She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! - Volume 1 - Chapter 5

Episode 005: I’ve Been Hanging with Jun for One Year and Maxed Out a Lot of Stuff 

The weekend. 
Kai was watching a Let’s Play video in his bedroom on the second floor of his home. 
Well, calling it a “Let’s Play” might be stretching the “Let’s” part a bit. The video’s uploader, jyunjyun1203, was the silent type—he didn’t speak a word of commentary or even use a Vocaloid narrator in his videos, instead opting for just the occasional pop-up text. His channel, originally created with a focus on the Monster Hunter series, was updated with video after video of godlike play. 
Kai became a fan back when JJ (lovingly pronounced “Jay-Two”) started uploading in the MH4U days, and he’d been spellbound by his expert technique for the five years or so since then. 
Sometimes Kai would watch the same video on repeat, and other times he would go wild over a new video he’d been eagerly anticipating. It had been a while since MHW came out, so it was losing steam among the big streamers (though the release of its expansion, Iceborne, had put some coals on the fire about five months ago). However, JJ would still provide the content Kai craved. It wouldn’t come often or with any notice, but it would come. 
Right now, Kai was riveted by the Arch-Tempered Lunastra solo hunt video that JJ uploaded on Friday night. And when the Arch-Tempered Teostra joined the fray before JJ dispatched it with flair? Kai got hyped. His eyes were glued to the screen of the old laptop opened on top of his desk. 
Meanwhile, Jun had come to hang out early in the afternoon. She was lazing around on Kai’s bed, engrossed in a selection from Kai’s library. Her posture was relaxed, with one of Kai’s pillows under her belly. Maximum comfy mode had been engaged. 
If she kept that up, Kai would have trouble sleeping since her scent would be rubbed into his pillow... but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t quite tell her to stop. He’d be far too embarrassed to tell the truth if she asked why. 
“Whoooooa, Dr. Keine is freakin’ scary... and so freakin’ cool...” 
Jun, still lying on her stomach, couldn’t keep herself from lifting her shins and kicking against the bed. She had her nose buried deep in the pages as she wriggled in sheer exhilaration. 
“I know; you don’t see that one coming. She owns.” 
Kai’s video was just wrapping up, so he gave a response to Jun’s reactions. 
“But personally, I’m a fan of the Merchant, Masato. There’s nothing that guy can’t pull off.” 
“Totally. Men with a whiff of danger are so cool!” 
As they continued talking about their manga impressions, Kai stood up from his chair. He casually strolled over to his bookshelf and casually pulled out a paperback copy of High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World! This was the light novel that the manga currently giving Jun the shivers was based on. 
He casually sat down on the side of the bed and casually suggested, “You know, if you’d like to pick up where the manga adaptation leaves off, you can always read the novels.” 
“I’ll pass on any word-having books.” 
“Well, the same author wrote Chivalry of a Failed Knight, which is pretty sick!” 
“I watched all of the Chivalry anime, and I own every volume of the manga, so...” 
“You can learn how the Seven Stars Battle Festival ends if you read the novels, though.” 
“Words make me sleepy, so I’ll pass.” 
“Guh...” 
Jun lay down the whole time and didn’t even look at Kai, yet still brought him to rue his fate.

Jun was like Kishimoto and Satou in that she loved manga but never read light novels. They wouldn’t get excited over what happened after the “Love Hunter Ringo” chapter or the “Dragon Fanging His Ittou Shura at Night” scene with Kai. 
Only on the rare occasions where Jun was desperate to find out what happened after a light novel-based anime ended, and only on the rare occasions where the manga adaptation also hadn’t caught up, would she reach for the source material. And even then, Kai got radio silence on her feedback after one or two volumes. She had absolutely zero reading endurance. 
Kai really wished he had more light novel friends!

