Disclaimer: Oresama Teacher is not mine. Tsubaki Izumi is the true author of the manga. I'm just a lowly fan who wants to read Chapter 123.
Miscellaneous: I'm currently in a trippy lack-of-sleep high and daze. I read a few spoilers for Chapter 123 and I really want to read it now. 〜( ̄▽ ̄〜) (〜 ̄▽ ̄)〜Seems I have to wait for a while though, until I can buy a translated volume 20/21 (worst case scenario ― that's a good few months away, I'm sure, or maybe a year from now) or someone kindly uploads raws and translates them.
I'm supposed to be doing something else right now, but I'm excited to write one chapter which is only a few chapters away from now, so I couldn't wait and wrote this. LOL Hopefully, I might be able to update a lot this month. Chapter 80 spoilers, btw.
Tell me when you see grammatical errors. I skim through the previous chapters from time to time to check on them, and I always find a few every time. (。•́︿•̀。)
Chapter 6
Banchou Complex
*.*.*
Mafuyu is still her disguise, Kawauchi noted. He was too preoccupied with the situation at hand to notice that he had just addressed Kurosaki by her first name in his head. This might not end well.
Almost immediately after the word "stalker" left Mafuyu's lips, the man he reckoned to be Kangawa glared at him intensely. He didn't even need to look to know that. Maizono also looked at him, eyebrow raised to give him a questioning look. Aki wore a nonchalant mask tinged with amusement. Okubo and Yamashita stared at him, confused. Ah, they probably can't recognize her. However, before anyone could voice out any reaction, Mafuyu had already grabbed Kawauchi's wrist and pulled him away and ran away as fast as she could with him in tow.
Kangawa turned to Aki for an explanation. "Mafuyu-san has a stalker?"
"No, he's just someone who wants to get her attention," Aki replied. Although he probably doesn't know it yet, he mentally added, finding no reason for his friend to know. "Better make your move, Kouhei!" he giddily told his friend in a low voice that only he could hear.
Kangawa did nothing but turn his head the other way, face slightly flushing.
.*.
Mafuyu pulled Kawauchi to a residential street. Mafuyu was glad no one was there. She paused a while to catch her breath before turning her full attention to the person she had dragged along.
"This is the third time you pulled me along somewhere," he said as he panted slightly.
"What do you want from me," she said as a statement more than a question, her gritted teeth not really allowing much inflection to the words she spat out.
Kawauchi just shrugged in reply, and she could feel annoyance seeping through her again―
"I just wanted to get to know you," he said with a straight face, but delight was sparkling in his eyes. You're so interesting, and banchou seems interested in you, too, so of course I need to know all about you!
"Hah?" Mafuyu let out a disbelieving sigh. I can just feel that you're planning something!
Kawauchi read her face and sighed. "I really am not planning something," he replied. At least not in the way you think I am, he thought while he looked at her. He couldn't hide the glint in his eyes even if he tried.
"That!" Mafuyu exclaimed while pointing at his eyes. "That's the reason why I can't trust you! Your eyes say 'Trouble! Danger!' And besides, why do you need to find out about me in such a creepy way? Why can't you just do it normally, like other people―?"
Mafuyu quickly covered her mouth when she realized her mistake, but it was too late. Kawauchi grinned mischievously. "I can?"
Mafuyu clamped her mouth shut, not wanting to give him the satisfaction that he got what he wanted. Kawauchi took her silence as a 'yes' either way.
"That's great, Mafuyu-san!"
"W-wh-what? Who gave you the permission to use my first name?"
"But you said I can act normally, and isn't that how your gang brothers address you?" Kawauchi replied with a straight face again while he tilted his head to the side innocently. Mafuyu was starting to get really annoyed with his straight-faced expression.
This person is really shameless, she thought, but she just groaned. Mafuyu came to the conclusion that arguing with him was useless.
Kawauchi was, for the lack of a better word, really happy. Okegawa had never allowed him to call him with his first name, and knowing that he could at least call Mafuyu 'Mafuyu' really filled him with glee.
