Chapter 75: The Chosen One—Kushida Kikyo
Back in her dorm room, Kushida Kikyo lay motionless on her bed, feeling as though the warmth of that chicken soup was still lingering in her heart.
Why did I keep thinking about that guy?
I-I couldn't possibly be... No, I couldn't possibly...
Impossible, impossible. How could I possibly feel anything for someone as awful as him?
He'd only gotten hold of something he could use against me, so I had no choice but to help him. That was all.
Whatever. I should get some sleep. I still have to check on Sakura's camera tomorrow.
I hope everything goes smoothly!
After clearing away the bowls and chopsticks Kushida had left behind, Shuichi Kanda was just about to turn off his computer when, on a whim, he opened the security camera footage.
Then he rewound the video until he found the scene of himself feeding Kushida Kikyo.
Damn, what an embarrassing moment!
Delete it, delete it, hurry up and delete it!
Right-click. Delete!
And then a new image appeared on Shuichi Kanda's desktop, named "Feeding.jpg."
The next day, Shuichi Kanda arrived in the classroom early as usual. He wanted to see Kushida's performance, so from the moment he entered, he kept his eyes on her.
Sakura hadn't arrived yet, though, so Kushida hadn't made a move.
Although Sakura was one of the less noticeable students in the class, she wasn't someone who was ever late.
With less than ten minutes to go before class, she entered through the back door and quietly took her seat. Then she started fiddling with a camera.
It seemed to be a hobby of hers.
All right, let's see your performance, Kushida. Good luck.
Kushida had obviously noticed Sakura arrive, so she quickly wrapped up her conversation with her friends and went over to Sakura.
"Um, Sakura?"
Wow, Sakura was impressive. She'd even managed to make a naturally outgoing person like Kushida seem a little hesitant.
"...W-what is it?"
Sakura looked extremely nervous when Kushida Kikyo spoke to her out of the blue. The camera slipped from her hands and landed on the desk.
"I have some questions about photography. Could I ask you about them?"
Kushida wore a troubled expression.
"I want to make lots of memories at this school, so I've started taking pictures lately, too. But somehow, I just can't get the shots I want."
"I noticed you seem to enjoy photography, Sakura. Could I take a look at the pictures you've taken?"
As she spoke, she very casually picked up the camera that had fallen onto Sakura's desk.
"No!"
The instant Kushida touched the camera, Sakura sprang to her feet like a cornered rabbit. Her sudden movement startled Kushida, who lost her grip on the camera. It flew straight toward Shuichi Kanda.
What the *%&@#*?!
You did that on purpose, didn't you, you jerk?
Fortunately, Shuichi Kanda had been watching them the whole time. He quickly leaned aside and dodged it. Otherwise, that thing would've crossed half the classroom and hit him.
Sakura's camera wasn't so lucky. After flying a considerable distance, it crashed heavily onto the floor with a sharp, plaintive clatter.
"Ah!"
Sakura immediately ran over like a startled rabbit, picked up the camera, and began checking it.
"No way. You're kidding... The screen won't turn on..."
She was so close to Shuichi Kanda that he heard her whisper loud and clear.
The scene drew everyone's attention. Miyake, Horikita, Ayanokoji, and the other students all looked over.
Holy crap! Impressive!
That's Kushida for you! She succeeded in one go. She really is the chosen one!
Kushida immediately put on a worried expression and hurried to Sakura's side.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. It's all my fault. If I hadn't picked it up without asking..."
Her tone, her expression, her eyes—everything was so convincing that it didn't seem like an act at all.
Shuichi Kanda immediately felt ashamed of himself. Compared with Kushida's performance, his act when he'd set up Yahiko Totsuka had been amateurish at best.
She must've pulled this kind of thing on people plenty of times before.
"No, I made too much of a fuss."
Just then, the bell rang. Both Sakura and Kushida had to return to their seats and get ready for class.
The bell brought the commotion to an end, and as soon as class was over, Kushida hurried over to apologize to Sakura.
"I'm really sorry, Sakura. This was all my fault. I'll buy you a new camera!"
She wouldn't have to pay for it with her own points anyway. She didn't know how many points Shuichi Kanda had left, but making things difficult for him would be all the better.
"No, you don't have to."
Even Sakura seemed unable to ignore Kushida completely when she acted like this.
"How could I not? If I hadn't picked it up without asking, this definitely wouldn't have happened."
"B-but..."
"Normally, wouldn't you take something that got broken in for repairs first? Why are you acting like it's automatically beyond repair?"
