But life doesn’t always go the way we want.
It was the lunch break at the start of the school week. And a shocking development was about to throw Kai and Reina a curveball.
“Well, well, well, Ash. So you eat at the cafeteria too? Guess I’ll tag along~☆”
And with that, the ever-annoying Momoko caught up to Kai before he made his way into the halls.
Kai found himself staring in disbelief.
“C’mooon, eating alone is totally lame, so even eating with you is better than nothing! Besiiiiiides, I’m in a generous kinda mood, y’know? And let’s be real, Ash, I knoooow that getting to have lunch with me makes you wanna shed tears of joy, riiiiight? Ah, what a benevolent goddess I am!”
If she’s a goddess, she’s a Momokoddamn annoying one. Her ability to spout such nonsense left Kai at a loss for words.
However, the students around him made up for that as the entire class started gossiping among themselves. Why was the number 3 of the popular girls’ group, specifically the one who was known for never clinging to boys, suddenly chatting up the most unremarkable, middle-of-the-road otaku in their class?
It was a mystery begging to be solved, and the fascination in that mystery spread through the class like wildfire. The students seemed to be showing some restraint, but their curiosity couldn’t be concealed. They frequently glanced at the motionless Kai as Momoko tried to hurry him to lunch.
But some people in the class were more indignant at what they’d just heard than others. What’s more, it wasn’t Reina. It was Matsuda, Takeda, Umeda, and Fukuda—the gang at the top of the boys’ food chain. And since they were just shot down by Jun and Reina’s group after inviting them to lunch mere moments ago, the timing for Kai couldn’t have been worse.
What’s she inviting that creepy geek for?
Momoko’s never even spoken to us!
Screw this loser!
He’s dead meat!
Or, so their glares at Kai communicated quite clearly. However, Kai pretended not to notice (out of fear for his life) and said to Momoko:
“Sorry, but uh, no.”
“Huuuuh?”
Momoko didn’t seem to expect that saying no was an option. Her suspiciously beady eyes widened in disbelief that he was turning down all this.
Or so it seemed, until her brow started to furrow in fury. Her desperate attempts to hold it back caused her face to twitch in an overall hilarious expression.
“P-Pardon? Ash, y-you do realize who you’re saying no to, don’t you?”
“Mihara, right?”
“You’re saying no to Momoko! The cutest girl in school, Momoko! This is the kind of chance that a shut-in like you will never get again if you let it slip away!”
“I mean, I’m kinda fine with that...”
Kai didn’t mince words. Momoko’s eyes were bulging in shock, but he paid no mind.
Kai learned one thing from the deluge of insults Reina subjected him to the other day. Indeed, she was right about one thing: no matter what Momoko demands, just politely decline. If you can’t do as the Romans do, then just stay home. That’s a fine policy to follow.
...Anyway.
Kai didn’t exactly get along well with Momoko, and he hadn’t forgotten who was bashing him in that group chat, so he figured having lunch together would be pure torment. As such, he declined at the first opportunity. Politely.
“Die in a fire.☆” Out of rage, Momoko tried to kick Kai’s shins in. Kai effortlessly dodged. “What’re you dodging for?!”
“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t wanna get hurt.”
“You’re supposed to stand there and take it!”
“No way! This isn’t a cartoon.”
“Ash, you annoying dummy! I hate you!” After shouting the parting words of a third-rate childhood friend, Momoko stormed off in frustration and tears.
“I’m the annoying one?” Kai grumbled as he was left standing stock still.
Once the out-of-season Typhoon Momoko passed, Kai entered the hall. This time, he came across Nocchi, who was from an entirely different class. She was the ace spiker of Asagi High’s women’s volleyball team. When they stood together, Kai could really tell how tall and lean she was.
But just then, he got served something unexpected!
She asked if he was planning to eat at the cafeteria and invited him to eat with her. Unlike Momoko, Kai didn’t sense any malice coming from her, a feeling that was by no means influenced by her cup size. But eating alone with her, without Jun, was a bit of a tall order. He felt intimidated.
“O-Oh, I couldn—”
“Great, glad that’s settled! Let’s go!”
Nocchi grabbed Kai’s hand without hesitation and pulled him along with the force of an athlete.
Wh-What happened to politely turning them down...?
Ah, how difficult it is to resist being swept up in the pace of others. It’s not a skill that can be mastered in a day. Kai had to chuckle at himself. And worry if he’d be able to carry a conversation between the two of them.
“Ash, you know a ton about manga, right?”
“M-Maybe. I know bits and pieces.”
Nocchi brought up an unexpected topic, so Kai instantly put up his defenses. To be fair, he wasn’t confident he could give an informed opinion on niche topics like the trend shifts in 2000s-era women’s manga in 100 characters or less on the spot, so he decided to play it safe.
“You seen how sick Hinomaru Sumo’s been lately? Also, it’s still kinda off the radar for everyone I know, but I’ve been super into Jujutsu Kaisen...”
She’s just asking about Shounen Jump?!
Sure, it was the biggest name in manga, but Kai felt a little duped inside. And it was kinda late to tell her that everyone and their mothers were following Jujutsu Kaisen...
Oh well, Kai loved conversations like these either way.
“If you like Hinomaru, do you know that Jin’ou internet meme? The one where he’s crying over Uruka from We Never Learn.”
“The what now? Send me a link.”
Nocchi showed off her extroverted essence by casually whipping out her smartphone and insisting that Kai add her as a friend.
Kai may have been swept up by her pace and her power, but their manga talk proved more exciting than he expected. It gave Kai a newfound respect for Jump as a universal language that everyone, young or old, boy or girl, normie or shut-in, could communicate with.
Which is why he didn’t notice...
That from within the classroom, Matsuda’s gang was glaring at him the whole time. Their hostile, malice-filled gazes didn’t let him go.