Kanzaki Saku had just returned to school and didn't have any textbooks.
Cute Shizuka gently suggested he share a desk with someone for the day and get his textbooks with her later.
"Kanzaki-kun, over here..."
Kanzaki Saku ignored Miura Yumiko's raised hand and chose Gotoh Hitori, who was sitting behind him.
"Gotoh-san, mind if I join you?"
Gotoh Hitori's guitar crashed to the floor. She scrambled to pick it up, then feigned composure by blowing a silent whistle. "Whatever. Just don't interrupt my guitar practice."
"Practicing guitar at school?" Kanzaki Saku sat down next to her. "You really are special, Gotoh-san."
That word, "special," was music to Bocchi-chan's ears. It was the highest form of praise for an iconoclast like her. Gotoh Hitori struggled to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.
"Hmph, of course." Gotoh Hitori turned her head away so Kanzaki Saku couldn't see her expression, but the tips of her bright red ears gave her away.
'Nice! All that grueling guitar practice to boost my appeal has finally paid off! Someone finally recognizes how different I am. Kanzaki is already mesmerized by me!'
Kanzaki Saku deliberately shifted his chair closer to her. When their arms brushed accidentally, Gotoh Hitori recoiled as if shocked.
Immediately after, as if realizing her overreaction was lame, she fought down her racing heart and slowly moved her arm back, letting it once again touch that warm, subtly tingling spot.
"You... you can share my textbook." She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she pushed the Japanese Language textbook to the center of their desks. The fingertips that pushed the book, however, trembled uncontrollably.
As Kanzaki Saku thanked her and lowered his head to read, his lips lightly brushed against her cheek.
"!"
Gotoh Hitori's eyes widened. The pen in her hand unconsciously drew several distorted musical staffs in the margins of the textbook.
A little while later, Kanzaki Saku "accidentally" knocked his eraser onto the floor between them.
A few seconds later, Gotoh Hitori finally noticed the pink eraser lying on the floor. She hesitated for a moment, then, as if making a decision, turned slightly and prepared to bend down to pick it up.
Kanzaki Saku, watching from the corner of his eye, reached down at the same time.
Their hands grasped the eraser at almost the exact same moment.
Gotoh Hitori snatched her hand back. She could feel the temperature rising around her; she didn't need anyone to tell her that her face must be bright red.
Kanzaki Saku, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed a thing. He calmly picked up the eraser, rubbing his fingertips over it gently before turning to her with an innocent smile. "Thanks."
"Y-You're welcome..." Gotoh Hitori replied, then quickly lowered her head and stared intently at the text, as if trying to decipher the secrets of the universe from the words.
'We touched! We touched! Was he doing it on purpose? No, he was just picking up the eraser... but still, what a coincidence... What can I say to make myself sound experienced and cool?! Crap, crap, my mind's a complete blank!'
For the rest of the class, Gotoh Hitori was completely out of it. The teacher's lecture went in one ear and out the other. All her senses were focused on Kanzaki Saku beside her.
Kanzaki Saku made no further moves. He knew you couldn't rush things with a little try-hard like her; the slow burn was part of the fun. He decided that was enough for one day.
After class, while Miura Yumiko was busy fending off girls trying to talk to him, Kanzaki Saku slipped out of the classroom.
According to his synchronized memories, the Shuchiin of this world had absorbed several other high schools, including Sobu High and Toyogasaki Academy, turning them into branch campuses. Therefore, it was normal to see any character at this school.
Kanzaki Saku was like a collector strolling through his own garden, keenly searching for his next "piece" worthy of being toyed with.
Finally, in the corner of a deserted hallway, he found his target. The area was cluttered with junk, and the air smelled faintly of dust—the kind of habitat only a "slug" would choose.
Curled up in a narrow gap between a pile of abandoned desks and chairs sat a figure hugging her knees. It was Kita Ikuyo, the girl who, in another timeline, was as vibrant and energetic as a small sun.
Now, of course, she had been reversed from a popular girl into the gloomy introvert role originally occupied by Bocchi-chan.
She was wearing a slightly oversized uniform, and her long, dark red hair was a bit greasy, messily draped over her shoulders and hiding most of her face.
"Ms. Kita Ikuyo?" a clear male voice sounded from above her.
Kita Ikuyo's body shuddered, but she didn't look up. An illusion. It must be an illusion. Looks like those cheap, discounted onigiri I bought from the convenience store for lunch really were expired. I'm starting to have unrealistic auditory hallucinations.
How could anyone possibly talk to a gloomy, musty introvert like me? And an extremely rare boy, at that?
"Hey." Kanzaki Saku crouched down, moving closer. "Need some help?"
Kita Ikuyo finally lifted her head slightly from her arms. Through the gaps in her hair, she saw an impossibly handsome face.
Fair skin, deep eyes that held a hint of a smile, and elegantly shaped lips curved into a faint arc. He was too dazzling, blindingly so, and completely out of place in this dark corner.
She quickly buried her head in her arms again, her voice muffled and self-deprecating. "Begone, illusion! Stop messing with me, I know you're not real..."
This made Kanzaki Saku even more interested. He lowered his voice, his tone seductive. "Seeing as you're so pitiful, I can offer you a special service. The price is fair—for just ten thousand yen, you can get my 'compensated dating' services!"
Kita Ikuyo's body froze. Compensated dating? Ten thousand yen? This illusion even has a plot? She thought in despair, Am I a lost cause?
"Don't believe me?" Kanzaki Saku seemed to read her mind. He reached out and gently poked the forearm exposed by her sleeve. "Try pinching yourself. See if it hurts."
As if possessed, Kita Ikuyo actually gave her arm a hard pinch.
"Hiss—!" The sharp pain that followed made her gasp.
It's not an illusion?!
Her eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the handsome face so close to her own. Is this real? Did a boy like this really come to a place like this and say something like that to me?
But a gloomy introvert is a gloomy introvert. Even if a pie fell from the sky, she wouldn't believe it was meant for her.
"Is... is this a prank? Who sent you? How much are they paying you? Watching me make a fool of myself... is it fun?" Her voice trembled, filled with a complex mix of suspicion and self-loathing.
"Looks like I need to show some sincerity to earn your trust." Kanzaki Saku tilted his head. "How about this: since you're my first customer, I'll let you sample the goods. Barring the final step, you can do whatever you want. How's that? Sincere enough for you?"
______
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