May 14th, Friday.
Days went on, and the students were embraced by nothing but normalcy. Some might say that the mundane life of a high schooler is boring, but I'd argue that it's the best. This was the peaceful high school life I was hoping for.
I checked the tutors' group chat to reread some of our conversations. Things got pretty dicey after Chabashira-sensei announced something earlier.
(18:46) [How are things on your end?]
(18:46) [Is everything alright?] (Hirata)
(18:46) [Yes.]
(18:47) [I think everyone felt the same frustration as we did, but fortunately, they're still pretty motivated.] (Kushida)
(18:47) [That's a relief.]
(18:47) [How about the others?] (Hirata)
(18:47) [My group is fine.] (Ayanokouji)
(18:48) [Same here.] (Yukimura)
(18:48) [My group is also doing fine.] (Horikita)
(18:48) [So is mine.] (Matsushita)
(18:48) [Me too.] (Mii-chan)
(18:49) [I see... Really, that's a relief...] (Hirata)
(18:49) [But to think they'd change the coverage of our exam this late.]
(18:49) [It's pretty strange.]
(18:49) [There are only two weeks left.] (Horikita)
(18:50) [I'm sure all classes are on edge...] (Kushida)
(18:50) [I feel the same.]
(18:50) [But all we can do now is move forward.]
(18:51) [Let's continue our hard work, everyone.] (Hirata)
(18:51) [Alright, you got it.] (Ayanokouji)
(18:51) [I'll do what I can to improve them.] (Yukimura)
(18:52) [Yeah, I have Ishikura-san helping me too.] (Matsushita)
(18:52) [Yes!]
(18:52) [Nishimura-san has been a lot of help for me, too.]
(18:52) [She's so reliable that I sometimes forget I'm the tutor!] (Mii-chan)
(18:52) [Fight on! We can do this! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*] (Kushida)
The Ayanokouji Group's session finished early. After saying goodbye to my friends, I walked back to the classroom and saw the other groups.
"Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida stood up as soon as she saw me.
The rest of my classmates who were also present in the room greeted me. From their seat, I can see Ike and Yamauchi glaring daggers at me.
"How are your sessions going?" I asked.
"It's going great. All of them are still pressured by the sudden change, but we're being careful not to cram carelessly," Kushida answered with a smile.
I sat at the back of the classroom near Kushida's group. Taking out the study materials from my bag, I started coming up with new questions for Ken and the others. I can comfortably hear the discussions of Kushida's group with the distance I took.
"Kushida-chan is so smart! I can't believe that was the answer all along!" Ike praised her vigorously.
"With Kushida-chan teaching me, I can probably aim for a perfect score!" Yamauchi bragged on.
"Hey, why don't you two shut up for a moment? I can't focus over here!" scolded Shinohara.
Makida and Azuma just smiled bitterly as they continued what they were doing. Their reactions told me that this was a common occurrence.
"E-Everyone, let's get our heads in the game, okay? I'm not as smart as Ayanokouji-kun or Horikita-san, but I'll try my best to answer anything you don't understand." Kushida's wry smile rejuvenated Ike and Yamauchi's sour expressions.
"You've been doing that from the start, Kushida-chan!" Yamauchi said.
"Yeah! There's no way you ain't as smart as them! I can already feel myself getting infected by your intelligence!" followed Ike.
Some minutes passed and it was finally time to wrap things up.
"Good work again today, everyone! Let's talk about our plans this weekend so we can relax with efficiency. Is that alright with you all?" Hirata asked everyone in the classroom.
"Yes!"
"We can get to hang out during weekends again!"
"Yey~!"
Of course, everyone in the class acknowledged his words with glee. With Hirata's own abilities and charisma, getting the class to act as one looked like an easy feat.
Finally, the only ones left in the room were Nishimura, Mii-chan, Hirata, Kushida, and me. We were all busy with making new sample questions to use for our next sessions. Kushida and I sat next to each other quite closely, to the point where our shoulders occasionally touched. I let her use my questions as references so she can finish her quota with speed. We chatted constantly like we usually did. If Ike or Yamauchi saw this, they would probably try to kill me.
"I'm finally done! Thanks a lot, Ayanokouji-kun! Your questions have been a huge help as usual!" Kushida thanked me with an angelic smile.
"No problem. Just tell me if you're having trouble with the tutoring. I'll help you anytime," I answered.
