Unexpected Partner

Even though it was an unfamiliar voice questioning me, I knew exactly who it was. The girl from earlier was calling out to me.

I was startled, not because of her aggressive voice from the get-go, but because all the people I encountered were girls. The number of guys I talked to in this school was zero, and the girls amounted to three already. I needed a bro to balance this out.

"And you are?" I asked back while scanning the QR code to pay for my hoodie. I didn't want to say "yes" because it felt like bragging. I figured the safest way to go about this conversation was to remain hidden.

After purchasing the hoodie, I wore it immediately and turned around to face the stranger. She removed the hood, revealing a face that could be categorized as "badass." She had shoulder-length black hair with a blue hue at the end of it. Her eyes were also blueish but more to the darker side than Ichinose's.

Her nose bridges were high and gorgeously sharp. This was a face of a model hidden behind the baggy clothes and the oversized hoodie. I recognized her. I mean, who wouldn't?

"Otogi Shikimi."

"You did your research, huh?" she asked me with an unsettling smile.

"Of course, you are directly below me, after all. It would be weird if I didn't know your face."

I needed to fight back against her provocation. It might not be a provocation, but it sounded like it. I didn't know why, but my blood would boil a little whenever someone tried to challenge me.

Her grin disappeared as she chuckled slightly. I couldn't sense anything from her. Maybe she found this encounter funny or exciting. I was just confused at this point, so I wanted to play along to see where this would go.

*SWISH*

Something came at me. Too fast. I didn't manage to see it, but my trusty reflex blocked it for me. A blast of wind burst at the collision and made my hair dance.

"Not bad, Hinode Hiryu."

I turned left and saw Otogi's leg right before my left cheek. She tried to kick me in the face unannounced. Even so, I was able to parry the blow quite flawlessly.

"That was a dirty trick you pulled there. Could've damaged my new hoodie if I didn't block it right."

She quickly withdrew her leg and walked towards me. Luckily, Saki and the others were out of sight right now. I didn't want them to get involved in whatever this was.

I looked behind and saw the frightened faces of the employees there. Not wanting to cause a stir, I grabbed Otogi's arm and dragged her outside.

"This was the first time someone blocked it, y'know?"

"You just run around and kick people in their faces?"

She laughed deliriously before answering me, "Not necessarily."

"Your kick packed a punch there. I'm guessing they all dropped unconscious for some minutes."

"I do that only when I see something that catches my eye. You know the feeling of your blood boiling when you see somethin' exciting? Gets me goin' all the time."

"I'm familiar with that feeling. It happens rarely, but when you get that sensation, it's like adrenaline pumping in your brain."

Her personality vastly contradicted her elegant model face. Well, the more I looked at her, the more that wasn't the case.

Her outfit and hair morphed her into a "badass" looking girl who rebelled against every common notion that existed. Her multiple piercings on both ears stuck out from the rest as well.

"Right on the money."

She was crazy, but I understood that craziness. I kept it inside while she showed it out. Would it be a good idea to befriend this girl? All I could say was that Otogi was eccentric.

"Gotta go now. You mind if we exchange numbers?"

"What for?"

"Sparring matches. It would be fun for the both of us, don't ya think?"

Interesting proposition. Otogi was ranked third in terms of Combat Prowess. That was no joke because I still felt the force of her kick from earlier.

Besides, I hadn't had an equal sparring partner throughout my entire life. Saki could become one, but that would take a very long time. What I needed to maintain my score was Otogi.

"Alright. Here you go."

I showed the QR code for her to scan to get my number. She called to confirm it was correct and then walked away.

"Good to see you, partner," Otogi waved goodbye.

I went back inside and saw the girls lining up at the checkout counter.

"Where did you go?" Ichinose asked.

"Bathroom. You're buying stuff too?"

"They are on sale right now. These sweaters look good, right?"

"Don't trust my fashion sense here, but they look great. How much for two of those?"

"Around 2,000 points, I think."

"Really? What a bargain. I should've told Saki to look for another pair of matching hoodies on sale instead of buying this one."

I could've saved a bit more money for other stuff. Even if I was ranked first and would get many points, every point counted. But I didn't mind spending more than usual sometimes. I just needed to remind myself not to splurge on useless stuff.

"You'll gain it back easily, right? Besides, the more important thing is that Saki loves it."

"You're right."

We exited the shop after successfully making our purchases. Saki also wore her hoodie to match me, which honestly fitted her well. She looked cute in everything, I couldn't deny that.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. We were basically playing a cat-and-mouse game in which I was the cat chasing the girls everywhere. Any shop that caught their attention would be ravaged until they were satisfied.

Of course, Azuma helped me warn them not to spend too much. I said not to spend anything at all, which would be way better.

At around 2:00 PM, we had lunch at a burger joint in the mall. The burger was quite delicious. A big plus of that burger was that it didn't have pickles. I disliked them from the bottom of my heart.

I understood the concept of pickles, which is to cut the fattiness of the burger with its tanginess. For me, it is too overpowering that everything that constitutes a burger would be ruined once I get a bite of it.

Lunch was done, and the girls decided to go to the arcade. Usually, I would enjoy new experiences such as this one, but I was exhausted. How could the girls have so much energy?

Even Saki too, who was half-asleep a couple of hours ago. It was a mystery that I couldn't wrap my head around it.

I barely played video games ever. I knew that guys this age loved playing games to the point it became an obsession. They would find the nearest internet café and stay there until past midnight.

Well, we played some arcade games and got a lot of tickets due to my undiscovered gaming ability. Even I was impressed by how things were turning out.

With all of these tickets, I exchanged them for three plushies and gave them to the girls. I asked if there were anything else other than plushies, but the employee said they had been exchanged and only plushies were left.

They seemed to like the plushies, so I was content. I used my remaining tickets for an ice cream and called it a day.