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"…Let's try the Pocky stick challenge first."
Fujiwara Chika said while taking out a box of Pocky sticks from behind her back.
The Secretary's idea was very simple.
One must abide by rules, and playing games also requires abiding by rules.
The rules one sets oneself must be followed even more so.
If it's agreed that the person who loses the game will accept punishment, then she will definitely not renege.
I, Fujiwara Chika, will never cheat!
However, there's room for flexibility.
Fujiwara Chika had indeed played the Pocky game before—it's super common on Japan's variety shows, practically a household name, only someone like Shinomiya Kaguya, a sheltered young lady, wouldn't know about it.
However, the opponents she played with before were all girls, and Fujiwara Chika belonged to the 'Chaotic Unordered' alignment, making her undefeated in every game she played.
But if she played with Amamiya Natsuki...
Fujiwara Chika had no confidence in winning.
If she was Chaotic Unordered, then Natsuki, that little bugger, must be a creature of the Chaotic Evil alignment!
She couldn't win.
Rather, she would most likely lose.
But surrendering without a fight wasn't Fujiwara Chika's style.
To die fighting and to lose without a fight are two completely different concepts.
So Fujiwara Chika wanted to practice beforehand, to see where her limits were, and if things went wrong, to surrender in time to avoid any unexpected incidents.
"Do you really want to play?" Amamiya Natsuki looked at Secretary, "Class is about to start."
"There's still more than ten minutes, that's enough." Fujiwara Chika patted the long bench beside her, urging, "Hurry up and sit back down."
"Then let's practice in advance."
Amamiya Natsuki sat back down beside the girl.
"This morning I borrowed a box of Pocky from a friend, it's the best strawberry flavor," Fujiwara Chika held up the package, "No contest."
"Speaking of which, Glico recently released a coriander-flavored Pocky." Amamiya Natsuki raised an objection, "Coriander is the best."
"Eww~" Fujiwara Chika hugged her arms, leaning back slightly, her face showing an expression of utter disgust that was hard to describe, "There should be very few people who like coriander flavor, right?"
"Quite the opposite, people who like coriander worldwide far outnumber those who don't."
"..."
Fujiwara Chika pulled out a pink strawberry-flavored Pocky stick, parted her pink lips, gently bit onto it with her pearly teeth, and looked up at Amamiya Natsuki.
"Shall I start?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked.
"Mm."
Fujiwara Chika hummed softly, indicating permission.
The rooftop quieted down, with only the gentle summer breeze blowing.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't hesitate or dither; he propped one hand on the bench, simply bent down, and leaned towards Secretary.
The sweet scent of milk mixed with fruit wafted into his nostrils, quite pleasant.
Their eyes met.
Amamiya Natsuki could clearly see his reflection in Secretary's eyes.
Her eyes are so big.
Her nose is delicate and straight.
Her skin is moist and tender, like a freshly peeled egg, and her apple cheeks made one want to reach out and pinch them.
Especially the light in her eyes, sparkling brightly, not dimmed in the slightest even after being scared all night by evil spirits...
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Fujiwara Chika suddenly leaned her head back, quickly reaching out to call a halt.
"Regretting it?"
"I am not!"
Crunch crunch.
The sound of a little hamster eating sunflower seeds rang out, Fujiwara Chika quickly finished the Pocky in her mouth, then drank a mouthful of milk, and finally exhaled contentedly:
"I haven't had Pocky in a long time, I couldn't resist just now... Let's go again."
Amamiya Natsuki understood: "You won't back out this time, will you?"
"I never did!"
Fujiwara Chika puffed out her pink cheeks, pulled out another Pocky stick, bit into it, and gestured with her eyes:
"Again."
"..."
The practice continued.
Fujiwara Chika was not a timid or shy girl to begin with; her chaotic and disordered personality even gave Hayasaka Ai a headache. Now that she had adjusted her mindset, she naturally wouldn't back out again.
Amamiya Natsuki quickly bit onto the other end of the Pocky stick.
"Stare—"
Fujiwara Chika widened her eyes, looking over with full momentum.
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Won't your eyes get tired staring so wide?"
Fujiwara Chika's eyes were bright: "Not at all."
Amamiya Natsuki: "Then, shall we begin?"
"..."
Crunch crunch.
Fujiwara Chika responded directly with action.
Amamiya Natsuki ate from the other end at a leisurely pace.
The Pocky stick wasn't long, and with both of them eating, in a blink, only a small piece remained.
Fujiwara Chika, who had been so aggressive at first, had now involuntarily slowed down.
Too, too close!
Their hot breaths mingled, and in a daze, they seemed to clearly hear each other's heartbeats.
The girl's slender eyelashes trembled slightly, and her gaze began to panic.
(There's still a little bit of the Pocky stick left, if we keep eating, we'll definitely touch, right?)
(Should I surrender?)
(Wait, we already kissed before...)
Fujiwara Chika suddenly remembered what happened in the Midnight Mall.
The eerie shopping mall.
The strangely rule-bound game.
The feeling of thirst, as if she would die any second.
The joy of 'I'm alive' when she drank water.
And the warmth of the boy's lips...
Fujiwara Chika suddenly felt a little dizzy.
"Hm?"
Looking at the pink-haired girl who had nervously closed her eyes, a question mark appeared above Amamiya Natsuki's head.
