96 Chapter 95: Thoughts of a partner

After trying various things, the next day my groin was very sore and my back hurt, so I stayed in my room.

Two days later, to make the most of the remaining summer vacation, I headed to everyone's favorite Keyaki Mall.

As expected in summer, it was hot, so we went inside and walked toward the café. On the way, we encountered a certain female student.

"Oh, Horagasaki-kun?"

"Karuizawa...?"

It was Kei Karuizawa, Kiyotaka's girlfriend. Come to think of it, we hadn't talked much.

"Are you going to the café now?"

"Well, just to kill time. Shall we go together? I have something I want to talk about."

Wondering what she wanted to talk about, we headed to the café. Since it didn't seem like a heavy conversation, I relaxed and casually took a seat at the café table.

"I want to talk about something. How does Kiyotaka feel about me? Since you're Horagasaki-kun, you might understand Kiyotaka's feelings."

Ah, so she's feeling the distance with her boyfriend lately. But I'm not exactly a love expert.

"Well, I don't know. But I guess he values you, right? He must have his own thoughts."

"Yeah, maybe... Anyway, listen! I kissed Kiyotaka the other day! He looked really cool at that time, and I was like, 'Wow!' We've been together for five months now! And the other day, he said, 'Are you ready?' Ehehe."

Kei Karuizawa, suddenly bursting with energy. She stood up excitedly, covering her face with both hands, messing up my hair as she exclaimed, and now I couldn't see because of my bangs.

Anyway, five months since they started dating. Thinking that, though my vision was blocked by my bangs, I leaned on the table and opened my mouth.

"...I see, today is the day, huh?"

"What should I do? Kiyotaka has been so cool lately! I think Yosuke-kun is first-class too, and Horagasaki-kun is so handsome, but it's still Kiyotaka!"

The topic has changed to sweet talk since earlier. What exactly am I being asked here?

"So, how can I make Kiyotaka pay more attention to me? Please Master of Love!"

Kei Karuizawa pleaded with her hands clasped together and her left eye closed.

"Why me... wouldn't Hirata be better?"

"Because, if I'm seen meeting my ex-boyfriend, what would people say? If I'm with Kiyotaka's good friend Horagasaki-kun, it might be okay, right? Besides, I heard Horagasaki-kun hangs out with various girls like Matsushita-san and Kamuro-san, right?"

"What are you saying... that's really not good."

"Huh? At the festival the other day, there were a lot of girls around you, right? And you were leading them, including Horikita-san..."

I see, so Kei Karuizawa saw that too. That's why she sees me as a love expert. But it's unfortunate, I'm not in love, and those girls are off-limits.

"Well, well, well, well! Anyway, what do you want to order? My treat!"

It would be bad if she keeps talking. Thinking so, I forced a strained smile, opened the menu, and looked at Kei Karuizawa's expression in a deliberate glance.

"Hmm... Horagasaki-kun, you're quite the jerk who toys with girls' hearts, huh?"

I was interrogated with a sharp glare.

"Oh, no, that's not it. It's about Kiyotaka. He's, you know, weak to pressure!"

As I said that, Kei Karuizawa's eyebrows twitched slightly. Can I go with this?

"I see, he's weak to pressure... ehehe."

Good, she's loosening up. Earlier, she was heavy on Kiyotaka, but when it comes to Kiyotaka, she becomes relaxed. This girl isn't complicated, huh?

"How should I seduce him? Hey hey! What do you think is good? Cheongsam? Maid outfit? His shirt? Hey hey!"

"Hey... stop it, will you?"

"I won't. Have you ever been seduced, Horagasaki-kun?"

"Sigh... no."

I covered my face with both hands and sighed, thinking, "I'm tired," and said so.

"Yes, that's a lie. Kamuro-san, Ichinose-san, and the others are trying to seduce you in a maid costume, right?"

"No, that's not true."

"But you're popular, too. You have a handsome face. Can't I admit that? You're handsome."

