Before long it was late November, and the chill of early winter had settled in.
With the end of the term approaching, the school's clubs had one after another suspended their activities.
The schoolyard and gymnasium, once packed and noisy after classes let out, had grown considerably quiet.
The first-years had also begun preparing for the special exam that was coming at the end of the term.
When the closing bell rang, Shikime Natsu packed up his things and walked out of the school building, following the familiar route at an unhurried pace.
As he walked, though, he could feel quite clearly that he was being followed - and that the gaze trailing him was anything but subtle. For Shikime Natsu, at least.
He didn't turn around to check who it was. His daily intelligence had already told him that Kushida Kikyou would be following him back to his dorm today to discuss something.
The corner of Shikime Natsu's mouth curved up slightly, and he kept his pace steady as he headed toward the dormitory building.
Soon he reached the base of the dormitory building. Just as he pressed the elevator button and stood waiting for it to descend, that figure finally appeared beside him.
"Oh my, what a coincidence."
Kushida Kikyou wore her trademark sweet smile, her eyes curving into pretty crescents as she looked at him.
"I never expected Natsu would skip the Keyaki Mall today and head straight back to the dorm."
She put on a perfect performance of someone who had simply run into him by chance.
If he hadn't known from the start that she was tailing him, he might genuinely have been taken in by that chance-encounter act.
Hearing her greeting, Shikime Natsu turned around, looked at that delicate little face of hers, and smiled.
"It really is quite the coincidence," he said, deliberately drawing out the words, those pale gold eyes fixed on her with a trace of amusement.
"Kikyou has been right behind me ever since we left the school building area, and yet we only happen to bump into each other now. What a remarkable connection we must share."
Having her tailing called out in a single sentence, Kushida Kikyou's sweet smile faltered on the spot.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and she cursed him silently.
This guy was as insufferable as ever!
He'd noticed her ages ago and pretended not to, deliberately letting her trail after him like an idiot the whole way, and only now did he open with the reveal!
Wasn't that just an outright attempt to watch her humiliate herself?!
Still, Kushida Kikyou had handled far bigger stages than this.
She drew a deep breath and rearranged her expression in an instant.
That slightly stiff little face was once again wearing its sweet smile.
"Oh dear."
Kushida Kikyou tilted her head, putting on an innocent look. "So I've been found out."
She didn't bother arguing the point, simply admitting it outright.
After all, given this guy's personality, any further denial would be completely useless.
Seeing her concede so readily, Shikime Natsu let the teasing drop. He changed the subject and asked directly.
"So then, Kikyou, what did you want from me?"
She didn't answer right away. She glanced up at the dormitory building in front of them, then back at him, and smiled.
"There isn't much time left before the final exam, is there?"
She led with a seemingly unrelated topic. Shikime Natsu gave a small nod.
"Mm, that's right."
Kushida Kikyou lifted her head, those moist eyes looking straight at him.
"Then... why don't we go up and talk about it?"
She pointed at the dormitory building he lived in. Her meaning was more than clear.
Hearing that, Shikime Natsu understood exactly what was going through her head.
He didn't mind, though. He looked at that sweetly smiling little face and smiled back.
"If Kikyou wants to be alone in a room with me that badly, then naturally I have no objections," he said, deliberately loading his tone with insinuation.
Being spoken to in such a punchable tone drew no particular reaction from her.
Back when her true face had first been exposed, hearing him say something like that would have set her teeth grinding.
But she had spent enough time around this guy by now to be used to it.
Teasing on this level was no longer enough to stir the slightest ripple in her.
Compared to what had happened that night in the tool box, verbal jabs like this were nothing worth mentioning at all.
"Then, pardon the intrusion."
Kushida Kikyou smiled and followed him into the dormitory building as naturally as could be.
The two walked one after the other and soon arrived at the door to Shikime Natsu's room.
"Come in."
He stepped aside to let her enter first.
She didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight in.
At the entryway she slipped off her shoes and put on the pair of guest slippers he handed her.
She made her way to the table in the living room, pulled out one of the chairs, and sat down.
"So then, what would Kikyou like to drink?"
The question earned him a mildly surprised glance. She hadn't expected this guy to think about entertaining a guest at all. How very rare.
Kushida Kikyou smiled and gave him a polite one in return. "Anything's fine~ I like everything."
He nodded at her answer and turned toward the kitchen.
He came back out shortly with a cup and set it down in front of her.
She looked down. It was a cup of steaming hot water. Plain, flavorless boiled water.
Her expression didn't waver in the slightest, as though she had accepted it without the smallest difficulty. "Thank you."
She even smiled as she thanked him, then cupped the mug in both hands to warm her chilled fingertips.
This guy really was as insufferable as ever!
He asked what she wanted to drink, she said anything was fine, and he actually poured her a cup of plain hot water!
Sure, plain water technically fell within the range of "anything's fine," but when a guest said that, wasn't a normal person supposed to bring out something a little nicer?!
Even the cheapest juice would have done!
And this guy had genuinely served her a cup of water with no taste whatsoever!
What a cheapskate!
Of course, no matter how many times she cursed him out internally, her face kept that sweet smile without the faintest crack showing.
