The Most Familiar Episode for Kushida Kikyo / The Experiment Was a Success...

Humans learn what warmth is through contact with each other. This is very important; the warmth of the skin is by no means a bad thing.

Perhaps this statement is indeed true, because Xue is planning to verify it through concrete practice.

Kitagawa Ryo could hear the sound of buttons and ties being undone.

In the next instant, he was gently engulfed by the tender warmth of the child.

Written request for leave

My daughter was sick a few days ago and took medicine for about a week. Today she had surgery in the hospital, and she's not feeling well after the surgery. She's still getting painkillers, but she's still trembling from the pain. She's basically lying in bed in the hospital now, and it seems unlikely that she'll be able to write anything, so she asked me to help her send out a leave request.

Due to my health condition, I may not be able to update regularly in the near future, and I may not be able to update normally for the next few days, depending on my recovery. This situation is indeed beyond my control, and I hope you can understand.

So be it.



Chapter 350: The Episode Kushida Kikyo Knows Best

Just as Kitagawa Ryo and Yuki briefly returned their bodies and minds to their former selves from the White Room era, and actively succumbed to the most unrestrained and passionate emotions in the blurred boundary between memory and reality, Sakayanagi Arisu was taking Amasawa Ichika to the Student Council to submit a statement, just as Kitagawa Ryo had instructed.

Today, the vice president, Kiriyama Ikuto, is on duty at the Student Council headquarters. On the surface, the vice president position, which originally had two members, is now down to just him. However, with Miyabi Nagumo, who has become the Student Council President, wielding absolute power, his position as vice president is no different from that of ordinary secretaries and other Student Council members. In essence, he is just an assistant to Nagumo. In fact, he is less trusted than Nagumo's classmates, Mizowaki and Tonokawa. Otherwise, he wouldn't be left alone to guard the Student Council on this day.

However, Kiriyama himself had no objection to this arrangement. After all, compared to watching Nagumo squander their second-year students' public funds to win over the guests, he preferred to sit alone in the Student Council headquarters of the club building.

Because of the guarantor of Sakayanagi Arisu, a current member of the Student Council, Kiriyama Ikuto readily approved Amasawa Ichika's application to rejoin the Cultural Festival. After all, it wasn't a big deal. In the past, there were many examples of students who had taken sick leave but later returned to the field after feeling better. They could even write a promotional article afterward to show the students of ANHS Sports Festival 'Cultural Festival spirit of overcoming difficulties and striving for excellence.

After easily resolving this potential future concern, Sakayanagi Arisu led Amasawa Ichika out of the Student Council Office again. Once they were outside the club building, Amasawa Ichika, who had been maintaining a tense, innocent expression, finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned around with her hands behind her back, and defiantly raised her chin at Sakayanagi Arisu:

"Arisu n't you curious about where Ryo and Yuki are? Don't you have that couple location tracking system? Why don't you take it out and check it?"

Faced with such an overly obvious attempt to incite, Sakayanagi Arisu naturally wouldn't fall for it, and without even looking up, simply replied:

"Not interested."

"Is it that you're not interested or just don't want to watch? Well, I can understand. Escaping is shameful, but it's useful, right?"

As she spoke, Amasawa Ichika thoughtfully patted Sakayanagi Arisu's shoulder and smiled as she reminded her:

"After Arisu is still a current member of the Student Council. If they find out that a student is currently doing something against school rules with a guest in a place that is not allowed today, it would be quite troublesome."

"You really don't need to worry about Ichika. After all, Nagumo was the Student Council who led the way in breaking the rules at this Cultural Festival."

Sakayanagi Arisu brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Of course, she knew that Kitagawa Ryo and Yuki were most likely in the dormitory right now, but knowing was one thing, and pretending not to know was another, so she simply steered the conversation elsewhere:

"Now that you've resolved your biological father's matter, as we agreed beforehand, if I ever need to take action against Nagumo, you must help me unconditionally once."

"No problem -- I've disliked that guy for a long time anyway."

Amasawa Ichika stretched, still wearing the same loose-fitting Kitagawa Ryo outfit. The overly long sleeves covered her hands, which were then tucked into her pockets. The hem and hood of her clothes fluttered naturally in the wind, making her look quite dashing and childlike, almost making Sakayanagi Arisu doubt whether the little devil who had just met her could control the blood pressure of everyone present was really her.

"How?"

Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu staring at her thoughtfully, Amasawa Ichika gave her another harmless smile:

"Don't you think I'm happy living like a child?"

"Ha, what kind of kid would sneak into someone else's tent in the middle of the night?"

"Well, it's better than Arisu sneaking into someone else's tent in the middle of the night and being treated like a child."

