The location-sharing signal pointed to a secluded clearing behind the dormitory, half encircled by a small grove.
The area was poorly lit at night and far from the main road. School rules discouraged students from going there alone after dark.
Hoshida No's expression turned solemn. He opened the recording function on his phone, then got dressed and left the dormitory.
The clearing behind the dormitory was darker than he had expected. The only streetlamp stood some distance away, its light dim and yellow. It barely illuminated the bench and the outlines of the surrounding bushes.
The rustling of leaves sounded especially clear in the silence, almost eerie.
Hoshida No stood three steps from the bench and looked at Kushida Kikyo. After scanning the area and confirming no one else was around, he took a few small steps toward her.
Meanwhile, in front of the dormitory, Horikita Suzune ran into Ayanokoji by the vending machines. He was alone.
"What exactly are you and Hoshida No thinking?" Horikita asked outright.
Ayanokoji was silent for a moment, then spoke without changing expression. "Who told you something? Chabashira-sensei?"
Horikita froze for a moment, recalling what Chabashira had told her on the rooftop that day: "If you want to move up to Class A, you need to make use of the people around you. Hoshida No is a leader in the truest sense, while Ayanokoji is the most problematic student in Class D."
But Ayanokoji had clearly caught that brief reaction. "I see. You want to move up to Class A? So you went to Chazhu Zuo Zhi."
Ayanokoji added in his even tone, "I just want to get through each day peacefully. He might be just what you need. That's all. I'm leaving."
Back to the area behind the teaching building,
Kushida wore a white dress, gripping its hem tightly with both hands. Her knuckles looked bluish-white in the dim light.
"Hoshida," she said, head lowered. Her voice was no longer its usual sweet self, but dry and hoarse. "You came... I knew you would."
Hoshida No neither approached nor sat down. "You've been investigating me lately and going out of your way to get close to me. You asked me to meet you here tonight. What do you want, Kushida?"
"What do I want?" she repeated, her head still lowered so he couldn't see her face. "I want you to disappear, Hoshida No! Or... or I want you to stop being special, to stop stealing everyone's attention so easily!"
She stood up, leaning forward with agitation. Her usual smile was gone, and the gloom in her eyes showed as she glared at Hoshida No. "When I first saw you at school, I was happy. After all, you used to be a homeless orphan. But why did you have to be so capable? Ever since you showed up, everything changed!"
"Hirata and the others talk about your plans. Everyone thanks you for your test papers. Even someone like Horikita, who acts like she's better than everyone else, secretly studies your methods! What about me? What am I? I'm still the Kushida everyone likes, but now I'm just one of them! I'm no longer the only one they rely on!"
Her accusations poured out like a burst dam. At last, the emotions she had suppressed for days had found an outlet, but Hoshida No's expression remained calm.
"So," he said slowly, "you asked me to come here. What were you planning to do? Were you going to frame me?"
Kushida's body shook violently, and the moonlight made her face look even paler.
"So what if I was?" she almost screamed, her eyes quickly reddening. "You forced me into this! Why is there nothing bad in your past!..."
As she shrieked, she suddenly grabbed the neckline of her dress and yanked it hard to one side!
The fabric made a teeth-grating "rrip" as the neckline tore open, exposing her collarbone and a patch of pale shoulder.
Her movements were resolute. Tears finally spilled from her eyes, mingling with her madness and pain.
"Look, Hoshida No!" she cried. "Isn't this what you wanted? Or at least, what I'll say you wanted! If I run out looking like this and scream your name... who wouldn't believe me? You could jump into the Yellow River and still never wash yourself clean!"
Hoshida No watched her near self-destruction in silence, not the slightest hint of panic on his face.
He even took a small step closer. His sharp gaze fell on the torn edge of her collar before shifting back to her tear-streaked face.
"Kushida Kikyo," he said, his voice unusually steady. "Is the miniature recorder in the right pocket of your skirt still running? Or were you planning to use it to record me threatening you—or you calling for help—as additional evidence?"
Kushida's sobs stopped abruptly, and the hand tearing at her dress froze in midair. Her pupils contracted as she stared at Hoshida No in disbelief.
Without waiting for her to answer, Hoshida No explained, "Judging by the force and angle with which you tore your dress, the tear runs from the inside out and from top to bottom. That's a typical sign of someone tearing their own clothes."
"If someone else had torn it during an assault, the direction of the tear and the points of force would be completely different. Anyone with even a little training in crime scene investigation could tell the difference."
He paused, his gaze icy. "You chose this place, where it's just the two of us. There's no third party who can testify to what happened. I have at least three ways to prove I never touched you. One of them is right here in my hand."
He slowly raised the right hand he had kept in his jacket pocket and took out his phone, which was recording. "The lighting isn't very clear at night, but it can still capture the general outlines and movements."
Kushida stared blankly at the phone recording her, then looked at Hoshida No's impassive eyes. Finally, she lowered her gaze to her torn collar and disheveled appearance.
"Waaah—!!!"
Unable to hold herself up any longer, she collapsed onto the cold ground, covering her face with both hands as she broke into heart-wrenching sobs.
"How... how could you do this? How could you record me?" she sobbed through her fingers, her words coming out in broken fragments. "I only... only wanted everyone to like me, to need me... I don't want to be abandoned again. I don't want to be alone in the dark anymore... Furball has left me too. It was so cute, but someone still hurt it in the end..."
Hoshida No watched her curled up on the ground, then put his phone away. Seeing her frail figure in the moonlight, he draped his jacket over her, covering most of her exposed skin.
He spoke, his voice still steady but no longer as cold as before. "Kushida, wanting to be loved and fearing loneliness aren't your fault."
He paused. "But hurting others—even destroying yourself—to feel safe will only take you farther from what you want. I don't know what happened to you in middle school, but I know the you who once bought me meals and gave me a handkerchief and clothes was truly radiant."
Kushida's sobs gradually quieted, turning into muffled sniffles. She still covered her face and said nothing.
"Nothing happened tonight," Hoshida No continued. "You can deal with whatever's on the recorder yourself. As long as there isn't another incident, I'll keep my video sealed away forever."
He turned to leave. After taking two steps, he stopped without looking back.
"No one can pretend to be someone else forever. If you're tired, maybe you could try starting by trusting one or two people who truly deserve it."
His voice was so soft the wind nearly drowned it out. "Though that might take more courage than acting like the person everyone likes."
With that, he started walking. His figure soon vanished at the end of the path leading back to the light.
Only Kushida Kikyo remained in the clearing.
She slowly lowered her hands. Tears streaked her face, and her makeup had long since run. Clutching the jacket draped over her shoulders, she stared blankly after Hoshida No.