The Terrifying Honami

In front of her, Miyano Makoto sent Ichinose Honami a message.

"I've run into a little trouble. Are you free, Honami?"

"I'm on my way."

As if she'd been waiting by her phone the whole time, Miyano Makoto received a reply almost immediately.

"Are you sure it's okay for other people to find out about your situation?"

Kushida Kikyo put on a cute expression.

"It's fine, it's fine. Ichinose is Makoto's girlfriend, right? I don't think you can keep it from her forever, anyway."

She accepted reality faster than Miyano Makoto had expected.

"I'm glad you understand."

Miyano Makoto replied without much emotion. This could have been a real hassle, but fortunately, Kushida Kikyo was understanding and had offered to speak with Ichinose Honami herself.

"I didn't expect Makoto to catch me letting off steam the very first time. Ehehe~"

(＾▽＾)

"I didn't expect it either."

That was exactly why Miyano Makoto had come over, of course, but he couldn't very well say so.

"Are you this nice to everyone, Makoto?"

Kushida Kikyo wanted to get to know Miyano Makoto better.

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

Miyano Makoto was telling the truth. Kushida Kikyo was undeniably cute, with her pretty looks and... perfectly affected manner.

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

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

Her gestures seemed to bring a touch of youthful energy to the otherwise quiet school building.

"Do you really mean that?"

He was skeptical. Would Kushida Kikyo really be happy just because he called her cute?

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

Kushida Kikyo nodded. He was genuinely handsome. His personality was a little unpleasant, but he was still kind of cute.

More importantly, he was helpless around girls. She was sure she could easily wrap him around her finger.

"Now that you mention it, I'm happy too."

The two of them chatted as they waited.

"Phew—sorry to keep you waiting, Makoto."

"It's okay, Honami. You didn't have to rush over."

Ichinose Honami appeared before them, panting. When she saw the other person there, her face twitched.

"Who is this...?"

"Kushida Kikyo. I just made a new friend."

Miyano Makoto introduced her.

"...A friend...?"

Ichinose Honami mulled over the word, as if pondering what it meant.

"Nice to meet you! Just like Makoto said, my name is Kushida Kikyo. Ichinose, you can call me Kikyo!"

Kushida Kikyo elegantly held out her right hand, taking the initiative to offer Ichinose Honami a handshake.

Ichinose Honami seemed not to know how to react. She simply placed her hand in Kushida Kikyo's, shook it, and then...

Couldn't let go.

"Why can you call him Makoto?"

Though she seemed to be asking Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami kept her eyes fixed on Miyano Makoto.

"Huh? Am I not allowed?"

Kushida Kikyo tilted her head and put on a hurt expression.

"Of course not. Makoto is mine. I'm the only one who gets to call him that."

Ichinose Honami emphasized her claim.

"Okay, then I'll have to call him Miyano from now on."

Kushida Kikyo didn't actually care about what she called him. It was just a way to get closer to people.

"So? Why did you call me here?"

Ichinose Honami's tone wasn't as gentle as usual. If he couldn't give her an answer she liked, their peaceful school life might come to an end...

"Well, here's what happened..."

Miyano Makoto explained everything that had just happened, leaving out no detail.

"So you happened to hear a sound, then found Kushida letting off steam here?"

Miyano Makoto nodded. He couldn't help it. An opportunity like that wouldn't come twice, so there was no way he could pass it up.

Ichinose Honami looked doubtful. Something about the story didn't sit right with her.

"So you want me to listen to her let off steam with you from now on?"

Ichinose Honami finally released Kushida Kikyo's right hand, which she had been gripping until just then.

"That's right."

Miyano Makoto nodded again. They were supposed to be emotional dumping grounds.

"I understand."

Ichinose Honami said she understood, then turned back to her.

"But I'm not giving you the key card to Makoto's dorm room."

Kushida Kikyo's smile froze. She'd never even thought about anything like that!

Who would want your boyfriend?

Don't underestimate me!

A cute girl could stay popular as long as she didn't have a boyfriend. She wasn't about to make such a rookie mistake.

"Of course I don't want that."

