Masou Shoujo Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Mob's Early Bird Gets the Worm

5am.

I get up at 4:30 and wait near the first floor entrance of the apartment building where Gindou Kohaku lives.

A little later, she came out almost on time. Grumpy as she was, she made sure to say hello.

"Good morning" (Kohaku)

"Good morning. Then let's get going right away." (Izayoi)

We walk out as soon as she comes up next to me.

She keeps and turns her suspicious eyes on me.

"You'll give me explanations, right?"

"What explanation?"

"I'm asking why, we're going to school at such a time!!!"

"It is to avoid running into delinquents."

I explain the situation while walking briskly. However, she still doesn't seem convinced.

"This is too early!"

"Is that so? Though I think doing it this much is the safest?"

"It's 5am you know!! Are you stupid!! Please take a look, there are hardly any people around!!"

I look around on my surroundings. Sure is, there's not as many people as usual. Well, it's not something to worry about.

"Feel free not to put it to mind."

"I do mind!"

We arrived at the school as it was, while chatting with her idly, and let it set adrift. Though she was in a bad mood while we were at it....

"So we're the first to come."

"I bet!!"

The school has not opened. Even if it opens, it should be around 6:00. The current time is 5:15. I checked it with my smartphone.

"So there will be some time before it opens. However, no matter how you look at it, as expected, we were going too early, weren't we?"

"I told you earlier didn't I!! I said, No matter how you put it, this is too early!!"

While pacifying her, I sit on a nearby bench for the time being. It's a refreshing morning. Getting up early might not be a bad idea either. Though never again I will do something like this.

“From now on, must I have to get up early every day?”

"I wonder?"

"This here is the one asking though?"

She was exasperated and didn't seem to want to ask any more questions. 

Time passes without us really talking to each other.

I wonder, is it better to at least have a little conversation? Though it's just a little, being alone with a woman makes me nervous. It was just the two of us yesterday too, but my heart is beating rather fast right now.

"It's not a bad idea either, isn't it? to wake up early."

"Yes, but it angers me when you're the one saying that."

Third day of school. And I got remarkably hated. Though it's true that there were various things, I'm pretty much doing it for her sake, however. It's not like I wanted a thank you, so it's fine, whatever...

No such a thing as a conversation. I close my eyes also and she reads her novel as well. Then time passes and it becomes 6:00.

"Then, shall we go?" (Izayoi)

"Yes. I don't want to stay here forever either." (Kohaku)

The school is empty of students. There are probably a few teachers or so.

To fall completely silent, silent as the grave. One can hear well the sound of the two walking down the corridor. We enter the classroom and take each other's seats.

Our seats are pretty far apart. She is at the front of the corridor side. I'm at the very back of the window-side, overlooking the schoolyard. It's something not worth mentioning, but in front of me is Sasamoto.

This seating order is based on class placement and the order of the students' grades in the entrance exam.

We are lined up in an easy-to-sort way from the front of the window side. The class divides the results of the entrance exam in a well-balanced manner. 

In other words, being at the back of the class, overlooking the schoolyard, is proof that my grades are almost at the bottom.

There is a reason for this. The point is that I wasn't able to study much because I was training with all my heart to forge myself.

Nonetheless, I was able to do it somewhat also because of my previous life experience, but on the day of the entrance exam, my physical condition got worse, and I didn't expect my answer column to be slightly off by one place.

Though I realized that one minute before the end of the test, the time was already too late. It doesn't mean the answer was all wrong, but because of that, it put me in a dishonorable seat behind Sasamoto.

Sasamoto is dumb. Originally, he is the one at the back of the class, on the schoolyard side. However, I became the one instead. 

As long as I can avoid the bad ending, then I'm fine with it, so I don't really care about it anyway. This was written in the back setting so only teachers or so would know about it, so there isn't something like others making fun of me either.

Well, even if I think about this kind of thing now, nothing can be done about it anyway, and I don't care whatsoever. As long as I can avoid the bad ending, that's fine.

Now then, a lot of time has passed while I was thinking about this. It is now past 7am.

