"Waahh~..." Yawning lazily, Rafael rested his chin on his hand while staring at the blackboard.
After his introduction, he went ahead and sat in his seat, which "coincidentally" happened to be right behind Rito's.
After that, classes began as usual—well, with the attention of some students, mostly girls, occasionally drifting toward him.
The stares weren't subtle in the slightest.
Like, for example, from the only heroine he remembered being in this class, the blue-haired girl—Sairenji or something like that.
['Come on girl, I know I'm extremely good-looking and all, but you better stop staring at me or Rito's gonna get jealous.'] Rafael thought lazily as his eyes met hers at that moment.
And in response, the girl blushed slightly and quickly looked away like she was embarrassed to be caught.
Rolling his eyes, Rafael focused back on the board in front of him. ['To think I'd one day see someone with natural blue hair… what a crazy world. Thank God she's hot or she'd just look like a giant weirdo.']
He reflected, not noticing the slight tremble in Sairenji's shoulders or the way her lips twitched slightly at that moment.
[Feeling confident, are you? What, getting all that attention from underage girls got you feeling yourself~?]
['Yes.']
[...]
Ignoring Ariel's dumbfounded silence, Rafael lazily glanced up at the clock above the board and saw there was only one minute left until break.
So, he just waited patiently, his mind humming a random song while still feeling Ariel's stunned and judgmental silence.
['Smack that, only on the floor~ Smack that, give me some more~ Smack that, ooooh~']
Rinnnngg~
With the bell finally ringing, Rafael wasted no time standing up from his chair, the students around him quickly doing the same.
He quickly noticed some stares in his direction, meeting the eyes of certain girls who then looked away, as well as a few boys who eyed him cautiously, like he was some kind of threat.
He chalked the latter up to the usual weirdness of an anime world.
Grabbing his bento—something Mikan made for him without him even asking, by the way—he walked over to Rito, who already had his own opened. "Hey Rito, I need a favor." Rafael pulled a nearby chair and spun it around to sit in front of him.
Rito lifted his head from the bento, lowering his chopsticks as he looked at Rafael. "Yeah?"
"As you already know, I'm new here, so I'd like your help showing me around the school. Is that okay?" Rafael asked as he sat down.
Rito blinked at the question, then gave a small nod and smile. "Oh, sure, I can do that."
Rafael nodded and extended his hand. "Arigatou bro." His hand stayed up, waiting for a dap.
Looking confused for a moment, Rito slowly raised his hand, to which Rafael responded—
Tap!
With the sound echoing in the classroom, Rafael then focused on his bento while Rito scratched his head, a bit lost.
As he opened his food, Rafael asked him, "So, what's your routi—"
But he was interrupted by the loud bang of the door slamming open.
Curiously turning around, he and Rito, along with other curious students, saw one of their classmates enter with a flushed face, looking stunned.
"Saruyama?" Rito, sitting in front of Rafael, asked, confused.
Rafael then recognized him as Rito's pervy friend he remembered from before.
And at the door, Saruyama seemed to have heard Rito, as his head whipped toward them, eyes wide as he made quick steps over to their desk.
Rafael watched him suspiciously because, weirdly, he was approaching with his eyes locked on him.
Once he reached them, he looked at Rito before focusing on Rafael. "There's a girl—ugh." He paused mid-sentence, making a disgusted face, then continued with an expression like he'd swallowed something sour. "There's an extremely beautiful girl looking for you."
Finding his expression weird, Rafael looked even more suspicious. "What do yo—"
"Is he here—Oh! Hi Rafael!"
But before he could finish, Rafael turned toward the voice he recognized. There, Lala appeared and immediately ran to him with arms wide open.
Realizing she was about to jump on him, Rafael quickly stood up just in time.
"Uff."
She threw herself at him, pushing him back and knocking the air out of his lungs, her arms wrapped around his neck as she hugged him, smiling brightly with her face inches away. "Hehe~ Good morning~"
"Good morning." Rafael naturally moved his hands to her waist—what? If the girl didn't mind doing this, he sure wasn't gonna complain. Of course he was gonna enjoy the moment.
