When Sakayanagi Arisu heard these words from Shikime Natsu, and heard him name the specific time on top of that, she felt truly awful all over.
Those violet eyes lost their focus in an instant, her pupils contracting as if in the grip of an earthquake. The exquisite little face, already flushed from her fever, now took on a fresh pallor born of sheer panic.
This Shikime Natsu… how could he possibly know?
In that moment, Sakayanagi Arisu's mind fell into an unprecedented state of chaos.
After all, Shikime Natsu had been doing that sort of thing at the time.
Together with Morishita Ai, Kamuro Masumi, Shiina Hiyori, Sakura Airi… together with that whole group of girls, in that cramped little cabin, going at it until the small hours of the night.
That commotion… just recalling it was enough to make Sakayanagi Arisu's ears start burning all over again.
That kind of sound, the kind that turned faces scarlet and set hearts racing, had filled every corner of that little cabin all through the night.
Back then, Sakayanagi Arisu had curled up in the corner, her back to everyone, a tracksuit draped over her shoulders, trying to use that thin scrap of fabric to shut out those unbearable sounds.
But… it had been utterly useless.
And what was more, the commotion Shikime Natsu and that pack of girlfriends of his had made was, without question, far, far louder than the faint little sounds of her own 0721 that night.
Of that, Sakayanagi Arisu was quite confident.
She had only… she had only… lost control of herself for a moment.
Swept up, for a moment, by that atmosphere.
She had merely done, for a moment, something so utterly unlike her.
That little bit of noise, set against the backdrop of Shikime Natsu's "group activity," was practically negligible.
And yet… the Shikime Natsu before her actually knew about those things she'd done.
Knew that on that night, on that night when everyone had been drowning in that absurd business, she too had… done that sort of thing.
For Sakayanagi Arisu, this could be called a catastrophe of the highest order.
A crisis more grave than any exam, any gambit, any clash she had ever had with Shikime Natsu.
Because… this sort of thing was simply too humiliating.
Sakayanagi Arisu drew a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Within those violet eyes, the light of panic flickered desperately.
Her mind was spinning at full speed, hunting for any excuse that might let her slip free, any reason she might use to bluff her way past this.
And then… Sakayanagi Arisu managed to pull a smile onto her lips.
It was a smile touched with deliberate ease, with feigned indifference, with the reckless hope of talking her way out of it.
"Ara~"
There was a light, airy note of mockery in Sakayanagi Arisu's voice, a tone that made it sound as though she were speaking of some trivial, inconsequential thing.
"Whatever is Shiki-san talking about? I… don't quite follow."
She tilted her head ever so slightly, those violet eyes studying Shikime Natsu, trying to bewilder him with an expression that said you must have made some mistake.
"The last night? Doing what, exactly? I have absolutely no idea what Shiki-san means."
As she spoke, Sakayanagi Arisu gave a little wave of her hand.
"Surely Shiki-san must have misheard something? Or perhaps… misremembered something?"
She laughed, and the sound rang rather thin in the quiet room.
"I didn't do a single thing, you know."
But Shikime Natsu only watched Sakayanagi Arisu quietly with those pale-golden eyes.
And within those eyes there was an unmistakable glint of amusement.
The moment Sakayanagi Arisu caught that teasing glint in Shikime Natsu's gaze, the last sliver of hope inside her shattered completely.
She understood that there was simply no way to bluff past a creature as sharp as Shikime Natsu.
This man… had known from the very start.
From the moment she had spoken those words, perhaps even earlier, from the very moment she had done that thing, this man had already known.
It was only that… he had been waiting all along for her to leap out on her own.
Inwardly, Sakayanagi Arisu was so mortified she could have slapped herself across both cheeks.
Cursed mouth!
Why on earth had she said that just now?
If she hadn't brought it up, Shikime Natsu might never have raised the matter at all.
That parting, a moment ago, had been the best possible outcome.
But now?
Now she was in a fine mess.
She had exposed not only her identity as the "eavesdropper," but her identity as a "participant" as well.
Even if this "participant" had merely been herself, hiding alone in a corner, secretly…
The instant she thought of that thing she'd done, now known to Shikime Natsu, Sakayanagi Arisu felt she could never face anyone again.
After all, not so long ago, she had been someone who would never have done such a thing.
Because of her body.
Because that frail body of hers simply couldn't withstand that sort of exertion.
And because of her proud nature, too.
She, Sakayanagi Arisu, was the genius girl who was forever above it all, forever orchestrating from on high, forever too disdainful to be ruled by mere instinct.
