After finishing today's tutoring session, Kaoru checked his phone again.
The other party had replied, claiming they were completely fine.
Whether that was true or not, Kaoru wasn't planning to take her word for it.
He'd still visit her tonight.
However, it seemed he wasn't the only one with this idea.
No sooner had Kaoru returned to his dorm than he spotted someone crouched at his doorway—knees drawn to her chest, face completely buried, leaving only her high ponytail swaying in the breeze.
"Unless I'm mistaken, the girls' floors start from the 9th floor and above, right?"
At his voice, Amikura Mako looked up, her beautiful eyes refocusing on his face.
She bit her lip slightly. "Honami-chan is in trouble."
"You mean today's rumors?" Kaoru had actually been curious about Class B's reaction too, but no matter how he asked, Ichinose Honami refused to tell him.
"Want to continue this inside?"
Amikura Mako instinctively tried to stand, but her legs had gone numb from crouching for so long.
Dizzy, she nearly lost her balance, saved only by Kaoru's quick support.
"How long have you been crouching here waiting for me?" Kaoru asked somewhat exasperatedly.
Amikura Mako didn't answer, her face slightly red.
She couldn't very well admit she'd been waiting here for half an hour, could she?
"Next time just message me. It's not like I won't reply."
"But your replies are always so weird... Every time it's 'show me your legs' or something..."
"..."
Kaoru fell silent.
Amikura Mako pushed him away while blushing.
Now she finally understood why he always wanted to see legs—he was a genuine foot fetishist pervert.
Opening his dorm door, Kaoru entered first.
Amikura Mako hesitated at the threshold for a long moment before finally following him inside.
"Excuse me." The girl bent down at the entrance, her fingers lightly hooking her shoes as her feet, wrapped in white calf socks, slipped out of the small leather shoes.
Her slightly flushed ankles slowly stepped onto the polished floor, her five toes like a row of tiny pearls yet tinged with an enticing pinkish hue that drew attention.
Amikura Mako placed her shoes neatly to the side, then noticed Kaoru staring at her, causing her cheeks to flush.
Was she walking right into the lion's den?
Still, the only person she could trust right now was Kaoru.
Mako stepped further into the room, unconsciously taking in her surroundings.
This was her first time in a boy's room—it was cleaner and tidier than she had imagined, with no strange objects in sight.
It seemed utterly ordinary.
"The rumors started today, right? What's the situation in your class?"
"Yeah, everyone's really worried about Honami-chan. Kanzaki-kun and the others are even trying to find out who started the rumors."
"So, none of you believe Ichinose would steal anything?"
Mako gave Kaoru a puzzled look
. "Isn't that normal? There's no way Honami-chan would do something like that."
Kaoru thought back to Mako's own situation—of course Class B wouldn't believe such things.
They probably assumed someone was pulling the same old tricks again.
But he didn't pursue the topic. Instead, he turned and asked.
"Make yourself comfortable. Want something to drink?"
"No, thanks." Mako hesitated, glancing around before finally sitting at the table.
"Even though everyone's comforting Honami-chan, I can tell she's really down. On the way back, she was almost completely silent."
Kaoru was quiet for a moment.
"Hypothetically speaking… if Ichinose really did something like that, how would you feel?"
Mako blinked, then seriously considered the question before answering.
"Even if that were true, I wouldn't hate Honami-chan. The Honami-chan I know would never be the kind of disgusting, hateful criminal people are making her out to be."
"Why?" Kaoru asked.
"Because we're friends. Even if she did steal something, I know she'd feel guilty about it. As her friend, what else can I do besides help her correct her mistakes?" Mako said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Kaoru chuckled softly. "You should say that to Ichinose's face. I guarantee she'd feel better immediately."
Mako fell silent for a long time before finally gathering her courage and locking eyes with Kaoru.
"I want to ask you for a favor."
"Me?" Kaoru was puzzled.
"Can you help me find out who started the rumors?" Mako bit her lip.
"And… could you also help Honami-chan a little?"
Was her past experience making her overly protective of Ichinose Honami?
Just as Kaoru was about to respond, she continued, "If possible… I'd like you to break up with Honami-chan."
In an instant, the room fell silent.
Kaoru could hear his own heartbeat—and see the determination in the girl's eyes.
"Why would you say that?"
Considering their recent outing, it wasn't surprising that he and Ichinose Honami had been mistaken for a couple.
Not to mention, Amikura Mako knew he already had a girlfriend.
"Because you cheated on Honami-chan, you can't have a girlfriend and still harass other girls," Amikura Mako said seriously.
"Even if it's just lustful thoughts, you absolutely cannot act on them with other girls."
When she heard that Kaoru and Ichinose Honami had gone out on a date alone, her mind went completely blank for a long moment before she could recover.
The instant she regained her composure, Amikura Mako immediately sent a message to Ichinose Honami, probing for information while also trying to see if Ichinose knew about the bad things Kaoru had done to Kiryūin Fūka.
The result was that Ichinose Honami was extremely vague and showed no reaction to the latter at all.
Clearly, she had been deceived and knew nothing about the other side of Kaoru.
For a moment, Amikura Mako felt disheartened.
She was truly serious now and didn't want Kaoru to keep playing with Ichinose's feelings.
"Are you talking about my relationship with Kiryūin-senpai?" Kaoru wasnt angry; instead, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't know why Honami-chan chose to date you, but this kind of thing… this kind of thing is absolutely unacceptable." Amikura Mako was getting angry, not just because of his laughter but also because she regretted her own actions.
Kaoru thought for a moment and then said, "No, Honami is very important to me."
"Why?" Amikura Mako frowned. "Don't tell me you're just obsessed with Honami-chan's body?"
Had his image in her eyes really become this terrible?
But then again, she wasn't entirely wrong.
"That was part of it at first, but things are different now," Kaoru fell into thought.
"Maybe she woke me up, made me realize I can't keep going like this, or I'll just keep falling into one cycle after another."
Amikura Mako didn't understand what he was saying, but she grasped the first part.
She took a deep breath, as if making some kind of resolution.
"I see. Then let me satisfy your lustful thoughts instead."