Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu - Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Thanks to that thoughtless, one-track-minded, idiot Kaburagi, Tsuruhana-san’s group was completely gearing up for war .

I was having lunch with my friends in the cafeteria when it happened . Quite a while into lunch break, Wakaba-chan entered the cafeteria in a tracksuit . And looking closely, wasn’t her hair drenched?

Wakaba-chan made her way over to the closest table and began quickly eating her simmered food bentou .

“Whaat on earth is that girl doing?” muttered one girl .

“Beats me . Who can tell with a weirdo like her,” snarked another .

Amidst all our white uniforms, Wakaba-chan’s tracksuit stood out all the more . You could hear whispers here and there .

I scanned the room and realised that Tsuruhana-san’s group seemed to be having a lot of fun ridiculing her . Don’t tell me they did something?

Apparently the people at the Pivoine table had noticed her too because Kaburagi was making his way over .

“Takamichi, what’s with the outfit?”

A shock ran through the cafeteria .

In front of this entire crowd, the Emperor was going out of his way to talk to a girl . A girl who was none other than Wakaba-chan, who was the centre of all manner of rumours these days .

All eyes were on them .

Wakaba-chan quickly chewed and swallowed before answering .

“My uniform kind of got drenched so I changed into something else . ”

“Drenched? How come?” he frowned .

“I went outside for a bit . ”

“Outside? In this rain? Without an umbrella?”

I couldn’t help but look outside . It had been pouring since morning and was showing no signs of letting up .

“Aah, well…”

“What the heck are you even doing . ”

“Sorry . ”

Wakaba-chan bowed .

“Well? Why were you running outside in all this rain then?”

Tsuruhana-san’s group was looking a little worried now .

“Aahh, I had something to do…”

“I’m asking what that was . ”

Wakaba-chan floundered, her eyes swimming here and there . It didn’t seem like she was going to tell him the truth .

That was when Fellow Stalking Horse came over in worry for her .

“Are you alright, Takamichi?”

“Mizusaki-kun . ”

Kaburagi seemed a little sullen at the new arrival .

“What do you want, Mizusaki? Takamichi and I were talking . ”

“You can’t guess? The entire room is watching you two . Pay some more attention to your position, and your surroundings while you’re at it . How can you not tell that Takamichi is being troubled by you”

“Haah?”

Kaburagi glared at Stalking Horse who gave him a strong gaze back . While sparks seemed to fly between the two boys, Wakaba-chan was flustered, and quite obviously fretting about running out of time for her lunch .

Not content to just watch, Enjou intervened and somehow defused the situation . Pitifully, that was when the bell began to ring .

In a last act of desperation, Wakaba-chan tried to shovel as much of her lunch into her mouth as possible before slowly closing the lid .

*

*

Enjou led Kaburagi out of the cafeteria . Fellow Stalking Horse was about to leave with Wakaba-chan when the President of the Pivoine approached from behind with her followers .

“Takamichi-san, although that tracksuit suits you better than the Suiran uniform, I hope you are not thinking of doing something as absurd as returning home in that . I would much appreciate that you by all means refrain from such a thing . ”

After shooting Wakaba-chan a cold look, she turned away and walked off .

Some of the girls began to laugh at her .

“Serves her right . ”

“She’s such an eyesore . ”

“Grill her more . ”

That was when I realised some of the voices were male .

When I turned around, I found a group of boys to be the source, the boy who liked Aoi-chan among them . He was standing there with a disgusting smile as he joined in on bad-mouthing Wakaba-chan .

This boy really wasn’t fit for Aoi-chan .

*

*

After school I went to the salon to fetch what I needed before heading right back to the 2nd Year classrooms .

The boy that had been bothering Aoi-chan was in the same class as Fellow Stalking Horse .

Fellow Stalking Horse noticed when I called him out into the hallway, and moved to casually listen in .

Gosh, Mizusaki-kun . You don’t have to worry . My fan is sitting safely at home .

“Um, can I help you?” he asked uncertainly .

The boy was very obviously confused at the sudden summon .

Hmph . Quite a different attitude to when he was badmouthing Wakaba-chan . From what I had heard, he had a university faculty that he wanted to join but didn’t have the grades for . So instead he had done all sorts of things to make life hard for her because he was jealous .

“Yes . The truth is I have called you here in regards to my friend . ”

“Your friend, Kisshouin-san?”

“Yes, my friend . Her name is Yorino Aoi . ”

“Eh-, Yorino…!?”

The colour left his face in an instant . Wow . Who knew that humans could change colours this quickly .

“…Um, so what does that have to do with…?”

“You still fail to understand?”

“Eh…?”

I flourished the peony branch before him like a conductor’s baton . His expression stiffened as he backtracked a step .

“My dear friend is being troubled by somebody . This makes me incredibly sad . So sad, in fact, that I have no idea what I might do…”

I stabbed the branch at his throat .

“You will stop, no?”

“…!? I will-!”

He was standing at attention now . I nodded with a smile .

“Also, it is very unbecoming of a man of Suiran to be jealous of a girl for her good grades, you know?”

I brandished the peony branch again, and then watched as he scrambled back into his classroom .

Mission complete, I suppose .

Now I just had to message Aoi-chan .

“What was that about?” asked Stalking Horse as he appeared from the shadows .

“He has a crush on a friend of mine but was a little too persistent, so she came to me for help . ”

“I see… But Kisshouin, you realise that using that branch is even worse than the fan, right?” he sighed as he pointed at my branch .

Resting his chin in the other, he continued .

“Anyhow, do something about that weapon in your hand . I’m pretty sure a peony in the hands of a Pivoine member is as good as a lethal weapon . ”

Even if you tell me that~

At that moment, by unlucky coincidence the Soccer Club President was just heading past us to get to his club . When he saw me he shrieked, so I handed him the branch as encouragement .

His hands were ice cold though . I wonder if he was coming down with something .

“Are you trying to finish him off or something!? He’s the ace of our Soccer Club!”

Goodness, no . How could you blame me when I only ever have the best intentions in mind?

*

*

When I arrived at the carpark I witnessed Kaburagi forcing Wakaba-chan into his car again . This was actually an abduction now .

What on earth are you doing, Kaburagi .