Super·Seri·ous (Two-Part Chapter) (Continued)

This statement is riddled with errors; anyone would dismiss it as incoherent ramblings.

In fact, this was indeed the ramblings of a delirious person.

Unfortunately, the person standing in front of Kushida Kikyo was Sakura Airi.

Although I didn't quite understand, I think I got it!

Since it was Kushida said it, then there must be no problem!

For people who are not very bright, the solution is not to think for themselves, but to choose someone they can trust and then completely entrust their thinking ability to that person.

Sakura Airi decided to do just that.

Besides, this logic doesn't seem wrong at all.

Who else besides Freud would keep photos like those of their mother?

The only problem is...

"Can I really do a good job as a mother...?" Sakura Airi had some doubts about herself.

She didn't doubt Kushida Kikyo, nor did she doubt Asakusa Toru; the person she doubted most was herself.

Can you do it well?

"Sakura, you can definitely do it." Kushida Kikyo glanced at the unconventional Frontal Armor on Sakura Airi's chest and encouraged her with utmost gentleness.

Oh... Kushida is just too good.

The silly child is still grateful to Kushida Kikyo.

However, along with gratitude, new questions arose.

"But how exactly should I do it...?"

Yes, whether you believe in yourself or not is one thing, but even if you believe in yourself the most, saying that there will always be a way, how to actually do it is still a question.

As described earlier, Kushida Kikyo already explained what a mother should do: simply Asakusa Toru in her arms and comfort him.

The key lies in what happened before and what happened after.

She's not going to run to his classroom in Class A and say, "I'll be your mother, please delete the photos," is she?

People will definitely look at me strangely, right?!

Ah, but it seems Kushida has Asakusa- san's contact information. If we contact her using a terminal, it might not be so embarrassing.

"I'll take care of it," Kushida Kikyo said softly, standing up. "Please wait a moment."

Actually, the best course of action would be to take advantage of the situation and deliver the goods to Asakusa Toru before Sakura Airi could react. However, she was afraid that Asakusa Toru might give her away if she hadn't told him beforehand, so she wanted to give him a few instructions beforehand.

Kushida Kikyo wasn't worried at all that Asakusa Toru would refuse the offer.

She knew that man too well.

He certainly wouldn't pass up such an opportunity to take advantage of someone who comes knocking on his door.

She took out her terminal, thought for a moment, and typed a message.

[1106, come here now. You got yourself into trouble for the good deed you did at noon.]

A moment later, the message was marked as 'read' instead of 'unread'.

So, Kushida Kikyo long-pressed the message and quietly deleted it.

At this time, he should be in the library.

So all we have to do now is wait for that guy to come from the library.

"..."

11:06, noon... Oh, Sakura.

The moment he saw the message, Asakusa Toru understood immediately.

Sakura Airi has approached Kushida Kikyo.

... Isn't this just walking into a trap?

Are you planning to get help from Kushida Kikyo to handle the photo issue? Or are you trying to keep your identity as a gravure idol a secret?

Honestly, how can they not trust me at all?

However, the meaning behind Little Kikyo's message...

To be honest, I didn't quite understand Asakusa Toru.

If you want him to delete the photos, you can just send him a message.

Although he certainly wouldn't listen and delete the photos.

'1106'

He remembered that this address... was the dormitory room number of Sakura Airi.

"Come and solve it yourself"...?

After pondering these words, Asakusa Toru quickly gave up on trying to decipher their deeper meaning and instead stood up.

Women's thoughts are so hard to understand, especially when there's a connection between them.

Even if you stare at the messages on the screen for ages, you'll never be able to guess what the woman behind the screen is thinking.

But things are different once you meet in person.

Breathing, body temperature, heartbeat, contracting muscles, reddened earlobes, trembling body.

It's not just the tone of voice that can be analyzed.

"I'm leaving now." Whispering softly in Shiina Hiyori's ear, Asakusa Toru picked up his book, found its original place, put it back in its place, and then simply walked out of the library.

Although he hadn't actually been sitting down for very long.

Shiina Hiyori: "..."

The gentle girl stopped turning the pages of her book, watched his departing figure, and then gently parted her lips.

"Okay, goodbye," she said.

"..."

"--bite."

A crisp sound and the elevator arriving at the floor, the elevator doors slowly opening, and Kushida Kikyo already waiting in front of the doors.

