Kushibiki Konoha

“Your name…”

(Huh? It’s bright beyond the curtains. Ugh, I feel like I only just fell asleep…)

““It’s morning! It’s morning! Wake up, wake up!””

It was the sound of an alarm clock that had come as a bonus with some kind of educational material. It was extremely grating first thing in the morning—or, to put it plainly, ridiculously loud.

“Ugh… j-just five more minutes.”

“Wake. Up. Now!”

“Okaaay…”

It was quite a high-performance alarm clock. It gave her two chances, but on the third, for some reason, it switched to the sound of a rooster crowing and forcibly tried to wake her up. It was loud enough to echo throughout the entire neighborhood, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Kushibiki household was constantly in danger of receiving complaints from the neighbors. That was a lie. It was an exaggeration.

She kicked off her futon, lightly combed her messy hair into place with her fingers, then turned the doorknob and stepped into the hallway. Before she had even descended the stairs, she was already thinking about today’s breakfast. Rice, rolled omelet, piping-hot bacon, and then…

“Ehehe, fooood♪ Fooood~♫”

For some reason, she had been hungry the moment she woke up today. All right! I’m going to eat a ton this morning! she vowed to herself, then cheerfully heaped a large serving of rice into her bowl.

“And you were late because you ate too much breakfast… there.”

“Th-that’s not it, Sensei! Please let me make a few more excuses!”

“Oh? I’ll hear you out, at least.”

“You know, it was that! Breakfast captivated me and wouldn’t let me go! Grrr, that rolled omelet today! How dare it turn out so delicious!”

“I see. That must have been terrible. And that makes seven days in a row.”

Without mercy, another X was marked on the tardiness sheet.

“Aaaah! Why did you write it down!?”

“Why the hell did you think I wouldn’t, you idiot!? Stop causing Mogami-sensei so much trouble, Kushibikiiii!”

“Ugh, sniff, sniff, waaaah…”

“You were late again, Konoha-chan… pat, pat.”

“Ugh, Karen-chan, you’re so nice. Yamagata-sensei was furious with me first thing this morning…”

In the classroom, one girl had been attracting everyone’s attention since morning.

She was the girl who had just come into the classroom crying her eyes out after being late. Her name was Kushibiki Konoha. She was a student in Class 1-5 here at Mankai Yuri High School, and probably the most famous person in the entire school. The reason was extremely simple.

“Man, this is insane. Konoha-chan’s seriously adorable again today! She’s past idol level at this point, right? She’s straight-up two-dimensional.”

“Hey, Reiji, people are gonna figure out you’re an otaku. But yeah, I get what you mean. She’s famous not just at our school, but at other schools too. You know that photo Karen-chan posted on social media the other day? Apparently everyone at West High has been talking about it.”

Yes, this girl named Kushibiki Konoha was… I generally avoided using expressions like this because it would be sad if the scale escalated later, but I would make an exception.

She was a “beautiful girl.”

So beautiful, in fact, that she was rumored to be the prettiest girl in the prefecture. Perhaps even the prettiest in all of Japan… though that was merely the internet’s assessment after she had accidentally appeared on national television during a random weather interview, so please do not take it too seriously.

Her long eyelashes, large brown eyes, and pale cherry-pink lips were strikingly alluring, while her youthful, innocent features made one wonder whether she was still in middle school. Her ponytail, tied with a light-blue ribbon, bobbed lightly as she moved, and her bright brown hair, grown to around medium length, perfectly embodied her cheerful innocence. She was also well-developed, and it would not have been an exaggeration to describe her figure as having perfectly proportioned curves.

Naturally, that was not the end of it. What attracted the boys even more was her cheerfulness and innocence. During lunch, she played soccer alongside the boys and sought physical affection without the slightest awareness of what she was doing, which put their self-control under all sorts of dangerous strain. She treated everyone equally and was always smiling, so there were even a certain number of boys who worshiped her as a “goddess.”

“Ah! Reiji-kun, that’s the new one!”

“Y-yeah. I went and bought it first thing this morning!”

“First thing!? Amazing! I wanna see, I wanna see!”

“H-huh? Y-yeah. You okay using my earphones?”

“Yeah!”

That was the sort of person she was: utterly without hesitation when it came to personal space. One might expect that to make the other girls dislike her, but what was truly remarkable about Kushibiki Konoha was that girls were almost unnaturally fond of her as well.

“K-Konoha-chan!”

One girl sprang out in front of Konoha.

“Hweh? What’s wrong, Kozue-chan?”

“I-I made some cookies… Do you want one?”

“What!? Cookies! Really!? Yay! I do, I do!”

Konoha’s face lit up with delight at the sight of the cookies. At that expression, the hearts of the girls in the class went thump! The boys were probably experiencing what people called “dying from cuteness” right about now.

“I-I’m pretty proud of them…”

“I can’t wait! …Mm!”

“Huh? W-what?”

Konoha brought her face closer to the girl named Kozue, who was holding the box of cookies. Kozue nearly swooned from the faint citrus scent coming from Konoha, but somehow managed to restrain herself through sheer force of reason. Her face, however, had turned bright red.

