A Reward for You

After finishing the customary introduction to the class and listening to the teacher’s explanation about this school, the lesson was resumed. Thankfully this was still in the beginning of the semester, thus I didn’t miss much of it.

“Hmm…there’s a lot of delinquents around here.” I thought to myself as I scanned the classroom.

Just as Sakuya said, quite a few students in this class were delinquents—and yet, they were attending the class quite obediently. Well, they didn’t take notes nor even opened their textbooks, but they generally stayed quiet and didn’t bother the rest of the class.

“They’re strangely meek…?” My thought was interrupted by the sound of the lunch break bell.

All around me, the students started rising up from their seats—some went to the cafeteria while the others grouped together to eat lunch. I took out my lunchbox and started opening it.

“Um…Shiba-kun?”

I raised my head and saw three of my classmates crowding around my desk. Two of them were girls—with one of them being the class’ representative—and the other was a boy.

“Do you mind if we eat lunch together?” The class rep asked politely.

“No, please go ahead.” I nodded.

“Thank you! Whoa, it looks good!” The other girl, who seemed tomboyish compared to the calm class rep, immediately dragged a chair over and eyed my lunchbox.

“Hey, can I call you Ryuuji?” The boy, who took the seat next to me, asked familiarly.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” I replied. “You’re…?”

“Oh, I’m Shou. This girl is Minami, the class rep, and her childhood friend, Reikou.” He swiftly introduced them all.

“Hey, hey, I’m really curious about this, but why did you transfer here?” Reikou, the tomboyish girl, leaned closer to me with sparkling eyes.

“R-Reikou!” Minami chided her.

“It’s fine. I transferred here because of my parent’s work.” I answered.

“Hmm…with your looks, I thought you would go to a better school like Sakurazaki next door.” Shou remarked.

“Yeah, I thought so too.” I muttered to myself in small voice.

“So…why didn’t you?” Reikou tilted her head.

Despite her bluntness, Reikou’s face showed that she didn’t mean ill—she was simply curious.

“Well…” I reluctantly told them what happened this morning.

“Ahahahaha!” Shou laughed so hard that he nearly toppled over his chair.

“Shou-kun! Don’t laugh at him! S-Sorry, Shiba-kun!” Minami lowered her head in a fluster.

“No, that’s fine. It’s normal to laugh about this.” I smiled wryly.

“Yeah, the names are so similar that people often visit the wrong school, but this is the first time someone made that mistake when transferring.” Reikou nodded with serious face.

“If that’s the case then they should really change the school name!”

I swallowed back my retort and quickly changed the subject.

“Hey, do you know Kagura Sakuya?” I asked them.

After knowing her identity, I figured that everyone would react upon hearing her name. But those three simply nodded calmly.

“You mean the Banchou, right? She’s pretty famous around here.” Shou wiped the tears in his eyes.

“Yes…in her first year, she went around defeating delinquents and became their leader.” Minami nodded.

“I heard she’s super strong!” Reikou said excitedly. “She’s the one who ordered all the delinquents to properly attend their classes and to not make any ruckus!”

“She did?!” I was surprised to hear that.

“Yeah, thanks to her, we normal students get to live in peace.” Shou said. “Though because of that, a part of the delinquents hates her. I hope it won’t lead to anything extreme like a war between them or anything.”

From the way Shou said it, I felt like it just triggered a flag. I sighed, hoping that it wouldn’t drag me into trouble as well.

“Oh, and she also offered us her protection.” Reikou added.

“So that part is true?!” I sat upright. “Did you guys accept it?”

“Y-Yes…almost everyone else also accepted it.” Minami explained. “Kagura-san said that if any of the delinquents try to harass you, she’ll make them regret it. That’s why no one makes any trouble.”

“A-And does that protection come with a price…?” I asked.

“Price? No, she didn’t ask for anything.” Shou rejected it.

“Or some kind of order from her?” I turned to Reikou.

“No, never heard of it.” Reikou also denied it.

“Then why is it only me…?” I felt a bad premonition about it.

*****

My bad premonition came true once the school’s last bell rang.

When I was tidying up my things, Reikou—who sat next to me—tapped my shoulder.

“Ryuuji-kun, I think that Senpai is looking for you.” Reikou gestured toward the door.

“Huh? Today is my first day, there’s no way I know anyone here…” I turned to the door and my eyes met the gaze of a male upperclassman.

