Butsuriteki ni Koritsu shiteiru Ore no Koukou Seikatsu Volume 1 Chapter 1

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1. A Physically Isolated Boy Discovers the Secret of a Similar Girl

As handouts were passed around the class, they stopped at Isshinden-san’s seat in front of me.

She cheerfully took out a tennis racket and put the handout on top of it.

And, holding the grip, she stretched her arm out as far as she could––

“Here you go… Narihira-kun, the handout…”, she said.

She absolutely doesn’t want to get near me. My chair and hers are so unnaturally far apart.

Strictly speaking, 1 meter apart should be fine but, a good 2.5 meters away is probably for the best for Isshinden-san.

From the first class on a Monday morning, I’m automatically thrust into despair, and I start to resent life quite a bit.

But, it’s not Isshinden-san’s fault. I know that more than anyone.

This is the best that can be done.

And sadly, I can’t even reach it yet. I stand up from my seat, approach her for a split second, and take the handout. With our efforts combined, we manage to achieve the goal.

I rush back to my seat as soon as I grab the handout.

If I stay too long, she’ll start to take damage.

“Sorry for always having to do this, Narihira-kun.”

“No, that’s my line. Sorry for always being a bother to you.”

Isshinden-san’s a good person. Actually a lot nicer than most, I’d say.

With a face that reminds you of a gentle, small animal, seeing her makes my high school life improve 3%. Her presence is like a leather armor protecting me.

One time, I thought it would be a good idea to try and get close to her, and said in the spur of the moment––

“Isshinden-san… that sounds a lot like isshindenshin.”

You know, ‘telepathy’.

“…Ah, yes, that’s true…. Haha……”

It’s amazing how she can still be so nice when someone says the most criminally embarrassing thing to her–– Aaaahhh… I wish I could forget that ever happened.

Most of my other classmates tend to be good people too. I’ve never experienced any bullying. And there’s never been anyone gossiping in a voice loud enough to hear.

Yes, I’m simply alone.

My ability is called Drain. At least, that’s what I call it.

It’s not something I picked to sound cool. Besides, “Constantly active ability which drains the vitality of people in a 1 meter radius and strengthens the user” is a real mouthful.

This drain ability may not be very flashy, (like, at all) but it’s pretty good in close combat.

Just approaching your target weakens them. And that vitality is given to me… though I’ve never been beaten half to death, so I don’t notice any difference.

If I actively put my mind to draining, the speed of the drain increases, and the radius can be extended as well. (And I can also try to reduce it too.) Physical contact speeds it up even further.

With all that said, it’s a strong power–– but that’s it.

The number of times it’s been useful in my life – zero. And the number of times it’ll be useful in the future is definitely zero too.

If I get in a fight, I’d be pretty strong. (Probably.)

I’ve been told many times that I have a cheat-level ability.

But–– do battles even exist in everyday life?

Nope.

Because life is almost entirely composed of peaceful situations, this ability is just a burden.

Because of this power, I have no friends. It may be just a teeny tiny 1 meter, but the fear it causes makes people back away even more. I myself don’t want to scare people by approaching, so I do my best to keep a 3 meter distance.

The rearmost seat by the window.

That’s my designated seat, and no desk comes within 1 meter of it.

Some red tape on the floor marks the 1 meter area.

This absolutely looks like bullying, but it was my suggestion. Having a clear marker helps the other students rest easy. The school acknowledged my decision.

sigh… I wonder if there’s a person with the ability to restore their own vitality the closer they are to a person….

Yeah… probably not in this high school. My ability is also rather rare… well I’m actually the only one they found so far. God must have made it just to torment me.

This school is one of the schools within Tokyo that has a special ability course. The West Tokyo Metropolitan High School in Hachiouji city. Actually, it doesn’t even have a regular course.

Within Hachiouji city, home to over 500,000 people, this high school was created to accommodate ability users–– a demographic that makes up about 5% of the total Japanese population.

The entrance requirement is to be an ability user. To be precise, ability users can only enroll in schools with an ability user course. So you don’t really have much choice.

Colloquially, it’s called Seikou. Not Nishikou, but Seikou.

Abilities are judged based on how well they can serve society, so they have something called a “contribution level”. It has five levels, with 5 as the highest and 1 as the lowest. (At least that’s what I thought when I enrolled.) They don’t really discriminate against you based on contribution level, but I’ve heard it’s an advantage when finding employment.

But this is what was written on my first year report card–

– Contribution Level: 0

So it was actually a 6-level scale? What? What does 0 even mean here?

Apparently, an ability that is just a danger is actually worse than level 1 abilities which are functionally useless. So they had to recognize a level lower than 1.

If I had any friends, it’d be a good story to tell them. I bet it’d get a laugh every time.

Well, no use crying over what you don’t have… yeah…

“Narihira-kun, here you go, the second handout.”

Once again, Isshinden-san puts the handout on the tennis racket, and stretches it out to me.

I bet she never thought that being in the tennis club would help her in this way.

By the way, a girl isn’t calling me by my given name because we’re close, it’s because my family name is Hagure (which sounds like “outcast”). To call an outcast sitting in the back corner of the room “Hagure-kun” would just be too cruel, everyone thought. The people in this class are so nice. They didn’t want me to feel bullied.

“Thank you.”

I say that as I take the handout.

Thank you… what a sad sounding phrase.

I’ve been taught that someone who can properly say “thank you” is a respectable person, but just saying “thank you” isn’t getting me any friends. I don’t want to be lauded, I want to have friends!

Of course, I’ve thought of a plan.

I’m not just some loser who keeps complaining and doesn’t put in any effort.

I do my best to keep up a good appearance as a guy.

There’s people who would avoid someone who looks too mischievous, so I try to look just flashy enough that even shy people would be fine talking to me. If you’re being a bit generous on the grading, you might say I’m handsome even.