She's been reading her novel for forever now. It's about time. I get up from my seat and leave the classroom. And she doesn't say anything in particular.

She might be thinking I'm going to the toilet, but that's not so.

I will leave in spite of school as it is. Though, for one, something like going to school and leaving without taking any classes is not normal.

I must avoid the bad ending. And I also have a stalker waiting after this.

――For now, even if it's just those defects, I have to deal with them perfectly.

And so I went straight as is to the place where I met those delinquents on the first day.

◆◆◆

It's past 8am. 

Lots of students in Class A are already present in the classroom. And I chat with my classmates in a friendly manner.

"Look! I got a new smartphone cover."

"Oh, my, that's so cute!"

"I did my nails."

"Oh, dear, they're very cute!

It's not much fun, isn't it? Though I'm replying with words as I see fit, it's not fun. I just change the words a little and speak it; that's it.

Really boring. The idea that these guys too will betray me if something happens never leaves me. 

And I, who attended to my classmates with such a negative heart, looked at the backmost seat on the schoolyard side.

Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to him? I came to school with him in the morning, and just when I thought he suddenly left the classroom, he never came back. It's quite long for picking flowers (peeing). He might have taken an hour with it.

Even though homeroom is about to start soon, what is he doing I wonder? I can't read his actions. Yesterday too, he did various things to my emotions terribly, and today he's telling me to meet at 5 o'clock in the morning and the like.

To be honest, I thought I'll go refuse him, but I am indebted to him for helping me when I got tangled up with delinquents.

....It pisses me off. I hate him. And it was on the third day of school that I came to hate him.

I get irritated when I'm with him together. That attitude of throwing yourself away for someone else. 

Such a person does not exist. I won't be fooled anymore. Even he must have some kind of low-life ulterior motive.

That's precisely why I created a space for just the two of us to find out his purpose. I am quite beautiful, if I do say so myself. And a good style too. Perhaps he might be trying to cozy up to me. And that's what I wanted to make sure of.

And the result is, I didn't understand. We spent time together, but I didn't understand.

A low-life that attacks immediately? Or is it a lowly species that thinks it's bad to attack right away and does it after we get more intimate?

I thought it was one or the other, but I feel like it wasn't either of them. If it wasn't the former, I thought it would be the latter, but nevertheless, something is bugging me.

He doesn't look much like he wants me to have affection for him. That gets beneath my skin. And that just keeps swelling up.

I don't want to remember anymore. Learn that I was stupid, that I failed, and that I had wasted my time then.

From there, I convinced myself, deceived myself, and made myself who I am today.

And even though I vowed to live with this calculating me from now on....

When I look at him, I feel like I'm looking at the past me.

I see that figure over and over again.

"I look at the ideal, wondering if it's this pretty and cool."

――And that irritates me. Helplessly so.

Let's stop having anything to do with him now. Being with him any longer and my heart will.... No need to be concerned any further. I paid off my debt for the thing with those delinquents by going to school very early this morning with him.

While I was thinking about that while talking with my friends, the teacher Rokudou-sensei comes into the classroom.

As if to signal that, everyone moved away from me.

"Good morning, everyone. Again, today's absence is... Kuroda didn't come, huh."

The teacher finds his seat empty. 

It can't be helped. And that was just when I thought I should mention that he did go to school.

"Rokudou-sensei!! This is serious!!"

Another female teacher rushed into the classroom.

"What, did something happened!"

Rokudou-sensei looked unrested by the panic. The students were also a bit clamorous, wondering if something had happened.

“Kuroda Izayoi-kun was assaulted by the students of Amanogawa High School, which is famous for its many badly behaved students, and was transported to the hospital!!! Though he seems to be conscious..."

"-!!! Understood. I'll be heading there soon!!!"

Rokudou-sensei left in a panic. The panic spreads to the students as well.

Which also spread to me.

――I couldn't understand what was going on.

◆◆◆

"Owwww~~~ My whole body hurts."

"Something like, if you tell delinquents to steer clear of my friends now, they'll beat the crap out of you. So that still happens these days, huh."

