Chapter 8: TS Girl Runs Low on Nagisa-kun

I made Kisa mad… sigh.

But come on, it couldn’t be helped. That kind of thing wasn’t in the original work.

Well, I kind of get it, but… it’s not really something I should be stepping into.

Actually, Kisa’s issue is pretty heavy. It’s supposed to get resolved after I’m gone anyway.

Well, whatever. Things are awkward with Kisa, and the whole team’s atmosphere feels off… which means I’m seriously lacking in Nagisa-kun content.

At times like this, I really want to be soothed by Nagisa-kun.

So—I’m going to stalk Nagisa-kun.

Walking home together like this almost makes it feel like we’re heading back side by side.

…Though, if I think about it calmly, I should probably deal with the Kisa situation first. But if I get involved, I might just make things worse.

Seriously, what am I supposed to do about that?

"Oh? Akagami-san?"

"Ah—"

While I was walking along, muttering to myself, my target—Nagisa-kun—ended up spotting me. Damn it.

Well, whatever.

"Waaah, it’s Nagisa-kun~"

"…That was incredibly flat. Were you following me?"

Crap, I’ve been found out. Guess I’m not much of an actress.

Oh well. I’ll just hug him.

"Wah!?"

Ahh, that little startled noise of his—classic Nagisa-kun. I bury my face in his chest.

When I breathe in, it feels like my lungs are filling up with Nagisa-kun. Sniff, sniff.

Ahh… so soothing. And judging by how fast his heart’s racing, that just makes it even better.

"Um… we’re in the middle of the street, so could you let go?"

"Nope."

"…Seriously?"

Even his flustered reaction is cute.

I lift my head, rise onto my toes, and bring my face closer to his.

"Hey… are you nervous?"

I lean past his face and whisper into his ear. He jerks in surprise so clearly it’s almost funny.

While I’m at it, I wrap my arms around his back and hug him properly.

"Thanks for the treat."

Satisfied, I let him go. He turns his face away shyly. So cute.

"…Um, Akagami-san. Doing things like that isn’t really good."

"Things like what?"

Huh? What does he mean? There’s nothing but good in that.

"Like… sticking so close…"

"Why not? It’s fine. I just want to interact with you more, Nagisa-kun."

"You take teasing way too far. What if I actually started getting serious about it? That’d be a problem, right?"

Seeing how serious he looks only makes my mischievous side rear its head.

I gently slide my hand along his and clasp it.

"—Then try getting serious."

"H-Hey, are you even listening!?"

"Haha, sorry. Your reactions are just too good."

Okay, yeah, that was a bit much. I should stop here. Too much Nagisa-kun isn’t good for your health either.

Getting overly excited isn’t good.

I gently let go of his hand. The lingering warmth makes it a little hard to part.

"…People see you clinging to me a lot, Akagami-san. So I’d really appreciate it if you could stop."

"Hm… maybe I’ll think about it if your reactions get a bit duller."

"Ugh, that’s…"

I didn’t mean much by it, but seeing him falter makes me grin.

"Oh? So staying calm is difficult? I wonder why?"

"That’s, um…"

"Mm-hmm?"

"………………Normally, if a cute girl does something like that, I don’t think most people could stay unaffected."

"Oh? Really? ‘Cute,’ huh… hehe."

This is bad. I’m having way too much fun.

Still, calling me cute, huh? You’ve got guts, Nagisa-kun.

Wait—now that I think about it, we’re heading the same way home. So that time I saw him on the school route before… that explains it. Lucky.

Alright, enough messing around. Let’s be a little serious for once.

"Sorry, Nagisa-kun."

"Eh…? For what?"

Oops, the sudden shift in tone completely threw him off.

"About Kisa. I think I pushed her too much. Even though I kept saying we should get along as a team, I went and did that…"

"…Can I ask what happened?"

"Even if I told you, you probably wouldn’t really understand. And besides, it doesn’t feel right for me to explain it."

"I see…"

Nagisa-kun lowers his gaze. He’s probably thinking I don’t trust him enough to tell him. Oof… seeing that kind of expression actually hurts.

"So—can you do something about it, Nagisa-kun?"

"Eh?"

"I can’t step into Kisa’s situation. So you handle it."

Well, I might as well cheer him up a bit. He lifts his head, eyes wide.

I want him to act like the proper protagonist, after all. As a regular Runheri fan, I like that side of him too.

"…Got it."

"Anyway, my place is just up ahead—want to come over?"

"That was supposed to be a serious conversation!?"

Well, you know… serious atmospheres aren’t really my thing. When I see that earnest look on his face, I just can’t help teasing him.

"I mean, we’re almost there, so I figured I might as well lure you in."

"No way! I told you, right!? That kind of thing isn’t good!"

"Relax, Nagisa-kun. I’m just inviting you over. You’re overreacting. By the way, I live alone."

"Then I’m not overreacting at all!?"

Actually, I do kind of want to try having someone over at my place.

You know… like inviting a friend over. I’ve never really done that since being reincarnated.

I didn’t have that kind of experience in middle school either—I ended up being kind of a loner. So now I kind of want to hang out noisily after school like that.

And well… if it’s a girl, it wouldn’t quite feel the same. And right now, the only guy I really know is Nagisa-kun.

I mean, obviously, if I invited him over… I’d want to hug him sometimes too, you know?

…Though there’s no point thinking about things that won’t happen. Sigh. I don’t even have that many days left to be active anyway.

"Guess I’ll just have to drag you in by force after all."

"Why!?"

Feeling a bit empty, I give him one last scare and call it a day.

I left Kisa to him, but… I do wonder if he’ll really be able to resolve things properly.