No matter what the genre, I try to dabble into anything that’s popular, just so I can join in on conversations. I don’t shun my studies either– I manage to stay around the worst of the best scores.

When there’s too little people around for cleaning, I take the initiative to help out.

Like during tennis in P.E., I’m the one cleaning up the equipment.

It didn’t help at all.

This might be obvious when you think about it, but–– I don’t think there are people who want to become friends with someone just because they’re nice.

The reality of being physically isolated isn’t changing, and as long as I’m physically isolated, I can’t make any friends. A girlfriend would be out of the question.

While keeping a 1 meter distance, can you even eat together, or watch a movie? Even a veteran detective couldn’t manage that. Someone watching a movie beside me would be carried out on a stretcher before it ends. And when you line up for something, the people behind you would ask you to move closer together.

This power first appeared in my fifth year of grade school, so I just barely managed to keep my friends for the rest of grade school. For a time, they were even fine with staying within 50 cm of me.

In middle school, my life was bleak. Desolate, even. I wasn’t ignored, but instead viewed as a threat. The 1.5 meter distance extended to 2 meters.

And even as I enter my second year in a school for ability users, it’s still bleak. Desolate, even. I thought that people in an ability user school would understand me, but I get neither sympathy nor empathy. A power that weakens people is plain creepy.

I wanted to scream “Give me some color in my life!” out loud.

I wanted to scream “What the hell?! How the heck is a weakening power going to help a high schooler?!” out loud.

I wanted to scream “I’m innocent, so why the heck am I a loser among losers?! Everything else about me is pretty great. Normally, these qualities could even get you a girlfriend!” out loud.

But I couldn’t say it.

Doing so would just be crazy.

I’d go from “A pretty stand-up guy” to “A pretty creepy guy”.

How bad was I in my past life? Tell me! If I figure that out, I might just find someone with an ability to interact with past lives, and ask them to kill my past self! Wouldn’t that make the lives of the people around my past self better, and change the fate of my current life? Ah, maybe that could end up erasing me and replacing me with a completely different person, damn…. Might even create a time paradox, but who cares….

“Narihira, would you happen to know the meaning of this word in English?”

Goidou-sensei picked me for a question. Crap. In my silent rage, I completely forgot I was in class. It’s a good thing it’s a question I can answer.

“Umm, isolation…. It means being separated from others.”

I answered as plainly as possible.

However, Sensei’s face suddenly dropped.

“Ah– sorry… I didn’t give that question to you on purpose…. It’s just a coincidence, the meaning slipped my mind…. Oh, but, I didn’t mean to imply that you’re always alone or anything…”

AAAAAAHHH! Having to explain that you’re not doing it on purpose, then having to apologize because it sounded like you were implying something–– did we really have to go through that whole song and dance?!?!

This whole routine of saying you shouldn’t discriminate, then realizing it means there was some sort of discrimination, it’s absolutely unbearable!

If this happened in some other situation, it might lead to people acknowledging the problem and getting to fixing it. But in this case, who the heck would want to stand up and be friends with the loner?!

Hell, maybe I should just become a delinquent! That’s what my seating placement looks like anyways! Okay, stop. That’ll have an effect on your future. It’ll mess up your college applications. You know what, I bet even delinquents wouldn’t let me in their group!

So should I just come out and say “Yeah, I’m a loner!”?! Nah, if that falls flat, I’m dead. I’m actually scared they wouldn’t laugh and end up seriously pitying me instead.

“Sensei, it’s no big deal.”

––I said, killing my emotions.

Actually, just kill me instead. I stand on a beach made of despair. No matter how much I dig, all my hands grab are despair. Below me is nothing but miles and miles of despair.

The whole day, all I can do is pray for my misfortune to end.

And as I do so, the day’s lessons are over.

Changing the world by just praying– I don’t think an ability as powerful as that exists.

Yeah, okay, I can’t just keep praying like this, so let’s start over.

I’m a fighter, not a quitter. I’ll sell my soul if it means I can make friends.

Now that lessons are over, I’ve got time to kill after class. The day hasn’t ended yet!

High school only has 3 years in it (unless you get held back). And now that I’m in 2nd year, a third of that is gone. If I dawdle around like this, it’ll be half.

The worst case scenario would be for the 3 years to end without making any friends.

And it’s not like I can make the excuse that I was too focused on a goal like sports or other competitions. If I joined a sport, getting too close to my opponent would activate my ability, which is clearly against the rules.

“Let me help out with the cleaning.”

As per usual, I pick up a broom even though it’s not my turn to clean today.

I hope this at least makes someone think “Hey, he’s a good person.”

I’ll put in effort for even the tiniest fraction of a possibility. Maybe it could lead to a conversation.

For example, something like this:

“Man, you sure are a good dude Narihira.” “Well, I’m in the Go-Home Club, so I’ve got free time.” “I’m skipping clubs today. Narihira, you wanna head home together?” “Yeah, man. Maybe go buy some ice cream on the way?” “This is the first time I’ve seen you get this close to someone.” “Well, one meter’s not too far, y’know. It’ll be fine.”

Yeah, like that. That sorta friendship-like thing that high school guys have with each other! That casual sort of interaction is surprisingly profound! Mobile games, music, fighting games– I’m down for anything! Whatever you wanna do, I can accommodate! You wanna talk about something lewd or indecent, go for it!

––the people on cleaning duty today are all girls.

A loner trying to make friends with the opposite sex is like a fish climbing onto land and trying to go to space! Get used to living on land first! Grow some feet!

I put some distance between me and the rest, and start sweeping.

Bad luck on top of bad luck. Looking out the window, it’s started to rain.

I bike to school, so rain just makes me feel bad.

