Aftermath

The next day Reiji thankfully didn't come across anyone while heading to school, but he was dreading going there in the first place.

He had found out that not only had Hina been upset at Haruna getting close with him, she had also found out about his request to Greeny and Airi.

Let's not even mention the fact that the three of them had kind of argued, throwing any chances of them becoming friends out of the window.

'I have no idea what to expect now...'

It was definitely nerve wracking since they were in the same class. Well, Hina wasn't the type to confront someone but it would still be really awkward.

As he entered the school gates, a voice called out to him from behind, and he turned to see Haruna, Hina, and Riku standing there.

'Hahaha, fuck me. Of course this would happen...'

The protagonist had a terrified expression.

The childhood friend had a pale face.

And the gyaru was smiling happily, completely oblivious to the misery of her friends.

"Reiji-tan, what a coincidence!" she laughed and jogged up to him.

"....Morning," Reiji said stiffly, his gaze flickering towards the two frozen statues behind her.

Looking at how uncomfortable they looked, he thought it would be best to make an excuse and leave, explaining his situation to Haruna later.

It would probably make her a little disappointed but what could he do?

But then.... he compared the expressions of Haruna with the other two and a thought flashed through his mind.

'....Why am I acting like I did something wrong, to be walking on eggshells around them? I don't want to make people uncomfortable, but it's not like I directly did anything to do so.... Am I just going to keep tiptoeing around everyone out of fear?'

It was a split second reflection that made him furrow his brows.

Just a few days ago he had told Haruna that he only cared about those who would bother to see his change rather than actively seeking reconciliation, and here he was worrying about how he would be perceived by them just because they were part of the main cast.

Why should he let that affect his friendship with Haruna?

Wouldn't it be hypocritical?

"Did Granny finish all the leftovers? I feel a little bad that the chicken wasn't crispy," Reiji said with his expression lightening.

Haruna's smile deepened and she chuckled with her hand covering her mouth.

"I don't think she even noticed, she just chowed down on it even after you left!"

"Really? That's good then. Let's get to class or we'll be late."

"Oh right," she replied and turned towards Riku and Hina who were both kind of fidgeting behind her. "Let's go guys!"

Reiji didn't try to acknowledge either of them. Riku seemed to have some sort of agenda about him, and Hina was..... Well, he had no clue what was going through her mind right now.

The two of them walked a few steps behind, though Haruna didn't notice because she was busy chatting about the upcoming trip with the cooking club.

When they reached their classroom, they split up to their respective seats. A visible sigh of relief could be seen from them since they were finally able to relax.

But when Reiji turned around, he didn't notice the shy brown haired girl looking at him with a complicated expression.

***

(Haruna's POV)

Haruna had been feeling so happy that she was constantly distracted in class today. With how fun the cooking club seems to be, and with Granny looking more lively lately, it felt like she was finally starting to enjoy high school!

But she really did need to get her studies in order... everything was just so confusing.

She glanced at Hina to see if she completed the homework for math class, even though it was due tomorrow.

She considered asking her for some tips on how to do these multi-part questions.

For some reason Hina had been a little pale the entire day, Haruna was initially worried that she had fallen sick but she said she was fine....

Anyway, it was finally lunch time and she stood up to get some advice from Hina. From the corner of her eye she saw Reiji-tan being dragged out by Airi and Greeny, which made Haruna a little jealous because of how close they seemed.

Ever since befriending Hina and Riku, she thought they would be just as tight-knit, but the latter has been obsessed with the E-Sports club lately and the poor girl had been left in a lurch.

And here she was, stuck in the crossfire, so the past few days had been really awkward....

"Um... Haruna-chan, can I ask you a question?"

When she sat with Hina for her help, she hesitantly asked Haruna a question after a while. They were alone since the oblivious protagonist had been called by a senior to practice for some game that had just been released.

"What's wrong?" Haruna asked with concern.

"...How was Cooking Club?"

She frowned.

