Shiina Hiyori's Feelings

"By the way, I heard Morishita gave you a lot of my game records. How about we play a game next time we meet?"

"I'd lose."

"Oh? I don't mind that honest side of you. But playing against me in person would obviously help you improve more, wouldn't it?"

After agreeing to play a game the next time they met, Kujo and Hiyori said goodbye to Sakayanagi.

The wind was strong today. Kujo was even a little worried about letting her leave alone, wondering if something might happen to her on the way.

But since it was Sakayanagi, she had probably already arranged for Class A students to wait nearby and meet her.

That was just the kind of person she was.

Watching the girl walk away, Kujo slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the gift he had prepared for Hiyori. Then he tried to put all thoughts of Sakayanagi out of his mind.

He had more important things to do now.

Seaside Promenade.

Hiyori and Kujo strolled along the edge of the school grounds.

The sea breeze was strong.

Hiyori held down her beret as the wind tried to lift it. The hydrangeas embroidered on the hem of her coat fluttered in the breeze, standing out especially brightly.

Ever since they started dating during the first week of school, Hiyori had been trying out different outfits for Kujo to see.

In a class with plenty of points, students could enjoy a pretty comfortable lifestyle.

The variety of outfits made Hiyori, who was already cute, shine even more.

Today, on top of her outfit, there was also a hint of playfulness in the way she spoke and acted.

"You and Sakayanagi are amazing, Kujo. You're only first-years, but you're already thinking so far into the future."

Kujo knew Hiyori was talking about the things he and Sakayanagi had discussed concerning life after graduation.

Since graduating from Class A came with the privilege of guaranteed employment, it only made sense to think about the future.

Looking at Hiyori, Kujo made sure to keep some distance between them.

Keeping three steps between them would help the easily embarrassed girl feel less nervous.

Then Kujo said to her:

"After all, once we graduate, we'll officially enter the workforce. If I don't have a steady job by then, how am I supposed to buy a library for a certain bookworm?"

At that, Hiyori chided him:

"Then I'll buy Kujo lots and lots of things, too."

Kujo didn't take her words seriously.

But he did think Hiyori's competitive streak was cute.

That one short sentence was enough to make him so happy.

Before long.

Kujo felt the mood between them was just right, so he turned to Hiyori and suggested:

"Though we had a little interruption earlier, I'm still Princess Hiyori's knight today. I'll stay by your side the whole time, and nobody will bother you. Is there anywhere Your Highness would like to go?"

Feeling the gentle sea breeze, Hiyori didn't answer his question. She simply held out her fair little hand to Kujo without a word.

Kujo looked puzzled.

But seeing the hopeful look on Hiyori's face, he suddenly felt like teasing her a little.

So Kujo knelt on one knee and kissed her hand.

Hiyori was clearly startled by his sudden gesture.

When Kujo looked at her again, her whole body was trembling. She covered her face with one hand, apparently struggling to stay calm.

"Mmph..."

Hiyori stammered, her words too muddled to make out.

But Kujo already knew what to do when a girl was feeling extremely shy.

He turned away, avoiding her gaze.

At times like this, it was best to let the girl calm down on her own.

He just hadn't expected Hiyori to take so long to recover her composure this time.

Kujo began to regret it.

Should he have made a joke first to keep things from getting so awkward?

Just as he was thinking about it, Hiyori stared at her toes and walked in a little circle. Then she slowly came over to Kujo and held out her hand again.

This time, it wasn't the back of her hand but her palm.

The blush on Hiyori's face hadn't faded. She still ordered the boy:

"Give me your hand."

Kujo was taken aback by her request, then tentatively held out his hand.

Hiyori took his hand of her own accord.

Hiyori's hand was very small.

Especially compared to Kujo's.

Kujo gently took her hand, then tried taking a step to the side.

Hiyori didn't dare look at Kujo, so she followed him with a step of her own.

Kujo tried taking a step forward, and Hiyori followed, keeping pace with him.

Hiyori's steps were tiny, so Kujo tried to slow down.

And so Hiyori walked by the sea with Kujo.

Birds glided in the distance.

The waves swallowed little fish.

Falling leaves drifted through the air, still choosing where to land.

"What do you plan to do after graduation, Kujo?"

Kujo was taken aback. He thought for a long while before answering:

"I had some ideas before, but now I'm not so sure. I'll take things as they come. If possible, I'd still like to continue my studies with Hiyori and go to the same school."

Hiyori blinked and asked Kujo:

"But didn't you say you wanted to study abroad, Kujo?"

"You remember that?"

"So it's because you care about me... Mmph."

