At Advanced Nurturing High School, every student was issued a personal terminal.
And that terminal always had GPS enabled.
Normally, this would be a feature only accessible to the user and the school.
Only they should be able to check that information.
But this school didn't follow normal rules.
Students who added each other as contacts were allowed to view each other's location.
As long as they exchanged contact info, they could check each other's position at any time.
In a campus that wasn't exactly small, this feature was incredibly useful.
While it couldn't determine vertical position, just tapping the map was usually enough to know where someone was.
When she had nothing to do, Kushida Kikyou's favorite pastime was opening someone's location and silently tracking his movements.
—Ever since that time he sent, "Busy today, handle it yourself," and deliberately turned off both his phone and location.
She had developed this habit.
It wasn't about control.
She just… wanted to see.
Where he went.
What he did.
Who he met.
Even though she hadn't brought it up back then—
She still hadn't quite let it go.
"…"
His location showed he was still in the school building.
…Tch.
What is he doing there at noon instead of going back to the dorm?
Lying on his bed, clutching his blanket, holding a pillow between her legs—
Kushida Kikyou dialed his number.
"Come here."
That was all she said.
...
Sakura's dorm.
Even though she had made up her mind, Sakura Airi got stuck at the step of sending the message.
How should she phrase it?
What should she say?
Should she explain everything over text?
Or go meet her in person?
Would she be disturbing Kushida?
Her thoughts were already a mess.
The more she worried, the hotter her head felt.
Uu…
Biting her lip, her fingers trembling, she typed and deleted several times before finally sending:
[Kushida-san, there's something I'd like to talk about… is that okay?]
The moment she sent it, she threw her phone onto the bed and curled up into a ball.
She had never felt this nervous before…
Rolling back and forth on the bed, she expected a quick reply.
But no vibration came.
Did I accidentally mute it?
After hesitating, she picked up her phone.
The sound was on.
The message was still unread.
Time ticked by in the quiet room.
A faint anxiety crept into her chest.
She didn't know how long it had been—
But just before lunch break ended, a reply finally came.
[Of course! You can tell me anything. Is it about romance? Or something else? Want to talk over the phone? If it's now, lunch break might be too short… maybe after school? Or we can meet and talk instead!]
It was a reply that made her feel at ease.
Afraid of seeming slow to respond, Sakura hurriedly typed back:
[Okay]
Then, feeling it was too blunt, she added:
[Thank you, Kushida-san. It's not about romance… I think it's better to talk in person. Thank you so much]
Soon, another reply came.
[Mm-hm, no need to thank me. That's what I'm here for]
...
Right after school—
Kushida Kikyou came to find Sakura Airi.
"Sakura-san~"
With a bright, lively voice, she stood smiling in front of her.
Sakura flinched, nearly jumping out of her seat.
She fumbled with her bag, her eyes darting nervously behind her glasses.
Nervous. So nervous.
"I-I'll be ready soon…"
Her voice was barely audible, her fingers trembling as she struggled to zip up her bag.
Even though everything was already inside, the zipper kept catching.
"No need to rush."
Kushida stepped forward lightly and naturally took the bag from her hands.
"I'll help."
As their distance closed—
A scent drifted over.
Even mixed with shampoo—
Sakura could still clearly pick out that familiar trace.
…Is this really okay?
A flicker of doubt clashed with her complete trust in Kushida.
But it didn't last.
Trust won.
Of course… why am I even worrying?
This is Kushida-san.
Someone everyone likes.
Someone who gets along with everyone.
Loved by all.
No one has ever spoken badly about her.
No one would.
How could someone like Kushida possibly hurt her?
"What's wrong?"
Noticing her expression, Kushida tilted her head gently.
"You don't look well."
Sakura quickly shook her head.
"N-no, it's nothing!"
"L-let's go… to my dorm…"
She grabbed her bag and hurried out, head lowered.
She felt a little guilty.
Even though Kushida couldn't read minds—
Even though she wouldn't know Sakura had doubted her—
She still felt guilty.
"…"
Walking ahead, clutching her bag strap tightly—
Behind her, Kushida followed, smiling and greeting classmates along the way.
Eyes were on them.
People were watching.
I want to get back quickly…
Her pace quickened.
As long as she kept her head down, she wouldn't feel as anxious.
Soon, she stepped into the elevator.
With only the two of them inside, she finally relaxed a little.
"…Haa…"
The elevator reached her floor.
