"...As expected, the intel was right. The bullies in Nijikou really are the type who won't give up bullying just because they lose, super tenacious."
Shinta Uchiha arrived at the indoor shoe storage area.
And just as he opened his locker, several bugs crawling all over his shoes came face to face with him.
Without a doubt, after stopping the evil Yuki Tsukishiro's conspiracy yesterday and getting in the bullies' way, he'd now become a target of bullying himself.
Still, this level of attack was completely ineffective against him.
As Shinta Uchiha carefully cleaned his shoes, he picked out the coolest-looking bug he could find and placed it in the pen case he'd taken out.
Bugs are good. Bugs aren't scary. Bugs are people you can vent to. No matter what you say to them, they'll never get annoyed.
...He could play with this kind, understanding bug friend for an entire morning!
"Ugh, these classmates are total dumb goldfish, can't even catch a slightly bigger, clear-voiced bug."
"Well, whatever. If it's too big, leaving it in class might get noticed."
Shinta Uchiha quickly finished his side of the work.
Then he shifted his gaze to the side.
Speaking of which, what about Yuki, who was also a target of bullying?
As Shinta Uchiha thought this, he walked over to Yuki Tsukishiro's locker and checked inside.
And the results were exactly as he expected: there were bugs here too, and even more than in his own.
In the bullies' eyes, Yuki was still the main target, and he was just a side dish.
"..."
Yuki kept her smile, having fallen a step behind, and now moved back to Shinta Uchiha's side, curiously sizing up the guy who'd opened her locker.
So, Uchiha-kun, what will you do next?
Will you, just like Shiro-chan, clumsily help me clean my indoor shoes in an even more humiliating way?
Or will you...
"Here."
Just as Yuki was curious about what choice Shinta Uchiha would make, he suddenly opened his bag, pulled out a clean pair of women's indoor shoes that fit Yuki Tsukishiro's feet perfectly, and set them down in front of her.
"Huh?"
"For you. Put them on."
"...Mm."
Wait, how did he know her shoe size?
Did he just scan it with his eyes?!
Yuki took the shoes in a daze, her heart filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Meanwhile, Shinta Uchiha hid the smirk at the corner of his mouth under his collar, revealing a "plan successful" expression.
Foolish Otsutsuki, your conspiracy that can only be realized through bullying will never succeed!
As long as I'm here, she can only live an ordinary, powerless middle school girl's life, flat and peaceful, with no twists and turns.
"Footwear tampering is such a headache. If you don't stop the bullies from coming to school early, there's no way to defend against it."
Shinta Uchiha crossed his arms over his chest, striking a pose he thought was cool and aloof, and said sharply.
"...Do I not need to clean this?" Yuki didn't answer, only gently lifted her indoor shoes, now covered in bugs.
It was an ordinary pair of small cloth shoes, mainly white with no patterns.
They were very common, similar shoes could be seen everywhere in this school.
The only special thing about them was that they'd held Yuki Tsukishiro's small, snow-white feet countless times.
The insides of the shoes... had pressed against Yuki's round toes over and over again.
"Just throw them away directly. With so many bugs, they can't be cleaned."
Shinta Uchiha turned his head away, his hands curling up in unease.
Gulp.
Too, too evil, so indecent!
How could Yuki do something like this?!
Using this to test a righteous Uchiha!
"...Mm."
Yuki regretfully accepted Shinta Uchiha's suggestion.
Fine, this negative-affection guy probably couldn't do what Shiro could. To unlock this CG and view it, she'd need to put him through more desensitization training.
But no worries, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
After all... in this story, the tenacious bullies would never stop their actions.
"Let's go. There's still more to take care of in the classroom."
Shinta Uchiha gestured for Yuki to follow, letting out a breath of relief as he tried to urge the great witch beside him to head to class.
However, Yuki made no move, only stood there in a daze.
Shinta Uchiha turned back, asking in confusion: "Do you have something to say?"
"Emma is a good child."
Yuki opened her mouth and said this.
"Huh, out of nowhere, wait... can I take this as you wanting me to be nicer to her, not use Haku on her like just now?"
Shinta Uchiha paused his movements, and from Yuki's short words, analyzed what she wanted to convey in a slightly uncertain tone.
"Mm."
Yuki nodded.
If she wanted to add Shinta Uchiha as a new character to her plan... to keep the bullying going, the first thing she needed to do was ease the relationship between Shinta Uchiha and Emma.
As for Shiro, well, forget about her. She'd definitely be studying abroad soon and temporarily leave the stage.
Emma was special. No matter if Shinta Uchiha existed or not, she had no intention of changing the script, turning the pure, kind good girl Emma into a background character.
So, as the director, she had to get the potential male lead and female lead on good terms.
That was what Yuki was thinking.
But soon, a strange feeling welled up in her chest again.
She felt like what she was doing was a little like pushing away the person you actually care about before your feelings are confirmed, and then when the relationship develops later, because of what you did before, you end up as an outsider, left standing outside the door, bitter and regretful.
Hmm... it's nothing, just a random thought.
She was just observing this strange and interesting human, thinking about how to add him to the great witch-led script of revenge against humanity without affecting her ultimate goal.