Biting the end of her pen, Mikan stared blankly at the teacher at the front of the class. Because of her useless big brother's issues, she had been feeling quite troubled and frustrated lately.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Her classmates left in groups of two and three. She packed her things and left the classroom.
She opened her shoe locker to change, and seeing it stuffed full of small envelopes as usual, she sighed with a look of resignation.
Honestly, those boys. I've already told them I'm not interested in dating.
Though a little annoyed, she took out the envelopes one by one and put them in her schoolbag.
She had no intention of reading them, but as a kind and considerate person, she didn't want to hurt their feelings by throwing them away here. She would take them home and throw them away later. She had always done it this way.
She had heard from her brother that Sora-san also received a lot of confession letters from girls at school every day, but he never seemed to be bothered by it. In fact, he happily replied to every single one. She had no idea how he did it.
"Mikan, let's go home together!"
As she left the school building, someone called out to her. She looked over and saw two of her good friends from class.
"Sachie, Mami," she greeted them with a polite smile. She didn't refuse. They all lived in the same direction, so they often walked home together.
Sachie and Mami were both quite lively girls. The three of them walked out of the school, chatting and laughing. Though Mikan, who was much more mature than her peers, wasn't very interested in their topics, she would chime in from time to time so as not to seem aloof.
However, not far from the school, a figure suddenly blocked their path.
"Isn't that Tora-kun from Class 3? What does he want?"
"Tora-kun is so scary! He's not going to bully us, is he?"
The person blocking their path was a boy who looked fierce and tiger-like, and was almost as tall as a junior high student. He seemed to have a reputation for being a bully. Sachie and Mami took a couple of steps back, a look of fear on their faces.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the boy called Tora glared at them but didn't bother with them. He walked up to Mikan.
He took out a carefully folded envelope and held it out to her, then bowed deeply.
"Mikan-san, I've noticed you for a long time! Please go out with me!" the boy, Tora, said, his voice loud, his neck red, his expression sincere and hopeful.
"EHHHH?!!!!"
Never expecting the fierce boy who often bullied other students to be confessing to Mikan, Sachie and Mami were stunned, and then looked at her with a mix of awe and admiration.
As for Mikan herself, her eye was twitching, an embarrassed look on her face.
"Um… Tora-kun, you're a very nice boy, but I'm sorry, I-I'm not thinking about dating right now."
Being confessed to face-to-face, even she was a little shy and nervous. But she really wasn't thinking about dating anyone right now, so she could only give him a "nice guy" card and turn him down.
"How could this be…"
Sachie and Mami weren't too surprised, but the boy called Tora had a look of disappointment and disbelief.
"Mikan-san, do you know how much I like you?"
"I swear, if you go out with me, I will only ever like you! And with me to protect you, no one at school will dare to bully you!"
If he had been a more mature boy, he might have left with a look of dejection and shame. But with his childish nature, he wasn't about to give up so easily. He took a step forward, about to grab her hand.
"Ah…"
Sachie and Mami cried out, a little angry at him for being so persistent after being rejected. Mikan also took a few steps back, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
She nervously gripped the bracelet on her right wrist. If he really tried to do something, she would have to use the transformation bracelet Sora-san had given her.
However, he never reached her, because he was suddenly lifted into the air, held by someone.
"Yo, Mikan-chan. Are you okay?"
A very familiar voice. She looked over, a look of joyful surprise on her face.
"Sora-san! Lala-san! Rhea-chan! What are you guys doing here?"
It was Sora and the others, appearing at the critical moment. Letting out a secret sigh of relief, she was completely at ease.
"Heehee… Mikan-chan."
"We were just passing by and thought we'd see if we could run into you. I didn't expect to see such an interesting scene," Lala greeted her, and Sora had a teasing smile. As for the proud loli Valkyrie, she looked up at her briefly and then went back to her snack.
"Sora-san, I… I…"
To be seen being confessed to by another boy, Mikan's face turned red, a mix of embarrassment and shyness…
"Let me go! Let me go!"
The boy, Tora, finally came to his senses, realizing he had been inexplicably lifted into the air. He struggled and shouted.
"Alright, I'll let you go," Sora said.
As a great demon king who had conquered the universe, he had no interest in bullying a little brat. Since the kid wanted to be let go, he let him go, and dropped him.
"Ow… that hurts…"
Never expecting to be dropped, the boy fell to the ground. He clutched his butt and stood up, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Who are you?! Why did you ruin my moment? My big brother is in the third year of high school! I'm going to go tell him to come and teach you a lesson!" he shouted, glaring at Sora, hating him to the core for ruining his confession and making him fall on his butt.
"Little kid, so young and already trying to act like a grown-up, talking about love and even trying to force a girlfriend. Not bad," he said, amused by the fierce little guy. But then his expression changed.
"Go home to your mommy, or I'll kill you…" he said, a sinister black aura radiating from him, his expression suddenly wicked and terrifying.
Seeing his sudden change, the boy shivered, a chilling fear instantly gripping his heart, his face turning pale.
"Waaah… you just wait…"
With a terrified scream, he hugged his head and ran away.
"Hmph, kids these days," he said with a shrug, exasperated by these precocious brats.
"You're Mikan-chan's friends, right? I'm her brother's classmate and their neighbor. I'm not a bad person."
"Can you two go home first? We'll take care of Mikan-chan," he said, and with a flourish, two colorful lollipops appeared in his hands. He handed one to each of Mikan's friends with a smile.
"Thank you, senpai."
"Senpai, are you really Mikan-chan's acquaintance?"
"Senpai, you were so cool just now!"
Coming back to their senses, the two little girls looked at him with admiration, chattering and asking him questions like two curious little birds. He patiently answered them.
Satisfied, the two little girls had happy expressions. They said goodbye to Mikan and the others and went home.
"Hey, Mikan-chan, I did save you just now. Aren't you going to thank me?" he asked with a teasing smile, after sending the two little girls on their way.
"Well then, my hero, how would you like me to thank you?" she replied, a blush on her cheeks. Knowing he was teasing her again, she spoke with an exasperated tone.
"Mmm, since it was a hero saving a beauty, then you might as well offer yourself in marriage," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, his expression serious.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and her face turned dark.
"Sora-san, can I go and tell the police you're hitting on an elementary schooler…"