You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 9: Hey, don't think you can catch me that easily, nya. I might go easy on you if you give me some silver vine, nya.

Running through the hallway at full speed, Hiroki pays no attention to the astonished students and teachers, his feet pounding the ground relentlessly.

He can feel her presence behind him. Even after turning the first corner, her murderous intent reaches deep into his core.

“Hirokiiiiii!”

Her cry deeply pierces Hiroki’s heart.

(Why is she here? How does she know my name?)

Thus begins the game of tag between Hiroki and Shiori.

Familiar with the school’s corridors, Hiroki runs without hesitation.

He jumps out of a window leading to the courtyard, dives into a window of the science room, climbs the emergency stairs, and reaches a wide balcony connected to the music room, desperately trying to outrun her.

“!?”

It was like a scene from a horror movie.

Hiroki, who thought he had the advantage, hears an unfamiliar sound approaching.

Looking around, he finds himself on a wide balcony on the fourth floor, the sky visible above. She is nowhere to be seen.

But the sound of concrete being crushed underfoot is real.

Then Hiroki sees it.

Her figure, defying gravity and tearing through concrete, sprinting on the wall of a different building, coming towards him.

“Uh, aaaaahhhhhhhhh!?”

Hiroki’s mental state reaches its limit.

(What, a monster!?)

Overwhelmed by fear, he kicks off the balcony, lunging into the air.

This is the fourth floor. Falling to the ground means certain death.

(What to do!?)

In front of Shiori, Hiroki leans out into the air.

There is nothing ahead of him, only the road outside the school grounds.

(Is he going to land using body enhancement? A power-assisted landing? Or is he going to fly?)

Shiori tries to anticipate Hiroki’s next move, but can’t find an answer. Hiroki is an enigma.

But she’s sure of one thing: no ordinary person would jump from there. He must be a fighter.

(I can’t see him!)

His figure disappears from sight, hidden by the stretching trees and the concrete barricade surrounding the property.

Shiori runs along the wall towards the road where Hiroki vanished.

The motorcycle roars at its top speed. Hiroki, with a scratch on his face, rides behind Saiki, who is driving.

“Nice! Saiki! You’re always reliable! If I were a girl, I’d totally fall for you!”

“You’re losing it, man.”

Hiroki, having escaped the fear of death, is incredibly high-spirited.

He had jumped into a garbage collection area by chance. The pile of garbage bags collected from the area absorbed the impact, resulting in only minor injuries.

And by chance, he encountered Saiki on the motorcycle and hitched a ride.

“Let’s head to the arcade then!”

“Yeah! Anywhere’s fine! Just far away from school!”

“Got it!”

The motorcycle’s engine sounds like a chorus of angels.

Hiroki is overwhelmed with relief.

(Where did he go!?)

Shiori lands, but Hiroki is nowhere to be found.

(No trace! No signs! Why!?)

The garbage bags at the collection site are too disorganized to leave any trace.

Hiroki has completely disappeared.

(Should I go to Hiroki’s house now? No, if he’s that rejecting, who knows what might come out… If I report back to the Combat School now, the plan to transfer Hiroki there will be ruined…)

Her own mistake is choking her.

She cannot let Hiroki’s transfer be cancelled.

Shiori frantically thinks of her next plan.

“YOU LOSE!”

“Not bad, but not good enough!”

“Damn, lost again.”

Hiroki grimaces at the loss displayed on the screen.

Hiroki and Saiki have been playing a racing game.

Four games, four losses for Hiroki.

“No more racing! Let’s compete in another game!”

“Oh, sore loser, huh? Well, that’s fine by me.”

Saiki, exuding the confidence of a winner, is met with Hiroki’s determination to turn the tables. They leave the racing game booth to explore other games.

“Is it too late to ask?”

“What’s up?”

As they walk, Saiki questions Hiroki.

“About your relationship with Shiori Himeji.”

“Uh…”

As soon as Saiki asked the question, Hiroki froze on the spot.

Seeing this, Saiki smirked creepily.

“So, that idol was shouting ‘Hirokiiiiii!’ at the top of her lungs, wasn’t she? There must be something going on between you two, right?”

“…”

“Come on, spill it. I’m really curious.”

Saiki teased Hiroki, but Hiroki stubbornly kept his mouth shut. IIf he let it slip, the secret about the one billion yen might come out. He absolutely couldn’t talk about the bank matter.

“Who was it that picked you up on the motorcycle that time?”

“Ugh!”

“If I hadn’t given you a ride, I wonder what would have become of you by now.”

“Gah!”

“Just say it…”

“Ugh…”

Saiki continued to press Hiroki, using his favor as leverage. Hiroki, however, remained silent, determined to protect his secret.

However, the fact that Saiki had helped him was undeniable. Hiroki decided to share just a bit.

“I met her recently.”

“Where?”

“At the bank.”

