Chapter 92: Hayasaka Ai Takes the Initiative Again
Wednesday, the last day before Golden Week break.
The homeroom teacher was on the podium, going over important reminders—
Don't go to dangerous places, there'll be midterm exams after Golden Week, don't forget to study during the break, make sure to finish your holiday assignments...
All the same old things.
In the classroom, Shinomiya Kaguya noticed something strange about the general affairs Sakurai today.
Though he was already weird on normal days, today he was especially indifferent. Sakurai usually greeted his classmates every morning, but today he didn't. Kaguya, being an Ojou-sama, didn't care about those "weed-class students," but what caught her attention was something else.
Today, Sakurai Saki didn't greet Hayasaka Ai!
It felt like he was deliberately keeping his distance—that was the impression Sakurai gave Kaguya today.
'Did something unpleasant happen to him?' Shinomiya Kaguya silently guessed.
And indeed, she guessed correctly.
Sakurai Saki was in a very bad mood today.
Though he had long known that a dangerous power would be dangerous, he didn't expect it to be this dangerous.
The effectiveness was beyond question—basically, today there was no way he'd dare to use it.
But as for the side effect, it had to be clearly stated.
[Side effect: When emotions fluctuate strongly, the mind and body will regress to a point in the past. The amount of regression depends on the intensity of the emotional fluctuation.]
At six in the morning, realizing just how dangerous his power was today caused an emotional fluctuation—and then, within half an hour, both his mind and body regressed to what they were one year ago.
Fortunately, the Sakurai Saki from a year ago didn't have a strong destructive urge—just a bit cold. Otherwise, this Earth might have been in serious trouble.
After discovering this side effect, Sakurai Saki had thought he couldn't possibly go to school today. But if he didn't go, what excuse could he give? Saying he wasn't feeling well? In that case, Shirogane and the others would definitely come visit, and that might be even worse.
Besides, he didn't want the contents of the future diary to become even more unpredictable.
At this moment, Sakurai Saki intended to stay uninvolved with anyone.
As for Hayasaka Ai's attempts at closeness, Sakurai Saki was also intentionally avoiding them.
"Alright, that concludes our morning homeroom." The ponytailed homeroom teacher on the podium ended the session, then left the classroom.
Sakurai Saki looked out the window, while Hayasaka Ai was looking at him.
'Feels like the distance between us is growing.'
(• ᴖ •｡ )
Sakurai Saki had no idea that his sudden coldness was starting to confuse Hayasaka Ai.
Ai-chan had always felt that she was the closest person to Sakurai Saki. Although Fujiwara Chika also liked Sakurai Saki, she didn't dare push aggressively; as for the other girls, Sakurai Saki didn't have any feelings toward them—so Ai-chan thought she held a major advantage.
But this morning, when Ai-chan tried to do what she usually did—approach and hug Sakurai Saki—she hadn't even gotten close before he turned her away with a cold stare.
He didn't even say a word.
'Could it be... he doesn't like me anymore?'
; (◞‸◟)
Hayasaka Ai's doubt wasn't unreasonable. When someone once close suddenly becomes distant, such a drastic change would make anyone uneasy.
"Are you feeling unwell, Sakurai-chan?" Hayasaka Ai asked.
Sakurai Saki turned to look at her, his tone somewhat cold: "Please don't talk to me."
In truth, he did want to talk to Hayasaka Ai, but for safety reasons, it was best to avoid it today. If she happened to hug him later, he might regress all the way to infancy.
Right now at school, there were only two girls who could trigger strong emotional fluctuations in him.
"...I see."
૮ ◞ ﻌ ◟ ა
He really doesn't like me anymore.
Hayasaka Ai pretended nothing happened and rested her head on the desk.
At that moment, Sakurai Saki also felt he might have been too harsh, so he added a sentence to comfort her: "I'm just in a bad mood today. Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice at you earlier."
Hayasaka Ai didn't respond, but that particular explanation made her heart race.
( > 〰 < )ﮩـﮩﮩ٨ـ❤️ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ
————
Noon, in the student council room.
Shirogane Miyuki had also noticed that something was off with Sakurai Saki today—like he had reverted to his introverted self from a year ago.
"Sakurai, my singing practice has come along decently, so this afternoon we can…" Shirogane Miyuki hadn't even finished speaking—
Sitting on the sofa, Sakurai Saki suddenly wore an expression of panic.
He hurriedly slapped his own cheeks.
Shit! That was close! He almost remembered this guy's singing. Luckily, he didn't recall it completely—otherwise, out of sheer terror, his emotions would've surged violently and he'd shrink.
"Shirogane, let's have lunch," Sakurai Saki said flatly.
With that, he placed a few daifuku he had made the day before onto the tea table.
"Wagashi I promised last time," he explained briefly.
"Umu." Shirogane Miyuki felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
So what if I sing badly—does that mean I'm not allowed to sing at all? Furious!
