Next Target, 400PS!
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Unsurprisingly, Kai ended up riding to school in Eriri's family car.
"..." When they got to the school gates, lots of people watched as Kai stepped out right after her. Whispers started up right away. Even without listening in, it was clear they weren't saying anything good. Kai's reputation as the school's 'playboy' was spreading fast.
Most of it stemmed from jealousy of the male students. The school had only so many top-tier beauties. Why did this guy get to surround himself with them? No matter how they looked at it, it just wasn't fair.
"Looks like Eriri's pristine reputation is about to take a hit," Kai teased, tilting his head back to look at her. He didn't care about the stares in the slightest.
"Hmph!!" As soon as they got to school, Eriri slipped back into her usual haughty heiress act.
"I don't care about that at all," she said, pretending not to care. "If it bothers you, go explain it yourself. I really don't care what they say!"
With that, she sped up and stormed off.
She rushed off mostly because she was scared Kai would see her smiling. In reality, during the ride over, Kai had offered to get dropped off early so they could walk in separately. Eriri refused. She said there was no need. If they had nothing to hide, why care what others thought?
But the truth was, Eriri planned it all. She wanted people to gossip about her and Kai. If the rumors got big enough, maybe she could use them to make things official with him.
'Hehehe~' Thinking about it made Eriri let out a small giggle. She thought she was a genius!
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What Eriri didn't know was that shortly after she scurried away, Yukino Yukinoshita arrived.
As the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, Yukino also had a luxury car drop her off every morning. She got there just in time to see Kai get out of Eriri's car. She waited until Eriri left before walking over, her eyes showing a mix of emotions.
"You and Sawamura-san...?" Yukino trailed off.
"What, afraid of hearing an answer you don't like?" Kai tilted his head, flashing a playful smirk at her hesitation.
"..." Yukino didn't flinch. She stared right back at him.
While she possessed a bit of a tsundere streak herself, it was nowhere near Eriri's terminal level. Despite feeling slightly self-conscious under Kai's gaze, Yukino met his eyes without backing down, silently waiting for his answer.
'As expected of Yukino...'
"Well, Eriri's family ran into a Cursed Spirit, so I went over to handle it," Kai explained. "Though it is true that Eriri and I are on pretty good terms right now!"
"I see!" Hearing the words 'Cursed Spirit' visibly relaxed Yukino.
As for the second half of his sentence, her brain automatically filtered it out. On good terms? They were just friends. What did it matter how well they got along?
"Oh, right," Yukino murmured as they walked into the main building together, suddenly remembering something. "My family is hosting a dinner soon. Do you want to come?"
"Hmm??" Kai shot her a surprised look.
Yukino kept walking, pretending not to notice his look. She acted like inviting him was no big deal.
"You said it's a family dinner. Is it really appropriate for me to go?" Kai asked.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it. It's just a simple meal. We're allowed to bring friends," Yukino replied.
They called it a family dinner, but it was really just a monthly meeting for the main Yukinoshita family members. The real reason was to maintain the family's power structure. Fumino Yukinoshita started the tradition.
Yukino hated how tense those dinners felt, but she knew she couldn't go against her mother. Other people brought friends sometimes, so bringing one herself shouldn't be a problem.
"Sure!" Kai agreed instantly. Since Yukino had already put the offer on the table, turning her down now would be bad form.
"Good." A faint smile tugged at the corner of Yukino's lips.
Afraid he might see her smile, she quickly put on her usual blank face. "I'll have a driver pick you up when it's time."
"Sounds good!" Kai nodded. It was just dinner; he didn't stress over it.
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They soon got to their classrooms and went their separate ways, since they were in different homerooms.
"Hayama and the guys still aren't here today," Kai noted as he walked into class and took his seat next to Yui Yuigahama.
"Kai-kun!" Yui's face lit up with a bright smile the moment she saw him.
"Who knows what's up with them!" Yumiko Miura chimed in, smoothly dragging her chair over to sit on Kai's other side.
She leaned in and whispered, "I heard you rode to school with that snobby heiress, Eriri Sawamura. What's going on between you two?" She raised an eyebrow as she asked.
"If you do anything to hurt Yui, I won't let you get away with it!" Yumiko warned.
'You are literally the last person qualified to say that,' Kai thought.
Still, Yumiko looked at him with suspicion. Was he really sneaking around with other girls? 'Seriously, you have a gorgeous girl like me right here, and you're going out with others? Are you looking down on me?'
Yui couldn't help but look over too. But because she trusted Kai, she didn't jump to any jealous conclusions.
Also, Yui was used to Yumiko sitting so close to Kai. Over time, it just felt normal. She figured they were all just close friends, so there was nothing strange about it.
"Don't overthink it. Eriri's family just had a run-in with a Cursed Spirit, so I went to bail them out," Kai explained. Both Yumiko and Yui knew he was a Jujutsu Sorcerer, so there was no need to hide it.
"Were you in any danger?" Yui immediately asked, her concern shifting entirely to his safety.
"Relax. Don't you know how strong I am by now?" Kai said with a smile, reaching over to ruffle her hair to calm her down.
"Tsk," Compared to Yui, Yumiko was far more blunt. Clicking her tongue, she fired a shot across the bow. "You're already calling her 'Eriri' by her first name! And you claim you two aren't close!"
"Hmm?" Kai raised an eyebrow, turning his head to shoot Yumiko a half-smile. "You're getting pretty cheeky, aren't you?"
Without missing a beat, he reached out and pinched her cheek, pulling on it.
"Ouch! Ow, ow, let go!" Yumiko yelped, slapping at his hand.
"Let's see if you dare run your mouth again!" Kai laughed.
Watching them argue made Yui laugh. Seeing her best friend and her boyfriend get along so well made her happy. To Yui, this kind of playful roughhousing was normal between friends. There was nothing strange about it.
Hina Ebina: "..."
Sitting behind them, Hina felt awkward and left out. Before Kai arrived, the three girls were chatting happily. But as soon as he walked in, Yumiko and Yui focused only on him, leaving Hina feeling invisible.
She might usually be quiet and in the background, but that didn't mean she wanted to be left out. If she didn't care about fitting in, she wouldn't have joined the popular clique in the first place.
But what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just start chasing after Kai like Yui and Yumiko were doing.
Sure, Kai was good-looking and had a bright, charming personality, but Hina had no romantic experience at all. She had no idea how to deal with something like this.
'Maybe... I should ask Yumiko for advice when I get the chance.' After all, strictly speaking, Yumiko was a latecomer to this dynamic too.
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