“But… you wouldn’t understand.”
No punch, no slap came. Maihama grabbed her check and left, her heels clicking against the floor.
“…Komori-kun could never understand how I feel, no matter how long he lives…”
He said my name and strode away without looking at me.
She spoke those frail words as she left, and they pierced me more deeply than fists ever could.
“You’re right… I don’t.”
More hurt than from a beating, I realized again that lecturing was something I shouldn’t do.
After finishing my iced coffee—melted long ago, but I drank it all out of cheap stubbornness—I paid the bill for both Shishihara and myself and left the café as planned.
“Gomen, Komori-kun… gomen…”
“It’s fine. Just buy me a cream soda next time.”
“No, that’s not what I mean!”
Outside, in the streets, Shishihara choked up without caring who saw. I assumed she was upset because I’d acted so uncharacteristically emotional.
“It’s because I’m weak. Because I can’t be honest, always, everything…”
“What are you talking about?”
“I couldn’t say ‘Komori-kun isn’t like that.”
” ………… “
” If I had, maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe Komori-kun wouldn’t feel bad. Maybe Aoi-chan and I wouldn’t have fought. Gomen… gomen ne…”
Facing her trembling voice, on the verge of tears over something that shouldn’t have brought tears, I didn’t know what to do—as always. I just thought her usual gloomy expression didn’t suit her.
“It’s better this way.”
It might’ve been the first time I felt pathetic for being unable to say anything more.
Parting ways with Shishihara outside school, I returned alone to the literature clubroom.
“She went home already?”
No sign of Saku-senpai or Takizawa. The dimming dusk felt strangely comfortable, so I sat in the dark without turning on the lights. Leaning back, I stared blankly at the fluorescent light above, stripped of its purpose.
I hadn’t come to retrieve forgotten belongings. I wasn’t in the mood to go home. My feet had unconsciously brought me here while I pondered—why had Komori Tsubasa reacted like that?
The subject of my silent reflection was—why did Komori Tsubasa get so worked up back there?
Saying it was because I got upset at Saku-senpai’s name being brought up is a surface-level take; if anything, that seemed more like it hit a nerve on Maihama’s side. After all, as she pointed out, I usually just brush off that kind of thing with a “This person doesn’t get it” and move on.
So this was probably not about someone else.It was more like… a fluctuation of emotion that came from within me.
“…Ugh, this is exhausting.”
Slouched over the table with my back hunched, I pressed my cheek against the cold surface, savoring the chill seeping into my skin. Lately, it feels like all I do is think about things I don’t want to. Things shouldn’t have turned out like this. They were supposed to be more comfortable—back when things were simpler.
The eccentric Saku senpai lived as she pleased, indulging in childish antics, while I, the sensible one, got dragged along. That was the straightforward dynamic—until Saku senpai stopped playing around, and it turned out I wasn’t as “sensible” as I thought.
——Come to think of it, why did I join this club in the first place?
Too lazy to ponder further, I shut my eyes—not from drowsiness, but sheer resignation.
Saku senpai was recognized as a Myudents in her second year of middle school.
At the time, I was a first-year student in the same school. Looking back now—though I’d call it a massive personal embarrassment then—I called her [Sakuneesan], brimming with admiration and familiarity.
We’d known each other since kindergarten, often visiting each other’s homes, so the familiarity made sense. But the “admiration”? That’s where things got complicated.
Yes, I genuinely idolized her back then. I even thought she was cool.
For starters, she dominated every genre of video games imaginable (I could barely scrape together a single win against her). She was a walking encyclopedia on war history and weaponry, played weird instruments with insane skill, whipped up gourmet-level ramen, and could survive any wilderness disaster like a pro.
But the final straw was when she swooped in like a superhero to rescue me from older students who were bullying me. That moment was so dazzling, my childish heart saw her as a hero.
——Well, if I had to spoil the mystery:
Turns out, Saku senpai’s ruthless in games, pulling cheap tricks on beginners. Most of her knowledge and skills were shallow, copied from fictional worlds. The bullies? They were actually guys she’d scammed in shady trades (not for money, but items), and they took it out on me because they were too scared to retaliate against her. The whole thing was a blatant setup.
But I didn’t realize any of this until years later. My younger self, still innocent and unjaded, got utterly swept up in her act. There’s no shame in that—right?
So when I learned she was a Myudents, it didn’t shock me. Even when I heard her nickname—[Succubus]—it barely made a dent. She was already so far from “ordinary” that the revelation felt… natural.
——Same for everyone else, obviously.
That’s what my younger self naively believed, blinded by my limited perspective.
But the first crack appeared quickly. One day, a girl from my class asked me flatly,
“Ko-Mori-kun, you’re close with the Succubus senpai, right? Did… something happen between you two?”
I had no idea what she meant.
When I unraveled it, she’d assumed I had a crush on Saku senpai—which, honestly, wasn’t a stretch. But then she dropped the bomb: she thought my feelings were manipulated by Saku senpai’s Succubus charm.
Well, even recently, Takizawa accused me of something similar. Maybe my constant chanting of [Sakuneesan!] as her devoted fan annoyed people, or they worried about my mental health. In hindsight, sure, I get it.
But back then, pure and unshaken, I felt like someone had secretly insulted my reverence for her. I ended up resenting that classmate, someone I’d gotten along with fine, and grew distant.
To be fair, she wasn’t clueless—she was actually sharper than most first-years. But if she, of all people, saw Myudents through a distorted lens, then the world’s quiet cruelty was already poisoning everyday life. I finally realized I was in the minority. And I resented it.
——I vowed to never be wrong like that again.
Even if no one else understood, as long as I did, that was enough. Myudents or not, her true self hadn’t changed. Whether it was jealousy or possessiveness, my younger self clung to that belief, blind to the fatal flaw:
Saku senpai had changed too, just like me.
She’d surely faced cruel words, endured harassment far worse than teasing. But with her personality, she hid the shadows from others. And I, ever the optimist, got fooled again—relieved, reassured.
That’s why, when the news buzzed about a sudden spike in Myudents-targeted stalkers becoming a societal crisis, I dismissed it as some distant problem. I never imagined it could touch someone close.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
——Until that day.
Under a winter sky threatening snow, we trudged home, shivering through the wind’s bite. Saku senpai, a third-year in the middle school, was about to advance to the high school. We idly chatted—“You’ll pass your exams, right?” “Too easy.” Trivial stuff. It should’ve been. Next year, I’d face the same tests, same path.
Same route home. Same arcade-lined shopping street we always passed through.
“Hello, Succubus Sakuya-chan.”
A man approached, voice chipper. Early twenties, college student maybe. Hood pulled low, hands buried in his down jacket pockets. I didn’t recognize him, but the moment his smug smirk entered my sight, Saku senpai’s lips trembled—not with cold, but rage.She snapped forward, her voice ironclad:
“Go home.”
“You’re harassing me.”
“Stop this already.”
“I’ll call the police.”
Her tone brooked no argument. His response? A grin. “That’s cold.” “Did you read my letter?” “I’m just happy to see you.”
I stood there, baffled. Call the police? Jeez, the world’s scary. The two kept talking in circles, no resolution in sight. The cold gnawed at me; I just wanted to go home. Saku senpai clearly felt the same, her composure fraying.
“Um… mind if I step in?”
I moved between them, no suspicion, no fear.
“Stop!” “Just leave it!” Saku senpai’s voice cracked, panicked. Was she… scared? I couldn’t tell. This was a busy shopping street. Even if he was a creep, he wouldn’t resort to violence here. We could shout for help.
Or so I thought,
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