Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!? — Monologue of the Shadow Operator
Sanshokuin Sumireko is invisible. The plain library committee member with thick glasses and a braid—too pretty to approach, too quiet to notice, alone since middle school. She's spent three years perfecting the art of being unremarkable, and she has exactly one hobby: watching Kisaragi Amatsuyu.
She knows his gentle smile is a fabrication. She knows the kind, pure-hearted boy everyone adores is a mask for a cunning, calculating schemer who rains silent curses on his childhood friend even as he
Why the Hell are You Here, Teacher!? — Monologue of the Shadow Operator - Stolen Goods and Black Fangs — The Daily Life That Begins to Crumble
The library was quiet during lunch break — almost too quiet.
From outside the window, the faint clink of a metal baseball bat drifted in. That dry, sharp crack of aluminum. It should have been distant, but it grated on her ears.
Sanshokuin Sumireko sat in her usual seat, second row from the window. Her thick, black-rimmed square glasses cast a shadow over the open book in front of her. Her black hair, braided into a tight plait, curled stiffly against her shoulders. A long navy skirt — hem well below her knees — hung quietly along the legs of her chair.
To anyone looking, she was just a plain, unremarkable library committee member.
That was the perfect mask she had built for herself at this school.
Sumireko glanced toward the library entrance from the edge of her book.
(Today, he'll come.)
She murmured it in her mind and opened the observation notebook on her lap.
[Observation Record — October, date unspecified]
[Subject: Ooga Taiyou]
[Notes: Over the past several days, the frequency of his visits to the library during lunch break has increased. However, he neither borrows books nor conducts research. He stops near the entrance, confirms the location of my seat, and then leaves.]
[Inferred internal state: He is probing my behavioral patterns. When, where, and what I am doing. And when I am alone.]
She closed the notebook after writing that much.
(If you're coming, then come.)
Sumireko quietly raised her head.
At that moment, the library door swung slowly open.
In the doorway stood a tall boy with neatly trimmed black hair. Tall — around five foot eleven. Handsome features. A refreshing smile. He wore his baseball uniform properly, without a single piece out of place.
Ooga Taiyou.
The golden boy who reigned at the top of the class hierarchy.
" Hey there, Sanshokuin-san. Reading again today, I see."
With that, Taiyou sat down across from Sumireko without so much as asking permission.
(...He's here.)
Sumireko murmured inwardly.
But her expression didn't change.
"...Is there something you need?"
She spoke in a flat, measured voice.
"Can't a guy talk to you without a reason?"
Taiyou's smile didn't waver.
(That smile. It's fake. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes aren't smiling at all.)
Sumireko calmly analyzed his expression.
"No, it's just — I thought it was unusual for you to come to the library, that's all."
"Yeah? I've been coming here a lot lately. You didn't notice, Sanshokuin-san?"
A faint barb crept into Taiyou's voice.
(I noticed. That you've been watching me.)
Sumireko answered in her mind.
"I couldn't say. I tend to focus on my books."
She returned her gaze to the page.
Taiyou stared at her for a while.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
" Sanshokuin-san. I know your real face."
Sumireko's fingertip paused on the page — just for an instant.
But that was all.
She spoke without looking up.
"...What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. You're hiding who you really are at this school. Those glasses, that braid — all of it's an act."
Taiyou's voice was quiet.
But within that quietness was a definite pressure.
(...He means it.)
Sumireko murmured inwardly.
(Where did he find out? Since when? Or is he bluffing?)
Countless possibilities raced through her mind at high speed.
"So what?"
Sumireko raised her head.
Behind the thick lenses, her large dark eyes fixed squarely on Taiyou.
"What does my real face matter to you?"
Taiyou faltered — just for a moment.
But he recovered his smile immediately.
" It's not like I'm trying to do anything to you. But to put it bluntly—"
Taiyou leaned forward.
" Would you go out with me?"
Sumireko stared at him without blinking.
(...Ah. So that's what this is.)