"Good."

The two of them exchanged contact information.

As they did, Kushida Kikyo noticed that the number of people in Ichinose Honami's contacts was almost catching up to hers.

"Is something wrong?"

Ichinose Honami noticed her reaction and asked.

"It's nothing."

Kushida Kikyo clearly didn't want to answer.

"I'll get going, then. See you next time. Bye~"

"Bye..."

"Mm, see you."

After shooting Miyano Makoto a glare as he tried to reply to Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami answered in her usual tone.

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

"Mm..."

Silence fell between them.

Miyano Makoto felt like he was standing on the execution block, and he was the criminal about to meet the same end as Louis XVI.

"Don't you have anything to say to me, Makoto?"

"Like what...?"

"Why is it that after we were apart for just a little while, you ran into a girl like that on the stairs in the school building?"

"And you did it while you were deliberately getting me out of the way."

Ichinose Honami added that last part after a pause. Miyano Makoto couldn't see any difference in her expression, but something still felt off.

"I wasn't deliberately getting you out of the way, Honami. It really was just a coincidence. A coincidence."

"Is that so? Do you think I'll believe that? Do coincidences like that really happen?"

Ichinose Honami retorted. Her expression seemed perfectly normal, but there was an edge of urgency in her voice.

"I agree that it's incredibly unlikely, but that's what happened."

Miyano Makoto believed he was telling the truth.

"Can you stop lying to me, Makoto?"

"I'm not lying to you, Honami."

"Liar."

Ichinose Honami stated it as a fact.

"You're always lying to me, both before and now."

A woman's intuition was terrifying. Ichinose Honami had no proof, yet she had undoubtedly seen through him.

Faced with the silence, Miyano Makoto chose to gently embrace her.

"..."

"I'm easy to comfort, aren't I?"

In his arms, Ichinose Honami quietly shared her feelings. Her voice grew softer.

"Even though you deceive me and use me, as long as you hold me like this, I feel like none of it matters anymore."

"I'm sorry. There are things I can't tell you."

Miyano Makoto could only apologize. It was all he could do.

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

Ichinose Honami shook her head, then continued.

"My feelings for you must make things difficult for you, don't they?"

"No, they don't. Don't say that, Honami."

That was something he absolutely couldn't admit.

"Then why—why are you treating me like this, Makoto?"

Ichinose Honami's words were unmistakably choked with tears.

"Honami..."

"Is there something about me you don't like? Tell me. I'll change anything! I just want you not to leave me..."

Miyano Makoto felt Ichinose Honami clutching him tightly. She squeezed so hard that even his sturdy body was having a little trouble breathing.

"..."

Silence.

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

Good heavens. Ichinose Honami, who seemed so elegant, beautiful, and intelligent on the surface, was actually that Miyano Makoto's lovesick puppy!

Looks like she was the only one who could be the most popular girl in the year!

Little Ichinose was laughable, laughable.

"Are you feeling a little better, Honami? Sorry. I couldn't think of anything to comfort you just now."

It was quite a while before Ichinose Honami finally lifted her head from his chest. Her eyes were swollen from crying.

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

Ichinose Honami's words reminded Miyano Makoto of what had happened in his previous life.

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

"...Mm."

Miyano Makoto stroked her smooth hair. The golden-pink tips stood out clearly in his eyes.

"What do you want to do, Honami?"

"I don't want to do anything. You wouldn't listen to me anyway. You always say yes to my face, but then you just go back to doing what you were doing before. It's no use!"

"..."

Miyano Makoto had to admit that Ichinose Honami was right.

"Then we'll leave it at that?"

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

They quietly embraced. Time seemed to stop, and an hour slipped by unnoticed.

Only after Miyano Makoto returned to his dorm room did he realize his jacket was completely soaked.

"Honami..."

He felt terrible. Her feelings were so overwhelming that he no longer knew whether he should keep going.

There had always been a way to solve this. He was just still hesitating. But if things went on like this...

He had a bad feeling she was going to butcher him...

No, no, that couldn't happen. Honami was so cute. How could she?

He'd apologize properly to her in person tomorrow.