Chapter 115: Kushida Kikyo's Dark Side!
"Mm."
"So, are you planning to abandon Ike and the others?"
"I'm guessing you still won't give up. You'll probably say... 'My brother just said we should prevent students from being expelled whenever possible because they may become useful someday.'"
Suzune glared at Yuto after he stole her line.
"Isn't that true?!"
"A moment ago, your excuse was that our class points might fall below zero."
"Now your excuse is that they might become useful someday."
Yuto rolled his eyes.
"Horikita, can't you simply admit you don't want to watch them get expelled?"
"Shut up!"
Yuto shook his head at Suzune's awkward expression.
She really was a hopeless tsundere.
It would have been one thing if she were merely tsundere, but she was also cold and arrogant.
That was why Sudo and the others had felt as though she were mocking them rather than helping them.
Most boys would not be able to tolerate her attitude.
"Horikita, you should honestly tell people what you're thinking."
"Otherwise, with your attitude and personality, people will constantly misunderstand your true intentions," Yuto said.
"..."
Suzune glanced at him without answering.
However, since she lightly nodded, she had probably taken his advice to heart.
Of course, listening to it was one thing.
Whether she could actually do it was another.
After all, if a tsundere could be honest, she would no longer be a tsundere.
"So you still don't intend to give up on teaching them?" Yuto asked.
"That's right... So, Shimizu, help me."
Yuto's mouth twitched.
He had wanted Suzune to become a little more honest, but he had not meant she should honestly ask him for help!
"Technically, I already helped."
"I sat in the library today to keep things under control, but Sudo and the others still left."
"What I need now is for you to find Kushida-san and ask her to gather Sudo and the others again tomorrow," Suzune said seriously.
Suzune had confronted Kikyo in the library earlier, so she certainly did not intend to ask Kikyo herself.
Even without that confrontation, she probably would not have personally asked Kikyo for help.
"That much I can do," Yuto readily agreed.
If he only needed to ask Kikyo for assistance rather than personally teach Sudo and the others, Yuto did not mind helping.
After all, he would not be the one persuading them to study.
Yuto sent Kikyo a message on Line.
Unexpectedly, several minutes passed, yet the message remained marked as unread.
That meant Kikyo had not noticed his message or checked Line.
Yuto found this strange.
Whenever he messaged Kikyo before, she would usually read it quickly and reply with her usual bright enthusiasm.
"Did she leave her phone somewhere?"
Yuto tried calling her, but the response said her phone had been switched off.
"Kikyo turned off her phone. Maybe the battery died," Yuto told Suzune.
"Is that so?"
"I saw her heading toward the first-year building earlier. Perhaps she returned to the classroom to study," Suzune said.
After leaving the library, Suzune had gone to the cafe.
Through its window, she had seen the expressionless Kikyo walking toward the first-year building.
So Suzune assumed she had returned to the classroom.
"Then I'll go check."
Yuto stood up.
He needed to return to the classroom and study with Kei anyway, so it was on the way.
"Take care."
"You aren't coming back to the classroom with me?" Yuto asked, raising an eyebrow at Suzune, who remained seated.
"No. I need to think of a better way to teach those three, since they lack even the most basic academic foundation."
"Then take your time thinking."
Yuto said goodbye and left.
Suzune remained in the cafe for about twenty more minutes.
When she finally decided to leave and tried to pay, the server informed her that her handsome companion had already covered the bill.
"...Why did he pay for me? How strange," Suzune muttered.
With slightly complicated emotions, she left the cafe.
...
As Yuto headed toward the first-year building, he spotted Kikyo through a second-floor window.
"The second floor is where Class C is, right?"
"What is Kikyo wandering around there for? Is she looking for a friend?"
While Yuto watched in surprise, Kikyo walked around the Class C corridor before heading toward the stairs.
A short while later, Yuto spotted her in the third-floor Class B corridor.
Since Kikyo's behavior seemed slightly unusual, Yuto remained outside and continued watching.
After circling the Class B corridor, she went up to Class A on the fourth floor.
Then she continued to the fifth floor, followed by the sixth...
"She isn't looking for a friend."
The fifth and sixth floors of the first-year building contained empty classrooms used to store miscellaneous items, desks, and chairs.
If Kikyo wanted to chat with a friend, she would not wander around those floors.
Yuto had no idea what she was doing.
Curious, he entered the building and climbed the stairs.
By the time he reached the seventh floor, he could hear faint footsteps above.
They probably belonged to Kikyo.
Beyond the seventh floor was the rooftop.
During lunch break, a teacher unlocked the rooftop so students could eat there.
But after school, the door was locked again.
'What is Kikyo doing on the rooftop at this hour?'
Yuto cautiously looked around the corner.
He saw Kikyo standing with her back toward him, facing the locked rooftop door.
The sight gave Yuto a faintly strange and unsettling feeling.
"Ah... This is so frustrating! Horikita Suzune is so damn annoying!"
Yuto heard Kikyo curse in a deliberately lowered voice.
It was nothing like her usual cheerful, warm tone.
Her voice carried intense resentment and dissatisfaction.
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
Was this the real personality Kikyo had always concealed beneath her cheerful mask?
"Horikita Suzune, you think you can put on airs just because you're pretty!"
"With that arrogant personality of yours, how could you possibly teach anyone?!"
"Just hurry up and die!"
Kikyo continued cursing Suzune under her breath.
Yuto's expression became strange.
