Prologue: A New Victim! The Scumbag Who Knows No Bounds!
There wasn’t any grand reason behind why my behavior started going south.
I was born into a relatively wealthy family, I usually got whatever I wanted, and I don’t have any memories of particularly struggling. I’m well aware that I had a privileged childhood.
But was it because my parents actually loved me? Or was it just because they found teaching a kid things like "morality" and "patience" too much of a chore, so they just humored me to keep me quiet? I’m not sure when I started suspecting the latter.
I wouldn't go as far as to call it neglect, but my parents just didn't have much interest in their son.
At first, maybe there was some kind of rebellious spirit in me directed at them.
...But by now, even that spark has fizzled out. Before I knew it, I’d started "kind of" sabotaging my classes just because.
I still pull above-average scores on midterms, and I don’t get into any fatal trouble. Even if I get called into the teacher’s office for a lecture, I make sure my "outlaw" act stays within a range that won’t ruin my life.
Since I knew deep down I was actually a bit of a coward, I never did anything truly lawless like shoplifting or extortion—things that leave permanent scars on your future. I didn't hang out with the idiots who did that stuff, either.
I just took that specific brand of adolescent lethargy and powerlessness and gave it a slightly "edgy" flavor by playing the rogue. To put it bluntly, I was a poser delinquent.
Even after starting my second year of middle school, that lifestyle didn’t change much.
Still, I figured it’d be bad if I didn't even know which class I was in, so I actually showed up for the opening ceremony.
With my uniform messily undone, I stared at the class assignments posted near the school gates.
"We did it! Yuri-chan, we’re in the same class again!"
"U-um, yeah. Looking forward to another year with you, Rei-chan."
While the girls around me were making a racket, hugging and cheering at the posted lists, I confirmed my own placement.
I’m in... 2-B, huh. Is there anyone I know in the same—
"Oh, Kouichi. Even you show up for the opening ceremony, I see."
"Hm... Fuyuki, huh. Well, even I’d be in trouble if I didn't know my own class."
I turned around to find my acquaintance, Kurushima Fuyuki, standing there with his usual likable grin.
He was a sportsman on the soccer team and an incredibly social guy. He was also a bit of an oddball for talking so casually to someone like me, who most people found annoying to be around.
"Ohh, Kouichi is in 2-B too? Same as me! I’m looking forward to this year, man."
"Yeah... though I doubt I'll be coming to school all that much."
"Hey, hey, you’re saying that on the very first day of the new term? Well, I guess you’re smart enough to handle things your way."
After our brief exchange, Fuyuki spotted another friend and drifted away.
"This is crazy. Me, Yuuki, and Rei are in the same class again? How many years in a row is that now?"
"Fufu, you’re in the same class as a girl as cute as me, so you could stand to look a little happier, you know?"
"Ahaha, I’m happy, okay? Being in the same class as everyone again..."
...Well, for now, it was a relief to know there were people I recognized in the class.
I moved away from the crowded gate and headed toward my new classroom.
＊
After tuning out the tedious speeches in the gym, I returned to the classroom with the rest of the students.
My seat was in the very back by the window. Not bad at all.
The gentle April sunlight provided just the right amount of warmth.
"Yaaaawn..."
Since I’d stayed up late the night before, a wave of drowsiness hit me, and I couldn't help but let out a massive yawn.
"Ufufu."
"..."
A girl in the seat next to me laughed like a rolling bell. She must have seen me with my mouth hanging open like an idiot.
"What a big yawn. The window seats really do make you sleepy, don't they?"
Her beautiful, silk-like black hair swayed as she spoke. She didn't seem to feel bad for watching at all. She was stunning—easily a level or two above anyone else our age.
Finding myself being watched by such a beautiful girl while looking like a total moron, I instinctively scowled.
"...Stop staring."
I replied in a low voice, trying to mask my embarrassment.
But the girl didn't flinch. She just kept smiling.
"Fufu, sorry, okay? Also... I'm looking forward to this year. Right, Kanada Kouichi-kun?"
"Huh? How do you know my name..."
I was suspicious of a girl I didn't know addressing me by name so casually, so she pointed toward the chalkboard.
"Hm? I mean, your name is right there on the seating chart."
"...Right."
Her answer was so painfully obvious that I felt my ears burning. My self-consciousness was getting out of hand.
"...Is what I’d like to say, but I’ve actually known about you for a while."
"What’s that supposed to... oh, I get it."
She wore her sailor uniform perfectly, and she had an air of organized calm about her. There weren't many reasons for an honor student like her to know about me beforehand.
"Did a teacher or one of your friends tell you something? That there’s a good-for-nothing guy you’d better stay away from?"
Knowing exactly what my reputation was, I forced a wicked, intimidating grin.