That vulgar, mindless, instinct-driven business…
How could it ever have anything to do with her?
And yet… after her body had recovered, after Shikime Natsu had given her a normal body, on that night on the Deserted Island, swept up in that atmosphere…
She had actually… truly done that sort of thing.
Over and over Sakayanagi Arisu turned it in her mind, trying to find some reasonable explanation for her own conduct.
It must have been Shikime Natsu's influence.
It must have been because she'd been defeated by that man so many times, because cracks had opened in her inner defenses.
It must have been because she'd heard those sounds, and a moment's inner demon had taken hold, leaving her swept along.
Yes, that was it. It hadn't been her true intent.
Only a momentary lapse of control.
Comforting herself with these thoughts, Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her head, those violet eyes fixing on Shikime Natsu, that strained smile hung once more upon her face.
"Shiki-san…"
There was a certain stiffness in Sakayanagi Arisu's voice.
"I really didn't do anything at all. Shiki-san must have misheard."
"Or could it be… that Shiki-san thinks I'm the sort of person who would do something so vulgar?"
Sakayanagi Arisu did her utmost to keep her composure intact, unwilling to let Shikime Natsu spot even the slightest crack.
She straightened her spine and lifted her chin a fraction, as if to say, how could I, Sakayanagi Arisu, possibly do such a thing?
But… no matter how the girl tried to feign it, the expression on her face stayed stiff.
And though those violet eyes struggled to hold their calm, the panic buried deep within them was something she could not conceal no matter what.
Her fingers clutched tightly at the corner of the quilt, and her breathing had grown somewhat ragged.
Watching Sakayanagi Arisu put on this show of forced composure, Shikime Natsu felt the smile at the corner of his mouth deepen a little more.
The teasing light in those pale-golden eyes grew all the more pronounced.
"Sakayanagi-san."
Shikime Natsu spoke unhurriedly, a certain weighted meaning in his tone.
"Just now… I never actually said what sort of thing it was, you know."
He paused, those pale-golden eyes gazing straight at Sakayanagi Arisu, the corners of his mouth curving into an ambiguous half-smile.
"So how is it… that Sakayanagi-san already knew it was a 'vulgar thing'?"
These words fell like a heavy hammer, slamming hard against Sakayanagi Arisu's chest.
Sakayanagi Arisu froze entirely.
Those violet eyes flew wide in an instant, her pupils contracting violently once more.
On that exquisite little face, the calm and composure she had barely managed to maintain crumbled utterly in that moment.
Her lips parted, wanting to say something, wanting to counter Shikime Natsu's words.
But the words caught on her tongue, and she found she could say nothing at all.
Because Shikime Natsu was right. He truly hadn't said what sort of thing it was.
No concrete description, no leading words of any kind.
He hadn't said "that sort of thing," hadn't said "vulgar," hadn't said a single word that might call such an act to mind.
He had only said "done something."
That something could have been rolling over, could have been sighing, could have been staring blankly into space, could have been… any perfectly ordinary act whatsoever.
But her?
She had leapt straight out and said outright, "Could it be that Shiki-san thinks I'm the sort of person who would do something so vulgar?"
Sakayanagi Arisu felt as though her life was already ruined, and her image before Shikime Natsu ruined right along with it.
This Shikime Natsu had never once specified what the thing was, from the very beginning.
He had merely been fishing, casting out an ambiguous piece of bait, and then waiting for her to bite of her own accord.
And her? She was like some foolish fish that had gulped the hook down in one bite—and not only bitten it, but flopped about on the bank several times over, terrified the angler might not realize she'd been caught.
Inwardly, Sakayanagi Arisu was so mortified she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
If she had said nothing at all, only played dumb, or merely asked back with a simple "Whatever does Shiki-san mean," then…
At the very least she wouldn't have exposed herself so completely before Shikime Natsu the way she had now.
But now?
Now she was in a fine mess.
With her own hands she had shoved herself to the very edge of the cliff.
Sakayanagi Arisu felt her mind had gone completely useless.
A head left woozy and muddled by fever, coupled with this string of blows, left her feeling as though her whole body were treading on clouds, floating and unmoored, unable to find her center at all.
She realized that, indeed, Shikime Natsu had never once brought up that sort of thing just now.
Sakayanagi Arisu simply sat there on the bed, those violet eyes settling blankly on Shikime Natsu's ambiguously smiling face.
Those pale-golden eyes, still carrying that teasing light, watched her quietly.