"....phew"

"Ah, you smiled through your nose just now! You definitely think you're cool!"

"I don't think so, really."

As I said that with a wry smile, Kei Karuizawa suddenly leaned close to my face, her eyes wide open.

"Hey, Horagasaki-kun, do you like Kiyotaka?"

"Huh?... What are you saying?"

Well, as a friend, I do like him. We're in similar situations, and our builds are almost the same. I'm slightly taller, but that's just a margin of error. I'm not one to believe in fate, but I did feel something with Kiyotaka, but Kei Karuizawa says something outrageous.

"Kiyotaka seems to be... you know, kind of following Horagasaki-kun around with his eyes even at school. Did something happen?"

"I have no idea, so even if you ask me, I wouldn't know."

"Hmm, ah! Should I call Kiyotaka now?"

"...Why?"

Kei Karuizawa made a bold suggestion of involving the person in question in their conversation with Kiyotaka. Is she alright? Well, since we're already here, I decided to speak up to Kei Karuizawa.

"So, should we bet on whether he'll come or not?"

"I will."

"I won't."

While waiting for a reply to the message, feeling hungry, I ordered a hamburger, and Kei Karuizawa ordered an omelette rice. Then, about five minutes after sending the message, Kei Karuizawa's phone made a chat notification sound.

"Oh! He's coming."

Looking at the message, it said:

Kei: We're at the café with Horagasaki-kun now. Is Kiyotaka coming?

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji: I'm coming.

And that was written there. It doesn't seem like Kiyotaka 's usual messages.

"See? I told you."

Kei Karuizawa showed her white teeth with a smirk. Then she added:

"He's definitely coming if he knows Horagasaki-kun is there. He seems a bit jealous of Horagasaki-kun."

Puffing out her cheeks, she rested her face in her hands, elbows on the table. Huh, she's kinda cute. Then, after about ten minutes, the orders we placed arrived.

"Were you hungry?"

"Yeah, kinda. I haven't eaten much since yesterday."

"Oh, isn't that Kiyotaka over there?"

When Kei Karuizawa pointed her finger, I looked in the direction and spotted Kiyotaka looking around. Kei Karuizawa waved her hands vigorously like a dog and gestured where we were.

"Combining Kei and Jin, that's rare."

"Is it? Anyway, did you order anything?"

"Yeah, I'll go with this."

Kiyotaka also sat down and ordered salad and fried chicken.

"Kiyotaka , did you come because Horagasaki-kun is here?"

Grinning mischievously, Kei Karuizawa looked at Kiyotaka . Kiyotaka , with a blank expression but blushing cheeks, ignored Kei Karuizawa's words.

After Kiyotaka's order arrived, he started eating using chopsticks.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, wanna try?"

"Sure."

Taking the dish from Kiyotaka , I picked up a piece of fried chicken with my chopsticks, while Kiyotaka muttered under his breath,

"These are the chopsticks I was using..."

"It's okay."

Seeing that, Kei Karuizawa wore a wicked grin, teasing us from time to time. Kiyotaka was blushing and trembling with his face down, something rare for him. Ignoring it, I brought the fried chicken to my mouth.

"Bon appétit."

"Oh, there's drool all over the chopsticks..."

Kei Karuizawa has been teasing us intermittently since earlier. Looking at Kiyotaka, who had turned bright red while looking down, he suddenly said,

"Hey, you're noisy."

"Seems like Horagasaki-kun is embarrassed too~."

Kiyotaka drank some water and tried to maintain his composure, while Kei Karuizawa seemed to find it amusing, but I could tell, her eyes were definitely not laughing. She was probably jealous of me, as I could sense an aura of "I won't let go of Kiyotaka " from her.

"Hey, Jin... Can I have some of your hamburger?"

Kiyotaka , still maintaining a poker face but with flushed cheeks, glanced sideways at me, and looking at Kei Karuizawa, she tightly gripped her spoon she had been using, and I heard a cracking sound. No, this must be from the restaurant's spoon, isn't it? This is bad.

