Shizunomiya Natsuki sat in the library, working on a math problem.
At Hachijojima High School, her grades were not the best, but she was still at the top of her class.
But mathematics, if you think deeply enough, can stump even a master.
"Pervert..."
Shizunomiya Natsuki muttered to herself, then looked at the last major question on the test paper.
This question was commonly known as a 'challenging problem,' meaning it was beyond the current learning scope, or required transforming the learned knowledge or formulas repeatedly to get the correct answer, making it particularly complex.
Even Shizunomiya Natsuki found it a real headache.
She pressed the pen cap against her delicate lips for a long while, then still shook her head:
"...Give up."
She was about to turn the page.
Then she looked at the seat beside her.
Suddenly, she wondered if Hayato would be able to solve it.
His academic performance was surprisingly excellent...
No, considering his appearance, rather than his academic performance, it was his violent personality that was more'surprising.'
However, speaking of 'violence,' so far she only knew that he had laid hands on Oshika Masaru and Tamura. In Shizunomiya Natsuki's opinion, neither of them was good... But with his thin, weak wrist strength, it was truly unimaginable that he could fight so well.
A 'thump'.
Someone sat down.
"Whoa!"
Shizunomiya Natsuki, who was staring blankly at the seat beside her, let out a surprised sound.
Upon closer inspection, she breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't the boy from her thoughts, but...
"X-Yuta-kun?"
"Natsuka nee-san, what are you thinking about?" Yamano Yuta asked, putting his schoolbag beside him.
Shizunomiya Natsuki's fair face instantly flushed slightly. She smoothed the strands of hair clinging to her cheek, her eyes wandering, and she answered vaguely, "N-Nothing..."
How could she be thinking about another man?
Yuta-kun was the one she should be focusing on.
"Why are you so late?" Shizunomiya Natsuki asked softly.
"Natsuka nee-san, you don't know." Yamano Yuta lowered his voice—not because they were in the library, but to create suspense. "Guess what I just saw?"
Shizunomiya Natsuki amusingly thought 'childish' to herself, then added 'but quite cute'.
Only then did she ask, "I don't know."
"Oshika Masaru," Yamano Yuta said.
Shizunomiya Natsuki's eyes instantly cooled by half, and she instinctively became alert. "He didn't make trouble for you, did he?"
"Don't worry, no." Yamano Yuta chuckled. "With my current relationship with Lin Ge, even if he tried to make trouble for me, I just have to shout Lin Ge's name and he probably wouldn't dare do anything to me."
Shizunomiya Natsuki sighed slightly, but before she could speak, Yamano Yuta said, "But, he was making trouble for someone else!...Guess who?"
"...Who?"
"Shiina Chizuru!"
The name Shiina Chizuru was familiar to Shizunomiya Natsuki.
The former was the 'best' type mentioned earlier; Shiina Chizuru was a famous genius at Hachijojima High School.
If she didn't get first place in an exam, it was considered an abnormal performance for her.
Oshika Masaru blocking Shiina Chizuru... Given Shizunomiya Natsuki's understanding of Oshika Masaru, it certainly wasn't to ask for help with studies.
"Why did he stop her...?" Shizunomiya Natsuki muttered.
"What else could it be for? Doing bad things." Yamano Yuta shrugged and said, "I even heard Shiina shout for help—of course, there were hardly any people in the corridor in front of Class 3 at that time, and even if there were, who would dare meddle in Oshika Masaru's affairs? Besides, he had a very fierce-looking person next to him." Yamano Yuta pondered for a moment and continued:
"That must be the new 'big brother' Oshika Masaru supposedly recognized, as widely rumored before... Big cities are just different; even delinquents look more intimidating than those in Yaso Inaba."
'Who would dare meddle in Oshika Masaru's affairs.'
The 'who' in that sentence, of course, included Yamano Yuta.
To be honest, if Yamano Yuta encountered Oshika Masaru alone, Shizunomiya Natsuki would certainly hope he would stay far away... She really didn't think Yuta-kun would be a match for that delinquent. But things should have developed this way, and Shizunomiya Natsuki should have been grateful for Yamano Yuta's safety.
However, she showed no joy, instead her brows were tightly furrowed.
"...W-What's wrong, Natsuka nee-san?"
Yamano Yuta noticed Shizunomiya Natsuki's change in mood. He seemed to have thought of something and raised his voice, saying, "T-This can't be blamed on me! You used to tell me to walk around Oshika Masaru if I saw him--"
At this point, Yamano Yuta finally realized they were in the library, and he lowered his voice. "Besides... Oshika Masaru wasn't alone! I, I don't even know Shiina Chizuru..."
Yamano Yuta was a little flustered.
He saw an emotion on Natsuka nee-san's face that he had never seen when she looked at him before, it seemed to be... 'disgust', so he was eager to find an excuse for himself.
No, it's not my fault.
You used to tell me that.
And, besides, he has a big brother from the big city. How could a country kid like me be a match for him?
