Chapter 210 Lips Touching.
Deep inside the small forest of the deserted island, the branches and leaves overhead interlaced into a dense green canopy.
Shimizu Akira's gaze fell on the layer of fallen leaves at his feet, and he quickly captured several shallow marks—traces left by the activities of small animals. There were paw prints like those from a racing wild rabbit, and marks in the dirt where a pheasant had scratched for food, hidden clearly between withered twigs and decaying leaves.
He recalled that while passing through the forest path earlier, he had glimpsed several trees hanging with fruit out of the corner of his eye. It seemed the school had gone to great lengths to simulate a "deserted island survival" scenario—they couldn't let the students fall into a hopeless situation with no food to find, but they also had to avoid the appearance of "deliberate feeding." Leaving these edible plants and animals in the forest, just at the level where one needed to "proactively search to discover them," was the perfect balance.
The forest wind, carrying the fresh scent of greenery, brushed past his nose. Beneath his feet were soft leaves, and in his ears were the songs of birds and insects. For Shimizu Akira, moments like these—strolling through the forest and feeling immersed in nature—were undoubtedly a rare and pleasant experience.
"Tch."
A light click of the tongue suddenly came from beside him, shattering the tranquility.
Kushida Kikyo, who had just been showing a sweet smile and a gentle expression to everyone in the group, now had that smile completely drained from her face. Her expression had chilled as she followed behind Shimizu. That impatient "tch" had come from her mouth.
Seeing this, Shimizu instinctively shook his head, though he wasn't particularly surprised. Ever since the incident in June, whenever they were alone and her mood was less than ideal, Kushida would unconsciously shed her gentle mask and reveal her true character.
"That woman Horikita Suzune is getting too ahead of herself! Does she really think she can lead the class?
And Ichinose Honami! When the other classes were praising her just now, they gave her one more compliment than me! Saying stuff like 'Most Popular Girl'... her rank was already higher than mine anyway, wasn't it?"
Two resentful complaints followed one after another. Every word was thick with indignation; anyone could hear that Kushida's mood was currently at rock bottom. However, this venting didn't last more than a few seconds before it vanished completely, as if a pause button had been pressed.
Immediately following, a gentle voice rang out:
"Shimizu-kun! The forest is so big, what if we get separated! Don't walk so fast, look back at me! Shall we walk together holding hands?"
Shimizu turned around at the sound. Kushida, who had been full of impatience just moments ago, had already swapped back to her trademark gentle smile. She even proactively reached out her hand toward him—it was as if those venomous complaints had never escaped her lips.
Shimizu's heart gave a slight jolt as a scene from two months ago flashed through his mind. Since that kiss, the relationship between him and Kushida had become exceptionally delicate.
According to Kushida's explanation, they were in a "cooperative relationship." After all, he had seen through the true personality beneath her gentle mask, and she was holding that "fingerprinted clothing" over his head, threatening him into secrecy and forcing him to cooperate.
She even said things like, "If you're a good boy, I'll give you some benefits"—the classic carrot-and-stick approach.
Over these past two months, Kushida had sought him out nearly every week. Mostly when she was in a bad mood, she would quietly call him to her dorm room, lower her guard, and complain about annoying school matters, clearly hoping for his comfort.
The "benefits" he received were nothing more than a peaceful afternoon nap with his head on her soft lap, or holding hands and hugging for a few minutes to enjoy a moment of intimacy.
Of course, Kushida would never bluntly say, "I need comfort."
She always hid behind his back first, pretending to accidentally reveal her nature with a few complaints, before feigning innocence to seek solace.
Shimizu remembered one time when he couldn't help but look back at her during one of her rants to see her drastically different expression. The result was a mortified and enraged Kushida pushing him out of her dorm room; she didn't speak a single word to him for three days. Eventually, Kushida was the one to send a text first, her tone still a bit stiff: "There won't be a next time! If it happens again, I won't let you off!"
With just that one sentence, they were more or less back to normal.
