Konoe's Room

Konoe had wanted to refuse, but something about Kushida seemed off to him, so he decided to let her in.

A girl coming into a guy's room alone late at night stirred up some thoughts in Konoe, but he quickly reasoned them away. After all, he knew what she was really like.

"Sorry to bother you. Your room is really neat, too, Konoe." Kushida took off her shoes and went inside.

Konoe casually set his schoolbag on the desk. "Sit wherever you like. Though I don't have any cups for guests."

Kushida didn't bother with formalities. She went over to the bed and sat down. "No need to go to any trouble. I'll just sit for a bit, then leave. Oh? So you bought a computer, Konoe. I bet it's for studying, right?"

"...Are you going to keep pretending?" Konoe poured himself a glass of water, then went to sit at the desk.

As soon as Konoe finished speaking, it was as if a mask had shattered on Kushida's face. Her stiff smile slowly turned cold. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly stood up.

"What's wrong?"

Kushida suddenly kicked the crossbeam beneath the bed. Her voice rang out along with the thud of wood. "So annoying!"

Konoe was startled, but quickly regained his composure. He didn't say anything to Kushida, just silently took a sip of water.

"Getting all high and mighty just because she's cute. Trash..." Kushida kicked the crossbeam again, muttering under her breath.

Then she kept repeating the motion, her voice growing louder each time. "She's trash, trash, trash! I wish someone like Horikita would just die!"

"She's so damn annoying, that bitch!" She pounded the bed with both hands and dropped to her knees beside it.

After a little while, Kushida seemed to get tired. She lifted the blanket and, still on her knees, buried her head beneath it.

"...Hey, Kushida. What are you going to do if someone else sees you like this?"

"So annoying! That's why I came to your room!" Kushida shouted from beneath the blanket, her voice muffled.

Konoe sighed and slowly sat down beside her. He reached out and stroked her head through the blanket, as if petting a cat. "You worked hard this time, too, little Kushida."

Kushida's body trembled. She fell silent beneath the blanket for a few seconds, then began muttering Horikita's name again.

After nearly ten minutes of this, her voice grew quieter and quieter. Konoe didn't know what else to do with her for the moment, so he sat down at the desk, opened his computer, and prepared to memorize the materials from the Student Council.

A few minutes hadn't even passed when Kushida flung off the blanket and walked up to Konoe, looking down at him coldly. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from Horikita? You even kept praising her at the Celebration Party?"

Then she continued, sounding as if she were interrogating him. "What did you mean by 'thanks to Horikita'? Wasn't it you who told us to go find the test papers? We used her points, and, tsk! She even refused to let me pay for part of it!"

Konoe said nothing and kept staring at the computer screen, while Kushida's breathing grew faster with every word.

When Konoe didn't respond, she opened her mouth and took a few quick breaths, then continued, "And you even said you were acting on her instructions... Have you... become friends with her already?"

Konoe stopped studying. The interruption annoyed him, but he didn't want to turn toward Kushida, so he stayed seated as he was. "That's because Ayanokoji kept trying to push the blame and attention onto me, so I just shifted it onto Horikita instead. And most importantly, I paid the points. If you want to pay now, it's not too late."

"I don't care about any of that! I'm asking if you've fallen for that pig! You gave her all the credit and even said she was pretty!" Kushida slapped the desk. The glass on it rattled.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure what I said was 'she has some attractive features,' right? And even if I had said what you claim, I'd only be telling the truth."

"...Don't forget, that outfit is still in my room! If you dare betray me from now on... Oh, right!"

Kushida remembered something and suddenly grabbed Konoe by the shoulders. She forcefully turned him around, then slowly leaned down and brought her face close to his, making him look her in the eyes.

"Come to think of it, there are only the two of us here..."

Konoe had already been angry at Kushida for making unreasonable accusations. Now, after what she'd just done, his anger only grew.

So Konoe picked up the glass of water on the desk and slowly poured it over Kushida's head.

"Wha...t!" Kushida stared at Konoe in disbelief.

"Well? Have you calmed down?"

"You bastard!" Kushida suddenly raised her hand to grab Konoe.

"Let me make this clear, Kushida. If you lay a hand on me again, we're not friends anymore." Konoe looked her in the eyes coldly.

"...You think I care about something like that?" Kushida's movement abruptly stopped. She kept her raised hand hanging stiffly in the air.

"Do whatever you want. Now get out of my dorm."

After saying that, Konoe turned back to the computer screen and paid no more attention to what Kushida might do.

Kushida lowered her hand and stood beside Konoe with her head bowed, saying nothing. She stayed quiet for a few minutes, then slowly began moving toward the entrance.

Then she suddenly remembered something, turned back, and straightened the bedding she'd messed up on Konoe's bed before getting ready to leave.

At that moment, Konoe's phone rang. It was Ayanokoji.

"Konoe, Kushida left her phone in my room. I tried calling her room, but no one answered. After you went out with her, did you see which way she went?"

"Hold on." Konoe muted his phone's microphone.

Then Konoe casually called out to Kushida, who was still by the entrance. "Hey, you left your phone in Ayanokoji's room. Go get it."

"...It's so late. How am I supposed to go get it? And if I go over there just like this, Ayanokoji will get the wrong idea."

Ayanokoji hadn't been able to reach Kushida, but if she went to get her phone right after he called Konoe, he'd think they'd been together all this time. Thinking of that, Konoe sighed.

"Ugh, you're impossible." Konoe went to the entrance and put on his shoes. "Wait here."

It was only a few walls away from his dorm to Ayanokoji's door, but Konoe stood there for two or three minutes before unmuting his phone's microphone.

"Sorry for the wait, Ayanokoji. I'm at your door. Open up."

A few seconds later, Ayanokoji opened the door. Konoe said, "Kushida was just in a female classmate's room. I called and asked. Give me her phone, and I'll bring it to her later."

"Is that okay? Wouldn't a guy going over there violate the dorm rules?" Ayanokoji asked worriedly.

"It's fine. I'll call her to come get it when I'm nearby."

"...I see. Here." Ayanokoji handed over Kushida's phone.

After taking the phone from Ayanokoji, Konoe headed for the elevator.

Then he took Kushida's phone to the convenience store, bought some candy to keep in his pocket, and only after that headed back to his dorm.

A little over ten minutes later, Konoe returned to his dorm. When he entered, Kushida was still waiting by the entrance with her head bowed.

Konoe was startled when he opened the door. He took out her phone and said, "...Why didn't you sit down while you waited? I got your phone. Here."

Kushida took her phone back and put it in her bag, then suddenly hugged Konoe and whispered, "...I'm sorry."

Before Konoe could reply, Kushida, who had already put her shoes on, fled his room.