Chapter 3: The Shape of Malice
That day, Kazemiya was the center of attention.
After all, she had suddenly exposed her true colors in front of everyone.
It was only natural that rumors would spread. The question was what direction they would take.
"I was seriously shocked. Is Kazemiya really like that?"
"See, didn't I tell you? Girls like her are definitely two-faced!"
"Honestly, it's kind of scary. Isn't the gap way too huge?"
"Well, seeing her tear Kiritani-senpai a new one was pretty satisfying, though."
"True that."
Even in my class, conversations like this were unfolding.
Mixed reactions were unavoidable, but her reputation actually seemed better than before.
Well, her previous reputation was just that terrible... but regardless, the boys in Class 1 were reacting favorably.
From a guy's perspective, the way she had cut Kiritani down might have seemed pretty cool.
"Kazemiya-san is crazy."
"So that's what she's really like."
"Right? I was kind of put off."
The girls were gossiping behind her back as usual.
Then again, it wasn't like she had done anything to earn their favor.
Now that she could show her true self, her future actions would be the key.
Actually, her reputation in Class 1 didn't really matter.
The problem was Class 2. What was Kazemiya's situation like in her own class?
I was curious, but being in Class 1 made it pretty difficult to know what was going on in Class 2.
That being said, I wasn't completely without opportunities. Take PE, for example. We had PE together with Class 2. Class 1 and Class 2 were grouped together. And today, we had PE during fourth period.
After getting through my first three periods, I changed into my gym clothes in the locker room.
Our current sport was basketball, so we headed to the gym.
The students from Class 1 and Class 2 were gradually gathering in the gym.
"PE is such a pain. Still better than a regular class, though."
"...Yeah."
My classmate, Kuroki, struck up a conversation.
"Isn't your response kinda half-assed?"
"...Not really."
Brushing Kuroki off, I observed Class 2.
I couldn't spot Kazemiya amidst the noisy crowd yet.
Eventually, Kazemiya appeared at the entrance.
She was alone. There were no boys hovering around her.
She looked somewhat anxious.
As she nervously glanced around, our eyes suddenly met.
Upon seeing me, her expression softened with slight relief.
"Hey, Kazemiya's alone."
"Seriously? That's a rare sight."
"Where's Shirota and the others? Weren't they her entourage?"
Around me, the boys in Class 1 were exchanging words like that.
"..."
Kazemiya stood awkwardly by herself at the edge of the Class 2 group.
It was frustrating to watch.
If only I could stand by her side at a time like this.
Meanwhile, the boys who usually surrounded her were hanging out among themselves.
They seemed to be discussing something, but I couldn't make out their words from where I stood.
I could understand how they felt, too.
When a girl you got along with suddenly underwent a complete personality shift, of course she'd be hard to approach.
But seeing Kazemiya looking so lost, I couldn't help wishing they would talk to her.
Still, it wasn't all bad.
Distancing herself from her male entourage should make it easier for her to find opportunities to talk to the girls.
Considering that, her current situation was likely just a passing phase.
...However, that hurdle was incredibly high. Kazemiya was hated by the girls.
That being said, although they were collectively known as "the girls of Class 2," there were nearly twenty of them.
There had to be some who were favorably disposed toward her. I even had someone in mind.
That was why I had approached her through Tsukimi-senpai.
"—Kazemiya-san."
A girl called out to Kazemiya as she stood alone.
A faint stir went through the surrounding students.
"...Kashima-san. What is it?"
The girl who had spoken to Kazemiya was Kashima Arisa.
She was Kazemiya's classmate and a member of the girls' basketball team.
She was the one who had helped us when we executed the Double Confession Operation on Tsukimi-senpai.
At that time, Kazemiya had been the one to reach out to her.
Kazemiya had mentioned that Kashima-san was the only girl in their class she could have a decent conversation with.
"Want to pair up for passing practice?"
Kashima-san smiled at Kazemiya.
In PE basketball, after warm-up exercises, we practice passing in pairs.
Kashima-san was inviting Kazemiya to be her partner.
Kazemiya's eyes widened in surprise.
"S-Sure, I don't mind... but why did you ask me?"
"Is that a no?"
"I-I'm happy about it, but..."
"You looked pretty cool telling him off this morning. I like this version of you better, Kazemiya-san."
Kashima-san declared confidently, despite drawing the attention of everyone around them.
"...Thanks."
"By the way, is that your true self?"
If she answered here, it would spread to every student in both Class 1 and Class 2.
"Yeah. Up until now, I was just putting on an act."
Her clear admission made the surrounding murmurs grow a notch louder.
"Y-You're pretty bold..."
Kashima-san was surprised, probably not expecting her to be so blunt.
"At this point, I might as well just own it."
"Ahaha, that's true."
"I'm sick and tired of guys like Kiritani-senpai anyway."
Kashima-san laughed as she watched Kazemiya shrug.
Right then, the bell rang for class to start, and the PE teacher entered.
And with that, PE began.
After passing practice, we started playing five-on-five games.
The matches rotated across the gym's three courts, with five-person teams split by gender. The right court was for the boys, the left for the girls, and the middle court alternated between the two.
Naturally, this setup led to more interaction between the boys and girls around the center court.
My next match was on the center court, so I waited on the sidelines.
"—Hey, Kanon."
A boy called out to Kazemiya, who was waiting nearby.
With basketball games happening all around us, they weren't drawing any particular attention.
"Shirota-kun, what is it?"
The boy, Shirota, was the leader of Kazemiya's entourage.
"...You really are different now."
