Horikita Kikyo

Konoe followed Kushida, intending to go up and greet her, but her pace had changed from the leisurely walk she'd kept after leaving the library to a hurried stride, as if she were rushing to do something.

Looks like I was overthinking it. Even if Horikita knows one of Kushida's secrets, Kushida is still a kind girl. Being spoken to in that tone by Horikita must have hurt.

Konoe tried to catch up and comfort her, but her pace gradually turned into a jog. She was moving so fast that Konoe, whose athletic ability was terrible, couldn't keep up.

Konoe pulled out his phone and called her, hoping to make her stop, but there was no sign that the call would connect.

Was she really that upset? I have to find her quickly.

In the distance, someone who looked like Kushida from behind entered the School Building. It was already six in the evening, and aside from students attending club activities, no one would be here. If it was Kushida, she might have come to confide in a good friend.

Konoe followed. If he saw her get in touch with a friend, he'd leave. As long as she could talk about her feelings with someone, things should be all right.

He finally caught up to the hallway, but Kushida was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard hurried footsteps from the Stairs. Whoever was moving so quickly was probably Kushida.

Following the hurried footsteps, Konoe made his way to the Rooftop.

What's going on? This place should be locked after school. Did Kushida arrange to meet someone?

Curious, Konoe stopped at the bottom of the Stairs, planning to wait until Kushida opened the Rooftop Door before going a little farther to take a look.

But Kushida didn't go in at all. She seemed to have stopped by the door.

Then...

"Ah... What a pain."

A low, impatient voice drifted down from above. It did sound like Kushida, but...

"This is so annoying. I'm so pissed off. Why won't someone like her just die already..."

Kushida muttered curses under her breath, as if chanting a spell.

"She thinks she's so cute, so she puts on airs. She's probably just a slut anyway. A woman with that kind of personality tutoring people? What a joke!"

Kushida was talking about Horikita, but Konoe's mind was reeling with shock, leaving him unable to think about anything.

"Ah... This is the worst. The absolute worst, the worst, the worst. Horikita's so annoying, so annoying, so annoying... Die, die, die..."

Konoe couldn't help recalling how gentle Kushida had always seemed. She'd always been cheerful and cute, wearing a bright smile, as if nothing anyone said could ever make her angry.

At last, Konoe came to his senses, and his mind began frantically sounding the alarm!

I have to... get out of here...

Bang! Clang! A tremendous noise came from above. Konoe guessed she'd kicked the door. He carefully shifted his feet, but something unexpected happened.

After kicking the door, Kushida had startled at the sound herself. She went quiet at once and looked downstairs, apparently checking whether anyone else had heard. But... her eyes met Konoe's as he looked up.

"What are you doing here...?"

After a brief silence, Kushida hurried down, her voice cold.

"Sensei asked me to check whether the Rooftop Door was locked. She forgot, so she told me to take a look. What happened up there? That was a really loud noise." Konoe swallowed, and his survival instinct made him put on an unconcerned expression.

"...Really? Which teacher?" Kushida's tone seemed to soften a little.

"...Chabashira-sensei."

"You're lying." Kushida replied with absolute certainty, as if she knew who was responsible for this door.

Her confident tone made Konoe take an involuntary step backward.

"You really are lying? Did you hear something...?"

"...No." His own panic had given Kushida away to his excuse. While cursing himself, Konoe gradually began to calm down.

"Heh..." Kushida slowly reached an arm toward him, as if she meant to pull him a little farther up so no one else would see them.

But Konoe seemed to have anticipated it. He suddenly slapped her hand away.

"...Wha—!" Kushida's eyes widened, then she realized Konoe was trying to turn and run.

Clearly, Kushida hadn't expected him to run outright, but she quickly reacted. If he got away... At the thought, her expression twisted into a grimace. In just a few quick steps, she raced down the Stairs at an unbelievable speed, closing in on Konoe, who was still gripping the railing and thinking he was descending quickly.

She immediately attacked him from behind, wrapping her left arm around his neck. Konoe began struggling wildly, trying to break free.

In a one-on-one fight, a girl should have been no match for a boy's strength. But reality didn't follow the rules. Konoe's physical stamina was lamentably poor, while her fifty-meter swimming time was thirty-one seconds.

After struggling for a short while, Konoe ran out of strength, and his body went limp. He suddenly realized that not only couldn't he pry Kushida's arm off him, he hadn't even managed to make her take a single step since he'd started struggling.

Huh? Konoe couldn't believe she was so strong. He turned to look at Kushida, who was pressed against his back.

Kushida looked surprised too, but then a smile slowly spread across her face. She pressed her face to his ear and spoke in a cute voice. "This won't do, Konoe. How can a boy's body be this weak?"

Konoe's mind, which had finally calmed down, was thrown into a panic again. He opened his mouth and shouted, "Help! Someone—"

Seeing him try to call for help, Kushida immediately covered his mouth with her other hand.

"Mmph, mmph..." All Konoe could manage was a muffled noise.

Then Kushida forcefully dragged him up the Stairs. Konoe, already exhausted, was powerless against her. She slowly hauled him to the Rooftop Door.

"No one will disturb us here. Now, what should I do with you, Konoe?" Kushida's voice was chillingly cold. To Konoe, she seemed at least ten thousand times more terrifying than Horikita.

Kushida slowly sat down against the wall, pulling Konoe down to the ground with her arm. From the side, it looked as if she were holding him in her arms from behind.

