Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 04: Tanaka-san Is So Kind!

Chapter 04: Tanaka-san Is So Kind!

Alright, time for another very important question—part two:

When exactly does a guy fall for a girl?

Sure, the super-easy types catch feelings the moment they make eye contact.

But the rest of us?

It usually happens when a girl does something kind.

Like picking up your eraser when you drop it.

Lending you her textbook when you forgot yours.

Whispering the answer when you get called on and totally blank.

Even something as small as giving you a courtesy chocolate on Valentine’s Day.

It’s those little moments that hit us right in the heart.

Too easy, you say?

Shut it!

That’s just how we’re wired!

We’re dumb enough to think, “Wait… was that kindness? Could this be something?!” even if it’s just basic human decency.

The truth is, guys can fall for anyone—whether she’s a total bombshell or just the girl next door.

We’re simple creatures.

But let’s be honest—

The odds skyrocket if she’s cute.

When a beautiful girl does something sweet?

That’s like stacking bonus points on a character who’s already maxed out.

Of course we’re gonna fall for that!

The only problem?

There’s always that one guy who misreads the moment, gets hit by her charm like a truck, and blurts out a confession without even thinking.

“Hey, hey, isn’t that a lot to carry by yourself? Want a hand?”

“Ah, thank you, Haruno-san. That’d be a huge help.”

“No worries! We’re supposed to help each other out when someone’s struggling, right?”

And so, the girl who got confessed to the most in our high school was none other than Mika Haruno—

The kindest, most considerate of the Shikihime.

She had this weirdly perfect timing, always showing up just when someone needed help.

A super cute, short, pink-haired beauty swooping in right when you’re silently wishing for a savior?

Of course any guy would fall for her. It’s basically a scripted event.

…Well, not me, though.

Thanks to my reincarnator perks, I already knew the truth—

Haruno’s heart had been set on Kaisei from the very beginning.

So I never walked into that particular trap.

“Oh! Nakayama-kun. What’s up? You look kinda down—that’s rare for you. Wanna talk about it? I’m a great listener, you know?”

Maybe because I never tried to flirt with her,

Haruno seemed to think of me as harmless and easy to talk to.

So we actually got along pretty well.

Which probably explained why she saw through me so easily—

Even though I’d been doing my best to pretend I wasn’t sulking.

“I’m finee.”

Yeah, no way I could ever tell her the truth—

That I’d been caught staring at Tanaka-san’s chest.

That kind of thing is way too embarrassing to admit.

Especially to another girl. Especially Haruno.

So I did the only thing I could:

Politely pretend her kindness didn’t reach me.

“You suuure about that? ‘Cause it really doesn’t look like you’re fine… Hehe, y’know, sometimes just talking it out can lift a weight off your shoulders, Aniki.”

“Don’t call me that. Hard pass. Not telling you anything.”

“Ehh~ come on, come on! Spill it already~!”

“Oi, stop that! Quit pulling on my shirt!!”

For some reason, Haruno suddenly cranked up the pressure—

And before I knew it, we were practically wrestling.

“Nope.”

“C’mon, just tell me!”

“Still nope.”

“Spill it already!”

While we were bickering like a couple of kids, people around us started to take notice.

“What’s going on over there?”

“Looks like Nakayama’s fighting with Haruno-san.”

“Oi, Nakayama! Why are you holding hands with Haruno-san?! I’ll kill you!!”

Yeah… this was starting to get real annoying.

“Oi, Haruno, let go! People are totally getting the wrong idea because of you!”

I hissed at her to knock it off—

But she just puffed out her cheeks and shot back:

“Hmph! You’re the one who won’t talk, Nakayama-kun. If you really wanna get out of this mess, there’s only one option—spill everything!”

“Ugh… fine! Damn it! I’ll talk! Just fix this before it gets worse!”

“Yay~! Okay okay, leave it to me. But just so you know—if you break our little deal, I’ll start spreading all sorts of made-up stories, got it? No running away~”

“Yeah yeah…”

In the end, I lost.

Haruno’s sharp mind and stubborn streak won out, and I had no choice but to cave.

She turned back to the class and waved off the chaos with some nonsense explanation like—

“Oops, my bad! No worries, guys. Me and Nakayama-kun were just messing around. Man, push-sumo gets intense after a while, huh?”

…Push-sumo? Seriously?

Still, it worked.

The crowd settled down, and we both slipped out into the hallway.

“So then… what exactly had you all gloomy, young Nakayama?”

“Well, actually—”

Once we found a quiet spot where no one could overhear us,

I finally gave in and started explaining why I’d been so down.

“So let me get this straight—you got caught staring at the chest of the girl you like. Yeah… you really blew it, huh, Nakayama-kun? Girls are super sensitive to stuff like that. Even if a guy thinks he’s being sneaky, they always notice. Well, don’t sweat it too much. Just treat this as a learning experience and go find a new girl to chase.”

