Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

Just as Kamiki Tetsu was staring at the geometry problem on the blackboard, his mind racing with plans to leave the classroom and meet Kujo.

"rustle."

I heard the faint sound of a mechanical pencil moving quickly across the paper beside me.

"Che Jun".

The voice, though soft, clearly penetrated my ears amidst the monotonous lecturing of the math teacher.

Kamiki Toru subconsciously turned his head to the side.

Saori was looking down, her pen moving swiftly across her notebook as she wrote out the complex analytical process.

As she wrote, she spoke in a casual tone:

"If you're not feeling well, you can leave early now."

With a heavy stroke of the pen, a neat period is drawn on the paper.

Saori finally put down her pen.

She glanced at the answers in her notebook and, without looking up, added:

"Anyway, I already asked for leave for you at the office."

Kamiki Tetsu gave her a deep look.

Saori kept her head down, the mechanical pencil twirling between her fingers, continuing to make a scratching sound on the paper, as if the words she had just spoken had not come from her mouth.

Since the script has already been handed to them, not cooperating with the performance would only make them seem more suspicious.

"……call."

Kamiki Tetsu complied by pressing his forehead, his brows furrowed. His face, already stiff from tension, now appeared to others as one of utter weakness, devoid of color.

He deliberately made his breathing heavier, supported himself on the edge of the table with one hand, swayed slightly, and slowly stood up.

"Teacher... I'm sorry, I'm still feeling a bit..."

He raised his hand toward the bald teacher on the podium, his voice low and weak.

"Ah, it's the sacred tree."

The math teacher pushed up his glasses, clearly having received prior notice, and waved his chalk-dust-covered hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, Tanaka has told me about the situation. Go back and get some rest."

Without saying much, Kamiki Toru grabbed his schoolbag from under the desk and, under the complicated gazes of the whole class, especially the boys who had just been chased away by Saori, staggered and opened the back door of the classroom.

A cool breeze from the corridor blew into my collar.

Only when the heavy wooden door closed behind him again, blocking the gaze that had never been lifted, did he finally feel the sticky oppressive feeling dissipate somewhat.

Kamiki Tetsu didn't stop. Wearing his slightly sore indoor shoes, he quickly walked through the empty corridor.

What lingers in my mind is Saori's last look and that "early departure permission" that seemed to have been prepared in advance.

too weird.

One second they were questioning the smell on me, and the next they casually offered the perfect excuse to get away.

The feeling wasn't like being "helped," but rather like being led by the nose by the other person's script in every move I made.

What exactly does she want to do?

"...Tsk."

Kamiki Tetsu scratched his head in frustration, forcibly trying to shake the image of that long, straight black hair out of his mind.

Now is not the time to dwell on the logic behind that woman's behavior.

A sharp, stabbing pain came from my chest.

Through the shirt, the temperature of the mirror was steadily rising, like holding a red-hot iron in one's arms.

That crack has probably spread even deeper.

The most urgent task is to get to the old school building before the mirror containing Hoshino Ruri shatters.

Without further hesitation, Kamiki Toru turned and sprinted towards the stairwell.

……

Behind him, inside the classroom door of Class 2B that had just closed.

The oppressive atmosphere seemed to be gathering again.

however.

"teacher."

That clear, cold voice suddenly rang out, precisely interrupting the sound of chalk striking the blackboard.

Saori slowly raised her fair hand.

She slowly closed the notebook on the table, gently placing the mechanical pencil aside with elegant and composed movements.

"I also feel a bit unwell."

Under the astonished gazes of her classmates, she stood up, straightened her skirt, and without even glancing at the teacher on the podium, picked up her schoolbag.

"I want to lie down in the infirmary for a while."

"Click".

With a click of the latch, the heavy wooden door slowly closed behind me.

The sounds of chalk scraping and students whispering in the classroom were completely cut off in that instant.

The corridor was empty, with only the cicadas outside the window chirping tirelessly.

The figure that had just rushed out in a panic had already disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Saori did not rush to take a step.

She stood at the doorway, slightly turning her head, her gaze sweeping over the floor where Kamiki Toru had just stepped, as if confirming the footprints left by her prey.

"They didn't go in the direction of the infirmary."

Although Saori said she was going to lie down in the infirmary, her toes turned in a different direction without hesitation.

One step, two steps.

She walked very slowly.

He didn't seem like someone who was feeling unwell and needed to go to the infirmary; rather, he seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll in his own backyard.

Indoor shoes made rhythmic sounds as they stepped on the old wooden floor.

"Da, da, da."

The sound was crisp and monotonous, echoing in the empty corridor. Every step was precisely on the route that Kamiki Toru had just run, without the slightest deviation.

Meanwhile, under the west wall of the old school building.

"Ha ha……"

Kamiki Tetsu leaned against the mottled wall covered with ivy.

The sensation coming from my chest was no longer just warm, but scalding hot.

The mirror was like a grenade with its fuse already pulled; every second of the countdown was accompanied by the faint sound of glass cracking.

Can't delay any longer.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, forced himself to regulate his breathing, and quickly walked around the corner. His gaze immediately locked onto the crooked cherry blossom tree that had been mentioned.

however.

Kamiki Tetsu's hurried steps suddenly froze on the spot.

The rendezvous point, which was expected to be deserted, was now "occupied".

Under the dappled shade of the trees, a boy and a girl, whose class it was unclear, were entangled in a passionate embrace.

Their bodies were pressed close together; the boy was pinning the girl against the rough tree trunk, and the sounds of their blush-inducing kisses were exceptionally clear in the quiet corner.

