After casually leaving the Library, Natsukawa realized... why did he leave? Wasn't he supposed to be studying inside? However, Natsukawa didn't immediately turn back, partly because it would be a loss of face (not really), but mainly because he was afraid Horikita would come to her senses and stab him with a compass. It was better to let her cool down inside for now.
'Airi has been so stressed out with sociology these past two days; let her relax with some science.'
With that thought in mind, he turned and walked towards the teaching building, intending to retrieve his chemistry book from the classroom.
The hallway of the teaching building was exceptionally empty after school. The faint sound of indoor shoes meeting the polished floor echoed far in the silence. Just as he stepped onto the stairs leading to a higher floor, a strange, dull thud, accompanied by a faint, suppressed sharp female voice, drifted down from above the staircase.
"...Bang!...Damn it!...Bang!"
Natsukawa paused, listening intently. The source of the sound seemed to be the stair landing after the section leading to the rooftop. The heavy thud sounded like someone was furiously kicking the thick, heavy door to the rooftop, which would be closed after school. And that voice... he had a suspicion, so he slowed his pace, ascending silently. The closer he got, the clearer the sounds became.
"...Horikita Suzune! You self-righteous bitch! Who are you trying to fool with your purity! Giving you face is a waste!" It was Kushida Kikyo's voice. But at this moment, her normally sweet, honey-like tone was twisted, filled with undisguised venom and rage, every word squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"Bang!" Another heavy kick landed on the iron door, producing a loud echo.
"And those idiots in the class, Karuizawa's little clique constantly chattering like a bunch of hens! Hasebe also acts so high and mighty! And those stupid boys, do you really think I don't know what each of you is thinking inside..."
The curses grew increasingly vulgar, a stark contrast to her usual sunny and adorable Little Angel image. Natsukawa stopped at the stair landing, a spot where he could clearly hear the commotion above without being easily discovered. There was no surprise on his face; instead, there was a calmness that suggested he had expected this.
He silently pulled out his personal terminal from his pocket, gently unlocked it, and brought up the video recording function. Then, he carefully tucked the terminal, screen facing inward, back into his school uniform's chest pocket, ensuring the camera was just peeking out from the edge of the pocket, pointing towards the direction of the sound. After doing all this, he leaned back against the cold wall, crossed his arms, and quietly "enjoyed" the one-woman show upstairs, like an uninvolved spectator.
Kushida upstairs seemed unsatisfied with just cursing; with every vicious curse, she would add a powerful kick to the iron door. The "bang bang" sounds reverberated repeatedly in the empty stairwell, making one's eardrums ache. Natsukawa could even imagine her appearance at this moment—her cute face must be twisted with anger, and those eyes, which always curved into crescent moons, were probably filled with terrifying malice.
Perhaps he was too "engrossed" to hide himself, or perhaps Kushida, after continuous kicking, finally grew wary due to the loud noise she was making and subconsciously looked around.
In any case, when Natsukawa felt a cold gaze fall upon him, he looked up and met Kushida Kikyo's eyes, which were now undisguised, filled with shock and murderous intent, as she peered over the edge of the stair landing.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The rage and distortion on Kushida's face froze instantly, then receded like a tide, replaced by an extreme coldness and gloom. She slowly walked down the stairs, her steps slow but carrying an invisible sense of pressure. Her large brown eyes stared intently at Natsukawa, devoid of the sweet smile of yesteryear, leaving only naked threat.
"You... heard everything?" Her voice was low, with a barely perceptible hoarseness, a lingering effect of her shouting.
Natsukawa straightened up, his face still expressionless, simply looking at her calmly, neither admitting nor denying.
Seeing his lack of response, Kushida's lips curved into a cold, almost cruel smile: "Natsukawa Sosuke, I'm warning you. If you dare to say even one word about what you saw and heard today..." She took a step closer, looking up at Natsukawa, her gaze like a poisoned dagger, "I will use every means possible to make your life in this school unbearable until you drop out. I mean what I say."
Faced with this blatant threat, Natsukawa suddenly let out a soft laugh. The laugh was faint, yet exceptionally clear in the silent stairwell.
"Don't worry, Kushida-san." He spoke, his tone even gentle, "I have no interest in spreading other people's secrets. And..." He paused, his gaze seemingly looking past Kushida, seeing something deeper, "Your current state, in my eyes, isn't much at all."
Kushida's pupils constricted slightly, clearly not expecting such a reaction from him. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is," Natsukawa's tone carried a world-weary indifference, "who doesn't have another side they don't want people to know? To survive, wearing different masks in certain environments is perfectly normal." He deliberately made his words sound ambiguous, as if he too carried a heavy past, "Compared to some truly dark pasts, your way of venting emotions even seems a bit... 'youthful.'"
He successfully used 'misunderstanding' to divert Kushida's attention and revealed the "tip of the iceberg" of his own experiences.
Sure enough, the murderous intent and wariness in Kushida's eyes were slightly replaced by a hint of uncertainty. She scrutinized Natsukawa, seemingly trying to find a flaw in his calm, unruffled face. "You... who exactly are you?"
"Just an ordinary student like you, trying to find my place in this school." Natsukawa skillfully avoided the crucial points, leading the conversation to a deeper level, "However, I'm very curious, Kushida-san, what is it that you ultimately want by being so persistent in befriending everyone, even at the cost of suppressing your true self? Is it merely the feeling of being surrounded and needed by everyone? Or is there another, more important goal?"
His question was like a key, trying to pry open the deepest vault of Kushida's heart.
Kushida was silent for a moment, her eyes shifting with complex emotions. Natsukawa's reaction, so different from what she had expected, his seemingly understated yet core-hitting questions, and his elusive demeanor, completely unlike that of her peers, all caused a hint of... curiosity to arise within her, despite her anger.
"...I long for... recognition." Finally, she said in a low voice, with a hint of barely perceptible fragility, "Everyone has it, right? From childhood, being praised for getting first in exams or running fast. And I, for this praise, this recognition, crave it more than others."
"So, you're afraid they'll find out you're not perfect, right?"
This was the root of her twisted ideal.
Natsukawa looked at her, slowly shaking his head, his tone almost cruelly calm: "Building a sense of identity based on others' affection and need is like building a house on quicksand. Once you can't maintain that perfect image, or someone more 'popular' appears, everything will collapse. True strength and security should come from your own irreplaceable value and abilities, not from illusory relationships built on pleasing others."
His words struck Kushida's long-held belief like a heavy hammer.
"What choice do I have? I already know the limits of my abilities. I also want to have great strength, but it's not that I don't want to! It's precisely because I can't compare in grades and sports that I can only do what no one else wants to do!"
Seeing Kushida's slight loss of composure, Natsukawa knew that the initial shock had been achieved. He timely shifted the topic: "No, Kikyo, you already possess considerable strength now. The emotional intelligence and affability you've honed through social interaction over these past few years are things most people can't achieve. The effort you've put into this is by no means just trying to please others! This is a unique gentleness, belonging only to Kushida, that only a few can understand!"
"Those people in your class only use you as an emotional punching bag, but only I see your great value. Don't worry, you don't have to suppress your true self in front of me. This will be a secret just between the two of us."
...