"Y-you're... Appliqué-kun from this morning!"
I turned around and saw the boy whose pants I had mended earlier today.
"Who's Appliqué?! My name is Kongou!"
"Sorry, sorry. Kongou-kun. What's up?"
What a coincidence, running into you in a place like this.
"You had a damn good time messing with my pants this morning. I owe you one, big time."
"Huh? You came all the way here just to thank me? No need, really!"
"That's not what I meant!"
(Then... what do you mean...?)
"Kongou-san, it's definitely this guy. The one who did this to us yesterday!"
"You're the only one who got wrecked though..."
Behind Kongou-kun stood the two men who had been harassing Himeji-san the day before.
"Oh, aren't you the delinquents from yesterday?"
"I'm not a delinquent, I'm Raita!"
"And I'm Fuuta..."
Are these two brothers?
I'm a little jealous that they're such good friends and hanging out together again today.
"Oh, looks like you've been taking real good care of my precious junior. But still, getting taken down by a little guy like this..."
"That's right! Aikido or whatever... this guy's a coward!"
"I wasn't defeated though..."
"So it makes it even harder to forgive you."
Somehow the conversation is progressing as if I'm the one in the wrong.
"I just saw those two bothering Himeji-san and it looked like trouble, so I stepped in to stop them. If anything, I think you guys are the ones at fault."
"What?! You idiots! Why did you have to pick Himeji-san of all people?!"
"Well, when you see a beautiful woman like that, obviously you wanna talk to her."
"I didn't talk to her though..."
"What are you doing?! If it gets out that my junior caused trouble for Himeji-san and she ends up hating me... Himeji-san?!?!?"
Kongou-kun finally noticed Himeji-san standing beside me and immediately looked flustered.
"You're even more beautiful than usual today... your cuteness level went up so much I didn't even recognize you at first..."
"You're the same beauty from yesterday. What a fine woman."
"Hey Raita, don't stare at Himeji-san like that!"
"Ow!"
"H-hello, Himeji-san... H-hello..."
Kongou-kun smacked Raita hard on the head.
In complete contrast to his earlier attitude, he suddenly became very humble.
"Himeji-san, are you friends with Kongou-kun?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Eh! Himeji-san, it's me! Kongou, your classmate!"
"Hmm... huh?"
Himeji-san tilted her head, trying to remember.
The way she furrowed her brow and went "Hmmmm" was insanely cute, hey!
(It really seems like she doesn't remember him at all...)
"Sorry, Kongou-kun. I'm hanging out with Himeji-san today, so it'd be great if you didn't interrupt."
"That's right, we still have to go eat those limited-edition strawberry donuts!"
"What?! You just ate crepes and you're still eating more?! Himeji-san really does love sweets, huh."
"Yes! My body is made of sweets!"
Himeji-san puffed out her chest proudly.
So cute.
I just want to feed her even more sweets.
Good, good.
"H-Himeji-san is talking normally... Her appearance and voice are both so cute... She's perfect."
Kongou-kun stared at Himeji-san in a daze.
I get how you feel.
"Well then, see you at school."
"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on! Just because a short, plain guy like you can talk to Himeji-san, don't get cocky. Himeji-san, why don't you come hang out with me instead of a guy like him?"
"Don't make fun of Sakasegawa-kun! And I don't want to go anywhere with you. I'm on a date with Sakasegawa-kun right now."
"Right?"
Himeji-san said it with a dazzling smile.
Whaaaaaat?! So it really was a date after all?!?!?!?
"Damn... that smile... I can't forgive this. At this point, I don't care if Himeji-san's watching. Sakasegawa, I'm not satisfied until I see you suffer! Come on!"
Kongou-kun yelled and charged at me.
I quickly adjusted my stance and caught his fist.
"Kongou-san, be careful! He's using some weird techniques!"
"It's fine. Aikido, right? That kind of amateur martial art won't work against my core strength. I'm a karate black belt, you know."
"Amateur deception?"
I looked up at Kongou-kun while still holding his fist.
The height difference between us was easily 20 cm.
"That's right. That stuff's just for TV. Everyone knows it's useless in real fights. And there's no way I'm losing to a midget like you."
"I wonder about that?"
While gripping his fist, I stepped to his side, raised his arm, then drove my elbow downward.
Kongou-kun crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
"Ouch!"
"It's a one-handed four-way throw. Even if you're small, you can still take down someone bigger."
"That's amazing! Sakasegawa-kun! You're so cool!"
The two delinquents rushed over to Kongou.
"Are you okay, Kongou-san...?"
