Chapter 11

As Yuu finished packing the few belongings he had into his backpack, he couldn't help but glance out the window. Recess had just started, and his classmates were beginning to leave the classroom. It was at that moment that he noticed the silhouette of an unexpected person reflected in the glass.

Yui Yuigahama stood by the side of his desk, her cheeks flushed like cherry blossoms in spring. Nervously, she played with her fingers, tucked within the folds of her skirt, while her large eyes shyly avoided meeting his.

Yuu paused his chores and watched her curiously. In the anime, she was popular among her peers and always acted like a happy girl. However, seeing her so embarrassed in front of him was an unusual sight. For Yuu, her behavior fit perfectly into the cliché image of the anime heroine preparing to confess to the dense, unattainable boy.

[A heroine coming to talk to a simple student like me? Does she want to confess her heart's desire? Hmm... It seems that the threads of fate in this world are more fragile than I thought. Instead of falling in love with Hachiman, she fell in love with me at first sight]

Yui's cheeks deepened in blush upon hearing Yuu's inner thoughts. She wanted to add something very important―there was no way she would fall in love at first sight, even with someone as damn beautiful as him!

But before she could clear up this misunderstanding, Yuu smiled slightly and asked in a calm tone.

"Whatever it is you wish to share, you may do so without fear. Tell me, Miss... oh, right, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Yuu. How can I help you?"

Yui resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was obvious that this boy already knew her real name, her past and her future! Yet, he still pretended to be insane. If she had not heard the boy's thoughts, she would have been fooled by his performance.

But thanks to this, Yui was now sure that Yuu didn't know that she could hear his inner thoughts.

Quickly, she tapped her chest discreetly. Then, she took a deep breath to steady herself and locked eyes with Yuu, giving him her brightest smile.

"My name is Yui. Yuigahama Yui. I'm sorry, perhaps I'm being a nuisance, but this is extremely important. You see ######" (I swear I heard your thoughts just now. They were about falling in love at first sight...with you.)

As she confessed, her face grew even redder, if that was even possible. Yuu blinked, his expression filled with confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

[Is this girl sick? Why is she speaking in a language that doesn't exist?]

"#######! (Of course I'm not sick! And I'm speaking properly!"

However, Yuu kept hearing nonsensical sentences and looked curiously at Yui, who appeared to be struggling with her words. Whatever she attempted to say, only peculiar sounds emerged from her mouth. He wondered if she had mistakenly consumed a hallucinogenic drug.

Observing the weird expressions of her classmates, Yui's face flushed once more. She instinctively covered her mouth. It was only at that moment that she comprehended her own inability to understand her own speech.

'What's going on, why can't I say it out loud?!'

"Calm down, Yui. Take a deep breath in and out." Yuu said calmly, but Yui pouted prettily when she saw that the boy was holding back his laughter.

Yui nodded and inhaled deeply. This time, when she spoke, her voice was clear:

"Sorry, the words got stuck in my throat for a moment. What I wanted to say is... I would like to help you get to know the academy! Izumi-kun, if you need someone to show you around or give you a hand, I'm here for you."

Of course, that wasn't what he actually wanted to tell Yuu. But what other choice did she have? It seemed that she couldn't tell him that she could hear his inner thoughts for the time being.

That made her sigh deeply and she wondered how she would find a way to tell him later. Fortunately, her 'little mistake' didn't attract much attention from the students and they were able to leave without looking at her again.

Yuu gave her an apologetic smile. "Really? Thanks for the offer, Yui, but I have an urgent matter to take care of right now."

Yui's face darkened slightly at Yuu's refusal. But she still kept a smile on her face. "I understand. The offer still stands in case you change your mind."

Yuu just nodded and walked past, but he thought:

[If I recall correctly, at the start of the anime, Yui would often deceive herself and allow others' opinions to greatly influence her. She's the type of person who wants everyone to like her, and becomes fearful when she disagrees with her friends. I suppose she's currently attempting to make me like her...]

Yui's smile grew strained upon hearing Yuu's thoughts. However, as she blinked and turned her gaze towards him, all she managed to see was his retreating back blending into the crow of students, until he vanished completely.

"Seriously, it's like I'm naked in front of him..." she blushed at her own words. It didn't bother her that Yuu knew so much about her thanks to the anime, in fact, it comforted her to know that there was someone capable of understanding her.

But just then, another voice burst into her mind like a pitcher of cold water that drove away her good mood.

[Huh?! Really?! Yuigahama Yui appears in this world as well? Good thing this place isn't just High School DxD, I can collect Oregairu pieces too. I always thought God was a son of a bitch, but it turns out you really are merciful! I'm sorry for misjudging you, I promise to live to the fullest and offer you all my respect and devotion every day while fucking girls]

Issei's voice sounded sincerely moved in his head.

[Hey, Hachiman pleases me, but I'm sorry, you'll take a green hat. Yuigahama will be mine too, ha ha. Maybe when I get bored of a girl, I'll lend some of my girls to Hachiman...]

Yui looked from left to right, searching for the source of this unpleasant inner thought, and her gaze met Issei's, who was watching her a few meters away.

At first, he looked surprised to have been spotted. But he immediately gave a gentle smile.

[Yuigahama is looking at me? Hehe~ Maybe my protagonist aura is acting. Wait... Why is he looking at me with a disgusted expression? Oh yeah, she still doesn't like me because the old me was a hopeless pervert. I guess I'll have to try my best to improve my reputation and win her trust before I take her to bed].

Issei straightened his shoulders and smoothed his hair before he walked over to where Yui was standing. He thought that approaching her with a smile would win some affection points with her, but unfortunately for him, real life didn't work like a dating game.

Issei's obscene thought was the last straw for Yui. She had never felt such repulsion towards anyone before, but Issei's intentions towards her filled her with a nausea that was hard to bear.

'You're pretending to be a nice guy just to manipulate me into sleeping with you? Hmph! You shameless pervert!'

And she started to ponder if she would encounter similar lewd remarks if she could read other boys' minds.

'But... Izumi-kun doesn't have those perverted comments.' That made her sigh.

Suddenly, she lost all interest in confessing to Yuu about her peculiar ability to hear his thoughts. Maybe it was because she felt more connected to him when she could genuinely understand what he was thinking.

Be that as it may, unbeknownst to Issei, Yui silently promised to stay away from him from now on.

Meanwhile, the brown-haired boy didn't even have time to reach her when he already saw her running towards her group of friends who were waiting for her in front of the classroom before she gave him a disgusted look.

And what came next would have made anyone laugh, except that he had to see it firsthand. His fingers floated in the air. It was as if the wind itself had torn them apart and blown them out the window into the sky, leaving a swirling cloud of dust in its wake.

"Sorry guys, I had a little mishap!" Upon arrival, Yui greeted her friends with a smile.

She usually managed to hide her mood behind a bright smile, but this time her expression was clearly forced.

And one of her friends was the first to notice it. "Is something wrong, Yui? It's not like you to show such a strained expression."

He was Hayato Hayama, the captain and ace of the academy's soccer club. Along with Yuuto Kiba, he is one of the most popular students in the school, and many girls have a crush on him.

He is a teenager of average height, and as a soccer player, he has an athletic build. He has medium-length blond hair and pale blue eyes. At first glance, a handsome boy and gentle with everyone.

Yui vehemently denied it. "It's nothing, really. Let's go to the cafeteria before the bell rings."

Hayama didn't seem to mind either, because he didn't think much more about the matter. Instead, the animated voice of the group of friends echoed through the corridor as they walked towards the cafeteria.

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