"Natsuki-kun, you really are a strange person."
"Maybe."
"Natsuki-kun."
"Hm?"
"During the Sports Festival, we'll be opponents, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll give it my all."
"I know."
"Will you do the same?"
Subaru was silent for a few seconds.
"I won't lose on purpose."
Ichinose smiled.
"That's good."
She paused.
"Although you might not care about winning or losing, I do."
"Because I want to prove—"
"That the junior high student who once did something wrong can also stand proudly on the playing field."
Subaru looked at her and slowly said, "...You are already on the field."
Ichinose froze for a moment.
Then she smiled. It was a brilliant smile, different from that warm smile of the past—it was more real.
"Thank you, Natsuki-kun."
She thanked him again.
"Really, thank you."
Subaru nodded.
He turned and walked toward the door.
After speaking, he pulled the door open and was just about to walk out.
"Wait a moment, Natsuki-kun."
"What is it?"
Just as Subaru turned around, Ichinose walked up.
She reached out and hugged Subaru.
The movement was very light, very soft, carrying a kind of cautious probing.
He didn't move.
Nor did he push her away.
He just stood there, letting her hug him.
Subaru could clearly feel Ichinose's chest rising and falling rapidly.
Subaru felt a strange sensation.
It wasn't surprise, nor was it resistance, but a more complex emotion that even he himself couldn't name.
Ichinose buried her face in his shoulder, her voice somewhat muffled.
"Sorry... I know this is strange."
"But I just... wanted to do this."
Her voice became lighter and lighter.
"Just for a moment."
Subaru didn't speak.
Time seemed to stop at this moment.
It was unknown how much time passed—
But just then, a sound of footsteps rang out.
An uninvited guest had arrived.
Miyabi Nagumo.
Nagumo walked out of the elevator and stood in the corridor, a carefully prepared expression hanging on his face.
It was an expression mixed with gentleness, concern, and a trace of just the right amount of worry—he had practiced in front of the mirror for a long time, ensuring every detail was flawless.
He wore a beige casual jacket, his hair groomed meticulously.
Perfect.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
The reason Arisu Sakayanagi's rumor plan could achieve results in such a short time was also due to Nagumo's assistance.
All of this was being manipulated by him.
Sakayanagi's rumor offensive had already lasted for several days; right now, Honami Ichinose should be at her most fragile, most in need of reliance.
Those people who used to surround her now either alienated her or looked at her with complex eyes.
She must be very lonely, very helpless, and very much wanting someone to understand her and support her.
And that person was him.
Nagumo.
The Vice President of the second year.
Handsome, excellent, capable, and powerful.
The concern of such a person, for the current Ichinose, should be like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
She would be moved, she would rely on him, and—gradually—she would accept him.
Then, everything would develop according to his plan.
Nagumo thought this, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
He understood girls in this kind of situation too well.
When they are fragile, they are most easily moved.
As long as he gave her a little bit of warmth, she would open her heart to him.
Then, giving her more care and help, she would slowly, unknowingly, become his possession.
He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.
From the first time he saw Honami Ichinose, he had set his sights on her.
She was good-looking, had a good figure, and was very suitable to be a girlfriend.
It was just that Ichinose's personality was relatively independent; no matter what he did, the other party wasn't interested in him.
But now it was fine.
Sakayanagi's rumor offensive had shattered her independence.
She was no longer that dazzling, no longer that invulnerable.
She had cracks.
And he was the one who would take advantage of the void to enter.
It wasn't because of love, but because of possessiveness.
Nagumo took a deep breath and adjusted his expression.
"Ichinose-san, it's me, Nagumo."
His voice was gentle to just the right degree.
"I'm really sorry to disturb you so late. But I heard you encountered some difficulties recently, so I wanted to come see you... and see if there's anything I can help with."
After speaking, he waited.
Imagining that after the door opened, he would see Ichinose's tear-stained, pitiful face.
