If Even These Feelings Were Dug Out (Continued)

"You've been bullied before, haven't you?"

Manabe Shiho stated her intuition quite directly.

"?!" Karuizawa Kei reacted with obvious trembling.

Then, Manabe Shiho couldn't help but laugh:

"Pfft, hahaha, look at yourself, you're shaking like crazy! Isn't it hilarious? Someone who's been bullied is actually standing above Class D and acting as the girls' opinion leader."

"That's really interesting."

I've been discovered, I've been found out, I'm doomed, my life is over, my high school years are bleak and hopeless.

Karuizawa Kei was left with only such panicked thoughts.

She couldn't even remember calling out "teacher" as she had just said it.

"Wait, wait a minute..." Completely flustered, she blurted out, "I think I do remember someone like that. I apologize, I'm sorry, I apologize..."

She finally stopped insisting on being 'right' and stopped making excuses to justify her stance.

"I... I've already apologized, can we end this now..." She turned her head away, not daring to look at Manabe Shiho, and said, leaning against the wall.

But instead, Manabe Shiho scoffed, "Huh?"

"Isn't it a bit selfish of you to say it's over now?"

"What kind of apology is this? At least bow your head and kneel down!" Her violent urges surged. Seeing Karuizawa Kei cowering and turning pale, Manabe Shiho suddenly grabbed her hair, forcefully lifting her head and yelling at her, "Don't you understand?!"

"I, I, I..." Karuizawa Kei's voice grew softer and softer.

She was trembling, as if she really intended to sit down.

Just as Manabe Shiho and the others were staring at her, just as the corners of Manabe Shiho and the others were turning up in a smile.

"'At least bow your head and sit down!'" The words spoken by Manabe Shiho, reproduced in the recording and accompanied by a slight static, echoed loudly in the surroundings.

"Who?!" Suddenly, Manabe Shiho turned her head.

Then, with Voice Recorder in hand, Asakusa Toru's figure emerged from the shadows.

"Me," he said.

"Asakusa -Asakusa?" Manabe Shiho's excited smile suddenly froze, "You, me, her..."

In a panic, she abruptly released her grip on Karuizawa Kei's hair.

Unconsciously, I stepped back, my brain racing, trying to come up with an explanation.

"I didn't do anything—" She was about to say that she hadn't done anything, but then she suddenly realized that this might make her seem like Karuizawa Kei. But if she were to admit that she was planning to bully Karuizawa Kei, the situation would be different.

"It's just a minor conflict between girls..."

So, she stammered and gave this explanation.

"You... you have nothing to do with Asakusa, right?"

She wanted to be stubborn, but it seemed...

"I'm sorry, I apologize, I apologize, I'm so sorry Karuizawa!"

I can't quite bring myself to be stubborn.

"I've already apologized, so can we just leave it at that?" She raised her hands to indicate that she wouldn't do anything more, but instead of asking for Karuizawa Kei's opinion, she was asking Asakusa Toru's opinion.

Seeing that Asakusa Toru didn't seem to say much, she didn't bother to ask him to delete the recording. Instead, she grabbed her two best friends and ran away through the gap that Asakusa Toru hadn't completely covered.

Asakusa Toru and Karuizawa Kei were left alone.

--flutter.

Almost the instant she confirmed that Manabe Shiho had left, Karuizawa Kei made her move.

The tears in her eyes hadn't been wiped away yet; in fact, even more tears welled up at that moment. Tears streaming down her Rika, the girl sobbed:

"I'm so scared, I'm so scared, if it weren't for Asakusa, if you hadn't shown up--"

She cried, hugging Asakusa Toru's body tightly, forcefully, and fiercely.

--Seize this wonderful opportunity.

Obediently stroking Karuizawa Kei's delicate body, feeling the girl's subtle yet still substantial curves, Asakusa Toru calmly checked the situation on the Mini-map.

No one followed behind, and Manabe Shiho, who had escaped, had no intention of hiding nearby to eavesdrop or watch.

Therefore, this is a perfect opportunity.

The Karuizawa Kei was whimpering and rubbing against him, seemingly trying to evoke his protective instincts while also probing for something more.

Her movements were not skillful, but instinct seemed to be driving her, making her approach at increasingly tricky frequencies and angles.

Instead of refusing, Asakusa Toru gently flicked his thumb.

I switched the Voice Recorder.

Click to play.

"You've been bullied before, haven't you?"

Manabe Shiho's words echoed clearly in the dim, cramped, and solitary space.

Karuizawa Kei's body suddenly stiffened.

"Huh?" She stiffly raised her heavy neck and looked up at Asakusa Toru: "Why, why are you playing this recording at this time...?"

