81 Act 14: Scene 5

Once lunchtime came around, everyone headed to the cafeteria to eat. For Kiyotaka, it was a small break from the hectic day that he was going through... especially now that he was in a place that's not only occupied by his classmates, but also students from other classes.

He was only grateful that everyone else who was in the cafeteria with them were too focused on their respective lunches or their friends to notice him. It seems that despite last week's events that transpired with his heroines, he was still safe from the attention of the entire school... although, it's not like this would last. Sooner or later, the school will turn its attention to him and when that happens, all he can do is be prepared to live with it.

That being said, his lunchtime was far from being peaceful... thanks to Ichika, Suzune, and Kikyo being at the same table as him. Kei was with her other friends, Airi sat alone, and Chiaki... was nowhere to be found. Now, he had already spent lunch breaks eating with his two classmates in the past, but Ichika wasn't anything like them.

If he had to make a quick guess, either Ichika would behave herself and eat lunch with them in peace, or she would annoy the hell out of him in some way just because.

"Senpai, you're not very popular around here, are you?" the scarlet-haired girl asked her dear roommate as she sat down at their chosen table with her tray of food.

Kiyotaka sighed to himself, knowing that even when he was being ignored by everyone else, he still wasn't going to have a moment of peace.

Yep, it's definitely the second guess he made.

Standing behind him were Suzune and Kikyo and just like in the classroom, both were frowning at the younger girl. Out of annoyance this time instead of suspicion, though. Their classmate wasn't the only one who's bothered by Ichika's presence.

"On the contrary, I definitely think it's the opposite. If you were paying attention earlier, then you'd see that I was uncomfortable with a lot of our classmates demanding answers regarding last week's events," Kiyotaka answered her as he sat down with his tray of food.

"Eh? I thought everyone was just your friend and they were asking you harmless questions," Ichika asked, feigning innocence.

Suzune shook her head in disappointment as she sat down and began to shift her focus to eating her lunch. "And here I thought you were someone who has good observation skills, Amasawa-san."

Ichika laughed to herself at the reaction that she got from Suzune. "What do you mean, Horikita-senpai?"

"What Horikita-san is trying to say is that Ayanokouji-kun is only friends with a select few people in the classroom," Kikyo sighed while shaking her head. At this point, she didn't think it was even worth it to get angry at Amasawa... she just wanted to be done with the issue and have a relaxing meal because she was hungry.

Ayanokouji just watched the ongoing interaction between the three girls with a blank look on his face. Even until now, his classmates were still at odds with his roommate. He didn't know whether to be disappointed at Kushida and Horikita for letting themselves fall for the obvious trap, or to be annoyed at Amasawa for instigating this in the first place.

Furthermore, Kikyo's words just now also caused him to wince, because it felt like an attack to his own self-esteem. Harsh as they were, but it's not like they weren't true.

"Compared to me, Kushida is popular because of how she looks in front of other people, even if she's only putting on a mask. She has an array of admirers and friends who are ready to hang out with her whenever she wants," the young man thought to himself. "On the other hand, there's me who didn't become popular because I'm kind or angelic like Kushida. It's because of everything that's happening to me that I'm now popular."

Yeah, it's truly because of everything around him that he's even 'popular'... most notably because of his heroines. No, he wasn't blaming them for his misfortunes, but they're indeed the very reason why he's a prevalent topic within their own classroom. Seriously, his other classmates couldn't stop interrogating him earlier for answers regarding his heroine's actions last week despite Hirata's attempts to help him out of his situation. They only stopped when they heard the bell ring, which caused them to return to their seats.

Right now, Kiyotaka knew that this was only a brief period of peace before his woes would continue... which is what will happen once lunch break is over and they'd have to return to the classroom afterwards.

"But if you're popular, senpai... then why isn't anyone talking to you or anything?" asked Ichika, turning her attention back to Kiyotaka as she took a bite of her club sandwich.

"Why the many questions towards Ayanokouji-kun, Amasawa-san?" Suzune asked her in return, feeling her patience growing thinner every time Ichika opened her mouth.

Amasawa shrugged. "I'm just really curious about senpai because, you know, this is the first time I'm learning about him that's not information from other people. I'm seeing him with my own eyes."

"If I were you, Horikita, I would just ignore Amasawa because you are falling for the obvious bait," Kiyotaka sighed mentally.