Imagining her surprise and emotion when she saw him. Imagining her inviting him in, and then the two of them sitting in the room, him gently comforting her, and her slowly opening her heart to him...
Nagumo discovered the door wasn't locked.
Was it left for him on purpose?
He raised his hand and knocked on the door again.
"Ichinose-san? Are you there?"
A rustling sound came from the room.
Then—
The door opened.
Honami Ichinose stood behind the door.
Nagumo's prepared expression froze on his face the instant he saw her clearly.
He saw the scene of Ichinose and Subaru tightly embracing.
???
Nagumo's brain fell into a blank in an instant.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found he couldn't make any sound.
"Nagumo... senpai?"
Ichinose's voice came over, carrying a trace of doubt.
Only then did she hurriedly and embarrassedly let go of her hands, standing in front of the other party.
"Why did you... come to find me so late?"
There wasn't any of the reliance and emotion he expected in her voice, only a kind of ordinary, even somewhat awkward politeness.
Nagumo opened his mouth.
He looked at Ichinose.
Then glanced at Subaru...
Then looked at the suspicious blush on Ichinose's face.
A terrible, absurd possibility that completely exceeded his expectations grew wildly in his mind.
"...Subaru."
His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
"Why is he here?"
Ichinose froze for a moment.
"He... I invited him."
"Invited?"
Nagumo's voice rose steeply, then was quickly suppressed.
"So late, you invited a boy to your room?"
Ichinose's brows furrowed slightly.
"Nagumo-senpai, this..."
"I just came to comfort you! I thought you needed help! Needed someone to accompany you! Needed—"
He stopped.
Because he saw that the look in Ichinose's eyes had changed.
It was no longer that ordinary, slightly awkward politeness from just now.
But a kind of... vigilance.
Like looking at a stranger who had suddenly revealed their true colors.
"Nagumo-senpai."
Her voice became much calmer.
"Thank you for coming to see me. But right now I... don't need help."
Didn't need help.
Didn't need his help!
And Subaru just quietly watched Nagumo, without any expression on his face.
Just like looking at a... jumping clown.
Nagumo's breathing became rapid.
He remembered that night, the dim lights of the Student Council room, his own twisted fingers, and that demon squatting in front of him, speaking out his entire family's information in a flat tone.
And that sentence—
"You are now a tool."
A tool.
He was a tool.
A tool used to help those two people who "had a chance to produce color."
And now, this person who treated him as a tool—
Was sitting in the room of the girl he wanted to get.
So late.
Alone.
And—
The blush on Ichinose's face became incomparably dazzling in his eyes.
"You guys..."
His voice was trembling.
"What were you doing just now?"
Ichinose froze.
Her face turned even redder.
That kind of redness, in Nagumo's eyes, was the best evidence.
"I..."
Ichinose wanted to explain something, but didn't know how to say it.
She and Subaru indeed hadn't done anything just now—they were just talking, it was just that she got emotional at the end and hugged him.
But how could she say these words to a second-year senior she had just met not long ago, and who was suddenly acting so strangely?
"Sorry, this is our private business."
Subaru took over the topic, speaking to Nagumo.
Nagumo's pupils constricted violently.
There was a feeling that his everything had been snatched away.
Nagumo didn't know what happened between them, but the images in his mind were already running uncontrollably in the most terrible direction.
Everything he had meticulously planned.
The opportunity he had waited for so long.
The plan where he thought he could take advantage of the void tonight and gain Ichinose's trust—
Ruined.
All ruined.
Ruined by this man.
Ruined by the man he feared the most, hated the most, and was most unable to defeat.
"Na... tsuki..."
Nagumo squeezed this name out through his teeth.
Every word carried bone-deep hatred.
And fear.
Fear that could not be concealed.
Ichinose looked at his appearance, her brows furrowing even tighter.
"Nagumo-senpai, are... are you okay? Your complexion is very bad."