Come to think of it, she hadn't even uttered a proper threat, and before Shimizu could even apologize, she had proactively offered an olive branch—Kushida's awkwardness was always laid bare in these small matters.
Shimizu could roughly guess that she hated anyone seeing her true self from the bottom of her heart.
Just like now, even though he was the only one who knew her nature, as long as she was in a good mood and they were alone, she maintained her angelic appearance, trying her best not to show a hint of coldness.
However, this awkwardness didn't seem strange to Shimizu—it was essentially the same logic as a woman wearing makeup. He could even think of similar examples: some girls in relationships are extremely self-conscious about their boyfriends seeing them without makeup, to the point of wearing it even while sleeping.
One could only say that new couples are all like this; you can't rush these things, and forcing it is useless. Given enough time and familiarity, Kushida would likely stop caring so much about exposing her true self to him.
'Wait! Why did I think of an example involving a couple?'
As soon as this thought popped up, Shimizu himself was stunned. Although there had been many intimate actions between him and Kushida that exceeded those of normal classmates, this person had clearly said things like "I will never date you" more than once when they were alone.
Because of this, even Shimizu couldn't say for sure what kind of relationship he and Kushida currently had. Calling it cooperation involved an inexplicable level of intimacy; calling it friendship was based on threats and compromises. No matter how he thought about it, it felt subtle and indefinable.
Opposite him, Kushida's brow furrowed tightly again, her fingertips subtly clawing at the air.
'What on earth is Shimizu Akira thinking? Five seconds have passed, why hasn't he reached out to hold my hand!'
The composure she had when she first offered her hand had vanished completely. The agitation in her heart was like a small drum being played faster and faster, making her feel flustered.
Normally, he would hold her hand within three seconds—why was he so slow today?
'Eh? What does he mean? Did he not hear or see me, or is it on purpose?'
Just as she was wondering, a warm, thick sensation suddenly covered her hand, steadying it within his palm. The tension of Kushida's agitation instantly snapped.
"Let's go."
"Mhm!"
The two strolled slowly through the small forest.
"What did you have for breakfast this morning, Kushida?"
"I had a bowl of rice porridge and a milk bun.
How about you?"
"Mhm, I ate a bit more than you. Two bowls of porridge, three meat buns, plus several pieces of luncheon meat and bacon."
"...Eh?! You can eat that much?" Kushida instinctively stopped and turned to look at him, her other hand unconsciously touching her own stomach.
"I thought everyone ate about the same."
She muttered to herself: If he eats that much, whoever ends up with him in the future is going to spend a lot of personal points on food, right?
"I do eat a bit more than the average person." Shimizu also stopped, looking down at her hand pressed against her stomach. He asked casually, "Are you hungry now? It's already noon, after all."
"...Um... a little bit." Kushida nodded honestly, her fingertips lightly rubbing her belly, her voice softening. She checked her watch; the hands pointed past twelve o'clock. Since having the buffet on the cruise ship this morning, it had been a while since they stepped onto the island; it was indeed time to be hungry.
Mentioning the topic of hunger, she suddenly remembered something and looked at Shimizu. "Did you participate in activities like camping when you were a child?" In her view, if he had relevant outdoor experience as a kid, he'd be more skilled at identifying wild fruits and mushrooms now.
"I didn't really participate in camping," Shimizu answered after thinking back. "But I heard a rumor that we might come to a deserted island during the summer break, so I specifically looked up survival books and memorized ways to identify ingredients."
'He knew we were coming to a deserted island long ago?!'
Kushida's heart gave a jolt, and her pace slowed for half a beat. But she didn't feel that Shimizu should have told her in advance—after all, she had heard senpai mention that there were occasional deserted island arrangements. But "occasional" and "possible" were just probabilistic intel.
Given her nature, even if she had known, she wouldn't have just told her classmates.
For an ordinary person, even if they heard such uncertain news, they wouldn't assume it was a special exam and go out of their way to study wilderness survival, right? When she heard the senpai mention it, she hadn't taken it seriously, treating it as just idle chatter.
