Chapter 546

"Hah... Hah..."

She thought it would be close, but it was actually quite far.

How on earth did the beggar know Matsuda had come all the way here?

He’d even left her with a strange remark in a sage-like tone at the end... Could he be the one who sent her this way?

Dressed in a beggar's rags on purpose?

That made no sense.

She hadn't broken into a full sprint, but she had run at a brisk pace, constantly looking around for fear of missing him. Arriving near the bridge, Miyuki caught her breath and pushed the stray thoughts from her mind.

It was a secluded spot, largely devoid of foot traffic. Quiet, too.

She scanned the area. There were only a few people passing by on the bridge above; there was no sign of Matsuda anywhere.

Had that beggar lied to her?

No, she just needed to look a little harder. She had to have faith.

She had a good feeling about this, and it was raining...

"Who the hell are you?"

Just as that thought crossed Miyuki's mind, a faint male voice drifted up from under the bridge.

Hearing the hostility in the tone, Miyuki quickly shifted to a spot where she could peer underneath.

'Hmm...'

Several dark figures were doing something in the shadows below.

Seven of them, to be exact. The layout looked like four guys of varying builds cornering one boy and two girls.

Miyuki narrowed her eyes, trying to make out their faces, and suddenly flinched.

The boy whose shoulder was being shoved by the massive, heavyset guy who had stepped forward was none other than Matsuda.

From his build to his facial features, she was certain. It was Matsuda.

Furthermore, judging by the clothes and hairstyles of the two girls behind him, they were definitely her middle school friends.

Yes, the very friends who were supposed to go shopping for stationery with her today.

'What in the world...?'

Why was Matsuda with her friends?

What was more, it looked like he was trying to protect them.

It was confusing. Matsuda didn't even know her middle school friends, did he?

Had they been targeted for a street pickup, and Matsuda had just happened to stumble across them and intervene?

It was an insane coincidence. There had to be plenty of girls targeted for a street pickup by delinquents downtown... Did this even make sense?

Was this the so-called hand of fate?

Did this mean she and Matsuda were truly a match made in heaven?

Regardless, her decision to break her plans with her friends had slightly altered the scenario... but this wasn't a bad turn of events.

She could thank him for saving her friends and use the opportunity to get closer to him.

After that, they could gradually close the distance... Hmm, hmm. She couldn't help but feel giddy at the sheer number of possibilities.

'Oh, right.'

She couldn't afford to get lost in her endless daydreams right now.

The delinquent standing nose-to-nose with Matsuda was raising his voice as he shoved his shoulder.

"I said, who the hell are you? Why are you sticking your nose in— ah, damn it..."

The punk suddenly grew irritated.

He was shoving with quite a bit of force, but Matsuda wasn't budging an inch, which clearly flustered him.

Matsuda was incredibly strong, after all.

"I asked who you are, you little shit!"

Giving up on trying to push him, the punk resorted to shouting to pressure Matsuda.

Matsuda simply shrugged in response.

"A person."

"...Are you screwing with me?"

"I'm not. You asked, so I answered."

Even though it was clearly a tense situation, Miyuki let out an involuntary snort of laughter at Matsuda's words.

The answer was just so like him.

Relaxed, confident, and completely shameless.

"You son of a biiiiitch—!!?"

Spitting curses, the punk tried to shove Matsuda with all his might, only to suddenly shriek in agony.

Matsuda had grabbed the wrist of the hand resting on his shoulder and twisted it upward.

As Matsuda pushed the wrist forward in that state, the punk—a guy twice his size—stumbled backward rapidly, letting out an uncharacteristically girlish squeal.

"Gyaaaah...!"

Seeing the delinquent drop and cradle his wrist in agony once Matsuda let go, she felt like she was watching a sketch comedy show.

"You crazy bastard..."

At the same time, the punk's buddies behind him started barking out threats.

Seeing this, Miyuki quickly whipped out her Cell Phone and dialed the police.

A brawl was highly likely at this point, and she would rather die than see Matsuda get hurt.

She still needed to deal with the Superi circle—the cancerous tumor of Yeboni Academy that Matsuda was currently involved with—but right now, calling the cops took priority.

"Is this the police!? There's a fight breaking out right now! A gang of thugs is threatening people! They're going to kill them...!! The location is..."

As soon as the call connected, Miyuki shouted into the receiver, dramatically exaggerating the situation as she broadcasted it.

Hearing her, the eyes of all seven people beneath the bridge snapped toward her.

"What the? Cops?"

"Hey, man...! Let's just go."

