Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer E-Book

Aresanzui

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 333

Beschreibung

By some unsavory stroke of luck, Yuuki Narito found himself sitting next to none other than the mischievous Yui Takatsuki. This girl had built herself a reputation of stringing guys along only to reject them when they finally dared to confess their feelings for her. This, in turn, earned her a certain nickname: “The Seatmate Killer.”

It was only a matter of time before Yuuki fell victim to the overly friendly Yui, but little did she know that he was as clueless as they come! The tables have suddenly been turned, and the hunter will soon become the prey.

“Damn it! You think that poker face of yours is gonna get to me?! I’ll make you regret this, you’ll see!”

This rom-com is off to a bumpy start as a now-determined Yui takes it upon herself to get her revenge!

Leseprobe

Contents

Chapter One: The Best Seat

Chapter Two: Big Brother's Day

Chapter Three: Seatmate Phobia

Chapter Four: Lunch Box

Chapter Five: Returning the Favor

Chapter Six: Seatmate Killer Victims Alliance

Chapter Seven: Completely Serious

Chapter Eight: A Present

Chapter Nine: Cyute Mode

Chapter Ten: Mischievous Little Devil Yui

Chapter Eleven: A Day Out With Mina

Chapter Twelve: Star Actress Yui

Chapter Thirteen: A Date

Chapter Fourteen: Slayer of the Seatmate Killer

Extra Side Story: The Sleeping Beauty

Afterword

Guide

Contents

Start of Content

Chapter One

The Best Seat

“Whoa, aren’t you the lucky one! Getting the best seat at the back near the window and everything!”

It was the early morning of a school day, and Yuuki Narito was being held up by one of the select few people he spoke on a regular basis with in class, Keitarou Hayami, while he was changing his shoes at the entrance. Keitarou stood out a bit with his spiky hair, rolled-up sleeves, and rebelliously unbuttoned shirt collar. He was cooling himself off with a fan, despite it being particularly temperate outside that day.

“Yeah, the window seat is pretty nice,” responded Yuuki, very much uninterested.

“Don’t play dumb, we both know the window’s just the icing on the cake!”

It had already been two months since Yuuki had started his second year at Higashiseiyou High School. Just when the students were finally getting settled in, a raffle was held to switch up the assigned seating arrangement. Yuuki had seemingly gotten lucky with his new seat, which was why Keitarou was now hassling him about it. It turned out that Yuuki now had the privilege of sitting next to Yui Takatsuki, the most beautiful girl in the entire school.

“I’m not the only one who noticed, man. Everybody’s talking about it right now. What’re the odds, y’know? You’ve easily used up the rest of your luck for years to come, man.”

“I’d rather have used that luck to win the lottery, to be honest.”

“Why do you always gotta be like that? Would it kill you to, you know, not be a debbie-downer? Ever heard of this brand new invention called caring a bit?”

As far as Yuuki saw it, he didn’t want his potential fortune to be wasted so frivolously without his knowledge, and especially not on something so trivial. While Keitarou was always calling him indifferent, Yuuki in turn thought of Keitarou as much too energetic. In fact, Yuuki once told him that he looked like the kind of person who would go out of his way to use a tedious rip-off calendar, and Keitarou failed to see anything wrong with that.

“You may pretend that none of this matters to you, but I’m certain that gloomy dork brain of yours has been racing since last night. ‘Oh my, whatever would I do if she spoke to me? What should I say?!’”

According to Keitarou, Yuuki was way more passive than the average person. Also, he always looked like he hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. Like his head was empty or something. But other than that, Yuuki was your run-of-the-mill average high school student. Or at least that’s what he thought of himself.

“I don’t think she has a reason to talk to someone like me.”

“Nah bro, you got it all wrong. She’s got a habit of sparking up conversations with any guy who sits next to her, regardless of if they’re as bland as you or not.”

“Wait, she talks to whoever sits beside her?”

“Rumor has it that all the guys that sat next to her ended up confessing their love to her and got utterly rejected. Actually, I feel like I’ve definitely mentioned this before.”

“I mean, she’s called ‘The Seatmate Killer’ for a reason, my guy. Speaking of, we’ve got a betting pool going on how many days it’ll take for you to fall victim to her. Consensus is three days tops, but you’re my dude so I trust you to survive a whole week.”