[You really don't care about the age difference, do you?]
['No.']
Feeling her body against his, her softness, her warmth, and that pleasant smell—yeah, Rafael had zero regrets.
['Though it is annoying that even something this simple is already giving me a hard-on. Was I like this during my teen years?']
[Probably. Hormones play a role, but you being a virgin doesn't help.]
['Makes sense. Okay, Rafael Junior, now's not the time to wake up! Stay down!']
[Rafael Junior? Seriously? Couldn't come up with a better name?]
While he was mentally battling an erection, Lala smiled even more until she laughed like something was funny. "Hahaha~"
"What's so funny?" Rafael looked at her, puzzled.
But Lala didn't say anything and just kept laughing.
"E-excuse me, Rafael-san."
Hearing the voice beside him, Rafael saw Rito, face red, staring at him in confusion.
"You two know each other?" Rito pointed at them, completely lost at what was going on—based on what happened yesterday, he figured they had no connection at all.
"Not really." Rafael shrugged.
"Uh." Rito stared in disbelief.
"I-if you don't know each other, you can't be doing this kind of thing!"
Hearing that indignant voice, Rafael turned to see Saruyama pointing at them, his red face looking frustrated.
But Rafael noticed it wasn't just him—the other male classmates were equally red-faced and visibly frustrated like he'd just committed a crime.
Same with the girls, though only blushing.
Rafael didn't need many brain cells to figure out the reason behind those looks. ['This is one of those scenarios where the protagonist who catches the attention of a hot girl ends up becoming the enemy of every other guy, huh?']
[Yes. What do you plan to do?]
['Heh, just keep watching.']
"What does that have to do with you?" Rafael's lips slowly curled into an innocent smile.
"Guh!" Saruyama recoiled like he'd been punched. "I-it doesn't matter! Don't you see there are other students in the class!? Some of them don't have girlfriends!"
Rafael raised an eyebrow, still smiling. "The way you said that, it kinda sounds like you're just jealous?"
"Of course I'm jealous!" Saruyama shouted, losing all composure, pointing at Rafael with an outraged face. "How do you expect single guys like me to react when you're getting all close with a girl right in front of us!? Huh!?"
Rafael gave him a strange, half-incredulous look. ['This guy seriously has no shame admitting that out loud?']
He even saw a few other male students nodding in agreement—some with teary faces, others looking at him like he was the villain.
['Well, at least the guy's got balls to admit it. I can respect that—even if it'll just make his popularity with the girls plummet.'] Rafael also noticed a few girls glaring at Saruyama in pure disgust.
Turning back to him, still pointing, Rafael gave his reply. "And who said that's my problem?" He didn't forget to flash a bright smile.
"Gah!" Saruyama flinched again like he'd been punched. But then, the atmosphere around him shifted abruptly, his expression changing to a weirdly calm face. "I see, then it looks like we'll have to beat a little 'decency' into your head." He said, cracking his knuckles.
Following Saruyama's lead, the other male students' expressions also changed—feral grins and malicious glares plastered on their faces, some even cracking their knuckles too. It was clear they were with him.
Rafael took a second to process what was happening, then stepped away from Lala and walked up to Saruyama, stopping just inches away, staring at him with a wide grin.
"Huh? What do you mean? You wanna fight?" Rafael's full smile couldn't have been more expressive.
But Saruyama didn't seem intimidated at all. "No, I just want to teach you some decency, that's all." His words were backed by the slow approach of the other male students.
The mood in the classroom had changed completely—tension thick in the air, like a fight was about to break out.
Rito nearby just watched in silence, everything escalating way too fast, but he knew he had to stop it. "H-hey guys, calm down, there's no need to fight!"
But both sides completely ignored him.
Lala, standing near Rafael, just watched curiously, her eyes blinking as if she were deep in thought.
Rafael, though, kept staring at Saruyama with his full grin, clearly entertained. ['This punk really does have massive balls, huh~?']
