Chapter 13: Who Turned Her Into This?

Chapter 13: Who Turned Her Into This?

“...Fell from a building? Why so suddenly? Should we go visit Teacher Yamazaki?”

“I heard he’s still in the ICU. Even if we went, we probably couldn’t see him, right?”

“It’s so sudden. Why would such an accident happen when we finally got such a handsome homeroom teacher? Life really is unpredictable...”

The classroom was somewhat noisy and restless, but most people merely wore expressions of shock and sympathy.

Did this kind of thing really have anything to do with them?

Kazama Sakura did not know.

She only knew that because of this accident, she had instead relaxed.

It was as though a heavy stone that had been pressing on her heart so hard she could barely breathe had finally fallen away.

As if someone else’s misfortune had now become her miracle.

That mentality seemed somewhat despicable, but Kazama Sakura felt no guilt whatsoever. She only felt that her prayers had truly been heard by the gods...

Wait.

Was it really some so-called god?

The first class, taught by the year-group leader in place of the regular teacher, came to an end.

“Hey, hey, hey, Yatsuno.”

The lazily reclining Yatsuno Gen closed his book and turned around. A boy from the seat behind him had poked him in the back.

The boy, who looked fairly decent aside from a few reddened pimples, was called Miura Akihiko.

He was one of the boys who got along fairly well with Yatsuno Gen.

He came from a good family and had a decent character, though he was a little unreliable at times. Occasionally he transformed into a chuunibyou teenager and, like many boys his age, dreamed that a beautiful girl would suddenly descend into his life and resonate with him. Such things, however, usually remained fantasies.

“What is it?”

“Do you think that Yamazaki guy... um... kind of deserved it?”

“Why?”

Watching the boy lower his voice and wiggle his eyebrows at him, Yatsuno Gen became curious about how he had reached such a conclusion.

His own prejudice had reasons behind it. Could there be something between Miura Akihiko and Yamazaki Jihei...

No, that line of thinking was getting a bit too twisted.

Miura Akihiko snorted.

“He always dressed so flashily. Slicked his hair back and used hair oil. He was always hanging around the girls in class too. I think he had bad intentions.”

Yatsuno Gen was somewhat surprised that this boy, who usually seemed rather dense, possessed such powers of observation.

He smiled.

“Maybe he was just pleasing himself.”

“Pleasing himself? Hmph. I heard several girls in our class have his contact information. He followed the social media accounts of quite a few pretty girls too. Isn’t that just being a horny creep?”

“You even know that?”

“Don’t underestimate my intelligence network, you bastard!”

Yatsuno Gen blinked.

To be honest, back when he couldn’t understand Japanese, it had been fine. But now that he could understand it, hearing that thick anime-style way of speaking was genuinely embarrassing.

Suddenly he really wanted to stand on a desk and shout: I want to become human!

To ease his discomfort, Yatsuno Gen said,

“It would be great if you put that much energy into studying.”

Miura Akihiko:???

“For some reason, I suddenly want to call you Dad.”

“Oh? Because I’m so kind and fatherly?”

“No. Because you give off such strong dad vibes, Yatsuno Gen!”

“Tap, tap, tap.”

Just as Yatsuno Gen was about to explain that he was only joking and did not actually want to become his adoptive father.

A somewhat familiar set of hurried footsteps arrived at his side.

Yatsuno Gen looked up and saw that bright and beautiful face.

Girls really were remarkable creatures.

Even without viewing them through the lens of a lovestruck fool, one had to admit that a girl like Kazama Sakura was a gift from the creator.

Especially in early summer.

The bouncing ends of her hair.

The fair arms revealed beneath her short-sleeved shirt, soft and slender in their lines.

And those long legs that even the pleated skirt could not completely conceal.

Their milky complexion was tightly framed by black over-the-knee socks.

They were the sort of wonderful thing that made people want to savor every inch from top to bottom.

“Eh? Classmate Kazama...”

The moment Miura Akihiko saw a beautiful girl like Kazama Sakura, his old problem resurfaced. He visibly became nervous, looking as if he were about to break out in sweat.

Yet Kazama Sakura’s attention did not seem to be on Miura Akihiko at all.

She directly grabbed Yatsuno Gen’s hand.

Even the boy was slightly startled.

Then Kazama Sakura pulled him away.

Out of his seat.

Out of the classroom.

As though they were openly eloping right under the eyes of society.

Miura Akihiko sat frozen in his seat and blinked.

Bang!

“Damn it! All handsome guys should die!”

The early summer morning sunlight was beautiful.

The dazzling rays spilled through the gaps between leaves.

Strands of light fell across jet-black hair.

The reflected glow made the girl’s swaying hair seem like rolling waves.

The girl pulling Yatsuno Gen along at full speed seemed completely unconcerned with the gazes of those around her. She was already eye-catching by herself, and standing together with this handsome boy only made them more outstanding.

Perhaps she should have felt vanity from the envious and jealous gazes surrounding them.

But Kazama Sakura could not think about any of that right now.

