“So you mean you can’t have a peaceful life with me?”

 

Those were the words the “detective” asked me repeatedly, but how did it all come to this? It was during a fateful day in high school.

 

“Attention all students and faculty, please prepare to evacuate the classrooms quickly.” the classroom’s speaker announced concernedly.

 

“Well, that sure wasn’t something you would be hearing regularly on your high school campus.” I raised my head from my desk, the announcement interrupted my daydreaming to ignore this boring lesson.

 

I sat up and turned away to ignore the announcement and looked outside the window to look at the moonlight glimmering at the grassy school fields was beautiful

 

Did I misheard that or Is there truly an emergency going on at campus? 

 

“Attention all students and faculty, please prepare to evacuate the classrooms quickly.” the classroom’s announcement speakers made this “urgent” announcement.

 

I guess I didn’t misheard anything, but why do they want to evacuate immediately?

 

“ This is- is an urgent emergency announcement. Our school is currently under- Under attack by a group of armed individuals! Y-your saf-ety is our top priority, and we urge e-e-e-everyone to remain calm and follow the instructions provided.” The classroom’s speakers started getting choppy.

 

Another school shooting!? Never in my 2 lives did I ever think to experience a school shooting twice… let alone a school bombing. Yes, I did just say “2 lives.” 

 

To be honest, I lost my first life in a “school Shooting” when I was about to graduate middle school. I just barely saw those people gunning gown my classmates… then myself before having their way with the corpses.

 

“This. This has to be a nasty joke.” I muttered to myself.

 

“I wouldn’t doubt the announcement.” the girl that was sitting next to me responded to me as if she heard everything I whispered.

 

I turned to my right and there was an unfamiliar girl, I heard from my classmates that she was a transfer student that have transferred here during the two days I was absent due to being sick with a cold.

 

“I didn’t say that I was doubting them.”

 

“That’s good, because it keeps your senses sharp.”

 

Her voice had a cheerful but soothing charm

 

     She had dazzling light silver-gray hair styled in a hime-haircut or bob cut, she was shorter than me by a bit, I was 5’7 and she seemed to be 5’5, her skin was light, almost porcelain-like and her eyes were as deep as a sapphire, describing her appearance as prettier than “Snow White” was underselling it.

 

“What is your name-”

 

I subconsciously blurted out a question by accident, and upon realizing it, I followed up with “never mind.”

 

“It’s Koharu, My name is “Koharu” Nice to meet you.”

 

“Koharu?”

 

“It’s a codename.” She winked playfully,

 

“A code name?”

 

“Yes, everyone has one these days!” Koharu smiled angelicly.

 

“I see… well my name is Elio”

 

“Well then, I shall call you Taru then!” She announced with joy in her eyes.”

 

“Is that a nickname or codename?”

 

“Who knows~”

 

I sheepishly turned away to pay attention to the speakers but in my peripheral vision, I could see that she smiled at me.

 

My classmates had started muttering and whispering amongst each other about whether this was a serious matter or not. 

 

“Everyone quiet down, and listen to the announcement properly.” Said our teacher.

 

“ Please pr-proceed to t-the nearest designated safe area immediately. T-Teachers, please lead your st–stu-students to safety and ensure everyone stays together. Do not attempt to confront the attackers or investigate the situation.”

 

The choppy announcement continued.

 

It was difficult to gauge whether this was serious or an emergency drill but I doubt they would pull such a nasty prank on their students.

 

“ Emergency services have been notified, and help is on the way. Stay low, stay quiet, and await further instructions. Let's work together to ensure everyone's safety during this challenging time.” the class speakers became coherent again.

 

“Alright everyone, please stay calm and fall in line in a single file-” 

 

The professor got cut off and collapsed, face-first down on the floor. The Class’ rep went towards the teacher and saw a hole had gone through the side of her head, while a crimson red liquid dripped out of it.

 

“...” It truly was another school shooting yet again.

 

Our teacher was just shot in the head in front of the class…

 

Some of the girls in the classroom started tearing up, meanwhile, some of the boys started panicking about what they should do now that our teacher was gone.

