating my cheeks bright red.

“So what’re you planning to do by meeting with Minato Myougi?”

“…Honestly? Don’t have some grand scheme or anything.”

I tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling.

Just trying to sort out my thoughts.

“I was thinking I’d go check things out. Right after the two factions finish their fight—that’s when our chances are at their highest. So I figured I’d scope out the state of the Myougi faction while I can.”

In a real war, lost soldiers never come back.

Because people aren’t crops—you can’t just grow more.

When they’re gone, they’re gone.

That’s why losing manpower leads straight to defeat.

But fights were different.

At the end of the day, these were just fights.

It was rare for someone to actually lose their life.

Which meant that in a few days—at most a few weeks—everyone would be back at full strength.

If I wanted to win, I had to move before that happened.

That was why I’d planned on observing.

“Can’t argue with that,” Yayoi said, folding her arms with a nod.

“But what I can argue with is you trying to go solo. Takuma, you’re already a leader now. You gotta realize that. If you go down, the damage is massive.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

“Yeah, that’s a ‘not happening’ face if I ever saw one.”

Well, what could I say?

Up until recently, I’d just been a mob character.

It was only thanks to a crazy chain of events that I ended up aiming for Shibakata High’s boss seat.

Before all this, I lived a life that had nothing to do with fighting.

Under Yayoi’s narrowed gaze, I quietly averted my eyes.

From behind me, I could also feel Akira’s teasing stare, buzzing around like a mosquito right before sleep.

I swatted the feeling away with a sigh and finally spoke.

“…Yayoi. Come with me.”

“Leave it to me! Finally, Takuma’s relying on me for real.”

Her expression as she said that—
It looked almost… happy.

Chapter 60: The Encounter with Mikoto Shirane

Looks like my hunch had been right.

Walking through the school with Yayoi at my side, I could hear murmurs everywhere.

The kind of anxious noise that made it feel like the whole world was ending tomorrow.

“Guess Takuma’s instincts aren’t so dumb after all.”

Yayoi shoved her hands into the pockets of her skirt, lips pouting as she bobbed the stick of her candy up and down.

“So… sounds like the fight between the Myougi and Shirane factions has been decided.”

“And the winner’s Myougi, huh?”

“Most likely.”

The rumors never said it outright.

Whenever the talk got close to that part, people suddenly lowered their voices.

But you could read it plain as day from their faces—

The Myougi faction kids looked overjoyed, while the Shirane faction kids looked like their world had collapsed.

“Then if we’re gonna strike, now’s the time.”

“Yeah. They say right after victory’s when you let your guard down the most.”

“True. Though if they’ve still got their helmets strapped on tight, that’s gonna be trouble.”

Yayoi crunched down on her candy with a sharp snap.

“…You noticed, right?”

“Behind us… two people?”

“Not bad. More accurate number’s three.”

“Three, huh? That many, just for a small-time faction like ours?”

Without even glancing back, we traded words in low voices, quiet enough for no one else to catch.

At first, I thought maybe I was just being paranoid.

But with Yayoi confirming it, there was no doubt—

Three of them were tailing us.

Blending into the crowd, ducking behind corners, always keeping just enough distance.

“Myougi faction, maybe?”

“They’ve already crushed the Shirane faction. If they take down Takuma too, they’ll have no enemies left.”

But no—that wasn’t it.

Yayoi narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve seen those faces before. They’re Shirane faction.”

“…Why would they show up now?”

“No clue. Wouldn’t you know better than me, Takuma?”

“I’ve got no idea either.”

We exchanged a quick glance.

A silent conversation: What do we do?

“Yayoi, you head to Minato.”

“Playing safe, huh. And you?”

“They’re probably after me anyway. So… maybe I’ll just let myself get caught.”

“…You’re an idiot. But you’re the kind of idiot I like.”

“Much obliged.”

If I didn’t know their intentions, then letting them catch me seemed like the fastest way to find out.

Ridiculous logic, sure—

But Yayoi just gave a crooked grin, like she found it entertaining, and said, “Alright then, see you later,” before heading off.

I lingered for a bit, and soon enough, the presences behind me closed in.

Pulling a cigarette from my breast pocket, I stuck it between my lips.

“…You’re Takuma Takamure, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“You’re coming with us.”

“And here I was about to light up.”

“Wanna taste blood instead of smoke?”

“Whoa, scary scary. Fine, I’ll come quietly.”

Pretty rough choice of words for an invitation.

Knowing Mikoto, she probably wouldn’t let me get roughed up personally—

But as for her underlings, who knew what they might do.

So, I raised my hands in surrender and went along with them.

◇

The classroom was pitch dark.

The curtains were drawn tight, and even the seams of the door were sealed with black tape—no way to see inside.

And since this was one of those classrooms hardly anyone ever passed by, if a lynching went down here… nobody would ever know.

That thought alone made my skin crawl.

I shivered once, then faced the girl sitting right in front of me.

“…Been a while, hasn’t it, Takuma-kun.”

“Yeah, long time, Mikoto. Been doing alright?”

“At the very least, right now I’m in the worst mood possible.”

Mikoto Shirane sat perched on a desk, her face unreadable.

Bruises marked her cheek and mouth—clear traces of a fight.

But she wasn’t the type to take the front lines herself.

Most likely, she’d gotten caught up in the clashes with the Myougi faction and taken some stray hits.

“So what’s with dragging me into this dark room? Don’t tell me… a confession?”

“…Takuma-kun, you’ve changed a lot.”

“Think so?”

She shot me a withering glare.

Like a kid who went off to the city and came back acting flashy.

Not sure what I did to deserve that look.

“A little while ago, the old Takuma-kun would’ve been shaking, going, ‘W-What are you planning to do to me, bringing me here!?’”

“…What exactly do you think of me?”

“A chicken who wandered into Shibakata High by mistake.”

“………………”

Well… she wasn’t wrong.

But come on—there’s a nicer way to put it.

Inside, I was a little pissed.

At the same time, I couldn’t deny it either.

Yeah, I had changed.

I’d stopped caring about Fist’s “storyline,” because this was my life now, my world.

I’d stopped holding back.

Hell, I’d even started smoking.

“So? What’s the business?”

“You know we lost, right?”

“To Minato, yeah. I know.”

“Good. Then this’ll be quick.”

Mikoto Shirane stood up and spoke.

“Takuma Takamure—join us.”

“…And the reasoning?”

“If Yayoi Akagi sides with us, we still have a chance. We could still aim for the top of Shibakata High.”

Hmm. I folded my arms, thinking it over.

The fight with the Myougi faction was already over.

Which meant, with their numbers already cut down, they couldn’t challenge Myougi again head-on.

Not without reinforcements.

So what they needed was a wild card.

The strongest card they could possibly get—

Yayoi Akagi.

If they wanted any shot at a comeback, they had to pull her in.

Anyone would’ve thought of that.

If I were in Mikoto’s shoes, I’d have done the exact same thing.

I let my expression soften into a grin and told her:

“…Nope.”