On the bed in the hospital room, bandages are wrapped around my face, except for my visage. Just in case, they also put me on an intravenous drip. 

The one talking with me is a doctor. He feels rather like a veteran and a noted doctor-like. But he still looks young.

And he looks kind and handsome.

"Bruises all over the body. No broken bones, but they're a so-so serious injury."

"Those delinquents, take it a little easy on me will ya!!"

"It seems that the delinquents are being questioned by the police, but they probably won't learn their lesson. Their bad behavior is so bad it became famous, you see. Those Amanogawas..."

"I'm thinking about that, so."

"?? I'm not sure I understand, but repose well, okay."

After explaining my present condition, the doctor left the hospital room as is. The room is for a pair of four, but I'm separated by a curtain, so it's like being practically alone.

Even so, it hurts. And I was scared.

After leaving the classroom, I left the school and got myself into a place where there were delinquents and few people.

After that, I ran away for a short time.

Afterward, I deliberately let myself be caught and beaten to a pulp in a place where there is lots of pedestrian traffic.

Though I crouched down and endured it still, it was so painful that tears end up coming out.

Luckily, someone called the police and the hospital immediately because of the high traffic, but this was also part of the plan. If reported in a high-traffic area, no matter how much they are a delinquent, they'll run away. Even if they say that we're not scared of the police, they'll probably feel a little something. And I have calculated that.

Also thinking more or less about the case where no one reports it, I, too, put in a call to the police to let them know that I was being chased by delinquents while running away, just in case.

And now, the reason I first fled to a place with a lot of people was because I would really die in a place without. Bad end by the third day. Gindou is forcibly humiliated, but it is in a place where there are no people.

On the second day, she was unlucky to be caught and acted upon, and on the third day, the delinquents started appearing all together and prowling after Gindou from the morning on. The plot is to forcefully catch her in a slightly deserted place on her way to school.

That's precisely why I walked her to school first. We might have come too soon, but it's better than running into them.

And then I was beaten up without any resistance, but there's also a reason for that.

....Isn’t it about time?

They have also contacted the school. And now speaking of my class teacher?

Rokudou Tetsurou. His brother is the boss of a really dangerous yakuza group called the Chiretsu Group.

If one of his students was beaten up, he'll probably borrow his Brother Power to forcefully control the delinquents.

The "Chiretsu Group" is seriously dangerous. If a delinquent in said area meets their members, they will just bow their head in silence, and that's about how dangerous they are.

As for this, Rokudou Tetsurou is hiding it from his students. And that's precisely why, I can't openly ask him to lend me his strength.

"Please use the power of the 'Chiretsu Group' to do something about the delinquents." etc.

If I told him that, he'd end up suspecting me.

Without telling Rokudou Tetsurou directly, in order to have his brother use the power of the "Chiretsu Group", it was necessary to have a scenario of me being beaten up... I think.

There was also a possibility that it would be okay even if I were to say it directly, but there was also a possibility that it wouldn't.

If that happens, the remaining two girls can't be saved.

I could have also consulted to him as a normal student, but now this current situation is more accommodating. It's a bit of bad thinking, but it also invites sympathy.

It's still the third day of school. I know he's a good teacher, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll use his Brother Power right away. He's also human, so he won't necessarily use his Brother Power regardless of who it is.

This is the best and surest move to have the person named Rokudou Tetsurou use his Brother Power, and, as a result of taking all the risks into consideration and acting on them, the conclusion was that I ended up getting bruised.

I'm glad the result was just to this much. As I crouched like a tortoise and desperately enduring the attack, I prayed with tears flowing down that my bones wouldn't break, and it was worth it. It looks like my prayers were answered.

For some reason *don*don* *stamping*, I hear the sound of someone running.

"Are you okay!! Kuroda!!"

Apparently, Rokudou Tetsurou has come. Now then, let's act like it hurts a lot I guess?

I made it this far. So I must get him to use his Brother Power to the full....

TL: Maza Miya

Editor: Maza Miya

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