Monday afternoon, the last social studies class passed in a noisy study session.
You En put down the last borrowed copy of Beast Mark Identification and picked up another new skill.
"Tracking Lv. 0 (Beasts Lv. 0, Beginner)"
He had finally confirmed something: some skills could be combined into a more advanced composite skill.
After learning Wild Foraging, Flora and Fauna Analysis, various ways to start fires, methods of determining direction, astronomy, first aid, Hunting, and other skills...
they had finally been consolidated into one.
"Survival (Wilderness Lv. 0, Beginner)"
It felt pretty rewarding.
You En looked around the classroom, where only a few people remained, and got up to leave.
Horikita Suzune said she was going to study at the library that evening. You En didn't plan to go. He felt like he'd studied a little too much these past few days.
Even though he was still feeling fine, he kept feeling a little resistance building up inside him, so he decided to take a break.
Should he go chat with Ibuki or Ichinose?
"You En, do you have some time now?"
Kushida Kikyo walked over. Seeing You En alone in the classroom after school, she guessed Horikita might be busy, so she came over to ask him right away.
You En looked up.
"I do. Asking me out?"
Kushida Kikyo rolled her eyes inwardly. If Horikita weren't involved, simply asking You En out wouldn't be out of the question, but right now, Horikita Suzune was what mattered most to her.
She shook her head slightly, leaned forward, and struck a pleading pose.
"No, there's just something I'd like to talk to you about. If you'd find it troublesome, then never mind."
You En looked annoyed and waved a hand.
"Oh, it'd be a lot of trouble."
"..." Kushida Kikyo's smile froze. Wasn't he supposed to ask what it was about?
She widened her eyes, leaned forward even more, and put on a look that was both pitiful and determined.
"Um... it's about Horikita. I really want to talk to her, but she never gives me the chance.
You're so close to her that you might understand her better than most. Could you tell me a little about her? I want to be friends with her."
You En closed his eyes.
"Not going."
Kushida Kikyo really wanted to curse him out. Horikita and this You En—why were they both so difficult?
Then she remembered something her good friend Wang Meiyu had said.
—You En seems a little hard up. I heard from a friend in the Piano Club who's in another class that a girl from Class B used to bully him. He had to do a lot of things just to get a little snack.
Kushida Kikyo ventured, "How about we go talk together? Please. I'll treat you."
You En looked rather tempted, though he still tried to act reserved.
"'Treat you'? That sounds awful, like I'm getting a free meal. You should call me... the Master of Relationship Advice!"
Kushida Kikyo's eye twitched. She was so irritated she almost laughed. She couldn't keep this up much longer. She had to calm herself down, or she'd end up shouting at him.
"Um... all right. Let's pack up and head over."
You En felt that Kushida Kikyo still wasn't quite there yet.
It was pretty amusing to gradually wind her up, get her close to the boiling point, and then keep teasing her right before she snapped without letting her vent. But somehow, something still felt missing.
"Let's go, You En."
Kushida Kikyo really did deserve her reputation as the emotional caretaker of the entire grade, maybe even the whole school. She was great at controlling her emotions. By the time she'd packed her bag, she had her feelings back in check.
Palette Cafe.
You En handed the menu to the server.
"I'll have this."
When Kushida Kikyo received the order slip, she glanced at it. He'd only ordered a relatively cheap glass of lemonade and hadn't gotten any snacks.
"You En, are you sure you don't want to order anything else? I can afford this much."
"This is fine," You En said, unconcerned about the details. "Let's get down to business."
When he was at the table, his usual approach was to first build rapport and get the other person talking if they were an important guest, then move on to the main topic.
If they weren't that important, he went straight to the point. If they reached an agreement, they could keep eating and discuss the details. If not, they could call it a day.
"Then I'll say it. I want to become friends with Horikita Suzune."
Kushida Kikyo had already thought of her excuse.
"You know, since school started, Horikita Suzune hasn't interacted with the girls at all. It's not that she hardly talks to anyone besides you, but the girls are already starting to complain about her.
So I want to help her. She looks so lonely all by herself, and being ostracized doesn't feel good."
You En nodded lightly.
"Are you finished?"
Kushida Kikyo felt like he was putting on quite an act, even though he really did seem convincing.
"Mm. No matter what, I want to become friends with Horikita Suzune."
"I have a question for you."
You En looked at Kushida Kikyo across from him.
"Mm."
Kushida Kikyo gave a small hum, thinking he was going to ask about the girls excluding Horikita, or why she wanted to be friends with Horikita Suzune. Instead, she heard him ask this:
"Was even one thing you just said true?"
Kushida Kikyo played dumb. "What do you mean?"
"If you sincerely wanted to be friends with Horikita, you wouldn't be sitting here saying all this to me."
You En shook his head.
"Why? First of all, I'm obviously not someone you'd put in the category of people you really want to be friends with.
"And if you truly wanted to be friends with Horikita, and already considered her your friend, would you discuss her behind her back with someone you barely know?
"So the conclusion is that, in your mind, Horikita Suzune ranks below me."
Kushida Kikyo froze. What he said was so right that, for a moment, she couldn't think of how to argue back.
The atmosphere gradually grew awkward.
Just then, the server brought over their drinks. You En took a sip, and the tension between them eased a little.
Kushida Kikyo finally spoke, looking utterly righteous.
"Um, I don't think what you just said is right. How can you rank your friends in order of importance? Everyone should be equal."
You En smiled. "Are your friends all equal to you?"
Kushida Kikyo didn't think there was anything wrong with that idea.