But while saying this, Ichinose stood in a position closer to Subaru.
She could actually always feel that something was wrong with Nagumo.
That feeling was uncomfortable.
Nagumo didn't answer.
He just stared at Subaru.
"You..."
His voice was terribly hoarse.
"You did this on purpose?"
Subaru raised an eyebrow slightly.
"On purpose what?"
"On purpose—on purpose coming here! On purpose—on purpose—"
He couldn't go on.
Because he knew that Subaru didn't need to do it on purpose at all.
He just needed to exist.
Just needed to appear there.
That was enough to crush all his plans into powder.
Ichinose watched this scene, a complex emotion surging in her heart.
She suddenly understood something.
Nagumo wasn't here to care about her at all.
He was here to...
Take advantage of the void to enter.
To use her fragility, her loneliness, her helplessness.
Wanting to get her trust, her reliance, her—something.
While Subaru—
That person she thought was forever indifferent, forever unconcerned with matters—
Was the one who truly listened to her finish all her words.
She looked at Subaru, a smile emerging on her face, and then looked at Nagumo with incomparable firmness:
"Nagumo-senpai."
Her voice became clear and firm.
"Thank you for coming to see me. But I really don't need help right now."
"And—"
She paused.
"Natsuki-kun and I are discussing some things. Very important things."
"So, if you don't have other matters..."
She didn't finish, but the meaning was already very clear.
An order to leave.
Nagumo froze in place.
This moment was like a resounding slap, striking his face.
Everything he had carefully prepared.
The gentleness he had practiced countless times.
The plan he thought was foolproof—
All of it, all of it, all of it, became a joke.
His gaze moved from Ichinose's face to Subaru's face.
Then from Subaru's face back to Ichinose's face.
Then, he saw it.
The look in Ichinose's eyes when she looked at Subaru.
That was something he had never seen in her eyes before.
Not gratitude, not reliance, not that gentleness she treated everyone with.
But a deeper, softer, more—
Something he didn't want to admit.
His breathing became rapid.
His fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
Those few fingers that had once been broken were now starting to ache faintly again.
Just like that night.
Just like those hands that crushed his fingers.
Just like those eyes that looked at him calmly.
"Nagumo-senpai?"
Ichinose's voice rang out again.
"Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone to help?"
Call someone to help.
This sentence, to Nagumo's ears, was the greatest mockery.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, wanting to explain something, wanting to—
But he couldn't say anything.
Because he knew that no matter what he said, it was already meaningless.
Subaru was already here.
Before him.
Before he had time to do anything!
Already here.
Already—
No no no no no!!!
Nagumo felt as if his everything was being plundered by the other party.
"...Okay."
His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper.
"Okay... very..."
He took a step back.
Another step, his voice trembling.
Then, he turned abruptly and left the place as if fleeing.
Footsteps echoed rapidly in the corridor, getting farther and farther away, finally disappearing at the stairwell.
Ichinose looked in that direction, her brows locked tight.
"What... happened to him?"
She closed the door, turned around, and looked at Subaru.
Subaru still sat on the chair, his expression without any change.
"Nothing."
"Nothing??"
"Yeah."
"Do you guys... have some conflict?"
Subaru was silent for a few seconds, then opened his mouth to answer.
"He hates me."
Ichinose was stunned.
"Hates you? Why?"
"Because—"
Subaru paused.
"He wanted to control me, but found he couldn't. That's all."
Ichinose opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.
Was there actually such a thing between Nagumo and Subaru?
If she had to choose... she should probably stand on Subaru's side.
"Nothing special."
Subaru continued, his tone without any ripples.
As if the Nagumo from just now had never appeared at all.
"He didn't come tonight because he truly wanted to help you."
"It was—"
"It was to take advantage of your weakness."
Ichinose fell silent.
She had actually already guessed it.
"Moreover, those rumors, I'm afraid, are also inextricably linked to Nagumo."
Subaru said slowly.
____
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