So, after dinner, he used "we talked for too long and I'm exhausted, so I might not be able to get up tomorrow" as an excuse to forcibly escort the reluctant Shiina Hiyori back to her dorm.
He saw her to her door, but Shiina Hiyori still didn't open it.
Her gaze darted between the door and Hoshino En. Finally, she did something: she turned her back to the door and stared straight at Hoshino En. Her beautiful purple eyes glistened with tears, making her look just like a little kitten that had been abandoned.
Hoshino En: "..."
No, seriously, why? Why was he feeling such a strong urge?
Hoshino En couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard he tried.
But even though he couldn't figure it out, he still did something he thought was completely out of character.
"What are you afraid of? It's not like we'll never see each other again."
Hoshino En reached out and ruffled Shiina Hiyori's hair, smiling "tenderly."
"Really...?"
"Of course. Here, let's add each other as friends!"
Hoshino En held out his phone.
Seeing this, Shiina Hiyori excitedly took out the phone she'd been holding in her palm all along.
If he had to describe her, she was like a little squirrel that had found plenty of food and was now excitedly clutching it and munching away.
Beep—
"That's wonderful!!"
Shiina Hiyori looked at the new contact on her phone and smiled with satisfaction.
"Now you can't meow at me like an abandoned little kitten anymore, okay?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Under Hoshino En's gaze, Shiina Hiyori went into her room and closed the door, but her excitement and happiness practically spilled out into the hallway.
Only after confirming that she'd really gone inside and wasn't likely to be listening or peeking did Hoshino En let out a long sigh of relief.
"What's gotten into me?"
He looked down at the new friend on his phone, his face full of frustration.
He'd met airheads before, but he usually avoided them. Why had he gone out of his way to get closer to one today?
Was it some male character flaw at work? But he could resist both Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami, and stay composed even in Class D, full of high-quality beauties. So why was Shiina Hiyori the one who got under his skin?
It made no sense!!
"H-Hoshino-kun?!"
Suddenly, a girl's voice came from nearby. It trembled, but her tone held undisguised delight.
Of the people Hoshino En knew, the only one who would call him in that tone was probably Karuizawa Kei, who had deliberately approached him for some reason yesterday but had never spoken to him one-on-one before.
He turned and saw a golden high ponytail, an open jacket, and bubble socks that covered her calves.
It was definitely her.
Correct deduction. I'm feeling a little better.
"Good evening, Karuizawa."
Hoshino En greeted her enthusiastically.
But his sudden enthusiasm seemed to startle her.
"G-Good evening! Hoshino—!"
She was only greeting him, yet she bowed to him.
Wasn't that a bit much for a simple greeting?
And had she just bitten her tongue? She was way too nervous!
"Relax. Don't be nervous, and don't rush. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."
Hoshino En helped Karuizawa Kei back up and reassured her.
"Mm..."
Karuizawa Kei couldn't speak, but she moved quickly. She opened the door next to Shiina Hiyori's room, grabbed Hoshino En, and pulled him straight inside.
So her dorm room was here. No wonder they'd run into each other.
But did she want to talk in private?
Hoshino En checked his phone. It was only around seven in the evening, and he still had time before his ten o'clock appointment with Kushida Kikyo.
He didn't mind chatting with her for a while.
Once inside, Karuizawa Kei pushed Hoshino En onto the bed, then sat down on a chair herself.
"Do you still remember me, Hoshino-kun?"
She looked at Hoshino En, the excitement in her eyes replaced by a hint of apprehension.
Her question didn't surprise Hoshino En.
He'd noticed yesterday that Karuizawa treated him unusually. She probably knew him.
He didn't remember Karuizawa, but she remembered him and could ask a question like that. That meant they probably hadn't been far apart, either in distance or in time. It was likely something that had happened last year... They'd been middle school classmates.
She was unusually enthusiastic toward him, and seemed to think highly of him. But Hoshino En was confident about how people saw him. In middle school, most people thought he was a "weirdo," "antisocial," or "gloomy." Anyone who thought he was a "good person" was probably someone he'd helped before—he'd never been stingy about showing support for the things he "liked."
But Hoshino En didn't remember Karuizawa Kei, which meant she wasn't someone he'd "liked." She must have benefited from his help indirectly. That left only one possibility: she'd been helped when he went after something he "hated."
He was just as willing to go after the things he "hated," but if they didn't get in his face, he wouldn't meddle in their business. Like Tachibana Akane—if she hadn't called him a shameless underclassman to his face, he wouldn't have cared that she talked about him behind his back. So there were only a handful of times something like that had happened.
There had only been one incident in middle school when he went after something he "hated."
"Of course I remember. We went to the same middle school."
"Mm-hmm!"
Karuizawa Kei was thrilled.
