"Because I... I can't live without your body anymore."
"..."
Eito felt the hand on his back disappear. A moment later, a soft body pressed against him.
Kikyo leaned close to his ear and said:
"Don't worry, I'm not dropping out. If anyone's getting expelled, it'll be you and that Horikita girl."
"I understand. May I ask why you're hugging me, Miss Kikyo?"
"Just think of it as my pity for you. I'm willing to give a little reward to a poor puppy."
"But..." This didn't seem like a reward. It felt more like torture.
"Stop talking and go to sleep."
"Oh."
Tonight was bound to be a long one.
Good Morning Kiss ### ### Camera Controversy ### When Eito arrived at school that morning, he could tell something was off about the way Suzune was looking at him.
How could he describe it? It was the look someone gave an animal at the zoo.
Right, like she was watching a monkey show.
So he returned her gaze with one full of affection.
Then she ignored him.
Fortunately, Chabashira had good news for their class that day: their Class Points had risen to 90.
As a reward, the school had given all four classes 100 points. After their deductions, their class had 90 left.
He had 50,000 points left. Adding this month's 9,000, he had 59,003 points remaining.
Suzune seemed to have plenty of points too. She even treated him to lunch.
"Eat up, you glutton."
He took the tray and had a couple of bites before Suzune said:
"Since you've eaten my food, I'm going to ask you a few questions. You have to answer them."
"Cough, isn't this a little sudden?" Eito coughed.
At least let him finish eating first.
"Then take your time. I'll wait."
"Oh."
After what Suzune had just said, he became wary.
As he slowly lifted food to his mouth, he tried to figure out what she wanted to ask.
It definitely wasn't—
"Do you love me?"
It was—
"What are you hiding from me?"
He didn't know what it was, but it had to be about him.
The thought made his blood run cold.
Whatever it was, he didn't want to tell Suzune, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her with some dirty excuse.
He had only one option.
"Did Kushida tell you something?" he asked.
The only people who had contact with Suzune were Kikyo, Ayanokoji, and Chabashira. Kikyo was the most likely.
"That's none of your business. Just tell me what she knows. What are you all hiding from me?" Suzune sounded agitated.
"I mean..." Eito sighed. "Why would you listen to her? I'm your friend, aren't I? She's just trying to drive a wedge between us."
"..." Suzune.
They were silent for several minutes. Then Suzune looked up at him, guilt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I misunderstood."
"Yeah, it's fine."
That was one of Suzune's good qualities. She might seem arrogant most of the time, but that was because people couldn't keep up with her or understand what she meant. When something made sense, she was willing to listen seriously.
Now that he'd dealt with Suzune, all that was left was Kikyo.
Sigh. Kikyo again.
Honestly, he was too tired to deal with her anymore. That woman made him love her and hate her at the same time.
Being around Kikyo was thrilling, like riding a roller coaster.
His life had become so colorful.
If he were a little older, she'd give him a heart attack sooner or later.
Still, he decided to get back at her a little.
Once, while Kikyo was making friends, he joined in and claimed he was her boyfriend. The other person saw how casually he called her by her first name and how handsome he was, then walked away, feeling inferior.
One friend lost for Kikyo.
Another time, he stole one of Kikyo's books and filled it with his name.
When her classmates found it, Kikyo frantically tried to explain. It took proof that the handwriting was hers to clear up the misunderstanding.
That was that. Their grudges were settled, and from then on, neither owed the other anything.
"No, they aren't!"
That night, Kikyo stormed into his room and shouted those words at him.
He happened to be tired, so he turned off the light and went straight to sleep.
When Kikyo saw that he wasn't reacting, she cursed him out a few times and left.
Time always slipped by unnoticed.
Before he knew it, another two weeks had passed.
During that time, he'd exchanged a few simple words with Sakura. She no longer spoke to him so timidly, and sometimes she even raised her head to look at him—though whenever he looked back, she quickly averted her eyes.
He was happy with the progress. The moment Sakura felt comfortable enough to take off her glasses in front of him would be the moment he'd truly earned her trust.
That day, Sakura said her camera seemed to be broken and asked him to go with her to get it repaired.
Was this a private date?
No.
When he arrived at the designated place, he saw Kikyo there too.
Kikyo greeted him with a sweet smile.
"What's wrong? You don't look happy to see me."
As expected of Kikyo, everything she did was cute, from the way her little hand waved to the innocent smile on her face.
Maybe he was looking at her through rose-colored glasses, making her seem even cuter.
But judging by the looks around them, he wasn't exaggerating at all.
Kikyo was the kind of girl who drew everyone's attention.
"Um... thank you both for coming."
Sakura, standing beside her, seemed rather ordinary, almost unnoticeable.
"Then, let's go," Kikyo said.
They were going to a digital camera shop, but something seemed off about the employee.
To put it plainly, there was something sleazy in his eyes, especially when he looked at girls.
From the moment they walked in, the employee kept chatting with Kikyo and even tried to get her contact information.
Eito cut in.
"We're here to get a camera repaired. Can you hurry up?"
The employee looked displeased but didn't make a scene. He took the camera and examined it.
"No problem. I'll fix it and bring it over to you. Miss, could you write down your contact information?"
He was asking Sakura.
Sensing the employee's strange gaze, Sakura hid behind Eito.
Eito knew why.
The employee knew Sakura's online identity. He claimed to be her fan, but in reality, he was a pervert who had his eye on her body.
He wanted Sakura to write down her address so he could stalk her.
If no one intervened, it would lead to an assault. Ayanokoji had originally been the one to save her, but Eito had no intention of letting something like that happen.
But starting a fight here would be stupid.
"Use mine."
Under the employee's angry stare, Eito wrote down his address and contact information.
Then he whispered something in the employee's ear.
The moment he heard it, the employee's face lit up with a smile.
In the end, he saw them off.
On the way, Kikyo asked curiously:
"What did you say to him? Why did he get so happy?"
"I was just lying to him. Don't worry about it."
"Oh."
Kikyo sounded dejected, looking a little unhappy.
What was this, his little girlfriend? Did he need to comfort her too?
"Never mind. I'll treat you both to something to eat."
"Yay! Eito, you're the best~"
Kikyo wrapped her arms around his and beamed.
Hey, they were out in public.
Sakura was startled by what she did.
"Y-you two are...?"
"Hey, Airi, want to come with us?"
"T-together... I think I'll..."
Before you continue