Kushida's Misstep

Hoshino was standing where there was no source of light, so he did not have to worry about Kushida discovering him.

In his field of vision, Kushida stood motionless facing the artificial lake. The surroundings were utterly silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the chirping of insects to be heard.

She looked as though she were meditating. But—

"Ah... This is so annoying."

The sudden, low voice tore through the quiet atmosphere.

"This is seriously so annoying. It makes me sick. Why don't you just go die..."

Kushida muttered curses under her breath as if reciting some kind of incantation.

"She thinks she's cute, so she puts on airs. She's definitely a bitch. A woman with that kind of personality could never teach anyone how to study."

It sounded like Horikita was the one Kushida was angry with.

"Ah... This is awful. It's so awful, awful, awful. Horikita is so annoying, annoying, annoying... I'm seriously sick of her!"

Still cursing without pause, Kushida seemed to find that insufficient to vent her anger. She raised her foot and repeatedly slammed the sole of her shoe hard against the tree trunk beside her.

She used so much force that even the tree, thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around, swayed as its leaves rustled.

After about a minute, Kushida lowered her leg and stopped moving. She stood there, slowly calming the ragged breathing brought on by her agitation.

"Haa..." Kushida took one last deep breath, seeming to have decided to leave.

Then, as she turned around the corner, she came face-to-face with Hoshino, who had been waiting there.

Hoshino watched her expression with interest. After a moment of shock, Kushida quickly regained her composure—at least on the surface. That raised Hoshino's opinion of her a little further.

"...What are you... doing here?"

After a brief silence, Kushida spoke in a cold voice.

"You might as well be direct."

Kushida's face darkened, and a terrifying aura seemed to envelop her as she glared at Hoshino with icy eyes.

"Forget it, I don't feel like teasing you anymore." Hoshino smiled as though he felt no pressure at all. "I followed you from the dorms. I heard and saw everything you said and did."

"Is that so..." Kushida murmured.

She suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Hoshino by the collar. Though she was far shorter than him, her presence felt as if it could swallow him whole.

"If you tell anyone about what happened just now... I will never forgive you."

"What if I do? What are you going to do?"

"Then I'll tell everyone you nearly raped me here."

"That's a fabricated accusation."

"It's fine, because it won't be fabricated."

After saying that, Kushida reached out and grabbed Hoshino's left wrist, slowly opening his hand. She placed her own hand over the back of his, then moved his hand toward her chest.

A soft sensation spread through his entire palm.

"...What are you doing?"

Even Hoshino had not expected such a sudden, extreme development. As though afraid he might pull away, Kushida pressed his hand down hard from above.

"Now your fingerprints will be on my clothes, and I have evidence too. I'm serious, understand?"

Hoshino was completely speechless.

"I won't wash this uniform. I'll keep it in my room the whole time. If you dare betray me, I'll hand it over to the police."

Kushida held Hoshino's hand in place as she glared at him fiercely.

"Hey, Kushida, which side of you is the real one?"

"...That has nothing to do with you."

"Don't be so distant. Judging by how you looked just now, have you been under too much pressure? If you want, I can be someone you talk to. If you say what you've been holding inside, you'll feel much better, won't you?"

"Shut up! I said it has nothing to do with you!"

Kushida looked at him with hatred in her eyes and took a step back. But—

"...Let go. How long are you planning to keep touching me?"

"You were the one who forced me to touch you. The feel is great, though."

"Pervert! Scumbag!"

"What does it matter? You're just a slut who lets men touch her breasts whenever they want, aren't you?"

Kushida's expression turned cold at those words, and she immediately lifted her leg to kick Hoshino in the side. However, Hoshino casually caught her kick with one hand. Her lower leg was clamped tightly in his grip, and she could not pull it back at all. She had to hop awkwardly on one foot twice before regaining her balance.

"Y-You, let me go!"

"Please calm down, Kushida." Hoshino spoke with a smile, utterly composed. "Before we begin our next conversation, I believe this is necessary."

"You bastard! Let me go already—"

With a sharp slap, Kushida's shouting and struggling abruptly stopped.

Only after four or five seconds did she slowly come back to herself. She turned to look at Hoshino, whose expression remained calm, her lips twitching but ultimately unable to speak.

Hoshino smiled in satisfaction, then released her leg. Kushida instinctively took a step back, but a single "Don't move" from Hoshino made her body stiffen, leaving her too afraid to move.

"Using pain as an aid is one of the oldest and most effective methods for training animals. It seems to work on people too. Please remain calm, Kushida. I really don't want to hurt your pretty face. Nod if you understand."

Seeing Kushida's stiff response, Hoshino clapped his hands and continued, "Originally, I followed you here tonight purely out of curiosity. But I never expected to witness something so interesting."

"My mistake was failing to notice you were following me."

Hoshino chuckled. "I see. So that's what you think?"

Kushida bit her lip and stared fixedly at Hoshino.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't bear you any ill will."

"...Following me, eavesdropping, and even hitting me... You call that bearing no ill will?"

"Then let me correct that. I originally bore you no ill will."

"...So you've changed your mind now?"

"More or less."

Hoshino's casual words made Kushida even more anxious. Her mind raced as she searched for a way out, but the burning pain on her face kept her from making any rash moves.

She was absolutely not as innocent as she appeared on the surface. She had experience fighting with others and getting hurt. Yet a single slap from Hoshino had instinctively made her heart tremble.

Kushida did not even dare to think deeply about what lay behind the instinct that was constantly urging her to escape from this man.

Just then, Hoshino spoke again.

"Kushida, you're passionate about building your social network and working hard to make yourself the center of the circle. Honestly, I've seen plenty of people like you, but even among them, you're one of the most extreme. Getting along with everyone—or, in your words, becoming friends with everyone—has become your deepest obsession..."

"So what?" Kushida finally could not help interrupting. "I just like making friends. What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with making friends. But allow me to make a bold guess: deep down, you probably don't truly see the people around you as friends, do you? In other words, you're merely weaving a false web of friendship and enjoying the pleasure of being the center of attention."

"..."

"Your first mistake was that after I discovered the true face you were hiding, you did not choose to discard that false mask. You still wanted to keep hiding it. Perhaps because it's fake, you're even more afraid of it being exposed."

"...That sounds nice, but if I had come clean then, would you have let me go?"