A Hint of Heart-Pounding

"What? Sakura Airi is actually the famous online idol 'Shizuku'?" Kushida Kikyo's face was full of shock, her eyes wide with disbelief.

In a Chinese web novel, they'd call this "three years have passed; the Dragon King returns."

"That's right. But you've probably noticed she has severe social anxiety." Shiraishi Makoto nodded. "So I'm hoping you'll take the initiative to help her fit into the class and make a few friends she can get along with normally. Keep an eye on her from time to time, too."

After hearing his request, Kushida Kikyo's expression instantly turned strange. She stared straight at Shiraishi Makoto.

"You... don't tell me you've fallen for her?"

"Where did that come from?" Shiraishi Makoto asked helplessly.

"Then why would you help her for no reason..." Kushida Kikyo began. "A-and even ask me to look after her."

A hint of jealousy crept into Kushida Kikyo's voice, but Shiraishi Makoto didn't notice the subtle change at all. He gave the explanation he'd prepared in advance: "She helped me with something, but that might have exposed her identity. This is my way of making it up to her."

"What was it? You're being so secretive." Kushida Kikyo was curious.

As Class D's little angel, she knew Sakura Airi fairly well, but couldn't imagine what she might have done to help.

"It's not convenient to say right now. You'll find out after a while." Shiraishi Makoto kept his mouth shut about it.

"All right. By the way, I want to ask you for a favor." Kushida Kikyo gave up when she couldn't get anything out of him and quickly changed the subject.

"What is it?"

"Help me deal with someone."

"Who?"

"Yamauchi Haruki from our class."

"What did he do now?" Shiraishi Makoto was startled. This was Grandpa Yamauchi, the White Room's greatest masterpiece. What earth-shattering thing had he done to offend Class D's little angel?

"Remember the 'Archived Exam Questions' incident you planned? They were just facing the threat of expulsion, so those three idiots have finally settled down a little." Kushida Kikyo complained. "Kanji Ike is fine, but Ken Sudō and Yamauchi Haruki must have something wrong with them. Ken Sudō inexplicably fell for Horikita Suzune, and thinks she's cold on the outside but warm, gentle, and kind on the inside."

"And Yamauchi Haruki has fallen for you?" Shiraishi Makoto guessed what Kushida Kikyo was about to say and burst out laughing.

"Not only that. I fronted them the money for the archived exam papers, and to keep them from being expelled, I even borrowed over two hundred thousand from your Class A. That idiot actually thinks I did all that because I like him. Now he's spreading rumors among the boys." Kushida Kikyo gritted her teeth in anger.

Whether on purpose or not, Yamauchi Haruki kept pushing the boundaries and testing the waters. He spread rumors only among the boys he knew and never said it to her face, leaving Kushida Kikyo no chance to set the record straight with dignity.

Even though anyone with common sense could see the rumors were false, she still couldn't take the initiative to confront Yamauchi Haruki. As the "little angel," doing so would go against her image.

But if left unchecked, a lie repeated often enough could become the truth. If Yamauchi Haruki kept spreading rumors while Kushida Kikyo didn't refute him at all, the gossip might continue to grow. People could actually start believing him, and then the rumor would spread everywhere. It would be even harder to save face then.

"I really don't have a way to deal with him," Shiraishi Makoto said, shaking his head. He was only good at using the school's rules to his advantage, not at plotting little schemes like this.

There weren't any opportunities he could use right now, either. The next Special Exam wouldn't come until the Uninhabited Island Exam after the Final Exam, and no one in Class A was good at this sort of thing.

"You're useless when it matters," Kushida Kikyo said, rolling her eyes at him.

"But you don't necessarily have to deal with him to get rid of the rumors, do you?" Shiraishi Makoto thought for a moment before speaking.

Shiraishi Makoto thought of three ways to solve the problem.

The first was to find an opportunity to get Yamauchi Haruki expelled. The dead couldn't talk. But there was no opportunity to take advantage of right now, so Kushida Kikyo would have to plan it herself. It would solve the problem once and for all, but the risk and difficulty were high.

The second was to find another classmate who had a crush on Kushida Kikyo, let that rival find out Yamauchi Haruki was spreading rumors, and have him settle the score with Yamauchi Haruki. But so far, no one liked Kushida Kikyo enough to do that.

The third was to spread a more convincing rumor that would drown out Yamauchi Haruki's. Once the people around him started questioning him and he grew too embarrassed to continue, they could clear things up.

If Shiraishi Makoto were to get involved, he'd only use the third approach.

Shiraishi Makoto thought it over, then told Kushida Kikyo about his three ideas.

"How would the third one work, exactly?"

"If he's spreading the rumor that you like him, then spread another one saying you like someone else. Say you like me, for example." Shiraishi Makoto offered an example.

"I like you? How are you as conceited as Kouenji?" Kushida Kikyo immediately pulled a disgusted face, but her heart skipped a beat against her will, and the tips of her ears grew slightly warm.

"But to everyone else, it would make perfect sense." Shiraishi Makoto didn't mind Kushida Kikyo's teasing. "I'm pretty well-known around school, and I'm an official member of the Student Council. No one can fault my ability or standing. It wouldn't seem strange if we were really dating."

"More importantly, you and I have been spending a fair amount of time together lately. Everyone knows you borrowed hundreds of thousands of Private Points from Class A. If a rumor started now, it wouldn't seem out of the blue."

"Honestly, you're like a shopkeeper praising his own wares. Aren't you embarrassed?" Though Kushida Kikyo teased Shiraishi Makoto for singing his own praises, she had to admit the plan could work.

Ask any classmate which rumor sounded more believable—that Kushida Kikyo liked Yamauchi Haruki, or that she liked Shiraishi Makoto—and no one would choose the first. Once the second rumor spread, Kushida's friends would help clear things up on their own: "Kushida helped Yamauchi Haruki because she's kind. It was no different from how she helped Kanji Ike and Ken Sudō. Yamauchi Haruki is just imagining things."

More importantly, if people started saying "Kushida Kikyo from Class D likes Shiraishi Makoto from Class A," she probably wouldn't hate it...

"Then let's do that. You're the one who got me into this mess, so you have to help me." Kushida Kikyo grabbed Shiraishi Makoto's hand without thinking.

"Sure, sure. But you can plan the details. You're probably good at this kind of thing." Kushida Kikyo's gesture startled Shiraishi Makoto, and he hurriedly agreed.

"All right. Just follow my lead when the time comes." Kushida Kikyo smiled and nodded, then left Shiraishi Makoto's room in a good mood.

Watching Kushida Kikyo leave the room, Shiraishi Makoto fell into thought.

He had no experience with romance, but that didn't mean he was completely clueless.

Still, the barrier between them seemed harder to break through than he'd imagined...