And it was just at that moment that Sakayanagi Arisu's mind seemed to short-circuit, and she recalled the words Morishita Ai had spoken to her not long ago.
"Hesitate, and you'll be defeated."
"If you want to seize the chance, then be forceful about it."
"Otherwise… you'll end up nothing but a loser."
"That's the end of Lady Morishita Ai's advice. I do hope Sakayanagi-san… has a bit of insight to spare."
When Sakayanagi Arisu had heard those words at the time, she'd found them utterly baffling, completely unable to sync up with Morishita Ai's wavelength.
But now… now, looking back on them, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly wondered—could it be that Morishita Ai's words had been… hinting at precisely this?
Hinting that she shouldn't hesitate?
Hinting that she should be forceful?
Hinting that she… shouldn't become a loser?
Could it be that Morishita Ai had known long ago that a moment like this would come?
Could it be that the girl on her own strange wavelength truly possessed some power of foreknowledge?
So Sakayanagi Arisu mused, though she had no time to dig deeper into it.
Because the problem right in front of her was far more urgent than Morishita Ai's baffling words.
Shikime Natsu knew her secret.
Knew that on that night, she had done that sort of thing.
If this man were to let word of it get out…
No—Shikime Natsu surely wasn't that kind of person. At least in Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes, Shikime Natsu was absolutely not the sort to run his mouth.
It was only that… Sakayanagi Arisu had no way to guarantee this Shikime Natsu would truly act as she imagined he would.
After all, it wasn't Shikime Natsu's weakness that had fallen into her hands—it was her own weakness that had fallen into his.
Of course, even if Shikime Natsu did speak of it, probably not many would believe him, would they?
No, that wasn't right. This was Shikime Natsu, a figure who counted among the movers and shakers of the entire school, and Shikime Natsu's image in everyone's eyes could be called all but perfect. If the words came from Shikime Natsu's mouth, they would very likely all believe him.
Even without a shred of evidence, even if she was Sakayanagi Arisu, the daughter of Sakayanagi Narimori, she would have no way to refute it.
If she hadn't done it, that would be fine—but she truly had, and so she'd only seem guilty. Of course, she could flatly deny it, yet the damage would remain all the same.
Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head. Was Shikime Natsu, in her own mind, really such a wicked fellow?
Soon enough Sakayanagi Arisu thought again of how, just moments ago, Shikime Natsu had cooked for her and spooned the food to her—rather a gentle sort of fellow, in fact.
As for the hundred thousand Private Points, in Sakayanagi Arisu's mind, she had simply forgotten all about that matter.
Sakayanagi Arisu calculated at lightning speed, one flicker of light after another crossing those violet eyes.
And then… an idea—one even she found rather bold, rather insane, rather unlike her own style—suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Sakayanagi Arisu clenched her teeth, a flash of resolve crossing those violet eyes.
She steeled herself.
She'd already lost plenty of face today as it was.
Before Shikime Natsu she had no image left to speak of anyway.
Rather than sit here taking blows passively, better to strike first.
Sakayanagi Arisu drew a deep breath, then lifted her head, those violet eyes gazing straight at Shikime Natsu.
"Shiki-sa…"
"Could you lean in a little closer? There's something I'd like to say to Shiki-san."
There was a note of frailty in Sakayanagi Arisu's voice, the kind that made one feel quite tender toward her.
Hearing this request, Shikime Natsu raised his eyebrows a fraction, a flicker of curiosity crossing those pale-golden eyes. What was this Sakayanagi Arisu scheming now?
A moment ago she'd looked as if she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it, and now she was suddenly asking him to lean in?
Still, Shikime Natsu didn't refuse—after all, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't pull off some counter-kill against him. He came quickly to her side and bent slightly at the waist, bringing the two of them level with each other.
Gazing at Shikime Natsu leaning in so close, Sakayanagi Arisu found something stirring in her mind, and that flush spread from her cheeks all the way down to her small earlobes, her fair neck taking on an alluring pink sheen.
In one breath, hesitate and you'll be defeated—throw yourself into it.
Sakayanagi Arisu's mind was a tangled mess as she tilted her head up a little and brought her lips forward.
Then she pressed a light kiss to Shikime Natsu's cheek. The contact didn't last long—no more than a dragonfly skimming the water, really.
But to the girl, it felt as though she'd completely lost her head. She had actually kissed the very thorn in her eye?
It was simply unbelievable.
"Could Shiki-san keep this matter… buried deep in his belly?"
Sakayanagi Arisu forced a smile onto her face, a thin veil of mist welling up in those violet eyes.
____
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