Back in the dorm, Ayanokoji called Ichinose.
"Hey, Ichinose, are you free tomorrow? Let's go on a date."
"Mm, sure."
"Huh... Wha?!"
On the other end of the call, Ichinose Honami's eyes widened, her watery blue eyes sparkling.
"A-Ayanokoji-kun, are you sure you didn't call the wrong number?"
"No. Come somewhere with me tomorrow, okay?"
Ayanokoji was shameless enough to flirt without changing his expression.
"Sure... I mean, I can. Where are we going?"
Ichinose twirled a lock of hair around one finger, her heart pounding several beats faster. Was she about to receive her first confession?
From Ayanokoji-kun, no less. Maybe she could...
No. Did someone like her really deserve to be in a relationship?
She couldn't imagine how her future partner would look at her.
"Ayanokoji-kun, have you made up your mind?"
She asked again, tentatively, as a blush spread across her cheeks.
"I have. Tomorrow at noon, come with me to the second-year cafeteria."
Ayanokoji was direct, his tone calm and firm.
"Huh... Somewhere like that?"
"Yeah. Is that a problem?"
Ichinose felt a little dazed. The boy on the other end of the phone... He wasn't exactly dull, but he was definitely a bit of a flirt.
She lowered her eyes and replied bashfully:
"No... I..."
"I just need a little time to prepare myself mentally."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
With that, Ayanokoji hung up and fell into thought.
Prepare herself mentally? Surely a day was enough.
Even eye exercises only took five minutes.
The girl had sounded hesitant and reluctant on the phone, but luckily he'd hung up fast enough to give her no chance to refuse.
Now, as long as he didn't answer calls from that number before noon tomorrow, with her personality, wouldn't she obediently become a useful tool for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?
Heh heh heh~
For some reason, an evil thought flashed through Ayanokoji's mind.
He wasn't supposed to be interested in the desires of mortals.
Meanwhile, fifteen minutes after hanging up, the girl's heart was still racing.
She was starting to wonder if there had been some strange additives in her dinner.
Strange... This was just too strange.
"Was that...?"
"It had to be..."
"His tone didn't really sound like it, though. Honami-chan, have you ever heard someone confess with such a flat expression?"
"Honami-chan's never been confessed to, so Honami-chan doesn't know."
It was as if two Honamis were talking inside Ichinose Honami's mind.
Tomorrow... She might very well be confessed to.
Ah~!
No, she'd never fall asleep if she kept this up.
Ichinose glanced at her reflection on her phone screen. Her face was as red as if she'd just run a high fever and downed a bottle of vodka.
No! Honami-chan, go to sleep!
Nothing was certain yet. The higher her hopes, the greater the disappointment. Hadn't she experienced that feeling before?
That's right.
Stay calm. Go to sleep.
Ayanokoji who? I don't know him!
After a bit of self-hypnosis, Ichinose finally drifted off.
The next day, Ichinose got up half an hour earlier than usual. Looking at the only two bottles of hand cream on her desk, she regretted not buying a bottle or two of makeup.
She sighed at her reflection, then sat down and began combing her pink hair.
So much for getting up early. She'd already washed her hair the night before.
Maybe it was best to just go with the flow.
In the boys' dorm, Ayanokoji tidied himself up in a few quick moves, grabbed his shoulder bag, and headed out at his usual elderly pace.
He ran into a bald man in the elevator, who even reminded him that the hair at the back was sticking up.
Man, you're devoted—and it hurts to see.
Ayanokoji couldn't imagine how it felt for a man to watch something he'd once had now growing freely on someone else's head, then have to remind him not to let it stick up.
Katsuragi merely glanced at the boy, whose only remarkable feature was his thick hair, and silently added him to the list of ordinary people.
First-Year Classroom.
With midterms approaching, the classes had all quieted down. The atmosphere was tense instead of rowdy.
The atmosphere really did affect people.
Ayanokoji sat in his usual seat, calmly observing his classmates.
Most had their heads down, reading or organizing their notes. Some had even formed study groups to discuss problems.
He deliberately glanced at the trio led by Sudo.
Not bad. They weren't making a racket. Horikita must have figured out some way to get them to attend the study sessions.
It went without saying that she'd invited them in Kushida's name. Given Horikita's relationship with them, otherwise the three of them probably wouldn't have gotten together even by graduation.
Feeling a strange gaze from his left, Horikita turned her head and stared at Ayanokoji with disdain.
"That's the eighth time you've looked at me. Is there something on my face?"
"No. It's clean and dewy."
"Stop coming up with weird descriptions."
Ayanokoji nodded in silence.
Horikita didn't make a big deal of it. She turned back to her book.
Luckily, Horikita Suzune was straight.
She was pretty, definitely among the top five of the girls he'd met so far.
But had he really looked at her that many times without realizing it? Had she counted all the secret glances and sidelong looks when they met in private, too?
That would be terrifying. Her observational skills were incredible!
Before long, the morning classes were over, and it was noon.
Ichinose still hadn't called. She must really have been too embarrassed to refuse.
Heh. Got her!
Ayanokoji leaned against the hallway wall, waiting for Ichinose to pass by.
Before long, a pink-haired girl came into view.
"Ayanokoji...kun."
Ayanokoji raised his eyes slightly. On the surface, the girl seemed no different from yesterday, except...
Why did she seem like a different person from the one he'd met yesterday?
Where had her social butterfly side gone? The one who could talk so easily?
Seeing the girl before him, cheeks flushed and eyes darting away, unable to say a word for a long time, Ayanokoji grew a little concerned.
Could her strength have been drained?
To be safe, Ayanokoji quickly typed out a text message, then turned his gaze away and said, "Let's go."
"Mm... Mhm."
At the second-year cafeteria, Ayanokoji made a circuit around the room, with a shy pink-haired beauty trailing beside him. They drew plenty of attention.
He'd only meant to pick out a lone senior who looked short on money.
He hadn't expected to attract so many people's attention.
There was no helping it. He found an empty table, sat down, and ordered a deluxe meal and a regular curry rice.
Since they were already here, he couldn't exactly make her eat scraps.
Then he secretly sent the text he'd prepared.
I'm counting on you, Firefighter, Kushida Kikyo.
He put away his phone and looked up to find the girl across from him staring at him in confusion.
"Ayanokoji-kun, so... you just wanted to treat me to a meal?"
On a chessboard, a piece that had ventured deep into enemy territory, lost contact with the outside world, and become useless was known among chess enthusiasts as a sacrifice.
Ichinose was now in just such a predicament.
Ayanokoji glanced at the two meals being brought over and replied calmly:
"That's right. I just invited you here to eat."
"The second-year cafeteria food is so good!"
Before you continue