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★★★
"You…"
Kushida looked at Hachiman nervously, feeling a bit guilty.
She couldn't let anyone see her in this state.
Otherwise, the 'Kushida Empire' she wanted to build, where everyone trusted her and became her friend, would instantly crumble.
And the problem wasn't just that.
Not only was her true nature exposed.
Moreover.
She had just cursed Horikita, and then Hachiman.
And, she cursed Horikita first, then Hachiman.
Which meant, it was highly likely that he had heard it.
So, what should she do?
Would he be angry?
Or would he use her true nature as a threat?
Kushida didn't want either of those options right now.
Rather.
She was a little panicked.
Because revealing, exposing, or having her true nature known by everyone, this wasn't the first time for her.
Was it going to be the same even after coming to this school?
"Hikigaya—" Kushida quickly reverted to her usual cute expression.
"Um, when did you get here?" Kushida maintained her usual Little Angel demeanor, probing cautiously.
She hoped that he hadn't heard anything, and hadn't seen her breakdown just now.
Then she would still be safe.
"…" Hikigaya.
But Hikigaya didn't say anything.
Kushida, however, actively stepped forward.
"Hikigaya—" Kushida probably got close, and there was a fragrant scent about her.
Only.
Hikigaya walked right past her.
?
Kushida was a little surprised.
Because Hikigaya's reaction was completely different from what she had imagined.
He wasn't angry, nor surprised, nor did he want to use this as a threat to expose her.
Instead.
"Bang—!"
Hachiman walked straight towards the seaside railing without looking sideways, then kicked the railing, emitting a dull thud.
Hachiman's strength was completely incomparable to Kushida's; the loud sound startled Kushida.
Although she was very bitchy, and incredibly dark.
But she was just an ordinary girl.
Her physical strength couldn't surpass a boy's.
If Hachiman were to lay a hand on her here, she would absolutely be unable to resist.
And now, was Hikigaya trying to get rough?
Kushida felt it was a miscalculation.
She shouldn't have come out today.
And as she thought this.
"Kushida, that bitch!"
"Just because she's cute and good at studies, she acts so arrogant all day long, does she think everyone will like her?"
"Why doesn't someone like Kushida just die! Die, die, die!"
"Bitch, that bitch Kushida…"
Hachiman kicked the railing while cursing.
And Kushida's expression changed from serious to surprised, and then to distressed.
Because, those were exactly the words she had used to curse Horikita earlier.
Hachiman deliberately repeated her words, kicking the railing in front of her and repeating her actions to curse her.
It was a provocation, and also a statement of fact—'I saw everything'.
And he had started listening from when she cursed Horikita, which meant he must have heard everything she said when she cursed him.
And this was indeed the worst possible outcome.
Her true nature was exposed, and at the same time, he would find a way to retaliate against her.
"So, what do you want to do!"
Kushida's cute demeanor, which she had just maintained, had already reverted to the darkened state she was in when kicking the railing.
Rather, perhaps this was her true self.
"If you want me to drop out, it's useless. You want to get into Class A, right? And the classmates, it's not just me saying it, need someone to act as a binder."
"So, I am necessary." Kushida said.
Huh?
But Hachiman blinked.
He seemed a little surprised by her audacity.
Because.
Her secret had just been discovered, and now, Kushida, you're displaying a strong attitude.
Don't you know you're in a major crisis right now?!
So.
Hikigaya took out his phone.
"Just now, I recorded it." Hachiman said. "I recorded you cursing Horikita."
"What do you think." Hachiman said, "Would happen if I sent this recording to Horikita Suzune right now?"
As he spoke.
Hachiman held his phone, his face showing little expression.
But this gesture was terrifying.
Kushida's eyes instantly widened.
Because.
Oh my god.
She had only just come here to vent, and she had started by cursing Horikita Suzune, and now he had recorded all of it.
And the recording included her cursing Horikita, so if this recording were exposed to Horikita.
Her "friendship" with Horikita would immediately end.
And if Horikita knew her dark history, she would immediately make it public, right?
How unlucky could this be?
Kushida had a dark history, which she felt absolutely could not be exposed after coming to this school.
Therefore, she was particularly concerned about Horikita Suzune, who came from the same middle school as her.
She and Horikita Suzune were not in the same class.
In fact, in the past, they had never even met.
But, who knew if the other party was truly ignorant.
This school held an extraordinary position for Kushida.
It was a place where she could get a fresh start.
She didn't want... any problems to arise.
But now.
The dark history issue hadn't been dealt with yet.
As a result, her true nature had already been exposed.
And then.
Hikigaya Hachiman had also recorded her incredible outburst just now.
If Hikigaya were to send the video of her cursing Horikita to Horikita, her relationship with Horikita would immediately deteriorate.
She couldn't be sure if Horikita knew her dark history, but as long as she ingratiated herself with Horikita and became friends, then whether Horikita knew her dark history or not, she would be able to control it.