Feeling something off about her reaction, Shirota made that remark.
In truth, her demeanor was vastly different from her previously adorable attitude. To put it simply, she wasn't fawning over him.
"...Sorry, but this is the real me."
"Honestly, I don't know how to act around you anymore..."
"Me neither."
Kazemiya's gaze wandered.
That was likely the honest truth.
"To be blunt, what do you think of me?"
"I'd be happy if we could keep getting along as friends."
That "as friends" part was likely Kazemiya's true feelings, which she had kept ambiguous until now.
She was implicitly conveying that she had no romantic feelings for him.
"...I-I see."
Shirota's face twitched.
The attitude of a girl who had been leading him on had suddenly changed, and he was being told she didn't have feelings for him whatsoever. It was perfectly natural for him to wonder what the hell her past behavior had been all about.
Honestly, I felt a bit bad for him. You could say he was a victim of the daytime Kazemiya.
But the fact that she clearly told him she had no romantic feelings for him was proof of her own growth.
"...Well, it's my turn, so I'm heading out."
Since it was her time to play, she turned her back on Shirota and walked out onto the court.
Suddenly, Kazemiya's eyes met mine.
I gave her a thumbs-up, and she let out a small snort.
Out on the court, Kazemiya was running all over the place.
To be completely honest, she was terrible at basketball. She had absolutely no sense for the game.
But terrible as she was, she was trying her hardest to chase after the ball.
Toward the end of the match, she received a pass right under the hoop and threw up a desperate shot.
The ball floated high in the air, rattled around the rim, and eventually slipped through the net.
"Nice!"
"...Thanks."
Her female teammates were cheering for her.
It seemed like the new Kazemiya was slowly but surely being accepted.
There was a sense of distance between them now, as if they were meeting for the first time, but it was actually working in her favor.
"I think the current Kazemiya-san might actually be easier to talk to."
"Right? She actually looks us in the eye when she talks now."
"Y-You think so?" Kazemiya replied, a bit flustered.
That was the kind of conversation she was having with her teammates.
It was a conversation born from the fact that Kazemiya was no longer avoiding the other girls.
"...Um, would it be okay if I asked you all a little more about yourselves?"
"Of course!"
I would have loved to keep eavesdropping on their exchange, but... it was my turn to play.
"Hey there, Minase."
On the opposing team was Arikawa, a fellow first-year from the Boys' Basketball Club.
"Since we're both here, why don't we play for real?"
"...Sure," I replied.
"Oh, I had a feeling the recent Minase would take me up on that."
Normally, I would just half-ass my way through gym class, but... things were different now.
Watching Kazemiya made me realize that people really can change.
Could I overcome my trauma and move forward like she was?
"All right, let's go!"
I caught a pass from Akazawa, who coincidentally ended up on my team.
I slowly dribbled the ball. Naturally, the one marking me was Arikawa.
Change of pace. From "slow" to "fast." I cut in with a right drive, but Arikawa reacted. As expected of the only first-year starter. Judging that I couldn't blow past him, I slammed on the brakes, put the ball between my legs, and stepped back. Checking the three-point line, I leaped. The ball left my hands, traced a beautiful arc through the air, and slipped right into the hoop.
Swish. My shot passed through the net without even touching the rim.
"Whoa!"
Daytime-mode Akazawa reacted with exaggerated astonishment.
The spectators on the sidelines were buzzing as well. Honestly, being the center of attention like this didn't feel great. It brought back memories of my middle school days, when I was called a "cursed child."
The more eyes gathered on me, the heavier my body felt.
It really was completely different from club activities, where the numbers were limited.
Even so, I wanted to change, just like Kazemiya.
I hoped that showing her how I was changing might give her even a little bit of strength.
When I said I was playing for real, it didn't mean I was going to be a ball hog, either.
Coordinating with my teammates, including Akazawa, I fulfilled my role as a member of the basketball club.
I blew past Arikawa with a drive and threw a no-look pass right under the hoop.
Akazawa, who had picked up on my intentions with just a single glance, was already charging in beneath the basket.
"Hell yeah!"
Catching the ball, Akazawa easily sank the shot.
His vertical jump was so high I thought he was going to dunk it. He really did have some impressive athleticism.
"Nice pass!"
Akazawa held his hand up for a high five.
This was perfectly within the realm of natural interaction between teammates.
So, I raised my hand in return. A satisfying smack rang out.
Ultimately, we won the game by a narrow margin.
"Not bad, Minase."
"...Same to you."
I also exchanged a high five with a frustrated-looking Arikawa.
As I headed back to the sidelines, I glanced over at Kazemiya.
Looking surprised, she stared right back at me.
Moving only my lips, I spoke to her.
I didn't say it aloud, but I hoped she would get the message.
Let's change together.
Whatever she thought of it, Kazemiya abruptly looked the other way.
"H-Hey, Minase. Were you always that good at basketball!?"
My classmate, Kuroki, came over to talk to me in astonishment.
"...Well, I am in the basketball club, after all," I replied.
"Seriously...? And here I thought we were fellow loners...!"
Kuroki was crying, but I was still a loner all the same.
I didn't think I was ready to start making friends at school during the day just yet. The thought of letting people in still terrified me.
...But I hoped I could slowly change over time.
A few days later.
I found myself communicating more often with my fellow members during club activities.
Which was only natural. Now that I was playing for real, I was becoming a central player for the team.
I had more opportunities to give instructions to the team while handling the ball.
But thanks to basketball serving as a common ground, I had managed to avoid anyone digging into my past so far. I was allowed to just play the game freely.
