My Encounter with Ichinose

Today was the unluckiest day of Ichinose Honami's life.

She'd overslept that morning and nearly been late. At lunch, she'd accidentally bumped into someone's tray and spilled soup all over herself. Then, in the afternoon, she'd gone to the Student Council selection and gotten a merciless dressing-down from the president, Horikita Manabu. She'd come out of it looking thoroughly dejected.

She'd known she didn't stand a chance, but her classmates had been so enthusiastic, encouraging her to run for the Student Council and insisting she'd succeed.

And she genuinely wanted to do her best for her class and her school.

Whenever she imagined how disappointed her classmates would look when they heard the news, she felt a little down.

When she'd been assigned to Class B at the start of the school year, she'd been full of ambition. She'd set out to get along with everyone and solve their problems, so they could all enjoy three happy years at school.

She thought she'd been trying her best.

Kanzaki Ryuji, one of her classmates, had once asked why she worked so hard. At the time, she hadn't told him the truth. She'd only said that seeing other people happy made her happy, too.

Only she knew the real reason.

But she didn't dare say it aloud.

It wasn't anything good.

The school was a little noisy that afternoon. She sat alone on a bench, feeling gloomy, and the more she thought about everything, the more dejected she became.

Just then, she caught sight of someone passing by. He was carrying a stick-shaped object wrapped in black cloth. She looked up, and her eyes widened.

He was an extraordinarily handsome boy. His features seemed heaven-sent: each one perfect on its own, and somehow even more perfect together.

His eyes especially stood out. They had the clarity of diamonds, warmed by a hint of jade. They gave his face an understated, welcoming look that made her want to get closer.

Ichinose swore she'd never seen a boy this good-looking in her life.

She'd seen people who came close, mostly on TV, but none of them had his unique air about him.

He looked familiar, too.

That was it!

Ichinose remembered the ranking of handsome first-year boys her friend had shown her. This guy had been in first place.

He was even better-looking than in the photo.

As she watched him, her awful mood slowly faded, and her mind began to drift.

It was as if she'd floated up into the clouds, light as air.

No wonder her mom had said that women who looked at handsome guys every day lived longer. If she took this guy home and married him... No, married into his family—then she could see him every day, couldn't she?

No, no, no! Honami, what are you daydreaming about!?

How could she think that way about a stranger?

Ichinose smacked herself on the head, trying to knock the ridiculous thought out of her mind.

Still, he really was handsome. It wasn't her fault, was it? It'd be nice if she could be friends with him.

She wondered if he'd agree...

As she let her thoughts run wild, a puzzled voice sounded in front of her. "Are you looking at me?"

Only then did she realize the boy had come right up to her. He was leaning down to examine her face, his own handsome face less than twenty centimeters away. His warm breath occasionally brushed her skin.

Ichinose's eyes flew wide open. She recoiled in fright and stammered, "W-what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering why you've been staring at me like that."

"N-no, I haven't! W-what are you talking about? I wasn't staring..." The girl flushed bright red.

Normally, she would've apologized, but for some reason, she was flustered. And she was too embarrassed to admit what she'd done.

After a long silence, Ichinose's averted eyes couldn't help drifting back to him. He was looking at her, perfectly still, his brow occasionally furrowing as though he were pondering something.

Unable to stand being stared at so openly, Ichinose blurted, "What are you looking at now?"

"You've been staring at me for ages, so I'm looking back. Hmm, miss, you really are cute."

"Oh, th-thank you."

Ichinose clutched her skirt, her cheeks faintly red.

Feeling her heartbeat quicken, she began edging along the bench without changing her posture. Once she'd gotten completely out of his way, she lowered her head and hurried off.

Watching her flee, Bai Ye couldn't help chuckling.

"She's interesting..."

Of course, he'd recognized the cute pink-haired girl. She was the angel of Class B.

He shook his head, set the strange encounter aside for now, and headed to the shopping center.

Bai Ye looked around the fountain and spotted a sleazy-looking figure standing some distance away.