The girl looked blank for a moment, but her smile returned almost instantly.
"Ahaha, nope. Are you always this self-conscious, Kanda-kun?"
"...Tch. Then what is it?"
I was getting irritated. I took pride in the fact that both guys and girls were at least a little afraid of me, and here she was, rejecting that notion to my face.
"Hmm... I’ve been a little curious about you since our first year. I just thought... Hey, there’s a boy who always looks so lonely."
"...!"
The words felt like they’d pierced right through to an inner part of me I hadn't even realized I was hiding. I stood up abruptly.
"Kya?!"
The chair tumbled backward, and the girl let out a small yelp.
I hadn't intended to cause a scene, but the loud crash drew every eye in the classroom to me.
"...Tch."
"Ah, Kanda-kun!"
Uncomfortable and unable to stand the atmosphere, I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the classroom.
...I was desperate to hide the fact that I was running away from the girl’s clear eyes—eyes that seemed to see everything.
＊
"...What the hell am I doing?"
I was slumped over alone in a corner of the school rooftop.
The words that girl—that nameless girl in the seat next to me—had said kept replaying in the back of my mind.
I just thought... Hey, there’s a boy who always looks so lonely.
If it had been some baseless nonsense, it wouldn't have made my chest ache like this.
Ignored by my parents, sulking, acting out, playing the bad boy.
...So what? Just like she said, I was just a spoiled brat.
"Dammit... I got called out and then ran away like I was taking it out on her... I’m so pathetic."
Burned by self-loathing, I thought back to the atmosphere in the classroom. Oh, look, the problem kid is doing something again. It was that suffocating vibe.
I hadn't raised a hand or even yelled. But to everyone else, it probably just looked like I’d thrown a tantrum at a girl who was just trying to be friendly with her new classmate.
...Well, it’s my fault for acting in a way that makes people see me like that. I totally brought this on myself.
Self-reproach. Guilt. Self-pity. Anger. Shame. Resignation.
A swirl of negative emotions churned in my chest, and my stifled heart felt like it was going to burst, the tension racing through my limbs.
"...Oh, wait—"
I reached back into a memory from a few months ago and rummaged through the bottom of my bag.
Inside, I found a crushed pack of cigarettes and a lighter that some delinquent acquaintances had practically forced on me. At the time, I’d just gone with the flow and accepted them, but I didn't actually have any interest in smoking. I’d completely forgotten I was planning to toss them later.
"...Maybe it’ll be a good distraction."
Feeling halfway desperate, I tore open the mangled paper packaging, put one between my lips, and lit it.
"Inhale...!? Cough! Hack! Gasp!"
The second the smoke hit my lungs, my body went into full rejection mode at a sensation I’d never felt before.
As a price for my stupid—no, moronic—act of self-harm, I fell to my knees, tears pricking the corners of my eyes as I hacked my lungs out.
What do smokers find so fun about inhaling something this bitter and painful?
At the very least, I was never going to touch one again. With that resolve, I kept gagging, trying to vomit out the foreign substance in my lungs.
"—K-Kanda-kun. Are you okay?"
"Cough, wheeze... Huh?"
Suddenly, I realized someone was rubbing my back with concern.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I looked up. It was her—the nameless girl—looking worried as she touched my back.
Had I been too busy coughing to notice her? Or rather, why was she even here?
"Y-you... why... cough!"
"Oh, honestly! Don't try to talk. Are you alright? Can you drink some water?"
With that, she held out a plastic bottle of mineral water.
...I had a lot I wanted to say, but since I was gasping for air, I reluctantly took the bottle and swallowed the water to wash away the foul aftertaste in my mouth.
"Hack... huff, huff..."
"Feeling better?"
"...Yeah. Um, thanks—!"
As I tried to offer a half-hearted thanks, both my gaze and hers landed on the cigarette butt I’d dropped when I started choking.
"..."
"Ah, no, this is..."
This is... what?
It was exactly what it looked like. A problem student hiding out to smoke. That’s all.
Trying to explain that it was my first time, or that I never planned to do it again... what would such pathetic excuses even accomplish?
"...Kanda-kun."
"..."
What was she going to say?
I stiffened as she said my name. A girl who was an honor student like her... what would she think of a problem child who ran away when his feelings were hurt only to hide and smoke out of spite?
Would she be exasperated by such a hopeless idiot?
Would she look down on me as someone from a completely different world?
Would she be afraid of me as some dangerous person she couldn't reason with?
"Open your mouth."
"Huh...? Mmph!?"
I let out a dumb sound at her nonsensical command.
Ignoring me, the girl shoved something hard into my mouth.
A spicy-sweet sting, different from the cigarette smoke, filled my mouth. A few seconds later, I realized it was the intense kick of a mint candy.