Holding up an umbrella while on a bike is actually against the law, bringing a raincoat instead is really messy to store, and using one of those umbrellas that attach to the bike, like the ones used by old ladies in Osaka, is a bit too avant-garde.

If it’s a light drizzle, I usually just bike in the rain. A light drizzle shouldn’t make me sick, so it’s the best option.

That being said, my house is pretty far away, so I’m still drenched by the time I get there.

And if anyone says I should just go to school by train, then you can go to school by hell. Riding on a bus or train means I’m draining people around me. If I have to take the train, I get off often, change seats, anything to reduce the strain on other passengers.

Through the window, I can see people with their umbrellas jumping and zooming around in the rain. You know, in the Edo era, there was an ability user working as a postman who could actually jump and zoom around.

Even today, that ability could save travel expenses. I bet it could get a contribution level of 4. At the very least, the company they work for would save travel fees, so it’s a good hire.

In high school, there really aren’t any people who would brag about their contribution level, but it does play a huge role in future employment. I heard it also gets you easy recommendations for colleges.

But as I entered my second year, I’ve gone from not minding it, to being very conscious of what other people’s levels are. I’ve heard that accomplishments with your ability can raise the contribution level.

Enemies, come stand before me.

Preferably an enemy that’ll only hurt me a little and let me win in the end.

I daydream of convenient situations as I move my broom around.

A long period of strife which would make you forget about things like friends– I bet I could survive that. Maybe by the end of it, I’d get thanked and respected by everyone.

Well those superpowered battle settings usually emphasize the power of love and friendship. There’s no piece of fiction where every single character acts alone.

The girls on cleaning duty laugh happily as they talk.

As far as I can tell, I don’t hear anything indicating they’re laughing at me.

Friendship is all about talking about the most trivial things, and having a good laugh about it. If if were friends with Isshinden-san, I’d say, “Isshinden-san, your name always makes me think of isshindenshin…”, and we’d have a laugh about it. “Well, I wouldn’t want to have a telepathic connection with you (haha)” “Wow, harsh (haha)” ––is probably how it would go.

But I’m not friends, or anything to her. Just some dude doing some cleaning.

An outsider talking to you unprompted is plain creepy. Not fun at all.

“Sorry, the club has a meeting…. We’re leaving early, okay?”

“You only need to put stuff in the trash! Please!”

––the girls said assertively. It’ll only take a couple of minutes, can’t you stick around until it’s done? Where’s your sense of cooperation? ––is something I could never say.

“Sure, I’ll do it.”

––is what I answered. A pushover like me has to follow the rules. Having no sense of cooperation is for the normies. That’s why I wish that normies would get a mouth ulcer every 3 days and suffer.

“Thanks, Narihira-kun!”

The 4 girls who were talking so cheerfully earlier casually stroll out the room. Thanks, my ass. You’re just gonna forget that gratitude 5 seconds after. Now it’s just me and one other girl here. Everything’s almost done, sure, but it feels like I had no say in the matter.

One-on-one with a girl, huh. I feel bad thinking how awkward it must be for her to be alone with me. As I realized who it was, though, I was frozen in shock.

In a way, it’s someone similar to me.

Takawashi Enju––also called the “Ice Princess”.

In her first year, she scored top marks on every single written exam.

On top of that, she remarks that she has nothing to say to idiots, so she stays aloof and talks to no one. Since I got into the same class as her in 2nd year, she’s always spent her breaks with large headphones to shut out all other sounds.

Well, having no one to talk to is the one thing we have in common.

Today like all days, Takawashi stays true to her “Ice Princess” moniker, with that long hair like a noble, and those cold eyes which seem to look down on everyone. Of course, her attractive facial features are those befitting a princess as well. She’s also among the tallest of the girls and has a good figure, making her look like a model.

I’ve heard God doesn’t give people more than one gift, but that’s gotta be a lie.

Besides, people who have a lot tend to have an easier time getting more anyway.

Conversely, people who fail a lot end up feeling inferior and have their personality warped, which leads to them performing even worse.

Takawashi perfectly encapsulates “Beauty and brains”, so “God doesn’t give more than one gift” is a contradiction. Whoever is making these figures of speech needs to do a better job.

––although Takawashi’s reputation is, frankly speaking, terrible.

Yes, Takawashi may have both beauty and brains, but she has some problems on the personality side (I’ve heard).

Like, for example, the people who have tried interacting with her have been met with severe verbal abuse–– countless girls have ended up in tears.

Like, for example, she’s given every single girl a horrible nickname.

Like, for example, when somebody snapped at her, she rebutted with “My personality’s ugly? Well for you, everything but your personality is ugly.”

This is all secondhand, which is why I say “like, for example”.

At the very least, for the one month I’ve been classmates with her, she’s spent most of her free time with those large headphones on, shutting out the world. Of course she doesn’t have them on now, though.

*You might think it’s weird that I know so much, but being in the back of the class lets me observe things.

But honestly, I can’t easily accept those rumors.

Being born with this many gifts, there’s probably some jealous people out there. Those people are probably going around spreading baseless rumors.

Because I’m a loner, I’m not gonna discriminate against people who stand alone––

“Jeez, Sweet and Sour Pineapple, Cicada with an Umbrella, Moles for Days, Low Quality Minor Character… I wish that group would learn to clean properly. If you can’t clean right, you’ll never do anything right.”

“She actually did give them nicknames!”

I couldn’t stop myself from remarking at Takawashi’s mutterings.

It was not my place to say that out loud. Somebody saying that around people they’re not friends with is plain creepy. It just happened at the best timing. Or the worst timing?

Takawashi glares me down for a split second, then looks away.

Huaaa~ah, she yawns lazily as she covers her mouth with her left hand and says,

“I guess there was still one person here.”

Her voice conveyed the most I don’t care tone I’ve ever heard. She isn’t even looking in my general direction.

