The Movie Was Good

"I'm used to this kind of farce. Did you expect me to be as thrilled as Yamauchi and roll around on the ground?"

"Oh..." Suzune said no more, as if she'd lost interest in the two of them.

"Shall we go, Eito?"

"Sure, Kikyo."

On the way, Kikyo seemed lost in thought and didn't say a word.

She was nothing like her usually lively self.

He wanted to ask what was on her mind, but then he figured it was probably about Suzune, so he couldn't be bothered.

Besides, he found it relaxing not to have to talk.

It was nice to take in the scenery, too.

Then Kikyo suddenly turned around, looked him in the eye, and asked:

"Can I really not become friends with Horikita?"

He hesitated, then said:

"Of course you can. As long as you're willing to be completely honest about what's in your heart, I'm sure Horikita will sincerely be your friend."

Yes, Suzune had only said that she didn't need friends. She hadn't rejected friendship altogether.

In other words, Suzune was so confident that she didn't need help from friends and could live on her own. How arrogant.

If she only wanted to live alone and have nothing to do with anyone, none of that would matter. But if she wanted to enter society, she'd have to learn at least some communication skills. And Kikyo, standing right in front of him, was the very embodiment of those skills.

At his words, Kikyo's face grew flustered. Her eyes darted around as she said:

"Be honest... What do you mean?"

"...Take a guess?"

"...You're so mean. I'm not talking to you anymore." Kikyo turned away in a huff and fell silent.

But her quickening pace showed that the girl's heart was far from calm.

Eito felt a little regretful.

He'd been too blunt. He'd only meant to tease Kikyo a little, but he hadn't realized he'd gone too far.

Still, it was fine. He hadn't said anything specific, so he'd let Kikyo figure it out for herself.

Besides, he had a feeling that things were going nowhere like this. It was time to change his approach.

Whether it was affection or hatred, it didn't matter.

The school's movie theater was almost always empty.

That made sense. The only ones with time to watch movies were the first-years, and even they came at different times.

So they had the theater to themselves.

But the movie they were about to watch surprised him. It was a horror film.

Did Kikyo really like movies like this? Would she end up so scared she wet herself?

Just kidding.

But the movie had barely started, and the girl was already breathing strangely. He could tell she regretted coming.

"Want to stop watching?"

"Eito, you don't think I'm scared, do you?" Kikyo pouted, looking defiant.

"Actually, I'm scared."

"..." Kikyo fell silent for two seconds, then sighed and leaned back in her seat. "You're so kind, Eito. Is this how you usually trick girls?"

"Why would I trick you, Kikyo?"

"..."

Kikyo fell silent.

She couldn't exactly say that Eito was trying to hit on her. That would be too shameless.

And, thinking about it carefully, if he really wanted to take advantage of her, he wouldn't have offered to leave.

So what was this guy thinking?

Kikyo had met all kinds of people and learned plenty about them. That was exactly why she understood the ugliness of human nature better than anyone.

Growing up in that kind of environment had long since made her heart filthy.

If someone looked at her strangely, all she had to do was meet their eyes, and she could roughly guess what they were thinking.

But she couldn't read this person at all.

His actions and words were completely different from those of the people she'd known before.

If he was hiding his true self, he was doing an incredible job.

His acting was so good that it was every bit as convincing as hers.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to share her goals. He didn't seem especially eager to make friends.

At that thought, Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, she'd better test him a little to find out what he was really like.

"Eito, I'm a little scared. Can I hold your hand?"

He froze for a moment, then nodded and took the small hand she held out to him.

She didn't dislike him that much, and he was pretty handsome. Even if he took advantage of her, she supposed she could accept it.

Still, the way he laced his fingers through hers made her a little embarrassed.

What a perv...

The Movie Was Good

Watching Kikyo gradually calm down, Eito decided to give the acclaimed film Sadako 4 his full attention.

It started with an ordinary horror atmosphere. Nothing special.

Ten minutes in, a man appeared. He walked over to Sadako, then—

{Miss Sadako, I've fallen in love with your long black hair. Will you go out with me?}

{...}

That was right. Sadako couldn't speak; all she could do was go, "Ahhh, ahhh."

Then came a sickeningly sweet dating montage.

Then they got married.

The man took Sadako on trips to all sorts of places and took all kinds of pictures.

A few years later, they had a Little Sadako.

Little Sadako was adorable. Just walking down the street, she could scare people to death.

One time, they ran into a human trafficker on the street. He thought Little Sadako was cute and tried to kidnap her.

Then Little Sadako ate him.

After savoring the delicious taste of human flesh for the first time, Little Sadako could no longer hold herself back. She went on a killing spree...

(The tone abruptly changes.)

At the same time, he felt Kikyo lean against him, her soft body pressed against his arm.

Fortunately, the bloody scene was over soon, because the movie was almost finished.

As Little Sadako slowly retreated into the well, the story came to an end.

"..."

He couldn't even begin to describe it.

This was supposed to be a romance, wasn't it? The ending was bloody, but for the most part, it was about Sadako falling in love.

There was nothing wrong with that, but somehow he felt like he'd been let down. He'd wanted to see the kind of terrifying, thrilling scenes that made people jump.

As if she'd noticed his disappointment, Kikyo stood up, straightened her clothes, then faced him with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, Eito. Nothing happened that you were looking forward to."

"...It's fine. I don't mind." He had a feeling she was making fun of him.

But it seemed he'd misunderstood what Kikyo meant.

"To make it up to you, I..." Kikyo said, then actually sat down on his lap. "I'll... make it up to you a little, Eito..."

Her soft body pressed against him, and a mysterious fragrance teased his senses.

Her face was so close. It was like a newly bloomed peach blossom, pale with a faint blush. Above it were purple-red eyes that struggled to meet his, and long eyelashes that trembled, betraying her inner turmoil.

"Um... Can I rest my head on your shoulder?" Kikyo's voice was rather calm.

"Sure."

With his permission, Kikyo seemed to go limp and leaned against his shoulder. A heavy breath escaped her lips and brushed against his shirt.

She must have been tired.

But that wasn't what Eito should have been thinking about at that moment.

Every time Kikyo's thigh moved even a little, the sensation of it rubbing against his clothes made his thoughts wander.

He was a normal man; there was no way he didn't have desires. He was simply better than most at keeping them under control.

But the stimulus Kikyo was giving him was a little too much.

Her soft, supple body; the cleavage he could see if he just lowered his head; those small, pale-red lips, slightly parted.

And then there was the fact that the usually lively and adorable girl was now lying quietly in his arms like a little rabbit, without saying a word.

Any man would have found it hard to resist.

So he decided not to.

"Kikyo..." He lifted the girl's delicate chin and, as she gazed at him in confusion, asked, "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"...No."

"Funny, neither have I. Want to practice?"

"..."

Her body trembled slightly, but her breathing grew louder and louder.

As if gathering her courage, Kikyo gazed at him for half a minute before finally giving a slight nod.

"Wait... Mm-mm..."

If they waited any longer, the world would end. Eito wasn't about to agree to that.

Ten minutes later, Kikyo forcefully pushed him away and stood up.

Then she carefully straightened her rumpled clothes and complained:

"You went way too far."

Eito had not only taken her first kiss; he'd also taken the opportunity to touch her all over.

This guy really was a pervert, wasn't he?