“…How?”

“That’s enough.”

Hiroki hesitated when he mentioned the bank, but decided to leave it at that.

“Hmm, well, okay.”

(Huh, he backed off easily.)

Saiki’s questioning ceased. Hiroki was a little concerned, but if it meant keeping the billion safe, it didn’t matter.

Before the topic could be brought up again, Hiroki shifted his focus to a new subject, spotting an arcade machine.

“Hey, how about we play the UFO catcher?”

“Oh, sounds good.”

Saiki agreed to the suggestion. They looked at the prizes inside the machine.

Inside, behind the glass, sat a plush toy resembling a cat fairy. Even for guys, it seemed like a worthwhile prize for some casual fun.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Hiroki inserted a hundred yen, and music started playing from the machine.

“Isn’t this the kind of thing girls want?”

“So what? It’s the challenge that counts.”

“If you say so.”

Saiki looked at Hiroki with a somewhat puzzled expression. The plush toy was quite large, increasing the difficulty.

(He doubts my skills…)

Hiroki felt challenged by Saiki. The difficulty of the machine fueled his desire to win, especially after his recent series of losses. He declared his intention to win.

“I’ll get this plush toy for four hundred yen.”

“No way, that’s impossible. It’s big and heavy. It’ll take at least fifteen tries.”

“Don’t forget what you said.”

Hiroki let out a confident snort.

He failed on the first attempt because the claw released before lifting the plush toy.

The second attempt made the toy tilt upward slightly.

On the third try, the claw aimed for the head of the upward-tilted toy, causing it to lie on its side.

“This is impossible. You have to slowly move the plush toy and drop it into the hole,” Saiki advised, but Hiroki ignored him.

On the fourth try, Hiroki aimed slightly to the right side of the toy, catching the loop of the product label with the claw. Effortlessly, the plush toy was lifted and dropped into the prize chute.

“Whoa…”

“Heh!”

Hiroki gloated over the surprised Saiki, explaining his strategy while showing off the plush toy.

“The first try was to test the claw’s strength. The second and third were to roll the cat and expose the label. On the fourth, I just needed to hook the label’s loop.”

While Hiroki explained, Saiki stared intently at the plush toy, seemingly dissatisfied. Thinking he was upset, Hiroki pushed the toy towards Saiki.

“Here.”

Squish…

“What…?”

“Here you go, here you go, here you go.”

Squish, squish, squish…

Every time Hiroki pushed the plush toy against Saiki’s chest, it made a weird noise.

“I’m giving it to you.”

“Wait, but this is…”

“Our losses are even with this.”

“Ah… But didn’t you win this?”

“Fine! I win! End of discussion!”

Hiroki abruptly ended the conversation, bothered by Saiki’s ambivalent attitude.

(What happened to his earlier attitude!)

Saiki held the plush toy in his hands, staring into its eyes. Hiroki wondered if Saiki had a special fondness for cats or some other attachment.

“Hey, I don’t like this atmosphere.”

“Ah… Oh! I just remembered something I have to do!”

“What, suddenly?”

“Sorry! I’ll make it up to you next time! See ya!”

Saiki ran off, disappearing through the building’s door and leaving Hiroki alone.

(Well… it’s fine. The motorcycle thing is settled now.)

Gurgle…

Hiroki’s stomach rumbled. He touched his stomach, recalling the day’s events.

(No wonder I’m hungry after all that running. It’s almost dinner time, but I should grab something to eat.)

Hiroki left the arcade and headed to his favorite ramen shop.

(Where is heeee…?)

Shiori walked with teary eyes. There was no sign of Hiroki returning home. Knowing he was still out, she searched desperately.

(Two hours already…)

Shiori checked her watch. It was past six o’clock. The sunset was giving way to the night sky.

Gurgle…

Her stomach growled. After two hours of searching, her body naturally craved energy.

(Dinner, Hiroki, dinner, Hiroki…)

Her crumbling mental state left her muttering about her desires.

Drawn by a scent, her feet led her into a shopping street and to a ramen shop with a predominantly black exterior.

Although she should have been searching for Hiroki, Shiori found herself at the ramen shop. Her body was honest, despite her urgency to find Hiroki.

Rubbing her reddened eyes, she reached for the door.

(I usually order miso ramen, but today’s ramen will probably taste like salt.)

Creak…

She opened the sliding door and entered.

“Welcome! Please take any seat you like!”

The waiter’s voice reached her ears. Shiori chose a counter seat at random in this unfamiliar ramen shop. She needed to look at the menu to order.

(I can’t read it…)

Blurred vision from her tears made it impossible to read the menu on the table, prompting a small whimper.

“Uuu…”

“Would you like me to order for you?”

“Eh…!?”

Shiori’s eyes widened in shock.

That voice, that face, that figure.

Sitting next to her was the very person she had been desperately searching for.