He was clearly looking at me with sharp black eyes and a frown on his face, as if he was pissed that he had to look for me.

“Um…I…I think I’ll talk to him.” I took my bag and approached him.

When I got closer, I realized that this upperclassman was quite tall—perhaps even taller than the Student Council President. He had a well-built body with apparent muscles, as if he had been diligently training every day.

“Wait…” My feet naturally stopped. “Training? Could it be…”

“Are you Shiba Ryuuji?” The upperclassman asked me with his deep, threatening voice.

“Y-Yes, it’s me.” I reflexively straightened my back. “Um…did you need me for something…?”

“Kagura-san asked me to fetch you.” He spoke curtly, as if I was just a lost puppy that could be picked up anytime. “Follow me.”

He turned around and started walking away. I contemplated between running away and facing Sakuya’s wrath tomorrow or following him and getting caught up in her whims. But before I could decide, the upperclassman suddenly stopped walking and glared at me.

“Aren’t you coming?” He spoke again with even more threat in his voice, as if he was saying I’ll kill you if you don’t follow me.

“Y-Yes!” I gave up and ran after him.

*****

“Ah, there you are, Ryuu.”

Sakuya, who was perching on top of the teacher’s desk in an unused classroom, greeted me carefreely. This classroom was located at the corner of the school and seemed to be used as the delinquents’ base. Aside from Sakuya, there were many other delinquents hanging around in the room. I guessed they must be Sakuya’s subordinates.

“Kagura-san, I’ve brought him here as you asked.” The upperclassman stopped in front of Sakuya and knelt down, just like a retainer in front of his master.

But when I caught a glimpse of his face, he looked exactly like a loyal dog waiting excitedly to be praised. All traces of displeasure or frowns had vanished from his face.

“Right, good job, Pochi.” Sakuya patted his head like she would a dog.

“Wait, your name is Pochi?!” I instantly retorted.

He turned and glared at me. “It’s a nickname given by Kagura-san. Don’t casually call me that.”

“Then, your real name is…?” I asked.

“Mikado Ouji.”

“That nickname is too degrading! Your real name is way cooler!” I snapped at him.

“But when you look at him, doesn’t he remind you of a dog?” Sakuya asked.

“Well…that’s…yeah, it’s true…but…!”

“Okay, putting that aside…” Sakuya brushed off my objection. “Let us continue our conversation this morning. I remembered saying that I’ll reward you for helping me escape, right Ryuu?”

“It’s for becoming your decoy, but yes, you did say that.” I grumbled.

“Now, for your reward!” Sakuya jumped off the desk and stood before me.

She was a few inches shorter than me, so she had to look up to stare at me, but her dignified aura made her petite body seem bigger.

“Are you really going to reward me?” I eyed her suspiciously. From her earlier conducts, I highly doubted she would give me something worthwhile.

“Of course! A good superior always rewards their subordinates’ efforts!” Sakuya declared confidently. “You can ask Pochi and the others—I always give them a reward for their efforts. Right, guys?” Sakuya glanced at the other delinquents.

“Right, right! She gave me the handmade cookies she made during class—though it was burned and charred.”

“Kagura-san also gave me a can of coffee—saying that she got it as a bonus and she doesn’t like coffee.”

“Kagura-san always gives me a lot of praises after I finished my task! And she also gave me a stern scolding whenever I messed up!”

The last one came from Pochi—Ouji, who stated it confidently.

“No, no, only you would think of it as a reward.” I retorted internally. “And you lot, she didn’t even go out of her way to give you anything—she just gave you things that she didn’t need!”

“See? Are you convinced now?” Sakuya still had the guts to look proud.

“Yeah, I’m completely convinced.” I nodded.

“So, for your reward…”

“I’m completely convinced that it can’t be anything good! I don’t need your reward, so I’ll excuse myself!”

I turned around and ran toward the door before Sakuya could finish her sentence.

“…Pochi.”

“Roger.”

BAM!

“Wha—?!” I was surprised when my sight was suddenly at ground-level.

When I glanced at my back, I found Ouji pining me down with one hand twisting my arm and his knee on my back.

“As expected of my right hand-man. Pochi here used to be the strongest delinquent in this school, so it will be best for you to give up.” Sakuya cackled evilly, like a witch in children’s fairytales.