Keitarou continued spouting nonsense and violently patting Yuuki on the shoulder until they arrived at their classroom. As soon as they walked in, Keitarou started messing around all over the classroom as he usually did. And, as per usual, he was met with cold gazes from everyone around as they did their best to ignore him. Yuuki, on the other hand, made his way straight to his desk without greeting anyone at all.

One may ask how these two wildly different individuals became friends. The answer would be quite simple: it was by pure coincidence.

A long, long time ago, during a certain PE class in the first year of high school, everyone was asked to split into pairs for an exercise. Keitarou was shunned as he typically had been, and everyone simply forgot about Yuuki altogether, so the two had no choice but to partner up. Once the second year rolled around, the pair ended up in the same class. One thing led to another, and now they spent a fair amount of time together.

Yuuki was always of the belief that everything in life was a product of coincidence. Yui Takatsuki ending up as his seatmate was obviously no exception. I hope she isn’t too annoying, Yuuki thought as he made his way toward his seat by the window, letting out a sleepy yawn along the way.

“Mornin,’” said Yui with a smile while Yuuki got settled into his new seat.

“Good morning,” he coldly responded.

“Hehe, what’s with all the formality?”

“We barely know each other.”

“Oh come on, no need to be so cold. We’re classmates!”

“True, but we’ve also never spoken to each other before.”

“Well, now that we have, I guess you can be more casual!” she giggled and scooted closer to Yuuki.

About two months had elapsed since Yuuki had ended up in this class, but he certainly didn’t recall ever even interacting with Yui before. Not even a simple greeting came to mind. Their seats were far apart from each other, so they never had any opportunity to chat to begin with. In other words, Yuuki’s astonishment at her sudden friendliness was perfectly excusable.

Of course, he still saw her as just another classmate. Though now he was convinced that her nickname—The Seatmate Killer—wasn’t just for show.

Speaking of which, Yuuki had the tendency to not speak with girls who sat next to him. As long as they didn’t reach out to him, he never really had a reason to approach them either. He simply didn’t care much about his peers, which in turn led to him being somewhat isolated from the rest of the class.

Now that the greetings were hopefully over, Yuuki pulled out a book from his desk and began reading.

“Hey, what’cha you reading there?” Yui suddenly asked. She had noticed that Yuuki was completely ignoring her glances and elected to switch tactics.

“A book.”

“Oohhh, look who’s stingy today. It’s like you have a Berlin wall built up around you.”

“They took that down ages ago, though?”

“Huh, okay, nevermind then... But wouldn’t that mean that you’re defenseless now?”

“I still have two colossal ones left.”

“There better not be any titans in those walls, if you catch my drift!” she chuckled a bit before once more attempting to lock eyes with Yuuki. “Hmm, I didn’t take you for the referencing kind, Narito.”

“Hold on, before you say anything else,” Yuuki interjected as he extended his finger and drew a line on the side of the desk, “I believe that this much of the desk is my safe zone.”

“Zone? Ah, I see. The Narito Zone... What would happen if I accidentally entered it? Will I get drawn in and eat the people inside?”

“I’ll just be very... surprised, let’s say.”

“Uh-huh. Anyways, what kind of book is it? Are there any dirty things in there?” she asked. The question was so completely out of left field that it caught Yuuki completely off guard, but he managed to maintain his cool-headed appearance by focusing on his book harder. Yui took advantage and brought herself closer still to the boy so that she could get a better look at what he was reading.

“Oowah,” shrieked Yuuki. This was the second time she’d managed to shock him in just a matter of moments.

“What even was that noise you made?” she said with a quizzical look. She was now so close to Yuuki that he could practically see the tiniest strands of her sweetly-scented shoulder-length brunette hair fluttering around. It was nothing short of dazzling.

He noticed that Yui had her eyes cast down, as though she was reading the book alongside him. He wondered what she was really up to, but resolved to simply shut a book and put an end to this annoyance. Her reading material now gone, Yui returned to her seat.

“Thus Spoke Zarathustra, huh? Looks like a tough read... Are you a big fan of philosophy books, by any chance?”

“Nah, I don’t usually read them.”

“So then why are you acting like I caught you reading something naughty?”

Well, I mean, the book is extremely obscene in its own unique way, he thought to himself before saying, “I’m not. I just wanted to see for myself if it’s as good as they say it is.”