And now Kushibiki Konoha’s true power came into play.

“I want you to feed me! Ehehe♪”

For the record, Konoha had absolutely no ulterior motive, nor did she consider it embarrassing in the slightest. It was entirely unconscious and innocent.

But for an inexperienced girl like Kozue, those words alone were more than enough to send her heart rate skyrocketing.

“Hweeeh!? Y-you mean… feed you…?”

“I want Kozue-chan to feed me! Is that… no good?”

Kozue’s protective instincts were stirred by Konoha’s slightly saddened expression. At the same time, an overwhelming sense of guilt welled up inside her. Apparently, she was also terrified of how the other girls around her would react if she refused.

“O-okay. O-open wide!”

Kozue brought one of her homemade cookies toward Konoha’s mouth. Then—

“Aaah… chomp.”

With those words, Konoha took not only the cookie, but Kozue’s finger into her mouth as well. She gave it a gentle nibble.

“Hyaaaa!? K-Konoha-chan!?”

“Ehehe, Kozue-chan, your finger has sugar on it, so it’s delicious~ Thanks for the treat!”

Zing!

—At that moment, Kozue’s happiness meter hit the absolute maximum.

“Ah… I can’t anymore…”

With a tremendous thud, Kozue collapsed.

“K-Kozueee! I understand how you feel, but your nose is bleedingggg!!”

“K-Konoha-chan’s DNA is on this finger… (bliss)”

Y-you’ve got a seriously dangerous look on your face!?“

“I hope Kozue-chan’s okay. Her face was really red, so maybe she has a fever…”

Konoha was hopelessly oblivious. Her almost absurd lack of self-awareness had created countless genuinely lovestruck girls, earning her the nickname “Girl-Love Magnet” in certain circles. Apparently, it was meant as a compliment. Konoha herself had never heard about it, but one could not help wondering how she would react if she ever did.

And standing at the very forefront of those girls were Konoha’s two best friends: Obana Karen and Sakegawa Kisaki.

“Anyone would end up like that if Konoha-chan did something like that to them! Ahh, I want Konoha-chan to eat my finger too!”

“Huh? Fingers aren’t food, you know?”

Obana Karen was thoroughly and unapologetically into girls. She had long black hair, an excellent figure, and was popular with boys as well, but by now she was completely obsessed with Konoha. Apparently, she had secretly stolen several of Konoha’s personal belongings and built up quite a collection, but details shall be omitted for the safety of the author.

“Konoha, you’re way too oblivious. Ruffle, ruffle!”

“Wah! Kisaki-chan! You’re going to mess up my hair!”

The short-haired girl vigorously rubbing Konoha’s head was Sakegawa Kisaki. She had originally been straight, but Konoha’s cuteness had dragged her down the path of girls loving girls. She belonged to the volleyball club, and her generously developed chest mercilessly slammed into Konoha’s face.

Seeing that, Karen frowned slightly and spoke to Kisaki.

“Excuse me, Kisaki-chan? Haven’t you been getting a little too physically affectionate with Konoha-chan lately?”

“Oh, come on, Karen. Acting like you’re the wife now? Konoha isn’t yours.”

“She’s not yours either, Kisaki-chan! In that case, I’m hugging Konoha-chan too! Huuuuug!”

“Ugh, y-you two~ You’re squishing me~”

And so, this intensely girl-loving atmosphere unfolded from the very start of the day as part of Class 1-5’s everyday routine. The boys in the class warmly watched the blossoming romance from afar with hopeful expressions, while the other girls watched with just as much envy—mostly because they were focused on how adorable Konoha was.

Thus, Class 1-5 had developed a fairly strong sense of unity centered around Konoha.

Then the warning bell rang.

“G-good morning, everyone. Ah, Kushibiki-san, you’re here too! Were you late again?”

The woman puffing out her cheeks in irritation was still a relatively young teacher: Mogami Sasano. This was the first class she had ever served as homeroom teacher for, and she had initially been somewhat nervous. However, Konoha had actively spoken to her ever since the entrance ceremony, and now she interacted with her students almost as though they were friends.

It was best not to mention that, because of her short stature, she genuinely looked like another student. She got furious whenever anyone said so.

“Ehehe, sorry. I like Sasa-chan-sensei because you don’t get mad at me!”

“D-don’t tease your teacher! And stop calling me Sasa-chan-sensei!”

Sasa-chan-sensei’s face turned bright red as she flustered. Konoha’s charms spared neither young nor old, male nor female.

“Ko-no-ha! How’d you do on the test? Whoa, seventy-eight!? That’s more than thirty points above average…”

During lunch break, the moment the bell rang, Kisaki came over to Konoha’s desk and started pestering her. Despite how airheaded Kushibiki Konoha seemed, she was actually reasonably good at studying. Mathematics was a complete disaster for her, so her overall year ranking was unimpressive, but in her other subjects, she could easily be considered among the top students.

“Oh yeah, Konoha, how’re you feeling about the next kendo tournament?”

