Ladies and Gentlemen... We Got Him

“Nakahara-Kun… Hey, Nakahara-Kun!”

I snap out of my zombie-like state of mindlessly looking out the window. I peek over to my right to see Yuri trying to get my attention in the middle of a lecture.

“Meet me at the back of the school for the mission briefing, okay?” she whispers over to me.

I remember my promise to her that we would meet after school, so I simply nod my head in response. As much as I want to go home and cry, I can’t bail on her for seemingly no reason.

Ever since I returned from lunch, I couldn't pay attention to anything the teacher was rambling on about. The only thing that occupies my mind is endless iterations of what happened on the rooftop with Saya earlier on. If I close my eyes, I can still feel her body pressed against me and I can imagine my arms reaching out and pulling her closer to me… If I did that, how would she feel? I’m thinking the same way as the creeps I despise, I can only hug Saya if it’s in my imagination.

Today has felt like it’s been going on forever. I just want tomorrow to come so I can move on and forget about everything that has happened…

***

And before I realize it, the bell rings after the final class of the day. Most of the students rush out of the classroom eager to head home, and some linger around chatting with their friends. I take my time to gather my things as I don't want to leave the classroom at the same time as Yuri. When most of the class is empty I grab my bag and make my way outside to the back of the school. It’s a spot where usually nobody is around, only students doing their outdoor club activities way off in the distance.

As I turn the corner Yuri is standing there with her arms folded, looking off into the distance. As she notices me approaching her, she grills me down.

“Nakahara-Kun, are you feeling okay? Since lunch ended you have been acting strange.” She walks up to me and takes a long inhale right beside me, violating my personal space.

“I knew it, you smell of a woman. What did that normie do to you!?” She pressures me for an answer.

I don't know what kind of crazy thing she is thinking, but this clearly has nothing to do with our mission briefing. Also, I really don't want to admit to her that Saya practically broke my heart then proceeded to beat me up afterward. When in doubt, I should play dumb I guess.

“What normie women are you talking about?” I say while scratching my head.

“Don't try to hide, I'm a girl you know! I can tell these sorts of things!”

Wow, either she is really perceptive or she is a stalker... To be honest I think I’m leaning more on the stalker side.

“Actually no, Saya and I are good friends.” I say with a nervous laugh.

“Hmph~! As long as she’s not bullying you or anything I guess there are no issues. I won’t pressure you for an answer.” She backs away from me.

I'm not being bullied if that's what she is thinking. I guess it was pretty obvious how upset I was today as she does seem genuinely worried about me.

"It's not Saya that I'm upset about…"

"Nakahara-Kun, What happened?" She unfolds her arms and relaxes from her aggressive stance.

“At lunch…” I almost spill everything that is on my mind but stop myself.

It’s not that I don't trust her as a friend but, I would rather not tell her how much of a loser I truly am. Despite my reluctance, I keep talking...

“I… I found out that she and some guy are getting close recently... so they might date soon.”

"And what's the problem with that?"

“They even kissed only after a week of meeting! That's the problem! I can't stop thinking about it! The fact that it wasn’t me is haunting my mind. I’ve known Saya for years, and I never did anything about it…"

“Nakahara-Kun…”

"I know this guy is just some creep that’s no good for her… I just want to get rid of him!”

"Get rid of him?!” She says while putting her hand on her mouth.

“Were friends right? Why don't you try and steal him from her! You can definitely pull it off, he apparently plays video games too, you can be his nerd girlfriend!”

Yuri taught me how to get boys online so she must be able to do it herself in real life!

“That’s what you meant by getting rid of…” She takes a deep exhale. “Look there is no way I can compete with a normie like her when it comes to looks. Plus I don't think I could ever date a normie dude like that! But...”

Yuri pushes her glasses up and her eyes sharpen as she looks directly at me.

"There is another option… This actually can go well with the mission plans I had for today.”

She turns around and starts mumbling to herself.

“If he is serious about this he can't refuse… I’ve trained him well enough... If we can find out who this guy is then maybe…”

“Maybe what? Helloooo?” Am I invisible now or something?

