A True Carnivore Girl

But this kind of life came to an abrupt end after she entered junior high school. As her social circle expanded, Kushida Kikyo gradually encountered people who surpassed her in various fields.

There is absolutely no way to defeat someone you can't beat.

Kitagawa Ryo is a prime example, because he was the most suffocating person among all the peers that Kushida Kikyo had ever met. While she was still basking in the praise from her parents and friends, he had already left his mark on a stage she had never imagined, a stage so grand that this sense of chasm-like disparity stood between them.

It was after seeing Kitagawa Ryo like that that Kushida Kikyo longed to gain the respect and envy of others, hoping that her name could appear as frequently in other people's conversations as Kitagawa's, in a posture of looking up to him.

Driven by this desire, Kushida Kikyo found her own answer: to gain more trust than anyone else and to seek a sense of superiority by being more popular than anyone else.

Suppressing one's true feelings, putting on a fake smile, and showing the same gentleness to everyone.

She reached out to a guy whose mere sight would ruin her mood, and she also reached out to an unattractive girl who annoyed her.

Of course, in order to further expand her influence and to get on Kitagawa Ryo's good side, she cunningly chose to join the school's Drama Club during junior high school.

Trust is an irreplaceable treasure.

In this process, Kushida Kikyo gradually realized this. People kept trusting her, and then, under the influence of this trust, they easily revealed their secrets to her, including but not limited to the person the most popular boy in the class liked, the unexpected troubles of the smartest person in the class, and everything from major secrets about the body to some trivial secrets.

She thoroughly enjoyed this act of prying into other people's privacy; the moment she learned their secrets, she would even experience a thrilling sensation, like an electric current running through her skin.

The more perfect a student seems, the more she wants to uncover their secrets.

Driven by this bloodthirsty curiosity, Kushida Kikyo wished she could transform into an insect and burrow into everyone's veins in order to uncover deeper and darker secrets.

The same was true after she entered Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. As Tian with a good reputation throughout the entire grade and even the upper grades, Kushida Kikyo easily mastered a lot of secrets. Like a dragon guarding a treasure trove, she gained satisfaction and fell asleep peacefully every night by counting these secrets.

But today, Sakura Airi's performance and the discussions among her classmates reminded Kushida Kikyo of that long-forgotten feeling of inferiority from being ignored. The students in Class A were certainly not so emotionally unintelligent as to compare the two performances, but the more they were ignored, the more irritated Kushida Kikyo became.

Inferiority complex always kills in the dead of night.

So, Kushida Kikyo. She quietly got up and left the tent without waking anyone else. She walked out of Class A's camp in the thick darkness and entered the forest.

Once she felt she had moved far enough away, Kushida Kikyo kicked a nearby tree in frustration. The recoil pain didn't even make her wince; she just muttered to herself:

"Ugh, this is so annoying!"

If the other students in Class A heard it, they probably wouldn't recognize that the deep voice came from Kushida Kikyo.

"This is so annoying, it's infuriating! Why don't you just die...?"

Kushida Kikyo muttered curses under her breath, as if reciting a curse incantation.

"What former idol? She thinks she's cute and just poses like that. Anyway, she's probably just a slut who's been sexually harassed a million times. Why can't this piece of trash in Class D just stay there and rot?"

"Ugh--This is terrible... This is absolutely terrible, absolutely terrible, absolutely terrible! That woman Sakura is so annoying... So incredibly annoying!"

Just as Kushida Kikyo was venting her negative emotions without restraint, another cautious, slightly puzzled voice suddenly came from behind her:

"Kushida?"

"... What are you doing?"

Startled to be seen in this state by others, Kushida Kikyo quickly turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the person's face.

Standing there is Hirata Yosuke.

As fellow students in Class 1-A, Kushida Kikyo knew each other's character very well. Just like the character she played, Hirata Yosuke's position in the class was actually similar to hers, or even a male version of Kushida Kikyo.

They had equally excellent academic and athletic achievements, the same gentle and approachable manner, and the same extraordinary appearance. Moreover, in Kushida Kikyo's eyes, Hirata Yosuke was not the same as her behind the mask; he was a kind-hearted person at heart.

It's better to have your hidden secrets discovered by someone like that than by someone like Totsuka Yahiko.

With these feelings in mind, Kushida Kikyo forced a smile:

"I'm in a bad mood today, and my behavior was a little excessive."

"Could you please Hirata?"

Pretending to be troubled, Kushida Kikyo scratched her cheek and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Everyone has bad days; I didn't see anything today."

Just as Kushida Kikyo had predicted, Hirata Yosuke paused for a moment before revealing his usual gentle smile:

"It's getting late, Kushida, you should go home and get some rest too."

Kushida Kikyo trusted Hirata Yosuke's excellent character after spending a semester with him, and nodded before saying:

"I'll go back now."

Having her private thoughts exposed, Kushida Kikyo naturally didn't want to stay any longer. She instinctively wiped her face with her hand and, following Hirata Yosuke's lead, prepared to leave.