In fact, he was in such high spirits that he blurted out "Not wearing glasses today?" to tease Mafuyu, and did not mind when her fist got acquainted with his left cheek.
.*.
Kawauchi walked back to where Aki and the others were alone. He walked back to the small group like the small fist mark on his cheek wasn't visible, and nobody asked what happened. By then, Okubo and Yamashita were already informed about Mafuyu's disguise, and both of them reckoned that it was Mafuyu being Mafuyu. Maizono was shocked at the mark on his face, and Kangawa just stared at him with some hostility in his eyes. Aki was busy fiddling with his phone, not really caring about Kawauchi's return.
When Mafuyu came back a little while later dressed in her normal clothes and her make-up removed, Kangawa jumped at her while cheerfully yelling "Mafuyu-san!" the same time Maizono leaped at her and held her right hand possessively.
"Her right hand is mine," he said, and Mafuyu found herself torn between hitting him and ignoring him. In the end, she just decided to hit him hard. He flew a few spaces and hoisted himself up, completely satisfied with her reaction.
Mafuyu smiled at Kangawa, happy that he wasn't sulking this time around. "I'm really sorry I didn't go and meet you first."
Kawauchi turned to Okubo and Yamashita, who looked on the scene as if it happened frequently. Aki was happily chatting with someone over his phone. Kawauchi was taken aback by the whole situation, comparing the supposedly legendary trio with their trio at Midorigaoka. He felt that it's the same, but at the same time, it wasn't.
He studied Kangawa's face intently while he interacted with Mafuyu. Seems like he likes her, he concluded, and Kangawa looks awfully close to her. The fact pissed him off a little, and he was a little shocked that he was pissed off at all. He shrugged it away as annoyance that another banchou asides from Okegawa was getting close to what he thinks will be a good pair for his banchou.
He mentally listing down traits that Okegawa has versus traits that Kangawa has. Okegawa can't lose! This really won't do, he resolved in his mind.
.*.
Kawauchi followed the small group of Midorigaoka students around for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't really interact with the delinquents, and preferred to observe the group as they went on their usual ways. He wasn't noticed that much, either; he had the knack of blending in with the shadows when he wanted to. The fact that everyone was too preoccupied with playing to their heart's content also helped, so they really didn't pay any particular attention to him.
Mafuyu glanced at him every once in a while though, probably to keep an eye on him, he reckoned. And without fail, every time Mafuyu did that, Kangawa would also spare him a wary stare. He shrugged them both off, not really wanting to draw much attention in a place he didn't really belong to.
Little by little, he increased the distance between himself and the group, until he slipped away quietly when no one was looking, and walked back to Higashi High.
.*.
Mafuyu turned around again, and was surprised to no longer see Kawauchi with them.
"Hey Aki," she whispered. "Did you notice where Kawauchi went?"
"Hm?" the boy furrowed his brows in thought. "Come to think of it, I didn't. At least he's off your hair for now."
Mafuyu nodded slightly. What is he up to? she mentally groaned, although she really was thankful that Kawauchi seemed to stop following her for today. It was already twilight, and they had reached the intersection where she would be parting ways with her gang. They waved goodbye at her, and she couldn't help but wonder how Aki gets along with them so well. She absentmindedly waved back and made her way home.
I feel like he's sincere about becoming friends with me, though, she thought, remembering her conversation with Kawauchi earlier that day. Maybe he's just like Ninja, she assumed while she kept walking to the direction of her house. Or not. Really, I can't understand what he wants―
Mafuyu shook her head sideways and sighed. No use thinking about his weirdness now. She continued walking while thinking about her childhood instead. Before her thoughts could stray further on thoughts of the nonexistence of her memories with Takaomi, he was incidentally already in front of her.
.*.
Kawauchi was on his way to the station after finding out what Mafuyu had done in her high school while he was talking with Okubo and Yamashita. It took him about an hour or so of retracing Mafuyu's steps. The people left behind after class hours for cleaning duties and extracurricular activities were cooperative enough to talk about the 'cute' ojou-sama who was at their school. "They're all getting duped," he grumbled, annoyed as he half-trudged his way to the train station.
