Chapter 302 Kikyo: Finally Got to Taste the Flavor of Shimizu Akira!
At eight o'clock in the evening, Kushida Kikyo walked into Shimizu Akira's dormitory with practiced ease.
"Akira-kun! You bought a kotatsu?"
Her eyes lit up. She nimbly kicked off her shoes and tucked her legs comfortably into the warm kotatsu, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
Shimizu Akira glanced at his phone to check the temperature: minus two degrees.
Looking at Kikyo's cozy expression, he nodded inwardly. Buying this kotatsu was definitely the right move.
It seemed Japanese girls had a special soft spot for this traditional heating tool, especially when they were only wearing thin stockings.
While running both the AC and the kotatsu seemed extravagant, at this school, dormitory electricity was free, so comfort came first.
"Kikyo, what's in this bag?" He noticed she hadn't come empty-handed; an opaque shopping bag sat by her feet.
"Hehe, it's a gift for you, Akira-kun." She playfully nudged him with her toes and pushed the bag toward him.
Akira curiously opened the packaging. Inside was a dark brown, thickened thermal coat.
"Lately, I've seen you walking with your neck tucked in," Kikyo said, resting her chin on her hand with a smile.
"While wearing a muffler is nice, you really need a coat that can actually withstand the cold, don't you?"
Akira draped the coat over his shoulders. One touch of the texture told him it was expensive. His girlfriend's thoughtfulness warmed his heart.
"Kikyo, thank you," he said, lightly tracing the collar. "But do you still have enough points?"
"I still have points~" Kikyo waved her hand dismissively. She was actually a relatively thrifty girl; although she liked window shopping for clothes, she rarely actually bought them. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the surplus to lend points to Karuizawa Kei during the first month of school.
"Don't talk yet," she stood up and walked over to him, beginning to carefully straighten his collar and smooth out the creases at the hem.
"Let me see how it looks."
Akira spun around twice. Kikyo stepped back half a pace, watched for a long time, and nodded with satisfaction: "It really fits well! As expected of my boyfriend! You look handsome in anything!"
Only then did Akira carefully hang the coat in the wardrobe. He turned back to take Kikyo's hand, and both crawled into the warm kotatsu together.
"What made you suddenly think of giving me clothes?" he asked curiously. It wasn't a birthday or an anniversary, and it seemed too early for a Christmas present.
Kushida Kikyo's cheeks flushed slightly.
Looking a bit guilty, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and whispered: "Think of it as compensation! Akira-kun, you should remember that incident at the cafe when we first met, right? I was in the wrong back then—I shouldn't have used the fingerprints on my clothes to threaten you. So, this coat is my way of apologizing for that."
This was the first time in Kikyo's life that she was dating a boy.
She didn't quite understand many things about romance. Although she didn't consider herself lacking in any department, Akira was far superior to her.
She likely wouldn't meet someone this good again in her life.
Moreover, given her somewhat morbid double-sided personality, only Akira was willing to embrace her and stay with her.
Deep down, she wanted things to go smoothly with Akira—not just in this school, but even after entering university and society.
She wanted to maintain this relationship forever.
Therefore, during their time together, she wanted to avoid any hidden dangers that might cause their relationship to break.
While she felt Akira might not have taken the "fingerprint incident" to heart, it always sat between them like a subtle thorn.
Now that she had the chance, it was better to clear the air.
"Oh!" Akira realized. "So it was because of the fingerprints. No wonder you gave me clothes!"
He couldn't help but chuckle. "To be honest, I put that behind me a long time ago! On the contrary, I felt it was a 'bonus' you actively gave me. I can't believe you kept such a small thing in your heart and cared so much about my feelings that you bought me a coat..."
Hearing this, Kikyo immediately felt relieved. In any case, the matter was finally out in the open.
"Right! Speaking of that, I've really wanted to ask you," Akira continued with a mix of helplessness and amusement, "that school uniform fabric can't hold fingerprints at all! My
cute girlfriend Kikyo-san, what were you thinking back then? Even if a fingerprint was temporarily left, it would vanish over time. Why did you think that would actually thr~eaten the me of that time?"
"Eh... is, is that so?!" Kikyo was completely stunned.
