Schemes at the Start and Dealing with Ichinose

"What did you want to see me about?"

Yeyue pushed a cup of black tea toward him and spoke indifferently. Sitting across from him was Ayanokoji. A day had passed since D Class decided to help Sudo. After school today, Ayanokoji had suddenly visited his dorm room.

"Thanks..."

Ayanokoji slowly took a sip and said calmly, "I'd like to ask Tenyo to help find evidence proving that Sudo acted in self-defense."

"Heh, you really are devoted to Sudo."

"Sudo is an important friend of mine, after all."

"Heh."

Yeyue did not respond. He merely gazed calmly into the other boy's eyes. Ayanokoji said helplessly, "If I suddenly showed my capabilities, it would seem unnatural. Besides, it might create a rift in my relationship with Sudo. You understand, right?"

That was true.

Even though Sudo and Ayanokoji already had a pretty good relationship, if Sudo suddenly found out that the other guy was actually incredibly capable, and had been hiding it from him while playing along with him all this time, even as close friends, Sudo would probably feel uncomfortable deep down.

It would not go as far as cutting ties, but it would be difficult for them to speak as equals in the future. Guiding Sudo after that would also become harder.

Although he had formed a superficial alliance with Ayanokoji, Yeyue knew perfectly well that Ayanokoji's promises were bullshit. He simply could not act entirely according to Yeyue's wishes.

He had not placed his hopes on Ayanokoji, either.

"That is true." Yeyue nodded. "Then you can go find someone else. There was no need to come to me."

"I do not have many friends. Other than Tenyo, I could not think of anyone else."

"Ayanokoji, don't you get tired?"

"It's true." Ayanokoji sighed. "Kushida and I went to Horikita first, but she refused us. We really could not think of anyone who could help, so we had no choice but to come to you. Or were you going to tell me to ask Yamauchi and the others for help?"

Even at a time like this, Ayanokoji was still trying to plant the impression of being "friends" in his mind. How boring.

"Then why didn't Kushida come to me?"

"She said that Tenyo was not close with Sudo, so it would be best not to trouble you."

"So coming to me was Ayanokoji's own judgment?"

"Well... if it makes Tenyo uncomfortable, I'll think of another way."

This was also within Yeyue's expectations. Kushida did not want to use him to achieve her goal, but she was perfectly at ease using Ayanokoji.

Who someone was closer to depended on one's perspective.

After a period of silence, Ayanokoji stared at the black tea in his hand and muttered, "If Class Points are deducted because of Sudo, D Class's morale will definitely take a huge hit. Horikita will probably be upset too."

"She would not be upset. She would only be unwilling to accept it."

"That's true."

Ayanokoji did not argue and silently drank his black tea. Horikita truly was that kind of person.

"Fine."

Yeyue nodded and stretched. "Leave Sudo's problem to me."

"Then what should we do? We have Completely No idea."

"We'll talk after school tomorrow. What's the rush?"

"I see... Then I'll head back first."

After seeing Ayanokoji off, Yeyue tidied up a little and prepared to place some snacks on the table as usual.

He began reviewing his conversation with Ayanokoji, reflecting on whether there had been anything inappropriate in his answers. It was his habit.

Very soon.

Yeyue shook his head. He had not found anything wrong.

At most, Ayanokoji could conclude that he was acting for D Class, Horikita, or both. That amounted to nothing.

Ayanokoji's true objective was simple.

To plant the impression of being "friends," he had split it into two stages, bringing up Kushida and Horikita to observe Yeyue's reactions.

It had all been a smokescreen.

With Ayanokoji's abilities, persuading Horikita or finding other people to help would have been very easy.

His real goal was to use Sudo's matter to confirm Yeyue's capabilities, judge his principles of action, and determine what methods to use against him in the future—whether to guard against him or threaten him.

What a boring idea.

That was Ayanokoji's tragedy, perhaps.

"That damn Wang Meiyu actually dared to refuse me. Who the hell does that girl think she is?"

"And Horikita too, always saying things that are impossible to understand. She makes me sick."