“Do you just have it out for someone who likes the book and desperately want to prove them wrong or something? Never mind that, how did you find it? And has it lived up to your expectations?”

“Not even. It’s so convoluted that it angers me,” Yuuki answered. He firmly believed that pretending to know about a topic while not actually having a good grasp on it led to the slippery slope that would kickstart all of the conceited nuisances out there. So ultimately, Yuuki wanted to give his honest opinion regardless of what people might think.

“... Then why exactly are you still reading it?”

She isn’t wrong. I feel like the rest of this book is shaping up to be a drag, he thought. He promptly stuffed the book back inside his desk. Yui, apparently feeling guilty over having ruined his fun, began fishing in her own bag for something to make it up to him. After a brief moment, she produced a book of her own.

“Hey, you know what? I have this book I just finished reading. How about I lend it to you? Here you go. It’s called I Want To Eat Your Liver.”

“Is that some kind of grotesque murder-mystery? Or a story that portrays characters under the influence?”

“Those are the first things that come to mind, right? But actually it’s a very moving love story.”

“I’ll pass. Not a big fan of the genre”

“Whaaa—?! Why’s that? Come on, give it a shot! I guarantee that it’s interesting, so read it!”

“I usually don’t accept anything from other people.”

“Is that some sort of ninja code? Scared that it might explode in your hands?”

The words “love story” were more than enough to trigger immediate disapproval from deep within Yuuki. It would be anyone’s guess whether it was simply down to his unwillingness to read romance, or if it was due to his general skepticism about its quality. What was undeniable, however, was the fact that it was a completely foreign concept for him. After all, he’s not exactly someone who’s had a ton of female friends, let alone a girlfriend. It didn’t stop Yui from trying to force the book onto him though, but Yuuki folded his arms defiantly in response. He clearly had no intention of budging any time soon.

“I won’t let you marry my daughter! Go back the way you came!”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t dub dialogue over me.”

“Hehe, it sounds like something you’d say with that expression. You’re a pretty weird guy.”

“I’m completely normal,” Yuuki declared. There isn’t anyone out there as average and as ordinary as me.

“I’m so glad I got seated next to someone as intriguing as you.”

“I’m telling you, I’m really not,” he stressed one more time. There isn’t anyone out there as mediocre and as plain as me.

“Hehe, well once again, nice to meet you,” she said with a slight tilt of the head and a friendly smile.

This was the first time Yuuki had gotten an up-close look at her face. Her perfectly-arched eyebrows were hidden behind her cute bangs. Her doe eyes made her look cute and innocent, and served to enhance her generally charming appearance. Her dainty nose was on the smaller, yet more adorable side, and her broad smile served to accentuate the glossy tone of her lips.

I see, so this is why they call her—

“The Seatmate Killer,” the most beautiful girl in class—no, the whole school. She was undoubtedly good looking. The only problem was whether you’re attracted to subtle beauties like her, or if you prefer the more striking ones. Whatever the case, that same delicate beauty was flashing Yuuki a cheerful smile.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Yui asked with a dubious look when she noticed his stare.

“No, it’s nothing,“ he answered, averting his eyes as he focused his attention down at her lips. She has such perfect teeth. I’m jealous.

Yuuki spent the rest of the time before class started dwelling on nothing of particular importance. Eventually, the bell rang, and their teacher walked into the classroom shortly after. Yui watched him turn his attention to the teacher and quietly snickered to herself, probably wondering just what was wrong with him.

As always, nothing noteworthy happened during the morning homeroom, and the students returned to their lively selves shortly after it ended. Yui was no exception, as she wasted no time speaking with Yuuki again while preparing her textbooks and such for the upcoming class.

“Hey, Narito... Umm... about our English class, first period... I’m sure the teacher will call on me, and well... I’m feeling nervous and was wondering if you’d let me compare my homework to yours! Pretty please?” she clasped her hands together and bowed her head in an exaggerated manner. “Can I? I guess it’s alright if you don’t want to...”

“I wouldn’t mind showing you, if I actually finished it. It looked way too complicated.”

“Whaa—? You haven’t done it? Then why are you reading a book like you haven’t got a care in the world?”

