Soon, the third day of the "changed" Kamishiro Renji's school-life arrived. Today, the atmosphere in Class 2-A was thick with a specific kind of tension that only occurred occasionally. It was early-April, and the cherry blossoms outside were still in bloom, though it couldn't do anything about the harsh reality of the school calendar: The First Physical Health Checkup.
As a school for elites, Kosei Academy took every event and activity with utmost importance and scrutiny. The Physical Health Checkup was also such an activity. Kosei Academy conducts three yearly health checkups for every class, and this day was the first one immediately following the start of the new school year.
For the boys, it was a day of boisterous comparison and immature speculation. For the girls, however, it was a battlefield of silent judgment and insecurity.
Renji sat at his desk, his posture relaxed, flipping through a reference book. He didn't need to look up to understand the mood; he could practically taste the anxiety in the air.
"Renji! Renji!"
Hoshino Takumi slid into the seat in front of him, practically vibrating with excitement. He leaned in, lowering his voice to a "whisper" that could be heard three rows away.
"I bet I grew at least two centimeters! I drank so much milk over break!" Takumi grinned, flexing a bicep that wasn't quite there yet. "And hey... do you think Hina grew too? In, you know... places?"
Takumi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. It was the standard, harmless curiosity of a teenage boy, the kind of "locker room talk" that was expected in a shonen manga-type situation.
Renji didn't smile like Takumi. He closed his book with a soft thud, the sound cutting through Takumi's chatter.
"Takumi," Renji said, his voice calm but laced with a subtle caution. "Please keep your voice down. You're being rude."
"Eh? Rude?" Takumi blinked, oblivious. "I'm just appreciating healthy growth! Besides, everyone is thinking it!"
Renji glanced toward the front of the room.
Aihara Hina was huddled with a group of girls near the window. She wasn't laughing like many others. Rather, she was clutching her cardigan tightly around her chest, her posture hunched.
[Empathy Insight]Activated.
A blue window flickered above Hina's chestnut hair.
[Target: Aihara Hina]
[Status: Highly Anxious / Self-Conscious]
[Current Thought: "I gained two kilos... The skirt feels tight... Everyone is going to stare."]
[Frustration Gauge: 85%]
Beside her, Nishimura Mika was checking her reflection in a compact mirror, but she wasn't admiring herself. She was frowning, pinching the skin of her arm.
[Target: Nishimura Mika]
[Status: Irritated / Jealous]
[Current Thought: "Why does Hina get all the curves? I look like a stick next to her. Maybe I should stuff my bra... no, that's pathetic."]
[Frustration Gauge: 70%]
"Not everyone talks about it openly, you know," Renji corrected Takumi smoothly. "And Hina looks distressed. If you ask her about her growth today, you will likely get slapped. And honestly? You would deserve it."
Takumi paled. "Slapped? Hina wouldn't hit me! We're childhood friends!"
"Childhood friends are the ones who hit the hardest." Renji noted dryly.
Just then, the loudspeaker crackled. "Class 2-A Boys, report to Gym B. Class 2-A Girls, report to the Infirmary."
The class shuffled out. As Hina passed Renji's desk, she kept her head down, avoiding eye contact. She looked like she wanted to disappear into the floorboards.
…
The boys' measurement session was exactly as chaotic as Renji expected. It was a cacophony of shouts about height, weight, and who had the best sitting reach. Takumi, true to his dense protagonist nature, was the loudest.
"174 centimeters! Yes! I grew!" Takumi cheered, high-fiving a random classmate. "Renji, beat that!"
Renji speechlessly stepped onto the scale and height meter unsure where Takumi got his confidence despite the visible difference in height.
The school nurse, a young woman who usually looked bored, straightened up instantly.
"Name?"
"Kamishiro Renji."
She adjusted the bar. "Stand straight."
Renji nodded and did so. He didn't need to stretch his spine or stand on his tiptoes.
"186.5 centimeters." the nurse read out, her voice softening. "Weight... 78 kilograms. Perfect BMI. Muscle density is high."
She wrote the numbers down, lingering on the page a moment longer than necessary. "You're in excellent shape, Kamishiro-kun. Do you play any sports?"
"Just some light exercises." Renji lied smoothly. Though he said that, his "light exercise" was a regime that would break many professional athletes. "Thank you, sensei."
He stepped off, ignoring the envious stares of his classmates.
"Dude," Takumi sighed, looking at Renji like he was a different species. "You're a titan. It's not even fair at this point. Save some genes for the rest of us."
"Drink more milk." Renji quipped, buttoning his shirt.
But his mind was already on the hallway outside. The girls would be finishing soon. And if his reading of Hina's frustration was correct, the aftermath of the measurements would be the critical moment.
