Her childish gestures were at odds with her mature appearance. I couldn’t help finding her cute.
“Ah, but, you know… In your case, you don’t seem to need a strategy,” I said.
“Really? Why not?”
“You’ve got to be one of the best students in this school. I’m sure you were able to get ahead with your talent alone.”
“Well, that’s rude. You’re insulting me.”
“Er, what? How am I insulting you?”
Io puffed out her cheeks.
What was she sulking for when I’d just praised her? I had no idea what made this girl happy, and even less of what displeased her.
“I work hard and come up with plans, too, you know. I hate it when people think I just bulldoze through with my talent, like some kind of gorilla.”
“Er, I don’t think you should call yourself a gorilla.”
“Anyway, like I said, I’ve applied myself and strategized to get where I am. I’m sure I can help you.”
“Oh, thanks. Yes, I’m sure I can rely on you.”
She clenched her fists and brought her face closer, and I bent back reflexively.
She’s an oddly intimidating woman.
“But even with all your talent and popularity, you still strategized. Compared to the other students, you don’t leave anything to chance. It’s impressive.”
“Second place was a triple score.”
“Wow…”
I could easily imagine how the other students felt.
But that’s what it takes to be Ryouran High’s number one. No mercy.
“I don’t mind brainstorming with you over how to ace the final exam. Only…” Io trailed off, looking closely at me. “In exchange, could you please do one thing for me?”
“Oh, it’s a tit-for-tat situation, is it? Well, if it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.”
“Really? Oh, great! I’ve been wanting to do this, but I didn’t have a partner, so I was in a real fix!”
She clapped her hands in delight, her cheeks red as she spoke.
“After school, I want you to have…a match with me.”
A match. Somehow, I had the feeling she wasn’t talking about a date.
I still had some questions, but I didn’t want to act like a smart-ass. For now, I decided to pretend as if what she’d just said was totally normal.
I gave the safest possible reply.
“…All right. After school, then.”
“Right. Thanks a lot! ♪”
We exchanged contact information, then went our separate ways.
On the way back to the first-year classroom, I looked at Io’s contact information in my phone, and I realized something.
I’d basically just swapped contact info with a legitimate, working entertainer.
It’s not like I had a meadow of wildflowers bursting into bloom inside my mind or anything, but it definitely made me feel strange. For a guy who’d been an intense shut-in until as recently as last spring, I’d made a ton of progress.
“Well, I have to be somewhere now. You guys, don’t skip out on the lesson.”
It was after school. I entrusted Shiika to the other members of the Shibuya Gang, who’d gathered after homeroom, then I quickly left the classroom.
“Gak, where are you going?” Shiika asked.
“I just have some minor business. You’ll be fine with Shibuya and the others.”
“You weren’t here at lunch, either.”
“I had something to do at lunch. But you did just fine without me then, too, didn’t you? Don’t worry. Just work hard at your lesson, okay? Ha-ha-ha.”
“Is it a girl?”
“Excuse me, whaaat?”
Shiika hit the nail on the head, and I yelped.
Shibuya gave me a cold look.
“What? You were getting yourself a girlfriend while we’ve been working hard and sweating?”
“Hey, come on. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d do that?”
“You’re actually trash. Even though you don’t look like the type who’d be popular with girls.”
“Hey, that’s the worst combination of disses ever! At least let me be popular trash! Or unpopular and NOT trash!”
“Excuse me a sec…”
While I was protesting against Shibuya’s harsh treatment, Komae suddenly brought his nose close to my shoulder.
Sniffing and wriggling his nose like an animal, he looked up with a nasty grin.
“Whoa, whoa, what? Gakuto, you smell like sweet perfume, don’t you? I think you met a girl after all.”
“Seriously?! Ugh, does perfume last that long?!”
“That long, you say? Is that not an admission of guilt? ☆”
“Guh!”
Komae seemed to carry a torch for Shiika. Was this his revenge for me flexing my position as her older brother?
He’d found a weak point in my armor, and he was exploiting it.
“Komae, remember this. I will never entrust Shiika to a man with a corrupt heart.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not criticizing you, here. All men want to have some fun with a cute girl. I get it, you know?”
“No, you don’t get it at all… Anyway, it’s not like that. It’s nothing juicy like that.”
“Right, Nokia. And you, Erio. You guys don’t know anything about Gakuto.”
Akiba sent out a rescue boat.
She shook her head, slapping Shibuya and Komae on the shoulders. Those two had been closing in on me like determined shogi players.