She tapped her keycard.
Beep.
The door opened.
"P-please, come in…"
She turned, inviting Kushida into her space.
She had thought about tidying up beforehand.
After all, there were quite a few "Shizuku" outfits in the room.
But then she realized—
If she was going to tell Kushida anyway, it didn't matter.
So she opened the door.
Kushida stepped inside.
Sakura followed.
Even though it was her first time visiting—
Kushida didn't act overly curious or intrusive.
That alone made Sakura feel relieved.
But when Kushida casually sat on the bed and patted the space beside her—
Sakura tensed up again.
"…"
"Alright, tell me. What's going on?"
Kushida smiled gently.
"This must be troubling you, right?"
"Mm… mm…"
Nodding, Sakura sat down beside her.
After hesitating—
Instead of starting with the rooftop or her idol identity—
She began by describing Tōru's appearance.
Thinking back—
She suddenly realized…
He was actually… pretty good-looking.
"…Kushida-san, do you… know him?" she asked.
"I do."
Kushida nodded with a smile.
"You mean Asakusa-kun, right?"
As she spoke, she opened her terminal, found a photo, and showed it.
"Is it him? Asakusa Tōru."
On the screen was a close-up of him yawning, looking utterly bored.
"Yes! It's him!"
Sakura nodded quickly.
A hint of interest flickered in Kushida's eyes.
She turned off the screen and put her terminal away, then leaned slightly closer.
"So… do you like him? Did you come to ask me about confessing?"
That wouldn't be unusual.
She often received love consultations.
But… didn't Sakura say it wasn't about romance?
"N-no, it's not like that!"
Sakura shook her head rapidly, stumbling over her words.
"I-it's just… um…"
She couldn't organize her thoughts.
Even though she had planned it beforehand—
Now that she was here, her mind was blank.
"Take your time."
Kushida gently guided her.
"If it's not about liking him, then… did he do something?"
"Mm… mm…"
"Was it… today?"
"Mm."
Two confirmations.
A strange glint passed through Kushida's eyes.
Today?
She had checked Tōru's location between every class.
And Sakura hadn't left the classroom all day.
The only possible time…
Was lunch.
When his location still showed "school building."
…What did he do this time?
She bit her lip slightly, fingers unconsciously gripping the bedsheet before relaxing again.
Then she asked:
"Did he see your secret?"
A baseless guess.
Pure instinct.
But—
It hit.
"Yes! Yes!"
Sakura's eyes lit up.
She knew it—Kushida understood her perfectly!
Coming to her was the right choice!
Grasping her hand, Kushida turned to face her directly.
"If it's okay… can you tell me? Your secret."
Her eyes were sincere.
Her expression trustworthy.
Her presence reassuring.
Faced with that—
Sakura Airi couldn't hold back anymore.
Everything poured out.
Her loneliness.
Her longing.
Her buried feelings.
Her inferiority.
Her dreams.
Her unspeakable thoughts.
Her "two sides."
"…"
Kushida listened quietly.
Her thumb gently rubbed Sakura's palm as she held her hand.
Listening.
Carefully.
In a way—
Sakura Airi wasn't that different from her.
What she sought wasn't just connection.
It was attention.
Admiration.
Recognition.
In short—
Superiority.
But that was something her insecure self could never obtain.
That brilliance was something her timid self could never reach.
So she created a mask.
A persona named "Shizuku."
…Heh.
Aside from not causing major trouble—
Sakura Airi fit the diary's description of a "two-faced person" perfectly.
What an annoyingly accurate statement.
Suppressing a quiet scoff at the diary—and her past self who had taken it to heart—
Kushida refocused on Sakura.
"As expected, Sakura-san, you're actually amazing."
Her praise sounded completely genuine.
"Becoming a gravure idol in middle school… you must be really beautiful."
"If you dressed up and came to class like that, you'd probably shock the whole school."
"N-no, I couldn't…"
Even as she denied it, the praise clearly pleased her.
After all, who wouldn't like being complimented?
Especially by someone like Kushida.
"But…"
Kushida frowned slightly.
"How did Asakusa-kun find out your secret?"
"Did he stumble across your blog? Or recognize you from a magazine?"
That guy really has too much free time…
"I-I don't know…"
Sakura shook her head.
"He said he's my fan… and then…"
"Um… well…"
Biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out:
"—He saw me changing on the rooftop and took a picture!"
Kushida Kikyou: "…?"
…Huh?
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