The moment the guy saw him, he came running over, his face full of anger. "Jingu, you actually dared to come?"

"Why wouldn't I? Give me one reason."

"Hmph. Come with me."

Yamauchi glared at him and led the way.

The two of them left the crowded streets behind and headed for a secluded corner.

Less than five minutes later, there was no one else in sight. Yamauchi turned and pointed at him, cursing, "Jingu, you stole my Kushida, and you got me beaten up that day! I'm getting revenge today... Don't think I don't know you were the one who hit me the most!"

A few days had passed, and Yamauchi had recovered from his injuries. His ugly, sleazy face had regained its usual glow.

Looking at Yamauchi's scrawny frame, Bai Ye couldn't help laughing. "You think you can take me?"

"And me!"

As soon as he spoke, a burly red-haired boy stepped out from the corner. He glared at Bai Ye, his face twisted with anger, and strode toward him.

The red-haired boy was Sudo Ken, one of the Idiot Trio.

As he approached, Sudo cursed, "Jingu, you're always saying I'm a meathead and that I can only play as a substitute on the basketball team, right? I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"

"?"

Bai Ye rubbed his forehead and looked at Yamauchi in confusion. Yamauchi stood there smugly. "That's right, Sudo! This guy's always spreading rumors about you. Look at him now, acting all high and mighty. He doesn't respect you at all!"

So it was you, Yamauchi.

He'd been wondering why Sudo would come after him out of nowhere.

Although the class called them the Idiot Trio, Sudo had only joined because he had no one else to talk to and the three of them shared similar interests. In truth, he didn't think much of the other two.

Actually, he didn't think much of anyone in the class, except Kushida.

He'd also heard rumors that Sudo had gotten into a fight with some upperclassmen not long after the school year began.

Judging by his muscular build, Bai Ye figured most students wouldn't be able to take him.

He sighed and turned to Sudo. "Come on, Sudo. You believe whatever he tells you? Don't you know why Yamauchi brought you here? He knew he couldn't beat me, so he called you in to back him up. He's using you as a pawn, and you don't even realize it. That's pretty sad."

"What!?"

Sudo glared at Yamauchi, his eyes even more furious.

"Sudo, don't listen to him. We're friends..." Yamauchi took a few steps back, tripped over a rock, and landed hard on his butt with a yelp.

Bai Ye continued, "Sudo, Yamauchi was ostracized by the class not long ago. If you're so eager to help him, and someone sees you..."

"I'm not scared of those people!" Sudo glared at him, then softened his tone. "All right, Jingu, you can go. Now I'm gonna beat this guy up!"

"You finally get it... But—"

Bai Ye changed tack and unwrapped the black cloth around the object in his hand. A baseball bat slowly came into view.

"Even though I never said those things, deep down... I agree with them. Sudo, Yamauchi's right. You really are simple-minded, like a gorilla. Heh heh~"

"What did you say!?"

The anger Sudo had just tamped down flared up again, and his burly frame bore down on him.

"It's been a while since I had a fight. This is the perfect chance to see how much stronger I've gotten," Bai Ye said. There wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes as he looked at Sudo. If anything, there was a hint of excitement.

After all, he'd once been the young heir of a yakuza family. He'd grown up surrounded by that world and had seen it all. In fact, he'd seen even worse in recent years. To him, even a murder scene was nothing. Under that old man's supervision, he'd even slit the throats of people who attacked him and buried them.

The old man had only spared him from having to dismember the bodies because he'd taken pity on him.

Seeing Bai Ye's whole demeanor change, Sudo froze. The lazy air he'd had just moments ago vanished, replaced by an almost tangible, oppressive presence that seemed to hang over the area. Sudo's legs trembled.

When those emotionless eyes fixed on him, Sudo shuddered.

The next second, he shook his head.

"Jingu, quit acting tough! I'll knock you flat!"

His emotions had completely overwhelmed his reason. He spread his arms and charged at Bai Ye.

One minute later.