Chapter 035 Kikyo and Honami's Declaration of War / Senpai Actually Likes Lewd Things
Kushida Kikyo watched the back of that "Mesugaki" kouhai named Amasawa Ichika as she left dejectedly, letting out a silent, cold snort.
With only that level of skill, she thought she could come and be passive-aggressive about Kikyo's relationship with Shimizu Akira? Kikyo was someone who, since middle school, had devoted herself to mastering social dynamics after realizing her own limitations. The moment Amasawa opened her mouth, Kikyo could guess exactly what kind of scheme was brewing in her head. Besides, she hadn't lied—Shimizu Akira's "firsts" had indeed been taken by her. The women who followed were merely latecomers.
"Kikyo, that Amasawa girl is the little vixen from the boxing club that Kei mentioned, right?" Hasabe Haruka said indignantly. "The one who hangs around Akira-kun all day! Hmph, she dared to be snarky to your face. If she hadn't run fast and if there weren't people nearby, I would've sat on her face and slapped her!"
Sakura Airi also comforted her softly: "Kikyo, don't take it to heart. We all know your place in Akira-kun's heart."
Kushida Kikyo smiled gently. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Haruka, don't be so impulsive; what if something happens to you? Neither Akira-kun nor I want to see you get hurt."
Tsk, tsk.
Kikyo couldn't help but comment to herself again. Haruka and Airi were truly devoted to her. One simply wanted to stand up for her, and the other simply cared about her. Bringing these two into Shimizu Akira's harem back then was truly the wisest move. Look at them now—sometimes she didn't even have to open her mouth, and these two said everything she wanted to say. "Done everything they should," "Number one girlfriend," "Most liked person"—listen to that, how sweet and melodic it sounds.
She instinctively took both their hands. "Alright, alright, let's put what just happened aside and go to the next task. Don't forget we still have Shinohara Satsuki's situation to deal with."
The three moved slowly according to their planned route. Yesterday afternoon, Hirata Yousuke had found her, briefly explained Ike Kanji's group's situation, and asked her to temporarily look after Shinohara Satsuki. To maintain her image as the class idol, she naturally agreed without hesitation.
However, it was now the fifth day of the special exam. There weren't many group-expansion tasks left; they were either full or too difficult to rank in. Plus, Shinohara Satsuki's group only had her left—failing to check in would result in point deductions—and since their two groups had completely different routes, they could only meet at the tents at night. Her initial plan was to let the three of them participate in tasks and check-ins normally; if they ran into classmates, they'd ask about their routes, and if one matched Shinohara's, she'd ask them to temporarily take her along.
Once they secured a group-expansion slot, they'd see if they could add her in.
The three walked for nearly twenty minutes, finally reaching the 1:00 PM check-in location. Because of the delay from the encounter with Amasawa Ichika, they only received the base points. She looked around and saw a few groups from her class, so she went over to ask about their routes, but unfortunately, none were heading in Shinohara's direction.
"Kikyo, it's 1:00 PM already. Should we eat and rest for a bit?" Haruka, who was slightly out of breath, suggested.
"Yeah, sure, I'm a bit tired too." Kikyo didn't actually feel tired, but noticing the beads of sweat on Sakura Airi's forehead, she smiled and nodded. Both of them had athletic abilities at D; after all, with those two "lumps of fat" on their chests, who could walk easily? But Kikyo had long considered Haruka and Airi as her own, so she wasn't jealous of their figures—after all, it was her boyfriend who got to enjoy them!
She was just about to take the picnic mat out of her bag when a cheerful voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Kikyo! Haruka! Airi! What a coincidence, you're here too!"
The three turned around to see the trio of Ichinose Honami, Amikura Mako, and Kobashi Yume.
"Good afternoon, Honami-chan, Mako-chan, Yume-chan." Kikyo was slightly stunned but immediately smiled and greeted them. Haruka and Airi followed suit.
"Honami, good afternoon!"
"Honami-san... good afternoon."
"Are you guys getting ready for lunch? Want to join us?" Ichinose Honami offered naturally.
"Sure." Kushida Kikyo agreed readily.
The six of them quickly spread out their mats and began enjoying lunch. Kikyo had actually agreed out of necessity; she always harbored a bit of resentment toward how Honami seemed even more popular than herself. Speaking of this special exam, it was also Honami who proactively suggested that Karuizawa Kei, Horikita Suzune, and Shimizu Akira group up. Otherwise, Kikyo would have insisted on a spot for herself.