Well, she is who she is. I don’t want to force my hobbies onto her. 
Kai regretfully returned High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World! to his bookshelf. Until the day arrived when Kai found another light novel he could suggest to Jun, he would return to the veil of the shadows, awaiting his chance as a tiger awaits his prey. 
With his grand scheme returned to the backburner, Kai sat back down on the edge of the bed. Jun once again immersed herself in the manga version of High School Prodigies. Kai knew that this otaku friend of his was the type to read her favorite scenes over and over immediately after finishing a volume. That was fine. All well and good. Except... 
Earth to Jun, I can see your panties again... 
It must have happened when she was kicking her legs around earlier. Her already short skirt was... flipped up. Everything from the pure white cloth that’s never supposed to be seen to the meticulous lace embroidery seemed to beg its viewer to shout, “I see London, I see France!” 
Well, she is who she is. 
Kai was about to warn her before he thought twice. Jun was so enthralled in her reading that she didn’t seem to notice her disheveled clothing. If Kai were to point it out, he’d just be going out of his way to embarrass her. But if he were to casually straighten out her skirt and pretend he never saw a thing, that would solve everything, wouldn’t it? 
Yeah, let’s do that. 
Kai, like a perfect gentleman, reached slowly and softly toward the hem of Jun’s skirt. But halfway through, he had a startling realization. 
If she notices me as I pinch her skirt, won’t I be the one who’ll die of embarrassment? 
Perhaps it’d be wise to abort the operation. 
...Or so Kai considered, but he shook those doubts off and convinced himself that there was no turning back after coming this far. He just had to complete his mission perfectly. Just conceal his presence, like a ninja. The gentleman ninja, Nakamura. Kai Nakamura. 
Carefully... Carefully... 
He stealthily pinched the hem of her skirt.

At that moment, Jun twitched and tensed her body.

Forgive meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 
Kai shrieked silently. 
Yep, of course she’d notice that. Yep, of course she wouldn’t overlook her skirt getting grabbed. 
Kai blurted his apologies and regrets in his head... until he realized again. Jun seemed liked she’d tensed up unconsciously. Yet she still said nothing. Her gaze was still fixed on her High School Prodigies manga. 
Wait, did she not catch that? 
Was she just tensing up in response to a twist in the manga? Did that volume even have any twists worth tensing up over? Either way, if Jun didn’t notice, then Kai was in the clear. He carefully lowered her skirt and straightened it out. Mission complete. 
Having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, Kai wiped the sweat he’d worked up from his brow. He savored the satisfaction of having done a good deed. He took pride in his sense of noblesse oblige, the duty of any gentleman. 
Which was why he was the one who didn’t notice two important things... 
One, Jun’s tension hadn’t faded. And two, she was now beet-red up to her ears. 
Once 3 p.m. came around, Kai’s mom brought up some freshly purchased strawberries as a snack. She carried a plate that was piled high with them all the way to Kai’s room on the second floor... and then stayed to help them clear it off as she chatted with Jun. 
“You’ve got to hear this one, Jun! So this idiot son of mine—” 
“C’mon mother, be a bit kinder to him. On the last quiz we took, Kai scored a—” 
Yada yada, yada yada. 
Kai’s mother (age 39) engaged in unrestrained gossip that she insisted counted as “girl talk.” It was an atmosphere that Kai, as her son, found more than a bit uncomfortable. 
Well, she’d give them some peace and quiet after less than half an hour, so Kai wasn’t going to make a fuss. But after she left, Jun asked Kai a question as they were deciding what game to play together. 
“It’s almost Golden Week, Kai. Whatcha doin’ this year?” 
“Not sure, but it doesn’t look like we’re having a family vacation.” 
Kai had an idea of what she had in mind based on everything she talked about with his mom, so he answered immediately. Incidentally, he heard that it was Miyakawa family tradition to go on a three-day, two-night vacation for GW every year. 
“So, you’re working again this year?” 
Jun’s followup question had a dash of criticism in its tone. Kai filled every day of his GW with work shifts last year, and she was clearly still holding that against him.

Beaver Video Rental was open 365 days a year. Not by request of the workers, mind you—they at least wanted time off for the major holidays like Golden Week, New Year’s, and Obon. As a compromise, Beaver’s owner offered bonus pay (3,000 yen per day) to anyone working during those periods. 
This discovery led Kai through a rollercoaster of emotions. A daily bonus of 3,000 yen is huge to a high schooler. Massive, even. So, he let the fantasies go to his head as he applied to work for every single day of GW. And that was that.

