Mid-May.
Ayanokoji planned to seek out Kushida first and put his earlier-mentioned plan into action.
After school, he left the classroom. But with his usual elderly pace, he failed to catch Kushida before she headed off to her club activities.
What a pain. Midterms were next week.
As Ayanokoji walked, he murmured to himself, a hint of gloom showing between his brows.
He looked even gloomier now!
Anyone could tell at a glance that this guy probably had no friends.
Ayanokoji even occasionally overheard a few words of sympathy directed at him.
Hah. Only weaklings run in packs. Beasts always walk alone.
Besides, Ayanokoji was a Tyrannosaurus.
As he walked, he happened to pass a vending machine.
He hadn't been thinking about buying anything, but the moment he saw the drinks, he felt the urge to indulge. His mouth had inexplicably gone dry, too. Human desire really was frightening.
Scan, select, pay. Two drinks in hand.
Don't ask why he'd bought two. You wouldn't understand a Tyrannosaurus's appetite.
With the drinks in hand, Ayanokoji leaned against the vending machine and started drinking, his gaze fixed on an ornate door not far away.
Honestly, the Student Council at this school had it far too good.
They had an office all to themselves, separate from the other classrooms. Judging by the layout of the school building, the Student Council Room was probably as large as the teachers' office.
And the vending machine was right outside the door. The location was simply unbeatable...
Suddenly, a wave of sourness spread through Ayanokoji.
The thought that others could get whatever they wanted just by opening the door, while he had to walk all the way from the far corner to the stairwell, left him feeling deeply unfairly treated.
Hypocrites. Complete hypocrites!
They practically treated the students of Class D like they weren't even human!
He cursed under his breath, swearing that one day he'd move this thing to the classroom door.
No, right beside his seat in the back row.
Still irritated, he glanced up and noticed the antique-looking, elegant door opening. A pink-haired girl stepped out.
Ayanokoji furrowed his brow. He felt like he'd seen her somewhere before.
The girl left the room, bowed politely toward it, then headed in the direction of the classrooms. The smile on her face turned to disappointment as soon as she turned away.
Ayanokoji shook his head. She was probably another poor soul who'd tried to appeal to the Student Council President's tastes.
Since the start of the school year, not one first-year student had caught the president's eye. Getting selected was about as difficult as passing the imperial examinations.
Anyone who didn't know the truth might think Suzune's brother was holding a consort selection here.
Noticing Ayanokoji's gaze, the girl looked up and smiled at him.
An... angel?
Even though she was battered and bruised herself, she was still trying to heal others?
Ayanokoji nodded in greeting. Sorry, but he couldn't manage a smile in return.
But when the girl saw him nod, she walked straight over to him.
? This was awkward.
Had he done something rude without realizing it?
Ayanokoji was a little confused.
"You must be Ayanokoji-kun, right? Hello, I'm Ichinose Honami from Class B."
The girl rose slightly onto her toes and greeted him with a smile. She clasped her hands behind her back, giving off a sincere air, as though she'd let down her guard.
See? He'd said her name had "wave" in it.
Ayanokoji regarded her with an indifferent gaze.
That gaze lasted a full five seconds.
Before the girl could feel awkward, he finally spoke.
"Hello. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Class 1-D."
"So I was right." Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief when Ayanokoji replied. She'd nearly thought she'd mistaken him for someone else.
"What are you doing here, Ayanokoji-kun?"
"As you can see, drinking."
Damn! What a conversation killer.
No wonder he didn't have many friends.
The moment Ayanokoji said it, he felt embarrassed on her behalf.
But the girl simply picked up the conversation naturally. "I see. I thought you were here for the Student Council interview, too."
A pro. This girl was a pro. She'd managed to rescue this awkward situation and make it seem effortless.
Ayanokoji began to admire her a little. When it came to socializing, he could probably learn a whole truckload from her.
He decided to pay his tuition upfront. Handing her the other drink, he said,
"If you don't mind, you can have this. The Student Council's selection process is known to be strict, but there's no need to feel down about it."
Ichinose stared blankly for a second before accepting the drink. "Mm, thank you."
She'd formed a new impression of the boy.
"Ichinose, how did you know my name?"
Ayanokoji asked. He'd been wondering about it for a while. He'd only seen the girl once in passing and hadn't had a chance to meet her before.
"Ah." Ichinose's eyes sparkled. She raised one finger and smiled. "Kikyo-chan told me."
"You were so cool on the bus, Ayanokoji-kun~"
"Oh... I see."
Don't go spreading weird impressions of me, Kushida Kikyo!
What on earth had been cool about that whole mess?
Seeing that the boy kept the same expression and tone of voice the entire time, Ichinose somehow found him rather interesting. And... his personality didn't seem as dull as Kushida Kikyo had said.
All in all, he seemed like a fairly ordinary student with a bit of character.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Ichinose checked the time on her phone. The study group she'd arranged was about to start.
She'd gotten so caught up chatting with the boy!
She smiled and said goodbye to Ayanokoji, then told him what she had to do next. She hoped he'd understand. After all, she thought he'd enjoyed their conversation, too, so abruptly cutting it short because she had something else to do felt a little rude.
They exchanged contact information before she finally left.
"Let's talk again sometime, Ayanokoji-kun~" Watching the girl wave at him, Ayanokoji silently raised a hand in return.
What a chatterbox. A total chatterbox!
She really could talk.
Ayanokoji's eyes and brows betrayed a million threads of exhaustion...
More than half the time, he'd been thinking about how to respond. Before he'd even finished processing one part of the conversation, she'd already tossed out another topic. Suffocating.
Was this how terrifying extroverts were?
Ayanokoji lowered his eyelids. That conversation had drained a full one percent of his energy.
Too terrifying. He'd better close his eyes and rest for a bit.
He now had a rough understanding of Ichinose.
She had a social butterfly quality much like Kushida Kikyo, yet the two felt entirely different to him.
Kushida gave the impression of deliberately catering to and pleasing others, while rarely opening up about herself. Or rather, she only showed people the version of herself she wanted them to see.
Ichinose, on the other hand, was more easygoing and natural. She didn't try to hide what she was thinking and showed more of her true self, without overthinking what others might think.
All in all, Kushida was like a thorny rose: beautiful and fragrant from a distance, but if you tried to pluck her, you'd hurt yourself.
Ichinose was like a fragrant gardenia. The closer you got to her, the sweeter and more soothing her scent became.
As he thought about it, a sudden idea came to Ayanokoji.
Maybe... Ichinose Honami was a better fit?
Before you continue