Takawashi stares through the window at the scenery clouded by great big raindrops. She looks a lot like a witch with that broom she’s holding.

“Rain sure is miserable, but imagining Sweet and Sour Pineapple without an umbrella does take some stress away. Every misfortune I picture them getting is like popping one bubble on a sheet of bubble wrap.”

Okay, I know having the cleaning pushed onto you is aggravating, but that bad mouth is something else!

“Oh, maybe I should pull their chairs out a bit. You know, make it look like someone sat on it after school. I’m sure that would gross them out a little.”

Right after she said that, Takawashi actually did start pulling their chairs out a little. It made some unpleasant scraping sounds as she did it.

This person actually exists. Forget trying to make friends, she doesn’t seem to trust anyone else and just chooses to drive everyone away…

Seeming satisfied with how the chairs are positioned, Takawashi nods agreeably to herself.

“Excuse me… Takawashi-san, did you also give me a nickname…?”

I ask her, not because I’m curious.

It’s because not knowing the answer is terrifying.

“Huh? Well you’re Skulking Rat Bastard.“

I should have known it would be something extremely nasty!

And despite this dreadful statement, she doesn’t turn the slightest bit in my direction.

I’m not even worth being glimpsed at.

“Umm… can you maybe tone it down a bit…?”

I talk a bit more, as if to plead with her. She finally glances at me for a second, then quickly averts her gaze again. Does she charge by the second for a conversation or something?

“How about Guy Who Tries To Turn Losing in The Prelims Into a Positive by Saying It’s a Good Experience?”

“It’s better than being negative, right?! Go easy on me!”

“Maybe Guy On Social Media Who Gets Mad and Leaves if People Don’t React Positively?”

“I’ve got more self-control than that, and I’m not really on social media!”

Her skill in damaging peoples’ self-esteem is on the level of a special ability.

Speaking of which, I’ve never seen her use her special ability. She’s called the “Ice Princess”, so it’s gotta be something ice related. Don’t tell me it actually is her sharp tongue.

“Ta-Takawashi-san, you don’t need friends, right…? Y-you’re strong…”

There’s really no need to praise her for this, but for me, she’s something I look up to.

While I’m just a minor character screaming “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”, Takawashi would be a character who dies taking up arms against an unbeatable foe.

Living life looking down on others seems a lot more gallant than taking cleaning duty to try to make friends…. …okay, maybe not gallant, but it’s a lot better. She’s surely higher on the class hierarchy than I am.

Even now, just standing there, Takawashi Enju is oppressively beautiful. Picturesque. She doesn’t exude any of that creepiness that loners do. Since I’m a loner, I’m pretty sensitive to other loners’ creepiness.

Getting all nervous when no one’s talking… trying to enter a conversation and failing, then just keeping watch like a weak little animal… Takawashi would never do that.

Cutting people down with her biting words as they approach, that’s clearly how she conducts herself.

If only I had as bold of a personality, maybe things could change.

It’s impossible.

I’d just be class changing from “stranger” to “enemy”.

Takawashi gives no reply to my rating (?), and looks out the window again. She looks like she’s about to fly out the window with her broom. To ignore someone talking to you– I don’t have that sort of confidence. While maintaining that mood, she looks my way for just a moment and says,

“There’s nothing strong about me at all.”

She gives a reply as if delayed by an extreme amount of latency.

“I don’t think that at all. If you can say you’re not strong, that already shows you are.”

I shouldn’t have said that, I immediately think. I’m prying too much. I’m becoming the type of person who grumbles vaguely about abstract problems.

“Well, time to clean up the trash that those nobodies left for us.”

…and I guess she just ignored that too.

“I’ll get the dustpan.”

I take out the dustpan because I’m closer to the closet.

I want to get out of this situation ASAP. It’s just plain awkward. Just the one-on-one talk with a girl is already rough. Staying in complete silence is pretty awkward, too, but this line of conversation is stressful. It’s not one you can absentmindedly stay on for 10 or 20 minutes.

I lay the dustpan on the floor.

But at that moment, I noticed the problem.

If Takawashi is in charge of the broom, she’ll have to get within one meter of me…

“Actually, I should be the one doing the sweeping. My special ability would just be a nuisance.”

Yeah, it’s a nuisance. The fact that there’s no way for me to deny it is just so aggravating. If only a world without special powers existed.

“No need to worry. Sweeping this up shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

I don’t have the authority to make her endure it.

“If it gets too bad, I’ll come right out and say “It’s your fault I’m feeling strained”.”

“If you’re gonna say that, then just let me do it by myself!”

“See if I do the sweeping, and you hold the dustpan, position-wise, it lets me look down on you. This might come as a shock to you, but I enjoy looking down on people. In the future, I’d like to find a job that lets you earn money by looking down on people.”

“That doesn’t shock me at all, and that job doesn’t exist…”

In the end, Takawashi kept the broom to herself, and I take the job of holding the dustpan.

And of course, she is physically looking down on me.

“Listen closely. Do not lift your face up. I don’t want to see your face at all.”

I really think Takawashi didn’t need to say that.

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Sorry for not being a pretty boy.”

“Don’t worry. Even if a person’s face looks good, I’ll find something to criticize about them.”

Words like pure evil rain down on my head.

But, a question pops up in my mind.

If there is someone who enjoys looking down on people, wouldn’t they want to see the expressions on their target’s face?

You know, Takawashi has surprisingly made very little eye contact.

At first I thought I just wasn’t worth looking at, but (and thinking back on it calmly, I was so self-deprecating that it makes me want to cry) maybe she doesn’t like it when people look at her face.

Maybe she has a complex with her face? Everyone knows that Takawashi is unquestionably a beauty. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t call her the Ice Princess.

In the middle of my contemplation, I sense her moving right above me.

