I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me

Secrets are meant to be revealed 13

The classroom buzzed for a moment, with Yassan almost standing up, but the Sensei, known for grading based on classroom behavior, quickly calmed everyone with a ‘quiet’, and all eyes turned to Gossan.

I was among them. Seeing her familiar sailor uniform, I felt a profound sense of relief.

Her complexion was indistinguishable due to her naturally dark gorilla skin. However, her posture was straight and her walk was dignified, so she didn’t appear to be unwell. The only change was that instead of her usual yellow hair ornament, she was wearing a white floral hairpin.

Gossan was about to head towards the podium instead of her seat, but upon the math teacher’s command, ‘I’m speaking. Take your seat’, she complied and sat down in her usual seat.

I found myself glancing at her repeatedly out of the corner of my eye. To put it another way, that was all I could do. I couldn’t speak to her during class, and I was also anxious about whether it was even okay to talk to her at all.

As I was lost in thought, the class ended in the blink of an eye, and before the chime had finished ringing, Sensei left the classroom with only the words, ‘Make sure to review properly’.

At the same time, several girls from the class approached the latecomer Gossan and asked,

“——Could you come with me for a bit?”

Before anyone could speak further, Gossan, who had stood up, grabbed my right elbow and asked,

“Would you mind coming with me?”

Taken aback by the unexpected invitation, I blinked rapidly and looked up at Gossan,

“…Uh?”

“I’ll take that as consent. Let’s go then.”

“H-huh? Gossan, you mean we’re going… Ah, what about lunch!?”

“We’ll have it after if there’s time. If there’s no time, we’ll skip it.”

While saying this mercilessly, Gossan pulled my arm and took me out of the classroom, unconcerned by the surrounding attention.

Gossan led me, still confused, down the corridor and the stairs to the entrance, where we changed shoes. Of course, that wasn’t the final destination. Still gripping my arm, she led me outside the school building.

“Huh…!?”

As we passed by a group of senior boys returning from PE, a brown-striped cat among them noticed us.

“Ah…”

However, before I could figure out how to respond, I was pulled away by Gossan’s uncharacteristically strong gorilla power, and Tora-senpai was out of sight. With that outfit, she probably didn’t have her smartphone on her, so sending an SOS was out of the question.

After all that, the place we ended up at, which I had suspected from halfway there, was the rooftop of the old school building, the scene of yesterday’s incident.

Until we got there, Gossan was almost silent. She only gave concise instructions and neither spoke further nor looked at me.

“Well then——let’s make this quick.”

Muttering this, Gossan let go of my arm and began to check if the rooftop was empty.

But I still couldn’t quite grasp the reason for being brought here so conspicuously.

Could there really be something that important for me, whom she had been disappointed with?

After checking that there was no one hiding in any blind spots, Gossan faced me again.

“My business with you will be over quickly. I just want to hit Saiki-kun once.”

“Oh, uh… is that because you’re still angry about yesterday’s incident…?”

“Something like that. However, can I just confirm one thing before I do it?”

“Ah, sure. Go ahead.”

While I was extremely curious about Gossan clenching and unclenching her hands, I understood her anger and was ready to accept it. Even if it wasn’t a slap but a punch… I could handle it on the body, but if it hit my face, I might break a tooth or bone… I really hope it doesn’t come to that.

…No, maybe it’s a wound that will scar me for life, and I should be prepared for a hospital visit. I’m desperately holding back the urge to cry from fear.

So, what does Gossan want to ask…!?

“——Did you notice anything different about me today?”

“…Uh?”

I had expected it to be about the issues with Tora-senpai, the curse, or the fact that I said I liked her, but I was completely off the mark.

But… something different about Gossan today?

She looks like the usual gorilla to me…?

There’s a sense of resolve about her, but that’s just my perception. Isn’t there something more obviously different?

If I had to say, it would be the different hair ornament…? Other than that, she’s in her normal sailor uniform, her complexion is gorilla so I can’t tell, and there’s no difference like bandages on the exposed parts of her arms and legs…

“What’s the matter? Don’t you understand what I want to say?”

“Uh… any hints?”

“No hints… I’d like to say, but I’ll give you one, with a thirty-second time limit.”

A quiz show-like condition came my way. Is she angry or just in the mood for it? Which is it?

“Ugh… Alright. Please, give me a good hint…!”

“The correct answer is not something internal. It’s something visible to the eye.”

“…”

I can only see a gorilla…!

No good, even after looking carefully, it’s still the usual gorilla. If anything, it feels even more imposing than usual.

“Ten seconds left.”

With a dispassionate and merciless announcement, my panic only increased. This is bad, this is bad, I’m already admitting I don’t know by asking for a hint, which is a bad impression, and if I don’t get it right now, I’m really in for a face-punching…!

Wait, but could the hair ornament be the right answer? There’s nothing else, right? If it’s makeup or nails, I wouldn’t be able to tell, so it would be a complete gamble.

What else, is there anything else different…

“——Time’s up. Your answer, please.”

“Ugh… the hair ornament is different from usual!”

I almost took a wild guess, but since there was one clear option, I decided to go with the only thing I knew was different—the hair ornament.

With my heart pounding, Gossan’s response was,

“That’s incorrect. It’s not what I wanted you to notice.”

“Ugh… I see…”

“Then, let’s get this over with quickly. Close your eyes and mouth, and put your hands behind your back. I’ll ask you the same question again afterward.”

“…What’s that, it’s super scary…! And it won’t end until I get it right…?”

“Just hurry up. We’re running out of lunchtime.”

Whether I would be in any state to eat properly even if there was time was more of a concern.

…But if this clears up Gossan’s mood a bit, I’m ready to sacrifice a lunch or two, or rather, a molar or two.

Bracing myself, I tightly closed my eyes.

“…Alright, bring it on! Whoa, not knowing the timing makes it even scarier…!”

“Quiet. I’m going to slap you.”

I wanted to retort with something, but I kept my mouth shut. If I got hit while talking, I might bite my tongue.

Trembling with fear, I clasped my hands behind my back, gritted my teeth, and braced for the impact.

In my closed-off vision, I could hear faint footsteps. I felt a presence looming before me, and I tensed my jaw and abs, ready for whatever was to come, when suddenly──

A soft, moist sensation was pressed against my lips.

——I didn’t understand what had happened at first. It was a sensation I had never felt before, and I had been expecting either a punch or a slap, so it was a complete surprise.

“What was that just now——!?”

As I asked, my voice cracking, I opened my eyes to see,