"What do you want to do?" Asakusa Toru raised an eyebrow and got straight to the point.

Kushida Kikyo, equally direct, also raised her eyebrows:

"Fuck her."

Kushida Kikyo's voice was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear to Asakusa Toru.

"... Are you serious?"

"Extremely serious."

A familiar conversation played out again in the eleventh-floor corridor.

This time, however, the words spoken by the two were slightly reversed.

After a moment of silence, Asakusa Toru took out Voice Recorder and said, "I recorded it."

The text displayed on the lit screen proved that what he said at that moment was true.

Kushida Kikyo glanced down at the Voice Recorder in his hand, but instead of snatching it away as she had done before, she remained silent for a moment before taking out another Voice Recorder from her own pocket.

"I recorded it too," she said.

Voice Recorder is really a great thing.

Being able to record words that are said but never heard can reduce the effort required to relay them and can become leverage for mutual threats.

Ever since she got those Voice Recorder from Asakusa Toru, she has made sure to carry one with her every day.

This is a good habit.

"So, don't worry, even if we die, it will be with you." Asakusa Toru pressed the Voice Recorder in Toru Asakusa's hand, raised her own Voice Recorder, Kushida Kikyo smiled brightly.

Even if she were to be expelled from school for allegedly assaulting someone, Kushida Kikyo would not stand idly by.

"..."

With their heads bowed, Asakusa Toru and Kushida Kikyo locked eyes for a moment.

Beautiful eyes, a cute face, and a... radiant smile.

"I understand." With a silent sigh, Asakusa Toru said, "What should I do?"

"Should I go in, take the photos, and threaten to expose them if she doesn't give them to me? Or should I just go in without saying a word, cover my face, and do whatever I want? Or perhaps—"

"--Stop, stop, stop." Seeing that he seemed to be getting more and more outrageous, Kushida Kikyo quickly interrupted him:

"I won't let you do anything so outrageous."

Threatening exposure and doing whatever they want—where have they gone off-topic?!

... Although it doesn't seem like a bad idea, after all, Sakura seems like the kind of kid that would be really fun to tease.

But she really didn't intend to commit a crime and get expelled from school.

This is also why she showed the recording.

Kushida Kikyo took Asakusa Toru's hand again and stuffed the Voice Recorder into it.

"Listen to the previous recording." Kushida Kikyo raised her head.

She had finished recording the previous segment ahead of schedule, and with just a tap, she could clearly reproduce all the words she had spoken not long ago.

"..." Glancing around out of the corner of his eye, mainly focusing on the ends of the corridor and the seemingly closed door of '1106', Asakusa Toru casually lowered the volume of the Voice Recorder, set the playback speed, and then held the speaker to his ear.

The faint, yet barely audible, sounds replayed in his ears.

As the sound played, Asakusa Toru's expression became increasingly strange.

"... Are you serious?" When the recording ended, Asakusa Toru returned the Voice Recorder to Kushida Kikyo and repeated the same words again.

What kind of fucking nonsense is this?

Is Kushida Kikyo's brain malfunctioning because she ate too many popsicles?

"Extremely serious." Looking at Asakusa Toru's expression at that moment, Kushida Kikyo gave the same answer.

This time, however, she could no longer maintain a serious expression.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle..." Kushida Kikyo crouched down, pressing her hand against her clothes, and let out a soft, silvery laugh.

It was clear that she was trying very hard to be patient so that Sakura inside the door might hear.

But in front of Asakusa Toru, her laughter was truly arrogant.

... It's too difficult to hold it together.

Why is he being described like Freud?

As is well known, in Freud's philosophy, any behavior, any factor, any psychological problem points directly to one answer.

I love my mom.

I like moms who are about this tall.

Uh, no, that last sentence doesn't seem to be from Freud.

In the end, although Kushida spread rumors about him in front of Sakura, telling all sorts of nonsensical and fabricated lies.

But to be honest, subtly and coincidentally, everything Kushida Kikyo did unexpectedly met his expectations.

It perfectly coincided with the thought that had crossed his mind while he was on the rooftop.

--Let Sakura become a mother.

Become a mother who loves herself immensely.

"Stop laughing." Rolling her eyes, Asakusa Toru retorted, "Do you really think you're any better in Sakura's eyes right now?"

"Kikyo- mama, who is a high school girl mother who is the same age as male high school boys."