Reincarnated Into a Delinquent Manga… Where the Genders Are Reversed and Everyone’s a Girl - Chapter 63 & 64: Long Time No See | The Signal for Battle

Chapter 63: Long Time No See

Before I knew it, Mikoto had ended up on our side.

Bringing in the head of the Shirane faction basically meant we’d absorbed the entire Shirane faction.

…That said, it wasn’t like I could treat them as my subordinates.

They followed Mikoto Shirane—not me.

And since I’d “beaten” her with a bit of trickery, there was no way they’d bow their heads to me.

The truth was, we were still short on firepower.

I crossed my arms, deep in thought.

“Hmm…”

“What’s up, Takuma?”

“Just wondering how we’re supposed to beat the Myougi faction.”

The original plan had been simple:

Let Myougi and Shirane wear each other down, then swoop in to clean up the scraps.

But now that the stage was actually set, I couldn’t think of a concrete method. I was stuck.

Yayoi jerked her chin at me, looking fed up.

“Just hit ’em head-on.”

“They’ll pound us into dust.”

“Maybe now we’ve got a chance, don’t you think?”

“I can’t gamble everything on a ‘maybe.’ I’ve got too much riding on this.”

If it were just me on the line, fine.

I was nothing more than something that could be blown away—like a candle in the wind.

Losing that didn’t matter. The payoff—becoming Shibakata High’s boss—was worth it.

A no-brainer. Low risk, high reward.

But reality wasn’t so kind.

I had the Takamure faction to think about—an actual group of people I was leading, however shaky.

If I lost, it wouldn’t just be my loss. It’d drag down everyone who chose to follow me.

There was no way I could afford to turn my brain off now.

“No, seriously—I think we’ve actually got a shot if we go straight at ’em.”

“…And why’s that?”

“Simple. Force difference.”

Yayoi held up three fingers.

“Shibakata High had three big factions: Myougi, Shirane, and Tanigawa. And like it or not, we’ve already taken down two of ’em. Which means, on paper, we outgun the Myougi faction.”

“Yeah, in theory… but still.”

I squinted at her.

“Even if I give the order, how many from Shirane and Tanigawa will actually move? If half of them do, that’d be a miracle. Realistically, maybe thirty percent. Worst case, zero.”

“Even so, just the numbers themselves are a threat.”

—From the enemy’s point of view especially.

Yayoi twirled her lollipop like a baton.

“And quit wasting time moping. Time isn’t on our side—it’s on Myougi’s. Every day that passes, they recover more. The gap keeps closing. If you think our odds are bad today, they’ll be worse tomorrow.”

Coming from someone who’d once held the boss seat of Shibakata, her words carried weight.

I muttered, “Fair point,” and dropped my head onto the desk.

Logically, I could accept it.

But emotionally…

“Hell, maybe we should just shut our eyes and charge in.”

“…Would that actually be better?”

The more I thought about it, the deeper I sank.

Prop up one side, and the other would collapse.

The scales kept tipping, tipping—never balancing.

With no answer in sight, all I felt was a heavy gloom pressing down on me.

“C’mon already—just storm the Myougi faction.”

“And get beaten into the ground?”

“They’re not gonna wreck a guy that bad. Especially not an ex-ally. Even if you’re the leader of an enemy faction now.”

Yayoi gave a sly grin.

“Mm… well, sitting around worrying won’t change anything. Might as well put my life on the line.”

“Didn’t expect that. Takuma actually going along with it?”

“Maybe I’m finally starting to act like a delinquent.”

“Perfect fit. You look like the type who’d be nice to stray dogs and cats.”

“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

That classic delinquent trope—the tough guy secretly kind to strays.

Never thought I’d end up in that role myself.

Shaking my head, I stood up.

Our destination: the Myougi faction’s base.

“Now that I think about it, where does the Myougi faction even hang out? We’ve got the classroom Yayoi used as her turf, but I’ve never heard about theirs.”

“Those guys don’t have a secret base.”

“Huh? Then where…?”

“Just our classroom.”

◇

“……………………”

Sure enough, there they were.

I peeked in through the doorway, only my face sticking out as I scoped the scene.

It was just an ordinary classroom—the same one we used for lessons.

Even with the faction wars heating up lately, they hadn’t stopped coming here.

For characters out of a delinquent manga, they were surprisingly serious.

Meanwhile, me—the so-called “serious” one—had long since lost that title.

I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

“And then, this jerk ate my pudding!”

“Oh, that was yours, Minato? I thought it was prepared for me.”

“It had ‘Minato Myougi’ written on it in big letters!!”

“Your handwriting’s so bad I didn’t notice. Looked like bugs dancing on the lid.”

“Today’s the day you pay for this! Get your ass outside!!”

Minato and Chiaki’s voices rang out.

The same old banter.

I couldn’t help but let a small laugh slip.

Even though they were my enemies now, their dumb squabbling hit me with a wave of nostalgia.

“…”

But then I froze.

How the hell was I supposed to walk in on them?

It felt like running into old friends after summer break and having no idea what to say.

I was stuck, fumbling for the right opening line.

“Should I go with, ‘Yo! How’ve you been, guys?’ …Nah, maybe something cooler, like, ‘Hmph… this place never changes, huh…’?”

“What the hell are you doing, Takuma-kun?”

“Uwaaah!?”

A voice suddenly spoke from behind me.

I yelped, dropped straight onto my butt in the hallway, and clutched my chest as my heart pounded like a drum.

When I looked up, I saw a familiar face.

Hinata Takaiwa stood there, tilting her head, a piece of bread dangling from her mouth.

And thanks to the racket I’d made, Minato and Chiaki’s attention snapped toward me too.

They stared wide-eyed, like they’d just spotted some kind of rare creature.