Suzune had repeatedly said that Kikyo hated her.
But Yuto had not expected Kikyo to hate her this much.
Yuto took out his phone and switched it to silent mode.
He did not want some terrifying scene where his phone suddenly rang and exposed him.
When Yuto had once followed Suzune and Manabu, Chabashira's phone had rung and caused the Horikita siblings to discover them.
Kikyo continued venting her negative emotions through insults.
But because she was overwhelmed by anger and frustration, she fiercely kicked the rooftop door.
Bang!
The dull, heavy sound echoed throughout the stairwell.
Kikyo had not expected her kick to make such a loud noise.
A hint of panic appeared on her face.
She instinctively turned around to check whether anyone had noticed.
And then...
She saw Yuto's head peeking around the corner.
"!"
"?!"
Yuto had not expected Kikyo to suddenly turn around either.
Kikyo's heart first lurched when she noticed someone.
After recognizing Yuto, she became even more panicked.
"Yu... Yuto, what are you doing here?"
Hearing the complicated emotion in her voice, Yuto stepped out with a helpless expression.
"If I said I got lost and happened to come here, you probably wouldn't believe me, would you?"
Kikyo remained silent for a moment.
Her eyes locked tightly onto him.
"You heard everything just now, didn't you?!"
"If I said I heard nothing, would you believe me?"
"How could I believe that...?"
"Why did it have to be you? Why you of all people...?"
Kikyo muttered to herself.
Her expression shifted unpredictably as she staggered slightly toward Yuto.
To Yuto, Kikyo seemed as though she had completely fallen into darkness.
That was understandable.
The true face she had always hidden had been discovered by a classmate.
Worse, it had been seen by the person she least wanted to witness it.
Yuto did not retreat as Kikyo approached.
This matter needed to be settled here.
Otherwise, an enormous rift would form between them.
That could not happen.
Kikyo was currently Yuto's most useful helper—his convenient tool.
Many matters in Class D required her to step forward and handle them.
No matter what, Yuto needed to stabilize her.
Kikyo stopped in front of Yuto with her head lowered, preventing him from seeing her expression.
"Yuto, don't move."
Kikyo grabbed his wrist tightly and raised his hand.
She then opened his fingers one by one, forcing his palm to remain spread.
Yuto did not resist and allowed her to manipulate his hand.
However, a strange, beautiful light had appeared in his black-and-white eyes.
Since Kikyo kept her head lowered, she did not notice the unusual glow capable of seeing through people's hearts.
After fully spreading Yuto's palm, Kushida gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and pressed his hand firmly against her chest.
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound of a heart racing wildly echoed in the stairwell of the seventh floor. But it wasn't the heart of Yuto, who had just grasped Kushida's inner self—it was Kushida's own heart pounding in her chest.
Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath, suppressing her shame, nervousness, dread, and anxiety, before speaking in a low voice.
"This way, Yuto, your fingerprints are all over my school uniform. If you tell anyone about what just happened, I'll tell the school that you..."
"Molested you?" Yuto replied with a faint, knowing smile, his eyes shimmering with a strange, beautiful light.
"Ah? Yes, exactly... you molested me!"
[I could probably even threaten Yuto into becoming my boyfriend... No!]
[It might work, but I can't!]
[If I want everyone to like me, I must remain single.]
[Otherwise, the boys won't keep fantasizing about me, and if those troublesome girls learned Yuto was my boyfriend, they would become jealous and cut ties with me.]
Kikyo understood better than anyone that she could never become Yuto's girlfriend.
Ever since Kei had become Yuto's girlfriend, Kikyo had heard many girls jealously criticizing her.
To preserve her relationships with both boys and girls, Kikyo could not date anyone.
She certainly could not threaten Yuto into becoming her boyfriend.
Yuto looked strangely at Kikyo while continuing to read her thoughts.
If Kikyo discovered that Yuto had heard every thought passing through her mind, she might fall even further into darkness.
Yuto hated being threatened.
But for some reason, he could not bring himself to hate Kikyo's threat.
He only felt pity.
To remain liked by everyone, Kikyo constantly wore a cheerful, friendly mask.
She approached people first, exchanged contact information, and invited them to cafes and the student cafeteria.
Maintaining a smile while talking and spending time with people she barely knew was exhausting for both mind and spirit.
It was remarkable that Kikyo had endured it for so long.
Yuto tried to pull back his hand, but Kikyo continued holding it firmly.
"Kikyo, you already have my fingerprints. You should let go."
"No. They aren't clear enough yet!"
[This is probably the last time Yuto will ever let me touch him.]
[He'll definitely hate me from now on...]
Yuto helplessly shook his head while maintaining his mind-reading ability, but Kikyo pressed down on it firmly, preventing him from doing so.
"Kikyo, you've already got the fingerprint. You can let go now."
"No, it's not clear enough!"
[This is probably the last time I'll ever touch Yuto... He'll definitely hate me after this…]
Still able to read her mind, Yuto shook his head helplessly. He leaned down slightly and pulled Kushida Kikyo into a hug.
"Eh!?"
Kushida Kikyo, whose face had been gloomy just a moment before, froze. Yuto's scent completely enveloped her, and a blush crept across her cheeks as her body went soft in his arms.
"W-what are you doing?!" She cried out, her voice a mix of shame and anger. Yet, despite her flustered protest, she made no effort to pull away from his embrace.
She remained held in Yuto's arms, without struggling.
…
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