I turned around again to glare at Renko, but she was pretending to pay attention to the lesson. She knew I was staring, but probably because she was waiting for a reply, she kept up this "worried girl" act.
Stop waiting. I won't be your boyfriend!
I sent the message loud and clear—tearing her note into tiny pieces as I imagined her heart shattering.
"But…but I wore a skirt! It took so much courage! Haruya, I wore it for you!"
Renko's panicked expression was priceless. She hadn't expected to be rejected again.
"Hey! Add 'classmate' when you call me by name! I've told you I don't like you! It doesn't matter what you wear! Yes, I hate you! I've always hated you! It'd be better if you disappeared right now!"
Triple attack. That should've done it.
As expected, her eyes darkened. She looked like she'd been abandoned.
She stayed silent for over ten minutes. Class was almost over.
Renko now lay on her desk, spiritless. I worried she might start crying out loud.
"How… can you just toy with my feelings and my body?" she muttered, her tone surprisingly sharp, amplified by her sulky expression.
"Hey, cut it out! People will misunderstand! I don't remember ever playing with your body!"
"Isn't hair part of the body? I grew it out for you! I like short hair! Long hair always gets trapped under me when I roll around in my sleep!"
Nobody asked you to have long hair! And isn't your hair still short by normal standards? Are you using boys as your measurement?
Also… why do I kind of like seeing her flustered? Is it because she reminds me of the Little Tyrant? Or is it nostalgia for an old enemy?
While I was distracted, Renko quietly sobbed with her face buried in her textbook. It was soft, but compared to Mr. Yu's lethargic voice, it sounded like an air-raid siren.
"Teacher! Someone made the new student cry!"
The female class leader, Shu Sha, stood up. She sat at the last row, back right, basically symmetric with my seat. Not the best spot, but she had given her previous seat to a visually impaired classmate.
I forgot to mention, Shu Sha is one of the few students brave enough to stand up to me. Her eyesight is like Hawkeye's from the Avengers. Add in long, glossy black hair and a commanding aura—sometimes she seems more like the teacher than Mr. Yu.
She has a younger brother, so she's used to ordering boys around. She rarely overdoes it, but her presence still unnerves me. I assigned her the role of "Justice Devil" in the class hierarchy. She fights for fairness stubbornly, making her very popular. Many boys follow her every command like loyal dogs at a queen's feet.
If Shu Sha and I ever clash, some of those "loyal dogs" might even have the guts to attack me.
Still, her leadership reduces bullying in the class… though right now, it seems like I'm the one being accused.
"Eh? Crying? Is she unwell?" timid Mr. Yu glanced at me, immediately looking away. "Renko has been frail since childhood, so we should all take care of her."
Frail since childhood? You were stronger than Tyson as a kid! And if you want me to stop bullying her because she's "sick," why not send her to the infirmary? Just tell me directly and I might even apologize!
"I don't think Renko classmate is unwell—" Shu Sha cut him off. "I think Haruya classmate is bullying her!"
Her sharp black eyes locked onto me. I felt like a sniper was targeting me.
Even though Renko looked pitiful, lying on her desk, I had to maintain my position. If a man falls once, he falls again and again.
I crossed my legs, glanced at Shu Sha, and put on a nonchalant expression.
Better look like a villain.
Shu Sha's accusation sparked murmurs across the class.
"I saw it too. He hit her with a ruler!"
"As expected, nobody should sit there. Poor new girl…"
"I think he put his hands under her skirt! So perverted!"
"I can't believe it! Should we stop wearing skirts?"
It was like a bomb had exploded in my face. I was about to lose it.
Then a bespectacled boy, sitting right of Renko, raised his hand and stood up.
"Don't make things up if you didn't see it!" He adjusted his glasses and looked smug. I recognized him—Shu Sha's number-one loyalist. He's actually defending me? Good people do exist.
He pointed to the space between Renko and me. "I heard everything Renko classmate said! She said—Haruya classmate played with her body!"
What?! You only quoted that sentence? Out of context?!
Instantly, the whole class looked at me with disgust. My image of a lone wolf had just morphed into that of a pervert. Thanks, Renko. How am I supposed to repay you for this? A whole year's work, ruined!
My heart was a violent storm, enough to sink the Titanic twice, but my face stayed calm, like a poker player with a terrible hand.
Thankfully, the bell rang before things escalated further. Mr. Yu hurriedly dismissed the class.
To avoid the mess, I headed to the bathroom—though nobody dared block me anyway.
Before leaving, I saw Shu Sha and two other girls running to comfort Renko. Despite being bullied by me, she had already made a few friends on her first day. I felt… oddly reassured.
But Shu Sha's glare followed me, hostile enough to make me speed up. Back in the Warring States period, that look alone would have meant an arrow to my chest.
Today, I was also a bit constipated. Painful.
The bathroom smelled of cigarette smoke. Definitely some students skipping class to smoke.
I squatted, contracting my abs, overhearing two boys outside chatting.
"Hey, did you hear? Class 3 has a new female student. She's pretty!"
"Careful! That perverted, violent Haruya fancied her. She rejected him, so he bullied her!"
When I stepped out of the stall, their faces went white, one nearly peeing his pants.
Shit. The rumor's already spread to other classes… and it's distorted! They think I chased Renko and used violence to force her!
I didn't remember this version. I'm a solitary lone wolf, not a pervert!
Thinking carefully… maybe Renko started it. Whatever she told Shu Sha and the others would spread like wildfire.
Looks like I didn't bully her enough…