It felt like she was trying to move away from me.

As I instinctively turn my head upward, I see Takawashi weakly falling backwards!

“Hey! Are you alright?!”

I catch her in my arm in a panic. I managed to stop her from falling. That’s good… no it’s not.

She’s definitely weakened because she got close to me. So making contact with her will definitely worsen it.

I’ve got to let go of her fast, but doing that risks her hitting her head on the floor. My personality’s not that terrible. Actually, if I didn’t have this power, my personality would be around the worst of the best.

Aside from that, aren’t girls’ bodies just too soft? I can barely see any meat on her bones, and yet–– wait, that’s not important right now!

“I’m gonna let you down…. Don’t hit your head, okay…?”

Calling out to Takawashi naturally causes our eyes to meet.

At that moment, I didn’t fall in love or anything–– it was the most awkward I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m the guilty party here…

Takawashi moves her lips slightly, her cheeks faintly blush, and she says “don’t look at me…“

It’s inappropriate of me to think this, but––

The expression she makes is charming enough to make me shiver…

Because of that, I fail to look away.

This is a particularly unique case. Having someone explicitly tell me not to do something, then doing it anyway–– this might be a lifetime first.

And as I plunge into that lifetime first, something peculiar happens.

A strange object appears behind Takawashi Enju.

Those LED displays at the train station that let you know the train line– It looks a lot like those.

You know, like “Shinjuku – Normal Line”.

For a second I wondered how it got here from a train station, but it seems alien to this world, ethereal even.

On it, letters start crawling from right to left.

(Oh no…. This unexpected turn of events ended up with too much eye contact…. Wait, maybe if I avert my eyes now it’ll still be safe…)

“What… is this…?”

Where’s the ability user with this power hiding? There’s people who can create objects out of thin air, sure.

But this… looks like Takawashi’s inner thoughts…?

“W-wait, stop making eye contact with me…. I- I don’t like looking at the lack of confidence on your face. It might just infect me…!”

Takawashi stood up quickly and turned her face away. It seems she’s better now. It’s like how you get a rush of strength in the face of life-threatening danger.

What I understand is, some special ability obviously got activated. But making an LED display is just so specific….

(What should I do…. If my ability gets found out, it’ll be a huge problem…)

More words scroll across the LED display.

“Hey, do you… do you have an ability that shows your thoughts on a message board?”

“What? I’ve never heard of such a stupid ability. I don’t want to hear about whatever made up ability you think is cool.”

(No way… did we actually keep eye contact!? Once it’s out it won’t go away for a while…. I have to try to buy time while looking away…)

Suddenly, Takawashi turns her head away.

Right after the words looking away showed up.

This is too much for a coincidence.

It’s so unnatural that I decide to circle around her while holding the dustpan. Then look into her eyes.

Takawashi instantly turns her head 90 degrees.

I move 90 degrees around her.

“Wh-why do you keep staring…”

I feel bad for my creepy behavior, but I think I understand it now.

“That thing behind you, does it have something to do with your ability?”

A change occurred on the stone-faced Takawashi.

To state it plainly, it’s the face you make after you accidentally delete all data of a document you wrote.

When you face a problem too large to process, you just refuse to acknowledge it.

“Umm… I’m not at all flustered, but… can I take some deep breaths?”

“…I don’t think you need to ask permission from me.”

“Okay, let’s just say that I got flustered when you held me in your arm earlier.”

…so I guess that means neither of us felt any romance from what happened earlier.

My mind is still stuck on that LED display.

(Isn’t the secret out now…? That I have an ability which shows my inner thoughts…. Even though I tried so hard to act cool and avoid eye contact with people…)

“I’m going to ask you a question, please answer with yes or no. That thing behind you that looks like an LED message board, is that your ability?”

“I’d prefer you stop saying such ridiculous things.”

(That’s right… When I was in grade school, I gave it such an embarrassing name– “Kokoro Open”.)

“Yeah, I guess it does sound kinda lame, but that’s normal for grade school.”

“I-I didn’t say anything…”

Seems like her plan is to feign ignorance. But I’m not done just yet.

“Takawashi-san, is your cool demeanor just a character you made up? Is that not how you really are?”

“Make up a character? How absurd. I’m me, that’s it.”

(Yes. After 3 seconds, if I maintain eye contact, this thing activates. I’m scared of people reading my thoughts, so I made up a character to act out to stop people from looking at me. But it worked too well… I didn’t think it would stop me from making friends…)

All the mysteries have been solved. Well, rather than solved, her thoughts just told me all the answers.

Takawashi’s face turns pale. Does she think I’ll use this for blackmail?

Ah… I’m way too close to her. After so long, I’ve gotten a feel of how far 130 cm is, but I need to think of a better plan later…. This is causing her more physical strain than mental.

I take three large steps backwards. I really wish this power gave me some feedback when it activates. If I’m not making contact, I can’t really feel anything.

“Takawashi Enju, I’ve figured out your special ability.”

I’ve already had insults rained on me, so I’m sure dropping honorifics is fine. She isn’t respecting me so I don’t need to respect her.

“Are you trying to play detective now? Why don’t you put yourself in a locked room and suffocate to death.”

(It’s over…. Worst case scenario, I’m gonna become a loner AND a loser…)

She still can’t say what she means, but what she’s thinking is something I painfully understand.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about this.”

“R-really!?”

At that moment, I can see “R-Really!?” scrolling through the LED display.

It seems she can’t control her words that easily for something unexpected.

“Wait, you’re probably going to ask me for something in exchange for keeping quiet…. Like how you took advantage of my weakened state earlier…”

The LED display is describing things straight out of an eromanga– I can’t look at this!

“No! I’m not thinking of anything depraved! My intentions are noble enough to make me fight a villain off for you!”