 

“A day in the life of a high school student would usually be “normal” and dull however, this was simply not it,” I muttered to myself.

 

     A huge flash of light suddenly shined from the window catching the attention of everyone in the classroom .

 

As I slowly turned my sight toward the room’s window what I saw made my heart sunk down to the abyss, A helicopter was flying near our campus building as 2 individuals were holding what looked like a rocket launcher aimed directly at our classroom.

 

“We’re doomed.” I wasn’t ready to die a second time.

 

In a blink of an eye, one of them fired at one of the classrooms causing the school to tremble at the impact while the other blasted directly towards us.

 

“Get down!” the girl sitting next to me suddenly shouted as she grabbed my arm and threw me and herself to a nearby broom closet.

 

I was now trapped inside the closet with a girl I just met, I sat and had my back against the wall as this girl was essentially forced to do the kabedon position on me, forcing me to remain quiet as her large chest dangled from what looks like 3 inches away.

 

I could hear the roar of what sounded like a Gatling gun as it gunned down several of my classmates, Even though I wasn’t close with anyone in the class, the screams and suffering outside were fueling my anger while waiting for the screams to die down.

 

The noises suddenly stopped, I clenched my fist as I accidentally made eye contact with Koharu.

 

“It’s gotten quiet, are you hurt Elio?.” She broke the silence first.

 

“I’m fine… but the bigger problem is that all of our classmates are likely dead!”

 

“I’m sorry for failing to save your classmates.” She bowed down.

 

My classmates? What on earth does this girl mean by “my classmates.”

 

“You see, I’m not a real student in this campus.”

 

“...” So what are you supposed to be then?

 

“I’m a detective sent by the government as a way to help “prevent” this attack from happening.”

 

She opened a briefcase between her legs and took out a silver musket rifle.

 

“Well, what do you plan to do now Ms. Detective?”

 

“I will save you and this school, and you?”

 

“What about me?”

 

“Hmm…. I know! You’re gonna be my sidekick.”

 

What kind of help does she even expect me to do? She stood pridefully as if I had a choice in the matter.

 

“Now take this.” She handed me a pistol and a box of ammo.

 

A handgun? Does she think I have a clue how to handle this?

 

“You plan for us to kill them?”

 

“No, just aim for their hands!”

 

“R-right.”

 

     We slowly opened the door to make sure it didn’t make any noises, We saw was horrifying, the classroom’s floor was covered with the many, many corpses of my classmates and then there were three armed men entering the hole in the wall via a helicopter.

 

"They all seem to be wearing masks and heavily armed" Koharu whispered.

 

“What are we gonna do now?” I whispered.

 

“None of them are facing us and some of the furniture has toppled over, hurry and roll behind them, and let me handle the rest!”

 

I quickly did what she ordered me to do and rolled under a table.

 

     Seeing the bodies of my classmates being covered in blood and mangled wasn’t unfamiliar to me however they never got easy to bear with.

 

Everyone, I'm sorry for not being able to save you... I promise to bring your killers to justice!

 

     I then grabbed a nearby bottle and threw it towards one of the “attackers” which completely shattered on their face.

 

“Someone's in here! Go kill them!” the person I struck shouted.

 

The 3 men started going in my direction, However.

 

“Haah!” Screamed Koharu as she slammed the closet door open and flipped over one of the men and supplexed them towards one another.

 

“She’s already here!” the last guy yelled aiming his rifle at her only for her to shoot one of his hands off causing him to black out from the shock of it.

 

This girl is definitely not human… but I’m sure am happy that she is on my side.

 

“Great work out there Koharu.” I got up from the table.

 

“You did…. “Passable” sidekick.”

 

"You hesitated for a moment there, was I that bad?"

 

What did she mean by only passable!? Well, I guess she did do all the work… on a different note, Why won't this girl stop calling me her sidekick huh?

 

     She quickly tied up and gagged the three men and covered their faces so they couldn’t see or talk. 

 

“Koharu, do you know these people?”

 

“Yes, I do. They are the soldiers of a criminal organization I have been tracing for a while now.”

 

“So why did they attack my school?”

