Kushida, You Really Are a Bad Woman

Uesugi Gen slowly backed away two steps, then turned and bolted.

Whatever happened, he had to run first. He could talk things over with her later.

If they actually fought, he'd be the one who'd lose face whether he won or not.

When Kushida Kikyo saw Uesugi Gen run, her long, fair legs carried her after him even faster.

Kushida Kikyo was hot on his heels.

Uesugi Gen tried to reason with her.

"Kushida, hear me out."

"Cut the crap. You saw it just now, didn't you?"

Uesugi Gen kept trying to talk his way out of it.

"Just hear me out."

"Shut up, damn it!"

Uesugi Gen made one last desperate attempt.

"I can help you make friends."

But her reply was—

"Stop, or I'll report you for sexual assault!"

At that moment,

Uesugi Gen came to understand a profound truth.

—Never try to reason with women, because women themselves are unreasonable.

So Uesugi Gen ran even faster.

"Huff... huff..."

"...Huff... huff..."

After a long-distance chase, they stopped near a classroom building and began circling a bench, keeping it between them.

"Huff... Kushida... let's call a temporary truce."

Uesugi Gen was completely numb by now. Why did he keep running into girls like this lately? The Thief Lady had been bad enough.

Kushida Kikyo's strategy of throwing punches without a care in the world had nearly cost him his life.

"N... no way."

She said that, but Kushida Kikyo's flushed face and ragged breathing made it clear she didn't have the strength to run anymore either.

"...Let's make a deal, Kushida. In exchange, I'll keep your secret."

"Spit it out!"

Kushida Kikyo didn't want to keep wasting her energy on Uesugi Gen, either. This guy was slippery as an eel; she hadn't gotten a single chance to catch him.

"You know... a lot of your classmates' secrets, right? Hand... them... over to me."

"That way... we'll be accomplices. If you get exposed, I won't benefit at all. I'd just lose an important source of information."

Uesugi Gen took a moment to catch his breath, gazed at the flushed girl before him, and continued,

"On the other hand, if other people found out about me, I'd lose out too. So not only will I keep you from being reported, I'll protect you instead."

Kushida Kikyo steadied her breathing. Her fierce expression vanished in an instant, like an actor changing faces, and she became the same universally adored Kushida Kikyo as before.

"..."

"Oh, Uesugi, what silly things you're saying. Why would I ever do anything to threaten you?"

Seeing Kushida Kikyo return to normal, Uesugi Gen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly,

Kushida rushed forward, grabbed Uesugi Gen's right hand without hesitation, and pressed it against her chest.

"I accept your deal. But if you dare tell anyone about us, I'll say you sexually assaulted me. Then I'll have proof, too."

Kushida Kikyo instantly reverted to her dark persona and glared menacingly at Uesugi Gen.

Feeling the incomparable softness in his hand, Uesugi Gen sighed and said helplessly, "You know..."

As he spoke, Uesugi Gen wrapped an arm around Kushida Kikyo's waist and pulled her into his embrace.

And just like that,

The two of them, sweaty all over after exercising, held each other as their sweat mingled.

"You bastard, what are you doing? Let go of me!"

Kushida Kikyo felt the world spin around her and realized where she was. She struggled fiercely in Uesugi Gen's arms.

Uesugi Gen held Kushida Kikyo's soft chest with one hand and encircled her slender waist with the other, gently stroking her through the fabric. He leaned close to her ear.

"Come on, Kushida. Could you trust me just once? This kind of fabric won't hold fingerprints, so it can't be used as evidence."

"So what? Let go of me, you bastard!"

"But bodily fluids can. Our sweat has mingled, and my sweat is on your clothes now. That can be used as evidence."

The moment she heard that, the body struggling fiercely in Uesugi Gen's arms gradually went still.

Surrounded by the man's presence and his seemingly omnipresent touch, Kushida Kikyo gradually grew weak...

The two of them held each other quietly, like lovers deeply in love.

"L... let me go," came the faint voice from Uesugi Gen's embrace.

"Now we're accomplices for real, so you don't have to worry about me betraying you. I trust that you won't betray me either, right, Kushida?"

"Mm... mm."

Kushida Kikyo was completely weak by now. She could only hold one of Uesugi Gen's hands, clutch his shirt with the other, and lean against him.

Her face was burning red, and her once-clear earlobes had turned round and pink.

"Then the deal is done. As proof that we've become accomplices, you have to keep these clothes and not wash them, Kushida. Otherwise, the evidence that we're accomplices will disappear."

"I... understand. I... I'll put these clothes away and keep them safe."

Looking at Kushida Kikyo, who resembled a kitten begging for attention, Uesugi Gen fell into deep thought.

Sorry, I take back what I said earlier.

Kushida,

Compared to the Thief Lady, you're the easiest woman to handle at Advanced Nurturing High School!

Chapter 18: Kushida, You Really Are a Bad Woman

"So... munch... you went to kick the railing because your classmate Horikita Suzune... munch (￣~￣) munch!... wouldn't be friends with you?"

In the boys' dormitory,

Uesugi Gen was eating popcorn as he listened to Kushida Kikyo explain her grand plan to befriend everyone in the year.

"That's right! It's all that bitch's fault."

Kushida Kikyo said viciously from across the room.

She had come to Advanced Nurturing High School and already befriended most of the students in her year.

Her goal in life was almost achieved.

Then, out of nowhere, Horikita Suzune showed up. She had apparently attended the same school as Kushida, and might even know about her past.

Even worse, she always had a deadpan look on her face and absolutely refused to be friends with Kushida.

So,

Kushida Kikyo flew into a rage...

For a moment.

...Then went to kick the railing.

Uesugi Gen chewed a couple of handfuls of popcorn and said,

"Kushida, you're so lame."

"Shut up! Someone like you wouldn't understand..."

Kushida Kikyo said, her face contorted.

"That woman, everything she does makes it seem like she's invalidating all the effort I've put in up to now."

"Her very existence feels like she's pinning me down and trampling me underfoot."

"So no matter what it takes, I'm going to get her expelled."

Uesugi Gen summed up what Kushida Kikyo had said.

Simply put, Kushida Kikyo had run into a classmate who was completely incompatible with her and whom she couldn't do anything about, right?

That wasn't so...

Wait!

Uesugi Gen furrowed his brow.

Why did that sound so familiar?

Classmate...

Completely incompatible...

Couldn't do anything about her...

Holy crap, Ichinose!

In an instant, Uesugi Gen understood.

He could even relate on a deeply personal level!

Uesugi Gen jumped to his feet and shook Kushida Kikyo's hand to show his respect.

"Sorry, Kushida. I misunderstood you. I thought you were just a petty, vicious woman."

"I had no idea you had such a difficult situation."

"Right? You think Horikita Suzune is awful too, don't you?"

Kushida Kikyo was touched for a moment by the sincerity on Uesugi Gen's face.

So there was someone at this school who understood her after all.

"But I still think you're so lame, Kushida. Your sworn enemy has you completely cornered, and you don't say a word—you just run off to kick a railing."

"..."

Kushida Kikyo yanked her hand away, threw herself at Uesugi Gen, and pounded him with her fists in frustration.

"You have no idea how difficult that woman is!"

Kushida Kikyo had already been sweating a lot from exercising. Now that she was worked up, she was sweating even more.

So...

Uesugi Gen's nostrils flared slightly, and he turned his head to the side.

"Kushida, you smell awful. Could you take a shower first?"

Kushida Kikyo's face turned bright red.

"Get lost! I smell great, and I'm not showering!"

In the end, Kushida went off to take a shower obediently.