136 - Massive Self-Destruction

RAW

Through his part-time job as a housekeeper, Haruto had seen many sides of Ayaka.

The way she looked surprised and flustered, the way her face turned red with embarrassment.

The way she smiled happily, and the way she puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

Every expression was full of charm—she was an expressive and kind-hearted girl.

That was who Tōjō Ayaka was to Haruto.

And now, that very girl was angry right in front of him.

Although she was smiling, there was an undeniable aura of fury emanating from behind that smile.

Hearing the complete rejection in her words—"This has nothing to do with you"—the boy in front of her slumped in defeat.

Ayaka cast a sharp glance at him, her eyes filled with anger.

"It doesn't matter who I like or who I date. That has nothing to do with you. But I do want you to take back what you just said about my beloved boyfriend."

Because she was trying to suppress her anger, her voice came out unnaturally flat.

Standing right next to her, Haruto felt both happiness and a slight chill down his spine—happiness that she was getting this angry for his sake, and chills because he had never seen Ayaka in full rage mode before.

If even Haruto, who wasn't the target of her anger, felt this way, the boy directly facing her fury must be having an even harder time.

Imagining that, Haruto couldn't help but send a look of sympathy toward the boy.

The boy, now pressured to retract his words, opened his mouth slightly in confusion but failed to say anything.

Ayaka, showing no mercy, pressed on.

"You called Haruto 'just a nerd,' but can you study like he does and get top grades? Do you know that he wakes up early every day to study? That he studies every night before bed too? Can you do that? Do you still want to call that 'just a nerd'?"

"Th-that's…"

"And is Haruto really an 'introvert'? I mean, what even is an introvert? Is a noisy person automatically an extrovert? And a quiet person an introvert? If that's the case, being an introvert isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"Well, um…"

"Also, you called him scrawny, but Haruto actually has pretty strong arms, and his chest isn't thin at all. When I hug him, I can feel his muscles. And guess what? He has abs. So, if he's 'scrawny,' then what does that make you? An enoki mushroom? Or maybe a nameko mushroom?"  

A deathly silence filled the classroom under Ayaka's icy rage. The boy, looking like a fish out of water, opened and closed his mouth repeatedly without a sound.

In the midst of this heavy atmosphere, one of the girls, Saki, suddenly let out a suppressed giggle.

"Pfft… Why mushrooms? Haha…"

Finding Ayaka's response amusing, Saki couldn't help but laugh softly.

With the tension slightly eased, one of the girls surrounding Ayaka's group turned her sparkling eyes toward her with curiosity.

"Hey, Ayaka-chan! How do you know Otsuki-kun has abs? Did you see them yourself? And you seem to know a lot about his body… Don't tell me, you two have already…?"

Ayaka, who had been burning with anger just moments ago, instantly turned bright red.

"Eh!? N-n-n-no! It's not like that!"

Gone was her furious composure—now she was panicking, waving her hands frantically.

"I-I mean, we've only kissed so far! And I only know about his body because we took a bath together once—"

"“YOU TOOK A BATH TOGETHER!?!?”"

A collective gasp of shock erupted throughout the classroom, blending voices from both boys and girls alike.

The revelation, delivered straight from the school's idol herself, sent shockwaves through the class.

The once-stifling atmosphere was now replaced by an uproar of chaos.

"What do you mean, you took a bath together?! Explain!!"

"Why were you bathing together?!"

"And what happened after that? What did you do?!"

Girls squealed excitedly, bombarding Ayaka with questions filled with curiosity.

Meanwhile, the boys muttered darkly, their voices filled with despair.

"They… bathed together…?"

"Otsuki… Just explode already…"

"He saw it, didn't he? He saw Tōjō-san's…"

"Curse you…"

In the midst of the growing chaos, Ayaka frantically tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

"N-no, it's not like that!! My little brother! When my little brother found out Haruto was going to live with us, he insisted we all bathe together—"

"“YOU’RE LIVING TOGETHER!?!?”"

For the second time that day, the school's idol dropped a bombshell.

"Awa-wa-wa…" Ayaka flailed, trying to contain the situation, but it was too late.

