I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Afterward, Sasha, who had approached her unconscious father after he was struck in the jaw, told me that she would handle the aftermath and that I should just head home.
I tried to give her my phone number and told her to contact me if anything came up, but Sasha was the one who refused first.
She said that if necessary, she would contact me on her own.

Since there was nothing more I could do, I simply said “Alright” to her, parted ways with senior Fuma at the subway station after receiving her help, and headed home.
And the next day.
As soon as I opened my eyes in the morning, I clutched my head and agonized alone over what had happened yesterday.

‘Why on earth did I say something like that…’
It really felt like I’d been possessed by something.
Even if this was a world inside a manga, I had believed I at least had basic common sense—but to think I’d lose control like that.

Most of it had been self-defense, but if I had done something like that in the original world, I would’ve been thrown in jail without question.
Just in case, I tried searching online using keywords related to what happened yesterday.
‘Akihabara’, ‘Ueno Park’, ‘Russian’, ‘brawl’

But not a single thing turned up on any of the major portal sites.
The fight between me and the Russians that took place in broad daylight had been completely covered up as if nothing had happened.
The realization gave me chills.

It really did feel like, just as Sasha had said, the Japanese government had taken the lead in suppressing the information.
It was also proof of just how powerful the multinational corporation Easter Egg Company was.
I even checked some of the smaller community boards, but it was the same there.

Just in case, I reached into the inner pocket of my hoodie.
Thankfully, the 2 million yen that Sasha had given me was still there, untouched.
Ah, shit—so it wasn’t just a dream, or some kind of ending.
Either way, I had no way to contact her first, so for now, all I could do was wait endlessly for her to reach out.

As I lay on the floor staring blankly at the ceiling, I realized that my body felt strangely sore and sluggish.
This must be the aftereffect senior Fuma had mentioned.
I definitely felt weaker than usual.

Maybe the reason I felt so drained this morning was because of the lingering aftereffects of the red pill.
Thankfully, there were still four days of Golden Week left, so I had plenty of time before school started again—but just in case, I decided to avoid any strenuous exercise for a while.
Having made up my mind, I remembered that I’d been so tired last night I had fallen asleep without even washing up, so I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

***
Friday, May 5th, 2017.
Golden Week, which had lasted nine full days, was starting to wind down.

Once the weekend ended, it would be back to school again.
Today was Children’s Day, and in households with sons, they usually hang up koi-shaped windsocks called koinobori on the balcony.
Well, I only knew that because I’d read about it—I’d never actually done it myself.

“Seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine…”
While doing light bodyweight exercises, I kept staring at my smartphone screen, but Sasha—who had disappeared with her father the day before yesterday—still hadn’t contacted me.
Maybe she had returned to her hometown in Russia for her father’s treatment.

“Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, one hundred!”
I wiped the light sweat from my upper body with a towel.
I guess just one day of rest wasn’t enough for my body to fully recover—my limbs still felt completely drained of energy.

If my normal condition was a ten, right now I was maybe at a two or a three.
And honestly, even that was probably a generous estimate.
After helping my parents out at the restaurant and having lunch, I figured I couldn’t just keep the money Sasha gave me lying around in my room forever, so I threw on a baseball cap and headed out to deposit it in my bank account.

Maybe because it was Children’s Day, there were lots of families bustling about the flower-lined streets.
I wouldn’t be surprised if May 5th was the day children’s meals sold best at family restaurants.
The bank I usually used was inside an arcade shopping street about 15 minutes away from the restaurant, so I had to walk a fair bit.

As I strolled lazily with my hands in my tracksuit pockets, I saw colorful koinobori fluttering in the wind on the balconies of residential homes.
After a short walk, I stepped into the bank’s ATM corner.
Insert the bankbook, input the PIN, feed the stack of bills into the slot—and done.

Seeing the numbers “2,000,000 yen” printed in my passbook, I decided to stop by a convenience store near home to pick up some snacks.
“Welcome!”
Fiddling with my smartphone as I walked into the convenience store, I looked up when I heard a familiar voice.

Behind the counter, smiling brightly, was none other than senior Fuma with her distinctive long, dark-purple hair.
“Ah.”
“Ki-Kim Yu-seong?!”

***
Luckily, it was a slow time with no customers, so I was able to have a quick chat with senior Fuma, who was working part-time at the convenience store.
“Thanks for the help the other day.”

When I said that while handing her the canned coffee I had just paid for, senior Fuma shook her head lightly as she accepted it.
“No, it was something I had to do. Standing by and watching an innocent person get hurt would’ve gone against my principles.”
As I looked at her profile, I finally managed to open my mouth.