“Oi! You could at least pretend to be supportive!”

After hearing the whole story, Haruno’s reply was just plain brutal.

I couldn’t help but yell back in protest.

“Ehh~? But like, think about it. If she actually said something about it, that means it really bothered her, right? Her opinion of you definitely took a hit. And honestly, dating her now? Yeah, not looking too realistic.”

“Ugh…”

Smack—

Right to the gut with a cold, hard truth bomb.

I knew it already.

I mean, deep down, I knew.

But hearing it out loud still hit like a truck.

And hearing it from a girl—especially one like Haruno—just made it worse.

“This sucks…”

“Well, failure’s part of falling in love. Can’t be helped.”

Crushed under the weight of reality, I flopped onto the floor.

Haruno sat down beside me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

Seriously—this girl really was the main heroine material.

A good person, through and through.

“Spoken like someone who’s spent years failing to win over her childhood crush. Hits different, huh?”

“…Hey, Nakayama-kun. Are you trying to start something? Because you just made me legitimately snap.”

“OW! Okay okay, I’m sorry! Stop scratching me!!”

“Fsshhhhaaa!!”

I really was touched by Haruno’s words.

But while I was trying to thank her… I accidentally stepped on a landmine.

Thanks to that, I spent the rest of break time desperately trying to calm down a full-on raging Haruno.

“Um, Nakayama-kun. Are you okay? That scratch on your cheek…”

When I finally made it back to my seat and reached for my textbook,

Tanaka-san quietly called out to me.

Apparently, even if she was upset with me, she still couldn’t help but worry—

Because the claw marks Haruno left were bad enough to catch her attention.

I touched my cheek.

Didn’t really hurt that much, but sure enough—there was a little blood on my fingers.

(Does that girl not understand what holding back means?! Violent heroines are so out of style these days.)

“Eh, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”

While silently grumbling about Haruno, I made sure to let Tanaka-san know I was okay.

Seriously though…

She’s incredible.

Even after catching me being a total creep, she still worried about me?

Tanaka-san was just too kind.

I looked away and went back to pulling out my textbook—when suddenly, I heard her voice again.

“Here, please use this.”

I turned my head and saw her holding out a large band-aid.

“Eh? You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes, of course.”

I hadn’t expected that at all.

I asked just to make sure—

But Tanaka-san, smiling like she always did, gently placed the band-aid on my desk.

Her kindness seriously warmed my heart.

But at the same time…

I didn’t want her to feel like she had to force herself to be nice to someone who made her uncomfortable.

“Um, Tanaka-san? You don’t have to force yourself to be nice to me or anything.”

“Force myself? I’m not. I’ve got plenty of those band-aids, so it’s really no big deal.”

I tried to be direct about it, but I skipped too many steps in my explanation, so the message didn’t come through.

Tanaka-san just blinked at me, looking genuinely confused.

“No, I mean… not about the band-aid. Don’t you… kinda hate me or something?”

It wasn’t something I really wanted to say out loud, but I had no choice—so I asked her straight up.

Her answer completely caught me off guard.

“Eh? Me, hate Nakayama-kun? Of course not! I actually think you’re a really good person.”

“…Wait, but didn’t you say you were uncomfortable because I was staring at your chest?”

“That’s not it at all! I didn’t say it because you made me uncomfortable—I just got super embarrassed, that’s all! You’re a good person, Nakayama-kun, and I figured if I told you honestly, you’d fix it. I never said I hated you. I wouldn’t hate someone just for glancing at my chest a little.”

“…For real?”

Breaking news.

Despite being a hopeless perv who totally got caught staring—

I wasn’t hated.

In fact, the fact that Tanaka-san brought it up so honestly…

That was proof she actually trusted me.

“Phew… thank god…”

The moment the truth hit me, the first thing I felt was pure relief.

I’d been so sure the girl I liked hated my guts—

But it turned out she didn’t.

Of course I’d feel this way.

“I’m really sorry. I think I made you misunderstand because I said something weird earlier.”

“It’s fine. I’m not worried about it anymore. But still… you’re way too kind, Tanaka-san. If I were actually a bad guy, that could’ve gone really badly for you, y’know?”

Right after the relief came something else—concern.

She was so kind, she’d even shown compassion to a full-blown perv like me.

That kind of pure-hearted nature?

Someone was bound to take advantage of her someday.

So I gave her a little warning.

And she replied—confident, without a hint of doubt:

“It’s okay. I make sure to choose who I trust. I’ve actually got a pretty good read on people, you know?”

“…You sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

I squinted at her, still suspicious.

I mean—she seriously thought I was a good person.

So yeah, her judgment was definitely questionable.

Tanaka-san puffed out her cheeks in protest, clearly not thrilled I was doubting her.

Too cute.