Isagi walked silently beside her for a few meters, but the expression on his face had changed.
Although he knew a bit of martial arts, something he had learned in his past life as the dedicated otaku and fan of Baki that he was, he could not stop thinking that if he had not been there with Alya, something terrible might have happened.
He suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face her directly.
On the other side stood a tall concrete wall, while only a few cars passed along the street behind him.
“I was going to wait until we reached your house to say this, but I’m saying it now.
I can’t get rid of this feeling of frustration…
What you did was reckless, Alya…” he said, his voice surprisingly serious and low, without even a trace of joking.
“You should be more careful!” Alya stopped automatically, turning toward him with her eyebrows raised.
Her blue eyes shone with a mixture of surprise and defiance.
“Reckless?
I had everything under control…” she replied firmly, crossing her arms.
Her tone was the same as always, proud and even a little arrogant.
“I may not look like it, but I’m trained in self-defense.
I can handle a drunk man…” Isagi frowned.
For a moment, he remained silent, as though deciding something internally.
Then he abandoned part of the relaxed attitude he normally maintained.
For the first time since meeting her, he truly reprimanded her: “You weren’t in control of anything, Alya.
That was dangerous.
What if he had attacked you?
What if there had been more than one?
Could you really fight several drunk adults at the same time?
Stop acting as if you’re invincible.” Alya felt her face heat up with irritation at his words!
She fell silent for a moment.
That alone was unusual.
Normally, she would have immediately fired back with some sharp retort or sarcastic comment to regain control of the conversation.
But Isagi’s serious gaze and, above all, the genuine concern in his voice made her words get stuck for a few seconds.
She looked away first.
“…Ты такой надоедливый.” (“You’re so annoying.”) The murmur in Russian came out low and fast, almost like a defensive reflex.
Isagi did not look away.
Instead, he calmly answered in the same language, with natural and fluent pronunciation: “Может быть.
Но это не меняет факта, что ты была в опасности.” (“Maybe.
But that doesn’t change the fact that you were in danger.”) Alya froze in place.
Her eyes slowly widened as if the world itself had stopped spinning.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest while all the air seemed to leave her lungs at once.
He…
knew Russian?
Isagi remained calm and continued speaking, switching between languages as though it were the most natural thing in the world: “I can speak Russian.
I learned it a long time ago.
And…
I understood everything, Alya.
Every single word you’ve said until now.
I just never revealed it because I felt that you used Russian to express feelings you still weren’t ready to say in Japanese.
It wasn’t something I had the right to interfere with.
But what you did just now was dangerous, and even then, you still don’t want to admit you were wrong…” “So, I had to reveal this secret I’ve been hiding from you for a long time…
because I don’t want you to repeat the same mistake, understand?” Alya simply froze.
Her blue eyes widened slowly while her mind seemed incapable of processing what she had just heard.
She could barely pay attention to Isagi’s explanation because she was completely focused on a single fact: He knew Russian.
Her face, which had only been lightly flushed with irritation before, turned red like a burning tomato.
An intense crimson spread from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
All those moments…
The phrases whispered at the restaurant.
The affectionate insults in disguise.
The “traitor,” the “look only at me,” the possessive thoughts she believed nobody would ever understand.
Every time she let her true feelings slip out in Russian, convinced she was safe…
He had heard everything.
Alya instinctively stepped backward, pressing herself against the wall behind her.
Her hands rose to her face as though trying to hide the infernal blush that betrayed her completely.
Inside her, a storm of embarrassment, panic, and something far too warm to be named spun endlessly.
“Y-you…” She finally managed to speak, but her voice failed in the middle of the sentence.
“You knew this whole time?!” “AND YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING?!” As soon as she raised her voice, she immediately covered her mouth with one hand, clearly shaken for real for the first time in a long while.
The memories began returning one after another like critical hits.
Every sentence in Russian.
Every time he simply smiled after she muttered something.
Every moment she thought she was hiding her feelings.
“…Нет…” (“No…”) At that moment, Alya genuinely wanted to disappear.
Her ears were red.
Her neck was red.
