Nightmare?

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, artificial lake.

"Bang!"

Another kick, and the metal railing let out a groan of unbearable strain. Sweat dripped from the tips of her hair, soaking into the concrete to leave a small, dark stain. Kushida Kikyo ignored the jarring pain radiating from her knees, staring fixedly at the pitch-black surface of the lake as if all her disguises and shackles were submerged within it.

"So disgusting... that self-righteous Horikita, and that idiot-acting, mark-drawing Ayanokoji..."

She gasped for air, her violet eyes—usually filled with a ready smile—now holding only a cold, venomous chill.

"Why... why do you all still get to stay at this school!? Why do you always treat me like that!! I'm working hard too... I'm clearly trying my best to survive... And that disgusting Amasawa Reigetsu, does he think he's so great just because he's in Class A!? How dare he desecrate me like that!! Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!!!"

"Kushida, you shouldn't speak of Master that way."

A flat, emotionless voice abruptly tore through the silence of the night.

Kushida's body stiffened instantly, her blood feeling as if it had run backward in that moment. She turned her head mechanically to see the figure of Ayanokoji Kiyoko gradually emerging from the shadows.

Her face wore that familiar, inscrutable calm, her gaze fixed directly on Kushida. It held no discernible emotion, yet it was enough to make the hair on Kushida's arms stand on end.

"Aya... Ayanokoji-san?"

Kushida quickly adjusted her expression and tone, that vibrant, energetic smile appearing on her face within a second, even though the sweat had caused her makeup to smudge, making her look somewhat ridiculous.

"What are you doing here? What a coincidence, I was just..."

"I don't care about the insults you hurl at anyone, except for Master."

Ayanokoji Kiyoko closed the distance between them in an instant, moving so fast that Kushida didn't even have time to react, startled by the suddenly magnified face of Ayanokoji.

"Ara~ what are you talking about, Ayanokoji-san? I don't understand~"

"Slap!"

The smile was completely stripped from Kushida's face.

"Huh?"

"What do you think you're doing? You keep saying 'Master' this and 'Master' that, who even knows who your master is, huh!?? How dare you hit me—"

Kushida Kikyo grabbed Ayanokoji Kiyoko by the collar.

"What right do you have to judge me anyway? I didn't expect you to spill your little secret the moment you opened your mouth... Hehehe, if everyone in Class D knew that our cold and aloof Ayanokoji-san is actually some student's..."

"Amasawa Reigetsu."

"What—"

"Remember Master's name."

"Do you even have me in your eyes at all!! There aren't even any security cameras in this place, do you think I don't dare to strike back!!?"

Kushida Kikyo exerted force suddenly, only to find that she couldn't budge the expressionless person in front of her at all.

"Thud!"

Kushida Kikyo was slammed heavily to the ground, losing consciousness.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, student dormitory.

"Why is it you!?"

The door was opened from the outside, and the person who came into Kushida Kikyo's line of sight was none other than Amasawa Reigetsu!

Shifting the perspective back to Amasawa Reigetsu, he had just finished sending a bewildered Ichinose Honami back to her room and had returned to his own dormitory, preparing to wash up and sleep.

As a result, after opening the door, he found Kushida Kikyo, who had clearly been beaten, sprawled at the entrance, looking at him in surprise.

"Who set this trap?"

That was Amasawa Reigetsu's first reaction, so he flipped into the room in an instant; as long as the person in the shadows hesitated for even a second, they wouldn't be able to capture a decisive moment!

"Ayanokoji... that bastard!"

Kushida sprang up from the ground regardless of her state, her eyes bloodshot. Her original sunny, cute image had vanished, replaced by a hysterical, ferocious look.

"Amasawa, so you're an accomplice too!! None of you are getting away with this!!"

She roared hysterically, wanting to rush over and grab Amasawa by the collar to vent her rage.

However, Amasawa Reigetsu merely tilted his body slightly, easily avoiding her chaotic lunge, and Kushida Kikyo's body slammed hard against the door.

"Too noisy."

From the two sentences just now, Amasawa Reigetsu could already roughly deduce the full picture—

Kiyoko had gone hunting for him.

"How pathetic, dirty as a stray dog."

Amasawa Reigetsu's gaze held a hint of mockery and undisguised provocation; he could foresee that the upcoming developments would be very interesting.

"What do you know about anything!!!"

Kushida Kikyo pulled out a fruit knife and began swinging it wildly at Amasawa Reigetsu while crying. She had anticipated this situation, so she had gone to the kitchen beforehand to grab a fruit knife to make up for the gap in combat power.

Although she had anticipated that Ayanokoji Kiyoko would be the one to open the door and return, the person standing before her was Amasawa Reigetsu. If she could help it, she wouldn't have wanted things to turn out this way, but... she could only blame his bad luck!

This was the end... everything, along with her own life.

God, if this is a nightmare, please let me wake up quickly...

Induction activated. The crumbling expression on Kushida Kikyo's face faltered for a split second before she swayed and lost consciousness.

Amasawa Reigetsu took the fruit knife from Kushida's hand and returned it to the kitchen, his mind already spinning with devious ideas...

"Ahhh!!"

Kushida Kikyo jolted awake from the bed, seeing the person sitting beside her—

Ayanokoji Kiyoko.

Looking around, there were no signs of a struggle in the room. Although it was still unfamiliar, it somehow gave her a sliver of comfort.

"Do whatever you want with me."

Kushida Kikyo's voice was laced with unconcealable exhaustion. A life-or-death crisis was simply too terrifying for an ordinary high school student, whether it was witnessing a murder, committing one, or being the target.

"You want to kill me, don't you?"

"Ayanokoji Kiyoko" pulled back Kushida Kikyo's blanket and pinned her wrists in the blink of an eye—

Hidden beneath the covers, in Kushida Kikyo's—no, her own right hand, She was clutching a blood-stained fruit knife!!?

A string seemed to snap inside Kushida Kikyo's heart. She let out a shrill, harrowing scream and lunged at Ayanokoji Kiyoko with a savage expression.

"Kill you, kill you... if I kill you, I'll be free, right!! If I kill you, I can escape this nightmare—"

"Perhaps that's true, but can you really do it? In the previous choice, you still swung the blade at your master, didn't you?"

"--!!"

Kushida Kikyo's pupils dilated sharply. In that very instant, the fruit knife was snatched from her hand by Ayanokoji Kiyoko.

The metal blade tapped lightly against her cheek. The icy sensation nearly drove Kushida Kikyo to a mental breakdown.

A warmth began to spread across the bedsheets.

The sensation of incontinence shattered Kushida Kikyo's psyche completely. She began to believe this was a nightmare, that Ayanokoji Kiyoko was an absolute demon!! She was the mastermind behind everything!!!

Right, apologize!! If she apologized to Amasawa Reigetsu, would Ayanokoji Kiyoko let her go?

Before she could think any further, Kushida Kikyo's brain triggered an automatic defense mechanism, and she lost consciousness once again.

I... don't want to experience death ever again.

"Ayanokoji Kiyoko" shifted back into the appearance of Amasawa Reigetsu.

He sighed; he would have to change the sheets.