"Tsk... where did you learn all these words?"

"I wanted to say this in my past life but never had the chance, is that okay?"

Too lazy to continue arguing with Amasawa Ichika, Sakayanagi Arisu once again chose to change the subject:

"I need to go back to my project team in a bit; I still need to gather more information about the future First Year students."

"Oh, thank you for your hard work. By the way, did you see any interesting new students?"

"Hmm... I won't introduce Ishigami and Tsubaki to you. You should still remember Ichika. As for the others, there's a guy named Takahashi Osamu's alright. Although his academic ability isn't particularly outstanding, his interpersonal skills are amazing. When I saw him at noon, he had already become familiar with quite a few of the other guests. There's also a student named Utsunomiya Riku, who seems a bit like Kanzaki from Class B? His academic and physical abilities are among the best of his peers, but he's a bit quiet."

As the organizer of one of the projects that attracted these junior high school graduates the most during the entire Cultural Festival, Sakayanagi Arisu met with a considerable number of new students in those few hours, and soon casually mentioned the names of two students she remembered.

After saying that, Sakayanagi Arisu turned to Amasawa Ichika and asked:

"What about you, Ichika? Where are you planning to go? The cat café in our class seems pretty busy. Do you want to lend a hand?"

"Okay, but I need to return their phone first, and then I can get my own phone back."

Amasawa Ichika nodded indifferently, then, as if remembering something, waved the unfamiliar phone in her hand at Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Nanase said she'd wait for me at our class's dessert shop, so I'll head over there now."

Okay, goodbye.

After saying goodbye to Sakayanagi Arisu, Amasawa Ichika rushed to the dessert shop on the third floor of the teaching building. Although it was already late afternoon, the popularity of the place was still visibly increasing. Not only the interior, but also the corridor outside was packed with people. From a distance, you could hear Sato Maya, a classmate, trying her best to maintain order.

Fortunately, Amasawa Ichika's target wasn't the already crowded store entrance and food pick-up window. After tiptoeing and searching among the customers inside and outside the store, she caught a glimpse of Nanase Tsubasa. After all, her long, bright golden hair, which would definitely be the focus of attention anywhere, was quite eye-catching.

"Here's your phone back. Thank you so much for earlier."

After squeezing somewhat awkwardly to the other person's side, Amasawa Ichika smiled and handed Nanase Tsubasa's phone back, also sincerely thanking her.

"Uh, it's nothing."

Suddenly struck up a conversation with Amasawa Ichika, Nanase Tsubasa, who was still eating, quickened her chewing pace, swallowing her food with great difficulty before replying incoherently, and incidentally returning the phone she had taken from Amasawa Ichika:

"I should be thanking you, you treated me to this meal for free, hehe."

As she spoke, Nanase Tsubasa, with a blissful expression, cupped one cheek in her hand and continued to scoop up the pudding in front of her with a spoon and put it into her mouth.

She was already planning to meet another option on her list Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, to kill time, when she suddenly met a kind-hearted upperclassman who offered her a free dessert simply by borrowing her phone.

"When I enroll here next year, I'll definitely make up for the meal I owe my senior, using this so-called Private Points system."

Amasawa Ichika simply smiled, leaning forward with what appeared to be a very intimate gesture, using her back and arms to block the other person's view. Her smiling face instantly transformed into the image that haunted the nightmares of a certain Kushida from Class 1-D, her light yet sharp tone cutting like a knife into his ear:

"More than that, I'm curious about Nanase. What exactly does the first text message you sent, mentioning either Kitagawa Ryo or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, mean?"

Chapter 351: The Experiment Was a Success

To be honest, Amasawa Ichika hadn't initially intended to investigate the personal privacy of this girl she was meeting for the first time today. However, perhaps because the girl had agreed so readily, or perhaps because she was inherently quite sensitive to anything related to Kitagawa Ryo, she inexplicably became interested in this girl who showed great interest in Ryo's dessert shop and casually checked her phone on the way back.

The standard mobile phones distributed to guests at the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School during this Cultural Festival have fixed functions. Besides being able to check the time, one's location, and Private Points for payment, they only have basic call and message functions. This is to make it easier for guests who come in groups to contact each other.

After checking, Amasawa Ichika found that Nanase Tsubasa's phone had no communication records, but there was a text message in the message bar with an unknown sender. It was sent at 10:00 AM on the morning of the Cultural Festival opening, and the message was 'Kitagawa Ryo or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka'.

Of course, Amasawa Ichika was unaware of the specific details and background of this matter, since Kitagawa Ryo had not told her about it either. In his mind, Amasawa Ichika would be taking leave from the Cultural Festival and staying in the dormitory, and would not participate in his and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's selection strategy from beginning to end.

