Kikyo, How Can You Be as Stupid as Horikita?! (Continued)

"You're still laughing, you bastard? Do you think Ryuen will keep your secret as tight-lipped as I am?"

There's only one reason he's keeping your secret: you're still of use to him.

"Once you've been completely drained of your remaining value, that guy will definitely leak your secrets. How can you still be laughing then!"

"You..."

However, Shuichi Kanda saw that Kushida's face not only did not show any dissatisfaction after being scolded, but instead showed joy and genuine happiness.

She's different from Kamuro; she's not an M, so... this guy was just saying that on purpose, wasn't he?

"You did this on purpose!?"

"What do you mean, intentional?"

Kushida pretended not to understand what Shuichi Kanda was saying, still looking pleased. However, from the upturned corners of her mouth, it was clear that she had deliberately said that she had cooperated with Ryuen.

You're bluffing me!

Shuichi Kanda's eyes widened.

"Because they want to know their place in Shuichi's heart... it's not like they really want to cooperate with Ryuen."

"You can't joke about something like that. I was just about to take the money to Ryuen's mouth." Shuichi Kanda said with displeasure.

"Looks like I'm still pretty important to you." Kushida tilted his head. "And what you just said, does that mean you agree to me dealing with Horikita?"

Speaking of this, Shuichi Kanda sighed.

"So just how much do you hate Horikita? Are you really that upset just because she's in charge of the overall Sports Festival?"

Kushida entered, Shuichi Kanda noticed that she was different from before. Her anxiety had clearly increased to a new level, and he himself had become somewhat irritable because of her.

"That's right, I just can't stand her pretentious act. She didn't do anything in the previous exams, but this time she's acting like a leader. Why doesn't she just die?!"

It's started again...

When you were cursing Horikita, could you please keep your legs still? Even though you weren't wearing shoes, your feet kicked me several times, you bastard!

Suddenly, Kushida, who was cursing Horikita, stopped abruptly.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing was done."

"Then why are you grabbing my foot?"

"It's all because you kicked me several times."

After a brief silence, Kushida suddenly asked, "Does it feel good?"

"I don't know if it feels good to the touch, but it does have a certain smell..."

"Go to hell! You scumbag!"

Kushida's sudden outburst caused Shuichi Kanda quickly release his grip.

"Do you want to kill me, friend?"

"Who told you to speak so recklessly!"

Forget it, I won't stoop to your level.

"So, why are you targeting Horikita?"

Shuichi Kanda had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

Although she knew he disliked Horikita, she didn't know why she disliked Horikita so much that Horikita was the first person she scolded whenever she came here to vent her emotions.

"That girl went to the same high school as me, so she probably knows my true situation."

Kushida's expression was not good.

That's it?

"What do you think? I don't have any grudge against her."

Kushida Kikyo's words made Shuichi Kanda's expression turn somewhat strange.

"If that's all there is to it, then shouldn't you also hate me?"

"Shuichi is different."

Am I different? It seems I hold a rather high place in your heart.

Before Shuichi Kanda could even feel happy, Kushida's next words made him frown.

"Shuichi is of the opposite sex, while Horikita is of the same sex."

That's it?

Give me back my gratitude!

And you don't even tell the truth to me, Kikyo, you've really gone too far!

"You don't need to worry about that. Horikita doesn't care about you at all. Even if she does have information that is detrimental to you, she would not use it to threaten you, not to mention that she may not even know about your past."

"No, judging from the students' attitudes towards that guy and towards you, even if she tells everyone, all you have to do is play the victim and whine a few times. Who will believe you more? I don't need to tell you, right?"

"You can't guarantee that it's definitely true, and with rumors, once one person believes them, countless others will."

Kushida shook her head. Although she thought Shuichi Kanda's words made sense, she didn't want to take the risk. Whether Horikita didn't know about her or no one would believe her if Horikita told them, she was still worried.

"So, Kikyo, you're still too naive. Do you think you can win everyone's favor by just pretending to be friends with everyone?" Shuichi Kanda shook his head. "Impossible. Humans are dark creatures. When they see you doing well in a certain area, they'll be jealous and think you're faking it."

"Of course, I'm not talking about everyone, but many people are like that. Even when I see people with strong physical abilities like Kouenji or Sudo, I feel envious. It's only human nature."

"So even if you're jealous of Horikita, I won't laugh at you."

Kushida, who had initially thought Shuichi Kanda was right, burst out laughing in anger after hearing the last sentence, "Me, jealous of that bitch Horikita? Do you want to hear what you're saying?"

"And you're jealous of others?" Kushida chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Do you know what kind of person you are in my eyes? In my eyes, you are so dazzling, so radiant, like the sun, as if nothing can defeat you."

Whether it was figuring out the school's rules on the first day of school, getting access to Midterm Exam questions beforehand, or the exaggerated strategies employed on the Uninhabited Island.

And all of this seems insignificant compared to what you did in the VIP Exam."

"Do you know how jealous I am of you? I'm obsessed with showing myself off, obsessed with standing out, obsessed with being praised. Only when I achieve these goals can I feel my own worth and feel how wonderful it is to be alive."

"But I know my limits. No matter how hard I study or how hard I exercise, I can't be number one in these areas, and second or third place is not enough for me."

So I thought I might as well do something that others can't do, and then I discovered that I could be gentler to people than anyone else, and closer to others than anyone else.

"I struggle with all my might to get even a little bit, but you do it so easily. How can I not envy you and be jealous of you?"

"But thanks to that, I became popular." Kushida lowered his head, a joyful and satisfied smile on his face. "Boys and girls alike liked me. I felt the joy of being relied upon and trusted. I had a great time in elementary and junior high school. That's why I can't tolerate Horikita's existence. That woman would ruin my way of life."

