NOVEL NEXT UBS17 – Reality Check
"No, she will not be going anywhere with you."
'Eh? That voice-'
Saki turned her head sideways at the source.
Gojima Kenzaburou was standing there.
And he had a... cooking book in his hand? ...Easy cake, pastry and dessert recipes?
Gojima slowly walked towards them and stood between Saki and the other guy.
"May I ask what business do you have with a student of our school? From what I've seen so far, you two do not seem like acquaintances. You... are not a minor, right?" Saki felt like Gojima was emitting a really menacing aura. Even the other guy felt that and took a step back.
"C-calm down ossan! I was just asking to s-share the magazine with her! That's all!!! Hahaha! You can ask the young miss if you don't believe me? Young miss, w-why don't you t-tell him?"
Gojima stayed silent. Saki was worried he might actually beat up the person. That would be a little...
"G-Godspeed, let's calm down and-"
"Pfft! Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to do that! G-Godspeed right? Cool nickname, really!!! I wonder how you got that one hahaha-?!!"
What happened next was too fast for both Saki and the guy to register.
Gojima's fist flew past the guy's head, missing only by an inch.
The guy freaked out and fell on his butt. Saki yelped.
"Wha-wha-what the hell is wrong with you old man?!!" The guy shakily pointed a finger at Gojima, fear showing in his eyes. "You almost broke by nose, even my skull!!! What would you do if I died?!!"
Gojima said nothing, just opened his fist and showed him his palm.
"A mosquito."
"..."
"..."
There were a few seconds of silence inside the shop. Saki... her scared expression was replaced by a completely blank one. The guy... he had his mouth open.
"Mosquitos may carry some serious diseases after all. One can never be too careful. Oh, bye the way, were you asking me something earlier?"
"N-n-n-n-nothing! Nothing at all!! Hahaha..." The guy shakily stood up, completely unnerved. "I-I just remembered that I have somewhere to go to!!! See you later!!!" The guy walked away as fast as he could. Gojima didn't miss him muttering 'Crazy fucker'.
Gojima simply watched him go. Then he turned to the other person who was standing there, simply dumbfounded.
"Now then, miss Ishida Saki," Saki flinched, "Care to explain why you were almost ready to head somewhere with a person you have never met before?"
"I-I wasn't-"
"You weren't?" Gojima raised an eyebrow. Saki could not say anything in return, so she looked downwards. He saw right through her.
"Sigh," Gojima just shook his head, "I thought you were more mature than this. Yeah, almost anybody would enjoy a little attention on them, I know. Being hit on by a... trendy looking guy means that you are doing something right about your appearance. But that doesn't mean that you should agree to go anywhere with a guy you just met a few minutes ago! Have a little sense of danger! Did that guy even tell you his name?"
"...No..."
"So... you don't know his name, or what he does, or where he lives... or nothing else?" Gojima rubbed his temples. Saki just grabbed her skirt and looked down, saying nothing.
"...Just one last question. What would you have done had the guy managed to spike your food or drinks, then had his way with you and then took your pictures to blackmail you further down the line? It is one of the standard setups in these kinds of situations, right?" Saki's shoulders shook for a moment. She was still looking downwards.
'Oh boy. Maybe I was a bit too harsh? But she did need that reality check. I still find it hard to believe that this snarky girl was about to do something that stupid?! Just because some random guy praised her? Just how much confidence issues did this girl have?'
It is not as surprising as you think. In this girl's mind, flashy girls look good, they are always keeping up with trends, and can easily hang out with other trendy boys. Just like how there are many boys who think smoking cigarettes make them look cool. She has some weird glamorous vision of being... flashy? I could say more but that would need a lot of assumptions and might cost you more APs.
Gojima simply patted the poor girl's head. The girl looked up with a slightly surprised face.
"There is no need to be in any sort of rush, Ishida. Always walk before you run. You finally managed to get enough confidence to make some friends, right? Why don't you just hang out with them? Go to ice-cream parlors, cafes, karaokes or shopping after school, eat crepes together, join some school club? Once you are having a full life with your friends, then you can try dating a boy if you want? Our school does not really prohibit dating, you know that. But I would advise to go out with someone from our school, or at least some good high school with proper standing. College students are too free and hard to track in case something goes wrong. School uniforms have their own power, you know?"
"...Un." The girl was obviously holding back a tear. He felt a little flustered. He did not want to make her cry?!
"A-anyway, live a full life, but also a safe one! That's the lesson! Now don't cry, you will ruin your makeup."
"...Its waterproof."
"...Oh. Then cry after you go home, not in front of me when others are watching. Honestly, you could have hung out with your new friends but you just had to lie to them about some family gathering."
"...I-it would be embarrassing otherwise! I am a second year you know!!!"
"Yeah yeah~ now go home and rest, and think carefully about everything. You like the magazine? I'll buy it for you."
"No, uh..."
"Hm?"
"...Thank you for everything."
"Thank me by being a little more serious about studying then. You only have an average of 57%, right? Try a little harder on this side too!"
"Ugh!"
"How do I look, GS?"
The next day, Ishida Saki arrived at the school with a slightly different look.
She had her glasses back and had her hair tied in some simple two-fold with a clip? Gojima did not have much knowledge on female hairstyles.
"You look... refreshing I guess? A compromise between your previous look and your new one?"
"Well, yeah. Its my new home look, actually. Contacts are a real pain to deal with and so is untied hair. So..." Saki replied with a sheepish grin.
"Its alright, you look good. Now I hope that your report card will look equally good too." Gojima also gave a sheepish grin in return.
"Ugh! Can't you say things a little nicer? This is why you are still single!"
"Oi!"
She ran away.