She understood, quietly, in her heart.
(This man is trying to use my secret as a shield to claim me.)
"I decline."
She answered immediately.
Taiyou's smile froze — just slightly.
"...An instant rejection. And here I thought it was a generous offer."
"I have absolutely zero interest in dating you."
Her voice was cold.
Taiyou let out a small breath.
Then, still smiling, he slowly rose to his feet.
" I see. That's a shame. ...Well, then I suppose there's nothing to be done."
Taiyou looked down at Sumireko.
His eyes were no longer smiling.
" If you refuse, you'd better be prepared for the consequences. For example — I could completely destroy Kisaragi Amatsuyu's reputation."
Something deep in Sumireko's chest froze solid with an audible crack.
(...I knew it.)
(His target is Kisaragi-san.)
Behind her glasses, Sumireko narrowed her eyes quietly.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Her voice didn't tremble.
"Exactly what it sounds like. If you won't go out with me, Kisaragi Amatsuyu won't be able to stay at this school. That's all."
Taiyou said something terrifying with a fresh, pleasant smile.
"What has he ever done?"
"Nothing. But that doesn't matter. If I say 'Kisaragi Amatsuyu is that kind of person,' it becomes the truth. At this school, my word carries far more weight than his."
There was absolute conviction in Taiyou's voice.
(...That's true.)
Sumireko acknowledged it inwardly.
(This man is the center of the class. The ace of the baseball team. Trusted by the teachers. If someone like him says 'Kisaragi stole something,' most people will believe it.)
"...You're using underhanded tactics."
She said it quietly.
"Underhanded? What's underhanded about it? I'm simply giving you a choice. Date me, or watch Kisaragi Amatsuyu go through hell. Which do you prefer?"
Taiyou tilted his head.
The gesture was innocent — and that was exactly what made it so unsettling.
"I decline."
Sumireko repeated the same words once more.
Taiyou's expression changed — clearly, this time.
"...You don't care what happens to Kisaragi Amatsuyu?"
"You won't get your way. That's all."
Sumireko looked straight up at Taiyou.
"I will protect him."
Taiyou stared at her for a while.
Then he let out a soft laugh.
" Haha... Interesting. That's more like it. That's exactly the kind of woman you are, Sanshokuin-san."
Still laughing, Taiyou turned his back on her.
" Then brace yourself. Starting tomorrow, Kisaragi Amatsuyu's daily life is going to come crashing down around him."
Leaving those words behind, Taiyou left the library.
Sumireko sat alone in the silence.
A shadow fell across the open book before her.
(...I saw it — behind that smile.)
She murmured in her heart.
(The jealousy and humiliation he's been directing at Kisaragi-san since middle school.)
(That smile — he genuinely enjoys the thought of destroying Kisaragi-san.)
Sumireko opened her observation notebook.
[Ooga Taiyou — Threat]
[Content: Using my true identity as leverage, he demanded a relationship. If refused, he declared he would destroy Kisaragi Amatsuyu's reputation.]
[Inferred internal state: He is serious. He genuinely desires Kisaragi-san's ruin.]
Sumireko set down her pen.
(For the first time, I feel clear, unmistakable hostility.)
(This man is dangerous.)
She quietly pushed up her glasses.
The next day.
Sumireko was walking down the hallway.
Lunch break. The corridor was filled with the clamor of students.
Sumireko moved through the crowd, eyes forward.
There, she spotted Himawari and Cosmos.
A petite girl with a bright brown ponytail bouncing behind her. Hinata Aoi. Barely five feet tall. Large amber eyes. Always smiling, always bursting with energy — the ace of the tennis team.
And beside her, a beautiful girl with long black hair. Akino Sakura. A third-year. Student council president. Cool beauty, flawless figure — a flower on the highest peak.
Ooga Taiyou stood before the two of them.
(...That's—)
Sumireko stopped in her tracks.
She pressed herself against the wall, holding her breath.
Taiyou's voice drifted faintly toward her.
