Chapter 87: Kushida-san! I Won't Lose!
The perfect smile on Kushida Kikyo's face almost cracked; the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly.
"Airi-san, you've misunderstood."
Her voice remained sweet, but her speaking speed quickened by a fraction.
"As I've said, Katsuragi-kun and I are just ordinary classmates."
"But just now... you already said Katsuragi-kun is special."
"'Special' only refers to his personality and behavioral patterns—just like we'd say a certain classmate is especially good at sports or especially quiet. It doesn't have any other meaning, okay?" She tried to use more concrete, neutral examples to explain, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding.
However, Kushida Kikyo didn't notice at all that her speaking speed had increased.
Yet, in Sakura Airi's thought process—which had already been reshaped by dating sim theories and her own anxiety—this explanation was a classic case of "the more you try to hide it, the more it shows."
'A misunderstanding?
Kushida-san said I misunderstood...
But she was so anxious to explain!
And she kept emphasizing "ordinary classmates" and went out of her way to give such irrelevant examples...
Isn't this exactly what the guides say?'
[When the other party is eager to deny something, it's often because they care deep down and are afraid of being seen through.]
Sakura Airi's eyes widened slightly. She looked at Kushida Kikyo's face—which still wore a smile, but in the depths of her eyes, there seemed to be a flicker of panic (or so Sakura imagined).
Airi became even more certain.
A mixture of realization—"So that's how it is"—and a sense of urgency—"My rival is so powerful"—welled up inside her.
After all, Kushida Kikyo was a popular figure at school. Competing against someone like her... the difficulty level was massive.
'But if that's the case, Kushida-san must be having a very hard time too.
After all, she has to get along with so many people.
So is that why Kushida Kikyo has to hide her feelings for Keima-kun?!
If people found out, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble!
In that sense, Kushida-san is working really hard too...'
"I-I understand, Kushida-san."
Sakura Airi nodded. Though her voice was still small, her tone carried a strange hint of "I get you" empathy, even a faint, almost imperceptible sense of resonance—as if they were on the same front line.
"Please rest assured, I won't say anything reckless."
"...?"
Kushida Kikyo looked at Sakura Airi. Those eyes, which were usually so timid, now seemed to sparkle with a light that said I've seen through everything. She nearly lost her breath.
What did she mean, "won't say anything reckless"?
What was there to say?
Just how deep had this misunderstanding gone?!
And the usual Sakura Airi was practically a different person from the one standing here now, wasn't she?
The usual Sakura Airi wouldn't even dare to speak to her much.
Yet at this moment, Sakura Airi was actually talking to her like this...
It was worlds apart from before.
Was it because of Katsuragi Keima?
"No, Airi-san, you really..."
Kushida Kikyo tried to struggle one more time, but the words reached her lips and she forced herself to swallow them back down.
She realized that the more urgently she denied and explained, the more the misunderstanding would likely snowball in front of this Sakura Airi, who was trapped in some strange logic.
Her prideful social skills and rhetoric seemed to have failed for the first time in front of Sakura Airi—who didn't buy her usual act at all and only had her own "dating sim" logic in her head.
This sense of losing control made her extremely frustrated, even more so than when facing that freak Katsuragi Keima.
At least Keima's "weirdness" was straightforward and analyzable, whereas Sakura's was... a complete cognitive error.
It gave her a sense of powerlessness, like punching a ball of cotton.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the irritation in her heart, and readjusted her expression to make her smile look more helpless and indulgent.
'What on earth has happened today?!'
"Airi-san, you're really overthinking it."
She softened her voice, using a slightly coaxing tone.
"Katsuragi-kun and I are really just ordinary friends. It's getting late, let's hurry back to the dorms. We have classes tomorrow."
"Then in your heart, Kushida-san, is Keima-kun a special existence?"
Sakura Airi asked, as if seeking confirmation.
Hearing this question, Kushida Kikyo subconsciously pursed her lips.
This kind of question was indeed difficult for her to deny.
Regardless of the reason, in Kushida Kikyo's heart at this moment, Katsuragi Keima was indeed a special existence—
The only person who knew her true face.
