Chapter 23: How to Protect a Best Friend’s Dignity

…I said I’d be waiting in the library, but my feet were taking me somewhere else entirely.

Like Mikoto, I was heading for a place with no people around.

That said, it was dim, damp, and the last place you'd ever associate with a romantic confession—

In other words, behind the gym.

"Well, well. Looks like you struck out too, huh?"

"That's not fair! You're the one who said she'd come crawling the moment you threw a few sweet words her way, senpai!"

Then came the low, idiotic laughter of a group of guys.

There were maybe a little over ten of them. All male.

"…So it really was you guys behind this."

I stepped out from the shadows and slowly revealed myself. Just that one sentence was enough.

Every single one of them flinched, staring at me like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

"Y-you’re Nitta… aren’t you…?!"

Trying to shake off the tension, the guy they’d all been calling "senpai" barked back with a sneer. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with dull blond hair, flashy accessories dangling from his chest, and enough piercings in his ears to set off an airport metal detector.

…It all lined up.

This was who’d been behind Mikoto’s confession fiasco.

How did I know? Because she’d told me. The guy who called her out—she described his look in detail.

North High had its fair share of sketchy students, but most of them belonged to the same crowd.

And guys like that? You could usually spot them a mile away, with their dyed hair and gaudy accessories.

It only took a few clues before it all clicked.

"You’ve got some nerve showing your face in front of me. You think I forgot what you did to me? Hope you're ready to pay for that."

"…Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."

He growled a deep "What’d you say?" and glared at me, but I just mumbled it out.

They're acting like I did something awful to them, but let’s be real—it’s just a grudge they’re nursing.

It all started back in the first semester, not long after I got into high school.

I was looking for Mikoto like always when I heard shouting from an alleyway in town.

Sounded like a fight. I got worried and headed over—and found them.

That same group of "senpai" guys, beating the hell out of some poor kid.

Guess they figured they’d be in trouble if someone called the cops.

So naturally, they turned their attention to me.

But I wasn’t about to just stand there and take it.

In the end, I fought back—and got the better of them.

Since then, they’ve treated me like their mortal enemy.

For the record, the kid I helped back then was Goenji.

Apparently, they were trying to force a girl to come with them, and when he stepped in, they took out their frustration on him.

Then an adult just happened to walk by and reported it…

Because it all went down in a sketchy part of town, by the time the suspensions were over, word had spread that it was some kind of gang fight between delinquents.

"Alright, get him!!"

"Y-yeah!!"

Spurred on, the delinquents started moving in. There were more of them than when I dealt with them last time.

That probably explained why they were feeling cocky.

Still, if I had a choice, I’d prefer to settle this with words…

I wasn’t exactly keen on getting hurt either.

“…Hold on a second. Senpai, do you even know that I used to have trouble moving my legs?”

“Yeah, and thanks to that, we got our asses handed to us by a cripple, and our reputation’s been in the trash ever since!”

…Until Mikoto treated me, I couldn’t do any kind of intense physical activity.

So how did I manage to beat them back then?

The answer’s simple: you just take down the ones coming at you with a single blow before they even reach you.

There are plenty of scumbags in the world who go after people with disabilities, and this was the method I came up with to handle them.

Naturally, the “senpai” group had already experienced that firsthand. This time, they seemed set on rushing me all at once.

It made sense. If they knew I couldn’t move well, then overwhelming me was their best shot.

Which meant—I had to make the first move.

“…My leg healed over summer break. So now I can run, jump, whatever. I’m back to normal. You understand what that means, right?”

“…You’re kidding.”

To prove my point, I gave a small hop. That alone was enough to freeze the smirks on their faces.

“Look, I get why you resent me. I do. But leave Mikoto out of this. I can’t let that slide.”

I slipped in the request while they were still stunned.

Mikoto had just come back from another world and finally found some peace in her life.

It’s only fair to let her enjoy a normal school life without any more drama.

“What, are you saying she’s your girl or something…?”

But for some reason, the “senpai” just glared at me, completely missing the point.

…No, that’s not what I meant.

But then Goenji’s words echoed in my mind. Something about me not being “bold enough” or whatever.

Maybe… this was the moment he was talking about.

“…Yeah. She’s my girlfriend. And if you lay a hand on her, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll make you regret it so bad you’ll wish you were dead.”

"Haa…"

Once the “senpai” group finally left, and I was alone behind the gym, I let out a deep sigh.

Let me be honest.

If that had actually turned into a brawl, I don’t know if I could’ve won.

No—let’s be real, I probably would've gone down in seconds.

Because the only move I have is a one-trick counterattack.

This isn’t some manga where healing an injury magically turns you into a powerhouse.

The only reason I won last time was because I caught them off guard.

“…I’m wiped.”

The words slipped out, dragged by the fatigue weighing me down.

Sure, bluffing my way through that whole encounter had taken a mental toll.

But more than that, what really drained me was what I’d said to the “senpai.”

…Saying it out loud, I regretted it.

That was beyond embarrassing.

It’s true—I wouldn’t forgive anyone who hurt my best friend.

But calling her my girlfriend…?

It was only thanks to the privacy behind the gym that I managed to keep it together.

Anywhere else and I probably would’ve curled up in shame and died.

If Mikoto had heard me say that… I would have died.

Still, thanks to that bluff, the "senpai" group backed off—grudgingly, sure, but they backed off.

They’ll probably be even more fixated on me now, but at least the random calls to Mikoto should die down.

Or so I hoped—until I heard a sudden rustling sound behind me.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest, but when I turned, it was just a bat flapping its wings, squeaking as it flew off.

“…A bat? That’s rare out here. Wait—crap. Mikoto’s still waiting for me.”

I glanced at my watch, and panic set in.

The time for the meeting had probably long passed.

It’d be bad if I showed up too late and made her suspicious, so I quickly took off toward the library.