The Story of How I, a Guy Who Couldn’t Care Less About School Castes, Somehow Ended Up Making All the Five-Star Gals Fall for Me - Chapter 05: Ambushed by the Black and Gold Gals

Chapter 05: Ambushed by the Black and Gold Gals

I, Ikoi Kizuki, had suddenly become famous as “the guy who made a Five-Star Gal cry.”

The legendary Hari Suitengu Breakdown Incident hit like a bomb. By the time the final bell rang that same day, the story had already spread across every grade.

The reactions were all over the place.

Some of the boys actually respected me for having the guts to hold my ground with the Fives.

Some of the girls, for whatever reason, found my offbeat way of talking oddly charming.

Meanwhile, the Fives’ unofficial fan club—the Starwatchers—was split. Some were thrilled to see a new side of Hari, while others were furious that I’d dared to make her cry. And since the fact remained that it was my words that brought her to tears, I couldn’t exactly deny it.

I wanted to apologize, but the Fives bolted out of school the moment homeroom ended.

Which meant, come afterschool, I was left to face an endless barrage of questions alone.

By the time I finally escaped and stepped through the school gates, I was mentally and physically drained.

All I wanted now was to get home fast and crash in bed.

But just as that thought crossed my mind—two familiar voices called out to me.

Waiting on the sunset-painted street were two of the Fives.

The black-haired Hari Suitengu, and the golden-haired Hinawa Hiwatari.

Even standing there without a word, the sight of those two together was overwhelming.

And since they’d gone out of their way to ambush me, I couldn’t help but wonder…

Had they come for revenge?

“Ikoi, that was hilarious back there. Making Hari cry? Man, you’re such a sinful guy.”

Hinawa spun around with her usual high-energy grin.

“That only happened because you’re the one who dragged him into it!”

Hari snapped back, though her voice lacked bite—her eyes were still red from crying. She shot me a quick glance, then quickly shifted to stand half-hidden behind Hinawa, as if using her as a shield.

It was obvious I’d dented her pride, and now she was on guard. She also looked worn out, which only made me feel guiltier.

“Hiwatari-san, thanks for helping me out earlier.”

Thanks to Hinawa Hiwatari—the mood maker extraordinaire—the chaos after Hari’s tears hadn’t turned into a full-blown disaster.

She jumped right in, cranked up her cheerfulness to max, and by the time the teacher walked in with the chime, she waved it all off with, “No problem here, all good☆.” Like magic, the whole scene was smoothed over, and Hari had been calmed down too.

If Hinawa hadn’t been there, my high school life might’ve ended right then and there.

“Don’t worry about it! Stuff like that happens all the time.”

She said it so casually, like it was nothing.

“…It happens all the time?”

“Yup! Hari’s super stubborn, so whenever things don’t go her way, she ends up crying.”

“Stop spilling that!”

Hari immediately tried to clamp her hand over Hinawa’s mouth, but Hinawa slipped free with ease.

And honestly—just by saying “don’t spill it,” she was basically admitting it herself.

“Yup, yup, nailed it! You were just frustrated because every word hit home. You’ve known it about yourself for ages but never fixed it—that’s on you, Hari. C’mon now, relax & smile!”

Hinawa gave her a push, nudging Hari to stand right in front of me.

I bowed my head immediately.

“Suitengu-san, I’m sorry. Whatever the reason, the fact is I made you cry. That was my fault.”

“Don’t. Like Hinawa said, you only pointed out things I already knew but didn’t want to face. I cried because I couldn’t handle that myself… and honestly, I’d hate for Kizuki-kun to get painted as the bad guy because of it.”

Hari fiddled with her hair as she spoke, her voice timid but sincere.

“So… you’ll forgive me?”

“This isn’t about forgiving or not. I lost to my own weakness. It’s not like some guy made me cry.”

“You really do have a lot of pride.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. I’ve always liked people who hate to lose.”

“…Kizuki-kun, don’t you dislike me?”

“No. If I had to choose, I’d say I like you more than not.”

I admitted it easily, without hesitation.