So.
Now Hikigaya was destroying her self-rescue plan.
And more seriously, there was no need to even worry about the dark history.
As long as Hikigaya sent the recording of her cursing people to the class group chat, her image would immediately collapse.
In other words.
Hikigaya Hachiman now possessed the power to directly destroy everything about her.
This kind of thing, this kind of thing...
"What do you want to do!" It seemed that feeling the situation was helpless, Kushida instantly became fierce.
What did he want to do?
Or was she worried he was going to threaten her in some way?
Actually, Hikigaya was initially worried about Kushida being alone in such an unpopulated place so late.
It would be bad if something unpleasant happened.
In other words, he came out of goodwill.
But now, was he being treated like a villain by Kushida?
But.
Kushida, hey hey hey, you're the one acting like a villain, okay?
And.
Hachiman also confirmed again.
Kushida's intelligence wasn't actually very high.
Because he said his phone recorded her cursing Horikita, so did it really record it?
Actually, no.
He just pretended to have done such a thing, but she didn't even consider how an ordinary person, upon seeing her explosive scene, would immediately start recording.
So.
Her mind sometimes didn't quite catch up.
So what would her reaction be?
Because of this, Hachiman saw the darkened Kushida begin to act.
"Slap—"
Hachiman was still thinking, or rather, he couldn't react at all.
Because.
This girl named Kushida walked straight up to him.
As the Little Angel of the class, combined with her adorable looks, Hachiman's heart had skipped a few beats because of her several times.
But this time, it was different.
She held his hand.
But it wasn't holding both hands to convey warmth or anything like that.
Instead, she directly grabbed his hand and suddenly pressed it against her ample chest.
The operation, or rather the sensation, in that instant seemed to make Hikigaya's mind stop.
But then, "Your fingerprints have already been left here."
The blackened Kushida, however, seemed to become extremely clear-headed and calm, her expression icy but with extreme persuasiveness, as she said coldly.
"Normally, it's impossible to leave the fingerprints of the opposite sex in such a position."
"Unless they are a couple."
"And if they're not a couple…" She paused.
"I can completely spread rumors that you tried to rape me, and Horikita is your accomplice."
"In other words, even if you expose the recording, I will still be [innocent]." Kushida said coldly.
Hmm.
Hachiman retracted his evaluation of Kushida, because she had thought of a countermeasure in such a short time.
Indeed, Kushida believed he had recorded her, and if that recording were exposed, it would cause a huge problem.
Her persona would collapse.
However, if Kushida spread rumors beforehand that Hachiman had done something bad to her, then others would be prejudiced and believe these were true.
And even if Hachiman later spread the story of Kushida kicking the railing everywhere, it would be linked by those with ulterior motives—of course, the order would be reversed.
Because Hachiman wanted to rape her, and Horikita Suzune was an accomplice, that's why Kushida's temperament changed drastically, kicking the railing and cursing them.
Would such a thing be believed?
Yes, it would.
Because, after all, people are more willing to believe cute girls than boys.
They don't believe in justice, but rather they believe the side that looks weak and needs protection.
"You thought of a good countermeasure." Hikigaya said.
His left hand had already been released by Kushida.
But his left hand wasn't completely lowered.
Instead, he gently squeezed it.
It wasn't to savor anything, but rather... this hand... indeed had an extraordinary experience today.
For the first time in his life, like a male in puberty... he was touched by the opposite sex.
Or rather, this was the first time he had touched a girl's body, and... it was even initiated by her.
"If I were thinking [lucky, I touched her chest] at that moment, what would you think?" Hachiman said, forcibly calming his inner thoughts.
"…" Kushida.
"…"
Then of course it would be disgusting, and she would even think she was particularly stupid.
Giving herself away for free.
"With your operation, it seems you protected yourself." Hikigaya said.
"But Kushida, if you can only think of such a plan, then I'm afraid it's useless."
"Because you just held my hand... um... to... press it..." Hachiman said.
But the phrase "press her chest" was a bit too embarrassing to say aloud.
"Didn't you just press my chest?"
However, Kushida said calmly.
"You can't even say a girl's chest? What a gloomy loner."
Is that so?
Then you are very shameless.
But Hachiman felt that she seemed to be reacting now, feeling a hint of shame.
The reason was that her cheeks were slightly flushed.
After all, her action just now was probably just a solution she thought of on impulse.
Now she regretted it, realizing what an extraordinary thing she had done.
"With the plan of pressing your chest, what you wanted to obtain were my fingerprints."
"Then whether it's a frame-up or an accusation, there are fingerprints to prove it, which can increase the credibility of your lie."
"A good idea." At this point, Hachiman retracted his right hand.
"But it's useless."
"Because clothes are very difficult to retain human fingerprints." Hachiman said.
