Chapter 3: A Vertical Relationship
Classes are over for the day, so Touka and I meet up to walk home together. As per usual, I’m getting some curious glances and not-too-friendly looks from guys who’re still butthurt about me being with Touka. I guess it’s part of the package deal—Touka’s looks, smarts, and friendly personality have ensured her a place at the top of the school’s hierarchical pyramid. She’s a celebrity, just like me; although you might say I’m known for all the wrong reasons. I’m pretty much Touka’s complete opposite. I look terrifying and, to make matters worse, I’ve never really learned to hone my social skills. I mostly keep to myself, so I’m labeled the school’s token “criminal.” As a result, there are all sorts of rumors flying around about me.
I look over at Touka, trying to judge her reaction. I’m a little worried, not gonna lie; it wouldn’t be the first time her mood has soured because of onlookers. But surprisingly enough, she looks as cheerful as ever. Actually, she looks a little too cheerful. Something’s definitely off. Maybe she’s already used to everyone fawning over her because of her massive popularity at school? As for me, I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to the legions of guys staring at me and whispering things like, “How dare you get so close to Ike.”
“Hey, Boss! How was your day?!” a voice rings out behind us. I turn in the direction of the soccer field and see a guy with a shaved head approaching us. His name is Kai Rekka. You may remember him as that first year who’s stuck by me ever since we duked it out over some, uh, “differences,” let’s say. We’ve been getting along well since then.
I stop and wait for him to catch up to us, but Touka doesn’t seem too happy about that. “What are you standing around for, Senpai? Come on, let’s go home already,” she says with a poker face.
“Oh, come on—we can spare a moment to talk to him, right?” I ask.
“To be completely honest, I’d rather not,” she snaps back.
She’s furious at Kai; not that I can blame her. I can’t really argue about it either, mainly because she’s angry on my behalf. At one point in our fight, he’d pulled a knife on me. According to her, she can’t ever forgive him after that.
“‘Sup, Boss! Heading home?” Kai says, apparently blissfully unaware of Touka’s anger.
“Yep. Also, can you please call me Tomoki instead of ‘Boss?’”
“You got it, Boss!” he answers with a smile.
Unfortunately, his smile doesn’t mean shit—seems like my request went in one ear and out the other. It’s a nice smile, though. Even with his totally-shaved head, he’s still a good-looking guy all around.
“Crap, Tomoki’s making other first years call him ‘Boss’?”
“I feel bad for that guy. My heart goes out to him.”
“Didn’t he shave because of Tomoki, too?”
“Goddamn. I swear, man—Tomoki Yuuji’s the devil himself.”
Now everybody around us has started muttering about how much of a dastardly villain I am. Did they even hear what I just told Kai? Guess he’s not the only one with a hearing problem.
“You got a moment, Kai-kun?” Touka asks.
“Oh, right, I forgot you were here with Boss, Touka. Going home, too?” he answers.
Oh shit, looks like she’s gotten super pissed from everyone whispering about us. I can tell.
“So, like, don’t you ever realize that by calling Yuuji-senpai ‘Boss,’ you only make him look bad? Everyone already thinks he’s a wackjob. Seriously, can you wrap your head around that for, like, one second? I respect that you hold Senpai in high esteem. That’s not the issue here. You can respect him all you want, but don’t you dare keep fucking him over with that title crap, or I swear I won’t let you two interact ever again.”
Everyone falls completely silent after she finishes her heated lecture, Kai included. He looks around us, enraged after finally realizing that people have been talking shit about me, then hangs his head in shame. After a moment, he lifts his head again, looks me in the eyes, takes a deep breath, and says, “I’ll be careful from now on. I apologize, Tomoki-senpai. And you too, Touka. My bad. I wouldn’t have realized without you pointing it out. Thanks.”
Before our “disagreement,” Kai wouldn’t have been able to process something like that. After our fight, however, he’s been more open to taking advice, changing his attitude, and apologizing. I think it’s a great thing, actually—it shows how much the guy’s improving.
I look at Touka. She’s standing stock still, but it’s obvious she’s frustrated by the whole situation. He must’ve put her in a tough spot thanks to his apology.; I notice her click her tongue in irritation.
“I do have one thing I’d like to ask for, though,” Kai says, raising his head to look straight at me. I nod to let him know he can continue.
“Can I call you Boss whenever we’re alone, Tomoki-senpai?” he whispers. He blushes and lowers his gaze bashfully.