The emotions in her chest were desperate to burst free, like a blazing sun boiling within her.

Finally.

Inside a self-study room in Building One, a place where nobody would come at this time of day and also the sort of location where incidents frequently occurred in uniquely Neon-style films.

The girl released her grip and stopped.

Her cheeks were slightly red.

Her breathing was noticeably uneven.

Tiny beads of sweat had appeared on the pale skin of her neck beneath her collar.

Whether they contained salt or sugar, who knew.

Only after letting go did Kazama Sakura realize how they had come all the way here.

Yet Yatsuno Gen did not seem to find anything strange about it.

The boy merely naturally withdrew the hand she had been pulling the entire way and slipped it into his left trouser pocket.

Then he continued looking at her with that same lazy expression.

“Confessing in this way? And in a self-study room too... Haha, Sakura, you’re really bold.”

“It’s not a confession!”

Kazama Sakura’s face turned crimson.

What she was actually thinking was that whether she confessed or not, what difference would it make?

You stupid man, stop joking around all the time and be a little more serious and proactive.

But there was no way she could say that out loud.

And she also knew that this troublesome personality of his was simply the way he was.

There was nothing she could do about it.

Yet she could not genuinely dislike him.

“Then what is it? Don’t tell me you brought me here to study.”

“Teacher Yamazaki... what happened?”

Kazama Sakura watched the boy’s expression.

Yatsuno Gen’s demeanor remained calm, with very little change.

“What do you mean what happened? Didn’t the year-group leader just explain it? An accidental fall at home... Do you want to go visit him?”

“Who wants to visit that bastard! I mean, does this have anything to do with you?”

Even Kazama Sakura felt absurd saying those words.

The boy before her merely blinked playfully.

“In Classmate Kazama’s eyes, am I some omnipotent god?”

“...You’re right. How could it have anything to do with you? Sorry. This whole thing is just too unbelievable. And yesterday you happened to talk with him, so that probably made me have this illusion.”

That was right.

Even if the last person Yamazaki Jihei spoke to before leaving school yesterday had been him, it could not possibly have anything to do with him, could it?

What kind of conversation could make someone accidentally fall from a building?

Even superpowers would struggle to explain something like that.

As for the sentence he had said to her last night, that things would get better...

That was probably just a coincidence.

The girl, finally relaxing, let out a quiet sigh.

Yatsuno Gen looked at her with a smile.

“What’s so unbelievable? I’ve always believed in karma. Everyone gets the ending they deserve. So I suppose you could call it getting what he deserved.”

Looking into his smiling eyes, Kazama Sakura finally understood.

He had long since guessed the real reason Yamazaki Jihei had targeted her.

So when he came to see her last night, was it because he was worried she might do something foolish?

The girl’s heart immediately softened.

She nodded gently.

“Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

The boy asked curiously.

A fragile smile appeared on Kazama Sakura’s face, like a rose that had stubbornly survived a storm.

“Because last night, Classmate Yatsuno told me that tomorrow things would get better... and they really did.”

Yatsuno Gen smiled indifferently.

“It’s easy to say comforting words. It costs nothing. The reason things turned out this way is because you yourself believed they would get better.”

“Because of myself...”

The girl felt there was a deeper meaning hidden in those words.

But soon, the boy’s frivolous tone sounded beside her ear.

“Compared to what I said, I like what you said more.”

“W... what did I say?”

Seeing the boy move seemingly a little closer, she felt a dangerous premonition.

Yet human beings were strange creatures.

Even knowing something was dangerous, they found that danger tempting.

They could not help approaching it.

Could not help exploring further.

Inside the quiet self-study room, she could almost hear the beating of her own heart.

And amidst that frantic pounding, Yatsuno Gen spoke softly.

“That line... where you said you’d be my little dog.”

“...”

Instantly, Kazama Sakura’s cheeks turned as red as a ripe apple.

Even her ears and fair neck became tinged with an alluring pink.

It was as though her entire body had entered a strange state of evaporation.

A misty haze even appeared in her beautiful, clear eyes.

Her reaction was exactly what Yatsuno Gen had expected.

Yet no matter how many times he saw it, he still felt she looked incredibly beautiful and amusing like this.

It made him want to tease her a little more.

So without any warning, Yatsuno Gen reached out his hand.

Whether the girl had no time to react or simply never thought to dodge.

The boy’s hand gently landed atop her head.

On the surface, it looked as though he were softly stroking her smooth hair.

But it felt more like he was petting his own pet.

“Does it not count anymore?”

He asked with a smile.

That familiar sensation spread through Kazama Sakura’s body.

Obvious embarrassment, yet faint excitement mixed within it.

Her body felt as though it wanted to tremble.

But it was her legs that genuinely began to weaken.

Even the way she looked at the boy became timid.

His hand was warm like a little sun.

Even this obvious smile of his, teasing her, threw her into disarray.

Under that strange spell.

She parted her jelly-like pink lips.

A glistening strand connected within.

Even her voice became soft and sticky.

“Woof.”

Yatsuno Gen:???

Is she really this easy to train?!