Even the tips of her fingers felt hot.
“…Ты худший…” (“You’re the worst…”) The accusation came out quietly, without any real strength.
Because deep down, she knew perfectly well that Isagi had never done it to mock her.
And that only made the entire situation even more embarrassing.
She lightly bit her lower lip before finally raising her eyes to face him again, now completely shaken.
Isagi let out a long sigh, his eyes still fixed on hers.
Without saying anything, he stepped forward, raising his arms and placing both hands against the concrete wall, one on each side of her head.
His body ended up dangerously close, trapping her there.
“I may be the worst, you can insult me all you want…” he murmured, his voice low and husky.
“But every time you let out those feelings in Russian…
every time you called me a traitor, said I should only look at you…
I had to hold myself back from confronting you right then and there.
From saying what I felt too.
And since I’m talking about all this now, there’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time…” Alya’s heart pounded so hard she was sure he could hear it.
The embarrassment burning on her face was slowly pushed into the background as his face drew closer, centimeter by centimeter, after speaking those words that brought a cocktail of emotions into her heart…
Her blue eyes widened when his lips touched hers.
For a second, her mind went completely blank.
What…
the hell is happening…?
Alya felt her entire body freeze in shock.
But almost without realizing it, her eyelids trembled and closed.
Her resistance melted away.
Isagi pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the cold wall.
Alya’s soft breasts were crushed against his firm chest, drawing a muffled sigh from her.
His hands moved down from either side of her head and firmly grasped her waist, pulling her even closer against him.
He deepened the kiss, tilting his head and sliding his tongue between her parted lips.
When he found her tongue, he did not hesitate.
He wrapped it with his own, hot and demanding, beginning an intense and wet battle.
To Alya, it felt as though liquid fire flowed through her veins.
His tongue was strong and dominant, and every movement sent warm shocks straight to her stomach while the heat of the kiss made her legs tremble.
She could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly against hers, his heart beating almost as hard as her own…
For Isagi, her taste was sweet and addictive.
Alya’s soft and hesitant tongue against his only made him hungrier.
Feeling her body pressed so tightly against his, her breasts crushed against him, her slender waist beneath his hands, the way she unconsciously surrendered herself, was making his blood boil.
He tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her even closer while his tongue danced with hers…
The kiss grew deeper, wetter, the soft and obscene sound of lips and tongues intertwining echoing quietly through the empty street.
Neither of them seemed willing to stop.
The kiss ended little by little.
Not because either of them truly wanted to stop, but because both desperately needed air.
When Isagi slightly pulled his face away, still keeping his hands on her waist, Alya remained motionless against the wall, breathing unevenly.
Her blue eyes were completely unfocused, moist, trembling faintly as they tried to process what had just happened.
Her face was still red all the way to her ears.
For a few seconds, the only sound present was their accelerated breathing.
Then Alya’s awareness finally began to return.
And with it came absolute chaos.
“…Ч-что ты только что сделал…?” (“W-what did you just do…?”) Her voice came out low, shaky, and completely different from the cold tone she normally used.
She stared at Isagi in disbelief.
Then she blinked rapidly several times, as though trying to wake up from an absurd dream.
Then her eyes widened again.
“W-wait…” Alya raised a hand to her own lips, still feeling the lingering heat there.
“My…
my first kiss…” Her brain seemed to stop.
Her first kiss!
On the street!
Against a wall!
Right after he revealed he had understood Russian this whole time!
Her face turned even redder, something she honestly had not believed possible.
“Y-you complete idiot…!” she suddenly said, hitting his chest with both hands in pure emotional desperation.
“Who does that?!
Who kisses someone like that in the middle of the street?!” The blows were far too weak to truly hurt him.
They felt more like a desperate attempt to release the colossal embarrassment she was feeling.
Isagi gently grabbed her wrists before Alya could continue hitting him.
His touch was firm but gentle, stopping the desperate little blows without hurting her.
“Alya…
calm down,” he said calmly…
“H-how can I calm down?!” she practically exploded, her blue eyes trembling with embarrassment.
