Chapter 6: That’s No Longer a Tackle

Given how conspicuous we’d be in front of the school gate, we decided to relocate.

Personally, I would’ve preferred to just brush past it and head straight to the classroom, but of course, she wouldn’t let me off that easy.

I never imagined I’d be dragged behind the school building. Are you going to confess your love to me or something?

Since we wanted to avoid prying eyes, the school’s  backside was the most logical place to slip away to unnoticed.

Honestly, who else but the truly eccentric would willingly come to this damp, sunless spot first thing in the morning?

The moment we arrived, Kotobuki hit me with that line, leaving me no choice but to force a strained laugh. "Haha, yeah right. As if."

"Right? Unless… you foresaw that I was going to confess to you?"

"We haven’t even started talking yet, and you’re already spoiling everything."

The image I had of Kotobuki Yuzuki—this mature, composed, and sharp-witted girl—was steadily crumbling before my eyes.

"We don’t have much time before the warning bell. Just cut to the chase."

I checked my phone. Only about ten minutes left. No way was I risking tardiness, so the second we stepped behind the building, I got straight to the point.

Kotobuki spun around to face me, stopping about three steps away. Her expression was dead serious, her eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made me fidget.

Being stared at by a beautiful girl is, of course, embarrassing. I averted my gaze, scratching my head to hide my discomfort.

Then—she bowed deeply.

"Wh-what?"

"Thank you. Truly. For what you did back then."

Her demeanor and tone had shifted so drastically from earlier that I could only stammer in confusion.

"Thanks to you, my mother survived. I could never express enough gratitude."

Maybe it was strange to think this while she was bowing, but the motion was… graceful. Almost like watching a dance. I snapped out of my daze.

"You can raise your head. I’m just glad she’s okay—hearing that is more than enough."

At my words, she slowly straightened up. Midway, her eyes flicked up to mine and paused.

"I want to repay you. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it."

"Nah, that’s really not necessary."

"I won’t feel right otherwise. Please—let me do something."

Her back was bent at a sharp angle, yet she held perfectly still. The way she peered up at me only deepened my bewilderment.

Huh. So that’s what an unwelcome upward glance looks like.

"Girls shouldn’t say stuff like that so easily. Any average guy might’ve asked for money—or, with someone as cute as you, demanded something… indecent."

"Are you saying Aoki-kun isn’t an average guy?"

"Well… yeah, I guess. Also, I never agreed to you calling me that."

As soon as I said it, she straightened up from her frozen bow, as if something had occurred to her.

"So, you’re not an average guy. Meaning… I should interpret this as you planning to make some perverted demand beyond the imagination of any ordinary person, then extort a massive sum of money from me—am I correct?"

"Hell no."

What the hell is this girl even saying?

I could feel the tension I’d had about facing a beautiful girl gradually fading. But this wasn’t me getting used to her—it was more like my instincts were starting to insist that she didn’t belong in the beautiful girl category at all.

"It’s a little awkward to say this myself, but… I think I have a pretty good body."

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

Now that she mentioned it, my eyes naturally drifted over her figure—or rather, they were practically dragged there against my will.

Her chest swelled like ripe melons, heavy and full, yet her waist was cinched tight, leading down to a skirt that hid plump hips and thighs with just the right amount of softness.

Her proportions were practically on par with a gravure model—no, maybe even better. The kind of body that’d make every guy in school swoon.

"If it’s what you want… I’m willing to offer this body to you."

That was the kind of line most men could only dream of hearing. Any guy who wouldn’t jump at the offer would be an idiot. Unthinkable.

It’d be like turning down a suitcase stuffed full of cash right in front of you.

"...That’s about the most tempting offer a guy could ever hear. If this were under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve jumped at it."

"...But?"

"But if I took advantage of that offer now… it’d feel like my actions back then were just a means to get this."

"You’re being way too uptight. This is just a reward after the fact—it’s not like it was my intention from the start."

"Even so."

Logically, I knew that. But I couldn’t shake the thought.

"Just hearing you say ‘thank you’ is more than enough for me. So really, no repayment needed. But if you have to do something… then just respect how I feel about this."

If it were something small, like treating me to a meal, I wouldn’t mind. But anything beyond what a normal high schooler could reasonably give felt like too much.

What I did wasn’t a business transaction—it was just helping out. The moment a reward gets involved, it goes against the whole point.

Pretty sure my old man would’ve refused, too.

"...Fine."

Kotobuki reluctantly swallowed my words, but she nodded in the end.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief—but it was short-lived. Without missing a beat, she smoothly followed up with:

"Then, completely unrelated to that… go out with me."

"My brain cannot keep up with you right now."

Of course, I refused.

It wasn’t because I disliked Kotobuki or anything. Truthfully, I didn’t even know her well enough to decide whether I liked her or not.

"Not to brag, but I get confessed to a lot by guys, you know?"

"No idea how you think you come across, but I’m pretty sure everyone would agree on that."

If we stayed behind the school building any longer, we’d be late for class. Since the main discussion was over, I decided we should head to the classroom.

As we climbed the stairs, Kotobuki kept pushing her case, refusing to give up.

"Then why won’t you go out with me? I’m the devoted type, you know?"

"How should I know? But if you’re asking why, it’s because I don’t like you that way yet."

The start of a romance differs for everyone. There’s no manual, no set rules.

Some people date because the other person is cute; others start a relationship just for sex. None of those are wrong.

But for some reason, none of that sat right with me.

Getting into a relationship before I even wanted to be with someone—that just wasn’t my style.

"So, you’re saying if you did like me, you’d go out with me?"

"Well, yeah, that’s how it usually works. More importantly, why are you so pushy? We barely even interacted before this."

We reached the top of the stairs and walked down the hallway toward the classroom. Maybe because the warning bell was about to ring, there were no other students around.

I stole a glance at Kotobuki, who had caught up beside me, and chose my words carefully.

"That’s true. Until a few days ago, we were just classmates."

"So isn’t it weird to suddenly ask me out?"

"Not at all. The Aoki-kun who saved my mother looked incredibly cool to me. And that’s not all—I was moved by how honest you were, doing all that without expecting any reward. Isn’t that reason enough to fall for someone? I mean, in shoujo manga, love starts just from bumping into someone at a street corner. That’s way more sudden, don’t you think? Compared to that, my reasons are way more convincing—"

"Okay, okay, I’m full, thanks."

So the weird one was her after all.

Still, I had to admit her reasoning made sense. If I were in her shoes, I might’ve felt the same way.

"So, that’s how it is. Looking forward to it, Aoki-kun~."

"...I never approved of you calling me that."

Just as the conversation settled, we arrived at the classroom.

Finally, a chance to catch my breath, I thought, sliding the door open with a clatter.

At that exact moment, Kotobuki spoke up like she’d just remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, I told Hikari that you were the one who saved us."

"Huh. Okay."

I was about to ask, "So what?"—when it happened.

"THANK YOOOUUU!"

A voice rang out, followed by a full-force tackle. By the time I registered the sound, she was already on me. Caught completely off guard, I toppled over instantly.

"Wh-what the—?!"

The girl now straddling me beamed down with a pure, angelic smile.

"You’re our hero!"