Ibuki Maikagura peeked out furtively from her hiding spot.
She'd made a special effort to wake up extra early today, rising while the sky was still ash-gray.
Sneakily switching on the induction cooker, risking a scolding from the dorm supervisor, she melted down the chocolate she'd bought earlier and poured it into molds to cool into the shapes she wanted.
This was genuine handmade chocolate! Completely handcrafted… well, the melting and molding part, anyway.
Where exactly does "handmade" start, though? Does it only count if you grow the cacao beans yourself? Her mind wandered with these silly thoughts as Ibuki Maikagura glanced around—no one in sight.
Even though it was White Day, and everyone was more active than usual, Ibuki Maikagura was still one of the first to arrive at the school building.
This… well… it was just…
The crushing defeat in the Yayoi Sho had left a deep scar on her heart.
She felt bitter resentment—how ruthless, how utterly merciless that figure had been, trampling the dignity of the other competitors into the dust… And yet, that very same figure, standing so calmly on the stage, was also the one who now haunted her dreams…
Compared to that dazzling presence, even the tyrannical crushing felt somehow bearable.
She never intended to do this… She had always been the one receiving chocolates, not giving them…
Just thinking about it made her feel like she'd lost again, in some bizarre, intangible way. A blush spread from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
With Ibuki Maikagura's innate pride and exceptional talent, she'd naturally always been surrounded by a circle of admirers. Every year, she could count on a steady supply of chocolates coming her way. But giving chocolates? That was a first.
This whole chocolate exchange business—it's really a battle!
A battle that determines the balance of power between two people!
The one who gives the chocolate is essentially handing over the power of acceptance or rejection to the receiver… putting themselves in a completely vulnerable position.
So for the old Ibuki Maikagura to take the initiative and give chocolates? That would've been more painful than death. But now, thinking it over… she'd already lost to Platinum on the racetrack. Their status was already unequal.
Ugh… I've become the inferior one.
If she kept thinking like this, she felt steam would start coming out of her head.
Ibuki Maikagura suddenly leaped out, found Platinum's shoe locker with practiced ease, quietly slipped her chocolate inside, and then scrambled back behind the shelf as if fleeing.
Of course Ibuki Maikagura knew which locker was Platinum's. They were classmates, after all.
Well, even if Platinum didn't seem to have realized it yet.
With her mission accomplished, Ibuki Maikagura clutched her chest, feeling her heart pound wildly. She… she had actually done something so brazen!
She should be executed! She deserved to die!
Ugh… I've been defiled…
Just as Ibuki Maikagura was lost in the heart-throbbing memory of what she'd just done, the school building's main door opened again. Peeking out guiltily, she looked to see who it was.
The one who entered was a very tall Uma Musume, with strikingly long, pure black hair that reached all the way to her waist.
Paired with the elegant smile on her face, she looked like the very picture of a classic "black-haired beauty" and a Yamato Nadeshiko.
She was wearing an outside campus uniform… A support-course Uma Musume? Ibuki Maikagura wondered silently. What was she doing in this building?
To her surprise, the Yamato Nadeshiko-style beauty walked with small, delicate steps toward the shoe lockers, moving slowly and deliberately until she finally stopped… right in the same spot where Ibuki Maikagura had just been.
Th-th-that's Platinum's locker! Ibuki Maikagura stared in disbelief.
The newcomer knelt down on one knee, carefully pulled a heart-shaped chocolate from her satchel, and opened Platinum's locker.
In that moment, Ibuki Maikagura felt her heart skip a beat.
The black-haired beauty paused, noticing Ibuki Maikagura's chocolate inside. Then, without a second thought—
She reached in, took it out, and made a motion as if to throw it away.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait! What do you think you're doing?!" Ibuki Maikagura couldn't hold back anymore and jumped out immediately.
What are you doing? I'm asking you, what are you doing?!
"Tch." The other actually clicked her tongue in displeasure, as if regretting that she hadn't managed to discard the chocolate.
Only then did she gracefully take both boxes of chocolate in hand and turn to face Ibuki Maikagura.
"Hehe… Good morning, little mosquito. I'm surprised to see you here so early."
"Mosquito?" Ibuki Maikagura was so angry she ground her teeth, a sharp click-clack sound coming from between them.
Let it be known, Ibuki Maikagura was no pushover. Before Platinum crushed her, she was the one dominating other runners.
If Platinum beats me, fine, she beats me. But who are you? What gives you the right?
"On a summer night, drooling with anticipation, flying around couples on a camping trip…"
The black-haired beauty held the two chocolate boxes like fluttering wings, even making a buzzing sound with her mouth.
"Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz… It's really quite irritating."
She stepped closer to Ibuki Maikagura, and under Ibuki's icy glare, she deliberately pushed out her own ample chest, holding out Ibuki's chocolate right in front of her.
"Little girl, my name is Leap of Faith. You know, when there are mosquitoes around…"
Leap of Faith leaned down, gently blowing a puff of air near Ibuki Maikagura's ear: "You just need to light some mosquito repellent incense, and they all fly away."
"Is that so? Mosquitoes, huh…" Facing the imposing Leap of Faith, Ibuki Maikagura didn't retreat or flee.
She snatched her chocolate back, held it tightly against her chest, and stared coldly at her.
"My name is Ibuki Maikagura. You know what I think? The most annoying pests aren't mosquitoes."
Ibuki Maikagura pointed at the two antenna-like strands of hair on Leap of Faith's head. "It's cockroaches."
"They only crawl around in dark, damp places, eating scraps of leftover food… And the worst part is, they move in swarms, usurping others' nests without a shred of shame. utterly despicable."
Leap of Faith looked at Ibuki Maikagura with a faint, mocking smile. Ibuki Maikagura stared back, expressionless. The very space around them seemed to warp and twist from the intensity of their standoff.
"Hehe, little Ibuki, I know you. You're Platinum's classmate, right?" Leap of Faith covered her mouth with a light laugh, acting as if she hadn't heard Ibuki's previous remark.
But Ibuki Maikagura furrowed her brow. She understood the hidden meaning in Leap of Faith's words perfectly.
First, calling her 'little Ibuki' asserted superior status.
Then, casually mentioning that Ibuki was Platinum's classmate… automatically adopting the perspective of an insider, as if the two of them were a married couple.
At the same time, it was also a boast.
'Kid, how long have you known Platinum? How long have I known her?'
'Get in line behind me. Did you really think it was your turn yet?'
If she simply accepted this framing, she'd be conceding the higher ground.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.