“And you dare to give a dog’s name to the strongest delinquent in this school?! Have you no shame?!” I retorted.

“Former strongest.” Ouji corrected me. “I lost fair and square to Kagura-san, so now she’s the strongest.”

“Now, where were we…ah, right. Your reward.” Sakuya circled around me and squatted right before me, her smile looked completely ominous.

“No! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t need it!” I strongly shook my head, using my hand to cover my ear, but Ouji was still holding my other hand tightly.

“Shiba Ryuuji. As your reward for helping me escape from that troublesome Student Council, I shall allow you to become a part of my faction. In other words…” Sakuya grinned, giving her face a fierce look. “…from today onward, you’ll be my henchman. I will take no objection! Okay?”

“Aah…I knew it…” I whispered powerlessly.

“Answer her, newbie.” Ouji twisted my arm further.

“Ouch, ouch! It’s going to break! I-I understand! I’ll accept, so please let me go!” I hurriedly complied.

“Pochi, you can release him now.” Sakuya rose to her feet and Ouji reluctantly let me go.

“Haa…I shouldn’t have come here…” I regretted my mistake in choosing this school.

“Then, your first order—oh wait, I’ve ordered you before, so this is your second order, but who cares—is to go and buy me a can of juice!” Sakuya pointed a finger at me.

“Juice?” I repeated. “The ones that you can get at the vending machine?”

“Right! Don’t you think it’s fitting for a henchman to go buy their superior’s drink?” Sakuya grinned.

I sighed in resignation. “Fine. What flavor?”

“Orange juice. And I want the one from the vending machine in front of the track field.”

“Um…in case you forgot, I don’t even know my way around this school…”

“Tch, it can’t be helped. Pochi, go with Ryuu and show him the way.” Sakuya clicked her tongue.

“Yes, Kagura-san.” Ouji nodded obediently.

“Now, off you go. Don’t take too long, okay?” Sakuya waved her hand.

“Um…aren’t you forgetting something?” I stared at her. “What about the money?”

Sakuya’s evil smile turned even more villainous. “Ryuu, do you know who we are?”

“D-Delinquents…?” I timidly offered my answer.

“Right. And what do delinquents usually do?”

“Taking other people’s money…?”

“Correct! Now, you know what to do, right?” Sakuya patted my shoulder with a brilliant smile that I could only describe as threatening.

“Haaa…fine.” I trudged away lifelessly, accepting the fact that I had to buy her drinks from my own money.

“Take care, you two~” Sakuya sent us off with her sly smile.

*****

“Haah…” I sighed again as I walked beside Ouji, whose expression already went back to a displeased one. “Mikado-senpai, why do we have to go so far just to buy a can of juice?” I asked him.

By my estimation, we had walked from one corner of the school to the other corner, just for the sake of one can of juice that wasn’t even for me—with my own money, might I add.

“Kagura-san is very specific with her preferences. I suggest you stay quiet and just follow her instruction.” Ouji answered with sullen voice.

“Maybe it was a mistake to talk about this with a Kagura-san fanatic like him.” I decided. I took a peek at Ouji’s displeased face, which grew even more displeased after my question.

“Um…Senpai… you’ve been making that face ever since we first met…are you angry at me or something?” I tried asking.

“No, this is my normal face.” Ouji answered flatly.

“No, no, you definitely look like you want to kill someone.” I retorted.

“Kagura-san said it’s better for me to stay expressionless, because she said that my smiling face will cause more misunderstanding.” Ouji explained.

“How can you call that frowning face as an expressionless face, huh? But Kagura-san must’ve been messing with you when she told you not to smile.” I argued. “Why don’t you try smiling a bit? It’ll definitely look better on you.”

“Like this?” Ouji’s lips were pulled into a ferocious grin, showing his canines and made him looked like a demon king ready to slaughter someone.

“No, stop, it’s my mistake. Kagura-san was right, please don’t ever smile again in front of other people, Senpai. Some of them might even faint from the fear.” I hurriedly corrected my mistake as I tried to erase the sight of his murderous grin earlier from my memory.

“Alright.” Ouji shrugged and his face returned to his usual scowl. “The vending machine is right after the corner.”

Just as Ouji said, we found the specified vending machine

“Haaaaaa…” I sighed even deeper than before as I bought a can of orange juice. “Is there any difference in the juice bought from here and from other machines? Why do I have to walk all the way across the school just to buy a can of juice?” I grumbled to myself.

