Kikyou Satomi — a mature, working woman overflowing with adult allure.
In the original story, the two of them had taken care of each other early on. They'd comforted one another through the frustrations and emotional lows of daily life. Kikyou Satomi had even regularly cooked meals for Oreki Gen, looking after the young man's day-to-day needs. But after one drunken night, everything spiraled beyond repair.
A relationship that curdled more each day. Desires tangled together. And the lies of a scumbag — all of it ultimately shattered the fragile bond.
Oreki Gen was drugged into unconsciousness, then killed by Kikyou Satomi's own hand. His life ended in his sleep, and his body was hidden under her bed, kept there to accompany her slumber every single night...
Since transmigrating, Oreki Gen had never once spent extended time alone with her. At most, they'd exchanged greetings when bumping into each other on the way out in the morning.
Now it seemed that, despite his best crisis-avoidance instincts, the protagonist's aura simply wouldn't let up. Trouble would find him no matter what. The women who "belonged" to him would barrel toward him regardless of his efforts.
Oreki Gen felt helpless. Sure, being a handsome young man in Sakurato should've meant he had nothing to complain about — but whose fault was it that he'd read that godforsaken doujin?
Whatever.
Exhausted in body and mind, Oreki Gen collapsed onto his bed. The combined fatigue dragged him swiftly into a hazy, muddled sleep...
"Mmm~~~~~"
"Hah..."
"Mmmph..."
Strange sounds in the fog. Hot breath that seemed to cling to his ears in the pitch dark.
It was like some bizarre dream — and yet it also felt as though something real was happening. But Oreki Gen was too drained to surface from the strange atmosphere.
Until morning —
"How is another one missing?"
Staring at his wardrobe, Oreki Gen scratched his head.
In the week since transmigrating, this had happened at least three times now.
His undergarments would just vanish sometimes. Gone without a trace, as if they'd evaporated.
Though the original doujin had never mentioned anything like this happening at his place, Oreki Gen's instinct pointed him toward the heroines. It had to be related.
The question was how they'd managed to get into his room and silently make off with his underwear.
And then there was whatever that dream-like, half-real atmosphere had been last night... What was that about?
Oreki Gen was starting to feel like even this apartment wasn't safe anymore. He'd considered moving, but finding another place in Sakurato that was this close to both his school and his job, at a price he could actually afford, was harder than scaling the heavens.
Between Sakuraba Mitsuki's time stop and Amamiya Momiji's apparent hypnosis, Oreki Gen figured nothing would surprise him at this point.
At this rate, his life could fill a survival manual.
He washed up. Shaved the fuzz above his lip.
Still a bona fide handsome man of Sakurato, Oreki Gen opened his door —
"Good morning, Oreki-kun~"
The neatly uniformed young man found himself face to face with the neighboring OL, who'd opened her door at the same time.
Kikyou Satomi in her office attire was undeniably magnetic. Black pencil skirt, blazer over a white blouse.
A textbook corporate OL look — but on Kikyou Satomi, it was devastatingly alluring. Practically a live recreation of that classic getup from certain "study materials" he'd observed countless times.
Oreki Gen didn't falter. He smiled with normal, polite composure.
"Good morning, Kikyou-san."
Kikyou Satomi stepped out in her heels, a red crossbody bag over her shoulder, her long legs wrapped in sheer, 10-denier black stockings.
Hints of skin tone peeked through the fabric, mingling with the morning light falling across the corridor — like the sheen on some tantalizing delicacy. Not that Oreki Gen dared take a taste any time soon.
"Did you sleep well? It's been so hot lately."
Running into each other first thing in the morning left no graceful way to just walk off, so he had to walk downstairs side by side with this dangerously charming woman for the time being.
Oreki Gen gave a light laugh. "Slept alright, I guess. Though it never feels like enough."
For a teenager, no amount of sleep ever seemed to be sufficient. The moment class started, drowsiness would hit like clockwork. The moment school let out, you'd feel fully recharged. An eternal, unchanging law of nature.
"It's always like that at your age. I was the same way in school. But —"
Throughout the walk downstairs, Kikyou Satomi seemed perfectly normal. Just a friendly, attractive neighbor. But the turn came soon enough.
At the bus stop, she lifted her gaze to look at the young man with his refined bearing and pretty face.
"Did you hear anything strange last night?"
The ambush of a question instantly conjured last night's bizarre sensations in Oreki Gen's mind. But he didn't blurt it out. He was weighing the intent behind her words.
Had she felt it too? Or were those strange occurrences related to her, and this was a test to see if he'd noticed?
Hard to say... Having already encountered time stop and what appeared to be hypnosis — both decidedly supernatural — Oreki Gen could only stay on guard.
He put on a look of recollection, then shook his head.
"Not really. It was a bit hot, though."
Hearing that, a captivating smile blossomed across Kikyou Satomi's bewitching face — the kind that seemed almost involuntary, instinctual.
"I see..."
"Hm? Did something happen last night?"
Oreki Gen turned it around with a probing question of his own.