"...Arikawa," I called out.
"What's up, Minase?"
I spoke to him during a break in practice.
Arikawa, who was essentially the leader of our fellow first-years, was in Class 1-2—the same class as Kazemiya.
"...What's the atmosphere like in Class 2 these days?"
"Ah..."
Despite my vague phrasing, he seemed to instantly grasp what I was getting at.
He gave a troubled, wry smile.
"Well, I can't say it's exactly comfortable in there."
"...Is it about Kazemiya, after all?"
"Her reputation among the girls has improved, but her standing with the guys isn't looking too good."
So you can't please everyone, huh.
"Shirota and his buddies have been complaining about her a lot," Arikawa added.
"...I see."
"For better or worse, Kazemiya-san really stands out."
From Shirota's perspective, he was basically rejected completely out of the blue. I could understand why he'd be bitter.
In other words, the main reason her reputation among the boys had tanked was Shirota and his crew. The guys who used to be her entourage.
"Still, it's rare for you to ask about things going on around school, Minase."
"...I was just a little curious," I said.
I deflected his probing with a strained smile.
Even though my sources of information for Class 2 were limited, relying on him too much might raise some weird suspicions.
...That aside, what was the right move here?
Then, night fell.
Today was the first time in a while that we were all gathered together.
"*Sigh*... I'm so tired..."
Perhaps mentally exhausted, Kazemiya looked completely drained.
"You look like you're having a rough time, Kanon."
"I have no idea how I'm supposed to act right now..."
Whining tearfully, Kazemiya was lying down with her head resting on Ogino's lap.
"There, there."
Ogino gently patted her head. Kazemiya just let it happen.
"So, how are things going lately?" I asked. "I haven't been able to gather much intel on my end."
"Exactly as I just said," Kazemiya replied.
It seemed she was still struggling to figure out how to act in class.
Though she was mainly communicating with the other girls in her class through Kashima-san.
"But you've gotten close to Arisa, haven't you? That's great progress!" Tsukimi-senpai chimed in.
Arisa was Kashima-san's first name.
Since she was a junior in the Girls' Basketball Club, Tsukimi-senpai could easily keep tabs on her.
"...Kaede-senpai, you said something to Kashima-san, didn't you?"
Kazemiya shot Tsukimi-senpai a sharp glare.
Tsukimi-senpai, however, simply tilted her head with a blank expression.
"What are you talking about?"
"Kashima-san went out of her way to talk to me on her own," Kazemiya explained.
"Weren't you two already friends?"
"We interacted a bit, but nowhere near enough to be called friends. That's why it's so weird."
"Hmm... Well, I didn't do anything."
Tsukimi-senpai cast a quick glance in my direction. Stop that. Kazemiya's going to find out.
That said, it wasn't like we did anything major. I just had Tsukimi-senpai pull a few strings.
Specifically, I had her mention that she was worried about Kazemiya during one of her conversations with Kashima-san. Kazemiya's name was already well-known among the second-years due to that social media doxing incident, so it wouldn't seem unnatural for Tsukimi-senpai to be concerned. And since Kashima-san was in the same class, asking her to keep an eye on Kazemiya was a perfectly natural move.
"Is that really true...?"
Kazemiya looked at me suspiciously.
"Well, whatever the catalyst was doesn't matter," I said. "The important thing is that you made a female friend."
"...I suppose that's true," Kanon muttered.
Despite her lingering suspicions toward Tsukimi-senpai and me, Kazemiya looked happy.
"I'm still anxious, though. I basically betrayed the boys, after all."
She was probably referring to Shirota and his lackeys.
"I know we're back to a normal, healthy dynamic, but... I'm still scared of being hated."
"...I know how you feel, Kanon," Ogino murmured.
In a rare display of emotion, Ogino nodded in deep empathy.
"It's terrifying to lose your place to belong."
Ogino's words sounded like she was speaking to herself just as much as she was to Kazemiya.
—Right now, Kazemiya has temporarily lost her place.
Even if she was in the process of finding a new one, she was undeniably on shaky ground.
"The boys are keeping their distance, and your relationship with the girls is still up in the air. That sums up your current situation, correct?"
Akazawa laid out the facts bluntly, his eyes glued to his novel.
Despite tracking the words on the page, he was clearly listening closely to our conversation.
"...I decided to change, so it's a necessary sacrifice," Kazemiya replied.
"I'm not as pessimistic about it, to be honest," I said.
"Why?"
"The way you are now, won't everyone just naturally end up liking you?"
"...Things aren't that simple, you idiot."
Kazemiya flushed bright red and averted her gaze.
"I already know you're head over heels for me, okay?"
"...Just for the record, I don't mean that in a romantic way."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go with that."
She somehow managed to brush me off. Even though I really didn't mean it like that.
"..."
During my exchange with Kazemiya, Tsukimi-senpai was staring intently at me with half-lidded eyes.
I decided to pretend I didn't notice. It was a little scary.
"A-Anyway, let's review where we stand," I stammered, awkwardly changing the subject and looking away from Tsukimi-senpai.
"First off, your decisive rejection of Kiritani has given you a major boost in reputation among both the guys and the girls."
"Watching that felt so satisfying," Ogino agreed, nodding eagerly.
"...I didn't have the luxury to feel satisfied. My body wouldn't stop shaking the entire time."
Even so, Kazemiya had overcome her terror and exposed her true self.
She clearly rejected Kiritani and accepted the fact that he would hate her for it.
"You did great out there, Kazemiya," I said with a smile.
She looked away.
