Kushida's Information Sharing / Kushida Kikyo: Could You Walk Me Back to My Room?
After rushing out of the room, Sakura Airi quickened her pace. After walking for less than five minutes, she finally saw the figure that haunted her dreams at the edge of the third-floor deck.
"Light!"
The girl jogged along, a look of joy on her pretty face.
Good evening, Airi.
Since it was already late, Hashiba Hikaru chose to greet her by her first name, but the next second, her soft body immediately snuggled into his arms, and her familiar fragrance wafted towards him once again.
"What's wrong?"
The boy gently embraced the other's slender waist, his tone tender.
"It's nothing, it's just that I really want to see the light, that's why I'm like this."
Sakura Airi wasn't good at expressing her thoughts with words, so the moment she met Hashiba Hikaru, all she could do was press herself tightly against her, finding the greatest satisfaction in feeling her heartbeat with her body.
"Haven't we seen each other enough these past few days? This is more frequent than at school."
Since they had already done that last time, there was no point in keeping their distance now. Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to reach out and stroke the girl's waist, her emotions calm.
"I know, but I still want to be with the light every day."
Sakura Airi naturally felt the other person's large hand roaming over her waist. While her face flushed slightly, her heart was filled with sweetness, because it represented the boy's attitude.
He wouldn't do something like this if he didn't like himself.
"This might be a bit difficult, after all, we're not in the same class, are we?"
With his arms Sakura Airi, Hashiba Hikaru gazed at the moonlit sea in the distance. Under the quiet night sky, the sound of Cruise Ship cutting through the water could almost be heard.
"Yes, that's true."
Sakura Airi looked up at the boy's face. Although she had humbled herself that day, preferring to be second to Hashiba Hikaru, no one would refuse to be with the one they love forever, especially someone like her who wished she could be by their side all the time.
However, the fact that they are in different classes means that the time they can spend together will be greatly reduced.
"Don't worry, I've already promised Airi, so I definitely won't abandon you."
Seemingly sensing the other person's inner emotions, Hashiba Hikaru could only reach out and stroke Sakura Airi's pretty face, making her look up and meet her gaze.
"I never go back on my word, so you don't need to worry."
"Um."
The red-haired girl nodded her head, then rubbed her hand against the other person's palm, a sweet smile appearing on her pretty face.
Actually, Sakura Airi is really easy to win over, and she doesn't want much. If you could date her directly, it would definitely be a good choice.
However, the thought of his stocks and system made Hashiba Hikaru hesitate.
Regardless, publicly announcing his girlfriend will inevitably affect his future interactions with other potential partners, which is unavoidable. Moreover, there's Ichinose Honami waiting in line, and he cares about her just as much.
Should we give a direct answer, or continue to drag it out?
Unable to come up with a perfect solution for the moment, the boy chose to change the subject to distract himself. He said gently, "Now that we've run into Airi, there's something else I want to tell you."
"What's wrong?" The girl nestled obediently in his arms, a satisfied smile on her face.
Hashiba Hikaru then proceeded to tell Sakura Airi everything about her collaboration with Karuizawa Kei. Although some details were omitted, the general meaning was still conveyed effectively.
"Karuizawa?"
Sakura Airi somewhat surprised, because although she had always been Akito in class, she was quite familiar with this rather flamboyant leader of the girls' group.
"Yes, I've already reached a simple cooperation agreement with her. Airi wants to change herself, right?" Hashiba Hikaru gazed into her eyes and said slowly, "Besides sports and studies, I also hope you can bravely take the first step and at least make a few friends."
"But..."
The girl instinctively wanted to refuse, since with Hashiba Hikaru by her side, Sakura Airi's desire for social interaction had been completely satisfied. Rather than spending time making friends, she preferred to spend more time with her partner.
"I can't be with Airi every moment, and the school years ahead are long. I don't want you to always be alone. It would be good if you had two or three people you could talk to; you don't need too many."
"Hmm... I understand what the light means."
Although Sakura Airi doesn't like interacting with people, her attitude has subtly changed after spending a long time with Hashiba Hikaru.
"But there's no need to rush it. Making friends can't be rushed. Everything should be based on Airi's own ideas," Hashiba Hikaru smiled gently. "I told Karuizawa that we'd do this after school starts, so you have plenty of time to prepare."
"Then I'll... give it a try."
"Uh-huh."
"But..."
Just then, a strange look flashed across Sakura Airi's pretty face. She looked up and stared directly into Hashiba Hikaru's eyes, pretending to be nonchalant as she asked, "How did Hikari meet Karuizawa? Can you tell me?"
"..."
Can we talk about it another time?
"No, otherwise I won't let go."
Sakura Airi had always wanted to act cute towards Hashiba Hikaru, so she hugged the boy tightly around the waist, pressing herself against him like an octopus.
"Alright, alright, I'll just give you a brief explanation."
"Um."
Chapter 201 Kushida's Information Sharing
After calming Sakura Airi, it was the next morning.
Since Ichinose Honami's Rabbit Group has finished its exams, she is now focusing all her attention on communicating with the three VIP in Class A, and will keep track of the progress with Hashiba Hikaru.
The pink-haired girl possesses strong Thinking Ability, so with Hashiba Hikaru's help, she quickly devised a very detailed set of communication skills and specific plans.
"You can take the initiative to speak first, and emphasize the results of the exams for the eight groups that just finished yesterday."