Shirogane: ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ
Shirogane left the student council president's chair and came over. Glancing at the confections, he asked, "Chocolate filling?"
"Umu, there's also matcha flavor." Sakurai Saki explained.
Sakurai now felt slightly more at ease—being around Shirogane was still relatively comfortable.
A few minutes later, just as Sakurai Saki bit into a fried shrimp tempura—
"Sakurai-san, President, good afternoon."
Shinomiya Kaguya entered the room.
"Good afternoon, Shinomiya," Shirogane Miyuki responded.
Shirogane found it a bit strange, as Kaguya rarely came to the student council room at lunchtime.
Why was she here today? Could it be to talk about tomorrow's karaoke?
Shirogane started to get nervous. His singing level currently was just barely passable—if you went by Fujiwara Chika and Sakurai Saki's description, it was like "a sea cucumber that's only been half cleaned."
Sakurai Saki, upon seeing that the one who entered wasn't secretary Fujiwara but Kaguya, didn't react much at first.
That is, until Shinomiya Kaguya walked straight up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
Their faces were now very close—less than twenty centimeters apart.
(｡· v ·｡) ? Sakurai Saki blinked.
What is this woman trying to do?
"What's wrong with you today? Are you seriously ill?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked seriously.
Huh? Sick? I think you're the one who's sick, lady!
Sakurai Saki replied emotionlessly, "I'm perfectly fine."
"No, you're not. You didn't greet anyone in class today, and you didn't cling to Hayasaka-san like you usually do. Very unusual!"
"Shinomiya-san, are you stalking me?" Sakurai Saki asked suspiciously.
Have you been staring at me since this morning?
Sakurai Saki had absolutely no desire to get involved with Shinomiya Kaguya. Befriending a girl like her only brought trouble—there was nothing to gain.
Stay away from her, or you'll end up cursed!
"Stalking? You mean, because I care so much about you that I constantly watch your every move…"
Kaguya paused with a thoughtful expression. "Hm, I suppose that's not wrong. From your point of view, I really am a stalker."
Shinomiya Kaguya moved away from in front of Sakurai Saki.
She awkwardly changed the subject: "Alright, let's not talk about that."
"Shinomiya-san, are you dodging the issue?"
"Eh? Why would you think I'm dodging it?"
"Because you just realized that you care a lot about a male classmate, and you watch his every move every day. You got embarrassed and tried to change the subject. Hm? Or did I guess wrong?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's face turned red. "That's nonsense! A woman of the Shinomiya family wouldn't be embarrassed by something like that!"
Kaguya: (,,Ծ‸Ծ,, )
"You're blushing, Shinomiya-san."
( ＾◡＾)
"Do you want to die?"
<(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)>
"Please stop interfering in my life so much, Kaguya-chan," Sakurai Saki said as he took another bite of rice.
It seemed he had found a way to deal with Kaguya.
"Tomorrow, Tokyo Bay is getting another barrel of concrete," Shinomiya Kaguya muttered, feeling like Sakurai Saki only had one day left to live.
"And also, stop calling me 'Kaguya-chan'!"
⁽⁽(੭ꐦ •̀Д•́ )੭*⁾⁾
She had said it before—he wasn't allowed to call her that!
But Sakurai Saki was bolder than she thought. "You've fallen for me, haven't you, Kaguya-chan~?"
"I like you so much I could kill you and stuff your body in the fridge." Shinomiya Kaguya said as she opened her bento.
"That's a bit heavy, Kaguya-chan. I can't accept this kind of love." Sakurai Saki responded with a blank face.
Listening to the two of them argue, Shirogane felt like their relationship was actually pretty close.
It was just that neither of them showed any emotion when they talked, which made it slightly terrifying.
At the moment, Sakurai Saki had returned to his "emotionless kitten" state from a year ago.
Shinomiya Kaguya was in full "Ice Kaguya" mode.
Shirogane Miyuki got the sense these two could come to blows at any time.
Well, they had fought a few times last year, after all.
"Uhm… maybe you two should try getting along a little," Shirogane tried to play mediator.
"This doesn't concern you, Shirogane."
"President Shirogane, do you also want to become a concrete barrel at the bottom of Tokyo Bay?"
Shirogane Miyuki: (๑-﹏-๑)
So tired. This whole student council just bullies the president.
"I don't like talking to bugs. The only reason I observe you is because you're interesting—like how humans observe ants," Shinomiya Kaguya said, still favoring her usual metaphors.
"I hope someday a bug appears that likes Shinomiya-san," Sakurai Saki fired back.
The relationship between him and Shinomiya Kaguya had never been good to begin with.
In the past, because of Secretary Fujiwara and Ishigami Yuu, he didn't want to argue with her.
But today there were only three people present, so he didn't bother holding back anymore.
"The bug I've been observing is a two-timer, hesitating about which ant queen he should pick," Shinomiya Kaguya said while glancing at Shirogane Miyuki. "President, don't you think that kind of bug is scummy?"