" So don't worry about it. I'm keeping a proper eye on both of you."
Taiyou's voice was kind.
But Sumireko could tell.
(That voice is meant to put them at ease. And to pull their hearts toward him.)
" But, San-chan... is it really true that Joro's been using us?"
Himawari's voice was trembling.
" Yeah. Kisaragi's just been using the two of you for his own convenience. He knew you both had feelings for me, and that's why he approached you."
Taiyou's voice was earnest.
(...That's a lie.)
Sumireko murmured inwardly.
(Kisaragi-san took on the role of middleman with you because the two of them asked him to. Reluctantly. Cursing under his breath the whole time.)
" But Joro's my childhood friend! He'd never do something like that!"
Himawari raised her voice.
" Aoi, calm down. I don't want to believe it either. But this is reality. Kisaragi is trampling on both of your pure feelings."
Taiyou gently placed his hand on Himawari's shoulder.
Himawari didn't brush it away.
(...Himawari-san is wavering.)
Sumireko observed her expression.
(Half-believing, half-doubting. But because it's the words of the person she likes, she wants to believe. She doesn't want to believe, but she wants to believe. I can see the conflict.)
" Ooga-kun. Do you have proof of what you're saying?"
Cosmos spoke quietly.
Behind her cool beauty, only her eyes glinted sharply.
(Cosmos-senpai still doesn't believe him. She's asking for evidence.)
Sumireko analyzed inwardly.
"Proof? Yeah, I've got proof. Just ask Kisaragi himself what he thinks of you two. Though he'll never admit it, of course. That's the kind of guy he is."
Taiyou put on a pained expression.
"...Joro isn't that kind of person."
Himawari looked down.
" I don't want to believe it either. I thought Kisaragi was my best friend. But... if it's to protect the two of you, I'll face off against Kisaragi himself."
Taiyou looked back and forth between Himawari and Cosmos.
His eyes were utterly sincere.
(...He's good.)
Sumireko clicked her tongue inwardly.
(He raises the noble banner of 'protecting the two of them' to cover his own self-preservation. And on top of that, by making Kisaragi-san the villain, he's trying to win their trust.)
Sumireko watched the three of them from behind the wall.
(What if I stepped out right now and exposed his lies?)
(But I have no proof. My word alone won't convince them.)
(And if I move now, I'm playing right into his hands.)
Sumireko clenched her fist.
(...First, observe.)
(I need to see his next move.)
She quietly slipped away.
After school.
Sumireko was heading toward the second floor of the main building, where the second-year classrooms were.
(I wonder how today's study session will go.)
She murmured inwardly.
(Himawari-san might react coldly to Kisaragi-san's words.)
(Kisaragi-san will be nursing confusion and irritation inside.)
(...I have no choice but to watch.)
Sumireko stopped in front of the classroom.
At that moment, a commotion erupted from inside.
" Hey, what the hell is this!?"
" It came out of Kisaragi's desk! This is stolen merchandise, isn't it!"
A sickening premonition surged through Sumireko's chest.
(...No.)
She peered into the classroom.
Classmates had gathered around Kisaragi Amatsuyu's desk.
At the center, the class representative — a male student — was holding something up.
A small paper bag.
What came out of it was brand-new stationery.
" This is from that shoplifting incident at the stationery store in North Mall by the station yesterday, right? The store clerk said someone was caught on security camera."
The class representative's voice echoed through the room.
" Wait, so Kisaragi stole it!?"
" I can't believe it... Kisaragi-kun was that kind of person?"
The classmates' eyes all turned to Amatsuyu.
Amatsuyu sat at his desk.
Sleep-mussed black hair. Gentle brown eyes. A friendly, unreliable-looking smile.
But that smile was now twitching.
" W-wait, that's wrong! I didn't do anything! Someone must have put this in my desk—"
Amatsuyu's voice was shaking.
(...Kisaragi-san.)
Sumireko watched him closely.
(Right now, this is
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