“Of course! I’m aiming for the top! I came so close at the national middle-school tournament! This time, I’m winning!”

“Your swordsmanship looks awesome, Konoha. The third-years barely get a chance to shine with you around.”

“No, that’s not true! The upperclassmen are super cool too! And after practice they always say, ‘Good work, Konoha-chan,’ and pat me on the head~♪”

“S-so the upperclassmen are rivals too… But I won’t lose!”

“Huh? Lose at what?”

Karen quietly burned with fighting spirit. Konoha’s group during lunch break was always blazing with passion. They would undoubtedly be warm in winter.

“Konoha-chan, you improve unbelievably fast, don’t you? Is there some kind of secret to it? I’d love it if you’d teach me too.”

Konoha always ate lunch with the same group of four: Konoha, Kisaki, Karen, and the cool, beautiful, bespectacled, handsome-looking girl named Tsuruoka Chidori. Chidori referred to herself as “I” in a somewhat boyish manner and had a slightly unusual personality. She belonged to the kendo club along with Konoha. For the record, she too had already fallen victim to Konoha’s charms.

“Hmm… Where there’s a will, there’s a way! That’s about all I can say.”

“Ahh, that’s such a Konoha-chan answer. But seriously, you improve so fast it’s like you’ve got two bodies. Studying too, and kendo too.”

“Ah, uh, y-yeah. Maybe? Ahaha…”

(It’s because I’m swinging a sword in my dreams too… but nobody would believe me if I told them that. Really, it’s all thanks to that girl.

But I don’t even know her name. We’ve been together for almost six years now, but the dream always ends before I can ask. How am I supposed to find out…?)

“…chan.”

(I want to know. Why won’t she tell me?)

“…ha-chan.”

(I can’t even remember her face. Ugh, it’s so frustrating.)

“Konoha-chan!”

“Wah!? You startled me!”

Apparently, she had not noticed Chidori calling to her from nearby at all. Once Konoha became focused on something, she had a habit of taking quite a while to return to reality. Perhaps it was a product of the concentration she had developed through kendo.

“Are you feeling sick?”

Karen peered worriedly into Konoha’s face. Realizing that she had made her worry, Konoha hurriedly answered.

“No. I was just thinking about something.”

“…I see. But if anything ever happens, talk to me about anything, okay? I’m your best friend, Konoha-chan.”

“Yeah♪ Thanks, Karen-chan!”

Karen had noticed.

The occasional darkness Konoha showed. Sometimes Konoha would stare somewhere far away, and whenever she did, Karen suddenly felt uneasy.

As though Konoha might someday go somewhere far away.

Of course, Chidori and Kisaki had noticed it as well, but none of them had quite been able to press her about it. Because they were best friends, they firmly believed that Konoha would tell them someday.

They would come to regret that only a few weeks later, though none of them had any way of knowing it yet.

Afternoon classes made people sleepy. Konoha’s seat was what people commonly called the “protagonist seat”—the rearmost seat beside the window. As a result, fourth period was her nap time. Sasa-chan-sensei, who taught Japanese, ended up having to wake Konoha every single time.

“Zzz… ugh… cookies… I love you…”

Apparently, she was stuffing her cheeks with cookies in her dream.

“Damn, even her sleep-talking is way too cute…”

“Look at Kozue. She’s hiding her face because she’s blushing so hard.”

“Love is blooming.”

“A-as the guy sitting next to her, I’ve got the privilege of waking her up, right?”

“”“We’ll kill you if you wake her up!!”““

“You’re being too loud over there. Kushibiki-san, wake up too!”

Sasa-chan-sensei would warn her several times before Konoha finally woke up. That was the usual pattern.

—But today, something felt wrong.

Konoha sensed it instinctively the moment she woke up. Something was wrong. What was it? She did not know, but… something, something—

She had a terrible feeling.

“……………………me…”

“Huh?”

She thought she heard a voice from somewhere. Konoha looked around, but everyone was simply rubbing their sleepy eyes while continuing with class. No one appeared to have spoken to her.

“……………………help me…”

Something was wrong. She felt as though something irreversible was about to happen. But what? She did not know. She did not know, but no matter what—

“I have to go.”

“What’s wrong? …Kushibiki-san?”

The entire class stared suspiciously at Konoha when she suddenly stood up. Apparently, no one else could hear that strangely familiar voice.

“Can’t any of you hear it!? Someone’s calling—!”

—At that instant, the classroom was flooded with crimson light.

Her legs froze as though she had been paralyzed, leaving her unable to move. She could not even speak. The other students and Sasa-chan-sensei must have noticed it too, but none of them were able to utter a single word either.

Lines of blood-red light spread throughout the classroom. They overlapped and intertwined, eventually forming something resembling a single magic circle.

(I can’t do anything, but I know this is a really bad situation. I have to do something! I have to!)

“Help me.”

“Huh?”

She heard that voice again. At the same moment, everything before Konoha’s eyes went black. She sank deeper and deeper into drowsiness. It felt as though her body were sinking far beneath the ground.

The last things Konoha saw were the classroom twisting grotesquely out of shape and the silhouette of a single girl.