Even Horikita Suzune couldn't possibly know her full background.
What's more...
After she had issued a threat of expulsion, that guy was actually able to comfort her as if nothing had happened.
This feeling was something Kushida Kikyo didn't know how to describe.
To Kushida Kikyo, Katsuragi Keima was indeed a special existence.
However, the current Kushida Kikyo certainly couldn't admit that.
"No, to me, Katsuragi-kun is just like any other classmate, but you are all my good friends!"
A smile appeared on Kushida Kikyo's face.
However, Kushida's answer only served to make Sakura Airi more convinced of her own judgment.
Relying on her keen intuition, Sakura Airi felt the hesitation in Kushida Kikyo's words just now.
"I feel like you're a little restless today, Kushida-san."
"Haha, not at all. I'm clearly the same as usual today, aren't I?"
"Kushida-san, you... didn't press the elevator button."
Sakura Airi finally said what she wanted to say.
Kushida Kikyo was standing closer to the buttons; according to the unspoken rules of modern society, she should have been the one to press it.
But Kushida had been preoccupied and completely forgot about it.
"Oh, oh! Sorry, I forgot!"
Sakura Airi nodded obediently and didn't press further, but in her heart, her judgment was set.
She even began to observe Kushida Kikyo secretly…
'Hmm, Kushida-san really is bothered. She won't even look at me, she's just staring at the elevator numbers... Is she thinking about Keima-kun?'
Meanwhile, Kushida Kikyo stared intently at the jumping floor numbers, having already cursed Katsuragi Keima and this troublesome misunderstanding a thousand times in her mind.
She began to regret the impulse of going to see Katsuragi Keima tonight, and even more so, she regretted letting Sakura Airi see her there.
This seemingly inconspicuous Sakura Airi—who would have thought she'd be such a troublesome "variable"?
In a sense, Kushida Kikyo was indeed thinking about Katsuragi Keima.
With a ding, the elevator reached their floor.
The doors opened, and Kushida Kikyo stepped out first, almost impatiently. Her pace was slightly faster than usual; she just wanted to end this suffocating walk as quickly as possible.
"Kushida-san!"
Sakura Airi called out to her in a small voice from behind.
Kushida's steps paused. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned around, her face once again wearing an impeccable smile.
"Is there something else, Airi-san?"
Sakura Airi walked up to her and looked up. Her face held a strange expression—a mix of cowardice and determination. Her voice was small but clear:
"I... I know you are very good, Kushida-san, and very popular... But, but my feelings for Keima-kun won't change easily! I-I will keep working hard! S-so... let's compete fairly!"
Having said that, as if she had used up all her courage, she gave Kushida Kikyo a deep bow. Then, without waiting for a reaction, she turned quickly and ran toward her dorm, leaving behind a flustered yet determined back.
Kushida Kikyo froze on the spot. The smile on her face solidified completely, then slowly shattered.
'Fair... competition?
With her?
For that freak Katsuragi Keima?!'
Absurd! Ridiculous! Unreasonable!
She could almost not control her expression; she wanted to scream at the empty hallway.
But in the end, she just bit her lower lip hard, her nails digging deep into her palms, using the pain to force herself to calm down.
'Fortunately, no one is around, otherwise it would have been truly disastrous!
Calm down... Kushida Kikyo, calm down! This is just a ridiculous misunderstanding!
It's all Katsuragi Keima's fault! It's all the fault of these incomprehensible people!'
She repeated this like a mantra in her heart, adjusting her breathing and slowly loosening her clenched fists.
The expression on her face returned to calm, and she even put on a faint smile again, as if she found the scene just now amusing—though the smile held no warmth.
She walked toward her dorm, her steps regaining their usual light and elegant grace, as if that blood-pressure-raising conversation had never happened.
However, the moment she closed her dorm door, that perfect mask finally fell off completely.
She leaned her back against the cold door panel and slowly slid down to sit on the floor, burying her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
It wasn't sadness; it was pure, explosive irritation and rage.
'Katsuragi Keima... you just wait!'
