Playing With a Girl's Innocent Feelings

"Why do you want us to trust each other? What would that do for you?"

Kushida Kikyo let out a mocking laugh. Her voice sounded especially jarring in the open night.

Makoto Nishikado already knew what she was really like.

In front of him, she no longer had to pretend to be a gentle, kind, helpful angel.

And Makoto didn't have to put on an act either, pretending that he wanted to trade sincerity for sincerity.

Given her past, there was no way she could easily trust anyone.

Hearing him say that only disgusted her.

"Does it mean anything? Your mindset is already starting to fall apart."

"Showing up in a place like this in the middle of the night to kick a railing—aren't you afraid someone will see you?"

"Not many people come here, but that doesn't make it completely safe."

The footprints were traces left behind when Kushida Kikyo had been angry. Each one seemed to speak of the pain and frustration bottled up inside her.

He knew Kushida Kikyo was under so much psychological pressure that she was close to losing control.

He had played a part in her pressure rising so rapidly, but even without him, Kushida Kikyo absorbed the negative emotions of the students around her every day. Sooner or later, something would have gone wrong.

"Are you worried that if I'm exposed, you won't be able to threaten me anymore?"

Kushida Kikyo sneered.

If that was his reason, she could understand it—at least a little.

"Which do you think is better: a real angel or a fake one?"

Makoto turned around and asked what seemed like a completely random question.

"The real angel is Ichinose from your class, and the fake one is me?"

Kushida Kikyo smiled sarcastically, a trace of self-mockery in her eyes.

She knew herself well enough to realize that her gentleness was fake.

Though she didn't have much faith in human nature, she still believed Honami Ichinose's kindness was genuine.

Honami Ichinose was like the version of herself she had imagined: perfect, kind, sunny, someone everyone could rely on.

If people had to choose between the two of them, knowing what they were both really like, Kushida Kikyo didn't think anyone would choose her.

"On the surface, you're both equally gentle, equally good at getting along with people, and equally capable of bringing everyone together. You're both angels."

"She really is more genuine than you. She's a truly kind angel."

"But who says a fake has to be worse than the real thing? To me, you have something she doesn't: more effort, and a stronger desire to reach for what you want."

"I like people who have dreams and work hard to achieve them."

"Looking at the results, as long as your negative emotions don't get out of control, you've actually done a better job than her."

Makoto praised her sincerely.

Even Honami Ichinose couldn't keep smiling at someone like Yamauchi Haruki forever. She would try to help him fit in with the group instead.

That was something she couldn't accomplish.

It wasn't that Honami Ichinose lacked the ability. It was that Yamauchi Haruki didn't deserve her effort.

Kushida Kikyo, on the other hand, might actually have been able to persuade Yamauchi Haruki.

A socially perceptive person could get along with people beneath them, but if they could even put up with someone like Yamauchi Haruki, could anyone else do the same?

The fact that she could do that showed just how resilient Kushida Kikyo was.

Makoto also knew that he had set off the bomb inside Kushida Kikyo ahead of time, so he had to clean up the mess.

If he left her to deal with the fallout alone, she would have only one path left.

She would blow up her own life, take the people around her down with her, and then drop out.

Makoto would regret it if Advanced Nurturing lost Kushida Kikyo, that busty treasure.

All in all, there was only one reason Makoto was willing to take such a huge risk.

"Kikyo-chan, you give me plenty of emotional satisfaction."

"I won't let you drop out."

Advanced Nurturing couldn't lose Kushida Kikyo, just like the 3D zone couldn't lose Jerusalem!

"Are you saying you did all this because you wanted me to stay?"

Meeting Makoto's sincere gaze, Kushida Kikyo asked uncertainly.

Makoto had always addressed her affectionately, but it was hard to tell whether anything he said was true.

At first, Kushida Kikyo had assumed he was just teasing her. She hadn't taken him seriously at all.

But now, she wasn't so sure.

According to Makoto, he wanted her to stay, and hoped she would trust him.

In other words, he had been willing to take such a huge risk tonight for her?

At the thought, Kushida Kikyo couldn't help looking away. Her heart felt unsteady too.

Someone like Kanji Ike, who said he liked her but never did anything to prove it, would never go this far.

But Makoto...

No! He had to be up to something!

It was all fake, all of it!

No one could like the real her!

Kushida Kikyo leaned against the railing, her back to Makoto.

She didn't know what expression she was making, but she wasn't going to let him see it.

Or perhaps she just couldn't bring herself to look him in the face anymore.

Seeing her reaction, Makoto realized that what he had said was working.

"I think what you really want is trust, not other people's secrets."

"So, to show you I'm sincere, I want us to build a relationship based on mutual trust."

"Would you be willing to do that, Kikyo-chan?"

Makoto didn't approach Kushida Kikyo rashly.

He couldn't tell what she was feeling right now.

"...Aren't you afraid I'll tell people your secrets?"

Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed, and Kushida Kikyo was sure she looked terrible.

Why was her heart beating so fast?

"Do you think I'd care about that small price? The only thing I can't accept is you dropping out, Kikyo-chan."

"If you left, both this school and my future school life would lose so much color."

Stop it! Who would believe a ridiculous lie like that!

Kushida Kikyo screamed inwardly.

Please, keep going.

Kushida Kikyo pleaded silently.

The two opposing voices wove together into a symphony, but the contradiction wasn't pleasant. It was tormenting her mind.

She couldn't think straight anymore.

"I can't trust you, Makoto. You're not a good person."

Kushida Kikyo regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth, but she still forced herself to hold firm.

"You'll find out whether I'm worth trusting in time."

"I came here tonight to tell you that. If there's nothing else, I'll get going."

Makoto swept away without taking so much as a cloud with him.

His progress was now at seventy-five percent.

Kushida Kikyo wanted to turn around. Even more, she wanted to reach out and stop Makoto from leaving.

But the battle in her mind wasn't over yet, and she was still dazed.

"What was that supposed to be...?"

Makoto's words kept echoing in Kushida Kikyo's mind. Her feelings were a tangled mess: confusion, gratitude, suspicion, and a hint of indescribable panic.

It took a full five minutes for Kushida Kikyo to come back to herself.

By then, Makoto had long since vanished into the night.

Kushida Kikyo touched her still-flushed cheek and couldn't help murmuring reproachfully,

"You heartless bastard, playing with a girl's innocent feelings!"