I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

It had been two days since we visited Tojo Karen’s house and personally put her through special training.
“Sakamoto Ryuji! I have something to say to you!”

That morning, the atmosphere in the class was slightly different.
Naturally so—because instead of the usual Tojo barging in to pick a fight, a beautiful girl we had never seen before slammed the classroom door open.
Softly waved red bob cut, long lashes, eyes big and moist like a deer’s.

She had light pink lipstick on her lips, and for the first time ever, she wore a black hairpin in her bangs, neatly revealing her forehead.
Only three days ago, she’d looked like a tomboy—but now, Tojo Karen had transformed completely into a textbook beauty, and when she walked into the class, the students of Class 2-B, realizing who she was, were utterly shocked.
“Whoa, whoa, is this real? The plain old jock girl we knew turns out to be an ultra-beauty?! What kind of twist is this?!”

“…Do you even hear yourself?”
“You’re such a gross otaku.”
“Stop! Don’t give me those cold stares! Don’t move away! Don’t change seats! Don’t run!”

As the idiot trio began publicly falling apart in real time, I silently watched Tojo Karen, reborn under Kishimoto’s guidance, walk proudly to stand in front of Sakamoto Ryuji, who sat by the window.
In her hand was not a pink love letter, but a white sheet of paper boldly labeled “challenge letter” in stylish cursive.
Tojo Karen thrust it right into Sakamoto’s chest.

“What’s this?”
“A challenge letter.”
Tojo Karen said that, crossing her arms confidently.

“This weekend, you’re going on a date with me in Shibuya.”
Even with a different appearance, that brutish tone of hers never changes.
Her confident declaration of a date set the whole class ablaze.

Naturally, Yaguchi Maiya, Sakamoto Ryuji’s childhood friend, wasn’t about to stay quiet.
“Wh-What are you saying?! A sudden date proposal like this?! That’s way too rude!”
“Back off, Yaguchi. This is between me and Sakamoto.”
“I… I have every reason to be involved, okay?!”

“And what are you to Sakamoto?”
Yaguchi was momentarily at a loss for words.
She hesitated before replying,

“We’ve known each other since we were kids! That gives me the right to butt in, doesn’t it?!”
“If I become his girlfriend, that’ll settle everything.”
As the two locked horns and launched into a catfight, Sakamoto stood there awkwardly holding what was supposedly a challenge letter—a love letter—and tried to say something.

“Uh, hey…”
Tojo promptly cut him off and shook her head.
“I’ll hear your answer this weekend. If you’re a man, don’t run away.”

Maybe it was because her aura was just that overwhelming?
“F-Fine.”
And just like that, Sakamoto gave a vague, half-hearted agreement.

After getting his answer, Tojo coolly turned and walked away.
But I saw it.
Her face, as she turned around, was already red like a ripe apple.

She’d forced herself to act bold in front of everyone, but it was clear she was holding back the crushing embarrassment of making a public date proposal.
As she headed toward the back door, I silently gave her a thumbs-up.
And with her stiff, robotic steps, she seemed to spot me, gave a faint smile, and nodded.

Even though I know how the original story ends, I couldn’t help but want to root for her from the sidelines.
Well done, Tojo Karen.
Go steal the protagonist’s heart just like that.

***
“Karen-chan’s confession was no joke! That was sheer firepower!”
“R-Really?”

Lunchtime. Tojo Karen ended up naturally eating lunch with us, and at Kishimoto’s compliment, she twisted her hair shyly.
Knowing how wild and unruly her hair had been until recently, I found myself drawn to the sudden shine in her locks.
“Huh? Oh, you mean this? Yesterday I asked my dad and went to one of those salons celebrities go to. I don’t know the exact cost, but it seemed like it was pretty expensive.”

Okay, respect.
There’s almost nothing in this world that can’t be solved with money.
Then, as she slurped on her salty cup ramen, Kishimoto asked,

“By the way, have you decided what outfit you’re wearing for the date? You can’t show up to a date in your school uniform.”
Tojo suddenly averted her eyes and stammered like the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“Uh… not yet.”

“Then let’s go buy something after school! I’ll pick out the perfect outfit for Karen-chan!”
“Rika…!”
Tojo looked at Kishimoto with teary eyes.

Like she’d just found a friend for life.
Girls going shopping together had nothing to do with me, so I just silently continued eating my bento—until Kishimoto called me again.
“Obviously, Ryuu-chan’s coming too, right?”