But after taking a few steps back, Kushida Kikyo suddenly realized something. She had come to the forest late at night because she was upset and wanted to vent her frustrations. Why was Hirata Yosuke here so late?

There are simple toilets in the camp, so even if she needed to get up at night, she wouldn't need to come to a place like this. There must be some secret she doesn't know.

Secret.

The word sent a shiver down Kushida Kikyo's spine. She suddenly realized that although Hirata Yosuke was a generally kind person, she had ultimately given him leverage over her today. In this situation, if she could obtain one of his secrets...

Compared to simple trust, Kushida Kikyo undoubtedly hopes to uncover a secret about Hirata Yosuke, not only because of her long-standing voyeuristic desires, but also because she wants to use it as a threat or a safeguard.

Kushida Kikyo, who quickly regained her senses, did not immediately turn around to question Hirata Yosuke about why he was there that night. She continued walking towards the camp, but at the same time, she kept an eye on Hirata Yosuke's movements.

Under the cover of darkness, Kushida Kikyo easily turned back and hid behind a tree, observing the blurry Hirata Yosuke from afar. He seemed to think she was already far away, and turned around to continue walking deeper into the forest.

This undoubtedly confirmed Kushida Kikyo's suspicions further: Hirata Yosuke was definitely hiding something. What was he going to do? Or was he going to see someone?

With this in mind, Kushida Kikyo followed Hirata Yosuke step by step, watching as he seemed to meet with another person.

To avoid being spotted, Kushida Kikyo hid among the trees. Although she tried to get as close as possible, the night was too dark and the wind too loud. No matter how wide she opened her eyes or how hard she listened, she couldn't make out the other person's face or the content of their conversation.

She felt as if she were standing at the entrance to a huge secret, yet she couldn't hear clearly. For a moment, Kushida Kikyo felt a surge of turbulent emotions coursing through her body, and the increasingly intense emotions made her almost restless and anxious.

If we could see the mysterious person's face, we might be able to figure out the specifics, but getting too close would also be dangerous.

If we get any closer from our current position, the two people over there might be able to see us.

Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath to calm her anxious emotions before finally choosing to slowly and indirectly approach.

While keeping a close eye on the movements on that side, Kushida Kikyo concealed her presence and quietly began to move.

[In short, after creating some distance, we started to maneuver around them.]

Just as Kushida Kikyo was making this plan, her right shoulder was suddenly grabbed from behind, where there should have been no one. Kushida Kikyo was so frightened that she almost screamed, but someone's hand immediately covered her mouth, forcing her to swallow it back and turn around with her fear in her eyes.

"--!"

This unexpected turn of events left Kushida Kikyo's mind in a state of confusion.

It was only then that Kushida Kikyo realized that the person binding her from behind was Amasawa Ichika from Class 1-D. Because the other person was so aloof, even the socially adept Kushida Kikyo hadn't spoken to her more than a few times, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this was their first meeting.

Without any intention to communicate, Amasawa Ichika almost forcibly pulled Kushida Kikyo away from Hirata Yosuke. Kushida Kikyo, who always thought she was in good physical condition, had almost no chance to resist. The other party's strength was so great that Kushida Kikyo almost thought he was a strong adult man.

What horrified Kushida Kikyo even more was...

The beautiful, fluorescent green eyes of the other person now reflected utter coldness and madness.

Chapter 177: The Real Carnivorous Type Girl

In that instant, when she met Amasawa Ichika's almost beast-like, crazed gaze, Kushida Kikyo felt the blood in her veins freeze, her body trembled instinctively, and her nerves repeatedly sent her warnings to run away, as if she had encountered something extraordinary.

Driven by this terrifying emotion, Kushida Kikyo tried to pry open Amasawa Ichika's arms to regain control of her body, but this action seemed to provoke him as well. Almost without hesitation, Kushida Kikyo felt a heavy slap on her left cheek.

The sudden, sharp pain made Kushida Kikyo's pupils widen in disbelief. If her mouth hadn't been covered, she would have screamed out loud. This was beyond her common sense; the school had clearly stipulated from the beginning that violence against others was not allowed during this exam, otherwise, severe punishment or even expulsion would be imposed.

But Amasawa Ichika simply and decisively slapped her across the face.

At the same time, the other party's cold expression also revealed another fact: if she tried to resist again as before, Amasawa Ichika would not mind giving her another blow.

Forced to behave, Kushida Kikyo could only watch as Hirata Yosuke and another blurry figure quickly disappeared from her sight. She was taken hostage by Amasawa Ichika and carried to the other side of the forest before being put down like a burden.

Having finally regained control of her body, Kushida Kikyo gasped for breath and posed a rapid question to Amasawa Ichika in front of her:

"Hirata Amasawa Ichika from Class D —why are you here?... Was that mysterious person you met with from Class D?"

Even ignoring the pain on her face, Kushida Kikyo felt as if she had discovered a huge secret. Although Amasawa Ichika did not answer, seeing his indifferent expression, she became even more certain of her guess.