Now, everyone knew—Ayaka and Haruto were living under the same roof and had even bathed together.

"Wait, Ayaka-chan, you're living with Otsuki-kun?!"

"Are you two… living together?!"

"Are you guys already married?! Congratulations!"

"I wanna see Ayaka-chan in a wedding dress!"

"Otsuki~~~!! You bastard~~~!!"

"Is this real life?! They're basically husband and wife already!"

"You know what? At this point, I’m just gonna support them!"

"I'm waiting for my wedding invitation!"

"I'll bring a big cash gift—just let me attend!"

As the reality of Ayaka’s love life unfolded, both their friends and classmates began to react in their own ways.

Ayaka, now blushing all the way to her neck, looked around in a panic.

"A-anyway! It's not like that! Haruto and I—"

"Congratulations, you two!"

"Th-thank you… Wait, no! Listen, everyone! The thing is—"

"A student marriage sounds like a dream~"

"T-that’s way too soon! The reason Haruto and I live together is—"

"How many kids are you planning to have? What’s your family plan?"

"W-well… at least two, I guess? Ideally, one boy and one girl… Wait, Saki! What kind of question is that?!"

Her classmates had completely gone out of control.

Ayaka turned to Haruto with a flustered expression.

"Haruto… I'm sorry…"

"Well… I did decide to be open about our relationship. Now that everything’s out, maybe it’s actually better this way?"

Haruto let out a dry laugh, trying to comfort Ayaka, who had just spectacularly self-destructed.

Living with the school's idol—now that their relationship was out in the open, this was bound to come out sooner or later. Rather than dealing with rumors and half-truths, it was better to come clean all at once.

As the classroom roared with excitement, Haruto let out another hollow laugh, resigned to his fate.

Just then, Tomoya pushed through the crowd and clapped a hand on Haruto’s shoulder.

"Congrats, Haru. Enjoy your school life to the fullest."

Tomoya smirked.

Haruto responded with a wry grin.

"Oh, you’re not getting away. You’re coming down with me."

"Nah, nah, I wouldn't dream of intruding on your precious time with Tōjō-san."

"We’re best friends, right? Don’t be so cold."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

The two exchanged meaningless banter, trying to distract themselves from the overwhelming chaos.

At that moment, a loud voice shattered the classroom's noise.

"Alright! Boom! Shizuku-chan has arrived!"

The classroom door burst open, revealing Shizuku, her voice far too cheerful for her usual expressionless face.

"Hm? What's with this situation?"

She tilted her head in confusion before spotting Ayaka and Haruto surrounded by the mob.

Ayaka, still frazzled, tried to explain.

"Um, well, I kind of… about Haruto and me—"

Before she could finish, Shizuku raised a hand.

"Haha~ I get it. No need to say another word, Ayaka-senpai."

Acting like she had figured everything out, she slowly scanned the classroom and smirked.

"Ayaka-senpai must have done something naughty to Haruto-senpai in public, right? You really are secretly perverted, huh?"

"What are you even talking about, Shizuku-chan?! Secret perverts don’t do such bold things!!"

"...Ayaka, I think you're denying the wrong part."

Haruto interjected calmly, pointing out the flaw in her defense.

"Ahh, okay, okay. I get it now. Right, Aya-senpai is the kind of secret pervert who waits until everyone’s gone before having an intense make-out session with Haru-senpai."

Shizuku brought up the Pocky game incident from the previous study session.

Her words once again stirred up murmurs among the classmates.

"Wait, Tōjō-san is actually that forward?"

"I thought she avoided guys until now..."

"No way... this is amazing."

Hearing the whispers around her, Ayaka looked like steam was about to shoot out of her head as she turned to Shizuku in protest.

"Enough already! Stop saying weird things!!"

"But it’s the truth, isn’t it?"

Shizuku responded, staring at her with an expressionless face.

Ayaka let out a small, trembling "Ugh..." as her eyes grew teary.

"W-Well... that's true, but..."

Her reluctant admission only made the classroom grow even more chaotic.

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That's chaos, Ayaka throwing out everything they do

I hope we'll get a sports arc or something, like Haruto taking part in a karate competition, that could be cool