Correct again. The confidence Hoshino En had lost with Shiina Hiyori was gradually returning.
Ah, this was more like it. He needed more people who were this easy to read.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
First Semester of First Year:
"Please go out with me, Hoshino-kun!"
Karuizawa Kei's answer caught Hoshino En completely off guard.
A confession? To him?!
Hoshino En looked at the girl leaning forward in front of him. His newly recovered good mood vanished at once.
Karuizawa, who had suffered bullying for so long, wanted to confess to him? Hoshino En didn't believe it for a second.
All she wanted was his protection, a guarantee that she could get through her three years of high school without facing any more danger.
Besides, the bullies from back then had all gone mentally unstable. Other than Hoshino En, who had done it, and Karuizawa Kei, the victim, she was the only one who knew what had happened that afternoon.
At the time, he'd thought she hadn't done anything to him, and as a victim of bullying, she wouldn't help the bullies. So he'd left her alone and hadn't even paid any attention to her.
But now that he thought about it...
"Are you threatening me?"
Hoshino En's accusation made Karuizawa Kei raise her head in surprise.
"Threatening you? No, I... I really do like you! That's why..."
"No. Don't lie. You just want someone who can protect you. You're just afraid of being bullied again!"
"So that's why you came to me and said you wanted to go out with me. What you really want is for me to fend off other people's attacks for you, right?"
If asking him to "go out" with her didn't work, she would definitely threaten him with the truth about what had happened. Hoshino En was sure of it. He'd seen too many situations like this.
If that incident came to light, he'd be expelled, not to mention probably ending up in jail.
The danger alarm in Hoshino En's mind was blaring. Karuizawa Kei posed an even greater threat to him than Shiina Hiyori had earlier.
"Do you think offering me your body will make me step in and shield you from trouble? Did you think I helped you back then because I was attracted to you? Don't flatter yourself!!"
"I went after those bullies back then not because of you—I'm no hero. It was just because their leader glared at me and pissed me off, so I taught them a lesson."
"If you think you can use the truth to threaten me, I don't mind turning you into one of them, either."
Karuizawa Kei stared at Hoshino En's gloomy, cold expression. She froze, her face going stiff.
But after thinking for a short while, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Heh heh heh..."
Her laughter grated on Hoshino En's ears. A virus called "irritation" invaded his mind, ate away at his reason, and gradually robbed him of control over his body.
Ah, just like before with Shiina. He knew he shouldn't do it, but his body acted on its own.
He grabbed Karuizawa Kei by the shoulders, threw her onto the bed, and climbed on top of her.
Nothing indecent happened. He straddled the girl and pressed both hands against her neck, squeezing.
"Ugh... ah..."
With her breathing cut off, her eyes began to glaze over and her consciousness grew hazy.
"If you're going to test someone, you need to be prepared for them to become your enemy for good."
Hoshino En's hands tightened. Karuizawa Kei's slightly tanned cheeks gradually turned pale and blue.
Her hands hung limply against Hoshino En. Her palms seemed to want to clench around his arms, but in her oxygen-starved state, she couldn't muster the strength.
Just before she lost consciousness completely, Hoshino En released her and sat back on the bed.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Although he was the one attacking her, Hoshino En gasped like a fish hauled out of water.
He'd been too impulsive! He shouldn't have torn the mask off so soon.
What was wrong with him this time? Was he so on edge because he'd been thinking about the past today?
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough—"
Now that she could breathe again, Karuizawa Kei turned onto her side and coughed repeatedly, trying to make up for the oxygen she'd lost.
The attacker was replaying what had happened in his mind; the victim couldn't move. For a moment, the room was completely silent.
"Karuizawa, we came to see you..."
The dormitory door opened, breaking the silence.
The three other members of the Empress Group walked in: Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, and Mori Nene.
But when they saw what was happening in the room, they all froze. A boy and a girl were alone together, lying on the same bed. Neither of them had taken off their clothes, but their breathing was heavy.
Th-this was obviously the prelude to getting down to business!
And one of them was their friend Karuizawa Kei, while the other was Hoshino En, whom Karuizawa Kei had clearly shown she liked. They couldn't think of any other explanation.
There was no way the two of them were just fighting on the bed while alone together, right?
"Sorry to interrupt. We'll leave you two alone~"
"You don't have to hold back. The dorm's pretty soundproof~"
"We'll get you excused tomorrow, so enjoy yourselves~"
Click—
They'd arrived and left in a flash. They were gone in no time, and Hoshino En, still trying to make sense of his own strange behavior, hadn't even reacted.
Hoshino En: "..."
"Why could they get into your room? I thought the door was locked."
"If you explain the situation to... cough... the dorm supervisor downstairs, you can... cough... get someone else's Key Card... cough... Of course, it costs points... cough..."
Before you continue