Chapter 624 - A Reputation I Did Not Ask For
(MC POV)
After Tsuki's outburst, things went back to normal for the next few lessons until it was time for lunch.
"Hey, Onii-san."
I turned towards the distinctly not-Tsuki and also masculine voice to realise that it was one of Tsuki's friends grinning at me.
Taiyo Nishimura, ace of the school's baseball team. His parents run a florist chain that was quite famous in this area and he used to be teased by the other boys during his first year for it. That was until Valentine's day came about that year and his bullies realised they could not get flowers for their girlfriends anywhere because he had his parents blacklist them from their stores.
Tsuki was especially descriptive of the scene of several boys performing a dogeza in front of Nishimura-san just to get him to lift the ban on them.
He also has a massive crush on Tsuki but he knows she does not feel the same way for him.
Normally one might expect him to resent me since it's obvious I was the target of Tsuki's affections but it seems like he wholeheartedly respects me as her brother instead.
The other me never found out why but a quick check with my powers revealed that Hiroto had helped his parents out with the local yakuza and brought them under our protection. So he was one of the few who knew about my involvement with the underworld without me revealing it to them.
And before you ask, yes, I did background checks on everyone around Tsuki like a good brother should. I may even know more about them than they do themselves.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "Why 'Onii-san'?"
He scratched his cheek, "Umm… Even though you're our classmate now… It still feels weird to call you anything other than that… If you don't mind, of course?"
I shook my head, "Of course not, just call me whatever you're comfortable with. So what's up, Nishimura-kun?"
"I was wondering if Onii-san is alright being here? I mean… You do have your businesses to run…"
"Oh, don't worry about it. I have capable people under me to take care of things. So capable in fact that I actually have nothing to do."
That's also not me being lazy. It reached a point where Hiroto and Yumi took so much pride in their work that if I were to step in, they would take it as a sign that they were doing their work inadequately and forced me to step in.
Those two can be quite inconsolable when that happens so I decided to just take a step back.
I don't really want to say it, but a lot of my people started seeing me as some god-like being after the subjugation of the Kashima Family.
I feel like this is becoming a pattern.
He chuckled, "Ahahaha! I see, I see. I do have to warn Onii-san though, you're quite famous in our school so be prepared."
"Eh? What do you mean?" I muttered, surprised.
I never bothered to check my own reputation after all, so of course I would be surprised by this news. Though I can just check it now, I can just ask him about it since he brought it up.
"Eh? Does Onii-san not know? Oh… Umm… I don't know if I should tell you then…" He muttered, glancing towards Tsuki's direction.
"Why? What does it have anything to do with Tsuki?"
"Everything~" A feminine voice perked up from behind me.
"Fujiwara-kun," I greeted the bubbly girl, another of Tsuki's close friends.
Michiko Fujiwara. To others she's the energetic and fashionable gyaru girl who was always optimistic and never really taking things seriously. To me, I know she's a victim of physical abuse where her father would sometimes beat her when he's drunk. The 'fashionable' long sleeve clothes she wears were just to hide her bruises and the smile hides the pain behind her eyes.
Why won't I help her? I see no benefit in doing so, that's why. What's more, all this is just an alternate world anyway, the real Fujiwara is outside of this world and has already moved on from this.
However, if Tsuki asks me to help her, I would do so in a heartbeat.
She smiled at me, "Most of the rumours surrounding Onii-san stem from Tsuki-chan after all. Are you sure you want to hear about it?"
I shrugged, "I prefer to know stuff, so just lay it on me."
She giggled, "Well… Let's start with the most famous one. Most people around know Onii-san as 'the devilishly charming young man who waits by the school gate everyday'."
Huh?
"Then there's the 'really caring older brother who might be a sis-con', which evolved into 'the really rich and handsome older brother who is a sis-con' after your stunt with Aoki-san."
Wait, there were others who witnessed that? They must have been inside the school building and were watching from there.
"There are some minor ones like 'that detestable man at the gate', 'that damned princess stealing dragon', 'the older brother I wish to have', 'the older brother I want head pats from', 'the older brother I want to marry' and 'the older brother I want to beep'. Really minor ones like that."
That sounds just as big as the previous ones! I've only ever came here to pick up and drop off Tsuki before, you know? I never interacted with anyone else for more than a minute short of waving at people who wave at me when they see me, how the hell did I create such a reputation for myself?!
I looked accusingly at the girl, "Don't tell me…"
Fujiwara raised her hands defensively, "Woah there, I had nothing to do with those rumours, Onii-san. Tsuki-chan is known in our school as 'the beautiful ice princess' you know? She even has her own fan club. So when you first appeared, the guys were all really, really jealous and did all they could to find out who you were. They thought you were like her boyfriend from another school."
Nishimura nodded his head, "They almost wanted to wait at the gates to question you but Tsuki-san found out about it and… Well… She was not happy."
"What did she do?"
Fujiwara waved her hand, "Oh nothing serious, really. She just gave them her signature death glare and they all scurried away like the rats they are, ahahaha!"
Signature death glare? My Tsuki has such a thing? The only thing I can imagine coming from her is a cute pout with puffed cheeks that would just be screaming at me to pinch.
I turned to look at Tsuki and she was busy hiding her face with her textbooks. I can still see your ears are red, you know?
Oh well… If things prove to be troublesome, I can just make some people disappear so there's not much to worry about.
It's interesting how things are panning out in this world already. I have absolutely no regrets enrolling as a high school student now.
It kind of reminds me of my time in my original world where I was studying cultivation.
"Since it's lunchtime, shall we go eat together?" I suggested.
Tsuki was instantly by my side and grabbing my arm, "Let's go Aniue! Let's go!"
She definitely has her priorities straight at least...