Don't say any more.

Kujo took off Hiyori's hat and ruffled her hair, trying to stop her from saying what she was about to.

"Don't worry. It's not because of you, you silly girl."

Kujo was used to lying.

So now he wanted to weave a lie to distract the girl.

He couldn't let her keep overthinking things in that direction.

Kujo recalled the original story he had read in his previous life, then said:

"You'll grow little by little at this school. Ryuen is very capable, and he'll choose his own way to protect his class. Later, we'll graduate without being guaranteed a spot in Class A and leave this school without much fanfare. And in the end, Hiyori, you'll probably get into a prestigious university."

Hearing that, Hiyori gazed dreamily at Kujo and said:

"You'd better study hard, Kujo, or you won't be able to keep up with me."

Kujo kept stroking Hiyori's head.

The girl hunched her shoulders and shook her head like a little animal.

Even after Kujo stopped, Hiyori didn't seem to notice and kept shaking her head.

When she heard Kujo laugh, Hiyori finally snapped out of it and quickly ran a few steps away.

It seemed she was embarrassed again.

Faced with the easily embarrassed girl,

Kujo took the accessory he had prepared from his uniform pocket, walked over, and held it out to Hiyori.

It was a light-blue hair clip.

Hiyori accepted it in both hands, then asked Kujo, who didn't dare look at her:

"What do you like about me, Kujo?"

Kujo could only look at the passersby in the distance as he tried to calm himself down.

He had wanted to make Hiyori happy, but instead, he was the one who'd lost his composure.

After all, when he thought about it carefully, giving her a hair clip was so cliché.

There were plenty of better choices, weren't there?

"Because you're cute?"

The two fell silent.

"Kujo, I got you a present, too."

As she spoke, Hiyori took advantage of the moment when Kujo wasn't looking at her to perform a simple magic trick.

When Kujo turned around, a bouquet had appeared in Hiyori's hands as if from nowhere.

"Kujo, I might not be able to keep up with you, but I'll always face in your direction."

Having said the romantic line she had just come up with, Hiyori saw Kujo blushing, too, and immediately hid her face behind the gift.

Kujo fell silent again.

He understood that his girlfriend had always thought too highly of him, seeing him as too good, too noble.

But Kujo wasn't a good person.

If anything, he was quite the opposite.

He had been that way in his previous life, and he was the same in this one.

So Kujo summoned his courage and tried to confess his true feelings to Hiyori:

"Hiyori, I like you."

"I like everyone in our first year, too."

"If I hadn't been placed in Class C at the start, I would have acted in my own interests. To keep from getting hurt at this school, I would have chosen to hurt other people. Ryuen's plan to have everyone graduate from Class A, or Sakayanagi's idea to abolish the privilege of graduating from Class A, are both impressive. But all I really want is to graduate from this school with you."

Hiyori listened quietly.

Kujo kept speaking.

"Ryuen, Ichinose, and Sakayanagi are all undoubtedly talented. Even if I hadn't given Ryuen the school rules at the start of the year, they would still have bright futures after graduation."

"Whether or not they graduate from Class A, they'll still have spent three years as classmates with people as talented as themselves. I'm sure that'll become a valuable network for them in the future."

"Even if some students drop out for one reason or another, that's just the sort of 'survival of the fittest' competition that happens in society every day. I don't care about how every single person feels."

"So, Hiyori, what's your wish?"

Kujo had said so much that even he couldn't remember all of it.

He just wanted Hiyori to know that he wasn't a good person.

After a moment of silence, Hiyori replied to Kujo:

"I don't know everyone in our first year as well as you do, Kujo, but you must be mistaken about something."

"You're a talented person, too, Kujo. Otherwise, everyone wouldn't keep coming into your life."

"As for my wish? I hope to make more friends over the next three years. And it'd be even better if I could graduate together with them!"

Hearing that, Kujo slowly leaned his forehead toward Hiyori.

Then he said to her:

"Yeah. I'll help make your wish come true. It's just..."

Hiyori cut Kujo off:

"No 'just.' No matter how you let other people down in the future, it won't change the fact that your Hiyori likes you the most. Do you understand?"

A seabird's shadow passed over the girl's flushed cheeks.

Their date came to an end as they gradually made their way closer to the school building.

Even as they were about to part, Kujo still had one question.

"By the way, where did you get the flowers?"

"These came with my new magic outfit. If I turn it upside down, the flowers on the hem gather together to form a bouquet."

"Impressive. Where did you get this prop, then?"

"The old man at the flower shop gave it to me."

"He must be really bored."