Becoming Friends with Sakura

Just as Sato's footsteps were drawing closer, Kikyo was about to open the door. He used the malice points he had left to exchange for a superpower called Body Control.

Each AP let him control someone for one minute, but the person being controlled would lose consciousness and look like a corpse.

It cost 100 points, so he had only 4 malice points left.

His strength was currently 10. He hadn't raised it to 20 or even 100 beforehand to avoid a situation like this, and boosting it too much wouldn't have much point right now anyway.

But having nearly spent all his points over something like this put him in a bad mood.

He already knew about Kikyo's scheme: she'd meant to seduce him first, then wait for Sato to arrive before deliberately rushing out and claiming he'd sexually harassed her.

She might have been trying to ruin his relationship with Sato, or make the class think he was a pervert.

Still, since she'd just given him quite a show, Eito magnanimously forgave her.

Turning back to Kikyo, he said:

"You actually lied to me just now. You were clearly wearing a bra."

"Haha, you actually believed that? You really are a pervert." Kikyo looked at him mockingly.

"In that case, take it off."

"Hey, stop that!"

It was already dark.

Beneath the streetlights, the three of them walked together.

Kikyo chatted with Sato while he walked a little behind them.

The quiet street was nearly empty, with only a few students here and there.

Every so often, cheerful laughter drifted over from far away.

They hadn't walked far when the two ahead of him stopped together. He came to a stop alongside them.

Sato said:

"Thanks for today, Eito."

"No problem."

After a pause, Sato spoke again:

"Do you remember our promise from this morning?"

"...I remember."

"Don't forget when the time comes."

"I won't."

Kikyo asked curiously:

"What promise?"

"It's a secret." Eito smiled mysteriously.

"Hey—" Kikyo didn't seem willing to let it go. "Sato, what's the promise?"

"Hehe, it's a secret."

Sato smiled knowingly and gave the same answer as Eito.

"Hey, hey—fine, fine."

Kikyo lowered her head in disappointment, but soon seemed to get over it and put on a cute smile.

Her reaction made Sato happy, and she couldn't help quickening her pace a little.

Only Eito knew what had happened.

Kikyo had just pinched him hard on the waist.

What a nasty woman.

Chapter 28: Becoming Friends with Sakura

Sakura Airi.

She sat in the last row, her red hair tied into twin tails and red-framed glasses perched on her nose. Her clothes were a little dowdy, and she was so inconspicuous in class that she usually kept to herself.

In reality, she was a gravure idol who went by the stage name Shizuku online.

She was a stunning beauty whose looks were every bit as good as Kikyo's, and her figure was even more alluring.

And yet, she hardly ever spoke to anyone in class.

That morning, Eito greeted her as usual.

"Morning, Sakura."

"..."

She didn't respond, but he sensed her sneaking a glance at him.

This routine had been going on for a month.

Because of him, even the students sitting behind him had remembered the name "Sakura."

Suzune said:

"You're really persistent. Do you want to get along with her that badly, or do you have some other motive?"

"Calling it a motive makes it sound awful. Isn't it normal to want to get along with a pretty girl?"

"...A pretty girl?" Suzune turned to look toward Sakura.

As if she'd sensed their attention, Sakura buried her head beneath her book and didn't move.

No one could see her bright-red face.

Suzune had never taken a close look at Sakura. She only knew that Sakura always hunched over and had no confidence at all, making her the complete opposite of Suzune.

Suzune said, "Forget it. If I catch you doing anything unforgivable, I'll be the first to report you."

"...Oh."

Suzune really was dangerous. Next time, he'd have to do it in secret.

Was Suzune the kind of person who'd put principle before friendship?

She might be.

People who were too upright sometimes lacked a little warmth. Even if Suzune fell for her in the future, there was no way to make her obedient. She had her own ideas. She might change her mind, but she wouldn't blindly do as someone else told her.

That was completely different from being lovesick. Her personality actually leaned more toward the masculine side; she was more easygoing.

As a tool, someone like that wasn't suitable.

Eito had never planned to make her obey him anyway.

Only the unknown was worth watching, and what couldn't be controlled excited him more.

It was like taking part in extreme sports: you never knew what would happen next.

Anyway.

He wasn't planning to wait any longer when it came to Sakura.

He already knew Sakura might run into trouble, and the butterfly effect caused by his arrival could change the world.

It was almost impossible for everything to unfold exactly as it had before.

So he'd asked Kikyo for help.

He figured another reason Sakura didn't want to talk to him was that he was a guy.

Only a girl—especially Kikyo, the friendliest person in class—could earn Sakura's trust.

But asking Kikyo for help had come with a little trouble.

Would Kikyo help him?

Of course not.

So, to get her to help, he'd promised to do one thing for her in the future, as long as it was within his ability.

In short, something like jumping off a building or streaking around the sports field was out of the question.

Things went smoothly. Kikyo used shopping as an excuse to invite Sakura out.

He pretended to bump into them by chance.

"What a coincidence, Kikyo." Seeing the two girls approach, he greeted them like a friendly neighbor.

"..."

Kikyo ignored him and walked right past.

Sakura glanced at him, but didn't say anything either.

Eito: "..."

A whole stampede of curses ran through his mind.

With a sigh, he chased after them and stepped in front of them. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"Aren't you two my classmates? What a coincidence—ah!"

Kikyo acted as though she'd only just noticed him, covering her mouth as she said:

"Oh, it's Eito! Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. I thought you were trying to pick us up."

"If your eyesight's bad, you can get it replaced."

"Mm—huh?"

"Stop pretending to be cute."

Sakura asked timidly, "What's—"

Kikyo explained, "This is Takeda Eito, my friend. He said he wanted to meet you, so I invited you out. I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to."

She absolutely did mean to.

Eito was furious.

Not only had she treated him like he was invisible, she'd also exposed their plan outright.

Now Sakura would think he was a pervert.

Eito looked at the girl and realized she wasn't angry. Instead, she was staring straight at him.

"Miss Sakura?"

"...Oh." Sakura finally came to her senses. Her face reddened, and she turned her head away.

Then she lowered her gaze to the tips of her shoes.

"..." What was this? Why did he feel this strange urge to protect her?

Kikyo seized the opportunity to step on his foot.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Yeah, she's pretty."

At that, Sakura lowered her head even further. The blush on her face spread all the way to her ears.

Knowing this couldn't go on, Eito said:

"What Kikyo said is true. Miss Sakura, would you be my friend?"

"...Mm."