“I’ll, uh, take it a bit easier this time.” 
Kai gave his answer as he turned on his PS4 and sat down next to Jun on the bed. 
He survived last year’s eight straight days of mid-holiday work, sure, but it took its toll on his studies once the “vacation” ended. And, well, he wished he could’ve had some fun. 
“I don’t think I can get the whole week off, though. I bet everyone’ll ask me to take their shifts.” 
“Do you have to take them?” 
Jun pursed her lips at the implication that a long-distance trip might not be in the cards again. 
“All of my seniors there have partners. As a bachelor, I kinda have to be considerate.” 
“Then how about I be your girlfriend just for the week?” 
“?!?!?!?!” 
“Kidding, but you should’ve seen your face.” 
Jun teased him with a mischievous sneer. She continued peering into his widened, dumbstruck eyes. 
“A-Anyway, I owe them for all the help they give me!” 
They were good people who cleaned up after Kai’s many messes in his early days without so much as a complaint. If this was a way he could repay them, he’d gladly take the opportunity. 
“Okay, fiiiine. You’re so eager to please. It’s cute that you are, though.” 
“C-Cute isn’t a word you should use for a man!” 
“Then how about you tell them no like a man?” 
“Hewwo, I’m Kai the cutie-pie.” 
Kai put on his best falsetto mascot character impression. Jun patted his head to comfort him. 
“But oh well, I get it. How about we at least hang out together if we find the time for it?” 
Jun tossed her controller to the side as she collapsed back onto the bed. 
“Speaking of jobs, do you not work?” 
“Nope, not a bit. Well, more like I can’t. My family’s all, ‘High schoolers have no business doing that’ and ‘If you’ve got time to work, you’ve got time to study’ whenever it comes up.” 
“Ah, there are lots of families like that, yeah.” 
Times like these made Kai grateful that his family’s parenting style was hands-off and valued personal responsibility. 
“Though you sure seem like you’ve got deep pockets...” said Kai. 
“What? I totally do not! I’m broke year-round!” 
“Yeah, because you can’t keep your spending habits in check, right?” 
Kai lost count of how often he’d seen Jun blow her money on gacha 10-rolls only to scream in agony after coming up empty. Meanwhile, Kai played his mobile games as though their “free-to-play” taglines were a challenge. 
“So, does your family just give you a huge allowance?” Kai had been curious about this for a while, and now seemed like a good opportunity to ask. 
“Well, not exactly.” Jun, apparently figuring it was nothing to hide, readily answered him. “I have four brothers who are a lot older than me.” 
“Huh, that many?” He had assumed she was the youngest of her siblings from the way she acted, but he didn’t know how many there were or how old. 
“And every single one is the doting type.” 
“They all have a sister complex?” 
“They give me money just to compete with each other.” 
“And they’re terminal cases, to boot...” Kai sighed, but he understood. “Honestly, I’m jealous...” 
He wondered if his own sister could get a job already so she could spot him some cash every now and then. Then he too could buy 10-rolls without a care in the world... 
Okay, now we’re being unrealistic. His relationship with his sister wasn’t on thin ice, but she’d never dote on him like that. 
“Honestly, I’m jealous.” So jealous that it bore repeating. 
“Well, I won’t blame you, but that means having to listen to them nag, you know? Like about how I better not find a boyfriend or anything.” 
“Y-You don’t say...” 
“And that’s why I’ve never invited you to my place. I just know it’d be a headache. They’d definitely mistake you for a boyfriend. And then beat the crap out of you.” 
“Yeah, I’d prefer to keep my crap inside me...” Definitely not the kind of house Kai would want to chill at. “But that explains a lot.” 
Jun had spent so much time around Kai’s house that she was practically part of the family. But Jun never introduced Kai to her family, so he had a feeling there was a reason behind it. 
“So that’s it, you’re like the Miyakawa family’s princess. I can see it.” 
“Oh, please. Don’t laugh at me.” 
“Believe me, I’m not. But Jun, it’s not like you’re all that opposed to being the center of attention, right? Given they’re your brothers, I bet they’re all pretty boys.” 
“Oh, no way! None of them are all that hot!” 
While still lying in bed, Jun denied the accusation and made an X with her arms. 
“Is that so? Well, I know you can be pretty superficial. I know your standards are off the charts. And I know I haven’t forgiven you for calling my Little War Office and Fox Waifu ‘ugly.’” 
“Huh? But they are ugly.” 
“You wanna take this outside?” 
“How about you get your eyes checked first, huh? If you want beauty, you need to be on Catalanta’s or Shuten’s level.” 
“You’ve got that wrong! Nightingale and Tamamo and Atalanta and Shuten Douji are all cute!” 
They had a quick spat over an incredibly frivolous subject. Kai, eventually noticing the futility of this digression, started thinking of a way to drop it and get back on track. Jun, on the other hand, felt a need to double down on her position. 
“Boo, Kai! Boo, boo, boo, boo!” 
Suddenly, she appeared to have a eureka moment. 
“By the way, Kai, what exactly was it that made you think my brothers were pretty, anyway? What exactly did you mean by ‘Given they’re my brothers’?” 
Jun rolled around on the bed as she taunted him with puppy-dog eyes. 
“...Darn you.” 
“Could it be that you think my brothers and I look alike? Why, wouldn’t that mean you think my brothers are pretty... because you think I’m pretty? Hmmmm?” 
“Aw, shut it... You clearly don’t need me to spell it out, so quit asking...” 
“Well, well, well, so Kai thinks I’m pretty, eh?” 
That mischievous sneer snuck up again, making Kai feel like he was being looked down upon. And she had to rub it in by laying her head on his lap, too. 
Kai had to struggle not to keel over from the unimaginably pleasant weight placed upon his thighs. Ah, lying in the lap of a fair maiden may be the dream of any man, but to think that being the pillow for a girl could be so bittersweet! 
“Okay, okay, I give. You got me. Uncle, uncle.” 
“Heh. You’re cute when you’re struggling.” 
“Okay, okay, you’re pretty. You’re a total hottie. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve laid eyes upon. The cutest girl in the world. A goddess among mortals.” 
“Huh? Uh, wha?” 
“I’m admitting it. Your face is totally my type. A total bullseye on everything I look for. My platonic ideal.” 
“Whaaaaaaaa?!” 
Jun shouted in bewilderment. She turned red down to the collarbones peeking out from her blouse as her triumphant grin vanished. Her expression was now completely contorted. The girl whose teasing seemed so self-assured was shrinking back after just one move. 
...Well, shrinking back won’t get her far when her head’s on my lap. If anything, she’s just wriggling into me. 
“...Is not something I’d ever say, but I wonder how you’d feel if I did. For reference, how do you feel right now?” 
“Y-You’re messing with me!” 
“Heh, heh, heh. Fool ya once, shame on you!” 
It was Kai’s turn to sneer at the cute critter who had willingly hopped into his trap, putting herself in a position she couldn’t retreat from. 
“Kai, you jerk!” 
Jun had finally sunk to sulking and digging her nails into Kai’s thighs, but the spots she struck didn’t hurt a bit! 
“Bwahahah, you won’t always get the upper hand against me!” 
“Fine. I’ll just go to bed. Right here. Right now.” 
“...Um?” 
“I won’t move no matter how bored you get or how quickly your legs fall asleep. Be a good pillow, now.” 
“Wha, wait...” 
“Zzzzz.” 
“Don’t pretend to fall asleep on me, dammit!” 
Jun expressed her commitment to not moving a muscle as her face was buried between Kai’s thighs. She was on the verge of using the weekend as an excuse to stay the entire night, but Kai did everything he could to walk her away from the brink.