…
Renji waited by the vending machines near the infirmary exit. He held two cans of warm royal milk tea and leaned against the wall, checking his phone, projecting the image of casual disinterest.
The door to the infirmary opened, and the girls filed out. The mood was mixed; some were happy, others were groaning about their diets.
Mika walked out first, looking annoyed. She was snapping her gum.
"Whatever," she muttered to no one. "Height is overrated anyway."
Then Hina emerged, and she looked devastated. She was walking slowly, her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the floor.
[Target: Aihara Hina]
[Status: Depressed / Shame]
[Frustration Gauge: 92%]
Takumi, who had been waiting further down the hall with the other boys, bounded over immediately.
"Hina! How did it go?" Takumi asked loudly. "Did you grow? Are you taller than me yet?"
Hina flinched. "I... no. I didn't grow."
"Oh well! Maybe next year!" Takumi laughed. "Hey, you look kind of down. Did you gain weight? Don't worry, my mom says winter weight is healthy!"
And with that, the hallway went silent.
Renji closed his eyes for a brief second. 'Takumi... you really are a genius at digging your own grave.'
Hina's face turned a brilliant, humiliated crimson. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "You... idiot! Don't ask girls things like that!"
She turned to run, desperate to escape the conversation.
Renji moved instantly. He simply intercepted her path, stepping away from the wall just as she passed. He didn't block her; he fell into step beside her, matching her pace perfectly so it felt like they were walking together rather than him chasing her.
"Hina," he said quietly.
Hina sniffled, wiping her eyes furiously. "Renji-kun? I... please don't look at me. I'm..."
"Here," Renji interrupted gently. He pressed the warm can of milk tea against her cold hand.
Hina stopped, surprised by the sudden warmth. She looked at the can, then up at him.
"You know that Takumi is kind of an idiot, right?" Renji stated. It was a simple fact, delivered without malice. "He treats everyone like one of his baseball buddies. He doesn't understand the subtleties of things... like numbers on a scale aren't just numbers for girls."
Hina gripped the can. "You know, I... I gained three kilos," she whispered, the confession spilling out because Renji's presence gave her a sense of safety. "And my... well, though it's not a conversation to have with a boy, but you're a pro-model so you probably understand these problems. My... chest measurements went up again. None of the cute clothes fit anymore. I feel... heavy, and gross."
She looked down at her body — the figure that drove half the school crazy, but which she saw only as excess.
'Thank you, God, for this beautiful, heavily-endowed galgame universe.' Renji thought, mentally doing backflips of pure joy. Outwardly, however, he stopped walking and turned to face her, his expression the picture of serious, respectful understanding. He isolated them in a quiet corner of the corridor. He looked at her, his blue eyes sweeping over her form, not with creepy lust, but with soft understanding.
"Hina," he said, his voice dropping to that low, intimate register. "Look at me."
She looked up, her hazel eyes wet.
"Your figure is not 'gross'." Renji said firmly. "Take it from an active model. It is very feminine and also gives a comforting-vibe. There is a reason Takumi always ends up sleeping on your shoulder on the bus, even if he's too dense to realize why."
Hina's eyes widened. "Eh?"
"You have a figure that most women would kill for," Renji continued. "And regarding the weight... if anything, you look perfectly healthy."
He took a step closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
"Don't hide it." he murmured. "Hunching over like that would just hurt your back. Stand tall. Let the world see what a beautiful young woman you've become. If Takumi is too straightforward to appreciate it... well, that's his loss."
Hina stared at him. Her heart hammered against her ribs, not from shame, but from a sudden, dizzying rush of validation. For years now, she had felt like the fat childhood friend whenever these kinds of topics came. But in a few sentences, Renji had reframed her entire insecurity as desirable.
[Target: Aihara Hina]
[Status: Stunned / Validated]
[Frustration Gauge: 10%]
[Heart Rate: Spiking]
[New Flag: Physical Awareness]
"Renji-kun..." she breathed.
"Drink the tea," Renji said, stepping back and breaking the spell before it became too intense and fired back. "Sugar helps with the shock, you know. I'll see you back in class."
He walked away, leaving her standing in the hallway, clutching the warm can to her chest.
As he turned the corner, he spotted Mika leaning against a locker, watching him. She had seen the entire thing.
Renji paused, but he didn't say anything. He just held up the second can of tea he was holding, tossed it gently through the air toward her, and kept walking.
Mika caught it. She looked at the can, then at Hina's blushing face down the hall, then at Renji's retreating back.
[Target: Nishimura Mika]
[Status: Impressed]
[Thought: "He actually handled that... not bad."]
Renji smirked silently as he headed back to the classroom.
'I am loving this life.'