"Mmm...uh..."

The cloying nasal tone burrowed into my ears without restraint.

As Kamiki Tetsu looked at the scene brimming with youthful hormones, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Just how bad is the school's atmosphere?

Of all times, they chose this time and this place.

"Hey, hey, feed."

Kamiki Tetsu walked forward with a frown, raised his hand and patted the boy's shoulder twice, lightly but firmly, his voice filled with the impatience of being in a hurry:

"Although it's not good to disturb other people's enjoyment, I have something urgent to attend to, so please lend me this."

He pointed to the two people under the tree, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The boy who was interrupted turned around with a displeased look on his face, veins popping out on his forehead. He was about to curse whoever was being so inconsiderate.

However, when he saw Kamiki Tetsu's expressionless yet oppressive face, the curse he was about to utter stuck in his throat.

The boy paused, his gaze shifting between the finger that Kamiki Tetsu was pointing at him and his girlfriend. His initially angry expression suddenly turned strange, and a lewd smile even crept onto his lips.

"Huh? Can I borrow it for you?"

He looked Kamiki Tetsu up and down, then let out an unpleasant nasal sound:

"Dude, you're really going for it... You mean you want to join in?"

"……ha?"

Kamiki Tetsu's mind went blank for a moment, not yet having grasped the logic of the rhetorical question.

The girl who was pinned to the tree trunk poked her head out upon hearing this.

Two buttons on her white shirt were undone, revealing her collarbone, which was covered in red marks.

Sweat beaded on her still-flushed face, and her eyes were glazed as she looked at the "intruder."

The moment eye contact.

The girl, who was initially a little panicked, brightened up noticeably after seeing Kamiki Tetsu's face.

The shame that should have been there transformed in an instant into a kind of bold excitement.

She bit her lip, her gaze sweeping nakedly from Kamiki Tetsu's collarbone to his belt, then lowered her head shyly, clutching her disheveled skirt with both hands, while her body honestly shifted to the side, making room for her.

"If you don't mind it being a bit cramped..."

She raised her wet eyes, nodded shyly to Kamiki Tetsu, and her voice trembled with a sweet hue:

"If it's this student... I'm not out of the question either."

"ha?"

Kamiki Tetsu raised a question.

His brows were furrowed tightly, and he stared at the couple with astonishingly strange thought processes in front of him, his face full of question marks.

Did someone put a powerful aphrodisiac in the tap water at this school?

What the hell is this shameless and even somewhat exciting development?

Just as he was about to question whether the couple's minds were filled with pink nonsense, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the dense foliage above the wall, which seemed to tremble unnaturally.

It seems that Kujo has arrived.

I don't have time to play this vulgar game of pretend with these lustful guys.

Kamiki Tetsu instantly suppressed his slight surprise, stroked his chin, and lingered his gaze on the girl's neckline for half a second, feigning an interest-filled yet restrained "bad boy" demeanor:

"Joining us...that sounds really tempting."

Upon hearing this, the boy's guard instantly dropped, and he revealed a lewd smile as if he had found a kindred spirit.

The girl excitedly twisted her body, her eyes becoming even more glazed, as if she were already anticipating some immoral scene.

"but--"

Kamiki Toru changed the subject, sighed regretfully, and pointed to the teaching building over there:

"Unfortunately, I have someone I absolutely have to see right now. If she sees me doing this kind of thing here, I'll be in big trouble."

He paused, then very naturally pulled out his phone, striking a practiced pose:

"How about this, let's exchange contact information first?"

"Once I've sorted things out on my end, how about we meet somewhere tonight and have a proper... in-depth discussion?"

"real?!"

The couple exclaimed in unison, their faces beaming with surprise.

"certainly."

Kamiki Tetsu remained expressionless, casually tapped the screen twice, and then fluently recited a string of numbers:

"This is my personal number, remember it well—090-XXXX-XXXX."

That's definitely not his number.

That was the private cell phone number of the dean of students, who was in charge of discipline throughout the school and was known as the "Mediterranean devil."

He had glanced at the address book on the desk and jotted it down while being reprimanded in the office.

When those two guys called in the middle of the night, using their saccharine voices to invite the menopausal head of student affairs out for a "deep chat"...

The thought of that scene is simply amazing.

"I've got it! I've got it!"

The guy saved the number like it was a priceless treasure, and even gave Kamiki Tetsu a greasy "OK" sign: "It's a deal then, bro! I'll be waiting for your call tonight!"

"Let's go get ready too!"

The girl gave her boyfriend a flirtatious kiss, took his hand, and left the cherry blossom tree contentedly.

The two of them walked happily toward the school gate as if they had found a great bargain, completely unaware that they had just received a one-way ticket to suspension.

As he watched those two obstructive figures disappear around the corner, the fake smile on Kamiki Tetsu's face vanished instantly.

"idiot."

He coldly uttered two words, then disgustedly shook the hand that had been holding the phone, as if it were contaminated with some kind of bacteria.

After confirming that no one was around, he raised his head and looked at the moss-covered wall:

"How much longer do we have to watch the show up there?"

"Thump."

A muffled thud came from above.

Immediately afterwards, a light figure leaped down from the wall and landed steadily on the thick layer of fallen leaves.

"What a wonderful negotiation, Kamiki-kun."

The girl in the outer school uniform patted the dust off her skirt.

Kujou Hii's bright, large eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, her tone tinged with teasing:

"I didn't expect you to be so good at dealing with this type. I almost believed that bad guy's smile just now."