Kushida Kikyo, who had met Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, and Horikita Suzune during middle school, never underestimated Class D from the beginning. Touching her still-burning left cheek, she said:

"The person who met with Hirata was Kitagawa Ryo —right?"

Kushida Kikyo spoke, she felt that everything that had happened since the start of the school year and the strange occurrences in the class had all come together. No one would have imagined that Hirata Yosuke, whose reputation in Class A was second only to Katsuragi Kohei, would be the traitor who colluded with other classes, and from Class D no less.

Just as Kushida Kikyo suddenly realized what was happening, Amasawa Ichika, who had heard the name Kitagawa Ryo, also reacted. He walked step by step to Kushida Kikyo and raised his right hand once again.

Kushida Kikyo had just been slapped, immediately assumed a defensive stance, but was easily breached by Amasawa Ichika in the next instant.

Snap!

This time, the other side of his face was slapped hard.

Her wrist, which was used to parry, was firmly held. Kushida Kikyo couldn't keep up with her opponent's speed at all. She only felt a blur before her eyes, and then intense pain was transmitted to her brain through her nerves.

Immediately afterwards, she was tripped by the other party, and Amasawa Ichika used her knee to press against Kushida Kikyo's abdomen, ruthlessly slamming her to the ground amidst her muffled groan.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

Being straddled by someone, even if it was a girl, still made Kushida Kikyo feel incredibly humiliated. She even abandoned her usual composure, shouting and yelling in a fit of rage:

"I will report this to the school—and have you expelled!"

"You talk too much nonsense."

It was only then that Amasawa Ichika finally uttered her first words. She leaned down, almost touching Kushida Kikyo's face. This movement caused her ponytails and bangs to fall naturally on both sides, and her bright red hair and fluorescent eyes, which held strong emotions, shone almost like stars.

"However, I actually find it more comfortable to hear such revealing remarks. But please, don't be too loud—it seems like it's just the two of us right now, and the Uninhabited Island is indeed quite large, but who knows if other people might suddenly appear."

Amasawa Ichika's tone carried a mocking gentleness as she spoke, gently stroking Kushida Kikyo's cheek. This harmless gesture sent chills down Kushida Kikyo's spine. As if gathering courage, Kushida Kikyo gritted her teeth and rebuked her:

"... You wretched woman, stop!"

If one only knows the outward appearance of Kushida Kikyo, such remarks alone are surprising enough, because in the entire past semester, even when facing Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki, who had not yet been expelled, Kushida Kikyo had never spoken to anyone this harshly.

Faced with Kushida Kikyo's curses, Amasawa Ichika was not angry at all; instead, he laughed, though it was more like a forced smile.

"Yes, yes, this is how Kushida should be."

"Nothing has changed at all, except I wonder if you still create a separate account on social media platforms specifically for venting—to insult your 'friends', just like you did a few years ago?"

As soon as Amasawa Ichika uttered these words, Kushida Kikyo's eyes widened, and her pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints. She never expected that Amasawa Ichika, with whom she had no prior interaction, could reveal her middle school secret so readily.

The last person to obtain this secret from who-knows-where was Horikita Suzune, but that was two years ago. At that time, Horikita Suzune used this secret to reach an agreement with her, and she would no longer target Horikita Suzune when it came to joining the club.

However, since the two had almost no further contact afterward, Kushida Kikyo also abandoned that social media account, the matter was left unresolved.

"I'm not like Horikita. If Kushida really wants me to drop out of school, then before I do, all the things you did in middle school will be the talk of the town."

"Are you kidding me...?"

Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down:

"No one will believe what someone like you is saying; it's just the ramblings of someone about to drop out of school."

"I might indeed be a little unqualified."

Amasawa Ichika also responded quickly:

"What about Hirata?"

Hirata Yosuke, a student in Class 1-A, is practically at the top of the social circle, on par with Kushida Kikyo. If he were to testify, the girls who were already jealous of Kushida Kikyo would probably tear off her perfect mask in one fell swoop.

Kushida Kikyo fell silent, while Amasawa Ichika, who had maintained control from beginning to end, spoke up as if amused:

"You enjoy knowing other people's secrets to gain a sense of superiority, and this personality trait also makes you hate it when others take advantage of you. You can't forgive people who know your secrets. Kushida is a very easy person to understand."

"But if that's the case, I think Kushida and I are not compatible at all. You like to collect other people's secrets, treasure them as treasures, and use them as weapons, but I don't have any such secrets at all."

As Amasawa Ichika spoke, he increased the pressure. Kushida Kikyo felt a dull pain in her abdomen, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from his hold.

"You see, like this, if we really had to settle this with force, I'd be stronger than Kushida. If I had to pick a weakness, I'd say Ryo is my weakness... but dealing with Ryo would be much harder than defeating him."

Catching the name Kitagawa Ryo again in the other person's words, Kushida Kikyo forced a smile and provocatively said:

"Huh? What's this... Do you like him?"

"Certainly."

Amasawa Ichika answered without hesitation, playfully winking her left eye:

"But that's not exactly a secret."

"Liking someone is a secret for some, but a feeling for others."

"But for me, it's a fact."