At around ten that night, Kushida Kikyo wore a sinister expression as she punched and kicked a sandbag, freely venting the dissatisfaction in her heart. From time to time, words chilling enough to make one break out in a cold sweat spilled from her lips. It was completely impossible to imagine that this was the kind Little Angel in the class.

Yeyue sat cross-legged on the floor, reading a book while eating the snacks on the table.

About five minutes later.

Having vented her emotions, Kushida sat on the bed with her snow-white thighs crossed, casually using a towel to wipe the fragrant sweat from her face.

It seemed that all he had to do was turn around to see the scenery from his dreams. Today's dream was pink. Yeyue closed his book and asked in confusion, "It's already over? Today's time was really short, wasn't it?"

"Was it? I thought it had been a long time."

Kushida wiped away her sweat with her left hand while using the other to unlock her phone. She was also surprised to see that only five minutes had passed.

Now that she had someone she could trust and confide in, Kushida's condition had improved considerably, and she had become much more casual as well. Before long, she likely would no longer need to vent through violence.

At first, Kushida had indeed hesitated. But after experiencing how wonderful it was to have someone worth confiding in, she began taking the initiative to reveal some of her dissatisfaction with the class.

Simply put, Yeyue had become Kushida's emotional trash can.

Hearing countless complaints every day was indeed annoying.

But Yeyue did not mind.

He would remember useful information and ignore useless information. He did not need to please everyone the way Kushida did.

Yeyue asked curiously, "Then what? Weren't Little Kikyo and Wang Meiyu good friends? What happened that made you curse her like that?"

"I wanted to ask her to help find evidence for Sudo, but that woman actually dared to refuse me outright. How infuriating." Kushida stretched lazily as she replied, showing off her proud curves.

In Sakurajima, where no one was good at refusing others, even when someone truly needed to refuse, they had to be extremely tactful. At the very least, they needed an excuse and had to apologize in return, saying something like, "Thank you for your kindness, but I really don't have the time." A direct refusal really was difficult to accept.

For Wang Meiyu, this was probably hard to understand.

Yeyue said helplessly, "Wang Meiyu is an exchange student from Dragon Country. Her values are quite different from those in Sakurajima. She probably didn't mean to hurt you, so Little Kikyo doesn't need to take it so seriously."

"Is that so? Yeyue seems to know quite a lot about Dragon Country?"

Kushida propped her chin on her right arm and studied Yeyue curiously. Compared to Wang Meiyu, she seemed more interested in what Yeyue liked.

Or rather, Wang Meiyu's matters did not matter at all. Since it was not a real friendship to begin with, Kushida, who could not trust anyone besides Yeyue, could not obtain genuine friendship either. That was why she cherished it all the more.

But if not for Kushida, Wang Meiyu's high school life would probably have been quite difficult. She had mainly studied Japanese in junior high and had not truly learned about Sakurajima's culture.

Without realizing it, Wang Meiyu might have turned down the goodwill of many girls. In the end, only Kushida would sincerely accept her.

And that was indeed the truth.

Although Kushida got along well with everyone, the core of her group consisted of only three people. The other one was also someone similar to Wang Meiyu.

Someone who was hard to refuse but whom they did not want to deal with.

Wang Meiyu appeared to have good relationships with people. They would nod and greet her like friends in daily life, but in truth, they did not really want to associate with her.

"Sort of. I occasionally went to Dragon Country when I was little." Yeyue suggested, "Wang Meiyu might not really understand Sakurajima's culture. Little Kikyo could tell her more about it."

"Really..." Kushida did not care at all. Instead, she giggled. "Why are you so concerned about Wang Meiyu, Yeyue? As expected, you must have feelings for such a pretty girl, right?"

"No." Yeyue rolled his eyes helplessly. He did have a natural fondness for Wang Meiyu because she had been born in Dragon Country, but it was only the feeling of encountering an old friend in a foreign land.

If necessary, Yeyue would not go easy on Wang Meiyu in the slightest.