The most unacceptable part of all was that her boyfriend had actually gone to a love hotel with Honami first.
'Akira-kun definitely wouldn't do such a thing on his own, so this woman must have proactively seduced him! How shameless!'
Kushida Kikyo bit her biscuit, involuntarily glancing at Ichinose Honami opposite her. The other girl was laughing and chatting with Kobashi Yume; the sunlight hit her pink-blonde hair, making her look warm and bright.
'Blonde is better than brown? A true Miss Angel?'
No, she was the angel. And she certainly wouldn't give up the "main wife" position to her!
She quickly composed herself, flashing a textbook sweet smile: "Honami-chan, how have your group's scores been these past few days?"
"Not bad, we're at 86 points," Ichinose Honami answered honestly. "But we're far behind Koenji's group from your class; he took second place all by himself."
"Yes, Koenji-kun is indeed very impressive." Kikyo nodded. "But there's another group in our class that's very strong—Shimizu Akira's group, they're in fourth place."
Hearing Shimizu Akira's name, Ichinose Honami smiled from the bottom of her heart. "That's wonderful. Akira-kun is reliable as expected. Speaking of which, he helped come up with our class's aid station plan; I really need to find a time to thank him properly."
"I guess you can only pay him back with your own body, right?" Kobashi Yume teased from the side.
"Yume!" Ichinose Honami quickly interrupted her best friend. Her friends only knew she was dating Shimizu Akira; they had no idea about his harem.
Kushida Kikyo's expression was becoming hard to maintain.
'Is this woman doing this on purpose? Is she implying she wants to go back to the love hotel? Going once wasn't enough?'
"Kikyo? Why aren't you eating?" Haruka looked at her in confusion, not thinking too deeply about Kobashi Yume's comment.
"It's nothing." Kikyo snapped back and shook her head. "Just thinking about the afternoon tasks. By the way, Honami-chan, what are your plans for the afternoon?"
"We're going to join the three-legged race task," Ichinose Honami said. "The rewards aren't much, but it sounds fun."
"I see...!" Kikyo nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, have you run into Shinohara Satsuki? The survivor of the group that had the accident yesterday."
"Shinohara-san? We ran into her," Honami nodded. "Actually, I heard about yesterday's incident. Our group's route happens to match hers. If you don't mind, should we let her move with us?"
Hearing this, Kikyo's heart stirred slightly. Letting Shinohara move with Honami's group? That was a good idea—it solved Shinohara's dilemma without her having to worry about it. However, if she asked Honami, wouldn't she be owing her a favor? How annoying. What if the other party took it upon herself to make decisions in the group chat again, like she did for this exam?
Ichinose Honami looked at the pensive Kushida Kikyo with some confusion. After a moment, she put down her lunch and pointed to a nearby empty space.
"Kikyo-chan, want to have a little girl-talk?"
Kikyo didn't understand what this woman wanted to say, but since there was no reason to refuse, she nodded. "Of course, I don't mind."
The two walked to the open area, away from the others who were eating. The sea breeze blew, lifting Kikyo's hair. She looked at Ichinose Honami and smiled gently. "What does Honami-chan want to say? So mysterious."
To her surprise, Honami directly lowered her head and apologized: "I'm sorry, I was a bit presumptuous this time."
"What do you mean? Why are you apologizing?" Kikyo was stunned.
"There are many reasons for my apology." Honami lifted her head, her face serious as she gazed at her. "First, regarding this special exam, I proposed that plan in the group without consulting everyone beforehand. For Kikyo-chan, who is the group creator, that was indeed a bit disrespectful. For the other girls who have a relationship with Akira-kun, even if they have progressed the fastest, it lacked fairness."
Kikyo remained silent.
"Second," Honami continued, "you heard the conversation just now. I accidentally let Kobashi Yume know that I'm dating Akira-kun. Even though we agreed to hide this relationship from the public at first, I failed to do so. It was just because I like Akira-kun so much that I spoke in a somewhat self-satisfied tone without realizing it.
Third, when I said Akira-kun helped me earlier, I didn't mean to show off; I was simply grateful for his efforts.
Fourth, I want to apologize on Yume's behalf. She didn't mean it; she doesn't know that the three of you are also dating Akira-kun. The misunderstanding was caused because I leaked the dating information beforehand."
Having finished, she bowed sincerely again.