"Okay, tilt your head down and close your eyes. Hurry!"
"Mmph, wha—what are you... wugh!"
I found myself following her rapid-fire instructions without even knowing why.
...There was something about her words that just... slipped through the cracks in my consciousness.
Maybe you’d call it seizing the initiative? She perfectly crushed any timing I had to actually take an action.
As if I were being brainwashed, I obeyed her, and then I heard a shhh sound as a citrus-scented gas was sprayed over my head.
"...There, that should do it. It’s just hairspray, but I think it’s better than nothing."
She leaned in to sniff me. Feeling embarrassed, I scrambled to put some distance between us.
"Wh-what the hell do you think you’re doing!?"
"Getting rid of the smell. Really, you should brush your teeth and take a shower... but for now, this is first aid. It should hide it, but you’d better go home before a teacher says something, okay?"
"That’s not the point..."
"...Also, I’m sorry."
She cut off my momentum by bowing her head deeply.
"...Hah? What are you doing now?"
"...I said something really rude in the classroom earlier. I just said whatever came to mind without knowing anything about you. I made you angry..."
Her voice sounded genuinely apologetic. I couldn't find a reply, so I just let out a heavy sigh.
...This girl really throws me off my rhythm.
"...I wasn't really mad at what you said. ...And I’m the one who should be sorry for acting like that and giving you the wrong idea."
"...Yeah, thank you. You really are kind, Kanda-kun."
The girl smiled with relief at my words.
I’d thought it in the classroom too, but when she directed that idol-like, perfectly featured smile at me, I ended up acting tough just to hide how flustered I was.
"Keh, kind? As you can see, I’m just some punk who smokes at school."
"Fufu. But today was your first time, wasn't it?"
"...What makes you think that?"
"You were choking so hard. Someone used to it wouldn't be like that, right? Besides, your teeth are perfectly white and clean, and people who smoke all the time usually have the smell soaked into their hair and clothes much more."
"...Tch."
Faced with a master detective who saw through everything, I realized I’d lost the battle completely.
I picked up the cigarette butt, and as I turned to leave the rooftop like I was escaping, her voice called out to my back.
"But don't do it anymore, okay? I’d hate for the person in the seat next to me to smell like cigarettes."
"...I get it already. I’ve had enough. Later... uh..."
And then, I realized I still didn't know her name.
"...Hey, what’s your name?"
"Hmph, you don't even know the name of the classmate sitting right next to you?"
"...Just tell me. I’ll remember it."
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. She gave me a smile that said I guess I have no choice, then she let out a theatrical little throat-clear before speaking.
"My name is—"
＊
"Netora Reiko. Make sure you remember it, okay? ♥"
It’s meee~~.
I flashed a sun-like grin, baring my gums at Kanda-kun while his back was turned. Yes, me.
The light-attribute heroine who hates setting people up, is oblivious to malice, and treats everyone with kindness and good intentions.
Plus, thanks to my looks—which are easily top-five in the school—I have the kind of appearance that makes countless boys and girls fall for me. I’m basically an oblivious harem protagonist.
That’s me—Netora Reiko.
I felt like it had been a while since I’d run my mouth, so I decided to try a bit of image manipulation.
But enough about that.
Well, starting today, I'm a second-year middle schooler.
I successfully rolled the dice to be in the same class as Yuu-kun and the others, and I even managed to get lucky enough to sit next to the delinquent boy I’d had my eye on for a while.
As expected, God loves me. Clearly.
In other words, all my actions are validated by God, and any responsibility arising from them lies with Him. I’m not the one at fault here.
—Kanada Kouichi-kun.
Despite being born into a wealthy home, he’s a "mild yankee" who’s a bit jaded with the world because his parents are hands-off.
He spends his time on "outlaw" activities that don't quite break the law—like cutting class or staying out late—making him a boy with the heart of a cute Chihuahua just trying to get his parents' attention.
He has that adolescent male obsession with purity and probably a touch of chuunibyou; he acts tough but hates doing anything underhanded, and while it’s hard to tell, he’s actually quite a gentleman toward girls.
He’s the kind of guy out of a shoujo manga who’d take a crying lost child to a police box or reluctantly help an elderly person if asked.
I feel like he might be a little too easy to groom into the "other man" role... but if he turns out to be a boring guy, I can just cut him loose when the time is right.
As for how to release him without any lingering trouble, I’ve already mastered that know-how with the prototype delinquent types (see Volume 1). It’ll be a piece of cake.
I’m gonna dominate you~~. Kanda-kuuun.
I’ll heal those little scars in your innocent heart.
With the help of this very, very kind Netora Reiko-san~~.
Kukuku... Fuhahaha! Ah-hahahahaha!
With such an auspicious start to the second-year arc, I let out a satisfied cackle inside my mind.
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