"By firmly rejecting Kiritani's sleazy advances in front of everyone, it firmly established you as the victim in that whole cheating scandal. It played out exactly as expected," Akazawa analyzed monotonously.
That event hadn't just been about Kanon overcoming her mental hurdles; we had another objective in mind.
We wanted to shift all the hatred from the cheating scandal entirely onto Kiritani. Thanks in part to Kiritani's own poor handling of the situation, our scheme had succeeded brilliantly. That was probably one of the main reasons the girls had softened their stance toward her.
"However, the sheer contrast in your personality has left you branded as two-faced," Akazawa added.
"I can't really complain about that. It's the truth," Kazemiya sighed.
"It really is," Ogino said.
"...It really is?" Kazemiya repeated, narrowing her eyes.
Kazemiya immediately snapped at Ogino's casual agreement.
"Y-You just said it yourself..."
"Hmm. So you thought I was two-faced, Misato?"
Ogino started blowing a very poorly executed whistle, desperately trying to play dumb.
"N-Now, now! Let's figure out our next move!" Tsukimi-senpai interjected.
With Tsukimi-senpai acting as the mediator, Kazemiya dropped her interrogation.
"Right."
She had passed the first hurdle of showing her true self at school.
"The next goal is establishing a place for you to belong in the classroom," I said.
"Meaning I need to get close to the other girls besides Kashima-san," Kazemiya deduced.
"Think you can do it?" I asked.
"...I'm talking to them a bit more now, but getting close to them is going to be tough."
"Are you even trying to initiate conversations with them in the first place?" Akazawa chimed in.
"Ugh..."
Pierced by Akazawa's question, Kazemiya buried her face in Ogino's stomach, sulking.
"...Just showing everyone this version of me is already taking everything I have," Kazemiya mumbled.
That barely audible whisper was likely her true feelings.
Just because you conquer a mental barrier doesn't mean everything suddenly becomes easy.
Even though I'd confessed my secret to Tsukimi-senpai, it wasn't like I could just tell anyone else.
Facing your trauma isn't that simple.
"You can just take it one step at a time, right?" Tsukimi-senpai suggested.
"...It's not that easy. This week is make or break," Kazemiya said, shooting down Tsukimi-senpai's encouragement.
"...Yeah. I agree," I nodded.
Right now, Kazemiya's position in class was precarious. Everyone else was also unsure of how to treat her.
And precisely because of that, it was easier to change her standing.
But if things stayed the way they were, she would quickly settle into the role of 'the difficult girl to deal with.'
To avoid that, she needed to solidify her place in the classroom within the next week.
"Your best bet is to get closer to Kashima-san first," I advised.
"...Why do I have to take advice from a loner like you?" Kazemiya shot back.
How rude. I used to be pretty popular, you know.
Not that I had any intention of bragging about past glory I had long since lost.
"Then what do you think, Akazawa?" I asked.
Akazawa and Tsukimi-senpai were both here.
They were both the types to calculate their every move.
They could probably offer far better advice than I ever could.
"I'm with Minase on this. You should use Kashima as a bridge to get close to her friends," Akazawa stated.
"...Doesn't that sound like I'm just using Kashima-san?" Kazemiya asked, looking conflicted by Akazawa's blunt strategy.
"Everyone's a little calculating when it comes to making friends, aren't they?"
"Not to your extent, I'm sure..."
True enough. There was no telling just how deeply Akazawa calculated things.
"After starting high school, I did a quick character analysis on all my classmates, figured out how to interact with each one, and created a flowchart to secure my ideal standing," Akazawa explained flatly.
"Ew... That's so gross..." Kazemiya recoiled, visibly disturbed.
Perhaps wounded by her reaction, Akazawa fell silent and returned to his novel. See, that's what happens when you say stuff like that!
"The most important thing is who you actually want to be friends with, isn't it, Kanon?" Tsukimi-senpai gently interjected.
"I..."
Kanon let her gaze wander as she pondered the question.
"...I want to be friends with Kashima-san. Because she was the one who reached out to someone like me."
"Then you have nothing to worry about. With feelings like that, you aren't using her at all," Tsukimi-senpai assured her.
"...Got it," Kazemiya nodded, accepting Tsukimi-senpai's words.
"...Tomorrow, I'll try talking to Kashima-san first."
"Yeah, do your best, Kanon! I'm cheering for you too!"
That seemed to settle our future policy, but there was one concern.
"Kazemiya, what about your club activities?"
We had a decent grasp of her school life situation.
But apart from Kazemiya herself, no one could confirm what was happening in her club.
That was why I had been worried, but... Kazemiya smiled.
"There's no problem on that front. Shinohara-senpai really liked how I told off Kiritani-senpai, so it's actually become a lot more comfortable than before. The other girls in my year and the senpais even talked to me today."
"I see."
It seemed her situation in the club had improved significantly.
Considering it had gotten to the point where she was thinking of quitting, I was really glad.
"Mikoto certainly looked like she was enjoying herself when she saw how haggard Kiritani-kun looked."
Tsukimi-senpai giggled, perhaps recalling the situation.
"Now I can keep playing tennis."
Doing a light swing with an imaginary racket, Kazemiya looked like she was having a lot of fun.
The fact that Kazemiya, who unconsciously avoided girls, had joined the girls' tennis club was proof that she was interested in the sport. The reason she had been able to continue with the club until today was because the fun of tennis had taken priority over her fear of interacting with girls and the awkwardness she felt. I think she likes tennis even more than she realizes.
"Then all you have to do is do the same thing in the classroom."
"...Yeah. You're absolutely right."