Kikyo suddenly let out a small laugh. "What is this! Honami-chan, I didn't actually care that much! You're being too dramatic! Apologizing for things like this..."
'This person knows how to play the game' Kikyo thought, but she still hadn't actually forgiven her. After all, the most critical point—the love hotel—Honami went there first. That alone was practically a death sentence in Kikyo's heart.
However, seeing Kikyo's expression, Ichinose Honami seemed to sense something, her face taking on a hint of helplessness. "Kikyo-chan, if I'm not mistaken... you've actually never liked me much, have you?"
The question was so sudden that Kikyo didn't know how to respond for a moment. Seeing her stunned expression, Honami laughed instead: "So it really is like that."
"What are you saying, Honami-chan?" Kikyo began to explain, "How could I..."
"I've had experiences dealing with difficult people before, like Acting Chairman Tsukishiro and President Nagumo Miyabi," Honami interrupted softly. "So I understand your feelings well. I'm not blaming you; I just want to make things clear."
Kikyo fell silent. Since the other party was being so direct, continuing to pretend would only make her look guilty. She dropped her smile and nodded coldly.
"So, what do you want to say?"
Honami watched this instantaneous transformation, a flash of surprise in her eyes, before she spoke seriously: "You were Akira-kun's first girlfriend. If you hadn't agreed, perhaps Akira-kun wouldn't have had the idea for a harem, and it wouldn't have been my turn from the start. I just want to say, thank you very much."
"Hmph!" Kikyo snorted, saying reluctantly: "I was forced to agree too. I originally wanted it to be just the two of us, but he insisted on it. Don't get it twisted."
"Yes, even so, I want to thank you." Ichinose Honami smiled warmly. "To be honest, I occasionally think about how wonderful it would be if I could be Akira-kun's girlfriend alone. It seems we have something in common."
Kikyo raised an eyebrow slightly, remaining silent.
"That's why back then, I involuntarily invited Akira-kun to the love hotel," Honami suddenly added.
"Why bring that up suddenly?"
"Because Akira-kun seemed very regretful afterward. It was the first time I saw him like that," Honami said softly. "I think the only person who could make him that troubled must be Kikyo-chan. Anyway, what I want to say is: if there really were a parallel world where Shimizu Akira could only choose one person to be his girlfriend, without a doubt, he would only choose Kushida Kikyo. Although he hasn't said 'most liked person' or anything like that, I can feel it—the person he likes most is undoubtedly you. I've always wanted you to know that."
Kikyo's expression finally softened significantly. Correct—she was his first girlfriend, and he didn't care who she cared about. Hearing this from a woman who was a rival was somehow much better than hearing it from Airi. Then again, her boyfriend was the same; no wonder he had specifically emphasized this point again a few days ago.
"Hehe." Ichinose Honami then laughed happily. "Kikyo-chan's current look is probably something only shown in front of Akira-kun, right? I can somewhat understand why he likes you so much."
Kikyo turned her face away, too lazy to acknowledge her.
"However, I'm absolutely not going to lose to Kikyo-chan." Honami's smile slowly faded as she spoke precisely: "Although I agreed to Akira-kun's harem and you are currently number one in his heart, I will continue to work hard to raise my status in his mind. Recently, I also plan to help him deepen his relationship with Chihiro, just like Kikyo helped introduce Haruka and Airi."
"Hmph." Kikyo let out a cold laugh. "You're not as simple as you look on the surface, actually helping to introduce girlfriends to Akira-kun."
"I just want everyone to be happy. That is the best way to avoid hurting anyone."
"You're just using a trick I've already used. You won't replace my position in Akira-kun's heart. Bring it on."
The two looked at each other, sparks practically flying.
"Kikyo-chan! What are you and Honami talking about for so long?" Haruka's voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
The two simultaneously retracted their gazes, feeling everything that needed to be said had been said, and turned to walk back.
"So, Kikyo? Are we letting Honami help with Shinohara?" Kobashi Yume asked again.
"Of course, I don't mind." Kikyo flashed a gentle smile. "If Honami-chan is willing to help, I couldn't ask for more. I'll let Shinohara-san know."
Haruka and Airi looked at each other. They weren't sure if it was a delusion, but after this secret conversation, the relationship between the two seemed to have changed—it wasn't exactly closer, but a layer of politeness had mysteriously vanished, and they were interacting more casually.