His handsome face, which had appeared incredibly gentle, suddenly became somewhat terrifying upon replaying this recording.

Shadows loomed over it.

Did he press the wrong button? Did he press it accidentally?

So why was this particular sentence included in the recording?

If you really want to stop it, you can stop it before you even record that sentence, right?

Since it can record audio, it means...

He arrived a long time ago.

Manabe seems quite afraid of him.

It wasn't just because he was a man, nor just because of his strength.

That--

Almost instantly, a jumble of thoughts swirled in Karuizawa Kei's mind, a chaotic jumble of ideas.

But soon, all those thoughts vanished completely.

Because then he lowered his head and looked at her with his beautiful eyes.

"You should know why," he said.

As soon as the words were spoken, the soothing actions began to change, becoming aggressive and excessive, crossing the boundaries of soothing and reaching another level.

"Isn't this what you wanted me to do from the beginning?" He grabbed my hand, his thick palm gathering into shape from bottom to top. "You just came up to me to say hello, making small talk, and your first reaction upon seeing me was to hug me and rub against me."

"Now you're asking me why?"

The sound, like silk threads, wrapped around Karuizawa Kei's neck, the sensation of caressing and rubbing so intensely that it made her body tremble.

All the feigned sweet sobs and whimpers transformed at this moment into real... fear.

"No, no!" The moment she came to her senses, she instinctively began to deny it. "I just, I—"

Just what?

He just wants to parasitize you?

Is he just seeking your protection?

Is he just trying to keep you hanging on without actually giving you anything in return?

How could she possibly say that!

But!

"Hmm..."

"Too... too hard..." Karuizawa Kei couldn't help but plead, "Could you be a little gentler...?"

She dared not let him let go, nor dared she push him away.

"Be gentler?"

He raised an eyebrow and instantly activated his Cloud-Exploring Hand technique.

"No, no..." Karuizawa Kei's legs suddenly went weak.

"You've been bullied."

Asakusa Toru pressed his thigh forward, encroaching on Karuizawa Kei's standing space, and began to speak softly:

"They stuffed thumbtacks into indoor shoes, animal carcasses into drawers, threw dirty water on my toilet, and wrote insulting words on my uniform."

"You were bullied." He repeated the words that made Karuizawa Kei tremble, "You backed down, you were afraid, you gave in."

"As a result, the bullying escalated, and the bullies went further and further."

"Them? Ah, probably them. They grabbed your hair, stepped on your back, and punched and kicked you, venting their violent emotions."

Asakusa Toru flipped his palm so that it faced upwards, and slightly bent the four fingers except for the middle finger.

Then.

It has shrunk.

Like a heartbeat, each beat conveys emotion; muscles contract and pulsate.

Tears streamed down Karuizawa Kei's cheeks.

"You won't dare to resist. Maybe you've thought about resisting before, but you'll soon stop thinking about it."

"You only think about what will happen next, and how you'll be treated tomorrow."

Asakusa Toru raised a hand and gently wiped away the tears on her face.

"It wasn't until you received your admission notice from Advanced Nurturing Education that you felt like you had been given a second chance at life, and that you might be able to escape this shadow."

The hand that had wiped away her tears wrapped around her neck, the thumb gently caressing the girl's beautiful collarbone.

You are aware of your powerlessness, and you understand your incompetence.

"So the first thing after enrolling is to find a protector." He paused slightly, tilting his head. "Well, according to you, it should be called a 'host'."

Karuizawa Kei remained completely still.

She was initially resisting a little, shifting her body, and although it seemed like flirting, she was still trying to escape his restraints, which weren't really restraints.

But when the word 'host' appeared, Karuizawa Kei stopped moving completely.

She was seen through... no, not just seen through and understood.

It's mind reading.

That's the only answer.

He knows what I'm thinking; he knows everything.

"Hirata Yosuke does seem like a good choice," Asakusa Toru added. "He's gentle, sunny, cheerful, and generous."

"Aside from being assigned to Class D, he seems to have no flaws... In fact, it could be said that being in Class D is what makes him suitable to be that target."

"But you'll soon realize you're wrong." Seemingly tired of playing with her collarbone, Asakusa Toru's hand grasped Karuizawa Kei's cheek, his thumb pressing against her luscious red lips:

"He's very sunny, but it seems like he's not really that sunny; he's very gentle, but it seems like he's gentle not only to you."

"So."

Asakusa Toru pulled his hand away.

"Let's part ways." The girl's buttocks were gently slapped through her clothes, the unrestrained movement making Karuizawa Kei feel as if she were being violated.

... But just looking at his face, for some reason, that feeling subtly reversed.

No, the reasons are definitely not just about looks.

Is it power? Is it status?