"…Somebody's staring an awful lot at me."
Ryuichi quietly muttered to himself as he did his best to stifle a yawn. Second period had just ended, but he could still sense a piercing gaze on him during break time. He sighed, having a vague idea as to who these stares were from.
"Must be the protagonist, huh…"
Ryuichi wasn't entirely sure, but he was relatively confident that he was right. This world's protagonist was called Shinozaki Souhei; he had looks so unremarkable that one might mistake him for a mere mob—a side character. But, well…I guess that's the defining trait of a protagonist.
"Guess I'll head to the toilet."
Still feeling his gaze on him, Ryuichi got up from his seat. As he made his way out of the classroom, he stole a glance at him…and their eyes met perfectly. He seems to have been influenced by the fact that Shizuna spoke to Ryuichi.
"…Haaah."
While in the restroom, Ryuichi thought about this world once more. The current month was still April, while the main storyline would begin before the summer vacation. Just before the summer vacation began, Ryuichi and Shizuna would have sexual relations with each other; then, during the long vacation, Shizuna would thoroughly be trained to become a woman to Ryuichi's liking.
"People really do change, don't they?"
Shizuna had the looks of a Yamato Nadeshiko and a naughty body that completely contrasted her pure looks. After the summer vacation, however, she dyed her hair blonde and even changed the way she dressed herself, such that her attire was barely in line with school regulations.
Both versions of Shizuna had been drawn beautifully, perhaps a testament of how skilled the illustrator was. Nevertheless, Ryuichi's preference lied overwhelmingly for the current Shizuna. Before he regained his memory, he preferred the flashy and gaudy types, but now that he has regained his memory, his tastes shifted towards pure and upright girls.
"Well, not like any of that matters."
The main story starts before summer vacation, which means that is when Shinozaki and Shizuna will start dating. This is why Shizuna said earlier that she didn't see Shinozaki that way. It's because she is still unaware of her love for Shinozaki.
Ryuichi left the restroom after doing his business, but while he was walking down the hallway, the other students constantly shunned and avoided him. Sadly, Ryuichi had already gotten used to this familiar sight.
But even a man like Ryuichi had someone who'd call out to him.
"Yo. Had to take a dump or something?"
"Hell no."
When he returned to the classroom, he was approached by another flamboyant boy similar to him. His name was Fushimi Makoto, a fellow outcast and Ryuichi's close friend. He'd used the word "outcast" to refer to him, but Ryuichi was no better; plus, Makoto, too, had a decent level of academic ability. It was a mystery how these two boys had considerably high specs.
"It's not every day I see Rindo talking to you. Did'ya fuck her?"
"No, I ain't done nothing to her."
Ryuichi responded to Makoto's straightforward words with a look that said he was being a pain in the ass. Ryuichi didn't know about his other friends, but he knew for sure that Makoto would ask him this. After all, even Ryuichi's friends thought it was very strange to see him and Shizuna together since they barely had anything to do with each other.
"Coz y'know, if you'd fucked her up, I was thinking of asking you for your leftovers. There ain't many girls in our grade as cute as her."
"You never change, do you?"
He practically lives according to the whims of his lower half, Ryuichi thought, but Ryuichi wasn't in a position to make fun of him since he was the same way until just the other day. Also, what he'd said earlier wasn't an excuse or anything; there really was nothing between him and Shizuna, so he felt like there was nothing in particular to tell him.
Makoto also seemed to have guessed from Ryuichi's mannerisms that there really was nothing going on, so he left the topic at that.
"By the way, Ryuichi. There's gonna be another party at that club again sometime soon. You comin'?"
"…Ah."
That club was where Ryuichi had met Chisa. It was a party where lots of guys and girls would get together on a regular basis and…well, they'd pick out anybody they fancied to have a one-night stand together. Basically, you can think of it as a typical shady, underground party.
"Nope, I think I'll lay off the parties for a while."
"Seriously?"
Makoto's eyes widened in genuine surprise at Ryuichi's response. At this stage, Ryuichi knew very well what kind of image he had, but ever since he regained his memory, he had lost interest in going to such places.
"You, an infamous sex fiend, skipping out on a party? I wonder if pigs are going to start flying tomorrow."
"That's rude."
"My bad, my bad."
He apologized and laughed.
"I'm just saying, I think you've changed. You have a different air about you these days. Of course, the old you was good too, but I'd say the new you is better in many ways, y'know?"
"Chisa said something like that to me, too."
"I thought so. Anybody who really knows you will tell you the same thing."
"…Hrm."