"That reminds me. Ayanokouji-kun," Kikyo spoke up, turning towards the young man.

Hearing his name being called, Kiyotaka watched with curious eyes as the girl blushed and thought of what she should say. He wondered what she was planning to tell him, but it was probably something regarding the class or an invitation to accompany her somewhere, knowing her..."

"Uhm... I'm sorry that our classmates kept on asking you unwanted questions earlier. It's because of me, Karuizawa-san, and Matsushita-san that everyone else didn't want to leave you alone..."

He blinked a few times in surprise, as he wasn't expecting a sudden apology from the girl. Was she regretting kissing him then? Nah, it couldn't be. Knowing Kushida, she wouldn't regret doing such a thing and she didn't even mind giving their classmates a show but why is she apologizing then?

Kiyotaka shook his head. "It's fine. I'm not angry at you, if that's what you're worried about. I do have to wonder why you chose to do what you did last week in front of everyone, though."

"Ehehe... honestly, I just felt like doing it," she laughed nervously while doing a 'teehee' pose.

Suzune frowned. "That's not a good answer, Kushida-san. It's because of you that Matsushita-san and Karuizawa-san approached Ayanokouji-kun with the same intent in mind and caused the issue to blow up even further."

"Ugh, don't remind me..." Kikyo groaned in her mind.

Of course, she didn't regret kissing him in front of everyone like she was marking her territory. It was the only way of telling her classmates to stay away from her and Kiyotaka without outright saying it. What made her feel angry is that Chiaki and Kei did the exact same thing afterwards and caused their classmates to bother Kiyotaka endlessly with their pointless questions.

"I know that, Horikita-san. But I just wanted to make a statement after what you said," she answered honestly.

Horikita raised an eyebrow. Her friend was obviously referring to when she said that neither she, Kushida, Matsushita, nor Karuizawa were dating Ayanokouji. Yet it didn't make sense at all.

"But what I said last week has nothing to do with what you did. I told Hirata-kun that none of us were dating Ayanokouji-kun. That statement applies to me, you, Matsushita-san, and Karuizawa-san. Unless, of course, you are actually dating Ayanokouji-kun?"

"W-We're not dating..." Kikyo laughed nervously. "Not yet, at least..."

Oh, how Kikyo would love it if they were dating for real... because then, she would laugh and gloat about it to Horikita. Bonus points if the bitch even cries about it, because she could smell the jealousy off of her.

It would just make expelling her all the more sweeter.

"So you're saying that you kissed Ayanokouji-kun simply because you wanted to? Or was it a way to convey what you actually feel for him?"

The beige-haired couldn't say anything more after those questions and simply remained quiet, not wanting to answer Suzune with Kiyotaka around. Those things were to be saved for when she's alone with him. Kikyo simply averted her gaze to the side, refusing to say anything else.

Fortunately for Kikyo, Kiyotaka noticed her growing discomfort and quickly spoke up to save her. "Horikita, would you lay off with the questions? First you ask Amasawa to knock it off but then you switch your target to Kushida."

"Ayanokouji-kun, aren't you curious about—"

Kiyotaka cut her off right away. "What Kushida did last week is an issue between the two of us and trust me, I've already talked to her about it. You don't have to involve yourself in it."

"Eh? But I want to know more, senpai!" Ichika interjected, looking disappointed that she won't be able to learn more.

"That goes for you as well," he turned his attention to Amasawa and sent her a blank look. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her games as he just wanted to eat. "Whatever Kushida's reason is, it's none of your business. Stop trying to get yourself involved."

Ichika pouted, but relented in the end. From there, she remained quiet and focused on her lunch instead. She may like to tease her senpai and mess with him when she can, but Ichika knew when to stop. Pissing off the 'Masterpiece' of the White Room wasn't something she wanted to do.

Unfortunately for Kiyotaka, he wouldn't get the peace that he desired just yet. Right after he told Ichika to put a sock in it, he noticed his black-haired neighbor giving him a cold look.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "What?"

"You seem like you've grown closer to Kushida-san and some of our other classmates," she noted through narrowed eyes.

"So what if I was?"

For a moment, he noticed Suzune narrowing her eyes even further as if she was angry about something. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared, however, and the girl went back to her usual cold expression.

"It's nothing."

"It almost seemed like she's jealous..." Kiyotaka said in his thoughts, but choosing not to comment on it any further.