Well, with that said... 
Days like these might seem chaotic, but in the end, Kai couldn’t deny that they were fun. A day off spent with Jun was like nothing else. No matter what Reina said, Kai had no intention of letting his best friend or their time together slip away. He was now more certain of that than ever. 
 
But life doesn’t always go the way we want. 
It was the lunch break at the start of the school week. And a shocking development was about to throw Kai and Reina a curveball.

“Well, well, well, Ash. So you eat at the cafeteria too? Guess I’ll tag along~?”

And with that, the ever-annoying Momoko caught up to Kai before he made his way into the halls. 
Kai found himself staring in disbelief. 
“C’mooon, eating alone is totally lame, so even eating with you is better than nothing! Besiiiiiides, I’m in a generous kinda mood, y’know? And let’s be real, Ash, I knoooow that getting to have lunch with me makes you wanna shed tears of joy, riiiiight? Ah, what a benevolent goddess I am!” 
If she’s a goddess, she’s a Momokoddamn annoying one. Her ability to spout such nonsense left Kai at a loss for words. 
However, the students around him made up for that as the entire class started gossiping among themselves. Why was the number 3 of the popular girls’ group, specifically the one who was known for never clinging to boys, suddenly chatting up the most unremarkable, middle-of-the-road otaku in their class? 
It was a mystery begging to be solved, and the fascination in that mystery spread through the class like wildfire. The students seemed to be showing some restraint, but their curiosity couldn’t be concealed. They frequently glanced at the motionless Kai as Momoko tried to hurry him to lunch. 
But some people in the class were more indignant at what they’d just heard than others. What’s more, it wasn’t Reina. It was Matsuda, Takeda, Umeda, and Fukuda—the gang at the top of the boys’ food chain. And since they were just shot down by Jun and Reina’s group after inviting them to lunch mere moments ago, the timing for Kai couldn’t have been worse. 
What’s she inviting that creepy geek for? 
Momoko’s never even spoken to us! 
Screw this loser! 
He’s dead meat! 
Or, so their glares at Kai communicated quite clearly. However, Kai pretended not to notice (out of fear for his life) and said to Momoko:

“Sorry, but uh, no.” 
“Huuuuh?”

Momoko didn’t seem to expect that saying no was an option. Her suspiciously beady eyes widened in disbelief that he was turning down all this. 
Or so it seemed, until her brow started to furrow in fury. Her desperate attempts to hold it back caused her face to twitch in an overall hilarious expression. 
“P-Pardon? Ash, y-you do realize who you’re saying no to, don’t you?” 
“Mihara, right?” 
“You’re saying no to Momoko! The cutest girl in school, Momoko! This is the kind of chance that a shut-in like you will never get again if you let it slip away!” 
“I mean, I’m kinda fine with that...” 
Kai didn’t mince words. Momoko’s eyes were bulging in shock, but he paid no mind. 
Kai learned one thing from the deluge of insults Reina subjected him to the other day. Indeed, she was right about one thing: no matter what Momoko demands, just politely decline. If you can’t do as the Romans do, then just stay home. That’s a fine policy to follow.

...Anyway. 
Kai didn’t exactly get along well with Momoko, and he hadn’t forgotten who was bashing him in that group chat, so he figured having lunch together would be pure torment. As such, he declined at the first opportunity. Politely. 
“Die in a fire.?” Out of rage, Momoko tried to kick Kai’s shins in. Kai effortlessly dodged. “What’re you dodging for?!” 
“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t wanna get hurt.” 
“You’re supposed to stand there and take it!” 
“No way! This isn’t a cartoon.” 
“Ash, you annoying dummy! I hate you!” After shouting the parting words of a third-rate childhood friend, Momoko stormed off in frustration and tears. 
“I’m the annoying one?” Kai grumbled as he was left standing stock still.

Once the out-of-season Typhoon Momoko passed, Kai entered the hall. This time, he came across Nocchi, who was from an entirely different class. She was the ace spiker of Asagi High’s women’s volleyball team. When they stood together, Kai could really tell how tall and lean she was. 
But just then, he got served something unexpected! 
She asked if he was planning to eat at the cafeteria and invited him to eat with her. Unlike Momoko, Kai didn’t sense any malice coming from her, a feeling that was by no means influenced by her cup size. But eating alone with her, without Jun, was a bit of a tall order. He felt intimidated. 
“O-Oh, I couldn—” 
“Great, glad that’s settled! Let’s go!” 
Nocchi grabbed Kai’s hand without hesitation and pulled him along with the force of an athlete. 
Wh-What happened to politely turning them down...? 
Ah, how difficult it is to resist being swept up in the pace of others. It’s not a skill that can be mastered in a day. Kai had to chuckle at himself. And worry if he’d be able to carry a conversation between the two of them. 
“Ash, you know a ton about manga, right?” 
“M-Maybe. I know bits and pieces.” 
Nocchi brought up an unexpected topic, so Kai instantly put up his defenses. To be fair, he wasn’t confident he could give an informed opinion on niche topics like the trend shifts in 2000s-era women’s manga in 100 characters or less on the spot, so he decided to play it safe. 
“You seen how sick Hinomaru Sumo’s been lately? Also, it’s still kinda off the radar for everyone I know, but I’ve been super into Jujutsu Kaisen...” 
She’s just asking about Shounen Jump?! 
Sure, it was the biggest name in manga, but Kai felt a little duped inside. And it was kinda late to tell her that everyone and their mothers were following Jujutsu Kaisen... 
Oh well, Kai loved conversations like these either way. 
“If you like Hinomaru, do you know that Jin’ou internet meme? The one where he’s crying over Uruka from We Never Learn.” 
“The what now? Send me a link.” 
Nocchi showed off her extroverted essence by casually whipping out her smartphone and insisting that Kai add her as a friend. 
Kai may have been swept up by her pace and her power, but their manga talk proved more exciting than he expected. It gave Kai a newfound respect for Jump as a universal language that everyone, young or old, boy or girl, normie or shut-in, could communicate with.