Kikyou Satomi immediately shook her head.
"Nothing, nothing. Might've been a mouse or some little noise. It's no big deal... Oh, my ride's here. I'll be off then, Oreki-kun. Bye."
"Bye."
Oreki Gen watched Kikyou Satomi get into her rideshare.
The polite smile on his face cooled. This OL was giving off all kinds of wrong signals too...
He took the bus. Arrived at school. The whole way there, everything was normal — still that feeling of flowers blooming around every corner, the fragrance of youth in the air.
Stepping into the classroom before first period, it was noisy with chatter. Everyone was talking about whatever their thing was — the latest debuting idol girl group, the newest Scumtendo game hitting a record-low review score, and so on.
None of it seemed to have anything to do with Oreki Gen. He could probably join in and fit right in, but fitting in meant those familiar plot points would start unfolding one by one... Staying alive was more important.
Gazing out the window at the cherry blossom trees that wouldn't bloom this season, Oreki Gen smiled to himself. He'd be content being a lonely, level-headed handsome man of Sakurato.
SLAP!
"What the — you scared the hell out of me!"
Matsuyama Shota's palm crashing down on Oreki Gen's shoulder nearly launched the young man out of his seat.
He'd just been having a moment of introspection, and this guy had gone and BBQ'd the mood. What was wrong with him?
Matsuyama Shota struck a dramatic pose beside Oreki Gen, hands on hips.
"What are you spacing out about? This dark world is still waiting for us to save it, and here you are daydreaming?"
"What exactly do you mean by 'saving the world'?"
Oreki Gen lazily propped his chin in his hand, showing zero intention of getting up.
Matsuyama Shota leaned in and lowered his voice.
"Nishiei Studios is recruiting new actors for a tokusatsu series. I might just become the next Kamen Rider. What do you say — want to come audition with me?"
Unbelievable.
Looking at that square jaw peppered with more than a few acne breakouts, Oreki Gen had no idea where the guy found the confidence to say something like that.
"If you manage to score so much as a boxed lunch at Nishiei, I'll rip my own head off and let you kick it around."
"Tch, boring. Seriously — you've got a decent face, even if it's slightly inferior to mine. So why are you always so listless and antisocial? If it weren't for me, you'd be a total outcast by now."
It wasn't quite that dramatic. Oreki Gen just answered lazily.
"You wouldn't understand. This is my energy-conservation philosophy. No pointless socializing. Save my effort for where it actually matters."
Matsuyama Shota squinted at him. "That's what every anime protagonist says. Especially harem anime protagonists. Don't tell me you actually think you're one?"
Oreki Gen blinked. Said nothing.
Matsuyama Shota sighed and gave him a pat on the shoulder, affecting the air of a wise elder.
"Ah, growing up is the gradual process of accepting that you're actually just an ordinary person."
Oreki Gen honestly wished he were a bit more ordinary. Then he wouldn't have to spend every day on edge.
But he was like a lighthouse standing alone in the ocean. The brightest star in the night sky. The only oasis in a desert. Impossible to bury.
Class started soon. The new homeroom teacher, Amamiya Momiji, appeared as expected, but she didn't seem to pay him any special attention, letting Oreki Gen relax a fraction. As expected — there was no reason for her to be that perceptive or suspicious.
He continued to avoid direct eye contact with her, as always.
Only, they were still in the middle of class when — BUZZ...
Oreki Gen had long since set his phone to vibrate, preparing for exactly this kind of situation.
He sneaked it out and glanced at the screen. A text, sure enough... Why did it have to come now, of all times?
Amamiya Momiji was lecturing calmly from the podium. Nothing about the scene suggested anything was about to happen.
He opened the message. Written clearly:
【As I thought, photos alone aren't enough... I'm still stuck. It really should be the real thing, shouldn't it? Then I'll just have to trouble Oreki-kun once more...】
What the hell?
That phrasing, that bizarre content... Don't tell him this was Sakuraba Mitsuki?
No way. That couldn't be allowed to happen again. Even if he starved to death today, he was not leaving this classroom before the final bell.
Just as Oreki Gen was steeling his resolve like a warrior burning his boats —
"Oreki-kun, please answer this question."
Oreki Gen froze. He quickly pocketed his phone and looked toward the podium. Amamiya Momiji was staring straight at him, those eyes behind silver-framed glasses as sharp and penetrating as ever.
"I..."
He rose to his feet instinctively, facing a blackboard crammed with English text.
He had no idea where to even begin answering. But what caught the corner of his eye wasn't the blackboard —
It was the classroom doorway... where, out of nowhere, a figure had appeared. Summer uniform, black pleated skirt, long legs in black knee-high socks.
Sakuraba Mitsuki?
What was she doing outside his classroom? Don't tell him —
Wait — that text message?!
By the time Oreki Gen put it together, it was already too late. He felt it again.
All sound around him vanished. His body locked in place.
He couldn't even pull his gaze away...
In the middle of class — while he was standing up to answer a question — Sakuraba Mitsuki had appeared and triggered a time stop?
What was she going to do...