Press Your Thumbprint

After the first attempt, each one that followed went more smoothly.

Suzune no longer looked afraid. Instead, she seemed relieved and even managed a faint smile.

Before long, she was starting to enjoy herself.

As expected, this sort of thing was rewarding. For Suzune, getting someone else to eat food she had made with her own hands—and even feeding him herself—was wonderful. Every bite he took was something she had carefully prepared, and sharing it with him brought her a delightful sense of happiness.

The meal lasted a long time. It finally ended only after the sun had set.

Eito stood up and let out a burp.

"Horikita, this meal was delicious. Thank you for your generous hospitality. I'm deeply grateful."

As a gentleman, he had to thank her at the end.

In response, Suzune simply murmured, "Mm."

"It's getting late. Let's head back."

"Mm."

After walking with Eito for a while, they were almost at the dormitory when Suzune finally worked up the courage to tug at his clothes.

"What is it?"

"Um... I'll admit, for now... that you're my friend."

"...So we weren't friends before?" Eito asked, bewildered.

"What did you think?" Suzune's expression returned to normal. "Goodbye, pervert."

"...Goodbye."

He watched Suzune enter the dormitory, shook his head, and went inside himself.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Taking Her Handprint

Back in his dorm, Eito opened his phone and saw a text message. It was from Kikyo:

(Can you come to the school rooftop after classes tomorrow? There's something I want to tell you.)

Hmm?

Wondering what it was about, he made it through the night.

The next afternoon, he arrived at the door leading to the rooftop right on time. The door was already open.

As soon as he stepped through, he saw a cute girl who had been waiting for him.

Kikyo ran over with a smile. "Sorry for taking up your precious time."

"It's fine. So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Um, actually..." Kikyo touched her chest and lowered her head shyly. "I... I like you. Please go out with me..."

"..."

Kikyo's words left him stunned for a moment.

So Kikyo liked him, huh?

That explained everything.

—Yeah, right.

Did she think he was a child?

Eito's expression didn't change. "Sorry, but I'm turning you down."

"Eh? Is it because you already like someone? Could it be Horikita?"

"No."

With that, Eito turned to leave.

"Wait."

Kikyo wrapped her arms around him from behind and whispered:

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away. Could you please not leave me?"

"What are you talking about? We were never together in the first place."

"That day... at the movie theater... Do you remember? If you want, we can keep doing that..."

"I'm afraid I'm not interested in doing something so pointless right now."

Seeing how stubborn Eito was, Kikyo still didn't let go.

Half a minute later, she murmured, "Did Horikita tell you something?"

She and Suzune had gone to the same school, though they hadn't been in the same class. What Kikyo had done back then had caused a huge uproar, and Suzune might have known about it. After the movie, she had seen the two of them talking together often. They had even gone on a date that night. So she suspected Suzune had told Eito the truth.

In fact, even if Suzune knew, she wouldn't care about something like that. She only cared about herself and the things that mattered to her.

And as Eito grew more and more distant, Kikyo became increasingly certain.

Eito replied, "No. And what exactly are you talking about?"

Kikyo released him, moved around in front of him, and took his right hand.

"Could you touch me one more time?"

Could this be—

That legendary scene?

"Sure."

Eito readily agreed, letting Kikyo press his hand against her soft chest.

Just as he was wondering what Kikyo would do next—

The gentle, charming smile vanished from her face. In its place was a cold, contemptuous expression, as if she were looking at garbage. Her sweet little mouth produced a detached voice:

"So I was right. You really are a hopeless pervert. You fell for it immediately. Your fingerprints are on my clothes now. If you don't do what I say, I'll hand them over to the police."

"Uh... what is this?"

"Don't play dumb. You knew all along, didn't you? That bitch Horikita told you, right? You two really are a perfect match."

Although Kikyo had misunderstood, he knew her dark past was real. Since that was the case, there was no need to hide it. Besides, he'd only been playing around at first and hadn't taken it seriously.

Still, this woman really was stupid. She actually thought she could threaten him like this.

She'd brought him to a deserted place, planning to blackmail him with such a lousy trick.

It was just a piece of clothing. He could simply take it from her.

And if she'd tried this on a real pervert, she might not have even been able to protect herself.

She was stupidly adorable.

As if she'd noticed his mockery, Kikyo said coldly:

"I've already got a friend waiting downstairs. You can't get away. And if you try anything, I'll call her right now, and she'll come straight up. But don't worry—she doesn't know about us."

As she spoke, Kikyo took two steps back and pulled her phone from her pocket. She opened the contact; all she had to do was press the button to place the call.

"Heh." Eito laughed.

"What are you laughing at? Have you gone crazy?"

"No. I just think you're cute."

"Oh, I know."

"But do you know this, Kikyo?" Eito sighed. "The stupidest thing a person can do isn't threatening someone with a cheap trick. It's threatening them without even knowing what they're capable of."

"What do you mean?"

Eito stopped time and swiftly snatched the phone from her hand, tossing it aside.

When time resumed, Kikyo felt her hand go empty. She stared in shock at the phone that had been in her hand a moment ago, then paled.

"What did you do?"

Eito ignored her and asked, "What other tricks do you have now?"

"..."

Realizing something was wrong, Kikyo turned and ran for the door.

If she could just get out of here, everything would be fine. She still had leverage over him.

But she'd only taken two steps when Eito grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, forcibly holding her in place.

Eito leaned close to her ear and spoke slowly.

"You said I could touch you however I wanted, didn't you?"

"Get away from me! Don't touch me, you're disgusting!"

Kikyo struggled, her body twisting.

But because their bodies were pressed so tightly together, the more she struggled, the more frequently they rubbed against each other.

That only made the desire already burning inside Eito flare even hotter.

"Stop moving!"

Eito lifted Kikyo's angry face and kissed her, right under her contemptuous gaze.

"Mmph... mm..."

Kikyo's eyes flew wide open. For a moment, she forgot to resist and could only let him ravage her mouth.

But she quickly came to her senses and bit down hard.

"Cough..."

Eito took a few steps back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This woman was ruthless.

Kikyo wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and sneered.

"Ha. What a useless man."

She was right. He'd actually let himself get hurt by a trick like that.

He laughed at himself. "What are you going to do now? Turn yourself in?"

"Why would I turn myself in? You kissed me first. It's your own fault you got bitten, you pervert."

"Fine, then I'll turn myself in. I'll tell them everything that just happened, too. I'm sure the school will be happy to throw you out. I'll have to leave as well, but that's fine. I think I'd be happy to have a cute girl like you with me."

"You—wait." Kikyo tugged at his clothes.

"What is it? Want to find out what the blood in my mouth tastes like?"

"Let's just forget about this. We'll call it even."

She said they were even, but her expression was still unhappy.

"All right. I'm a forgiving person. Since you gave me such a nice treat today, I won't hold it against you."

"Pervert," Kikyo muttered under her breath, then mocked him. "If the girls in our class saw you like this, they'd be so disappointed. Seems you're no better than me."

"I never said I was a good person. But..." Eito continued, "I'm not the bad person you think I am, either. If people treat me well, I return the favor. If they treat me badly, I pay them back tenfold. I've already been especially forgiving because you're a woman and you're weak."

"Because of my body, you mean," Kikyo sneered.

"Heh." Eito neither confirmed nor denied it.

Before leaving, Kikyo made sure to say, "I'll wash your fingerprints off my clothes. Want to come supervise me?"