Kazemiya smiled faintly.
A week passed after that.
Kazemiya started hanging out with Kashima-san.
I also often saw her mixing in with Kashima-san's group.
During lunch break. As I happened to pass by the courtyard benches, Kazemiya and the others were eating lunch.
"Kanon's bento looks so delicious!"
"You think so? I'm glad."
"Did you make it yourself?"
"Yes. I prep the food on the weekends and pack it in my bento."
"Wow! You're so domestic!"
"Hey Kanon-chan, could I have a bite if you don't mind?"
"Of course. Then, I'd like to... try everyone else's bentos, too."
She was talking amicably not just with Kashima-san, but with the other girls as well.
Seeing this, it was safe to say she had already found her place in the class.
Both in her club and at school, Kazemiya had established her position.
She exposed her true self, and had them accept it.
Her initial goal was already achieved.
Smooth sailing. There was no need to worry about Kazemiya anymore.
—Or so I wanted to believe.
"Doesn't she kinda piss you off?"
Shirota and his group were talking on a deserted stair landing.
"She's just a man-eater, yet she's acting all high and mighty."
"She used us for all we were worth, and now she just tosses us aside 'cause she's bored?"
A group of boys centered around Shirota. The guys who had been Kazemiya's entourage until recently.
Lately, their opportunities to interact with Kazemiya had clearly decreased.
The cause was likely Kazemiya explicitly telling Shirota she had no romantic feelings for him.
"I think it's about time she learned a little lesson."
...Just as I thought.
I had been keeping an eye on Shirota and his buddies.
Which was why, even now, I was positioned in their blind spot.
Up until now, Kazemiya had protected her position by "flirting with the boys."
Even if she decided to stop, they weren't just going to accept it with a simple "oh, is that so?"
It was also a fact that she had betrayed the expectations of the boys she'd been hanging out with.
So, I had anticipated that they might react something like this.
...Though I really didn't want this prediction to come true.
After school.
I hurriedly finished my club prep and headed behind the school building.
A deserted area. Filled with silence. I hid myself in the shade of the trees and waited for a few minutes.
Then, Shirota and his gang showed up.
"...What do you want to talk about in a place like this?"
Kazemiya was surrounded by Shirota's group.
It was a sight I used to see often, but the implications were completely different now.
"Hey, Kanon. In the end, you were just playing us this whole time, weren't you?"
At Shirota's question, Kazemiya looked down.
"...That's right. I know it was wrong of me to lie to you."
"Then shouldn't you take responsibility for it?"
"Responsibility... What am I supposed to do?"
Kazemiya asked, her tone tinged with fear.
Shirota touched Kazemiya's arm with a nasty smirk on his face.
"U-Um... Shirota-kun?"
Kazemiya tried to take a step back, but there were other boys behind her.
"Couldn't you at least let us have a little fun?"
"—Stop it. I'll tell a teacher."
Kazemiya glared fiercely at Shirota.
However, she was clearly pale. Her body was trembling slightly.
"Come on, calm down. It's not like we're gonna eat you alive, you know?"
Even when threatened with a teacher, Shirota remained composed.
"Just, you know. Let us touch you a bit. You get it, right?"
"Eek...!?"
I heard Kazemiya's terrified voice.
The moment I did, I made my footsteps heard as I stepped out from the shade of the trees.
Seeing me suddenly appear, Shirota and the others looked surprised.
"Who the hell are you...? We're in the middle of something here."
Shirota's tone suggested his fun had been ruined, but his eyes widened when he saw the smartphone in my hand.
"You bastard...!"
"As you can see, I'm recording."
"Wha...!?"
Hearing my words, the boys other than Shirota seemed to realize the situation as well.
Right. If this recording were submitted to a teacher, they wouldn't be able to talk their way out of it.
"Why...?"
Kazemiya stared at me, looking incredibly shocked.
I knew. This was a clear violation of the fourth rule of The Covenant.
But this was a matter of priorities. The Covenant was meant to protect us.
If I couldn't protect Kazemiya because I was bound by The Covenant, it would defeat the whole purpose.
"...Kanon. Did you set us up?"
Shirota clicked his tongue and glared at Kazemiya.
"Look who's talking. Weren't you the ones who set Kazemiya up in the first place?"
I had no intention of wearing my daytime mask anymore.
After stopping the recording, I unleashed my true self.
"...Shirota, this guy is from Class 1."
"Huh? Was there a guy like this in Class 1...?"
Shirota furrowed his brows suspiciously.
Well, that would be the expected reaction. Honestly, I'm surprised the other guy even knew me.
"If you don't want me to hand this recording over to a teacher, leave Kazemiya alone."
I flatly laid out my demands to Shirota and his gang.
"...Do you even understand the situation you're in?"
Shirota gave a nasty grin.
"There's no one else around. If we just delete the data off your phone, there's no more evidence."
The boys flanking him seemed to realize the same thing, and they began surrounding me.
"Don't tell me you're resorting to violence? I'd seriously advise against that."
"If you hadn't recorded us, we wouldn't have had to lay a finger on you!"
I parried the fist Shirota swung at me and drove a punch into his stomach.
"Gah...!?"
Shirota crumpled to the ground on the spot.
I've been training my body through basketball, and I also have experience grappling with my drunken uncle.
"I told you to stop. You're just gonna make things worse for yourself."
I shot a warning glare at Shirota's entourage, who were already cowering now that their leader was down.
"What... are you guys doing...?"
Shirota managed to bark out an order between dry heaves.
However, these guys probably didn't have the same level of resolve as him.
"Y-You can't just tell us to do that..."