“…Me?”
“Yup! You’re one of Karen-chan’s comrades helping her with her crush!”
The way she emphasized the word “comrade” made it clear she was sealing off any escape routes in advance.

I wanted to come up with an excuse to avoid being dragged to the mall to play bag boy, but I couldn’t think of anything.
Besides, even if I refused, I had a feeling I’d suffer for it later.
“Fine. Let’s go. Let’s go…”

Another day of coming home late.
***
After school, we took the subway to the nearest shopping district—Shibuya—to buy Tojo’s date outfit.

Shibuya.
The so-called district of youth and fashion.
Ranked alongside Ikebukuro and Shinjuku as one of Tokyo’s three major sub-centers, it wasn’t more than a few stops away from Minato Ward, where our school was.

Most of the people walking the streets were in their 20s or 30s, all dressed in flashy clothes that showed off their individuality.
Sure, we were students, so wearing uniforms [N O V E L I G H T] wasn’t weird—but compared to those people, our plainness stood out like a sore thumb, and that was enough to make anyone shrink back.
“Ryuu-chan, people keep staring over here.”

“That’s because of you two.”
“No way. I don’t think that’s it at all.”
Tojo glanced sideways at me as she said that, then casually stuffed her hands into her pockets and took in Shibuya’s dazzling scenery.

“So, where should we go first? I don’t really come to places like this, so I have no idea.”
Then Kishimoto, who had dragged us here in the first place, smiled brightly and confessed,
“I don’t know either!”

“What? You’re the one who said we should come here!”
“I lived in Shizuoka until recently, so I don’t know this place! Even now, I get totally lost on the subway without Ryuu-chan!”
I knew something was off ever since she forced me into this shopping party.

Turns out they didn’t want a pack mule—they wanted a GPS.
Judging by how they looked at me, it was clear I had more experience with Shibuya than they did. I let out a quiet sigh and nodded.
“Then let’s head to Tokyu Department Store first.”

“Oh! Good idea!”
If you’re not sure where to go, it’s always safest to pick a place that has everything in one spot.
And since these girls were rich, they wouldn’t have a problem shopping at a department store anyway.

Because the two of them didn’t know the way, I took the lead and began walking ahead.
As we went deeper into the crowd, I could feel more and more eyes on us, but I deliberately ignored them.
If I got bothered by every little thing, I wouldn’t be able to survive.

Soon, we entered one of Shibuya’s iconic areas—the Scramble Crossing.
***
The Tokyu Department Store was a massive shopping complex with eight aboveground floors and one underground level.

With hundreds of shops inside, it was always a solid option when you didn’t know where else to go in Shibuya.
We took the escalator from the first floor up to the third, which was dedicated to women’s clothing.
The entire floor was made up of women’s fashion stores, so from a guy’s perspective, it was hard not to feel uncomfortable.

A glance around revealed lingerie stores and swimsuit shops too.
It felt like I had trespassed into forbidden territory.
Still, the mission today was to buy an outfit for Tojo’s date, so I had no choice but to come along.

“Oh! That dress is cute! So is that one!”
Like a fish returned to water, Kishimoto—the former fashion model—darted from rack to rack with sparkling eyes.
Tojo, who’d been dragged along, didn’t seem used to this, but she wasn’t exactly unhappy either.

Hands in my pockets, I quietly followed behind them.
Eventually, they entered a luxury brand shop.
Once inside, Kishimoto immediately grabbed a few outfits and held them up against Tojo’s body, then pushed her toward the fitting room to try them on.

Swept up by Kishimoto’s commanding energy—so unlike her usual self—Tojo stumbled into the fitting room in a daze.
Soon after, we heard her startled voice from inside.
“Wait! This kind of cutesy style doesn’t suit me at all!”

Kishimoto turned to me and said, “Just wait here a sec,” before boldly stepping into the fitting room herself.
“R-Rika?!”
“Shush! Let your big sis handle everything!”

“W-Wait, that’s a sensitive area! Be gentle!”
The kind of dialogue you’d hear in a romantic comedy played out behind the curtain. About five minutes later, Kishimoto stepped out looking completely satisfied.
“Tojo?”

“She’ll be out in a sec.”
Just as she said, we soon heard rustling behind the curtain, and then Tojo stepped out—not in her school uniform, but in different clothes.
“Rika, this skirt is way too short…”

Tojo, blushing hard in her frilly outfit, looked incredibly embarrassed, but Kishimoto only smiled and glanced at me.
“What do you think?”
“It suits her.”

And I wasn’t just saying that to be nice.
They say clothes make the person—and for once, I believed it.