 

“They are proving a point to your principal,” she answered while loading mags into her rifle.

 

“What exactly does massacring several kids prove?”

 

“Because your principal used to be an undercover member of the organization, but he found out about the atrocities the organization does, and instead of staying idle he chose to escape and betray the organization,” Koharu explained thoroughly.

 

“So he thought that attacking the kids on his campus would show that they won’t stop until they get his head?”

 

“Your intuition is correct, you truly are a good sidekick.

 

Please stop calling me that!

 

I walked towards the open hole in the wall and looked up.

 

“It seems the helicopters are still hovering but their slowly flying away-”

 

The helicopters' windows suddenly shattered and the entirety of them both suddenly crashed down on the school grounds, I turned to my right and Koharu was already reloading the musket she wielded.

 

How was this girl skilled at quick shots where she quickly killed the pilots in that helicopter!

 

“Uh- why’d you go ahead and do that!?” I yelled.

 

“Do what? Doing my job?”

 

“No! I meant… why did you kill them? Why not use your detective gadgets to jam the engine to force them down or something?”

 

“But they just killed your classmates, surely it’s an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth right?”

 

“By revenge… I meant to send them to prison and bring justice to the fallen.”

 

“Alright fine, I won’t kill the enemies… intentionally of course” She beamed with pride once again

 

     It didn’t seem like there were any more helicopters with armed men near the school anymore, I once again looked out of the massive hole in the wall and the helicopters that Koharu shot down were on fire, but it seemed to have started raining so there wasn’t a risk of an explosion.

 

“Come on, let's go save your principal and look for survivors.” Koharu signaled as she walked out of the room nonchalantly towards the halls.

 

“E–EH? Wait! Hold on! Don’t just leave me here!” I scrambled to come to her.

 

“I thought it was obvious for us to go outside now?”

 

This girl is not normal.

 

     While walking down the halls we looked through each of the classrooms and it seemed like several of them had already evacuated before that rocket launcher blast from earlier, however there it seemed like there were also dozens of dead students and faculty members.

 

“When could the students have fled?” I questioned.

 

“It’s possible they escaped from the classrooms when we were trapped- hiding in the closet or stealthily taking the bad guys out.

 

We continued exploring the ruined hallways when we felt the floors and walls start trembling as dust and debris fel;.

 

“Was that an explosion!?”

 

“It's possible that those men are still here! Sidekick follow me!”

 

Koharu started running towards the direction of the noise while I followed after her.

 

“R-right! But stop calling me sidekick.”

 

I could tell she enjoyed teasing me.

 

While running we encountered several more of the armed men to which Koharu knocked them out while I tied and gagged them. As we ran a corner we saw that there were two more of the men holding the principal captive and locked him inside the principal office.

 

“Sidekick. Let me handle this one, just stay quiet.”

 

I simply nodded and we walked towards the 2 men.

 

“You two. We have 3 of your men tied up in the corner over there so release the principal and I’ll let you two escape.”

 

“The hell do you mean let us escape!?”

 

“The wench’s underestimating us! Kill her!”

 

However, two gunshots are suddenly fired and both of the men suddenly collapsed on the floor.

 

     The principal’s office door opened and out came the principal himself.

 

“Mr Principal are you okay?” I blurted.

 

“I’m quite alright, I was just lucky that Lady Koharu here helped with the preparations here by giving me a few guns to hide and use.”

 

“...” How do I respond to that?

 

Are you telling me that Koharu was in cahoots with the principal?

 

“He’s saying that me going undercover as a transfer student for a while helped him prepare for this attack.”

 

Koharu confirmed my thoughts.

 

“Now that Koharu mentioned it… There weren’t that many students during the opening ceremony on the campus meaning-” I stood dumbfounded by the situation.

 

“The students that were killed was a necessary sacrifice to tell the organization that our campus is not an easy target.”

 

What kind of principal says that!? A necessary sacrifice for a greater good!?

 

“What about the damages done to the school?”

 

“There will be a hiatus so that the school can be rebuilt.”

 

“But what about my classmates?” I asked.

 

“I’m sorry young man, but you will be transferred to a different class, we won’t let the sacrifice be in vain.”