"Isn't this going a bit too far?"
They were just following Shirota; it wasn't like they were some kind of delinquent gang.
They weren't used to fighting, and they were terrified of making this into a huge ordeal. That was why they weren't attacking me.
Of course, if they all came at me at once, I didn't know what would happen.
But if this dragged on, Kazemiya would probably call a teacher.
And that really would be the end for them.
"All I'm saying is to stay away from Kazemiya. As long as you keep to that, I won't submit this to anyone."
The eyes of the entourage shifted to the crouching Shirota.
"...Fine."
Shirota's face twisted in bitterness before he gave a small nod.
"Can I ask you one thing? What exactly are you to Kanon?"
"I'm her friend."
I answered from the bottom of my heart.
Now that things had come to this, there was no point in trying to hide my connection to her.
"Is that so..."
Stumbling to his feet, Shirota limped away with his lackeys in tow.
Kazemiya and I were the only ones left. A heavy silence fell over us for a moment.
"...What do you think you're doing? Isn't that a violation of The Covenant?"
"There are more important things at stake. It's the same as back then."
I couldn't lose sight of what I really needed to protect.
"...Idiot."
Hearing my words, Kanon's face crumpled.
She threw her arms around me, leaning her entire weight against my chest. I gently supported her.
Her frame was incredibly delicate and light.
"...I was so scared."
Her body trembled in my arms.
"...I'm sorry."
The truth was, I could have stepped in sooner.
But I purposefully held back, waiting until I had definitive proof.
Even so, doing that meant letting Kanon go through something terrifying.
"...No, it's okay."
"...You really shouldn't follow guys to deserted places like this so easily."
"...I was scared, but I didn't want to needlessly doubt my friends."
She must have wanted to believe in them.
They were the ones she had spent all her time with, for better or for worse.
"...This is just the price I have to pay for maintaining such an unhealthy relationship with them."
Kanon let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"It's true that you might have given them false hope only to betray it."
But even so, I continued.
"That doesn't mean they had any right to lay a hand on you when you were so clearly terrified."
Dragging her to a deserted spot like this and trying to grope her without an ounce of hesitation...
At that point, there was zero room for defending them.
"...I know. Really, I should be angry about this."
Despite her words, there was no anger seeping into her voice.
"And yet, I'm just scared. Scared that Shirota and the others are going to hate me now."
...I see.
She wasn't trembling because she had almost been assaulted.
It was the fear of losing the adoration she had been receiving from Shirota and his group.
"I knew this was what it meant to expose my true self, too."
"...I'm sorry, Kazemiya."
I had fed her such an overly optimistic ideal.
I told her that if everyone saw the real her, they would still love her.
But this was reality.
Some people would accept the changing Kazemiya, and some wouldn't.
"...No, it's not your fault. It was my choice."
Saying that, Kazemiya smoothly pulled away from me.
Her eyes were red and puffy, but I pretended not to notice.
"Thank you for saving me."
"...You're surprisingly honest."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kazemiya shot me a sulky glare.
"But this stays... our little secret, okay?"
She pressed a slender index finger to her lips.
"...Understood."
Yet another secret was added to the pile.
Only this time, it was one between just Kazemiya and me.
Not that I had any complaints. If word of this Covenant violation got out, it would just cause more trouble. It was better to keep this under wraps. I understood the logic behind it, and yet, a strange sense of unease gnawed at me.
After stepping back, Kanon suddenly reached out and squeezed my hand.
"...What's wrong?"
"Holding your hand like this... it makes me feel safe."
Seeing how genuinely relieved she looked, it was hard to point out.
Was the current Kazemiya trying to curry favor with me?
Was she trying to secure her own peace of mind by extracting affection from me?
"...It's already time for club activities to start."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'll head out first."
"Alright."
With that, Kanon turned her back to me and walked away.
After making sure she was completely gone, I finally began to move as well.
...I really hope this is the end of it all.
One week passed since then.
Today, Kazemiya was happily chatting with Kashima-san and the others just like usual.
It had become a familiar sight. She had successfully carved out a new place for herself in the classroom.
Meanwhile, Shirota and his gang were chatting away, keeping their distance from her.
It seemed they were honoring their promise to me, at least for now.
Unable to shake my concern, I slipped out of my own club practice and made my way over to the tennis courts.
I pretended to just be passing by as I checked on her, but it looked like she was properly participating in practice there, too.
School life, club activities—everything was going swimmingly. Kazemiya's youth was finally smooth sailing.
—Except, something felt off.
Maybe I was the only one picking up on this sense of wrongness.
The current Kazemiya seemed as fragile as thin ice.
Even when she smiled, there was this dangerous air about her, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
And yet, daytime Kazemiya was perfectly fine.
Did that mean I was just overthinking things? —No, that wasn't it.
We were members of 'The Don't Want To Go Home Alliance.'
If she wasn't having any problems during the day, then her issues had to be happening at night.
Right as the sun set, it began to rain.
Club practice had ended, and normally I would stay behind for some extra drills... but I decided to skip out on that today.
I changed into my uniform in the clubroom building, popped open my umbrella, and headed straight for the secret base.
I just couldn't stop worrying about Kazemiya.
According to the group chat, she was supposed to be there tonight.
Of course, showing up early didn't guarantee she would actually be there yet.
Since it was earlier than usual, I stayed alert to my surroundings as I approached the old gym storage.
Light was spilling out from the secret base. At the very least, someone was inside.
When I pulled open the door, I found Kazemiya standing inside.
"...Kazemiya?"
I called out to her back.