“Shiba-kun, you should be honoured.” Ouji scolded me. “Kagura-san never asked other people to buy her a drink. No matter how much we offered to do that, she never agreed. But the moment you came, she trusted you enough to let you buy her a drink. It’s a proof of how much she’s willing to trust you.”

I stared blankly at him. “No, it’s just a can of juice. What are you talking about, Senpai?”

“You’ll see.” Ouji shrugged. “Oh, I have to go to the toilet. You can find your way back, right?” Without waiting for my answer, he went to the nearest toilet.

I shrugged and started walking, retracing the route that we had taken earlier. When I turned at the corner, I accidentally bumped into other students.

“Ow!” I fell to my bottom.

“Oi, watch where you’re going! Are you blind, hah?!”

“Huh?! Aren’t you at fault as well…!”

I was about to argue when I raised my face and saw the two delinquents that ambushed me this morning.

“Ugh.”

I hurriedly leapt to my feet, but they already surrounded me, cornering me to the wall.

“Oi, oi, do you think you can just run away from us, hah?!” One of them, let’s just call him Delinquent A, glared at me.

“We haven’t finished our business, you know!” Delinquent B added with a hateful look.

“You know, you’re just reaping what you sow for trying to shake me off.” I didn’t know why I sounded so calm, but perhaps after facing true (?) delinquents like Ouji and Sakuya, these two seemed cute by comparison. “Just a word of advice, if you keep this up, you’ll get expulsed someday.”

“Ha?! Speaking so high and mighty—who do you think you are?!” Delinquent A pulled my collar and lifted me a few inches from the floor.

“It seems you need some discipline, you bastard!” Delinquent B raised his fist to hit me.

Even in the face of their bloodlust, I found myself smirking. “Go ahead and hit me. But I’ll have you know that I’m now under Kagura-san’s protection.”

“Ka-Kagura?!” Delinquent B reeled back at her name.

“Idiot! That doesn’t matter anymore!” Delinquent A snapped at him. “She’s just a lucky upstart! Our boss will definitely teach her a lesson and take over as the new Banchou!”

“Hee, that’s some interesting information you got there.”

Without any of us realizing, a male student stood behind those two. He had an amicable face that would definitely be popular with girls and blonde, messy hair that befitted his playboy look. He was quite slender, but his tall stature made him look even more charming. Instead of Ouji, this guy looked more like a prince.

“Y-You’re…” Delinquent A was rendered speechless.

“You said your boss will take away Sakuya-chan’s position, right? Would you care to tell me more?” He smiled amicably, yet I could feel the threat behind his smile.

“You’re that Mikoto Hiiro, right?! The one called ‘Blonde Devil’…?!”

Before Delinquent B could finish his words, Hiiro’s hand had grabbed his chin and pulled him closer.

“Hmm? What did you say? Ah, you want to tell me more about your boss?” Hiiro said while keeping Delinquent B’s mouth closed.

“Y-You bastard!” Delinquent A released me and threw a punch at Hiiro.

“Sorry, but the only ones allowed to get close to me are beautiful girls.”

Saying that with an extremely serious tone, Hiiro tossed Delinquent B toward his friend, effectively sent the two of them crashing into each other.

“And the only one who can actually insult me is Sakuya-chan alone.” Hiiro looked down at them with scornful eyes.

“Aah…I found another Kagura-san fanatic here.” I cradled my head in despair.

“Hm? You’re…” Hiiro noticed my presence and turned at me.

“Ah, I’m Shiba Ryuuji, a transfer student…”

“Oh, you’re the one that Sakuya-chan recruited, right?” Hiiro clapped his hand. “That makes you my newest comrade, then!”

“H-Huh? How did you…?” I was taken aback. “Did Kagura-san tell you about me?”

“No, but I heard a lot of things.” Hiiro smiled and gave me a conspiratorial wink. “It’s my specialty, after all.”

“O-Okay…” I stood up and brushed off the dust on my uniform.

“Ah, you might want to hurry up and give Sakuya-chan her drink.” Hiiro eyed the juice can in my hand. “You don’t want to see her in a bad mood.”

“R-Right! Thank you very much, Mikoto-san!” I remembered my task and immediately ran off.