Seemingly extremely interested in this sort of topic, Kushida leaned forward until she was right in front of Yeyue. "Then what about Matsushita Chiaki? She's been complaining to me a lot lately, saying things like, 'Yeyue's grades are obviously so good, but he's really such an idiot.' I told her she liked you. She's such a pretty girl, so why didn't you agree?"

Even a two-faced girl like Kushida was only a teenage high school girl. Yeyue's shoulders sank slightly. He opened his mouth but did not respond, then pressed his lips together and avoided Kushida's gaze, looking somewhat dejected.

"They're both very nice girls. If you want, Yeyue, I can help set you up." Even seeing Yeyue like this, Kushida still did not give up.

"Let's not talk about that." Yeyue forced out a smile. "Actually, Ayanokoji came to see me today. He wanted me to help Sudo too. Why didn't Little Kikyo want to tell me about this?"

"Ah..."

Though she knew he was changing the subject, Kushida sighed helplessly. Her expression instantly turned gloomy. "That guy only ever causes me trouble. You don't want to help Sudo either, right, Yeyue? It's fine. I'll refuse Ayanokoji for you."

Kushida took out her phone, about to send Ayanokoji a text message.

After all, when Yeyue had been in class, he had not suggested helping at all. Clearly, just like Wang Meiyu, he did not want to help Sudo.

"No need. I thought Little Kikyo had only been saying it casually. If you really intend to help Sudo, then of course I'll help too." Yeyue snatched the phone from her hand and shook his head.

Someone had taken her phone, and her privacy might very well have been exposed. Yet Kushida did not mind at all. The way they interacted had become quite casual.

Kushida lowered her head and said quietly, "You don't need to consider me so much. I was only helping casually, trying my best to put on a good show. As for Sudo, he doesn't matter at all."

"Then why did you ask Ayanokoji for help?" Yeyue was clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

Hearing him, Kushida was at a loss for words. "Of course because he's easy to use. Don't tell me you thought I'd like that gloomy guy, Yeyue?"

"Uh... I see." Yeyue muttered softly. "But still, I hope Little Kikyo will think of me first whenever something comes up."

"This..."

Kushida clenched the bedsheet into a ball and said quietly, "Actually, I only wanted to use Ayanokoji to get close to Horikita. Yeyue really doesn't need to care about that."

It seemed she did not want him to be caught in the middle between Kushida and Horikita. After all, his relationship with Horikita appeared fairly good too.

"Come to think of it, Kushida, you wanted to become friends with Horikita?"

"That..."

She had indeed said that before. Kushida shook her head. "That was a lie. I'd rather have Horikita expelled..."

"What? Why? Does Little Kikyo have some conflict with Horikita?"

Yeyue asked in surprise.

It seemed Kushida already trusted him quite a bit, enough to respond Without Hesitation even to something like this.

"That's right."

Kushida gritted her teeth and Nodded viciously. "Horikita and I went to the same Junior High. That Vile Woman actually dared to reveal my past. It's absolutely hateful."

"Was it that rumor from At the Start of School?"

"That's right." Kushida said with disgust, "That rumor caused me no end of trouble. D Class is fine, but people from the other classes are clearly somewhat wary of me. I have no idea how much effort I've wasted trying to become friends with them."

The rumor had indeed caused negative effects. Kushida basically only had time to come to his room late every night, so she still had not run into Horikita. Still, it was only a matter of time before they met.

To maintain everyone's friendship while keeping up excellent grades, Kushida was quite busy as well.

"Does Little Kikyo have any evidence? As far as I know, Suzune isn't the type to gossip behind people's backs. There must be some misunderstanding." Yeyue asked doubtfully.

Kushida gave a derisive laugh and said viciously, "How could there possibly be a misunderstanding? Horikita is the only person in the entire school who knows about my past. I don't know why she hasn't made a move since then, but I will definitely make that Vile Woman get expelled."

"This is still far too strange. There must be some misunderstanding. I can go talk to Suzune." Yeyue Could Not Accept this.

"There's no need. The main point isn't actually that Horikita exposed my past."

"Uh..." Yeyue scratched his head. "Wait, my head's getting a little muddled. Why is that?"