[You're really going to fight him?]
['Of course. Can't you tell?']
[Well, hate to burst your bubble, but you're gonna get absolutely wrecked. Remember, you're no longer a muscular adult—now you're a scrawny, sedentary teen. Even if you weren't, you can't take on a mob alone.]
['So these bastards really are planning to gang up on me?']
[Yes. They really are.]
But Ariel's confirmation didn't have the expected effect—on the contrary, Rafael's smile widened even more, his eyes crinkling with mischief, his body language practically screaming that he was about to attack.
Ariel rolled her eyes. That was the reaction she expected from Rafael.
Just as Rafael was about to raise his fist and punch Saruyama without hesitation, a hand grabbed his arm. Looking back, he found Lala smiling at him.
Staring at her confused, he just looked—he hadn't expected her to stop him.
And of course, that only added fuel to the jealous boys' fire.
[I suggest you run with Lala.]
['Huh? Why?'] Rafael looked even more confused by Ariel's comment.
[Because this current moment is part of a canon event.]
While wondering if that was a reference or not, Rafael asked doubtfully. ['And how do you know that? You can see the future?']
[...Hm, sort of. Anyway, just do it—unless you don't want those points?]
['Say no more.']
And just like that, all the aggression vanished from Rafael's face. With a shocked expression, he pointed toward the corner of the classroom. "What the hell is that?!"
Surprisingly, the tactic worked, and everyone—caught off guard by the sudden shift—instinctively followed his finger.
Immediately, Rafael grabbed Lala's hand, shoved Saruyama out of the way, and ran for the door, flinging it open and bolting out.
Saruyama nearly fell over before catching himself on the desk behind him. "Damn it! After them!"
Realizing they'd been tricked, the male students quickly followed Saruyama outside.
"Wait guys!" Rito shouted, also running after them, leaving the classroom full of stunned girls behind.
Meanwhile, Rafael and Lala ran through the hallways, chased by the angry mob.
['What do I do now?'] Rafael asked Ariel as he sprinted aimlessly.
[Just keep running.]
['What the hell do you mean just run!? These bastards aren't far behind!']
[Relax, it'll be fine.]
Rafael was starting to lose his patience when he suddenly hit a dead end.
"Shit." Clicking his tongue, he was about to turn back, but the sound of the others approaching stopped him.
He was cornered.
Looking around frantically, eyes landing on a window and wondering if he should just jump out, Lala, still holding his hand, suddenly spoke.
"Don't worry, leave it to me~!"
"What?" Looking at her confused, Rafael saw her smile brightly and raise her arm.
"Go go, pyon pyon warp-kun!"
With her shout, the weird bracelet on her wrist glowed pink, and in a blink of an eye, the two of them were engulfed in light.
And right after that, the horde of jealous boys turned the corner—but found no one there.
"Huh? Where'd they go?"
Saruyama scratched his head, confused, while Rito beside him seemed the same—but his eyes were on the floor.
There lay Rafael's clothes and glasses.
Rito could only stare, completely confused by what just happened.
Meanwhile, somewhere else entirely, Rafael found himself disoriented, not understanding a damn thing.
His mind took a moment to recalibrate, and when he finally started registering things again, the first thing he felt was something very soft, fragrant, and pleasantly warm pressed against him.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Lala's green eyes and her smiling face just inches from his own.
"Hi~."
"Uh…hi."
Lowering his eyes from her cheerful, innocent face, Rafael saw her boobs squished against his chest, her stomach against his, and—yep—he could also feel the softer skin of her pelvis pressed against his…
['Ah...']
The realization hit instantly, and just like that, a raging erection appeared, pressing right against Lala.
He watched her blink and tilt her head slightly, then look in that direction like she was curious.
And seeing how she didn't seem to get what was going on, Rafael felt a little incredulous. ['Don't tell me she doesn't even know what an erection is—ah, forget it.']
He cut off that thought because he saw Lala's face suddenly flush bright red.