"Here, have some. Try it."

"Sorry... Mmm... this is delicious."

I could see Kiyotaka looking a bit happy, like he's in a flower garden. Kei Karuizawa, smiling as she looked at Kiyotaka , moved her omelette rice closer to Kiyotaka .

"Come on, Kiyotaka , try my omelette rice too!"

"It's okay, I only accept omelette rice made by Jin."

"Huh?"

"Yay, see, it's different!"

I rejoiced at the simple happiness and smirked at Kei Karuizawa. She widened her eyes in surprise, then immediately emitted a dark aura while intimidating Kiyotaka .

"Hey, are you kidding me? I'm your girlfriend, right? You prefer your friend over your lover?"

"S-Sorry... Kei, can you pass it to me too?"

"Sure thing, Kiyotaka , aaah~"

With an immediate full smile, Kei Karuizawa fed Kiyotaka . Kiyotaka also said "aaah" and ate it. What am I even witnessing here?

"Just go home and do that."

"Oh, come on. Kiyotaka looks happy, soit's fine, right?"

"Well, I guess... whatever."

I didn't quite understand why I came here, but lunch ended like that, and the two of them disbanded. As I was on my way back to the dormitory after doing some light shopping, I encountered Kiyotaka again.

"Jin...!"

"Oh, Kiyotaka ."

Kiyotaka came close to me, standing beside me. He glanced at the bags I was carrying and muttered something.

"I'll carry that for you?"

Oh my, what a gentleman. But it's not particularly heavy, so I'll decline.

"It's okay, it's light enough. By the way, where's Kei Karuizawa?"

"We just parted ways with her. By the way, Jin, would you like to have dinner with me if it's not too much trouble?"

"Huh? I'm totally fine with that. But let's keep it a secret from Kei Karuizawa. If she finds out, she might say something."

With a wink and a smile directed at Kiyotaka , he blushed and tightly squeezed my arm. Oh, what's with this guy, he's creepy...

"Hey, what are you doing..."

"I don't know, it just felt natural..."

"Sorry, I kinda freaked out just now..."

Kiyotaka showed a somewhat dejected aura despite his expressionless face, making me feel like I might have done something wrong...

"I-I guess so... I'm sorry."

Kiyotaka emits an aura akin to that of a boy who just got his heart broken. At that moment, I suddenly decided to ask Kiyotaka , prepared to sever our ties.

"Hey Kiyotaka , you... do you like me?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

Kiyotaka , unusually, looks bewildered. While I could understand it if it were as friends, his gaze has been reminiscent of the looks he gives to Kamuro or Matsushita. So, I took a chance and asked, hitting the nail on the head.

"I-It's not true?"

"...Yeah, that's right. I'm more interested in you than any other girls. Despite being born into a normal family, you stand in the same realm as me, and I'm genuinely intrigued by you. Also... you're cool."

It sounded like he muttered the last part, but maybe I shouldn't have heard that. That's what I think. Kiyotaka continues speaking.

"This is the first time I've felt such emotions. This is what it means to be interested in someone..."

"Maybe."

I nod in agreement. Perhaps Kiyotaka barely has any emotions. Well, it's not surprising. Growing up in a facility like that would make anyone that way. Well, except for Amasawa.

Here, I start thinking something terrifying. In other words, judging from the conversation, Kiyotaka doesn't have any special feelings for Karuizawa either.

However, considering the affection Kiyotaka is showing toward me, there must be some feelings there. He probably doesn't see Karuizawa as a girlfriend; perhaps Kiyotaka is trying to help her become more independent.

Observing, it's evident that Kei Karuizawa is a delicate and easily dependent girl. Due to the intense bullying in middle school, she sought someone to save her and became dependent on them. Overcoming that, standing up on her own and facing forward alone must hold significance, and perhaps Kiyotaka started dating her with that in mind. That's what I think, but I don't really know what the reality is.

AyanoKoji Kiyotaka is a rather eerie and enigmatic guy.

(A/N: No gay) 

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