Sakura Airi's New Friend

Another morning arrived, and students trickled into the first-year Class D classroom one after another.

Sakura Airi sat alone in her seat, her head slightly lowered, quietly watching her classmates spontaneously form small groups. A hint of envy welled up in her heart, but what dominated was a bone-deep fear.

"It's okay... I have Shiraishi-kun, that's enough..." Sakura Airi whispered to herself, offering a small comfort.

Then, her thoughts spiraled out of control again.

How should I ask Shiraishi-kun to go shooting next time? Is he free this weekend? Asking him twice a week—is that too much? Will he get annoyed, start to hate me?

Sakura Airi buried her head, tangled in anxiety and hesitation. Just then, a graceful figure quietly approached her side.

"Sakura-san, good morning."

"Huh?!" Sakura Airi jumped in surprise, then noticed it was Class D's little angel, Kushida Kikyo, who wanted to be friends with everyone.

Kushida Kikyo was one of the few classmates Sakura Airi had actually spoken to. On the first day of school, Kushida had approached her and exchanged contact info. But since Kushida had so many friends, they rarely interacted afterward—only occasionally greeting each other when they met.

"Kushida-san... good morning." Sakura Airi let out a breath and replied quietly.

"Sakura-san, I noticed you're always sitting here alone. Let's chat together." Kushida Kikyo went back to her seat, grabbed her chair, and brought it over.

"Ah..." Faced with Kushida's enthusiasm, Sakura Airi was at a loss.

"By the way, Sakura-san, you're that famous online idol—'Shizuku,' right?" Kushida Kikyo leaned close to Sakura Airi's ear and whispered.

"Wh-what?!"

Sakura Airi jolted, her glasses slipping off and clattering onto the desk. She hurriedly bent down to pick them up and put them back on, her voice trembling slightly.

"How does Kushida-san know about that...?"

"Shiraishi-kun from Class A told me." Kushida Kikyo flashed a pure, harmless smile.

"Shiraishi-kun? Why would Shiraishi-kun tell you about me?" Hearing Shiraishi Makoto's name, Sakura Airi relaxed a little, but she was still full of questions.

"Yesterday, in Shiraishi-kun's room, he asked me to take good care of Sakura-san. After all, you don't have any friends in class—that's not good." Kushida Kikyo's casual words sent a huge shock through Sakura Airi.

"Sh-Shiraishi-kun's room?"

"Oh, Sakura-san didn't know? Normally, boys can't go to the girls' floor, but girls can easily go in and out of the boys' floor." Kushida Kikyo said it with an expression that said, "This isn't a big deal," sharing this little piece of knowledge.

"I-is that so?" Sakura Airi's breath suddenly faltered. Her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes. After a long hesitation, she mustered the courage to ask quietly, "Then, Kushida-san, are you and Shiraishi-kun... in that kind of relationship?"

Kushida Kikyo didn't directly confirm or deny it. She just gave a faint smile. "Before, when I went to Class A to borrow money, he lent me several thousand personal points. He never urged me to pay it back either. Otherwise, I'd still be worrying about a huge debt right now."

"Y-yeah, that's true." Sakura Airi forced a smile, but a pang of bitterness and unease rose in her heart.

"By the way, Shiraishi-kun said you helped him with something, and it might expose your identity." Kushida Kikyo changed the subject, asking curiously, "So what exactly happened?"

But she didn't know much either. Shiraishi-kun only told her he needed some photos to sell to upperclassmen.

Sakura Airi was about to speak when she suddenly realized something was off.

Why didn't Shiraishi-kun tell Kushida-san?

No, no—are Shiraishi-kun and Kushida-san really lovers? If they were, shouldn't Kushida-san be the one who knows about this?

Sakura Airi, for some reason, had a sudden flash of insight and noticed the inconsistency.

Although Kushida Kikyo had been acting very close to Shiraishi Makoto, she had never directly said they were in a romantic relationship.

"Sorry, I actually don't know much either. Shiraishi-kun didn't tell me." Sakura Airi lowered her head and said quietly.

"Is that so? Alright then." Seeing that Sakura Airi had nothing to say, Kushida Kikyo didn't press further and began carrying out the task Shiraishi Makoto had given her.

Since she had to interact with many people on a daily basis, she couldn't keep an eye on Sakura Airi all the time. Shiraishi Makoto had also said that she just needed to help Sakura Airi make a few friends she could talk to.

Kushida Kikyo thought for a moment and came up with a good candidate.

"Shiraishi-kun is worried that you don't have friends in class. If your identity gets exposed later, it'll be troublesome. So he asked me to help you find friends in class." Kushida Kikyo relayed Shiraishi Makoto's instructions. "I think a few classmates would be a good fit. I'll take you to meet them."

"Ah..." Hearing that she had to interact with others, Sakura Airi instinctively felt resistance. But realizing it was Shiraishi Makoto's wish, she bit her lip and nodded lightly.

"Shinohara-san, sorry to interrupt." Kushida Kikyo led Sakura Airi over to a girl in the class.

"Kushida-san? What's up?" Shinohara Satsuki, seeing it was Kushida Kikyo, asked curiously.

"It's like this—I noticed that Sakura-san isn't good at communicating with others, so even two months into the semester, she hasn't made any friends. So I wanted to ask Shinohara-san to please include Sakura-san in your activities and look after her." Kushida Kikyo showed a sincere smile, bowed slightly to Shinohara Satsuki, and made the request earnestly.

"Sakura-san?" Shinohara Satsuki only had the vaguest impression of this quiet classmate.

She turned her head and saw Sakura Airi hiding behind Kushida Kikyo, head down, timid and nervous.

"No problem. Leave it to me." Although Shinohara Satsuki was clearly part of Karuizawa Kei's clique and wasn't that close to Kushida Kikyo, she would still do her best to help a classmate in need.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shinohara-san." Kushida Kikyo lightly patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "You know, I have to deal with so many people on a daily basis that I can't properly take care of Sakura-san. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Shinohara Satsuki smiled and waved her hand, then stood up and walked over to Sakura Airi. "Sakura-san, nice to meet you. I'm Shinohara Satsuki. If you don't mind, feel free to hang out with us from now on."

"Let me introduce you—this is Sato Maya-san, and this is Matsushita Chiaki-san." Shinohara Satsuki pointed to the friends she usually hung out with.

"Hello, Sakura-san." Sato Maya and Matsushita Chiaki also came over and waved at Sakura Airi.

"H-hello. Please take care of me." Under so many gazes, Sakura Airi's fingers curled nervously, but she still forced out a polite response.

"It's okay. Once you spend some time with us, you won't be nervous anymore." Shinohara Satsuki smiled, took Sakura Airi's hand, and led her over to the seats.