Which is why he didn’t notice... 
That from within the classroom, Matsuda’s gang was glaring at him the whole time. Their hostile, malice-filled gazes didn’t let him go. 
 
The first class after lunch was PE. April was the month of physical evaluations, so they had to run laps the whole time. Even as a second year, the routine was the same. Kai was not quite athletically gifted. If he were to grade his abilities on a very generous curve, he’d put himself somewhere below average. 
Also, he was slow. 
As someone skilled at action games, he should’ve had good reflexes, but things didn’t seem to work the way he intended when it came time to move his entire body. 
“...Whoa. What if I’m, like, Kirito?” 
He once suggested that to Jun in a melodramatic tone. But as someone who never read the source material for Sword Art Online, she just gave him a look of abject confusion. He supposed that anime-only fans wouldn’t catch the nuance... 
However, he was definitely feeling the results of his exercise. Heh, I’m the man who threw ten thousand punches in a month in Fitness Boxing. I’m built different. Kai mentally patted himself on the back. He figured he’d only get exasperated sighs if he boasted to anyone else, so he kept it to himself.

Once class was over, everyone dragged themselves back to the boys’ locker room. The locker room was a small, standalone building off to the side of the gym. It was well-maintained, with the rows of lockers inside it sparkling clean, a far cry from the den of filth and musk that you’d expect. That just went to show that this private school took its athletics seriously. 
“Spill the beans, Nakamura. You got five seconds to tell me when you got on Nocchi’s good side. Capiche?” 
“Hey now, Kishimoto. I don’t think you need to talk like a bully to get answers...” 
“Up yours, Satou! Dammit, Nakamura, what’s a dork like you gettin’ chicks for?!” 
“I-It’s not like that! I just see her every now and then since I know Jun.” 
“And I’m already jealous of that, ya dweebenheimer! Please, ya gotta introduce me sometime, I’m beggin’ ya!” 
“I’ll say something to Jun next time I see her...” One thing. 
“Nakamura... you’re a god!” 
Kai shared a pretty pointless conversation with Kishimoto and Satou as they got changed. That’s why he was unaware of what was hurtling at him from behind. 
An instant... 
Yes, it happened in an instant. Kai took a blunt force to the back of the head. He lurched forward, and his forehead collided with the locker. 
“Ow... ch...” 
He swung around to assess his surroundings and pieced together that a basketball had been thrown at him. 
“Sorry ’bout that, otacreep. My hand slipped.” 
It came from Matsuda, who was loitering with his crew around the window. His words were apologetic, but none of them tried to hide their snickering. It was just a cheap provocation, but Kishimoto and Satou were already shaking in their boots. Students these days go their whole lives without ever being in a real fight. And Kai was no exception. 
You wanna go, Matsuda? Against the ten-thousand-punch legend himself? He could pump himself up all he wanted, but his knees were rattling. And Matsuda’s gang? Beating the crap out of weaklings was their specialty. 
“Rest of you can scram,” said one of Matsuda’s cronies. 
“We only got business with these here geeks,” said another. 
Matsuda’s cronies, Takeda and Umeda, had sinister sneers on their faces as they feigned niceness to the rest of the boys. As usual, they yammered like idiots who probably couldn’t even tie their own shoes (in Kai’s biased opinion). 
But that’s all he needed to make them finish changing and leave all the quicker. They didn’t want to get wrapped up in this. And they certainly didn’t want to earn the ire of the group at the top of the class food chain, so they left Kai’s group behind and ran for their lives. None of them thought they were being cold. 
Soon, only Kai, Kishimoto, and Satou were left. It was like they were staring down a pack of hungry wolves, and their appetite for blood was palpable. 
“Nakamura. You. Me. After school.” Matsuda left no room for questioning in his demand. 
“You know what’ll happen if you don’t show, right?” 
“You’re all goin’ through hell ’til the day you drop out.” 
“You wouldn’t do that to yer friends, wouldja, Nakamura?” 
The three cronies all cackled like hyenas. Kai couldn’t so much as breathe in the face of such brazen cruelty. The cold sweat dripping from his forehead wouldn’t stop.

How did he get himself into this mess? Kai knew only one thing. It was that escape was not an option. He couldn’t risk taking Kishimoto or Satou down with him. And that was that.