"Sorry to bother you, but you're Horikita-san, right?"
Shiina recognized the girl she'd briefly met at Palette that one time, though they hadn't exchanged introductions back then.
So, Shiina wasn't entirely sure of the other girl's name. But then she recalled Amane addressing her as 'Suzune' earlier.
With that, all she needed to do was search the school system on her phone for all students containing the name "Suzune," then narrow it down to this year's Class 1-D. Only one result would remain: Horikita Suzune.
I'm so clever.
"I'm surprised you remember me, Shiina-san. That makes me quite happy."
She's totally lying, right?
Shiina watched Horikita's expressionless face and felt an involuntary gulp rise in her throat.
She was the worst at dealing with people of this personality type, especially when they were girls. Horikita was clearly the dominant type at a single glance, which made Shiina especially uneasy.
And how could she tell?
Horikita-san had one arm hooked around Amane's waist, hoisting her up, while her other hand was firmly pinching Amane's ear. If that didn't scream 'dominant,' then Shiina didn't know what did.
She couldn't think of any other girl more forceful than Horikita.
"Eh? You remember me too, Horikita-san?"
Shiina showed a surprised expression, paired with a gentle smile. It was a rather deceptive sort of smile.
"I make a point to remember the name and face of every girl this idiot talks to."
Horikita's words sent a trickle of unease through Shiina. Was it normal for a girl to do something so... terrifying? And remembering names and faces like that...
"Hahaha, you're joking, right, Horikita-san? You make it sound like you could pull out a notebook with my name written in it at any moment."
As a devoted fan of mystery novels, Horikita's words immediately conjured all sorts of strange and macabre images in Shiina's mind. Things like a Death Note. Or various murder cases.
But the next second, Shiina's small face turned deathly pale.
"Shiina-san, how did you know?"
Looking surprised, Horikita pulled a small notebook from her blazer pocket. She flipped back several pages and showed one of them to Shiina.
There really is one!!!
Beads of sweat began to form on Shiina's forehead. Especially when she saw that the page with her photo attached had a large red 'X' drawn over it. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
"Horikita-san... why is there an 'X' on my page?"
Shiina inquired cautiously, simultaneously switching her phone to emergency dial mode.
Horikita-san is way too dangerous!
"Oh, that..."
Horikita had been about to answer, but when she noticed Amane was still secretly trying to send pleading looks at Shiina, she deliberately decided to be evasive.
"Who knows? Do you have anything else, Shiina-san? If not, I'll be taking Amane away now."
Faced with Horikita's question, Shiina hesitated and glanced at Amane. Amane was looking back at her with hopeful, beseeching eyes, as if begging to be allowed to stay. Shiina's head was practically ringing with 'Save me, save me!' pleas.
Finally, after a fierce internal struggle...
"I don't have anything else."
"Then we'll be leaving."
"Goodbye~"
Shiina smiled as she watched the still-flailing Amane get carried away. Who would have thought Horikita-san, who seemed like such a proper young lady, had a personality like this?
Shiina patted her chest, her heart still fluttering with lingering fear.
It's a good thing I didn't try to stand up for Miyako-san earlier, otherwise... Shiina's mind conjured the terrifying image of Horikita holding one person in each hand and unceremoniously tossing them both out of the library.
But why did Horikita-san put a red 'X' on the page for Shiina Hiyori? Shiina felt a nagging sense of unease about it.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on the bag of cookies Amane had left behind.
Normally, in such a situation, you should return the item to its owner. But given the current circumstances, returning them seemed a bit difficult.
Just judging from Amane's expression earlier, she was probably in for some minor punishment once they got back.
How pitiful.
Thinking this, Shiina looked out the window and saw the two departing. Amane seemed to be trying to explain something.
Then, as if finding it troublesome, Horikita simply delivered a swift chop to the back of Amane's neck. The previously struggling Amane immediately went limp, her head drooping, and became perfectly docile.
Gulp.
Shiina swallowed hard.
Well then... it seemed she could just go ahead and eat these cookies herself. It looked unlikely Amane would remember much about today's events anyway.
Shiina opened the bag, took out a small cookie, and placed it in her mouth. She chewed it gently.
The cloying sweetness of cream mixed with honey, combined with the slight bitterness of cocoa, created two distinct flavors that perfectly balanced each other out.
Only then did Shiina realize she was eating a chocolate-flavored biscuit.
If she had to rate this dessert, she'd give it at least an eight out of ten. And even though the recipe seemed the same as last time, the texture was noticeably finer.
You could tell Amane had put considerable effort into making them. The little cookies were also somewhat addictive. Before long, the small bag was completely empty.
Eh? If I'd known, I would've savored them a bit more.
If I get to see Miyako-san again, I'll just have to ask her for more.
Shiina gently ran her fingers over the cover of her Momotaro book.
Even though she'd been tricked into coming here, a happy smile never left her face.
It had been so long since she'd met someone as interesting as Amane. She hoped that next time they met, they'd have time to talk properly, just the two of them.
Before long, Horikita opened her dorm room door. Having carried Amane all the way back, quite a bit of sweat had beaded on her forehead. She hadn't realized Amane was this heavy.
Though she usually carried her whenever she felt like it, which meant she'd never really had a proper concept of Amane's weight.
"You're so damn heavy."
Horikita muttered the complaint offhandedly.
Unexpectedly, Amane, who had been 'unconscious' just moments before, instantly sprang back to life.
"Suzune, that's so mean!!! My weight is perfectly normal for a girl!"
The moment she heard Horikita call her heavy, Amane broke free from Horikita's hold, planted her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at a slightly taken-aback Horikita.
"Weren't you unconscious?"
"...Ehh, ah, my head is so dizzy~"
Amane's eyes darted around. She clasped a hand to her forehead, spun in place three or four times, and then gracefully collapsed against Horikita's shoulder, snaking an arm around Horikita's neck.
"Could you possibly act any more fake?"
This time, Horikita didn't soften. She directly pinched Amane's cheek, pulling her back to full awareness.
Why was she being treated like this?
This little rascal, after being caught planning to meet another girl, had tried to brush it off with the excuse of 'taking a nap together.' But that wasn't the most infuriating part.
The most infuriating part was that Amane had actually used their naptime as a chance to sneak off and meet Shiina.
When Horikita had woken up thirsty and gone for water, she discovered she'd been cuddling that brown bear pillow all afternoon.
If she didn't teach her a lesson now, this girl would really start thinking she had the upper hand.
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T/N: Due to lack of interest in this fic, lowering # of chapters per day to 2
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T/N: 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.