“It isn’t like I’ll finish it on time anyway,” he said, completely monotone. He figured that was the end of the conversation, but Yui clearly wasn’t planning on letting him off the hook that easily. Instead, she decided to give him a piece of her mind.

“You do understand that you’re next in line to get picked after me, right? Don’t you know Miura’s the kind of scary teacher you don’t want to get on the wrong side of?”

“It’s okay. I’m prepared for the consequences.”

“Prepared? That’s all well and good, but don’t you even feel the tiniest bit guilty about it?!” she complained. She flipped through the pages of her notebook with a frown. “Here then. You can copy mine.”

“I appreciate the thought, but copying it kinda defeats the purpose.”

“That doesn’t sound all that convincing coming from someone who doesn’t even bother to do his homework. I’d feel nervous if someone so careless was sitting beside me, stumbling on every word. So come on now, chop chop!”

“Secondhand embarrassment, huh... or maybe...”

“Never mind that now. Just get to copying my answers, okay?” she insisted, practically forcing her notebook onto him. Having the answers literally dropped into his lap felt a bit anticlimactic for Yuuki, what with him having already mentally prepared himself for the devastation that was to come, but it looked like Yui wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he didn’t comply. So, after a good amount of contemplation, he made the prudent choice to do as he was told.

“Ah...”

“What is it? Something got you stumped?”

“Your handwriting is beautiful is all.”

“Wh-Whaa—? Y-You really think so? I think it’s normal, personally...”

“Actually yeah, it’s not that pretty. Way too stereotypical.”

“Just get on with it,” Yui whined as she rushed him. The bell rang just when Yuuki had finished copying the answers, and the teacher entered the room soon after.

Miura the English teacher was in his late forties and came across as deceivingly harmless, but this was nothing more than a facade. Beneath his slim pair of glasses hid the cold, emotionless eyes of a ruthless pedagogue. He had built himself a reputation of brutal strictness which extended not only to his teaching methods in class, but to the assignments he handed out, as well. In other words, Yui’s worries were more than justified.

If Miura ever learned that a student had been slacking off on their homework, well, saying that he’d give them a hard time would be quite the understatement. The fact that the class had to face this monster of a teacher during the first period didn’t help matters either, as the tension was palpable much before the bell had even rung.

Miura wrapped up his morning greetings and hurriedly cracked open his textbook before addressing the class once again.

“Let’s see here... It’s the 3rd of June today, so how about we begin the day with the person in the 18th seat. You’re up, Takatsuki.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Actually, I changed my mind. Let’s go with the seat right beside you. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, Narito,” he quipped with a broad smile. It seemed that, at least for the time being, Miura was in good enough spirits to joke around with the class. This helped to loosen up the mood of the students, though they were all keenly aware that this jovial mood could turn on a dime if Yuuki were to answer incorrectly.

Everyone’s attention was focused on him whether he liked it or not, but he paid them no mind. He simply read the answers to Miura’s questions from the parts that he had so shamelessly copied from Yui’s homework.

“Excellent! Wonderful! Great to see you put the effort in!” exclaimed Miura.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuki noticed Yui smiling from ear to ear and shooting adorable peace signs at him. He understood why she was so ecstatic; Miura’s words of praise were actually meant for her, after all.

“Okay, Takatsuki, it’s your turn now.”

“Wha—?! So I’m also getting picked?!”

“I never said I’d let you off scot-free. And what are you doing with your hands, by the way?”

“I-It’s nothing!” Yui semi-shouted, flustered. Suddenly, the entire classroom fell into utter turmoil as Yui made a mess of her words as she tried to answer Miura’s questions. This rare occurrence was punctuated by her completely beet-red face.

“Hmm, you made a couple mistakes here and there, but good job overall,” said Miura.

Yui heaved a sigh of relief, but quickly puckered her lips into a pout as she glared in Yuuki’s direction. Yuuki himself was at a loss on what to do, so he decided to shoot a peace sign her way, as well. That might not have been the wisest move, though, as an ominous smile quickly formed on her face right after.

The first period peaked early and otherwise proceeded uneventfully. Once the bell rang, the classroom burst into life once more. Yui, however, was still staring silently at Yuuki. At first, he figured that she might be looking to complain to him about something, but then her serious expression appeared to soften a bit.

“Hehe, guess we both got picked in the end,” she said. “I’m glad I decided to share my homework with you.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the help.”