Panicking, the delinquents muttered among themselves, threw dirty looks at the unfazed Matsuda and Miyuki, and dragged their groaning buddy away.

"I'm remembering your face."

True to their nature as thugs full of bluster, they made sure to drop a cliché, comic-book extra-like threat at Matsuda before leaving.

'Thank goodness...'

A fight had been avoided.

If those punks had been just a little more reckless, it would have turned into a full-on brawl. Luckily, they were nothing more than background extras.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Miyuki peeked over the railing and watched the three of them emerge from beneath the bridge.

"Thank you... thank you so much."

"Don't mention it..."

Seeing Matsuda look flustered as her friends bowed ninety degrees to him made her feel proud, but a strange, unsettling feeling also accompanied it.

She hadn't realized it back then, but since returning to the past, she had noticed something.

The stares that pierced him whenever he walked down the Academy halls.

While many of those glances were wary, coming from students who wanted to avoid him because of his delinquent reputation, just as many eyes lingered on him purely because of his looks.

He had a great, deep voice, he was tall, and he had a fantastic physique, so it was only natural, really...

Still, she couldn't help but feel a tiny... a very tiny bit annoyed.

As possessiveness flared wildly in her chest, Miyuki snapped back to reality when her friends waved up at her.

"Miyuki! How did you know we were down there!?"

"You must've seen what was happening! Thank you!"

In reality, her friends had merely gotten tangled up in this by accident while she was searching for Matsuda, but since all was well that ended well, she decided to let it slide.

Still, a pang of unwarranted guilt did strike her.

It felt like they had become sacrificial lambs for the sweet event about to happen between her and Matsuda.

'I should buy them coffee.'

Unable to bury that unnecessary guilt, Miyuki offered an awkward smile as her friends hurried up the stairs to meet her.

"You're in the same class as Miyuki? That's so cool...! Could I get your number? I'd really love to buy you dinner sometime—hey, what are you doing...?"

Miyuki shoved her friend in the back, interrupting her blatant attempt to hit on Matsuda.

"Take your coffee and go. Hurry up."

"Why are you trying to kick us out?"

"Wh—who's kicking you out...!"

She had a feeling her friend would show interest in him.

As expected, she couldn't take her eyes off Matsuda for even a single second.

She needed to hurry up and secure him, whether by offering to tutor him or asking him out on a date.

Furthermore, if her friends casually mentioned that she had canceled their plans today, it might arouse Matsuda's suspicions.

It was only right to shoo them away quickly and secure some alone time with him.

"Just go. You guys must be in shock after what happened, so go home and rest."

"It really was terrifying... but what about his num—"

"Take a taxi back. Okay?"

Deftly cutting her friend off, Miyuki shot a side-eye at Matsuda, who was casually sipping his coffee, and herded her still-shaken friends out of the cafe.

After firmly coaxing the reluctant friend and sending her home, she headed back inside and stood in front of him.

"Is it good?"

"It just tastes like coffee."

"That's why I'm asking if it's good."

"I don't know about the taste, but it's cold."

The iced Americano in his hand was already nearly empty.

He drank iced Americanos like water.

So very Matsuda.

"Thank you for today. For stepping in to protect my friends."

"Sure."

Even the slightly arrogant tilt of his chin, even his blunt replies, perfectly matched the Matsuda of this era.

And that made her happy.

"I was too distracted earlier to ask, but what exactly happened out there?"

"I was just walking around when I saw those guys grab your friends by the arms. They were trying to drag them off to hang out, so I followed them."

"Look at you, full of justice. I'm seeing you in a new light."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's a huge coincidence, too."

"I guess."

In truth, Matsuda had only rolled up his sleeves because he vaguely recognized them as Miyuki's friends, but she had no way of knowing that.

Swaaaash—!

The gentle drizzle abruptly shifted into a torrential downpour, pelting the clear cafe windows.

Turning her head to look outside, the corners of Miyuki's lips curled up.

"It's really pouring down now, isn't it? I like it."

"You like the rain?"

"I..."

Miyuki was about to say yes, but she caught herself.

Did Matsuda know that she had been averse to the rain?

No, he wouldn't know. Back then, they had treated each other like a thorn in the eye.

Which meant they hadn't known the first thing about each other's preferences.

Matsuda, on the other hand, had always loved rainy days.

She could become more intimate with him here through a shared interest... but Miyuki decided against it.

Having different tastes meant there would be more joy in gradually aligning with each other.

Of course, she was already thoroughly soaked in his preferences, but she had to play her part.

A tiny bit of push-and-pull would only help pull them closer together in the end.