“You suddenly kissed me out of nowhere after hiding for months that you understood everything I said in Russian!
This is…
this is…” She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to find enough words to describe the scale of the emotional chaos inside her.
“…Это нечестно…” (“This is unfair…”) The words came out almost like a wounded grumble.
Isagi watched her red face for a few seconds before sighing lightly.
“Maybe it is,” he admitted without trying to defend himself.
“But I don’t regret it.” Alya froze for a moment.
Her heart made another dangerous leap.
“You spent months practically confessing to me in Russian while I pretended not to understand.
I just ended up returning your feelings so you wouldn’t faint from embarrassment because of it…” “…Aaaahhh!” Alya immediately tried to cover her face again, completely defeated.
“Stop talking about it…!” She wanted to dig a hole and disappear right there.
Isagi let out a small muffled laugh before finally loosening his grip on her wrists, though he still did not move completely away.
Then his gaze softened slightly.
“Alright, I’ll stop.
But regarding your first kiss…” Alya blinked, still trying to regain control of her breathing.
“…What?” Isagi held her gaze directly.
“I’m going to take responsibility for it.” Alya’s brain stopped.
“…Huh?” “It was my first kiss too,” he replied naturally.
“So I’m not going to act as if it meant nothing.” For a few seconds, Alya simply stared at his face in absolute silence.
Then…
“…F-first…?” “Yeah.” Her eyes widened.
For some reason, that answer made her heart grow even more uncontrollable.
Her already red face worsened.
“L-liar…” she muttered automatically.
“I’m not lying.” Alya tried to analyze his expression for any sign of teasing, but found only sincerity.
And that was exactly what completely destroyed her in the end.
She quickly looked away.
“…You idiot…” But this time there was no real irritation in her voice.
Only embarrassment.
A lot of embarrassment.
And far too much happiness for someone as proud as her to admit…
After a few seconds of silence, Alya finally slowly pulled her wrists free from his hands.
Isagi immediately let go.
She took a deep breath, trying to reorganize her posture, but failed miserably.
Because the instant she raised her eyes and saw his face so close again, her heart raced once more.
“…Не смотри на меня так…” (“Don’t look at me like that…”) “Like what?” “…Like I’m cute right now.” Isagi fell silent for a second.
“…But you are cute.” “…!” Alya immediately turned her face away, practically steaming from embarrassment.
Her heart pounded so hard it almost hurt, and his closeness was making it impossible to think straight.
She couldn’t take it anymore!
With a quick and desperate movement, Alya slipped out from between his arms, sliding along the side of the wall and beginning to walk, almost run, down the sidewalk.
“W-wait, Alya!” Isagi called, extending a hand to try to grab her wrist, but she was faster.
“We’re here already!” she suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the other side of the street, where a modern building ahead with its lights on was waiting for her.
Her voice came out louder than necessary, clearly an escape attempt.
“My apartment is in that building!
So…
good night!” She crossed the street almost running, barely even looking both ways properly.
Isagi stood there for a second, surprised by her speed, before reacting.
“Alya, wait a second…” “Good night, Isagi!” she repeated, already standing in front of the building.
Her hands trembled slightly while grabbing the electronic key, but she managed to open the door in record time.
Before he could say anything else, Alya quickly entered the building.
Isagi remained there in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the closed door.
After a few seconds, a slow and gentle smile formed on his lips.
He raised a hand and touched his own lips, still feeling the lingering warmth of the kiss.
“…She really ran away…” he murmured to himself, amused.
He turned around and started walking home, his hands shoved into the pockets of his uniform.
The smile still remained on his face.
He had been right.
His romantic comedy life would only truly change once he finally took the initiative and stepped forward, acting like a real man instead of just another shy Japanese guy incapable of moving forward because of embarrassment.
Maybe it had not been the ideal moment to reveal that he knew Russian and kiss Alya, but even so, he did not regret it…
With a smile on his lips, he returned home humming to himself…
_____________________ (A/N: First of all, thank you for reading this story.
Your support there also helps a lot in keeping the story updated consistently.
I hope you continue enjoying Isagi’s completely cursed new life in this crossover world.)