Terrifying Honami

Right in front of her, Miyano Makoto sent a message to Ichinose Honami.

"I've run into a bit of trouble here. Are you free, Honami?"

"Coming right away."

As if she had been waiting by her phone the entire time, Miyano Makoto received her reply.

"Is it really okay? Letting someone else know about your situation?"

Kushida Kikyo put on an adorable expression.

"It's fine, it's fine. Ichinose-san is Makoto's girlfriend, right? I figured you wouldn't be able to keep it from her forever anyway."

She had accepted reality much faster than Miyano Makoto had anticipated.

"It's great that you can understand that."

Miyano Makoto said indifferently. This was supposed to be a very troublesome matter, but fortunately, Kushida Kikyo was understanding and had taken the initiative to propose negotiating with Ichinose Honami.

"I didn't expect to be noticed by Makoto the first time I let off some steam, ehe~"

(＾▽＾)

"I didn't expect it either."

Miyano Makoto had come here for exactly that reason, though he couldn't possibly say so out loud.

"Is Makoto this gentle with everyone?"

Kushida Kikyo wanted to learn more about Miyano Makoto.

"I'm only like this with cute girls."

Miyano Makoto was telling the truth; Kushida Kikyo possessed an undeniably cute appearance and... a perfectly artificial demeanor.

"Ah, he called me cute. I'm so happy~"

She wrapped her arms around herself and swayed from side to side.

The deserted school building seemed to gain a touch of youthful vitality because of her actions.

"Are those your true feelings?"

He expressed his doubts. Would Kushida Kikyo really feel happy because of that?

"Mm, after all, Makoto is very handsome."

Kushida Kikyo nodded. He was truly handsome, and although his personality was a bit nasty, he was still a cute guy.

Most importantly, this guy had no resistance to girls, and she felt confident she could easily manipulate him.

"Hearing you say that makes me happy, too."

The two of them chatted like this while waiting for time to pass.

"Whew—sorry for keeping you waiting, Makoto."

"It's fine. You didn't actually have to rush over here, Honami."

Ichinose Honami appeared before them, breathless. Upon seeing the other person present, her facial muscles twitched slightly.

"And this is...?"

"Kushida Kikyo, a friend I just met," Miyano Makoto introduced.

"...A friend... is she?"

Ichinose Honami chewed on the word, seemingly contemplating its meaning.

"Nice to meet you! Just as Makoto said, my name is Kushida Kikyo. You can just call me Kikyo, Ichinose-san!"

Kushida Kikyo gracefully extended her right hand, taking the initiative to offer a handshake to Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose Honami seemed caught off guard; she blankly placed her hand into the other girl's, they shook, and then...

She couldn't let go.

"Why are you allowed to call him Makoto?"

Although she appeared to be asking Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami's eyes were locked firmly onto Miyano Makoto.

"Eh, is that not allowed?"

Kushida Kikyo tilted her head, putting on a heartbroken expression.

"Of course not. Makoto is mine; only I am allowed to call him that."

Ichinose Honami emphasized her position.

"Alright then, I guess I'll just have to call him Miyano-kun from now on."

Kushida Kikyo didn't actually care about the way she addressed him; it was merely a tool she used to shorten the distance between herself and others.

"So? Why did you call me over here?"

Ichinose Honami's tone was not as gentle as usual. It seemed that if he couldn't provide a satisfactory answer right now, his peaceful school life might just come to an end...

"Actually, it's like this..."

Miyano Makoto explained everything that had just happened in minute detail, leaving nothing out.

"You mean to say, you just happened to hear a noise and discovered Kushida Kikyo here letting off some steam?"

Miyano Makoto nodded; he felt quite helpless about it too, but opportunity knocks only once, and he couldn't afford to miss this.

Ichinose Honami looked at him with deep suspicion; she couldn't shake the feeling that something about this wasn't right.

"So, Makoto, you want me to join you in listening to her vent her frustrations from now on?"

Ichinose Honami let go of Kushida Kikyo's right hand, which she had been gripping tightly until just a moment ago.

"Yes, that's right."

Miyano Makoto nodded again; their role was to act as a trash can for emotions.

"I understand."

Ichinose Honami signaled that she grasped the situation, then turned her head to continue, "However, I will not be giving you the key card to my dormitory room."

Kushida Kikyo's smile froze; she had never even thought of such a thing, okay!

Who would want your boyfriend, anyway!

Don't look down on people!

Only a beautiful girl without a boyfriend can maintain high popularity; she would never make such a low-level mistake.

"Of course I wouldn't want that thing."

"That's good."

The two of them exchanged contact information.