"You're smart, so you should understand the situation. I'm going to let go of your mouth. If you shout..." With that, Kushida released her hand from his mouth.

"Ha... ha... ha... Kushida..." Konoe gasped for air, trying to collect his panicked thoughts.

"You actually tried to run. Were you planning to tell someone about me?" Kushida demanded coldly.

Konoe took a deep breath and said, "You don't seem to understand the situation, Kushida. I'm the one who knows your secret now. What if I tell someone?"

"Then I'll tell everyone you almost raped me here."

Hearing Kushida say that, given their current circumstances, made Konoe angry instead. "Are you kidding me?" He gave a token struggle, but his body felt like a puppet being tugged by her strings. He couldn't even get up.

"Do you think anyone will believe that without evidence?"

"It doesn't matter. There'll be evidence soon."

Kushida forcibly turned Konoe around, making him face her.

Only then did Kushida notice that Konoe's breathing was uneven, and sweat had messed up his black bangs. For some reason, the thought that he was completely under her control filled her with a strange excitement.

"You're really cute, Konoe. You seem to be popular with the girls." Kushida said it in a sweet voice, but her words were mocking.

"...You're not bad yourself, Kushida. I feel like an idiot for wanting to come comfort you."

Kushida then grabbed Konoe's left hand, laid it over his other hand, and moved it to her chest.

The softness and warmth passed through his palm, and Konoe instinctively squeezed.

"...So you really do want to die!" Kushida's face instantly flushed red. Furious, she clamped her other hand around Konoe's neck.

"Don't... You're the one who did this. What are you trying to do?"

Naturally, Konoe couldn't resist anything Kushida did. He could only let her do as she pleased.

"Now your fingerprints are on me, so there's evidence. I'm serious. Do you understand?"

"..."

Seeing that Konoe seemed to understand, she let go, and he naturally pulled his hand back.

"I'm not washing this uniform. I'll keep it in my room. If you dare betray me, I'll hand it over to the police." Kushida stood up, then saw Konoe sitting silently on the ground. She clicked her tongue and forcibly pulled him to his feet.

Konoe suddenly remembered being asked before who he liked in class. He'd said Kushida's name. He hadn't been lying. Of all the girls in his class, Kushida really had been the one he'd liked most at the time.

"...Kushida, is this side of you the real you...?"

Seeing Konoe with his head lowered, Kushida remembered that he'd only come over to comfort her at first. For some reason, she suddenly felt irritated again.

"So what? It has nothing to do with you."

"Is that so? If that's the case, why do you insist on getting along with Horikita when you hate her so much?"

"Is it wrong to work hard to make everyone like you? Do you know how difficult and exhausting it is?"

"I don't understand. I like being on my own." Konoe truly didn't understand. That was why he had to ask.

"Even someone like Horikita... Horikita-san. I still want to get along with her on the surface."

"...Even though it puts you under so much pressure?"

"Exactly. This is the way I want to live. It's the only thing that makes me feel like my existence has meaning."

Seeing how firmly Kushida answered, Konoe seemed to understand something.

Whatever Kushida had been through, at least since coming to this school, she really had worked hard to make everyone like her, just as she'd said.

Girls and boys alike, whether it was sunny Hirata or Yamauchi, who was always vulgar. She treated them all equally and never got angry.

Kushida seemed to crave other people's approval. Otherwise, it was hard to explain how she could endure so much pressure. Being considerate of everyone and able to get along with anyone was already impossible in itself, let alone when it was all an act.

"What a shame... I don't usually mind being friends with someone like you. You're cute and smart, and you've been helping your classmates study lately, right? Lots of girls have been talking about you." Kushida tried to make conversation. For some reason, seeing Konoe stay silent made her increasingly restless.

"..."

"Hmph... In that case..." Seeing that Konoe wasn't speaking, Kushida thought she'd threaten him and then leave.

"I don't dislike you either, Kushida."

"...What?" As if she'd heard something astonishing, Kushida looked at Konoe in confusion.

"Even knowing you have this side, I still don't dislike you. If anything, seeing this side of you makes you seem more complete."

"Huh? What are you even talking about?" Hearing Konoe say that, Kushida didn't know how to react for a moment. She didn't realize it herself, but for some reason, a flicker of relief welled up inside her, and her heartbeat began to quicken.

"And I don't think you've done anything wrong. Sure, I was shocked when I first saw this side of you. I was even disappointed. But now, I feel like this side of you is more genuine."

"...I get it. You touched my breasts just now, and it turned you on, right? Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Compared to Horikita, who'll criticize someone to their face without caring how they feel, Kushida, I like the way you usually pretend to be."

"...So what? Now you know what I'm really like, don't you?" Kushida kept her tone cold, but for some reason, her voice trembled.

For the first time, Konoe had something he wanted to do.

Kushida Kikyo... I'm going to...

"Kushida Kikyo, I can say for certain now that I like the real you more. If anything, I really admire you for working so hard to disguise yourself and consider other people's feelings just so everyone will like you. I don't think you've done anything wrong at all."

Kushida was about to say something, but no sound came out. She felt she couldn't control her racing heartbeat. All she could do was stare at Konoe with wide eyes.

"You can keep pretending to be cute if you want. You can even use that so-called evidence to get me expelled. But even so, I'm going to say this next part:"

Kushida held her breath.

"You're a coward, Kushida Kikyo. You want people to like you, so even though you know it's fake, you suppress your own personality and act cute. It's because you've believed from the start that no one would like the real you, isn't that right?"

"...What?!"

"Be my friend, Kushida Kikyo!"