Chapter 537
Not having to go to class today means that Kirishima Ai can't find herself for the time being, and she can delay for another day.
Good news, meow.
Not long after, she hugged her pillow again, rested her head against the wall, and fell asleep with very light breathing.
It wasn't until almost noon.
Kuroki Yuka woke up naturally, but still looked a little sleepy. She put on a down jacket, slipped on plush bear slippers that were a little too big for her feet, and reluctantly got out of bed, intending to treat herself to some Yogurt for the morning.
She could hear birds singing next door at this moment.
She sang quite well.
It is naturally the Magical Bird kept by Haihara, Miss Silver Feather.
Thinking of this, Kuroki Yuka tore open three packets of Yogurt, grabbed a piece of bread, and then closed the refrigerator door.
Because her eyelids were still very sleepy, she leaned against the refrigerator, rested her head on the refrigerator door for a while, and almost fell asleep standing up again.
In the end, it was the cool Yogurt container in the girl's hand that brought her back to reality.
She woke up a little, munching on a slice of bread, and leisurely walked to the glass door of the balcony. First, she wrapped her down jacket tighter and buttoned it up, then opened the balcony door.
A gust of snow, heavy enough to make a high school student look fake, suddenly blew in, scraping Kuroki Yuka's cheeks painfully.
But on the balcony of the next room, a lively little bird was chirping happily at Kuroki Yuka.
Despite the cold, Kuroki Yuka waved to the little bird.
The Little White immediately flew over to Kuroki Yuka, sometimes to her shoulder, sometimes to her head, pecking at her hair and then at her Yogurt container, kindly tearing the lid off Yogurt container with its beak.
The person and the bird seemed to have a tacit understanding.
Kuroki Yuka tore off a piece of bread to feed the little bird, Silver Feather, who had just woken up early in the morning. She herself was a little clumsy, as her hands weren't quite big enough, and she sipped her Yogurt slowly.
Finally, unable to bear the freezing weather any longer, she took Silver Feather back inside and slammed the glass door to the balcony shut.
"Hiss..."
The sweet and pretty girl blinked her listless eyes and shivered several times.
She looked like a lazy bum, but then she chuckled happily for no apparent reason, her mouth almost curving into a kitten's smile. With her eyes closed and a piece of bread in her mouth, she lay on the sofa with its large pillows, enjoying the warmth of the living room that she had regained.
Silver Feather tilted her head in confusion, but finally decided to ignore it and drink her share of Yogurt.
Recently, Haihara, who has become a master of time management, is obviously unable to attend to everything. For example, when Haihara is not around, and when Luna the Magical Puppy is not around, Silver Feather struggles to open the refrigerator by himself.
At this point, cooperation with their good neighbor Kuroki Yuka, becomes essential.
And so, another day began for Kuroki Yuka as a beautiful but useless little rascal.
She called herself beautiful.
Binge-watching TV shows, pizza delivery, ice cream delivery, leftover cake from last night...
---That's how it should be.
As lunchtime approached, Kuroki Yuka had already ordered takeout, ordering a super-sized deluxe pizza for herself and Silver Feather. However, not long after, she heard a knock on the door.
This greatly surprised her.
Pizza delivery nowadays, is it really that fast?
However, Kuroki Yuka didn't think about it carefully at all. She excitedly tidied all her clothes, skipped to the door, and said—
"Hello, thank you. Just leave the pizza delivery at the door!"
Unexpectedly, there was no response from the deliveryman outside the door.
After a while, a lowered young voice replied;
[Open the door and check.]
Kuroki Yuka tilted her head.
She opened the door slightly.
Then she saw a pretty girl, about her height, wearing casual clothes that she wouldn't normally see at school, but with a grumpy face.
She was also carrying a bag of fruit.
Upon seeing Kuroki Yuka, the girl revealed a smile devoid of any genuine emotion:
"Hello, are you Ms. Kuroki Yuka, who ordered pizza delivery and lives here?"
It was none other than Ai Kirishima Ai, the famous sports student of Maple Plain City.
The silence was deafening for a moment.
Kuroki Yuka froze briefly, then exclaimed in shock---
"---I'm out of here!?"
Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 55 The Girls' Interlude
On a snowy winter day at noon, in the living room of Kuroki Yuka's house, Kuroki Yuka herself was holding a small, round white bird in both hands, shielding her face as if she wanted to use it as a talisman.
This move undoubtedly left Kirishima Ai, who was standing in front, speechless.
As for Kirishima Ai herself, she was wearing a neutral-style brown leather coat that was not usually seen, along with fleece-lined boots and a gray newsboy cap. Underneath, she wore a navy blue vest and a white shirt.
Her fair and delicate face was flushed slightly from the cold.
She inexplicably gives off the impression of a child who lacks feminine charm.
Of course, Kuroki Yuka would never dare to say something like that.
"Oh my... Kirishima, how did you find this place? Here are some slippers, come in, come in."