It wasn't like Ryuichi had changed the way he spoke, and he couldn't say anything about the "air" around him either since he himself didn't know how he looked to others. Leaving aside the fact that they were friends whom he'd met under impure circumstances, both Makoto and Chisa had told him the same thing, so the air around Ryuichi must have really changed.
"Well, if you ever decide to come, just let me know, 'kay?"
"Sure."
I'll never be changing my mind, though. I'm definitely not going. Ryuichi managed to swallow those words.
Time passed, and it was now after school. Ryuichi was the only one still left in the classroom, probably because he had fallen asleep on his desk when the end-of-school assembly started.
"…Nobody had the heart to wake me up…though I wouldn't expect otherwise."
Strangers would never think of talking to or calling out to someone with Ryuichi's looks, so in a sense, this was how things ought to be.
He stood up with his bag, which did not contain any study materials, and suddenly turned his attention to a vase of flowers. There were beautiful flowers in it, but the water they very much needed for nourishment was dirty.
"What the hell is the day duty guy doing?"
Changing the water for the flowers was the job of the student on day duty, but it seems that said person did not do that job today. Although it wasn't good to jump to conclusions since they may have simply forgotten, Ryuichi couldn't help but sigh as he picked up the vase.
"…Oh? Shishido-kun?"
"Hmm?"
He was about to head out and change the water in the vase when an unexpected encounter occurred. It was Shizuna. Carrying a bag on her back, she seemed surprised as she looked back and forth between Ryuichi and the vase.
"Thought you already went home."
"Um, yes. I just forgot something… Why are you holding that vase, Shishido-kun?"
"The guy on day duty forgot to change the water for the flowers. I didn't want the water to stay dirty, so I thought I'd change it myself."
"..."
Shizuna's eyes were wide in amazement when she heard Ryuichi's words, seemingly as if she was doubting what she'd heard. It wasn't something Ryuichi usually did…in fact, it was something he'd never done before. It was all the more reason why he felt slightly uncomfortable being stared at like what Shizuna was doing.
"Is it wrong for me to do this?"
"Huh?! No, of course not! I just thought this was quite unlike you…"
"I see."
"Sorry…"
Ryuichi laughed at Shizuna's honest apology. He walked past Shizuna and headed out to change the water, only to find that Shizuna had also left her bag behind and followed him.
"Why're you following me…?"
"Just because…I guess?"
He could tell it'd be hard to refuse her, so he allowed her to follow him. Once they reached their destination, Ryuichi put down the vase and rolled up his sleeves. In doing so, his tanned, thick, and muscly arms came into view.
"..."
"..."
Neither of them said anything to each other as they passed the time in silence. After replacing the dirty water with fresh, new clean water, Ryuichi could see the flowers visibly regain their vitality and spirits. Ryuichi smiled with satisfaction in having done his job well, while Shizuna dazedly stared at him again.
"…I guess rumors really are just that: rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Yes. I've heard on many occasions that you're the worst delinquent in the history of our high school, and that you are second to none in terms of how unruly your personality is."
"Well, they aren't really off the mark."
Those whispered rumors weren't entirely wrong; Shizuna simply did not know Ryuichi well enough. She could only say what she did because she had no idea what Ryuichi has done or how he spends his time.
"…But I think you're a very kind person, Shishido-kun."
"Cut it out. I'm anything but that."
"Fufu, whatever you say. Just know that people who are truly unkind wouldn't say what you just did."
"Tch…"
Ryuichi scratched his head, wondering where things had gone so wrong. As if to instill a little caution in her, or to let her know what kind of person he was, Ryuichi pressed Shizuna against the wall.
A slamming sound rang out as he placed his hand next to Shizuna—he was doing the infamous kabe-don.
"S-Shishido-kun…?"
"Better not get too comfy with me. You never know when I might pounce on you."
Ryuichi let a naughty grin show on his face, like a true delinquent. But then, something strange happened. Instead of running away, Shizuna looked straight back into Ryuichi's eyes with red, flushed cheeks.
"…Ah."
Ryuichi suddenly recalled a certain, important detail. In the storyline, Shizuna was indeed assaulted and corrupted by Ryuichi, but she herself had deep, masochistic tendencies lying dormant within her. Ryuichi, in typical, doujin-like fashion, awakened this latent skill of hers… But surely that couldn't be happening now. Ryuichi shook his head in denial.
"I'll be heading home now. You better get home quick too, you hear me?"
"Y-Yes…"
I feel like I flipped a switch I shouldn't have… Ryuichi pondered as he made his way home.