“But you better do it yourself next time around, you hear?”

“I will,” he responded. He intended to sound candid, but Yui must have found something funny, because she suddenly burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

“Sorry, my bad,” she finally wheezed. “You sounded way too sincere there. Hehe, you’re an interesting guy, Narito~”

She really does smile a lot, Yuuki thought to himself. He gazed upon her visage for a while when he was suddenly struck by words of wisdom Keitarou had imparted upon him in the past.

“The Seatmate Killer's smile is a force to be reckoned with! It’s otherworldly cute. I always feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest whenever I see it! Aaah!”

“Hey, Takatsuki,” Yuuki called out to her. It seemed her innocent smile made him want to continue the conversation.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Ummm, this is sort of hard to say, but...”

“What’s wrong? It’s okay, you can tell me anything!” she chirped. Yui’s gentle voice and reassuring smile helped Yuuki to overcome his hesitation and just ask her directly.

“Have you done... your math homework, too?”

“... You gotta be kidding me,” she frowned, her once joyful expression vanishing in an instant.

I knew it was all a facade, Yuuki thought to himself.

◆ ◇

When lunch break came around, Yuuki found himself munching on his rice balls alone. Keitarou bounded into his personal space out of nowhere though, and he was drooling to know all of the juicy details about Yuuki’s new seat and his new seatmate. The seatmate in question was currently eating and socializing with another group of girls at a different table.

“How about you sit down?” Yuuki asked, pointing at Yui’s currently vacant seat.

Keitarou simply shook his head from where he was stationed, leaning against the wall.

“Helloooo?” he said. “You forget whose seat we’re talking about? I don’t want any death threats coming my way!”

“Death threats? From whom?”

“The gaggle of losers sitting over there, obviously. They may look all pure and innocent on the outside, but they’re the type of weirdos who spend all day fantasizing about burying their faces wherever Yui’s sat down.”

“No kidding?” Yuuki said. I don’t know what you’d get out of rubbing your face against a piece of wood...

Suddenly, Keitarou got down on his knees in front of Yui’s desk. Before Yuuki could ask just what in the world he was doing, he began praying to the seat for good luck.

“—Well anyways, how is it?” As soon as it had begun, it was over, and Keitarou was now leaning in and whispering in Yuuki’s ears. “What do you think of her?”

“I think she’s pretty nice,” Yuuki answered flatly.

“What’s that now?” Keitarou replied with a huge grin on his face, “You’re telling me she’s already got your seal of approval just half a day in? Impossible! I mean, everyone was saying that you’re pretty much one smile away from fallin’ for her, but damn, dude.”

“She let me copy her homework.”

“... Not the answer I was expecting. Well, nevermind... Wait, hold up. You copied off of her? C’mon man, get your head in the game! You’re the one who’s supposed to be doing all the impressing, not her!”

Keitarou progressed further into Yuuki’s personal space as he kept pestering him for more information. It was to no avail, however, as Yuuki kept quiet and looked to be focused entirely on finishing his food. Suddenly, Keitarou wrapped his arm around Yuuki’s shoulders and brought him in for some manly guidance.

“A piece of advice from one friend to the other,” he said. “You might think that things are going well with her, but I gotta snap you back to reality... She’s that chatty with everyone. Better not get your hopes up!”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

“It’s all ‘cuz you’re seated next to her, man. It’s all in your head; don’t get it twisted,” warned Keitarou, making it seem like some form of a suspension bridge effect was at play or something.

Yuuki was barely listening to Keitarou when they both noticed Yui briefly return to her seat. She retrieved something from her desk, gave them both a brief glance, and returned to the group of girls she’d been chatting with.

“What’s wrong, Keitarou? You look pale.”

Though Keitarou’s rowdy character would seem to dictate that he at least make an attempt to get Yui’s attention, he in fact did no such thing. It was almost like he was avoiding her altogether.

“Ahaha, nah, it’s nothing, really. We just used to go to the same middle school and... y’know. Stuff.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Yuuki said, eyebrow quirked. “Well whatever, I guess.”

“Wow, dude. Can you at least pretend to be interested in my mysterious, sordid past? What kinda detective lets the witnesses go home without even taking their statements?” Keitarou protested.