 

And just like that, I was truly alone.

 

“...I see.”

 

     Today was truly a doozy, shortly after resting up, we took the captured bad guys and sent them over to the police for interrogation.

 

Koharu and I stood outside the campus, after the medical staff finished giving me a check-up Koharu stood next to me.

 

“I came back 2 days after being sick and now my classmates are dead.”

 

“Come on! Don’t be a boomer! At least you had days off school!”

 

She smacked my back.

 

“Ouch! How did you even “transfer” on the exact day I got sick with a cold?”

 

“It’s simple I prepared everything beforehand.”

 

“Y-You… what?”

 

“Elementary my dear~ I just simply put the “cold virus” inside your drink during your lunch the other day which made it convenient for me to transfer.”

 

This girl did what!? She got me sick on purpose just to plot out this bizarre school bombing defense plan!?

 

“Alright! Listen here you-”

 

Koharu was already gone.

 

…She had me wrapped around her fingers… well more specifically had me dancing right at her palms.

 

Even though I mentioned that have been reincarnated in this world, I was an orphan raised in a foster home until I was old enough to live on my own.

 

     I was walking back to my apartment, I was fully ready to collapse on my bed and just sleep for a week.  

 

“I need to not get involved with school shootings anymore.”

 

     Upon opening the door I placed my luggage on the floor, shut the door, and locked it up. I took my shoes and socks off and was prepared to take a shower.

 

“Welcome back.”

 

The door behind me which led to my living room slid open, and to my surprise, Koharu was only wearing what seemed to be my pajama shirt, watching a telenovela, and eating what looked like Italian takeout!

 

“Huh!? H-hold on why are you here?”

 

“I helped myself in.”

 

“This is my apartment!”

 

“Indeed it is.”

 

“Why are you only wearing my pajama?”

 

“Why not? You're my sidekick.”

 

“I’m not your sidekick and why do you have takeout!?”

 

“I used your credit card.”

 

…This girl’s gonna be the death of me.

 

–A week passed and school is said to be on a 3-month hiatus due to the attack.

 

     I was busy taking a shower trying to cool off due to the heat.

 

“Come on! Let’s be partners you can be my sidekick!”

 

“I already told you for the past week that I refuse to be a sidekick!”

 

“I can’t hear you~”

 

Koharu sat outside going through the news on the television.

 

“You’re such a pain.”

 

Well, well, calm down a bit, should I come and wash your back then?”

 

“I’m good,”

 

“Maybe I should just come inside only wearing a towel then?”

 

“..........I’m good.”

 

“Hm~~ You like the idea don’t you?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

I wonder what was going through this girl’s head saying things like that to a boy going through puberty for a second time.

 

“I already told you I don’t wanna get involved in your antics and stop breaking into my room and trying to join me in the bath!

 

“Well, why don’t you hear out my offer then?”

 

“I already said no because it’s to be your sidekick and fight crime out in the city!”

 

“Oh my god! How did you know!?”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“How stubborn, don’t you know how hard it is to find new ways to start breaking into your home so you can finally hear out my offer?”

 

“So then, why do you refuse my offer for the past week now?”

 

“It’s not something I can accept easily, going around the city fighting bad guys may be fun but I just want a quiet life okay?”

 

“So you mean you can’t have a peaceful life with me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But only I’am capable of doing this troublesome work.”

 

“Well, why don’t you present to me the merits and advantages of being a sidekick?”

 

"...Hmm... Ah!"

 

"What crap are you gonna tell me this time?"

 

"It was love at first sight that's why!"

 

"That ain't a benefit."

 

I slowly got up from the shower when Koharu suddenly opened the door to the bathroom and we were now face to face.

 

“–Ahh I forgot, I ordered some pizza using your credit card, let’s continue this talk over lunch shall we?”

 

“Sigh… if you catch a glimpse of it can you at least react like a normal girl?”

 

“Oh?”

 

She quickly looked me up and down. “It’s fairly decent in size, I’m more curious whether the pizza will arrive in 30 minutes though.”

 

I think this girl will bring me so much trouble.