Yamano Yuta muttered to himself, feeling both guilty and resentful.
"Mm." Shizunomiya Natsuki nodded silently, and after a moment of silence, said, "You did the right thing..."
Upon hearing this, Yamano Yuta finally relaxed again. "Right? There are so many people gathered on the sports field right now. If Natsuka nee-san hadn't told me to come study, I'd have wanted to go see it. How about we go see the city model after we finish studying... Natsuka nee-san?"
Yamano Yuta was about to discuss it with Shizunomiya Natsuki, but the latter had already stood up. He looked up at the tall girl. "W-What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm going to the restroom. Yuta-kun, you study hard here for now, I'll check on you when I get back."
With that, she walked towards the door without looking back.
...
Yamano Yuta watched Shizunomiya Natsuki walk out of the library.
He felt that Natsuka nee-san was a little off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
Out of the library.
Indeed, there was no one in the corridor at this time.
So she took off running.
Class 3, right?
Although she wasn't very familiar with Shiina Chizuru, if she was being coerced, Shizunomiya Natsuki couldn't just ignore it.
While running, she realized something.
She had indeed been a little angry with Yuta-kun just now.
But it wasn't because he hadn't helped Shiina Chizuru; it was because after escaping, he could talk about it as if it were a joke.
She felt a bit stifled, but her years of Aikido training had given her excellent stamina.
The girl ran wildly, and soon arrived at her destination.
There was no one there.
Shizunomiya Natsuki gasped for a few breaths, looking left and right.
Not only was Shiina Chizuru nowhere to be seen, but there was no trace of Oshika Masaru or the 'big brother' Yuta-kun had mentioned.
"...Am I too late?" Shizunomiya Natsuki had a bad feeling.
"Oh, Shinomiya student?"
"Ah! Teacher Tsukino Sensei!"
As Shizunomiya Natsuki turned, her ponytail swayed.
Seeing that it was Teacher Tsukino, who was about to go home, she quickly asked, "Teacher Tsukino Sensei, have you seen Shiina Chizuru?"
"Shiina?"
Teacher Tsukino pointed to the end of the corridor not far away. "She just left with her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" Shizunomiya Natsuki didn't understand.
But Teacher Tsukino reacted. He smiled and said, "Ah! I suppose Shinomiya must have heard about what just happened... Don't worry, Shiina is fine. Her boyfriend came to take her home..."
Shizunomiya Natsuki finally relaxed.
"So, Shiina has a boyfriend?"
"I only found out recently." Teacher Tsukino said with a chuckle, "He's a very excellent boy. He picked her up from school before, and he's very good at protecting her."
"I see..." Shizunomiya Natsuki finally felt at ease.
"However, Shinomiya, you are as righteous as ever..." Teacher Tsukino praised.
Shizunomiya Natsuki nodded. She didn't say much. "Then I'll take my leave."
"Mm, goodbye."
After Shizunomiya Natsuki turned around again, her mind was peaceful for a moment.
She clutched her large heart... but grew even more agitated.
'Protection'... Is that it?
Shiina Chizuru's boyfriend protected her?
But...
Shizunomiya Natsuki's understanding became clearer.
She not only disliked Yamano Yuta talking about this matter as if it were a joke, but she also disliked... something she deeply understood.
If Hayato had encountered something like this, he definitely wouldn't run, wouldn't make excuses, but with a punch or a kick, he would help Shiina Chizuru out of trouble.
But Yuta-kun wouldn't; he would run, make excuses, shirk responsibility, and treat this matter as a joke.
"What am I... comparing?" Shizunomiya Natsuki muttered to herself.
...
"Hmph hmph hmph~?"
Shiina Chizuru stripped herself bare, her creamy skin translucent, and her breasts, disproportionate to her figure, no less than a'small cow', bounced with her light steps, as if celebrating the wonderful time of bathing.
So good~~ No staying after school, no being forced to do homework or run laps~~
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Hayato had never appeared in her life~~ So good, so relaxed~~ Everything was back to normal~~
That bastard has now shifted his attention elsewhere~~ A pervert like him would definitely prefer models from the city, so she wouldn't have to suffer his persecution anymore~~
Shiina Chizuru continued to hum.
"Alright! I'll soak for a whole hour this time! To thoroughly get rid of all the bad luck from these past few days!"
She clenched her tiny fists.
Then, she walked into the bedroom and sank into the bathtub.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
Bubbles emerged from her delicate lips submerged in the water.
But in less than ten minutes, she quickly, oh so quickly, splashed out of the tub, rushed into the living room, and picked up her phone.
She scrolled through the empty instant messaging section.
"It's been forty minutes, why hasn't he replied?!"
Shiina Chizuru bit her lip, a little indignant, remembering she had told him to text her after she got home.
She had sent it, so shouldn't he reply?
Then Shiina Chizuru noticed the time in the upper left corner:
"...Has it really only been this short amount of time?"
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