He wanted to stay with Mafuyu and her friends to better observe them, but thought against it since he thought that she might act differently. She knew he was there, after all. He opted to find out what she had been doing prior to leaving Higashi with Kangawa and the others.
Kawauchi also felt a little guilt when he saw Mafuyu and her gang brothers together, since he was reminded of his slight negligence in Midorigaoka's gang affairs. I really should stop cutting myself some slack, he told himself as he promised that he would catch up on gang activities at the start of his day tomorrow.
He was about to turn left at an intersection when he heard voices opposite the road.
"―but the banchou before me was a legend―"
He honestly couldn't decide whether he liked the fact that he seemed to be able to find Mafuyu even when he wasn't actively looking for her or not. He knew that Mafuyu had been looking for some sort of treasure in Higashi High. That was what he was able to find out from his excursion a while ago, and apparently the treasure was left behind by the banchou before her. However, Kawauchi couldn't contemplate any further, because when he saw who she was with, he stood stock-still and a little shocked.
Saeki Takaomi was again with her. He was staring at Mafuyu intently, and tilted her head over to the side using both his hands.
"I am that banchou."
Kawauchi turned away as he saw that the two of them spend a whole awkward minute awfully close to each other. I don't think I want to see that, he thought as he continued to quietly stomp in the direction of the train station. "Honestly, they're all getting duped," he repeated aloud to no one in particular.
.*.
After reaching his dorm room, Kawauchi flopped down on his bed. He felt really tired, and somewhat irritated. He chalked it up to his fatigue. His mind was still racing with everything he discovered about Mafuyu. He fumbled through his drawer and got a pen and a notebook so that he could further organize his thoughts.
He quickly wrote down the things he Okubo and Yamashita told him about Mafuyu, and found his mood lighten up a little. He frowned a little when he recalled Kangawa's stares and Saeki's close proximity with Mafuyu. He decided he needed to characterize everything and summarize.
He drew a web that linked Okegawa, Mafuyu, Saeki, and Kangawa all together in a page of his notebook. He contemplated what he should call the figure when it hit him. Banchou complex, he wrote down. He smiled because he thought he really hit the nail on the head this time.
Strong people flock together, he scribbled down again. He supposed Mafuyu liked guys stronger than her. Okegawa's definitely not lacking in that aspect, he thought. He laughed quietly as he thought of his future plan of action and fiddled with his phone halfheartedly.
Kawauchi then remembered Mafuyu's pictures on the phone and opened it again. "She looks so funny," he chuckled as he quickly switched between her glomping and punching pictures, making them seem like they were moving. He lingered on the picture that looked like she was going to kill the person who took the picture with a hug. She looks so stupid.
He quickly attached the pictures to a message and put Okegawa as the recipient. He hastily typed look at this on the subject line and was eager to send it. His thumb hovered over the button that clicked 'Send'―
It took what felt like an eternity for him to realize that he didn't click the send button yet. He spaced out, and there was this sinking feeling in his chest whenever his thumb hovered over the button. He experimented with it a few times: remove, hover, remove, hover. The sinking feeling always returned to his chest whenever he placed his thumb near the button.
He shrugged it off and put away his phone. I can always send them next time, he reasoned with himself.
.
I have no idea what I just wrote. Getting choppy right durrr huhuhu. 'm not proud of this chapter at all. TT_TT
Kawauchi has the emotional maturity of an elementary school kid. I don't know why I characterized him that way. It just felt right given that all he says in canon when he's not plotting something or being an Okegawa fanboy is "I want to have a girlfriend." Or I'm just a really terrible person. Oh wait, I am, I can't even make fanfiction for in canon potential pairings. Seriously, sometimes, I really do question my nonexistent priorities.
Anyway, I really want to read the latest manga chapter! I think Kawauchi is there and I might have to make this fanfic end (more) horribly if he does something I can't forgive in canon! ((lol what am I saying I already planned this out till the end but still augh I'M NOT EVEN HALFWAY FINISHED))
