Morishita Ai: Chihaya Rei is too despicable

Morishita Ai's fingers were ice-cold.

The sensation they gave was one of being quite slender and soft.

Once she straightened up and sat steadily, Chihaya Rei plopped his butt down right where Morishita Ai's head had been resting.

He then tilted his head to look at her, his expression mocking as he said:

"See that? Morishita-san, the spot where your head was just resting might have been sat on by someone else's butt."

"Just like I'm doing right now."

Hearing this, even Morishita Ai, who rarely showed much expression, couldn't help but part her lips slightly, her entire body seemingly shivering.

She stared at Chihaya Rei and said in a cold, clear voice:

"Chihaya Rei, you're too mean. Why would you tell me something like that?"

"If you hadn't said anything, I would never have known."

"Feeling a bit stifled, are you?"

Chihaya Rei spoke indifferently, the corners of his mouth curling up in amusement.

Anyone would feel at least a little uncomfortable seeing the spot where they had just been sleeping face-down, knowing it might have been sat on by someone else a moment before.

"That's why you shouldn't use public benches for sleeping, especially not by lying face-down like you do."

Morishita Ai suddenly crossed her arms over her chest, shot Chihaya Rei a sidelong glance, and said with quite a bit of spirit:

"I am free. I'll sleep wherever I want to sleep."

"Fair enough."

Hearing this, Chihaya Rei offered a somewhat indifferent smile.

He hadn't intended to convince a weirdo like Morishita Ai anyway; the Torture Points were already in the bag.

Morishita, I don't need you for the moment.

With that, he shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning back against the bench.

He picked up the still-warm oden, tore open the packaging, and prepared to enjoy his meal right there.

Seeing that Chihaya Rei had stopped talking, Morishita Ai fixed her bright purple eyes straight on him.

She tried very hard to think of a way to prank him back.

She never expected that she, the dignified Morishita Ai, would actually encounter such a difficult opponent today.

Usually, in Class A, others were the ones who would be scared off by her.

Yet Chihaya Rei, from the mere Class D, had actually invaded her territory.

By now, Chihaya Rei had already opened the oden, holding the long cup in one hand as steam continued to rise from it.

Various vegetables and meat skewers, mixed with the rich, savory broth of the oden, released a thick aroma that drifted through the air.

"Chew, chew~"

He picked up a hollow fish cake skewer and began to eat with an expression of pure enjoyment.

Morishita Ai smelled the fragrance drifting into her nose and watched the expression on Chihaya Rei's face as he ate.

Subconsciously, she reached out to touch her stomach, feeling hungry herself.

Chihaya Rei was clearly trying to tempt her on purpose.

She leaned in a step closer, intensifying her gaze on Chihaya Rei.

But Chihaya Rei acted as if he didn't see her, focused entirely on his meal.

Soon, Morishita Ai said calmly, "I haven't eaten yet either."

"Go ahead."

Chihaya Rei held the oden out toward Morishita Ai.

This gesture actually caught Morishita Ai off guard; it was this easy?

Naturally, she wouldn't stand on ceremony. She reached out with her small hand, felt for the bamboo skewers, and picked out a large one that she liked.

"Chew, chew~" Morishita Ai also looked like she was enjoying it.

"Are you in the Sakayanagi faction or the Katsuragi faction?"

He couldn't just eat in silence without saying a word, so Chihaya Rei asked out of curiosity.

He remembered that Morishita Ai had someone in Class A she could talk to, named Yamamura Miki.

And Yamamura Miki was in the Sakayanagi faction.

Plus, Morishita had just mentioned that she knew him because of Sakayanagi.

So, Chihaya Rei guessed she might be more inclined to support Sakayanagi Arisu?

Hearing this question from Chihaya Rei, Morishita Ai deliberately shrank back, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said coldly:

"So you wanted to fish for information about Class A from me? Do you really think a few skewers of oden are enough to bribe me?"

To underestimate Chihaya Rei like that was truly a mistake.

"This isn't exactly useful information."

Chihaya Rei felt it was somewhat amusing to retort.

If he really wanted intelligence, he would have gone to the phantom thief instead.

It had been a while, and he found himself missing Kamuro Masumi's look of disdain.

"Indeed." Morishita Ai nodded again. "Neither of them; I won't pledge my loyalty to anyone else."

"Then why don't you start your own faction? Lead Class A forward."

Chihaya Rei spoke with a casual smile.

Morishita Ai picked up another carrot skewer and chewed, her voice sounding somewhat muffled.

"Chihaya Rei, you really are despicable. No wonder Sakayanagi Arisu cares so much about you."

"To think you'd come up with such a scheme to divide our Class A—I won't let your plan succeed."

"I simply think that compared to Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei..."

Chihaya Rei tilted his head to look at Morishita Ai, whose cheeks were puffed out from eating, and said with a righteous expression:

"Morishita Ai, you are the one the people truly want."

"You're right."

Morishita Ai cast an appreciative glance at Chihaya Rei and then spoke with great confidence: "But Class A doesn't need me to step in just yet."

"By the time you step in, it will be too late."

Chihaya Rei sighed with a hint of regret.

He had actually wanted to see another leader emerge in Class A; that way, the class would have been divided into a tripartite balance of power.

However, it was clear that Morishita Ai could not be easily swayed.

Besides, she was quite self-aware; her personality was simply not suited for becoming a class leader.

After that, the two of them engaged in a few more abstract conversations.

It wasn't until they noticed the sky growing dark that they decided to call it a draw and fight another day.