This much wouldn't hurt her developing relationship with Matsuda, either.

Resolving to trust her instincts, Miyuki finally answered.

"I used to just feel indifferent, but today, I like it."

"Why do you like it today?"

"Because it feels like something good is going to happen."

"That's vague."

"You aren't hurt anywhere, right?"

"I'm fine. But how did you even find us down there?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious."

"I was just walking around and spotted you guys. Like I said, it was a massive coincidence."

"Is that so? Well, either way, you owe me now."

"Huh...? I do?"

"Yeah."

"Why? Because you helped my friends?"

"No. Why would that be your debt to pay?"

"Then what do I owe you for?"

"Your friend was trying to get my number, but you forced her away because you don't like me."

'No, it was because she was blatantly flirting with you.'

Swallowing the words, Miyuki forced the corners of her mouth up.

"That wasn't it..."

"Then what was it?"

"Well... I mean..."

"See? You have nothing to say."

She just couldn't come up with a good excuse on the spot... but it felt terribly unfair.

Should she just pretend to admit it, and offer to tutor him as compensation? Would that sound natural?

No, there had to be a smoother way to steer the conversation.

"It's really coming down out there... Do you have an umbrella?"

"Nope. You?"

"Neither do I."

This would be the perfect moment to go get ramen... She was dying of regret.

Still, she had to wait. Good things come to those who wait; she would suppress the temptation until the perfect moment to unleash it all at once.

Besides, that ramen shop was best visited in the early hours of the morning, so she would have to wait until she and Matsuda grew closer, hoping he would naturally take her there.

"Matsuda-kun, you're always sleeping in class... Why is that? Are you just tired?"

"I sleep because I don't understand anything. You got a problem with that?"

"Isn't that a bit hostile? The way I see Matsuda-kun was just starting to change, you know. Could you try speaking a little more gently?"

"What more am I supposed to do to sound gentle?"

"You didn't need to add the part about me having a problem."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Anyway, we're going to be stuck here until the rain stops. Want to study together? Let's make an effort to keep you awake tomorrow."

"Out of nowhere?"

It wasn't out of nowhere. It was perfectly normal to offer to study together as a way of saying thanks.

Besides, looking after her classmates was her duty as the class representative.

Was it not? Did it sound too weird?

"Sounds like something you'd say. Alright, try teaching me."

Miyuki, who had been debating whether to add an explanation, cheered internally at Matsuda's words. "Could you drop the 'try'? It turns it into a command."

"I don't want to. But how are you going to teach me? Don't tell me you carry books around at a time like this..."

"No. We can study on my Cell Phone. I have the entire first-year curriculum memorized, so I can just teach you based on that. Or I can start from the absolute basics, since Matsuda-kun doesn't know a thing."

"Are you looking down on me?"

"Matsuda-kun, you're the one who said you didn't know anything. Don't you remember?"

"Ah, damn it... Just start teaching me already."

Even this trivial banter was incredibly fun.

If she was already like this, it was going to be a problem... a really big problem.

She felt like she would end up grinning like an idiot the entire time she was tutoring him.

"Tomorrow's first period is math, right?"

"It is?"

"You should really look at your schedule once in a while. Anyway, the material is a bit difficult, but the formulas are simple."

"If it's difficult, how can the formulas be simple?"

"It's difficult because the applications are tricky. Anyway, let's start with..."

Miyuki pulled out her Cell Phone.

Whether she was in her first or second year, she had always kept workbooks saved in the same folder.

That was no different now. Since her Cell Phone hadn't changed, she could find the folder without any issues.

As she happily scrolled through her math folder, carefully hiding her excitement, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

Later on, she and Matsuda would end up sleeping together. But since she had returned to the past, would it hurt just like her first time?

Still... Matsuda would treasure her, so she wasn't too worried.

There probably wasn't a single person in the world who had experienced something like this, which only made her look forward to it in secret.

"Why are you smiling so creepily?"

At Matsuda's words, Miyuki quickly wiped the suggestive expression off her face and made up an excuse.

"I just got happy thinking about tormenting Matsuda-kun."

"Pervert."

She certainly was a pervert. Just in a completely different way.

Hiding her true feelings was turning out to be incredibly difficult.

How long could she hold out? She couldn't say for sure, but she'd probably lose her mind in about a week.

Still, it was a relief.

When Matsuda was nowhere to be seen, she thought her event had been completely blown away, but it was nice getting entangled in a new incident with him.

Things hadn't flowed naturally, but who cared?

The important thing was that the two of them could be together.