Shirogane Miyuki lowered his head and silently ate his lunch.
Shirogane: (っ- ‸ - ς) I'm invisible
Of course he knew exactly who she was referring to.
"Shinomiya-san, you don't need to beat around the bush just to insult me," Sakurai Saki said, setting his bento box down.
"This whole thing, in the end, has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Sakurai Saki felt irritated by her sarcastic tone, but he wasn't especially angry.
What she said wasn't wrong. Even though he never intentionally "led on" two people at once, he was still waiting for a clear confession—he needed courage.
"Hayasaka-san is…" Shinomiya Kaguya started to say, paused for a few seconds, then continued, "…a very close friend of mine."
"So you came here to speak on her behalf? Then let me ask you: even if she likes me and wants to date me, what does that have to do with you?" Sakurai Saki found it ridiculous.
Last time, when Kaguya came to him about Hayasaka being confessed to, he already found it suspicious.
"…What does it have to do with me? She likes you—don't you get it?" Shinomiya Kaguya's voice grew less confident as she spoke.
"Please pay close attention to my question: what does that have to do with you?"
"You bastard! So you do know she likes you!" Shinomiya Kaguya's expression changed instantly.
This guy really does know! He knows Hayasaka likes him!
"Bastard? I don't know where you got that from. I've never done anything that crossed the line with her," Sakurai Saki said calmly as he took a sip of canned coffee he had brought.
His relationship with Hayasaka had remained at the level of friends.
Sakurai Saki was still a virgin who hadn't even had his first kiss. He honestly thought he was still quite pure.
"Then why are you doing this? Pride? Arrogance? You're just a student from an outside school…"
At that point, Shinomiya Kaguya stood up and slightly bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I got a little emotional."
She then picked up her chopsticks to begin eating.
"I really don't understand you at all, Sakurai-san."
"And you don't need to." Sakurai Saki began packing up his bento.
He had finished eating.
Shirogane Miyuki, watching all this, could only rub his forehead helplessly. The relationship between those two had just gotten worse again.
Isn't it better now than before, why did it suddenly get worse?
————
After lunch.
Shinomiya Kaguya left the student council room and called Hayasaka Ai.
"Moshi moshi, Hayasaka—go confess to him!"
On the other end, Hayasaka Ai was standing beneath the school building, her face looking as if she'd just seen a ghost.
She double-checked: "Kaguya-sama, what did you just say?"
In her ear, the serious voice of the other girl came again—
"Go confess to him, Hayasaka."
"If you didn't hear me clearly, I'll say it again—tell him: 'I like you. Please go out with me.' Got it now?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's tone was deadly serious.
Hayasaka Ai was momentarily bewildered.
"Kaguya-sama, I don't think we need to rush this."
"Coward! Hayasaka Ai! Right now, I'm not asking you—I'm ordering you! I'm using my authority as your master to command you to confess!" Shinomiya Kaguya was clearly furious.
"…Kaguya-sama, I'm not your slave."
"Is saying one line—[I like you]—really that hard?! I seriously want to repeat what he just said about you!" Shinomiya Kaguya grew more flustered, her words spilling faster: "He knows you and Secretary Fujiwara both have feelings for him—don't you get it?"
"I do, Kaguya-sama. I understand it all."
Hayasaka Ai's answer made Shinomiya Kaguya pause. She leaned against the hallway wall, momentarily at a loss for words.
"You understand? Then why?"
Hayasaka Ai looked up at the sky. "Precisely because I understand, I don't want to confess now. Kaguya-sama, there's only ever one person in first place. I don't think I'm inferior to Secretary Fujiwara, but if I confess first, I'll have put myself beneath her."
The fact that Sakurai Saki had feelings for Fujiwara Chika—Hayasaka Ai had always been well aware of that.
"You're worried about that? Just confess first! Once it's successful, all the other girls are just losers anyway! What are you even hesitating for?"
"Fujiwara Chika won't confess first, so I still have plenty of time to slowly build a connection with him, until he's the one who confesses to me…"
Her explanation failed to resonate with Kaguya.
"I'll say it again—go confess! If you fail, just find someone else! Make him regret it!" Shinomiya Kaguya had no interest in hearing any excuses.
Hearing that, Hayasaka Ai could only smile wryly.
"Got it. I'll go confess."
There was just no dealing with her.
She had planned to settle things once and for all, but now it seemed she'd have to work harder from here on out.
"Hurry up and start dating him! Then help me get revenge!" Shinomiya Kaguya held grudges like no other.
"…Mm." Hayasaka Ai hung up.
And headed toward the classroom building.
'What should I do next…'
As she walked, Hayasaka Ai pondered.
When she returned to class and looked at the blackboard where the cleaning duty assignments were posted, an idea began to form.
'Sorry, Chika-chan.'
I'm about to start running ahead.