She swayed slightly as she turned around to face me.
"...Minase?"
Her eyes were completely red and swollen.
"...Are you okay?"
The moment I stepped closer to her, my vision suddenly flipped upside down.
Before I knew it, I was staring at the ceiling, with Kanon's face occupying the center of my view.
Feeling the thick carpet pressing against my back, the situation finally registered.
"What's going on... Kazemiya?"
Kazemiya had pinned me to the floor.
With my back against the plush carpet, I looked up at her straddling me.
Drip, drop. Warm drops of water splashed against my chest.
It wasn't a leak in the secret base's ceiling.
Kazemiya was crying.
"What is it? What happened?"
The second I asked, Kazemiya's fingertips lightly brushed against my groin.
I couldn't help the jolt that shot through my body.
"H-Hey...!?"
I was a guy. There was no way I wouldn't react in a situation like this.
But the way Kazemiya was acting right now was definitely strange. This wasn't the time to be giving in to lust.
"I'm going to ask you again. What happened?"
Even still, Kazemiya refused to answer.
"Minase. Will you go out with me?"
"...Excuse me?"
Kazemiya let out a broken, tearful laugh.
Her expression carried a dangerously intoxicating charm to it.
"As long as you love me, I don't need anything else."
As she said that, Kazemiya leaned her face closer to mine.
Whether to reject this kiss, or accept it—I was forced to make a decision.
If I rejected Kazemiya's kiss while she was spiraling out of control like this, there was no telling what she might do.
On the other hand, if I accepted it, we could at least get through this moment. I could worry about the aftermath later.
Above all else, Kazemiya was beautiful. Her adorable expression was so captivating I almost let it sweep me away.
But then... Tsukimi-senpai's face unexpectedly flashed through my mind.
"Even if it's fake, you're still my boyfriend, Shuuto-kun, so you can't be doing things like that, okay?"
Ah, that's right. That was why I had to reject this kiss.
"...Don't run away."
I grabbed Kazemiya by the shoulders and stopped the kiss.
Kazemiya was starved for love. Fundamentally, she was dependent on others.
Right now, in her emotionally unstable state, she was trying to turn me into her new pillar of dependency.
"...Don't you love me, Minase?" she asked.
Why did she think that? Because I had been helping her all this time.
If I accepted this kiss and became her boyfriend, I was sure it would temporarily stabilize her emotionally.
But fundamentally, it wouldn't solve a single thing.
"I do love you. Just like I told you before," I replied.
"Then why are you rejecting me?"
"Because it isn't in a romantic sense."
"...I knew it. I just can't believe in a connection without romance," she scoffed.
"I thought you wanted to change that part of yourself?"
Kanon's already tear-streaked face twisted even further.
"Tell me, Kazemiya. I want to know what happened to you."
Kazemiya kept her head down, offering no response.
"...Why?" she whispered.
"If a friend is acting strange, it's only natural to worry."
"...Friend."
Kazemiya murmured the word as if testing its resonance.
"Liar. You aren't my friend!"
"...You've changed me, Kazemiya," I told her.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Watching you change gave me courage."
Seeing how hard she tried had encouraged me.
"That's why, if you're ever in trouble, I want to help you too."
I reached out and touched her face.
With my thumb, I wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I... don't know the first thing about you," she mumbled.
"Don't say something so lonely."
"It's because we have this place... Because you're so kind, I...!"
"...Something really did happen with your family, didn't it?"
Kazemiya squeezed the hem of my shirt tightly.
"...I saw my dad," she confessed.
That was a shocking revelation.
"...I thought your dad went missing...?"
"Yeah. He disappeared around the time I graduated elementary school, and I hadn't seen him once since then."
"Then why now?"
"He suddenly showed up at the house. He looked completely different."
"...To see you?"
When I asked that, Kazemiya's face crumpled.
I already knew the answer. If that had been his reason, she wouldn't be in this state.
"He came to ask my mom for money."
Her hoarse voice as she explained carried a heart-wrenching anguish.
"...I see."
"Naturally, they got into a huge fight. In the end, he was kicked out of the house."
"What about... you?"
"...He didn't say a word to me."
Kazemiya laughed self-deprecatingly.
"The only thing he asked me was, 'Kanon, is she here?'"
...She had told me before that her father was a kind man.
I didn't think she was lying. People simply change.
"They just kept arguing the whole time, completely ignoring me."
Kazemiya had already grown emotionally unstable after losing the affection of Shirota and the others.
If, on top of that, she realized that the love she truly desired didn't even exist... what would happen to her?
"I always knew, deep down... that the reason I'm in this situation is because they never loved me."
Drop by drop, the tears I thought I had wiped away began to fall once more.
"But... somewhere deep inside, I just couldn't let go of my hopes."
Kazemiya had been forced to face reality.
A reality she could have remained blissfully ignorant of, had she never reunited with her father.
"I even mustered up the courage to step in and mediate. As my true self."
"..."
"...Do you know what my mom said to me?"
I could imagine.
But I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't want it to be true.
"She just said... 'Were you always like this?'... That was it."
It was exactly the response I had expected.
Kazemiya's mother simply had no interest in her. Not even in her daughter's own personality.
To the point where such a drastic change didn't even bother her.
"...I feel like such an idiot. The only thing my mom ever cared about were my grades. But I suppose that's still slightly better than my dad, who has absolutely no interest in me whatsoever."
...And now, she had been abandoned regarding her grades as well.
Kazemiya's family had stopped being her allies a long time ago.
"...That must have been hard for you," I said.