During the exchange, Kushida Kikyo noticed that the number of friends on the other person's list was almost catching up to her own.

"Is something wrong?"

Ichinose Honami sensed that something was off and asked.

"It's nothing."

Kushida Kikyo clearly didn't want to answer that question, "Then I'll be going now. See you next time, bye~"

"By..."

"Mm, goodbye."

After glaring at Miyano Makoto, who had been about to respond to Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami replied in her usual tone.

"Now it's just the two of us left."

"Mm..."

The scene fell into silence for a moment.

Miyano Makoto felt as if he were standing on a scaffold, and he was the prisoner about to meet the same fate as Louis XIV.

"Does Makoto have nothing he wants to say to me?"

"For example...?"

"Why is it that in just the short time we were separated, Makoto happened to run into such a beautiful girl on the school building stairs?"

"And that was while you were intentionally sending me away."

After Ichinose Honami finished speaking, she added one more sentence. Miyano Makoto couldn't see anything different in her expression compared to usual, but he still felt that something was wrong.

"I didn't intentionally send you away, Honami. Everything really was just a coincidence, a coincidence."

"Is that so? Do you think I'll believe that? Are there really such coincidences in this world?"

Ichinose Honami retorted. Her expression looked no different from usual, but there was a sense of urgency in her tone.

"I also think the probability of such a thing is minuscule, but that is the reality."

Miyano Makoto believed he was telling the truth.

"Can you stop lying to me from now on, Makoto?"

"I haven't lied to you, Honami."

"Liar."

Ichinose Honami made her assertion, "Makoto has been lying to me the whole time, both before and now."

A woman's intuition is truly terrifying; despite having absolutely no evidence, Ichinose Honami had undoubtedly discovered the truth.

Faced with this situation where he had no words to defend himself, Miyano Makoto chose to gently embrace her.

"..."

"Am I easy to comfort?"

In his arms, Ichinose Honami softly poured out her feelings, her voice gradually growing lower.

"Even though I've been deceived by Makoto, even though I've been used by Makoto, as long as I'm held by Makoto like this, I feel like nothing else matters."

"I'm sorry, I have reasons I cannot speak of."

Miyano Makoto could only apologize; that was all he could do.

"It's okay, Makoto doesn't need to apologize to me. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Ichinose Honami shook her head and continued, "My feelings for Makoto must make things very difficult for you, right?"

"That's not true, Honami, don't say such things."

This was something he absolutely could not admit.

"If that's the case, then why, why would you treat me like this, Makoto!"

Ichinose Honami's words were now laced with an obvious sob.

"Honami..."

"Is there something about me that makes you dissatisfied, Makoto? Tell me, I'm willing to change anything! I just need you not to leave me..."

Miyano Makoto felt Ichinose Honami's tight embrace; the strength of it was so great that even his sturdy body felt a slight pressure on his breathing.

"..."

Silence.

Kushida Kikyo, who hadn't gone very far, listened with great interest from downstairs.

Good heavens, Ichinose Honami, who appeared dignified, beautiful, and intellectual on the surface, was actually a total simp for that Miyano Makoto!

It seems the most popular girl in the grade can only be her, Kushida Kikyo!

Little Ichinose is just laughable, truly laughable.

"Do you feel a bit better, Honami? I'm sorry, I couldn't think of any words of comfort just now."

After a long while, Ichinose Honami finally lifted her head from his chest. Her eyes were already swollen from crying.

"Makoto, you're such a big jerk."

Ichinose Honami's words reminded Miyano Makoto of things that had happened in his past life.

"Even if I'm a jerk, you still like me?"

"...Yeah."

Miyano Makoto stroked her soft, long hair, the golden-pink tips appearing exceptionally clear in his eyes.

"What do you want, Honami?"

"I don't want anything. Anyway, Makoto definitely won't listen to me. You always agree on the surface, but in reality, you stay exactly the same. It's completely useless!"

"..."

Miyano Makoto had to admit that Ichinose Honami was right.

"Then, shall we leave it at this?"

"Yeah, let's leave it at this. Just hold me a little longer, Makoto..."

The two embraced quietly, time seemingly coming to a standstill in that moment, and an hour slipped away in silence.

It wasn't until Miyano Makoto returned to his dorm room that he realized his jacket was completely soaked.

"Honami..."

He felt a bitter taste in his heart. Her feelings were too heavy—so heavy that he no longer knew whether he should continue this.

The solution had actually been there all along, but he was still hesitating. However, if things continued like this...

I have a feeling I'm going to get hacked to death...

No, no, how could that be? Honami is so cute, how could she ever do that?

I'll apologize properly in person tomorrow.