"What else?" Akira said helplessly.
"If my fingerprints could stay on clothes for months, do you think I'd still be a normal human?"
Kikyo blinked, heat rushing to her cheeks instantly. She felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the kotatsu. It... it actually made perfect sense.
After all, Akira had just come out of a cafe, not a barbecue joint; his hands weren't covered in grease. How could the clothes possibly hold clear and lasting fingerprints?
Akira suddenly coughed lightly and pulled his phone from his pocket.
"Speaking of which, Kikyo, I should apologize to you too. Actually, back then... I made a recording."
"Huh?" Before Kikyo could react, her own voice started playing from the phone.
"...Shimizu-kun, you really won't tell the truth? Can you turn around and say it one more time while looking into my eyes?"
"The strength was just right, so this shouldn't leave fingerprints, right?"
"Now my clothes hold a handle on you too, Shimizu-kun~ I'll protect these clothes well with plastic wrap. If you don't want to be invited for tea by the police!..."
Kikyo froze on the spot.
Is... is that really her voice? Why was she speaking in such a coquettish tone? They weren't even dating yet back then! Was she that proactive?
Kikyo really wanted to find a time machine, go back to that day, and kick herself twice to erase this dark history forever.
So Akira had a backup plan from the very beginning! Even if she had successfully threatened him, that recording was enough to bankrupt her plan completely.
"Akira-kun—" She forced a smile while digging her fingernails into his shoulder, "So you had me figured out from the start? You love recording that much? You used this trick during the island exam too, didn't you? I actually became your first victim!"
"Ow, ow, ow..." Akira lowered his head in admission.
"I admit, I liked you quite a bit from the start, and I thought the boy who dated you would be very lucky. The recording was my fault, but the method is just too effective... to be honest, I actually quite liked your 'gap' personality that day."
Kikyo let go, her expression instantly reverting to her usual "angel" mode, though her reddening cheeks betrayed her thoughts.
How could this person even turn an apology into a confession! Directly stating he liked her dark side... how could she stay mad? No girl in the world could bear to blame him after hearing that.
"Right, Kikyo," Akira said, lightly smoothing her hair as he turned the topic to business.
"Are you still using that 'Anonymous' account?"
Seeing her boyfriend's serious look, Kikyo put away her playful thoughts and complained with a pout: "I'm using it. I told you before I contacted Class A's Hashimoto Masayoshi; I used that account to send the message. Tsk, that blonde guy is insufferable. No matter how many points I offer, he won't leak intel!"
"Don't be mad," Akira comforted her.
"Maybe after Sakayanagi's recent failure, Hashimoto won't be so biased toward her faction anymore."
He cut to the chase: "You contacted Ryuen Kakeru with that alt before, right? My alt has been receiving a lot of harrassing messages from him lately. Has he contacted you recently?"
"I'm not sure," Kikyo sneered while taking out her phone.
"Since finishing off Yamauchi Haruki, I put him on my mute list."
"Huh?" Akira was surprised.
"Well, of course! Who told him to insult you? Honestly, if Ryuen Kakeru didn't still have some utility, I would have blacklisted him."
A trace of malice flickered in Kikyo's eyes.
"That violent freak has a foul mouth! Thinking about it now makes me furious!"
As she spoke, she pulled up the chat history with Ryuen and handed the phone directly to Akira. Since her heart was now full of him, she didn't mind letting him see her phone. Akira pulled his girlfriend into his arms, wrapping an arm around her to soothe her anger while looking down at the screen.
The chat content was much as he expected.
On the morning the "VIP" exam identities were confirmed, Kikyo had proactively contacted Ryuen.
From the initial dialogue, she had truly intended to betray the class back then. However, by the evening, she hadn't gone to her meeting with Ryuen and had stayed with Akira instead.
From that night on, her messages to Ryuen had shifted into a rhetoric intended to deliberately guide Yamauchi into becoming a traitor.
But then again—that guy Ryuen actually said he was a "middle-aged man reincarnated as a high schooler"?
Er... in a sense, he actually hit the mark.
"You called him an idiot? Good call, Kikyo! You're as protective of me as ever!"