"Do you even understand how I feel?" she shot back.
I felt a hint of expectation lingering in her gaze.
An expectation that, as her fellow alliance member, I might actually understand her feelings.
"...I can't say I understand how you feel."
But I shook my head.
I could imagine the pain. But I couldn't just casually claim to understand it.
"Why not...?!"
"Because my parents have been dead for a long time."
The moment the words left my mouth, nausea welled up from the pit of my stomach.
"I'm... sorry..."
Somehow swallowing it down, I continued.
"It's fine."
"...I actually knew, deep down. That I was just dreaming of a happy family."
That was why Kazemiya was starved for love.
Even knowing it wouldn't truly fulfill her, she had relied on an external source of affection.
"...Even if I became your boyfriend, I could never replace your family."
If I accepted her kiss, Kazemiya might feel temporarily satisfied.
The grounded connection of lovers might even hold her heart together for a time.
But that wasn't what she truly wanted.
"Then... what am I supposed to do?" she murmured, lost.
Kazemiya's voice was a frail whisper.
"How am I supposed to get what I want?! How am I supposed to find my happiness?!"
"...Don't you already know the answer?"
I asked her.
Subconsciously, Kazemiya had to know the answer.
"Aren't you slowly getting closer to the kind of person you can love?"
At my words, her eyes went wide.
"The truth is... you want to love yourself, don't you?"
To love the self she hated.
Everything Kazemiya had done up until now culminated in that single desire.
Once she could learn to love herself, she wouldn't need to depend on anyone else.
"That's why you started playing tennis, right?"
Because she wanted to find something she enjoyed doing, and discover a new side to herself.
"That's also why you bared your true self to everyone."
Because she wanted to cast off the twisted mask she had worn just to earn her family's love.
"I..."
Her words spilled out alongside her tears.
"I want... to be someone I can be proud of in front of everyone..."
That was Kazemiya's true desire.
"I'll support you. I want you to become the person you want to be."
That meant moving forward, past simply "baring her true self."
"...Can I really? Someone like me?" she sobbed softly.
"Don't put yourself down by saying 'someone like me' anymore. Stop making fun of my friend."
I was sure that learning to love oneself was no simple feat.
"Let's work towards living a life where you aren't bound by your family."
Even so.
Just knowing she wasn't alone would make it feel possible.
"...Idiot."
Kazemiya stared at me with an expression that made it impossible to tell whether she was crying or smiling.
"If you go that far... then I can't exactly run away, can I?"
Eventually, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and flashed me a defiant grin.
"...I'll think about it. About how to become the person I want to be."
For a moment there, I hadn't been sure what was going to happen, but it looked like Kazemiya had bounced back.
"...I'm sorry for making you worry."
In any case, the matter was settled. Or so I thought, until—
"Eh?!"
A voice came from the direction of the door.
Followed by the dull thud of a bag dropping to the floor.
When I looked over, Tsukimi-senpai was staring at us with a dumbfounded expression.
Stay calm. Let's assess the situation.
Right now, Kazemiya has me pinned down, straddling me.
And thanks to a bit of a struggle, my clothes are completely disheveled.
Anyone would misunderstand if they saw this.
"T-T-The Alliance isn't a place for doing stuff like that!?"
Tsukimi-senpai's face was bright red, her eyes spinning in circles.
"N-No! Tsukimi-senpai, this isn't what it looks like..."
"Hehe."
Just as I frantically tried to explain myself, Kazemiya chuckled in amusement.
"Oh? Want to join us, Kaede-senpai?"
"J-Join you!? That's a bit... too high level for me!?"
...Would it be fine if the level was low?
Tsukimi-senpai seemed completely overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events.
"Look, this is just an accident!" I said.
"It's no accident," Kazemiya said. "I attacked Minase."
"Whaaa!?"
"Kazemiya, stop messing around!"
"I'm being completely serious, though... Well, whatever."
Perhaps satisfied, Kazemiya finally got off me.
Finally free, I sat up.
"Maybe we should add a fifth rule to the Covenant... to ban things like this..."
Tsukimi-senpai muttered something under her breath.
Kazemiya didn't know about it, but since we had a Fake Lovers Contract, I was terrified of the backlash that was sure to come.
Tsukimi Kaede: "You have a lot of explaining to do later!"
Glancing at my phone, I saw a notification pop up.
...Well, of course she'd say that. Honestly, it was depressing just thinking about it. How was I supposed to explain this?
When I looked over at Tsukimi-senpai, she was puffing her cheeks out in displeasure.
"What are you all doing?"
"Looks kinda fun?"
Stepping into this chaotic scene were Akazawa and Ogino.
"What do you mean, 'what are we doing'!? Minase-kun and Kanon were engaging in i-impure heterosexual relations!"
Could she have phrased that any worse?
"No, like I said, that's not what happened..."
"And? The Alliance operates outside the bounds of the rules, does it not?"
Unbothered, Akazawa took off his coat and hung it on a hanger. He clearly wasn't taking her seriously.
"What're impure heterosexual relations?"
Meanwhile, Ogino stared blankly, tilting her head.
"Well, you see, it's s-se..."
"Se?"
Faced with Ogino's innocent curiosity, Tsukimi-senpai choked on her words.
"—Anyway, what's wrong is wrong!"
As Tsukimi-senpai shouted, her face flushed beet red, Ogino simply looked bewildered.
"As I thought... I really do feel the safest here."
Watching the two of them, Kazemiya giggled softly.
"...Yeah."
It looked like it was going to be another lively night.
Our secret youth continued to shine brightly in the darkness of the night.
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