Chapter 31: Ryanne Barniel
The next day, after school.
Because All Might's actions yesterday had been so over-the-top, following a unanimous protest from the students, today's training ended early, aligning with the dismissal time of the General Studies course.
Kirishima and the others, seeing that it was still early, went directly to the designated location to help out. Yoshikage Kira wasn't idle either; he made another trip to the nurse's office.
Kira had originally intended to use his excused absence yesterday to discuss the Sports Festival situation with Recovery Girl, but she had simply tossed a lab coat at him, waved goodbye, and left. So now he had to try again.
It was currently time for the general students' club activities. On his way, Kira passed by many students hurrying towards their club rooms.
Although the school was divided into the General, Management, Support, and Hero courses, there were no strict rules regarding club participation. It was common for students from different departments to join the same club. However, just as Kira had stated at the Student Council meeting, the Hero Course curriculum was demanding, so they almost never participated in these activities that were meant to celebrate the "glory of youth."
As Kira was passing the grove of trees next to the Support Course building, he suddenly heard the sound of a love confession.
"I like you! Please be my girlfriend!"
Kira was a little curious. He had never actually witnessed a confession scene before. He couldn't help but peek inside.
A handsome boy was bowing deeply to a very cute girl, holding out a pink envelope with both hands. "I know this might be sudden," he shouted emotionally, "but I really, really like you!"
"Um... I'm sorry. I'm not really thinking about that right now..." The girl had short, pink, shoulder-length hair and wore a well-fitting white jacket over her school uniform. She held her hands clasped together, looking conflicted.
The boy remained in his bow, his body trembling as he said loudly, "You don't have to give me an answer right now! But can you please just accept this letter? It's my one and only, lifelong request!"
"Hehe, Tadakuni actually went through with it..." To Kira's right, two other boys were hiding behind a tree, snickering.
The one with glasses said, "Yoshitake, I'll bet you 100 yen he gets shot down flat."
"Hidenori, isn't that a foregone conclusion? I'll bet you 500 yen she rips his letter to shreds," the blond boy said with a sly grin.
"No, no, Ryanne is very good-natured. She wouldn't do something so cruel. I'll just be waiting for your 500 yen, hehe..."
"...Alright, fine." The girl, seeing the boy completely abandon his pride to plead with her, sighed and accepted the letter. "But just so we're clear, you're just leaving this letter with me for safekeeping. I'm not going to read it. You can come and get it back anytime... Actually, Tadakuni-san, I hope we can just be normal friends."
Tadakuni shook his head like a rattle. "This letter is for you! I'm not taking it back!" he said happily. He turned and started to run. "I hope you'll give me a reply!"
With the grace of a ballet dancer, Tadakuni bounded toward Kira's position, his face flushed. He threw himself at the two boys to the right of the grove's exit, laughing. "Hidenori! Yoshitake! I confessed to Miss Ryanne!"
The faces of the two boys who caught him instantly darkened. The one with glasses, Hidenori, held his leg with one hand and pushed up his glasses with the other. "Did you hear that, Yoshitake? This guy's confession was a success."
The blond boy, Yoshitake, who was holding Tadakuni's upper body, nodded mechanically. "He successfully confessed..."
"Hey, hey, you two are acting a little weird..." Seeing the dark aura emanating from his two friends, Tadakuni had a bad feeling and began to struggle violently. "Let me go!"
A white light glinted off Hidenori's glasses. "It's too late. The demon known as Jealousy has already consumed me... Yoshitake!"
"Roger!"
The two of them simultaneously lifted their hands, hoisting Tadakuni over their heads, and began to march in unison toward the school's sports field.
"Wait, what are you two doing!?" Tadakuni propped himself up, wanting to struggle but too afraid of being dropped to move recklessly. "You were the ones who gave me the idea to confess in the first place! Besides, Miss Ryanne didn't even accept on the spot!"
"Ha, ha," Yoshitake said with a dry laugh, his pace unwavering. "We encouraged you to confess because we wanted you to face the harsh reality of rejection and give up on stupid things like romance! Who would have thought you wouldn't even get yelled at!? Miss Ryanne is too kind..."
"We're going to let the whole school see that stupid, happy smile of yours! Accept your punishment, you damn normie!" Hidenori shouted as he carried Tadakuni further and further away...
Are those two really his friends? Kira thought, breaking into a sweat. They weren't even trying to hide their jealousy. Were they just fair-weather friends, or was their bond so deep that they could express their dissatisfaction without any reservations?
"Sigh... If Grandma hadn't made me dress like this, I wouldn't be getting all these letters," the girl sighed. She carefully folded the letter, put it in her school bag, and smiled. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out the truth..."
"Excuse me, are you Kira-san?" a girl's voice came from behind him.
...Is she going to charge me for watching the show?
Kira turned around and said flatly, "I don't know how you know my name, but just to be clear, I was just passing by. I had no intention of eavesdropping."
The girl gently shook her head, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with a smile. "You probably don't know my name yet. I'm Ryanne Barniel, a first-year in the Support Course. Reka Barniel... Recovery Girl... is my grandmother."
The girl smiled and held out her hand. "I've heard your name from my grandmother for a while now. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."
So this is who Recovery Girl went shopping with yesterday? Kira looked at her delicate, slender hand. To his surprise, he felt no stirrings of interest. He calmly extended his own hand. "Yoshikage Kira. First-year, Hero Course."
"Your hands are beautiful. They don't look like a boy's hands at all..." Ryanne said, taking Kira's outstretched hand in her own. "I'm quite envious that you have hands like these."
Kira raised an eyebrow. Isn't complimenting someone's hands supposed to be my line?
"Thank you for the compliment." Seeing that she wasn't letting go, Kira sent a small pulse of Hamon into her palm, subtly making her release his hand as he smoothly withdrew it.
"Sorry, I got a little excited," the girl said with a smile. To allay his wariness, she added, "My Quirk is a healing ability I inherited from my grandmother, but I have to release it through my hands. That's why I sometimes find myself looking at people's hands."
"...Is that so? I imagine the boy who just confessed to you might have been misled by a similarly enthusiastic handshake," Kira replied evenly.
"Exactly! I'm always getting confessions from people. It's quite a bother..." The girl looked at Kira, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Of course, if you wanted to confess to me, I might not refuse. I have a great deal of admiration for heroes."
Kira was completely unmoved. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe I have any such intentions," he said in the same calm tone.
"Goodbye. It was nice meeting you. I have to go now." Kira offered a polite dismissal and turned to leave, having no intention of continuing the conversation.
He hadn't expected Ryanne to follow after him. "If I'm not mistaken," she said in a natural tone, "you're probably on your way to my grandmother's office, right? I happen to be going there too. Shall we go together?"
It sounded like an invitation from a lovely young girl, but in reality, it left Kira with no room to refuse.
"...So, no answer means yes?" Ryanne was only about 160 cm tall, about half a head shorter than Kira. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she fell into step beside him, their shoulders almost touching.
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