When Tennoji Kaede and Shiina Hiyori were out shopping, they unexpectedly ran into Kushida Kikyo.
[Cause: Kushida Kikyo was in an awful mood after Horikita turned down her invitation yet again. She went out shopping to clear her head, only to run into Tennoji Kaede, the guy she'd developed a bit of a soft spot for. And he was shopping with a beautiful woman? How annoying!]
[Effect: Charisma +1, Masking Personality +10]
Tennoji Kaede looked thoughtful...
"Ah, this is Kushida Kikyo from Class D. We rode the same bus to school. Some things happened later, and we became friends on the bus."
Hiyori was simply curious. There was a story behind this, huh~
Kushida Kikyo chimed in, "I have Kaede to thank for helping me back then. Oh, sorry! Am I interrupting your date?"
Tennoji Kaede replied calmly, "You've got the wrong idea, Kushida. I'm a Class C student too. Would you like to join us for a while?"
"I'd like to hear what happened on the bus too. Please, join us."
Kushida Kikyo looked caught between accepting and declining, but in the end, she agreed.
Inside the Palette Cafe on the first floor of the School Building.
"So it was a dispute over a seat..." Shiina Hiyori took a small sip of plain coffee and nodded.
Tennoji Kaede remained composed, quietly noting which kinds of coffee Hiyori liked.
"Right. Kaede helped me out back then. By the way, that boy was Kouenji Rokusuke. He was in Class D, just like me, but..." Kushida Kikyo let a hint of pain show at just the right moment.
"Kouenji must be hard to get along with. Am I right?"
After hearing why he'd refused to give up his seat, Hiyori drew an obvious conclusion.
She was well-read and good at assessing situations—or perhaps at seeing into a person's core?
In the Original Work, Tennoji Kaede vaguely remembered that Ryuen had taken Hiyori to test Ayanokōji early on. Then he'd asked her right then and there, "What do you think of him?"
So Hiyori seemed to have some kind of special ability to judge people. Kaede couldn't remember the specifics, though. Hiyori had so little to do later in the Original Work.
Sitting quietly in the cafe, Kaede listened as Kushida continued, "It's even worse than Hiyori thinks. Kouenji is completely, utterly self-centered."
"I really want to be friends with him, but he never initiates conversations with anyone, and he acts without a care in the world. I can't help worrying. Can he really make it through high school with any semblance of a normal life? Sigh~"
Interesting. Figures. Was she taking a jab at someone by talking about Kouenji? Who was Kushida really talking about? It was so hard to guess~ Kaede chuckled to himself.
The two girls started talking again. Kushida's conversational skills were impressive, to say the least. Even Hiyori, who wasn't much of a talker, was often drawn into topics that interested her.
Unfortunately, Kushida was a two-faced person with a sweet smile.
"Kaede, what do you think?" Hiyori asked suddenly.
Uh, what were they talking about just now? Better think fast...
Tennoji Kaede smiled. "Horikita is rather aloof. I imagine it'd be much harder to talk to her than to Kouenji, wouldn't it?" They'd been talking about how Kushida couldn't get Horikita to accept her invitation.
Kushida looked a little pleased. "You're right, Kaede. But I still want to invite Horikita to be my friend."
Hiyori looked a little puzzled and asked her gently, "Kikyo, why do you want to be friends with her so much? I think Horikita might have something she can't talk about."
"Well... I just wanted to be friends with everyone after starting high school. It's my dream! And I'm going to make it come true."
Tennoji Kaede raised an eyebrow. So after befriending everyone, she could learn all their private secrets, right?
If he was a do-gooder who went to the trouble of making a gentleman's agreement just to protect other people's private secrets, then Kushida was his complete opposite.
Back in Middle School, Kushida Kikyo had accidentally discovered how much fun it was to dig up people's private business. She quickly became obsessed and couldn't stop.
Then, one day, she happened to reveal all her classmates' secrets in front of everyone. The entire class fell apart, and a huge brawl broke out. That was the main reason she ended up in Class D.
Fortunately, Hiyori was perceptive and wasn't the sort to blurt out whatever came to mind.
Tennoji Kaede decided to stick to his original plan. "That's quite an ambitious dream, Kikyo. I've had some contact with Horikita, so maybe I can help you get her to come out. And she won't refuse if you come along."
"Really!? Thank you!"
For a moment, Kushida Kikyo instinctively thought that Tennoji Kaede knew her secret too.
But she dismissed the idea almost immediately. She was a social butterfly, and she was sure that a handsome guy of his caliber couldn't have gone to her school. Otherwise, she would have remembered him.
"Then we'll have to arrange a time later." Tennoji Kaede tapped a finger against his temple, pretending to think. Then he said:
"Hmm~ Let me think... I'll let you know in advance. When you find Horikita, Kikyo, say these few words to her—"
Tennoji Kaede paused for a couple of seconds. Kushida and Hiyori both turned their attention to him.
"'Class 70' wants to see you. This chance won't come again, so don't miss it. You must come with Kushida."
"If you tell her that, she'll definitely agree." Tennoji Kaede gave a mysterious smile.
"Kaede, I'm curious about what you said. Is there a story behind it?"
On their way back from the cafe, Hiyori couldn't help quietly asking Kaede.
"Haha, I thought you'd keep holding back and never ask. Look." Tennoji Kaede took out his Personal Terminal and sent her a message.
"Hm?"
Hiyori opened her terminal, puzzled. Tennoji Kaede had sent her a screenshot of his points. The number on it was well over a million.
"Does the terminal have an image-editing function?" Hiyori asked, her voice dazed and curious.
"Whoa!" Kaede's whole body twisted. "I just threw my back out... This is real, okay? I'm actually pretty rich~"
Hiyori covered her mouth and laughed a few times. After composing herself, she said:
"I understand. So, when Horikita saw the 700,000 points in your account..."
"You really are clever~" Kaede answered honestly.
"But wouldn't it have been friendlier to give her your name directly, Kaede? I don't know exactly what happened, but when she sees that you have so many points, she'll probably ask around about you, right?"
"Horikita never even asked my name. You could say I've done most of the understanding between us on my own." He let out a cold laugh.
"The distance between being aloof and being arrogant is like a chasm." Hiyori had nothing to say, so she summed it up.
"Little Hiyori, you really hit the nail on the head."
He couldn't help sighing. Horikita really was so conceited. Even though she needed something from someone, she couldn't manage even the most basic courtesy.
"Kaede, you're getting more and more casual with how you address me."
"...I kind of like it. What do you think, Hiyori?"
He might as well try backing off to get closer.
Shiina Hiyori: "Either way is fine."
After walking Hiyori back to her dorm, Tennoji Kaede quietly lamented that Hiyori's birthday was January 21. He'd have to wait until next year.
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