"Then we'll head off." Ichinose Honami nodded happily. "I've checked our upcoming routes; it's perfect for taking her along to check in. By the way, what's her current score? Does she need special attention?"
"Only 29 points! With today's 4 points, it should be 33," Kikyo shook her head. "But she's the only one left in her group, so she'll lose points if she doesn't check in. The sooner someone takes her, the better."
"Understood," Honami said seriously. "I'll tell her the plan for tomorrow tonight."
Amikura Mako suddenly chimed in: "Speaking of which, since Shinohara-san is alone, where is she sleeping tonight?"
This question made Kikyo pause. Right—Shinohara Satsuki's original tent was shared with Ike Kanji. Now that her boyfriend was gone, sleeping alone indeed wasn't very safe.
"How about she comes to our tent tonight?" Kobashi Yume suggested. "There's three of us; we can squeeze a bit."
"Great idea!" Honami agreed immediately. "I'll tell her in a bit."
Kikyo watched this scene, feeling a bit emotional again. Ichinose Honami was someone who truly wanted to help others from the bottom of her heart, without any calculation or expectation of reward. Honestly, it was a bit enviable. But it was also quite annoying. Because compared to her, Kikyo's "helpful" image seemed far too deliberate.
"Kikyo?" Haruka's voice pulled her back to reality.
"Hmm?"
"What are you dazed for? The food is getting cold. If Akira-kun knew you weren't eating on time, he'd be worried. Last time you had your period, he made three healthy meals for you and even stayed over at your dorm; we only got one meal." Haruka whispered.
Kikyo smiled and went back to eating.
'Forget it, I won't think so much.'
Anyway, Akira-kun treated her the best. That woman said she wanted to introduce new girlfriends to him? She really thinks she can beat her own Haruka and Airi? The figure and quantity alone are miles apart. Having a rival like that in the girlfriend group was actually okay; it added some fun. But with the two of them competing, the only person who benefited was Shimizu Akira! Seriously, he got all the good things for himself!
'Hmph!'
-
-
-
Shimizu Akira's nose felt a bit itchy. Not like he was about to sneeze—with his constitution, he never caught colds—it was just a simple itch. Someone was definitely talking about him behind his back.
"Is it Nagumo Miyabi or Ryuen Kakeru? It must be one of those two."
Speaking of Nagumo Miyabi, he remembered he hadn't seen his childhood friend Asahina-senpai in quite a few days. The last time they met was one weekend last month when they ate oden together. The senpai only had two semesters left until graduation. He should ask her out more often. When Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane left, Shimizu regretted not spending more time with them; he still missed them occasionally. This time, he wouldn't leave any regrets.
"Shimizu-senpai!"
As he was thinking, a greeting came from ahead. He looked up to see Nanase Tsubasa, whom he had bumped into several times already, running over with a small bag.
"What a coincidence, running into you again." She stood naturally by his side.
Shimizu didn't nod, but said directly: "You probably checked my location and came looking for me on purpose, right?"
"Eh? How did Senpai..." Nanase Tsubasa looked surprised.
Shimizu Akira shook his tablet. "The direction you came from has no tasks and isn't the nearest check-in point, and my location is quite remote. If you didn't use GPS, I can't think of any other explanation."
"This... well..." Nanase hesitated, not knowing how to explain.
Fortunately, Shimizu gave her an out: "I see you're holding a bag. Are you here to deliver my swimming trunks?"
"Um... yes!" Nanase breathed a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously.
Shimizu took the bag and looked inside; it was indeed the same style and size of trunks he'd worn the day before yesterday. "Thanks, Nanase."
"It's nothing. As long as I can help Senpai, I'm happy to be of service."
This kouhai, who had a bit of a "loyal dog" trait, shook her head happily.
Shimizu recalled the events from the day before yesterday and asked with some concern: "By the way, were you okay that day? Don't pay any mind to Nagumo Miyabi. He always speaks without thinking; just don't treat him as a human being."
"I didn't mind him; I never held that person in any regard." Nanase Tsubasa actually cared more about Shimizu's thoughts. "Um... I really don't have any relationship with Eiichiro, nor are we a couple."
"I know. I didn't take Nagumo's nonsense to heart either." Shimizu teased her smoothly, "But explaining it so specifically makes it easy for me to have some non-existent ideas about you."
Nanase didn't react; her "natural airhead" trait kicked in again. "What does Senpai mean by that?"