For Kushida Kikyo, this night was destined to be a sleepless one.
She didn't know exactly why.
She clearly should hate Katsuragi Keima to the core.
So why...
Why did that person's face keep appearing in her mind?
'Damn it, damn it!'
Kushida Kikyo screamed internally.
She also didn't know that while she was talking to Sakura Airi, there was someone at the corner of the hallway who had heard everything.
Karuizawa Kei leaned behind the cold wall corner, holding her breath.
After being rejected by Katsuragi Keima, Karuizawa Kei had thought in her room for a long time. She wanted to come out for some air and was planning to buy a drink.
As a result, she didn't expect to run into such a scene right after leaving her door, and she certainly didn't expect to accidentally overhear such a...
...ridiculous yet information-heavy conversation.
The light at the elevator was insufficient to illuminate this corner, hiding her perfectly in the shadows.
She clearly heard Sakura Airi's stuttering yet exceptionally firm "fair competition" declaration.
She also saw the moment Kushida Kikyo froze like a stone statue, then quickly covered it up with a perfect smile as she walked away.
It wasn't until the two girls had disappeared at the end of the hallway that Karuizawa Kei slowly exhaled. Without her noticing, a layer of thin sweat had formed on her back.
'Sakura Airi... likes Katsuragi Keima?
And she wants to "compete fairly" with Kushida Kikyo?'
These fragments of information collided and pieced themselves together frantically in her mind.
The Sakura Airi part wasn't too surprising; that introverted girl's recent attention toward Katsuragi Keima had indeed been noticeably abnormal.
But Kushida Kikyo...
Karuizawa Kei's brow furrowed tightly.
The Kushida Kikyo she knew was the sunny, friendly, perfect girl who was kind to everyone, as if she didn't have a single dark cloud over her.
She was the lubricant of the class, the little angel loved by all—a person who loved making friends and had a very wide social circle.
A person like that and the game-obsessed Katsuragi Keima were from completely different worlds, weren't they?
'Kushida Kikyo actually likes Katsuragi Keima...'
This was definitely heavyweight news!
This realization made Karuizawa's heart sink slightly, but then a sense of "of course" followed.
That guy Katsuragi Keima, although he was weird as hell, if you thought about it carefully, he did have an indescribable quality that drew people in to investigate him.
Even she couldn't help but be influenced by those sharp yet somehow logical words of his. For Kushida Kikyo to have a special interest in him... it didn't seem that surprising?
'Sakura Airi likes Katsuragi Keima, and now it looks like Kushida Kikyo also has special feelings for him...
When did that gamer geek become so popular?'
She remembered the words Katsuragi Keima had said to her this afternoon—about not building a sense of security on lies, and about relying on oneself.
At the time, those words had left her distraught, forcing her to face her own weakness.
But now, seeing that even a girl as seemingly perfect as Kushida Kikyo appeared to show an unusual side because of Katsuragi Keima—and might even be caught in a competition with an inconspicuous girl like Sakura Airi...
Wait a minute. Could the reason Katsuragi Keima rejected her have something to do with Kushida Kikyo?
Although Karuizawa Kei still had a certain level of confidence in her own charm—
If she thought about it from another perspective, if she were to compete with a girl of Kushida Kikyo's caliber...
It didn't seem like a 100% guaranteed victory.
At the thought of this, Karuizawa's mind began to run wild with imagination.
"No, why am I thinking about this?!"
-
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Meanwhile, inside the room.
Katsuragi Keima and Elsie looked at the Kushida Kikyo card in their hands and fell into deep thought.
[Name: Kushida Kikyo] [Current Affection: -85%]
"Kami-sama... why did Kushida's affection drop again?" Elsie asked with a puzzled look.
Originally, she, like Hasabe Haruka, had called Kushida Kikyo "Kikyo-chan."
But after learning that the other party had threatened Katsuragi Keima, she switched back to using her surname.
"..."
Katsuragi Keima scratched his head.
"Did something happen between Airi and Kikyo afterward?"
He pulled out Sakura Airi's card.
It was still at 100%.
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