"This... Hina-Nee, I don't know how. You should go find someone else."
Hearing Tachibana Hina's request, Yūto Shō first widened his eyes like a startled shonen protagonist catching a confession out of nowhere, then politely declined with a troubled expression.
Of course, Yūto Shō wasn't truly turning Tachibana Hina down; he was just staying in character. In her eyes, he was nothing more than a simple student, and that innocent persona slotted perfectly into Route One.
As Yūto Shō spoke, his gaze flickered between the two options laid out before him, and he locked in on route one.
Seeing Yūto Shō refuse her request, Tachibana Hina felt even more at ease and said gently, "Shō-Kun, we're just acting, none of it's real. If you don't help me, Natsuo Fuji will force me to seduce his boss, even his friends. He already hinted as much before. He only switched targets the moment you showed up."
After laying bare her sorrow, Tachibana Hina's eyes reddened slightly, and she looked at Yūto Shō with the kind of fragile expression that could disarm a saint. Seeing it, Yūto Shō couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for her, but he couldn't cave so quickly.
"But I already have someone I like."
Yūto Shō pretended to be embarrassed as he spoke. His student status made the performance land cleanly, dropping Tachibana Hina's guard against him another notch.
Tachibana Hina smiled. "So that's what you're worried about, Shō-Kun. I can tell you really like that girl."
Faced with this borderline ambiguous request from a knockout beauty, Yūto Shō could still think of the girl he liked. Tachibana Hina couldn't help warming to him even more, convinced he was a good kid and that working with him meant her safety was actually guaranteed.
Yūto Shō nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, I really like her. If she finds out about you and me, Hina-Nee... she'll get angry, probably won't even speak to me again."
Tachibana Hina smiled at him, then let out a quiet sigh. "Haah, I'm suddenly a little jealous of that girl. Shō-Kun, you care about her so much—not like me. My husband is a total cuck, always wanting to hand me off to someone else to play with."
When she reached the bitter part, a shadow of worry settled over Tachibana Hina's face.
Yūto Shō looked embarrassed. "I'm really willing to help Hina-Nee, but I'm scared the girl I like will find out about it..."
Seeing his troubled expression, Tachibana Hina thought to herself that he really was a sweet kid. Even though she didn't want to corner Yūto Shō, at this point she had no choice but to coax him into cooperating.
Tachibana Hina thought it over for a beat and asked, "Shō-Kun, what if we kept it a secret from the girl you've got a crush on? Would you be willing to help me then?"
Yūto Shō hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Tachibana Hina said earnestly, "Then I promise you, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone, and it won't get in the way of your girlfriend. I'll just need you to act with me in front of Natsuo Fuji now and then. Can you agree to that?"
Yūto Shō hesitated.
Tachibana Hina's eyes slowly grew glassy, and she said pitifully, "Shō-Kun, if you don't help me, I'll have no choice but to be passed off to someone else by that creep Natsuo Fuji. Shō-Kun, can you really stand by and watch your sister fall that low?"
Yūto Shō's chest tightened. Even though he was only playing a role, Tachibana Hina's grieving expression tugged at something genuine in him. He decided it was about time, gritted his teeth, and said, "Hina-Nee, stop. I'll help you. Natsuo-San really is a piece of garbage!"
Tachibana Hina was thrilled; all her painstaking effort to play the wounded damsel for a student had finally paid off, and Yūto Shō was on board.
At the same time, a small knot of guilt twisted inside her. Deceiving such an innocent kid was, honestly, kind of awful. But what choice did she have? Only by teaming up with Yūto Shō could she pull the wool over that pervert Natsuo Fuji's eyes.
Tachibana Hina looked at Yūto Shō with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Shō-Kun. Don't worry, I promise nothing about this will spill over onto you. Oh, and weren't you saying you want to go after your crush? If there's anything you don't get, feel free to ask me. I'm a woman, so I probably understand how girls think better than anyone."
"Really? Thank you, Hina-Nee!" Yūto Shō's face lit up like a kid who just pulled an SSR, then he asked, "By the way, Hina-Nee, how should we actually pull this off? Since Natsuo-San pushed you into this, he's definitely going to check up on you when you get back. If he figures out we're acting, won't that put you in real danger, Hina-Nee?"
As he spoke, Yūto Shō let a worried look settle across his face.
Tachibana Hina's heart warmed, and she nodded. "What you said is a real problem. We absolutely can't let Natsuo Fuji catch on that we're acting. Let me think this through..."
Tachibana Hina mulled it over. "Since we've only just made contact today, Natsuo Fuji won't push anything on me yet. Building trust takes time, after all. But I came here with a mission this time, and what Natsuo Fuji wants is for me to... seduce you."
For some reason, a flicker of shyness ran through her, but she swallowed it down and asked Yūto Shō, "Shō-Kun, if I go back and say I failed to seduce you, do you think Natsuo Fuji will buy it?"
Yūto Shō blinked and said uncertainly, "Hmm, I probably wouldn't believe it."
"Why?" Tachibana Hina asked.
Yūto Shō blushed and said awkwardly, "Because Hina-Nee is so beautiful and your figure is, like, ridiculous, and I'm just a teenager. Natsuo-San isn't going to believe I had that kind of self-control. He'll just think you didn't seduce me hard enough."
Tachibana Hina was caught off guard for a beat, then her face flushed crimson. She felt a flash of embarrassment, but reminded herself she was the adult here, nodded composedly, and said, "You're right. Natsuo Fuji is very likely going to think exactly that."
Yūto Shō looked at her with concern. "Then what should we do, Hina-Nee?"
Tachibana Hina's cheeks burned. She hesitated a moment before whispering, "Shō-Kun, you'll have to find a way to leave some marks on me."
Yūto Shō feigned ignorance. "What kind of marks?"
Tachibana Hina grew even more flustered and stammered, "You know... marks on my neck. Strawberry prints, that kind of thing."
"Strawberry mark?" Yūto Shō froze, staring at her for a long second before suddenly snapping back like he'd been splashed with cold water. He hurriedly stepped back a few paces and waved his hands frantically. "That won't work! I've never even kissed a girl before, how am I supposed to kiss Hina-Nee? Didn't we say this was all just acting? Why would kissing have to be part of it?"
Tachibana Hina felt awkward and quietly desperate, but the person across from her was just a simple, good-natured student. He'd never lay a finger on her without her say-so. If she didn't take the initiative herself, she'd be walking out of here unmarked, and the whole plan would fall apart.
So Tachibana Hina steadied her gaze and said seriously, "Shō-Kun, what are you even thinking? Kissing is just part of acting. Haven't you seen kiss scenes on TV? And if I don't go through with it, your sister's going to be in serious trouble when she gets back."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened all over again, like she was a single blink from spilling tears.
Yūto Shō stared at her blankly, hesitated for a beat, then sighed. "Hina-Nee, don't be sad. I'll do it."
Tachibana Hina secretly grinned to herself, thinking students really were easy to wrap around her finger.