The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem. - Chapter 5: Natsume Shina’s POV. Part - 2.

Natsume Shina’s POV. Part – 2.

“Shi… Shi-chan?! It really is you, right!?”

“Oh my, that look suits you far better, Shina.”

“Ehehehehe…”

That morning’s plan—
was to go to the salon and have my hair dyed black.

When I looked at myself in the mirror afterward, with my new black hair… it felt like I was staring at a completely different person. I couldn’t make sense of it. Ehehe… I wonder what Tennouji-kun will think when he sees it? Mio-chan looked absolutely stunned, and Rin-chan—she looked calm, but I could tell she was shocked too! Ehehe, mission accomplished!

For a while they kept asking me all sorts of questions about my hair, but in the process, I also told them something else— that I’d left the gyaru group I’d been hanging out with.

When I wrote in the group chat that I was leaving, everyone read it, but… nobody tried to stop me. Nobody said anything mean either. Maybe they said a bunch of things after I left—but I don’t care. Honestly, I never had the money to keep up with their brands anyway. I was barely part of the conversations most of the time. It felt like… even if I wasn’t there, it wouldn’t make any difference.

“I see… I always felt kind of bad, Shi-chan. I mean, it’s not like I hated you or anything—it’s just, your group seemed too flashy, you know? Like… a delinquent gang or something.”

Well… she wasn’t wrong. It was kind of a delinquent group.
There were girls smoking even though we’re still in high school. I remember thinking once that if I stuck with them, I might end up being taken in by the police too.

“You did the right thing leaving them. Some of those girls smoke, some drink, right? The kind of guys that hang around them can get… dangerous. Shina, if you’d gotten caught up in something bad, you could’ve been hurt—or worse, kicked out of school.”

Hearing that made my chest ache with guilt. I really made everyone worry about me…
From now on, I want to make it up to them somehow—by staying with Mio-chan and the others and showing them I’ve changed.

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Ah—no, it’s not like we’re mad at you or anything, okay? So don’t look so down, alright?”

“Just… try not to dress like that again, alright?”

Ah… just like Tennouji-kun said. They really listened, really cared enough to get mad at me for my own sake.

Why did I ever end up in that group…? Well, I didn’t have many friends, and when a classmate from middle school invited me, I thought—maybe this is my chance to finally fit in. But… I guess that wasn’t for me after all. Ahaha…

“So? Was leaving the group the big news you wanted to tell us? Because honestly, it sounded more like a warm-up.”

“As expected of Rin-chan! You’re always so sharp—it’s scary how good your guesses are!”

Right. The real topic. Tennouji-kun.

“Hey, Mio-chan, Rin-chan… do either of you happen to know Tennouji-kun’s contact info?”

“Te–Tennouji-kun?! You mean that Tennouji-kun?!”

“Tennouji Daiki… you’re talking about him, right? What happened? Don’t tell me he did something to you—or that he’s threatening you or something?”

“N-no! It’s not like that at all! It’s just that, Tennouji-kun…”

I told them everything that happened yesterday— how after we split up from the group, two scary guys followed me, how they dragged me into an alley when I said no, and how Tennouji-kun came and saved me.

“That Tennouji-kun? The one everyone says hangs out with delinquents?”

“Nope! He punched those scary guys and scared them off!”

“…How barbaric.”

“Well, still—thanks to him, Shi-chan’s safe. So… you want to thank him, right?”

“Yeah! But, um… my head was kinda spinning at the time, and I… forgot to ask for his contact info.”

“Well, he is the one person in school everyone avoids. Naturally, we don’t have any way to reach him either.”

“Yeah… same here. Sorry.”

“Uuugh… what should I do…”

“Shi-chan, tomorrow’s the opening ceremony, right? Maybe he’ll show up?”

“Oh! You’re right!!”

“Though honestly, it’s Tennouji-kun we’re talking about. I doubt he’ll bother coming.”

“Then—then I’ll just ask around tomorrow! Someone at school must know his contact info, right!?”

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy. He’s that Tennouji-kun, after all.”

“Muuu…”

She’s right… I don’t even know if he’ll come to school.
Hmm… then there’s only one thing to do—

“I’ll wait! I’ll wait until he comes to school!!!”

“Well, that’s your only option. Oh, and one more thing—don’t talk about Tennouji-kun in front of Imamiya-kun, alright?”

“Y-yeah. Toshiya-kun really hates delinquents… especially Tennouji-kun.”

“But do you really need to go that far just to see him again? Didn’t he tell you not to worry about it?”

“Yeah, he did… but still…”

I don’t even know why. Why do I want to see Tennouji-kun so badly? I just… want to talk to him again. I want him to see me—with my black hair. I want to talk to him a lot more.

“Are you sure this is okay…? What if it was just a whim?”

“There’s always a chance he’s targeting you, Shina.”

“Tennouji-kun would never do that! He’s not like that—he doesn’t ignore me like my dad does, and he doesn’t look at me with those… gross eyes like other boys.”

“Well, you do attract a lot of beastly stares, Mio’s not wrong there.”

Why, though? Even Toshiya-kun—when I dressed like a gyaru before—didn’t scold me for it. But I swear he kept glancing at my chest and stomach. That gaze… it was kind of scary, even from him. Tennouji-kun didn’t look at me like that. He looked me in the eyes when he spoke—his gaze was kind, his words were gentle.

Oh, but don’t tell Rin-chan that Toshiya-kun was looking at me that way. She’d be furious.

“Rin-chan, even you’re pretty popular among the boys, you know?”

“…Ugh. That’s the worst.”

Rin-chan’s tall and beautiful, so of course she’s popular—but she turns everyone down. She’s only nice to Toshiya-kun. Mio-chan’s popular too, but she’s always waking Toshiya-kun up in the morning, making his lunches… people even think they’re dating. And apparently, Toshiya-kun doesn’t deny it—he even says little things that keep the boys away from Mio. Isn’t that kind of awful?

“Well, putting that aside—just pray he shows up tomorrow.”

“Okay! Please, Tennouji-kun, please come tomorrow!!”

“Ahaha… I’m sure if you pray that hard, he’ll come.”

“Yeah! I believe he will!”

“Let’s hope that faith gets rewarded.”

Rin-chan sighed as she watched me clasp my hands together in earnest prayer.

***

“Thanks for today! I’m really glad we talked!”

“Shi-chan, your new hair color is surprising, but the whole Tennouji-kun thing—that’s even more shocking!”

“Good thing it was just us here. If Imamiya-kun had been around, I probably would’ve picked a fight.”

“Yeah… and if Shi-chan actually ends up talking to Tennouji-kun, he’ll probably get angry again.”

“He has no right to control you like that. If it comes to that, I’ll step in.”

“Uu… Rin-chan, thank you…”

“At least let me cheer for my friend’s love.”

“L-love?! No, no, it’s not like that!”

“Oh? You sure? Because when you talk about Tennouji-kun, you sound just like a girl in love.”

“M-mooou, Rin-chan!!”

“Haha, alright, alright—I’m kidding. See you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yup! Rin-chan, Mio-chan—thanks for everything!”

I waved both arms as hard as I could until Mio-chan and Rin-chan disappeared into their homes.

It felt lonely walking back alone… but tomorrow—tomorrow, I might see Tennouji-kun again.

“Tennouji-kun… see you at school.”

Those were the words I’d said to him yesterday. And tonight, I fell asleep hoping he’d keep that promise.