It looked like she was struggling with something internally, but Haruna knew better than to force it out of her because she would just clam up.

"Uhh, yeah the test went well! I managed to pass all three rounds! I was a little shocked at how serious they were about it because we're just teenagers, but then I found about the competitions, the restaurant visits and a bunch of other stuff! The amenities are insane," she replied excitedly, though she was carefully studying Hina's expressions.

"Right, right.... So no troubles then?"

"Troubles? What do you mean?"

Hina clamped her mouth shut and looked down at the math homework on the table, changing the subject quickly.

"Oh nothing, I was just asking. For this problem here, you should try to....."

Haruna zoned out her explanation, the concern for her friend growing. Although she had always been a little reserved, the type that would bottle up all of her feelings, it had been getting worse lately.

'I should spend more time with her....'

That idiot clearly wouldn't wake up, so she had to be there for her.

***

DING-A-LING-RIIIING

Just like that, another day of classes came to an end.

'I'm having fun, but.... Do I really have to go through three years of high school again???'

Reiji complained to himself internally, genuinely exhausted by studying things he already knew for the most part. This made him slack off during classes, bored of listening to the same theories again and again.

'Can't believe I thought it would be easy to be a model student, ha!'

Despite promising himself to change his reputation by doing the simple things, like paying attention in class or at least pretending to be diligent, it was easier said than done.

"Reiji-kun, you have more club duties today right? So pitiful," Airi chimed mockingly, picking up her bag after shoving her books inside.

"Better than doing nothing, plus it's gonna be fun!" Reiji laughed, ignoring her attempt to rile him up.

"Y-You should be careful, what if that senior picks a fight again."

Reiji smiled at Greeny reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder as they walked out.

"Don't worry, I doubt he's dumb enough to start a losing fight. If he does, I don't mind sparring with him again!"

"....Definitely something a Yakuza would say," Airi giggled.

"It's in his b-blood after all!"

"....Screw you guys, I'm leaving!"

***

"Man, this hall really is big..."

Reiji admired the vast open area in front of him. Seniors were walking out in sparring uniforms from the changing rooms and some were already warming up with light cardio or weights.

Because of the large disparity in gender ratio in this world, there were more women than he was expecting there to be. They actually outnumbered the men, though just barely.

Most of them wore karate or taekwondo uniforms, but there were some in the boxing and MMA clubs too, showing how much more important martial arts were in this world.

It was crucial with the lack of commercial-grade long-distance weapons.

As he was looking around, unsure of what to do, a pair of small and soft hands enveloped his eyes from behind.

"Guess whoooo~!"

Reiji sighed with amusement.

"Is this Sayuri? Or maybe Nanase?" he replied, making up random names.

"WHO ARE THOSE WOMEN?"

A flash of bright red hair almost covered his line of sight as he was forcibly turned around by the woman in front of him.

Her blood-red eyes glared at him, though there was no real anger, arms crossed against her large chest in defiance.

Tachibana Yui stood before him, pouting with an adorably cat-like expression.

"I was joking I knew it was you," Reiji chuckled, ruffling her ridiculously fluffy hair.

She smiled happily at the intimate gesture but then showed some confusion.

"How did you know it was me? I thought I would surprise you after you said you joined the MMA club...." She said in dismay.

"Silly, did you forget? You said you were a red belt in taekwondo, so I assumed you'd be part of the club as well."

Yui facepalmed herself when she recalled the memory, quickly switching topics in embarrassment.

"Why haven't you properly responded to my messages?"

"....Come on, you can't expect me to reply to 100 messages a day! That's not fair! Wasn't the short chat enough?"

"Hmph, I'll let it slide for now but just don't let it happen again!" she rebuked playfully.

"Limit it to 10 messages a day and I'll consider it," Reiji teased.

Before they could keep bickering, a loud shout echoed throughout the massive hall, silencing all of the chatter.

"EVERYONE, GATHER AROUND!"