Chapter 45: “Let's Just Watch Takagi-chan From Afar”

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Translator: Soafp

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In front of the club building, nearly ten boys had gathered. Each wore a worried expression, and one of them cautiously approached the space next to the stairs on the first floor.

“Sh-Shaa!!”

Curled up in a corner was a petite girl in a school uniform, raising both hands in a tearful attempt to intimidate them. Frankly, even that was cute, but the clear rejection caused the boys to drop their shoulders in disappointment. Then, a hand was placed on one of their shoulders.

“Back off… She's gone feral.”

“G-Ginji, we just…”

“I get it. But for now, leave her alone with me.”

As he watched his classmates head back toward the entrance, Ginji sighed deeply at the sight of Sora curled up in the corner.

—Time rewinds to break time after the first period.

After agreeing to talk about her past over the weekend and having been able to lean on Ginji, Sora was in a great mood and returned to class with him—

“Takagi-chan!!”

“Feh!? W-What!?”

—and then she was swarmed by boys. These were the same guys who had been thinking about Sora all through the first period, unable to focus on class.

A top-ranked boy in the year, actually a girl, and on top of that, cute.

That fact had already spread via SNS during class, at least to part of the year. Upon seeing Sora for themselves—with her small-animal cuteness combined with the approachable image of someone who had been acting like a guy—her popularity among the boys exploded in no time.

It especially struck a chord with the boys who normally couldn't talk to girls. Sure, Aika reigned supreme when it came to beauty, but Sora captured hearts on a different axis—cuteness. The result: the boys surrounded Sora. Alone, she'd be intimidating, but together, they thought they had a chance. It was a sad mentality.

“Oi, you guys! You’re being creepy!”

Ginji, who as a fellow guy could somewhat relate, still couldn't let it go. He stood in front of the boys, protecting Sora, who had been terrified into silence by the teachers.

“Back off, Ginji. You don't understand how we feel.”

“We just want to talk to Takagi-chan for a bit.”

“Yeah, that's all.”

Sora, clutching Ginji's sleeve with one hand, raised her other hand weakly, looking utterly fed up.

“Ah… um, nice to meet you, but… could you back off a little, please…”

Somehow managing to say that, she returned to her seat with Ginji.

“You okay? Well, at least they won't come near if they know you don't like it.”

“Yeah… I was surprised, but not really scared… since you're here, Ginji.”

Sora sprawled over her desk. Incidentally, her hand was still gripping Ginji's sleeve.

“Well, things'll calm down soon.”

Watching the two, Aika glared at them. She seemed like she wanted to do something, but with the attention of the class on her, she couldn't make a move. The same went for Mio. Ginji figured that this, at least, served to keep Aika and the others in check.

…But he underestimated the situation.

Thanks to the greetings at the school gate, Sora had become a hot topic even in other classes. With every break time, boys came at her like a tidal wave. By lunchtime, even boys from other grades had come to see her.

Rumors tend to get exaggerated, but Sora was even cuter than the rumors, causing her fame to spread exponentially.

As the attention mounted, Sora's stress reached its limit. Panicking from being chased by boys, she fled with Ginji. Just before reaching their usual third-floor room in the club building, she spotted other boys and instead dove under the stairs on the first floor, where she began growling at anyone who approached.

And thus, we return to the present.

“S-Sora?”

“Shaa!”

At the sound of Ginji's voice, Sora hissed. He lowered himself to her eye level and slowly approached.

“It's okay. It's just me here.”

“G-Ginji?”

Her eyes regained clarity. As Ginji gently approached, he placed a hand on her head.

“It's okay now. You had a rough time, huh?”

“Uuugh, maybe I should just stop being a girl… It'd be easier if it was just the two of us…”

Clinging to Ginji, Sora muttered her fears. Her spirit was almost broken.

To begin with, she wasn't good at talking to people. Being surrounded by unfamiliar boys had been more overwhelming than she could have imagined.

Even before she could face Aika or her past, this unexpected stress had already taken its toll.

“I'll give them a stern warning. I won't leave your side for a while.”

Sora twitched slightly at his words, still clinging to him.

“Really?”

With teary eyes, she looked up at Ginji. He smiled back at her.

“Yeah. I'll be with you during breaks too, so don't worry.”

He meant the words to reassure her, but Sora buried her face in his chest again.

“S-Scary… It's still scary…”

Though she said it in a monotone voice, Ginji was caught off guard and ended up making a sweet offer.

“It's fine. Just leave it to me.”

“…Can I pamper you?”

“Wait, that's not really related…”

“…”

The silent pressure. It was true that this had been hard on Sora. Ginji gave in.

“Limited-time offer. One extra time.”

Currently, her “pampering” was limited to once per day.

“One more.”

Hazel eyes peeked up at him pleadingly.

“…Two times.”

Three pampering sessions a day was Ginji's limit. Any more and he'd become a hopeless human.

“Okay, I'll do my best. Hehe, what should I do for you first?”

Smiling brightly, Sora came back to life. The boys watching from afar were moved by that smile and, with tears in their eyes, decided to form the “Let's Just Watch Takagi-chan From Afar” Society.

And so, the commotion came to a temporary end.