The next day arrived quietly, a smooth transition from holiday to workday. Even though it felt absurd to leap straight from Sunday to Wednesday, almost everyone had already grown used to it.
Teitan High School.
Class 1-B had already finished a full morning of lessons, yet Shimizu Koji's mind hadn't settled for even a moment.
Fortunately, in the teachers' eyes, he was a model student—excellent grades, good character. So even when a teacher noticed him spacing out during class, it amounted to nothing more than a light cough as a reminder. Koji ignored it, and that was the end of it.
Three things weighed heavily on his mind.
First, Miyano Akemi's condition.Second, those blood-red eyes he'd awakened yesterday—eyes that were apparently called the Sharingan.Third… his financial situation.
The first was obvious. If time allowed, Koji planned to visit the hospital after school every day to check on Akemi's recovery.
As for the second, he had spent all night and all morning trying to re-enter that strange state—but failed every single time.
The matter of his eyes would have to wait.
The third issue, however, was urgent.
No matter how little he cared about laws or even his own life, in a peaceful, ordinary world, he couldn't exactly make a living through robbery.
Koji had lost track of how long he'd been "here," or whether his parents had truly died "three years ago," but none of that changed the reality: aside from ownership of one apartment, he had no source of income whatsoever.
Supporting his basic needs would be easy enough with the occasional part-time job. But maintaining that Western-style villa with its massive garden? That would cost tens of thousands of yen a month—possibly even over a hundred thousand.
Compared to the villa's actual rental value, that sum was trivial.To Koji, however, it was a serious problem.
That apartment was the only inheritance his parents—whom he'd never even met—had left behind.
It might be worth tens of millions of yen, but selling it was never an option. He was temporarily staying at the Kudo household, and selling his own home just to maintain someone else's place made absolutely no sense.
Then there were Akemi's medical expenses.
Suzuki Sonoko, that wealthy young lady, hadn't said a word about money. Even if Koji brought it up, she'd probably just wave it off and cover everything without a second thought.
But that was exactly the problem.
Calling her under the pretense of an emergency, using her kindness, then calmly spending her money—Koji couldn't bring himself to do that. He wasn't that kind of person.
As for why he always thought of Sonoko as a "kind-hearted young lady," the reason was simple.
He had once rejected her.
In front of a crowd, the heiress of a powerful conglomerate had stood there blushing, eyes full of anticipation, politely handing him a confession card she'd written herself. She'd shyly poured out her feelings—
—and he had ignored her completely.
Even Koji, who felt nothing toward romance, couldn't help but feel ashamed thinking back on it. And yet, despite that, she still helped him. At the very least, he owed her a proper thank-you.
Money…
Aside from renting out his unused apartment, what else could he do?
Koji glanced around the classroom as students began packing up and leaving. He decided he'd seriously look for a good part-time job later.
It was now lunchtime.
After taking a moment to steady himself, Koji stood up, left the classroom, and headed upstairs—to the second-year classes.
The moment he stepped out, the remaining girls in the room immediately gathered together, whispering excitedly around one of them.
"Miho! Shimizu-kun's been staring at your back all morning!"
"H-Huh?! R-really?"
"We all saw it! Miho, don't tell me you've been secretly talking to Shimizu-kun behind our backs?"
"N-No! You've got it wrong—I've never even talked to him!"
"Ooooh, lying is bad~ Come on, tell the truth!"
"He really is popular with girls…"
"Tch. Always walking around with that cold face. Girls are so shallow."
"You can say that to their faces, you know."
"Hey! Tanaka, are you trying to get me killed?!"
At that age, boys' and girls' conversations always revolved around the opposite sex—though most of the time, the person being discussed was far away from it all.
Class 2-B
By pure coincidence, Koji found the kind-hearted young lady without much effort at all.
Sonoko and Ran were just about to take their lunchboxes somewhere quiet—preferably the shaded corridor by the garden below the school building, where Sonoko could enjoy her meal while watching handsome guys on the field.
Of course, that was just eye candy. What she really wanted was a boyfriend.
"Um… excuse me."
"Hm?"
Laughing together, Sonoko and Ran turned around at the same time.
Ran's eyes showed mild confusion, but Sonoko's widened in surprise and delight, as if it might spill out at any second.
"Sh-Shimizu-kun!"
"Eh? Sonoko, could this be the person you mentioned last time—?"
Faced with the headband-wearing girl who looked ready to pounce at any moment, Koji forced a gentle smile and instinctively took half a step back.
The hallway wasn't a good place to talk. After a brief explanation, the three of them found an empty classroom.
"So… you came just to thank Sonoko?"
Ran quickly distilled the core of Koji's explanation. Sonoko herself hadn't quite caught on yet, but Ran's expression grew subtly strange.
As Koji repeatedly emphasized his gratitude and apologized for what had happened before, Ran immediately realized that the relationship between him and Sonoko wasn't what she had imagined.
"Yes. And Sonoko—about what happened before, I truly apologize. I hope you can forgive me."
"I already have! Totally forgiven! And you can just call me Sonoko, okay?"
Before Koji could even finish, Sonoko waved it off with sparkling eyes.
Swallowing hard, Koji realized that while she was easygoing… she might be too easygoing.
A bad feeling crept up on him.
"Ah… okay."
"By the way, Shimizu-kun, is your sister doing better now?"
Ran smoothly changed the subject and tugged on Sonoko's arm, hoping to bring her lovestruck friend back to reality.
"Yes. Thanks to Sonoko's help. Honestly, I didn't know what I would've done otherwise."
That was the truth. A gunshot wound to the chest would raise suspicion at any hospital. Thankfully, he'd remembered Sonoko in that desperate moment.
"And also," Koji continued, "if you ever need help with anything in the future… this might sound presumptuous, but if it's within my ability, please don't hesitate to contact me."
As he spoke, he handed Sonoko a slip of paper with his phone number and email written on it.
This was all he could offer—sincere gratitude and a promise. Compared to her wealth, he had nothing of material value to give.
Sonoko's eyes lit up. She carefully tucked the paper away, her thoughts racing. Even she could tell—this cool, handsome underclassman wasn't especially interested in her.
But wasn't that the most thrilling part of romance?
She had to find an excuse—any excuse—to create an opportunity for sparks to fly.
Then it hit her.
She locked eyes with Koji.
"Um… Sonoko?"
If not for the stacked desks behind him, Koji felt he would've retreated another step. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
He'd assumed she might resent him—maybe even hate him—and that she'd only helped because he'd said a life was at stake.
But this… strange opening?
Even with his past experiences, Koji had never met a girl quite like Sonoko.
"Shimizu-kun! Would you like to attend my sister's class reunion? It's next Saturday, during winter break! Oh, and my sister's loved kendo since she was little, so if you could—"
"Ah, sure. No problem."
Koji answered immediately.
He'd expected something troublesome, but it was just an invitation. A bit odd, sure—but after all the help she'd given him, there was no reason to refuse.
He could even guess at Sonoko's little scheme, but it didn't matter.
What mattered was that he could finally leave.
"R-Really? Then I'll contact you later!"
Sonoko hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. She'd thought she might at least see him hesitate.
As for the nonsense about her sister loving kendo…
Well, surely no one would take that seriously.