Morishita Ai Is a District

The next morning, Kushida Kikyo walked into the classroom feeling incredibly anxious after a sleepless night.

No one seemed to be looking at her strangely, and her classmates all greeted her as usual.

Only then did Kushida Kikyo manage to breathe a little easier.

After Chihaya Rei had finished reprimanding her the previous night, he'd left without looking back, leaving her alone by the lake in the cold wind to spiral endlessly in her own thoughts.

Kushida Kikyo had spent the whole night worrying about it.

What if, by the time she woke up and went to class the next day, Chihaya Rei had already told the entire class what she was really like?

It seemed he hadn't.

But the worry in Kushida Kikyo's heart hadn't eased in the slightest.

Chihaya Rei had leverage over her. He hadn't threatened her with it last night, but he could use it against her at any moment.

It wouldn't even be surprising if he was interested in her body...

She remembered the moment she'd actually slammed her chest into Chihaya Rei's fist.

A fresh wave of embarrassment and frustration washed over Kushida Kikyo, and her cheeks quietly warmed.

That had been the first time her body had come into such close contact with someone else. She hadn't expected it to happen like that.

And Chihaya Rei's fist had even pressed against a place it shouldn't have, leaving her with a dull ache there even now...

So, to avoid being threatened by Chihaya Rei in the future,

after thinking it over all night, Kushida Kikyo had decided that before Chihaya Rei leaked the video...

she would first uncover one of his secrets, so she could use it to keep him quiet—and even make him delete the video!

Kushida Kikyo turned around as if casually, sneaking a glance at Chihaya Rei.

She saw him chatting and laughing with Sakura Airi beside him, and for some reason, it irritated her.

I was up all night, and my chest still hurts.

And you're flirting with a girl in class first thing in the morning?!

"Kikyo, you have dark circles! Did you not sleep well last night?"

A female student beside her struck up a conversation with a smile.

"I was on my phone last night... I lost track of time and stayed up late."

Kushida Kikyo instantly switched to her gentle persona.

"So even Kikyo stays up late sometimes."

"By the way, Kikyo, how did things go with the answers?"

"No problem!" Kushida Kikyo replied with a delighted smile, feeling a little better. "The questions and answers Classmate Sakayanagi gave us were all correct."

"Yatta!"

The students in Class D perked up.

After school.

Now that they had the exam answers, the midterms were in the bag. For the students in Class D, that meant study sessions were practically canceled by default.

Those Class D students didn't have the patience to go to the library and pretend to study.

Seeing the class in this state, Horikita Suzune couldn't help feeling that having the answers might not be a good thing after all.

They had the answers this time, but what about next time?

There was no way to guarantee that.

The students in Class D still thought far too simply. Was he really capable of leading them to Class A?

Horikita Suzune couldn't help glancing sideways at Chihaya Rei.

Chihaya Rei, meanwhile, was perfectly at ease as he headed to the athletic field to put Karuizawa Kei through her training.

Whether or not the study session took place, Karuizawa Kei still couldn't escape her fate of being put through the wringer by him.

"Um, Chihaya... Is what they're saying true?... Is Sakayanagi Arisu pursuing you?"

On the athletic field, Karuizawa Kei gathered her courage, looked up at Chihaya Rei, and asked him this personal question about his love life.

Yes, never overestimate the students in Class D when it came to keeping things secret.

In less than two days...

rumors had already begun circulating among the students in Class D that Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A was pursuing Chihaya Rei from their class—and had even given Class D the midterm answers.

And Chihaya Rei hadn't done a thing.

The rumor had even reached some students in the other classes.

"Does it bother you?"

Chihaya Rei gave Karuizawa Kei a searching look.

He knew Karuizawa Kei's personality fairly well.

Lately, she'd asked about his personal life twice in a row.

Could it be that she'd developed unusual feelings for him while he was putting her through the wringer?

"No, I don't care!"

Karuizawa Kei's fair cheeks instantly flushed. She hurriedly denied it, her voice rising as she tried to sound tough. "Can't I just be curious?"

Chihaya Rei gave her a dangerous smile and tugged on the whip to scare her. "I really do need to keep you under control."

After parting ways with Karuizawa Kei, Chihaya Rei went to the convenience store and bought some oden to fill his stomach.

As he walked back to the dorm alone, he noticed a figure on a bench some distance ahead, lying there by the roadside.

His curiosity had always been strong, so he quickened his pace to investigate.

A girl with medium-length purple hair lay sprawled on the bench, her eyes closed and her body looking utterly relaxed.

Only when he got closer did Chihaya Rei realize

that she was sleeping face down, not lying on her back.

Daring to face him in a pose like that was a great opportunity... an opportunity to put her through the wringer.

He shifted his gaze to take in the girl's appearance.

Her hair was divided into two loose sections that hung beside her cheeks, with naturally curled ends.

She had a small, delicate oval face, fine brows, and a placid, indifferent expression.

Beneath her white school skirt, a pair of slender, well-proportioned legs was wrapped in fine black tights, their graceful lines clearly outlined.

"Is she... asleep?"

Chihaya Rei muttered curiously.

She looked as though she'd died peacefully.

He recognized her face, too.

Morishita Ai.

On the surface, she was a pretty, cool-headed girl.

In reality, she was also a genuine oddball.

It was still daytime, yet she was sleeping face down on a bench. That was proof enough.

In the original story, Morishita Ai didn't begin to feature in the plot until the end of the second year and the start of the third.

She could even be called the last glimmer of the author's talent for plotting and character development.

He hadn't expected to run into her so soon.

