Chapter 82: Kushida Kikyo's Truth
After parting with Karuizawa Kei, Katsuragi Keima sent a text message to Elsie.
Right at that moment, he received a text from Shiina Hiyori. The latter invited him to a cafe to read books and play games together. He arrived at the cafe shortly after; Hiyori had already been waiting for a while, engrossed in a book. The sunlight caught her long, silver-white hair, making it seem as though it were shimmering.
Keima took the seat opposite her. Not long after he sat down, a waiter brought a cup of coffee to his side.
"Eh? I haven't ordered yet."
"Keima-kun, I ordered it for you in advance. I didn't want to waste your time." Hiyori spoke with a smile. During their last visit, she had memorized Keima's preferred flavor and calculated the time he might arrive. "I'm sorry for taking the liberty. If Keima-kun doesn't like this flavor..."
"No, I like it. You observed my preferences beforehand; Hiyori, you've officially taken your first step as a gamer!" Keima took a sip. He wasn't fond of sweets, and the taste of this coffee was just right.
"I'm so glad you like it!" A smile bloomed on Hiyori's face.
The two remained in the cafe, playing games and chatting, until evening fell and the sky grew dark.
"It's late, we should head back."
"Mm."
As Keima stood up, his terminal vibrated.
[BUG Demon (Elsie)]: Kami-nii-sama! You were right! I see her! The location is...
[BUG Demon (Elsie)]: (Sent a location share)
"It seems Elsie has something going on; I'm going to go find her," Keima told Hiyori as he tucked away his terminal.
"Okay." Hiyori gently closed her book, a flicker of understanding passing through her pale purple eyes. She nodded without prying and said softly, "Then be careful on your way, Keima-kun." Although she secretly wished to walk home with him, she didn't force it since he had business. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
After parting with Hiyori, Keima followed the GPS instructions, walking quickly through the school grounds, which were somewhat empty in the evening. The sky was pitch black and the streetlights were fully lit, yet it still looked dim.
He soon approached the location—an open-air corridor connecting two teaching buildings. One side was a railing, the other a mottled wall. Usually, aside from students taking shortcuts, few people lingered here. Since school was over, it was even less likely for students to appear.
This was exactly where Elsie had directed him. Before meeting Hiyori, Keima had found Elsie and asked her to help locate a specific person. With her broom, Elsie could fly, making it easy to find her target: Kushida Kikyo.
Emotions need a vent, especially after the events of today. Keima guessed that Kushida's emotions might have reached a peak. So, he had sent Elsie to find her.
Before he even drew close, a suppressed, emotional string of low-voiced curses drifted into his ears. It was a voice completely different from the sweet, pleasant tone she usually employed—filled with resentment and malice.
"...Damn Horikita... acting all noble... why... always that look of looking down on people... such a nuisance! A real nuisance!"
Keima lightened his footsteps, using the pillars and the deepening twilight to hide his frame as he quietly neared the source of the sound. At the end of the corridor near an old railing, a figure stood with her back to him. Her brownish short hair was still striking in the dim light. It was indeed Kushida Kikyo.
But the Kushida at this moment was a completely different person from the sweet, smiling girl everyone knew. Her hands gripped the cold metal railing so tightly her knuckles were white. Her body leaned forward slightly, her shoulders tense. She was facing the dark scenery outside—or rather, an invisible person—hissing through gritted teeth:
"What's so great about being good at studying... acting so self-righteous... being so cold every time... who do you think you are... why do you get to act so superior!" Her voice was no longer carefully refined, but carried a hoarse, blatant malice.
"Kita-kita? Heh... how affectionate, Hasabe... and Karuizawa... actually saying you're easy to get along with? Are you kidding me! What do you guys know! Someone like her... in her bones, she looks down on us!"
"Class unity? Ridiculous... as long as she's here... I'll..."
Her words were somewhat chaotic, but the core object of her resentment was crystal clear: Horikita Suzune. Mixed in was her dissatisfaction with Hasabe Haruka and Karuizawa Kei's comments about Horikita being "easy to get along with," as if that were a denial of the "perfect image" she worked so hard to maintain.
Keima listened quietly, his gaze behind his glasses calmly analyzing the scene. This matched his previous deduction: Kushida harbored deep-seated negative emotions toward Horikita that went far beyond surface-level conflict. The Kushida of this moment had torn off all disguises, revealing a true self twisted by jealousy, resentment, and a certain paranoia.
Normally, anyone seeing this hidden side would likely pretend they hadn't. But Keima didn't intend to turn a blind eye. Kushida's favorability toward him hadn't grown at all; if things continued like this, there would be no progress. He needed to take the initiative.
Just like a boss in a game. Even if the difficulty was high at first and he might face an "instant kill" upon the first encounter, he needed to strike. Knowing the opponent's data was more important than anything. Appearing now would surely cause her favorability toward him to plummet.
But—it didn't matter. Whether positive or negative, as long as the numerical value was changing, it was fine.
[Name: Kushida Kikyo] [Current Favorability: 0%]
Keima glanced down at the card, then began to walk forward, intentionally making his footsteps loud.
"Who is it?!"
Kushida spun around like a startled rabbit. In the dim light, her expression shifted rapidly—from monstrous resentment to extreme terror, and finally to a forced, sweet smile. The entire process took only a second or two, looking exceptionally eerie and pathetic.
