Narrator: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka
I remember that night in perfect detail.
The midterm exams were a major success, and because Sudo was failing one moment and passed the next, Yamauchi, Ike, Sudo, and Kushida held a party in my room, inviting Horikita as well.
The party itself was not strange. What followed was.
It was late, and Kushida helped me clean my room after everyone left, but she forgot her phone.
"I guess I will go return it," I said to myself.
As I went after her, I realized she was not heading back to her room.
The girls' dorms are on the upper floors.
So why is the elevator going down?
She left the dorm, heading toward a secluded spot near the ocean.
I followed her, and found her venting about Horikita.
Shikakoi happened to run into the scene, noticing me hiding, and her outburst.
Just then, as Shikakoi tried to hide, Kushida noticed him.
"Who's there?" she asked, her tone laced with venom.
Shikakoi stepped out with his hands raised, as if resigning himself.
"Did you hear?" she asked, closing the distance rapidly.
"Yeah, unfortunately."
"If you tell anyone, I won't forgive you."
At that moment, I saw his expression change. A faint smile appeared.
"And what would you do?" he asked, a quiet challenge in his voice.
Kushida grabbed his hand. In that instant, Shikakoi stepped back, but it was too late. His hand had already been forced against her chest.
Or so it seemed.
"I will tell everyone you assaulted me," she said. "Do not worry. There is evidence."
Souta pushed her away, then pointed to a nearby camera.
"This camera saw everything. How you closed the distance, and how even after I stepped back, you..."
He did not finish.
If he chooses to act, I doubt she would have a way out. Even avoiding expulsion would be nearly impossible.
She stared at him, stunned. Completely outplayed in an instant.
"Well then," Shikakoi said calmly, "Why don't you answer my question?"
He speaks as if she has a choice.
"But if you report it, your school life will be over. No one would believe you over me," Kushida said, her voice steady again, though her fingers trembled slightly.
She is trying to regain control.
"But if I reveal your secret to everyone, what do you have left?"
For a brief moment, the two stood there, neither moving, neither yielding.
Then Shikakoi tilted his head slightly, as if evaluating something trivial.
"What do you want?" she asked. This time, there was no threat in her voice. Only restraint.
"Keeping it bottled up for so long that it turns into this… why go so far for a school life?"
Kushida froze.
That seems random...
Shikakoi continued, his tone lighter now, almost casual.
"Even if you do not reach Class A, your future is secure. Acting, modelling, voice acting… even something more discreet. You have the talent for all of it."
He paused, watching her reaction carefully.
"You are a genius. Don't tell me you didn't know that."
For the first time, Kushida did not respond immediately.
Her expression flickered, just for an instant.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked.
"Let me put it differently. This school is not everything. I am simply trying to recruit talent for the future after graduation. Does that make sense?"
"But we are in different classes…"
"So what?" He asked without hesitation.
"I do not think Ichinose would mind. And whether your class minds or not…"
Kushida understood the rest.
If not for hearing the whole thing, I would have thought Kushida was acting strange. It's as if the tension does not affect him at all.
"I suppose I am overstepping," Shikakoi said after a moment. "Sorry for this."
He turned and began to walk away.
No deal... That's unsettling. Does he intend to use this, or is this enough?
Kushida remained standing there, unmoving, as if the situation had not yet registered fully.
Then, slowly, she turned and walked back toward the dorms.
Her steps were steady. But her pace was slower than before.
She passed by me without noticing.
I could tell that something had changed.
I waited there for ten minutes before heading to her room to return her phone...
x-x-x
(T/N: I had written this scene once, but either it was removed or I forgot to upload this part. I had to rewrite it.)