"You En, what's wrong with that?"
You En smiled.
"If all your friends are equal to you, does that mean they're all incredibly important to you?
"Or does it mean you could abandon any of them?"
Kushida Kikyo abruptly stood up and slapped the table, startling the people around them. She turned to them with an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I heard something interesting and got a little too excited. I'm really sorry."
It wasn't that she couldn't control herself. You En's words had struck at her core.
Kushida Kikyo put aside her earlier contempt. She'd thought he was just a weird nerd who was good at studying, but his gaze was so sharp it was as if he'd stripped her bare. It felt like she had no secrets from him.
"What did she tell you?"
"Nothing," You En said. "Actually, Horikita hasn't noticed yet... no, that's not right. Maybe she has, but she doesn't want to think about it. That's better for both of you.
"But you don't look like you're planning to let this go."
"If you don't know what it is, then that's good,"
Kushida Kikyo said, her expression shifting slightly.
"You'd better not ask, either. Let's leave things here for today. And it'd be best if you didn't get too close to that woman—Horikita."
"Hahahaha."
You En laughed. At last, he'd seen what he wanted to see.
He preferred the real demon, Kikyo, to the fake angel, Kushida. Or rather, it was precisely her disguise that gave her an unusual charm.
Hearing his laughter, Kushida Kikyo felt a chill inside. He didn't take her verbal threat seriously at all. If that was the case, she'd have to try something more concrete.
She turned back into a little girl. "Um, could we go back to the dorm together later...? As a girl, I'm a little scared. You can't refuse such a small favor, can you?"
"We're going the same way anyway."
You En readily agreed.
To let You En lower his guard, Kushida Kikyo even took out her textbook and asked him about a few problems. In between, she dropped all kinds of deliberate hints and used casual physical contact to bring them closer.
You En went along with it all, like a seasoned hunter waiting step by step for his prey to walk into the trap on her own.
"Thank you, You En. You explained that so well."
Kushida Kikyo looked at him admiringly.
"If I'd asked you earlier, maybe I wouldn't have done so badly on this test."
You En asked, "What score did you get?"
"Only 107."
Kushida Kikyo lightly tapped her head and said, a little embarrassed.
You En estimated that her actual ability was only slightly below Horikita's. If she studied seriously, she should be able to score somewhere around 140 to 150.
The reason she'd scored so low was probably that she hadn't devoted any time or energy to studying. During breaks and even in class, she picked up her phone to reply whenever anyone approached her.
She spent breaks building connections with all kinds of people, then went to club activities after school. She had to keep the people in her class and the club's upperclassmen happy, and her classmates had all sorts of little things they wanted her to help with.
In those circumstances, the fact that she'd mastered 50 percent of the material was mostly thanks to her talent.
Kushida Kikyo glanced at the time. By now, it should be about right. She said:
"You En, thank you so much for today. Let's head back to the dorm. Could you please escort me, a girl, there?"
Seeing her act so pitiful,
You En smiled too. Yes, it was about time. Don't disappoint me now.
The two walked along the school grounds toward the dorm.
As they passed the club building,
Kushida Kikyo suddenly said,
"You En, I want to use the restroom. Sorry, could you come upstairs with me? Everyone in the clubs has left by now, and the motion-sensor lights inside aren't very sensitive... I'm a little scared."
You En replied gallantly,
"Sure."
"Then let's go up together."
Kushida Kikyo held back her racing heart. She felt terrifyingly calm right now.
The two of them entered the club building together, climbed to the second floor, and stopped in the hallway between the second and third floors.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just think you're all so annoying. I only wanted to start over."
Kushida Kikyo's voice was frighteningly low, as if it had blended into the darkness around them.
"Oh? What's wrong, Kushida?"
As a seasoned actor, You En had to play his part well.
"Nothing. From today on, you have to do as I say."
Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes, a hint of cruelty in her gaze.
It was completely inappropriate,
but You En really wanted to say that Kushida looked much prettier like this than usual, with an unusual sort of handsomeness.
He asked, "Why should I?"
Kushida Kikyo took You En's hand and pressed it against the part of her she was proudest of.
"If you don't agree, I'll report to the school that you harassed me here today. These fingerprints will be evidence."
Kushida Kikyo was using a weapon meant to protect women's rights to attack You En.
Feeling the still somewhat inexperienced touch, You En's lips curved into an inscrutable smile. There—
"Why do you think
"—I wouldn't make that threat come true?"
The moment the words left his mouth,
Kushida Kikyo felt a chill spread through her entire body. Step by step, he drove her into a corner. His hand roughly squeezed her, while his other seemed about to touch her neck, but she didn't dare move. She simply couldn't.
When he saw that she was finally afraid,
You En deliberately moved his hand away, dropped the act, and put on a serious expression.
"Are you scared, Kushida?"
Kushida Kikyo felt her body growing hot and strange. But it wasn't that—it was only her body automatically trying to protect itself in response to the danger it sensed was coming.
"Kushida, remember: never joke around with your own body."
You En spoke softly.
"You don't know what kind of person you might run into. You can't guarantee that everyone will be cowed by your threats, or that everyone has a conscience...
"And when you force someone else into a corner, you're cornering yourself at the same time."
Kushida Kikyo slid down the wall and sat on the floor, saying in a rather hopeless tone,
"I've already been backed into a corner by Horikita."
"No, you backed yourself into a corner."
You En crouched down to avoid putting even more pressure on her,
his tone just as gentle as it had been earlier, when he'd taught her how to solve the problems at the café,
"Kushida, want me to teach you?"
Before you continue