Yuuki once again elected to ignore Keitarou and his ramblings when Yui walked back over to her desk for a second time. Keitarou suddenly shifted his gaze toward the window in a feeble attempt to not appear suspicious, and Yuuki followed suit. Unfortunately for him, he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see Yui stooping over him.

“Hey, Narito. Do you remember what we talked about just a while back?” she asked calmly.

“Huh? Oh yeah, of course... I do.”

“Very convincing there, chief.”

Apparently, Yuuki was supposed to treat Yui to some drinks as a way to thank her for generously letting him copy her homework. He’d already completely forgotten about it though, on account of the fact that they had two classes back-to-back right after.

“I’ll go get you something right now. Want something in particular?”

“Hmmmm, I wonder what drinks they have... How about I tag along?”

“Huh? Sure, I suppose.”

Yuuki was clearly taken by surprise, but he had no reason to decline either. This would normally have been a perfect opportunity for Keitarou to pick on Yuuki, but before anyone had realized it, he had already retreated from the scene entirely. Yuuki was relieved that nobody was around to bother him as he stood up from his seat and left the classroom with Yui in tow.

They made their way toward the first floor where the school shop and all the vending machines were located. This part of the school could get very crowded depending on the time of day, but there were few people around now since the pair had shown up at a more or less unusual time.

As they waited in line for the vending machine, Yui suddenly turned to Yuuki and broke the silence. “You’re awfully quiet, Narito. Cat got your tongue or something?”

“This is just how I am.”

“There’s nothing normal about being straight-up silent for five minutes!”

“You aren’t any better yourself,” Yuuki retorted. He wasn’t wrong. After all, they’d both walked down the hallway without so much as a word exchanged between them.

“I was waiting for you to say something, anything! And then we got here before I knew it.”

“I was waiting on you, too.”

“... You for real?”

As usual, Yuuki was honest. He truly thought that Yui would take the initiative to start a conversation just as she’d been doing all morning. Yui, meanwhile, likely suspected that perhaps Yuuki was merely playing some incomprehensible mind games. Yet the truth was that the boy simply couldn’t come up with a topic to save his life.

“Nah, wait, don’t tell me... Were you perhaps nervous?” she asked teasingly, staring adorably up at Yuuki.

“Me? Nervous?”

“You know what? Forget it. I didn’t say anything,” she said with a shake of her head.

Their little back-and-forth was interrupted by what seemed to be a couple flirting a little too intensely in front of them in line.

“Heyyy, Taku-pie, what would you like to drink?”

“I’m not sure, sweet pea~ What would you like to have?”

“I’m really not suuuure... Your sweet pea can’t decide on her own~ Can you choose for me, cutiepie?”

“How about we both press what we usually drink? Just to see what happens!”

“What a sweet idea! I’m sure we’ll end up picking the same thing!”

It was unclear whether the couple were flaunting their relationship or simply unaware that they were holding up the entire line. After taking their sweet time to settle on a drink, they finally walked away, their arms entangled and their eyes firmly locked onto each other.

“Tch,” Yui stared blankly at the couple as they left.

“Did you click your tongue just now?”

“Who me? I would never! What did you make of that lovey-dovey bunch back there, anyways?”

“Nothing much outside of them being incredibly annoying.”

“I see... I think this is the first time we’ve seen eye to eye.”

“So you did click your tongue at them.”

“I just told you I didn’t! Hatred weighs the heart down, you know,” she teasingly tapped her finger against Yuuki’s nose before turning back to the vending machine. “Got any suggestions?”

“Hmmm. How about some Dr. Fepper?”

“Pass. Any other ones?”

Yuuki’s ideas seemingly started and ended with Dr. Fepper, so Yui ended up going with some black tea. Yuuki bought himself a drink too while they were at it, then cracked open the plastic bottle with a satisfying hiss.

“Do you actually like that stuff?” she asked, skepticism engulfing her face.

“Yep. Want a sip?” he answered and offered her the bottle.

“Uhh, well, I mean...” her voice trailed off. Her eyes darted back and forth as she awkwardly pointed at the mouth of the bottle.

“Oh, I get you. I drank from this side, so you can drink from the other if you want.”

“You’re actually okay with us drinking from the same bottle?!”

“Yeah, I don’t particularly mind.”

“Th-That so? I’ll have you know that it’s not a big deal for me either! Not at all!”

“Well, then go right ahead,” he said as he passed her the drink.

