I died.
There's no more elegant way to put it.
It was quick. Rain was falling as I left the convenience store, an onigiri in hand, when I saw a cat about to be hit. I jumped in like a fool. I saved it. And the truck turned me into a neatly folded human origami.
And now...
...I'm alive again. Huh?
"Huh? Where… am I?" I opened my eyes, expecting to see a nurse's station. Maybe an ambulance. A hospital?
No.
I was in the middle of a classroom.
School uniforms. Sunlight streaming through the window. A projector turned on. And a teacher lecturing about Japanese history while the others scribbled notes.
And I was sitting… in the third row from the back, next to the window.
You know. That seat. The damn "protagonist's seat."
But before I could celebrate…
"Why is Kanzaki so quiet today? Normally he would have insulted someone by now."
—Mental Screen: [Suzuki – Classmate]
Kanzaki?
Who the hell is Kanzaki?
"I hope he doesn't throw his water bottle at my head again today…"
—Mental Screen: [Haruki Fujimoto – Main Protagonist]
Haruki… Wait!!
I know that name. Of course, I know it!
He's the protagonist of "One Love, Two Idiots, and a Secret"!!!
A high school romantic comedy I finished in a single day! It was hilarious, full of misunderstandings, romance, and that typical unnecessary drama. A gem.
And Kanzaki…
...He was the secondary villain! The generic bully who mocked Haruki, played mean-spirited pranks on him, and ended up with his underwear exposed to the public in chapter 3, during the Sports Festival.
And I am…
—No… it can't be…
"Ugh… he's looking at his reflection again. So narcissistic."
—Mental Screen: [Mirei Tachibana – Main Heroine]
I looked at my reflection in the window.
Dark brown hair. Intense blue eyes. That rebellious hairstyle only secondary characters with bad attitudes have.
Confirmed.
I am Yuuji Kanzaki.
The idiotic secondary villain of this story.
Okay, Aihara Kazuki, calm down.
You've seen enough isekai stories to know how to handle this. One: You're inside a light novel.
Two: You're a character with a disastrous fate.
Three: You have to do something to change it!
"Okay, I need to think," I muttered to myself, while everyone else was busy taking notes.
And then I saw it.
A floating screen appeared above the head of a girl in the front. It wasn't a chat. It wasn't a subtitle. It was… a sentence.
"Is Kanzaki muttering again? He's creeping me out…"
—Mental Screen: [Minami – Classmate]
What the hell is this?!
"Can I… read minds?"
I looked at another person.
"I hope Kanzaki doesn't look at me… he's going to throw an eraser at me…"
—Mental Screen: [Kenta – Daily Victim]
ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I have a superpower!!
A freaking power to see people's real thoughts.
This… this can change everything.
I can avoid humiliations. I can understand what they really feel. I might even be able to win the heroine's heart!
"Why is Kanzaki smiling like a psychopath? He's scaring me SO much…"
—Mental Screen: [Mirei Tachibana]
Oops.
And then the moment arrived.
Just like in the novel, Haruki stood up to hand a sheet to the teacher. On his way, I—Yuuji Kanzaki, the bully—was supposed to stick my foot out and trip him.
That's the scene. The scene that kicks off their animosity.
If I do it, I'm officially the villain.
If I don't, I alter the story.
So, I used my power.
"Just waiting for him to trip me again… what a pain."
—Mental Screen: [Haruki]
"Kanzaki, please just behave for once…"
—Mental Screen: [Mirei]
No. I won't.
I stepped aside.
Haruki walked past. He didn't trip. Everyone ignored him. Total silence.
And then…
"Huh? Kanzaki didn't do anything to me? Is he feeling okay?"
—Mental Screen: [Haruki]
"Interesting. The bully decided not to bother him? That wasn't in the script."
—Mental Screen: [Saya Minazuki]
...
Damn it.
I just changed the story.
And that's when Mirei Tachibana slowly turned towards me, her golden eyes fixed on mine. Her face was serene. Smiling. Perfect.
"How kind of you not to do anything stupid today, Kanzaki-kun."
And yet, her screen read:
"That was weird. It was kind of funny. This guy is starting to intrigue me…"
Oh no.
Oh NO.
Break time. Back courtyard. Me, eating curry bread and trying to avoid attention.
"Kanzaki-kun."
That dreaded voice reached me.
I turned to see Mirei, the heroine. Her. The perfect one. The girl everyone wanted to talk to.
"Can I sit with you?"
"I don't know why, but I want to see if he's really different today."
—Mental Screen: [Mirei]
I nodded awkwardly. My hands were sweating. What am I supposed to say? "Do you have a map because I keep getting lost in your eyes?"
No, you idiot. No.
"I… I feel bad about yesterday. I acted like a jerk."
"What the heck? Since when does this guy have self-awareness?"
—Mental Screen: [Mirei]
"Really. I'm not like that… at least, I don't want to be."
She blinked. Stared at me.
"Then… who are you, Kanzaki-kun?"
"Interesting. I like this side of him more. But if he's lying to me, I'll crush him."
—Mental Screen: [Mirei]
I took a deep breath.
And for the first time, I didn't act like Kanzaki.
I acted like myself.
"I'm just a guy who wants to… avoid repeating mistakes. Even if it's in this life."
Mirei lowered her gaze. She smiled.
And she said:
"Then… I'll be watching you, Kanzaki-kun."
"Don't disappoint me, okay?"
—Mental Screen: [Mirei]
That night, in the bed of my luxurious dorm room (seriously, why do villains have so much style?!), I stared at the ceiling.
I had managed to avoid my first humiliation.
I possessed an absurd power.
And the story… was already changing.
Haruki was starting to suspect something.
Mirei was "observing" me.
And tomorrow… according to the original script, something else horrible was supposed to happen to me.
But now…
I have information.
I have motivation.
And I have a goal.
"I'm going to survive this story."
And if I can… maybe even write a new one.