“You know, one of my favorite Vtubers said on a stream once…that the only way shut-in boys like him get to connect with girls is through a computer screen.”
“Darn it, Akiba! You’ve sure got my number!”
It was a heavy blow, but right now, it worked out in my favor, so I decided to roll with it.
Although, this alone wouldn’t be enough to get me off the hook, so I needed another excuse. I glanced at Shibuya and Komae.
“Hmm, I see. Yeah, I just can’t picture Gakuto with a girl,” Shibuya said.
“Too bad. If he was serious about it, I was planning to teach him some of my pickup techniques,” Komae joked.
“Hey, it’s annoying me how solemnly you’re taking this.”
I really am unpopular with girls, not to mention socially awkward. Come on, man!
“Anyway, I’m off! Now, Shiika, be good and listen to what Ootsuka says! You need to show serious improvement, okay?”
“Guh. I’ll do my best.”
I gave her a thumbs-up, and Shiika returned it with both hands.
Good girl. I gave her head a few gentle pats, then left the classroom.
I sent a quick text to Io via a message app, then headed to the agreed-upon meeting spot.
Luckily, it was in a building far away from the dance studio that Shiika and the others used for practice.
The gym where we had our basic strength-training classes was in this building, but I wasn’t heading there today.
Following the directions she’d sent in her text, I arrived at the right room.
When I opened the door and went inside, the scent of rubber hit my nose.
The floor was covered with pitch-black martial arts mats, and heavy-looking punching bags hung from iron posts. There was also a mirror used to check form, a bench press, and a treadmill.
It had the atmosphere of a full-fledged mixed martial arts gym or dojo.
The type of facility you see in videos on WayTube where MMA fighters spar or fight bad guys for the likes.
Smack. Smack. The dull sound of fists hitting a punching bag reverberated throughout the space.
The dangling chains jangled, and the iron support posts creaked.
It was Io, hitting the punching bag with gloved fists. We’d planned to meet here, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to see her, but for a moment, I was taken aback by the sight of her.
Was this…real?
How could one of the most talented actresses in the school throw such a perfect punch, in a stance that would put a professional martial artist to shame?
I was overwhelmed by the spectacle and stood there staring, until Io spotted me and stopped hitting the punching bag.
She lightly wiped the sweat off her forehead and welcomed me with a bright, refreshing sort of smile.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Now then, come this way.”
“…Did you lure me here under false pretenses? Is this some kind of viral video project where you demonstrate how to knock out a guy who gets fresh?”
I looked around for cameras and strong men hiding in corners.
But there was no one in this spacious gym except for me and Io. And there was nowhere for anyone to hide.
“Viral video? What are you talking about?”
“…Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Was I overthinking things? If a well-known actress really did create such a vulgar video, she’d end up criticized by the public. The personal brand she’d worked so hard to build up—the Io Kanda persona—it would be besmirched if she did that.
“You said you wanted to have a match with me, so you meant…”
“Yes. Sparring, I want to spar with you.”
“Oh, I see. That’s what you meant by match…”
Now it all made sense. Her odd intonation, too.
“Actually, I had another motive, too.”
“You’re so diligent. To think that an actress who’s got everything is still aiming for the top.”
“Yes. Daily reflection, daily devotion. Don’t forget to improve yourself and push forward. After all, that’s what it means to live.”
“All my mottos are antonyms of yours.”
It’s hard to find someone who’s the exact opposite of me in this way.
Her seriousness was too dazzling for me, with my laziness.
“I have an audition for a large-scale action movie funded by a North American production studio.”
“Oh. That’s another big project.”
“Since it’s a big deal, I thought I’d distinguish myself by proving that I can do all the scenes without using a stuntman. I’ve been studying kung fu in earnest.”
“…Huh?”
What she’d just said was so outrageous, it took me a moment to react.
“Wait, wait, really? You can’t be serious.”
“I am, though.”
“I saw on the internet that the actors themselves don’t do that kind of thing.”
“It’s common for casts to focus on the visuals, so yes, the dangerous stunts are often done with stuntmen or CG. But in North America, in order to stand out as an actor, you’re practically required to have skills beyond just your looks and acting ability. And that helps performers stand out in Japan, too, by the way. It’s so cool when an actor performs all their own stunts. That’s what I’m aiming for.”
“That’s outrageous, so dazzling… I feel like I’m being blinded by your ambitiousness.”
“Oh, I’m serious all right. I’ll take responsibility and pay for my own surgery if I end up needing to get a prosthetic eye.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or just joking, but please don’t say anything else like that.”
“But I am serious, you know?”
“…”