That's why Amasawa Ichika immediately returned to reconfirm and find Nanase Tsubasa's location after seeing the text message. She even subtly labeled her in her mind as an assassin sent here by Ayanokoji Atsuomi to wait for an opportunity, just like her in the past.

"Hmm? You mean this... That's quite a long story."

To Amasawa Ichika's surprise, Nanase Tsubasa seemed completely oblivious to her threatening gaze and actions, and even seemed unconcerned that she had looked through her phone's messages. She calmly continued to scoop the last piece of pudding into her mouth before replying with a spoon in her mouth and a slight tilt of her head.

"Simply put, it's about making me choose between two complete strangers to bet my entire high school life, um... do you understand?"

"Choose one?"

Faced with Nanase Tsubasa's explanation, Amasawa Ichika was initially taken aback, but she immediately recalled her casual conversation with Sakayanagi Arisu about the new students. She had only casually asked if she had noticed any interesting new students, but Sakayanagi Arisu listed them off in great detail. Could this be related to that?

Thinking this, Amasawa Ichika took the initiative to ask again:

"Is this text message for selecting students unique to you, or is it received by all the junior high school graduating students who came to ANHS today?"

"I don't know, but I'm definitely not the only one with it. As for everyone having it... well, that's impossible."

Perhaps it was because all the desserts in front of her had been devoured, but her clever mind had once again taken over from the sugar and seized the high ground of intelligence. After being questioned several times in a seemingly probing manner, Nanase Tsubasa finally asked back with some doubt:

"Why are you so concerned about this, senior? Are you perhaps acquainted with this Kitagawa? You two seem to be students in Class 1-A..."

"Liang and I aren't even that close. Just an hour ago I was rolling around on his bed in his dorm. Look, this shirt and jacket are his."

Seeing the red-haired senior in front of her suddenly become inexplicably excited, Nanase Tsubasa simply gave an awkward yet polite smile.

I have a feeling... she might have already seen or heard this scene and conversation in front of the gate of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School this morning.

Today, Kitagawa Ryo has once again confirmed a fact.

That is, Yuki and Arisu do indeed share a striking similarity and convergence at a certain deep psychological level.

Just like when Sakayanagi Arisu left a very noticeable hickey on his neck in the concert hall on the cruise ship, Kitagawa Ryo's lips were bitten by the girl, whether intentionally or unintentionally, whether it was due to naivety or infatuation. The pain was very slight, and only a little blood seeped out.

Xue was no stranger to this scent; even this insignificant amount was enough to awaken a certain instinct that had been buried deep within her heart.

In their shared memories of the White Room, Yuki had seen, smelled, and felt the blood of Kitagawa Ryo countless times, despite the brutal treatment and even the Malice injection of addictive drugs. But each time, she was powerless to stop the flow of that bright red liquid, defined in the book as vital to life, from his body.

Of all those countless experiences, the one that left the deepest impression on Xue was the time when Kitagawa Ryo nearly went into shock in the room after being injected with an artery. Besides the fact that the other party's miserable state was indeed unprecedented, it was also because that was, in fact, the last time the two met in the White Room, marking the true end of their White Room era.

When Kitagawa Ryo returned to the room they had shared, Sakayanagi Arisu was already by his side.

That's why Xue can still clearly remember the chilling, pungent smell of blood, like a blade gleaming with cold light. This smell lingered in her nose, driving her to run like a madwoman down the corridor, pounding her fists on every door she could see, whether open or closed.

Then, they watched helplessly as the staff in the White Room, having finished the experiment, took Kitagawa Ryo away.

Xue remembered that she fell asleep on a bed stained with Kitagawa Ryo's blood that night. It was a familiar scent that both frightened and reassured her, like some kind of flame slowly warming her body.

In a daze, Kitagawa Ryo felt the other person touch his tiny wound again, a wound that he always felt would heal in a couple of minutes if left unattended. The purplish-red pupils so close to his mouth flickered with some kind of dark and complex emotion, which even made him unconsciously lose his focus for a moment.

"Cold..."

He listened as Xue called his name, followed by a series of whispers and solace that, to an unsuspecting bystander, would be considered contrary to social norms, customs, and ethics. These whispers were taboo on every level.

Although he didn't know what the researcher named Suzukake in the White Room was doing now in this timeline, Kitagawa Ryo really wanted him to experience the simulated Pit of Despair again.

... His experiments with rhesus monkeys, using human children as subjects, were, in a sense, indeed successful.