"Mn~! I'll be counting on you, Ayanokouji-kun! I'll head back to the dorms now," she nodded cutely. "Well then, I'll go ahead first! Hirata-kun, thanks for today, as always! Ryuuko-chan, Mii-chan, I'll see you tomorrow!"
And with that, we all waved Kushida goodbye.
I let two minutes pass, before standing up to head out of the room.
"I'll head to the bathroom for a bit." I gave the three of them a heads-up.
"Ah, sure, Ayanokouji-kun," said Hirata.
I checked the clock and saw that it was 6:39 PM. We asked permission to use the classroom until 7:00 PM, so we still had some time. I was looking out the window this whole time to check Kushida's exiting figure. She wouldn't go anywhere else but here if she really planned on heading back to the dorms. Also, two minutes was more than enough to reach the shoe lockers, change into our outdoor shoes, and exit the building.
It's the fourth time that this exact situation has happened. For the first three times, I checked every nook and cranny of the first three floors. I even spied near the girls' bathrooms to check if Kushida exits at some point. Now, there was only one place left to check before I could conclude that Kushida did indeed use the other exit on the opposite side of the building: The rooftop.
I ran as fast as I could without making any noise. When I finally reached the third floor, I heard the sound of footsteps going up towards the rooftop. If that was Kushida, she was either walking pretty slowly, or she briefly stopped and did something. Regardless, I decided to follow the person stealthily.
As expected, the door to the rooftop was opened by someone. Peeking through the small opening, I saw her approaching the edge.
It was Kushida.
"Finally... It only took 37 days before I might actually get something," I muttered softly.
I wondered if she got permission from anyone since the door was usually locked after school.
I can't possibly hear her from this far. I've confirmed that the door won't make a noise if I open it back when Horikita and I come here to interrogate Chabashira-sensei. Kushida wasn't facing my direction, so I decided to completely hide my presence with the help of the night's darkness and enter the rooftop.
For all I know, Kushida might just be here to catch some fresh air. The other possibility is that she's here to meet with someone. Should the case be either of those, I'll just head back without question and continue on with my life.
However...
I had it ready in case something else went on. I put all of my strength into hiding my presence. I stopped breathing entirely, to the point where the sound of my heartbeat was probably more noticeable than my entire body. It was a necessary measure considering that I was just a couple of meters away from Kushida, who was facing the nightly scenery of the campus.
And then it happened.
"Ahhh, screw this!" Even if her volume was loud, the tone was so low that it didn't sound like Kushida at all.
"They're so gross! They're seriously so damn gross! Always trying to ogle me, always trying to get close to me—!" Kushida grumbled as if she was trying to put a curse on someone.
"Your ulterior motives are so obvious you damned perverts! Ike and Yamauchi, you two should just die!"
Ike and Yamauchi, huh? I wonder how Kushida would react if she also knew of their wild fantasies about her.
"And that bitch Shinohara... Don't try to talk just because you're not getting praised, you minion! Go back to your co-lackeys and obey that head bitch Karuizawa!" she continued.
A part of me still wanted all of this to be a dream. After all, this was Kushida Kikyou; the angelic sociable girl, the one who brought the class together with me and the others...
And my very first friend.
But of course, I had to accept reality because it was right before my eyes. For all I know, she might've just pretended to be my friend.
"Agghh! All of this is that damned Horikita's fault! She must have intentionally assigned those annoying people to me!"
She huffed and puffed as her voice came and went. The sounds gradually dissipated into the air along with the hateful words that she freely let loose.
Kushida turned around and saw no one there besides herself. Or at least, that's what I expected to happen because I left the rooftop before she had the chance to do so.
I ran as fast as I could and returned to Class 1-B's room, letting my slightly ragged breathing get noticed by the students remaining inside. This should be more efficient. The lack of oxygen in my brain after holding my breath for so long combined with my full running speed took a bit of a toll on my body. Even if they ask me about it, I have a foolproof story ready.
"Ayanakouji-kun? You took some time in the bathroom, huh?" said Hirata.
"You're panting quite hard... Are you alright?" Nishimura asked, tilting her head.
I can also see Mii-chan looking at me with a concerned expression.
"S-Sorry... I had to run as fast as I could... I thought I saw something back there..." I narrated with a nervous tone.
"A-A-A ghost...?" Mii-chan asked with a terrified expression.
"Maybe... but to me, it was more like a demoness," I replied.
A demoness, huh? Now I started thinking... How should I deal with this demoness?