At that moment, there was no one outside the rooftop door of the school building.
Kushida Kikyo was venting her frustration on the railing at the top of the stairwell.
She had done this before. Usually, there were no students in the school building at this time of night. Although the door to the rooftop was locked, the area outside it was still a good place to let off steam.
"That damned bastard! He pisses me off! That day, I thought I'd easily found a way to get close to Horikita Suzune! Who knew that guy would actually forget what our deal was!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Three kicks rang out against the railing.
"Damn it, drop dead! He's just a bitch like Horikita! A bitch, a bitch!"
"If I didn't have to hide my personality, I'd never smile at a disgusting guy like Natsukawa! He was completely bewitched by me that day in the Gymnasium, yet now he's hanging around the popular Ichinose Honami!"
"Damn it, that lecherous, lousy bastard!"
"And Horikita, too, acting so high and mighty. Who does she think she is? That bitch!"
"And those two disgusting girls just now, going on about boring gossip! I even had to pretend to be nice while dealing with them!"
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! What the hell is all this!"
Only after another two kicks did Kushida Kikyo's body stop trembling.
Kushida Kikyo folded her arms and thought, Sure enough, this really is the only way I can relax!
On the surface, Kushida Kikyo had resolved to become everyone's friend, so she had no choice but to disguise herself, playing the part of someone gentle and friendly toward everyone. This brought her worries and stress she had no outlet for.
In reality, she enjoyed the sense of vanity that came from learning other people's secrets and being supported and adored. Although being exposed in middle school had caused a huge mess, she had still chosen to start over. She liked this feeling.
Since she could not come first in either academics or sports, she could only choose this method to gain that sense of vanity from being admired and adored by others.
Kushida Kikyo clenched her fists and muttered to herself:
"That damned Horikita Suzune actually went to the same middle school as me! I absolutely can't let what happened back then come to light. I like things the way they are now! Just you wait! I'll make sure you get expelled!"
"As long as I can get close to you, I'll definitely find something to hold over you!"
Just then, a noise came from a short distance behind her.
In that silent space, even a pin dropping would have been audible!
Have I been exposed? No!! Which class is that student from?
Why would anyone come here at this hour!
Kushida Kikyo began to feel a twinge of regret. If she had known, she would have come a little later...
Then Kushida Kikyo's expression turned vicious, and she glared in that direction as she shouted:
"Who's there!?"
Natsukawa did not intend to keep hiding either. His figure slowly emerged, with just the right trace of surprise as he responded in an astonished tone:
"K-Kushida?"
Has the stressed-out girl started?
Natsukawa had come here intending to catch her anyway. As it turned out, his timing was perfect, saving him some friendship points he would have spent exchanging for information from the system.
Ding! Affection -30
Kushida Kikyo's expression shifted uncertainly...
She was a little surprised that it was actually someone she knew. Perhaps there was some way to cover up her behavior.
Why did it have to be that guy!
She had been disgusted with him just moments ago, only for him to stumble upon her secret.
She absolutely could not let anyone else discover her secret. She had already steeled herself to do what was necessary!
Since she had been discovered, there was no point hiding anymore, but she absolutely had to get something to hold over him and threaten him with!
Otherwise, she would not be able to keep her secret.
Kushida Kikyo walked toward Natsukawa step by step in anger and asked:
"Did you see everything?"
Kushida already had a simple, direct plan. She intended to catch him off guard!
Natsukawa also noticed that although Kushida's tone was accusatory, her footsteps never paused. She stopped half a meter in front of him, glaring fiercely at him.
Hmm? Is she going to use that trick from the original on me?
Natsukawa played along, pretending to force himself to stay calm as he smiled and answered hesitantly:
"I-I saw a little."
A triumphant look crossed Kushida Kikyo's face. She intended to launch her surprise attack precisely when Natsukawa was distracted by his hesitant answer.
As long as she pressed his hand against her body, she could use the fingerprints he left on her clothes as leverage to threaten him! She could even get him expelled!
Kushida Kikyo quickly grabbed Natsukawa's right hand and pulled it toward her chest.
Unfortunately, when it was twenty centimeters away from her, she could no longer budge his hand.
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
Hearing Natsukawa's puzzled question, Kushida Kikyo flushed slightly. She had not expected her plan to fail.
Under those circumstances, an ordinary person would not have been able to react at all. Besides, with his hand already pulled into the air, its momentum should have made stopping impossible.
Kushida asked viciously:
"Have you practiced martial arts?"
Natsukawa smiled awkwardly and said:
"Only a little."
With that plan having failed, Kushida Kikyo let go of his hand and simply changed tactics. She snorted in disgust before threatening him fiercely:
"Hmph! About what just happened, Natsukawa, no matter how much you saw, you'd better not tell anyone!"
Kushida Kikyo was merely giving it a try. After all, she had noticed that Natsukawa had seemed well-behaved and rather stiff from the outset.
To win Kushida over, he first had to get her to pay attention to him, such as by discovering the secret of her other side this time.
Then he would feign weakness to reassure her and slowly win her over through their future interactions...
So Natsukawa pretended to answer in a hurried panic:
"O-of course. I absolutely won't tell anyone anything about you, Kushida."
A trace of surprise flashed through Kushida Kikyo's eyes. She had not expected him to be so easy to control.
Her earlier judgment had been right after all. This guy was just a lousy lecher who could not refuse a cute girl's requests. Perhaps she could do something...
Kushida Kikyo said coldly:
"You'd better keep your word!"
Natsukawa kept acting, scratching his head and pretending to smile tentatively as he said:
"Um, well, Kushida. I didn't expect gentle little Kushida to have this other side that lets off steam like this."
"B-but I think everyone has a different side to them. So you don't have to worry about it, Kushida!"
Kushida replied coldly:
"Hmph! What do you even know about me? Don't go making comments on your own!"
Kushida Kikyo thought again:
Is he trying to comfort me?
Judging by that nervous, flustered look in his eyes, could he be another guy who admires me?
Idiot!
He happened to discover my secret, so he could have tried demanding that I do something... Of course, there's no way I'd agree.
Still, I could make use of this idiot and have him gather information about Horikita for me.
Natsukawa replied awkwardly:
"All right, Kushida, I'll stop talking. But don't worry, I definitely won't tell anyone what I saw today! No matter what you're like, Kushida, you'll always be cute little Kushida to me!"
Kushida Kikyo watched him give his assurance in that firm tone.
Her eyes shifted, and her tone softened as she put on a gentle smile and said:
"All right! I believe you, Natsukawa."
"There are just some things in my studies that I can't figure out, so I came here to relieve a little stress."
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