Why are you closing your eyes?
The game hasn't been decided yet; if you want to give up, just say so!
Is this a 'giving up' tactic, preparing to subdue the enemy without fighting, waiting for me to surrender first?
Don't be ridiculous!
Your tactic is meaningless against a scum hero, do you even know what Chaotic Evil means?!
Amamiya Natsuki looked up, and sure enough, a prompt appeared above Secretary's head.
[First time, second time...]
[First time, second time...]
What is this?
Is it stuck?
Amamiya Natsuki thought for a moment and quickly understood that it was the number of kisses in the Midnight Mall.
As someone with numerical OCD, Amamiya Natsuki really liked the number three.
Three Kingdoms.
Three gives birth to all things.
Three sizes.
It's decided, I'll make your number three right now.
Crunch crunch.
Amamiya Natsuki finished the last of the Pocky in a blink.
So soft.
A soft and warm touch like marshmallow, both familiar and strange, making one crave more.
The temperature was a bit low though.
Warm and cool, quite comfortable.
The stuck count above Secretary's head finally turned to three.
"..."
Fujiwara Chika's eyelashes suddenly trembled, seeming to want to open her eyes, but she was too flustered to open them, a rare display of shyness and timidity.
Still not opening your eyes? Now I'll show you what it means to take an inch and want a mile!
That night in the Midnight Mall, the situation was urgent, and he didn't have the mind to think about so much. Now that they were safely on the rooftop, Amamiya Natsuki naturally wanted more.
"Ugh—"
Fujiwara Chika finally couldn't hold on, opening her eyes in a panic, tilting her head back, and quickly raising her hand to cover her pink lips. Her entire pretty face was flushed crimson, as if on fire, which was quite rare.
"You, you, you..." Fujiwara Chika extended a finger, her pretty face flushed, both shy and angry, finally stammering, "You cheated!"
"That's right, I cheated." Amamiya Natsuki admitted frankly, wiping the corner of his mouth, "One more time?"
"..."
Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened at his words.
He actually wants to do it again, how could I possibly agree to that!
Secretary finally couldn't hold on, covered her pink lips, turned around, and fled in a hurry.
Amamiya Natsuki packed up the fallen bento box, preparing to go downstairs.
Just as he went downstairs, Fujiwara Chika ran back with her head down, snatched the bento box from Amamiya Natsuki's hand, and ran downstairs.
"Slow down." Amamiya Natsuki said from behind, "Don't fall."
Fujiwara Chika's steps paused at his words: "...The person who cheated shouldn't speak."
"..."
The two classes in the afternoon passed quickly.
The sun hung high outside the window, and the dismissal bell had already rung.
Amamiya Natsuki closed his textbook and looked in Fujiwara Chika's direction.
The Secretary happened to look over, subtly wrinkled her delicate nose, and silently picked up her school bag.
She walked over to Shinomiya Kaguya and whispered, "Kaguya-chan, I'm going to cosplay with Marin this afternoon, so I won't be going to the arcade with you."
Amamiya Natsuki said, "If you don't go, Kaguya-san and I alone won't be able to handle those elementary school student."
It goes without saying that Shinomiya Kaguya had no idea how to get along with elementary school student.
Fujiwara Chika rolled her eyes impatiently: "The one who fouled shouldn't speak."
"Fouled?" Shinomiya Kaguya tilted her head, a little confused, "What do you mean?"
"Stare—"
Just as Amamiya Natsuki was about to speak, the Secretary had already widened her eyes and glared at him.
"Swallow it! Don't say a single word!"
"Strange." Shinomiya Kaguya narrowed her eyes, a girl's intuition was quite sharp, "…Are you hiding something from me?"
"Not at all." Fujiwara Chika quickly denied, "Wait a moment, I'll go ask Kashiwagi if she's free."
A moment later.
Kashiwagi-san, with her ear-length short hair, cute face, and large eyes, timidly walked over behind Fujiwara.
"Kashiwagi is free this afternoon." Fujiwara Chika said, "I asked her to go with you two.
The diplomatic negotiation work can be fully entrusted to Kashiwagi."
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya both looked at the short-haired girl.
"Kashiwagi-san, we're counting on you."
"Sorry to trouble you."
"No, no trouble." Kashiwagi-san quickly shook her head, her smile forced.
She should have just said she was busy!
Without Chika by her side, facing Natsuki-kun and Kaguya-san alone was too terrifying!
"Don't worry." Amamiya Natsuki comforted her, "As long as you listen obediently, don't listen to what you shouldn't, and don't look at what you shouldn't, Kaguya-san won't bully you."
Shinomiya Kaguya glared at him: "…I never bullied her to begin with."
"I'm leaving first."
Fujiwara Chika bid farewell and left first.
Shinomiya Kaguya retracted her gaze, picked up her school bag, and calmly said, "Let's go too."
"Um…" Kashiwagi-san raised her right hand and asked softly, "Excuse me, what are we going to the game arcade for?"
"The story is long." Amamiya Natsuki said from the side, "Kaguya-san encountered those two elementary school student from that day yesterday.
They challenged Kaguya, saying they wanted to wipe away their previous shame and defeat Kaguya the Great Demon King."
"You're called to maintain order, and if necessary, to handle evidence of crimes."
"…"
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