"Before you say anything, know that this is a totally natural and uncontrollable reaction given our current position, so this is not my fault." Rafael raised both hands in surrender, cutting off any potential accusations she might throw at him.
['Your honor, I am innocent. She landed on me naked, not the other way around.']
[Why are you thinking like someone's accusing you of something? This world follows a different logic, in case that wasn't obvious. It's not like someone's gonna cancel you on Twitter for this.]
['I'm just trying to distract myself to get rid of my boner. Also, you know what Twitter is?']
[Again, is that really where your mind is right now?]
While Rafael had his usual pointless mental banter with Ariel, Lala, still lying on top of him, looked kind of dazed—partly from the very obvious hardness pressing against her and partly from Rafael's ridiculous thoughts echoing in her mind.
Her face completely red, and unlike usual where she wouldn't be too bothered, this sudden intimacy made her lose her cool. She really didn't know whether she should stay put or get up.
Luckily for her, someone else distracted Rafael.
"W-what are you two doing?!"
Snapped out of his conversation with Ariel, Rafael's unfocused eyes refocused again at the sound of that voice. Looking behind him, he saw the blue-haired girl.
['Sairenji or something, right?'] As he tried to remember her name, he noticed she was holding the top of her uniform against her chest, currently only wearing a bra, though her skirt was already on.
Seeing how she was standing close to the door of an open locker, Rafael blinked for a moment. Looking around, he immediately realized where they were.
['This is the girls' locker room, isn't it?'] A rhetorical question—he already knew the answer.
Looking back at Sairenji, he was about to come up with an excuse, but seeing how she was still only in a bra, he respectfully closed his eyes for Rito's sake.
['I hope that by keeping my eyes shut, she feels more comfortable. You're welcome, Rito.']
[She'd definitely feel more comfortable if you weren't also naked.]
['Well, you can't have everything in life.']
Just when he was about to come up with some absurd lie, he felt Lala get up.
Reacting fast, he opened his eyes as he lifted his upper body and brought his hands down to cover his groin.
"You could've at least warned me you were getting up." He looked dryly at the girl now sitting in front of him.
Lala just smiled in response, already back to her usual cheerful self.
And with her sitting right in front of him, she was completely exposed, meaning Rafael got another glimpse of her pink nipples and the delicate folds below.
The sight made the corner of Rafael's mouth twitch—because yeah, this wasn't exactly helping his boner go away.
He ended up deciding to just shut his eyes and not look at Lala either. With his hands over his crotch, he stood up, turning his back to Sairenji. "You don't need to worry. The way we ended up here was just an accident. We're leaving now, don't worry." He gave her a thumbs up over his shoulder.
[Wrong direction.]
['Where then?']
[A little to the left.]
Following Ariel's cue, Rafael moved his arm to the left.
[That was too far. A bit to the right now.]
He adjusted slightly to the right.
[There it is.]
He gave the thumbs-up again. "We're leaving, don't worry."
"O-okay." Haruna nodded slowly, still red-faced in response.
Rafael nodded upon hearing her, and just as he was about to say something, he heard a soft giggle from in front of him.
Knowing it was Lala, he immediately replied. "Don't laugh! This whole mess is your fault!"
Lala smiled and gave him a thumbs-up in return. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine~!"
If Rafael had his eyes open, he'd be giving her the driest look imaginable, since she was obviously mocking him—but he recognized it in her tone alone.
['Sigh, I can already tell how many headaches this girl's gonna give me. Good thing she's hot and cute or I'd have already bonked her on the head.']
[If you did that, she'd probably beat the crap out of you.]
['Yeah, but still, I've now been seen naked before I reached my full potential. Why didn't my dick keep its old size?']
[Don't worry, I'm almost certain Lala doesn't care about size.]
['Thanks, Ariel. That was kinda sweet of you.']
[Though let's be real, the previous size wasn't exac—]
['Go fuck yourself, Ariel!']
[Heh]
While Rafael mentally cussed out a very amused Ariel, Lala stood grinning with her hands on her hips, and Haruna stood there awkwardly, surrounded by thick silence.