Kushida lay flat beside Yeyue, spread her arms, and stared at the ceiling as she spoke softly. "The point is that Horikita knows about my past."

"Then What?"

"..."

Yeyue, somewhat dumbfounded, confirmed, "Just because she knows Little Kikyo's past, you want Horikita to drop out?"

Kushida did not respond, which amounted to tacit agreement.

"Then... what about me?" Yeyue asked weakly.

Kushida turned onto her side on the bed and gave Yeyue a sweet smile. "Yeyue won't reveal my past, so what is there to worry about?"

"That's true." Yeyue Nodded. "But Horikita won't either. Why do you insist on making her drop out?"

"She definitely will!"

Kushida had always believed in presuming guilt, and the rumor incident at the start of school only strengthened her resolve to make Horikita drop out. She simply had no Particularly Good method for it yet.

Yeyue himself had also done a great deal before earning Kushida's trust.

Reasoning would not work, and there was even less need to reason with Kushida.

Yeyue changed the subject. "What about Ayanokoji?"

"What does this have to do with him?" Kushida was quite confused upon hearing that sudden name.

"No, it's just... I feel like the two of you are quite close. Doesn't Ayanokoji know about Little Kikyo's past?"

It seemed Ayanokoji had not yet discovered Kushida's true nature. That was somewhat unexpected. Still, with Kushida spending her time maintaining her social life and coming to his room to vent whenever she had free time—

It would be difficult for Ayanokoji to happen upon Kushida's true nature by chance.

"Uh..."

Rolling her eyes helplessly, Kushida hugged Yeyue from behind, pressed his head against her chest, and gently stroked his Beautiful Hair.

"Yeyue really is an idiot. I told you I'm only using Ayanokoji. How could I possibly let Others know about my past?"

"Little Kikyo... why do you trust me so much?" Yeyue asked uncertainly.

"Yes... why is that?" Kushida Cannot Help but rest her Snow White chin on Yeyue's shoulder, lowering her head as she said, "Before I knew it, I had started trusting Yeyue. It's truly strange."

Feeling Kushida's arms tighten around him, Yeyue then heard her whisper, "But I also really like how this feels now."

"Is that so? I also really like being with cute Little Kikyo."

After hesitating slightly, Yeyue gathered his courage and took Kushida's Small Hands. Her Snow White hand trembled faintly before giving up its resistance.

Yeyue expressionlessly rubbed Kushida's hand. About a minute later, Kushida pulled her hand back, pushed Yeyue away, and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Honestly, I nearly let Yeyue have his way without realizing it. Don't Do Something strange. I told you, I don't want to date anyone during High School Three Years."

"Sorry..."

"Sigh."

Kushida sighed and turned her head aside, using one hand to sweep up the Beautiful Hair by her ear and block Yeyue's view.

"Don't apologize. Yeyue didn't do anything wrong. I was just too careless."

"Hm?"

Yeyue frowned unnaturally.

It was only natural that Kushida had feelings for him, because he was the only person in her world she could trust. After all, Kushida Kikyo could not even trust her own parents; one could imagine what such a relationship meant.

And that was indeed the case. Even though she never had enough time each day, Kushida still squeezed out time every few days to come clean for Yeyue.

But what did she mean by "too careless"? Yeyue could not figure it out for the moment.

There probably wouldn't be any problems.

After all, his plan had been progressing so smoothly.

No matter what Kushida was thinking, As Long As he took a few more steps, Kushida Kikyo would only be able to remain dependent at his feet for the rest of her life.

"I'll head back for today. Yeyue, if you want to Do Something H, you'd be better off looking for Matsushita Chiaki. I can help out from the side too~."

Kushida wore a teasing smile as she joked her farewell, seemingly not bothered by what had just happened in the slightest.

He naturally refused. He didn't need Kushida's help at all, and Yeyue hadn't come to this school for that sort of thing.

If they were off campus, Matsushita Chiaki would have long since been devoured clean by him. But at school, he only found a woman like Matsushita Chiaki—one with a bit of petty cleverness—somewhat troublesome: tasteless to eat, yet a pity to throw away...