もののけ | monster | soshiro hoshina (Kaiju No. 8) (COMPLETE)

ご | five

もののけ | kaiju | monster

05

Soshiro

TOKYO NEUTRALIZATION HIGH SCHOOL

"WELL, IF IT ISN'T THE MUSHROOM HEAD," came the familiar taunt in a playful tone. The person beside me, with his usual smirk, continued to speak. "Ack, just looking at you is enough to ruin my day."

I rolled my eyes at his silly remarks, smirking as I did so. That smirk was enough to put him on edge, and I saw him make a "tch" sound, clearly annoyed. This was Gen Narumi, one of the most serious guys I knew. But after spending nearly two years with him, I had come to realize that beneath that stern exterior, he hid a lazy and child-like personality. He overreacted when slightly annoyed by something, and that "something" was often me. I enjoyed pushing his buttons.

"Is that all you've got today, Gen?" I teased, leaning casually against the wall. "You'll have to do better than that."

He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly irritated. "You know, Soshiro, sometimes I wonder how someone as insufferable as you ended up being my seatmate for two years straight, especially since I can't even stand you."

I chuckled softly, shaking my head. "You love having me around. Admit it. Your days would be way too boring without me to liven things up."

Gen huffed, crossing his arms. "In your dreams, mushroom head."

I ignored him and continued reading my book, savoring the rare moment of peace. He arrived so suddenly, the tranquility was shattered as he stomped over and plopped beside me, effectively ruining my peaceful reading. I noticed in my peripheral vision his eyes scanning the room, as if he were looking for something or someone. My smirk widened.

Gen and I were complete opposites, and we despised each other. But we did share one thing in common: our interest in Kiyomi. That made him my rival in more ways than one.

Without looking up from my book, I said, "She's not here."

"I'm not even asking you," he shot back.

I chuckled, still not glancing at him. "Sure, you're not. Just aimlessly scanning the room like a lost puppy, right?"

Gen glared at me. "I could care less where she is. Unlike you, I don't spend my life obsessing over her."

"Oh really?" I replied, finally looking up from my book to meet his annoyed gaze. "Because it seems like you're always conveniently where she might be."

He scoffed. "And you're not? You've got this whole stalker vibe going on, Soshiro. It's creepy."

"Stalker vibe?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "Coming from the guy who just disrupted my reading session to do exactly what? Hope Kiyomi magically appears? We're not even classmates on this class, Gen."

Gen rolled his eyes. "At least I'm not pretending to be some intellectual just to impress her."

I laughed at that. "Please, you wouldn't know an intellectual if one smacked you in the face. Besides, I read because I enjoy it. You should try it sometime. Might help you with your temper."