Yui drew a complete blank; she could do nothing but stare silently at the bottle in her hand. It took what felt like an eternity for her to snap out of it, and judging by the look on her face, she clearly had some grievances to hurl Yuuki’s way.

“What?” he asked.

“Umm, well, I can’t drink in peace with you ogling me so hard! Turn around, now!” she demanded. She clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer, as she grabbed him and forced him to look away

It’s not like I’m watching you change or something, Yuuki silently protested. He didn’t have much time to stew, though, as before long, she let him know that it was okay to turn around. She handed the bottle right back at him as soon as he did.

“Hm? So you tried it?”

“Sure did.”

“Really? Looks untouched to me.”

“I said I did!” she exclaimed, her face turning red with anger.

I guess she didn’t like how it tasted after all, Yuuki concluded.

◆ ◇

As soon as classes were done for the day, Yuuki hurried off toward the library. He retrieved the philosophical book he’d been reading earlier from his bag and dropped it into the return box. He turned to leave, but unfortunately ended up making eye contact with one of the teachers that happened to be milling around.

“Oh, how did you find it?” she asked.

“A difficult read, for sure.”

“Haha, I see,” she responded, cracking an amused smile.

Yuuki couldn’t bring himself to tell her how confusing and boring the experience had been for him. The teacher looked to have taken a liking to him for some reason, to the point that she had taken up a lot of his time the last time he had come to the library. Thus Yuuki decided to beat a hasty retreat to the school entrance before the teacher had the chance to recommend him yet another bizarre tome.

“I spy with my little eye... a Narito!” a cheerful voice rang out as Yuuki was switching out his shoes. He glanced to the side and wasn’t exactly shocked to find Yui waving at him and approaching. “Going home now?”

“Yeah.”

Yui gave him a slight smile before she walked past him to her locker and began changing into her casual shoes, as well. Yuuki, meanwhile, shut his locker and headed outside. The sky had been cloudy the entire day, and it was beginning to look like it was going to start pouring at any moment.

“Whoaaa, looks like it’s gonna rain soon,” Yui, who had appeared beside him, observed. Yuuki was startled by her sudden and unexpected interruption.

“Do you walk to school, Narito? You must live pretty close by then, right?”

“Yeah, I live at the end of Nakamachi Dori Street.”

For the most part, Yuuki commuted to school on foot, mostly because he was forced to on account of having totaled his bike when he crashed it into a ditch on the side of the road one drowsy morning. The barest consolation for him was the fact that Higashiseiyou High School wasn’t particularly far from his house in the first place. The walk took about 30 minutes if he picked up the pace.

“Oh, really now? I’ll be walking to the train station today. Wanna tag along?”

Yuuki couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He’d have understood if she’d made a show of asking during class, considering her reputation, but for her to go out of her way outside of class was completely out of left field to him. Though maybe it was all just a matter of coincidence. Besides, Yuuki didn’t see a reason to complain, so he figured he’d take her up on her offer.

“We’d never even talked to each other until this morning, and now look at us go,” she said. “Strange how things work out, huh?”

Yui maintained her usual bright smile as they passed through the school’s front gate. As the distance between them and the school grew, and the number of students became sparser, Yui’s posture and general demeanor became much more relaxed.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Yuuki replied, completely failing to carry on the conversation. He was always the type of guy to simply keep to himself, although the fact that this situation was completely novel to him didn’t help.

“So tell me, which devil do I have to make a deal with to heal you from being so tongue-tied?” Yui joked. She’d finally grown tired of his constant silence and was now peeking at his face from the side.

“You want me to say something?”

“Uhhhh, yeah? Got any interesting stories? Anything will do,” she pleaded, clearly not realizing the absurdity of the task she’d just bestowed upon Yuuki.

He had to actively suppress the urge to turn her down. After all, if he were to keep insisting that he was an “average high school student,” he figured it’d be a good idea if he showed her that he was in fact capable of holding a conversation.

“I have one that’s related to the book I was reading this morning.”

“What about it?”

“It talked about the spirit of “ressentiment” which is fundamental for slave morality, and—”

“I’m sorry, you lost me there,” she interjected, shutting him down.