"Since the text messages were sent at the same time, it can be determined that it was an organized and planned response. This leads to the conclusion that someone may have grasped the selection pattern of those VIP."
"Even if that's not the case, we still have a lot of information to speculate on. Now there are only four groups left. Are we really going to wait for our VIP status within our groups to be exposed, and end up getting nothing?"
Ichinose Honami reviewed the entire logic from beginning to end, concluding that as long as the other students believed that choosing option one was the best solution given the current situation, then...
After all, it's the school that needs to contribute the points; all the students don't have to pay any price. 500,000 Private Points is no small amount. Previously, the lower-ranked Class C and Class D could only receive tens of thousands a month, so this temptation is considerable.
"But don't bring up the contract yourself, otherwise it will be too obvious."
Hashiba Hikaru added that if everyone were to voluntarily agree to complete the first result, it would definitely require some "discussion" before a way could be proposed that would put everyone at ease.
"That's right. Besides those VIP, the other students in our class can also chime in to minimize the risks."
"That's true."
"And there's one more thing."
Ichinose Honami added something else this time, and it was related to Hashiba Hikaru.
"I heard from Ninomiya that during their group discussion, many people brought up Hikari's name to her, even though I'm the class leader of Class A."
"What's the meaning?"
"Because everyone cares about you."
"... Are you saying that in the end, our classmates can say that I was the one who proposed this plan?"
"Yes, you were quite famous in the first year alone; many people remember you very well."
"I guess it's not a good impression."
"Hehehe, have you ever heard of the ranking of handsome first-grade boys?"
"?"
Hearing this abstract name, Hashiba Hikaru could only slowly type out a question mark.
"Haha, you can check it out when you have time. It's quite famous on our first-year Student Forum."
"..."
-
After these insignificant interludes, it quickly became past noon, and the Dragon Group's third group discussion was about to begin.
It was only the second day of the Special Exam, but many people were already free. Whether they liked it or not, the moment the text message arrived, it meant there was no chance of turning things around.
When Hashiba Hikaru reached the door of the Dragon Group's room, she encountered Kushida Kikyo in the corridor.
The short-haired girl was holding a box. Even though it was almost time, she didn't go in immediately, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Kushida?" Hashiba Hikaru greeted her first.
"Classmate Hashiba, you've finally arrived!"
A look of delight instantly appeared on the girl's face, and she immediately moved closer.
"Let's go inside and chat first; it'll be almost one o'clock in five minutes."
"Uh-huh."
After the two of them entered the Dragon Group's discussion room, almost everyone inside had already arrived.
However, there was a change today: the Class B students, led by Katsuragi Kohei, who had been standing in the corner, chose to sit on the sofa on the left, while opposite them were Ryuen Kakeru and several Class D students.
The students from Class A and Class C were seated on the large sofa in the middle and the chairs around it, leaving a very large gap between the two groups, making them appear quite distinct.
Since the contract had already been signed, no one planned to discuss or chat about it, and even though the exams for the eight groups had ended yesterday, no one brought up the topic.
After all, it was best not to reveal too much information so that the rest of their classes could continue taking the exam, so no one took the initiative to speak.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Kushida Kikyo immediately opened the box she had brought. Inside were two board games, both popular among students.
"What kind of board game is this?" Hashiba Hikaru asked enthusiastically.
"Hehehe, there are two kinds," the short-haired girl spread the items out on the long table in the middle. "One is Werewolf Game, and the other is a tabletop Tabletop RPG with a fictional setting."
"Does anyone want to come and play?"
After putting everything away, Kushida Kikyo called to the students from the other classes, since everyone needed to find something to do to pass the time during that hour.
It has to be said that the girl has quite a bit of influence, after all, she usually has a large social circle and knows many people from other classes, or perhaps friends of friends, and can always connect them into a network.
So for the next hour, the Dragon Group members split into two groups. Except for Katsuragi Kohei and Horikita Suzune, the others joined the two games.
Yes, Ryuen is playing too.
Furthermore, he and Hashiba Hikaru even participated in a Werewolf Game together.
Although it was just a game, the two, both highly competitive, were quite engrossed and did not let their guard down just because it was a casual game.
In the end, Hashiba Hikaru finished the unexpected game segment with a record of three wins and one loss for her team, while Ryuen Kakeru had one win and three losses. Even a champion is a champion if they strive.
After the Dragon Group's third discussion ended, Hashiba Hikaru walked out of the room, but Kushida Kikyo's voice came from behind her.
"Classmate Hashiba, may we talk for a bit?"
"Sure."
Once the two reached a secluded spot, Kushida Kikyo brushed a stray hair from her forehead, looked up at Hashiba Hikaru, and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Regarding yesterday's events, does Classmate Hashiba know anything?"
"If I say I don't know, will Kushida believe me?"
"I can trade you intelligence."
"What intelligence?"
"Information regarding the respondents from the Monkey Group."
"Monkey Group?"
Hashiba Hikaru's expression changed. This was the second person to catch his attention. If the other party was an assassin lurking in another class, then the boy had to find out the other party's identity.
"What does Kushida want to know?"
"I'd like to know how much you know about this exam, such as... the selection criteria for VIP?"
Kushida Kikyo astutely offered her own thoughts; she had always believed that Hashiba Hikaru was exceptionally capable, so it was possible that she had guessed the answer.
"Unfortunately, I didn't guess the answer."
"..."
Chapter 202 Kushida Kikyo: Can you take me back to my room?