"Happy?"

Hearing Kushida say so much in Shuichi Kanda was also somewhat moved.

"Are you really happy? Do you remember how long you vented your emotions the first time you came here?"

Kushida Kikyo paused for a moment, then shook her head. Why rush to deal with something from so long ago, especially one that's a bad memory?

"One hour and twenty-seven minutes, including the time you spent drinking water when you were thirsty, totaling one hour and twenty-seven minutes."

Shuichi Kanda's precise time surprised Kushida Kikyo for a moment.

"You remember it really well."

How Shuichi Kanda know this? It's because when he was cleaning up the surveillance footage later, he specifically calculated it, and after memorizing it, he couldn't forget it.

"You berated almost every student in the class at the time, and the part about beating Horikita only took a few minutes, less than ten minutes. So the root of your stress wasn't Horikita, but the other people."

"Treating others with kindness sounds simple, but in my memory, the only one who can do it is you Kushida Kikyo."

"You could smile and even speak up for a maggot like Yamauchi, do you know how much I admired you when I saw that?"

Shuichi Kanda's series of questions silenced Kushida.

"I've gone a bit off-topic. I've said all this just to let you know that no one is omnipotent, and I'm only good at a certain part of things."

Just like you can smile at everyone, I can't. I don't want to talk to people I dislike, and I'll get my revenge on those who anger me.

After saying so much, Shuichi Kanda also felt a bit thirsty, so he stood up and took out two bottles of oolong tea from the refrigerator.

One bottle for myself, and one for Kushida.

"So, because of human diversity and the greed inherent in human nature, it's normal for people to be jealous of others, and you don't need to feel embarrassed because you're jealous of Horikita."

After all that, we've come back to this topic again.

Kushida felt that he disliked Horikita because Horikita was an unstable factor who would expose his past, while Shuichi Kanda believed that Kushida was jealous of Horikita.

"Then tell me, what exactly am I jealous of her for?"

"The most fundamental difference between you and Horikita is that you will give up on things you can't do, but you will do your best to do things to the extreme to earn the respect of others."

Horikita, on the other hand, is the kind of person who believes she can do everything well. Plus, she's better than you at everything except making friends, so seeing Horikita makes you feel like everything about yourself is being negated.

Of course, these weren't things that Shuichi Kanda made up out of thin air; they were analyses based on information about Kushida and Horikita compiled from Kushida's daily rants.

Whether it was teaching the Three Idiots to read at the beginning, or getting Yamauchi -Chabashira-sensei to rescind Yamauchi's expulsion when he failed, it was Horikita who did it, at least that's what Kushida thought.

The Three Idiots, whom he couldn't control, were completely tamed by Horikita. However, even Ayanokoji was closer to Horikita, which fueled Kushida's anger.

She didn't actually need to feel that way, because she already had the affection of more than 80% of the students in the class, and there was absolutely no need for her to feel pressured because of those few people.

"See? You really do know everything."

I thought Kushida would stick to his guns a bit more, but who would have thought he'd steer the conversation off-topic again.

"So you're still determined to deal with Horikita?"

Shuichi Kanda brought the mouth of the oolong tea bottle to his lips, then looked at Kushida and asked a question.

"That's right, the reason doesn't matter anymore, I just hate Horikita." Kushida nodded. "As long as I can get revenge on her, I'm willing to expose my secrets to Ryuen. But you don't need to worry too much, I won't let him get any leverage."

Shuichi Kanda was speechless.

Damn it, I've been rambling on with you for so long because I didn't want you to expose your secrets to Ryuen in order to get revenge on Horikita, and you didn't listen to a word I said!

"It seems that not only Horikita, but you are also underestimating Ryuen. Do you really think you can get the better of Ryuen?"

"This..."

Kushida hesitated; this was a good opportunity.

"Anything that has happened will inevitably leave traces. As long as you reveal your true nature in front of Ryuen, he will have a way to use it as blackmail. Even if there is no evidence, so what? He can just spread rumors."

Do you think people will believe the rumors spread by Horikita, but not the rumors spread by Ryuen?

Rumors, once uttered, will only become more and more outrageous as they spread. In the end, they will only become what people want to hear, regardless of their original form, let alone the fact that it is itself unfavorable to you."

"Hmm..."

"So after all this, you're back to square one? This time you paid a price for siding with Ryuen to eliminate Horikita. What price will you pay next time you want to eliminate Ryuen?"

"Isn't that what you're here for? You'll help me hold off Ryuen, right?"

Kushida's words made Shuichi Kanda: "You only remember me now? I really wish you had come to me for advice in the first place."

"So you're planning to help me deal with Horikita?"

Kushida's eyes suddenly brightened.

Goodness, you really are fickle.

"If you want Horikita to drop out of school, you can forget about it. It's impossible."

"Why can't you do it? Didn't you already manage to get four students on the withdrawal list in the class? Adding Horikita wouldn't be too difficult, would it?"

"You really overestimate me." Shuichi Kanda suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he looked at Kushida Kikyo. "Don't forget, there's someone standing at the top of this school behind Horikita Suzune."

After this reminder, Kushida finally understood.

"You mean Horikita, the Student Council President?"

"That's right, it's him. Although others may think their relationship as siblings is terrible, do you really think her brother would be indifferent if something happened to Horikita Suzune?"

Kushida fell silent, because she had no siblings and therefore couldn't be sure what Horikita Manabu do.

In reality, Horikita Manabu was eager for Horikita Suzune to drop out of school, because in his view, Nagumo, a second-year student, was too dangerous, and dropping out early might be a good thing for his younger sister's safety.