"At the same time, the conditions for preserving fingerprints on clothes are too strict, so just that one touch, it's very difficult to form an accusation against me."
"Normally, you'd have to press it more, extending the time your finger's fingerprints adhere." Hikigaya said.
"Eh!" But Kushida looked at him with a wary and suspicious gaze.
As if she thought he wanted to continue his previous action, in other words... wanted to take advantage of her for free.
"You misunderstood." Hachiman was, after all, a human observer.
He understood just by looking at Kushida's reaction.
The other party might have taken him for an excessive person again.
Yet it was she herself who had just thought of the rape scenario and actively wanted to take his fingerprints.
She was the truly excessive one.
"I was just analyzing whether your previous action was effective."
"And the conclusion I drew was that it was useless." Hachiman said.
"…" Kushida.
So, she had actually... foolishly pulled a boy's hand to touch herself?
This made even Kushida, who was maintaining her blackened state, somewhat dazed.
Because it was too stupid.
And too much of a freebie.
And Hachiman continued.
"And now, I have a recording of you cursing Horikita Suzune in my hand, which, if exposed, will greatly change your image." Hachiman said.
"…" Kushida.
Kushida then became even fiercer.
Extremely fierce.
But her fierceness had no destructive power against Hachiman.
Because she had just thought he was so dangerous, the plan she could come up with was... half-destroying herself, which was like killing eight hundred enemies but losing a thousand of her own.
And after his analysis, it was even worse: she killed less than 1 enemy, and she herself had already perished by 10,000.
Kushida's action just now was indeed like a slut, actively letting someone touch her.
"My goal is to be promoted to Class A." Hikigaya said.
"And your existence, Kushida, still has value."
"So I don't want you to stand on my opposite side."
"…" Kushida.
"So, you want me to continue working for you?"
"Don't put it so harshly." Hikigaya said.
"I just hope that you can assist me normally, and when necessary, you can follow my instructions."
"…"
This was much worse than what she had just said, "working for you," wasn't it?
What did he mean by following his instructions?
"What if I refuse?" Kushida said.
"Are you going to expose that recording?"
"Most likely not." Hikigaya said.
"Oh." Kushida, however, showed an expression of disbelief.
But this was the truth.
Because Hachiman actually hadn't recorded anything.
He was just bluffing Kushida, and Kushida believed him.
So, even if he wanted to expose it, he had no material to expose.
But Kushida didn't know that.
So he said, "Everyone has a two-faced side, and their usual performance might just be to gain others' attention, good reviews, or even just the most suitable side for survival."
"And then hide their true self." Hikigaya said. "So, Kushida, your actions just now weren't that strange."
"…" Kushida.
But you are very strange!
Because, if an ordinary student saw her completely unrefined appearance, their inner world would definitely collapse.
They would even think she had been deceiving them all along.
So, it was all negative stuff.
But what's wrong with you, Hikigaya?
Don't you think she's terrifying?
Seeing her completely un-angelic side, are you really unmoved?
Or is it that your angry side is actually because she cursed you just now?
"…" Kushida once again found Hikigaya Hachiman difficult to deal with.
Yes.
"To become friends with classmates and spend meaningful time together."
This self-introduction at the time of enrollment was actually her inner thought.
She wanted to make friends, gain everyone's affection, and then enter others' hearts—these were all things she wanted to do.
And if she was going to do it, then she would aim for everyone.
Among them, Kouenji, whom she met on the school bus during enrollment, was blacklisted by her.
Then she saw Hikigaya, and thought that such a classmate looked relatively introverted and not very noticeable, so he should be easy to "conquer."
As it turned out, Hikigaya was different.
He was not like ordinary students.
His way of thinking was deeper, but also somewhat naive.
Because he wanted to gain true friends or something, and if such true friends really existed, then she wanted them too.
So Hikigaya was listed by her as one of the targets that were more difficult to "conquer."
Now he had become even more difficult to deal with.
Because this was perhaps the first person she had encountered so far... who didn't think she was a weirdo after she exposed her true colors.
Her dark history from middle school... that is, her current two-faced behavior, was exposed, and then all her classmates blamed her.
They all thought she was abnormal.
Even her parents thought she was mentally unstable and locked her up.
It wasn't until the Teacher informed her that she could try her luck at Advanced Nurturing High School that she was released and came here.
The result was that the only person who thought she was fine wasn't the friends she had poured her heart out to in Class, nor her blood relatives.
Instead, it was… Hikigaya Hachiman, who she found very difficult to deal with?
"What do you want me to cooperate with you on?" Kushida said.
"It's nothing difficult." Hikigaya said.
"I just need you to betray the Class when necessary."
Oh.
Kushida nodded slightly.
Then you must be toxic.
Because, what does it mean to betray the Class when needed? Is this some new punishment plan?
Is he intentionally making her betray the Class, then immediately reporting her to everyone in Class?
He's simply a devil.
....
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