Enjoying today's sunlight, which wasn't too harsh, Hoshinomiya stretched comfortably as she walked out of the beauty salon after a spa session.
"Mmm, Little Sae, don't keep wearing such a long face~"
Staying at home all day wasn't an option. Hoshinomiya, who had been indulging in Katsuragi Ren every day, finally remembered she still had her best friend, Sae Chabashira.
Plus, she had learned from Katsuragi Ren that First Year Class D's class points had been reset to zero again.
In a great mood and taking advantage of the nice weather, Hoshinomiya invited Sae Chabashira, who had nothing to do, to go shopping with her.
"Chie, did you strike it rich?"
Ignoring Hoshinomiya's advice, Sae Chabashira kept her cold expression.
In the past, when they went shopping together, they would pay for their own spa treatments and clothes.
But today, Hoshinomiya waved her hand and paid for everything.
It made Sae Chabashira feel a bit strange.
Although the salary points for each homeroom teacher were based on their class's ranking, Hoshinomiya shouldn't be this free-spending even as the Class A homeroom teacher.
"Mhm, Little Chie just made a tiny bit of money." Hoshinomiya, beaming with joy, pressed her thumb and index finger together, leaving a small gap.
Feeling Hoshinomiya's malice towards her fading, Sae Chabashira sighed: "That's nice."
How could Sae Chabashira not notice Hoshinomiya's usual hostility towards her?
Even though she noticed it, Sae Chabashira didn't distance herself from Hoshinomiya; she just became colder herself.
As a best friend who used to share everything, Sae Chabashira was filled with guilt towards Hoshinomiya.
If I had voted yes back then, would Hoshinomiya have been living like this all along?
Looking at the relaxed and happy Hoshinomiya, Sae Chabashira thought to herself.
Sae Chabashira chose to stay at this school because of her obsession with Class A, which she hadn't reached back then.
Hoshinomiya stayed for the same reason.
But Hoshinomiya's obsession wasn't just about leading her class to Class A, but also about preventing the class led by Sae Chabashira from reaching Class A.
For Hoshinomiya,
How could Sae Chabashira, who personally extinguished her class's chance of reaching Class A, deserve to reach Class A now?
Hoshinomiya wouldn't allow it, no matter the form.
People change.
There are many things that can change a person: experiencing great right and wrong, the departure of loved ones, or...
Love!
"Chie, are you in love?"
Taking a cigarette from her pocket, Sae Chabashira skillfully shook one out and put it in her mouth.
Another cigarette stuck halfway out of the box, and Sae Chabashira offered it to Hoshinomiya.
If Hoshinomiya was an alcoholic, Sae Chabashira was a smoker.
Alcohol and tobacco often go together.
Sae Chabashira would drink with Hoshinomiya, and Hoshinomiya would naturally smoke with Sae Chabashira. This was their tacit understanding.
"Sorry, Little Sae. My boyfriend doesn't let me smoke~"
Pushing the half-exposed cigarette back into the box, Hoshinomiya took a lollipop from her pocket, tore off the wrapper, and put it in her mouth.
A cigarette after the act is better than being a god.
The old Hoshinomiya had actually fantasized about this scene.
But just as she was about to act on this fantasy, it was ruthlessly crushed by Katsuragi Ren's iron hand.
After a session of intimacy, Hoshinomiya had just taken an unopened pack of cigarettes from her clothes scattered on the floor when Katsuragi Ren snatched it and threw it into the trash can.
No kissing after smoking.
That was Katsuragi Ren's warning to her.
Since then, Hoshinomiya, who wasn't heavily addicted to smoking, quit.
Her pocket was now filled with candies she stole from Katsuragi Ren's clothes.
"Love really makes people blind." Surprised to see Hoshinomiya with a lollipop in her mouth, Sae Chabashira took out a lighter and lit her cigarette skillfully.
"Chie, can you now understand why I made that decision back then?"
Seeing Hoshinomiya change so much for her boyfriend, Sae Chabashira thought Hoshinomiya could understand her feelings from back then.
Even the 27-year-old Hoshinomiya was so love-struck, let alone her 18-year-old self.