“Do you think a person constantly declaring “I’m a normal person!” would actually be a normal person? There’s obviously something wrong with them. No way I’d believe that.”

“I get what you’re saying, but how am I supposed to defend myself here!?”

Hey, I wish I had a special ability that didn’t require me to constantly state that I’m not a threat. It’s so clearly worse than not having a special ability at all.

“The reason is extremely simple. You already know it, don’t you?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be having trouble now. Normally, it’s not that easy to understand people’s thoughts, you know.”

Takawashi scratches her right cheek slightly. Her hand stops there, making it look like she’s pointing to herself.

She makes a good argument there. Well, she’s the exception though.

It would definitely be convenient to know exactly what the other person is thinking. …or is it…? A person who could do that might have worries only they would understand.

“Don’t you want friends? Your ability makes you scared to make friends, so you created that character. So playing that aloof character… is just escapism.”

Takawashi stays silent, so I’m assuming I got it right.

“You’re not the only one who wants friends. Nobody wants to try to get along with a guy they physically can’t get close to.”

“It’s the 21st century, you can get around that using social media.”

Everyone’s problems are easy to solve but her own, huh…

“So, let’s say I do hit it off with someone I met online. You think that’s as good as having a friend in real life? Walking home together from school, complaining about our teachers– you can’t do those things, you know?”

“You’re right. Even friends on LINE are usually people who are already real life friends.”

I’ve never heard of anyone not getting along in real life but being bosom buddies online.

By the way, I did try Twitter, but I couldn’t get more than 6 followers. And two of those were spam accounts. If anyone from school saw that account, they probably didn’t follow it because it would be too awkward…

The two of us live with the same suffering.

Due to our abilities, we can’t make friends.

“I see. When you said I don’t have any friends, you were speaking from experience.”

This girl seriously doesn’t understand the concept of sugarcoating…. No, she probably does and chooses not to do it, which is worse.

Takawashi’s expression suddenly seems to become a bit lighter.

However, she lowers her gaze soon after. I become unable to discern her expression, and soon after, the LED display disappears. It looks like it goes away after avoiding eye contact for a while.

“Hey, Skulking Rat Bastard. Skulking Rat Bastard. Skrat Bast–”

“I’m begging you, please stop trying to make that a thing. And don’t make your own abbreviation for it.”

“I’m going to give you my honest advice– one reason you don’t have any friends is because you’re always skulking around in the corner like a rat.”

Well, they do say the best medicine always tastes bitter. A bit too bitter.

“You’ve got it backwards. It’s because I have no friends that I try to lay low.”

“But now you’re trapped in a vicious cycle.”

“Yes, I get what you’re trying to tell me. But let me give you advice too– you can’t make friends because your personality is too extreme. If you can fix that somehow, I’m sure you’ll be one of the normies.”

That might piss her off. But that’s fine. That’s better than hollow words of thanks.

“That’s true.”

A melancholy sigh echoes through the room.

“Well it makes sense to get mad when someone picks a fight with you. But even when I’m trying to be friendly with people, they avoid me. This is a dire situation to be in. So I need someone to judge from a neutral perspective.”

I get her reasoning. It can be hard to assess a situation from the inside.

“From my perspective, 30% of what I say are insults, 30% are normal talking, and 40% are friendly in nature.”

“Are you for real?! Which part of anything was supposed to be friendly!?”

“A while ago, I was really hoping for it to go–– “Sweet and sour pineapple, what a fun nickname! Do you have any more?”“

“I do not want to entertain that train of thought! Also, it’s obvious now that people who wait to be talked to are already failures!”

“You need to read the context to see how friendly it is. Besides, people don’t just carelessly say what they really mean. If everyone in the world could only say what they really mean, it would be utter chaos.”

Takawashi tries to express her exasperation, but with one hand on the broom, she can only toss her right hand in the air.

I’m sure I’ve read a short sci-fi story in middle school about what she just described.

In that world, men could convey their thoughts to others, but when meeting a beautiful woman, they’d end up going “I want to do lewd things with you.” and stop being an upstanding person.

It was a comedic short story, but in real life it would be a tragedy.

There’s bound to be people who annoy you or people you can’t get along with. And even with the ones you do, you might just not know their beliefs and convictions.

“I hate this ability of mine. Because of it, I can’t make any decent personal connections.”

Begrudgingly, Takawashi manages to force those words out of her mouth.

“Let me correct that. I loathe it.”

If I could read her thoughts right now, I’m sure it would say the same thing.

“And I loathe my own self who has this ability.”

I feel my skin start to tingle.

Takawashi has been hanging her head this whole time. It feels as if the broom is carrying all her weight.

You don’t have to hate yourself, you know. …but saying that wouldn’t even begin to solve anything. It won’t get rid of her ability, it wouldn’t make her any friends.

That’s why, instead––

“I, too, hate my ability from the bottom of my heart.”

“Does that make you hate yourself, too?”

“However, I’d never want to hate myself, and I still don’t.”

This is where Takawashi and I differ.

“Because you know, it’s not my fault I’m burdened by this. I’m a victim. Why does a victim have to start hating himself!? It’s all my ability’s fault! It’s the fault of fate for giving me this ability! I’m innocent in all this, and I have a right to find happiness!”

Takawashi watches me, stunned. For once, she’s the one who’s staring at me.

I return her stare. When conveying something important, it’s natural to look in the other’s eyes.

“Could you please stop trying to read my thoughts? In a sense, it’s worse than being a peeper.”

“Ah, you’re right! Sorry! I wasn’t thinking!”

Takawashi once again looks away from my eyes.

Not being able to make eye contact sure is rough. A lot of things you learn about people are based on their expressions.

“Furthermore, I haven’t finished talking yet.”

I guess this is where she says she doesn’t actually reject herself.