Well—maybe not rare. More like bizarre.

“Eh—Takuma-kun!?”

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, ahaha…”

I forced a crooked smile and lifted a hand.

“L-Long time no see.”

Chapter 64: The Signal for Battle

The classroom air was… awkward, to say the least.

I kept my face locked in a stiff smile.

Chiaki watched with obvious amusement.

Hinata held her breath, eyes glued to me.

And Minato’s jaw had dropped so wide I thought it might hit the floor.

In short—pure chaos.

People were here, yet it felt like a ghost town.

Silence pressed down on us.

Like the first to move would be killed.

The atmosphere was so sharp it felt like a duel between masters, where even blinking wasn’t allowed.

I had one hand raised in greeting, but for a moment I debated putting the other up too.

Maybe Akira could swoop in and save me?

Then, like ice finally cracking, Minato began to tremble.

Her finger shook like she’d been struck by lightning, and she jabbed it at me with a shout.

“T-Takuma-kun!?”

“L-Long time no see.”

“Yeah, long time no see—but seriously!?”

—My brain can’t keep up with this situation!

Minato grabbed her head, looking seconds away from short-circuiting.

“Why’d you come here!? Did you finally decide to ditch the Takamure faction and come back to us!?”

“Nope.”

“…So not that, huh…”

One second she was boiling hot, the next she was ice cold.

If she were a thermometer, she’d already have snapped from the wild swings.

Minato slumped her shoulders, looking crushed.

“I decided I wanna be boss too.”

“You’re saying that way too lightly…”

“Actually, it’s a conclusion I came to after a lot of heavy thinking.”

“—So basically, you’re not coming back to the Myougi faction.”

The one who cut in was Chiaki.

With a straight face, she made a bold offer.

“Then how about you join me instead? If Takuma-kun’s in, I’ll betray Minato right here and now and start a new faction.”

“Uh, you don’t say that kind of thing in front of the person you’re betraying! That’s straight-up shocking—my right-hand girl plotting treason right in front of me!”

“Since when was I your right hand?”

“Since we shared the sisterhood cup.”

“When!? I don’t remember that at all.”

Minato conjured a memory that never existed, and Chiaki just gave a wry smile.

“Relax, I’m joking. Takuma-kun’s not taking the bait anyway.”

“Yeah, I mean, betraying Minato only to follow Chiaki… that’d make zero sense.”

I cut the banter short and turned to face Minato directly.

A bead of sweat slid down her cheek, her body tense.

“Honestly, I don’t think I can beat you, Minato.”

“…!”

“But giving up didn’t feel right either.”

Being here again, in this familiar atmosphere…

It almost made me tear up from nostalgia.

But there was no turning back now.
I’d already defeated Tanigawa.
I’d already crushed Mikoto’s dream.
For me to sit here and bask in comfort after all that? Impossible.

“I’d been racking my brain, trying to figure it out. How do I beat the Myougi faction? I couldn’t come up with anything. I even pictured pulling off a sneak attack, but I just couldn’t see it working.”

I lifted my gaze to the ceiling.

“Talking with you again, Minato, snapped me out of it. Against a straightforward opponent, the only way is to respond straightforwardly. Which means… we’ve got no choice but to fight head-on.”

“Oh? So in other words…”

Chiaki’s mouth curved into a grin.

“I’m challenging you. As Takuma Takamure, leader of the Takamure faction.”

Silence dropped over the classroom once again.

Chiaki folded her arms, a fearless smile on her face.

Hinata leaned against the wall, quietly watching it all unfold.

And Minato—

“Ehhhhhh!? No way, Takuma-kun! Let’s just be friends! We’re comrades, aren’t we? Don’t say something so lonely!”

“Quit clinging, dammit! Get off!”

I shook her away, chest heaving.

In an instant, the serious mood shattered.

When I shot her a half-lidded glare, Minato pressed her fingers together in front of her chest.

“B-But… fighting with the first boy I ever got along with… it’s just so sad… I really don’t wanna…”

“…Who the hell even are you right now?”

Naturally, Chiaki cut in with a jab.

Couldn’t blame her. Even in Fist, Minato had never reacted like this.

Then again, since there were no female characters in the manga, maybe that side of her just never got exposed.

“But Chiaki, you’re not bothered!?”

“If someone comes picking a fight, you just beat ’em down. Simple as that.”

“Wow… were you raised in the Warring States era or something?”

“Shibakata High’s basically the Warring States era.”

Chiaki answered without hesitation.

Not even denying the “raised in the Warring States era” line made me crack a grin.

“Well then.”

Chiaki turned to face me head-on.

In an instant, the air in the classroom hardened.

My spine straightened all on its own.

“Takuma-kun… no, Takuma Takamure. You came at us head-on, so you know what that means, right? Even if it turns into a lynching here and now—that’s what a delinquent war is. You didn’t seriously think we’d go easy on you just ’cause you’re a guy, did you?”

“Of course not. I just trusted that Minato and you girls wouldn’t gang up on me. Call it faith, even.”

I forced a smile onto my face.

If I didn’t, I knew I’d get swallowed whole.

Chiaki Haruna—her pressure was on another level entirely.

But I’d already stood under Yayoi’s aura countless times.

If I crumpled from this much, it’d only prove I was still a coward.

“…Heh. You’ve changed, Takuma-kun.”

“Getting praise from Chiaki? What an honor.”

“Like a caterpillar turning into a moth while no one was looking.”

“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Since you’ve gone full delinquent, society would probably call it an insult.”

“Ah, figures.”

Personally, I thought it was a change worth praising.

But yeah… from society’s perspective, maybe it really did deserve to be called an insult.

I scratched the back of my head with a wry smile.