She suddenly spins back to face me and points at me.

“New mission Nakahara-Kun! Get this guy to become your girlfriend online!”

“Then what?” I have no idea where she is going with this.

“Then you can lure him away from your normie friend” She says this as if it was something obvious.

“What? Who's going to give up their chance at a real life girlfriend for an online E-Girl?”

“Nakahara-Kun, I like your thinking! Just being online isn't enough...” Yuri suddenly starts to pace back and forth.

“W-what do you mean, I didn’t say anything special.”

“Nakahara-Kun, you can get rid of this guy by destroying their relationship in three simple steps!”

“First, you become his online friend, second we transform you into a girl in real life, then lastly you become his real girlfriend! It only needs to be temporary… long enough to destroy their relationship, then you can ghost him!”

I must have forgotten how insane she acts sometimes. Does she really believe that we can track this guy down and get him to fall in love with me over a video game? Not only that but also make me into a girl in real life!?

"Nakahara-Kun, trust me this can work! Yes, I know it can! The only issue is finding out who this guy is… should be no problem, I'm good at these things"

I really can't tell if she is still talking to me at this point.

"Nakahara-Kun, I'll get back to you tomorrow. I need to gather some intel first"

"Wait I can just tell you his name-"

She has already run off.

For a moment there it seemed like she was trying to help me but now I'm not sure what she's on about.

Time to head home and try and forget about this horrible day.

***

It's now midnight, I spent the last 2 hours playing with the same creep from yesterday. It's been a little awkward as I haven't been my usual bright self. I'm not in the mood to put on the e-girl act today.

"I think I'm done playing games for the night, I'll see you tomorrow-"

“You seemed a bit different today. Did you have a bad day?”

I was a bit surprised he brought it up, so I answer his question honestly.

“Yea today sucked, UwU” 

“You can tell me about it, I’m here for you as a friend”

“Fwiends..?”

Sheesh, already calling me his friend?

“Since we stopped playing early today, why don't we video call so we can talk about it face to face. I’m here for you and any problems you have, I'll be right by your side.”

Damn! I already used the excuse that I was sleepy last time, so what should I say now?

“You know how girls can be right? I gotta be ready to turn on my camera. So next time I’ll do it for sure~”

I'm a genius at this.

“Alright fine, but I still want to know what's going on with you. I’m worried. I want you to be able to tell me, here you can tell it to me face to face. You don't have to turn on your camera if you don't want to.”

Fuck now I got to get rid of him or keep trying to dodge his advances. Then before I even know it, the voice call switches over to video.

On one half of the screen, there is an image of a camera and a red cross going through it. On the other, there is a seemingly regular looking guy in a dark room and the light from his monitor barely illuminates his body. To be honest, even though I can't make out his face, I was preparing myself to see something hideous like the fat nerds and weirdos who fawn over girls online. But I guess regular looking ones can fall for them too.

“Wait a moment please let me turn on my lights”

“O-okiee” I’m a bit relieved. So far, not so scary.

He gets up and walks to the end of his room. He's pretty tall and fit, I can see his biceps clearly as he's wearing a sleeveless shirt. My heartbeat starts to speed up, why do I feel a bit intimidated now? Maybe because I know he is above nerd standards when it comes to looks. This isn't what I would have imagined this weirdo to look like in a million years.

*click*

The light on his ceiling shoots on and he walks back to his desk.

“So, let's talk.” He says while getting into his chair. I get a clearer view of his familiar looking face.

Skipping a beat, my heart practically feels like it jumped out of my chest. I feel frozen in time, like my mind just took a screenshot of the image that I see through my eyes.

“A-ah” I almost let out my male voice, my throat feels like there is a golf ball inside of it and I can't form any words.

Is that who I think it is… no way... I must be losing my mind, I had a long day after all. Not every guy I see has to be the person that I need to destroy right?

Looking at the person that appears on the screen in front of me, there is no doubt about it. As much as I don't want to believe my eyes, I know what I'm looking at. I can hear the evilest parts of my mind cheering me on. I know exactly what I need to do...