Unable to watch any longer, Shuichi Kanda stood up and walked over.
Damn it, of course she wants you to spend more points, idiot!
Kanda's appearance seemed to make Sakura even more nervous. She shrank into her seat like an ostrich and didn't move an inch.
His arrival might have seemed a little out of the blue, but he wasn't exactly uninvolved. That camera had almost hit him, after all.
"Then please let me pay for the repair, Sakura."
Kushida pleaded for several minutes. It seemed that even the stubborn Kushida Kikyo couldn't persuade Sakura, who timidly nodded at last.
"I-I understand..."
"Then, could we meet on Saturday morning? I checked the weather forecast, and it looks nice that day. It won't rain."
"O-okay."
Just like that, Kushida Kikyo had Sakura Airi all lined up, ensuring the camera would be unusable until after Friday's hearing.
"Then, Kanda, why don't you come with us?"
After getting Sakura's agreement, Kushida Kikyo visibly relaxed. She seemed to be in a much brighter mood as she smoothly invited Shuichi Kanda, who was standing nearby.
"Why should I go through all that trouble with you? This has nothing to do with me. I refuse."
"No, no. If you'd caught it, Kanda, maybe the camera wouldn't have fallen and broken."
Kushida narrowed her eyes and said it with a smile in her voice. It was an utterly unreasonable thing to say, but to outsiders, it probably sounded like a joke between close friends.
Thwack!
"Meow!"
Shuichi Kanda brought his hand down on Kushida's head. Of course, he didn't use much force, so it didn't hurt at all.
And yet she looked at him with a pitiful expression.
"Why did you hit me?"
"No, this is your fault. You didn't dodge my hand."
Watching Shuichi Kanda and Kushida interact, Sakura couldn't help laughing. And when Kanda agreed to go with her to get the camera repaired, Sakura felt relieved, too.
"Then it's settled. I'll get in touch with you, Kanda."
After returning to his seat, Shuichi Kanda had just taken out the textbook for his next class when Horikita spoke from behind him.
"You two seem pretty close."
"Yeah. Are you jealous?"
Shuichi Kanda turned around to look at the cold-faced girl.
"You really do know how to joke."
"Then here's something serious. President Horikita invited me to join the Student Council again a couple of days ago."
The air grew even colder. Shuichi Kanda could feel the temperature around them dropping.
"I still turned him down, though. But I got his contact information. He said I could ask him for help if I had any problems."
Horikita Suzune gripped the book in her hands tightly. Her expression changed; she was no longer completely cold and indifferent.
That's right, that's right. I wanted to see that jealous look on your face. Hahahaha! Give me more!
Chapter 76: You Had No Idea How Cute You Were
Ever since he learned how to make a simple bow and arrows, Shuichi Kanda had lost much of his enthusiasm for club activities. One summer evening after school, he went to the supermarket as usual to buy ingredients.
Buying groceries every day was a hassle, but he still didn't like having leftovers.
When he was about to head to the checkout, he was carrying a shopping basket. Besides a whole chicken and a carton of eggs, it held scallions, ginger, garlic, and other ingredients he needed for cooking.
"It looks like I'm out of salt and vinegar, too."
After thinking it over briefly, Shuichi Kanda went to the condiments aisle and picked up the salt and vinegar he usually used, placing them in his basket.
Just as he was about to leave, he caught sight of the brown sugar beside the salt out of the corner of his eye.
Hmm...
After hesitating for a moment, Shuichi Kanda put the brown sugar in his basket, too.
I wonder if everyone's had this experience: after meeting someone new, you start noticing them everywhere.
Shuichi Kanda had experienced that today, because he'd run into Ichinose Honami of Class B in the lobby again.
But Ichinose didn't look very happy at the moment.
"What a coincidence. Are you still feeling unwell today?"
After hearing Shuichi Kanda, Ichinose forced a smile. Her symptoms seemed even worse than before.
"I'm much better than yesterday. The warm water you suggested really helped, Kanda. It's much better than drinking ice water."
"But you look even paler than you did yesterday."
Ichinose hesitated before deciding to tell him what was going on.
"Actually, someone plans to confess to me behind the dormitory today."
Oh, a confession. So that was it. Shuichi Kanda wasn't surprised at all.
"If you don't like him, just turn him down. You must be used to this by now."
To be honest, Shuichi Kanda wasn't that close to Ichinose, but after talking to her just twice, he could understand her appeal. It wasn't strange at all that people liked her and confessed to her.
"Huh? No, not at all. Really, no one has ever confessed to me."
"Huh? Were all the students at your middle school blind?"
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