Chapter 083 ↦ You Were Dark From the Beggining

Kikyō did something unexpected.

She grabbed Houtarou's left hand and pressed it against her chest, just below her ribbon — right over her heart.

There was no hesitation in her action; she had already placed his palm firmly against her.

"Hey!"

"Are you okay with this?" He asked, clearly shocked.

His reaction was understandable. After all, he hadn't had much interaction with girls since childhood — and his sister didn't count.

Earlier during lunch break, when Arisu was discussing him and Suzune, Houtarou had thought that none of them — neither he, Suzune, nor Kikyō — had any interest in romance.

He believed relationships between boys and girls were impossible. Even if you put the three of them together, there wouldn't be any chemistry.

Besides, him being close with Kikyō? He spent more time with Suzune than with her.

Yet here he was, in intimate contact with this cute demon.

While Houtarou remained confused, Kikyō finally revealed her intentions.

She held his hand against her heart, as if making an imprint.

"This is the only method I could think of." She said, "Oreki, I can't trust you, so I need you to leave your fingerprints. And by doing this—"

She gripped his left wrist. Despite the slight flush in her cheeks, her voice remained cold.

"This way your fingerprints will be clearly imprinted. If I report this to the school, I can prove that you assaulted me. Even though you have enough points to avoid immediate expulsion, considering the nature of the crime, you'll definitely be expelled." She said, "If you don't want that to happen, promise me you won't tell anyone about what you witnessed."

A direct plan, indeed.

Kikyō released his hand and gave him time to consider his options, to decide how to handle her demand for silence.

Was this really the best she could come up with?

Houtarou felt conflicted, but he had questions he needed to ask.

With her angelic persona dropped, this might be his only chance to get answers.

"I'm curious." He said, "Are you so skilled at using your feminine charms? Have you always used them on others—"

"What?" Kikyō cut him off, "No such thing! Besides, you're the troublesome one! So hard to handle!"

How ironic that he, someone who valued energy conservation above all else, would be called troublesome by someone as complicated as her.

It was rather depressing.

But since she'd taken that tone, there was no need to be gentle anymore.

"So do you hate me?" Houtarou asked, "When I went to find Horikita, I heard you trash-talking her. And then."

He paused for a moment.

"You unfairly labeled me as some kind of pervert."

"Oh, you heard that? How disgusting — people who eavesdrop are disgusting." Kikyō said without hesitation.

In other words, despite her angelic act, she truly despised him.

So it was almost certainly this little demon who had been using alternate accounts to spam him with hostile posts on the forum.

Alright. He made a mental note about her true nature.

"Returning to the main topic, I promise not to tell anyone about seeing you kick the railing while cursing at Horikita." He said.

"Mm." Kikyō's emotions seemed to have finally settled.

Truth be told, she felt mortified about her recent behavior. She never expected this side of her to be exposed, which led to her instinctive reaction.

Looking at Houtarou, she had immediately thought to exploit his weakness — his awkwardness around girls. Her plan was simple: secure his fingerprints while counting on his discomfort with female interaction to keep him from pursuing the matter further.

That was her reasoning.

But—

"Though I suppose I could write it down for others." He said, "My handwriting is quite good."

"...??" Kikyō shot him a fierce glare.

"Just kidding." Houtarou said, "Actually, even if I told others what kind of person you really are, no one would believe me. I'm only active in Class A, while you have friends across all classes, even among upperclassmen. Everyone sees you as this approachable, angel-like person. Who would believe you're the type to kick railings while cursing at Horikita?"

"..."

That was true. Such behavior would seem completely out of character — people would dismiss it as impossible for someone like her.

Moreover, Kikyō suddenly realized something.

Yes, even if Houtarou spoke up, no one would believe him. This was exactly what she had worked so hard to achieve.

Suzune, having attended the same middle school, might know about her past, but Nurturing High School was her fresh start.

She didn't want to return to her old ways. That's why she desperately tried to maintain good relations with Suzune, but that antisocial girl clearly disliked her and completely ignored her attempts.

Still, she needed to keep Suzune quiet. So she had no choice but to keep up her act. If they maintained cordial relations, Suzune might keep her past to herself. And even if Suzune did speak up, people would dismiss it as mere drama between friends.

Now everyone saw her as an adorable angel. Who would believe otherwise?

So was there really any need to keep appeasing Suzune or make such desperate moves to silence Houtarou?

She realized she had acted foolishly in the heat of the moment.

Then his voice broke through her thoughts.

"It's too bad I didn't record any of this." Houtarou said, "While they might not believe my word alone, a recording would have blown everyone's minds."

"... Hehe—" Kikyō's laugh came out forced.

But her laugh was mockery.

Actually, she felt quite lucky. Based on her understanding of Houtarou, he was both thoughtful and perceptive.

He had witnessed her trash-talking Suzune without reacting. Perhaps he had already seen through her façade to her true self.

And just now, when he caught her kicking the railing and cursing... did he simply view it as a moment of intensity?

This behavior seemed to fall within acceptable limits for him.

Had he known she was dark from the beginning?

Kikyō's feelings were complex. For once, someone had seen her true face without her completely self-destructing.

Still, given his sharp insight, she was incredibly fortunate he hadn't recorded anything. A recording would have been impossible to explain away.

"Anyway—" Facing this boy who was so helpless with girls, Kikyō turned around, interlaced her fingers, and when she turned back, her face had regained its radiance.

Golden short hair, delicate features, adorable smile.

"This way, we have a shared secret now~ Oreki-kun~" She chirped, slipping back into her angelic persona.

There wasn't a trace of her previous unrestrained behavior. If this was acting, Kikyō was truly skilled.

However, Houtarou had his principles.

"Then you're not allowed to kick the railing while cursing at me." He said, "You can kick the railing and curse at Horikita all you want, but not at me."

Hehe. This almost made her adorable angel persona crack.

But she also realized that Houtarou might not be as close to Suzune as she'd thought.

"How could you~ I would never do such a rough thing." Kikyō said, maintaining her angelic facade.

Still, she decided to stop kicking the railing.

She had thought this was a safe place to vent — specifically chosen for its lack of people and cameras.

But she was discovered as soon as she started kicking. How mortifying.

She would go back to writing in her diary instead, though she'd need to buy a small lockable cabinet to keep it in.

"Well then, I'll be going now." She said.

Then she turned and left without a backward glance.

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