I look down, and focus only on listening to her. Even without seeing her face, I can try to understand her emotions a little. That’s what it means to communicate.

“I hate both my ability and myself. Even after hearing your opinion, that hasn’t changed. But… I do want friends.”

With just her voice, I can feel a bit of what she’s feeling right now.

“That’s why I want to form an alliance. An alliance to do everything in your power to help the other make friends.”

I don’t need to hear anything more.

I want friends too.

Even as a loner–– no, because I’m a loner, I want friends.

“We don’t have any friends. I’m too aggressive of a person. You’re too reserved of a person. Because we’re so different, there’s value in an alliance.”

“You know, maybe if we do make friends, we’ll realize it’s not all we made it out to be.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say “Oh, high school friends weren’t really that important”? For the sole reason that I don’t have any friends, having them is so alluring to me.”

“I get that so much that it hurts.”

One time, I saw someone asking for advice online, saying “It’s tough being a loner”. Someone answered with “There’s nothing shameful about being a loner”. I thought that person was extremely unintelligent.

I don’t care about being ashamed or not! Just the state of being a loner is agony! We need you to give us a way to stop the pain!

“To be honest with you, I don’t know how much value this thing called friends has.”

As we keep our eyes away from each other, the words echo in this lonely room.

If anyone else were here, I don’t think you’d ever hear those words.

Talking about the definition of friendship is just pure cringe. Conversations about abstract concepts is a big no-no.

“All that being said, maybe it’s just the same feeling as wanting to join a popular trend. Maybe all those connections will be cut off completely once college comes around. Even so–”

This is the loudest Takawashi’s voice has ever been.

It may not be loud enough for a scream, but I can hear her crying out.

“I– no, we– feel burdened by not having any friends. It’s enough to keep us living in constant unease.”

That’s exactly right.

Adults might be able to say that you’ll be fine without any friends. Some of them might even be able to say “I used to have no friends, but now I’m living a fulfilling life”.

Those words don’t help at all.

The friendless reality we live in right now feels so hopelessly gray. Suffocating, even. For a high schooler, high school activities make up about 80% of their social life. If that 80% stays bleak, I’m gonna burn down the Ministry of Education.

My eyes stay glued on an unremarkable floor.

Despite having just cleaned, there’s more dust than you’d expect.

There’s a bunch of dark blemishes here and there. They especially stand out in places the light touches.

Looking closer, it kinda looks like a bunch of squares lined up together. There’s also some spots which look like growth rings on wood.

I’m sure there’s no way normies would pay attention to this nonsense. First of all, they don’t stare at their feet. I hang my head so often that I could be an expert in floors.

Takawashi hasn’t said anything for a while. However, she shows no signs of leaving.

I haven’t replied to her proposal yet.

“Hey, Takawashi.”

“Do you have your answer?”

“Does it make you mad to make eye contact and have your Kokoro Open activate?”

“If you can prove you’re shameless enough to have one of your porn mags shown to everyone during homeroom, then I’ll gladly let you activate my ability.”

Takawashi points a finger straight at my face. This is something too dangerous to pry into.

“Got it…. I’ll do my best not to activate it…”

“The only thing this ability does is make it harder to form relationships with others. If it gets found out, word quickly spreads to the type of people who say “Oh, so she’s the type of person to think that, huh?”. I hated that, which is why I transferred schools to this area before high school.”

That might be one of the causes for Takawashi’s pessimistic personality.

A relationship where only one side knows everything is so lopsided. It’s not something you can grin and bear.

“I will do my utmost to avoid looking at your face. I won’t make eye contact. Looking away the whole time is a bit rough, so I might look sometimes, but I won’t stare–– Is this enough for an alliance?”

I take a peek at her face. Her usual scowl is still there, but I think I feel a slight tinge of relief.

“I’ll allow it.”

I guess you can still be condescending in an alliance.

“––and with that said”

While keeping her face turned away, Takawashi extends her right arm.

Her skin is so clear it looks almost transparent.

Since she has no friends, she’s probably never held hands with anyone. Maybe that’s why her hand is so free of blemish. I should probably keep these bizarre thoughts to myself.

“––the alliance is formed. It’s quite convenient that we’re sharing secrets, too.”

“I already know your secret, but… I don’t think you know any of mine.”

There’s no way for me to keep my Drain secret. And trying to do so would just injure people.

“You’re helping out the cleaning because you want friends, right?”

“Y-yeah… that’s right…”

“And if I spread that around, it’ll do considerable damage, right?”

That would make school uninhabitable.

There’s probably a few people who suspect it already, but if it’s put into words, it’ll spread like wildfire.

I’ve never straight up said I’m looking for friends.

It’s actually something a loner shouldn’t say.

Because you need it, you shouldn’t say it, and if you do, it’s game over. Life really is such a garbage game.

“So can we confirm that we both have each other’s secrets?”

Takawashi’s voice seems to perk up a bit. It’s probably her sadistic nature feeling satisfied. She enthusiastically sticks her hand out one more time. I can’t see smugness on her face, but I can feel it coming from her hand.

Well there’s no reason for me to reject. The alliance, that is.

“I’m all for the alliance, but I’m not going to shake hands.”

“Why? ––oh yeah, your Drain.”

I nod.

“I don’t want to burden my ally. That’s just my policy.”

“…maybe, just maybe, that sort of “policy” is just turning you into more of a loner. But people have their own values, so I’ll respect it. So how about this?”

This time, she sticks out only her right pointer finger.

“Finger to finger. I’m the type of person who trusts words as much as campaign promises.”

She says that despite not being able to vote yet.

“Got it. I can do that much.”

I slowly move forward, step by step, and reach out and poke Takawashi’s finger.

Her long nails prickle a bit.

But that pain is proof that Takawashi is standing her ground inside my 1 meter range.