Despite saying that, Kuroki Yuka Silver Feather held the "bird hostage" in her hand, seemingly trying to make Kirishima Ai think twice.
Kirishima Ai a little speechless. She put down the plastic bag full of fruit, then raised her hand to pat the snowflakes off her hat and exhaled a puff of white breath caused by the cold.
Kuroki Yuka naturally noticed this as well:
"Uh... wait, why did you bring fruit too?"
"After all, this is my first time visiting your home, so as the saying goes, courtesy comes before force."
Can I just accept gifts?
"Hehe."
Kirishima Ai sneered.
Kuroki Yuka knew something was wrong and beckoned Kirishima Ai to sit by the fireplace, while simultaneously racking her brains for a solution.
But upon closer reflection, it seems that sacrificing Little Silver Feather is the only way to threaten Kirishima.
"So, Kirishima, how... did you find my house?"
She didn't recall ever revealing her home address to Kirishima.
Kirishima Ai explained calmly:
"I asked Takanashi, and she told me."
That wretched Takanashi, it ruined my plans.
Kuroki Yuka felt a lump in her throat. She had always thought that the two of them were close classmates, since she had often fed the Takanashi.
She quickly composed herself and remained outwardly calm.
"... Ahaha, so what brings you here?"
The girl's gaze darted around, and she chose to play dumb without hesitation.
As for the Silver Feather bird, after breaking free from Kuroki Yuka's grasp, it would nibble at Kuroki Yuka's hair one moment and peck at Kirishima Ai's head the next, but no one paid any attention to this Magical Bird.
In the living room, a young girl, her face almost black and white with a somber expression, gazed intently at Kuroki Yuka's sweating, averted face with her resentful eyes.
"Kuroki Yuka, you've betrayed us."
"What is this saying...? I don't understand a word..."
"You lied to us. You clearly said you didn't remember anything, but you clearly remember Teacher Suzuki and Teacher Haihara drinking together, but Teacher Suzuki himself said he didn't remember it ever happening."
Kirishima Ai stated this with certainty.
"Did you mishear me? Or... did you misunderstand something?"
Even at this point, Kuroki Yuka remained steadfast, shamelessly spouting lies.
Kirishima Ai didn't say anything to this, she just smiled and watched Kuroki Yuka trying to get away with her cuteness.
Kirishima Ai's gaze grew increasingly cold.
"Hey, is it possible to reconcile?"
What was Kirishima Ai 'Kuroki Yuka's offer of reconciliation?
All that could be heard was the girl staring at Kuroki Yuka from the side with resentful, lifeless eyes:
"Liar, traitor, scum."
That's too much.
I'm going to kill you.
"That's terrifying!"
She quickly picked up the little bird's Silver Feather and continued to block Kirishima's way. Kirishima Ai seemed to show no mercy, her gaze continuing to pierce through the round Silver Feather and directly at Kuroki Yuka herself.
I was originally thinking of trying to gloss over it.
But standing before her was Kirishima Ai.
Back when the Chameleon tried to fool her, she stabbed Old Man Color Feather in the abdomen with her sword, tearing open the stitches.
"Gu, just kill me."
The truth will eventually come out.
It might have been possible to cover it up, but I didn't expect it to be exposed so easily.
Therefore, Kuroki Yuka is currently enduring the gaze of Kirishima Ai.
Just now, Kirishima Ai confirmed once again that Kuroki Yuka not only did not lose her previous memories, but also continued to collude with Teacher Haihara.
This is not a conclusion that is difficult to reach.
Even though Kuroki Yuka only mentioned that she still had her previous memories, Kirishima Ai recalled another thing that could prove this inference.
That is, when Kuroki Yuka first operated as Dark Feather, she suffered a crushing defeat in a battle against Fate Kite, and was then rescued by a Witch shrouded in black mist.
---That Witch is of course Teacher Haihara.
So, isn't it perfectly logical to conclude that Kuroki Yuka already knew her teacher's identity and had already cooperated with him?
"Confess everything! Otherwise, we'll duel today!"
"Kirishima is clearly no match for me! Violence is forbidden! Violence is forbidden!"
"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to give you a chance to transform!?"
For a moment, the oppressive feeling that Kirishima Ai brought to Kuroki Yuka in the living room was just like when she was Black Magical Girl and encountered Fate Kite, her strictest mother.
Yes.
In terms of battle record, Kuroki Yuka's record against Kirishima Ai is a complete loss.
They haven't won a single game.
"I... I... I... If you come any closer, I'll... Ouch! Silver Feather, why are you pecking at me!"
In a short time, Kuroki Yuka abandoned by everyone.
Kirishima Ai clenched her fist, ready to unleash it at any moment in an attack stance, her upper face shrouded in shadow.
"Give me the truth."
"I'll tell you everything, please don't kill me, sob sob..."
Kuroki Yuka was terrified.