Huh. And to think he wanted to literally kill me just a little while ago. Just look at him now. I feel like I’m his role model or something. Not gonna lie, it feels pretty good to be seen in that light.
“Sure, if you want to,” I respond. His dejected look instantly vanishes, and he flashes me a bright smile.
“Nice! Thanks, Tomoki-senpai!”
“Don’t mention it. Anyway, we’re gonna head home now. You should get back on that soccer field and break a leg. You hear me?”
“Yep! Okay, guys, sorry for keeping you! Take care on the way back!” he answers. He bows and runs back to the training field. I think he’s one of the first guys who’s shown me that much respect.
I glance over at Touka to see how she’s faring right now. “What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I reply. She notices me looking at her and averts her eyes.
I can’t really tell her I’m happy that Kai looks up to me and idolizes me so much. If I do, it’ll just ruin her mood for our walk home. She’ll definitely hit back with something like, “You better not lump us together just ‘cause we’re your underclassmen!”
Touka glares at Kai’s figure off in the distance and angrily mutters, “You think this is over, you bald-headed psycho bitch? Don’t think I don’t notice all those dirty looks you’ve been giving him. How dare you.”
“Oh, come on. You’re exaggerating. There’s no way he’s looking at me like that.”
She doesn’t reply with words, but she targets me with her murderous glare instead. In return, I look straight back at her without flinching. We stare at each other silently, albeit tensely, for a few moments. In the end, Touka’s the one who breaks our little staring contest by blushing and lowering her eyes. She takes a deep breath, which seems to relieve her bad mood slightly, and says, “I guess I need to keep on my toes, anyways.”
“You worry too much. Kai and I are never gonna go anywhere beyond just friends.”
“Tomoki-kun, Ike-san... I know I’m barging in on your conversation, but do you mind if I talk to you? It’s about Kai-kun,” someone behind us voices.
Touka and I turn around. It’s Chiaki Makiri-sensei. She’s known as a really beautiful teacher at this school, but right now, her expression is stern and cold.
“He started it, not us,” Touka quickly answers. She’s slightly smiling, but she’s clearly on high alert.
☆
Makiri-sensei leads us to the student counseling room back at school. “Sit down, please,” she says cooly. She’s just as stony as ever.
Touka does as she’s told without a word, but I instead gaze over at Makiri-sensei. She’s one of the youngest and prettiest teachers at our school. She also happens to be strict with everyone, but she still has a sizable fanbase among the male students despite that.
“Sit down, Tomoki-kun,” she urges me. I place myself next to Touka; Makiri-sensei is seated on the opposite side. Although Touka is looking away, I stare right at her.
“Do you have any idea why I’ve called you here? It’s in regards to Kai-kun,” she starts.
“No, we don’t. We haven’t done anything wrong to him, so, like, I don’t even know why you felt the need to drag us all the way back here,” Touka retorts.
I have no idea how much of Touka’s attitude Makiri-sensei is willing to tolerate. I’ll just keep quiet and see how things play out.
“What about you, Tomoki-kun? Any clue?” she asks, turning her head toward me.
“I’m guessing it’s because of his recent changes or something?”
“That’s right. Something’s clearly changed with him ever since the Golden Week holiday started. One thing that’s obvious is his appearance, but he’s also begun to treat you differently.”
Touka sighs. I know full well that she’s not the type who takes well to getting preached at; even more so if Kai Rekka’s the subject.
“I’m not very familiar with him, but what I do know is that he’s the sort of guy who cares a lot about his appearance. I can’t imagine that he just decided to shave his head on a whim. I also know that he didn’t take kindly to you initially, but now he’s very friendly with you. Wouldn’t you also find that strange?”
Nah, it’s not really strange considering what happened. He shaved his head after he lost our fight, but people inevitably started spreading rumors that I’d turned him into my “lackey” or something and forced him to shave it. I assume that’s why she called us here.
There’s no way Makiri-sensei seriously believes that, right? I figure that that nonsense has reached the teachers by now, so she must’ve heard them, as well. She likely decided to meddle and find out what’s really going on. That way, she can defend me and avoid further issues from arising. Yeah, I’m sure that must be it. Her expression is rigid, but she’s likely just worried about us. She’s been looking out for me ever since I started attending this school, after all.
“Sorry, I can’t really say why,” I answer. I’d get in trouble if I told her the truth—that the two of us had a fight on the roof, and that he’d pulled a knife on me. Kai would get it way worse than me for bringing a weapon to school.
