Chapter 86: The Beautiful Girl Takes Her First Step Toward the Cultural Festival (Part 2)
The one standing behind me wasn’t a girl from our class—it was Ryoji.
I let out a small breath of relief. Ryoji, meanwhile, looked genuinely surprised to find me hiding in the cleaning supply closet under the stairs.
"Ayumi? What are you doing here?"
"Um, well…"
Admitting I’d run away from the measurements was embarrassing. Technically, the actual measuring part was done, and what came afterward was more like… an optional add-on. So maybe “ran away” wasn’t quite right—I retreated.
Not that I’m okay with being stripped for optional extras.
I hesitated, unsure how to answer. And now that I thought about it—why was Ryoji here? When I looked up at him, he was staring intently… except not at my face.
He’s the one who asked a question, and his mind is already drifting? Isn’t that a little rude?
"What’s wrong?"
My question snapped him back to reality. He suddenly looked awkward, flicking glances at me in these tiny, guilty stolen looks.
Where is he even—wait. My chest?
I checked my clothes—and froze. My blouse was unbuttoned, hanging open just enough that my underwear was clearly visible.
The moment I understood what he’d been staring at, my whole body flushed hot.
Ugh, seriously, how does this even happen!?
I spun around and hurried to button everything back up. I could’ve sworn Sakurako-chan only undid the top two buttons in the infirmary, so when did the third one come undone?
Once I looked presentable again, I turned back and shot Ryoji a sharp glare.
He scratched his head apologetically.
"Jeez! You could’ve told me! Sneaking peeks like that is awful!"
"Hold on, Ayumi. I wasn’t sneaking peeks. I was staring directly."
"That’s even worse!"
"I mean… come on. A guy can’t just walk up to a girl and say ‘Hey, your underwear’s showing.’"
Emotionally, I was still annoyed, but logically… I understood. Back when I was a boy, if a girl’s skirt flipped and revealed something, there’s no way I could’ve said, “Um, your panties are showing.” This was basically the same situation—just upper body.
"So, Ryoji—why did you come here?"
"Me? I just came to grab extra trash bags. Stage props make a ton of waste."
He paused for a breath before continuing.
"And what about you, Ayumi? Judging from that look, I’m guessing Aikawa went off the rails again and you ran for it?"
"Ahaha, you figured it out fast."
He walked past me, grabbed a pack of ten trash bags, and turned back.
"I’m heading to the classroom. What about you?"
I hesitated. Staying here wouldn’t solve anything. Maybe I should go back with him… I’d like to believe everyone had cooled off by now.
"I’ll go back to the classroom with you."
Ryoji looked just a bit pleased at that.
But I started worrying. What if the girls said something when I walked in? I mean, I know running away was unavoidable, but I still fled from a mob of overly excited classmates…
"Ryoji! I have a favor to ask!"
He had already started walking but paused, glancing back while tilting his head.
"That’s unusual. Ayumi, asking for a favor?"
Maybe it was. Back when I was a boy, I didn’t even have anyone to ask for favors—just a lonely existence.
"So? What is it?"
"Um… if the girls in class try to mess with me again, could you… back me up?"
I knew it was something small. And I knew the girls didn’t mean harm. Honestly, judging from earlier, they love me so much it’s almost scary. And it’s not like I hate being doted on.
But still, I don’t want to be treated like a toy.
From Ryoji’s perspective, though, this was someone else’s problem. If he told me not to drag him into trouble, I wouldn’t be able to argue.
"Ugh…"
Ryoji let out a groan that wasn’t quite words. I tilted my head. What was wrong?
"Uooooooh!! Ahh man! It feels so good being relied on!"
He suddenly yelled, making me jump.
Technically, yes, I relied on him. But the actual content was kind of dumb. Was he really that happy?
"Ayumi, you’re a girl now, so it’s fine to rely on people more."
"You think so…?"
He had just been shouting, but now he was suddenly serious, and I could only give a vague answer.
"Yeah! I want to be relied on—so rely on me all you want!"
"Thank you."
He was being considerate, so I thanked him sincerely.
"Don’t worry! If Aikawa tries any weird harassment, the Great God of Harassment himself—that is, me—will gently lecture him! Tell him to be nicer and all that!"
"Um… that’s really not better!"
Chatting about nonsense, we returned to the classroom.
When we opened the back door, the classmates’ gazes flicked toward us. I was behind Ryoji, so they shouldn’t have seen me yet.
Once they recognized it was him, everyone quietly returned to their tasks.
"Looks like Aikawa and the others are back already."
Ryoji whispered this from in front of me.
I still felt awkward about showing my face, but I couldn’t avoid the classroom forever. Even so, I couldn’t quite step in yet, so I peeked inside to check the situation.
I leaned a little past Ryoji to look.
Sakurako-chan, Moeka-chan—everyone was back. Just as I was about to pull my head back and think of a plan, Moeka-chan turned around. Our eyes met.
"Ah! Ayumi-chan!"
Instantly, every girl who had been talking with Sakurako-chan—including Sakurako-chan herself—snapped their attention toward me.
I’ve been spotted. Seriously, Moeka-chan has eagle eyes!
There was no point hiding now, so I followed behind Ryoji and stepped into the room.
"Where did you go? We were worried."
"Oh—she was hiding in the cleaning supply closet," Ryoji answered for me.
"Don’t tease Ayumi too much, okay? She’s not great with pressure."
"Ugh… I never thought I’d hear something that reasonable from Tagawa-kun…"
Honestly, I felt the same way, though the comment was rude if you thought about it.
"Ayumi-chan, I’m sorry! I couldn’t stop Sakurako-chan!"
Moeka-chan apologized too.
I really had wanted her to stop Sakurako-chan, but with the whole girl squad unanimously backing her in that bizarre fanatic mode, overturning it would’ve been impossible.
"It’s okay, Moeka-chan."
I gave her a gentle smile, then turned to Sakurako-chan with a very displeased look.
"Uu… Ayumi-chan, I’m sorry… I lost sight of everything again…"
"Geez! You can’t just go wild every time and then think apologizing afterward makes it okay!"
I tapped her forehead with a little bonk.
"But since you apologized, I’ll forgive you. I’m sorry for running away too."
"Uuugh, you’re such a good girl…"
Sakurako-chan looked like she was about to hug me again.
Did I flip her weird switch again? If she keeps going wild like this every time, I’ll never know how to handle her. Actually, I’ve never managed to handle her even once.
"I’ll be reporting today’s incident to Yoshino-san."
With Yoshino-san in mind, I held up my phone toward Sakurako-chan and smiled sweetly.
"Eh? To Onee!? Please spare me!"
That got a bigger reaction than expected.
Sakurako-chan immediately panicked. What on earth about the kind, gentle Yoshino-san scared her this much?
"Nope. She’s definitely going to scold you today."
Realizing I wasn’t relenting, Sakurako-chan slumped over her desk in despair.
Hmm… I do feel a little bad, but…
When I looked at Moeka-chan, she gave me a thumbs-up. By reading her lips, I was pretty sure she said, “Good job.”
Watching Sakurako-chan get taken down seemed to break whatever trance the girls had been in, and they gradually calmed. The overly zealous ones apologized too.
With that, the issue was settled. I turned to Ryoji.
"Thank you."
He looked a little embarrassed and returned to the tech crew at the back.
"Sakura-san, are you done talking? We’re about to start the script reading."
Perfect timing—Mita-kun called out.
Come to think of it, we’d kept the cast boys waiting quite a while.
"Sorry for making you wait. I’m ready now."
With that, I joined the circle of cast members.
Rehearsals for the play were finally about to begin.
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