“Um… senior, you’re a ninja, right?”
Even if this was a manga world, I honestly never thought I’d be the one saying something like that.
Hearing my question, senior Fuma took a sip of her canned coffee and nodded.

“That’s right. More precisely, I’m part of the Fuma Ninja Corps.”
“Then why are you attending school disguised as a normal person?”
She gave a wry smile and replied.

“It’s not a disguise. Even ninjas these days are expected to receive a basic education.”
Ah… I see.
I realized I’d been thinking too narrowly and nodded before asking another question.

“To be honest, I have a lot I want to ask you. Especially about this ‘underworld’ stuff.”
For something that’s supposed to be a romantic comedy world, Scramble Love seemed to have an insane amount of hidden backstory.
Otherwise, there’s no way something like the other day could’ve happened.

I was particularly curious about the thing I’d used—ki.
If I took the red pill again, would I be able to use that power once more?
But when I asked, senior Fuma gave an awkward look and shook her head.

“I can’t explain everything just yet. I need to make some preparations too. And I have to get permission from the elders back home, so I’d appreciate it if you gave me a little time.”
“…Understood.”
It wasn’t something I needed to know right this second, anyway.

Even if Scramble Love had drifted from romcom into battle manga territory, I doubted incidents of that scale would keep happening one after another.
No matter how you look at it, this was still a romcom at its core—so the usual school life events were still on the horizon.
A smart author wouldn’t skip over those.

“When I’m ready to explain, I’ll come find you. So just give me a few weeks.”
“Got it.”
Since the conversation seemed to be wrapping up, I stood up from my seat holding the empty can, getting ready to head home.

“Then, see you at school.”
“Take care.”
After offering a blunt farewell, senior Fuma returned to the counter, and something suddenly crossed my mind.

“By the way, senior, why are you working part-time here?”
Like I’d touched a sore spot, senior Fuma blushed slightly and answered.
“I live alone, and I’m a bit short on living expenses…”

Ah, well, in that case, fair enough.
“Keep up the good work.”
“…Thanks.”

With that, I left the convenience store and headed home with plastic bags full in both hands.
***
The first day back at school after the long Golden Week.

It had been ten days since I last set foot in Class 2-B’s classroom, and everything felt a bit awkward.
I arrived at school at a time that wasn’t too early or too late, greeted Satoru who I hadn’t seen in a while, and asked what he’d been up to during the holiday.
With his ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) skin glowing brightly, Satoru proudly puffed out his chest and said,

“I went on a hot spring trip to Hakata with my family.”
Fukuoka, huh. That’s pretty far.
“You must’ve taken a plane then.”

“Of course! I even had an in-flight meal!”
Boasting about eating an airplane meal… that kind of thing really made him seem like a high schooler.
A little while later, Rika came into the classroom, waving her hand. Her skin was slightly tanned.

“Hii~ Ryu-chan~ Did you miss me while I was gone?”
“…A little?”
Honestly speaking, I didn’t really feel her absence all that much—but saying that would probably make her sulk later, so a little lip service wouldn’t hurt.

“Heh~ What a lonely boy~”
Rika poked my chest playfully with her index finger, saying “You~ you~.”
Then came Monday’s first homeroom period. Our homeroom teacher and history teacher, nicknamed “Gorilla,” Mr. Matsuda, entered the classroom holding a black attendance book.

“Quiet! Quiet!”
Once the noisy classroom settled down, Mr. Matsuda stood at the podium, cleared his throat, and said seriously,
“Today, we have a new transfer student joining our class. To be precise, she’s an exchange student from our sister school in Vladivostok, Russia. It’s her first time in Japan, so please be nice to her.”

Then he called out loudly to the student waiting outside the classroom.
“Transfer student, come in!”
Clack!

The front door of the classroom opened, and as the foreign student appeared, the room fell silent.
With long, flowing blue hair, the Slavic beauty walked into the classroom wearing a gentle smile.
“My name is Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova. If my name feels too long, feel free to call me Sasha.”

Lifting the hem of her skirt slightly with her fingertips in a graceful gesture, Sasha greeted the class with an innocent face.
“My hobbies include shooting, horseback riding, watching anime, and reading. And something I’ve recently come to like…”
Point!

“That guy over there—Kim Yu-seong.”
Thanks to the bombshell she dropped on her first day as a transfer student, my peaceful school life began to spiral out of control.