"Wh-what just happened... I couldn't even see it... This guy's stronger than the assistant instructor... Damn it."
"If this teaches you a lesson, don't do bad things anymore."
I looked down at Kongou-kun and gave him some advice.
"When the difference in strength is this big, I can't say anything... I showed Himeji-san how uncool I am, so it's all over... All I ever wanted was to be a delinquent and get popular..."
"That's true... but I'm not popular either. Maybe being a delinquent isn't in fashion anymore..."
"What? You guys became delinquents because you wanted to be popular?"
I accidentally voiced the question that had been on my mind.
Kongou-kun, still on the ground, began to speak with his head bowed.
"Yeah... I've got a big body and a big face, so I thought the only way to be popular was to become a delinquent. But it just made people afraid of me and keep their distance..."
"My face is thin and I've got single eyelids, so if I glare, people get scared..."
"I've got long hair and pale skin, so everyone says I'm creepy..."
Each of them had their own reasons for becoming delinquents.
In manga, delinquents are cool and popular, but in reality... it seems pretty tough.
"If we change our appearance... will people stop being scared of us and stop treating us like delinquents?"
Himeji-san asked gently.
"H-Himeji-san spoke to me?!"
"Hmm, I wonder?"
"If I could change, I wouldn't be a delinquent anymore."
"That's right..."
"Hmm..."
Everyone looked sulky and gave up.
"Himeji-san? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Sakasegawa-kun... could you do everyone's makeup...?"
"Hmm? ...Ah, right!"
Understanding what she meant, I nodded.
"Makeup... for us guys?"
"Kongou-kun, these days lots of people wear makeup regardless of gender, you know?"
I answered Kongou-kun's question.
"Doing that won't change anything..."
"Don't worry! Sakasegawa-kun is amazing, you'll see! Come on, everyone, just try it—you'll be shocked!"
Seeing their hesitation, Himeji-san gave them an encouraging push.
(It's a little intimidating when the bar is set this high...)
"If Himeji-san says so, then I have no choice. Go ahead, Sakasegawa. Do your worst!"
"Thank you."
"Th-thanks!"
"Then let's do this!"
○ ●
"Amazing!" "This is us?!" "We...?!"
Three handsome young men stood before us.
"Kongou-kun has a strong, powerful face, so I gave him a kind, dependable look. Raita-kun had single eyelids, so I used eyeshadow to create a long, narrow, mysterious vibe. For Fuuta-kun, I evened out his complexion with foundation and styled his hair for an androgynous feel."
"Amazing, amazing! You're bringing out everyone's best features without killing their individuality!"
"Thank you, Sakasegawa! No—thank you!!"
"Thanks!"
"...Th-thanks..."
I actually got a bunch of samples from the cosmetics shop earlier.
I never thought I'd use them this soon.
And it looks like everyone really liked the results.
"You can change your appearance like this, but the first step is learning to love yourself. Enhance the things you like about yourself, accept the things you don't because they're part of you, and don't give up—think about what you can do to improve. If you keep doing that, you'll grow little by little, both on the outside and inside. Then you'll definitely become popular guys, right? Well... maybe it's not very convincing coming from me... haha."
I ended up talking way more than I expected... I'm embarrassed.
"He's handsome on the inside too... Let's polish our hearts so we can become real men!"
"I'm quitting being a delinquent!"
"I'll start doing good things...!"
"Sakasegawa-kun... you're so cool."
"Yeah, that's great! You're all cool now, so you'll definitely be popular from here on out."
I'm glad it reached them.
But for some reason, Himeji-san looks really moved too!
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble! Starting today, I'll try my best with a fresh start! You two, apologize too!"
"Sorry about yesterday."
"…Sorry."
The three of them, including Kongou-kun, bowed deeply to us.
"Yesterday was a little scary, but because of that I had some really good encounters... I forgive you all!"
"If Himeji-san forgives you, then I have nothing more to say! Oh, by the way! Next time we meet, I'll teach you guys how to do makeup too!"
"Oh, really?! I'm so happy! Even if we can't reach Sakasegawa-san's level, please teach us! Thank you so much for today!!!"
""Thank you very much!!!""
They bowed deeply once more, thanked us again, and left.
"Phew, I'm glad the three of them aren't delinquents anymore. Oh, it's already getting dark! Should we head home?"
Looking around, the setting sun painted the town in crimson.
"...Um, I still wanted to eat a strawberry donut."
"Then let's hang out more next time, and save the strawberry donuts for then!"
"...Ugh! It's a promise!"
With that promise made, we each headed home.