As the pain ends, Takawashi returns to a safe distance away from me. It’s a distance where I can be at ease.

“Well then, that should be all for today, Skulking Rat Bastard.”

“Before we adjourn, I’d like to request a change in nickname…”

This nickname manages to make me feel more like a nobody than I’ve ever felt before. It needs to be changed.

“Mr. Bug That I Tried Pulling Off Of The Curtain But One Leg Was Still Stuck On The Curtain“

“Stop naming me from traumatic events! Besides, it’s way too long!”

Takawashi tilts her neck and unexpectedly looks like she’s in thought. With how smart she is, I’ve never seen her show any difficulty in class. This is a new experience.

It’s not obvious, but the more I observe her, the more I can see her physically react to things. It’s how she communicates instead of using facial expressions.

“Okay, I’ve decided.”

Takawashi claps her hands together. I feel a bit of suspense for what’s coming next.

There’s a certain elation that you get from a girl giving you a nickname.

“You’ll be called Petty Officer Fish Face.”

“That’s what your contemplation got you?!”

At least make me Sergeant! I want to forget I ever expected elation from this! A master of giving spite-filled nicknames is a clear exception!

“Okay, how about Hagureru-kun?”

“It’s my fault for having the last name Hagure, but are you just not able to see the negatives in your nicknames…?”

I think I remember a study saying that people that use horrible language towards others usually have an impressive vocabulary. That sounds about right. Well, except for people who just say moron or dumbass a lot.

“Well, your last name is Hagure, so… maybe Gure-kun?”

Okay, that’s better than I expected.

“It doesn’t seem to sound right. Maybe Petty Officer Fish Face…”

“Why are you so attached to Fish Face?”

“I mean, aren’t you a bit too friendly? Just because we’re fighting together doesn’t mean I need to get familiar with you. Furthermore, I might be your ally, but I never said I’d be friends with you. What an insult that would be. For that insult, you’d have to commit seppuku 7 times to atone.”

“That’s an absolutely horrible way to say that!”

Besides, there’s a lot more things that are unequal here. Nicknames being one of them.

“What nickname should I use for you, Takawashi?”

“Since I’m called Ice Princess, you can call me Princess.”

She thinks way too highly of herself!

“That’s hard for me to use. Try something close to Takawashi.”

“Just Takawashi is fine. There’s a few Sekitori (ranked sumo wrestlers) who are called Takawashi.”

I guess that’s supposed to be a positive? She does want me to call her that, so I’ve got no reason to decline.

“Takawashi it is, then.”

“Good.”

Takawashi moves her face only a few centimeters, and our eyes meet.

She looks away instantly, so I don’t know what she’s thinking.

Her face doesn’t look a bit cheerful and her glare is formidable, but I’d like to believe she opened her heart a little.

But thinking about it, if what’s in her heart is “Drop dead.”, then I can’t recover from that.

I really have to avoid making eye contact…

“That’s the end of this conversation–– oh…. My body feels heavy… really heavy…”

Takawashi’s body starts to waver, her long hair moving along with her.

She leans against the nearby wall.

“Hey, are you alright?! ––wait, sorry! It’s because you got too close to me…”

She got close when we touched fingers, and I had to catch her earlier too. That definitely caused bodily harm.

“I’m a bit lightheaded. Can I leave the rest of the cleaning to you, Gure-kun?”

Takawashi knocks the broom over, as if to sabotage me. The garbage still needs to be swept onto the dustpan and put in the garbage bin.

“I guess it’s my fault. I’ll do it.”

“Thank you. You sure are considerate, Gure-kun.”

As she says it, Takawashi’s eyes narrow, as if enjoying herself.

“I knew it, a nickname I came up with is bound to be a good one.”

I empty the dustpan while Takawashi sings her own praises. It’s definitely better than Petty Officer Fish Face, though.

“It’s good to make a nickname with a little love sometimes.”

I’m taken aback for a second.

The reason is plain and simple.

It’s because of the expression with a little love.

I know all she means is that it’s a nickname without derisive intent, but her words still cling to me.

A guy that has no friends but has a girlfriend just doesn’t exist. So people who have no friends are starved of love. Well, I’ve given up on that, though…. As long as I have my Drain power, I’ll never have a kiss in my life…. I’m really, really hoping someone makes a VR game where you can do that.

That’s why all my composure is gone with just one word from Takawashi.

“Well for nicknames with love, it’s a close call between that and Skulking Rat Bastard.”

“I think you need to find a third party judge first.”

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Takawashi deliberately claps her hands together. This might be what passes for applause for her.

“So we’ve reached a unanimous rating of 100 points for Gure-kun.”

Yeah. That’s the only nickname you and I can agree on.

Narihira Hagure

I’m not to blame. It’s this world and my ability that’s to blame.

Contribution Level: 0
Ability Name: Drain

Student Notes:

• Has a good amount of common sense. Always tries to avoid having his ability bother people.
• Steals the vitality of people within 1 meter of him. Constantly active ability. Physical contact speeds up the Drain.

Special Ability Evaluation:

• Societal Benefit: F
• Practicality: E
• Duration: B
• Danger: A
• Potential: ?
• Range: E

Enju Takawashi

My personality’s ugly? Well for you, everything but your personality is ugly.

Contribution Level: 1 Ability Name: Kokoro Open

Student Notes:

• An aloof beauty whose sharp tongue keeps others away from her. Called the “Ice Princess”.
• Interests range from Western music to Three Kingdoms to watching Sumo Wrestling. She tends to become obsessive with her niche interests.
• After keeping eye contact with someone for 3 seconds, her unfiltered thoughts are displayed on an LED message board. The message board goes away after a while.

Special Ability Evaluation:

• Societal Benefit: E
• Practicality: E
• Duration: F
• Danger: F
• Potential: D
• Range: E