"Even though I'm cute, if you want to look at me, please give me some points."

Morishita Ai suddenly opened her eyes, revealing cool-toned purple irises.

Even as Chihaya Rei looked down at her, she remained peacefully sprawled on the bench, her cheek turned toward him. Her expression was calm, with little emotion to be seen.

"No, no."

Hearing Morishita Ai ask him for points, Chihaya Rei chuckled to himself.

"You're sleeping here, so I don't have anywhere to sit and eat. I saw you from a long way off and thought you were a maggot."

As he spoke, Chihaya Rei held up his oden for Morishita Ai to see. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Heh heh."

Morishita Ai didn't get angry at being compared to a maggot. Instead, she gave a couple of little snorts, her eyes gaining a hint of sharpness as she stared straight at Chihaya Rei.

"You're just Chihaya Rei from Class D, yet you dare describe me like that. You're quite brave—and quite interesting."

There it was.

Morishita Ai's signature habit of addressing people by their full names.

Chihaya Rei generally didn't care how people addressed him, as long as they didn't use a cutesy nickname.

"You're a little interesting yourself, Morishita Ai from Class A."

Chihaya Rei casually rested one hand on his hip and looked down at Morishita Ai, his own eyes filled with interest.

Logically, two people who had never interacted before should have been surprised to recognize each other at their first meeting, then asked, "Do you know me?"

But neither of them did.

"Just a little interesting?"

Morishita Ai's purple brows furrowed slightly. She didn't seem satisfied with that assessment.

"Coming from me, that's already high praise."

Chihaya Rei said it with a serious face.

"Clearly, that's not enough."

Morishita Ai said bluntly. Her voice was calm, yet she sounded confident.

She looked up at Chihaya Rei, her eyes full of interest. He seemed like someone who could keep up with her.

Morishita Ai said mildly,

"I know about you because of Sakayanagi Arisu. What about you?"

Morishita Ai had also been paying attention to the recent rumor that Sakayanagi Arisu was pursuing Chihaya Rei.

And Morishita Ai was curious about anything interesting.

How many people knew about him because of Sakayanagi?

Chihaya Rei no longer cared.

Even without Sakayanagi Arisu, he often attracted attention because of his looks.

"It seems the name Morishita has spread to the other classes."

Before Chihaya Rei could answer, Morishita Ai nodded to herself, sounding and looking rather pleased.

"..."

Chihaya Rei froze for a moment, then couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. His tone took on a faintly amused edge.

"I heard there's an oddball in Class A named Morishita Ai."

He paused deliberately, noticing that Morishita Ai was listening intently.

"She might be the reason Class A lost Class Points in the first month. Otherwise, Class A might have made history by earning a thousand Class Points."

Chihaya Rei explained with a serious expression, as if it were all true.

And he wasn't actually making it up.

Morishita Ai did all sorts of things that ordinary people couldn't understand, regardless of the situation.

That had led the students in Class A to decide that she was an oddball with strange behavior and erratic thoughts, always saying things that made no sense.

So there was a fairly reasonable basis for suspecting that Morishita Ai's odd behavior had caused Class A to lose points in the first month.

At his words, Morishita Ai's pale purple eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips parted.

She seemed surprised... that there were rumors about her like that.

The next second, she immediately put on a stern expression and waved an arm, holding her palm out toward Chihaya Rei.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

"Morishita would never do anything to drag her class down."

"Ah, you never know."

Chihaya Rei teased her mildly, looking unconvinced.

"No." Morishita Ai looked thoughtful. "Maybe my behavior actually earned points for the class?"

"That's absolutely impossible."

Chihaya Rei replied at once.

Then he sighed faintly and said,

"Actually, I was about to tell you: Morishita Ai, lying face down like that makes it easy to expose yourself."

Morishita Ai blinked rapidly a few times, her lips parting. "Did you see?"

"What do you think?"

Chihaya Rei's gaze swept over her as he gave an ambiguous answer.

"Then I'll assume you did. Please hand over some more points."

As she spoke, Morishita Ai extended her small, fair hand toward Chihaya Rei without the slightest hesitation.

"I'm a student from Class D. We're all so poor that we don't have any points. I'd actually like Morishita to spare some for me."

Chihaya Rei said this and extended his own hand as well.

He was clearly a guy with millions of points in his account.

"You're eating oden, so you must have points."

"It's not expensive."

After answering, Chihaya Rei gave her a mischievous smile and asked, "So, Morishita, haven't you had enough of lying there?"

"And what you're doing is really not right..."

He sighed slightly and explained in a righteous tone,

"If everyone lay on benches in public places like you, it wouldn't be surprising if the school started installing uncomfortable bumps in the middle of them."

"Is that how they deal with homeless people in the Beautiful Country?"

"So, Morishita, please give me your seat. I want to eat here."

[For torturing Morishita Ai, received 1,500 Torture Points]

Faced with Chihaya Rei's words, Morishita Ai looked slightly taken aback. She paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"Actually... I just remembered."

"Then why aren't you doing anything?"

Chihaya Rei asked in confusion, but he quickly guessed the reason. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Don't tell me you've been lying down for so long that your body's gone numb?"

"Exactly."

Morishita Ai admitted it with a proud look.

"That's so like you. You still managed to chat with me for this long."

"So please give me a hand. Then I won't hold it against you for the points you owe me for watching me sleep and seeing me exposed."

"I never agreed to give you any points in the first place."

Chihaya Rei corrected her, but still held out his strong hand and helped the extraordinary girl to her feet.

P.S. There's an image of Morishita Ai in the comments.