Kushida Kikyo, Resurrected in Grand Style!

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, Class 1-D.

Today was the first day Kushida Kikyo returned to school after her leave of absence.

The classroom of Class D was filled with its characteristic noise. Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath to steady her emotions, then stepped into the room.

"Kikyo-chan!"

"You're finally here! Are you feeling better?"

"We heard you were out for several days; everyone was so worried about you."

Almost instantly, the students who had been chatting among themselves were drawn to her like iron filings to a magnet. Countless concerned gazes focused on Kushida Kikyo.

Kushida Kikyo's heart rate accelerated involuntarily. Was her behavior looking strange? Was her makeup off today? Such a bizarre feeling...

It felt as if she had returned to the day she first chose to change her image. Why did she feel so out of place? She should have been used to these things by now.

And even though she was surrounded, watched, and adored by everyone, she could no longer feel a sense of happiness. Why on earth was that?

Kushida Kikyo felt a strange sensation in her body.

Ah... so that was it. The current her no longer needed the adoration of the masses. She had found the reason why no matter how much they praised or loved her, she felt nothing—

Kushida Kikyo looked at the documents she held tightly in her arms. They still retained the scent of her master, a scent only she could perceive. ♡

That's right, the little angel everyone knew in the past was already dead. Everything she did now, the way she treated these bottom-feeders, was only because of her master's orders...

Be grateful. ♡

In the eyes of the other students in Class D, they could not detect the subtle shift in Kushida Kikyo's emotions.

Kushida Kikyo stood in the center of the crowd, clutching a thick stack of documents with an air of slight nervousness, her face wearing that signature, impeccable, gentle smile.

"I'm sorry for making everyone worry... It really wasn't anything serious, just a bit of a bad cold. I didn't want to pass it on to anyone, so I took a few days off. I'm completely fine now!"

Her voice was light and bright, carrying a soothing quality that put people at ease, as if nothing had happened at all.

However, only she knew that beneath that perfect disguise, her soul was trembling with a mix of fear and exhilaration.

Master is so mean... My soul has already been broken by you... ♡

"To apologize, and to thank everyone for your concern..."

Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the frantic, flashing images in her mind, and handed the documents in her arms to Hirata Yosuke, who stood at the front.

"I went to some upperclassmen and exchanged points for these past midterm exam papers and their answer keys. I don't know if the questions will change this year, but I hope this helps everyone get through the hurdle!"

"Wow! Kikyo, you're so thoughtful!"

"It's truly a blessing for Class D to have Kikyo-chan!"

Praises rose one after another, and Hirata Yosuke wore a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Kikyo. With these, everyone will be much more confident about passing the exams."

Watching the worshipful and grateful gazes of the students around her, the smile on Kushida Kikyo's face grew even more radiant, yet her eyes were hollow and cold. Within that void, an excitement from the depths of her soul burned out of nowhere.

Look, this is my value. As long as I play the role of this gentle idol and receive everyone's love... then Master will bestow his punishment upon me—

"Kikyo-chan must have done this because of me. It's definitely that kind of trope where she bought something for the whole class just because she wanted to buy something for me!"

Inopportunely, these pathetic words came from the direction of the Black Room Trio, interrupting Kushida Kikyo's fantasy.

"Ugh..."

Kushida Kikyo barely managed to suppress her physical nausea. She couldn't help but wonder how she had tolerated the fantasies of these maggot-like, disgusting boys before. But she still forced herself to suppress her physical reaction and put on a pitiful expression.

"Yamauchi-kun... could you please take that back? I just wanted to help everyone in Class D... saying things like that makes me seem so selfish. TT"

Kushida Kikyo's voice was laced with tears. Her eyes were slightly red, and her pitiful appearance, combined with the fragility of someone just recovering from a serious illness, made every boy present feel their heart race. Immediately after, the classroom erupted in accusations against Yamauchi.

"Hey, Yamauchi, you've gone too far!"

Ike Kanji, the second brother of the Black Room Trio, was the first to jump out. Although he was usually part of the iron triangle with Yamauchi and Sudo, in the face of Kushida's tears, brotherhood was clearly not worth mentioning.

"Kikyo-chan worked so hard to get these past papers for the class, and not only are you not grateful, but you say such disgusting things? You're a total jerk!"

"Exactly, Yamauchi, you're really pathetic."

"I never thought you were this kind of person. It's one thing to brag, but now you're even slandering Kushida-chan's good intentions."

Several other boys who had been watching the show chimed in, their eyes filled with disdain for Yamauchi. In reality, except for a few, most of the boys just wanted to score points in front of Kushida Kikyo. At this moment, Yamauchi had become an easy target for them to gain favor.

"Y-you guys!! Aren't we good brothers?!"

Yamauchi couldn't believe that the firm bond between men could be dismantled by a woman's words, and he looked at his "good brothers" in disbelief.

The reaction from the girls was even more intense. Karuizawa Kei frowned, making no effort to hide the disgust on her face, and snorted coldly.

"Huh? Kikyo-chan is clearly sacrificing herself for the class. You otaku who only thinks about such perverted things, stop being so self-absorbed. It's nauseating to look at."

The girls around her nodded in succession, and the whispering spread toward Yamauchi like a tide.

"Seriously, Yamauchi is so gross..."

"I always thought his eyes were weird, but I didn't think he was this sleazy."

"Let's stay away from him. I feel like it's contagious."

Seeing the other girls in the class casting looks of disgust his way, Yamauchi Haruki felt a secret thrill while stammering to defend himself.

"I... I didn't mean it like that..."

But his voice was drowned out by the chorus of accusations from the crowd. Yamauchi Haruki could only lower his head in embarrassment, feeling as if he had been stripped naked and thrown onto the street; shame and anger intertwined, making him wish he could crawl into a hole in the ground.

Damn little Kikyo... If I get the chance, I'll definitely break you! Make you call me Master!!

Amasawa Reigetsu: Sorry about that, your dark room was a step too slow this time~

Watching Yamauchi being besieged by the crowd, Kushida Kikyo curled her lips into an imperceptible sneer, then quickly replaced it with a look of grievance and said softly:

"It's okay... everyone, please don't blame Yamauchi-kun. Maybe he really was just joking..."

This remark only added fuel to the fire, pushing the Class D students' disgust toward Yamauchi to its peak. In their eyes, the kinder and more magnanimous Kushida appeared, the more despicable and wretched Yamauchi seemed.

There were two people in the class who did not participate in the massive denunciation of Yamauchi Haruki—

Ayanokoji Kiyoko, and Horikita Suzune.

Seeing the emotionless pupils projected by Ayanokoji Kiyoko, Kushida Kikyo's body began to tremble uncontrollably—

These were the eyes of a devil, ones she would never be able to forget...

"Kikyo-chan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You look like you've been shivering..."

Hirata Yosuke was the first to notice that something was off with Kushida Kikyo and hurried over to show his concern.

"I'm fine~ Um... I'll head back to my seat now."

Forcing herself not to look at the silent devil, Kushida Kikyo dismissed the crowd, clutched the remaining documents, and turned to walk toward her seat.