Chapter 19: P.E. Class
Kouya turned around with a dark look on his face and walked away, his expression stiff as if he had just been forced to inhale poison. Every instinct told him to get as far away as possible.
He just felt that if he stayed any longer, he'd be "contaminated" by that guy—mentally, spiritually, maybe even physically.
...
After the gossiping girls in the classroom finished changing, chatting excitedly as they adjusted their gym shirts and tied their ponytails, it was finally the boys' turn to go in.
The usually noisy and bustling classroom now felt unusually hollow, as if the air itself had quieted down after all the laughter left with the girls.
The chubby boy waddled over to his seat, head lowered, muttering something to himself as he rummaged through his bag. After a moment of suspicious fiddling, he triumphantly pulled out a manga and hugged it to his chest like it was the Holy Grail.
Then he looked up with a grin, puffing up his cheeks in pride, and walked toward Kouya.
"Boss, your little brother offers you a masterpiece!"
Kouya didn't even look up at first, too used to his antics. "What is it this time?"
"A rare collector's edition I managed to get through secret channels… took me three weeks and all my allowance to find it!"
The chubby boy bent down, held the manga reverently with both hands, and even dropped to one knee like a loyal servant presenting tribute. It was a performance worthy of a palace eunuch serving an empress.
"Please, Boss, take a look. I guarantee it'll open your eyes."
Kouya was about to reject it outright, already expecting something stupid—but when his eyes landed on the cover, his breath caught for a second.
On it was a petite, tear-streaked girl with a fragile, trembling expression. Her eyes seemed to beg for mercy. The composition, the pose, even the colors—it was designed to destroy resistance.
Of course, that wasn't the real problem.
The problem was that the girl had a pair of fluffy cat ears twitching adorably atop her head, a slender tail curling behind her, and nothing on her body but a gossamer-thin veil that barely covered her chest. Beneath the translucent fabric, two tender buds hinted through like dew-soaked fruit just beginning to ripen—fragile, tempting, impossible to ignore.
Kouya froze. This wasn't a normal manga. This was an *ecchi* manga.
Absolutely.
And this idiot actually brought it to school? If a teacher saw this, he'd be dead before the final bell.
For the record—ecchi manga, or H-manga, are those that make your face go hot, your pulse pound, and your common sense vanish. Stuff like *Kiss x Sis* or *My Fox Spirit Girlfriend*—the kind you read once and feel guilty about for a week.
The moment Kouya saw that cover, an image flashed across his mind: the little catgirl Rina from Chiba Shrine. Her tail twitching, her voice trembling, those wide eyes—damn it, why did he remember that now? His refusal hesitated for half a heartbeat.
And in that instant…
"Boss, you read that one first! I've got a ton more at home. When you finish, just let me know, okay?" The chubby boy, reading the mood perfectly, plopped the manga onto Kouya's desk and bolted out the door before he could respond.
By the time Kouya came to his senses, the idiot was long gone.
"It's just a manga. No harm in looking…" he muttered, trying to convince himself it meant nothing. He gave a small, reluctant snort, stuffed the ecchi manga into his desk drawer, changed into his gym uniform, and headed for the field.
It had to be said—Japanese girls' gym uniforms were their own kind of spectacle. The tight white shirts hugged the waist and accentuated every curve of youthful energy, while the crimson gym shorts were… dangerously short.
How short?
Let's just say they were closer to boy's underwear than actual shorts.
And so, as Kouya stepped onto the field, all he could see were long, white legs glimmering in the sun. Every direction he turned, there was another flash of soft skin and motion—like a field of pale flowers swaying in rhythm with laughter.
Fifteen or sixteen—the age when everything seems impossibly radiant. As that shameless chubby pervert would put it, girls that age exhaled air scented like candy and sunshine, their sweat shimmering with purity and vitality. The most beautiful existence on Earth.
Because there were only three boys in Kouya's class, the P.E. teacher decided it was simpler to merge them with the girls' group.
The first activity: a warm-up run around the track.
Directly ahead of Kouya was the red-haired little demon herself—Satania. After watching her for a couple of weeks, Kouya had confirmed what he suspected.
She wasn't pretending to be stupid.
She *was* stupid.
Always shouting about world domination, laughing with that ridiculous "Ahahaha!" that echoed through hallways, getting punished for skipping homework—her idiocy was bottomless.
"Gabriel! Let's duel! Let's see who reaches the finish line first!" Satania yelled with the energy of a battle cry.
Gabriel, the once-pure angel turned lazy mess, didn't even look up. "No."
"Hmph! Foolish Gabriel! You must fear my power! Afraid of being my underling, huh?" Satania puffed out her chest, full of misplaced pride, running circles around her rival. "I passed you! I passed you again!"
If this were the old Gabriel, she might have sighed gently and said, "Satania-san, please stop that."
But this wasn't that angel anymore. This was the fallen, lazy, snack-addicted, internet-browsing, responsibility-dodging version of her.
Gabriel furrowed her brow slightly, her expression blank. "A race is fine. But I make the rules."
Satania blinked, clueless. "Okay, what are the rules?"
"First…" Gabriel pretended to think deeply. "Tie your shoelaces together."
"Eh? Why would I do that?"
"Because it's the rule. Stop asking."
"Uh… fine. If that's the rule!" Satania bent down and obediently tied her laces together in a tight knot.
Then she looked up, smiling. "Now what?"
"Now we run," said Gabriel with a shrug. She turned and sprinted away, lazy but fast.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Satania shouted, trying to chase her.
She made it exactly one step.
Thud!
She fell flat on her face, limbs splayed, legs tangled hopelessly.
Kouya stared at her in silence. He sighed. If this idiot ever became the ruler of Hell, the underworld might as well declare bankruptcy.
After class ended, Kouya didn't even bother going back to the classroom. He walked straight to the campus shop, bought a loaf of bread and a bottle of water, and sat by the fence to eat. The sun felt good, warm and lazy, and the world around him hummed quietly.
When the lunch break finally ended, he stretched, dusted off the crumbs, and headed back to the classroom.
As he stepped inside and dropped into his seat, a strange thought hit him.
Something was wrong.
He frowned, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk.
"Feels like I forgot something…" he murmured, staring absently at the closed drawer where that ecchi manga still hid, waiting.