Her entire being was dazed and disoriented, not to mention her body twitched as if in spasms, covered in sweat, and even her cheeks were as red as the setting sun.
"...I'm... I'm going to die..." Shiina Chizuru felt deeply that she was about to lose her life, just as she heard approaching footsteps.
Shiina Chizuru knew who it was, but she didn't even have the strength left to confront him.
"Question! As a famous monk in Japan, what era did Kūkai belong to?" Hayato suddenly shouted: "A. Taishō period, B. Nara period, C. Heian period, D. Call a friend. Ten seconds limit!"
Shiina Chizuru's head moved slightly.
"Thinking? Thinking counts as time too, you know." Hayato said.
"...A?" Shiina Chizuru, lying on the ground, didn't know why this guy was asking such a question, but she still gave an answer based on instinct.
What would happen if she answered correctly? Shiina Chizuru's heart pounded violently.
"Oh, not bad. I'll reward you with a drink." Hayato said, smiling narrowly.
Shiina Chizuru struggled to look up, but due to extreme exhaustion, she couldn't raise her gaze to Hayato's face; the limit of her vision was his crotch.
Drink, a drink? Is what must come, finally coming?
Shiina Chizuru swallowed, and the feeling of thirst and dryness in her throat intensified immediately.
But then, a sports drink bottle was pressed against her fiery hot cheek. The sudden coolness made the feverish Shiina Chizuru shiver.
Like a startled kitten, she suddenly sat up using strength she didn't know she possessed.
Then Hayato loosened his grip, and the drink slipped.
Shiina Chizuru immediately cupped it with both hands.
He must have bought this bottle of water around the time she was close to collapsing from running.
Shiina Chizuru thought to herself.
She truly didn't know how to deal with this water. Was she supposed to say something high-minded like, "I won't drink charity!"?
Thinking about it was truly laughable, considering the state she was in.
She twisted the cap.
Shiina Chizuru was so exhausted that her hands were trembling, yet she still managed to twist the cap open effortlessly.
Because it was already loose.
Did he loosen it? That was perhaps too thoughtful.
After that thought popped into Shiina Chizuru's head, she tilted back her neck and started chugging the drink.
After several large gulps, she finally resolved the dryness in her throat.
Shiina Chizuru secretly glanced at Hayato.
He was looking down at a book, his slender eyelashes hanging like curtains over his eyelids.
Looking at him like this, he didn't seem like a bad person; he even seemed quite gentle.
"Um..." Shiina Chizuru asked bravely, "Since I agreed to your request, could you please return the bankbook... return this evidence to me..."
Although she still didn't know how to resolve the issue of Teacher Tsukino embezzling public funds, she at least had to retrieve this leverage.
Just as Shiina Chizuru had predicted, the young man before her was truly not as cruel as she had imagined.
His eyes were filled with a kind smile, his face was extremely gentle, and his voice was soft and quiet, as if he were a considerate older brother.
"In your dreams."
...It was just that his words were slightly disappointing.
"..." The joy in Shiina Chizuru's eyebrows vanished instantly.
"Also, you were too careless, Shiina. You just drink the water I give you? I put an aphrodisiac in it." Hayato's smile grew even kinder, even containing a hint of sweetness.
But Shiina Chizuru felt cold all over, despite the July weather.
No, she should say her back was chilling while her body temperature was rising. No wonder he had unscrewed the cap; she had been too careless... "Here's a piece of advice: you still have time to run to the restroom. Otherwise... in another dozen minutes, you might uncontrollably streak naked across the track field." Hayato said.
Shiina Chizuru quickly stood up with a sudden leap.
Fear made her temporarily forget the pain of her aching back and waist. She stared incredulously at the smiling devil before her.
The sweetness that had moistened her throat moments ago was now intensely dry, and her body felt terrifyingly hot.
"...You, you bastard!" Shiina Chizuru couldn't help but curse.
But she could only follow Hayato's advice, limping toward the restroom in the teaching building.
Watching Shiina Chizuru's petite figure struggle forward, Hayato, who was watching her from behind, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
He gently shook his head: "She's really naive."
Believing everything he said... But perhaps the perceived temperature, which kept rising after her workout, prevented her from discerning truth from falsehood immediately.
Hayato walked back to the horizontal bar and picked up his backpack with one hand.
Time to go home~~
Shiina Chizuru rushed toward the teaching building and accidentally bumped into something soft.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine..." Shizunomiya Natsuki replied, stepping aside.
Shiina Chizuru didn't linger and quickly proceeded toward her destination.
Was that Shiina...?
Shizunomiya Natsuki was slightly surprised. Was she doing *that* kind of thing while still wearing her gym clothes?
But after thinking about it for a moment, she dismissed the issue.
Ever since Hayato left the library, she had intended to study properly, but she couldn't seem to calm down.
After reading for a little while, she would glance at the seat next to her.
That spot was long empty, but Shizunomiya Natsuki was particularly concerned about it.
After waiting a little longer, she finally couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and started packing her things.
Perhaps a change of environment would be better. She should just go home.
Maybe she really was overthinking things. Hayato already had Nanao Akane as his girlfriend, and even if he were a playboy, he wouldn't flirt around in Yaso Inaba, his girlfriend's hometown.
Thinking this, Shizunomiya Natsuki's steps became slightly lighter, and her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"Did you hear?" Just as Shizunomiya Natsuki was about to leave, she overheard students who were also preparing to leave school whispering: "Taicun-sensei, the Tamura who teaches second year, got beaten up!"
"Huh? By whom? A teacher?"
"No, apparently it was a student."
"Which student is so bold?"
"I don't know his name, either. The scouts reported back that they only know one distinctive trait about the guy so far."
"What?"
Shizunomiya Natsuki blinked her purple eyes.
She thought, *No way... Tamura's reputation isn't good anyway, so it's understandable if some hoodlum who disliked him beat him up. It might even be Oshika Masaru...* But very quickly, Shizunomiya Natsuki overturned that idea.
"Handsome."
"What?"
"The trait is that he's handsome."
It was Hayato, just as she suspected.
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