Chapter 19: Imaizumi Girls

Hikari waved dismissively, "No worries. Now hurry up, we're already about to start second period."

Watching him walk towards the classroom, Shinomiya felt her heartbeat quicken.

Sneaking into school by climbing a wall—this was a first for her. As a former student council president, she'd never even considered such a thing. It was like a pious nun suddenly rapping with gang signs.

Recently, Natsuha had taken a liking to certain inappropriate movies for this very reason—the thrill of the forbidden. And Hikari, who had just brought her along on this mischievous adventure, was the cause of her rapidly growing fondness for him.

'Hikari is… incredibly strong.'

She found herself staring at his back, recalling how he'd effortlessly pulled her up the wall and caught her so securely when she jumped down. Especially when he caught her close and she'd felt... just how powerful he was...

'Isn't he exactly the kind of guy I dreamed of?'

'He's practically perfect.'

A pinkish blush tinted Natsuha's red eyes as she fixated on him.

"You'd better hurry if you don't want to be late for second period," Hikari's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Ah! Coming!"

Snapping out of her daydream, Natsuha hurried to catch up, patting her burning cheeks. "No, no, what am I even thinking? Hikari and I—there's no way that could happen."

"I've already promised Yuuta... Once he gets into high school, we'll be together. I'm not going to break that promise! I only like Yuta! Right! Exactly!"

Just before the second period bell, Hikari and Shinomiya made it to the classroom. Most of their classmates didn't pay much attention to their arrival, except for three girls sitting near the back, who eyed them curiously.

———

After the second period ended, Hikari leaned forward, planning to catch a quick nap, when he heard some commotion nearby. Turning his head, he saw three fashionable, attractive girls cornering a small, timid-looking boy.

"Imaizumi, didn't we tell you to bring your console from home so we could all play together?" The blonde-haired girl, Hamazaki Reina, spoke in an harsh tone, her words directed at the boy, Imaizumi Keita.

"Um… I just moved out, so I don't have any money to buy a console right now…" Imaizumi mumbled.

The red-haired girl, Sasaki Yukina, glared at him, her tone irritated. "Hey, Imaizumi, we brought our game cartridges and everything. Are you trying to bail on us?"

"N-no, I'm not!" Imaizumi stammered, "I just moved out on my own, so I can't afford a new console…"

The third girl, a white-haired twin-tailed beauty named Kurumizaka Riri, smirked, "Oh, so you're saying you're living alone now? In a one-room apartment?"

Imaizumi nodded quickly, "Yes! You can come see my apartment if you don't believe me."

The blonde, Reina, laughed coldly, "Alright then. But if we find out you're lying, you're in for it. After school, we'll…"

"Could you all keep it down?"

Before Reina could finish, a voice interrupted her. All four of them—three girls and Imaizumi—turned to see a tall, handsome boy with short black hair standing over them.

It was none other than Hikari, the hero of pure love who couldn't stand to see anyone get bullied and was ready to defend his nap at all costs.

"Hey, we're talking to Imaizumi. What's it to you?" Though Reina was shorter than Hikari by a good margin, she showed no fear as she snapped back at him.

The red-haired girl, Yukina, tugged on Reina's sleeve and whispered, "Reina, he's the guy who beat up Oga… you know, that guy!"

Reina's eyes lit up with excitement, and the white-haired girl, Riri, stared at Hikari with a captivated look, unable to stop herself from biting her lip.

After sizing him up, Reina smirked, "So, you're Hikari? We were just having a friendly conversation with Imaizumi. Do you have a problem with that?"

Hikari ignored their strange expressions, replying with a scowl, "You're disturbing my rest, and I don't like seeing anyone bully their classmates."

Reina laughed mockingly, "Oh, so you're the noble hero now, huh? Well, I'm disturbing you, and I'm bullying him. What are you gonna do about it? Beat me up, huh? Come on, big guy, try it."

Her brazen taunt didn't faze Hikari, but her two friends were visibly taken aback. 'Why is she provoking him so suddenly?'

"Reina, are you assuming I won't hit girls?" Hikari's tone grew colder.

"Oh yeah? Then go on, hit me. Come on, show me what you got!"

Reina, confident, even raised her fist as if to throw the first punch.

Hikari had already decided to teach these girls a lesson. But just as Reina's fist was about to reach him, she suddenly dropped it and cried out, "Ow! Hikari, you hit so hard!"

And before he could react, she collapsed against him.

"I'm sorry, Hikari, I know I was wrong… but please, be gentle!"

She lay there, clinging to him, her voice full of playful whimpers.

Hikari blinked in surprise, looking down at the blonde girl clinging tightly to him without even a touch from him. She had practically fallen into his arms… 'What on earth is going on?'

'I didn't even hit her, and she's already acting like this?'

Seeing Reina clutching onto Hikari, pretending to be hurt, the redhead, Yukina, and the white-haired girl, Riri, were equally stunned.

Watching Reina shamelessly cling to him, groaning and looking like she was having the time of her life, they both cursed inwardly: 'Unbelievable! This shameless girl!'

And just like that, they, too, gave a dramatic gasp and threw themselves onto Hikari.

"Hikari, you're too rough! That hurt!"

Now there were three girls practically draped over him, each one whining about how painful it was to be hit by him.

'Seriously? What is this? Some kind of reverse ambush?'

Hikari looked down at the trio clinging to his chest. They were whining about being hurt but showed no sign of letting go. Instead, they were leaning even closer, their hands lingering in ways that weren't exactly subtle.

Nearby, Imaizumi watched in awe and envy. Although he'd been bullied by the girls, he couldn't deny that he found them attractive. He'd even wondered if maybe they liked him, hence all the teasing.

But he'd never been this close to them—he hadn't even brushed against their hands. Yet here they were, practically glued to Hikari after only one encounter.

Hikari sighed, looking at the three girls draped over him like clingy octopussies. "You're all saying you 'get it' now—does that mean no more bullying other students?"

They immediately replied, "Yes! Hikari, we won't bully anyone again. We've learned our lesson!"

"And Imaizumi here? You're done bothering him too?"

The trio nodded emphatically. "Mm-hmm! He's free to go."

Relieved, Imaizumi asked, "So… you won't be coming to my apartment after school?"

The girls confirmed, "Nope."

Though surprised, Imaizumi felt a wave of relief wash over him, finally feeling free from their torment. He gave Hikari a grateful nod. "Thanks, Hikari, for standing up for me."

Hikari, still dealing with the clingy trio, waved it off as no big deal. But then, the girls added coyly, "Hikari, even though we won't bother Imaizumi anymore, he did promise to let us play on the new console at his place."

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