"I don't understand, I don't comprehend, and Little Sae, I really hate you."
Seeing Sae Chabashira thinking she would empathize with her past self, Hoshinomiya smiled and spoke extremely vicious words.
"First, Little Sae, please don't compare yourself to me. If my current boyfriend were the class leader back then, I would have chosen to withdraw myself so as not to put him in a difficult position."
"If he was truly determined to sacrifice himself for the class, I wouldn't mind leaving with him."
"At least that way, the other classmates would still have hope of graduating."
"And they wouldn't have been devastated like that afterward."
"But what was your final choice, Little Sae?"
"Not letting your boyfriend leave, and not wanting to leave yourself."
"Paranoid and selfish."
Hoshinomiya, whose heart disease had long been cured by Katsuragi Ren, openly reviewed that special exam from back then.
As for what Sae Chabashira thought.
Whether she would still be best friends with her after this conversation.
Hoshinomiya expressed that none of it mattered.
The past could no longer bind the current Hoshinomiya. Without those obsessions, Hoshinomiya had already made her decision.
This was Hoshinomiya's last two and a half years at this school.
After the current batch of students she led graduated, regardless of whether they graduated as Class A, Hoshinomiya would resign from this school.
By then, her man would be in the outside world.
And she would always stay by her man's side.
"Chie, is that how you think of me..."
Exhaling a smoke ring into the sky, Sae Chabashira knew Hoshinomiya held a grudge against her.
But Sae Chabashira didn't expect the grudge to be so deep.
"That's in the past."
"Maybe I should thank the paranoid and selfish Little Sae back then, or I might not have met him."
Hoshinomiya, having let go of her obsession, spoke coldly.
Whether it was luck or tragedy, Hoshinomiya couldn't say.
She only knew,
Katsuragi Ren was her best luck!
Emotions suppressed for many years exploded all at once. Hoshinomiya didn't hide anything and said everything she had wanted to say to Sae Chabashira in the past.
"I've let go now, but what about you, Little Sae?"
"Can you let go? Or..."
"Have you blocked all your escape routes, leaving you to wander in that pitiful obsession?"
Speaking of this, Hoshinomiya looked at Sae Chabashira with a hint of pity in her eyes.
Making such a big decision, risking the collapse of the class just to keep her boyfriend.
Even so, Sae Chabashira and her boyfriend didn't end up together.
Future gone, boyfriend gone, left only with a numb shell determined to reach Class A by any means.
Truly pitiful...
Pitiful and hateful.
Her hand trembling slightly, Sae Chabashira took a deep drag from the half-burnt cigarette.
This drag burned the cigarette to the end.
Without speaking, Sae Chabashira's expression remained unchanged.
"Again, Little Sae chooses to escape."
"Escaping the gazes of the classmates back then, escaping the fact that you dragged the class down, escaping me condemning you."
Seeing Sae Chabashira's attitude, Hoshinomiya was furious.
As a former best friend, Hoshinomiya chose to stay for another reason Sae Chabashira didn't know.
To prevent Sae Chabashira from being completely crushed by self-guilt.
Hoshinomiya stayed; she stayed as a vessel for the many classmates of the past.
Hoshinomiya's occasional malice toward Sae Chabashira would make the guilt-ridden Sae Chabashira feel a little better.
Sae Chabashira needed to atone, and Hoshinomiya was the whip of punishment.
Whenever Sae Chabashira was about to be crushed, Hoshinomiya would give her a lash, so she wouldn't suffocate.
"Chie, you are not me, you wouldn't understand."
Sae Chabashira threw the burnt cigarette into the trash can, attempting to continue escaping.
"Of course I wouldn't understand."
"He is not him."
"And I am not you."
Tearing open a lollipop wrapper, Hoshinomiya grabbed Sae Chabashira's collar with one hand and forced the lollipop into her mouth.
After all, Hoshinomiya and Sae Chabashira used to be best friends who talked about everything.
Now that she had been saved, Hoshinomiya hoped Sae Chabashira could also forgive herself.
-----------------
Currently on Patreon: 320 chapters available.
https://www.patreon.com/cw/LIZBETH1242