Shikime Natsu paid no attention to whatever she was thinking. He walked over and sat down across from her.
"So then... what did Kikyou want to talk about?"
"And a topic that requires coming all the way to my dorm before it can be discussed, no less."
She didn't even know where to begin complaining. Ever since this guy got girlfriends, his shamelessness had reached new heights.
Before she could say anything, he continued, a wicked smile tugging at his lips.
"Or could it be..."
"Does Kikyou want to experience the changes from that night again?"
The moment he brought up that night, the sweet smile vanished from her small face.
She glared daggers at him, those purple eyes brimming with fury. "I absolutely do not!"
She denied it flatly, teeth clenched.
That night was, for Kushida Kikyou, a piece of black history she never wanted to revisit.
The assets she took such pride in had been like modeling clay in his hands, growing bigger, shrinking smaller, completely beyond her control!
She never wanted to feel that kind of humiliation a second time as long as she lived!
And this bastard had brought it up on purpose!
That was rubbing salt directly into the wound!
Watching her bristle like that, Shikime Natsu let out a soft laugh.
"All right, all right, no more jokes."
Seeing this wicked beauty finally lose her composure left him thoroughly satisfied.
"So then, Kikyou, what did you come here to tell me?"
Now that he had turned serious at last, she drew a deep breath and steadied her agitated nerves.
Then she raised her head and looked at him, her eyes full of sincerity.
"I came here to ask Natsu for a favor."
She paused, then added, "A completely serious one."
"Oh?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What kind of favor?"
She didn't answer immediately. She set down her cup and picked up the school bag she'd placed beside her.
Pulling the zipper open, she took out several textbooks and notebooks and laid them on the table in front of him.
Watching the whole sequence, his face kept that faint, unreadable half-smile.
"I want Natsu to tutor me."
Kushida Kikyou got straight to the point, stating the first objective of her visit.
"Or, alternatively, Natsu could get me Class C's Papershuffle exam questions directly from Class C."
Having him tutor her meant, naturally, being able to score a perfect mark. She was well aware that his girlfriends had all become perfect-score students by now.
Her position as leader of Class D was starting to look precarious. Even if none of them had any intention of taking that position, Kushida Kikyou made a point of never standing beneath a crumbling wall.
There had been talk in the class about grades too, and that was hardly a good development for her, not when she was the one who had brought Class D so many benefits.
Whatever it took, she had to perform beyond her usual level on this exam. Merely being good wasn't going to cut it.
He watched her with that half-smile and, rather than answering, countered with a question of his own.
"So if I help Kikyou like that, what benefit is Kikyou planning to give me?"
"Kikyou isn't hoping to get a free ride out of me, is she?"
"Because that won't fly."
Hearing his blunt words, she didn't get angry. She had expected as much. This guy had never been the type who helped others out of kindness.
Well... perhaps he did have a conscience where certain people were concerned, but with her, he plucked every feather off the goose as it flew past.
If you wanted anything from him, you paid the corresponding price. That was something Kushida Kikyou knew from bitter experience.
"Of course. I never once thought I could get anything out of you for free."
She had given up on the pretense entirely by now and addressed him plainly. If anything, talking like this was rather easier.
"Oh?"
He raised an eyebrow with genuine interest. "Then what has Kikyou prepared? Don't tell me you're planning to use Private Points?"
He asked it with a smile, and she shot him a vicious glare. He really did have a talent for poking exactly where it hurt. Ever since the Four Idiots had been expelled, Class D's Class Points had been sitting at zero.
Class D hadn't earned a single Class Point at the Sports Festival either. How could students like them possibly have any Private Points on hand?
Everyone except his girlfriends, that is, who seemed entirely unaffected. Honestly enviable.
Having that cruel fact laid bare, Kushida Kikyou glared at him hard all over again.
But she was the one asking for a favor here, and she knew she had to endure it, had to keep her emotions in check.
She drew a deep breath, then lifted her head to look at him, complex light flickering in those purple eyes.
"Maid service."
Kushida Kikyou gritted her teeth and laid out her bargaining chip.
"I can become Natsu's maid."
She looked at him, and there was real seriousness in her gaze.
"I'd do things for Natsu in exchange for your help. That works, doesn't it? Two months."
It wasn't a chip she wanted to play, of course, but it was the only one she had left.
Back when they'd made their deal, he had shown considerable interest in exactly this. A thoroughly depraved guy.
Lately, though, he had barely made any demands at all. Even Horikita Suzune wasn't his maid anymore.
Part of that was simply their terms running out, but if this guy wanted it, an idiot like Horikita Suzune would surely walk right back into the trap.
Shikime Natsu gave her a mildly surprised look, then smiled.
"A maid, huh... I don't really need one right now."
"So please come up with a better proposal, Kikyou. Something that actually appeals to me, at least."
Something that appealed to him? If that didn't appeal to him, what else was there?
She thought of her hair. That promise with him was the reason she still wore it long, though she didn't particularly hate the look anymore.
The trouble was, right now she had no idea what still held any appeal for Shikime Natsu.
Kushida Kikyou thought of all those girlfriends of his, and wondered whether she was supposed to throw herself into the bargain too.
____
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