"Keima-kun?" After seeing the newcomer was Keima, Kushida's voice suddenly became incredibly gentle. She smiled at him. "Why are you here?"
"I just went to a cafe with Hiyori and happened to pass by. Why are you here, Kikyo?"
"I was just passing by too~" Kushida said with a smile. However, she leaned her body forward slightly. "Did you... hear anything just now?"
Kushida wasn't sure if Keima had heard her words.
"I heard it," Keima said directly.
"What!?"
"I heard you cursing Horikita just now."
In that instant, Kushida's smile vanished, replaced by a twisted, desperate ferocity. Instead of backing away, she took a step forward and looked up. Her eyes, usually full of sweet smiles, were now sharp as knives as she stared at Keima. Her voice was dropped to a whisper, but carried a cold, reckless interrogation:
"So, Keima-kun... you saw everything, didn't you?"
No denial, no pretending it was a harmless misunderstanding—she cut straight to the core.
"Correct." Keima pushed up his glasses expressionlessly. "Since I appeared here, no matter how much I deny it, you wouldn't believe me, right?"
"Indeed..." She pressed closer, nearly touching him, her voice turning icy. "Do you plan to tell? Tell Horikita? Tell everyone that Kushida Kikyo is actually a malicious, two-faced woman who curses her classmates behind their backs?"
Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving, but her eyes were exceptionally cold and began calculating rapidly.
'I can't let him tell! I absolutely cannot! Even the slightest stain could collapse everything I've worked for! Rather than begging... I should proactively create leverage!'
An extreme and effective thought took shape in her mind.
"Keima-kun..." Her voice suddenly softened, but there was no warmth in her eyes; instead, she looked like a hunter setting a trap. "Did you know? Sometimes, to protect oneself, one has to take... special measures."
Before she finished, she lunged. Her target wasn't Keima's vitals, but rather his wrist! Her intention was clear and malicious—grab his hand and force it against the chest of her uniform! As long as there were fingerprints, or even just the appearance of a "grasping" mark, she could scream immediately and accuse him of sexual harassment!
In this time and place, between a boy and a girl, her accusation would be lethal. At that point, no matter what Keima said about her true nature, it would be dismissed as retaliatory slander. The initiative would be entirely in her hands!
This move was fast and sudden, far exceeding the speed of an ordinary girl. Under extreme pressure, Kushida was prepared to use any means necessary, showing cold cruelty and startling decisiveness.
However, as fast as she was, Keima's reaction was faster—or rather, his pattern for predicting and handling such sudden "bad events" had been tempered through countless crisis-ridden Gal Games.
The moment Kushida's fingers were about to touch his skin, Keima's wrist twisted by a hair's breadth. Instead of dodging, he met her move, precisely and firmly grabbing her reaching wrist!
His movement was clean and efficient. The strength was neither too heavy nor too light, but just enough to stop her further movement, holding her hand steadily in mid-air, a dozen centimeters from her chest.
Kushida's pupils shrank. She looked at her captured wrist in disbelief, then snapped her gaze up to Keima.
'My move... was predicted?'
No, wait... 'did this guy want to grab my hand from the beginning?'
The expected panic, anger, or struggle to break free didn't happen. Keima's face remained devoid of significant expression. Behind his glasses, his gaze watched her as calmly as the deep sea. There was no disdain, no anger, not even much surprise. Instead, there was a sense of... insightful understanding.
Then, Keima spoke. His voice was unusually gentle, carrying a weight of understanding that was completely different from his usual trouble-averse, game-snarking image:
"Kikyo, stop.
You don't need to build defenses by hurting yourself and others, and you certainly don't need to create another mistake to cover up your fear of exposure."
His words were like a key, precisely prying open the heart Kushida had clamped shut in extreme defense.
"I see your stress. I see the exhaustion of having to wear a perfect mask every day, and I see your anxiety and... jealousy toward an outlier like Horikita-san, who cannot be assimilated."
He didn't shy away from that word, but used a calm, factual tone that curiously neutralized its negative connotation. "You're afraid your real self won't be accepted. You're afraid a single imperfection will ruin everything you've carefully maintained. So, when you felt Horikita Suzune's existence might threaten your perfect image or reflect the parts of your heart you don't want to face, your negative emotions spiraled out of control."
"What on earth are you talking about?!" Kushida had no idea what Keima was saying.
While she was confused, Keima suddenly took a step forward and pulled her into a tight hug.
"?!"
Kushida's mind went blank. Everything happening was completely outside her imagination.
"It's tiring, isn't it, Kikyo? I know very well that being with ordinary classmates every day—with their different personalities—is exhausting. Not to mention having someone as troublesome as Horikita around. That's why I understand you so well. if you're tired, let it all out. While I can't help you carry the burden, I can listen and share the pressure in your heart. Tell me everything."
Kushida's body went rigid. Her wrist, which had been trying to struggle, stopped moving. She stared blankly at Keima, the vicious, calculating expression on her face receding like a tide, leaving only paleness and confusion.
'What... what is he saying? Why isn't he afraid? Why isn't he accusing me? Instead, he's... comforting me?
Is there something wrong with this guy's head?'
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