'This person really is different from others from the start, always carrying thoughts that aren't ordinary.'
Kushida silently made this judgment as she stole a glance at Shimizu's profile while he focused on the surrounding vegetation.
As they walked side-by-side, Shimizu's gaze suddenly landed on a nearby thicket. Between the branches hung many black huckleberries; the small purple-black fruits nestled among green leaves were exactly the edible wild berries he had seen in the survival books. These berries tasted very similar to blueberries—sweet and juicy, perfect for quenching thirst.
Shimizu stopped and waved Kushida over. "There are edible wild fruits here, come take a look."
He crouched down and picked a few, carefully confirming their shape. The skin was smooth and the flesh was plump; it was indeed the safe variety recorded in the books. Since he hadn't found a river to wash them yet, he simply peeled the skin and ate the flesh inside.
"You should eat some too; it'll quench your thirst and tide you over." As he spoke, Shimizu picked several of the plumpest ones and handed them over.
Kushida took them and mimicked his movements by gently peeling them, though her actions were far more elegant, her fingertips not touching a drop of juice. The two of them crouched by the bushes, eating the wild fruit one by one; it was like a simple yet sweet lunch.
"By the way, Kushida, I have something to ask of you," Shimizu suddenly spoke, his tone a bit more serious than before.
Beside him, Kushida looked over with a crescent-moon smile, though a hint of surprise was hidden in her eyes. From her contact with him since the start of school, she had a handle on his character—this man disliked bothering others. If he could solve something himself, he would never easily ask for help. The times he had proactively asked her for anything over these months could be counted on one hand. The most recent was in June, when he leaned against her lap and whispered, "Let me lie here a bit longer."
Could it be... he wanted to make an intimate request like that again?
At this thought, Kushida's earlobes instantly turned red, and her voice dropped.
"This is a deserted island, there isn't even a place to sit... let's wait until we've settled in. Right now, the most I'll let you do is kiss me."
She muttered to herself: 'This guy, he's getting more and more clingy, he doesn't even forget to make requests at a time like this. Fine, fine, just think of it as an equivalent exchange.'
Since he had studied survival books and they would have to rely on him for water and food later, she felt that satisfying this small demand to utilize his abilities was no big deal.
"...Uh!" Shimizu was caught completely off guard. The serious expression on his face froze instantly, and his breathing hitched for a beat.
He hadn't made such a request at all! But then again, since Kushida had been so proactive in saying it... as a man, how could he possibly refuse?
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
"Then, here I come."
"Mhm." Kushida's voice was even softer as she cooperatively closed her eyes.
Three seconds later, the two slowly pulled apart.
When their lips separated, the sweetness of the wild fruit and the softness of her lips seemed to linger at the corner of Shimizu's mouth, like a freshly unwrapped candy, the sweetness creeping into his heart along his nerves. An insatiable thought suddenly flared up—he wanted to get closer, to keep this softness a little longer.
But Shimizu quickly suppressed this impulse. As Kushida said, this was the wilderness; they could run into people from other classes in the forest at any time. He had to be mindful of the setting and couldn't just follow his whims. Besides, Kushida had only agreed to a kiss. If he pushed his luck, she might push him away in a fit of rage like last time and ignore him for days.
Kushida slowly opened her eyes, her gaze a bit dazed, her eyelashes fluttering several times before steadying. She hurriedly tried to cool herself down internally.
'Stay calm, it's just a performance! Just a kiss, it's not the first time, what's there to be flustered about? Everything up to this point is within my calculations!'
Repeating this twice, she finally managed to suppress her panic, replacing it with a soft and coquettish expression. She reached out and gently tugged at the hem of Shimizu's shirt, swaying it slightly as her voice softened.
"Shimizu-kun, regarding this special exam on the island, Hirata-kun seems to plan on using 150 Special Exam Points to prepare! What is your opinion?!"