While she did indeed say that anything was fine, this particular topic was clearly too sophisticated for even the most seasoned of philosophers. Yuuki felt a smug satisfaction knowing that Yui wouldn’t be able to tease him about it. He briefly fell back into his own inner world before being dragged back to reality by Yui.

“I usually go to school on my bike unless it's gonna rain,” she said, unprompted. “Your house is still a bit further away, right? Do you have an umbrella on you?”

“Forgot to bring one with me before going to school. What’s the worst that could happen anyway? Getting drenched?”

Yuuki was well aware that he could avoid such a wet fate with a quick trip to the convenience store, but he wasn’t keen on wasting money.

“Oooh? Then I’ll be the good guy and share mine with you if it ever comes to that,” she brandished her umbrella as though it was a sword and stared down her next victim.

Yuuki was unsure about how to reply and hesitated, but Yui’s contented sigh saved him from having to say anything in the first place.

“That’s what you get for what you pulled this afternoon,” she said.

“Sorry?”

“If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you twice as much!”

“You what?” Yuuki asked, utterly confused. Before he could even begin to make sense of what she’d just said, rain suddenly began to pour down. Yui quickly opened her umbrella and gave him a meaningful look.

“Out with it now,” she said, “I’ll let you under it with me if you ask nicely enough.”

“Keep dreaming.”

“Have fun getting drenched then!” she mocked, sticking her tongue out.

Yui took a few steps away from Yuuki, who himself was distracted with trying to figure out the best way to avoid getting soaked. The rain was closer to a drizzle than anything, and he thought that if he picked up the pace, he could make it to cover in time. Just as abruptly as the rain had begun, though, it’d stopped falling on his clothes. It took him a moment, but he glanced to the side and finally realized that Yui had chosen to approach him after all. She was struggling to hold her umbrella up to shield them both from the rain.

“It’d be so much easier for me if you held this thing,” she complained.

Yui was now barely an inch away from Yuuki. She was shorter than him, barely reaching up to his chin as they awkwardly huddled together under the umbrella.

Yuuki took the chance to eye her up from head to toe before finally speaking, “You look great.”

“Haha, very funny.”

He wasn’t joking. He remembered he’d grown to about 5’8” in last year’s physical exam, so that meant that Yui was probably somewhere around 5’3”. Her high waist hinted at long legs that were concealed below her skirt. His eyes were also drawn to her arm that was still straining to hold up the umbrella. It, too, was dainty and slender.

A memory flashed through Yuuki’s mind. He remembered having a long and serious conversation with Keitarou about how the curves of a woman’s waist and butt were sexy or something along those lines. Yuuki couldn’t help but tremble at what Keitarou would say if he saw him in this situation. All the guys in class have a thing for her, which made Yuuki feel restless enough that he eventually decided to step out from under the umbrella.

“Why are you running away from me?”

“The rain really isn’t that bad.”

“What? Ooh, I see how it is. You’re embarrassed, aren’t you?” she said with a grin, pointing her finger at Yuuki. She looked elated, as if she had got him figured out.

The reality was that the rain was letting up and actually stopped right after he’d left the safety of the umbrella.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way—“ Yui insisted as she extended her hand so she could check the intensity of the rainfall. “Whaaaaaa—?!” she exclaimed, bending backwards in surprise. Yuuki watched her in silence as she flushed a bright red and folded her umbrella back up. “Ahem... So that was an overreaction on my part.”

“It was funny... sort of.”

“I’m not hearing any laughter. Throw me a bone; even a fake smile will work. Are you sure you’re not just a robot or something? Beep-Boop?”

“I’m just not very expressive. I can assure you that I’m busting a gut laughing, though. On the inside.”

“You sure you got that right? It honestly sounds like you’re making fun of me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. For real.”

“Alright then, show me that million-dollar smile,” Yui said with a solemn expression and moved uncomfortably close to Yuuki. Even someone as detached as him would wince a bit after seeing her acting so serious about it. Though for the life of him, he still couldn’t understand why she was getting so impatient, or why she even cared this much about him in general. He had a bad feeling about it, but all of a sudden, a brilliant idea flashed through his head.

“You know, I’m a big fan of detective and mystery fiction,” he said.

“Okay?”

“Been reading them so much that I feel confident in my ability to think like criminals do, figuring out their plans and stuff. You could say I’m really good at making educated guesses.”

“If you say so, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Want me to guess what you’re thinking right now?”