Like I said, Makiri-sensei is strict but fair. She also knows exactly when to apply the rules. We’d both get punished in this case. Still, I can’t bring myself to lie to her. I’ll just stay silent about it instead.
“I see,” she whispers faintly while nodding. “Well, I know what happened, more or less. And believe me, something did occur between the two of you. Telling me that ‘you did nothing wrong’ while also telling me that ‘you can’t say what happened’ sounds quite suspicious, but I suppose the outcome is fine. You and Kai-kun ended up becoming friends after… whatever it was. In any case, I can’t really do anything for you guys now,” she says with a deep sigh.
Nice. Looks like she was able to figure it out, and, to add the cherry on top, we’re seemingly not getting punished either. I’m relieved, but Touka doesn’t seem to feel the same way. If anything, she appears to be surprised.
“Huh? What’re you even saying, Teach? Like, you’re not gonna give us a giant lecture or anything?” she asks incredulously.
“Yeah. I know it seems irresponsible to brush this off without a clear grasp of what happened, but I’ll believe you guys if you say you’re innocent. I won’t press Tomoki-kun if he doesn’t want to talk about it, either. Kai-kun was smiling when he was talking with you two earlier, like it was water under the bridge for all of you. There have been a lot of complaints and inquiries swirling around, though, and I really want that to end,” Sensei explains. Touka stays silent as she continues in a serious tone, “If—for some reason—I’m wrong, and there is something going on with the three of you… I’ll consider it negligence on my end, and I’ll act accordingly.”
I gulp and manage to get out, “It was resolved. You can trust us on this. I swear.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” she says with a sigh of relief. She quickly appends, “There’s something else I’d like to say. I’m aware that you managed to solve this issue just fine on your own. But if you guys ever find yourselves in another predicament, please come ask me for advice first. Don’t rush in and do anything rash.”
I thought she wasn’t mad at first, but I guess we’re still in a bit of trouble because we didn’t go to her for help. I’m kinda ashamed, but also glad that this won’t escalate further.
“Got it,” I say.
“Okay…” Touka wearily replies.
“Seems like I kept you two for quite a while. You can go home now. I apologize for bringing you two here. Be careful on your way home, okay? Goodbye,” she says as she stands up. Her stern look has been replaced with a gentle smile.
☆
“I knew that if I told her the truth, she would’ve understood our situation, but I never would’ve guessed that she’d be able to tell even without me saying anything.”
Touka and I are heading toward the station now on our usual route home. She’s walking next to me with her eyes focused on me while I talk. She hasn’t said anything in a while, though, and her expression is rather sour.
“What?” I ask her.
“I think she’s a good teacher, too. She knows when to lay down the law and when to be lenient. Plus, she believed in us, but…,” she trails off. It’s clear she’s uncertain about something.
“But?” I prod her.
“Don’t you ‘like her’ a little bit too much?!”
“I really respect her, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“That’s not what I meant. Actually, I think she trusts you a little bit too much, too,” she says unhappily.
Oh, wait… She’s probably asking me if I harbor romantic feelings for Makiri-sensei. I guess she’s thinking that if it gets out of hand, it could put our “relationship” in jeopardy? How’d she even get an idea like that? No chance in hell I’d be able to score with someone like Makiri-sensei. First of all, she’s my teacher. Second of all, she’s way older than I am. Touka has to realize that much, right? Yeah, I can’t imagine she’s that dumb. Honestly, I have no idea why she’s so angry at me right now. Maybe she’s just pissed because we got dragged to the counseling room to go through a lecture.
“How is that even a bad thing?” I ask.
Touka’s expression darkens, and she whispers, “Maybe it’s not a bad thing now, but one day… What if she sees me as a potential rival and tries to go for you?”
“Why would you even say that? She’s on our side, you know.” I answer, unable to look past her comment. Makiri-sensei supports our relationship; why would she try to sabotage it? Besides, she’s our teacher. Having her against us would be big trouble… like, big frickin’ trouble.
Touka doesn’t say anything; she just smacks my arm. Why does she feel the need to hit me? And why can’t I tell her to cut it out when she does? I mean, it’s not like it hurts when she does—if anything, it tickles. I just want her to stop.
Unfortunately, Touka doesn’t speak at all on our way to the station. She keeps randomly hitting my arm instead.