"It means... you care about what I think." Shimizu finished the sentence.
To his surprise, Nanase Tsubasa nodded as if it were a matter of course. "I do care about Senpai a lot."
Only after saying it did she realize what she'd said and began to explain frantically: "No! Not that kind of 'caring' between members of the opposite sex! It's the caring between a senpai and a kouhai! Um, I just didn't want you to misunderstand my past! To look down on me."
"Haha, I know, I know." Shimizu laughed. "We've only met a few times, after all. Sorry, since you're always so well-behaved and obedient, I couldn't resist teasing you a little."
Nanase realized her senpai was messing with her and struck back with a serious expression: "Senpai already has a girlfriend, doesn't he? And more than one. Personally, I prefer people who are serious about their relationships, so unfortunately, Senpai is not among them."
"Is that so?" Shimizu didn't retaliate, admitting with a smile, "I am indeed a philanderer; I won't deny it. By the way, another person just joined the girlfriend group. It's good you have those thoughts; keep it up."
Nanase's expression stiffened.
'Another one?' That would make eight? (Wait, did she think three?)
'Eight people... can he even divide his time on Saturdays and Sundays?'
"Did it happen yesterday?"
"Well, yes."
'It really was! I only looked away for one day, and this person immediately found another girlfriend?'
"Then... don't Karuizawa-senpai and Kushida-senpai do anything about you?"
"Rather than 'do nothing,' sometimes they even proactively introduce them," Shimizu said. He was thinking how Matsushita Chiaki was technically on Karuizawa Kei's side, while Haruka and Airi were introduced by Kikyo.
"Ah..."
Seeing Nanase Tsubasa's expression of having her worldview shattered, Shimizu was about to say something when she suddenly asked: "Since Shimizu-senpai dates so many girlfriends, you must really enjoy yourself every night, right?"
Now it was Shimizu's turn to be at a loss for words. Asking that... if he said he didn't enjoy it, it would be a flat-out lie. He thought about it and decided there was no need to lie. "It is quite enjoyable, I admit that."
Nanase Tsubasa sighed. "I thought Shimizu-senpai was a very reliable, moral, and flawless person in every way, whose only flaw was having some unreliable friends... it seems I need to add one more now: craving lewd things."
Shimizu's mouth twitched.
'Unreliable friends definitely refers to Ayanokouji-senpai, right?'
But he replied righteously: "There's nothing wrong with lewd things. It's one of the three basic physiological needs of humans."
To his surprise, Nanase Tsubasa hesitated for a moment and suddenly said: "Then Senpai should come to the nearby beach and play volleyball with me."
"Huh? Why?" Shimizu didn't react.
"Because last time I wore a bikini, the lewd-loving Senpai stared for several seconds," Nanase explained seriously. "I also plan to borrow 300,000 personal points from Senpai. To achieve my goal, I can only give Senpai some fan service."
Shimizu almost choked on his own saliva. "Wait, wait, wait... what did you just say? Borrow 300,000? And fan service?"
Nanase nodded seriously. "Yes, 300,000 personal points. As for fan service... didn't Senpai just admit to liking lewd things? Then I'll cater to your interests."
Shimizu massaged his forehead. "I didn't... ugh... forget it. First, tell me, what's the 300,000 for?"
"To help a friend," Nanase answered briefly, with no intention of elaborating.
"300,000 is not a small amount." He thought about it. "And you just said I'm not within your dating range, yet now you're proactively offering fan service? Isn't that a contradiction?"
Nanase thought seriously about this question. "It's not a contradiction," she concluded. "I won't date Senpai because you're too flirtatious. But Senpai wanting to see me in a bikini is Senpai's business; me being willing to show Senpai is my business. The two things don't conflict."
Shimizu was getting a bit dizzy from this logic. "So for 300,000, you're willing to play volleyball in a swimsuit?"
"Not for 300,000—I'm willing to play volleyball in a swimsuit because Senpai is special," Nanase Tsubasa corrected him seriously. "I'm only saying this to you, and I'll only show you. We'll go to a beach where there's absolutely no one else and do it privately."
At this point, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she insisted on finishing her sentence: "It's also my first time doing something like this... I was forced into it. Because Senpai's conditions for lending money are too strict—last time you only agreed to lend to me after I sent so many screenshots of my purchases. This time I thought... I wanted to make the process a bit simpler through this. At most... at most I'll report to you once every two days, okay?"
Read ahead (120 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting