Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 120 Confession
Faced with Touko's repeated rejections, Shiina Maki was taken aback and suddenly felt a sense of distance emanating from Touko.

Although she still calls Maki "older sister," it seems she no longer treats her as an older sister.

"Dongzi... I just want to ask one question, is Akizuki-kun angry with me?"

Fuyuko didn't answer Shiina Maki's question. After changing into her indoor shoes, she smiled and said, "Maki-neechan, I'm going to class now. Goodbye."

"……goodbye."

Shiina Maki watched Fuyuko leave with a heavy heart, suddenly realizing the seriousness of the situation.

When a question is refused an answer, the answer is already obvious.

Maki Shiina wasn't so foolish as to insist on asking for clarification to confirm the answer.

But she didn't understand what she had done to anger Akizuki Makoto.

Is it because time stopped?

If that's the reason, why didn't Akizuki Makoto directly confront her, but instead punished her by distancing himself from her?
"...Go and find out the details."

Shiina Maki thought to herself as she quickly changed into her shoes and went to the classroom.

Makoto Akizuki had already arrived and was chatting with a classmate sitting nearby, seemingly discussing the plot of "Snow Country".

Upon seeing this, the courage that Shiina Maki had finally mustered vanished inexplicably.

She felt really bad about interrupting Akizuki Makoto's conversation with the others and asking him to take a nap or find some time to talk to her.

"Waiting until after class should be fine, right..."

Thinking this, Shiina Maki lowered her head and walked back to her seat.

But for the rest of the morning, she couldn't find a suitable opportunity to strike up a conversation with Akizuki Makoto.

When the first class ended, she originally wanted to go find Qiuyue Cheng and stood up to walk towards him, but Qiuyue Cheng also stood up and left the classroom with several male classmates, seemingly to go to the toilet.

So she sat back down in her seat. Anyway, there was still a second class, so there was no need to rush.

But after the second period, the homeroom teacher coincidentally called Qiu Yuecheng to the office again, and she missed her chance once more.

After the third period, it will be lunch break. If she still can't muster up the courage, she'll probably have to wait until evening.

"...Never mind, let's wait until tonight."

As Shiina Maki watched Akizuki Makoto leave the classroom with his lunchbox, she once again felt regret and frustration for her cowardice and incompetence.

She used to dare to talk to Akizuki Makoto in the classroom, but these past two days Akizuki Makoto's attitude towards her has suddenly become cold, making her afraid to do so anymore.

...Mainly, she was afraid that Akizuki Makoto would refuse to communicate with her directly, not even giving her a chance to apologize.

She couldn't imagine how devastating it would be if she were openly rejected in the classroom, or how others would ridicule her.

……

lunch break.

Akizuki Makoto carried his lunchbox and instead of going to the student council office, he went to the courtyard and found a quiet spot to eat lunch.

He originally intended to go find Dongzi, but then he thought that Dongzi might also be eating with her friends, and since they were in different grades, it would be troublesome to go to the first grade, so he gave up the idea.

But when he arrived at the courtyard and had only been sitting down for a few minutes, a familiar petite figure came into his view.

"Ok?"

Akizuki Makoto squinted slightly, wondering if she was seeing things. Otherwise, how could she have seen Fuyuko?

Furthermore, there were two girls with Dongzi beside him. He recognized them; they were the Fengling sisters, whom he had met yesterday afternoon.

"elder brother!"

When he saw Dongzi, Dongzi noticed him too, waved happily at him, and then jogged towards him.

As Akizuki Mako approached, he asked, "Dongko, why weren't you in the classroom during lunch break?"

"Because Dongzi has a telepathic ability and sensed that her brother was here alone."

Dongzi smiled sweetly, sat down next to Qiuyue Cheng, and then said, "Brother, shall we have lunch together?"

"Ah good……"

Akizuki Makoto nodded in agreement, then looked at the Kaede and Rin sisters who had just walked up to him and smiled, "Hello, I remember your names are... Kaede and Rin?"

Because they are sisters, we used their first names to address them; otherwise, if we used their surnames, it would be difficult to tell who we were calling.

"Yes, yes! Senior!"

The Fengling sisters nodded somewhat reservedly; they had come with Dongzi.

They had originally planned to eat lunch in the classroom, but Dongzi suddenly said she wanted to go to the courtyard, so they had no choice but to follow her, since it was just a little further away anyway.

"Please take care of Dongzi."

Akizuki Makoto nodded slightly and then said, "Sit down and eat with us? Don't be so nervous. You are all Dongzi's friends, so naturally you are mine too."

"No, no, I don't dare!"

"Yes, what have we done to deserve being friends with our senior!"

The Maple Sisters quickly shook their heads. Even first-year students had already heard about Akizuki Makoto's deeds, let alone the fact that he was the vice president of the student council, so he deserved respect.

"Your brother is very gentle, he's kind to everyone, so you don't need to be afraid."

"But...but...he's my senior after all. Even if you tell me not to be nervous, I'll still be nervous, right?"

"Alright, then let's go at your pace."

Akizuki Makoto smiled and didn't pay it any mind. After all, that's how it is in island nations, where class stratification is very rigid.

"Then, then we'll take our time."

The Fengling sisters lowered their heads in fear and trepidation, sat down next to Dongzi, and placed the bento box on their laps and opened it.

Perhaps out of nervousness, they didn't speak, but ate silently, listening to the chatter of Qiuyue and her brother.

The lunch break was very short, only about half an hour. By the time they finished their lunch at a leisurely pace, the bell for the first class had already rung.

After packing their lunchboxes, the four of them parted ways on the stairs of the teaching building.

The Fengling sisters watched as Dongzi stood by the stairs, seeing Qiuyue Cheng go upstairs, and asked, "Dongzi, did you already know that your brother was having lunch in the courtyard, which is why you suddenly suggested going?"

"Hmm... telepathy."

Fuyuko answered softly, giving the same response she had given Akizuki when he asked her the same question.

But only she herself knows the truth.

Like Akizuki Makoto, the Maple sisters didn't press for details. They simply said "oh" and then returned to the classroom with Touko.

……

Six o'clock in the evening.

After finishing his work in the student council, Akizuki Makoto packed his bag and left.

Ji Yexue wasn't in the student council room today; I wonder where she went.

But that's fine, it saves me from being bothered by her. Nothing good ever happens when I'm with her.

After leaving the student council room, Makoto Akizuki went to the craft club to pick up Fuyuko and take her home. Maki Shiina was also with them, and she followed silently behind, keeping a step's distance from the Akizuki siblings.

This distance wasn't something they intentionally created; rather, it stemmed from Shiina Maki's own guilt, preventing her from getting close to Akizuki Makoto. Akizuki Makoto, on the other hand, didn't care whether Shiina Maki walked beside him or not; he would simply ignore her anyway.

The conclusion he came up with yesterday was to treat Shiina Maki and Hime Yuki with a cold and distant attitude, so that they would be unable to resist asking him on their own.

Then, he gave a hint to see if the two would voluntarily expose themselves, so that he could stand on the moral high ground and question them.

The final result will definitely be an explosion. Continuing to remain silent and endure it will probably only lead to a slow death.

Anyway, he has the system, so the worst outcome of it exploding is that they will use their superpowers without restraint.

But he can increase their resistance after they've used their superpowers.

Over time, once his resistance grows to a certain level, superpowers will become completely useless against him, and he will be able to get rid of them completely.

After returning to their apartment, when Makoto Akizuki opened the door, Maki Shiina finally mustered up the courage to call out, "Aki-Akizuki-kun!"

Akizuki Makoto didn't respond immediately. He opened the door first, then turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Could I have a moment of your time? I have something I want to tell you!"

"Yeah……"

Akizuki nodded, looked at Dongzi, and said softly, "Dongzi, you go in first."

"Good~"

After obediently responding, Dongzi took the shopping bag from Qiuyue Cheng and went inside.

"Let's talk over there."

"Okay, okay..."

Shiina Maki quickly took out her keys from her bag, unlocked the door, and invited Akizuki Makoto to come in.

After entering Shiina Maki's house, Akizuki Makoto went straight to the point and asked, "So, Shiina-san, is there something you want to say to me?"

"This, this..."

Shiina Maki lowered her head, stammering, all the words she had prepared throughout the day vanished, and she couldn't utter a single word.

When the moment finally came, she didn't know how to ask Akizuki Makoto.

Should I directly ask myself what I did wrong? Or should I ask what I did to upset him?

Such ambiguous statements might be perceived as lacking sincerity, right?
However, she couldn't directly reveal that she possessed superpowers and then attack Akizuki Makoto, because she wasn't sure if Akizuki Makoto was angry about this.

But if it weren't for this incident, she really couldn't think of any reason why Akizuki Makoto was angry.

"...Akizuki-kun, are you angry with me?"

After hesitating for a long time, Shiina Maki could only ask the question like this, lacking the courage to reveal it herself.

"Why do you say that?"

Makoto Akizuki laughed. He didn't mind the back-and-forth between him and Maki Shiina. In any case, he would never be the one to lose his temper first.

"Because... Akizuki-kun's attitude has been strange these past two days, so I was wondering if I did something wrong."

"Why would you ask me this if you feel you've done something wrong?"

"..."

Shiina Maki fell silent, but her silence spoke volumes.

She definitely knew what she had done wrong, but it took a lot of courage to be honest about it.

Asking her to reveal her shady and shameful deeds would be tantamount to torture.

Makoto Akizuki understood her concerns. He simply smiled faintly, stared at Maki Shiina, and said nothing.

If you dare to do something, you should dare to take responsibility. If you don't even have the courage to admit your mistakes, how can you talk about forgiveness?
"I'm sorry, Akizuki-kun."

Suddenly, Shiina Maki bowed deeply to Akizuki Makoto at a ninety-degree angle, looking terrified, and said, "I... I still don't know what I did wrong."

"Why do you need to apologize?"

Akizuki Makoto chuckled, not surprised by the result.

Rather, it was Shiina Maki's confession of her sins that surprised him.

"Since you don't even know what you did wrong, then you did nothing wrong and don't need to apologize to me."

"But, but..."

Is that all I have to say?

Akizuki Makoto abruptly interrupted Shiina Maki, his smile vanishing as he said indifferently, "Now that we've finished talking, if there's nothing else, I'll head back."

"No, no, no, don't!"

Shiina Maki shook her head desperately, then grabbed Akizuki Makoto's arm and pleaded in a tearful voice, "Akizuki-kun, please don't do this, please don't do this anymore, I'm so sad, it's really painful, it's so agonizing!"

"Shiina-kun, are you going to do this again?"

Looking at Shiina Maki, who was on the verge of tears, Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but sigh.

He could already imagine what Shiina Maki was going to say next; it would be the same oppressive, black hole-like remarks as before.

Phrases like "I love him so much" and "I'm willing to do anything for him" were used.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean anything by it!"

Shiina Maki quickly released Akizuki Makoto, sobbing as she said, "I...I just wanted Akizuki-kun to tell me why things turned out this way."

"I asked Dongzi today, but she still wouldn't tell me. She's also started to distance herself from me. I don't want things to be like this."

"I cherish my relationship with Fuyuko, and I also cherish Akizuki-kun. Can you give me a chance to apologize?"

By the end, Maki Shiina was sobbing uncontrollably, her face streaked with tears.

She could no longer bear being ignored and treated coldly by Akizuki Makoto, as if she were a complete stranger.

"Shiina-kun, you're acting a bit strangely."

Makoto Akizuki remained unmoved. He looked coldly at Maki Shiina and said indifferently, "Since you don't even know what you did wrong, why are you apologizing? And why are you saying these things?"

"I know...I know..."

Shiina Maki's lips trembled, but she couldn't utter any more words.

The thought of the consequences of confessing terrified her; her breathing became rapid and labored, and she felt a tightness in her chest as if she were suffocating.

"Shiina-kun, we're just friends, don't cross the line."

Makoto Akizuki gave Maki Shiina a deep look, uttered a meaningful sentence, and then turned and left.

This time, Shiina Maki didn't try to stop him. She just stared blankly as he left, her vision blurred.

Large tears streamed down her face, soaking her clothes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Akizuki-kun..."

"I was so cowardly. I didn't have the courage to admit it. I really regret it, I regret it so much..."

"Why did I have to do those things? Why couldn't I help myself?"

Shiina Maki muttered to herself, as if she had lost all her strength, and slumped to the ground, her eyes dim and devoid of any light.

(End of this chapter)