Akira couldn't help but laugh as he scrolled through the chat. His girlfriend was merciless when defending him; even a random complaint from Ryuen would provoke a sharp retaliation from her.
"Ryuen... he really needs to be put in his place. A good beating would probably make him behave. Defending you? Hmph, I'm probably just under your spell!"
Kikyo huddled closer into his arms, her nose brushing his chest.
"I originally planned to betray the class! It's all because that Yamauchi guy was too hateful, always talking bad about you! Fortunately, he's finally gone, and I'm the one who handled him~ This was all thanks to you too, Akira-kun."
Akira looked down and smiled.
In truth, Kikyo had never intended to prepare for the last special exam quietly. Yamauchi's fall to the status of a "street rat" in class was entirely his girlfriend's handiwork.
One day, when she came to his dorm, she had hinted she wanted to do something big—to get Yamauchi expelled directly. Coincidentally, Akira had received a message from Ayanokouji Kiyotaka at that time, so he simply let Kikyo go ahead with it, fulfilling her little wish.
He continued scrolling down and, as expected, saw a string of unread messages from Ryuen questioning the other party's identity. Since he was muted, Kikyo had automatically ignored these messages. Just the day before yesterday, Ryuen had sent a final warning:
Ryuen Kakeru: I'll drag the truth about your identity out, woman! You think you can just use me and be done with it? Naive!
"Akira-kun? What did that guy send? Let me see."
Akira handed the phone back to Kikyo.
"Ha? He thinks he can drag my identity out?"
Kikyo laughed with rage after reading the message.
"He can't even compare to Akira-kun's pinky finger! A guy who gets played like a spinning top by Akira-kun in every special exam—where does he get the confidence? Does he have an IQ the size of a pinky toe?!"
Her toxic-tongue skills were as sharp as ever. If there were a trash-talking competition, Kikyo would likely sit firmly on the throne of the entire grade.
"Ryuen truly can't guess it," he said, gently holding her hand.
"But don't forget, Class D has Shiina Hiyori. With her deductive reasoning, it's very likely she'll find you out."
Kikyo let out a cold snort: "That woman is indeed a bit of trouble."
She knew Hiyori was capable. During the island exam, Hiyori had correctly deduced that the leader was Horikita Suzune and identified the rule about leaders being among the two key points of withdrawal.
She suddenly blinked: "But Akira-kun... you won't just stand by and watch me get discovered, right? I remember you and Shiina Hiyori have a fairly good relationship~"
"Don't tell me you want me to pursue Shiina to shut her up?" Akira asked half-jokingly. After all, his girlfriend had used a similar method to set him up with Horikita Suzune.
"...Of course not!" Kikyo lightly punched his shoulder.
"This isn't some dark history that can't see the light."
She had no intention of letting her boyfriend expand his harem further; that would just be adding pressure to herself.
"I just think you could ask her out for a chat. With your charm, just interfering with her investigation progress a little bit would be fine~" She winked playfully.
"Asking her out is no problem, but interfering with her will be difficult." Akira wasn't hopeful. Hiyori was a smart person; how could she not guess the purpose behind a sudden invitation? The "Miss Detective" had already been burned once.
"Don't worry, I'm thinking of a way for you." He rubbed his temples.
"Actually, as long as we ensure Ryuen, the final link, doesn't do anything extra, the problem is solved... After all, there can be countless detectives, but only one employer, right?"
Kikyo suddenly rose from his arms and sat gracefully on the mattress, tenderly pulling his head onto her lap.
"Mm-hmm, Akira-kun really is good to me~" She looked down and giggled.
"First, I'll reward you with a lap pillow."
Akira lay on his girlfriend's thighs, his fingers gently twining through Kikyo's hair.
"Speaking of which, Akira-kun, you're going to help Haruka and Airi apply sunscreen in a few days, aren't you?" Kikyo spoke up abruptly.
Akira looked up at her: "You already knew?"
"Naturally~ Haruka and I are best friends who talk about everything." Kikyo replied with a smile.
"She's always thought I was a purely good person and comes to me for life consultations from time to time."
'A purely good person? Kikyo?'
Hasabe Haruka, that airheaded big sister! His girlfriend was clearly the most black-bellied, smiling cat in class!
