Chapter 23

“High School Boys and Eavesdropping” is the 23rd chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
End scene of Chapter 22. The Student Council President lies defeated on the floor, while East High students tidy up around him.

Detailed Summary
Tadakuni is walking home one evening, when he notices two figures sitting on a stairway. He recognizes them from behind as Hidenori and Yoshitake, and wonders what they talk about when he’s not around. He quickly gets to the side of the stairway and hides himself. To his surprise, they’re talking about something incomprehensible involving the appearance of a fish-human and the death of someone’s younger brother in an accident. He is completely unable to understand them. After a while, they start talking dirty, making him uncomfortable.

He wonders if they hold back in front of him and gets annoyed when they continue on for a while. Suddenly, they switch to politics and one of them brings up the completion of the ‘Sano Cannon’, but the other protests that the shells would never reach the meteorites. This confuses Tadakuni even more and he notices that this never comes up when they converse either.

He thinks to himself that they may not be that close after all and that it feels like he hasn’t seen them in a month. The two on the stairs then get up to leave. Tadakuni, wanting to be better friends with them, runs out and calls to their backs. They stop in their tracks.

The two turn around, and Tadakuni sees that they aren’t Yoshitake and Hidenori at all, but merely two lookalikes. Startled, he yells at them, asking who they are.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Ringo's underling (cover)
 * The Student Council President (cover)
 * Ikushima (cover)
 * Tadakuni
 * The Lookalikes