Chapter 352: I'll call Liang right now

Although she had anticipated this, when Sakayanagi Arisu actually took out her phone and unconsciously clicked on the homepage of her favorite app, seeing Kitagawa Ryo's location still set in the dormitory area, she couldn't help but feel a real sense of loss and resentment that couldn't be easily ignored. After all, this was yet another failure for her.

"What's wrong? You look so sullen."

Noticing the unusual behavior of Sakayanagi Arisu, Matsushita Chiaki, who had just seen off another customer who had finished their homework, approached and asked in a low voice.

"Nothing."

Sakayanagi Arisu simply shook her head slightly, turned off her phone, put it back in her pocket, and then changed the subject.

"While I was away, were there any noteworthy guests?"

"There's nothing particularly noteworthy. After all, it's already this late, and most of the people who were willing to participate in our activities have already done so. During the time Arisu was away, there were very few new guests, let alone anything worth paying attention to."

As she spoke, Matsushita Chiaki meticulously handed over the dozen or so answer sheets she had received during this period to Sakayanagi Arisu. Although she didn't know why the other party was paying so much attention to these junior high school graduates, this kind of secret operation of collecting and analyzing other people's information and intelligence was indeed very appealing to Matsushita Chiaki, who wanted to find a little excitement on her otherwise unconventional path in life. This was also one of the reasons why she was initially recruited by Sakayanagi Arisu and helped her with her work.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

Sakayanagi Arisu took the answer sheets that had been specially arranged according to their scores. Although most of her goodwill towards Matsushita Chiaki came from the excellent assists he made in the mid-to-late stages of the simulation, after spending half a year together, she had also fully recognized Matsushita Chiaki's personality and abilities. Their relationship had gradually changed from superior and subordinate to friends, and their cooperation had become more and more tacit.

"Um?"

After quickly scanning the first few exam papers, Sakayanagi Arisu soon noticed one of them, decisively pulled it out, and began to read it more carefully, starting from the first question.

Is there a problem?

Matsushita Chiaki curiously leaned closer. The score on this test was around 60, which was slightly below average. According to the OAA rating system of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, this student's final evaluation would likely fluctuate between C and C, which is a fairly common academic level.

"This student is intentionally controlling her score; no, to be precise, she's trying to control her score. It's probably her first time, and there are some obvious flaws in her attempts."

After reviewing the entire exam paper, Sakayanagi Arisu quickly made the same judgment, and then immediately used her tablet to retrieve the candidate's name by answer sheet number:

"Tsubaki, Sakurako?"

For Sakayanagi Arisu, this was a name that was both unfamiliar and familiar. After all, the other person and Yuki were biological sisters, and she herself had met them a few times in the simulation. However, the impression she had left was very few. The only impression she had from those few encounters was that the other person always seemed listless and lethargic, as if she had no interest in anything. Therefore, although her hair color and face were very similar to her sister Yuki, their temperaments were quite different.

"It seems that Classmate Sakayanagi does know me after all. Hmm... did she hear about it from my older sister?"

As if she had been waiting there for a long time, Sakayanagi Arisu heard a voice suddenly come from behind her. When she turned around, the girl with honey-colored long hair was already standing there, her hands tucked into her sleeves, lazily greeting her.

"Don't ask me how I got here. I've been following Classmate Sakayanagi ever since the Gymnasium. Speaking of which, that red-haired girl is quite perceptive. I guess it's a good thing you guys split up halfway through, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to follow her all the way here safely."

Completely different from her previous sarcastic demeanor when she was with Yuki, Tsubaki Sakurako naturally found a chair, sat down, rested her chin on her hand, and muttered to herself for a while before continuing to ask:

"I noticed them in the Gymnasium earlier. Classmate Sakayanagi knew my sister before, right? And that red-haired senior named Amasawa. If it's convenient, could we talk about this topic?"

Because she had been lounging around in the Gymnasium's lounge from the start, Tsubaki Sakurako didn't miss the emotional drama that had recently unfolded. Aside from secretly complaining about how weak her older sister was, like a weakling with only a five-star rating, easily humiliated by anyone, she still keenly picked up on more details of their conversation.

Without a doubt, these were the clues that allowed her to glimpse her sister's past experiences with Kitagawa Ryo; they were like the tiny crack that revealed the door to the truth before it was fully opened.

"Tsubaki-kun, is it alright if I call you that? If you're so curious, why don't you just ask your older sister?"

Startled by the sudden appearance of Tsubaki Sakurako, Sakayanagi Arisu subconsciously frowned slightly. After all, if there was any hidden danger in her partnership with Matsushita Chiaki, it was that their combat skills were actually not up to par. If they encountered any unexpected situation, let alone a White Room graduate like Amasawa Ichika, even a girl of Kamuro Masumi's caliber from Class D would be enough to give them a hard time.