"Speaking of that, I am actually quite curious." He reached up to ruffle Kikyo's hair.
"How did you manage it? Hasabe's attitude toward Hirata and Honami is just average, yet she pours her heart out to you."
He couldn't figure it out.
To him, Hirata Yousuke, Ichinose Honami, and Kushida Kikyo were all ostensibly "good people," but Haruka's attitude toward them was night and day.
Hirata was a guy, so Haruka was just polite and distant. But during the last meal, he had seen Honami proactively greet Haruka, only for the latter to be indifferent—nothing like the smiling, proactive closeness she showed Kikyo.
"Hehe, nothing special." Kikyo's palm slid across Akira's cheek, her tone as casual as if she were discussing a trifle.
"I just listen to her complain and give her some comfort, then invite her out a few times on days off. The relationship gets close naturally."
"I see."
She made it sound easy, but given Haruka's personality—which was indifferent to most people—the number of people who could make her open up was tiny.
Behind this, Kikyo's special talent for getting along with anyone was undoubtedly at play. (Except for Suzune and Koenji Rokusuke, of course.)
"Alright, alright, stop thinking about it!" Kikyo lightly pinched his cheek.
"Stop talking about other girls! Tonight is our time alone! We have more intimate things to do."
"? Kikyo, you?"
This time, Kikyo didn't just use her hands; she proactively used her mouth. Her hands weren't tired, but her mouth grew quite sore. Yet, she was satisfied.
After all, today she had succeeded in tasting the flavor that belonged to him, and her own body was already covered in Akira's scent.
They were seemingly only one final step away.
"Akira-kun," she looked up at the boy who was helping her get dressed, her tone serious. "On Christmas Eve, I want to give you my most precious thing."
"Are you sure?" Akira paused and looked down at her.
"Yes!" Kikyo nodded softly.
"Akira-kun has already helped me solve my biggest worry regarding my dark history, and you've always respected our agreement. Plus, I want to find a date worth remembering. That day is a holiday, so it's perfect."
"Okay, I promise you." Akira rubbed her head. Since she was willing to give him her first time, what reason did he have to hesitate? It looked like he needed to buy some "umbrellas" in the next few days.
To be honest, he was very satisfied with the progress of their relationship. Step by step, it was reaching its natural conclusion.
"Actually..." Kikyo suddenly leaned in, her cheek pressed tightly against his chest.
"Meeting Akira-kun... it's really wonderful."
Those dark, unbearable double personalities that even she hated had become unique shining points in this man's eyes. This sense of peace—being completely accepted without needing to pretend—made her eyes grow warm.
Akira tightened his arms, pulling her into a firm embrace.
"Me too. I'll prepare well for Christmas Eve. Not just then, but for every day in the future, I'll be with you. I couldn't participate in your past, but I definitely won't be absent from your present and future."
The girl in his arms trembled slightly, her shoulders shaking. After a while, the sobbing subsided. Kikyo buried herself in his chest and mumbled in a muffled voice: "See! I told you! You still like me more than I like you! I cry just a little bit, and look how worried you got."
This girl—even at a time like this, she's still obsessing over that question!
.
.
.
Another day of classes ended, and the people in the classroom gradually dispersed. Shiina Hiyori rose gracefully and walked to Ryuen Kakeru's desk.
"Ryuen-kun, please let me see the chat records for 'X' and 'Anonymous'."
Ryuen snorted, picked up his phone, and sent the screenshots of his dialogues with "Anonymous" and "X" to her.
He added: "That 'Anonymous' person is definitely a woman, and she's quite devoted to that guy Shimizu Akira. I just randomly complained about him, and she barked back like I'd stepped on her tail. You can start investigating by looking at the girls who like him."
"Yes, I understand. However, that doesn't count as a key clue."
Hiyori frowned slightly, her tone rare in its trace of reproach.
"After all, most of the students in Class C seem to like Shimizu-kun. To be honest, I felt a bit angry when I saw that message too. Ryuen-kun, regardless of the situation, saying that was too much."
"Huh?" Ryuen was momentarily speechless.
