Chapter 246: Shut Up, You Idiots

Passionate drumbeats, powerful and resonant dance moves.

With every movement and every shout, Yu poured out his life force, as if he were burning all his focus and passion for this cheer performance.

His all-or-nothing determination forced Onodera Rei, who was standing beside him in a boys’ uniform, to frequently cast surprised glances his way.

Since when could that gloomy Ishigami unleash such passion!?

Yu’s intense performance also infected the captain leading the dance, the vice-captain playing the drums, and the rest of the squad, successfully making the already eye-catching cheer performance even more captivating. To be completely honest, they were even starting to overshadow the duet performance by the two Student Council Presidents.

However, while the cheer squad members were guessing the reason behind Yu’s explosive passion (Onodera Rei: Does this guy actually like cross-dressing?!), and some were already harboring doubts,

Little did they know, the real reason was simply that a certain passionately dancing Ishigami was trying to escape an unbearable reality… much like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

‘Those two guys.’

Waving his arms and making a “Manji” () gesture, shouting “Saiko, MAJI MANJI!” along with the rest of the squad, Yu’s gaze inadvertently landed on two figures in the crowd who were clutching their stomachs, laughing so hard they could barely stand.

A pitch-black emotion, impossible to describe in words, surged from the bottom of his heart, instantly numbing his entire body.

Having a dark history isn’t scary, after all, the damage caused by a dark history known only to yourself is limited.

But when that unbearable dark history is grasped by someone else, especially by two guys with notoriously toxic mouths.

‘Ah.’

Raising his gaze slightly, a look of utter despair flashing across his face, Yu stared blankly at the indigo blue sky above and a single, lazily drifting white cloud.

‘Hehe… hehehe… This might be my exceptionally ‘happy’ sports festival.’

Yeah, and also the last one.

After the opening performance ended.

“Get away from me! You two.”

With a face full of grief and indignation, Yu struggled forcefully to break free from the humiliation of his two frenemies, who had him sandwiched between them.

“Don’t be so cold.”

Wrapping an arm around Yu’s neck, Miyahito laughed heartily.

“It’s a waste not to take a few photos when you’re dressed up this beautifully.”

Hearing this, Tooru looked at Yu, who was currently wearing a girls’ uniform and had even tied his hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon, with a teasing gaze. He grinned and agreed with Miyahito.

“Exactly, exactly! Miyahito, look at this guy. He even prepared his hairstyle specifically. He definitely wants to take a photo with us.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Utaha!”

“Coming.”

Hearing this voice, which was undeniably gentle but sounded like a demon’s whisper in his ears, Yu looked in the direction of the sound with sheer terror.

Watching Utaha, who wore a gentle smile, slowly raise the expensive-looking DSLR camera in her hands and aim the lens squarely at him, Miyahito, and Tooru.

“One, two, three!”

“Yay!!”

“Stop it right now! Yamero!”

Coerced by the ‘evil forces’ (Aragaki Miyahito, Ishikawa Tooru) and the ‘accomplice’ (Kasumigaoka Utaha), Ishigami Yu was forced to have dozens of ‘humiliating’ photos taken of him.

“I say, you two.” Yu’s expression was completely deadpan as he slowly shifted his gaze from the banners and cheering signs in his friends’ hands to their thoroughly entertained smiles. His tone was ghostly. “Thank you so much for going through all this trouble to prepare such a ‘surprise’ for me.”

“I am just so grateful.”

Hearing this, Miyahito and Tooru subconsciously exchanged a glance, then turned to the faintly gritting-teeth Yu and said in unison with a smug tone.

“You’re welcome! This is exactly what Tooru (Miyahito) and I should do!”

That’s not what I meant! You two bastards, wipe those expressions off your faces! I am NOT thanking you, ahhh!

Nearby, Utaha watched the three boys messing around with curved, smiling eyes.

Suddenly.

“Ishigami-kun.”

An unfamiliar girl’s voice broke the lively, boisterous atmosphere of the three boys, instantly chilling the air.

Noticing Yu stiffen unnaturally, Miyahito and Tooru turned around in unison, looking in the direction the voice came from, behind the three of them.

It was an unfamiliar girl with a single brown ponytail, wearing an outside-school uniform just like the two of them.

Who is this? A girl Yu (Ishigami) knows?

Before Miyahito and Tooru could voice this question, the girl continued speaking.

“You seem to be having a lot of fun, Ishigami-kun…”

The moment the words left her mouth, both Miyahito and Tooru felt a blatant wave of malice and hostility.

This unfamiliar girl who knew Yu spoke with a tone that practically screamed:

‘Why do you get to be so happy? What right do you have to be happy?’

“You…”

The hot-headed Tooru immediately wanted to angrily confront this girl, but just as he uttered a single word, he felt his arm being grabbed.

It was Ishigami…

At the same time, Tooru also saw Miyahito shaking his head at him with a serious expression.

“Miyahito, you…” Tooru, looking somewhat unwilling, wanted to say more, but following Miyahito’s gaze, he saw Yu with his head bowed, his entire demeanor as gloomy and wretched as a rat in a sewer. Gritting his teeth, Tooru suppressed the anger in his heart.

Just then.

“Excuse me, miss.” Waving his hand to signal Tooru to take the visibly unstable Yu away, Miyahito crossed his arms, turned around calmly, and faced the girl with the hostile tone.

“Excuse me, what business do you have with my bro?”

The unfamiliar girl looked expressionlessly at Miyahito, and then at Utaha, who stood beside her boyfriend with a gentle yet undeniably imposing aura. She pursed her lips.

Without saying a word, she just raised her gaze slightly, seemingly trying to look past Miyahito and Utaha to see Yu behind them.

However, the height difference wasn’t enough for her to see over the couple.

Finally, realizing she couldn’t, the unfamiliar girl looked at Miyahito with a complex expression, then at Utaha, who stood by her boyfriend’s side like a perfectly matched pair, and said through gritted teeth:

“Stop being friends with Yu. A person like that isn’t worth anyone’s friendship.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

Miyahito’s face had grown cold. He crossed his arms, stood up a bit straighter, and looked down at the shocked girl with a chilling tone.

“Besides, I think blindly believing whatever someone says is something only a person whose brain was eaten by a dog would do.”

“Or perhaps,”

“someone who accidentally left their brain in their mother’s womb at birth.”

“What do you think of my point of view, stranger?”

So, shut up, you idiot.

Early Chapter and Support Me