Even Hiyori from his own class reacted with anger? Did he say something that heavy? It was just a casual "that guy is a reincarnated middle-aged man," he didn't even use a slur!
But thinking about it, Akira really had carried the entire class upward single-handedly. A while ago, someone had secretly stuffed envelopes into everyone's mailboxes to frame Ryuen for reporting Akira, and those people almost wanted to tear him apart. A lot of people really did like that guy!
"Shiina, do you know who stuffed the envelopes?"
"It was likely Sakayanagi-san's doing. The motive is simple: to force Class C to choose Class D as the target."
"Damn! That cane-girl really loves causing trouble! I'll remember this debt!"
Hiyori didn't pay mind to Ryuen's cursing; instead, she picked up her phone and carefully examined the chat records.
"I see..." she murmured to herself. "This 'Anonymous' classmate's defense of Shimizu-kun is indeed very direct and emotional. The interval between your message and her reply was only a dozen seconds. It's clear she really likes Shimizu-kun."
"That guy Shimizu is like an incubus!" Ryuen sneered, leaning back in his chair.
"So, who do you think it is?"
Hiyori didn't answer immediately but looked out the window thoughtfully.
"Based only on 'likely female' and 'defending Shimizu-kun,' the scope is still too broad. As I just said, there are quite a few students in Class C who have favorable feelings toward him."
She paused and turned her head.
"However, from the chat logs, 'Anonymous' indeed intended to betray the class on the morning of the exam. At that point, she was either a VIP herself or had already discovered the identities of other VIPs. I can be sure of that."
Hiyori rested her chin on her left hand.
"Since the party intended to betray the class on the first day of the VIP special exam, based on this behavior pattern, she likely left traces during the previous island exam too. Ibuki and I both stayed at the Class C camp for a few days. From my observation, I didn't find anyone suspicious other than Yamauchi Haruki... I'll ask Ibuki if she noticed anything."
Hearing this, Ryuen's lips curled into a cold smile. Hiyori's reasoning ability was never in doubt. It seemed the "Anonymous" hiding behind the curtain was finally about to show their true colors.
"What do you think of 'X'?" Ryuen continued.
"I'm certain it's not Shimizu Akira himself. Given his style, he wouldn't use such indirect means to force Yamauchi to withdraw."
He understood Akira fairly well.
In several special exams, that guy used near-perfect winning methods. Using himself as the primary actor to indirectly cause Yamauchi's withdrawal was a strategy with too much risk; it didn't fit Akira's usual style.
"I believe it is someone very close to Shimizu-kun," Hiyori replied.
"What do you mean? Didn't you just say a lot of people like him?" Ryuen countered.
"Many students like him," Hiyori smiled slightly, "but the number of people who can get Shimizu-kun to cooperate personally and take the initiative to be the reporter is very small. After all, Shimizu-kun is the smartest boy I've ever met. Honestly, the number of people he truly holds in high regard and views as friends is quite small."
"The smartest boy?" Ryuen felt a bit sick. "Didn't that guy call you the 'smartest girl' last time too? You two really know how to flatter each other!"
Before he finished, Hiyori's ears turned slightly red. She coughed twice and turned to leave the classroom in a slight fluster.
"In... in any case, I will start investigating from Shimizu-kun's social circle. I have about a sixty percent certainty of identifying those two people... I'll give you an answer by the 22nd at the latest."
Watching her hurried departure, Ryuen couldn't help but mutter: "That guy Shimizu Akira has even our class's brain trust wrapped around his finger!"
Fortunately, Hiyori was a person who prioritized rationality and wasn't a "love brain."
Besides, that guy shouldn't have twenty million points on him, right? At least he didn't have to worry about him actually spiriting Hiyori away...
"Hey! Manabe Shiho, come over here!" he suddenly called out.
"Ryuen? What do you want?" Manabe Shiho soon walked over to him.
Ryuen said maliciously: "I heard you had a run-in with Class C's Karuizawa Kei a while ago? Coincidentally, I've found that woman annoying for a long time too... Why don't we take advantage of this break time to give that self-righteous 'fake gal' a proper welcome?"
From the boxing ticket sales to the taunts during the sports festival—it was time to settle those two debts, with interest.
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